10 Months

Mclain is 10 months old, and I really can't believe we will be celebrating his first birthday soon! (PS his birthday party is gonna be freakin' adorable!) 

At Mclain's last doctor's appointment he weighed in at ALMOST 18 pounds and 28 inches. I really start to think he is putting on a lot of weight, and then we go to the doctor: 12% for weight and 48% for height. I guess he'll just be tall and skinny like his dad. 

Well first, Christmas this year was great! We had it at my parents, and Santa James made him a wooden car and play bench. He loved them! I was surprised how into his toys he was considering most of the time at home he wants to play with things that should be in the trash can. 

The weekend before Christmas we opened a few presents at the Alveys. James's parents got Mclain and his cousin Weston these adorable rocking motorcycles. 

 

These two boys are going to be crazy when they're actually old enough to play together!

                 Christmas morning

Now that Mclain thinks he is a big kid, he likes to climb the stairs. James was trying to teach him how to SAFELY climb down. Let's just say it was a good thing James was behind him!

Clain loves tomato soup, and more importantly loves to rub it all over his face.

He does pretty well with his sippy cups now.

James trying out a Christmas present on Mclain. Mclain did NOT appreciate it.

And, we decided the other night since the kid has 4 (soon to be 5) teeth, good parents would probably start brushing them. He wasn't sure what to think of it.

          Dang, he is getting so big!

9 Months

Mclain turned 9 months old on Thanksgiving. I feel like he has learned so many new "tricks" and hit so many milestones in the past month. 

He now has four teeth, and he was such a BEAR when those top two came in at the same time. Wouldn't sleep, wouldn't drink his bottle, was such a little grouch; so glad that is over. 

He got sick for the first time. I guessed we did luck out to make it 9 months before he caught anything, but it was still so sad, and holy crap so much snot!

Now that he crawls around all over and walks around the furniture, I swear we need to get this kid a helmet or wrap him in bubble wrap, something. He always has bruises on his head!

This kid is crazy (like his dad)! He is into everything, especially loves to destroy all our christmas decorations.

We took him shooting with us for the first time. (Yeah, we're those kind of people.)

He loved pumpkin pie at Thanksgiving. I don't know why I didn't get a picture of that. He was not so sure about Santa Claus at our ward Christmas party, however. 

This kid loves to eat: puffies, French fries, non edible items, everything! I caught him eating a piece of bacon out of the bottom of the dishwasher one day!

He is getting so big; can't believe he'll be a year old in just a few months. 

Middle Schoolers Say the Stupidest Things

I recently read an article calling out middle school students as the "armpit of the American society". After spending the majority of the last four years with this age group, I'd generally have to agree with that statement. 

In the last four years of teaching, I've had the most awkward/ridiculous/utterly stupid things spoken to me, and I keep thinking, "I need to write this crap down; one day I'll be old and need a good laugh." So it dawned on me a few days ago why not share the laughs; this is as good a place as any to document my students stupidity.

So I present to you, "Middle Schoolers Say the Stupidest Things," Volume 1.

This first "stupid response" happened last year after asking one simple question. I received several ridiculous responses.

Me: The book we'll be reading is set in 1963. What sort of things do you know about the 1960's?

Student 1: "Is that the year you were born?"

Student 2: "Wasn't this during the Civil War?"

Student 3: "This is when that one war was going on...like the Revolutionary War or something"

One morning sitting at my desk before school started.

Student: (pointing to a picture of Mclain) Oh, he is so cute. Is he ONE of your grand kids?

Me: (thinking) You're an idiot!

One of my personal favorites.

Me: can someone give me an example of a symbol and explain what that symbol means?

Student:Supercalafraglisticexpalodocious 

Me: I literally don't even no what to say to  you right now.

This last little delight happened just the other day, in the middle of class, after reminding my students I need baby pictures from them for the yearbook.

Student: What if I don't have any baby pictures? My dad says he thinks I was adopted because he missed me being born. He was taking a poop when I came out.

Me: (blinking)

8 Months Old

I swore to myself after I had a kid I wouldn't be "that mom". You know, that mom that cheerily posts all the completely insignificant things her tiny human offspring does on a monthly basis. As if their taking a crap clear up their back that then gets smeared into your new carpet (yeah, that may have happened this week), discovering they have fingers, or learning  to spit food back out at you is equivalent to them winning the  Nobel Peace prize or something. But with one glance at that tiny little man we created, I became "that mom". 

I'm now that mom that cheers her little dude on as he "crawls" a foot across the floor looking like a injured caterpillar to retrieve a plastic measuring spoon that  he finds to be the most interesting object he has ever slobbered on.

I'm now that mom that gets more excited to discover he got his first "toothy" (and yeah, toothy  is somehow part of my vocabulary now) than . . . well, than if I discovered something actually exciting. 

I'm now that mom that spent, well literally his entire life, combing Pinterest for the perfect Halloween costume even though I'm fully aware trick-or-treating is completely pointless when he can't really eat candy. 

I'm now that mom that has turned life into a musical by singing nearly everything to him. (My personal favorite is the song I made up for him when he is ornery. Sung to the tune of " The Little Drummer Boy": "You are so grumpy grump bum bum bum bum. Dad is where you get your grumpiness from. Grump bum, bum, bum, bum. Grump bum, bum, bum, bum! Grump bum, bum, bum!"

And, yep, I'm that mom that updates her blog once a month with the insignificant crap my child learned how to do and shamelessly plug how adorable he is! 

So, Mclain's 8 months, and he crawls, if that's what you want to call it (and that is what I do  because it makes me fill better about the "maybe" slow development of my kids motor skills), he has a toothy! and is getting another, he dances (and when I say dances I mean nods his head like a white person) every time he hears music, he enjoys staring at his hand while doing the "come here" motion, and he got to pick out his first Halloween pumpkin (of course all the pictures I tried to get of him with it are just of him licking the stem.)  And I am shamelessly proud of him and his freaking adorableness! 

(Now precedes all the monthly pictures to prove how cute he is.)

7 Months Old

Well, Mclain is 7 months, and honestly not a lot has changed with him in the last month. He sits up really well now, still has no interest in attempting to crawl (I'm pretty ok with  him not being able to destroy everything for now), and he loves to eat. If you're eating something, he thinks he needs to have it too! He is finally growing pretty good and has the funniest/craziest personality. Couldn't love him more than we do!

          My two super handsome men!

        Seriously this kid is adorable!