Double Digits, 10 months!

Oh my, this can't be. I feel like I just came home with him from the hospital. This month was all about exploring and learning. He is my little shadow, from following me everywhere to copying everything I'm doing or saying. Well he tries to say what I'm saying, sometimes the tone is even the exact same, and I feel like he said some real words. At the lake last weekend, the Kummer's dog Bella is constantly in his face and barking. We are always yelling, "BELLA!" He started going, "BLAH!" At one point we all swear we heard him actually say Bella, but we also have to be realistic and know he probably did not. This month he has also become extremely attached to Mommy, even more so than before. Even when Daddy is holding him, I think it makes Daddy sad. When I am holding him, he clings on so tight. I LOVE it! He has changed so much this month, really into exploring the house. He knows he has toys in the media room too so he will crawl from the living room in there to play. Some new sounds he added are M's and N's. He only says Mamamamama when he is crying. I do think he knows Dada is Kyle now. When he sees Bentley he either says Ba or Da...Bentley or Doggie. He actually says ba when it comes to anything that starts with a B, ball, bye bye, bottle, etc. He really wants to start talking! He's also learned what objects are if I ask him, where is your ball? He doesn't know tons, but he is learning something everyday! Here are some of his loves:

LOVES:
-Swinging
-Playing with doorstops
-Clapping (he can do it when you say the word, say YAY!, sees you or anyone else do it, or when I sing "If you're happy and you know it clap your hands)
-Watching Baby Einstein (in the car, and only on long drives)
-His mommy
-Blowing raspberries, all the time.
-Bathtime! Now that he is in the big tub, he doesn't want to get out
-When I chase him on the ground
-Pulling up on incredibly unstable things (laundry basket, in the bathtub, Bentley's dog bowl holder)
-Being in public and smiling at strangers. I get compliments all the time about how friendly he is!
-Playing peekaboo (covers his face with a lovie and pulls it away so I can see PEEKABOO)
-Loves him some Puffs, all flavors
-Dancing (starts bobbing at the sound of any beat)
-His tickle spot in the center of his back
-Waving Hi and Bye

DISLIKES:
-When I remove him from a situation he would rather be in, like playing with the computer cord. He kicks and flails around in protest like a fish out of water
-Getting dressed or diaper changes (clings onto me and lays his head on my should as soon as we enter the room, I'm not falling for your charm mister!)
-Cottage Cheese
-Any one else holding him but me
-When he drops Bentley's dog bowl and it makes a loud noise, it's the only noise that bothers him. He gets so scared. Vacuum, no problem, blender, who cares...dog
bowl...run for your life!

Stats:
-Not sure on weight and height, probably about the same as 9 months, maybe a pound heavier, he's so skinny but eats like a horse!
-Size 3 diapers, Cruisers now that he is on the GO
-No shoes yet, so I'm not sure of the size. 2 or 3.
-Still no teeth, it's hereditary on both sides so I'm not surprised
-Size 9 and 12 month clothing. 9 months are getting a little short because he is so long


Here are some new foods we've tried:
-Black beans and pinto beans with rice
-Cottage cheese
-Steamed veggies (peas, carrots, green beans)
-Turkey meatballs
-Swiss cheese

He's a great little eater, eats anything you put in front of him. Sometimes it takes him a few days to get used to the texture, but I don't give up at the first meal if he doesn't like something. We try and try again until I'm convinced he just doesn't like it, like cottage cheese. It's torturous to watch.

I guess I am going to start planning his FIRST birthday party. I can't even believe it. Everyday just gets better and better and I am so excited to go get him in the mornings. He is just thrilled when I come in there. We finished our nursing experience last night and it was bittersweet. It wasn't as emotional as I thought. I am so glad I hung in there 10 months, but I'm really excited to get ME back for the first time in about 20 months! There is just nothing like his sweet hugs and cuddles. When he lays his head on my shoulder, I just melt. He's my best lil buddy and I love him to pieces!

