8 Month Must Haves

Ok ok so I know I haven't been keeping up like I promised but I'm trying!! And it's the thought that counts right? No? Oh. Well then I promise you will hear from me more and more as I figure out all the new things this year.

Here are the must haves for the 8 month of your baby. I have to say it "This has been the most fun age so far!" Jack is really taking off, literally and figuratively. He's crawling everywhere (still army style but he's quick!) and his personality is shining through each day.

#1 Bathmat - We officially graduated Jack to the big boy tub! As you recall from his 9 month update. This bathmat has been amazing. He hasn't slipped once and it's super cute. It has a sensor that tells you when the bath is hot expect it always says hot. I even made it on the chilly side and it still said hot so now I just go by how it feels. Mother's know best right :).


 #2 Walker - This walker has been the best Santa hit. He LOVES it. As soon as he see's me setting it up he starts screaming and waving his arms wildly. Then once his feet touch he's off to the races. He simply can't get enough of it. And I love that it folds down, super nice for our tiny house.


#3 Dino - This toy has also been a huge hit from Christmas. I will say though out of all of his toys this one has the most annoying sounds. It says the same like 3 sentences over and over and over and the voice isn't the greatest but he loves it and it calms him right down even if all he does with it right now is chew on its tail and hit the giant red button over and over and over again.


#4 Push Walker - This has been our go-to whenever we need to set him down and get some us time or when we drop him off to be baby sat. He loves the phone. If you hang it up he immediately scoffs at you and grabs it again. He throws it, chews on it, and sometimes just holds it as if it was going to save his life. All the other things are pretty cool especially the swinging barn door but that purple phone is simply the greatest. We also use it to entice him to stand or do something :). I also love that the front panel can come off. That's what makes it the best baby sitting toy. So easy to travel.


#5 Neato - Ok so is this a baby "must-have" not necessarily, is it a mommy "super-duper want" yes. This was my Christmas gift from my parents and I was probably more excited for this Vacuum than I was for any childhood toy. Our house has hard floors throughout which was awesome when we moved in baby-less with two shedding dogs. We swept and vaccuumed and it was a breeze. Now with a baby who finds so much joy from picking up every blade of grass, who thinks that mud is for eating, and who loves to play with burrs and thorns the hard woods are my nightmare. He constantly smells like dirt from dragging his belly around and the amount of fur is un-holy. This vacuum has solved it all! I can schedule when it runs so it gets done just as Jack and I are walking in the door after work/daycare and he can play right away. It grabs all the fur, grass, dirt, burrs, etc. It also remembers it's location after it recharges so if it didn't get it all done in one shot it can pick up right where it left off. It's simply amazing. The only down side is that it sounds like a 747 in your house so watching tv or anything is out of the question. But small price to pay for a clean house every day without any work.

Jack's 9 Month Update

Weight: ~18 lbs

Length: ~27"

Loves: He LOVES to army crawl around the house but especially under and through things. He's always crawling between our legs or under the chairs and tables. Maybe we need this. He also loves to stand. He still loves bath time especially since we have graduated to using the big tub. My only annoyance is how long it takes to fill and how much water we have to use for it; the desert girl in me is horrified by wasting all that water but o' well. But the thing he loves the most is his new walker (watch for it on the 8 month must haves). He could walk around in it all day if we let him. But he's not very good at turning so we have to chase after him and that is less fun haha.

Hates: Not very much. He does get bored easy so there must be plenty of toys or people or something to keep him constantly entertained.

Milestones: He has stepped up his army crawl game. He is super quick and now moves around the entire house with ease. We are constantly wondering where he is and what that noise we just heard was. He has also just started to pull himself up on things. So far he has limited it to people, his froggy chair, and only the coffee table at our sitters but not ours. Clearly they had a falling out ;).

He is just starting to say "Mama" and "Dada" when wanting us. He said them all the time before but it never really meant anything. But now when I pick him up from day care he crawls over to me saying "mamamama". He also says it the cutest way. He puts his top lip completely over his bottom lip instead of meeting his lips in the middle. It's adorable.

He still hasn't picked up waving or kissing but he knows they are good things so if you wave at him he'll smile.

Sleep: He is a great sleeper! Pretty much the same as last month. I put him down around 8 and he wakes up around 7:30-8.

