Stilley Cousins

 Leland also got together with his Stilley cousins.  We had our traditional play day where the cousins spend a day at Grammy's.  Above: I made Anna a baby carrier, and she was pretty happy with it.

 And as usual, we always try to get a photo of the kids. 

 Grammy tried to step in an help, that plan did not work well.

 Anna loved Leland, and he loved her.  I think he has a think for older ladies (just like his Papa). 

 Aaron reading an afternoon story.

 Henry feeding baby goats. 

 Snack time (or sharing of the germs, lol). 

Leland and Ashley still are not so sure of each other as you can see in the above photos.  Henry also is showing his 'goldfish smile'.

It is great that Leland has cousins his age.  I didn't not really have cousins my age growing up (besides Taylor) so I really wanted that for Leland.  Being at family gatherings and not having people to play with is no bueno.  

Bindel Cousins

 While in KC we of course saw cousins and there was a new one to meet on the Bindel side!  This was great grandma meeting meeting him for the first time too!

 Leland wasn't quite sure what to think.  A few times he would pat Liam on the head, but for the most part he ignored him (same with his other baby cousin on the Stilley side). 

 Harley was trying to contain the crazy. 

All the Bindel cousins in one photo.

Leland became so exhausted from being around all the cousins.  Skylee has so much energy that she would wear me out too.  But he still enjoyed the older kids as usual.  It was fun watching him being around these kids.

1 year photos

We went and got professional photos taken for Leland's 1st birthday and since we needed an updated family photo.  These are some of my favorite.  

Courtesy of Impact Images.

Back to normal?

I am finally back home.  We have been gone the past two weeks.  First we were in KC visiting family, then we went to the Western slope for a long weekend.  The last part was a much needed vacation from being a single parent for 10 days.
Leland has been going through a heavy mommy phase.  I can't leave the room without him freaking out and crying.  I think all the traveling is making it worse.  He could also be teething.
Then once we got back from KC Leland came down with a fever.  This made him extra fussy but it also meant he took three naps a day for a few days (awesome).  But I think he his better now.

And now we are back to normal?  Not with our old routine, since tomorrow I start nannying.  I think Leland will really enjoy it but, it will be a new schedule for sure.  Hopefully he will keep with two naps a day.  

Kitchen

Here is what my kitchen looks like on a normal day.

Chaos.

Graduation

Leland was a great baby at graduation, even though it happened to be during his naptime. 

Getting a good photo was hard and I didn't have the energy to try much longer.

My advisor and me. 

Randi from my department graduated too!

Even though my only job prospect for the future is staying at home with Leland I am still so glad I went back and got my master's.  I feel like I learned so much more than I ever did in undergrad.  Undergrad was full of learning about myself and my degree.  This time it was about learning life lessons. 

I actually learned how to study and take tests well, in a very timely manner.  I haven't had a lot of down time in graduate school.  My first year I was working almost full time and going to school.  That Spring semester I had to make sure to finish everything early in time for Leland's arrival.  This year I had to be very efficient with my time since I now had Leland.  I am a great multi-tasker and now I often wonder what people do with their time all day.  So many people I know are always complaining about not having enough time and they don't even have kids.  Or they have kids but are not trying to go to school full-time as well. 

I know a lot less that I think I do.  I can give a really great bullshit answer.  As an undergrad I thought I knew everything once I graduated.  My courses in this program, often left me with more questions than answers, but in a good way.  I realize how little I know and understand how this great big world I live in.  It drives me to keep learning, even when not in a school setting.

People think I am laid back.  Which I think is absolutely ridiculous.  But compared to many people I have met, I am.  Motherhood has made me relax a lot.  I had many pep talks to myself while pregnant about not being able to control everything, and I think my inner self listened well.  I feel I have met so many high strung people that are getting worked up over nothing- like a test or a grade.  When really those things matter very little when looking at the big picture.  I have been better about looking at the big picture instead of focusing in insignificant details.

