Six Months or Seven

Hey there, handsome. Your smile and laughter is   decidedly infectious, little man. You are ticklish in so many places and I love to find every one and listen to your silly giggles. Every time you see me after you wake up in the morning or from a nap, you never fail to give me one of you big gummy grins. 

We have gotten to go on so many fun outings lately. The annual apple picking where we (not you) get to eat apples and donuts and drink cider. You were along to provide amusement and cuteness in your little apple hat. You did well. I have gotten more compliments on your cute apple hat than anything else! 

You even got to be an apple for Halloween when we went to The Zoo Goes Boo. Whenever you are in the stroller, no matter what we are doing, you are so content. We were even out a bit past your dinner and still did just dandy! So, while your sister got all the goods you were happy to sit by and watch the costumes stroll past. You just love to watch the people and the world going by. 

Thank goodness. Finally. Finally, you are regularly sleeping THROUGH the night. Not for just 5 or 6 hours either--I'm sorry, but I can't call that sleeping through the night--but for a pretty solid 12. Yes, it took several nights of our having to actually just turn off them monitor, but it was for your own good, my sweet. And while I had to turn off my mommy guilt when you were screaming bloody murder, you are always so happy when you wake up in the morning! Now, you may fuss a bit in the evening while you're still trying to really settle into sleep, but all in all, good sleep is being had by all. I can turn the monitor back on knowing that when you do wake up, you really need me. Or at least, that you really need a pacifier. 

 Your sister never fails to bring a smile to your face. And while she doesn't always obey when she is told to do something (or not do something) if I say I need her help changing a poopy diaper, she will come running! She'll grab your little hands to make sure they don't get all messy and then make sure I have wipes when I need them. When you guys are in the back seat she'll sit and say, "baby....baby.....baaaybeeee" until you turn and look at her and she can make you laugh. You are both starting to really enjoy each other and sort of even play together. I hope that the two of you will be able to be great friends. 

Six Months

At six months or so, your baby should do such and such. There are endless lists of what you could be/might be  doing every week but it's funny, because while it seems as though you is developing so quickly and changing daily before my very eyes, there aren't really a whole lot of milestones that you have gone through this month. You can definitely sit up well, though we are sure to keep the pillow behind you since your baby noggin tends to pull you over.





At seven months you are even more sturdy. You have a little rotation that you go through after every meal. A little time on your back--to prevent puking, mostly--then a little time sitting up with some toys and finally a stint in the bouncy saucer. That toy has been around the block a few times but you are really putting some miles into it! You love all the noise that it makes when you jump up and down. Yep, you're a boy.




That brings me to hollering. One might not think so with this innocent little face, but month seven seems to have brought about a good deal of hollering. You're not mad or upset, you just need to exercise the vocal chords or something. We're still banking on a punk rock band. You do love to listen to music, your daddy's in particular.

Solid meals are now taken twice daily and if you don't get a mouthful of something yummy and mushy, you will let us know it! The baby puff snacks are a lifesaver to be sure. So far the only food you have made a nasty face at was one of the trials at baby food testing. Yeah, I don't like many of those either kid, but you have to work for your supper!

According to your 7 month check-up, you are just 50% for height and 15% for weight. It seems as though you are eating twice your weight in food, but apparently, you're just a little bug. We'll just have to check in with you again when you're a teenager and taller than your daddy. That'll show 'em.

Em, you bring us so much joy and I look forward to each new day when you wake me up with your gummy smiles and baby coos. I could just eat you up and can't stop kissing you whenever I am holding you. My yummy, sweet baby boy.

Five Months

This has been rather a back-and-forth month for you, little fella. While you continue to be a sweet little punkin, you also have had your moments of screaming-angry-baby. Your sleep schedule especially has me scratching my head at its inconsistency. Most nights you will wake up at least once, but sometimes many times more. Often you still want to eat twice in the night. You don't seem to understand that you are not a newborn anymore and you should be sleeping longer. Then you will surprise me with a ten-hour stretch and I will be the one who wakes up first! 

