March 31, 2011

So close to getting a picture of the fangs! See that flushed face? The red face of a teething baby. The rash on his neck and chin is so bad too - I've resorted to the steroid cream we were prescribed a while back when he had the same breakout on his back. Doc said we could use it for flareups for 5-7 days, so hopefully it will help get it under control a little bit. Last night he did the midnight wakeup again, but then he slept all the way through to 5:45a, which was nice. He babbled a bit before going back to sleep and when I left for work he was sacked out. J called me at 9:30a and said, "Um, should I go wake him up?" I couldn't believe he was still asleep! He didn't wake up until a little after 10a! That is beyond crazy...and he STILL took an almost 2 hour nap. When I got home we all got a little sidetracked and his entire routine got pushed back about an hour, but it worked out because I figured he wouldn't go to bed early anyway. He's so attentive these days. When I got home I had to take an important phone call and I was carrying him around with me while I talked. I kept sneaking looks at him and he had this really serious look on his face like he was listening to everything I said. He could tell I was in business mode - the look on his face was so cute. He remembered the splashing as soon as I put him in the tub and this time he almost drenched me while I was trying to bathe him. He had a pretty good time, we were laughing and splashing and being silly. He was in bed and asleep before 8p, so that's still good. I guess he's just pushing his waking hours back a bit. He likes hanging out with us in the evenings for a little while and to tell the truth, we like hanging out with him too. It's nice to not be in a rush the minute I walk in to get him fed, bathed and in bed. It's fun to have some time to talk and play.

March 30, 2011

This is the best picture I could get. That little dude was a blur of activity tonight. Even waving the phone around couldn't get his attention. He was crawling all over the house with me following behind him.

J said today was a pretty good day. For the most part it's the same thing every day - wake up, little TV/exersaucer, breakfast, play on the floor, nap, lunch, more playing on the floor and then I get home and we start our evening routine.

In the bath tonight he discovered how much fun it is to splash in the water. He's done a little splashing here and there before, but he was going crazy and cracking up tonight. He was playing quietly while I washed him, talking to his duck and just being chill and then all of a sudden he just started slapping at the water. When he realized how much fun it was, he started splashing even harder and then he started cracking up. He was having a lot of fun. Even J came in when he heard all the commotion to watch him. We were all laughing.

He's been going to bed a little later, but he's still usually asleep by 7:30p. Unfortunately he's on this new night schedule where he wakes up at midnight and 4a for some snuggles and sometimes a little bit of formula. I'm hoping that this is just a symptom of the teething - we'll see once those new teeth come in. He has a nasty rash under his chin and at the top of his chest from the drool and now his cheeks are a little chapped and red. He's not miserable most of the time, but he's still clawing at that ear and he gets a little feverish in the early evening, so I'll be glad when he gets the next couple of teeth. Can't wait for the weekend and little quality time with little man.

March 29, 2011

Check out that eyebrow - he's got some faces. I missed yesterday's post because we snagged an 8p doctors appointment at the last minute to have the kiddo's ears checked out. He's been clawing at his left ear a lot more than usual and he's been shaking his head a lot, so we decided to have it looked at. He's clawed at his ears before because of teething, but this seemed worse, so we decided to just rule out the ear infection so we could stop wondering. Of course we get there, doc takes one look and tells us his ears are perfect. So...we're expecting more teeth at any time. He did great to be out so late and went straight to bed when we got home.

He was in a great mood when I got home tonight, he was just cracking up and smiling really big while we finished dinner and hung out. He's gets these huge smiles where his whole face scrunches up and he shows off his vampire teeth. I STILL can't get a picture of it - the minute he sees the phone or camera he gets this hungry look on his face and lunges for it. I have to try hard this week to have J help me - if he can make him laugh, maybe I can get the picture without him noticing me with the phone.

J claims that he said "Dad-dy" today, but he said he wasn't sure if it was on purpose, so we aren't claiming anything yet. I'll have to hear it to believe it. He was playing on his floor today and I was laying down a few feet away and I started patting my face and saying, "Ma-ma". He got a big smile on his face and crawled over to me as fast as he could, then he put his hands on my face and gave me a big slobbery kiss. The sweetness, I die!

March 27, 2011 - 8 months old!

