18 Week Bumpdate

Baby is the size of a sweet potato!

Total weight gain/loss?  still 17 pounds

How far along?  18 weeks!!

Maternity clothes?  yes and I basically only have two summer appropriate bottoms that I go back and forth wearing...also loose dresses are my best friend.

Best moment this week?  over the weekend, Mark and I drove down to the Woodlands to run an errand for my dad and shop for new jeans for Mark.  my parents watched Clark and it was so nice to get out just the two of us like old times.  those times are rare and I think very soon they will be even harder to come by!

Miss anything?  I can't really complain, this pregnancy has been so easy!  sometimes I still get nauseous in the mornings but for the most part I hardly remember I'm pregnant.

Movement?  yes it's there but looking back on what Clark felt like moving around in my belly at this stage, the movements are much gentler and less frequent.  in fact, Mark still hasn't felt movement!  every now and then I feel a little nudge, almost like a hiccup, but there's usually only a few.  at night I feel him the most but it's still not as strong or jerky as Clark's movements.  hoping that means this baby will be a sweet, gentle little thing!

Food cravings?  no I eat pretty much anything!

Anything making you queasy or sick?  nope!

Have you started to show yet?  yes!

Gender?  we confirmed a little boy yesterday!  hooray, Clark's little brother is almost halfway baked :)

Labor signs?  not at all

Belly Button in or out?  in and Clark loves to put his finger in there so I don't know what he'll do when it sticks out.  I'm so curious to how he'll react when my belly is huge!!

Wedding rings on or off?  I took them off this week!  they started to feel tight one day and I freaked out so off they went.  it makes putting on my belly butter much easier!

Happy or Moody most of the time?  I actually have been sooo emotional these days!  we watched Benjamin Button the other day and I was sobbing at the end and just felt so sad about life.  sometimes out of nowhere I just tear up and start crying!

Looking forward to?  Halloween and cold weather!

17 Week Bumpdate

Baby is the size of a pear!

How far along?  I can't believe I'm already 17 weeks!!

Total weight gain/loss? 17 POUNDS.

Maternity clothes?  yup!  I really need more summer maternity clothes but I keep telling myself winter is right around the corner.  in Texas?  yeah right!

Stretch marks?  nope!

Best moment this week?  this time last pregnancy I felt the baby kick for the first time.  but the best moment this week was announcing our pregnancy!!!  I wore a shirt that said "Raising Boys" with Clark in one arm and my other hand on my belly :)  I am seriously so excited to be a boy mom!!!!

Miss anything?   well, this isn't really pregnancy related but Clark stopped sleeping through the night suddenly.  like he wakes up at 3 am and will NOT go back to sleep!  so I miss sleeping through the night!

Movement?  every day!

Food cravings?  I've been eating so much Chinese I'm starting to get sick of it! the things I thought I'd never say...

Anything making you queasy or sick?  so this week I've started feeling dizzy at night when I switch sides or first thing when I wake up in the morning.  it's like the room is spinning, like I just got off Alice's teacups.  it's horrible!!

Have you started to show yet?  someone commented the other day that I have a little bump so I guess so!

Gender?  all BOY!  we get to see him on MONDAY!!!  I actually haven't been to the doctor since I was like 11 weeks!  we've been on vacation and then the dr. was on vacation.  so I'm excited to get to confirm it's a boy, even though I took a blood test.

Labor signs?  nooo

Belly Button in or out?  innie

Wedding rings on or off?  on and loose!  I dreamed the other night my wedding ring was falling to pieces!!  nightmare!!

Happy or Moody most of the time? happy except in the middle of the night when Clark wakes up

Looking forward to?  awww this time last pregnancy we went to Disneyland for the last time before our passes expired.  I guess this week I'm looking forward to hanging out with the Westovers again on Saturday!  we hung out with them on Sunday for the first time (I haven't seen Clinton since I was a junior in high-school and Mark grew up with him as a kid...so weird!!)  and we had so much fun!  their daughter is Clark's age and his wife is also pregnant and due in February!  really hoping they move out here so we can be close friends again!!

clark wilde : fifteen months

I haven't done one of these in so long I don't even know where to start!  it's been three months since I last talked about my little Clark and all the growing up he's been doing.  let's see, what's new??

fifteen month stats:

weight: 23.2 lbs (55th percentile)

length: 32 in. (85th percentile)

head circ:  18.5 in. (55th percentile)            

♥                ♥                ♥

f i r s t s

♥ flight - in July, Clark went on his first airplane ride to Colorado and did great!  he slept for half the flight and the other half just kept getting up and down off my lap.  and I used to think flying was exhausting before kids!

almost dropped these down the A/C vent!!

♥ restaurant item - my mom took Clark and I to Jason's deli (SO good!!) and Clark ordered from the menu for the first time!  cheese pizza....then he refused to eat it.  and pizza is one of the only things he eats too!  he is such a picky eater...more on that later.

