Wesley [10 months]

The Big Double Digits! Okay, he's still technically in the single digits being under the age of one, but 10 months feels so huge! I am filled with mixed emotions about getting closer to Wesley's first birthday and thus the end of babyhood; part of me is excited for the next chapter, and the other part of me feels so much sadness already missing the days of my littlest baby being a baby. We are in love with this child beyond measure and continue to enjoy so many warm and bright moments watching him learn and explore the world.

Size: I swear, I've been repeating the same thing for months; Wesley is still wearing the same size in clothing and diapers. I'm getting bored with this kid's wardrobe! It was a challenge to find something for him to wear for his 10 month photo that he hasn't already worn, especially since he turned 10 months old on a 90 degree day. Either Wesley needs to grow, or the weather needs to change! I did get to dive into his 6 month cool weather clothing once more for our trip to Tahoe, and I bought him a new pair of dress shoes in an infant size 3. Still... I'm ready for the weather to cool down so I can dress this boy in some new and different outfits.

Health: At 10 months Wesley weighs 18.8 pounds on our home scale, which is 5.7 ounces less than his weight at 9 months. Eric and I have noticed that Wesley looks like he's thinned out a bit and has lost some of the baby fat he had prior to becoming so mobile. Our little one had a fever early this month that came and went over the course of three days. It wasn't fun feeling his scorching hot body, and we hated seeing how miserable he felt. We provided Tylenol and cooled him off in the shower, and the fever eventually ran its course. I wonder if he was fighting off a bug, because Simon began having similar symptoms days later on a much worse scale. Thankfully both boys are now happy and fever-free. Wesley is healthy and continues to thrive beautifully. Eric and I are discussing taking Wesley for his first haircut soon to take care of his long, wispy locks that are becoming out of control!

Feeding: My hydration hasn't been great over the last month, leading me to believe that it may be having a result on my milk supply. My pumping output has decreased slightly, and Wesley has been at times fussier than usual while nursing. With food, Wesley is an absolute monster! He understands and gets really excited when we sign EAT, and sometimes we can't get his meal onto his high chair tray fast enough. New foods Wesley has experienced over the course of the last two months are: sweet potato, steamed and stemless broccoli and cauliflower, strawberries, skinless cucumber and sweet red pepper, steamed carrots, Happy Baby Puffs, apples (softened), watermelon, peeled grapes, cantaloupe, and milk-free pancakes. The pancakes came back up a short while after eating them, so I'm wondering if the mixed-in egg was too raw for his tummy.

Sleep: Wesley continues to wake two to three times during the night. Eric and I are still stumped as to whether it's a result of teething (no new teeth have shown for a while) or some kind of sleep regression. At this rate Wesley remains in our bed, since it doesn't make sense to me to transition him into his crib if he's still waking frequently. He's more of a night owl some evenings, being totally awake for hours with lots of energy to move and crawl everywhere. We sometimes struggle to keep him contained, because we're typically tired early and have to wait for Wesley to get tired before we can go to bed. I've been lucky that Wesley generally sleeps really well while I get ready for work in the morning. I use the baby monitor, perched upon our bed's headboard, to keep an eye and ear on Baby if I'm away in the kitchen making breakfast, packing lunch, etc.

Milestones: Our smart, little cookie has such a great memory. He still loves to play with things he shouldn't have, like our cell phones and remotes. If we try to distract Wesley while hiding those items from view, he manages to remember where they are and find them later when we mistakenly think he's forgotten. Wesley has also mastered clapping, which I've casually been modeling for him for months when giving him praise. He now claps along with us and does so with a huge smile on his face. Wesley is now riding in style in his new convertible car seat in each of Mommy and Daddy's cars. We chose the Graco Extend2Fit, which caught my eye due to its high rear-facing weight limit of 50 pounds and its phenomenal review from Car Seats for the Littles. We scored one from Babies "R" Us on sale and with a 25% off coupon and another from Target with a 20% off trade-in coupon stacked with a 15% off Cartwheel deal. Major savings!

Likes: This boy finally likes the bath! We experimented a few times last month when Wesley experienced curiosity while watching Simon playing in the bathtub. Wesley leaned his little body so far over the edge of the tub that he could have made his way in on his own if I hadn't been right there with him. I put him in the big tub with Big Brother, but it was just too spacious and slippery for my comfort. I later got the idea to sit Wesley in his baby tub on the floor of the shower since he's been so comfortable with both playing in the tub on the floor of his room and being in the shower water with Daddy. Wesley has had an absolute ball doing this, finally enjoying the ability to splash around and play with his toys. He even let us take him in a heated pool on Labor Day and in the big spa bathtub in our hotel room with Eric and Simon when we were in Lake Tahoe. We're so happy to finally have that water-loving baby we've been waiting for!