 

The frustrating part of it is, I just can't let you cry it out. I don't think that works for you. Sometimes you will only wail for a few minutes, but if it goes longer than five it will go for an hour. You just can't settle down once you've gotten wound up. It worked great for your sister and she never cried longer than 20 minutes or so, but you, dear sir, can scream until dawn. And that is the worst of it. You can Scream. The angels have to cover their ears when you get angry. I'm pretty sure that if there is a baby language, you are using four-letter words. 

You do so love your big sissy. When she starts dancing around and playing, you just love to watch the action. The feeling is generally mutual. She loves to give you the sweetest hugs and kisses and helps to find your paci or hold your hands during a diaper change. I'll be sure to remind you both of this information when you're fighting teens. 

You have the biggest blue eyes and sweetest little baby face. Though it is true that you look remarkably like your sister, you are still all boy and very much just yourself. You love going for walks and are usually content to sit in your stroller and just watch the world go by. Even when we are parked for an extended time, you love to just chill. 

You are so close to sitting well on your own. Last week you got to be a part of a diaper photo shoot and were doing great sitting up like a big boy, but toppled over pretty quickly anyway. That noggin of yours is just so heavy! You love moving through your different play areas. Time on the floor mat, in the saucer standing up, sitting with the pillow behind you and as always, swinging in your swing.  When you are being held, you love to hold hands and are very touchy feel-y, cuddling into a soft blanket or your little frog. 

I have found the best way to make you giggle is loud, nuzzly cheek kisses and belly-rib tickles -- you just love it! You have a pretty loud chuckle and the sweetest gummy laughs. Randi can make you laugh with several of her silly noises. For some reason, ssssss, makes you break into laughter every time!

Since you were having such a hard time sleeping well through the night, I decided to start you on solids a little early. Your doctor said that generally it is best to wait until babies are six months since they are seeing overweight babies more frequently but that she wasn't worried about that being an issue with you. Your dad and I make skinny babies, what can we say?! Anyway, you weren't sure what you thought about that first bowl of rice cereal. I cooked up a yummy pot of jasmine rice and pureed it with baby milk to make it nice and thin. Surprisingly, you gobbled up a generous helping, though much of it ended up on your face. You have also tried some peach-oatmeal-apple goodness and I have mixed some sweet potatoes into your rice cereal a few times as well. However, I have not really made it a nightly habit to always be sure you get a "real" meal since it hasn't seemed to help you sleep longer. 

I really don't know what your deal is with sleeping, kiddo. Almost every evening, you wake up about an hour after going to bed and are only soothed by eating again. I can't seem to feed you enough! This month I even got on a prescription to make more milk for you, which worked great while I was taking it, but as soon as it was done, I stopped making enough. You are just a hungry little dude! So, we have introduced bottles at almost every feeding, plus a few extras at night.

The funny thing is, at your most recent doctor's appointment, she said you were only at 10% for weight. That was only shortly after I had started bottling you, so it will be interesting to see if you are huge by your next visit. You got a big ol' shot while we were there too, but let out nary a peep. Brave little guy. 

Let's see, what else about this month? Just the usual, I guess. Cute baby smiles, a moderate amount of pooping, a still excessive amount of screaming, fun rides in the stroller, good times with baby toys and lots of hugs and kisses. I just can't stop kissing you whenever I have you in my arms. You are just so darn yummy, my little son. 

Our lives are fuller (and yes, louder) because of you and we can't wait to see where you will take us next!

Little Spurt

My little man has been going through some kind of crazy growth spurt. Not only is he waking up frequently again, but he seems to need to eat all evening long again. So, it seemed as though it were time to introduce the "solid" food. I cooked up some rice and pureed it with milk for him and he seemed to be a big fan. He's still learning the technique of swallowing, but has got the baby bird mouth trick down pat.  He's had his rice cereal as well as some oatmeal-fruit puree and last night even tried a bit of avocado. It took a bit more tongue work, but he gobbled a good bit up.

Now, let's just get him back to better sleeping again. Sheesh, Mama is tired. 

Dreaming of Flying

Things I Love Thursday: Baby Books

I am not a scrapbooker. I don't like the little knicky-knacks or the fancy clippings or the matchy matchy. Maybe I just don't have the creative brain power for it. Let me apologize to those of you who are die hard fans, but my preferred method of photo storage is a blurb photo book. I put together a fabulous book for Randall's first year and have the next book progressing for maybe a 2nd through 5th compilation.