Guess who's 8 months old today? That cute little dude on the left, that's who. Sorry about missing posts the last couple of days, they have been long days. We didn't get to Gymboree this weekend. Monkey slept in yesterday (not complaining) and his nap ended up being a little later than usual and he slept right through the class time, so I called and rescheduled for next weekend. We did have fun this weekend though: lots of playing on the floor, lots of standing up, talking, helping me around the house, etc.

As I said, he slept in yesterday and when he woke up, he was ready to rock and roll. He's been taking just one long nap midday most of this week, but yesterday he ended up taking a little power nap around 5p as well. He went to bed a little late because of that, but he was back up at 7a this morning, ready to party. Today he took a 2 hour nap midday and I did too - it was awesome! Even with the long nap he still needed another power nap today - he went to bed a little after 7p and he's still in there babbling to himself.

Lately every time we go in there to get him out of bed, he's standing up and stuck. He's gotten really good at pulling up, but once he gets there he can't quite figure out how to get back down. He really likes to pull up and stand at the gate now, watch us from his room. He will also stand up on us if we are sitting or laying on the floor with him. He loves to stand, but then he gets a little confused about where he goes from there. His crawling has gotten a lot better, he's progressed from the army crawl to a full on fast crawl. He never sits still now, he's always wiggling and moving, working toward his own agenda.

He's babbling SO much. He definitely has the "ba", "gee", "da" and "ay" sounds down, but he hasn't put anything purposeful together yet. This morning we were in the kitchen and I kept saying "ma-ma" to him and he would laugh really loud and say "ba" back. There were a couple of times when I turned my back that he said something like "mama", and I would turn and talk back to him, but it wasn't quite it. It was kind of exciting though, pretty close! I'll just have to keep coaching him. Jason gets more time during the week to work on "dada" with him, so I have to use every chance I get.

He's learned so much in just the last 8 months, it's just amazing. Especially lately, he's just learning so much every day. I come home and there's always someting new for him to show me. He is so snuggly and lovey dovey with me, it always makes my day. Even when he's playing and I'm just nearby, he'll take breaks to crawl over and give me hugs and kisses and then head back to his toys. Last night I wasn't here when he finally went to bed and I found myself hoping he would wake up in the middle of the night just so I could love on him. My little Monkey.

March 24, 2011

This picture is actually from Sunday - I didn't get any new ones today so I posted this one to show you Gage's "Squiggy" impersonation. Pretty cute.

I was trying to hard today to get a picture of those vampire fangs, but he just lunges for the phone/camera whenever I try to take pictures now. Tomorrow I think I will get J to take the picture while I get him to laugh.

He made a total mess at dinner tonight. One of the foods he had was a macaroni & cheese w/veggies puree and let me tell you something - that orange puree stains. His face was orange, his clothes were orange, his hands were orange. Did I mention that he's a ridiculously messy eater? Two reasons: 1) Lately he's been putting his hand to his mouth as I spoon the food in - I think he either wants the spoon or he wants to feel the food. So...the food gets all over his hands and then....2) He is usually pretty tired and he'll start rubbing his face/eyes. See where this is going? There is food EVERYWHERE by the time we are done. I figure being messy with your food is one of the things that kids get to enjoy, so who cares? He takes a bath after dinner anyway, so I just let him wipe the food all over everything he can. He thinks it's fun.

Rest of the night was pretty normal - dinner, bath, bed. We had some tickle sessions with Daddy before bed and he thought that was a lot of fun. I'm excited about the weekend and our Gymboree class. I'm excited to get him around some other kiddos.

March 23, 2011

Check him out! GiGi watched him today because J had to work and she texted this picture to me early in the afternoon. Look at him on his tiptoes. He loves to get into the toy box and that seems to be his favorite place to practice standing and pulling up. Now he will even try to push up from a sitting position, but he just ends up in this hilarious "downward dog" pose that cracks me up.

