7 Months

Age: 7 months old

Birthday: July 31, 2013

Weight: No new stats.  

Length: Next appointment isn't until 9 months.  Right now that is scheduled for early May.

Sleep: Sleep with this little one is unpredictable!  For awhile he slept great at night, but now it's a night to night thing.  We never know how it's going to go.  Sometimes he's tough to get down for the night and others it's like he can't get in bed soon enough.  With all the sickness he had, that really worked a number on our night time habits.  When he was sick, he was waking a LOT at night.  Sometimes coughing, and other times just wanting to be held.  We are slowly getting back into a routine and he's just started sleeping better.    

My Bedtime: Bedtime now is anywhere from 8:30 to 9.  If he's been at daycare that day, we usually start bedtime a little earlier because he hasn't slept during the day.  If he's been at home with us, we can hold him off on bedtime until about 9 or so.  Same bedtime routine.  He gets a bath every other night and then pj's, swaddle, and bottle.  I have now started using Aveeno oatmeal body wash and shampoo.  It's really helped his dry little scalp.  We've had trouble with him scratching his head.  The Burt's Bee's just wasn't cutting it anymore.  We also tried Head and Shoulders at our pediatrician's recommendation but I think that was drying him out even more.  We have tried breaking him of the swaddle but that has not been successful at all.  The little guy loves being swaddled and will not settle down without it.  Not sure how or when we will stop using it.  Right now it's the only way any of us sleep! 

Favorite Toy: Truman is interested in pretty much everything at this point!  He loves tipping over his toy basket in the living room and playing with everything in it!  He has several stuffed animals in it, a couple of sock monkeys, a rattle, a ball, and a few other teething toys.  He also loves his bouncy seat and activity mat.

Clothes Size: He can still squeeze into a few 6-9 months outfits but is growing quickly into his 9 month clothes.  We are SO looking forward to spring and summer so we can ditch the footed sleepers and let those chubby little toes and thighs shine!

Diaper Size: Size 3 in Pampers Swaddlers.

Milestones Reached: He is starting to sit up by himself.  Not for long periods of time, but he can for a few minutes without toppling over.  Still not crawling but he is definitely mobile.  He rolls and flips where ever he wants to go.  He has also started spinning on his belly.  In just a couple seconds he can totally change what direction he is facing.

Firsts: He has had lots of firsts this month especially with food!  He has now had rice cereal, carrots, sweet potatoes, avacado, peas, green beans, and banana!  He HATES peas and green beans and LOVES banana!  Go figure, ha ha.  I can't really blame him.  He is starting to make new sounds and I cannot wait to hear his sweet little voice say Dada and Mama :)   

Best Mood: Truman is in an awesome mood in the morning and really throughout the day.  He gets cranky at night but I know it's because he is so worn out.  He loves being around people and tends to lose his mind if you leave him alone for roughly 2.3 seconds, ha ha.  He also loves riding in the stroller and now seems to really enjoy riding in the car and looking out the window. 

My tiniest Valentine

This Valentine's Day has taken on a special meaning in my heart.  I truly wanted to make it special for my little man.  The love I have for him overwhelms me at times :)  And it really doesn't get any better than that.  This year I'm not focusing on flowers or cards, but instead the joy he brings us every day and how lucky we are to watch him grow and turn into this amazing little person.  Of course he had to have a couple outfits for the occasion!

  I also bought him this sweet little book:

  

I decided I wanted to do something special for the girls at daycare that take such wonderful care of him!  In light of this cheerful holiday, Valentines Cupcakes were in order!  And because I've been watching my calories- I wanted to stick with it and make a "light" cupcake!  I adapted a couple of recipes and they turned out great!  Chris and I had to sample them last night of course before we shared them :)  He approved too!

These were super easy and delicious!!

I used: 

1 box of funfetti cake mix, mixed with 1 can of Sprite 0

Bake at 350 for about 15 minutes

Let that cool and mix up your icing 

Icing is 1 large container of fat free cool whip (I get generic brand)

2 small boxes of sugar free/ fat free jello instant pudding

I was planning on using cheesecake flavor, but I accidentally bought 1 cheesecake and 1 white chocolate.  Ha ha, oh well!  It was a good combination!

That's it!  Top with festive sprinkles and you're finished. 

Easy peasy.

Happy Valentine's Day.

xoxo. 

6 Months Old!

Age: 6 months old!

Birthday: July 31, 2013

Weight: 16 pounds and 10 ounces on 2/7/14.  6 month checkup was late due to weather.  We are also fighting pink eye right now in his right eye.  Go away illness!!!  

Length: 26 3/4 inches long.  Tall boy!

Sleep: Truman is a great sleeper.  He doesn't sleep much anymore during the day, especially if he is at daycare.  From what they tell me, he takes short 15-20 minute naps there.  Because of state regulations they can't swaddle, and that is how he sleeps best, so it's somewhat of a lost cause there.  At home he takes pretty decent naps but saves his good sleep for night time which is fine with his Mama!     

