Jack is TWO!

I can't believe it. Where has the time gone?

Jack is now two years old. He weighs a little over 25 lb (it's been a hot second since we weighed him). He's about 34" tall. He wears size 24 month pants (2T are way too long), and he's quickly going to be in size 3T pants. His feet are about size 6, but I think those shoes are going to be outgrown by the time summer gets here. 

He's getting his two year old molars (yuck). He sleeps from 7:30-8pm until 7:30-8:30am. Plus he still naps from 12 or 1 until 4 or 5. He still isn't talking, but we're working on it (he said "moo" the day before his birthday!).

Jack LOVES balls. Like. Loves. And building towers. And racing cars. He's all boy. He loves playing outside, going for walks, puppies, kitties, Bubble Guppies, and reading.

His favourite foods are mashed potatoes, Cheerios, Fruit-To-Go, Cheezies, popcorn twists, hot dogs, and corn. I'm sure I'm missing something too. He dislikes other kids the same size as him, though he does okay in nursery.

We sure do love our little Jack Cameron Peterson and all his personalities and attitudes. Happy birthday, dude!

Pregnant and in love

back to the grind.

not.

i can't promise to be back to anything. but i do want to make an effort to blog this pregnancy.

wait, what?

this girl is pregnant. again. if you weren't around the first time, i hate being pregnant. it's exhausting and a lot of hard work and it's even worse when you have a toddler who can't go to most of your appointments with you.

but, here i am.

first, a quicky update on the jackman. still no talking, but i'm over it. he has speech again this week, but he makes so much noise that i'd prefer if he just never talked ;) i can't wait to hear what he has to say about everything, but i can at the same time. he's still 25 lb, but he's grown to 34" tall. every one that sees him comments on how tall he's getting - it's about time. he still loves the bubble guppies and playing with balls, but he's found a new love in climbing stairs and hot wheels cars.

finally - photo proof that he does look like me (sorry kid)

next, hubster and i celebrated our third (!!!!) anniversary this past week, so i thought i'd throw together a little collage of the last 4 february 18ths.

somethings never change, including how much i love this man.

finally - the exciting part. prego facts.

What Fruit are you? brb, have to google it.. ok, baby is the size of a fig. (what the heck is a fig?)

Due date:  september 8, but i will be induced by august 24 (i'd be happy to make it to the middle of july!)

How far along:  11 weeks and 4 days

Next appointment:  february 26

Gender:  unknown

Total weight gain/loss:  i've lost 8 lb since i got the positive! i assume it's because i stopped drinking diet coke..

Exercise: chasing a toddler through the snow and up and down the stairs.

Stretch marks: left over from the first one.

Swelling: nada. but i did have to replace my real wedding ring with a fake one from old navy.

Maternity clothes:  mostly maternity tops. this belly was not hiding from anyone.

Belly button:  no change

Sleep: i could sleep 15 hours a night and still take a 5 hour nap during the day. however, toddlers don't allow that so i'm making due.

Food cravings:  not a lot of anything. last night i needed pizza from burger baron though, so we made it happen.

Symptoms: exhaustion, my boobs hurt, and i can hardly control my bladder.  

Movement:  i'm fairly certain i've felt little bean jumping around a couple of times!

Labor signs: de nada.

What I miss:  diet coke. but not really.

What I'm loving:  sleep.

What I'm looking forward to:  finding out the gender!!

Best moment this week: carter was home - naps.

Blood sugars?: have been most excellent! 

there you have it. baby bean 2.0 is developing inside my womb. woot!

{20 months} and everything in between.

woah.

it's been a minute since i posted.

more like two months. and before that it was two months too.

i don't have any valid excuses.

so, as a catch up post, here is jack at 20 (technically 20 and a half, or 18 adjusted) months.

he weighs 25 lb and is ~32" tall. 

and before you ask: no, he doesn't talk. but he has words

if he feels like it he will say: shoe, sock, snack, kitty, dog, dad, ball, moo, guppies, and okay. he signs please, thank you, and more.

he still loves balls. and cars. and playing mom's piano. 

he started going to nursery and it has been "meh" at best. i teach sunbeams, so carter drops him off. i guess he cries for like 10 minutes, then mostly plays with spurts of crying on the leader's lap. he does the lesson (he LOVES folding his arm for prayers) and snack well, then cries when the first kid gets picked up.

he loves playing outside and hates getting his diaper changed.

he loves his shoes and bubble guppies. 

he likes tolerates the 5 year old i babysit, but strongly dislikes when i have toddlers or (gasp!) babies here. [to you mamas with more than 1, how do you introduce babies to toddlers? i dread the day we have one of our own...]

his last two (eye/canine/fang) teeth have just started descending, which means he hasn't been sleeping/napping/eating/playing/doing anything well or happily. hopefully they come in quickly because i am DONE with teething (until his two year old molars make an appearance. sigh)

