Christmas is this weekend, we're leaving for Williams parents house on Thursday. It's hard to believe that in a few days, Christmas will be over, after weeks of preparation.
We've got a little table-top Christmas tree, and it is completely surrounded by presents. Finding the perfect gifts for everybody and then wrapping them up are my favorite parts of the Christmas prep. The not-so-fun parts are the stress, finding gifts for people who didn't give you any ideas for what they would like, not having the money for the gifts that you REALLY want to get for somebody. All in all, this Christmas is going to be a great one. :)
The past couple weeks have been fun. Chaotic, but fun. Decorating the apartment, shopping, wrapping gifts, MUMs Christmas party... I've also been trying to cram in time to get Ian's baby blanket done, which I'm not sure is going to be done by Christmas! Oh well. :P In between shopping, wrapping, and working on the blanket, I've had fun watching Ian using his new-found skills. He's sitting on his own, it's fun to watch him sit and wobble a little sometimes. He hasn't actually fallen over very often anymore! He's a lot more fascinated by his toys now, and he'll have several lined up in front of him and he'll go for one toy at a time. He's also trying his fingers with picking small things up. I've seen him try and get my bracelet last weekend and he was pinching it with his thumb and forefinger. It's so amazing that he is almost 7 months old, and I remember the day he was born like it was yesterday! He's grown so much already!
A few days ago, William and I got this idea to try and teach Ian how to clap. We said 'Clap clap clap!' while clapping our own hands, then would repeat the words while showing him how to clap his own hands. He's actually started to clap his own hands when he saw us do it, or excited about something. Today, I said 'Clap clap clap!' without clapping my own hands, and Ian clapped his hands!! Also, we got a package from my mom today containing gifts for us, and Ian saw that I was excited about getting the package and he clapped! It exciting to know that he is starting to recognize words, actions, and reactions more than he did months ago.
I think the cutest thing he did today was a couple hours ago when he fell asleep for his nap. He had been playing with his foot when all of a sudden he went quiet (he was whining and babbling while playing with his foot). I looked over, and he had fallen asleep, still holding his foot! It was so cute. :)
Well, time to close, he's woken up now and wanting attention. Thanks for taking the time to read. :)
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
Almost Done
For the past (almost) six weeks, I have been a single parent. I did have the help of Williams parents for half of it, but all in all, I was the only parent for Ian. William comes home on Friday, and I am so glad that this time apart is almost over. Time went by so slowly when I was by myself. The three weeks at my soon-to-be in-laws house seemed to have flown by. Being with other people while your significant other really makes time go by faster.
Ian has developed so much in the past 6 weeks. He's now sitting up on his own (a little wobbly still, but most times catches himself and straightens up before he actually falls over!), he's a lot more mobile, and a lot more talkative. He loves to babble and say "ba-ba" (sounds like a sheep sometimes when he does that :P ). Whenever he is on his tummy, he can either stick his butt up in the air, or push himself up on his arms. He hasn't figured out how to do both at the same time yet! But he's getting there.... my baby is almost crawling!! :) Then he REALLY will cause trouble! :P He also loves to be in his bouncer. Some days I'm just waiting for him to fly out of it with how violent he can bounce!
He's taken a lot more interest in his toys now. I'm hoping that he will get lots of good toys for Christmas to help him develop his motor skills. :) Right now, he'll see a toy that he wants and try and reach out to grab it. When he's sitting up and doing that, and it's a little out of reach, he'll tend to fall over before I can move it a little closer for him!
He loves to smack things. Windows, walls, arms, legs, floors, faces... you name it. He likes to hear the different noises everything makes. Give him a toy that makes noises to smack and he looks like he's in heaven. :) His daddy isn't terribly fond of noisy toys, but that's how babies learn! They won't really take much interest in a quiet toy. The noise catches their attention! Rattles, crinkle toys, musical toys, anything that he can make noises with, he loves them.
More updates.... He's learning how to hold his own bottle. His grandma got him a bottle that transitions to a sippy cup, complete with handles. With those handles, he's able to hold onto the bottle a lot easier, and learn to tip it up to get more. He is also starting to learn his name. A few times he has actually turned to look at me when I say his name. Exciting stuff! I can't wait until he learns how to talk back! Well, the good way of talking back, not the bad way. :P I love my baby so much and am so excited with how much he's developed in the past month. I remember that before William left beginning of November, Ian could sit for 2 seconds before toppling over. Now, here he is, sitting up without support!
