Countdown to the 1 year mark!

Weight:  24 lbs but my arms feel like he is 70 lbs most days!

Size he is wearing:  12 months still.  Need to start stocking up on the next size up!!

Development:  WALKING!  Well sort of.  He takes no more than 3 steps usually before he sits back down.  He will walk with the help of furniture or a hand for a long time.  In fact I am usually the one that sits him down before he is ready which really makes him mad.

Funny things he does: He has been doing weird things with his lips lately...I can't explain it but he makes weird shapes with his lips.  Also, when he is REALLY proud of himself, he will squeal super loud.  So cute.

Daily activities:  Not sitting still.  Yup. 

Sleeping:  Lately he hasn't been going to bed until around 7:30 but still waking up at the crack of dawn...yawn...

Eating:  He eats what we eat and is a bottomless pit.

Things he loves:  Books, baths, and being on the go.     

Things he hates:  Nap time, when he is in the car for too long, really anything that involves him being restrained.

How Mom and Dad are doing:  Christmas was awesome!  We stayed in San Antonio for Christmas eve and Christmas morning with my parents and then drove to Houston to spend the rest of the week with Daniels family.  Our whole family was spoiled rotten especially Alex.  This has been by far the best Christmas yet because of our sweet son.  Christmas is all about children and even though he had no idea what was going on, it warmed my heart to see him tear open (or attempt to) gifts, eat yummy foods, watch mommy bake and decorate cookies, listen to festive tunes, and do all things Christmasy!  I know each year it will just get better and better.  Now time to start planning his 1 year birthday party.  

1 YEAR?!?!?!?!   WHAT?!?!?!?!?!?  

10 months

Weight:  22ish lbs  

Size he is wearing:  12 months

Development:  We now have 3 teeth!  There is another one on top fixing to poke through.  He is also cruising along furniture and will stand and attempt to let go for a few seconds.  It is crazy cute how he attempts to balance while standing up.  

Funny things he does: Grunting and blowing raspberries.  I constantly feel like my face is covered in spit.  

Daily activities:  Same thing different day.  

Sleeping:  Same sleeping habits.  Still takes two naps a day but I am starting to wonder when he will drop his morning nap because there are some days when he won't take a morning nap.    

Eating:  He is eating pretty much everything we do.  He LOVED Thanksgiving!  Seriously the kid was in 7th Heaven.  He ate and ate and ate and ate.  Too cute watching him shovel food in his mouth with his fingers because he shoves his whole hand in there.

Things he loves:  Just being on the move.  He wants to explore and get into everything he can.  I really feel like he might be walking soon.  YIKES!       

Things he hates:  He now hates his jump-a-roo toy.  Since he can get to where he wants to go now and stand and what not, I don't think he enjoys being in a contraption that keeps him from moving around the room.  Time to pack it up.

How Mom and Dad are doing:  Great =)  Very excited for the holidays.  It is the craziest and busiest time of the year but I love it and with a kid the holidays are a million times more fun!

9 months. WHAAAAAAAT?!

Weight:  21 lbs  

Size he is wearing:  Moving into 12 month clothes.  Can I just take a moment to tell you how stinkin CUTE holiday clothes are for babies!  I have already stocked up on some Christmas pjs and outfits for Alex.  I may or may not be already looking for some red footie pajamas for myself as well...    

Development:  CRAWLING!  We went from sitting up from laying down, laying down from sitting up, to crawling all in ONE day.  He has been going backwards and rolling to where he needs to go for a couple months now and sitting up like a champ but he now has figured out how to go forward.  Time to get some new running shoes and lots more k-cups for the Keurig.  We also have a TOOTH!  This kid likes to do everything all in the span of a couple days.  

Funny things he does: Be himself.  He is a funny funny kid.  The way he smiles, talks, laughs, everything cracks me up.     

Daily activities:  I am going to start taking him on more walks in the stroller.  The weather is FINALLY cooling down and since he can now sit facing out in the stroller he really likes being in it.    

Sleeping:  Most days he sleeps until 7 and some days he will go as long as 7:30...I love those days!

Eating:  Moving on to chunkier textures.  He has also discovered ice water and REALLY likes it.  I give him little sips out of my glass and he seriously loves it.  We have also been giving him Plum puffs which he is learning to pick up and teething crackers.  Confession:  I find myself snacking on his puffs while he tries to pick them up.    

