Seven Months Old

Seven months old and he's....

not wanting much to do with breast feeding but still doing it

shaking his head no

clapping his hands

developing more and more of a personality

tolerating tummy time much better and 

sometimes even seems to enjoy it 

an amazing jumper in his bouncer - he goes crazy when he's in there!

NOISY!

sleeping through the night but only sleeps until 5am.

He had me working for the pictures this month...

If he wasn't trying to see what Freddie tastes like...

he was practicing his wrestling moves and
flipping him over....

then reminding himself what he tastes like again.

But eventually I got Freddie sitting upright AND
Myles looking at me!

7 month tie

Like I said, he had me working.
I spent too much time trying to get a
good picture with Freddie that by the
time we got to this one, he was
all pictured out.
But you get the idea.

  

No official stats this month -- no doctors appointment until 8 months now.

Hearts & Crafts

Knowing Dan was going to be away for Valentine's Day this year, I decided I'd give Nora time to color and paint a picture to tuck away in his suitcase. What better gift than something your daughter made just for you! (Especially when you're away and missing her!)

All set up and ready to color.

Put her smock on (which used to be
mine -- my mom made it for me in
kindergarten!) so she could also paint.

Working on her masterpiece.

She tried a couple of new holds in her marker.
This one made me chuckle.

Nothing says concentration like the tongue sticking out.

Nora turns "do"

I know it's cliche to say time flies but my gosh, it sure does.  I simply cannot believe that I have a two year old already.  I mean, it really could not have been that long ago since I had to quit working early because this little girl, still curled up inside my belly, was causing me sciatica?  It couldn't have been that long ago we brought her home from the hospital, lay her down on the floor, looked at each other and said, "now what?"  But alas, two years have ran before our eyes just as quickly as she runs to the door when Daddy comes home.  

First birthday card in the mail.
Thanks, Uncle Gary and Aunt Cheryl!

We knew we were planning a party and other fun things to do on her birthday but even Rusty had something up his... uh... paw.

When she went in her room to get her pjs on (which
now always has to be done in the castle) Rusty was laying
in there.  She was so surprised.  Just thrilled! 

After she went to bed, we blew up balloons and decorated her door.  We put most of the balloons in her room so when she woke up we could go in there and throw them in her crib.  She absolutely loved that! Having six giant balloons in their bed is a big deal for a birthday girl.  

Then she saw the balloon hanging
from the top of her doorway.  

My birthday girl all dressed up and ready to go. (We had Moms and Tots at church where she was wound up.  And they sang her happy birthday!)

She kept looking at the cupcakes
on her shirt and pretended to eat them.

 

Playing with all the food for in her kitchen she
got for Christmas.  This was the food I used to play
with as a girl.

A new bed for baby.
This was Gram's crib for her dolls when she was a little girl! 

A warm and cozy Elmo blanket
for the Elmo-lover of the house.

Had to cover up with the blanket
while opening the rest of her presents.

A pretty apron to wear when
she's cooking and baking with me
and in her own kitchen.

Day 2 of her birthday celebration was her party.  Que another wound up girl.  Very cute to see so much excitement.  She knew it was a special day for her.

A favorite snack -- yogurt pretzels.

Thanks for the pretzels, Grandma Grandma!

And thanks for the pretty outfit, Grandma Grandma!

Baby's going to help me open this big one.

Elmo cupcakes for an Elmo party!
(Thank you Pinterest for the great
DIY idea)

A feverish brother finds comfort
with one of his favorite people.

 Happy Birthday to you!  Happy Birthday to you!  Happy Birthday dear, Nora!!  Happy Birthday to you!

Blew her candles out in one try!

So proud!

Look at all the Elmo cupcakes!
That's one patient girl taking a picture before digging in!

Happy Birthday, Nora.  We love you with all our hearts.  You have enriched our lives in countless ways.  If the first two years were this good, we can't wait to see what's in store for us next!

Six Months Old

Six months old and he's... 

SIX MONTHS!! 

