10 Month Update

Again, 10 days late but whatev.  At least I'm consistent.  10 months sounds so...so old!  It also sounds really close to a year to me which is hard to believe.  I keep thinking about the fact that this time last year, I was really pregnant.  It really feels like yesterday.  So on to the update....

 Wearing 12 month clothes and some 18 month clothes (although we usually have to roll the sleeves/pants).  This picture kills me...little boys in jeans=total cuteness (also makes him look like a little boy and not a baby).

Wearing size 4 diapers still.  They're holding strong!  I think by this time with E we had moved to 5s...but she was also having way more poopy diapers than this guy.  Poor thing still has to take Mirilax DAILY and even then isn't the most regular.  I'm really hoping he grows out of it.

Officially weaned from nursing this month!  Several reasons...I was ready, he was partly ready, and I went away for 4 days for a work conference.  I was going to pump a couple of times a day, but when I saw how little I was able to pump, I just decided to take the leap and wean him.  When I got back, I nursed him a couple of times but he was way more interested in the bottle by that point.  Note to self...good way to ease the transition.  He doesn't drink as much formula as breast milk (usually 6oz 4 times a day), but he is also eating more and more table food (and baby food).  He loves Cheerios, cheese, and any type of baby food.  Not a fan of steamed carrots, avocado, banana.  It's funny to me that he'll eat any baby food but won't eat the same item in small chunks.  Maybe he's a texture guy.

 He got his first cold this month (and is still fighting it), so he's been waking up in the middle of the night having a trouble breathing.  Poor baby.  E's fighting off sickness as well.  Needless to say, we are not getting enough sleep and are really ready for our babies to be healthy again!  He generally goes to bed around 7 or 7:30 and sleeps until 6:30 or 7 (he still sometimes wakes up at 5 or 5:30 looking for snuggles).

He started crawling FORWARD yesterday (although he scoots everywhere and crawls backwards all the time).  He was crawling for....a HARMONICA (that E promptly ran across the room and grabbed).  

He's pretty good about entertaining himself but he still prefers that we are in the room.  Remember how I talked about our need to baby proof?  Well, let's just say we haven't totally baby proofed...Kev found a button in his poop yesterday.  Oops.  On my to do list...keep all small objects off the floor.

Definitely got stranger anxiety.  He is a momma's boy and I'm okay with that (at least for now).

He loves his big sister and thinks she's the coolest (sometimes even when she's being mean to him), but he definitely does NOT want her to take his toys (which she feels are ALL hers...oh the mind of a 2-year old).  She also says all the time, "No Macey, that's MY mommy."

He loves playing with the empty toy bucket, the rolling singing annoying ball, any other balls, and books (especially the ones with flaps so he can rip them off).

I took a few pictures of the kids in the bath several weeks ago and couldn't resist posting them.

Mason kept trying to eat the bubbles.  Yummy.

 Elliott wanted to give him a faux hawk like dad.

Cute kids.

 

E's telling me all about it.

 "What you looking at?"

 "I know I'm cute."

 The life of the second child.  

What makes me laugh about this picture is he actually looks like he's smiling.  We discourage this but he has never cried when she dumps water on him.

We are so thankful for out little guy!

Chaos and zoo trips

It feels like life has been slightly chaotic recently.  There have been several factors really.

We have been on several trips this month that, although extremely fun and well worth it, made the kids think they should no longer sleep through the night.  Sleep is overrated.

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Little man is growing increasingly mobile and although he cannot crawl forward (his favorite is to crawl backwards), he can get anywhere he wants.  Time to baby proof...again.  I feel like we've let our guard down for, I don't know, a couple of very short, liberating months.  Back at it again.

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Little man is no longer our super laid back, go-with-the-flow child.  He has developed oh so strong opinions and when he gets anything taken away from him or he is forced to do anything he is not in the mood for (think changing his clothes, etc), he lets out an extremely loud, ear shattering cry and flings himself backwards.  It's lovely.  Is this the beginning of fits?

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Miss E is still learning the concept of sharing and loves taking toys from others (especially if they are hers and if the other child looks like they are having fun).  This combined with the point above makes for a very ugly combo.

