Booster Seat and New Foods

Korben found his booster seat (that we use when we go to other people's houses) stored in the guest bedroom closet. He carried it by himself all the way to the living room, climbed up in it, and sat there like a big boy. Then, he realized something was missing, and went to get the tray that hooks on top. It was so precious! He doesn't usually sit in there very long...it is more of the idea of "getting in" the seat that is fun for him. But, I have caught him with his sippy cup while enjoying a little Sesame Street.

















































I love Fridays because Fridays are Aaron's day off! We have already had a great day! Korben ate a GREAT breakfast. Two whole wheat pancakes (first try for us), two scrambled eggs, and several frozen blueberries (Thank you Mopsy for recently teaching him to love this great "brain food"). He also got to try a new treat I bought for him last night, Del Monte's "Fruit Chillers." It is a frozen fruit sorbet in a tube. Kind of like the "flavor-ice" popsicles, but healthy. I am really trying to make good choices (when I can) to make every calorie count, hoping that what he eats will have some nutritional value. This is hard to do with a picky eater, but I will rejoice in one new healthy thing at a time! So, that makes today a great day...blueberries, whole wheat pancakes, and a strawberry fruit chiller are all new AND healthy things. Thank you, Lord!

Daddy and Korbie

This is the sweetest video ever that Aaron and Korben made tonight with Aaron's webcam. Korben had on a muscle shirt today, so Aaron had to teach him how to "flex" his muscles. Aaron promises that Korben did say "Mama" as soon as he reached forward and clicked clicked the button to make the video stop recording. HaHa. This is priceless to me.

Toddler Emotions

In just 34 seconds you can see how my child can go from the top of the world...to the bottom...back to the top...and then plummet to the bottom.

This is how the past two days have been. HAPPY or SAAAAAAD. He is totally teething. His fist has hardly left his mouth the past couple of days. We're enjoying our fair share of popsicles right now.

In case you were wondering, that is Aaron's hand gripper (exercise thing, I have no idea what the technical term for those is) that he is dancing with. I love how he happens to fall on the pillow at the last beat of the song. It is like his temper tantrum is choreographed to the music. I can't lie though, I laugh every time I watch this!

American Idol Concert

This past weekend I had the opportunity to go to the American Idol concert in Little Rock with my Mom, my Aunt Joyce, and My Mom's friends Margaret and Ceil. We had the BEST time. We had great seats that were actually just a few feet away from where Kris Allen's entire family was seated. So, that was an experience in itself to watch the concert through his family's eyes. EVERYONE was great. I have to say that I was most impressed with Matt Giraud. I hope to hear more out of him soon! However, everyone had stepped up their game since the show and it was incredibly entertaining.


































I want to thank my mom for taking me to this concert. Thank you so much, MOM!! AND, I want to thank JULIE (Mopsy, Moppy, Boo...I'm having a complex with what her "grandma" name is!) for keeping Korben over the weekend. Thank you so much, Julie!! He had so much fun! It was such a nice break for me and I appreciate you BOTH letting me do something out of the ordinary for the weekend.
I LOVE AND APPRECIATE YOU BOTH VERY MUCH!!!!

Weight Watchers Anniversary

Tomorrow marks my one year anniversary with Weight Watchers. I currently weigh 31 pounds less than when I started. It is hard to believe that last year on July 31st, I carried a baby to my first meeting (not quite 5 months old) in his car seat carrier. Now Korben steps up on the scale after I do to find out how much he weighs. Today, he weighed 27.5 pounds. It is hard to believe that I have lost more weight than Korben weighs. It is kind of a gross visual considering that he is HUGE to me!