I love, love, love photos. I love flipping back through them a hundred times and remembering just how I felt, just what I thought and just where I was when I first took the  picture.

The irony of it is, I really love baby books and they are pretty much the original scrapbook, are they not?  I loved working on Randi's book and I am continuing to add in her birthdays and first times.

What I need to admit here is not that I am a half-scrap-booker, but that I have been a bit of an overachiever.

I have most of Emmett's book done as well. Now, I realize that he hasn't had a whole lot of firsts yet, but that's what is so great about the books I have. There are a bunch of pages to put their "history." After I had Randi, I picked hers up at Babies R Us partially because of the cute footprint option and partially because I just loved that you could take the pages out and either rearrange some, or even discard some if you weren't going to use them. There is a page for their family trees, info about their parents and then all of their firsts and such. There are also a few pages with pockets to put the id bracelets, doctor's notes or other memorabilia. I'm going to have to get some tiny envelopes to stick in there when it comes time for the first hair cut. The last page in each of their books is a letter from Mama to them. I haven't written Em's yet, but for me this is a great spot to write my prayer for their lives.

I actually really love all the spots to put those knick-knacks. When Em reaches some sort of milestone, I have been writing it on my calendar to input later. Because, while I am currently ahead with this whole memory-keeping thing, I know it won't last. There are enough other projects screaming at me around the house at the moment that I'll be lucky to get one or two of them done.

Have you filled out your kids' baby books? What kind did you use and why did you (or didn't you) like them?

Remembering Again

I've been married four times. For nine years.

Four times I've had the question, "Do you take this man?" asked of me. It was simple and classic, it was beautiful and fancy, it was quick and functional, and it was casual and friendly.

My family is all in another state, and my mother wasn't able to travel, especially not for a whole weekend. I wanted her to be at my wedding. But I also wanted to have a big fancy wedding and invite all my friends locally. And I couldn't do both. Could I? And if I did, would I remember to do everything I was supposed to do?

Two wedding dresses & two veils. One my mother's, one my own.

Twice standing at an altar reciting vows and receiving rings. Three pastors, two ceremonies, two rituals.

Twice we sat at a table with three friends and repeated a quick set of the same.

Twice we had huge meals with many family members and tons of friends to help us celebrate.

Once we had a normal meal with a few friends who joked and smirked and winked.

Three times we cut the cake.

Only once did I smear it.

Once we jammed and danced all night long.

Once we forgot our marriage license. And once we filled it out incorrectly. Twice we had one notarized.

But now it will be nine times that we have celebrated our marriage. Nine years that have passed since we laughed over forgetting so many things. Nine years since we first were man and wife. Nine years since we were second man and wife. There are still a few more months until our third and fourth 9th anniversaries.

Am I wiser, truer, braver? Have I grown stronger, tougher, more faithful? Am I cuter, sweeter, more giving? I hope so.

He's more honest, more willing, more open. He became more handsome, more serving, more thoughtful. He does more than I ask, gives more than I deserve, provides all I need.

I never have more fun with anyone. I always trust his judgement. He never treats me badly. He always puts me first. We never doubt the future. We always embrace the present.

I love you, my sweet. My George, my pooh bear, my snookie-wookums. My tall, handsome hero. My rock star. I adore you, I treasure you, I respect you, I believe in you, I love you.

Nine more years will pass us by too quickly. Sometimes I wish we could stay in today forever.

Month Four

Hey there little fella! You have absolutely turned the corner this month. You happily tolerate the car seat, even when we're just out and about. I can't tell you how much easier this is on your Mama. You love your play mat and your little toys. You love standing up and stretching your little leg muscles, all the while wobbling about on unsteady tree-trunk legs.

You are still swaddled for your nap and for nighttime. Though right now, you are being too sweet. You woke up half way through your nap and every time I try to put your paci back in to help you fall back to sleep, you just grin happily at me. "Nah, Mama, I wanna play!" I know better though, and back to sleep you will go. You regularly will sleep a good 2 to 3 hour nap in the afternoon, sometimes with a wake up in the middle and sometimes straight through. You don't really have a long nap in the morning, just one or two cat naps.