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Miss E is a little monkey and has been easily climbing in and out of her crib for weeks/months which really makes you rethink bedtime/naptime.  She also has felt particularly feisty lately in pushing boundaries, hitting, and climbing AND jumping off of anything she can find.

Needless to say, we're a little tired and really tired of screaming.

Although it has been crazy, we were very thankful for the opportunity to go on several trips recently, once to see my family and then last weekend to St. Louis to meet up with our BFFs from Oklahoma.  Although the weekend started a little rocky (we had to take Miss E to the ER because she was having a really hard time breathing), we ended up having such an amazing time.  We rented a little house so we could all stay together.  In my books, staying in a house is ALWAYS better than staying in a hotel with small children.  The house was, ummm...interesting, but it met our needs.

The kids enjoyed watching shows together.  How sad is it that this is the only picture I have of all 3 kids together?  Probably because it's the only time they're not moving.

We supported the SOONERS!  It was so fun to be able to watch OU/TEXAS with Sooner fans...especially since we won.  We also got to eat yummy Italian at a restaurant in the Hill district.

We treasured our evening adult time.  Unfortunately again, this is the only picture we got of us 4.  Probably because we were chasing after kids so much of the time.

The highlight of the trip was our trip to the zoo.  It was awesome and FREE!!

Watching for animals with NoNo.

Love this pic!

They thought this peacock (aka peahock to Elliott) was amazing!

Watching flamingos.

Train ride around the zoo.

 And in case you wanted to know some of the animals we saw, here they are...

 Penguins (my favorite),

 Multiple bears,

 Flamingos,

 and last but not least, the peahock...I mean peacock.

Friends and climbing

We had some good friends from Oklahoma visit us in September and I'm just getting around to posting pictures.  Can you say behind?  Anna and I have been friends for a long time (think I was her camp counselor when I was a sophomore in college), and I treasure her friendship.  They visited us a year ago and we were both pregnant.

Had to bring back the awkward belly touching pic.  Love it.

This time we got to hang out with our sweet little babies.  They are 2 weeks apart.

We also tried to get some pictures with all 3 kids.  Not easy.

Love Mason's face in this one.

Eyes closed.

"Cheese!"

And a pic of the kids with their amazing daddies!

Future couple?  We'll see. :)

It was such a wonderful visit even though we didn't really do anything exciting.  The weather was cold and rainy so our plans to go apple picking fell through so instead we went to the mall.  Good trade, right?  We feel so blessed that they would take time out of their busy schedule to visit us two years in a row!  Can we go ahead and plan a trip for next year?

 On a different note, we've got a little climber on our hands in this one.  If you remember back to several months ago, she climbed out of her crib once or twice.  She now climbs out of her crib every single nap or bedtime.  She has come into our room several times during the middle of the night when she wet through her pjs, but she usually just comes into our room in the morning (6am...but at least it's morning).  I know it's past time time for a toddler bed, but these types of decisions take me a long time to figure out all the details.  I might over think them.

I think we have a plan, we just need to find a free weekend.  Any words of wisdom on putting on the transition to a toddler bed?  I'm not as concerned about night but more nap times.

9 Month Update

Wow...I have seriously fallen behind on the whole blogging front.  So much to do, so little time.  We have been busy lately with friends visiting and trips to Texas, but before I posted those updates, I wanted to get in our little guy's 9 month update (just 1.5 weeks late).

The older he gets, the months seem to fly by even faster than before.  Is that even possible?  Here's a few facts on Mason.

Wearing 6-12 or 12 month clothing.  I'm frantically trying to stock up on winter clothes as the temperature continues to drop here.  I feel excited that it's fall but slightly terrified that fall leads to winter and winter is going to be REALLY cold.

Wearing size 4 diapers.  We've stayed stable at 4s for quite some time which has been nice, but I expect it won't be terribly long before we transition to 5s.

