Life is a Journey

10 Months

2014-05-24T09:28:00.000-04:00

Stats:

Weight: 18lbs (Home Scale)
Height: ??? He's being a turkey

Food:

Plums: Loves
Corn: Likes
Cherries: Loves
Zucchini: Loves
Melon: Likes

Pictures from February

2014-05-23T09:55:00.000-04:00

Al and Simon

Standing!

Simon and Baby

Banana!

Arts and Crafts!

Just chilling!

Crib needs lowered!

Sleepy boy!

We like balloons!

Fun with clothes!

First ambulance ride :(

Me and Gramma Diane!

Eating Daddy's shoe lace!

Cuddling with Daddy!

Reading with Daddy!

Gardening with Gramma Holly!

"but I want to eat mulch!"

Reading and math with Daddy!

Nine Months!

2014-05-22T09:22:00.001-04:00

Stats:

Weight: 17lbs 1oz (10%)
Height: 28.4" (50%)
Head Circ.: 17.5" 35%

Nicknames:

Turkey
Chubs
Chubikins
Little Man
Fuzz bucket
Little Love

Food:

Peas: Tolerates
Pears: Loves
Carrots: Likes
Banana: Loves
Peaches: Likes
Squash: Likes

8 months old!

2014-01-21T10:14:00.001-05:00

Stats:

Height: ??? He still won't cooperate
Weight: 17lbs

News:

-crawling
-blowing raspberries
-first surgery on 1.8.14 to fix upper lip and tongue ties in Columbia
-first hotel stay

7 month update!

2013-12-29T18:35:00.001-05:00

Stats:

Weight: 16 lbs (home scale)

Height: ??? He won cooperate

Foods:

Sweet potatoes: likes them

Apples: loves them

Peas: he likes them, they do not like him

Pears: loves them

Tricks:

-Crawling backwards by accident

-Still rocking back and forth on hands/knees

-flicks things with his fingers

-still takes naps by himself

Mommy and Simon's party time

2013-12-09T17:39:00.001-05:00

"Mommy, I really like are early morning parties"

"But honey, it's 4am and we both should be sleeping"

"But look at what I can do!"

*simon face plants to the floor*

"Almost!"

"I's gonna get it!"

"I's got it mommy"

"Sleepy time now Simon :)"

Simon's newest trick!

2013-12-08T18:06:00.001-05:00

Taking a nap by himself for around two hours! Simon has never really napped well. We have always chalked it up to him not wanting to am waste time sleeping when he could be playing with us. When we would get lucky enough to nap he would only sleep for 45 minutes and he had to be in my arms.

Over thanksgiving we found out that if I put him in our bed he will sleep there by himself and he will sleep for around 2 hours. He doesn't even wake up crying! I'm hesitant to put him in his crib... I think our bed smelling like us helps this new trend.

It is still weird for me so I truthfully haven't gotten much done. Once I decide this is his new routine and not a fluke I hope to get more productive! One of the things I hope to do is update this blog more often! I don't know how the SAHM mommy bloggers do it! They either ignore their babies (doubtful) or they chose less sleep. I will not ignore Simon or chose less sleep so I guess I will have to hope that this is not a fluke :)

Thanksgiving 2013

2013-11-29T03:53:00.001-05:00

Simon's first solid: Sweet Potato

I'd say he liked it! He ate a good bit of it too. Of course some got on his face but I feel safe that he ate the majority of what was fed to him.

Brian is the one who gets too feed him as I am still nursing :)

Right now we are giving him the option of eating 2 oz a day. Once he fully eats the 2 oz we will look into giving him more. Food before one is really for practice so you don't want to give him too much.

We are going to alternate between vegetable and fruit. Our current plan is:

Sweet Potato

Apple

Peas

Bananas

Carrots

We are making our own baby food and it couldn't be any easier and it's soo much cheaper!