Eating: He still has 4 bottles a day 6 oz each. Then three solids, breakfast, lunch and dinner. He can do finger foods because he eats puffs like nobody's business but anything else he seems to forgoet how to do it. We also tried a little cottage cheese with pureed berries and that didn't go so well. He would suck all the berries off the pieces of cheese and the SPIT the cheese out. What person doesn't like cheese? We'll keep trying :)

Teething: Still nothing, I'm going to have the toothless wonder :)



PS - he has his 9 month checkup in a few weeks so I'll update with actual weight and height soon :)

Jack's First Christmas

Hello Again!

I know it's been forever since we've talked but with holidays, vacations, the new year, and getting back to work, it has been a total whirl wind around here.

So let's start this post off with some fun Christmas recap!

As you know every year Max and I trade which holidays with which family. This year was Thanksgiving in AZ and Christmas in CA. That meant we had to make the long 11 hr. pilgrimage to San Jose. Sure enough as soon as we start out Jack starts screaming. Not a cute baby cry but a red face, streaming tears, ear piercing scream. We had left around 3PM which was only 1 hr before his next bottle. So 30 minutes down the road we had to pull over and give him a bottle. He wouldn't drink it in the car seat like we thought he would but nothing is easy with a baby I guess. When we stopped for dinner we let Jack "drive" so he could stretch his legs and eat some too.

Once we were finally all settled and day faded to night and Jack fell asleep, the drive was easy. Time consuming but easy. We got to my parents house around 1AM because of the time change (whoo hoo) and Jack thankfully fell right back asleep after the hustle and bustle of getting in the door.

Let the Christmas festivities begin!

We basically hung around for a few days cooking and baking until the day. I was probably more excited than anyone but I have a baby now so it's acceptable :). He sat at the top of the stairs per tradition and we took tons of pictures. His stocking was super full and he even grabbed a few toys out before I had to help him :). Even though he didn't know what was going on his face was priceless. He was so excited that everyone else was excited and what can beat a whole tower of toys!

Yes that's a poop emjoi pillow on his butt :)

Santa and family were very good to him. He got many toys and so far he has enjoyed all of them. The big present was a walker from Santa. If he could live in it I'm sure he would :). My family soaked up every minute with him and he never got a single second to himself. But I don't think he would complain. During this trip he also figured out how to speed army crawl. Usually he would pull himself around a 5 ft. radius but one day I put him in the family room with some toys and the next thing I knew he was under my feet in the kitchen. He hasn't stopped since. He looks like a little worm just pushing and pulling himself along and man is he quick! He learned, grew, and changed so much over this short trip.

The rest of the trip was spent setting up and playing with toys and counting down the days with my family. It was so nice to see everyone and for them to enjoy the time with Jack. I already miss them and I can't wait to see them again. Though I'm sure Max isn't quite as excited ;).

The trek home was much easier than the first time. He slept pretty much the whole way and only cried when the car stopped moving. I swear that kid knew exactly when the tires stopped it's like he was sitting back there thinking "I sense a disturbance in the force".

The weirdest part was that we got home around 3AM and I put Jack to bed right away dumped the stuff from the car on the floor and collapsed expecting him to wake up around 7. I didn't set an alarm and figured he would wake me up. I woke up suddenly at almost 9!! I ran into his room and he was just sleeping soundly. I couldn't believe it! He has never slept that late especially since he slept the whole drive. But I wasn't complaining :).

It was a wonderful Christmas vacation and I'm already excited for the next. I hope you all had a great vacation too.

More posts to come on my newest present (you should be excited) and Jack's 9 month update! So stay tuned and I promise not to leave you for that long again :)

Happy New Year!

7 Month Must Haves

So this is obviously late but I just can't seem to get my butt in gear! Things have been moving fast here. My office is moving across town so I was working from home this whole week. While Jack still went to daycare, because how else would I get anything done, working from a teeny tiny laptop at the kitchen table instead of my great office setup has been hard. But picking Jack up a tad early and enjoying some extra time home instead of driving in traffic has been the best!