Play date with the P's

Holt and I had so much fun yesterday getting to play with Piper and Preslie. These are probably the 3 cutest kids ever. Holt is 6 weeks older than P&P, who were both born on the same day in the same hospital! It's just so much fun to watch these little cuties play, although they spent most of their time playing independently. It was quite the chore to get all 3 kiddies to look at the camera at the same time, I only wish someone had taken a picture of us mommies trying to make that happen! Here are some pics from the day. We can't wait to get together again!


Holt must have been saying something very interesting to capture these beauties attention

Holt, you are totally getting fingerprints on my clean ride.


Holt and Piper having a moment...

Hands off, he's mine!

Bye Bye Breastfeeding

So awhile back, when Holt had just turned 8 months, I decided that 9 months was the time to start the weaning process. When I reached my goal of 6 months, I thought I would just go ahead and try for the one year mark. Neither Holt or I want to reach the one year mark. I must admit, that I have had a pretty flawless nursing experience. Other than the first few weeks of pain and getting used to the sleeplessness, it's been pretty easy for me. Even when I was working, he never ever had formula. No one tells you how hard it is, or if they do, you don't understand why. Now I know why, it's TOUGH. But so wonderful at the same time.

People ask me why am I stopping now? Well, I like to think it's a mutual decision for both of us, and some selfish ones for myself. For starters, he's impossible to nurse during the day. He's completely not interested. He is so distracted that I just sit on the couch with my boob out for 20 minutes trying to make him eat. He doesn't want it. He only wants it in the morning and before bed. Luckily, I've never used it as a pacification tool so I don't think he is ever going to miss it. It's always just been a source of food for him and I would not let him nurse unless it was time to eat. Never on demand, only when it was time. Very controversial subject, I'm aware, but hey this is what worked for us and he's a perfectly healthy baby. So besides both of us getting frustrated with the daytime feedings, here are my selfish reasons.

-I want MY body back! I've been sharing this body for like 18 months now, I want it back.
-I'd like to drop those last few pounds and stop craving sugar and carbs all the time
-This linea negra has got to go. I'm determined to be in a bikini this summer and right now I'll be in a monokini because my linea negra is STILL there
-It's time for these hormones to take a hike, in other words, I can't wait to get my mojo back. You know what I'm sayin'?
-Adios pumping before bed, I despise you.

I'm starting pretty hard core and dropping the 2 daytime feedings at the same time, the noon and the 4. I'm not sure when I'll drop the morning one, another week or so? Then the nighttime one will be last. Sometimes now he will pull away and put his head on my shoulder, he would just rather go to sleep. Ok by me. My goal is to have him weaned by 10 months. I want it to be a slow process for the both of us. I'm not looking forward to what these things are going to look like when I'm done. SCARED.

I still have some supply built up in the freezer and I'm supplementing with formula for the very first time. Eventually he will just be on formula and then whole milk. I'm hoping we can start whole milk around 11 months so I don't have to buy formula for long. It's been nice not having that expense. Kyle asked me if I am going to miss this, the answer is NO. I am very proud of Holt and I for making it this far. I am certain that breastfeeding is what has kept him so healthy and made his RSV pretty mild. I pat myself on the back for going this far, but I am perfectly fine with saying sayonara.

Holt is 9 Months!

No no no, it can't be true. We went to his checkup on Friday and she started by saying, "He only has 3 more months of being a baby, then he's a toddler!" I almost broke down right then and there. She made up for it by saying that he is a Gerber baby and we should enter him in a contest. She said since she's an expert she knows a good looking baby when she sees one and she is not lying. She thinks we should make another one since we make such beautiful babies. I totally agree, not about making another one, but that we make beautiful babies. Here are his 9 month stats:

18lbs, 10%
28 3/4" tall, 50%
Size 3 diapers
Size 9 month clothes
Size 3 shoe

Of course we were concerned about his weight being so low, but the doctor said that by looking at Kyle and I, it is not surprising. She said because we're both thin, it is obviously genetics. I told her what he eats and she said he is eating plenty but because he is so active he's likely to always be like this. So now we know we don't have to worry!

