Monkey.

Okay seriously, we have a problem. Climb...fall...climb...fall...climb...fall. This is how our day goes. Thankfully I'm not much of a worrier when it comes to Kai being a typical little boy. I don't freak out when he climbs on things and figure, as long as he isn't at TOO great of risk of breaking his neck, he'll learn eventually that falling hurts...maybe. Anything he thinks he can climb up, onto or over, he attempts. We have fallen off the couch so many times that it doesn't even phase him anymore...he actually gets more upset at the fact that he has to climb back up. Today he figured out how to climb up and stand on the back of the couch, knocking off all the pictures on the wall. I say I'm not a worrier, but after he did that 3 times he got in a little trouble and I kept the pictures off the wall :)

Prior to this picture he was standing on the ledge (where is hand is)...NOT holding on

Monkey see...monkey do.

Adult supervision? What's that?

Boys will be boys...

It's March. The snow melts, then it snows again, then melts again. This creates one big muddy mess. I have a little boy. These 2 things go hand in hand. I think there is a gene that boys have that just makes them run for the mud. It's the same gene that makes them crash their cars into each other, run wildly through the house (usually naked) banging everything in sight, wrestle with anything, chase after balls, climb up anything and jump off everything. People have always said boys will be boys, but I guess I never really knew what they REALLY meant until I had my own. Kai does all the things listed above and always has (and all of them naked at some point...) without being taught. Hence, the gene. The other day we went outside for a little walk and what did he do? Ran straight for the mud. He didn't think twice. Ran directly at it, stepped in it, moved his feet around and grinned ear to ear. Boys, truly, will be boys...

Apparently all this mud is exhausting...

Cloth Diapers.

This is dedicated to Lindsay Thomas...who considers herself a diaper "idiot"...

When I first decided to use cloth diapers so so so so so many people gave me looks that said, "girl are you crazy!?" - first of all, yes, I am a little crazy but SERIOUSLY cloth diapers have changed SOOOOOO much since "we" were little. They no longer have the little safety pins and they actually do keep your kids dry (most of the time...) Also, surprisingly enough I had a lot of friends (all from Colorado - yep, a little granola) that were also using cloth diapers, which is to say, I am not the ONLY crazy one :)

I was first introduced to cloth diapers from my friend Mary Flickner. At the time I didn't have kids, but I remember writing down the brand she used because it sounded like something I would be interested in using when I had children...little did I know that not long after we became friends I would have a child of my own :) So once I found out I was pregs I immediately started the research - HOLY COW there are soooooo many different brands to choose from! And they are all so stinkin' cute! Because I knew of the brand and had heard good things we decided to go with Fuzzibunz and haven't turned back since. Some people recommended I try different brands and some brands were cheaper and just as good, but guess what, I like what I like and already had a dozen so I didn't feel the need to explore. There are places (at least here in MO) where you can buy a "sample" pack, which gives you a couple different brands to try AND the store here that sells them (Happybottomus - isn't that cute?) has a diaper exchange about every 3 months so you can go and buy gently used cloth diapers. It might sound nasty, like buying used underwear, but you save A LOT of money. I actually saved A LOT of money by not buying any, but had I not had enough I definitely would have participated.

Okay, so washing. What we have been doing, since we live in a little apartment and not some mansion, is once the boys (oh, I use these on Hayden too during the day) need to be changed I just throw them straight into the washing machine - it saves on STANK :) However, they do make these "wet bags" that you can put in your diaper genie or whatever you use and it keeps them in there until you want to wash them. I typically do a load of diapers a day and it's usually at the end of the day when Kai is in bed. So...back to once they are changed...if they poo then I dump their dump in the toilet and flush - if it is a squishy one, then I spray it off with this nifty little, EXTREMELY easy to install toilet sprayer (seriously Linds, you could do it without Matt haha) and get the crap off - yes, literally, the crap. I think it's called a BumGenius diaper sprayer (seriously). Then I walk over to the washing machine, open the lid, take the liner out and throw it in. Typically by mid day both boys are done with #2 for the day so I'll put the washer in "soak" mode so nothing gets dry and crusty :) I try really hard to NOT wash other clothes with the diapers, but if there are only wet diapers (wet as in pee, not sprayed because there was poo in them), then I'll throw in some other clothes. It all really depends on how lazy I'm feeling! Also, there are "special" detergents you can buy for them, which I have used and they work really well, but you can also add white vinegar to the bleach section on your washer and that works as a disinfectant as well (and no, vinegar does not stink when dry...)