6 months :)

2013-11-26T12:30:00.001-05:00

Stats:

Weight: 14 lbs 13 oz (10%)

Height: 27" (70%)

-Loves tummy time

-Just about to crawl

-Back to getting up twice a night

-Definitely teething, we think he is getting his canines

-has ended up in our bed for a portion of the night as it sometimes allows us to sleep longer

-Brian has started to take Simon in the morning and play with him so I can sleep a bit

-getting real close to 9 month clothes

-sits up on his own

-will have sweet potato as his first solid on turkey day

Simon's First Halloween!

2013-11-05T12:26:00.001-05:00

Simon's first Halloween was a ton of fun! He didn't go trick or treating and was clueless throughout the whole thing but I know the adults in his life had a blast!

The celebration started in Charleston visiting my Mom and Dad. Among the many things we did was go to a pumpkin patch (lots of pumpkins in a church's lawn. We will do a real pumpkin patch when he gets older)

Then the party continued at home. We went to our favorite landscapers and bought two more pumpkins.

We of course had to carve one!!

(The small pumpkin is the one Simon picked out in Charleston!)

Even though he didn't go trick or treating we got him a costume. He went as a minion!

On Halloween his daycare was having pajama day so he wore his costume the day before. I drew the goggles on with eye liner. One eye is messed up because Simon moved his head and the tip snapped off of the pen.

On Halloween we were supposed to wear the Halloween pjs his Aunt Cathy have him:

But he had an explosive diaper and went in with the Halloween onesie that came with the sleeper and navy blue pants. Not matching at all but still in the spirit of Halloween. Don't worry he went in to daycare on Friday in his pjs to make up for missing the fun on Halloween! He came home with lots of goodies!

We had one trick or treater who came right as we got home. By the time we got to the door they were gone :(

And that was Simon's first Halloween! I am already planning next years costume ;)

Simon: 5 months

2013-11-04T01:59:00.001-05:00

Can you believe it?

Stats:

Weight: 14lbs 6oz

Height:

*i will update that tomorrow at his weight check*

New tricks:

-sleeping without his swaddle

-eating his foot

-beginning to reach for us

-getting much better at sitting unassisted

-eye teeth are coming in

His new nickname is chubs though he stil isn't that chubby. He is back to eating 15 oz at daycare which is exactly what he is supposed to be eating. Still not sleeping through the night but only getting up twice. The 3:30 session is hard because he doesn't want to go back to sleep after that one so we are up until 5 when I can convince him to go back to sleep. Also changing diapers tends to mean playtime sessions.

I'm sure there is more...but that's all I can think of

Fashion show :)

2013-11-03T18:10:00.001-05:00

Here are some of the cute outfits I have been sporting recently:

Simon and the park

2013-10-22T12:17:00.001-04:00

This weekend I took Simon to charleston to visit my parents. We left daddy behind.

One of the things we did was go to the park. He went down some slides (with help), rode a metal dolphin rocker and played on the swings.

Here are some pictures of him on the swings:

Such a big boy!

There was another boy who sat in the swing next to Simon. From that moment on Simon wanted nothing to do with me.

Proof:

How do we know what we know?

2013-10-22T12:16:00.001-04:00

There is a friendly debate in the education world regarding how we know what we know. Do we already know everything and teachers just pull everything out of us (see Latin background to the word educate, specifically duco)? Or do we not know anything and the teacher tells or "feeds" us the information?

Well it appears Simon has some thoughts on this subject:

We kept asking him if it tasted good...we are still waiting on an answer :)

Simon's new trick!

2013-10-13T20:33:00.001-04:00

Yup he is sucking his thumb! Still takes the pacifier but his father is happy that he has found his thumb.

I haven't forgotten about the blog just haven't had a chance to update. I will try to do better this week

Simon: 4 Month Update

2013-09-30T17:30:00.001-04:00

Guess who is 4 months old!!!

Poor baby had to get shots :( he was such a trooper though! We love our pediatrician but they take forever. We got in on time and were there for two hours. I had to feed him twice before the shots! Heck, he had put himself down for a nap right before the shots. Nice way to wake up huh?

Stats:

Weight: 12lbs 9oz (10th percentile)

Height: 26 inches (83rd percentile)

Head circumference: 16.2 inches (20th percentile.