Thanks for reading, and I'll post more updates as soon as I can. :)
Ian has developed so much in the past 6 weeks. He's now sitting up on his own (a little wobbly still, but most times catches himself and straightens up before he actually falls over!), he's a lot more mobile, and a lot more talkative. He loves to babble and say "ba-ba" (sounds like a sheep sometimes when he does that :P ). Whenever he is on his tummy, he can either stick his butt up in the air, or push himself up on his arms. He hasn't figured out how to do both at the same time yet! But he's getting there.... my baby is almost crawling!! :) Then he REALLY will cause trouble! :P He also loves to be in his bouncer. Some days I'm just waiting for him to fly out of it with how violent he can bounce!
He's taken a lot more interest in his toys now. I'm hoping that he will get lots of good toys for Christmas to help him develop his motor skills. :) Right now, he'll see a toy that he wants and try and reach out to grab it. When he's sitting up and doing that, and it's a little out of reach, he'll tend to fall over before I can move it a little closer for him!
He loves to smack things. Windows, walls, arms, legs, floors, faces... you name it. He likes to hear the different noises everything makes. Give him a toy that makes noises to smack and he looks like he's in heaven. :) His daddy isn't terribly fond of noisy toys, but that's how babies learn! They won't really take much interest in a quiet toy. The noise catches their attention! Rattles, crinkle toys, musical toys, anything that he can make noises with, he loves them.
More updates.... He's learning how to hold his own bottle. His grandma got him a bottle that transitions to a sippy cup, complete with handles. With those handles, he's able to hold onto the bottle a lot easier, and learn to tip it up to get more. He is also starting to learn his name. A few times he has actually turned to look at me when I say his name. Exciting stuff! I can't wait until he learns how to talk back! Well, the good way of talking back, not the bad way. :P I love my baby so much and am so excited with how much he's developed in the past month. I remember that before William left beginning of November, Ian could sit for 2 seconds before toppling over. Now, here he is, sitting up without support!
Thanks for reading, and I'll post more updates as soon as I can. :)
Friday, December 3, 2010
Ian is Sitting
Here's a video and a few pictures for you to look at so you can see how well he has gotten at sitting up on his own. :)
Sideways, but oh well. :P
Cute. :)
He's so excited!
This has got to be the most adorable picture I have ever seen. :)
The puppies wanted to come join us on the other side of the living room so bad!
He tired himself out! :)
Thursday, December 2, 2010
Weaning
All breastfeeding mothers know (or will know) that at one point their baby will start weaning off of breast milk to eat other foods. Also, the key to weaning is to take it a slow or as fast as you want, whatever speed feels the most comfortable for you and your baby. If I had that choice, I think that the weaning process would have been a little easier on me. Since Ian didn't get as much food as he needed from nursing, I had no choice but to switch him to bottles. For the past month, I have been nursing him right before putting him to bed and first thing in the morning, but now, he is completely on the bottle. Today is the second day of no nursing. Nobody told me about the strain it would have on my body! Even though Ian has gained 2 lbs at his weight check two days ago, and he is perfectly happy with having a bottle, I still wish I could nurse him and keep him satisfied for longer than an hour. You may not want to know this, but on the second day of not nursing Ian, my breasts are so sore and full. I haven't had this feeling for months. I know that the easy way of solving this issue is to nurse Ian, but that would defeat the purpose of fully weaning him! Maybe I'll be able to wait it out... I just don't want it to get worse. That is probably going to happen anyways... everything gets worse before it gets better! Personally, I didn't think my breasts would feel this full. After a month of only nursing Ian a couple times a day instead of every few hours, I thought the milk production would have gone way down! Maybe my body has high hopes that Ian will nurse again. :P
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Ian is Six Months Old
Ian is now six months old. I still feel like the day he was born was just yesterday, instead of half a year ago. I am amazed sometimes at how fast, and how much, he has grown since he was born. His former pediatrician is crazy to say that he hasn't grown that much between his four-month well baby check and his six-month well baby check, but his weight barely changed between visits, so he is going in this afternoon for a weight check. With all that he has eaten in the past couple weeks since his six-month visit, I would be VERY surprised if he didn't gain any weight!
William and I started feeding him baby rice cereal and baby foods once we were told that we could start him on solids. He has gotten so much better at eating food off of a spoon. He still makes a mess though, just not as much! He likes to reach out and grab the spoon sometimes, which gets baby food all over his fingers, and then he goes and touches other things with that same hand, thus getting the food everywhere. I've even found food on his forehead! Compared to my little sister, that's nothing... she's had food on the BACK of her head several times... and not just when she was a baby! :P
Speaking of baby food, Ian absolutely LOVES carrots. He ate so much carrots in one day that he had orange poop for the next day or two. Carrot colored. Ick. Some days he will eat a full bowl (baby sized) of baby food, and then still be hungry. He'll either eat more baby food, or a complete 8oz bottle. So, you can see why I would be surprised if he didn't gain ANY weight since his last visit! With the amount of food he has eaten, I wouldn't be surprised if he put on at least 2 lbs! Ha!
