The One with the Eight Month Update

Apparently I never hit publish on this post almost a month ago!  Way to go Mommy!

Liam Michael you are

EIGHT MONTHS OLD!

  

What a month it has been little boy!  We had so much fun celebrating Christmas with you (despite the stomach bug that descended upon our house!) and it was awesome to be home with you during Mommy's school vacation.

What are your stats and what does the doctor say?

We went back for a very quick trip to the doctor in mid-December to get the second half of your flu shot.  I asked the nurse to weigh you and you came in at 22 pounds, 6 ounces.  You are growing like crazy Mr. Man!  You are getting more blonde hair by the minute and those blue eyes appear to be sticking around.

What are you eating?

You continue to do well with your four 8-ounce bottles of Similac Advance formula a day.  You get your little 2-ounce snack bottle before bed.  We haven't cut back on any of your bottles because, while you are definitely eating a lot more real food than you were a month ago, you are not ingesting nearly enough to consider discontinuing any bottles.  That being said, you have become much more interested in food this month.  Mommy found out that you tend to eat better after your morning nap than first thing in the morning and that switch has definitely helped you to eat more.  You have added cheese, pears, apples, chicken, a little macaroni, steak, banana pancakes, blueberries, pineapple, limes (you made quite a face with these), and crackers to your repertoire of food.  We are having so much fun watching you explore tastes and textures and learn to enjoy food.  Mommy made some broccoli cheese "nuggets" for you to try this week too since broccoli by itself wasn't your favorite!  You love drinking water from your Camelbak water bottle.

You enjoyed sucking on the leftover meat on Mommy's steak bone.

When do you sleep and eat?

Big changes happened this month in the sleep department!  The weekend before Christmas, we moved you into your crib.  This was probably way more stressful for Mommy than it was for you!  Mommy and Daddy had agreed to do a modified cry it out method when you went into the crib to help you learn to self-soothe.  The first night you were in the crib, you fell asleep with no issue at all.  You woke up about 11:30 and cried for a bit with Mommy going in at increasing intervals to reassure you (Mommy cried too listening to you be so sad!).  It took about a half hour or so and you were able to put yourself back to sleep.  Since then, we have had one or two other CIO incidents but you have done amazingly well in the crib.  You do wake up during the night and need a pacifier replacement at times, but you usually go right back to sleep.  Naps are hit or miss in the crib and Mommy didn't push this during the stomach bug fiasco during Christmas vacation.

You are usually awake between 5:30 and 6:00 in the morning.  Mommy gives you a bottle in your room and then gets ready for work.  You still take a short nap about an hour and a half to two hours after you wake up.  We usually eat some breakfast after your nap and then do lots of playing on the floor with your new toys.  You have your second bottle between 9:30 and 10:00 and then usually play for a little bit before your next nap.  This nap tends to be a little longer on most days.  More playing, reading books, cleaning, and doing chores before your next bottle around 2:30.  You take another nap and sometimes have another little snack when Mommy gets home from school.  You have your last bottle around 5:45 and are typically asleep in your crib by 7:15.

What do your routines look like?

Your bedtime routine hasn't changed much other than where you sleep.  We do a bath and then put on your pjs.  Mommy gives you your little bottle, reads you a song, reads a book, and rocks you for a few minutes.  Then, you get put down in your crib for the night.  

What size clothes and diapers are you wearing?

You still fit in your 6 and 9 month onesies, but your 9 month pajamas with feet are getting a little snug.  You got a lot of new clothes for Christmas and Mommy will probably be moving you into some of your 12 month clothes soon.  You are finishing up your size 3 diapers, but are wearing size 4 overnight diapers.

What are some things you love?

You are seriously happy almost all the time little man!  You are really enjoying your new toys that light up and make sounds.  You like to roll around on the floor and will grab at everything within reach.  You love screens of any sort and are constantly trying to eat the remote control.  Playing with kitchen utensils and containers keeps you entertained for quite a while.  You love to stand and hold onto things.  Anytime you can put something in your mouth, you are a happy camper!