Like I said, he spent most of the day with GiGi and when I got home he was so excited to see me. I can not wait to get home for those hugs and kisses every day. We played on the floor for a little while after I first got home. A coworker gave me a new toy for him from Discovery Toys and he seemed to like it - it's a soft block with a hole in the top and there are a bunch of soft pieces that go inside with different textures. After we played for a while, it was time for dinner and he ate his green beans, sweet potatoes and fruit like a champ. About that time J got home and he was cracking Gage up saying hello and singing songs to him. J has been doing this loud noises and kind of scary faces and Gage will start laughing like it's the funniest thing he's seen. We were dancing and cackling for a while after dinner. Then it was time for his bath and after a quick bottle we had some snuggles and it was time for bed. He has been smiling so big and I think that I may be able to get a picture of those vampire teeth in the next couple of days. I have to tell you, it's SO cute when he gets to laughing and showing off those fangs.

March 21, 2011

When I got home today it was pretty quiet and I didn't see J or Monkey anywhere. When I went down the hall and peeked in the office I saw G was passed out on the floor and J was laying next to him. He had just fallen asleep eating his last bottle of the day. It seems like he's dropping his afternoon nap - he'll take a long late morning/midday nap and then be up from like noon to 6p. It's not a big deal, but he just gets so sleepy in the evenings. He woke up about 15 minutes later and I brought him in the kitchen to help me make dinner. It was a struggle, he wanted me to hold him - but I managed to entertain him enough that he hung out in the walker while I cooked. After dinner was ready it was time for him to eat. He's starting to develop some tastes and it's getting harder to get him to eat his vegetables. He'll make faces and spit it out - but once I get to the fruit it's all good. He's like "ew, peas...ew, veggies...yum, pears and pineapples" After dinner he had his bath and that was quick, since I had dinner on the stove. We still haven't moved to the big bathtub, but I won't be able to avoid it much longer. I got his pjs on and he played in his room while I turned dinner off in the kitchen. When I got back to his room, he was reading his animal book, which he likes because they added furry pieces to the different pictures, so he likes to feel the textures too. Lots of snuggles and kisses later and little Monkey was in bed. I signed him up for a free Gymboree class this weekend and I'm excited for us to try it out. I think he'll have a lot of fun.

March 20, 2011

Another action sequence for today: Gage loves his First 100 Words book and his favorite pages are the pages that have pictures of babies. There's a page called "Myself" that has pictures of different babies doing various things: laugh, cry, yawn, walk, crawl, etc. He LOVES that page, gets so excited when I open the book to that page. Today we were playing in his room and he was trying to get to his book. I pulled it down and showed him the page and he kept picking the book up and looking behind it to find the babies - so cute. I'm going to try out a Gymboree class in the next couple of weeks, my poor baby needs some friends!

Today was a long day. G woke up at 5a and played on his floor for about an hour and a half. I dozed on his floor while he played. He would crawl over to me and pat my face and give me kisses and then go back to his toys. At about 6:30a he went back to sleep and he slept for another hour. At 7:30a he was up for the day and we played in his room some more since we had some houseguests on the couches. Again, I dozed/slept on his floor while he played - he had a lot of fun just going crazy. Later he had a little breakfast and took a pretty good morning nap (just under 2 hours) around 10a.

He had a lot of fun hanging out with Aunt Rachael, he really liked her and her friend - he would sit with them and laugh. There was more of the fun screaming today - it was cracking us up again. The morning nap was his last one, so he was up the rest of the day. We did a little exersaucer and a little TV, but he spent a lot of today playing with his toys in his room. I planned to take him to the store with me, but he was a little on edge and I didn't want to risk a meltdown in the middle of Target, so he hung out with J while I went to the store. Overall we had a lot of fun today, but I'm definitely ready for bed. Here's hoping the party won't start until a little later tomorrow morning.

