8 Months - Reid Version

This parenthood gig is seriously hard, but looking at pictures like this one make me want to cry tears of happiness. It's all worth it. You two are ours, and you bring so much joy into our lives. There are days where I want to pull my hair out, but the sweet little moments like this are what gets me through. 

That smile. It kills me. 

(I must really love this shirt on you, sweets. It's the same one you were in last month, too.)

8/6/2013 

Reid,

Fortunately, this last month has been very uneventful in your life. I say fortunately given how crazy the last few months were with sicknesses and ERs and doctors and whatnot. This wasn’t a big month developmentally for you, so pretty much just more of the same. Here’s a little bit of what you were up to at 8 months:

You are sitting up! One day I walked into get you from your nap and you were sitting up, grinning at me. Love it.

You are dying to crawl. It drives you crazy that you can’t. You will get on your knees, rock back and forth, then sprawl out and sit back up. Sometimes you will even go backwards. I’m ok with the lack of mobility, but I know you will be happier when you can get around. 

You put up with so much from your sister. She seems to think she can sit, lay, jump all over you. Most of the time she does this and you just give her a great big grin. It’s really difficult to discipline her for being so crazy to you when you actually like it. =)

Your hair is really starting to fill in. This allows us to do a little faux hawk, which is pretty much the cutest thing I’ve ever seen. 

You've gotten to the stage where you no longer want to be held while sleeping. I knew this day would come, so I really did try to savor every time you refused to sleep anywhere else but my arms when you were a babe. I also knew that I would miss that time. And I do. But I am so glad you like to sleep in your crib.

Your eating habits drive me nuts, dude! You pretty much hate all the baby food that comes in jars and plastic tubs. You will only eat the pouch stuff (super expensive) and Mama’s homemade stuff. Picky, picky, picky! You are actually more inclined to eat something if you can pick it up yourself, so I guess we’re just skipping over the pureed baby food thing, and moving right into the next stage of small bites of food. It’s a good thing you are so stinkin’ cute, buddy! 

We love you so much. I can’t get over your adorable smile and baby blues. 

Love,
Mama and Dada

7 Months - Reid Version (a little late)

7/6/2013

Reid,

You’re a mere 7 months old and you’ve already been to the ER twice??? I hope this isn’t a bad omen. Needless to say this month was r-o-u-g-h. You were a sick little man, but you’re on the mend and I hope it will stay that way! Here is what you’ve done in the last month:

You spent one and a half days in the hospital this month. It all started with a fever. It was a pretty high fever, actually, with the highest measuring 103 at home. We battled that for about 24 hours. Then you started vomiting, and it was a yellowish-green. I called the doctor and they recommended that we take you to Children’s Hospital. So at 8 pm on a Friday night, we packed up and went to the ER. By the time we got there you were super pale and your temp was a whopping 104. You were lethargic and just moaning. Obviously something wasn’t right. So the doctor ordered a bunch of tests. They did blood work, urine tests, and x-rays. The only thing that came back alarming was your white blood cell count, which was through the roof. The only thing that told us, however, was that you were fighting an infection. It didn’t specify what kind of infection, and we never did find out. By 3 in the morning, we had gotten you to keep down some breastmilk and your fever had come down, so they discharged you. We got home at 4 in the morning and slept for two hours. Around 6:30 you started vomiting again, and kept vomiting every 30 minutes for 2 hours. Because you had been in the hospital the night before, our pediatrician wanted to see you that morning anyway. We had an appointment schedule for 9:45 am. I took you to that appointment and the doctor asked how you were doing. I told her what had been happening for the last few hours and she just looked at me and said, “You just can’t do this anymore. He needs to go back to the hospital. He needs to be admitted. He needs fluids. He’s becoming dehydrated.” At that point I lost it and started to cry. I didn’t know what was happening with you and I was scared, but I was also relieved that the doctor understood how I was feeling and wanted to figure out what was going on. So back to the hospital we went. They pumped you full of fluids and anti-nausea medication. By that evening your temperature had come way down and you were doing much better. Your sweet Dada spent the night in the hospital with you so that I could come home and get some sleep. The next morning, the doctors didn’t have any real answers for us, but you were doing much better so you were discharged. As soon as we brought you home you perked up and started smiling at us again. The first smiles we had seen in days! I was so happy! It took a few days to get back to normal, but you’ve been such a sweet, pleasant guy ever since. What a crazy experience!

Two teethies popped up out of nowhere! You weren’t even showing any signs of teething. Maybe after all you’d been through, getting two teeth was no big deal? Either way, you look super cute with those two little chompers. 

You are a quiet little man. You don’t chatter or babble much. That doesn’t mean you are any less observant of your surroundings, however. You watch everything that goes on around you. You’re very responsive to people, and especially pretty women. You have the sweetest smile that makes me grin whenever I see it. You’re just so quiet about all of it! Sometimes I wish I knew what was going on in that little brain of yours! 

You are getting pretty good at eating finger foods. I love watching those little pincers go to work. You are so determined when there’s a little piece of food on your tray. You are still breastfeeding, but are sitting with us for three meals a day. You are usually not a fan of anything we make you try for the first or second time (and sometimes not even the third or fourth). Eventually you do warm up to things, except green beans. I don’t know if there’s any hope for green beans. You tolerate squash and sweet potato the best. And you actually really enjoy yogurt, yogurt bites, and cheerios.

We love your sweet face, monster! You are starting to develop a cute little personality and it’s so fun to watch you grow and learn. 

Love you!
Mama and Dada

Krohn Conservatory 2013

Our church playgroup has done some really fun outings this summer. One day we went to the Krohn Conservatory to see the Moroccan butterflies. I could not get Addi to look at me and smile for any pictures. I am pretty sure she had a good time, though. She's been a little bit obsessed with butterflies and insects ever since. 

Before entering the butterfly exhibit, the conservatory displays all of these incredible bonsais. I fell in love with this flowery one. I want it in my house!

Attempting to "catch" a butterfly.

Got one!

I love that they would hang out underneath the little waterfall. 

Addi and her little friend. I promise she was enjoying herself, despite the face in this picture. 

There was a pond with the most gigantic goldfish I had ever seen swimming around. Addi was fascinated with them. 

June - Piano Recital

I've been teaching piano lessons for the last year to about 9 students. I was a little hesitant in the beginning, because I wasn't sure how it would be to teach in my house with my children roaming free, but luckily it's been the best decision I made. It has been so nice to have a few hours every week where I am "away" from my children and focusing on something else. I love it. I decided to hold a small recital for my students in June at my home. It was amazing to me to see how far they had come in just a year!

 I made a few treats and also had some fresh fruit as a little refreshment. 

 A few of my cute students...

June

We were a bunch of sickies in June, so there are only a handful of "everyday life" pictures, and then I will do post from our trip to the Conservatory for the butterfly exhibit. 

 So good at sitting!

 I love this sweet face...

And this trouble maker one.

This is what time-out looks like at our house. Hands on the wall, facing the wall, except now we've added that the knees need to be on the ground or else we have a time-out escape artist on our hands.   

I don't even remember what she did, but here is time-out, documented for posterity. 

May

I have hardly any photos from May. I'm not sure why. Probably because we didn't do much...

Here are a few gems:

 Reading to Reid (ha)

"Shh. Mama, my baby is sleeping."