Dinner

Bobby apparently likes pesto and frozen blueberries. He is a bit of a picky eater though, anti-veg and pro-carb and sweets.

We are excited to see Grammy tomorrow!!!

Growing so fast!

Bobby is getting good at standing without holding on and often does it while clapping.  He loves to bounce and clap along with music.

He also likes to hold onto things and "jump."  He never leaves the ground but he will jump in his crib, or holding your hands or a table.  Pretty funny stuff.  He was also in a booth in a restaurant, looking over the back and would squat down and stand up quickly - playing peek a boo.

He apparently got his 7th tooth.  Lower right outside.  Just noticed today, don't know when it came in.  If you try to feel around, he'll bite, so i stopped looking in there.

Rick is probably going to stay here until Bobby's birthday (6/4).  We MIGHT have him baptized that Friday night. SUPER LOW KEY CASUAL. 5 minutes ceremony before/after/during? 5:15pm mass with his coffee friends. We don't even have godparents as of now, so it might not even happen. Same with his birthday party, we might celebrate on Saturday if Elizabeth and Emily can come visit.  SUPER DUPER NOT A BIG DEAL.  But Rick hasn't left yet and is not organized enough to leave yet and gets paid for a couple more weeks, so he's just enjoying his son right now.

Quick Trip to DC

Metro stop
Originally uploaded by sld78

More on this later. 30 hours round trip. Saw Kirin and GW rowing graduates and NCS sophomore rowers. Stayed in Chinatown with Kirin. Some walking, kept it simple, didn't do too much. Rainy on Wednesday, cold on Thursday, but still lots of fun and so far not disruptive. Bobby slept 11.5 hours last night and then a 1:45 morning nap. So recovering probably, but on schedule.

So cute

006
Originally uploaded by sld78

And

Bobby can go down the stairs backwards alone! Yay.

He also can blow on his hot food. Of course this means he also blows on his yogurt and applesauce!

He motions his palm to his mouth to blow kisses and has also been seen to pucker his lips once or twice.

11 Months

Wow, times flies.  No more talking today. but he is definitely in a copying phase.  lots of repetition will get similar noises out of him.  He has a blast walking behind his walker and he makes laps across the house all by himself - even on the hardwood.  He is really enjoyable to parent these days. Maybe b/c I'm not doing it all around the clock anymore.  Or maybe b/c i'm finally getting some sleep, but he is just a really good kid.  We've been shopping a lot lately and he's a super good sport, same with going out to eat.  We're having fun playing family. 

I am getting a sore jaw from feeding him since I apparently open my mouth every time I want him to. 

Getting so big

Bobby sort of said his first word today. he definitely said "bye bye"  after we had said it several times.  so he copied us but i'll say it was clear.  he makes some 'da' sounds but no mama. and the dadadada isn't to a person, just a noise.

he's getting good at walking with the walker and stood behind it for several seconds with no hands a couple times today.

we all went to the park and the dog park today.  it was a nice afternoon.  the dog is pretty depressed but we're trying to cheer her up.

4/28

We are really enjoying having Rick around.  Obviously, I do as he has been put to work!  He watches Bobby all the time.  I take long showers and don't have to rush through emails and whatnot.  So far I don't think Rick is sick of it and he has adjusted to earlier mornings and being 'on' all the time.

Bobby is really fun right now.  He imitates really well and we're working on high fives and blowing kisses, but he's good at shaking his finger no, no, no and okay at waving bye bye (it's usually delayed until after you really leave)  As most babies do, he loves music and bops along.  Likes songs with hand motions especially (twinkle/twinkle, itsy bitsy spider, hokey pokey, head,shoulders knees and toes, patty cake)  He is having fun in the pool for the most part and loves the Little Gym where he can crawl and climb and roll around.  Not really close to walking, but does push his mini bike around and cruises the furniture really well.  Won't walk if you hold his hands though.

He had his first pbj sandwich the other day and ate it all up (no crusts)  No peanut issue, hope I didn't cause one by giving him that too early.  He's finally got an appetite and is eating pretty heartily.  He likes the jarred food more than my homemade stuff, but we get a variety of everything.  He eats a lot of fruit.  Hasn't really taken to cheese or meat by itself.

I am thinking about weaning him.  Not now, but thinking about how I would even do it and I have no clue.  He only really nurses first thing in the morning, going down to his two naps and at bedtime.  I don't want to go to a milk bottle, but can't see him taking a sippy cup while cuddling.  I guess I'll start experimenting in a couple of weeks.  I should take advantage of having Rick around to mix things up and share that burden.

