De-Cluttering

For those of you who know me really well, you know that I HATE clutter. It gives me major anxiety and puts me in a terrible mood. That is why twice a year (in the Spring and Fall) I go on a major de-cluttering project. I usually try to do this when Kyle is gone that way I can throw out whatever I want and he will never know it is missing. I began my project yesterday with Mason's closet. Because our house doesn't have a finished attic, we really don't have anywhere to put storage. All of Mason's old clothes/toys/baby items were sitting in the floor of his closet. NOT OKAY!! So when Kyle was out of town, I decided it was time to conquer the closet. I got all of his old clothes up to 18 months (because yes, he is wearing 18-24 month clothing) and put it in storage bins. Here we go:

just the 3 months clothing

all newborn onsies from the hospital

newborn sleepers

newborn socks

What I have learned for the next baby is that I absolutely don't need this much newborn stuff because I will have nowhere to put it when he grows out of it. It took me 5 20 galloon bins to fit all his newborn clothes. Now I am struggling with where to put the bins! Anyways, updates to come on the spring de-cluttering project.

12 months

I can hardly believe my little baby boy is no longer a baby. I know how cliche' it sounds to say "it seems like just yesterday".... but truly it does. I remember the day I found out I was pregnant..I remember what I was wearing and what I was doing. I remember like yesterday the phone call I got from the OB saying it was time to be induced... and I certainly remember the first time I saw his beautiful, perfect face. It seems like yesterday. But I suppose it has been a whole year and boy how life has changed for Kyle and I. Having a baby teaches you to be selfless. No more sleeping in. No more late nights with friends. No more eating meals in peace. But despite all the things that you CANT do anymore, there are so many other things that fill those shoes. Watching your child laugh for the first time, getting excited when he sleeps until 7 am, listening to him say "mama"/'dada"... these things are the new joys of life. And its totally worth every second!

Mason has grown up so much this month. It's like he knows that he is now a toddler! It's been a big transition month... one that has been harder on Kyle and I then Mason! Here are his 12 months stats:

 ~Wt: 27.1 lbs
~Ht: 32 in
~HC: 48.2 cm
~ sleeps from 630 to 630
~ down to 2 bottles (hopefully one soon) a day
~ NO MORE FORMULA!
~ loves food- especially chicken, honeydew, avacado, yogurt, potatoes, and bananas. We found one thing he doesnt like- watermelon.

So like I said, it's been quite a transition month. The day after he turned one, we dropped his am bottle and gave him whole milk in a sippie cup instead. He had no problem with the sippie cup.. in fact he loved it. However, he hated not having his bottle before his nap. We went about a week with no morning nap...just screaming in the crib. He eventually got over it (still doesn't love the idea, but figured out that he won't get a bottle regardless of how much he screams) so he has embraced the am sippie cup of whole milk.



First time drinking milk. I would say he loved it.



Mason isn't walking yet, but does stand alone and pulls up on everything. There was one day when Kyle had him that he claims he took a step, but I haven't seen anything even close yet. He LOVES clapping at himself. He thinks that everything he does is worthy of a good clap, so of course we go along with it! We have figured out that he is pretty independent... for the most part he will entertain himself and find something to get into. He loves crawling inside cabinets and his favorite is crawling up the stairs (still working on going down though). He "talks" all the time. Of course, it is his own language and I have no clue what he is saying unless it is dada, mama, sister, dog, or uh oh.

Along with toddlerhood seems to come temper tantrums. I thought I didn't have to worry about this until he was 2, but apparently I was so wrong. Discipline is definately something that I struggle with, and not because I DONT want to discipline him at this age but because I struggle with what is age appropriate. The more people I ask, the more confused I get. I definately think he knows when he is doing something wrong (i.e. he can only crawl up the stairs if I am with him, however, there are plenty of times when he opens the gate on his own and begins to crawl up. He sees me coming and crawls faster, as if I cant catch him) but I don't know how much he understands punishment. According to the pediatrician, instead of telling him "No" all the time, I should just teach him what he should do and praise him for that. We wil see how that goes this month.

Mason continues to be a great eater, which I am so thankful for. After talking with some girls that I work with, I realized it was time to stop feeding him and let him feed himself. I wish I had a picture of the first time I gave him a spoon and let him feed himself.... DISASTER. I mean, I know I am a clean freak, but this was insane. Literally, I had to repaint half the kitchen wall. This is going to take some time for me to get used to. He is great about using his fingers to pick up food, but we havent mastered the idea of spoon to mouth. Prayers would be appreciated. Like I said, there really is only one thing he wont eat and that is watermelon. He loves pasta pick-ups and the gerber toddler meals. Now that he is eating more "adult" food, we have had to change our schedule around so that we have dinner ready by 530. I am always looking for healthy, quick meals so if anyone has good recipes let me know!!

I would say that this past month has been one of the hardest months with all the changes. However I would also say that it has been one of the most exciting months yet. Watching him grow and develop is something that I will never take for granted. He teaches me that it is small things that make life awesome... family time on a Saturday afternoon, cuddling in the chair to watch disney movies, stroller rides in the park. I can't wait to see what the next year brings for our family!

Happy Birthday Mason! Mommy and Daddy love you SO much!