April 30, 2011

Here is my baby giving me the side-eye. And yes, that is my foot next to his head. These days the best time to change his diaper is at the same time he needs a bottle. It's the only way that he will lay still for us. I've discovered this week that the other option is to give him the (closed) tube of diaper cream. Don't know why, but that keeps him busy and quiet for a diaper and/or clothes change as well. Wiggly kiddo.

Last night was rough, kid was up every 2 hours or so, which he hasn't done in a while. When he woke up for the day at 7a, I was still pretty wiped out, so he watched his shows in the exersaucer while I dozed on the couch for a little while. We did play a little and have some breakfast before he laid down for his first nap at 9a and I slept while he did, until about 10:30a. We played and hung out for while until it was time to go to Gymboree.

Gymboree was fun today. There was only one other baby there today and it was another little boy. He and Gage hit it off and had a good time together. The other baby was a couple of months younger and he was watching everything that Gage did. After that, he and I went grocery shopping and by the time we got home he was pretty sleepy, but not ready for nap (of course). He ended up helping me clean up the house for a little while and going down for a power nap around 5pm. After he woke up, he hung out with J and I in our bed, watching Kitchen Nightmares and chewing on the remote. He had his dinner, a bath and then we put on his new big boy pjs before bed. No more buttons and zippers, he's got a few new mix and match sets with shorts, pants and shirts. So cute. I wanted to get a pic, but he was so tired that I just put him straight to bed. I'm hoping he sleeps better tonight. Tomorrow we have lunch plans with my cousin and if the weather is better, we may go to the park.

April 29, 2011

He's very serious about chewing on that toy. Looking forward to a weekend hanging out with the kiddo. His 9 month checkup is on Monday and I'm grateful there are no shots at this one, but I'm bummed I won't be able to go. He and J will have fun there together. Just pictures tonight, we are all exhausted around here.

April 27, 2011 - 9 Months!

I can't believe that my little Monkey is 9 months old. Turn another corner and he'll be a year old! He's such a growing little man. He woke up a little late this morning, so he stayed up a little later this evening. When I got home he was in a great mood and J was actually already feeding him his dinner. After he ate, he and I played for a while in his room - I was cracking him up by singing songs and dancing around with him. We had a lot of fun. Bathtime was fun, but short, since he was starting to get pretty sleepy and then we snuggled for a bit before he went to bed.

I've been working on the 9 month old questionnaire for his pediatrician appointment next Monday and it's pretty clear that while he's doing great on his gross motor skills, his fine motor skills could use some work. The kid can move around like no one's business and he is always standing up to get into something new - but he's still working on his pincer grasp and the more delicate skills. The kid's hands are so big, it might take him a little longer to master. He loves to stand up all the time, and he's gotten great at sitting back down with control. He gives me low fives when I ask and he raises his right hand over his head when he gets excited about something.

As far as communication, he's making a lot of sounds, but nothing purposeful yet. Whenever I say "Mama" to him, he'll stop whatever he's doing and either give me a big smile or crawl over to give me a hug. So he knows who I'm talking about, but he hasn't tried to actually say it himself. I also point out "dog" and "cat" when he is playing with the animals and J works on "Daddy" all the time. He's just happy making his own consonant sounds for now - and he does that a LOT.

Sleeping and eating has been a little different. His napping is going so well, he's back to 2 naps a day, usually one long one (2 hours) and one that is half as long (45 min-1 hour). He's not eating as well, we just can't get him to finish a bottle at all these days, which means he's up 1-2 times a night for extra ounces. We were doing 5 6oz bottles a day, but now he's barely finishing 4 at a time and this morning he didn't want his first bottle when he woke up at all. This has been going on for about a month now and I kept thinking it was teeth, but it's gotten pretty clear that he just doesn't want to sit still that long. Sometimes I can get him to finish a bottle if we sit on the couch together and watch a Baby Einstein DVD while he eats. It can be frustrating at times, but we have pretty much adapted by now. It would be nice to sleep a straight 8 hour block one of these days, but at this point, I would probably still wake up at feeding times, even if the kiddo didn't. I've been trying the sippy cup here and there, but he's not too interested. I know the doc will recommend that we really start working on the transition, so I've been trying to use it more, especially when he doesn't want to finish a bottle.