 He finally moved down to nursing 4 times a day which is fabulous for me.  His last feeding is around 7pm and first feeding around 7am.  He has really struggled sleeping consistently through the night (unlike his sister).  We were on a really good sprint of all night sleeping IN the same room as Elliott...then we went on vacation.  When we were on vacation, he was waking up once, sometimes even twice a night.  Now we're trying to undo the damage that has been done, and let me tell you, it's not fun.  The funny thing about when he wakes up in the middle of the night lately is he doesn't act like he wants to nurse, just snuggle.  I pick him up and his head immediately goes down on my shoulder.  How can you resist that?  Several times I've brought him into bed with us, and he falls asleep laying on my chest (after flipping and flopping his head a little).  E NEVER would do this.  Such a sweet snuggling little guy.

 He is eating solids 3 times a day and will eat basically anything I'll give him.  He has recently mastered the art of eating puffs and he LOVES it!  I'm thinking I really need to introduce more finger foods.  He is eating 8oz/bottle when I'm working.  Yeah, definitely going through my frozen stock pretty quickly.  Definitely can't keep up with pumping, and frankly, I'm really sick of pumping.

 His top 2 teeth are officially in!  He's been cutting one of the top teeth for what seems like forever, but it is now peeking through.  Top teeth always look so big. :)

He started clapping this month which is SO stinking cute!

He's not crawling yet but is definitely starting to look more interested in crawling (rocking on all fours), and he can scoot quite a few places on his bottom.  He especially likes scooting on our hardwood floors.  He's not a huge fan of being on his tummy but LOVES to sit and play with toys.

He still LOVES to watch Elliott and basically thinks everything she does is hilarious.  It gives my heart tremendous joy to see them interacting, and I'm sure it will just get better.

He loves to be thrown in the air, hung upside down, and basically rough housed.  Typical boy.

Lately I can tell he is starting to have more stranger anxiety.  He doesn't reach for me, but I can see in his eyes he typically wants his mama to hold him.  If someone else is him, he watches me (unless he decides to start crying).  So cute.

He's still really grabby and can reach things that seem impossible to get.    We've learned to be careful with anything that is hot or we don't want him to touch.

He still is super ticklish.  My favorite spots to tickle him are his neck and hips.  Love his little laughter.

We're thankful for each and every day we have with our precious little guy!

Random thoughts

I can't believe it is already Sunday night.  We've had such a good weekend, but why do weekends fly by?

There was an Open Book event at the library that we decided to go to on Saturday.  It was basically a day with all kinds of event for kiddos, but the BIG attraction was people dressed up as Curious George, Llama Llama, Cat in the Hat, Clifford, etc.  Life with kids...this is how we spend our weekends. :) It actually was really fun, but I wasn't sure what Miss E would think of the characters.  We talked a lot about them before hand, and she was really excited...before she saw them.  Then she was absolutely, completely petrified.  She liked looking at them from a distance, but don't even THINK about trying to get a picture of her with them.  Instead we got a hilarious video of her avoiding them.  Oh our sweet little girl.

We were able to go with our BFFs, M and Kate, and in true form, the girls could not have been any more different.  M was a HUGE fan of George and Llama Llama and gave them multiple hugs.  When we got home, Elliott wouldn't quit talking about how Llama Llama was "so big" and "M so little."  After staring at the characters, we went to a banjo/singing/dancing show.  Side note...who in their right mind would want to be a children's performer?  I was exhausted just watching the guy, and even more tired from all the "dances" (and we left halfway through the show).  Elliott loved the singing/clapping/jumping/craziness, while M was less than impressed.  Thankful the girls love each other even though they're so different!

Waiting for the show.

"Cheese"

We also got some MAJOR work done on the whole room swappage.  You thought we'd be done by now?  That makes two of us.  I'm not sure why, but I was assuming we could get this whole switcheroo done in an afternoon.  Boy was I wrong.  We got the major furniture moved that afternoon, but all the clothes, book shelves, toys, etc have been switched in stages.  It's REALLY hard accomplishing pretty much anything with small children.  So the good news is we've basically gotten everything switched, gone through all the toys to organize/de-clutter the room, but we still don't have anything on the wall.  I'm just thankful I won't have to creep into the kids' room to get my shoes while they're sleeping.  As far as how the room sharing is going, they actually haven't done a lot of room sharing yet.  We still have Mason sleeping in the pack n play in the office connected to our room.  He has been sleeping SO good and has been sleeping until 7 almost every morning.  And my last feeding is not 7 or 8!!  Major accomplishment!!  

