January 31, 2011

I didn't get a picture today because that poor kiddo was so tired when I got home we just got on the fast track to bedtime. This is a picture from yesterday, when G was hanging with his Uncle Chris. Today was tough, he woke up early and didn't nap well - this morning I thought he might not be feeling well and Jason said that he thought the same thing during the day. I think it might be teeth, but I guess we won't know until they actually get here. Poor kiddo, it's tough to be a baby sometimes. I did get my smiles and hugs when I got home though, and that always picks me up. He was pretty giggly in the bath tub and even though he was tired, he wasn't very fussy. He goes back to the doctor on Wednesday for his 6 month checkup and then we are going to visit Grangingy.

January 30, 2011

Please excuse the bib on my baby - this is a gift from Uncle Brandon (also pictured) and I put it on him today so that once Uncle Brandon leaves, it can "mysteriously" disappear. Gage had a great day today! He was in a great mood, took long naps (and so did Mama), and was overall super fun to play with. Uncles Brandon and Chris got here a little after lunch time and had a lot of fun with G man. He was really interested in Uncle Chris' beard and was being super cute with him. He has been gnawing on my chin a LOT today and I have some marks on me now - those teeth are NO joke. The drool has increased substantially and the kid has been jamming his fingers in his mouth all day, so I'm wondering if we are going to be getting those top teeth soon. We practiced crawling again today and he's still using his "push and pull" method that includes pushing his head along the floor to get where he wants to go. It's been a big weekend full of visitors and Gage has had fun with everyone.

Gage and Uncle Brandon

Gage and Uncle Chris

January 29, 2011

Well, we had visitors all day today, so I forgot to take a picture today. This is a picture Jason took earlier this week while he was playing in the exersaucer.

My friend Chris stayed with us the last couple of nights and left this afternoon. Right after he left, my friend Lusana came by to meet little man. He charmed everyone, of course - he even had Lusana so starry-eyed that she offered to let him stay the night at her house. That little dude knows how to work it.

He got up early this morning, around 6a, but he was pretty cute all day and took his naps without much fuss. We played and cuddled and visited. It was a fun day hanging out with the Monkey.

January 28, 2011

Cute monkey! My friend Chris is in town and he took this picture while he was hanging out with J and the kiddo today. J said that they had a lot of fun today and G was back on a better schedule, taking his naps and being super sweet. When I got home he was in a great mood and finishing up his last bottle. We had some green beans and squash, which he likes. Eating time has gotten so exciting for him, he just loves it. He was super smiley in the bathtub and we had a lot of fun. We read The Cat in the Hat Comes Back before bed and he loves the pictures. We hugged and traded some eskimo kisses and he was giving me the sweetest smiles. I laid him in bed and after giving me another smile, he rolled over on his side and went right to sleep. Such a sweet baby, I love those kind of nights/moments.

*Edited: I was reminded that I totally forgot to mention that he is trying to crawl. J got a video of him doing his new "push head forward" move that ALMOST looks like a crawl.

Vintage Gage

January 27, 2011 - Happy Half Birthday!

I can't believe my little guy is already 6 months old! This picture is of a super sleepy dude. He took NO naps today - J said maybe 20 minutes. Strangely enough he wasn't as cranky as I expected, but he was definitely tired. We tried squash tonight and he seemed to really like it.
The last 6 months have gone by so fast and it's so crazy how big he has gotten. He's so smart and has learned so much. He's still really digging the exersaucer and can spend like 30 minutes in that thing, just turning around and around, playing with al the gadgets. He was hanging out with J while I got his bath ready and he was dancing to the Gorillaz, it was pretty cute. Then he watched J play a little acoustic guitar and he really liked that too. He's just into everything these days and he gets so excited it cracks us up. He's a special kiddo.

January 26, 2011

In this picture he's thinking - "Mom! Look! I can see us on the phone!" Gage came and hung out with me at the office on my lunch break today while Daddy went to an appointment. He helped me review some fundings and send out some money - he's brilliant. He gots some attention from all the ladies in the office and he loved that. Everyone was talking about how handsome and happy he is. I fed him a bottle before J picked him back up and he fell asleep on me, which he hasn't done in sooo long - it was nice to get a little snuggling in the middle of my workday.