Overall he's doing awesome and even though he's not doing everything on that questionnaire, he's such a happy, healthy and smart kid that I know he'll pick up things when he's ready. This weekend we are doing Gymboree again, we have a walking date at the lake with a friend and her kiddo and then on Sunday we are hitting the park with one of my cousins. G and I are getting out and about!

April 26, 2011

J sent me this picture this morning while the kiddo was playing in his room. He loves to get into the toy box. When I put his toys up at night, he'll crawl over, stand up and watch them all go back in. Funny.

He was pretty exhausted when I got home, so things moved pretty fast to get him into bed. We had some good snuggles and kisses, but he was asleep in no time. He will be 9 months old tomorrow - I can't believe it! We go in to see the doctor on Monday for his 9 month check up. I'm grateful for no shots at this visit. Hopefully I can get a good picture tomorrow evening when I get home.

April 24, 2011 - Easter Sunday

The Easter Bunny was here this morning and Monkey made out with some fun toys. He got some little squirter toys for the bathtub, a faucet cover and his own remote control. We're hoping that may deter him just a little bit from the REAL remotes, but I doubt it. We had a hectic Sunday taking care of some things and with J being sick. We all managed to get out for a family lunch at the Circle Grill, but that was about it. No Easter Bunny pictures this year, but that's ok. We still had fun today and G was pretty worn out by the time he went to bed. Long day.

April 23, 2011

Monkey and I had a busy day today. He woke up for the day around 8a and had a little breakfast. Then he watched a little Baby Einstein while I ate breakfast. There was a wild session of playing with toys, crawling around and being a maniac and then it was time for his nap. While he napped, I took a shower, got dressed and went grocery shopping. I got back just in time to get him dressed and get us out the door for Gymboree.

Gymboree was a lot of fun this week. After being a little off last week, he was right back in the thick of things today. I also had fun. The class is pretty much the same kiddos each week and now that the other moms and I have gotten to know each other a little better, even we are starting to socialize more. We all had a pretty good time today, the babies were all talking and having fun and we joined in. Gage is even less nervous during parachute time. He really likes the instructor and often crawls over to sit in front of her since she's doing a lot of the singing and talking. It's really cute. She likes him too, of course - those blue eyes get them every time.

After Gymboree he took a really short nap and woke up still pretty worn out. We played for a little while and I decided to take him up to the lake for a walk. We were out there for about 45 minutes and he actually fell asleep on the walk back to the car. When we got home I decided to just keep it mellow, so I turned on another Baby Einstein DVD and let him wander around the living room, which is his new favorite place. He got a second wind and was having a pretty good time. After that it was dinner, bath and bed time. He had a pretty long day without getting enough naps in, so bedtime came pretty easy tonight.

We are going to head out to the Arboretum tomorrow, take in some Easter festivities. I think we might do a little family breakfast as well. I am looking forward to some fun time AND some nap time tomorrow.

April 22, 2011

They let us out of work a couple of hours early today, so I got to hang out with the Monkey this afternoon. We had a lot of fun. He was being really sweet, crawling back to me for hugs and kisses between playing with his toys. We sang songs and laughed - he was in a great mood.

On another note, he does have a new trick that is currently drives me batty. He's discovered that he can click his new upper teeth against his bottom teeth and it's makes fun noises. Unfortunately those noises are like nails on a chalkboard for me....*shudder*.

I actually tried the big tub for his bath last night because he's gotten a little too unruly for the smaller tub. Unfortunately the "non-slip" mat that's been in there is not going to work. He kept slipping and at one point knocked himself a good one on the side of the tub. I'm going to check out my options at Target tomorrow. The Easter Bunny got him some bath toys and a spout cover, so he should definitely be having fun in the big tub by the end of this weekend. He really liked the extra space and the ability to move around - he just couldn't keep his feet under him.

Tomorrow we have Gymboree and at some point this weekend I'm going to find somewhere to get a picture of him with the Easter Bunny. I know I shouldn't have waited until the last minute, but here we are. I know the Arboretum is doing a bunch of stuff this weekend, but I know it will be packed. I'll figure something out.

