Baby Crack

Who knew cheerios could be so much fun?

G LOVES his cheerios.  He loves any "snack" food, really, that we give him, i.e. mum mums, puffs, yogurt melts, and cheerios.  We call them baby crack because he gets SO excited when he sees them and starts waving his arms and legs wildly while sitting in his high chair and will immediately start asking (cue loud baby yells) for a snack.

We definitely love our baby crack in this household.

Grammar Police

If you are anything like me, you love reading blogs.  If you are anything like me, it also annoys the $#@! out of you when you find certain grammar/spelling errors.  Yes, I realize that we are all human and that nobody is perfect (including myself).  Truth be told, I always re-read my posts once I "publish" them to do a quick check and look for any mistakes.  9 times out of 10, I find something and quickly go back and edit.

A friend of mine posted this on FB the other day and I got a good laugh.  Just call me the grammar police.

Click on the link, and for the love of all things holy, please try not to commit these egregious errors!  Okay, egregious may be a bit extreme.

Via

It takes someone special to be a dada

"Anyone can be a father but it takes someone special to be a dad."
-Anne Geddes

I came across this quote recently and thought it was perfect.  In our household, it isn't a dad, but a dada.

When we became pregnant (surprise!), I often wondered what R would be like as a father -- I had seen him interact with young children before, but I knew interacting and parenting were two very different things.

From the start, I knew that G had his dada wrapped around his tiny little finger.

These past ten months I have watched him grow into his "father" skin with ease.  While he has had to learn along the way, I am constantly reminded myself that we are all learning what it means to be a parent.  He has embraced this new role with so much joy -- I love watching the two of them together.

I will confess that I had a vague idea of what I wanted to do to celebrate this past Sunday but didn't actually throw it all together until late that afternoon.  R seemed very pleased, nonetheless, and probably wishes he had more than just ONE day that honors him (I reminded him of his birthday, so that makes two).  :)

Once R left to play cards and G was up from his afternoon nap, there was a mad scramble to buy R a gift and then proceed to Whole Foods to pick up flowers, dinner, and dessert.  We made it home just in time.

Thank goodness for Whole Foods being right up the road...

And no Father's Day dinner is complete without dessert!

Can you tell I had a hard time choosing?  I decided to go with a dessert sampler plate instead.

There were gifts...

and cards...

And everyone was happy...

The end.

Nine Months

It has become customary for me to chronicle G's monthly posts a bit late, but on the flip side, I get to fill you in on all of the exciting details and accomplishments from that particular month.

The nine month mark is always a big deal to us mamas because we now officially have a baby that has spent just as much time outside the womb, aka "baby house," as they did inside.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.  We all know that by that dreaded ninth month in pregnancy we were SO ready to get that baby out.  Just thinking about that time (although honestly, I think I've blocked most of it out - isn't that how we are supposed to want more kids?) makes me uncomfortable.

Don't get me wrong.  I LOVE this age much more than the newborn days, but like anything else, there are some downsides too....

G refuses to lay still on his back while I change his diaper, and 99.9% of the time he flops and flails while I am attempting to change the stinkiest and nastiest poop of them all.  This usually prompts a quick bath, so you can't fault us for lack of cleanliness and hygiene in our house.

I have been using a few signs (as in sign language) with G, but he thus far has not signed anything back. Instead, he yells and grunts when he wants "more" or anything really.  He is very vocal.  Ha!  I guess it's his way of informing me of what he thinks about signing and he would just rather "talk."

He is always into EVERYTHING and he particularly enjoys things he is not supposed to have or touch, i.e. the entertainment system, laptop, any cord or breakable item, etc.

The upside though?

This boy.

He is funny and makes me laugh constantly.  He is also easy TO make laugh.  His preferred method of transportation these days is still the tried and true crawl, although he will pull up on anything and cruise along like nobody's business.

He has also developed a lovely (cringe) clingy phase right now and wants to be held often.  This is not easy to do when I am watching the sweet little 2 month old, but we are adjusting and learning to cope.

He has a pretty good and consistent daily routine that I *try* to stick to as best as possible.