He was ready to eat when I got home and we tried some green beans tonight. He definitely liked that more than the peas and then we followed up with sweet potatoes, which are still #1.

I can't believe that he'll be 6 months old tomorrow. Friends of ours had their little boy today and looking at their pictures brought back memories of when we first met this little dude. He's so awesome and it's just unbelieveable to think we made such an incredible little miracle.

January 25, 2011

I know, I know...I missed yesterday. Long day for this Mama. Monkey took some great naps today and was in a great mood when I got home. He's starting to sleep in a little and it's been awesome for everyone in the house! He's also getting more and more excited about food. Tonight I put him in the high chair and he was SO excited he started cackling and kicking his feet. He lunges for the spoon and sucks that food down. Sweet potoatoes are still his favorite, but I can usually get some peas in there too. It's fun to see him get so stoked about eating food. It's pretty cute, too.

January 23, 2011

This is a last minute picture, taken about 20 minutes before baby boy went to bed. Today was an awesome day though, which is probably why I forgot to take a picture of him. He had his bottle at 5:30a and then slept until 8:30a - again - and he woke up in a great mood. We had some bananas after our 2nd bottle and he has really gotten the hang of the purees. We did a lot of exersaucer playing today and he was SUPER snuggly with me. I don't know what is happening, but he's been pretty attached to me lately. He just wants to be in my lap or standing up with his arms around my neck. Most of the time I love it so much, but then sometimes it's like - hey dude, I gotta shower and stuff. He took 2 great naps today and didn't give me much fuss at either of them. Mimi came by to see him and he had fun talking to her and showing her how he gets crazy in the exersaucer. We also showed her how hypnotized he gets when his show, Brainy Baby, is on. It's pretty funny. We had a great weekend hanging out and I'm so glad to report that those teeth are in and don't seem to be giving him any trouble right now. I guess they'll just keep coming though, so I won't be getting too comfortable yet.

January 22, 2011

Today was a big day! We finally had some success with trying food! I finally decided to give up on the cereal and see how G man felt about purees. We tried bananas first about 2 weeks ago and while he didn't seem to mind the taste, he still wasn't going for the eating thing. He would still push it out of his mouth instead of swallowing it. Then last weekend we tried peas and he did a litle better, but most of it still came right back out of his mouth. So tonight we tried sweet potatoes and SUCCESS! He ate it off the spoon, worked it to the back and swallowed. It was pretty awesome. He seemed to dig the taste too, he would get more and more excited for the next bite. So we'll give that a few days to make sure there aren't any weird reactions and then we may go back and try the peas and bananas again - now that he seems to understand the "eating" part of things. One of the pics is from our little dinner session, super happy baby.

The other picture is the face that greets me when he wakes up from his naps. It's a favorite time of mine, going to get him after he's gotten some sleep. He's been a little behind on his sleep all week and super cranky for a couple of days. Last night he woke up at 4a for a quick bottle and then he slept until 8:30! It was great - for both of us. He was in a much better mood today, although he stayed pretty sleepy all day and took a few extra naps. I think this might be the tail end of a growth spurt, which would make sense with how he's been this week and how he's been looking bigger lately. OH - and if you look REALLY close at the after naptime picture, you can see those teeth we've been talking about.

We went to visit PawPaw Bill this afternoon and we got to see Uncle Brad and Aunt Emily as well. Mimi is coming over tomorrow, so it's going to be a big grandparent weekend.

January 21, 2011

I had a little extra help at work this morning. This pic is us sitting at my desk sending emails. J hasn't been feeling well, so I took the Monkey in with me and he hung out with me and the girls at work. He charmed all the ladies, of course, but it disrupted his nap schedule even more than normal and by 10:30a he was exhausted and unwilling to sleep. I finally put him in the carseat an swung it back and forth for a few minutes. He passed out and slept for about 30 minutes. J picked him up around 12p and I don't think he's had a good nap since then. When I got home this evening, he was SO sleepy - but still cackling and having a good time. After bath time he went to bed a little earlier than normal, so I'm hoping he gets some good rest tonight.

