{happy half birthday!}

Big boy Aldon is now 18 months old!!

It's hard to believe it was a six whole months ago that we were celebrating him turning one, and now he's halfway to two! Geezopetes.

Not a whole lot has changed with him in the past month, except for he learns about two-three new words a day. Today he learned "squirrel", and it has got to be the most hilarious and cutest thing ever in the entire world to hear him say it (but then I may be slightly biased...)!

Last year we threw him a half birthday party, and invited a few close friends and family members to celebrate with us. I toyed around with the idea of throwing him another party, but with plans for moving and all, it just wasn't going to happen...

So today we celebrated his half birthday a little differently. Grandma and Grandpa Hartman were in town, so we all went out to breakfast. Big toddler boy even got strawberry syrup for his pancakes and chocolate milk! (I usually try to drastically limit sugar-filled foods in his diet, he's never even tried chocolate milk until now and whatever juice he gets never has added sugars and it's always diluted with water before he drinks it. I know, totally mean mom, right?!)

After breakfast and nap time we busted out one of his favorite toys- his own mini roller coaster! He put quite a few miles on that baby today, but the look on his face whenever he flew down the tracks was priceless.

Later we all went for a coupe cruise around the block, Aldon leading the way in his car. And as a special treat before bedtime we cuddled up in pajamas, popped some popcorn and watched a Veggie Tales movie :) 

A few pictures from his first half birthday celebration, exactly one year ago today:

after trying his first taste of frosting from his cupcake :)

he really was NOT happy that I put the party hat on his head!

opening a few gifts, mostly just enjoying the crinkly paper

  
Now fast forward one year:

This is a snapshot from our family pictures/Aldon's 18 mo pictures taken just a few days ago. What a big boy!!

Image copyright Mallory Kate Photography

Happy half birthday, Aldon!! Momma loves you more than you will ever know

{saying goodbyes!}

Today marked Aldon's last day at his school, Stepping Stones Learning Center. 

His very first day was January 10, 2011- he was just about 10 weeks old. I was nervous as hell to drop him off. However, that didn't last very long! When I came back later that day to pick him up, it already felt like a routine. 

Now he is just days away from being 18 months, and was just starting to transition out of the infant area & into the toddler area with all of his "big kid" friends. He even used the potty twice while in the toddler room! (I realize non parents who read this, or parents of infants, are not going to understand the significance of that, but it's pretty much major. Just trust me on this.)

To say thank you to everyone at the center, we made this for him to bring on his last day:

 Of course I didn't think to take pictures during the process like a serious blogger, but I'll break down the steps for any interested in replicating it:

Materials:
-terra cotta pot, any size
-primer (optional, looking back I realize I probably could have just skipped this)
-painter's tape, or something similar
-chalkboard paint
-yellow paint
-flexible ruler (like the kind used for sewing)
-black permanent marker

First I applied two coats of basic paint primer to the pot. In hindsight I probably didn't have to do this, but I had some laying around so I did. 

Once the primer is dry (if you choose to use it), I taped off the entire rim of the pot. I had spraypaint chalkboard paint on hand, so I used that. I found it was much easier to spraypaint the chalkboard onto the pot if it was upside down. Apply at least two coats (I only needed two).

Once that's dry, remove the tape from the rim and paint the rim yellow. I needed two coats for mine. 

Use the flexible ruler as a guideline of where to place the lines along the rim, once the paint is dry of course. I first penciled in the inch markers, then the half inch, and then just freehanded the other small lines, then went over everything with a black Sharpie. 

Then, all you have to do is "prep" your chalkboard base (rub the side of a piece of chalk over the whole surface, then erase) and write your message! I wrote "Thank you for helping me grow!" on one side, and then "heart, Aldon & Family" on the other.

We planted just basic petunias in purple, pink and red inside (I didn't trust myself to keep any other, more complicated flower alive overnight lol). As a "finishing touch", I staked a small thank you card in, using a plain wooden pencil as the stake. To the plain envelope of the card, I printed off a little quote I found online onto some cardstock to jazz it up- "Teachers plant the seeds of knowledge that bloom forever."

And that's it! The whole thing cost around $15, for the pot, card, dirt and flowers and a sample of yellow paint (everything else I had on hand). 


It was actually a lot more emotional than I thought to leave the center today, knowing that Aldon won't be coming back. We've made a lot of friends there, and his teachers were like extensions of us when we weren't able to be with him because of class. They surprised us with a keepsake book they had made of Aldon from his first days until now... it was unexpected and (of course, to the pregnant, over emotional me) very tear-jerking. Keegan and I have already flipped through it several times each. It's something that is definitely going to go into his memory box forever!