I say all of this not to brag AT ALL, but out of gratitude for the weight watchers system. I also say all of this for accountability purposes. I'm not saying this system is for everyone, but it has been so good for me! I have only ever stayed for 2 actual WW meetings. I just go on Thursdays at lunch time and weigh. For some reason, that is motivational enough to me. I haven't had to pay every since I reached my first goal weight, which is such a blessing. Korben and I have built great relationships with the two ladies that run the meetings. Korben can't wait to see them every week. Their like his "Weight Watchers Grandmas." Every week they have new stickers for him. Today, he got "Thomas" stickers. He was so excited.

I don't think I could have ever stuck to weight watchers based on just the recipes that they put out. I would have never known what to cook because I haven't found their recipes to be all that great. Thankfully, my friend Rachel told me about www.e-mealz.com. They are not affiliated with WW at all, but they will give you recipes and already convert the serving sizes into WW points for you. They seriously do all the hard work for you. One of mine and Aaron's favorite meals is the calzone (they call it a pizza loaf). It does not taste like a diet food whatsoever. There are 6 servings and the servings are 5 points a piece. If you ate a slice of calzone this size at an italian restaruant it would probably be 20 points. So, e-mealz chooses healthier ingredients which helps keep the points lower.

These are the meals we will be having at the Rodgers house over the next week:

Italian Burgers with grilled corn on the cob and veggie kabobs,
Shrimp Chowder,
Ham and Caramelized Onion Paninis,
Three Bean and Sausage Bake,
Zesty Parmesan Chicken with tangy green beans and rolls.

Does that sound like boring diet food? I sure don't think so. Seriously people, not one of these meals is over 8 points a serving. Okay, I'm done advertising for e-mealz. Unless they want to pay me, and then I'll advertise for them some more. ;o)

If you're happy and you know it...

I happened to be going through the archive of pictures on my computer and found this picture of Korben taken one year ago today! I thought I would do a comparison of Korben at 16.5 months and 4.5 months old. Sure, now he has teeth and a lot more hair...but he is still the same precious baby boy!















































I have said before that Korben has definitely been a late bloomer when it comes to teeth. He only has seven and hasn't even worked on a new one in months! Anytime he is ever in a bad mood, has weird eating habits, or just doesn't want to sleep, we blame it on teething. We've done a lot of blaming on teething over the past year, but very few times have we actually seen a tooth come through. Well, tonight Korben gave us a great opportunity to look in his mouth. He ran as fast as he could into the door frame (one of many head on collisions he had today- he is trying to figure out this running thing) and of course cried with his mouth wide open. Aaron was holding him and I practically had my head inside his mouth because I was so happy to finally get a glimpse of some action on his gums. In those few seconds I saw a hole on the right side, where the lower canine would go. I also saw something white looking like it is pushing through on the left side. Both bottom gums were puffy and swollen. It made me feel SO much better to see that. I immediately said, "No wonder he hasn't wanted me to brush his teeth this week!" He has been a very picky eater this week, not as good of a sleeper, and has been chewing on everything (which he stopped doing for a couple of months!). So, we let him have two messy orange popsicles before bath time and he was a very happy camper.

Random Korben stories from the past couple days:


Sunday morning when I went in to get Korben out of his bed. I said "Hey, did you sleep good?" He says "YEAH!" in the most enthusiastic (barney video caliber) voice you have ever heard in your life. I had NEVER heard him say it like that, ever! So, that became the word of the day. Everything I asked him, he answered with "YEAH!" When I've let people hear him say it over the phone they think it is me. Oddly enough, I'm realizing where he got it now because whenever I say it (on the phone, not knowing Korben is listening), he just chimes right in and says it too!

Korben stayed in childcare on Sunday night with one of his favorite people in the world, Linda Cain. He had her one-on-one attention, and he couldn't have been happier. When I went to pick him up, I was thanking Linda for keeping him and I may have said something like "Thanks so much, Linda...yada yada" and I kept talking. I overheard Korben say "LINDA" while I was talking. I said, "DID HE JUST SAY LINDA??" Linda said, "Yeah, he's already said that tonight!" I freaked out. I called Aaron soon after to tell him what Korben had done and when I got to the part of the story when I said "Linda", Korben yelled "LINDA" at the appropriate time! Oh my goodness, it cracked me up!