March 19, 2011

Today was a busy day. Monkey just went to bed and if there weren't fights tonight, I would be right behind him. He woke up around 6:15a this morning so after a little Yo Gabba I put on some running clothes and we headed to the lake. I took G up there still in his pjs, I figured he would be comfy and his feet would be covered. I checked outside and it was pretty warm, so I skipped a hat. Of course we get to the lake and not only does it feel quite a bit cooler, but it's super windy. Major Mom Fail. Luckily the hood of the stroller comes down a lot and it did a good job of keeping the wind off of him. I did wrap a blanket around him, so it was pretty cushy. The run itself was a little bumpy - I'll go into more details on my other blog - but overall we did pretty well. When we got home I thought he might be tired enough to go straight to bed for his morning nap (he'd already been up for 2 hours at this point), but that was NOT the case. He had a little breakfast first and after a bit it was time for his second bottle, which put him right to sleep - and he slept for 2 hours! Awesome. We had cinammon toast, Starbucks and picked up J's sister while he was in bed. When he woke up, Aunt Rachael and I took G to the taco place for a little lunch. He had a lot of fun there, as you can see from the picture. Rachael held him and let him chew on her coke bottle while I ate and then we switched. He was fascinated with what was going on in the kitchen, so I could not get him to look at the camera. Back to the house and more fun - he played on the floor a lot, hung out in his exersaucer and spent some time with his Aunt Rachael, who he really likes. He has been super snuggly again today, lots of hugs, snuggling on the couch and laying on me - I hope this is a phase that sticks around for a while, because I really love it. Today he showed us all his new screaming technique. Not distress screaming, just a sustained "aaaaaaagggggghhhhhh!". It's kind of hilarious. Besides the actual sounds, the face he makes is hilarious. We were all just cracking up at him. We tried to get a video, but it was already winding down, so we didn't get a good one. I'm going to try again if he does it tomorrow. Rachael's friend is also hanging out with us and Gage really liked him too - he kept trying to touch his face and grab his mouth. So funny. He never took an afternoon nap, so he was pretty tired and walking the line for the last 2 hours of the day. He went to bed a little early, so I'm sure that he'll be up even earlier in the morning. I may just sleep on his floor while he plays with his toys if that's the case.

March 18, 2011

He's showing off his chins in this picture. Notice all the food on his bib - he's drooling so much that sometimes the food just runs right back out of his mouth. He's a messy eater, for sure. I was trying to get him to smile really big so you could see his upper teeth. They are in full effect and when he really starts cackling he looks like a little vampire. So freaking cute.
Monkey came to work with me this morning and hung out the girls until lunchtime. Everyone had been asking to see him so I brought him in and he showed them all his new skillz - crawling, "ga-ga-ga", working with this toys - he had a good time. He woke up at 6a though, so he really needed a nap around 8a and he didn't go to sleep until 10a (for about 45 minutes). He was still good, no crying at all, he just wouldn't let anyone else hold him after a while. He just wanted me to cart him around. He sat in my lap while I worked and he had a lot of fun helping me type emails and review fundings. We sat in the floor with some of the girls and he crawled around and played with his toys. He was still tired, rubbing his eyes, but he was so cute, the little charmer. When J came in to pick him up he was excited to see him, he gave him a big smile and started babbling at him.
J said that he was still in a great mood when they got home, having fun with him and being cute. He didn't take a nap the rest of the day, which is usually the recipe for disaster, but J said he was pretty cool, just tired. When I got home I walked into his doorway and he got so excited, he started squealing and trying to crawl to me. When he realized there were things in the way that would slow him down he got upset, so I met him halfway. I love when he gets so excited to see me in the evenings. He was really lovey dovey, probably because he was so tired. He was hugging me and resting his head on my shoulder. We came into the living room to finish watching his show and he snuggled down into the crook of my arm and was just being mellow, laughing at the kids on TV. We did our regular routine, dinner, play, bath and bed. Of course he went right to sleep, but he's already woken up once because his leg got caught in the bed. I fear his day of no napping may lead to some bad sleeping tonight, but here's hoping he'll get some rest. If he wakes up before 7a tomorrow, we are going to go and meeting my running group for a little jog at the lake.

Pull up attempt

We were hanging out in little man's room and it looked like he might pull up on the toy box again, so I turned on the camera. Sorry for the bad shakiness, he's tough to follow around these days. I acutally tried to take a picture of him tonight and he would NOT sit still. I'd sit him up and he'd either lunge for the phone (camera) or take off somewhere else. He's a man on the move. He never did get all the way up tonight - but I don't think footed pjs were helping him much. Today was a good day - J said they a lot of fun this afternoon, lots of playing all over the house. J said they were hanging out in the office and he turned away for a minute and when he turned back little dude was GONE. He crawls away so fast - even tonight I was trying to clean up his room a little while he played and when he caught sight of the dog walking down the hall, he was out of there. I had to chase him down the hallway.
We chatted and had fun tonight before bath time. He's been taking his bath in the blow up duck tub for months now and I've noticed that he's getting a little big for it. I was waiting it out though, putting off moving to the big tub until I absolutely had to. Well tonight for the first time he was trying to get out of the duck tub and really wanting to look around at the stuff in the big tub - so I think this weekend we'll try a bath in the big tub. I need to look around for some bath toys he can play with. He has a rubber duckie, but I'm thinking we should get some BOATS! Tomorrow is Friday!