Onto the MUST HAVES! This list might be a little thin but with Christmas coming we have been saving and waiting to buy things so we're making do with what we have until that special morning! :)

7 months was a lot of fun. Jack started "crawling" more, even though it's still army crawling and he started standing when we hold onto his hands. One day after changing his diaper I grabbed his hands to sit up on the changing table and he skipped that and went straight to standing and started walking towards me! I was so excited I screamed for Max. A gigantic proud mama moment :)

#1 Sippy Cup - These sippy cups are amazing. First we tried this one and he loved it but it got to be too small, it's only 4 oz. I wanted to try a small one first to make sure he could hold it but making two bottles because he drinks 6+ oz was getting old fast. So then we switched to these ones and they are great. We are a little biased because we use the same bottle brand so all the parts are interchangeable which is amazing. But truthfully they are great. They have the same "no gas" plasticy piece in them that the bottles have and the spout is in between a hard and soft spout. It also has a nice large opening for the liquid to come out which is great for Jack because he likes to do as little work as possible when he's eatting :). They are not spill proof but more "spill resistant". They don't gush liquid when turned upside down but they do drip some.


 #2 Hooded Towel - We have been using hooded towels ever since Jack was born but now that he's wiggly they are even better. I put the hood over his head and wrap the rest around him and I know it's going to stay in place while he moves and kicks and won't get his whole room and me wet. Seriously how does a tiny baby seem to get stuff everywhere?! I recently tried using a non-hooded towel and I'm sure I looked like an idiot trying to wrestle a tiny slippery baby into dry submission.


#3 Mirror - Again we have had this set up since he was born but only recently has he deemed it the greatest thing since birth ;). We've had the mirror since our first apartment but our closet doors are mirrored now so this one has been recycled in Jack's room. We laid it on it's side on the ground so he could get the full effect of his adorableness. He crawls over to it and slaps his reflection in the face; it's hysterical!


#4 Night Diapers - Jack is a tiny baby we all know this but his pee's are not so. He's just starting to outgrow size 2 diapers. But every night for the last week he has woken up covered in pee. Those little size two diapers were not made for 8-10hrs of 7 month old pee. Enter his night time diapers. These so far have worked wonders. Not a single drop of pee has escaped their soft swaddled grasp!

*UPDATE*

#5 Puffs - I totally forgot about these and if Jack found out he would kill me :). One day I was feeding Jack his purees when he started to get fussy and frustrated. When I looked down he was desperately trying to grab a glob of puree that had fallen off the spoon. It was too slippery and his pincer grasp just wasn't cutting so he got mad and started smashing it. All I could think of in that moment, when his face was beat red, was "HULK SMASH!" So we decided it was time to try some finger foods. But what to try for a baby with no teeth. Enter Puffs. They dissolve easily and he can grasp them no problem. He has never looked back. If I would let him eat the whole container he would, I now simply sneak pureed food into his mouth between puff bites.

Jack's 8 Month Update

 

Weight: ~17 lbs

Length: ~27"

Loves: He LOVES to be on his tummy, ever since he was born. If I sit him up on the floor and give him a toy, as soon as I turn around he's on his belly army crawling all over. He loves bath time just as much as before and probably more now that I took the butt stop out. He wanted it gone a few months ago but I wasn't ready yet :)

Hates: He is starting to be afraid of strangers. When someone he doesn't know comes around he pinches my arm and squeezes his legs around me and whines really low under his breath. He is also a little timid and shy so when he thinks I'm going to put him in a situation he doesn't like; for instance put him down or in his car seat, he'll do the same arm pinching and leg squeezes as with strangers.

Milestones: He's just starting, and I use that loosely, to figure out how to get into the sitting position from his tummy. Because he's an army crawler and not a "regular" crawler it take a little more creative thinking on how to get your butt up and and under you :). But he's getting there.

He can roll, sit, and stand all with ease. It's transitioning between them on his own that he is just now picking up on, sorta :). He can walk while holding onto our hands but DOES NOT like it when we let go to put his hands on the sofa or coffee table, it's us or nothing.

He's doing really well at picking up speech, while he obviously can't say any words on his own, outside of throwing dada and mama around like used rags, he intently watches us talk. He stares at our mouths, even grabs them and traces our lips as we talk. He also whips his head back and forth between Max and I during a conversation. If you say anything to him or ask a question he'll respond with a quick "Da?" or "dododo". He can also pick up tone. So disciplining has become a thing now. We can tell him "no" or "stop" and he'll understand, granted probably only for a few seconds before he does it again but he tries :)

We are now trying to teach him to kiss and wave. We aren't big wavers so it's as much training us as him :). Kisses I think he'll pick up pretty quick ;)

Sleep: He is a great sleeper! I usually put him down around 8:30 and I force him to get up around 6! On the weekends when he doesn't have daycare (or baby work as we call it) he'll sleep until 7 or 8! He's pretty amazing.