Tonight he called repeatedly called his green beans his "mean" beans. Good thing he is not scared of them.

I really wish I could make a video of all of the animal noises Korben can attempt. My personal favorites are "hee-haw" and the "hiss" from the snake.

For some reason for the past couple of days when I ask Korben to say "Mommy", he says "Meemaw." Which is great for his actual Meemaw, but not so great for me! He absolutely knows how to say Mommy though! I've heard him say it a lot! I kind of get the impression he is pulling my leg. When I've asked him to say "CC" he says "Hee-Hee." He totally knows better!

I will condlude with a happy video! In case you were worried, this boy still likes to dance. If you listen REALLY closely, you can hear "If you're happy and you know it, clap your hands" in the background playing on the baby einstein video. Korben loves to mimic everything the kids on the video do! Thats where he learned to touch his nose, jump, shake, dance and clap! If you wait until the very end, you will hear the "YEAH!" I spoke of earlier!

HAIR

Has anyone ever seen "Hair" the musical? I saw the new broadway cast perform their song "Hair" on Conan O'Brien the other night and I can't get it out of my head. In honor of the song stuck in my head right now, I am going to write about Korben's hair.

So, On Thursday, Aaron called and said he was on his way home from work. I was just playing with Korben's hair and decided we would give Daddy a surprise when he came home. I took the pony-tail holder out of my hair and put it in Korben's and this is what his daddy saw when he walked in the door.



















































I know, I'm SO FIRED, right? Yeah, that's what the Daddy said. Too bad he can't fire me.

The funniest thing about this was putting Korben down for a nap, forgetting it was in his hair. I walked in his room after he woke up and saw a jumping little boy with a pony tail on top of his head. Wrong, I know. I won't do it again.

Yesterday I made a pile of a few things that need to go to the attic (Baby toys and oversized toys such as this Mickey Mouse that Korben never plays with). Mickey was sitting in the living room awaiting getting bagged up to go to the attic last night when Korben saw him. He carried him (yes, actually carried something twice his size) all around the house and then tackled him to the ground and hugged him for at least 5 minutes. I just had to take a picture. Mickey may just have to stay in his room for a little while longer.























Okay, back to my main topic...HAIR. After Korben takes a bath, all I have to do is comb the back of his hair and it curls up like this. It actually looks like I used a curling iron on it. I can't tell you how much I love this, and how much I am going to miss it when he actually gets a big boy haircut.































P.S. Memory I need to record:

Bath time is the best time. There is something about bath time that gets Korben focused enough to really talk. As I sit there and watch him play in the bath tub, I can ask him to say pretty much anything and he will say it!! It may not be perfect, but he attempts to say whatever I ask him. Every animal and animal noise, every family member's name...we work on it every night. Of course, we work on talking other times throughout the day too, but there is just something magical about bath time. I am amazed at what all he is retaining. He is so smart!

16 Months

Last Friday Korben had his 15 month check up with Dr. Beene. Ironically, it was his 16 month birthday on that day. He is really struggling with separation/stranger anxiety these days and he was not very thrilled with the check-in process with Dr. Beene's nurse. I think all of the x-rays Korben had to have after his broken arm really made him scared of nurses. Even though he cried some of the time, the nurse told me that he behaved better than about 80% of most of the babies his age. She said this is the age they hate going to the doctor the most because separation anxiety has peaked. That was encouraging to hear that we weren't the only ones dealing with this.

By the time Dr. Beene came in to see him, he had really calmed down and made himself right at home with all of the toys in the exam room. It was the first check up Korben has had since he could walk, so it was really nice to let him walk around in the room while Dr. Beene and I chatted about him. It made him feel so much more comfortable with the situation because he felt in control. He started bringing Dr. Beene toys and "telling" her about them. She saw how verbal he was. She just kept telling me how intelligent she could tell he was. Of course, that is music to a momma's ears!