My Bedtime: We have stuck to our routine regarding bedtime.  Usually head upstairs around 8:45 and start bath time.  We give him a bath every other night now, with the weather being so cold it dries his sensitive skin out if we bathe him every night.  He is loving bath time!  Paying lots of attention to his bath toys (rattles, a little fishing net, rubber duckies.)  It's getting more difficult to give him a bath in the baby bathtub sling, just because he wants to be all over the place.  But because he can't sit up yet on his own, it's really our only choice.  I tried giving him a bath in the Bumbo seat a couple of nights ago but that was more trouble than it was worth.  It's so light weight it wants to float away.  I need about 6 hands for that shit show!  After bath it's clean diaper, lotion, pj's, swaddle, and bottle.  Soon I plan to start reading a book every night.  I have done that sporadically but not made a routine of it.  I usually do his bath, dress, and feed him while Chris is getting his stuff ready for the next day.  Then he comes and rocks him to sleep while I shower.  We make a pretty great team.  I'm so happy he's so hands on and wants to be involved in everything for Truman.  I'm going to make sure that Truman knows what an awesome Dad he has :) 

Favorite Toy: This child is all about his sock monkeys!  He loves them and wants to wrestle with them.  He is also loving his bouncy seat and play mat.  As he grows and develops play time is more fun all the time!!  He likes anything noisy and small that he can hold on to.  His new favorite thing is throwing/ dropping toys and watching Chris and I pick them up :)

Clothes Size: 6 months and 6-9.  He is so long!  His clothes never get too tight, they always get too short first!  He's going to be a tall boy :)

Diaper Size: Still in 2's in Pampers Swaddlers but we are finishing off all we have in that size and then moving on to 3's!

Milestones Reached: He is working SO hard to crawl!  Not quite there yet but he is well on his way!  He has mastered rolling from one side of the room to the other.  Now it's- Truman is stuck under the coffee table!  Truman is stuck under the entertainment center!  Ha ha...we will have to do some serious baby proofing in the very near future. 

Firsts: He had cereal for the first time this week!  He loved it and has been eating it every night while we eat dinner.  Definitely has made dinner more entertaining.  Next we are planning on giving him carrots or sweet potatoes.  We had a sad first recently as well :( Last week he had RSV and an ear infection.  Not his first ear infection but our first time dealing with a truly sick baby.  He was pitiful and RSV is no joke.  Luckily we managed it without any breathing treatments.  We used tons of saline spray, suction, Baby Vicks, got a cool mist humidifier for his room, and had him sleep elevated.  We are still doing that just to make sure it's gone before we return to old habits.     

Best Mood: He really is usually in a great mood!  We've been fortunate in having a really good baby :)  I can't believe that 6 months have already passed with him, so much has changed!  I'm looking forward to the next 6 and what they will bring.  I can't believe how much we love this kid.  He has truly brightened our lives.

Homemade Baby Food

 After a lot of consideration and research, I decided I wanted to make Truman's baby food.  It just seemed silly to pay for jars of baby food, that have been sitting on a shelf for who knows how long, loaded with preservatives, when I could make it myself!   We have fed him cereal at dinner for about a week now and he has done great with that so we wanted to switch it up!  We are starting with orange vegetables, then plan on going to green veggies, and then fruits last.  Chris and I wanted him to have carrots first and then sweet potatoes so that is what I prepared this weekend!  It really was so easy and only took a couple of hours to do all of it!  I washed and peeled the carrots, boiled them until soft, drained, and then pureed them in my food processor.  Then spooned them into ice trays, froze them for several hours, and popped them out into freezer bags.  Did the exact same with the sweet potatoes.  Now we have many meals stored away and ready for him to enjoy.  All we have to do is thaw a cube out in the morning.  I saved some of the carrots and fed him those Saturday night.  He LOVED them!  It's so exciting to see the expression on his face as he discovers new tastes and textures.  We are sticking with carrots for a few days to make sure he does okay, and then will switch him to sweet potatoes.  After that I think we will venture into avocados and peas. 

 

Cutest Kid Ever

Let the pictures speak for themselves!   I am obviously biased but I think he is the most precious little thing ever.  I can't believe how cute he is and getting cuter everyday!!  Here are some moments of the last few days :)

Mommy's little snow bunny

Relaxing with Daddy after a long day of daycare! 

Sweet boy napping at daycare

Rocking his Baby Gap :)

Sweet little cuddle bug!

There are no words :)

What a comparison!  Ha ha ha :)

Home Improvement

Poor Chris has fixed our leaky faucet about a zillion times in the last 2 years.  We finally said enough is enough and decided to upgrade!  We have been looking for awhile but finally found this little gem at Lowe's.  We went this weekend and got it and a few other odds and ends we needed for the house.  It's funny how life changes after owning your own home and having a baby.  Our fun weekend night now is going to Lowe's and then stopping by for a frozen yogurt on our way home.  I wouldn't trade it for the world.  I have learned that I freakishly love the domestic side...cleaning, cooking, and laundry can get monotonous at times, but for the most part I really enjoy it and take pride in our home. 

 

I have also been stressing over a chalkboard for the kitchen.  I have started menu planning on the weekends which has made my life during the week SO SO SO much easier.  It's time consuming but totally worth it.  Every weekend I gather my coupons, decide what to eat for the next week, and make my lists.  This has also been helpful because we are both doing weight watchers and it makes figuring out what to eat much simpler.  So, after hunting for a bit, my friend picked this chalkboard up for me at Hobby Lobby.  I was torn on if I wanted to buy one or make my own but in the long run this was so much easier.  And now I can move it around the house if I get tired of it being in one place.  I think I will really love being able to glance at the board and know what I need to do to get ready for dinner the next day.  I am sticking with my resolutions this year!!  Organizing, menu planning, and eating better!  Bring on 2014 :)