WEEK 2- PENSACOLA

Earlier this week it was pretty cold and since I didn’t pack much warm clothes, Easton and I stayed inside a lot more the first part of this week. Easton loves to run out our room and head straight for the windows just down the hall. His new thing is to stand in each window (just the perfect size for him) and lick and/or kiss every window. It is a little disgusting to me but it has become a ritual for him. He doesn’t want to leave until he has visited every window. One day after he finished visiting every window he ran down the hall. I slowly followed him (as I am getting rather large) until I realized he was about to lick a power outlet. I ran to him and grabbed him just in time. He got upset with me and wouldn’t hear it as I tried to explain to him that it wasn’t safe. He now tries to lick almost everything. He licks the faucet in the bathtub, he tries licking my face like a dog to give me kisses, he tries licking my toes, and he has even licked my leg in the shower to drink the water running down it. I told him he wasn’t allowed to take a shower with me anymore.

On one of the cold days, Easton and I needed to get out so we checked out one of the local malls. I was hoping that they would have a play area but unfortunately they didn’t. Luckily they had a little pet shop where Easton got to talk to the birds, pet the bunnies, and have a barking competition with the dogs. It was a much needed break for Easton as he now hates to go shopping. Every time we walked into a store he would start to whine and cry and keep it up most of the time in the store until we left. He would calm down and compose himself when we left but the second I crossed the line and went into a new store it all started again.

On Wednesday Easton and I checked out the local library where they were having story time. Easton absolutely loved it. They read a couple stories and sang a few songs. It was really nice to get out and let Easton play with other children. I think he really misses not being at home and seeing other kids. He definitely loves nursery these days because it has been his only interaction with kids all week. I think we will definitely go the next two weeks to the library just so he can play with other kids. I really wish our local library did story time every week like they do here. Ours only does it once a month and I always forget when it is because it isn’t consistent enough. We could go to another library that seems to do it a little more often but it is further away and they ask that you don’t bring siblings so that won’t be a option once our baby girl arrives (how dumb is that?)

Nathan got off early again on Thursday so we decided to hit up another beach. We had a picnic, played in the sand (of course), waded in the water, and flew a kite. Easton had a blast chasing the seagulls all over the beach.

Dad and Easton.

Easton playing in the sand.

Video of Easton playing in the sand.




Easton chasing the seagulls.



Easton flying a kite.

On Friday Nathan had to work late. He was scheduled to work until 10pm but he asked if he could stay later and deliver the baby of a woman he was following most of the day. So Nathan finally got his chance to deliver his first baby all by himself.

On Saturday we checked out the local zoo. I was a little worried that the trip wasn’t going to be all that enjoyable since we got there late in the day and Easton hadn’t had a nap yet. It turned out to be a great day. Easton loved every moment of it. He was so excited to see every animal and he of course tried to communicate with as many of them as he could. We bought some animal feed thinking that Easton would like to feed and pet the petting zoo animals but he seemed a little too scared to get too close to them and have them eat out of his hands. Instead he enjoyed throwing the feed to the ducks in the pond. Easton really seemed to enjoy the train ride around part of the zoo. At some parts of the train ride we were really close to the animals. In fact if they wanted to they could have come right up to us. There was no cage or fence between us. It was really fun. The second we got Easton buckled up in the car he passed out and slept the entire way home. He was so tired.

Dad and Easton at zoo.

Easton feeding the animals.

The giraffe came right up to the deck and would eat from your hands.

Have you ever seen a white peacock before?

Train ride.

Zebra we saw from our train ride. It came so close to us.

Video of Dad feeding cow and Easton getting scared.

Video of Dad feeding goats and Easton running away.

Easton talking to one of the birds.

Easton feeding the ducks.

Warning: If you are Grandma Stockton, you probably don't want to watch the next video.

Video of Easton getting scared of the snake. He did actually touch the other snake in the background without any problems.

Baby Blessing Dress

My sister-in-law, Mykle, is amazing. She was kind enough to make our little girl a blessing dress. Check out this cute little dress on her blog at http://wmwhiting.blogspot.com/2009/03/dress.html I can’t wait to see it in person and of course see it on our little girl the day she gets blessed. I believe this is Mykle’s first attempt at making a dress. Isn’t she talented? It turned out so well and I absolutely love it!