March 16, 2011

This is an action sequence that J sent me today. Gage is crazy for his bottles. When I carry him to the couch and I have the made bottle in my hand, he will launch himself at it while we are walking. If he sees an empty bottle sitting on the table, he will go nuts until we give it to him or hide it. Well this one had fallen under his chair and J said he was playing with his toys and saw it out of the corner of his eye. He then spent a good amount of time trying to get to it and finally - SUCCESS! It cracked me up when I got the pictures one after the other.

Tonight was pretty laid back, I got home late so it was dinner, bath, bottle and bed - not a whole lot of playing, but we did chit chat just a little. He chewed on my cold, unopened soda can while I ate my dinner and that made him pretty happy. J said he had a much better today, but he felt a little warm when I got home and he just wanted to hug me and be wherever I was. I think we may see some new teeth in the next week or so. He was in a pretty good mood though, smiles and laughs. He went right to sleep, before I was even out of his bedroom.

Aunt Rachael (J's sister) is visiting this weekend and Gage is ready to show off all of his new skillz.

March 15, 2011

See that face? That's the face of a sleepy munchkin that did not take very good naps and made it hard for his Daddy today. I got home and was warned immediately that it had been a rough day in which the monkey did NOT want to play, he either wanted to throw fits or watch his TV show. When I picked him up he was happy, but definitely tired - lots of eye rubbing. He sat with me on the couch and told me about his day - lots of "ga-ga-ga-ga-ga" happened apparently - then he had some dinner and then we played in his room on the floor for a while. He kept crawling over and giving me big grins - I think he missed me today. Bath time was fun, then a bottle and to bed. He was so tired, but he still fought me for a few minutes. We snuggled for a few more minutes and he talked about it for a bit. I put him back down and he gave me a smile, rolled over and fell asleep.

March 14, 2011

No new pictures today. Long day and all I wanted to do was snuggle with the munchkin when I got home, so I didn't make him pose for any pictures. He is still talking up a storm, and it's pretty cute. He'll sit on my lap facing me and he'll look right at me and just "ga-ga-ga-ga-ga-ga" at me, complete with expressions. It's like he's trying to tell me all about his day. He also has gotten so serious about looking at me when I talk to him, like he's really trying to understand me too. He'll scowl a bit while I'm talking and then he'll laugh like it's the funniest thing he's ever heard. He had some green beans and carrots for dinner - carrots are new and it took a few times, but he seems to like them now. He was so messy though and he got food all over his face. Bath time was fun as usual and then we read The Jungle Book for our bed time story. He actually sat pretty still during the book - a little wiggly, but we got through the entire thing, which is progress. He seems to like when I point along as I read the words - and pictures are a big help. We snuggled and talked for a few more minutes and I put him to bed at the usual time. When I walked out, he started babbling to himself and I was worried that he wasn't going to go to sleep. I came in the living room with the monitor and he babbled to himself for almost 40 minutes before finally passing out. I was cracking up, because I could see him on the monitor, just laying in bed, chatting to the wall and waving his hands around - when it finally got quiet, I almost didn't even notice. I checked again and there he was, on his belly, butt in the air - passed out. I love that little dude.

Playtime

Yes - I do laugh...and then snort...somewhere around the 4 minute mark. Here is a video of what our play sessions in G's room are like. He's a wild man.

March 11 and 12, 2011

These pictures are all from one of our play sessions yesterday. I took them with the real camera, which is why he looks so surprised in almost all of them. Our camera has a red sensor and then one of those blinky flashes, so when we push the buttons, lights start going off and he gets all shocked. The last one is a face I caught while he was moving. I had yesterday off of work and J let me sleep in, which was awesome. I woke up and fed G his breakfast and then we had some conversations before I left for lunch with a friend. This kid has been talking up a storm the last couple of days. I mean, just constant babbling - it's so funny. I got home around 3p yesterday, while he was taking his afternoon nap and I got a little nap in as well. When we woke up, we had a lot of fun playing on his floor and chatting before we started our nighttime routine.