What are some things you don't love?

You are not a big fan of having your diaper changed lately and need something to keep you amused during the process (the tube of A&D ointment typically does the trick!).  You are pretty stubborn and get kinda cranky when you don't get what you want (like the remote control!).  

What can you do?

You are feeding yourself more and more each day and are drinking from a straw cup like a pro.  You continue to sit unassisted, but are now lunging forward from a sitting position.  You will be sitting on your bottom and start to rock back and forth using your legs and feet.  You get onto your knees and then immediately fall forward onto your belly.  You haven't figured out how to lift your belly off the ground yet, so we don't think crawling is on the horizon anytime soon.  You use your legs and feet to push yourself around on the floor, especially if there is a toy you really want that is just out of reach.  You are doing a lot of "talking" lately and love to screech and scream.  You also learned how to smush your face against the side of the playpen, which Mommy finds absolutely hysterical!  You hold onto the outside of our hands and push them together to make them clap.  You also lift your arms up when someone goes to pick you up.

How many teeth do you have?
You have four teeth in total now.  For a while, you only had the two bottom teeth in the middle.  Shortly after you turned 7 months old, Mommy noticed the bump of a tooth on the top.  At first, it looked like it was going to be a middle tooth (those are usually the next to come), but we quickly realized it was an incisor to the right of your middle teeth.  The top left incisor came next.  So, you now kinda look like a little vampire with those top two teeth!

What are some firsts from this month?

This month, you celebrated your first Christmas, saw Santa for the first time, had your first stomach bug, tried some new foods, got your first piece of jewelry (an amber teething necklace you wear all the time), and went out in the snow for the first time.

What are some of your nicknames?

Peanut Pocket, Mr. Man, Little Man, Sunshine

What are we looking forward to in the next month?

This month, we are going to have a playdate with some of Mommy's best friends.  We are also going to enjoy some quiet time at home on the weekends, as it has been really crazy with the holidays during the past month.

This photo shoot was a hot mess little boy!  You did not want to stay sitting in that chair and kept throwing yourself forward.  Mommy had to catch you a few times!

Eating the sticker is way more fun than wearing it.

What a fun month with lots of celebrations it has been!  Mommy and Daddy think you are just the greatest thing and cannot wait to continue to watch you grow and learn.

The One with The Catch Up on Life Lately

Holy Lord, it's been forever since I've blogged.  Gotta blame that baby Jesus and His birthday...it's been flippin' nonstop over here since the beginning of December.

I'm pulling out the bullet points for this post.  More to come on most of the subjects but here's a rundown...

• Little Mr. Man is growing like a weed.  Up to 22 pounds, 6 ounces at his flu shot appointment earlier this month.  9 month clothes are becoming a thing of the past and he is in constant motion.

• 48 hours before the aforementioned baby Jesus' birthday, the stomach bug descended upon this house.  The jury is still out as to whether this was a case of food poisoning or whether it was a virus going around, but at least a dozen of the people we were with the Saturday before Christmas at a party ended up very sick by late Sunday afternoon.  At this point, we think it may have somehow been passed to everyone through a sick employee at the restaurant who ruined everyone's food with his/her throw-up germs.  As a result of us being sick, many of the people who we were with on Christmas Eve then ended up sick.  It was one ugly germ-spreading holiday.

• Remember the puke and pee incident from last spring?  Well apparently that is not just something that happens to me when pregnant.  It's my new thing I guess because it happened again when I got sick last week.

• We thought Liam avoided the grossness until the overabundance of explosive diapers began on Christmas Eve.  Thankfully, we are down to only one or two a day now.  A drastic improvement from the dozen or so on Christmas Day.

• As a result of Christmas Puke-Fest 2013, our Christmas Day was pretty quiet.  Liam got a ton of presents, Hubs' parents visited for a while, and I somehow managed to get dinner on the table for Hubs and I in between changing diapers and doing a ridiculous amount of laundry.