January 20, 2011

Well, we didn't get a new picture today, so I'm posting one of my favorites from our family's Christmas gathering back in December. Look at that smile!

No picture today because little man was CUH-RANKY. J said he was pretty fussy all day and then J's mom watched him for a couple of hours late in the day and said he was even cranky with her. When I got home I got some smiles and hugs, but I could tell he was walking a line. I had to take J's mom to her car, which was a 15 minute drive (one way) and then I had to pick up dinner on the way home. By the time we were in the drive thru, he was LOSING HIS MIND. Lots of screaming and tears, poor kiddo. He was really tired (no naps again today) and I could his teeth were really bugging him. The first one is done - but that second one is taking it's sweet time to get all the way in. He even screamed when I put him in the bath, so he basically just got a rinse tonight. I felt terrible, he was putting his little arms around my neck and just fussing - poor baby. I'm glad that the weekend is here so that I can spend some real time with him.

January 19, 2011

J sent this picture to me this afternoon and I just cracked up. This silly baby's new sleeping habits make me crazy. I am always going in there to check on him because he always ends up like this - blanket over his head, upside down - I know he's fine, but I can't sleep thinking about it. So this picture totally made me laugh when I got it. His new favorite sleeping position is on his tummy, butt in the air - but burying his head in the blanket is a new trick. He was really tired and fussy when I got home today so it was a juggling act to keep him somewhat entertained until his last bottle at 7pm. He did give me my favorite smiles when I got home, so it's all good.

January 18, 2011

J took this picture this morning while he and the Monkey were hanging out. He texted it to me and that face made my day a little brighter. Didn't take all his naps today AND he threw an hour and a half long party at 5a, so when I got home today he was pretty tired. GiGi stopped by and saw him for a few minutes and then it was into the bath for him. He's discovered that if he sticks his tongue way out, he can blow some really awesome raspberries. We had a lot of fun with that while he got into his pj's and while we read his book.

January 17, 2011

Sweet baby boy! Today was SUCH a better day. He was back on his regular sleeping schedule and barely fought his naps at all. He woke up feeling super lovey dovey and was all kinds of snuggly this morning. I loved it! He's been in a great mood today and we've had a lot of fun. This pic is from our field trip to Target - Sophie came with us, of course.

Gage and I have been playing all day, in the exersaucer (that's all him), in his room and in the bed with Daddy. He's been blowing raspberries and cackling all day as well, so cute. Still waiting on the 2nd tooth to make a full appearance, but I think the hard part might be over as far as the breaking through. I hate that I have to go back to work tomorrow, but we've had a lot of fun together on this three day weekend.

January 15th and 16th, 2011

Well it was bound to happen - I was hoping to get at least past 30 days before it did, but whatever - I missed yesterday. So today there are two pictures - the one on the left is from yesterday. We went to a birthday party for a friend's 4 year old and Gage had a great time. This is a picture of him trying to eat his daddy's diet coke bottle. We played in the gym of a rec center, did some dancing, played with some other babies and he was in a great mood the whole time. He passed out plenty of smiles and coos to the ladies - he's such a flirt.

The other picture is from today - we were all hanging out in the bed, watching football and playing with toys. Gage loves to watch him some football, as evidenced by this picture. Only a great football play could take his attention away from his car.

Today was rough, he woke up early (again) and spent most of the day off schedule. A couple of pretty serious screaming fits took place, but he took a longer nap midday and that helped a little bit. Uncle Brad and Soon to Be Aunt Emily came over and had fun playing with him. Of course, he completely covered them in drool, but they didn't seem to mind. The second tooth is still coming in, broken the skin, but not all the way through - which probably has a little to do with his mood.

Other than the tooth, we were joking around all day about how much bigger he looks than even yesterday - like he grew 3 inches overnight. I mean, even his face looked different to me. I guess that is how it goes, each day he'll just keep changing.