He is a long lean baby! The doctor isn't as worried about his weight. We are still behind however, he appears to be gaining the appropriate weight at the right speed for a 4 month old. We have a weight check in a month but there is no talk of putting him on formula in any degree or having to start solids before 6 months. It is expected that Simon will be fine at the weigh in. And I don't mind having him weighed every month. I like knowing the official numbers and I think that I will bring baby #2 in once a month regardless for a weight check.

His head is normal size and is not flat thank goodness. While the "back to sleep" campaign is good for SIDS 50% more babies are having issues with flat heads then before the campaign. Simon having a flat head was a big worry for me.

Simon is meeting all of his milestones but here are some that I want to remember that happened this month:

-mastered the yoga move "happy baby" ( holds both feet in his hands at the same time). He has been working on this ever sine Grampa showed him

-is taking the pacifier more. I don't think we will have an issue getting rid of the pacifier but I think it is important to note that he is taking it more

-sucking on his fingers. Not thumb to Brian's dismay, just his fingers

-can roll over from tummy to back

-nursing is getting better

-finally starting to eat more at daycare again. We are averaging 12 oz. When Brian babysits on overtime Saturdays he consistently drinks 4 oz at a time. He still drinks more from Brian in the 6/7 hours I'm gone then in the 10 hours he is at daycare

-loves the jumper though he is still to small

-teething. Everyone but Brian agrees with me. He is getting the 2 bottom middle teeth.

-still loves standy man and he is starting to push himself up

-still cooing and laughing up a storm. Especially in response to us. People are very impressed with how interactive he is.

That is it for things that happened in his third month. Right around his 4 month mark he started doing other things but I will leave those for his 5 month update.

Oh and the ducks name is Mr. Quackers.

"Torture" = Love

2013-09-23T11:40:00.001-04:00

Yup! In our house we "torture" the people or animals we love. It started with the puppies as we were baby proofing them so that no matter what a baby, toddler, kid did our dogs would not react negatively. This involved taking food away while they were eating, playing with them while they were eating, tying their ears in knots (go Bassett Hounds!), pulling tails, wrestling and so forth. I even dressed them up in human clothes. We have always referred to it as "torture" and the dogs in turn didn't care or gave us kisses in return.

Well, the "torture" didn't stop with the dogs...

Yup...Simon is the most recent recipient

"Who me?"

"Eck not this again"

"Seriously?"

"Aren't you done yet?"

"Please?"

Sorry Hun it is just beginning :)

Simon Swimming!

2013-09-20T08:00:00.000-04:00

Over Labor Day we took Simon swimming in Gamma's pool! We transitioned him slowly and he actually went in the water for more then a moment on Monday. Brian was going to take him but he had a really bad headache so he was resting before he had to drive us home. So it was just Gamma, Simon and I. Since I am the one who takes the videos/pictures there is no video of that.

However, I do have videos of us testing the water with Simon so to speak :)

A promise fullfilled....

2013-09-18T08:00:00.000-04:00

So I made Benjamin made me a promise.

Remember this photo?

Benjamin promised he would stick around until Thor/Simon came so I could get a picture like this one:

So I could have them both in frames in Simon's room.

However when we came down for Labor Day weekend he did even better!

I love how Simon is looking at him

And of course he gave me a picture I could never have dreamed or planned on getting....

(That last picture is going to be the one I put in the second frame I believe. Benjamin sniffing Simon in utero and out is just too precious!)

However, all good things must come to an end. Benjamin was 14, almost 15. Couldn't get out of the house anymore. Showed no real interest in anything any more. Barely reacted when I was there and I am his favorite person. The only person he really paid much attention to was Simon and that didn't last long. He was on pain meds and I am not sure they were fully working. It was quite obvious while we were there over Labor Day weekend that his quality of life just wasn't the same and not good enough to warrant everything he was having to live through.

So Labor Day weekend was spent saying good bye to my Mange Man. On 9.5.13 we let him go play and torture William with strict orders that he is to lie on top of William not next to him. William's vacation is over!