♥ ice-cream cone - he is my child so he obviously loved it!!!

♥ flu - ughhhh.  was hoping to avoid this one for years.  only after he started going to nursery did he catch the flu!  it was pretty much awful.   but it wasn't the throwing up that was so bad (well that was bad, don't get me wrong) but the gross parts weren't as gross as I thought they would be.  what was worse was having to watch my exhausted baby wake up over and over, throwing up for three nights.  (weird, but he only threw up at night!)  he would wake up so scared with throw up in his hair, on his arm, poor thing!  midnight baths became a regular occurrence at our house, as well as loads of laundry at 3 am!  I hope we don't have to go through anything like that again anytime soon!

♥ road trip - in August we headed back to Colorado for a Masters family reunion, only this time we drove!  Clark was such a trooper on the round trip 16 hour drive!!!  we did it in 2 days and pretty much only stopped when we needed gas or he was poopy!  only one blowout the whole trip!  we entertained him with some movies Mark downloaded on his iPad (Minions, Land Before Time & An American Tale) and other than that he was usually sleeping or eating.  I was so worried about the trip but he did great!

Clark loves his Aunt Stephy ♥

♥ In-N-Out burger - I have no real pictures (found this one online) but he LOVED IT!!!  I used to think Clark was a vegetarian but he gobbled up that cheeseburger :)  definitely my son!

♥ walk to the park - last week Clark and I walked to the park together for the first time without the stroller!!  he walked the whole way!!!  it's like a 5 minute walk but took us like 10-15 minutes.  he only fell twice and both times he got right up, dusted himself off and continued on his journey with the most determined look on his face.  he was soooo happy and proud of himself!!!  I love him so much!!!

f a v o r i t e s

at fifteen months one of Clark's favorite things to do is CLEAN. yes, he is my child. Clark sweeps, mops, dusts, wipes down the floors, and puts clothes in the washer for me. he is actually pretty good too!

when he's not cleaning, Clark's usually weight lifting. hahaha, no but for real. he enjoys lifting things half his body weight...milk gallons, laundry detergent, the shoe rack! Uncle Sean would be proud.

but Clark is truly the happiest when allowed to wander around outside and explore. he is such an outdoorsy boy! he loves to climb, collect rocks, pat poles and listen to the ringing sound, watch bunnies and squirrels, chase other kids around, and just p l a y :)

we found this hello kitty ball in our yard and before I had a chance to throw it over the fence, Clark ran to it and wanted to play!

 

 

some more of Clark's favorite past times this month include...

♥ pushing his walker around

♥ pulling all the books off the shelves

♥ taking all the DVD's out

♥ finding his own snacks in the pantry

♥ looking through his legs upside down

♥ shaking his head back and forth

♥ swinging mom's panties around on his arm

♥ sucking wet washcloths

♥ sticking his hand down his pants!

♥ sticking his hand down my shirt....

♥ brushing his teeth with my toothbrush

♥ "this little piggy went to market"

♥ shows: "Elmo's World," "Little Einsteins," "Goldie & Bear," "Barney & Friends"

♥ dancing!!!

♥ playing at the toy store

♥ chasing Xela

♥ meeting new kids

♥ nursery

♥ playing in water of any kind!

 

 e a t

Clark has slowly been building up his palate these past few months and has added a few more foods to his weekly menu.  here are some new ones we've tried these past few months...

Clark's palate at 15 months:

lemon cupcakes - 😋

crepes - 😋

peaches -😋

fried rice - 😋

meatloaf (took a few tries!) - 😋 

cashew chicken - 😋

green beans (will not touch anything green...except m&ms!) - 🤢 
ice-cream cone -😋

scrambled eggs - 😋

pot roast (in general, he doesn't eat meat) - 🤢 

red potatoes - 🤢 

cooked carrots -😋
grandma's stir fry! (a favorite!)  -😋

chicken strips from Chick-Fil-A - 😋

milkshakes- 😋 

turkey sandwiches (with lettuce!) - 😋

apples w/ peanut butter -😋

grapes -😋

pita chips & hummus (he LOVES hummus!!!  I think he just loves dipping things!) - 😋

vanilla yogurt raisins -😋
waffles -😋

sonic slushes - 😋

Clark loves feeding himself and sometimes I let him attempt to feed himself with a fork or spoon (his favorite) but usually not much gets into his mouth.  he prefers to eat whatever I'm eating while sitting in my lap and usually he makes himself comfy and leans back, like a king.  last month, Grandma was feeding him oatmeal and suddenly he leaned back in her lap and stuck his head in the bowl of oatmeal!!