You've started going to bed around 7:30 or 8 at night the past couple weeks. I generally feed you again about 11 or 12 before I go to bed and you'll sleep until about 6:30 or 7:30, wake up for a snack and get up for the day at 8 or 9. I'm hoping your four month sleep regression was the rough patch we had last week when Grammy and Papa were here. That or they were sneaking you candy so they could snuggle you in the middle of the night. Hard to say for sure. You are awfully snuggly.

Some days you are just too yummy and I could literally gobble you right up. Your pinch-able cheeks and your little ears that stick right out--sorry about that kid, that's my fault--are just too delicious. You love to giggle when I kiss those cheeks. Or when I smile at you, or raspberry your belly, or tickle your little pits. You are such a happy man. Life is good for you.

What is it for babies that throws the switch from horribly colicky to happy and sweet? Is it just getting used to the outside world? Is it getting that digestive system properly figured out? Whatever it is, I'm glad that you've crossed over from the dark side.

You're still on the twice-a-week-or-so pooping schedule. Some days it will be a couple times that day and then you could go a whole week with just wet ones.

I finally got all of your clothing organized and sorted into bins. You were lovingly blessed with a ton of great hand-me-downs from a friend with every size imaginable and I don't think I'll have to buy you anything new until next summer! Of course, I'm probably going to make you a few more Baby Tie Shirts. Is there anything cuter on a little boy than a teeny tie? I think not.

You, my sweet, yummy, happy, chubby little man are fantastic. I can't get enough of your smiles and giggles and coos and goofy little noises. You have been so healthy, growing so chunky and just generally being the best little baby every. May you have a sweet and lovable spirit all your life! I love you, my little munchkin. Here's to your first month on the new couch!

Things I Love Thursday: New Furniture!

I have strongly disliked my couch for a long time now. (I would say "hate", but a friend recently informed me that would mean I want the couch to be dead and it seems a bit dramatic for an inanimate object) The couch and love seat were the first pieces of furniture my husband and I bought for our first apartment. They weren't unattractive or horribly uncomfortable, but they weren't really "me," either. Most of my furniture is dark wood and if not antique, at the least, it is early to mid-1900s. The couch, on the other hand, was a very basic plaid and I was forced to coordinate everything else around it.

Suffice it to say, I have been keeping my eyes open for something new and different for a while. At the same time, I haven't been too hopeful because we haven't really had the money for a fancy new couch either.

Enter the highway fix. Yes, for most of the spring and summer we have been lamenting the aggravation of extra drive time while the highway has been closed. It has been quite the irritation, having added a good bit of time for us to go practically anywhere. Because of this, we have often driven through downtown. In itself, this isn't a bad thing as we love downtown and seeing the shops and people about. It can just become tedious when we know it could be so much shorter of a drive.

Last Thursday was such a day. After a morning food testing with my girlie, we were ushered off the highway at an earlier exit close than usual and directed through downtown. Therefore, I drove through one of my favorite areas and past the antique shops.

When I saw it I practically slammed on the brakes. Quickly turning around and snagging a perfect parking spot, I jumped out and examined the goods. "The perfect couch" was in immaculate condition and listed at a very reasonable price. I snapped a picture with my cell and immediately sent it off to my hubby.

Unfortunately, I got a "no" in return. Ok, not exactly a no, more like a, "if you can sell enough stuff to buy it, then fine."

That sounds like a challenge to me!

Friday I was in the area again for a brunch meeting and thought I would stop by to see if the couch was still there and if they would go down on their price. I got a double yes on that. Perfect, I'll take it!

The previous week we had been given a bedroom set for our son which included a solid wood twin bed, mattress, large hutch desk and two locker-type dressers. Him still being an infant, the only thing I could currently use in his room was the lockers. The desk could be put in the spare room but the bed would need to be sold as I didn't even have anywhere to store it!

When I got home on Friday, I went crazy on Craigslist. I also announced that we would be having a garage sale the next day.

As of today, I have sold $32 more than I purchased the couch for and folks are still calling me on a few of my items.

It's perfect and it makes me smile this week. I love it.