I have realized I never want to teach undergrads.  Well undergrads that don't care about the subject I am teaching.  My student teaching position taught me many things about the education system and myself.  I don't ever want to put myself in that situation again.  And a note to undergrads, if you don't want to be in school than don't go to school, it is expensive.  With that in mind, at least try to gain something from every class, even if you are only taking it to graduate.  Education is expensive. 

I think this list could keep on going, but I am tired and trying to make up on my sleep now that school in OVER!  So there is a very brief summary of what I have gained from the past two years.

Toddler Snacks

Leland is always hungry, I swear.  When he wakes up from his naps snacks have to be ready or he was be very crabby.  I am seriously starting to wonder how I will be able to feed this kid as a teenager, between him and Jeff I don't know how we can keep the food stocked with food.

Here are some ideas for snacks that we currently use:

Fruit- this kid loooooves fruit. Bananas, apples, grapes, oranges, strawberries, blueberries, pears

Veggie sticks- this sometimes calms him enough if dinner is soon.  He can't get much off but it will make him chill.

Toast with coconut oil or butter, or even homemade peanut butter (I have recently gotten into this).

Muffins

Homemade Larabars

Source: userealbutter.com via Megan on Pinterest

Cheese

Cheerios- I try to avoid these and use a last minute choice. 

Leland is a champion eater and I can easily give him items that are not recommended for kids his age, such as popcorn and grapes, but please note this is not the norm.  

This summer I am hoping to add in smoothies, yogurt pops, frozen banana bites and yogurt drops.

Source: joylicious.net via Megan on Pinterest

Do you have any good snack ideas?

I get it

I am now understanding how parents think their kid is the best.  The brightest, the smartest, the fastest, the funniest, etc.  Because watching a child grow from a newborn that cannot do anything, not even lift their head, to a baby that smiles and laughs, to a toddler that walks and talks- it is amazing.  How can you not think that is amazing and that your child is amazing for accomplishing those feats.

With that said, I may think Leland is the best, but he usually hits his milestones when he should, so he is average.  (not that there is anything wrong with that)

But I will gush about some new things he is doing lately:
- Animal sounds: He mooed like a cow when pointing at a cow picture the other day.  He roars like a lion occasionally, and we are working on more.  He is very close to making a whale noise.
- Signing: He does bath, light, milk, and now dog.  We are working on many more of course.  He has done 'all done' before but he is not consistent on it.  I also sometimes think he is doing please.
- Walking: He is walking all the time now.  He crawls only when he is tired.
- Tantrums: not everything is cheery and great, but these are definitely happening.  I try to ignore them as best as I can, and when he is not tired and having one he gets that I am not going to pick him and and stops.  When he is tired they just drag on and on until we go to another room or he goes to bed. 
- Copying:  He copies me when I do things now.  When I ask for his binkie, he now goes to put it under his pillow, because he saw me do that.  He likes to rub lotion in on himself.  When Jeff starts picking up his dinner, Leland helps put the food back on his plate.
- Trying to play with older kids: He followed a little girl around the park the other day, handing her toys and just watching her.  He doesn't like to be around kids his age that much, he always leaves the group for something else.  I don't think it helps that he is the only one walking. 

Watching Leland grow is probably the best thing I have ever done.

Posing

The other day we went to the Children's Garden at Denver Botanical Gardens with some mom friends and their babies.

It is a great little place for kids, especially since it has a little stream for the children to play in. 

I of course decided to take some photos.

The surprising part was I swear this kid was posing for some of the photos. 

Zoo

Leland has been obsessed with animals lately.  Like completely and utterly obsessed.  When we read books to him now, he has to point out every single animal.  He also has to point to the animals on his walls every time he wakes up from a nap. 

 I decided it was time to take a trip to the zoo.  The zoo was complete chaos by the way.

 Crane watching.

 Pointing out the monkeys.

 Pointing out the pictures of the lions.

 Roaring like a lion, he does this sometimes and it is so freaking cute. 

 Lioness watching. 

He was this close to a lion but kept looking at the one farther away, I don't think he realized how close it was.

Here are to many more zoo trips, for a die hard animal lover.