I guess I haven't mentioned the biggest diet change of all...Clark is weaned!!!  yes, it's true.  no more nursing for my sweet boy.  ahhh, the end was bittersweet.  I stopped nursing him a few days before he turned 14 months old and I thought it would be much harder than it was.  It was as though he understood and knew it was ending those last few days, which makes me feel so sad in retrospect.  but he took it well.  at the end there he was really only nursing for comfort and he had started "fiddling (playing with my other breast while nursing), which really got under my skin.  I began to dread nursing and would have to seriously distract myself during our sessions so as not to go crazy.  I didn't want to remember our nursing relationship that way so I knew it was time to end it.  Clark knew too and I think he was okay with it.

 

he's picked up a new comfort habit now...feeling my chest when he's sleepy!  it's as though he wants to make sure they're still there.  he even does it to my mom sometimes.  this kid I tell ya...

s l e e p

the past few months have been rough in the sleep department.  actually, currently I'm typing this at 2:48 am and Clark is screaming his little lungs out in the next room.  we don't normally do this but desperate times.  Mark is always the one to come up at night and usually Clark goes back down within 10 minutes or so.  once he got scared during a thunderstorm and Mark was up with him for hours and didn't even wake me!  I don't have that much patience and I'm honestly sick of getting up with him at this age so he's going to learn to STTN if it kills both of us!

last month he went through a phase where he was waking between 5 and 5:30 am every day!!  it didn't matter when we put him to bed.  it sort of coincided with weaning him so I think he was missing it and trying to make up for that extra cuddle time in the mornings.  Mark would go get him and sometimes he would cuddle with him upstairs in the Superman room until he had to get ready for work.  other times, Clark just wanted mama so Mark would bring him to our bed and he would snuggle with me for an hour, feeling me up the whole time!  I always just put my arm over the front of my chest so he can't get that far but it has really stopped being cute and has become so annoying!  can't wait until this phase is over.

the 5 am wake up has subsided for now.  a few weeks ago he was sleeping in past 7!!!  he has never done that so we were in Heaven.  but now he's back to his usual 6-6:30 wake up time.  he still cuddles in bed with me when he wakes up and half the time he falls back asleep and we'll sleep until 8 or 9.  it's the best!!

I think we're about to transition to one long nap a day.  sometimes it just works out that way and he'll sleep anywhere from 2-3 hours!  except he no longer naps in his crib.  I gave up on crib naps because they never last longer than 45 minutes, even if he's exhausted.  then I always used to bring him into bed with me anyway!  so now he naps either in our bed with me or on the couch while I watch a movie next to him.  hey, works for me!

p l a y / d e v e l o p m e n t

let's see, I think in the last update Clark still wasn't quite walking yet.  well now he's got that walking and running thing down pat!  he started walking on June 25, a few weeks after his first birthday.  one day at church, Mark was talking to someone and then the guy goes, "when did he start walking?" and Mark turns around and Clark was walking across the hall to him!  since then he's pretty much been unstoppable.

Clark recently taught himself how to go up and down the stairs so that's a relief!  he frequently goes upstairs and gets something and brings it down, all in the amount of time it takes me to wash a dish!  he can also climb the couches, as of this week!  he knows how to put lids on things and loves taking things in and out of a box, bag, etc.  a new word he picked up is "shh," for Xela.  let me tell you, he loves that dog!  what can I say, they have a lot in common.  he even eats her food!!

some games he loves are chase, hide and seek, cars, and restaurant.  we inherited two play kitchens recently (one for grandma's house!) and so I bought Clark a bunch of fake food and these adorable Melissa & Doug miniature stainless steel pots and pans and wooden spoons.  I also save old snack boxes of things he likes and he has so much fun play eating!

Clark doesn't say much but he understands a ton!   he follows simple instructions... "shut the fridge," "throw this away," "put this in the washer," and loves being mommy's little helper!  I know all parents say this but he is really such a smart kid!  he loves imitating people and has picked up saying, "ahhh," after drinking, blowing on things that are hot, patting and clapping his hands along with the little einstiens, wiping his highchair mat and other cleaning habits from me.  the other day he went up to a girl at the park and waved at her.  he is always surprising me and brightens every day.

it's 4 am and I'm still awake.  the life of a parent.  on the plus side, I don't know when I would have finished this blog update if I hadn't pulled an all-nighter with Clark.  he keeps me oh so busy!  I feel like all day long I'm running around like a chicken with my head cut off just trying to clean up after him, make sure he's fed, changed, and has clean clothes to wear, and most days I don't even get dressed!

parenthood is not anything like I thought it would be.  people don't give moms enough credit, this life is hard!  anyone who thinks otherwise has never done it.  it's exhausting, all consuming, frustrating, and completely unlike anything I've ever done.  I'm not sure what I'd be doing with my life if I wasn't a mom but I don't think there's anything I could be doing that's as important as this.  Clark is my entire life.  even though he drives me crazy, I couldn't live without him.  whenever he's with grandma or after he's gone to sleep I miss him like crazy!  I never thought such a little person could make me so happy.  I love you Clark Wilde. ♥