9 months old!

You're 9 months old today and it's your first birthday month that I'm not there to snuggle you and help Dad with pictures.  Tomorrow you will take your first plane ride to see me working in Washington DC and I'm so excited to see you when you arrive! It's hard to believe we reached this milestone so quickly!

1.  You're talking (babbling) a lot now!  Even on the phone with me this week, you talked my ear off for most of the time Dad held the phone to your ear.

2.  You're a rolling machine! 

3.  You still have 8 teeth, but we are thinking more are coming soon, because you're drooling all the time and constantly chewing on everything again.

4.  Thanksgiving was such a treat with you!  You were fascinated by all the people that came to our house and sitting at the table with us during dinner.  You enjoyed a meal of sweet potatoes.

5.  You're eating more solid foods than drinking milk.  You would much rather eat with a spoon than from a bottle.

6.  You sit on your own now without the assistance of a pillow or our help.

7.  You like to stand with assistance, next to the couch, on your changing table, or our laps.  It doesn't matter where, you just love to stand.

8.  You are so excited to see us when we come into the room, pick you up from daycare, or arrive home.  It melts my heart to see your huge smile and hear the noises you make with excitement.

9.  You perk up when the camera comes out or we raise our phones to take a picture of you.  It's so fun to watch, it's as if you know to pose.

Love you little man, to the moon and back, cannot wait to see you tomorrow.

8 Months Old!

You're 8 months old today!

1.  I cannot believe how fast you are growing up!  You used to be a little baby who I could cuddle so close and you'd look up at me and snuggle in closer.  Now, you want to do your own thing and you're developing a big personality.

2. You have 8 teeth - yes, that's right 8.  And the last two sets that have come in, cut through 3 at a time.

3.  You went to your first hockey game this past month.  The UMD Bulldogs played the Wisconsin Badgers at Amsoil Arena.  You were fascinated by all the people and got a little scared when I jumped up because the Bulldogs scored.  You recovered quickly and handled the second goal as if it was no big deal.  We are so excited to continue to take you to the games and share with you our love for hockey.

4.  You sit up on your own.  There's no need for the boppee anymore...you're just a sitting machine without any assistance.

5.  Besides saying mama this month, you also said dada.  But your favorite words (which aren't really words) are ba, ga, ya, and ah.  It's so fun to see your face light up as you say one of them.

6.  You eat 3 meals of solid foods a day.  It makes life interesting, in more than one way.

7.  You love kids and babies.  Whenever we see one out in public, you cannot take your eyes off of them.  You also get very excited when we arrive at daycare and there are several kids playing in your room.  They love to see you too and come up to greet you every morning.  Also, this weekend, you loved watching Liz (momma's friend Amanda's daughter).  When we tried to take a picture together, you were swinging your arm to touch Liz's head.  We of course had to teach you gentle because she is such a new baby! 

8.  You want everything of ours.  And if you get your hand on something, it goes directly to your mouth.  It sure makes life interesting when we are carrying our cell phone or the home phone, not to mention, when you see us with food or something to drink.  I could name off several more things...but let's just summarize and say, you want everything and you want it in your mouth.

Happy 8 month birthday little man.  Love you to the moon and back.

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween little man!  It was your first Halloween and we found you the cutest cow outfit.  Dad insisted we send you to daycare dressed up for the whole day (of course you were the only one there who had their costume on all day and of course if we would not have dressed you up, you would have been the only one without).  I'm sure you were happy that minus the hood and tail, this outfit was as cozy as your fleece sleepers.  When you got home this afternoon, Dad kept calling you little moo moo and you loved to hear this. 


In other news...you said mama today.  While I think you've been saying it for a while, normally it's when you're whining or tired.  So I just think it's part of that.  But tonight, as I walked down the stairs and into the living room where you were sitting with Dad, you looked up at me, smiled, and said mama.  So I'm officially claiming your first word!  What a great treat for me on your first Halloween.

Love you little man.  As much as I am not a Halloween person, you sure made it a fun day in your cute cow costume and excitement in new things.

Bibs Saturday

Bibs Saturday started a few weeks ago, when Mom sent this picture to Grandma Patty early in the morning and told her to tell Grandpa Nick that you had your bibs all ready for our visit to Iowa!!

Well Grandpa told all the guys that bibs were a must for Saturday's birthday party at their house and when some of them did not arrive with bibs on, Grandpa went to his supply to find them a pair.  Well we had to get a picture of all the guys in their bibs.

Plus, since Great Grandpa Jack was in attendence, it allowed us to get a four generation picture that I have wanted since you arrived.  Four generations of Weber men looking good in their bibs. 

Finally, Grandpa insisted that Grandma and I get in a picture with the guys and their bibs...

We had a great weekend visit to Iowa.  We were able to meet your new cousin, Kasen, and see your older cousins Tayton and Owen along with all of your Aunts and Uncles.  We also got to spend lots of time with Grandma and Grandpa at their house.  It was so fun to see you interact, laugh, and play with them.  You sure enjoyed your time on the farm and we had a great visit to see them.  I can already tell once you can talk, you'll be asking to visit the farm all the time! 

We also got to celebrate Grandpa's birthday with him on Sunday!  You were all smiles in the morning when you got to see him and gave him a group hug with Dad before we left! 

7 months old!

You're 7 months old today - it's hard to believe.  Your dad and I talked about the fact that you are closer to being 1 year old than to being born.  Yikes!