 This wonderful little man stayed happy, despite not feeling great.

This was outfit #3 of the day.

• The crib transition began over a week ago.  It has been relatively painless thus far.  We had two real incidents of crying it out (CIO) Ferber-style.  I have kinda modified Ferber's methods to fit our needs (and the amount of time I can listen to my baby cry), but things have been going well for us.

• Baby-led weaning has been a lot of fun so far.  Liam has definitely become more interested in food and has tried a few more things.  Right now, he loves apples, pears, yogurt, and blueberries (although he hasn't had much food this week because of the stomach fiasco).

• Liam met Santa two weeks ago at our big family Christmas party.  My dad flew up from Florida for the weekend and dressed up as Santa as a surprise.  It was great to have L's first experience with Santa be with his Gramps.

He looks a little unsure here, but he was pretty unfazed by the whole thing.

• This vacation has been very quiet and not all that productive.  The sickness was a big part of the unproductive-ness, but it is certainly way harder to get anything done with an almost 8-month old rolling around and needing amusement (I know this is only going to get worse once he really starts moving!).

• I did the 24 books of Christmas with Liam this year.  Each night, I read him a new Christmas book before bed.  This is definitely a tradition I will continue with him.  In the future, I plan to wrap each book up for him to open before bed.  This year, they were just displayed on his bookshelves.

• I scaled it way down this year with the cookies.  Remember last year when I baked 28 dozen cookies at 20+ weeks pregnant and kinda hated my life a little?  Well, this year I only did like 16 dozen and it was still quite the challenge.  I had plans to make more, but then the vomit came and I decided that was a sign to quit while I was ahead.

• We also started a new Christmas pajama tradition this year.  We each got new Christmas jammies (have you seen the Christmas Jammies video?) and the plan was to wear them to bed on Christmas Eve and have our big Christmas morning breakfast wearing them.  No surprise things didn't go according to plan.  Hubs' jammies didn't arrive on time (thanks FedEx) and no one wanted a big breakfast after being sick.  So we celebrated with our jammies and breakfast last night and this morning.

I won't even tell you how many times we set the timer on the camera to get a half-way decent picture.

Hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and enjoyed time with family and friends.  We are looking forward to an exciting 2014 continuing to watch our little guy grow.

The One with the Thursday Thoughts

School is officially back in session as of today.  I truly don't know where the summer (plus the 7 weeks I had off before that) went.  I feel like it has all flown by and I cannot believe I am starting a new school year with new kids with a kid of my own at home.

Onto the Thursday thoughts...

• Fall is upon us and I must say I'm excited.  While I would have loved more time off with the munchkin, if I have to go back to work, I want the weather to cool off a little.  Just enough for sweaters and warm drinks...not enough for snow and arctic temperatures.

• Speaking of fall, I am enjoying my last few lightings of my summer candles and scent bulbs before I switch everything over.  

• And more fall things, I cannot wait to go apple and pumpkin picking with Liam this year.  Obviously he won't be able to participate, but the whole process is just so exciting to me.  And after fall comes CHRISTMAS!  Don't even get me started on how ecstatic I am about the holiday season now that I have a child.  It's like normal excitement times a jillion!

• Am I the only one who finds immense satisfaction out of using the booger sucker on my kid?  It feels like a great accomplishment when we get a good one out.  ::crickets::  Yeah, I was pretty sure it was just me.

• I have a slight obsession with bibs for Liam right now.  I try to match them to his outfit every morning.  Any recommendations for good ones from a store or an Etsy shop?  We have the teething ones from Carter's and I like those.  Normal velcro irritates Liam's neck so it needs to have that soft, flat velcro or a snap.  I picked up these ones from Carter's the other day.

• The beginning of the school year makes me feel like a CD set to repeat.  There are so many routines to teach them at the beginning.  It's all worth it in the end once they learn them, but boy is it tedious in the beginning.