He started his day pretty early this morning, around 6:30a. Luckily I went to bed right after him last night, so I got quite a bit of rest. He and I watched a little Yo Gabba Gabba and talked to each other on the couch. He's so cute, he'll sit in my lap facing me and he holds my face while I talk to him. We can tell that he is really trying to understand what we are saying now. He helped me make some breakfast for me and J and then after we ate, I fed him a little breakfast, which he really enjoyed. Then we had a big play session on the floor until it was time for his first nap. While he took his nap, I put together a grocery list and got everything ready to head out once he woke up. He woke up, I got him dressed and we headed to Target. He was in such a good mood while we were there - he was babbling at everyone that walked by and he really liked seeing some other babies. We had some great conversations walking around the grocery store.

By the time we got back, it was time for another nap and he was pretty sleepy, so I took him straight to his room and put him in his bed. I got all of the groceries put away and was heating up some lunch when I heard a weird noise coming from his room. I finally just opened the door and there he was, standing straight up, holding the top of his crib and chewing the side. The sound I heard was his bottom teeth catching the edge of the plastic crib guard (piece of plastic that protects the wood from teeth) and then slapping back against the crib. So funny. I called J over to see him and we both just started laughing. He was smiling this BIG smile, like - "CHECK THIS OUT!" Very proud of himself. We tried the nap for a little while longer, but it wasn't happening, so I got him out of bed and we got on the floor for a little while. While we were down there, he noticed his empty bottle on the toy box and he crawled over to get a closer look. Next thing I know, he has both hands on top of the box and he pulls himself to a complete standing position. Again, he looks back at me like, "Dude! I did it again!". So cute.

The rest of the day was pretty laid back. He stayed with J while I did my walk/run at the lake on my own today. I think we are going to head out together tomorrow morning when it's not as warm. He was chatting us up, laughing and being super loveable the rest of the evening. He helped me get the marinade going for our dinner tonight and then we did his normal evening routine. He went down with no fuss, which was nice - and he has been going down earlier and earlier, so I'm hoping with the time change tomorrow we may not be too different.

March 10, 2011

There's an action shot today - Gage was ready to party after his bath and he couldn't be bothered to look at the camera. Slept through the night again, awesome! J said he was in a great mood today and I could tell when I got home, because he was still super smiley. I walked in and he started smiling and giggling at me. He and J did a lot of cleaning today and J said he was a big help cleaning out our closet. His new favorite thing? The remote. We have an extra Uverse remote, so we've just started giving it to him to chew on. When he sees it, he is all about it, there is no getting his attention.

Gage had some dinner, then a bath, some playtime, a bottle and then down for bed. I put him down awake again and there was little to no fussing before he went to sleep. I am off work tomorrow, but I'm actually taking the morning totally off, so J will still be hanging out with the kiddo while I get a little extra sleep and then I'm meeting a friend for lunch. I think once I get home though, little man and I will be heading up to the lake for a little walk/run with the stroller.

On the way home today I had the biggest scare. I turn onto our street from Buckner, and both streets are really busy in the evenings. As I was in the turn lane, I noticed that a little girl (probably just under 2) was running down the alley that runs parallel to Buckner and only about 2 feet away from the road. About 20 yards behind her was a woman that looked like her grandma and she could NOT keep up - she was moving so slowly. The little girl kept looking back, I know she thought they were playing a game. So I'm sitting behind a couple of cars in the turn lane and she's getting closer and closer to my street and she's only a few feet from Buckner. When I finally got to turn, I just pull right up on that corner, blocking the end of the alley. I hopped out of the car and the little girl looked back at her grandma, who started gesturing toward me and telling the little girl to go toward me. I walk toward her briskly, but not too quickly - I was afraid she would run away - and within a couple of steps I was able to scoop her up. She wasn't upset, but I could tell I surprised her when I pulled the car up on the sidewalk. I walked her back to her grandma, who kept thanking me and she was able to carry her. I asked if she needed my help getting them back to their house, but she said she could get back carrying her. I think they were only a couple of houses down from their house. Oh my gosh, it scared the crap out of me, but I was so glad that I was able to get to her before she got to the street. I couldn't believe I was the first to stop - there were like 5 cars that turned past her before me. Little excitement on the way home today.

