Confessions of a First Time Mom: My Little Toddler!

I like not having a deadline, but have missed filling you in on all the shenanigans that go on around this (new!) house. We are officially moved into our new home in Denton, Texas! Well, it's not actually a new home, the neighborhood was built in the 80s, but it's new to us. We are still working on unpacking boxes, hanging pictures, getting new windows and scraping an inch of ice off everything, but for now I consider us officially moved in. Let me know when you are headed through North Texas and you can have our guest room (that's not actually set up yet but will be soon)! 
 
In the meantime, Isaac will be 14 months in a few days and is now a full-blown toddler! He's walking (really fast- it's possible that he almost walked into the street last week. I mean, this boy is fast. But I'm still faster.) He's saying lots of words- Mama, Dada, Baby, Na (snack), Shs (shoes), Baba (bubbles, Broncos, button, basically any word that starts with B and has two syllables), NiNi (night night), Ba (ball), Boo (book- this boy loooooves books), and you know, other baby words that probably aren't that interesting to you anyways. 
 
Ok, here we go:
 
Dress Up
 
I'm really hoping my husband doesn't read this, because even he doesn't know this confession and he might not like it so much. I accidentally dress Isaac up in girly clothes & jewelry. Gah. That sounds bad. In my defense, I don't really mean to. It's more like, I'm unpacking some scarves or hanging up some necklaces & I think, 'Let's put this on Isaac and see how he reacts.' Ok, so it's not so bad. And the girly clothes? Let me explain. I like the legging-type pants that stay tight on his legs because he's so active that his pants always hike up and he's walking around like a wanna be gangster. That concerns me. (Ok, it's more about his calves being cold, but that still concerns me.) So I bought some leggings, and I probably knew that they were girl pants, but I bought them anyways. So, he's wearing girl clothes. 

Are these pants girly?!?!

The Car...
 
Oh the car. It's 25% our friend and 75% our enemy. Sometimes he loves the car, most of the time he hates it. I get a little flustered when we get in the car. One time I forgot to buckle his carseat. Well, I remembered the chest part but not the crotch part. I'm driving down the highway (at 60 MPH, what is wrong with me!?) and I suddenly have the realization that I'm a complete idiot and forgot to buckle my son appropriately in his safety seat. Here's me, in 2.5 seconds flat, stopped and in the backseat, on the side of the highway, buckling the crotch part (is there a better name for that part of the carseat?!). Continue on.
 
Another time, he's actually being fairly quiet while driving, so I'm thinking he's either sleeping or miraculously content with a toy. Then I hear squeaking sound that I can't quite put my finger on. I look back, and sure enough, he's full on chomping on his shoe. Cleaning his teeth on the rubber of the shoe. The dirty, well worn shoe. Do I stop for that? Nope. Continue on.
 
Then other times, this happens:
 


I Have a Cleavage Problem 
 
I have never, ever, never, ever, ever had a cleavage problem before in my life. I have been a member of the IBTC since I got what you might call boobs. And I didn't even get those until high school. I've always been a purchaser of push up bras and size small shirts. I've never had to worry about leaning over too far or my back hurting from the extra weight. And no matter how hard I squeezed my arms together, I could never even get my boobs to touch.
 
Now? Wow. What happened?!? I have boobs, and I can't control them. Nursing a baby has given me what I've always wanted: cleavage. But now, I don't really want it. They are a sacred, beautiful, private vessel for my baby, not a public, sexual, luring attraction for the public. But now that I feel that way, I have a battle on my hands trying to keep them in. Sometimes I catch myself in the mirror or I look down and think, "Oh God, I'm sorry. Let me just pull my shirt up to my neck and hope it stays for 10 minutes." Who knew?!?
              I caught myself in the mirror and was seriously surprised that this is even possible…

Sure, You Can Play with That
 
Isaac is a cuddly baby. He loves to be held and played with and read to. And I'm going to take advantage of that while I still can. However. There are times when I just need Isaac to be entertained for at least 10 minutes. I need to put on my makeup. I need to do breakfast (and lunch) dishes. I need to use the freaking bathroom without holding him. Ha. And since he's a very active toddler, he can be hard to entertain. Just giving him a toy and laying him on the ground doesn't work anymore. He wants to get into stuff, dangit.
 
My motto has become it's fine with Mama as long as the time spent entertaining him outweighs the time I spend cleaning it up. Case in point: The classic tupperware cabinet? Totally worthless. He's interested for a few minutes, & I find lids all over the house for hours. But tampons & nail polish? Golden! He's entertained for seriously 20 minutes & I just throw everything back under the sink. Spoons and plastic dishes? Yes. In the laundry basket? Why not. Moving boxes, packing peanuts, Christmas ornaments, leaves, the baby monitor, crochet hooks, mail, and more are all fine with Mama. As long as it can't cut skin, break, be swallowed (well... even that depends), cause bruises or tears, it's usually considered a great toy. :)
 
 
Thank you, Isaac and Mr. Lego Man, for helping unload the dishwasher. 

I knew this "Confessions" thing would never end. I have some exciting things coming up in the new year so stay tuned! Until then, have a wonderful, messy, peaceful and restful holiday season. I will post some photos from Isaac's unprofessional photo shoot before Christmas! Happy Holidays!