I'm taking next semester off from school after this move to let things settle down for him-- I'm sure the move alone will be tough, but to add a new sibling and a new school on top of that just feels like an overload. Hopefully our next learning center we find will be able to be up to par with the one we are sad to say goodbye to! 

{apple}

How far along? 15 weeks! (+1 day) baby is the size of an apple!
Total weight gain: 5ish pounds I think? Possibly a little more.

Maternity clothes? Not yet, but my size 00 jeans are starting to feel a little more snug.
Stretch marks? Nope!
Sleep: I've regained most of my energy so I'm not so tired during the day-- a seriously great thing when you're chasing after a fearless almost 18 mo old. However, old lady me is passed out snoring by 9 pm every night.
Best moment this week: I think I felt some of the first baby flutters! I'm hesitant to admit that, I could never tell what was baby movements and what wasn't when I was pregnant with Aldon, but Keegan is determined that it must be :)
Miss Anything? Cinnamon Dolce Lattes from Starbucks... ahhh.
Movement: Possibly a few flutters!
Food cravings: Pineapple the last few days. I swear I could eat a whole one by myself...in one sitting. In fact, I'd be lying if I said I hadn't tried.
Anything making you queasy or sick: Not too much honestly.. Mostly just strong smells- like Keegan's beloved hot dogs {disgusting!}
Gender: We will find out soon.... :)
Labor Signs: are a long ways away!
Symptoms: Itchy, dry skin. It's relentless. The worst is my back, where I can't even reach to scratch/slather moisturizer all over without help.
Belly Button in or out? In
Wedding rings on or off? On
Happy or Moody most of the time:  If it weren't for trying to get ready to move, I'd say happy buuut... this move is making me a little moody haha
Looking forward to: Doctor's appointment next week! And wrapping up this semester/seeing Keeg graduate/moving to Ohio! 

Baby is the size of an apple!

And why yes, I do have the best "renter's special" wallpaper around ;)

 

{14 weeks!}

How far along? 14 weeks
Total weight gain: I think about 5ish pounds
Maternity clothes? Not quite yet, though some pants are feeling a little snug.

Stretch marks? Nope!
Sleep: is all I want to do!
Best moment this week: Announcing baby! We had announcement pictures taken a couple of weeks ago, and I turned them into postcards online and sent them out to family and friends with a cute little poem on the back announcing our big surprise :) And big brother Aldon pointing to and rubbing my little belly and saying "baby?!" and then giving his sibling kisses!
Miss Anything? coffee, especially venti cinnamon dolce lattes from Starbucks. Hubs is like the caffeine police now, and decaf just doesn't taste the same.
Movement: none yet
Food cravings:  fresh fruit/veg (no joke, I ate two cucumbers and a whole bell pepper one day as a snack), baked potatoes (had that craving with Aldon too) and I'm super thirsty all the time
Anything making you queasy or sick: red meat! (same with when I was pregnant with Aldon). Whenever Keegan eats a roast beef sandwich, the smell makes me want to vomit. I never even noticed that roast beef had such a smell before.
Gender: who knows??
Labor Signs: are a long way away.
Symptoms: nausea, fatigue, and a whole host of symptoms from having low iron.
Belly Button in or out? In
Wedding rings on or off? On!
Happy or Moody most of the time: haha, it goes back and forth ;) Mostly happy, but I have a much shorter fuse for getting upset when something is bothering me
Looking forward to: the next ultrasound in a few weeks! 


So yes, the Hartman family is expanding :) The news is officially out now! 


For the most part this has been an easy pregnancy, with one major setback-- I have low iron. Before my first doctor's appointment, I had been having pretty bad headaches but attributed that to normal pregnancy symptoms. Then the results of my blood work came back, and my iron was low (normal is 12-14 range on their scale, I was at a 10. whatever that means specifically lol), so I was given a prescription for a supplement. 


By the next appointment, I still had the headaches, but I was also out of breath All. The. Time. (like, talking would leave me breathless) and feeling really dizzy often, and just all around queasy. I was sent over to the lab to have another CBC draw, and sure enough my iron still hasn't gone up. So now I get to double my dose of iron supplements. I'm still feeling like crud. My head often hearts, I can never catch my breath, and if I ever exert myself a little more than usual or get a little over heated, I get ridiculously dizzy and feel like I'm about to throw up and/or pass out. Cute, huh? Hopefully the meds will help, because if the double dose doesn't work it sounds like the next step is to have IV iron from now until baby comes, and quite frankly that sounds like a pain in the ass. 

The silver lining? Since I can't run around after Aldon as much, we now get to kick it more and just hang out and snuggle :)

{announcing!}

Our little family of three is now going to be a family of F.O.U.R!

*All images copyright Mallory Kate Photography