Ultrasound Monday

That's a thing, right? Well, as I procrastinate writing the 10 month update some more, I decided to upload two of the Sweet Pea's ultrasounds. Not even a year old and so hard to believe he was in my belly!

3 Months - dancing baby!

6 Months - distinguished profile

Nifty Nine

Weight: 21 lbs 4 oz (85th percentile)
Length: 30 inches (93rd percentile)

 

The Sweet Pea continues his march through Firsts. As you can tell by the pictures above, mobility has been a huge one this last month. The little tater tot started crawling! And I could not get him to stay still for his 9 month photos. At first he would get up on his knees and lunge forward but he is successfully doing the inchworm and army crawl now. And boy does he get excited when he sees something he wants to go after! He starts panting and grunting and moving about a mile a minute. He's usually charging after one of the dogs or a floor lamp he isn't supposed to touch. He has also learned how to sit up all by himself. He only uses one leg/hip to move over on but I have faith this will not have a Zoolander outcome and he will be able to turn both ways. It's funny, though, when he crawls over to something facing it then turns to sit down and realizes he is no longer facing it. Quite the conundrum!

We are also having to work on what 'no' means, because we are having to use it quite a bit these days. He really seems to love playing with everything that can kill him: electrical cords are a favorite, electrical outlets, plastic bags and anything that he can pull over on top of himself. He also will not stay still on his diaper pad any more; it makes changing him a tad challenging. The problem is when I say no to him, he smiles impishly and goes right back to doing what he's not supposed to and when I raise my voice, that's even funnier. Not a great start on discipline.

Food continues to be fun to experiment with and we're starting foods he can feed himself. Mostly, this has been teething biscuits and puffs but I'd like to get some more items for him to pick up. He really wants to feed himself with the spoon and gets a huge grin on his face any time he is handed his own spoon. He knows to dunk it into his bowl but that is about it. If he manages to get a hold of the bowl...well, it is just a big mess.

We also had his first major illness - the flu! He got a high fever one night that lasted about twenty-four hours. I think Jess and I handled it pretty well even though we were winging it, along with some helpful hints from our moms. Poor little guy wasn't feeling well for about a week. I knew he was back to normal when he started chattering again. Even though people say it is good to build up his immunity, the fact that his first fever was at 9 months is something I am grateful for and something we couldn't have done without Rachael and Donavon. Very blessed to have them.

In general, he continues to be a such a good baby and we are grateful. We have a play yard set up for him and he'll sit and play with his toys for long periods of time. He also continues to do really well with sleep. I noticed putting him to sleep was a little harder when he was sick but now, he goes down easy again. He's liking books more but would rather practice closing them then reading them - we've gotta start somewhere. He likes rhyming books especially. And we discovered another favorite in the box Aunt Mel sent us - a book that makes monkey noises when you press a button. He learned how to press that button pretty quickly!

Sweet Pea, your personality is really starting to come through and you are very much your own person. You don't have any fear of falling yet and like trying to lunge past us on anything with height - couch, bed, changing table...you name it, you've tried to plunge off of it. I can tell you love your new found freedom of crawling and want to explore everything. You will go great distances to get the item you want but you rarely ever complain when we take something away from you. There is always something else that can take it's place. But if there is a place you want to go that you are not allowed, you will try and try to get back there - usually holding an item in each hand and a paci in the mouth. You are still pretty studious about new things and feeding is still serious business for you. Every time I taste a bit of your food to see what it is like, I get the dirtiest look from you. You actually stop chewing or whatever you are doing and stare at me like, 'I can't believe you just did that, Mom." I should know that the powerful combination of Soscia and Emerson will not allow any messing around with food. In general, you love smiling and laughing and your joy is contagious.

I love that you wake up most mornings smiling, ready to start the day. I love how you start panting when you see something you want and go full speed at it. I love that you and Sam have the same attitude about food - get excited when you see it, cry when it isn't on time and have utter focus and reverence when it is in front of you. I love how smiley you are. I love when asked by your doctor if you are hitting two toys together I can say, 'No, but he hits himself with two toys at a time...does that count?" You are going to be my rough and tumble little boy. I love that your rib cage is so ticklish because it guarantees I can get you to laugh. I love that when I put you to bed facing one way, you are in the complete opposite direction when I check on you later. I love all your facial expressions. I love your chubby everything. I love your hugs and I love your kisses (even the ones with teeth). Love you, Sweet Pea.


First crawling photo

Fathers Day!!!

Eight Month Update

Weight:  He's the baby who ate your baby.