^ i couldn't pick a favourite of the above photo shoot, so these three all made the cut. he is so feisty (which is what the nurses in the NICU always called him!) and he knows exactly what he wants. i can't wait to see how excited he gets at christmas! yay!

life interrupted.

imagine that.

life gets in the way of recording life.

luckily for social media, i have everything i need at my fingertips. now to compile it into a blog post.

right around the labor day weekend, jack started acting funny. he got fussy and was cranky and started waking up every single night for a couple of hours. turns out he had a cold and ear infection, triggered by his canine teeth coming in. (update - a month and a bit later and we're still waiting for the damn teeth to come in).

the same day he was diagnosed with that i started babysitting ryder, a cute 5 year old who is here every week day from 1130-4, and every other friday from 8-4/5. he really is a good kid, super sweet, and he loves jack.. but he's 5. and it's a challenge for me. my imagination has crashed and burned. luckily he loves colouring and playdoh and "helping" me bake.

i also babysit 3 siblings (2, 4, and 6) on wednesdays (i've actually only had them once) from 10-4. between the 4 kids + jack my hands are full full full.

carter started school and he loooooves it. he's still trying to find a balance between being home and getting homework/studying done. but i think he's doing quite well. his favourite class is ethics, but he also loves gym. criminal law is a lot of work, and english has always been a hard subject for him, but he's gotten 80% or higher on every assignment and test he's had!

the best part of the last month and a half (since i blogged) is that we moved! from an itty bitty house with no floor space to a huge house with a loft and open floor plan. and a dishwasher. love love love the dishwasher.

jack's room is weird, since it was formerly a craft room/office and has a countertop all the way around and no closet, but we're making it work. the former formal living room is now a playroom, complete with play kitchen and tool bench. it's awesome to just throw all the toys in there and close the doors, *voila* clean!

carter and i have the master bedroom with ensuite, and a giant closet. there's seriously too much room haha. the one wall looks so blank and empty, i need to print off a huge family picture to hang up on it.

mom and i are going to refinish and old dresser i got from elizabeth.. it's going to be quite the undertaking since neither of us have ever done it before. i plan on doing a whole series of before/during/after photos. watch for that ;)

oh, and i need mom friends. *sad face*

JACK & The Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day.

I guess I'll tell the story of what happened today *sad face*. 

We had a meltdown - and I do mean we. Dad is working out of town, which I always hate, but it also happens to be his last week of work before school starts ($$$) and that's stressing me out a bit. Jack is getting teeth and possibly has an earache or something (I dunno cause he won't TALK!). 

It all started at lunch. He ate half a 6" from Subway yesterday and did so good with it, so I decided to save it for lunch today! First bite, all good. Second bite? He grimaced, which I know means he's going to spit it out. Nope. He chewed.. and chewed.. and chewed.. then took it out of his mouth and threw it at me. 

*Deep breath*. 

Try again. Nope. Same thing. Chew, chew, chew.. Throw it at mom. Once in awhile he would swallow, but probably 80% was spit out or thrown at me. Which is annoying because he knows better, and I know he knows better. Fine, you don't want your sandwich? Give me 30 seconds to quickly rethink your meal plan.. Goldfish crackers! You LOVE goldfish crackers. 1.. 2.. good, he's eating them. 3.. Nope. Chew, chew, chew.. You get the picture. OKAY FINE! I'll just spoon feed you yogurt. Is that nummy? Oh good! Oh no.. As soon as the spoon came out of his mouth he spit. I could've strangled him (but I didn't! Because I LOVE my toddler!). Instead, I let out a little yell of frustration. 

Then he cried. And cried. And cried. 

And I cried. And cried. And cried. 

He did eventually eat the whole container of yogurt, and was put to bed with a bottle of formula (that I keep on hand in case of emergencies. This qualified, believe me). 

He got up from his nap and I thought, I'll give him a treat! We'll go for a walk (and I'll let him actually walk) to the park and have a "snack-nic" (which translates roughly to a picnic of snack foods). So, I packed the bag, got the stroller ready (because no mom with a toddler would go anywhere without a backup plan), got his shoes strapped on, and off we went. We had 4 blocks to go. Did I think he would make it the whole way? No. Hence the stroller. Did I think it would be two houses before our first meltdown? 

I imagine his brain was in hyperdrive. 