Also, don’t forget to check out our week 1 in Pensacola post.

Week 1 - Pensacola

In our room we have a fridge that is smaller than a normal sized fridge but bigger than a mini fridge. Well, Easton is in love with this fridge because he has no problem opening it and getting whatever he wants. I thought this would be convenient at first because I wouldn’t have to get up and help Easton every time he wanted something but it now is a little annoying. He is constantly opening and closing that fridge just because he can and about half the time he forgets to close the door so I have to get up and close it. The other day he opened the fridge and grabbed a bag of grapes. I figured he would just open the bag and pull off what he wanted but instead he dumped the entire bag on his plate. He just looked up at me with a big proud smile on his face. It was as if he was saying, “Mommy, look at what I did ALL by myself!” Easton is definitely becoming more and more independent.

We found a couple of parks on base that we visit frequently. Easton loves to play outside and the weather for the most part has been really nice. Easton also really likes to play in the sand. We have a volleyball court outside our place where Easton plays in the sand with his bucket and shovel. He thinks it is hilarious to throw/dump the sand on me.

This picture reminds me of Nathan because Easton's little tongue is sticking out just like Nathan's does when he is concentrating really hard.

Easton especially loved going to the beach. He ran right up to the water and wanted to jump in. Nathan grabbed him just in time before he got all wet. Again he loves the sand and was basically swimming in it the first time we brought him. He also liked digging for shells with Daddy, throwing sand at Mommy, and of course eating the sand (I don’t know that I’ll ever understand this kid. He will eat sand almost like it is candy but the other day he refused to eat ice cream with hot fudge and yummy toppings). When we were leaving Pensacola Beach we decided we would take a drive and see how far the beach went (I also wanted to see what all the beach houses looked like). After a while Easton was getting cranky because he was probably hungry and tired of being in the car so we decided to turn around and go back. We tried doing a U-turn but apparently our car is not made to drive on sand so we got stuck. Poor Nathan had to get out and try to push us out of the sand but that didn’t get us very far. After a couple of cars passed us by, a car finally stopped with two men who were more than happy to help us out. The men must have been locals because they told us this happens to everyone. They along with Nathan pushed as I tried to reverse out of the sand. The car still didn’t move but a man on a bike stopped and gave us a hand as well. They dug around the tires and then pushed again. This time we finally made it out. Nathan says that next time we buy a car it will have 4-wheel drive. First stuck in snow and then sand, what will be next?

Easton also likes his new friend in the mirror. I often find him giving himself kisses and laughing at himself. He thinks it is just great that someone will copy him. Every time I take out the camera to catch it on film he of course stops what he is doing. Here is a video of him kind of playing with his friend in the mirror and then him roaring at me.

Nathan got off work early on Thursday so we decided to go to some outlet stores. I got some really good deals on baby clothes for both Easton and the baby. Outside the stores every so often there was a kid ride for 75 cents. Nathan happened to have 3 quarters so we thought it would be fun for Easton to take a ride on one. At first he didn’t seem too sure of the ride but eventually we got some smiles out of him and he appeared to be having fun. He was definitely not happy once the ride stopped though. He burst into tears and wanted to ride it some more. Unfortunately for him we didn’t have any more quarters and unfortunately for us there was a different ride about every five stores we came to. Easton would run up to the new ride, hope in, and wait for it to go. Of course it didn’t and so tears would start all over again. Eventually we had to distract Easton’s attention away from the rides every time we came close to one.

Easton after his ride.

Finally in Pensacola

We are officially in Pensacola! We arrived yesterday afternoon after two days of traveling in the car (total 16-17 hours). It is probably a good thing that we will be here for a few weeks so that I can forget how long the trip is by the time we have to leave. Luckily for us Easton is a good traveler. He only really started to complain the last hour of the trip. I hope Nathan does in fact have a half day today so we can go and explore and see what there is to do here.

I had my doctors appointment on Friday and my doctor said he isn’t going to change my due date so I guess my official due date is June 6th. Hopefully I’m not cursing myself but I feel like I might go early with this one. I am already contracting like crazy. Let’s just hope that she doesn’t come too early.