Things he loves:  Books!  He loves his light up/sound book and his board books.  He also loves eating and his sesame street stuffed dolls.       

Things he hates:  He thrives on predictability and his routine.  If I deviate from his routine, even a little bit, he sometimes doesn't do so well (cranky, fussy, etc).  Type A personality possibly?  

How Mom and Dad are doing:  Good!  I am starting to get antsy for the holidays.  Thanksgiving and Christmas are my favorite times of the year and I want to see Alex experience eating fun foods, opening gifts, taking him to see Santa, etc etc etc.  Also, one of my best friends gave birth to her beautiful baby girl Annabelle this past week.  Alex brought her flowers and we took a photo with them in matching outfits!  Made my heart MELT!

Disclaimer on the Halloween costume:  I bought this costume back in August before I was aware of the ridiculous song "What does the Fox say?".  If anyone so much as asks me "what does the Fox say" or references my sweet little angel to that song I will hurt you.

   

8 months old

Weight:  21 lbs...ish... 

Size he is wearing:  6-9 months but they are starting to get kinda tight.

Development:  He can hold himself up while holding onto something with no problems.  He is crawling but it doesn't look like crawling.  In other words he is moving from point A to point B using any means necessary.  Still no teeth yet...we are waiting...    

Funny things he does:  Blowing raspberries, laughing, saying dada and mama over and over and OVER again...right now he is favoring dada.     

Daily activities:  Being the cutest baby EVER.  Such a hard job.

Sleeping:  Same schedule.  Naps are always iffy on how long he sleeps.  Depends on his mood I guess.  Stinker. 

Eating:  Starting to introduce meats.  Ground turkey didn't turn out so well so I have got to figure out how to make meats not so disgusting.  Also he is now eating breakfast.  Usually some kind of oatmeal/yogurt/fruit concoction for breakfast, fruit or veggie for lunch, veggie (with hopefully meat soon if I can figure out how to puree it better) for dinner.  He also gets his bottle with each meal, plus two small snacks for naps, and a bedtime bottle.  I want to start testing out sippy cups with him so any recommendations on the best sippy cup?  

Things he loves:  Sesame Street, eating, being active all.  the.  time.       

Things he hates:  Being still and if you growl at him...Dan thinks this is hilarious which it is not...ok...actually it is pretty funny because he makes the worst face but it isn't funny when he starts to cry.

How Mom and Dad are doing:  Tired and busy.  End of story.  =)

 

His first football season!

Weight: 20 lbs.  BIG BOY!

Length:  Seriously if I could get him to stay still long enough I might be able to tell you.

Size he is wearing:  6-9 months.

Development:  He is starting to crawl using his forehead and feet.  Whatever works I guess.  Lots of the "dada" sounds and occasionally a "mama" sound thrown in.  

Funny things he does:  Squealing.  Lots of squealing.  He also loves to stare at himself in Daniel's sunglasses.  He is also sucking on his toes.  I know it sounds gross but it is pretty funny to watch.  

Daily activities:  Eating, napping, playing, watching Sesame Street, bouncing in his jumparoo, etc.  Being a baby is so rough.

Sleeping:  Goes down at 7 p.m. and is up at 7 a.m.  Even if he goes to bed later he is STILL up at 7 a.m.  Naps around 9 a.m. and 2 p.m.

Eating:  He will eat anything as long as it is not peas.  He hates peas.  Some favorites are carrots, sweet potatoes, butternut squash, pears, peaches, apples, and bananas.

Things he loves:  Activity.  LOTS of activity.  He loves being busy and having new things to do.    

Things he hates:  Peas. 

How Mom and Dad are doing:  Pretty dang fabulous.  We just got back from Florida and I must say it was better than I imagined.  I wouldn't call it a vacation when you have a baby BUT it was a lot of fun.  Alex did great overall.  He got tired being in his car seat for long amounts of time so we took lots of stops and watched lots of Elmo and Finding Nemo to help with the drive.  He loves water so the beach and pool were great for him.  

Happy Half Birthday!!!

Weight: 18 lbs

Length:  He is too squirmy to try and measure.  I will find out tomorrow at his 6 month appt. 