It was of course a very hard decision but it was the right decision. I am just incredibly grateful that we got so long with him and that I was able to get these priceless photos of him and Simon. It is still very surreal

What Simon was doing in August:

2013-09-16T08:00:00.000-04:00

Like father like son....

Go Blue!

Brian has been DYING to get him in this outfit since we got it from Aunt Blair...still too big but wearable

on his way to Charleston to see Gamma and Grampa!!!

Getting kisses by the cutest basset puppy Tides

I apparently did not take enough pictures. I will keep that in mind for September :)

Work/Daycare Routine

2013-09-13T08:00:00.000-04:00

So now that we have finally gotten Simon back on a schedule I can sneak onto the computer without feeling rushed. But of course, now after I have gotten all of the pictures/videos organized I am now tired. I have a couple posts of just videos but of course there is an error in uploading them so on to the next least daunting post :)

Simon unfortunately spends way too much time at daycare. I wish we could change that but, for now, it is what it is.

Here is what we do everyday:

Monday thru Friday:

5-6 am - The idea is that Simon sleeps until 6 but he has been known to get up as early as 5. When he gets up at 5 it makes a very LONG day.
6 am - Nurse Simon and get things in the car to go to daycare
6:40 am-Leave for daycare
7:10 am-Arrive at daycare, catch up with Ms Angela and Ms Tracy
7:30 am-I arrive at work and do pumping session #1
8 am -Start work
10 am- Break #1=Pumping session #2
12 pm- Lunch =Pumping session #3
3 pm- Break #2= Pumping Session #4
5 pm - Leave to get Simon
5:15 pm- Nurse Simon and swaddle him in car seat so he doesn't scream all the way home
6:15 pm- Change Simon into pajamas and nurse him to sleep
7:00 pm-Simon is usually asleep. Brian and I eat.
7:30 pm-9 pm-either I am in bed and Brian is playing his game or we are trying to watch TV
9pm-5/6am - Sleep with 2-3 pumping sessions on top of/at the same time with Simon waking up 2-3 times

Saturday/Sunday:

5-6 am- Simon wakes up and I nurse him and try to get him to go back down
7:00 am-if Simon loves me he wakes up for the day
8:00 am-Grocery store before it gets crazy
9am-6 pm- Lots of playing. Maybe another errand if we need to but lots of playing. I tend to pump at least once during this bit.
6 pm-Nurse Simon
7 pm-Simon is asleep
7:30pm-5am Same routine for us adults.

Look how much I have grown!

2013-09-11T07:42:00.001-04:00

First week of day care:

This morning:

A Conversation between Father and Son

2013-08-31T17:42:00.001-04:00

A few weeks ago Brian and Simon were talking and I keep thinking back to that conversation and smiling so I thought I would document it here.

Brian: "you are such a lucky boy! Both of your Gramma's have pools"

Simon: *head bobbles*

Brian: "and when we visit your Gramma in Charleston over labor day we are going to take you swimming"

Simon: "squawk"

Brian: "but don't you worry little man. I will be right there with you! It will be okay!"

Simon: *head bobbles*

Brian: "mmhmm I will be right there don't you worry."

Simon: *giggles*

***the pool was a success. Video to follow later***

Mommy and Simon

2013-08-28T21:58:00.001-04:00

I know I know I still have posts to do from my "To Do" list but they all require a computer which I haven't gotten a chance to use.

Meanwhile I thought I would show you the two photo shoots Simon and I have done together.

While on maternity leave:

Today:

I still don't see any more of a resemblance between him and me then I did before. Sorry for the not so good pictures from today...it was early morning and we did not have enough light.

Before and After

2013-08-26T12:18:00.001-04:00

While giving Simon a bath I realized just how big he had gotten and thought I would do a before/after post.

Before:

Here he is at 1 week old and yes, he still isn't a fan of baths. Gramma, who took the picture, had to zoom in.

After:

He is too long for the tub...

I swear I sometimes feel like I have the worlds longest baby!