"Hey Mom! I'm walking! Look at me wal-- WHAT is THAT?! Is that a PINECONE? I NEED TO EAT IT! Mmmmmmm nope. Gross. *toss* Okay okay, we're walking.. We're walking.. Hey! I want to push the stroller! Good mama for letting me push the stroll-- HOLY COW! That was a CAR! Mama, did you see that CAR? Where did it go? I need to see where it went. Just let me go out here on the road.. NOOOOOOOOOOOO MAMAMAMAMAMAMAM NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO *cry cry cry cry cry cry* Maybe if I thrash around violently she'll be forced to put me down.. Oh, you're gonna put your face that close to mine in a desperate attempt to reason with me? NOPE! *headbutt* Breathe. Okay. I'll calm down. Fine. I'll push the stroller. WHAT DO YOU MEAN I HAVE TO HOLD YOUR HAND WHILE WE CROSS THE ROAD? HOW HUMILIATING. I'M GOING TO SCREAM AND THRASH AROUND AGAIN! DON'T YOU DARE TRY TO PUT ME IN THE STROLL-- Fine. I'll sit in the stroller. It's cooler in here anyway." 

You can imagine the rest of our afternoon.

5 - 

the number of times I buckled and unbuckled the stroller harness.

4 - 

the number of times I had to grab him from the road (he is FAST). 

3 - 

the number of times I let him slide down the HUGE slide.

2 - 

the number of stranger's porch stairs he tried climbing.

1 - 

the number of times I'm going to attempt that trip to the park. 

{17 months}

It has been too too long and too far between posts updating all my many readers (wink wink, probably just me 30 years from now) on the most important aspect of my life.

JACK!

He is 17 months old. How? Where did the time go? I have no idea. I do know that he will be 2 in 7 short months, and he is starting nursery next month (thank the gracious heavens, I can't handle anymore "hall church"). 

Mister Jack is almost/not quite 30" tall. We took him into nursery last week and he held his own, but is visibly shorter than all the kids. Hopefully he got some of his uncles' genes and isn't doomed to be short forever.

He weighs 25 lb (according to my handy dandy method of weighing myself [yikes], then picking him up and doing it again). 

June 30 - Max and Dad ran the 5K. We supported from afar.

These stats put him around the 85%ile for weight (averaged between adjusted and actual age) and between 3 and 15%ile for height (told you he was short!).

Matchy matchy! <3

He is totally mobile. Don't even think about carrying him or trying to strap him into a stroller or shopping cart. Put that kid's shoes on and let. him. run. 

Shoes are a lost cause.

And run he does.

What a little stinker.

Unless Bubble Guppies is on. Don't know what that is? Here, I'll enlighten you. Bubble Guppies is my lifesaver. I can put on Netflix and have a shower and he doesn't even realize I'm gone. We can drive in the car for 3, 4, 5 hours and time flies.

We went camping with Grandpa Martin "and crew". Messy ensued. 

Another favourite activity of Jack's is eating. He. Eats. Everything. And anything. He doesn't hesitate to try new foods, but also doesn't hesitate to spit them out. Promptly. He takes after his mama and doesn't like cheese (unless we hide it on his sandwich). 

He still sleeps like a dream, from 7 or 8pm until 7 or 8am. He also takes a nap from around 11 or 12 until 2 or 3. I love nap time.

Jack and Mammy

Jackers has 8 front teeth, 4 molars, and I suspect we'll have a canine or two in the next couple of weeks. 

Stirling Days, waiting for the parade!

He is still choosing to not speak, although occasionally "daw" (dog) slips out. "Mama" and "Dad" are constants. "Ba" (ball) also is occasional, although less so than "daw". Sometimes things are too exciting to keep in.

He LOVES reading. Books books books. All the time. But now he brings them to us to read. It's so sweet.

When we say "prayer" he instantly folds his arms. Even if I say "sit down" he thinks it's prayer time and gets all geared up. It's so sweet.

Snuggling with the sleepy uncles. I love this picture.

As much as he loves Mama and Dad and Grandma, no one trumps Uncle Max. Seriously. It's hilarious and adorable.

The 5 of us went camping in Great Falls and spent an afternoon at the waterpark!

He is such a sweet boy. The older he gets the harder it is to remember where he started, 2 lb 9 oz, 14", laying in an isolette. 

Cloth Diaper Reviews! *updated December 21/14*

Disclaimer: All opinions are my own.

WAHM - Basically I have no idea where or who made these diapers. They are both pockets with snaps, which basically means they're as good as whatever inserts I use. 11 pts

Bamboo Baby - This is an AIO (all-in-one) diaper, with a bamboo interior, and snaps. It is a great diaper, very absorbent for my heavy wetter. My only complaint is that the bamboo does get very rough when it line dries. 12 pts

AMP - This pocket diaper is starting to delaminate, so we've only used it once or twice. I found it fit similar to Applecheeks, but smaller. 12 pts

BumGenius - I believe these pocket diapers are Freetimes, which we're not huge fans of since Jack figured out how to undo velcro. The Canada diaper, I actually cut the pocket out and sewed the patch on to make it a festive diaper for July 1 (since I'm still waiting for my EBB CMG [definition below]). Again, how much I like BumGenius depends on the insert used. 7 pts