Size he is wearing:  Starting 6-9 months.  Seems like he runs true to size which is great on my wallet.  He is definitely getting the wear out of his clothing!

Development:  He likes to roll from tummy to back and back to tummy to get where he wants to go (almost looks like a gator rolling around ha).  It is pretty funny actually.  He is also sitting up (90% of the time without help!)  We are starting teething which has been an ABSOLUTE NIGHTMARE!!!  He is incredibly grumpy, not napping as well, and cries quite often.  I have tried everything and the only thing that he somewhat likes are his Sophie and a cold washcloth.  If anyone has any ideas on how to help his gums please please PLEASE let me know before I pull my hair out.  Thanks.     

Funny things he does:  Talking to his Sophie.  See video.

Daily activities:  Still on the same schedule as before.  We have been trying more playtime on his own so he can learn to entertain himself.  I have a whole setup downstairs for him to roll around and play (I just recently turned the white portion of the quilt pink.  Awesome.)

Sleeping:  Sleeping great minus napping.  Goes down between 7-8 p.m. and wakes around 7.  He is napping but it takes FOREVER to get him down and most days he would rather just sleep on us which I find so sweet and love but then I don't get a dang thing done around the house.  I do love how he loves to cuddle.  Makes my heart melt.

Eating:  We have introduced cereal.  He was not a fan of rice cereal but seems to have taken to oatmeal better.  He seems to like sitting in his high chair which is good.  Next on the menu is sweet potatoes.  I have invested in some wipeable bibs.  I foresee many messes in my near future.  

Things he loves:  Playing with his feet, soaking through his shirts with his drool, music, Elmo, and bath time.

Things he hates:  His gums, when we go too long without giving him attention, and being overly tired. 

How Mom and Dad are doing:  Great!  We finally went and bought our "we are now officially old and boring" vehicle...a MINI VAN!  We love it.  For all those haters out there I totally get it.  Who would want to drive a mini van?!  I was just like you.  I was NOT going to be a soccer mom.  I thought they were ridiculous and I always wanted a big suv.  Then came Alex and we looked at a few vans.  WOAH.  BEST FAMILY VEHICLE EVER.  To have the ability to change Alex with all the doors closed and be able to spread out and basically do the splits is amazing.  To be able to haul 2 dogs, a baby, ourselves, and all our crap and still have room to do the Macarena if we felt so inclined is INCREDIBLE!  No joke.  We will run this vehicle into the ground and I am proud to say I am officially THAT mom.  See link below ;-)

Swagger Wagon!

The loves of my life =)

5 month little man

Weight: 16 lbs 8 oz

Length:  I have no clue.

Size he is wearing:  Still in 3-6 month clothes.  

Development:  He is rolling over from belly to back now and has discovered his feet.  He is also starting to hold his own bottle and is becoming more and more aware of what we are eating and gaining some interest in the foods we eat.  Looks like we are headed for solids next month!  He grabs at toys he wants and is constantly wanting to look at new things.         

Funny things he does:  See video ;-)

Daily activities:  Now that I am home I have got him on a somewhat reliable schedule (I say somewhat because we can't stick to it 24/7) He wakes up around 7 and eats.  We play until about 8:30-9 and then eat a little more and are down for our first nap.  He sleeps until about 10:30-11 and then eats and we play.  I put him back down around 12:30-1 and he sleeps until about 3.  He is usually up until bedtime (7-8 p.m.) unless we run errands and he falls asleep in the car.  I try to run errands when he is rested but sometimes I have to do things in the morning so he just naps while I run errands (sometimes...he really doesn't want to be in his car seat unless the car is moving lol.)  

Sleeping:  Sleeping great!  His last nap of the day he fights so he sometimes doesn't take a third nap.

Eating:  Still eating the same.  Almost time to start solids!  

Things he loves:  Giggling, his new bouncy seat, and Sophia the Giraffe.

Things he hates:  Sitting too long, the nose frida (best booger sucker there is but he realllllly hates it)  

How Mom and Dad are doing:  I am now officially home!  I don't think it will hit me until everyone goes back and I am still at home.  I have signed up to substitute part-time and am working on the accounting for Dan's business.  I am also loving spending time with my little man.  Being a mom will always be my #1 job.  Dan is great and we hope has some down time soon so maybe we can get out of town for a few days.