April 20, 2011

Someone got to play in the living room today. J texted me these pics today and they gave me a good laugh. I usually don't let him wander around the living room - the concrete floors make me nervous - and J said that Monkey was STOKED to be let loose in there. I can't believe how tall he is now - we were both talking about a time when we would stand him up in front of the table and he didn't even clear it. Getting big!

Tonight was the same as usual - dinner, bath, bottle, little playtime and off to bed. One little thing: Monkey loves when we sing "You are My Sunshine" to him. We both sing little songs all the time and usually the dancing and wiggling is what makes him laugh, but when I start singing that song, he'll stop and look me straight in the eyes and smile really big. It keeps his attention for the entire verse, which is a big deal for that busy little dude. It's really sweet, such a precious smile.

April 19, 2011 - Vampire Teeth!

Got the pic! Vampire teeth! Just in time too, because if you see real close, you can see the beginning of those 2 front teeth.

It appears that little man is back to 2 naps a day - a longer one at midday and a shorter one later in the day. It's better than the one long nap he's been doing, since he doesn't get as tired and cranky with the extra rest. When I got home tonight, he was in a great mood. He had a little dinner and then after his bath he and I played on his floor for a little while. He was grinning ear to ear and having so much fun.

Check out what I'm thinking about making for Monkey's first birthday: http://smittenkitchen.com/2010/09/monkey-cake/

it doesn't seem too complicated and it's SO cute. It also looks DELICIOUS. I'm very excited! I can't BELIEVE that he will be 9 months old in 1 week and just a measly 3 months after that we'll be having a birthday party for him. He has gotten too big WAY too fast. He's a fun little dude, though - he cracks me up on a daily basis with that little personality of his.

April 18, 2011

This is a picture from our dinner at Texas Roadhouse on Friday. Monkey had a lot of fun, chatting up the waitresses and laying on the charm.

According to J, today was a regular old day. He took two long naps again today and was still pretty sleepy when I got home. He was in a good mood though, we had a chat and some dinner, followed a bath and some snuggles before bed. I felt the edge of the top right tooth, so it looks like we'll have 6 teeth at 9 months. I think his teeth were bothering him tonight, I saw him gnawing on his hand and shoving his bib in his mouth. We all had fun with a little pre-bath wrestling match and sing along. Cute cute monkey.

April 16, 2011

This is what happens when Mama starts looking around on the Easter aisle in Target. Easter is the least masculine holiday, I think. It's all pastels and furry animals - not very gender neutral. Gage says he can rock the purple ears though, they are super manly.
Today was a strange day - Monkey was not really himself. He slept until 7:30a (weird) and then took a 3 hour nap from 9a - noon (equally weird). We went to Gymboree and he was not as into as he has been. J went with us and while we had fun, it was a lot more laid back than normal. After that, Gage and I went to Target and did the grocery shopping -see silly picture to the left - and he was pretty good, but toward the end of the trip he was pretty clingy. He just wanted me to hold him, he didn't want to be on his own. He took another 1.5 hour nap at 4p and STILL went right to bed around 7:45p. I think it's a combination of getting over the virus from earlier this week and teething. He was just super clingy and laid back. It wasn't too bad though, I got a LOT of extra hugs and kisses and we did have some fun. As long as I was close, he was ok.
Tomorrow we are going to meet a couple of my aunts and cousins for lunch. I think he'll have fun being passed around a table of ladies.

April 15, 2011

J sent me a lot of really cute pics today, he said that Monkey was in a great mood all day and had a lot of fun playing. He temp stayed down all day and it was obvious that he was feeling a lot better.

When I got home, we all took a trip up to the Texas Roadhouse for a family dinner. He had just gotten up from a nap, so he was really laid back on the drive there, but once we got inside and to our table, he woke right up. He was talking and laughing, banging his hand on the table, having a lot of fun. He would lean way over and wait for the waitress to look at him and when she did - BIG smile. He is such a flirt. We all had a really good time. When we got home, it was bath and bed.

I'm looking forward to spending some time with him this weekend. I feel like I haven't had any real quality time with him all week. Grocery store and Gymboree tomorrow, and lunch with family on Sunday!

Pictures

April 14, 2011

Ok, I know this picture is blurry, but I wanted to show all of you Monkey's new smile. It's hilarious. He scrunches up his eyes and lays this huge grin on us. So freakin' cute.

I know I haven't posted in a few days, but we've been busy, followed by exhausted every one of the last few days.

On Monday, MiMi came over and spent the day with little man while J worked. They had a great day together with a LOT of playing and showing MiMi all of his toys. Grangingy and Uncle James came over that same day, so he had a lot of attention and fun on Monday.

When I got home, he was really tired and I could tell he wasn't totally himself. On Tuesday, J mentioned to me that he was being a little weird too and his temp was around 99, so we just figured it was teething. We've been waiting on those 2 top teeth for a while, so we figured they were finally making their way through. Tuesday night he was really tired again and still being weird.

Flash forward to Wednesday morning when he woke up at 5a (normal) and when I went to get him, he was burning up. His temp was 102, so I dosed him up, stripped his pjs off, fed him a bottle and talked to the 24 hour nurse while we watched a little Brainy Baby. Got the normal speel - keep an eye on it, if it goes for 24 hours, bring him in, no heavy clothes, dose him up as needed. He went back to sleep for a while, but woke up again before I left. I woke J up, gave him the run down and headed to work. They did fine during the day, temp never got back to normal, but stayed around 100. J left for a job when I got home and when I got the Monkey up from his nap, he was burning up again - this time 103. I called and made the appt and at 8p, we were being seen by the doctor. Just an upper respiratory virus, nothing we can do, of course - but he gave us some guidelines on when to bring him back and how to dose him up by staggering the ibuprofen and tylenol. He was SO hot, little monkey. We came home and put him to bed and he slept a few hours. When he woke up again, his temp was back to normal. It was up a little this morning, but it's back to normal now. He also seemed to be more himself today, J said things were more back to normal.

While we were at the doctor, we noticed his top right tooth is in and it looks like the left one is right behind it. I think I saw it already cut through tonight. So - no more lonely vampire teeth, now he has a full front grill. 5 - going on 6 - teeth!

I'm going to do another post behind this one with a few of the pictures we've taken in the last few days.

April 10, 2011

Today was a "hanging around the house" kind of a day. Monkey woke up at 7:30a and after we both had breakfast I started working on cleaning the house. He hung out in his exersaucer, played in his room and helped me a little, but we got it all done. He decided that cleaning the house was so exciting that he was going to skip his morning nap, so he basically partied from 7:30a to 11:30a and then took a 30 minute nap. When he woke up, he had a little lunch and the we all took a little road trip to Starbucks. We all spent the rest of the day just lounging around the house, watching some TV, playing in Monkey's room, we all took a long nap later in the day, then more playing in Monkey's room, dinner, bath and bed. A nice, relaxing Sunday with the fam.

April 9, 2011

This is a picture I took at Gymboree. This table is out in the waiting area and while we were hanging out before class started, he had some fun pulling on the pieces.

Today was one of those days that I don't ever want to forget. He woke up at 6:30a (not one of the high points) and he and I watched a little Yo Gabba together. After some breakfast, we took the party to his room and played on the floor for a while. He was in such a great mood, laughing and talking. I could tell that he was still sleepy though and that he would be taking an early nap. I put him back to bed around 8a, he passed out about 20 minutes later and slept for an hour and a half.

When he got up, he had a bottle and then I got him changed and packed up for a trip to the grocery store. He was cracking me up in the car, talking to himself and chewing on his feet. He would talk a little and when I would turn to look at him he would be waiting for it and throw his head back with a huge laugh. Then I would start cracking up and we would both be giggling. Those smiles were so priceless. He did great at the store, he was really taking the sights in and being social - he was attracting a lot of attention and loving every minute.

By the time we got home, it was time for lunch and then we were going to leave for Gymboree within the hour. At this point he had been up from his nap for about 2 hours and I was nervous about him being too tired for Gymboree. He had his lunch and we headed out. Of course he fell asleep about 5 minutes before we parked. I was not sure what to do, so I just decided to get him out of his car seat and see if he wanted to wake up. I pick him up and he falls right back to sleep on my shoulder - sacked OUT. I decide we'll go in since we still have 15 minutes before class and as soon as I walked in and he heard the other kids, he was up...and he was in a great mood. Just a little 15 minute power nap was enough to reset him for the 45 minute class.

Gymboree was a lot of fun again this week. He really loves this peek-a-boo game that they play and he started laughing so hard during that song that everyone else in the class looked over and started laughing too. We were cracking up. He really liked trying to climb up the inclined mat and he was talking to all of the other babies. He was the only boy there today, so he enjoyed flirting with the ladies. Again, he spent more time crawling around in the circle and socializing than sitting with me, which is ok. I really like seeing him be independent and do his own thing in there - he always comes back to me or checks on me when he starts to feel nervous, so I know he feels safe to explore. He was dozing off as we pulled into the driveway, but I put him in his crib drowsy and he passed out immediately - slept for another hour and a half.

It was a little touchy after that nap - I could tell he wasn't completely rested from his busy day and we decided to watch a little Brainy Baby to relax for a bit before getting crazy with his toys. GiGi came over a little while and he was feeling better by then, so we played with his toys on the floor. By the time he had dinner and his bath, he seemed pretty sleepy, so I put him in bed around 7p, which is his normal bed time. Well he was in there chatting and playing for like 20 minutes while J and I were watching a movie. We starting cracking up at his babbling and decided to go and bring him out to hang with us for a little longer and that's when the cuteness was turned up a notch. He was laying these HUGE smiles on us and just talking his little head off. We were all laughing so hard. J and I were taking turns holding him and tickling him and he was laughing so much that we would start giggling with him and then it just got worse. He was grabbing J's face and grinning up at him while J was trying to get him to say Dad-dy. We had a lot fun in that last 30 minutes before he finally went to bed. J actually took him back to put him to bed and he went right to sleep.

This was just an amazing day with a lot of smiles and laughs from the Monkey. He's always a pretty fun and laid back kid, but today was just a super special fun day with the munchkin.

April 8, 2011

Naked baby! This is a strange sight since the binky is usually only a "falling asleep" thing. Every now and then though, he'll want to keep it for a while after he wakes up. J texted this picture to me yesterday while I was at work. I love getting those pics during the day.

Today was a good day, according to J. He took his naps and was in a great mood when I got home. Lots of the same, playing and hanging out. When I got home, he was in his excersaucer, watching his TV show. I went to say hi to J and and then headed to get the kiddo. As soon as I turned the corner I could see that there was poop all over the bottom tray of the exersaucer and it was smeared around from him standing and moving his feet in it. Awesome. We had to put him in the bathtub immediately to get him cleaned up from that poop explosion. He thought all of the excitement was pretty fun. We got some new clothes on him and we all packed up and headed out to dinner. We went to Chipotle and Gage had fun looking around at all of the decor and talking to the people in line. He chomped on his snacks while J and I had dinner. He was so good, happy and sweet - laughing and talking with us. We all had a pretty good time. I was a little nervous about timing, but he did great and wasn't even that tired. I think he had a little power nap around 5p, so that probably helped. After we got home, he had dinner, a bath and was in bed before 7:30p.

April 6, 2011

See that face? The kid is officially over getting his picture taken. He will completely turn around and ignore me when the phone/camera is out. This face says, "Moooom. Seriously. Stop it."

According to J, there was a LOT of playing today. He's back to getting up early in the mornings, but that means he takes his long nap pretty early too. I got a few pictures today from J of him playing at his Leap Frog table. His new favorite activity is standing up on anything that he can get his hands on. Us, tables, garbage cans, the table, the crib...if it's stationary, he will pull himself up on it. He was pretty mellow when I got home, I got some giggles but it was obvious that he was pretty tired. He had his dinner and then we had fun in the bathtub for a little while. Once I got his pjs on it was bed time. He hung out and babbled to himself for about 30 minutes, but he's officially asleep.

Even though I know it's hard for J when he gets up early, I love our early morning snuggle sessions before I go to work. I usually feed him his first bottle and we cuddle in the glider in his room before I finish getting ready. He's super cute and lovey dovey in the mornings - lots of smiles and talking. It's my favorite party of the day. He's getting bigger every day and I know that the cuddles won't last forever, so I'm getting all that can while he lets me.

