8 months and Easter

Well, D is a whopping 8 months old now. Two-thirds of the way to 1 year. That's just crazy to me. Some days that sounds about right, and others too long. Generally too long, but when I think about how far he's come developmentally it puts everything in perspective.

We now eat 3 meals a day plus 5 nursings (morning, noon, afternoon, bedtime, and dream feed). He's been sleeping for 12 hour stretches at night since 6 1/2 months. (Recently started waking up hungry around 6am, so I added his dreamfeed back in and that fixed it). Scooting/army crawling/inch worming since 7 months. And as of 8 months legit crawling, pulling to stand, and cruising! I know that some moms will get all weepy with these new stages as their babies gain some independence, however, I am pretty thrilled by it. Don't get me wrong, a small part of me is sad to see him grow up. But a bigger part of me is excited to watch him accomplish new tasks. Working where I do, I know a lot of those kiddos won't do the things D does. So I'm thankful. And it is just heart-melting when that chubby, wiggling boy crawls to you, pulls to a stand using your leg, and reaches his hands up (hold me Mommy!) Too sweet :)

I think I can, I think I can...

I'm pretty proud of myself and so is Mom and Dad!

We've had a few playdates with Rowan, Carson, Reece, Lainey, and Jenson. He's getting a bit more interactive and not crying quite as much when others babies get loud (if they cry though, he's gonna turn on frownie face and the waterworks). It's pretty cute to watch him reach out to touch their face or poke their belly. He's so curious. I keep telling myself that he's in that explorer/scientist mode right now. "If I hide my eyes behind the blanket, every time Mom is still on the other side even if I can't see her" "Every time I go to play with the door stop, I'm going to be told that it's not a toy""The door swings open, the door swings closed, the door swings open, the door swings closed..."

A day out and about with my buddies, Reece and Carson.

He doesn't do much that he has to be told 'no' for just yet. Mostly no grabbing faces/hair and no playing with the doorstops and outlets. We plan more on house-proofing D rather than baby-proofing the house (to an extent; the dangerous stuff will be locked up, ie- cleaning supplies). We still need to figure out what to do with our staircase. I would like to think this would be a great example of house-proofing D, but it probably needs to be baby-proof as well. With how fast he moves and climbs now, the stairs could be a bit trickier. And a fall down the stairs onto a wood floor is no good.

Anything is a toy, right?

We're working more on our fine motor skills now. He has little interest in picking food up to feed himself. I think he knows that I can get it in there faster, and he just wants it in his mouth! I though maybe his puffs were hard to pick up off the tray so I held one in my palm for him instead. He looked at my palm, then at me, attempted to pinch it (he can use his pincer grasp to get it but then lets go before he gets anywhere near his mouth), and when that didn't work he leaned way down and just licked it off my palm! Well, I guess that's one way to do it, but I don't see his kindergarten teacher being impressed with that skill.

I'm so hoping that he'll start signing back to us soon. We don't do a ton of signs (I wish we did more) but he definitely shows a reaction to 'milk' and has for quite some time. For now we use the basics and I'm starting to add a few more as we go. Common signs we use: milk, more, eat, drink, water, play, bath, ball, help, mom, and dad. I'm proud to say his first word was Mama!! Matt and I have been repeating mama and dada to him over and over waiting on him to say one :) Pretty excited it was Mama since every other baby we know right now chose Dada. I feel a little special. I'm not sure he really associates it with me. He says it most often in the evening when he's more cranky and wants his milk and to go to bed.

Spending Easter weekend in Joplin with our parents and celebrating Matt's birthday was a good weekend. My grandparents played a huge part in my childhood, so it makes me a little sad that D doesn't have them around all the time. But we're grateful for the times we do get to see them and spend with them. Matt's mom has one of those fancy schmancy pro-style digital cameras and obliged my request for a few family photos since we were all dressed up. I searched of and on for weeks about what we were all going to wear. You know... cute dress, coordinating outfits, etc... I'm pretty happy with how it turned out though. Fun bright spring colors for each of us :) AND this is only the second 'family photo' we've had since he was born. I'm not very good about planning ahead for things like that.  I don't even have a baby book for D. I don't think he'll really care when his first tooth came in (not yet, by the way, but it's my excuse for all his cranky behavior and probably will be until he's old enough to drive), what day he first said Mama, or what foods he liked/disliked. It would just be for my keeping anyway, but I still feel quasi 'lame mom' about it. Oh well...