Length:  Unknown

Every month when I sit down to write this blog I think, how can Sweet Pea possibly develop more in a single month than he has the past month, and every month I am amazed. I don’t think I’ve ever been more aware of God’s genius than watching him grow.  Just like in the womb, he is growing in the exact time and order that he should be – it is perfection.

 

Our big development for the month – TEETH! That’s right, plural! Two teeth on the bottom center popped up the week of May 19^th. It was very exciting and celebrated by all who care for him. And everyone wanted to see them but the dude was not sharing. He’s apparently pretty private about such things but since he smiles with his mouth WIDE open, the trick’s on him.

The cheeks!



Food:  Sweet Pea’s drinking about 5 bottles a day, anywhere from 4 to 7 ounces and eating foods twice a day. I almost killed him by giving him some mushed up real banana. He got it stuck on the roof of his mouth and did NOT like the taste of it. The baby food banana isn’t that great either and is one of his least favorites. We are supposed to be transitioning him to a sippy cup but I’ve neglected bringing some over to Rachael’s house for him to practice with. The few times I’ve given him one, he hasn’t quite gotten the hang of sucking on it, though he definitely knows how to hold it. He also knows how to get us to hold his bottle for him. When he’s almost at the end of a bottle, he’ll want to sit up. When he sits up, he has ‘trouble’ holding up the bottle to get the last of the milk out. That’s when we come in to help him and he promptly takes his hands off the bottle, puts them on the floor by his feet and sits like a puppy dog nursing. I’m on to him though.  

 

Sleep:  Sweet Pea is an incredible sleeper. He goes down between 7:30 and 8:00 pm and usually sleeps until 6:30 to 7:00 am. Our bedtime routine is a diaper change, pj’s, a story and a song or I put on the music from his mobile. Then I put him in his crib with a stash of pacifiers, which he grabs immediately – he filters through them until he finds the one he wants in his mouth and off to sleep. If he happens to cry, we know there is something wrong with him – usually teething pain because he normally doesn’t make a peep until he wakes up. He had a habit of waking up pretty happy and smiley; he wouldn’t even cry but we’d go in his room and find him playing with those lovely pacies! Lately, he has been waking up more like his mom and his dad is hoping it is just a phase. (I feel vindicated however – he might be a mini-Jess but he’s developing all of my bad habits. Ha!)

Mobility:  The dude desperately wants to walk! He loves standing and bouncing in his door bouncer and seems disdainful about crawling. He has also learned that mom is the one that will act as a door bouncer too. He’ll roll over towards me or grab for me and I’ll think ‘How sweet – he wants his mommy’. Then he’ll use me to hoist himself up, grab me around the neck and start bouncing his little behind. Message received. Again, like his mom, he walks (i.e., takes steps that are balanced heavily on the person holding him) on his toes. And, although it is completely socially acceptable for a grown woman to walk on her toes, a man might not have the same dispensation so I hope he grows out of this…around age 40. When will this sexism end?!

Personality:  He’s a pretty happy guy in general. He loves smiling giant, drooly smiles. His latest trick is giving kisses to those that stick their cheeks in his face. These kisses will leave you needing a towel to dry off. His day parents have also been teaching him how to reach out for people. Being the night parents, we discovered this on a Saturday morning at breakfast when he kept reaching and tugging on Jess’ arm to be picked up. When Jess realized that the Sweet Pea wanted HIM, a prouder daddy was never seen. He's also started to recognize strangers and takes a few minutes to warm up to a new person or one he hasn’t seen in a while. I know this broke his Emerson grandparents’ hearts when they came up to visit but he was soon smiling and giving kisses to all.

Sweet Pea, we continue to be so honored and blessed to watch you grow and learn. All we can do is hang on and watch because you are changing so much. We went on our first family trip together to Watson, OK. You loved just sitting outside with us and looking at all the nature around you. You especially liked the camp fire and had laughing fits when you saw us trying to fish. And you acclimated so well to the new environment – you are a definitely a go-with-the-flow kind of guy.

You always want to know what is going on around you and be part of the action or at least watch the action. Aunt Rachael said that you will talk and talk trying to get the kids to pay attention to you. You definitely do that at home! You can’t seem to fathom why we don’t want to hold you in a standing position constantly and stiffen those chubby legs if we try to sit you down. You have got so many toys to play with that it is hard to choose a favorite although the Elmo puppet book that Aunt Mel sent you is pretty high on that list right now. You are becoming more vocal and can say Da and Di but when we ask you to say those two syllables together, you smile sweetly and stop talking. You are definitely one to do things on your own time and in your own way. Love you, little bug.