18 Months and Snowboarding

Smuggler's Notch, VT

Tanner had the most fun putting everyone's goggles on his head...

At the condo...

At "Family Funzone"...

Tanner is 18 mos old...He weighed in at 23 lbs 10 oz and 31 1/2 inches tall at his appt a couple of days ago. That's 50th percentile for height and 25th percentile for weight. "A good place to be" sais Doc Brown. His vocabulary is blossoming. Seems at least 1-2 new words or phrases a day. This morning he was going around saying "boo boo. Oow...boo boo. Oow." over and over. He loves to imitate a monkey and showcased himself tonight in front of company in just his diaper with his "oo oooo oooo" and monkey walk (arms tucked under his armpits jumping up and down). Everyone was hysterical. He says "tickle tickle" to himself all the time and my personal favorite, the newest phrase, "Thank You" ("dank goo"). He actually said it to me yesterday unprompted - after I handed him a pretzel, he said it softly and earnestly. Talk about heart melting. He tells me "up" and "down" regularly and "all done" ("aa dom") when he's finished eating. Speaking of which, his favorite hobby right now is to EAT. This kid has been eating like a HORSE the past couple of weeks. He absolutely LOVES to eat. His tummy must be feeling better than ever because he has a newfound love for food. His favorite phrase is "Eat Eat Eat"...as he runs over and tries to open the fridge. As an example, this morning for breakfast he ate an entire Stoneyfield yogurt (adult size, not kid size), a bowl (packet) of apple cinnamon oatmeal, an entire banana, a handful of blueberries, and a cereal bar. Now is it just me, or does that seem like a bit much??? I'm not going to bore you with the menu, but the rest of the day was more of the same...I'm thrilled about it, don't get me wrong...this from a child who couldn't eat anything but Neocate until almost a year old, no wonder...

Last weekend Rob and I went on a 3-day snowboarding trip with 4 other couples to Smuggler's Notch, VT...We all brought our kids - 9 adults and 4 kids sharing 2 condos. Tanner was FABULOUS on the way up and the way back - over 4 hours each way. Again, major progress from a child who used to scream the entire 20 minute ride to daycare every day. The mountain had so much for the kids - Hunter (5) tried skiing and loved it...Tanner and Henry (4) had a blast with in the "Fun Zone" - which had bounce houses, crawl through tunnels, mazes, and obstacle courses...Tanner was in his GLORY. We put Tanner in the 5-star slopeside daycare center for 3 hours on Saturday so that we could hit the slopes together. He did great - when we left he was digging in the snow table in the middle of the room. They told us he made friends easily and did a good job sharing (hmmm, I somehow doubt that - sharing is a concept far from his grasp yet...) We all got a babysitter on Friday night and went down to the lodge for Karaoke...it was a blast. Not to mention I renewed my passion for snowboarding, after a confidence building lesson on day 1 (last time I was out was pre-pregnancy...so it had been a while). I'm still learning, but making progress...It was a great weekend.

One reason you didn't hear from me all month...

Where we stayed...

Mallory Square

Smathers Beach...

Our favorite hangout...Hogs Breath Saloon...

Key West! Rob and I took a short (4 day) getaway to Key West a couple of weeks ago. Gramma Lockwood kept Tanner so we could go back to one of our favorite places and rekindle our love (kidding!). Seriously Rob and I were there 10 years ago and we vowed to go back. I'll tell you what, it was fabulous! We had the time of our lives and didn't waste a minute. We flew into Fort Myers and took the Key West Ferry (3 1/2 hour ride) to Key West. We stayed out late on Duval Street each night, watched live music, shopped, rented a scooter, went to beaches, took a day-sail on an authentic wooden schooner, and ate out every meal...A far cry from 10 years ago when we were living out of a van, sleeping on side streets, and eating PB&J!

We missed Tanner terrible but he did just fine without us. He was a little peeved acting when we got back but within a day or so he was back to normal...

Lovin Life

Gramma Va bundled me up and we went for a long walk and saw lots of dogs in the neighborhood. I said "A-Dog...wuuuf. A-Dog....wuuf" over and over the entire way home...

What? They look big?

I loooove blueberry applesauce! Eat. Eat. Eat.

Tanner is doing so great lately. He eats almost everything without consequence (save for whole milk), he sleeps great, goes to bed easily, naps well...this week we switched off of Neocate onto rice milk - AND we got rid of the bottle - sippy cups only. He seems a little disappointed about the bottle but he's managing fine. Its so wonderfully..."normal." Rob and I feel like we are finally catching a break. A little smooth sailing...

He is talking up a storm. Every couple of hours he says "eat eat eat...eat eat eat" and goes running over to his high chair and tries to climb his way in. Yesterday at Walmart he said "bubble". Today he told me "good job" after he told me he pooped ("boop.") I always tell him "good job" after he poops but he beat me to it today. He says "dada bye" when Rob leaves for work and his favorite "mama go go go" when he wants me to get up and go somewhere with him.

He'll be 18 months on the 15th...I really can't believe it. Today was such a good day (so refreshing)...Tanner was in such good form - his mood was happy all day - very few crankies...a 2 1/2 hour nap and I even got a couple of short errands (under 15 min each) done...as long as I keep them short he seems to manage ok without a tantrum. I wish every day could be like today. Rob and I were just saying the other day that it seems like things are finally getting easier...Life is good.