Checkin' out my first Easter egg

Squeaky clean :)

He loves animals, especially dogs and cats.
He just squeals and giggles at them,
 then proceeds to chase them around.

Happy Birthday, Daddy!

Whoa! Yeah, that's only 28 candles folks.
It looks like he could be turning 90 from
the glow!

Happy Easter peeps!

Not real impressed with the whole Easter basket idea.
He got some swim shorts, a hat, sunglasses, and yogurt melts.

Found a little weed between the cracks. If
this interest keeps up, I see a very handy new
skill come later this spring and summer!

Where did 2 months go?

Apparently I am incapable of being a mom, working only 2 days a week, AND maintaining a blog. I'm not sure what that says about my mental capacity or my time management skills (I'm going with the latter). But needless to say, there are a ton of updates to be put up. I feel like I should try and go back to where we left off and fill in each little gap that we missed. However, that would take waaaay to long.

So I'm going to touch on each subject, and post more later :)

-My baby is now 8 months old!
       When did this happen? Six months seemed ok. Not too old, but not a little baby either. Seven months, ok. A little bit on the older side. EIGHT months!?! He's almost a year old! For some reason this age puts me over the edge about him being such a big man. I've already been searching for first birthday party ideas (probably in place of updating this). I'm a terrible party planner/decorator, and have several friends who rock in this area and will also be having first birthday parties for their own little ones this summer. So I'm feeling the pressure to make his first birthday an "event to remember". We'll see what comes out. I'm sure I'll have looked and planned so hard, so only have a so-so actual turn out. Disappointing for me. Either way, Declan won't care or remember. Only what we have in photographs. All I know from my first birthday party was that it was outside on my grandparents patio with my family and a few kids that I can't name. Point being, I'm going to try and not be so critical of myself and focus more on having a good time with D-man on his birthday, rather than be so concerned if the party theme turned out how I wanted :) (more on D later!)

LOVING the new play table!

-Valentine's day came and went with no big celebration. Matt was in Chicago. I was working. And D was hanging out with Julie (our new nanny, well, new back then. She's been around a few months now!) This was all fine with me. I'm not big on the chocolate and flowers and card bit. I'd rather just have a relaxing family night in.

-We had plans to go to Napa Valley at the end of February but instead Matt went to San Francisco without me (only because his flight left before mine). I was stuck on the runway in a plane that couldn't take off. D was home with my mom who drove up here to watch him for 4 days, and my in-laws were snowed in at our house as well because their flight to Las Vegas was cancelled. So our weekend getaway turned into a 2.5 hr drive home in blizzard conditions (praise the Lord I actually made it back home), D was sick with something awful, my in-laws and mom snowed in at our house with us, Matt flying to Springfield, MO the next day and driving a rental home with no sunglasses on (he claimed snow blindness after that trip). Not as relaxing as I had hoped. Matt's dad shoveled our driveway about 3 times that weekend because it just kept on snowing! (He should have just waited until the whole storm was passed, but I think it just gave him something productive to do.) And of course, it snowed again a few days later after everyone left and it was just me and D. Then it was my turn to shovel and clear the way out after the nice snow plow left a 5 foot drift at the bottom of the driveway :/ I was missing Matt's dad that day!

Just the 2 of us, watching it snow.

I didn't have a snowsuit that fit, so a jacket
and blanket made do for a quick picture.

Watching it snow some more, but from the
inside this time :)

My backyard...

-There's officially been 3 'snowmageddons' here in KC this winter (just since February actually). As I type I'm watching the third round of snow slowly seep into the ground. We only got 9" this time around, as opposed to the 22" we had accumulated from the last two snows (see previous paragraph). I'm done with snow for this year, seriously. Easter is less than a week away people.

