Moving on up

Today was Cannon's 18th month doctor visit. I must admit, I was a little nervous about going to see the pediatrician because of what she told us at Cannon's 15th month appointment. Three months ago Cannon's doctor told us that if his height did not improve by 18 months, they would run some x-rays on him to find out the reason for his growth restriction. I hate the ridiculous growth curve charts doctors base a child's development on. How accurate are those things anyway? I mean, if you look at Blaine and I, you will quickly notice that we are not tall people. Therefore, we will probably not have 6 foot tall children. Anyway, as it turned out, Cannon is now moving on up the growth curve instead of continuing down the curve and off of the charts completely. Good news for us! Cannon is now in the 10th percentile for height at 30.5 inches and in the 15th percentile for weight at 23.5 lbs. We hope he continues to slowly move up the curve instead of down from here on out.

Cannon's first haircut

Cannon FINALLY had his first haircut this weekend. If it were up to me, I would have had his hair cut months ago. It was Blaine who was very hesitant to cut his hair because of the two or three curls he had at the back of his head. However, most of the time Cannon's so called "curls" were out of control and looked more like a mullet than anything else. It was for this reason alone that I finally put the hammer down. Blaine gave in and actually cut Cannon's hair himself after all the practice he had cutting the hair of missionaries on his mission a few years ago. I was pretty impressed with his hair cutting skills! Cannon looks like a new little boy from the back...I almost didn't recognize him after being used to his mullet/ratty hair look over these last few months. I wish I had before and after pictures to post on here...his hair was starting to get a little out of control. Anyway, Cannon did fairly well during his first hair snipping experience. Blaine and I have quickly learned that as long as Cannon has a piece of licorice in one hand, he will be content for as long as it takes him to finish it, which is a long time! I now have a new appreciation for red licorice.

I also wanted to post a picture of my 22nd week tummy since it has suddenly expanded over the last two weeks. I am now looking quite pregnant and love it! The 2nd trimester pregnancy look is so much better than the 1st trimester bloated look.

The last few pictures are of Cannon wearing cowboy boots. We had one of Blaine's old college roommates and his wife over for dinner this weekend, and Cannon could not get enough of Blaine's friend's boots. He insisted on stepping in and out of them (which he needed a lot of help in doing with his short baby legs) and attempting to walk around the house wearing them. It was really cute. Looks like I know what type of shoes to get him next!

Week Later Due Date= Unhappy Mama

I was a little disappointed today after I went in for my official ultrasound appointment and was told that I was measuring smaller than what was expected. Because of this, the doctor pushed my due date forward one week. Now I know one week is not off by that much from my original due date, but still! Pushing my due date forward one week means one more week of being miserably pregnant in the month of July and one more week of anxiously waiting for our little girl to get here! Even though I do not have to endure being pregnant for the entire summer without air conditioning like I did with Cannon, I am still disappointed. Oh well, life goes on.

On a happier note, Blaine and I are deciding on girl names. We have narrowed it down to two names... Alice and Ella. I have liked the name Ella for a few years and was going to name Cannon that if he was a girl. However, now that I know I am having a girl, I am not sure if I like that name as much as I used to. Blaine likes both names but is leaning toward Alice since neither of us know anyone named Alice. I also like Alice because it kind of falls into the category of older names like Grace, Emma, and Lucy, but isn't used as often. What do you think?

I have been a blog post slacker

I have been meaning to post Valentine pictures for a few weeks but haven't found the time or energy to complete the task...sorry mom! Since my mom lives 12 hours away and we do not see each other often enough, she is always asking me to post updated pictures of her one and only grandson. However, she has recently gained interest in seeing pictures of me and my growing pregnant tummy. By the way, did I mention this baby is a GIRL??? For those of you who do not have facebook accounts and would have otherwise read this announcement a few weeks ago online, we are having a baby girl!!! I for one am very excited and Blaine is slowly getting used to the idea of having another girl in the house...sorry honey. :) No, he really is excited as well, now that we know what the baby is going to be. And, ever since we have found out, I have been shopping like crazy for this sweet little girl and have realized just how fun it is to shop for baby girls. Shopping for baby boys is just not the same...still fun, but not the same. Anyway, that is our big news over the last few weeks. Now for some better late than never Valentine's Day pictures and my latest belly bump picture for my mom (don't worry mom, you will get another tummy picture at 20 weeks, coming up in a few days)...

Making his first Valentine's Day card for daddy:






Admiring his little gift for Valentine's Day, consisting of his two favorite things right now (M & M's and Sesame Street):




Surprise for mommy:





My belly bump from a few weeks ago:


I had to throw this picture into the mix...Cannon loves to just sit on top of this thing at least once every day:

New winter boots (FINALLY!), Hogle Zoo, and Cannon the builder

Yet again, another month has come and gone and we are now in the middle of February. Geeesh! At least it is the winter months that are going by fast. Come on Spring, we are waiting for you!

Ever since November, I had been looking around for winter boots for Cannon with no such luck. Maybe it was because I wasn't looking hard enough, or maybe it was because I could never find a pair that would fit his short, wide, and thick feet. However, last month while shopping at Target, I randomly went down the toddler shoe aisle and found not just any snow boots, but snow boots that were only $4.50! I couldn't believe my find! Even though there were only size 5 boots left (Cannon wears size 4), I thought they looked small enough, wide enough, and thick enough for Cannon's flintstone feet. And, sure enough, when I brought them home for Cannon to try on, they fit perfectly! What was even better was that Cannon liked them so much he didn't want to take them off. Now, a month later, he still grabs his snow boots to put on when I tell him to get some shoes to wear whenever we leave the house. It is too funny.

Last month Blaine and I took Cannon to Hogle Zoo for his and my first visit. I know you are probably thinking, "why would you take your child to the zoo when it is freezing out?" Our answer, "less people, that's why!" Don't worry, we were all bundled up and stayed plenty warm walking throughout the deserted zoo. The tigers were also a lot more active out in the snow, which was fun to watch. I think Cannon enjoyed seeing the gorillas the most since we spent the majority of our time watching them through the glass, with Cannon constantly pointing at them and saying "ahh ahh ahh ahh!" Either that, or because the gorilla display was indoors and was the warmest part of the zoo! :) Even though it was a little chilly at the zoo in January, we had a fun time and will definitely go again...probably in late spring or summer though! :)

One last little thing...Blaine had been wanting to buy Cannon a tool set for awhile until I finally broke down and bought him one. I didn't want to buy him one until he was a little older because of all the small parts that come with tool sets and the fact that most sets say, "for children 3-4yrs old and up". However, there were enough "bigger" tools in the set for it to be worth giving it to him now, and saving the "smaller" screws and other parts for a few years. If anything, it was worth seeing Cannon's face light up when he saw his new toy. He has been hammering away at things ever since!

Yay for Snow Boots!:




Hogle Zoo:






Cannon the Builder: