Eaten posts...

So I've tried to post this twice and have lost it twice too. I'm going to try to recreate, but who knows.

We've taken A outside a lot in the past few weeks. Most of the time, he just sits in the grass and fusses, but will eventually come around and have a blast. M took some pictures of A and I raking leaves the other day.





Today we had lunch in a local park. We all sat on the "Neat Sheet" and A crawled around while we ate.

I completely forget what else I said in the other posts...

As we approach the 9 month mark, what can A do? (I was looking in my own baby book, and all these milestones were listed--they aren't, however, in his book!)

• Make sounds that include: dah, ah-dah, k (we think this means cat or kitty), bah.
• Army crawl
• Push himself up to sitting, often in his crib
• Gets distressed when Mommy leaves the room
• Doesn't like "strangers"
• Can self feed
• Waves hi

As for foods, I don't think there's anything he doesn't like. The other day, I tried to make myself some steak on the George Foreman grill. It was gross, but I figured rather than throw it away, I'd put it in the food processor and give it to A. M mixed it with some squash and A LOVED it.

Last night, we left A with a babysitter again. He cried when we left, but was good for the rest of the night. YAY! I think his napping right before she got there helped a lot--I was also happy that he woke up again right before we left. I was nervous that if he woke up and we weren't there, he would think we left him.

Tonight, we have plans with friends and Grandpa will be watching A. Hopefully that will go well too!!

A post got eaten

Ah well, I'll try to recreate it.

A has figured out how to sit up by himself and loves to do it. I often find him sitting up in his crib; luckily we decided to drop the crib mattress a few months ago in preparation.

We've been going outside a lot for yardwork (yay). I plop him down in the grass, and he cries and yells at me for awhile, and then he starts to like it. As long as he can see me, he's happy as a clam. M took some pictures of us out there a few days ago...



A is at the point now where he needs to be entertained during diaper changes. We usually give him a comb to hold (holding something keeps him a little bit happier during them), but the past few days I've given him a pacifier. Now, he doesn't take pacis anymore, doesn't really want them, but apparently they feel good when one is teething because he takes the paci and puts it in his mouth (upside down) and sort of bites on it.

The other day, M and A were walking around the property, as they often do, when I heard Mitten calling out. Then I heard A answer her... it was too funny to hear them "talking" to each other through the window--especially since she doesn't really talk to him when they are in the same room!

We are progressing with finger foods. In addition to Cheerios, Puffs, and Wagon Wheels, A has tried chunks of pineapple, halves of crinkle cut carrots, sweet potato, avocado, and banana. It's sometimes tough for him when the food is slippery, but he manages. So far, only the sweet potato made a gigantic mess.

As we approach the 9 month mark, what can A do? (I was looking at my own baby book's milestones--a lot of these aren't in A's!)

• sits well
  
• can get himself into sitting position from his tummy
• passes things between his hands
• waves hi
• self feeds
• gets distressed when Mommy leaves the room
• HUGE amount of stranger anxiety--esp if he CAN see Mommy
• Loves the outdoors and the cats
• sounds include ba, da, ah-dah, k (we think this is for kitty or cat)
• gets very excited at the sight of the Cheerios box
• Army crawl
  

Sitting machine

A is officially a sitting up machine. He seems to really enjoy pushing himself up and we found him sitting in his crib a few times this weekend.

He's also not quite back to normal sleep wise. He has decided that 7am is his new wake up time. I was luckily able to feed him and get him back to sleep this morning so I could take a shower. I don't know if his teeth are bothering him, or what's going on in there, but he has been waking up very cranky for quite some time, now that I think of it. He used to wake up cooing and would smile when I went to get him.

This little boy LOVES the outdoors. I took him outside with me for a leaf raking session and sat him in the grass. He had a great time, holding his seed pod and watching Mommy rake. We got some great pictures, but they are on the "to be uploaded" list.

Beautiful spring day

Hooray for spring! We celebrated by going to Rutgers Gardens to see pretty flowers. The boys liked playing with the sticks... and they also enjoyed the flower petals.

A 2am phone call.

A phone call in the middle of the night is never a good thing. One answers the phone, completely groggy and when one hears, "Christina, put M on the phone," wonders where are the pleasantries? But it's 2am and this is obviously not a social call.

It's been 366 since we've gotten a phone call in the middle of the night. It's been 366 days and 1 hour since the next call, "Christina, I want you to sit up in bed."

Clearly, my days of 2am phone calls being friends leaving after last call are over.

Anything for a smile

When we went for pictures yesterday, I had to wake A up from his nap (he's still fighting this cold). Poor kid woke up with blanket marks all over his face; luckily they had faded by the time we got there and our turn came. But he was still not in a fantastic mood.

Trying to make him smile wasn't working so well, at least not until M suggested that I headbang. About a month ago, I discovered that doing so (up and down, not side to side) makes A laugh! (Did I ever post that video on here? Or did I forget?) So I started to do it, and we got some of the best pictures that way. In fact, that's what the two boys are looking at in the picture below...me banging my head around.

Eh, survival of the fittest applies to brain cells too, right?

Picture People, take 2!

We tried again at Picture People, this time with M coming along for the ride. We haven't yet gotten our online preview, but here are the shots we purchased and scanned at home.

Best Bud was with us, so we got a shot of the two boys. Hopefully next time, A, Best Bud, and Girlfriend will ALL be good moods at the same time so we can take a shot of all three kids!

Waving!!

Leave your sound off because I still sound like a doof!

Self feeding

You'll see A eating some Cheerios. Please turn off the sound, I sound like a doof!

Self Feeding!

You will see A eating some Cheerios here! Please turn off your sound; I sound like a huge doof.

Self feeding!

Here you'll see A feeding himself Cheerios. Please turn off the sound; I sound like a big doof.

Picture people

We, along with Best Bud and Girlfriend, went to Picture People on Friday. A wasn't having any part of it... especially since our turn didn't come for about half an hour after our appointment time. He was SO sleepy... and kinda bored.

Anyway, here's what we got...

Relay for Life

Relay for Life has always been a cause that is near to M's heart--he played a large role in bringing the event to our school and is now playing a large role in the event at his new school. He is actually participating this year, so please visit his Relay for Life page and if you can spare a donation, that would be much appreciated!

You can see his page here

Sick baby

Yesterday, in addition to sleeping like a fiend, A also had a little congestion in his nose. At night, he was running a very high fever so we gave him some Tylenol at bedtime. He went right to sleep, for about 5 minutes, and then started to cry.

I went upstairs, gave him some water, and nursed him again. He was still freaking out, so I stripped him to his diaper and put cool water on his back and forehead. I then took him downstairs where it was cooler. His temperature finally came down, and then I took him back upstairs. When I put him in his crib again (in lighter weight pjs this time), he cried for a few minutes, and then finally settled back to sleep.

I can't believe it, though. "They" say that nursing is supposed to build a better immune system. The kid doesn't go to daycare, other than the gym's nursery. He shouldn't be getting sick this often! The problem, though, is that his father works in a school--ground zero for every germ known to man. At least, that's what I assume is the reason he gets colds so frequently. Hopefully this will build him up for when he DOES go to daycare and he's really exposed to ground zero of germs.

In other news...

Since A is a super sleepy head today, let me tell you about my kitties... my first babies!

We have developed a fly problem in our basement. We suspect it is related to the dead mouse problem, also in our basement. Last night, one of the flies made its way upstairs. Mitten was around and saw it, but I guess she realizes that not only is she not as young as she used to be, but that she is also partly broken. I saw her tearing around for a few minutes, and then she went away. After he came trotting in, I figured that she went to go get Catcher. They gave it their most valiant effort, but M ended up killing it with a towel when it made its way ALL the way upstairs.

But then, today is another day, and round two of cat vs. fly (these are big, black suckers. They startle me every time I see them). Mitten was again, on deck. She didn't wait long, though, to go wake Catcher from his nap. He came in, looked at me, and mewed... so I showed him where I saw it go last, and he has been sitting near the sink (where it has been trying to get out the window) ever since.

It's funny--back in her insect chasing days, Mitten would eat the bugs. Catcher, on the other hand, is the more vindictive type, and PLAYS with them!

This morning.

A started to wake up around 9 this morning, so I went in and got him changed and brought him down for some breakfast. I could tell he was still sleepy since he looked JUST like M as I changed him (this is a sure sign since he gets M's droopy eyes when he's sleepy), but I brought him downstairs anyway.

After feeding him, he could barely keep his eyes open, so I put him back to sleep. I got no complaints whatsoever.

As an aside, I planned to go to the grocery store after feeding A, so after dressing him, I went into my room to put on my shoes. I put A on the bed, next to Mitten and the bottle of water from his room. Next thing I knew, he was holding the bottle and trying to drink from it. It's funny because, although he is great at holding such a large item, he's not great about tilting it to get the liquid out. Poor Mitten has NEVER had A sit next to her and not try to pet her!

Speaking of that water bottle--giving A water in the middle of the night is what has gotten him to sleep through the night. I constantly have a glass of water at my bedside these days. One night, I had downed the entire pint by A's first waking around 3. I went downstairs to refill my glass and to get him a bottle of water--just to see what would happen. Sure enough, he drank it down and went right back to sleep. The joys of baseboard heating--our house is SO dry.

Sleepy Boy!

Last night, A slept from 8-5am before waking. He then woke again at 6am, and has been sleeping ever since. I cannot believe it is almost 10am, and he is just beginning to stir. YIKES!

We delayed his bedtime a bit last night, so he actually went to bed around 8 (funny, since not too long ago, bedtime was 9:30!). I'm sure this has something to do with it, but nonetheless, I'm very surprised.

I'm even more surprised because while M was home on vacation, A didn't sleep later than 8 on any day. Guess he was just excited to see his Daddy!

Speaking of which, when M comes home from work, he is greeted with a gigantic smile. A still favors me when he is upset, tired, or hungry, but he definitely loves his Daddy.

Last night, in trying to stretch A's wake time, M started tickling and playing with A. He got A giggling so much, it just melted my heart. :)

Weird

The slideshow doesn't seem to be updating with today's addition.

For now, you can see the newest addition here:

Adventures with the Babysitter

So M and I went out last night and left A with an actual babysitter--not a friend of family member. It seemed to go pretty well, she did say that he whimpered for most of the time until he went to sleep, but that he was so tired and that's why. He seemed really happy to see us when he woke for the morning, so I guess things went ok!

YAY for "date night!"

New Toy in the house!

When we were last over Future Prom Date's house, she had this toy that A had a blast playing with. I went on the lookout on freecycle and Craig's List to see if I could find one. Sure enough, one popped up the other day.

So we got and started to play with it today. A cracked up, especially when he could see my face as well as his in the mirror. He likes the flashy lights, which you can sort of see in the pictures. It's pretty fun for all of us, and it will grow with him because he can continue playing with it into his toddler years; although I'm not sure it will be tall enough when he is standing, but we'll see!!

Fun with Easter Eggs

This kid loves his cats.

We had some friends over the other night and were sitting around the table chatting. Miss Mitten decided to join us, and this is what happened as a result!

Awwwww...

Can this kid get any cuter?

Daddy to Mommy

As I was snapping away the other day, I took a series of pictures of A in which he looks like M in one shot and then like me in the shot right after it. Weird! In the "me" picture, he's making an expression just like one I have of myself... I'll try to upload it later.

A Does the Army Crawl

Please ignore me talking.

A was fascinated by the fire, and kept moving toward it.

The Bad "Easter Bunny" Chronicles.

I am a bad mommy. I didn't do an Easter basket for my son. Ok, I know I'm not really a bad mommy, but it sure is the way I'm feeling after seeing lots of other infant mommies doing it.

I didn't take any pictures on Easter either.

Terrible Mommy!

But we did have an interesting Easter. We got up to go to Church, forgetting that Easter Sunday brings out all the people who don't typically go to Mass. The Boy and I pulled in, tried to find a spot, and the only available parking was in the back and down the road. I decided that carrying a baby who was starting to fuss, and doing so in high heels, at least half a mile and then probably not getting a seat just wasn't on my agenda for the day. So in addition to being a bad mommy, I'm a bad Catholic too. Alas.

We then hung out at home for awhile before going to meet Mom Mom for lunch. A did so great; we put him in his seat in a booth, and he was entertained for the most part by his spoon. (That's his thing lately--holding on to long, thin objects. Favorites include: Daddy's Chap-Stick, his spoon, his brush, cat teasers, and pens.) He was really content in his chair for most of our meal.

So despite the lack of a visit from the Easter Bunny, we had a great day here at the Feisty house.

(Plans are in the works for an Easter egg hunt for A's friends next year!)

Happy Easter!

Is it wrong that the first shot makes me think of a Playboy bunny? I know the answer to this question, but it still makes me laugh!

No more pacis here.

Somewhere along the way, A stopped using a pacifier. I'm really not sure when it happened, but I do know that we stopped giving it to him at night in the hopes of teaching him to sleep through the night.

The other day, he was crying, so I offered his Soothie to him (it had been hanging out in his carseat for some time...) and he didn't want it. When I came home, M said he had done the same thing with the same results.