Before my doctors appointment I was running a little late so I put some cartoons on for Easton to watch so that I could get ready without a distraction. After I got out of the shower Easton came to the bathroom (which is unusual since he doesn’t even blink when the TV is on) and brought me a remote. I grabbed the remote from him and said, “thank you” and continued to get ready. He was trying to get me to follow him but I said, “sorry Easton I have to get ready.” About a minute later Easton returned with another remote and handed it to me. This time I said, “thanks bud” and grabbed the remote and again continued to get ready. Again he held out his hand for me to grab it and follow him. I said, “Do you not like what you are watching? What are you watching?” Easton looked up at me and said, “fffffffffffffff” I looked at him a little strange and asked him, “what is that?” I then grabbed his hand and followed him to the living room. Apparently Easton had changed the channel to a station we don’t have and so it was all fuzzy. Easton was right he was watching ffffffffffffff and he was just trying to get my attention to change the channel for him. What a smart and funny kid.

Another funny story that happened about a week ago. All three of us were taking a nap (or so I thought) after church when all the sudden my phone started to ring. I ran out into the kitchen to turn off the sound before it woke Easton up. After turning off the sound I looked and saw that Nathan was calling my phone. I was a little upset that Nathan would call me to get me up from my nap. I mean how rude is that? I began looking for Nathan so I could get mad at him but I found that he was still fast asleep in our bed. I was so confused. It then occurred to me that it was probably Easton who was calling me. I peaked in his room and there Easton was sitting in the shell chair. He had Nathan’s phone in one hand calling me and Nathan’s wallet in the other hand with Nathan’s cards sprawled out around his room. I took the phone and wallet away from him and he of course got upset and started to cry and throw a fit. This woke Nathan up. I told Nathan what had happened and he informed me that his phone and wallet were on his night stand when he fell asleep. Easton is apparently a very sneaking little boy because he came into our room and grabbed both these things inches from Nathan and neither of us noticed.

Easton is also now saying some animal names. Finally! We were at the doctors office and he was pointing to a magazine and saying what I thought was “daddy”. I thought it was a little weird that he would think his dad was on a magazine so I looked at what he was pointing to and it was a dog! He was saying “doggie”. He now says it anytime he sees a dog. We stopped at Denny’s to eat on Saturday and they had dog stuff all over to advertise their hush puppies. Easton was so excited and had to point to every dog he saw and of course say, “doggie”. Just today he has said horsey and elephant (I probably wouldn’t have known what he was saying right away if it wasn’t for the pictures he was pointing to while saying it). I can’t wait to take him to the zoo while we are here. I think he will absolutely love it.

Valentine’s Weekend

Lucky me I got to celebrate Valentine’s all weekend long. On Friday Easton and I went to play group and had a valentine party. We got to make a valentine bag, eat yummy food, visit/play with friends, and pass out/receive valentines. Easton really enjoyed putting a valentine in each bag but enjoyed even more the candy he got from a few valentines. When we got home he got into his bag pulled out the chocolate candy, unwrapped and ate about two pieces before I had any idea what he was doing. I had no clue he knew how to unwrap chocolate candy. He usually will just put part of the wrapped candy in his mouth and suck on it or hand it to me to open for him. Also, when we got home from play group I was surprised with a bouquet of daisies and yellow roses and English toffee from Nathan.

Is he going to eat the tiger or is he growling like a tiger? Your guess is as good as mine.

On Saturday, Nathan and I dropped Easton off at a friends house and went to a Medieval Times show/meal. It wasn’t the traditional romantic dinner but we had a lot of fun. The show was about two hours full of trained horses and jousting. We sat in the blue section which meant we were cheering for the blue knight. I was a little upset that he never threw me a rose I mean he threw out probably about six of them. We were told before the show to boo for the green knight because he was the bad knight. Anytime he came near us Nathan would boo him and there were a few times where this mean knight looked directly at Nathan and gave him a very dirty look. It was so mean! The meal was way more than I think anyone could eat. Nathan finished it but he was so full that I don’t think he ate anything the rest of the day. The meal consisted of tomato bisque soup, garlic bread, roasted chicken (huge), spare rib, herb-basted potatoes, and a pastry. Anyone who knows me really well knows how hard it is for me to eat things on the bone but surprisingly I did it (I think it helped that it was really dark in the castle so I couldn’t really see what it was that I was eating). Oh, and did I mention that we had to eat everything with our fingers! We all got crowns when we first entered the castle and all the ladies got a rose. We also got a flag (blue) to help cheer on our knight. Nathan and I really enjoyed ourselves. It was so nice to get out just the two of us. I forgot how nice it is to just hang out with my handsome. I love Easton to death but I think Nathan and I might do this a few more times before the next baby comes.