• We borrowed a Bumbo seat from a friend this week and L seems to really like it.  I didn't originally register for it because I felt like we really didn't need another piece of baby junk, but this is nice for my always curious and nosy little boy.  He can do some more sitting up in it, although he isn't loving that he can't move his legs as much.  I also need to pick up or have a cover made for it because his chubby thighs get stuck to the seat!

And yes, I know the risks of putting him up on the counter on the seat.  He is never unsupervised in it.  Ever.

• I am a self-diagnosed hater of Halloween, but I must admit I am a little more excited about it this year.  I have already started looking at costumes for Liam.  I know he's only going to wear it for like a split second but I am already imagining the cute pictures.  I am thinking an elephant or a lobster.

• Going back to work has been really tough, but I already appreciate every single second I do get with L even more than before.  But damn it would be really nice to be a SAH mom.

Off to enlighten more minds...or at least teach them how to stand in a line quietly!

The One with the Presents

I have just about put all the presents away that were under the tree.

There are a few still hanging out under there (including the huge box that has Hubs' train horn for his truck in it...don't even ask), but for the most part I was pretty productive yesterday.

Here's a quick recap of some of the fun stuff I got this year.  I didn't take any pictures of my actual presents so these are all from the wonderful Internet.

Dyson DC44 Digital Slim Vacuum
Hubs has been complaining about the shitty little dustbuster vacuum we have for MONTHS.  I told him that if we were upgrading, it was go big or go home.  I have the big Dyson animal vacuum (LOVE!) and knew if we were going to get a handheld one, I wanted one that would also be able to do the hardwoods without having to lug around the big one.  I charged this baby up yesterday and can't wait to use it today.

Shark Professional Steam Pocket Mop
I have heard nothing but amazing things about this mop and I can't wait to try it out on our floors.  Yes, I know I'm a dork and get excited about cleaning products, but considering I got my first KitchenAid for my 18th birthday, it was apparent a long time ago that I have a small obsession with household appliances.

SodaStream Crystal Red Soda Maker
While I haven't been drinking a ton of soda since I got pregnant, I am quite excited to try this out.  The soda apparently tastes exactly like the brand name stuff and it saves you quite a bit of money.  Going to be playing with this and all the different flavors of drinks later today.

UGG Classic Mini
I have been fighting the UGG craze since day one.  I am not a huge fan of the way they look and I think they have become way too much of a fad (don't get me started on the UGGs with mini skirt look).  However, I cannot keep wearing my one go-to pair of black flats with all my maternity leggings.  I needed something comfy that I could wear at school all day and also wear out on the weekends.  So, I caved and told my mom and brother I wanted these.  I am definitely a convert.

I also got an adorable black Coach scarf with the C's on one side and polka dots on the other from my brother's girlfriend, a really pretty heart necklace and some new pajamas from my in-laws, and a new serving dish that keeps dips warm.

I was very spoiled this Christmas and am thoroughly grateful to Hubs and the rest of my family for their generosity.  We know next Christmas is going to be all about the little bean, so we took advantage of spoiling ourselves for one last Christmas.

Hope Santa was good to everyone!

The One with the Very Merry

Wishing you and yours a very merry Christmas!

More on the amazing presents in an upcoming post!

The One with All the Cookies

I clearly need my head examined.

This weekend, I baked 28 dozen cookies (give or take a dozen or two).

My KitchenAid got a workout and my counters may never recover from the plethora of flour that covered them.

But I love it.  It makes me happy to cook and bake and be all holiday-y.

Every recipe was a new one for me this year and Hubs taste-tested all of them to make sure they met his standards.  Hopefully everyone who gets a cookie tray this year will approve.

Here is a list of the cookies I made along with links to find them:

Crazy Confetti Compost Cookies...cookies with salt and vinegar potato chips AND sprinkles?  Dream.Come.True

Chewy Coconut-Lime Sugar Cookies...like vacation in a cookie.