Now I love my cloth diapers, but I also think there is a time and a place for them. I am not a cloth diaper freak who thinks my kid can only ever wear cloth - we usually only use them during the day. We could probably use them on Kai at night with a double/triple liner, but when I was pregnant and we were staying with the Flickners, one night Isaiah woke up and came into our room (to be fair, we were sleeping in his parents room) and so I carried him back up to his room and he was SOAKED. It really wasn't that it was nasty or anything, but I don't want to wake up and have to change Kai's sheets every morning. And trust me, the kid is a pee-a-holic at night. He probably weighs an extra 3lbs just from his diaper in the morning. No.Joke. It would not be pretty in the morning. So for that reason we decided that it was just easier for us to put him in a disposable at night. We also use disposable when we are out and about OR out of town. I don't want to mess with carrying around a diaper with a turd chunk stuck in it. No no no, that just isn't right! So for our sake, and the people around us, we use disposable. FYI I am a Pampers snob.

Kai turns 20 months on the 21st and we have used cloth diapers on him since about 4-8 weeks of life. In the beginning it took a little bit to get used to the idea of rinsing them out, washing them every day, etc, but I am so glad we decided to use them. I can't tell you how much money they have probably saved us and will save us with our next child. It is a little intimidating in the beginning because they are a little pricey, but it definitely pays off. And honestly, Kai rarely has diaper rash and the one time he got it really bad was when he was wearing disposables while on vacation.

If any of you use cloth diapers leave any input for Lindsay, since this post was for her :)

Corn-Dog.

Now, as most of you know Kai is a little bugger when it comes to eating. Call it picky, call it stubborn, but I have a hard time getting the kid to eat. Period. Awhile back we realized that he does a lot better when everyone is sitting at the table with him eating AND he likes to feed himself, not matter what it is, he likes to do it. I am fine with all of this, even the giant mess he makes with spaghetti - shoot if half goes on the floor and half goes in his mouth, it's a good night. Well for quite awhile now he has all insisted on using untensils. He seriously will not touch a bite of his food unless he has a spoon or fork (except frozen peas and fruit, those he'll eat with his hands). So the other night was Sonic milkshake night for the little guy and I decided to see if he'd like corn-dogs. Honestly, my first memory of having a corn-dog was at the Texas State Fair in 2008 and I don't think I have had one sense. But I figured it was worth a shot with the little man and he absolutely LOVED it. He ate half of it, which for him is AMAZING and then ate half of his tots and drank most of his milkshake (do you know how tricky it is to keep a milkshake hidden from a toddler until AFTER he's eaten? geez) So it looks like I'm going to have to give in and buy the kid some corn-dogs for those "special" lunches (aka: mom is too lazy and has too much laundry to fold to make a healthier lunch) - Brian will be excited as he LOVES corn-dogs...

I Bub Boo.

We were walking into Wal-Mart today for what felt the millionth time this week and as we were walking I gave Malachi a little kiss on the cheek and said, "I love you". Almost instantly he turned to me and said, "I bub boo" - melt.my.heart. This kid makes my day...just about every day, even when he gives me this cheesy grin ;-)

Peanuts are the Devil.