January 14, 2011

Well hello Mama! How are you today? God I love that face. Thanks to a late appointment, I got to leave work early today and had a couple of extra hours with the Monkey. We played with some toys, watched a little Top Chef and SVU on the DVR and tried cereal again. Still not really working, he just blows raspberries and spits it all down his chin. It's actually kind of hilarious. After bath time tonight we read The Cat in the Hat Comes Back and then it was to bed with the kiddo. He took a couple of long naps today, so I was glad that he went down without a fight. He had ANOTHER early morning, so I'm planning on being up before 7a tomorrow. We have a birthday party late in the afternoon, so hopefully I'll get a nap in there somewhere.

January 13, 2011

Bath time! No matter how cranky he is when I get home, bath time is always fun. We have to get two washcloths - one for me to wash him with and one for him to chew on while he gets cleaned up.

We read The Jungle Book tonight and he had fun listening to the companion CD. He went right to sleep with no drama, tired kid.

He woke up at 3:45a this morning ready to eat and then started his day at 7:15a. We are going to get cereal another try tomorrow night - I think it's time to get some more calories in that tummy of his.

January 12, 2011

Gage has added protein to his diet - giraffe is his favorite. That is Sophie, the French giraffe. She is a lifesaver when we are out and about, because chewing on that little giraffe keeps little man happy and relaxed. Today was another day without good naps - he's on some type of napping strike - so when I got home he was pretty tired. We played a little, he helped me make dinner, bath and then bed. He couldn't even make through a book tonight.

He's rolling at will these days, back to belly and belly to back. He's trying really hard to crawl, but he hasn't quite figured it out yet. He'll get on his belly, push his head into the floor, push up on his knees and rock. He hasn't quite figured out the arm part yet, but he definitely wants to go places. Of course since he's my kid, he always has his own agenda :o).

January 11, 2011

Another picture with little man's favorite toy - the bendy ball! You can really see his mohawk in this picture. He has hair all over his head, but it's growing in thickest and longest in a strip right down the middle. So cute. He missed a nap today, so when I got home, he was pretty tired. We read the Jungle Book before bed and he seemed to like that one. I have a three day weekend this week and I'm looking forward to a little extra time to hang out with the monkey.

Exersaucer Video

January 10, 2011

I didn't get to take a picture of little man today. He was pretty cranky and tired by the time I got home, so it was straight into the bathtub and then to bed. J texted this picture to me earlier today from the doctor's office. He's been pretty congested and after about a month of it, we took him in just to be sure it wasn't an infection that moved to his chest. Of course he's absolutely fine, just congested and unlucky enough to have inherited his mom's terrible sinuses. That tooth is definitely in now, there is no mistaking it. I'm going to try and get a picture of it tomorrow, hopefully he'll let me. Since I didn't get a picture other than this one, I posted a video from yesterday of the crazy baby in his exersaucer.

January 9, 2011

Look! A picture where he's not wearing a bib! I took it off specifically to try and get a few good pictures of him and he gave me a lot of "what are you doing Mom?" faces. Oh well, he's pretty cute, even when he's making funny faces. Today was another OK day. Started out a little too early again - 6a - so he was a little tired early in the day. That tooth FINALLY popped through and that was making him a little whiny. We could tell that he just wasn't feeling very well. But around 2pm he took a 2 hour nap - longest in a couple of days - and he was a brand new baby when he woke up. We had a lot of fun later in the afternoon, playing in his room and dancing around. He was ready for bed earlier than I expected, so we had bathtime and a bottle and he sacked out. We have a birthday party to go to next weekend and I'm looking forward to a little outing with G man. It's later in the day, close to his bedtime, but we'll make it work. I'm going to try and get a picture of that tooth in the next couple of days. He gets pretty mad when we start trying to get a good look in there. It's been a tough weekend, he hasn't really been himself the entire time, but it was nice to see him get a good nap and feel better later today. Back to work tomorrow.

January 8, 2011

I have two pictures for you today. One of them is of Gage with one of his favorite toys, the Baby Einstein Bendy Ball. I have to keep an eye on him because sometimes he'll get spastic and whack himself in the head with it. His very first mark was a result of him trying to knock himself out with that thing. The second one is of him in his new kickass guitar pjs. I bought these a month or so ago and he's finally big enough for them. To be honest, he probably could have worn them sooner, but for some reason I thought they were 9 months and it turns out they are 6 months - so we put them on tonight. They're thermal and super cute. Pardon the face, he was right on the edge of happy and pissed. That's the "it could go either way" face.