He eats:
8am: Nurses
Breakfast:Yogurt mixed with his cereal for breakfast
12pm: Nurses
Lunch: Half a slice of cheese, half stage 2 veggie and half stage 2 fruit
4pm: Nurses
Dinner: Half a slice of cheese, cereal, rest of veggie and fruit
7:30pm: Nurses

Well this past month has been a frustrating one for Holt. If you read my post about crawling, then you already know why. He finally has it down, sort of, he crawls with one leg out to the side like he's launching himself. He works very hard at it grunting and groaning the whole time, it's really cute. He went from laying to sitting before he crawled (only by a day), so I was quite surprised to see him sitting in his crib the first time. This was my second full month home with him and it has been such a blessing to have the ability to stay home with him like this.

Holt is just so full of personality! He's constantly moving and is very curious. Always analyzing his toys when he picks them up. He's getting very good at mimicking too. Holt has also picked up on when he thinks something is fun or funny, he does it again or tries to get you to do it again. An example of this would be when he tries to fall backwards when I'm holding him. It's a game we play and I let him fall while I hold onto his head and back and make a silly sound. When I think we're done playing, he lets me know that he is not by trying to make himself fall backwards. Always gotta have two hands on this kid! He is very VOCAL. If he isn't making a noise, I better worry because that means he has gotten into something he shouldn't. He lets me know when he wants something and isn't ready to be done playing, like in the swing. I went to take him out and the second he saw me coming towards him with my hands out he started screaming and trying to get back further in the swing. Ok, we'll keep swinging. He has happy sounds, tired sounds, frustrated sounds, I want attention sounds, I'm mad sounds. He's very easy to read in other words! his hair grew so much this month too. We have to comb it before bed or else...it cannot be tamed the next day!



Here are some new things we tried this month:
Cheese
Yogurt
Cheerios
Puffs

Loves:
The Milestone Electric Commercial (stops him in his tracks and I have no clue why)
Leapfrog Learning Table
Playing with his books, reading books
Swinging
Mimicking (shakes his head no, clicks his tongue)
Spitting, much faster to get the drool out
Kicking
Animal sounds

Dislikes:
Being in his highchair without food in front of him
His exersaucer, or not being able to move around at his own free will
Taking toys away
Hearing No No
Getting ready for bed, after the tub part
Covering his face with anything

I have also made the decision to start weaning him at 9 months. I'll post that in another blog. I cannot believe how fast this month has flown by. I look forward to all the "firsts" he still has, and I know that list is getting smaller. Holt brings such joy to everyone around him. He is my best lil buddy and Kyle just could not be more in love with his little boy. I know they will be 2 peas in a pod. Kyle is already planning on how to get him good at sports without having an older sibling to influence him. Somehow I think he'll succeed. I cannot get enough of kissing Holt's sweet cheeks and hugging on him. It's amazing how he has turned into his own little person when he was just in my belly this time last year. He's so independent and sweet, I just love him to pieces!

We have a crawler!

Ok, so I thought this day would never come. Holt will be 9 months old tomorrow and it seems as though all the other kiddos around his age have been crawling for months! I was never concerned because everything I read said crawling is not a measurable milestone a pediatrician would use to track developmental progress. By the way, I did not search for this information like a crazy Mom, it fell into my lap in some of those parents.com or babycenter emails I get every week. Now that we're clear on that...moving on. So, for months Holt has been frustrated trying to do this crawling thing. For one, he has never liked spending time on his tummy. For two, once he figured out how to roll everywhere, he was good with that. He has been doing what I call, Cobra, for weeks now. He pushes up on his hands as far as he can and just didn't know what to do next. But he sleeps in "Child's Pose" every night, now why can't he just combine the two. For some unknown reason, he just couldn't figure out how to do them at the same time. Hence the picture below.



Last week he started to do, I guess what you would call, downward dog. I really hate yoga for the record, it's just the best way to describe this process. For a week straight he would do this and get so mad that he couldn't get any further. For the past 6 weeks he has hated playing on the floor unless I was sitting next to him. I was getting nothing accomplished when he was awake unless I just tuned out his grunts and groans of frustration. Not gonna lie, I definitely did that a lot. This has been going on for weeks, I had to! So the other day, he finally pushed up on all fours.

Look at that pitiful face!