Sooo Tuesday we found out that our sweet little boy was/is allergic to peanuts. I'm going to be real honest, and maybe it's denial, but I'm not completely buying it. The nurse called us on Monday night and left a voicemail saying, "please call us IMMEDIATELY tomorrow morning", which I of course did. Monday night I thought, well if it was something life threatening I would assume should would have said, by the way don't give your son any _____ tonight, but since she didn't I wasn't too concerned. So Tuesday morning, first thing, I gave them a call. She calmly said, "Malachi has an allergy to peanuts. Do not feed him anything with peanuts, made in the same factory where peanuts could be and do not feed him anything else today until you go to the pharmacy to pick up your EpiPens." Ummmmmm what? At this point I'm thinking - this lady is either crazy or she must have taken her morning shots of Tequila before she came to work. He has never ever had any reaction to peanuts, peanut butter, anything peanut related so I'm super confused.

A little background info: my friend Lori's daughter, Kerington (also 20mos), had a severe allergic reaction (hives/rash) to peanuts a little after she was one. Not a few weeks ago, for whatever reason, we were talking about it and she said she didn't have an EpiPen and her levels were 7.77. So the whole time the nurse is talking to me all I can think about is how it doesn't make sense that Kai has to have an EpiPen and Kerington did not. HELLLLLO we're not the ones with the reaction psycho (we go to the same pediatric practice). So I collect all my thoughts and ask the nurse what his levels were and explain that he has never had any reaction AT ALL - no rash, no swelling, no breathing problems that I have noticed. Seriously, his levels were 0.45...normal is 0.35 or below. COME ON. So, though I am not feeding him peanuts/peanut butter, I have continued to give him foods made in the same factory with nuts. Ridiculous. I am planning on taking him to a pediatric allergist at some point in the next week or so to see just how cautious I should be because I think it is a bunch of BS. That's right. BS.

Adios Plug.

Well we did it, we pulled the "plug" on Kai. I know, I know, it was a horrible thing to do, but surprisingly wasn't as horrible as I expected. For some reason I had it all in my head that this was going to be a month (or more) long process :) Honestly, I think I was more attached to that thing than he was. The first night we tried cutting the tip a little bit and I was planning on cutting it shorter and shorter until he lost complete interest, but that night he got so upset at it that he just chucked it out of his bed and I did not go in there to give it back. THAT IS A FACT. Brian and I joked about him thinking, "my crazy parents, don't they know this pacifier is indeed BROOOOOKEN?!?!" (we did baby voices and everything...we have lives...) Naps seem to be harder, which might be a reason that bedtime isn't too bad - he's probably so exhausted from crying for what seems like forever (really only 5mins max) and then only sleeping for 20mins (yep, that is literally 20mins). Ugh. Anyway, the first few nights were okay, but then UGGGGGGGH we hit a road block. The last few nights he's been waking up every couple of hours. Shoot, I hate when they do that. I know it's going to take everyone some time to get used to it. I was thinking about maybe replacing the pacifier with something else new and exciting for the crib to distract him a little bit...something, like, maybe a pillow...but I am still one of those paranoid moms that will probably freak out about him suffocating every night. I mean, seriously, I'm a freak like that - we JUST started giving the poor kid a blanket, which I now realize really isn't that big of a deal because he throws it off anyway and it's not uncommon for him to throw it OUT of the crib. Psssssh all you blanket giving moms think you're so great, yeah, well guess what, your kids, they probably throw theirs off too ;-) (please note this is pure sarcasm)

On a more serious, encouraging note: if your kids DO take a pacifier I highly recommend going it cold turkey and letting them cry it out. Yes, it sounds harsh and it is horrible to listen to them cry, but start on a Friday and give them until Sunday (okay, give them until Monday haha) and BAM, weaning process complete. Trust me, I'm not saying this because I am PERFECT...wait...I am. Kidding, I'm only saying that from experience it really is probably the best way. Although, I'm sure other ways work just as well!!!

Side note: Kai only every used his plug during sleepy time and on planes (to help with his ears) and occasionally on longer car rides.