-Hold on to your socks, because this announcement is a doozy..... Matt and I are already planning for Baby #2!!!
       For a long time, Matt and I have known that adoption would at some point be apart of how we built our family. Well, with how long things can take (ex. paper chasing, waiting, traveling, court dates) we decided that if we wanted D and our next kiddo to be somewhat close in age, then we would need to get things started. We officially started the adoption process with our adoption agency at end of January. If things go relatively smooth (which they never do in adoption, or rarely at least) we'll be looking to bring home our child in the summer of 2014. This is quite awhile from right now, but we're not ready for another baby in the house just this minute anyhow :) (more on this will follow!)

-We recently spent an extended weekend in Memphis with Matt's brother, Dan, and his wife, Kelsie. Not sure why I thought flying solo with a baby was a good idea, but lucky for me, D is easily entertained by total strangers. Matt flew down from Chicago, and I met him at the airport with D in tow from KC. I was pretty nervous about how he would handle the flight. I just didn't want him screaming the entire time as other passengers glared at me annoyed. I honestly think the worst part about the actual travel was my fretting over it. The people on the flight there were very kind, and willing to make funny faces, and talk to D. He was amused and gave out a lot of smiles and giggles. Everyone around me thought he was pretty great. The sweet young lady next to me kept poking him and trying to tickle him, and even went so far as to offer him her Goldfish snacks. I declined on D's behalf since I figured I didn't want to add choking into the picture. We had a great time in Memphis. It's always nice to see Dan and Kelsie and catch up. I imagine the 4 of us all growing old and vacationing together, playing cards together every Wednesday night (I assuming we live in the same city, because in my dream world we do), and just being old and crazy together. The flight home didn't go quite as smooth, since D was about 2 hours overdo for a nap during the flight. But he did finally manage to go to sleep shortly before we landed, so the 10 minutes of fussing wasn't all that bad.

Arriving in Memphis and waiting on Dad.

We had our very own 'Harry Potter' sleeping
in a closet under the stairs. We shared a room
with him and there was no way he was going
to sleep as long as he could see us, so we put
the crib in the closet. Much better as strange
as it sounds!

This is a whole new level of cheese...

There was no one next to us on the ride home, so we took
full advantage of the space!

Landed back in KC with one tired baby boy.

And that brings us up to date for the most part. Matt's birthday is this weekend, and I'm hoping to make it better than last year (we were in the middle of our hospital stay for D's heart). It's also Easter!! We're making a trip home to celebrate with our families, so I'm pumped for a great weekend :)

My First Christmas

The holiday season kept us plenty occupied this year (hence the timing between posts!). I worked Christmas Eve and Day this year, so we packed up and headed to Joplin the evening of the 25th. We celebrated with both our immediate and extended families during our 5 day stay. I had quite a bit of fun shopping around for useful Christmas presents for Declan this year (baby bowls and spoons, a highchair, and bigger clothes). We were so excited to watch Declan open presents (i.e.- play with the boxes/paper/bows) that we nearly forgot to take any pictures! The very few we did get were blurry and poorly lit at best :( It occurred to me that we hadn't taken pictures when we got to the very last present... Matt grab the camera, record, and take some pictures quick! Either way, Christmas was special and it was nice to enjoy it with our families close by.

Christmas art

My first snow!

Checkin' out  the snow from my window.

Christmas Eve

1 of only 2 blurry Christmas pictures

Declan had slowly been more and more hungry after normal feeds, grabbing at our food, and eyeing us during mealtime in a way that made you feel terrible to eat in from of him. So at 5 1/2 months we decided to start on a bit of cereal to prime his belly for the good stuff to come. Rice cereal mixed up with breast milk was our first venture into solid foods. He took to eating really well! (No, I'm not surprised at all. Have you met my boy?) Rice cereal down the hatch, no problem. On to oatmeal the following week, not so sure about this one. Texture is a little more grainy, different flavor. But he eats it anyway, even if he acts suspicious about the whole thing.

First taste of rice cereal...

...pretty good. More please!

Yum yum!