He is still, thankfully, super easy to get to bed when he is ready.  He goes down between 7 and 7:30 at night, occasionally earlier and occasionally later.  He is up almost always at 7:00 in the morning, standing up in his crib with a big smile on his face.  He is also a great napper at home (wasn't so much at daycare) and takes 2-3 naps that range anywhere from 1-3 hours each.

He eats three meals a day, plus has 1-2 snack times.  Level 3 foods finally don't induce his gag reflex, so we are working on adding more texture to his meals.  Still rockin' the pureed foods, although he does greatly enjoy munchin' on puffs, yogurt melts, and mum mums.  If he sees them, he will give you the very successful, "Stare and holler," until you satisfy his desire (and appetite).  I swear that he eats non-stop, it seems, but at his 9 month well check he was only at the 50th percentile in weight.  He must burn those calories fast with his constant on-the-go activity.  Hmmmm... maybe he's on to something?  Hehe.

This month I tricked him (I know, bad mama) into eating AND enjoying those dreadful peas.  I found a great organic pouch mix of spinach, pears, and peas that took no convincing for him to chow down.  He also tried his first "table" food this past month - scrambled eggs and toast.  He didn't hate it but didn't beg for more.

He takes anywhere from 24-32 ounces of formula during the day.  R says he will be glad when he's not paying for formula anymore since G consumes, on average, a pouch of Enfamil a week.  Not so easy on the bank account, but we are in the final home stretch of our formula days.

He is still wearing size 3 diapers and a mix of 6-12 month and 12-18 month clothes, depending on the brand.

Nine Month Stats:
weight - 21 pounds - 50th%
height - 29 inches - 75th%
head circumference - 95th%+ (big head, big brain? ... or so we can hope)

Things he loves: sleeping with his paci and bunny blanket, playing with his daddy, giving hugs, pulling up and banging on anything, dumping his toys out of their containers, looking at animals, going for walks, watching older kids play, "The Itsy Bitsy Spider" song

Things he does NOT love: being told "no," riding in the car longer than 20 minutes, eating peas, not getting his way (doesn't everyone hate that though?)

Dear G,

You are quickly becoming my little boy instead of my little baby.  In fact, I no longer sign cards to people with "Baby G," because I don't think of you that way.  Whenever we take care of Baby J, I always point him out as "baby" and have to remind myself that you are still, in fact, a baby.

This past month we braved through your worst sickness yet only to find out your fever had morphed into an ear infection.  Mama is so glad for antibiotics!  It was hectic to be at home with you and not at work, but I wouldn't have had it any other way.

You still love crawling over to me just to pull yourself up, throw your arms tightly around me, and put your head on my shoulder.  I love that so much.    One of my hopes for you is that you are always a kind hearted, sweet boy.

Your dada and I have affectionately started calling you, "Little Bruiser," because you play HARD.  You have had your first couple of falls bonking your head, and even though they didn't leave actual bruises, I know they won't be the last.  Such is the life of a boy, I suppose.

I love you to the moon and back, my little man.

Love,
Mama

Things I Love Thursday

Lo and behold, I survived the end of school and lived to tell about it.  It was a frantic sprint to the finish line (hence my lack of posting), but everything was turned in, checked off, etc, and all of my tubs o' crap (as R likes to call them) were lugged home.  As the mountain of tubs grew higher, R would give me bewildered looks and ask me how many more I was bringing home - hehe.  I don't think he understands the amount of stuff (insert other word here) that teachers amass throughout their careers.

I only have a meager five years under my belt and I've only taught the same grade level, but I DO have an enormous horde.  Oh yeah, and the reason for bringing home this said enormous horde?  I am taking next year off!  Yep, just me and my sweet boy (and the cute little 2 month old I am taking care of - but that's for another post).

SO, in celebration of the year ahead at home with my main squeeze, let's do another, "Things I love Thursday," shall we?

1. iPlay swim diapers/swim trunks - Now that it's "officially" summer, we are starting to crash my parents' pool with more frequency in addition to the Saturday morning swim classes that we still attend.  The swim facility requires that all children in diapers wear TWO reusable swim diapers.  Why?  Disposable swim diapers really don't do a great job and become water logged more than anything.  Reusable swim diapers are not only better for the environment, but they do a much better job of keeping the pool free of yellow water and floating logs.  ;)

After doing my research, I went with the iPlay brand and LOVE them!  I bought a plain white swim diaper (snaps on the side make it incredibly easy to get off) and a cute pair of swim trunks with a built in diaper.  So, G wears the white swim diaper and then the swim trunks.  I thought it would be really bulky looking, but it's not any different from how a baby looks with a diaper and shorts.