We had some fun today, laughing and being silly. He was a little more snuggly today than usual, which was nice - but he was also a little more whiny. Poor kid, I'm pretty sure we are going to see that tooth any day now and I think it's bugging him. He got a little dose of Tylenol later in the afternoon and that seemed to help a little. He woke up early today too, which threw him off schedule a little and he spent the whole day a little behind on his sleep. So, cute baby, lots of laughs and snuggles, but a little cranky and tired. I didn't even get a shower until like 5pm. Oh well. I do regret not getting going earlier in the day and getting out of the house with him for a bit. With the weather expected tonight and tomorrow, I doubt we are going anywhere.

I'm going to look into some Mommy and Me activities he and I can do on Saturdays. It's tough because so many of the baby activities/groups are during the week for SAHMs. I did find Gymboree and I'm going to check on Kindermusik - it would be nice if we could get out for something each week. My baby needs some friends, I think he's getting bored with me and J. He's 6 months in a couple of weeks, so at some point soon we are going to look into swim classes. We want him in the water as early as possible.

Well the kiddo is asleep and it's been a long day. Until tomorrow.

January 7, 2011

J took this picture today while the monkey was playing in his exersaucer. Man he LOVES that thing. He'll bounce, kick, chew and throw all the parts of it for like 30 minutes. His face is so hilarious - he'll get so serious about some part of it and then grab it real fast and put it in his mouth. His favorite part is the fish to the left and kind of behind him in the picture.
I'm ready for the weekend. Besides the break from work, I really miss the kiddo and have so much fun with him when we get to hang out on Saturdays and Sundays. We have some errands to run this weekend, so I'm excited to get some of his new warmer wardrobe on him for our outings. He got a ton of great winter gear for Christmas and hopefully he can wear it all at least once.

January 6, 2011

Tonight we took a few pictures together. J and I disagreed on which one was the best one, so I put both of our favorites up. Another fun night with the Monkey - bottle, playtime, bath, book and bed. When I put him to bed, he pulls his covers up and rolls over on his side. Well with his new rolling trick, sometimes he rolls all the way over onto his tummy and then he gets upset. So I go in there, roll him back over and get him settled. Just took 2 times tonight.

J was telling me about some of the funny stuff he's been doing lately. His personality is showing up in such a big way. He's starting the "I threw my toy on the ground, can you pick it up?" game, which is pretty funny. According to J, he plays in his exersaucer while his favorite show is on TV (Brainy Baby) and when his favorite parts come on, he'll turn around in the exersaucer to make sure he doesn't miss them. He's also figured out that the hanging toys on the exersaucer will swing toward him if he bounces enough. So he'll jump up and down to make the whole thing bounce and then the hanging toy swings so that he can grab it and put it in his mouth - which is always the goal. Yep, he's a funny little dude.

January 5, 2011

This isn't a great picture - the light in the kitchen is terrible and it's another phone picture. I need to take some pictures with the real camera - maybe this weekend. Anyway, Gage was helping me make dinner. He was pretty mellow when I got home tonight, just hanging out and giving me smiles when I turned to talk to him. I might try to get some pics of him without a bib this weekend too - it's just that with the amount of drool coming out of that kid's mouth, he' pretty much wearing one 24/7.

January 4, 2011

This is the face I come home to everyday. It is the CUTEST thing. He gets so excited to see me and when I pick him up he either grabs my face with both hands and smashes his face into mine or wraps his arms around my neck and gives me this little baby hug. *sigh* Weekdays are tough because I only get to see him for an hour or so before he goes to bed. We get a lot done in that hour - bath, bottle, playtime, story time - but it's still tough.
That tooth is making its way through, slowly but surely. Other than that, not much new to report. Another day of cuteness from the monkey.

January 3. 2011

Little man was being awful cute today, so you get to see two pictures. The one on the left is right after bath time, which he really loves. We have a lot of time playing in the water and talking in the bathroom. He likes the acoustics in there, so he gets pretty vocal in the bath.