The only big issue I wanted to talk with her about was something he was dealing with last week. It seems as though he was having some night terrors. For a few nights in a row he would wake up screaming, sweating, and shaking. I would go in his room, hold him, and rock him for a little bit. He would always fall right back to sleep, and honestly, it never even seemed like he was really "awake." I ran it all by her, and she agreed that is what it sounded like. She said it is normal at this age, and she thought I was responding in the right ways. It is hard to know exactly what is going on since he can't verbalize what he is feeling. All I know is that he has slept great the past couple nights, so hopefully that will continue!


He was 33 and 1/8 of an inch which put him in the 90th percentile for his height, and he was 25 lbs and 12 ounces which put him in the 60th for his weight. He is wearing a size 7 shoe, size 5 diaper, and 18 month clothes. It is weird how he has actually gone down a size in clothes since he was 12 months. His tummy has gotten smaller, as he has stretched out and gotten taller!

One random fact about Korben right now is that he only has 7 teeth. When he turned one, he had 6. In four months he has only cut ONE tooth! I'm not seeing any sign of any teeth coming in right now. That probably means that he'll end up getting 10 in at one time...Lord, help us all!

Can I just say that Korben is so STINKING fun right now!!!! I love 16 months! We had a full week of just Mommy/Son time last week while Aaron was in New Orleans and I feel like we bonded on a deeper level. I feel like a switch has been flipped and he all of a sudden knows exactly what I'm talking about when I say things.

-He can obey simple instructions such as: pick up the ball, go get your bear, find your milk.

-If I say "lets go potty", Korben goes straight for the bathroom. Every single time he shuts the door behind us and then walks to me and hands me the toilet paper.

-If I say, "lets go outside" he knows he has to put his shoes on so he plops down in front of me so I'll put his shoes on his feet.

-If I ask him if he wants to eat, he goes into the kitchen.

He really does everything we do. When I take him with me to my weight watchers meetings to weigh in, he has started thinking he needs to get on the scale after I do! It is so cute! Tonight we took him to his first softball game. Every time Aaron yelled for someone on the field, Korben yelled. If Aaron clapped, Korben clapped. He mirrors us all day long.


He has quite a repertoire of "tricks" I ask him to do for people. He does all of these things on command without you even having to show him what you are talking about.

Waves/Say HI and Bye Bye
Jumps
Shakes
Can touch his nose, hair, tummy
Blows kisses, gives hugs and kisses
Gives high fives, the rock (fist bump)


Things he loves:

Music and DANCING
Sesame street and baby Einstein (anything with puppets)
Stuffed animals
Kids
Babies (or as Korben so sweetly says, Beebees)
The water hose. He doesn't love being submerged in his kiddie pool, but he loves to stand in it and "water" the grass.
Running
Tackling pillows
Talking on cell phones (only when no one is actually on the line...of course)
Throwing balls


He can say so many words now. The newest words that I have heard are peek-boo, cookie, and today he said CHICKEN!

About a month ago, Korben's picky eating was about to drive me up the wall. The only things I could get him to eat at the time were scrambled eggs,green beans, pasta with soy cheese, and pasta pick-ups by Gerber. That may sound like a lot of things to you, but for 3 meals a day, everyday, those things get old! Thankfully, since then he has been willing to try some new things, and his appetite has seemed to greatly pick up. Right now he is loving fish sticks, chicken nuggets or popcorn chicken, penne florentine (a baked pasta dish I make that I put his soy cheese in. I'm thrilled to say that the dish has spinach in it and he even eats it without even knowing it!), hash browns...and of course all of his regular old foods. The only fruit he will eat is a banana. He went through a stage where he didn't want bananas, but now he wants them all the time. He will look up at the kitchen counter and go "Nana" until I give him one. The past two days he has eaten two a day. He likes to hold the banana himself and walk around the house and eat it.