When William came to visit over Thanksgiving weekend to surprise me, Ian took a few minutes to completely realize that it was his daddy. After a few minutes of being held by his daddy, he was laughing away. William could always get him to laugh easier than I could. The only thing that Ian did over the weekend that could have been better was cry every time William changed his diaper, or held him at bedtime when he wants to snuggle with me to go to sleep! Other than that, Ian loved having his daddy around. :)
Yesterday, Ian's grandma brought home new pacifiers. Barkley, one of the Springer puppies (not really puppies anymore, lol!), loved stealing his pacifiers for some reason. He chewed up two of them in the past couple weeks, and we came here with three, because I knew that Barkley would try to take them because he's done it other times we were here. This visit was the first time he actually managed to have the pacifier long enough to cause damage. A couple days ago, I had put Ian's last surviving pacifier on the coffee table so I could give him his bottle, and Barkley was on the couch and DOVE for the pacifier... in front of me and William's mom! He didn't manage to get it since I was as quick as he was and stopped him... hurt my finger a little bit because I hit the table instead of his nose! Ian's new pacifiers are a little different than the ones he's been using the past few months, but he doesn't seem to care. He's able to fall asleep with it, so it's good! Also, it doesn't seem to matter what kind of pacifier he has, he enjoys having them in upside down for some reason. The previous pacifiers were different being upside down or upside right... the form of the pacifier nipple was supposed to mimic the form of the mothers nipple during nursing, so there was a diagonal flat part on one side that was supposed to be against the baby's tongue. Yet, he would have the pacifier in upside down and not care! With the new pacifiers, it doesn't really matter because the nipple is the same shape all around, the only difference is the plastic part that holds the nipple has a small dip in it for under his nose, and the picture that is on it is upside down. He looks so cute with it upside down and sleeping away!
With the fact that Ian is six months old, he is getting so much better at a lot of things. He is a lot more interactive with the people around him. He recognizes people he knows and people he doesn't. When we had gone to the hospital where his grandma works (so she could show him off), he was as quiet as could be. He did give the ladies a couple little smiles, but no noises. When we were walking away to go back to the car so we could go to his auntie's house, he started laughing! It was at that point that I could really tell that he really does recognize the difference between people he knows and people he doesn't! He also is a lot more active, he plays with his toys more, and when he is in his bouncer, he not only bounces a lot, but he plays with the toys that are attached to it! He is also getting very good at sitting up on his own! Not after he just woke up, though! :P He has developed so much, it's amazing to see him grow and change everyday. :)
William and I started feeding him baby rice cereal and baby foods once we were told that we could start him on solids. He has gotten so much better at eating food off of a spoon. He still makes a mess though, just not as much! He likes to reach out and grab the spoon sometimes, which gets baby food all over his fingers, and then he goes and touches other things with that same hand, thus getting the food everywhere. I've even found food on his forehead! Compared to my little sister, that's nothing... she's had food on the BACK of her head several times... and not just when she was a baby! :P
Speaking of baby food, Ian absolutely LOVES carrots. He ate so much carrots in one day that he had orange poop for the next day or two. Carrot colored. Ick. Some days he will eat a full bowl (baby sized) of baby food, and then still be hungry. He'll either eat more baby food, or a complete 8oz bottle. So, you can see why I would be surprised if he didn't gain ANY weight since his last visit! With the amount of food he has eaten, I wouldn't be surprised if he put on at least 2 lbs! Ha!
When William came to visit over Thanksgiving weekend to surprise me, Ian took a few minutes to completely realize that it was his daddy. After a few minutes of being held by his daddy, he was laughing away. William could always get him to laugh easier than I could. The only thing that Ian did over the weekend that could have been better was cry every time William changed his diaper, or held him at bedtime when he wants to snuggle with me to go to sleep! Other than that, Ian loved having his daddy around. :)
Yesterday, Ian's grandma brought home new pacifiers. Barkley, one of the Springer puppies (not really puppies anymore, lol!), loved stealing his pacifiers for some reason. He chewed up two of them in the past couple weeks, and we came here with three, because I knew that Barkley would try to take them because he's done it other times we were here. This visit was the first time he actually managed to have the pacifier long enough to cause damage. A couple days ago, I had put Ian's last surviving pacifier on the coffee table so I could give him his bottle, and Barkley was on the couch and DOVE for the pacifier... in front of me and William's mom! He didn't manage to get it since I was as quick as he was and stopped him... hurt my finger a little bit because I hit the table instead of his nose! Ian's new pacifiers are a little different than the ones he's been using the past few months, but he doesn't seem to care. He's able to fall asleep with it, so it's good! Also, it doesn't seem to matter what kind of pacifier he has, he enjoys having them in upside down for some reason. The previous pacifiers were different being upside down or upside right... the form of the pacifier nipple was supposed to mimic the form of the mothers nipple during nursing, so there was a diagonal flat part on one side that was supposed to be against the baby's tongue. Yet, he would have the pacifier in upside down and not care! With the new pacifiers, it doesn't really matter because the nipple is the same shape all around, the only difference is the plastic part that holds the nipple has a small dip in it for under his nose, and the picture that is on it is upside down. He looks so cute with it upside down and sleeping away!