Imagine - These diapers are called fitteds. They are super absorbent, almost made out of a terry cloth material, but HAVE to be used with a cover or they leak like mad. They work awesome for naps! 13 pts

Imagine AIO - This diaper was provided to me by Snappy Nappies. It's similar to the Imagine fitteds, but has a "built-in" over, which gets an A+ for me!! 15 pts

Kawaii - "Meh" is my best term for these. I find they fit fairly loose, and they're super wide and bulky. 11 pts

Snappy Nappies - These are great cheap pocket diapers. I love that I can buy them locally. The 3 beside the Kawaiis are charcoal bamboo diapers with a double gusset, and when I use the charcoal insert with Snappy Nappies' "heavy wetter" insert (which is bamboo and Zorb) he can have a huge long nap! I ordered bamboo booster inserts from Alva as well, and they are AWESOME. I use them in all of our diapers for extra absorbency. 14 pts

Max and Meena (Mighty Nites) - Another Canadian WAHM, This is our newest diaper, and probably my favourite for night times. It's really trim, especially for how bulky it feels. This is a fitted hybrid, which is basically made for heavy wetters at night. Plus, this diaper fits really large around the waist, so it'll fit him forever! He wore it for 14 hours with no leaking at all. 13 pts

Kabumkiss - These are our other fitted hybrids that we use for night. They do absorb a ton, which (downfall) causes a really strong ammonia smell. These ones do have some leaking issues if he wears pants or if his shirt touches the inside of the diaper, so we just try hard to make sure that doesn't happen! 11 pts

Lil Bit Everything - This is a WAHM based out of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. Her diapers have great fit, Zorb inserts, and - best of all - totally custom! All 3 of these diapers, I emailed her the picture of what I wanted (or, in the case of the birth announcement diaper, what I wanted it to say and a sample of one that I liked), requested the colors of fabric, thread, and snaps, and received them less than a week later! She has great customer service. In fact, I have one more coming from her shortly! 14 pts

Maplebeans - This is a gorgeous Canadian WAHM fitted diaper that I refuse to put a cover on, obviously ;) The fit is awesome! 14 pts.

Ella Bella Bum - These are my all time favourite. They are SO trim, they fit under any pants. Plus, she's also Canadian! And you can order custom diapers (although they do run a lot pricier than I really like), which are called Custom Mini Groups. I have 3 coming soon! 13 pts

Poppyfields - Another Canadian fitted diaper that is so freaking cute!! Again, super absorbent. 13 pts

Applecheeks - Right up there with EBBs, I love the elastic fronts and backs, and the bamboo inserts are great. It's also a trim diaper. I need more ACs!! 13 pts

Best Bottoms - Snappy Nappies provided me with a Best Bottoms overnight system. It's a cover with microfiber inserts (which usually don't work for Jack at all), so I was pretty hesitant. But to my pleasant surprise, the MF inserts are great for playing around! And I used the overnight system (an extra overnight insert with the regular) for a nap and some play time after, and it worked for about 5 hours! Not quite a night time diaper for my little fire hoser, but great for a nap! 14 pts Update: I used the overnight system last night, and it worked! It's a Christmas miracle! Woo hoo! 

Inserts - For the most part, I use 2+2 inserts with a bamboo booster by Alva, or prefolds with a bamboo booster. Basically we've use every insert suggested, and only ever hated microfibers. Jack pees too fast, and microfiber didn't have time to absorb so he would leak.

CD-Safe Bum Cream - Snappy Nappies gave me a sample of Yum Bum Butter by Delish Naturals and we love it! It smells so good, and is good for more than just bum rash! Jack got a heat rash on his belly, so I put some Yum Bum Butter on and it cleared right up! It's all natural and doesn't cause build up on the diapers. Yay!

Criteria for "point" system is located here!

Father's Day!

To Carter:

Jack is so lucky to have you.

Watching you love him makes it so easy to love you.

Happy 2nd Father's Day.

Enjoy your round of golf. :)

Love,

Nicole. and Jack.

Due Date-iversary.

Sweet, sweet toddling boy. You have come so far from where you were a year ago. 

Jack is now 14.5 months. 

He is starting to walk, which is both terrifying and exciting. 

He wears size 24 month/2T shirts and onesies, and size 18 month pants. Shorty.

We attempted to weigh and measure him at home, and got that he's about 22 lb, 29.5". 

He still sleeps 12+ hours a night, from about 7:30-7:30. He usually has two naps a day, from 9:30-12, and 3-5, but if we're out doing something he's okay with one nap.

He hasn't had formula in over a month. He loves water (which is what he gets for bed), and juice. He gets milk once a day as well. 

We're sticking strong with cloth diapers! 

He LOVES The Wiggles, living with Grandma Martin (and Uncle Max), and puppies.

And we LOVE LOVE LOVE

Jackers.