The website where I have purchased all of G's swimwear can be found here.

2. Boon flair high chair - We finally graduated G from the Bumbo, where we have been doing all of his mealtime feedings, to a high chair.  Yes, we seriously lasted almost ten months in the Bumbo (with a tray of course), and can honestly say that it was well worth the cost.  When researching high chairs, I was torn between a space saver (seat that goes on your regular dining chair), a seat that clips on to the counter, or a stand alone chair.  Even though it's another piece of furniture essentially, I decided on the Boon because of its great reviews on Amazon and its modern look.  We just started using it yesterday but love it so far!  The best price I could find for it (plus free shipping!) was found on Babies"R"Us.

3. New laptop!!! - Okay, this one I am really loving!  I came home from work one evening last week to find a card for me sitting on the table "from" G.  In it, "G" told me that I was such a good mommy and to go look in the bathroom (kind of scary when you have a baby not knowing what you'll find in there.. hehe).  Inside was a big gift bag holding a new Mac Air laptop!!!  Eeeeeek!  It was so thoughtful and obviously well received.

Those are my top 3 "things" at the moment.  I'm also loving staying indoors with the babies and being completely oblivious to the record setting temps outside.  I'm also loving planning G's first birthday party (yes, I know it's still a couple of months away but a mama's got to start planning early!).

As I've said before, life is good.  :)

Wordless Wednesday

The Fever

I think I'm going to refer to this past week as, "The Great Fever of 2011." Let's hope it doesn't get topped by anything in the months to come.

Since Sunday afternoon, G has had the "feva." And no, I'm not referring to the "Beaver (as some of the first graders call him - ha!) fever!" I'm talking about the horrible, no good, nasty fever that all moms dread and quiver in fear just thinking about. The kind of fever that leaves your normally sweet baby cranky, clingy, and all sorts of out of whack.

You never know which department it will hit next - sleep? Yes, we just love waking up all night long to deal with Mr. Grumps. Food? Why yes, it's awesome when you know your baby is hungry, yet refuses to eat his solids.

Fortunately for us, it did NOT affect the poop department. ;) That area was still running like clockwork, with many an outfit retreating quickly to the washing machine after diaper changes.

I feel so much more sympathetic for working moms who do not have the PTO but have to stay home nonetheless to take care of their sick kiddo(s). I am fortunate enough to have banked sick days because I definitely needed them this week! I have tried my hardest not to stress out too much because besides having a sick infant, which is already the pits, I have a bajillion million things at school I need to check off my list before the end of the year.

FYI, when I say end of the year, I mean in NINE days!!! So yeah, this week I have had to revert back to my old mantra of, "This too shall pass."

...
I WILL get all of my testing done and my data entered by 5 p.m. tomorrow.
I WILL get my classroom cleaned and packed up.
I WILL have all of my grading done and my data entered by Monday at midnight.
...

You get the idea.


But going back to my original train of thought, having a sick baby is like having a newborn all over again. Except this time around, your baby is mobile and does not sleep as much. This past week has been spent ...

giving lot of cuddles.

Working from home means you can wear your favorite ball cap and the "boss" doesn't mind.  :)

playing with our new toys.

Isn't he awesome?!?  Another CL find for only $5!

This was part of the loot from the multiples' mom, but we now refer to this truck as the "possessed toy."  Ha!  The other night it was making its sounds while in the OFF mode.  Needless to say, it freaked us out and pissed us off for waking us up multiple times and spent the next day outside in time out.  Since then, it has come back inside and hasn't bothered us again. So weird!  But G loves it, so we are keeping it.  

making new gourmet foods for little man's young and refined palate. ;)

Tomato and basil with cauliflower and carrot

doing LOTS of laundry.

and trying to get sleep WHEREVER and WHENEVER.

Poor baby, you know he's not feeling well when he does this in the middle of the day.

After a LONG and horrendous night, we finally brought him into bed with us.

I love my lovey but I am sooooo glad the fever is gone. Now if we can just get rid of this runny nose and cough!