Dislikes: I'm thinking that Wesley still may be suffering from some separation anxiety. He sometimes still clings to me for a period of time after I get home and can become very upset if I can't hold him for as long as he wants. I love that he loves Mommy, but I don't want him becoming upset when he realizes that I've been away.

Social: Wesley is finally babbling "mamamamamama," but we're not yet convinced that he's said his first word. His "mamas" more frequently occur when he is upset, but he doesn't say it when he sees me. For now it's just an arbitrary noise that he's figured out how to make, but it is fun to pretend that he's saying something that he actually might mean. Wesley also continues to be comfortable and cuddly with various people and flashes that flirty smile easily and sweetly. Simon loves to play with his little brother so much, and Wesley seems to feel the same way. They laugh and scream together, and Simon enjoys coming up with games for them to play and building forts for them to hide. When Eric comes home from work, Wesley always greets Daddy with an enormous and happy grin and excitedly reaches out for Daddy to pick him up. Our silly, little bear has also learned how to give a high-five from practicing with Cho-Cho. He joyfully swings up that cute hand every time!

Other Updates: A major change occurred in our home this month: our boys stopped going to daycare. My dad is now taking care of the boys five days a week, which has really helped with our finances. It's been less stressful needing to get both of them ready in the mornings, with the exception of Simon's preschool days. Sometimes Wesley doesn't wake up before I leave for work, and I'm glad that he now has that opportunity to sleep longer in the morning. Our big fun for the month was going to Lake Tahoe for Kylee's wedding. We were able to stay in South Lake Tahoe for free thanks to my sweet friend with whom I worked at Iron Mountain, Michelle, generously offering her timeshare to us for the wedding weekend. Our family of four stayed for two nights and mostly spent our time relaxing since there had been snow in Tahoe the day before we arrived, and the daytime temperatures were barely reaching a high of 50 degrees. The wedding was wonderful, although both boys were a little cranky from not getting enough nap time (and Simon was still recovering from the side effects of his fever). All in all, it was so fun to get away as a family again and relax in a new place. We will be back in Tahoe again for another wedding in January, so hopefully then we will get to enjoy some bundled-up fun in the snow!

 

looking and acting more grown up everyday!

 

someone loves to stay hydrated

 

snacking on watermelon with Brother

cozy morning sleeper

 big boy car seat excitement

 hotel bath tub fun

 

Mommy cuddles

 The Batmen

 Kylee's wedding

 

zonked out with Daddy

beautiful South Lake Tahoe

number 2 [week 35]

Symptoms: It's difficult to tell from the picture, but my belly has dropped. It wasn't until others began pointing it out to me that I examined my unclothed belly in the mirror at home and found my bump resting in a lower position. I didn't notice it myself because I haven't felt like I'm breathing easier or experiencing less heartburn, but gravity has made an effect. I'm trying to stay active--doing as much as I can around the house and even sometimes walking a little bit during the end of my lunch break.

Cravings: French fries. I did indulge. It was amazing.

Aversions: Salads and I still aren't friends. I don't think Eric believed me when I told him I was done.

Missing: NOT having heartburn!

Mood: I'm still happy as a clam, excited, a little hormonal, and tired. A pretty good mix of normal pregnancy emotions.

Sleep: It's been rough here and there some nights. I've woken with horrible cramps and not gotten enough rest. I'm craving naps.

Dreams: I don't know if I've even slept well enough to dream. There was probably something random about work or friends, but my brain is too jelly to remember.

Movement: This little boy continues to feel bigger. He's all over the place, quite literally. Kick counts remain solid.

Best Moment: So many to choose from; I was showered with gifts and love at my work baby shower, Eric and I spent a wonderful night away for our belated anniversary celebration in Lake Tahoe, and Simon enjoyed his 4th Halloween dressed as Rocky from Paw Patrol. It was such a busy week, no wonder I'm exhausted!

Baby Buys: My generous coworkers gifted us an Arm's Reach Co-Sleeper. It wasn't the exact co-sleeper that I wanted, but we're going to try it out and hopefully make it work. I am so thankful for their kindness!

Other News: Eric and I attended our Preparing for Childbirth class offered by Kaiser. We were the only second-time parents there, but there was still a lot of valuable information to be reminded of and learn about. We never took classes when I was pregnant with Simon since I planned to ask for an epidural. Ending up with basically a non-medicated delivery left me with no idea what to do or how to breathe and a serious lack of control. In the class we found a lot of value in learning the different labor positions that can be used during a non-medicated labor, as well as several different types of massages that Eric can perform to ease discomfort and relax me. We feel much more prepared, and I am so glad we attended the class.