He is trying so hard


I was convinced he was going to go straight to walking. He prefers being upright holding onto our hands to walk around everywhere. Then tonight, it happened! He took more than a few crawls without falling. He was after my house shoes like they were the greatest toy ever! Whatever floats your boat Holt. I haven't been too upset that he wasn't crawling to be honest. It's been nice to leave him in the living room to play while I was in the kitchen, still within visibility, but not have to worry that he is getting over to the outlet I haven't covered yet. Guess I'll be doing that tomorrow. I'm so proud of him. He really has worked so hard to perfect it. As you can see, he is fast! Holt wanted to do more than just crawl, he wanted to be really good at it. And so it begins...

Bluebonnets

They are a rite of passage living in Texas. Up until this day, I honestly don't know if I have ever seen a bluebonnet up so close. Ok maybe not, I remember doing quite an extensive Wildflower Project in 4th grade. My Pattison Elem Alum will know what I'm talking about. Anyways, luckily my friend Emily had already scoped out the perfect spot so I knew exactly where to go this morning. I woke up thinking, "We'll just go tomorrow." But the morning was so beautiful, minus the wind that my son still hates, we just had to go today. I had to drag Daddy out of bed too, he still hasn't quite figured out that weekends aren't for sleeping until 10am anymore. They start at 8. Holt was such a sport even though it was nap time. It was hard to get a smile from him because of this. Regardless, his baby blues looked beautiful in the bluebonnets just like I knew they would.






The camo overalls are for Aunt Ashley. She has been dying to see him in them since she bought them for him for Christmas. So here ya go!

8 Months

Holt is 8 months! And this going to sound crazy but I'm already thinking about planning his First Birthday Party! This is nuts. This has been my first month home with him everyday and the transition is easier than I thought. The days just fly by and I love having the freedom to do whatever we choose. So far I do not miss getting up at 5am and fighting an hour long commute to sit at a desk for 8 hours. It's been such fun to see him learning new things and taking in his surroundings. He finds one sound he wants to make and he makes it all day long. The next day you ask him to make the same sound and he's on to something else already. One day he says dadadadadadadada all day. The next it's just hours of raspberries. The next, his tarzan yell as I like to call it. He beats on his chest and says "ohhhhh ohhhhh ahhhhhhh ahhhhhhhhhhhh" He can do this forever. He's quite the little character. I predict a very strong personality for him. He has no problems letting you no when he is not happy or he is frustrated. Holt can be very laid back and chill, but the second he wants to move on, you better let him. My mom calls him "Hyper Diaper" because he is always moving! When he's eating he's kicking his foot or grabbing your face. He's never just STILL. I'm shocked he isn't crawling yet because he is so ready to be on the move. I'm not complaining that he isn't crawling either. I'm savoring what is most likely my last month to say that. As much as he appears to want to crawl, he just can't figure out how to get his legs under him and make that happen. When I put his legs under him, he just falls on his side and rolls. He's an expert roller. He does have very strong legs and likes to stand. When I go to sit him down, he puts his legs out in protest because he wants to stand. I think he might just up and walk one day instead of crawl, we'll see. Here are some of his 8 month likes and dislikes:

Likes:
-Pulling your hair, and he's great at finding the most tender part of your head and pulling that hair
-Giving kisses, mostly to Mommy
-All things paper. He has 3 toys on his shopping cart cover to play with, but prefers the shopping list
-Phones and remote controls
-Bath time! He can finally sit and play in the tub.
-Sucking on his washcloth
-Socks
-Hearing himself make any noise. He's so so loud.
-Head butts my shoulder or his mattress when he's sleepy
-Smacking his lips
-More and more obsessed with Bentley every month
-Walks in the stroller


Dislikes
-WIND
-When you take something away from him. He has tantrums. I'm scared of age 2.
-Trying to crawl. He gets very frustrated now. He knows he needs to do something, just can't figure out what.
-His car seat for long periods
-Strangers
-Waiting for his food in the high chair

Facts:
-9 month clothes
-Size 3 diapers
-About 18lbs or so, maybe more
-Babbles, a lot
-Working on waving
-Mimics, not immediately, he thinks about it for awhile
-Can go from sitting to laying without hurting himself in the process
-Holds himself standing, momentarily