March 9, 2011

I didn't get a new picture of G today. We just got too busy with our little routine and he was asleep before I knew it. Last night was another success in the sleeping department - he slept all night, no late night partying. J said he had a good day today, I could tell they had fun in his room since it was a mess when I got home. He helped J and I finish cooking our dinner and then hung out in his walker while we ate. Then he had some dinner of his own, followed by a bath. We went through his First 100 Animals book, then we said gave Daddy some goodnight kisses and it was time for bed. Another night of no fighting - he whimpered a little bit, but went to sleep within 10 minutes. Winning.

Since I didn't take a picture today, I posted one of my all time favorite videos of the kiddo (see the post below this one). It's from October, so he wasn't quite 3 months old yet - but it's one of the best videos we have from when he first started babbling with us.

Talking - 3 months

March 8, 2011

Check out all that hair! And those blue eyes! He's a handsome little monster, isn't he? No blog yesterday because that cute little maniac to the left kept me up ALL night on Sunday and I was barely functioning yesterday. So when I got home, I got him to sleep by 8:15 and I was asleep at 8:30. Last night he slept 9 consecutive hours and it was glorious. GLORIOUS, I tell you.

Thanks to that great night of sleep, he was in a great mood today and took some decent naps. When I got home he was in a great mood and we had a party on his floor. He's hilarious when he gets to crawling around and playing with his toys - he's so serious about it. Like it's his job and he's working on a promotion to management. I will have to video him this weekend when he really gets on a tear.

Tonight was typical - playtime, dinner, my dinner, bathtime, book, snuggles, bottle and bed. Last night we had a fight at bedtime, but I was so thankful that tonight he went back to our old way of doing things. I put him to bed awake, gave him a kiss, told him I loved him and stepped out. He talked for a little bit and was asleep about 20 minutes later. No screaming, no crying, just cool. I had missed those nights. It may not last, but I'm grateful for the easy tonight.

March 6, 2011

Well today was great! Monkey and I hung out this morning, singing songs and snuggling, then we made breakfast and hung out with J in our bedroom. Then after his first nap, Gage and I went to Super Target to do the grocery shopping. He had a great time and was charming everyone that walked by. He fell asleep on the way home and then I let him sleep a little longer in his room in his carseat. After THAT nap, we headed up to the lake so I can get my butt in gear and get ready for a 5K I want to do in May. We had a LOT of fun - although I think it was a little more enjoyable for Gage, since he was just cruising. It felt good to be at the lake and Gage liked seeing the birds at Sunset Bay. He was super quiet the whole time, but every time I checked on him, he was just chillin' and he would give me a big smile. He loves riding in the stroller! I will say that running with a jogging stroller will take some getting used to, but it's all good.

After we got home, both Gage and I decided to declare war on the inanimate objects in our house. We were playing in his room (he was crawling around) and he proceeded to hit his head on the glider chair. Then a bit later, he hit his head (same spot!) on the corner of his crib. Ugh, I felt terrible. So now he has two purple lumps on his head - his first real injuries - and they were on my watch. Damn it. So to make up for it, I slipped while trying to sit on the edge of the tub to give him a bath and I slammed my lower leg on the corner of the tub, which had me crying and rolling around on the floor. Awesome. So if you are keeping score, it's Inanimate Objects - 3, Mom and Gage - 0. Back to work tomorrow!

March 5, 2011

Got the gate up! Now little man has a big old playpen to party in. He didn't notice it for a long time and then when I was getting his bath ready he crawled over to it to talk to me - that's the second picture. He got pretty close to figuring how to pull himself up on the gate, which would have been a big first.