Eating: This is our constant struggle. But he's doing well. He still has 4 bottles a day 6 oz each. Then three solids, breakfast, lunch and dinner. He also graduated to a few finger foods, his favorite are the puffs. We've also tried broccoli, peas, and banana. He likes peas but he has a hard time chewing the casings with no teeth. Broccoli was so-so and banana was great except it would smoosh and squish out of his hand too easy. We're learning!

Teething: We're still on the Great Teeth Watch of 2015! At this point I have almost given up on him ever getting teeth :)

Advent Calendar How-To

Here's how I made that spectacular Advent Calendar ;)

What I bought :
1 - 3 Canvas Books
2 - Red and Green paint (I got Brick and Forest)
3 - Brushes
4 - Twine (Similar - I got mine in the $1 section at the front of Target so maybe check their first)
5 - Santa (I got mine in the $1 section at the front of Target)

This all came out to about $35. It wasn't the cheapest project because I had to buy everything and didn't have anything at home to use but I think it was worth it. And it's not that much more expensive than buying one and I get to have it exactly how I want it and that was worth it to me.

1 ) Take the rings out of the books and count out your pages. There are only 8 inner pages to each book which makes 24 so I cut the front/back cover piece in half and used it for the 24th and 25th since they are bigger. This left one inner page and 2 cover pieces.

2) Use one of the left over canvas pieces and practice your numbering.

3) I cut my foam brush to make it smaller so my numbers weren't so crowded. If you use a regular brush instead of a foam brush you may not have to do this. It's all up to you!

4) Paint a number on each canvas piece. I alternated between red and green but you can do it however you want!

5) Let all the paint dry, especially out of reach of tiny baby hands ;)

6) String your twine through each grommet on the canvas page. I did 7 numbers on each string but this can really depend on your space. Smaller spaces might have less across and more down. Large walls might need more across and less down. The great thing about this is that its changeable. Maybe you have a small apartment now and do it one way but in a few years you move into a giant house and you can do it another way!

7) Hang up each line of numbers.

8) Clip you're token on the right number and enjoy!

Christmas Decorating

On my birthday a few weekends ago now I started decorating the house. I put on Christmas movies and got all the boxes out. I got pretty much everything done and put up except for the Christmas tree ornaments because I wanted to do that with the whole family and not by myself, call me sappy.

So this weekend we all finally had enough time to decorate the tree. First we all headed over to the Hallmark store to pick out Jack's first ornament! We got one for our first married Christmas together so we had to get one for his first Christmas too. And I really wanted to pick it out together, Max indulged me and we picked out the cutest Whinne the Pooh ornament. We also needed to pick out a stocking for Jack so we walked over to Target to see what they had. Well they didn't have anything we wanted so that was a bust. But we walked around and enjoyed the time out of the house. I thought maybe we could do some stocking stuffer shopping for Jack but Max couldn't possibly do that with Jack around! I don't think he would have noticed but I guess it's the principal of the thing :). So we just a did a quick lap around the store to see if we needed anything and headed home.

Max was home for one of the first weekends in a long time and Jack was in a GREAT mood, what a Christmas Miracle. So even though football was on instead a Christmas movie we still had fun decorating. Jack "helped" me put his ornament on the tree and enjoyed looking at all the lights.

He wasn't quite sure about it encroaching on his jumparoo space though... :)

Max even helped with a few and picked out some spots for me to place things; for a guy who hates decorating more than anything this was big and it was really nice to do as a family. *Sappy mom alert*

The other thing I really wanted to start this year was an Advent Calendar tradition. My parents had this big book that folded out with doors on it. We would open one each morning to count down to Christmas. It was one of my favorite things. But over time the doors got less and less sturdy, they started to fall apart and wouldn't stay open or shut and it became more of a hassle than fun. So I wanted one that would be different and that would stand the test of time (hopefully). I searched all over the internet and couldn't find one that I liked so I made one!

Yes I'm that person :). A post on how to make this calendar to come! But I think it turned out perfect! It's simple but that makes it great for kids. In years to come they can each have their own trinket to move around the numbers, they can decorate around each number, we can hang it however we want, so many possibilities! I think it will be so much fun. Right now we are just watching Santa get closer and closer.

I hope your decorating went just as well! Feel free to post your wonderful decorations in the comments or link to your site. I would love to see them and maybe glean some inspiration ;)