1st Dentist Appointment

Easton had his first dentist appointment today. To tell you the truth it all seemed rather pointless to me. At least we got a free tooth brush out of it. The only reason I brought him in was so he could have a good experience at a young age. I guess they don’t generally do any cleaning on kids until they are 2 ½ or 3 so Easton still has another year before we have to worry about that. All they did was look in his mouth to see how many teeth he had and then tell me to brush them twice a day and not give him very much candy or juice. I think he had a good experience. He got to play with all the toys in the waiting room while I filled out paper work that I already filled out at home before we got there (I guess the guy was new and didn’t realize that he was having me fill out the same thing twice). I brought it to his attention that it was the same thing just printed on different paper, but he insisted that one was for the dentist and one was for their records. I filled it out and then later the hygienist just laughed and made fun of the guy (I guess he had done it a couple of times before). I felt a little bad for the guy because the hygienist brought it to his attention and I think she embarrassed him. Easton also enjoyed climbing up the dentist chair several times and then sliding down it while we waited for the dentist (apparently it’s a slide). Although Easton didn’t seem to like his teeth getting looked at he did like his slide and did not want to leave it. He became a little upset when it was finally time to go.

24 Weeks and Easton update

So Easton and I were sick all last week so that is why I haven't posted in a while. We have been stuck in the house and just haven't really done anything. Here is still an update of things Easton has been up to (along with random pictures that have nothing to do with this post). Pic #1 24 week picture of me. Pic #2 Easton being silly (laying on top of tons of stuffed animals and wearing a cowboy hat). Pic #3 Easton playing in the snow after walking to a friends house. He was so wet and cold by the time we got close to home that he just stood still and started to cry. He wouldn't walk so I had to pick him up and carry him the rest of the way home.

Words Easton currently says without being prompted:
Mama, Dada, hi, bye, up, down, on, off, book, baby (blanket), shoes, apple, cookie, please, thank you, no thank you, yeah!, NO! (by far his most used word), eat, Amen, ball, hat, and two (but you have to say one before he will say two).

He definitely can say other words but he generally needs to be prompted to say them. Some of these include:
Milk, juice, water, all done, eyes, nose, ears, head, red, blue, bath, cheese, car, home, Jesus, sorry, night night (goodnight), and I love you.

We are trying to work on animal names but for some reason Easton will still only make the animal sounds for those animals. Me: “Say, Dog.” Easton: “Woof, Woof.” Maybe someday he will figure it out. We are also working on colors and counting to three.

We just taught Easton how to do knucks. He gets really excited and likes to give fives and knucks. He is getting a lot better with knucks but when we first taught him it was a little scary. He would start swinging his little fist like he was going to punch you out. He now understands for the most part to just touch his knuckles to yours.

One of Easton’s new fascinations is belly buttons. I think he thinks that my belly button and possibly others are called “baby”. I will point to my stomach and say “baby” and he will lift up my shirt and poke at my belly button.

Another fascination is the toilet. He likes to ripe toilet paper off the roll (luckily he generally will only take one square or less at a time) and lift the toilet seat up and put the toilet paper in the toilet. He also just figured out how to flush the toilet.

He also loves the TV. We now have to unplug the TV from the power strip because he not only knows how to turn on the TV but he occasionally figures out that if he turns the power strip on then he can turn the TV on as well. He doesn’t do it so much now but about a month ago when ever he watched TV he would have tears streaming down his face because he would either forget or just not want to blink. My guess is he was afraid that he might miss sometime if he blinked. It was a funny sight to walk in on him watching Judge Judy (random) and crying like a baby (maybe Easton was just sympathizing for those people that have to deal with a mean judge like Judge Judy).