1. This month you spent your first weekend away from Dad and I.  You visited Grandma Jean and Grandpa Charlie for the weekend following Mom and Dad's anniversary.  From what we understand, you had a BLAST!!  We of course missed you all weekend and were very excited to see you on Sunday afternoon.  This year as Dad and I celebrated our anniversary realizing the dream we always had - you!  You have made our house and family complete, we are so happy you are in our family little man!

2. Your helmet is doing the trick and your diagonal differences are only 3 mm.  We are hoping that soon enough you will not need it anymore. 

3. You would rather be in a sitting position that doing anything else these days.  This could mean being in your exersaucer, bumbo, or with the assistance of the boppee.  Any way you sit - you enjoy reaching for your toys and seeing the world from a new perspective! 

4. On the same token as #3, you love to do the "changing table dance".  Before you get into the bath, Dad lets you stand on the changing table and you jump and dance around.  You love doing this so much, that we decided to buy you a jumperoo (we watch you on the camera at daycare jump in the jumperoo for hours - I hope you continue to like it). 

5. You love veggies, so much so that we do not have to mix them with cereal anymore (like we do the fruits).  Right now you're enjoying squash and sweet potatoes.

6. This past month marks the first time that you spiked a fever and concerned us enough to get you to the doctor to find out what was going on.  From what the doctor could see you had at least one ear infection (he was not sure about the other - too much ear wax).  You also had an upper respiratory infection.  You bounced back in less than 48 hours and seem to be doing a lot better with exception to that pesky cough.

7. Finally, you now have 5 teeth.  In the last month, both eye teeth have come through and one of your top front teeth.  It's so crazy to me to see all those teeth in your mouth.  You were a trooper while getting them and even after as those ear infections set in.

You're changing every day and we are loving every minute of spending time with you.  Love you little man!

6 month stats - the late edition

Shortly after your 6 month birthday we went to the doctor.  She was shocked to see 3 teeth in your mouth and told us she thought 3 more would arrive before we see her again.  Yikes - you're a teething monster.  She checked you out and said you were looking good - this is music to our ears.  You did not like the nurses this time and the shots kept you crying for a while afterwards.  Not to mention, when you'd see those two ladies again, it's spark another round of crying.  I hope that was just this time...you were such a trooper before!

You also got measured and weighed while we were there.  You're trucking right along in your growth, up to 27 inches (you grew over 2 inches since the last time we were in) and you now weigh 15 lbs 7 ounces (a little less than 2 lbs since the last time we were in). 

You're growing every day and we are so thankful!  You also keep doing lots of new things. 

Here's my top three favorites (ok four favorites, I could not decide between the bottom two):
1. You give kisses and hugs!  Love this!
2. You lift your butt in the air when you're laying down and laugh about it.  It makes us laugh too.
3. You are kicking and playing in the bath tub now.  While this means sometimes I get wet, I cannot help but smile at the fun you are having!
4. You have a new carseat.  It's rear facing but sits more upright and I think it allows you to see more out the windows.  It's so fun to glance back in the mirror to see you looking around at things as they go by and making noises in response.  It makes me even more excited for when you can tell me what you're seeing or what you want to explore!


You also went to the helmet lady again this week.  Your head is down to a 3 mm difference  in diagonals (you started with a 7 mm difference) in the short 6 weeks you've been wearing the helmet.  She let us know that she'd continue to monitor your head until we did not see any more changes and then also that they recommend babies be sitting up/scooting around/basically not laying on their head before the helmet is done.  You're getting close to doing all that, but we'll wait a little bit to make sure the progress continues and we do not back track!

Keep growing, exploring, enjoying life little man!  You sure make your momma remember to stop and do the same things on a regular basis!

6 months old!

 

You're six months old today.  Boy the time has flown by!  Here are some of your recent highlights:

1. Your 3rd tooth cut today.  Let me set the scene for how I found out.  Your Dad picked you up from daycare around 2 pm, he sent me an email around 2:40 pm that said "I got home and daddy got me a cold one, life is good. :)"  He attached two pictures of you with some of the teething rings I had put in the fridge.  He then noted "He has a tooth coming in his top left."  Wow buddy, you have 3 teeth now at 6 months.  No wonder you've been whining lately.

2. You give kisses (well Oliver kisses).  I'm known to give you repeated kisses on your cheek several times a day.  You're now grabbing my face or neck and planting your face on my cheek.  After a couple days of this, I figured out that you're giving me kisses back.  It melts my heart.  Thanks for all the love buddy.

3.  You're eating two meals of solid foods a day.  Right now, you enjoy a fruit with oatmeal in the morning and at night you enjoy rice cereal with a vegetable.  I think you prefer the veggies and I think it's because they are not as sweet.  You certainly did not get your mom's sweet tooth.

4.  Everything your Dad or I have in our hands, you want.  You reach for it and once you grab on, there's normally a tug of war that ensues.  If you win this tug of war, whatever you've got in your hands will head straight for your mouth. 

5.  You have aspirations to fly.  It's because of these aspirations we are thinking you are done with the bouncy chair and we must find something else for you to sit in regularly.  You see, when you're in the bouncy chair you kick your legs so much that your butt will hit the floor and your body has started to lift off the chair.  Let's save this flying for another day buddy, we'd rather not have you launching yourself into our furniture.

6.  Each day that we get to spend with you, we grow more in love.  These last six months have really changed our lives and it's now hard to remember a time before you arrived.  I still remember that day like it was yesterday, the feelings I had as I went through the motions of preparing for you to arrive, and then hearing you cry for the first time.  Thinking about it still brings tears to my eyes as I had dreamed of that day for a very long time.  Since you've arrived, you continually teach me to love even more unconditionally and to stop to enjoy the little things in life. 

 

Love you little man.  Happy 6 month birthday!