Soft Gingersnap Cookies...wouldn't be the holidays without a gingersnap cookie.

Peanut Butter Oatmeal White Chocolate Cookies...peanut butter and white chocolate?  Uhh, I'm in love.

Rolo Stuffed Chocolate Chip Cookies...totally worth unwrapping all those little damn Rolos.

Peanut Butter Cup Cookies...I changed this one up a bit.  Didn't use the chocolate chips and added a mini PB cup to the top of the cookie when it was done baking.

Peanut Butter Buckeye Pretzel Bites...okay, not technically a cookie, but probably the most time consuming of them all.

I haven't made the Pretzel Peanut Bark yet.  I do several big batches of this every year with different kinds of chocolate and it's always a huge hit.  Super easy and really doesn't need a recipe.  You can pretty much add anything you want.

And the proof of all my baking...

Just some of the ingredients.  I think I bought Stop and Shop out of the baking supplies.

I only bake healthy cookies.

I only ate a few of these.  That's restraint people.

Just some of the finished products.  Along with Hubs' "testing" plate.

Melty gooey peanut butter-ness.

I haven't made the trays up yet, but I'll throw those pictures into another post when they are finished.  Planning to deliver those on Wednesday to their new homes.

It was a long weekend and my body is still recovering, but I had fun blasting the Christmas music and baking.  And Hubs had fun eating.

More food posts coming with details about the reveal party and our many Christmas celebrations menus.

The One with the Christmas Cards

Our Christmas cards are going in the mail today!  Falalalala!

I.freaking.love.Christmas.  I warn you that this sentence will probably come up a few thousand times in my posts this month.  I am always a holiday junkie but this year has me a little jollier than usual I think.

Anywho, back to the cards.

I knew what I wanted them to look like since the moment I found out I was pregnant and I knew I could get Hubs to cooperate because it wouldn't require him to dress up or smile for a picture.  When my brother was here for Thanksgiving, I had him take the picture and I ordered them from Shutterfly last week.

They arrived on Thursday and I love them.

The prep this morning.

All 100+ ready to go in the mail today.

Here is what they look like in case you aren't on my Christmas card list.  Send me your address.  I'll add you!

Front: 

Back:

I am thrilled with how they look and I was able to get some good discounts on them too.  

I have several more holiday posts brewing as well as an awesome one about the super great things I had to get at the pharmacy the other day for an awesome pregnancy symptom.

Oh side note, I clearly failed at NaBloPoMo.  But, I feel like I definitely did way more posts in November than usual, so I guess it wasn't a complete failure for me.

Hope everyone has an amazing Saturday!

The One with the Proof

As in the proof that I, along with a great deal of help from my fabulous mother, managed to cook my first turkey evah.

Mom made the stuffing and turnip and brought up a beautiful 16 pound turkey.  I was in charge of the mashed potatoes, butternut squash, asparagus, appetizers, and pie.

While I only ate a little bit of the food, it seemed to be enjoyed by all.

The pepperoni bread that I've become rather famous in these parts for.

Here goes nothing...

In the words of my former nun of a mother, "The key to a good turkey is to baste the fuck out of it."

The beginnings of the to-die-for mashed potatoes.

Pretty damn good looking turkey if I do say so myself.

Hubs did a fantastic job carving the little guy.

Some of the feast.

I made the mashed potatoes earlier in the day and put them in the crock pot while the turkey finished cooking.  Made it much easier than trying to time everything perfectly.

Did the same thing with the butternut squash after I roasted it.

So, take that Thanksgiving gods...I pulled it off and we enjoyed the company, food, and laughter.

We had a gorgeous apple pie from Gregg's several hours later, but I didn't manage to get a picture of that before it got attacked.

Beyond thankful for the incredible blessings in our life this year (even for crazy Max who as I type keeps stealing the throw rug from the kitchen and running into the living room with it because I'm not paying attention to him).

And now, onto the Christmas preparations and festivities!