Peanut's first Bday!

Peanut’s first birthday was a blast. (Yes, I know – it was 8 weeks ago L
Lots of people out on a beautiful Sept 3 day to enjoy the festivities and of course the food. We had burgers, pulled pork, and some other stuff. (Mommy’s dip is always a huge hit). We had a Cars birthday, complete with Cars cake. When cake time came, Peanut didn’t quite know what to do. Fortunately Daddy was hungry and started digging in with his own hands. It didn’t take Peanut long to dive in! Friends and family were very generous, this is one lucky little guy.

BIG GIRL BED!

Bug had a toddler bed set up in her room shortly after Peanut was born. This was early – partially because we found a good deal on the furniture, partially because we wanted her to get used to the idea of sleeping in there… The crib she’s been sleeping in since Peanut came along is borrowed.
Over the past 8 months we’ve tried letting her nap in there a few times – never went well. She didn’t like the change or she wouldn’t stay there. So several months passed by and last week, Mommy asked again. “Do you want to nap in your big girl bed”? Sure! Was the reply. That nap went fine. The next day, same thing. She went down nicely for 4 days in a row. On the 4th night (a Friday) she asked so spend the night there. We said absolutely! We laid out the rules… If she wanted something she could call us. No roaming around the house. Well, Saturday morning came and we both slept in. Bug woke herself up, and we heard her chatting. We heard her walking around her room. We heard the door open! She brought each of us a couple books, left them on the night stand beside each of us. Then she crawled in and “woke” us up. So for the past week, all sleep has been in her BIG GIRL BED! She’s even adapted a favorite song – we find her singing “No more monkeys jumping on the BIG GIRL BED!”
So that’s one more milestone out of the way. I think we’ll keep the crib for a little while longer – it’s nice to threaten her with it when she refuses to stay in bed! (love you sweetie!!)

Oy

Well, July is here... Peanut is 10 months old and Bug is 27! time flies.

So what can I say? Lots of course, just hope I can come close to catching it all.

Peanut:

• Started the commando crawl at about 7.5 months. That didn't last long, he was up on all fours within a couple weeks. About the same time he started pulling himself up to walk along furniture. He's still doing that today, just doesn't quite have the balance or confidence to let go yet. It won't be long though... He will let me hold ONE hand as we walk across the room.
• LOVES to move. As soon as he figured out how to be mobile, we could never keep him in one spot. Change time is especially frustrating, as he is NOT content to lie on his back for more than a few seconds. Once he grabs ahold of something (the end of the change table, the muscles come out and he twists and writhes his body in ever direction possible. Not that he has anywhere to go, just has to sit up and take in the sights.
• Is eating a few solid foods. Cheerios, potatoes, ground (cooked) meat, bananas, etc. He's had 8 teeth for quite a few months, and added a couple more a couple weeks ago.
• Sleeps through the night without incident. He was moved into his crib at about 9 months, and it was a good move. He quickly taught himself to fall asleep on his own. As long as he has a bottle in there when we go to bed, he's fine. He will wake up at 7-9:30, depending on how early he went to bed the previous night. Usually I will sneak in and refill the bottle (always empty) before I leave for work in the morning.
• Has lots to say, but nothing on command or when prompted yet. A few times he's sqealed "momma" when she goes in there in the morning. He does say "num num num when he spots food.
• Is a big, strong kid. 23.something pounds at the doc's last week.
• Is always smiling. No change there. He's just a freakin' happy baby. A delight to anyone that walks up to him.
• Knows how to clap, and is always pleased to do so. Knows "How big is Peanut?" and is playing peekaboo if he's giving a blanket or something to hide behind. This started about 3 weeks ago.
• Is not so crazy about cuddling any more. Unless he's really tired. So sometimes, when we get home and he's passed out in the van, I take him and just lay him on my shoulder on the couch... Nothing makes me happier. Well - one thing ties it. Doing the same thing with Bug.