For the record, Korben is very unpredictable with food. Everything that I just told you he likes right now, he may reject tomorrow and not want again for the next month. It is one day at a time with this boy. However, he is eating GREAT right now, and I could not be happier with his eating habits. He drinks about 5 sippy cups a day of soy milk, and usually one sippy cup of apple juice. He is quite the drinker.


The biggest stresser I am currently having is SUNDAY MORNINGS! Korben still really needs a morning nap every morning around 10. Korben functions at his full capacity if he has a morning and afternoon nap. Some days he can get by on just one, but he is not quite ready for that. It seems like life will be a lot easier when he makes that transition. From what I read, he will drop that between 18 and 24 months. Korben has been by the book on his sleep schedule since day one, so I assume this will be no different.

He is at church from 9:15-12:15, and is already getting sleepy on our drive there. The moment we walk in the doors he is clinging to me like a little monkey. He does not want to be dropped off. Of course, when I drop him off in the nursery he screams bloody murder, but usually by the time I get to the other end of the hall people tell me that he is happy and playing. That is the only way I can enjoy being in church is if I know he is happy. The past two weeks have not been good weeks in the nursery for Korben at all. I don't want to go into all the details, but I have almost cried with him on the way home from church the past two weeks. Separation anxiety PAIRED with lack of sleep is not a good combination for a fun time at church. I feel very calm and matter-of-fact about this situation now, but if you would have talked to me on Sunday afternoon I would have acted like this was the biggest deal in the world. I know it is not. I know he will grow out of this in no time, and I will wish he actually did want to be seen with me at church!

I really believe once Wednesday and Sunday nights start back up in the fall, he will be better. The more (well-rested) opportunities he has to realize that I AM coming back, the better! I can't wait for everyone at church to know the Korben I know!


I never knew I could feel love like I feel for Korben. My heart feels like it is about to explode every day because I am so proud of him. Of all the times in my life I have tried to "rush" the time by, I don't want to rush anything anymore! I feel like things are going too fast! I love my life, and I do not take a single day for granted. I give God all the credit, glory, and honor for every blessing. I truly know that every good and perfect gift is from Him. I know that our blessings are not because of anything we have done, and definitely not because of anything we deserve...they are just gifts from him. I am daily thankful for my little 16 month old gift from God!

A couple of videos!

Here is a little video of Korben after he woke up from his nap yesterday!






Before you watch the next one, I must tell you a story. I have been singing songs to Korben for a long, long time now. I have been noticing that he "sings" along with "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star." Well, my mom told me that when she kept him last week that she really thought he was singing a line or two of it. I was like, Yeah, he does that! Well, I just thought she meant he hummed to the tune. Well, now when I sing a line of the song to him and stop, he tries to finish it. EVERY time I sing "twinkle twinkle little star, how I wonder what you are" and I stop, he goes Up-Uh-Buh (for "Up above the world so high"). COINCIDENTAL JABBERING? I think NOT! It is CONSISTENT. I have tried to get him to do it on video, and this is the best I could get. He can do it about 10 times more precise than this, but he wanted my camera and tried to get up off the changing table in the middle of the video. Again, you may think I'm making a lot out of nothing, but I know that he is trying to sing it!

Fourth of July

LAST 4th of July...


























THIS 4th of July....


























LAST 4th of July...





















THIS 4th of July...
























LAST 4th of July...
























THIS 4th of July...

























What a difference a year makes!!!!!

It has hard to believe that Korben has been here to celebrate two "Fourths of July" with us! And yet I wonder, what was our life like without Korben? I mean, REALLY?!! We are so in love.


P.S. This last picture was taken before we pulled out of the garage for church on "Patriotic Sunday." Please appreciate with me that he did have his red and blue sippy cup to go with the color scheme of the day. ;o)

Mad Dance Skillz