April 5, 2011

I'm doing some testing for work this week and the plus side is that I get to head home around 4p, so I get a little extra time with the Monkey at night. Tonight he and I took a little walk around the neighborhood and had fun talking and laughing. He was pretty sleepy for most of the evening, kind of zoned out, but we still played in his room and had some fun. He helped me put the chicken breasts on to marinate and then we took our walk. When we got back he had his dinner and we helped J grill the chicken. He was getting a little fussy, so I put him in the bath and he enjoyed that. We have a new peek-a-boo game that we play with the washrag and it was cracking him up. PJs and bottle and he was ready for bed.

April 4, 2011

This is his leap frog table that has been sitting flat on the floor since he got it for Christmas. It's his favorite toy, he's always playing with it and climbing all over it. Now that he's pulling up so much J decided to put the legs on it for him. I wasn't sure if he was ready for THAT much standing, but it turns out that the kid was ready to go. When I got home we went to his room to play for a while and the split second that I turned around, he was up and going crazy on the table. He stood there and walked around it for like 5 minutes. I just couldn't believe that he was able to stand and play at the table for so long. He was having such a great time. He would start to eye his crib - like he wanted to take a step or two over to the crib to stand up there. I know we are a while from walking, but it is so crazy to see him standing up so much and getting more mobile.

J said they had a good day today, even though the kiddo only took a 30 minute nap. He slept in until 9a or so, though, so it was all good. He was still in a great mood when I got home and he helped me make dinner while enjoying his banana-flavored Mum Mums. We played in his room while I ate my dinner and then we got him fed and bathed. He was pretty sleepy by then, so he was in bed before 7p tonight.

April 3, 2011

This picture is blurry because I spent 15 minutes chasing this kid around to get a picture and this was the BEST one I could get. He was a wild man this afternoon, laughing and talking to all of his toys - I could not keep up. It was a lot of fun, he was in such a great mood. I was disappointed not to get a picture of some of the silliness, he was just too evasive. At one point I turned him to face me and he would just go get another toy that meant he had to turn away from me again.

Today was fun! We met my friend Sarah and her 10 week old son, Zane, at Starbucks for a little mommy/baby time. It was nice to relax and chat. Zane was asleep for some of it and Gage was just chilling in my lap eating his snack puffs. Zane woke up after a bit and Gage got a good look at him. They seemed to hit it off, Zane was looking at Gage and cooing at him at one point - it was SO cute. Gage did really well, we hung out for about an hour and he got a little wiggly once I ran out of snacks, but he was still really laid back. He was (of course) charming all of the ladies in Starbucks - my little flirt. After that we went home for a bit and even though he was tired, he wasn't ready to nap. J and I packed him up to head out for groceries and he fell asleep in the car and slept through almost all of the shopping trip. Once we got home he was ready to par-tay! He played in the exersaucer for a while and then I put him in his room to crawl around on the floor for a long time while J and I made dinner. He had a good dinner, a fun bath and then his tiring day was over - off to bed.

April 2, 2011

Gage has become an expert at pulling up. He constantly pulls himself to stand at the baby gate and to walk around in his crib. He's also gotten great at sitting back down - he'll stick his butt out as far as he can without letting go and then he'll just plop down. So cute. Well today we made it to Gymboree for their play and learn class at 1:15pm. It's a 45 minute class for 6-10 month olds with a lot of music, playing, dancing, etc. The minute I put him down on the playmat, he was on the go. He immediately crawled over to a little girl baby and said hello. He was such a social butterfly - all of the other kids pretty much sat with their parents, but Gage was crawling around to everyone to say hello and play. He really liked the slides, baby soccer and the bubbles. He got a little nervous under the parachute - I think the loudness was a little scary AND it was the end of the class and he was pretty tired. Overall he had a great time. He was talking to everyone and laughing a lot - we both enjoyed it. We signed up for one month to see how we like it - it will be a good option for J during the week and something we can do together on Saturdays.

He took a 2 hour nap this morning before we went to Gymboree and then he fell asleep in the car on the way home. When we got home we just put him (still in the car seat) in his room to sleep a little longer and he took another hour nap. Unfortunately I think he was pretty worn out because he woke up still pretty tired and crabby. We watched a little Yo Gabba and tried to just keep it nice and laid back for a bit. He finally got a second wind and started playing with his toys and having fun. He's been paying a lot more attention to J the last few days - when we both hang out with him it's not all me - and it's been a lot of fun to watch him interact with both of us. We all had a good time playing and talking today.