I have let them take several naps together in the same room which has worked out okay, not great.  The first time I laid them both down awake, E cried for a while, then crawled our her crib, and I found her climbed on Mason's crib talking to him.  Sweet, but not good for sleeping.  She hasn't crawled out again, but I have really been unsure on whether or not I should switch her to a toddler bed.  I'm sure she would love the freedom, but I'm pretty sure it would be a battle to keep her in her bed.  I could be wrong, but it seems like pretty much everything is a battle with this little firecracker.  I guess for now we'll just continue working on naps together.  Not sure I'm ready to give up a full nights rest yet. :)

 Drawing in her baby's stroller.  Good thing this thing is sturdy enough to hold a 30+ pound child.

 We don't have cable so we watch shows on Netflix.  Gotta love Curious George!

 Elliott LOVES being in the crib together.

She's been so sweet to Mason lately.  She always asks, "Where Masey go?" if he's not with me.  Such a change from when he was first born!

8 month update

Little man is 8 months (or 8 and a half months but who's counting)!  I've definitely had moments recently where I realize he's not a tiny baby anymore (even though I sometimes want him to stay that way) and he's looking more and more like a little boy.  Sigh.  They grow up so fast.

I did not get a chance to have a "photo shoot" with my little guy this month, so you get to enjoy all my instagram pics.

 He is wearing size 4 diapers and 9 month clothes or 6-12 months.  I'm actually still able to squeeze him into some smaller onesies.  Buying new clothes for these growing kiddos (not to mention changing seasons) gets expensive!

He still eats 5 times a day, with first feeding around 7 and last feeding around 10 (although he goes to bed between 7 and 8).  His milk intake has really increased this month, and he now takes anywhere between 7 and 9 ounces from a bottle (when I'm working).  I CANNOT keep up and pump enough for this hungry guy.

He eats solids morning and evening, and has tried all kinds of new food this month.  No reactions so far.  I've been seriously limiting his cereal intake because...well...poor guy is constipated all.the.time.  He will not drink juice, so he eats prunes a lot.  Like a lot.  His new thing when he eats solids is take a bite, hand in the mouth, touch every other part of his face/head/tray, repeat.  Needless to say, he's a dirty boy when we're done.

 I think he's teething (top 2 teeth) so he has been a little fussy lately.  Definitely a little more needy.

He is in a serious grabbing phase and he's super fast.  He keeps his arm extended constantly when you're carrying him, waiting for you to get close enough to something he can grab.  Coffee cup, picture, cups, etc.  The other day he grabbed Kev's frozen yogurt, spilling it all over the floor.  We're always "those" people in restaurants with multiple spills, screaming children.  You know, the ones you want to sit by. :)

 He's not crawling, but he rolls all over the place and can scoot to about anything he wants.  Speaking of wants, he gets REALLY sad when you take something away from him.  And cries the saddest cry ever so you feel really guilty.  He also gets sad when you leave him in a room by himself.  He's a little people person.

 He still thinks sister is the BEST!  He loves to watch her and grab at whatever she has.  So far she has been pretty patient.

He is still really ticklish...especially under his arms and on his legs.  Can't get enough of his sweet laughter.

 This was his first time swinging.  He thought it was AWESOME...well the swing itself was awesome. So many yummy (and germy) parts to chew on.

I think he's becoming more aware of strangers vs friends/family.  He will still smile and strangers but not as readily.  And he will definitely cry if you get into his face and he doesn't know you.

He's a keeper!

So we have a major development in our household.  We are putting the kids in the same room!!!  We painted their room while my parents were here, but finally moved the beds and furniture today.  If you don't remember, Mason has been in our room since he was born (our house is only 2 bedrooms and our room is really big so he has his section of the room), and it was getting old.  Really old.  We may be totally regretting our decision when they're both up in the middle of the night screaming, but hopefully they will get used to each others' noise.  Anybody else have any experience with this?