George loves to brush his teeth. We brush our teeth together every morning. He lets me brush his teeth first and then he brushes his own. He also likes to brush mine from time to time.
George has 12 teeth (going on 14). We use a little kid friendly tooth paste and a fun little tooth brush. He also drinks water and pretends to spit. He is such a good brusher!!
George loves to say ‘all done’ about all sorts of things. But the latest thing he is ‘all done’ with is nursing.
I could tell that my supply was waning a bit in the last few weeks, but G didn’t seem to mind. He was still nursing 2-3 times per day. Then one day Clay brought him in for his morning session and he said ‘no.’ He asked for aqua instead and ran off to play. I offered it to him several times, but he wasn’t interested.  Clay (jokingly) told me not to be pathetic. 🙂
Well, I cried the whole way to work. How’s that for not pathetic? Ha.
He nursed off and on for the next few week, but definitely shorter sessions. Then finally, he just stopped. He stopped asking and I stopped offering.
I know 18 months is a long time to nurse to most people, but it still makes me sad. I think that if I wasn’t pregnant we would have continued longer and that is hard for me to think about. I imagine that he will ask to nurse when he sees the new baby nursing–he still ‘pretends’ to nurse when I’m topless around him (like in the bath).  I just don’t make a big deal about it because there is nothing to make a deal out of–if he wants to, he can.
I am proud that he had nothing but breast milk for the first 6 months and we didn’t introduce cow’s milk until 13 months old. And that we had our very special bed and morning times until 18 months. It was a hard road at the beginning and I learned so much about myself in the process.
But, the thing I am most proud of is that he was ready. There was really no transition at all. No crying (well, not for George), no engorgement problems for me–it happened completely on its own. It made it a very peaceful experience–the term ‘weaning’ doesn’t even really apply.
Clay is so proud of George, too. He is such a big boy and he is finding independence all on his own. We couldn’t be happier (but mommy is still a little sad, too).
I found out I was going to Hawaii about a week before I had to leave. I begged Clay to brave the long trip and bring George. I couldn’t imagine being away from him for 9 days. The longest we had been apart previous to this trip was 10 hours.
Plus, I knew we would probably not get to go to Hawaii as a family again any time soon!
George came to Hawaii with Clay and went home with me. He did incredible on both flights. He didn’t sleep for clay, but was very well behaved (though exhausting). My flight was direct on the way home and he slept 7 of the 9 hour trip. I couldn’t get up to pee–but who cares! He was sleeping!
We had a great time while there. Got to see some amazing sites, gorgeous beaches and eat some delicious food. Traveling with an 18 month old is much easier than a 15 month old because George is SO much more self sufficient. Three months makes a huge difference. He slept great (no problems with the time change) and was easy going throughout the entire trip. He loves eating out with us and we never had any trouble at restaurants. Yes, I know we are amazingly blessed to have such an easy guy! Hope it lasts–though this might mean the teenage years are tough! 🙂
Here are some more pics from our trip.
Over the past few weeks George has improved so much with eating. He is eating more, more variety and all by himself.
These improvements made our trip to Hawaii so much easier!
Here is is enjoying several delicious items on our trip. 🙂
Now that the weather has warmed up. We have enjoyed some fun times with friends.
George has gone swimming and to the strawberry festival. He went on a train ride at the festival. I think he thought Avery was a very comfortable seat.
The train stopped in the middle so they could give all the kids a strawberry. George was in heaven!!
George got to go to the beach for the first time in Hawaii on the island of Oahu.
We set the bar a little high I think…
Baby is doing awesome. We had another quick scan to check growth and he is BIG. Dr isn’t worried about too big a this point, but George was a small/average sized baby so this is definitely different. I got a great look at his face and he looks like a different version of George. That was super cool. Can’t wait to meet him in person!
How far along? 24 weeks 6 days
Total weight gain/loss: Wow, eating makes a big difference. I’m up 10 pounds!
Maternity clothes? Totally in them. I still try to wear shirts that aren’t maternity, but it ain’t pretty.
Stretch marks? Nope. I didn’t get any with G, so hopefully none this time either!
Sleep: Pretty good. Not getting up to pee yet, but I wake up when I want to turn over because it hurts my pubic bone.
Movement: Constantly. I can see him from the outside now. Clay has been feeling him for a few weeks.
Food cravings: Cereal with tons of fruit and milk has been my favorite thing to eat.
Gender: A brother for George.
Belly Button in or out? Flat.
Wedding rings on or off? On. Never had any swelling with G, so hopefully this will be the same.
What I miss: Moving quickly. My pubic bone is really bothering me and its hard to get out of bed in the morning. I’m already slowing down in walking and getting things done. This doesn’t suit my personality. 🙂
What I am looking forward to: This may be a bit early…but holding this little guy! After seeing him yesterday I just couldn’t wait to snuggle him.
24 week shot of me and baby:
You might call us a ‘Disney Family.’
Clay and I have been planning family trips to Disney since before we even had children. We each went several times with our families as kids and have such wonderful memories. We can’t wait to recreate those for George and #2.
I knew that Hawaii had a Disney resort so of course we HAD to visit it while there! Sadly, we couldn’t stay there because it was too far from where I was working, but on my day off we spent the day there.
The main event was the character buffet breakfast. It was SO awesome. Everything you expect from Disney. We felt completely taken care of, the food was awesome and everything was centered around the kids. They even had a lowered buffet bar for the little ones with Mickey shaped waffles! George LOVED the characters. He would point to them and laugh and ‘woof woof’ at Goofy. He also had a blast singing along and playing with the other kids. We got our family portrait with Mickey, which is now in our kitchen. 🙂
After breakfast we headed down to the lagoon. It was George’s first time at the ocean and it was simply breathtaking. The perfect spot. All of this confirmed that we will be doing a FULL Disney vacation soon–although I think we will start with the cruise while the boys are still too young to really enjoy the parks.
And of course, George got his very first Mickey to take home with him! He gives it big kisses and sleeps with it every night.
Now for the pics!
George is in a phase where he loves to help! It’s so cute. He likes to throw thing away when we ask. He says “away!” each time.
He now also has two chores. He puts the dish soap packet in the dishwasher, closes the holder, closes the dishwasher and presses the start button. He does this each night after dinner.
He also throws his diapers away and puts his clothes in his doggy hamper after a change.
He is always so proud of himself, and we are so proud too!
Here he is helping daddy put some pavers down outside. Such a big helper!!
George Have Blog 