The picture above is in his PJs, sitting up on the couch (by himself!) and chewing on his paci. He likes to take the paci out of his mouth and chew on the sides. According to J, he had a great day and was being super sweet. A funny story - I always check on him before I leave for work. This morning he had rolled over on his belly and fallen back asleep that way, which is a first. I knew that he would be fine, but something about leaving him sleeping on his tummy had me a little freaked out. By the time I got to work I had already texted J to call me when they woke up. Of course he woke up and was totally fine, but it made me a little nervous. That's why I'm the mom, I guess.

He was super cute when I got home, but definitely a little sleepy. I gave him his last bottle, we played and then it was bath time and story time. We've been reading a book or two before bed for the last week or so and he seems to like it - or at least he likes to chew the books. He's been harder to put to bed the last couple of nights and I'm having to practice letting him cry it out a little - I HATE it, but if I let him work it out on his own, it doesn't take more than a few minutes for him to roll over, pull his blanket up to his chin and pass out.

January 2, 2011

Someone decided that he wanted to start his day at 5:45am this morning. Usually he'll take a bottle around that time and then go back to bed for an hour or so...not this morning. Ready to rock and roll as soon as he woke up. We hung out on the couch a little, sang some songs and I did what I could to stay awake. He took an early nap around 8am, so I got a little nap as well.

He's having more fun playing on his belly, as you can see from the picture. He's rolling onto his belly all the time now and he'll hang out there for a bit before he gets frustrated. He hasn't figured out to roll back over to his back yet.

Yesterday evening we thought we felt what could be the beginning of a tooth, but we weren't really sure. Well this morning I got a better look at it in the daylight and that is definitely a tooth. It's not through just yet, but we can feel the edge of it and you can see the white through his gums. Let's see how long this takes and how bad it gets. He's been a little cranky this past week, but not too bad. Tonight we are going to try some cereal again, see if we get any further.

Overall another fun day - he's growing so much and everyday he's learning more and more. It's so awesome to hang out with him and make him laugh - he gets so tickled and just cracks us up. He'll be up soon from his nap and it will be time for another bottle and some more giggles before bathtime. Day 2.

January 1, 2011

G man and I hung out all day today and we had a lot of fun. He's really enjoying all of his new toys from Christmas, even though he gets mad because some of them are too big to fit in his mouth. Fun or not, if he can't get the toy in his mouth, he gets bored pretty quickly. His favorites are still his Sophie and the Baby Einstein bendy ball - although he's digging this Vtech smart driver toy he got from Santa.

We spent some time on the playmat today, a little time in the exersaucer and watched an episode of Brainy Baby (his favorite show). He got the Baby Einstein DVD set from Mimi for Christmas and I'm thinking we will try one of those tomorrow. Mom and Dad are getting a little tired of the same Brainy Baby episodes over and over. It will be nice for a little change of pace. After a couple of rough sleeping nights, he actually slept really well and after a bottle at 5am, he went back to sleep and didn't get up until 8:30am. It was awesome.

Dinner time was fun tonight. Gage has been getting really good at holding his own bottle, even though he can't really do it for the entire feeding yet. He gets so mad when we try to control the bottle; he just wants to do it himself. While I was at Target tonight I decided to go ahead and get him some rice cereal to try and some spoons and bowls. I mixed a little for him and we gave it a whirl, but he wasn't that interested. To be honest, it was so watery that it seemed like I was just spooning formula into his mouth. Maybe tomorrow we mash a little sweet potato and see if he's any more interested in some puree instead. He's gotten SO into what we are eating and I constantly have to bat him away from my food and my fork. We'll see how it goes.

Some of Gage's favorite things right now:

- sticking his tongue out

- being tickled - chewing on my face (especially my chin)

- diving for objects in my hand (the remote)

- playing in the exersaucer

- putting EVERYTHING in his mouth

- wrestling with us during diaper changes

I know I'm biased, but he's a pretty cute and fun kid. I'm excited about this 365 challenge, I hope it helps me remember all of these awesome moments.