With the fact that Ian is six months old, he is getting so much better at a lot of things. He is a lot more interactive with the people around him. He recognizes people he knows and people he doesn't. When we had gone to the hospital where his grandma works (so she could show him off), he was as quiet as could be. He did give the ladies a couple little smiles, but no noises. When we were walking away to go back to the car so we could go to his auntie's house, he started laughing! It was at that point that I could really tell that he really does recognize the difference between people he knows and people he doesn't! He also is a lot more active, he plays with his toys more, and when he is in his bouncer, he not only bounces a lot, but he plays with the toys that are attached to it! He is also getting very good at sitting up on his own! Not after he just woke up, though! :P He has developed so much, it's amazing to see him grow and change everyday. :)
Monday, November 29, 2010
The Love of Animals
I always have wanted my own pet, and still do. William and I had an adorable cocker spaniel/pug mix for a month before Ian was born named Jake. Even though he wasn't a very good boy sometimes, like all dogs, we loved having him. I've grown up with dogs and cats in the family, but none of them were particularly mine. My mom's dog, a Shi Tzu named Rags, did claim me as his second 'love,' which I did enjoy, but when my mom was home, he was always with her, but when she wasn't, he was always with me. He even slept in my room every night. I remember my mom telling me that it took him awhile to get used to not being able to sleep in my room when I left for college. He would run upstairs when it was bedtime and he would sit outside my door and cry. I want another pet like that, who is attached to me and was WELL-behaved! Maybe one day I'll have one like him and he or she will keep Ian and his future siblings company. :) The big dogs are a pain... William wants a big dog, but I want a little one. The little dogs are so much easier to care for (well.. sometimes... :P), in my experience. Big dogs are just a big bundle of trouble! Bad gas... digging huge holes in the yard... tracking a bunch of mud in the house. Little dogs may pass gas, but they're not NEAR as deadly as a big Lab toot. I love animals, and I would like to have my own pet, just not a big dog! I'm sure we'll get a puppy or adult dog at some point, maybe when Ian is big enough to enjoy playing with the dog! He might be just like his daddy and want a big dog... :P Maybe then I can get a little dog if they want a big dog so we can all be happy! HA! That's something to know in the future. :)
Thanks for reading. :)
Thanks for reading. :)
Sunday, November 28, 2010
Six Months Past
I have been meaning on starting a blog for awhile to keep people updated on my life and that of my son. Six months have passed since Ian was born and sometimes I still can't believe that I am a mom and soon-to-be wife. So much has happened in my life in the past couple years that at times it is hard to believe. I thank God so much that my life has turned out how it has. I couldn't have gotten this far without Him.
As you all know, Thanksgiving was three days ago, and I had the best surprise on that day that I am so thankful for. William had been in California for the past four weeks and he surprised me by flying up to Seattle to be with me, Ian, and his parents for the weekend. He flew back earlier today. I was sad to see him go, but also glad that there is little over a week until I see him next. It hasn't been the easiest taking care of a baby by myself. I have had help from his parents the past couple weeks, so at least I haven't been alone for the whole six weeks he will be gone.
I will close with a few pictures, and thank you all for taking the time in reading this. It is getting late so I will be off to bed soon! More posts will come soon. :)
This is one of my favorite photos of Ian. :)
He'll sleep in the oddest positions sometimes!
Another one of my favorites. He just looks so incredibly happy in this one!
I love his smile... he has turned out to be so photogenic!
He was a monkey for Halloween!
A photo of the mountains. Stunning!
As you all know, Thanksgiving was three days ago, and I had the best surprise on that day that I am so thankful for. William had been in California for the past four weeks and he surprised me by flying up to Seattle to be with me, Ian, and his parents for the weekend. He flew back earlier today. I was sad to see him go, but also glad that there is little over a week until I see him next. It hasn't been the easiest taking care of a baby by myself. I have had help from his parents the past couple weeks, so at least I haven't been alone for the whole six weeks he will be gone.
I will close with a few pictures, and thank you all for taking the time in reading this. It is getting late so I will be off to bed soon! More posts will come soon. :)
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