Looking Forward To: The end! I want this babe to fully cook, but I don't think we're going a full 40 weeks. We shall see!

my work baby shower

our Tahoe getaway

Clark Kent, Winnie the Pooh, & Rocky

2014: a year in review

It's absolutely atrocious that I haven't posted on my blog in over 8 months.  I had planned to continue posting here after The Big One, but after 31 weekly pregnancy posts and 12 months of baby updates I guess I needed a little long overdue break.  What matters now is that I'm back and ready to play catch up and reflect over this past year of 2014!

We began the year on January 1st with a cranky and brief after-midnight photo, one that may have interrupted an early slumber on the couch.

In February, our little boy celebrated his first birthday!

During the month of March I attended my very first Comic Con with Justin, Athena, and James.  We enjoyed the beautiful sunshine with lots of outside play.

April brought us Simon's 2nd Easter and a more successful visit to see the Easter Bunny at Fairytale Town.  Pappy and Uncle Ben joined us, which made the holiday extra special.

Simon was enrolled in his very first swim lessons in May, I turned 29 and celebrated a relaxing Mother's Day, and Eric and I both left Simon overnight for the first time... separately!  One night for me chaperoning the 8th grade field trip in Yosemite, 3 nights for Eric spent at KublaCon in the Bay Area with the guys.

In June the regular school year ended and summer school began, and we had a fun Father's Day with both of our dads.  Simon of course played, played, played.

When summer school ended, July included many adventures such as Independence Day, our FREE TRIP to the Aulani Disney Resort in Oahu that we won (joined by Jen and Bliss because Eric was unable to come due to work), and a visit to the California State Fair.

We took a family camping trip to Bucks Lake in August with all of our friends.  I went back to work mid-month to start the new school year.  Great Aunt Sami traveled to Lake Tahoe for a wedding so we drove up for a visit.  Simon also turned 18 months old and got his first haircut!

September was a busy month full of many birthday parties, including Uncle Ben's 9th birthday at Roller King.  Simon visited the dentist for the first time and was an all-star patient!

Our family was even busier during October celebrating Eric's 29th birthday, our 4th wedding anniversary, the wedding of my wonderful friends Josh and Rob and Caitlin's visit, and Halloween.  Oh, and Courage turned 4 years old!

Things calmed down in November and we had a nice Thanksgiving celebration at Cho-Cho's house.

The holidays came and went in a flash this month in December.  We saw Santa, watched the Festival of Lights Parade in Auburn, and continued our Christmas traditions as a family.

Oh yeah, and Eric's been growing a beard.

2014 has been one crazy ride full of many wonderful memories and experiences.  As we close out the year tonight, I am reminded of the adventures that await us on the horizon: Simon turning TWO, Eric and me turning THIRTY, celebrating FIVE years of marriage, and so much more.  I hope to make as solid of an effort as possible to be here on this blog documenting as much happiness and love as time will allow me.  I hope that you decide to stop by to share in this journey, too.

See you soon, 2015!

Simon [9 months]

The big NINE MONTHS.  This might not seem like a huge milestone to you, but it does to me.  I remember folding and putting away Simon's 9-month-sized onesies when I first organized his dresser, thinking that they were absolutely huge.  Now, those huge onesies are in the 'wearable' rotation and fit him perfectly.  Nine months means that it has been 3 months since Simon began [successfully] eating solids, so it's probably time for us to venture out from fruits and veggies a little bit to trying more "Big Boy" foods, like cheese, meat, and possibly a few grains.  And most importantly, 9 months means that we are 3/4 of the way to Simon's first birthday, a day that will make me smile with pride and cry like a baby.  This child has now been outside of my uterus for as long as it took for him to grow inside of it, and my mind has seriously blown while trying to negotiate how time flew by so quickly.  Nine months is now here, and we definitely aren't able to turn back!

playful boy

investigating the shiny band-aid

fever baby

Our big boy continues to grow and change.  During his 9th month, teeth #5 and #6 made their debuts in the middle top row, leaving a toddler-like smile on my baby's face.  We met Simon's new pediatrician at his 9-month well baby checkup, the first doctor's visit that Daddy unfortunately was not able to attend with us.  The little man weighed in at 18 pounds and 5 ounces (about 12th percentile) and measured 28.8 inches tall (about 59th percentile).  Simon didn't have any shots during this visit, but did have his hemoglobin checked (which came back negative).  He handled the test like a champ and was rewarded with a shiny, silver band-aid wrapped around his pricked finger.  The scheduling of this visit came in perfect timing with Simon's first fever, which hit while we were in Tahoe, two days before his appointment.  Our little angel threw up, had a 2-day temperature above 100 degrees, and had bouts of sleepiness and lethargy.  As a mommy, it was so sad seeing my baby not feeling like his usual happy and playful self and not being able to do more for him than give Tylenol and lots of snuggles.  I was relieved that the fever had passed by the time we saw the doctor, and was glad to know that his pediatrician wasn't concerned with what was apparently just Simon's first tummy bug.

new jumperoo

first shopping cart ride

cloth diaper baby!