We had a good day today. After going to bed really early and without a bath last night, G woke up around 10:30p and hung out with me for about an hour before going back to bed. I was able to get some pjs on him, which I'm glad for, because it got pretty cold early this morning. We had some fun today - party in the exersaucer, made some breakfast, sang some songs - all good. The three of us had a fun little love session this morning back in our bed, watcing TV and trading some kisses and laughs. Mimi and her friend came by today and they had fun playing with him in his room. He crawled around and showed them all of his toys and Mimi even let him chew on her phone. He loved that, because Mom and Dad never let him chew on their phones. He was so excited to finally get the chance. He took a couple of naps today, but they were more like power naps, so he was pretty sleepy around bed time.

I think tomorrow we are going to venture out to the park again, hit those swings. He and I will definitely need to take a trip to the grocery store too, so it will be a nice date day with my little man.

March 4, 2011

This is mine and Gage's first picture together when he was less than a day old. No new picture today. I got home around 6p and he was hanging out naked, rocking the diaper only look. He was super excited to see me, but still so hungry and tired. I got some dinner in him and he was still pretty whiny and upset. I went ahead and gave him his last bottle, even though I was trying to save it for after his bath. He passed out and ended up missing his bath completely. I put him to bed in his diaper and he's been asleep since then - going on 2 hours now. I'm sure this means he'll be up soon - for a diaper change at least - but he was just too tired to try and stretch out the routine. I hate that I only got to see him for 30 minutes today, but we have a weekend ahead of us.

March 3, 2011

J texted this picture to me this morning and it put a big smile on my face. This is a picture of little man right after he woke up from his morning nap. He's pretty cute after a nap. Lately we find him sitting straight up in his crib and when he sees us, he gets this big smile on his face. This may be one of my favorite pics that he's sent me.

J labeled today "the best day he's had in a few weeks". Success! Even when I got home, he was in a great mood. We sang some songs and traded some hugs and kisses, then dinner and a bath. He was laughing and and having a lot of fun with us. He had fun crawling around while I got his bath ready. At one point I went down the hall to put on pj pants and when I stepped back into the hallway he was out of his room and halfway to me. He got really excited when he saw me and he crawled super fast to get to where I was. so sweet.

We read a couple books and then he was ready for bed. Lately his favorite books are his First 100 Words and First 100 Animal books. They are the only ones he sits still for and he doesn't even try to eat them as much as he does his other books. He follows along as I point out the words and pictures - he really likes animals and babies and these books have a lot of pictures of both. Cute monkey.

March 1, 2011

Here's a picture of little man helping Dad grill pork chops for dinner tonight. Today J and G took a little trip to Target to do some grocery shopping. The last time that Gage went grocery shopping with his Dad he made it so tough that I was a little worried about them, but today he did really well. They made it out of the store without attracting a lot of attention - and they attracted a LOT of attention last time.

According to J, he had a pretty good day - took a couple of naps, they took a walk, and even though he was a little crabby later in the day, overall it was a good day. When I got home he had lots of smiles and sweet laughs for me, he was actually in a great mood. J and I were both cracking him up and I love that sound. He just gets to cackling and laughing at us and it's so funny. He has moved up in baby food stages, so his foods are more mixed now. Tonight he had harvest vegetables with grains and he loved it. Guess what else he had? Apples! Apparently J fed him apples earlier today and he loved them, so we tried it again for dessert tonight and he ate them up.

We have a new bedtime routine that has worked the last couple of nights - knock on wood. We spend time in his room after his bath, we read a book, we play on the floor for a little while and then about 15 minutes before knockout time, I turn on his nightlight, turn off his lights and we stand by the bed (I'm holding him). We are just standing - very important to make the distinction to Gage that we are just standing here, not actually getting IN bed. He starts to get a little vocal about it, and he'll throw himself into me, grabbing around my neck so I won't put him down. But we just stand there, rocking and singing and he'll start rubbing his eyes like crazy, fighting it with everything he has. Eventually - it takes about 15 minutes - he'll lay sideways with his head in the crook of my arm and nod off. He'll still fight it a little, but after just a few minutes he is sleepy enough that I can put him in the bed. No screaming, just a little extra snuggles and he's gone down pretty easily. He STILL threw a middle of the night party last night, from 11p-1a. It seemed like he just wanted me to hold him and after trying a few times, he finally went back down and talked himself back to sleep. Eventually we have to figure out how to limit these middle of the night snuggle sessions. It's sweet, and I love seeing that cute face, but Mama needs some sleep!