Really?!  Whoa. 

sitting up all by himself!

had a taste of formula

started solids

- sweet potatoes

- squash 

- carrots

- peas

- bananas

still not sleeping through the night 

(but now that I don't have to feed him at night anymore, we're working on that again)

jumping like a crazy man in his jumper

bigger! (yeah!!)

definitely not able to fit in three month clothing anymore

gotten his first fever

gotten over the whole eating naked thing

check out the chunk on those legs!

A very proud smile for sitting next to Freddie this month.

Alright -- I know there are lots of him in the tie, but he just looked so darn handsome in the pictures I couldn't decide on just one.

"What's that?  I've got a little drool?"

He's gonna be a charmer, Ladies. 

Official Six Month Stats:
height - 26 1/8 inches (25%)
weight - 16 lbs 2.5 oz (22% - woo hoo!)

With all the weight issues last month, I called the lactation consultant to find out what I could do, if anything, to help boost my supply for the little guy.  I started taking the herbal supplement fenugreek and began feeding Myles every two hours during the day and twice throughout the night.  I knew he was getting used to the warm milk and cuddle time at night but I also knew I needed to bulk him up so I followed doctor's orders.

Now that he's burned through my entire supply of frozen breast milk and started eating solids, he has bounced back up to the 22nd percentile.  Which also means, I no longer have to feed him at night!!  I have to wean him off the night time feedings.  So right now I'm still doing one feeding but that will soon be gone.  The cuddles I think might be easier to get rid of but the main challenge, after the other feeding is gone, will be that blessed paci.  He wakes up for that thing FAR too many times a night.  There's going to be a lot of tears (on both ends) the night I don't pop it back in.

Mylestones: Sitting

Last week, Myles started doing the "froggy sit".  That's when he could hold himself up but had to rest his hands on the ground (picture a person pretending they're a frog... hence the name)  After a few minutes his upper body would weaken and he'd fold in half.

Suddenly this week, he's very stable.  I have seen him catch his balance when he's almost lost it preventing him from falling over.  That's how I know it's official.  We have a sitter!  After a while, he'll still get tired and fall backwards occasionally (which is exactly why I keep the pillow around him when I walk away... or take pictures)

Just caught myself staring at the picture thinking about him almost being SIX months old!  And how he looks like such a little boy in this picture. Like he could be five.  OK, not really, but you get what I'm saying.  Uh.  Just love him so!

Daddy's Day Off

Success!  We got her boots on... and she's actually walking in them!  

So we decided to go sledding on the tiny hill in the park behind our house.  Failure.

The sleds came out of the garage.  Myles was laid down in one.  Nora was plopped on one.  All was fine.  Then we started moving and the tears began... from Nora.  We thought if she went just a little further she'd realize it was kind of fun to be pulled on a sled but the tears just kept coming.  We didn't get but three feet from our gate and decided to turn around and just go for a walk instead.  

We did have more "successes" on the walk though.  The first time we tested her boots she didn't even want to walk in them so the fact that she wanted to walk in her boots made me a happy camper.  And remember - Nora is the girl who doesn't want even a little bit of snow on her shoes while walking from the car to a store so what you're about to see might shock you.  It shocked us!

She started out by testing the snow.
One foot in the snow.  The other
securely on dry land.

Getting more brave.  Both feet in the snow... 

and loving it!!  You can tell she's
proud of herself.

Getting back to the walk.

Throwing snowballs.

The fresh air and slight bouncing in the stroller
tuckered this cutie out!  

So now that we're getting better with walking in the snow, I wonder if we'll be able to sled by the end of the season?

56 degrees...

on January 11.  It is absolutely amazing.  Nora took a walk and went to the park today.  Tomorrow, however, our "tropical heat wave" ends... and snow begins.  I thought we were supposed to ease into the winter temps, not drop 40 degrees in ONE day!  That's alright - it is January after all.

Grass that's just a little bit green still.

My daffodils are very confused and started coming up! 

By the way -- have you noticed the new tab at the top of the page called Through My Picture Window?  I started another "I Can Do That" challenge (a resolution of sorts) for 2012.  Click on the tab to see what it's all about then go to my other blog devoted to the challenge or just go straight there...
throughmypicturewindow.blogspot.com