As our boy quickly became a crawling machine, we had a difficult time keeping him safely in one place (i.e., away from the entertainment unit, out from behind the couch, off of the banister-free stairs that we've yet to figure out how to block off).  Because at this point his swing was only being used for climbing, I decided that it was finally time for us to upgrade to a jumperoo.  We had originally received the exersaucer from our Babies"R"Us registry during my pregnancy, but ended up returning it to help afford other items we were in greater need for after Simon's birth.  After lots of searching, I found a Fisher-Price Rainforest™ Jumperoo™ on Craiglist in great condition and scored it for only $35!  Simon loves it and is already an experienced jumper thanks to his doorway jumper, which he's long since become too tall for.  The jumperoo has three-position height adjustment, so this will grow with him as he continues to become taller.  I also recently decided that Simon was big enough to try sitting in the front of the shopping cart.  We made our first attempt during an evening shopping trip to the grocery store and he was perfect!  The different perspective was captivating to him, as he barely made a peep the whole time and couldn't stop staring at everything around him.  And while we're on the topic of new additions and big changes, I am happy to share that we are now a cloth diapering family!  I'd like to write a separate post about this if I ever have the time, but for now I will just mention that I was interested in cloth diapers during my pregnancy, but it wasn't something we were able to begin immediately.  So far, we've had a great experience and I'm loving the change we've made!

catnapping next to Dad

sweet snuggles

a late-night snooze

We are at the heightened state of separation anxiety with Simon, which has led to complete and utter refusal from him in regards to sleeping in his crib.  Because the phrase "co-sleep or no sleep!" is so unbelievably true and as working parents Eric and I are in desperate need of rest, Simon made the return to our bed and sleeping in my arms all night long.  His constant noise-making and tossing and turning quickly began keeping Eric awake all night, so my poor husband started rotating between sleeping on our bedroom floor, the couch, and the living room floor.  On the morning that Simon turned 9 months, Eric was sleeping downstairs and the most horrific, it-happens-to-everyone-at-some-point thing occurred in the middle of the night: Simon rolled off of our bed.  He woke up crying; I began screaming; Eric was up the stairs in two strides; and I was traumatized for the rest of the day.  I was absolutely terrified of letting this happen again, especially without Eric being in the bed with us, but there was still no getting Simon back into his crib.  So, I decided to try sleeping with Simon on the floor in his room.  I made us a nice, little bed with several blankets and pillows and Eric tucks us in every night, putting up the baby gate in the doorway for safety.  It's cozy most of the time and I surprisingly sleep pretty well (as does Simon, too, when he sleeps!), and Eric has been able to return to our bed.  While it's not a long-term solution, it's mostly working for now.  On the unfortunate occasion when Simon refuses to go down with me, Eric will take a shift so I can catch a couple hours of sleep in our bed as he walks around with Simon in his arms or in the Ergo until the boy falls asleep or finally gives up fighting and passes out on the floor.  I very much miss sleeping in the same room as my husband, but we've agreed that for now we have to make this sacrifice in order for all three of us to sleep at night.  We remind ourselves that this phase won't last forever, and any good night's sleep we can get is a reward in itself.  I also try to take comfort in the fact that some day--sooner than I expect--Simon won't want to sleep or cuddle with me anymore, so I'm trying my very hardest to cherish this time while I have it.  When he sleeps well, I absolutely love snuggling with him, and deep down I'm honestly in no rush for my baby to grow out of wanting to be held by his mommy.

 Mommy's little pumpkin

hayride with Daddy

Simon-o-lantern!