But this week, we were at Future Prom Date's house, and what did my (sure to please all the girls) son do but take her Soothie from her and put it in his own mouth? He didn't suck on it, but rather used it on his gums--kind of hard to describe.

Bathtime!

We have been bathing A in the big tub. It's a lot easier for me, although it of course uses a lot more water. For some reason, it bothers my back less to bathe him in there than in the little tub, even when I used the kneeler (which I don't use when he's in the big tub).

Plus, it gives him more opportunity to play with his toys and splash, which he didn't do much in the little tub... not enough room!


I think he sort of looks like Grampy in that picture...

Fun stuff

Here's my little meatball rolling everywhere...



And what a cutie....

So. Cute. Part II

A sleeps with a blanket that Grammi made for him. The other day when I went to get him up, he was screaming his brains out. He had the blanket wrapped all around his head--he looked like a ghost! (Where's the camera when you need it?)

It was warmish in his room the other day, so I put the blanket next to him instead of on him. He stuck his left thumb in his mouth (as always) and then rolled to the right, grabbed the blanket, and brought it up to his face. I took some pictures of him doing the same thing today:

So. Cute.

The other night, A decided that 2 am would be a great time to wake up. Sleepy Mommy just got up and fed him, cursing herself for having jinxed her own sleep by putting A in this:



At least he was cute when I fed him, though... he put his back arm around my waist, and he grabbed my wrist with his other hand. He then crossed his legs at the ankles. Adorable.

When he woke at the same time last night, I did the whole CIO shabazz again. It made me sleepy this morning, but I only had to get out of bed once before he went back to sleep.

Summer Dreamin'...

This summer is going to be bittersweet. I absolutely can't wait--I can't wait to go back on the beach after NO visits last year (hauling my whale butt just wasn't appealing), I can't wait to bring A to the beach, warm weather, A's first birthday (oh my gosh), just so much excitement!

Of course, with the sweet also comes the bitter, and the summer's arrival means only 2 and a half months until I have to go back to work, put my baby in daycare, and not spend all my time with him. I was very much liking this arrangement!

A first!

How could I forget that A took his first trip out of the state this weekend? When we went to his Godmother's birthday party, we went to Delaware, which would be his first time out of the state.

I think it was also his first birthday party, but I don't know if that's as significant an event.

:-)

Homemade baby food.

I am taking on the challenge of making some baby food. I'm not going overboard or anything, but I make a little bit extra veggies for us and then we put the butter on them on our plates. I then take the steamed veggies and puree them for A. If I'm in the farmer's market, I'll get a few things for him.

So far, I've made him banana, mango, avocado, green beans, and potato. All of these have been super easy, and he seems to love them.

What a good boy.

We had a whirlwind weekend--a surprise birthday party on Saturday and a surprise baby shower on Sunday. At both, so many people commented on what a good boy A is. At the birthday party, he slept in the pack and play for a few hours, but was perfectly content and quiet in our arms. At the shower, he wouldn't take a nap (but with the time change, I can't really blame him!) and was perfectly content in our arms. Both times, he went into the arms of complete strangers without much fuss at all.

So many people told us that he is such a good boy. I guess people expect babies to scream and yell all the time, and while some babies do, it seems to go away by A's age. Further, this kid has such a great temperament.

I actually got an email from a friend the other day. We had gone to her home for game night last weekend. In her email, she told me that A reassured her husband about having kids since he was so well behaved.

Speaking of the time change, A did really well with that today too. He woke up around 8:30 for the day. He was in a great mood this morning and then we left for the shower. He slept the entire way (since we held him up from his nap and he fell asleep before even getting in the car), and as I said, he didn't nap. He then slept the entire way home, and started getting fussy around 7:15. We took him up for his bath--I let him play with his toys for a lot longer than normal to drag things out, and he went right to sleep around 7:30. He woke up around 8:30 and cried for awhile, but has been sleeping for quite some time now... hopefully it will hold until our typical 4 am wake up call!

SITTING!!

I just watched A roll to the other side of the carpet (see this morning's post). I looked down for 10 seconds and when I looked back up, he was sitting!!!

On top of spaghetti, all covered with cheeeeese.

A doesn't need to learn to crawl. Instead, he'll just roll to whatever he wants.

He rolls all over the throw rug and onto the floor. He's like my poor meatball, who rolled out the door.

It doesn't even bother him when he whacks his head on the hardwood. It sure sounds like it would hurt!