6 months and counting

Where to begin? There's just so much to write because I'm terribly behind my ambitious update plan for this story... Peanut turned 6 MONTHS old on March 3. SIX MONTHS!
At 6 months, Peanut:

• Rolls over from back to front without problems. He's happy there for a few minutes but gets uncomfortable. He does manage to roll over in his sleep without problems though, but if he wakes in that position he can't fall back asleep without being rolled back over.
• Sits up in his bouncy chair to play, reach, or just 'get a little closer'. He loves that bouncy chair, loves to sit up and throw himself backwards so it gives him a nice bounce back up.
• Sleeps in his cradle in our bedroom, on Daddy's side. Is quickly outgrowing it but I'm hesitant to move him since that means getting out of bed and walking to his crib a couple times per night. And on that subject:
• Doesn't sleep throught the night. We're teaching him to fall asleep on his own by laying him down for the night awake, when we know he's tired. This is usually successful, though after a couple weeks he still can't fall asleep in the middle of the night without a bottle in his mouth. He wakes up about two times each night, but is quickly settled by slurping on a bottle, propped/laying on a little blanket beside him.
• Eats all baby foods without problems. We've tried the cereals (first), followed by veggies and some fruit. We haven't tried proteins yet. He likes the veggies more than the fruit.
• Loves his big sister. Is totally fascinated by her. Especially when she gives him things to chew on, or brings him his bottle, or sits there and talks to him. He just loves it, he lights up and babbles nonstop. (baaa ba abaa baa ba)
• Loves his jolly jumper as much as Bug did. He tried it for the first time right around New Years, and while it took him a couple tries to figure out out, he's been loving it ever since.
• Plays with anything in his reach or given to him. He's very interested in everything.
• Smiles with his whole body (as Mommy would say) It really is true. He is just so happy all the time.
• Loves to cuddle. For months, the best part of my day was sitting on the couch with Peanut, feeding him, burping him, and letting him fall asleep in my arms before bed. The most common procedure was to feed him until totally full, then place him on my shoulder and whack his back to burp him. It never failed to put him to sleep. (Yes, I know this is why he has trouble falling asleep on his own! It's also why we haven't done this much in the last month or two.) It's amazing how calming that back tapping is to him. No amount of singing, stroking, etc can equal the power of 30 seconds of light 'back whapping', no matter where he is.
• Naps 2-3 times during the day, from 45 minutes to (sometimes) 3 hours. Most naps are 1 to 1.5 hours.
• Still has (only!) his bottom middle two teeth

heavier

Stats from the doc this week:
Bug 30 lbs
Peanut 21 lbs

Peanut, at 6 months, is 5 inches shorter than Bug at 22 months!

Night time for Bug

Well, the bottle tossing game didn't last much longer, whew! She's still not crazy about night time though - some nights she still cries when we leave her, but it's never for more than a minute or two.

Daddy doodles

Well, bug has a new game that isn’t scoring her any points. She’s been absolutely amazing when it comes to bedtime, until the last few weeks (months?) She just doesn’t like going to bed any more, and usually it takes about 5-10 minutes of crying before she nods off. She’s fed, clean, dry, and completely happy, not to mention loved like she’s the last kid on Earth. BUT, not so crazy about that crib idea.
So this new game – since of course we’re just clueless parents that haven’t gotten the hint yet, she throws her bottle out of the crib just before we close the door. Well, you can only go back and scold and give the bottle back so many times. Today’s resolution is that every time she throws the bottle, she loses a toy from the crib. So tonight (ie right now) she’s without her Dora, baby, puppets, and Elmo. And her bottle is on the floor.
The worst part is she’s singing / crying DADDY DOODLES! DADDY DOODLES! The one thing she knows melts my heart. So what’s a Daddy Doodle to do? Blog of course! Mommy is getting out of the tub and should join Daddy Doodles and Peanut soon. Maybe we’ll watch a movie downstairs since Daddy Doodles just got the home theatre hooked up. More likely, we’ll watch American Idol. Oh well. Actually, in the 2 minutes that have just passed, things have gotten quiet. I’ll wait a few minutes until I’m sure she’s just about comatose, and I’ll glide in and place the bottle in her hands.

FOLLOW UP... When I went in I quietly grabbed her bottle and placed it in her hands. She started drinking immediately, so I grabbed her Dora and Elmo and placed them in there. All went well.

Potty time!

Bug has been 'bugging' us more and more to go to the potty. Mommy has given her one smarty every time she sits down for more than 10 seconds. So we've been unsure of Bug's motivation... Is she just addicted to the smarties now?

So from time to time we get tired of multiple trips to the bathroom for smarties. Well yesterday, Unckie and Mommy were playing with the kids downstairs (Unckie is there for the week to help due to Mommy's shoulder surgery recovery) and Bug was really harping on the potty thing. She took her pants off, she took her diaper off, and was pulling on arms to have someone take her up. Well, Unckie took her up and she proceeded to pee in the potty after about 5 seconds!

Wonder how long until we just have one baby to diaper???