The weekend before Halloween, Eric and I took Simon to The Pumpkin Farm, a family-owned pumpkin patch that is right behind our house and just a short walking distance from our front door.  I was so excited to share this Fall festivity with our boy and appropriately dressed him up in a Jack-o-lantern body suit.  The three of us did the hayride on the tractor around the property and Simon was entranced by all the new sights surrounding him.  We looked at crafts, treated ourselves with a bowl of apple slices and caramel sauce (just plain apples for baby!), and set out in search of some pumpkins.  I sat Simon down on the ground in front of a batch of beautiful, orange gourds for some photos and his 'boy instincts' quickly took over, as he dove his hands right into the piles of hay beneath his knees.  Eric and I just stood back and watched with enjoyment as Simon was fascinated with the straws of hay, picking them up and waving them in the air.  With his face covered in dirt, he then began playing on the large pumpkin nearest to him, which to me clearly indicated that it was the one to come home with us.  On our way out, Eric remarked that when we return with Simon next year, he will probably be big enough to play on a few of the many attractions that The Pumpkin Farm has set up for children.  Either way, I look forward to continuing our pumpkin patch tradition with our family for many years to come.

The Muppet Family

 our Animal

 trick-or-treating gang

Celebrating Simon's first Halloween was such a complete joy for our little family.  With a tip from a fellow mom on Facebook, I purchased Simon's and my Halloween costumes from Costume Express back in May during a major clearance blowout where costumes were clearanced down to between $3-$8.  I scored an adult Miss Piggy and 6-12 month Animal costume for $15 including shipping!  All that was left was to get a Kermit shirt for Eric, which I easily found on eBay in early October for $7, and green pants (actually scrubs) and hair color which totaled roughly $13.  I was so in love with our family costume, which was quite a hit while we trick-or-treated.  We were happy to be invited trick-or-treating with our friends, Taylor and Stephanie, who just bought a house one neighborhood over from Athena's parents.  Since she and James were out with Lilly near her parents' house, they were able to meet up with us in one big, happy group.  Justin came along in costume, and my dad also joined in to witness Simon's first trick-or-treating experience.  Our boy was fantastic and didn't fuss one single bit.  I carried him the entire way (we walked for about an hour and a half), and Eric joined us at every doorstep, proudly kneeling down to Simon's level and handing out his pumpkin bucket for treats.  We were surprised at just how much loot our little Animal earned and loved the reactions our costumes received from the candy-givers.  We had such a blast spending the evening with our friends and their children (as well as all of the grandparents in tow!) and we hope to be able to trick-or-treat with our friends and their wonderful families again next year.

 handsome boy

 beautiful Lake Tahoe

Mr. & Mrs. Eric Veater

As I briefly mentioned above, we traveled to Lake Tahoe to see our friends, Eric and Meko, get married at the beautiful Edgewood Tahoe golf course and country club.  This was Simon's second trip away from home and first stay in a hotel.  We got a room at Mont Bleu (none of us were impressed with our stay here and would not recommend this hotel), where the wedding party and most of our friends stayed, and mostly spent time together alone as a family on Friday night since we were the only ones who brought their child.  Eric, Simon, and I got dinner at Cafe del Sol, one of the casino's restaurants, and hung out in our hotel room watching TV and relaxing.  The morning of the wedding started off a little rocky with Simon's fever, but after a few phone calls to the nurse practitioner we decided to still try going to the ceremony since we'd already made the trip.  While he was a little fussier than normal, Simon actually did great at the wedding despite not feeling his best.  He gave smiles and tolerated being held by some of his aunties and uncles, and a couple nursing sessions and doses of Tylenol got us successfully through the reception.  We had been so close to going home and missing the entire event, but our boy ended up being a tough little champ.  It was so beautiful sharing in the newlyweds' special day, and we look forward to bringing Simon back to Tahoe for a second, hopefully illness-free trip.

chillin' with Cho-Cho

big boy bath time

meeting Elle

Life with our little monkey never includes a dull moment.  He is loved by us so much and clearly has lots of love for us as well.  Simon also has bunches of love for his Cho-Cho, who is still babysitting while Eric and I are at work.  The two of them have such a special relationship and really enjoy their time together.  In light of Simon's fall off of our bed, my dad began teaching Simon how to get down from the furniture safely by sliding down on his tummy.  He picked up the skill in no time at all and it's the funniest thing to watch him do!  And speaking of special relationships, Simon was just finally able to meet my friend Chelsea and her daughters, Emma and Elle.  Chelsea moved to Texas with her family back in January before Simon was born and was recently back in town visiting with her girls.  Being pregnant at the same time (Elle was born about 2.5 months before Simon), Chelsea and I had spent time together talking about pregnancy and all things baby.  As Elle was baby girl #2 after big sister Emma, Chelsea was a wealth of knowledge for me and had lots of valuable information to share as I prepared for Simon's arrival.  Getting the babes together and spending time with Chelsea during her trip home was very special for me.  It still surprises me after 9 months how much life has changed and how our priorities have shifted.  Mommy dates and family time have become among my most cherished moments so far during parenthood, and I excitedly look forward to thousands of more special moments to come.