Anticipating moving on to baby foods, I bought a food processor and a baby cookbook with my Christmas money. Let me just say how excited I was to start making my little guy his very first foods!! I was surprised by how QUICK and EASY it was. I made the equivalent of 40 jars of baby food in under 2 hours :) Prep, cooking, pureeing, storing, and clean-up! We now have sweet potatoes, butternut squash, zucchini, green baby peas, apples, and pears all ready to go in 1oz portions in the freezer :) Not to mention the bananas and avocados can be readily fixed with no prep. This momma was waaaay to excited this morning to wait any longer. (The baby food has been in the freezer for a week now!!) He'll officially be 6 months old this Wednesday (January 23rd) and of course I work. I'm only off 1 day then back to work Friday. Feigning concern over a food reaction that I would want to be present for, today was the day we made the jump to delicious and nutritious whole pureed foods.

Cut up...

Steam...

Puree...

Freeze...

...Store!

Veggie or fruit?.... give with cereal or alone?.... eating a veggie for breakfast? (well I wouldn't!) I had already given in to cereal before 6 months. I had debated not giving cereal at all. I wanted to be that mom who achieved exclusive breastfeeding for 6 months before interrupting with solids. The healthiest option, right? Well, when babies are hungry and they give you those big, sad, why-won't-you-give-me-some eyes, and are trying to steal anything they can grab off the dinner table.... well I gave in. Sweet potatoes for breakfast. He wasn't quite sure about the new flavor at first, but took to it pretty good. It seems the more times he's exposed to it, the more he likes them. Yay! It's so fun to watch your child do all the "firsts", big or small. It's this great sense of joint adventure between him and us. So blessed by this little boy who has already made our lives so much more than we had known was possible.

Six months pictures in the laundry basket will be on Saturday, then coming your way :)

Declan Fun Facts:

-He is really finding his voice and becoming even more vocal. His latest thing is to yell and shriek as loudly as possible to his great amusement (not so much to other restaurant patrons when eating out though...)
-He sleeps on his tummy most of the time now, with feet pulled up under him, arms tucked under his belly, and his little behind up in the air :)
-He still makes his frownie face and cries when other babies cry or when they get loud (maybe that's how he discovered his new vocal talent?)
-I THINK I may have seen him sign back 'milk' to me the other day, but I haven't been able to get him to repeat it. So maybe just a random fist clenching....
-With solids in his diet now, Matt and I are sure to point out whose turn it is to change his poopie diapers! Peee-yeww! (Matt literally gags during diaper changes. I wonder where Declan got his Drama King attitude from?)
-He loves to play in his exersaucer and practice standing while in it. This is where most of his yelling and shrieking occurs.
-Not so fun fact, his reflux is just as prevalent as ever. I was really hoping for his sake (and for our washing machine's) that this would be coming to an end. Maybe next month :/
-Not so fun fact but funny story to everyone but me, I was the first to get barfed on IN THE FACE! (I was sincerely hoping this was going to be Matt.) Big time disgusting. Huge barf lands on my mouth and nose. I immediately clamp down my mouth which in turn means I inhale the stuff through my nose (which burns by the way) as is proceeds to run down my neck and into my hair THEN continuing on to my shoulder and the floor (of course I was holding him up in the air). In the shower I realize that I can taste it in my mouth too. I'm sure some got in there as well. I couldn't brush/rinse/swish/spit enough. Blech!
-Best fun fact of all... his laugh is too die for! (see video)

Playing with Rowan (Miss Rachel was eliciting smiles
utilizing the Itsy Bitsy Spider routine!)

My first hair cut (Dad insisted the long wispys be snipped).

I LOVE reading time

Finding feet and toes

Playing with Lainey Joy

Sweet potatoes.... hmmm...

Cold carrot as a teether... why not?

I'm not sure that any baby could be more cool :)
Check out his "thumbs up"!

Hey, I found my foot inside a white  sock!

Again, Mr. Cool makes an appearance

A picture is worth a thousand words...

...or so they say. The pictures are the best part anyway :)

Mmmm, chilly!

Devouring Sohpie

and Mr. Broccoli

and the keys

Self-inflicted battle wound during a nursing strike. My first owwie.

Thanks Uncle Dan and Aunt Kelsie for my books!

Crazy cute pirate PJs

From this...

...to this! Progress :) Minus the feet outside the rails :/