Now that all our house guests who couldn't listen to crying at night are gone, we are back to sleeping better.  He goes down to bed and his naps with no or very little protest (<2') but had been waking up around 3/4am - which is 9+ hours after he goes down to sleep, so of course he's hungry and I go feed him.  He has stopped staying awake and usually just eats, but he's often hard to re-crib and then after some crying I get in the bed in his room with him and we sleep the rest of the night.  Interestingly, the last two nights this has been to 8/8:15am, which is very bizarre, but tonight I am not going to rush the feeding, I will change him and put him back in his crib alone.  End of story.  (or so I say, if he sobs, I'll go in there)

Had a nice date last night and a nice day today,  bought myself some birthday cupcakes with lots of buttercream icing, plus we shopped a little for Bobby (so hard not to buy him clothes!!) and Rick got some new jeans.  then napping and more playing!  Off to Basking Robbins tonight (for takeout unfortch though)

Bobby is really enjoying his visitors, although Cash might not agree as he gets followed around and has to defend his toys and food and dummy.  It is totally true that you need two of everything.  Whatever one has, the other wants (both ways)

Bobby is into putting things in containers

Rick will be here tonight!

I'm on a roll

Swim "lessons" were good today.  I'll get some photos when Rick can come to class.  Bobby did really well, he wasn't scared at all and by the end really loosened up and was splashing and jabbering.  He loved when I blew bubbles, he reached after toys, paddle on the kickboard. We have six classes and I think he'll get pretty far by then end and will figure out kicking (maybe) and try to put his face under and maybe even paddle a bit.  Mostly because he's really into imitation now.  He liked jumping from a sitting position into the pool/my arms.  Hopefully we can continue around town until some neighbor pools warm up.

Grammy can get Bobby to wave bye bye.

He is still pretty afraid of the grass, but that doesn't stop him from eating it.  Or just putting it in his mouth, because then he dislikes the feeling and spits it out.  He also knows that he shouldn't do stuff like that; when he eats pebbles, he knows to open his mouth for me. He doesn't seems to try to swallow them, or at least not very fast.

And

5:19am this morning. He knows. If he wakes up earlier, I’ll be there. Must break this.


So I turn on the tv. He’s interested in it for about 30 seconds and probably only because it’s bright.

Somethings wrong with my laptop. Sucks. It has slowed down a lot and I hate that I can’t find anything wrong.

He is also really cute. Natch. A while back I was singing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star while nursing him and he started opening and closing a fist – the hand motion for a star. I wasn’t even doing it. Now he does that and sometimes, the Itsy bitsy spider.

He wakes up with a dirty diaper. I think it’s a wake up poop, not an overnight one. And then after I change it and we play for about 20 minutes, he poops again.

10 MONTHS

I am blogging because I rarely do, but to me, our lives are dull, so continue at your own desire. 

We had a nice trip up to DC/NJ/PA and got to see Rick and Roseann and a couple of my friends. I wanted to do more in DC but was a bit unorganized and sort of unable to get it together with transportation and naps and all that.  I will have to go back to see my NCS and GW girls and my yoga teacher. I really really miss coaching right now - that it's racing season and so nice out.  I don't even think UNC has any home races to get my fix.

Bobby is doing great though.  Sleep is still our big 'issue'  but it's a lot less of an Issue, just something I'm always working on.  Last night marked the fifth time, in his entire life, that he slept through the night.  That being 7pm to about 5:45am.  I am really trying to get him to stay asleep until 6am.  This might mean a little crying until then, so the question is, if he's smart enough to get up earlier and earlier if I go to him at 5:55/5:37/5:42am, does the reverse hold?  If I dont' get him, will he just chill out in there?  Probably not the time to work on it with house guests!  Also he went down for his 2 naps today without any fuss.  However, this second nap seems to be over right now. And I didn't even get to eat lunch yet! 

He is a bit of a picky eater but gets enough good stuff in.  He is quite cheeky but of course adorable.  He will imitate you (eventually) so we are working on our sign language, but he just ends up clapping.  He tries to make his fingers snap if you do it in front of him.  He often will plant his feet, straighten his legs and stick his butt up in the air as if he's about to stand up.  He cruises down the coffee table, but won't walk if you hold his hands; he just leans foward.

Swim "lessons" start tomorrow!

Updates

So, in case you didn't get the whole story, I went to a junior league meeting the other night way down south Elm street, almost near Lee, and was the first car parked on a side street off Elm and sometime in the 1.5 hours I was inside, my car window was smashed and my GPS was taken.  That's it.  didn't even rifle through the console or diaper bag etc.  Annoying more than anything.  Replaced window for $200 and GPS for $120.  Would have waited, but would like it for my roadtrip next week.

Bought a big boy car seat for Bobby.  $280 and I paid $128 thanks to coupons and gift cards -THANKS ROSEANN.   I shopped around Babies R Us for other stuff, but found I didn't need anything there anymore.  I guess I don't have a little baby anymore.  He's on to bigger and better things.  Not really that sad about it though. 

We are learning how to sleep here and it is going pretty well.  He cries for either 0 minutes or 30-40 minutes then falls asleep on his own and wakes up once or twice tops in the middle of the night - in which he is able to put himself back to sleep in about five minutes.  He had been sleeping until at least 7am, but the last 2 mornings were 5/5:30am.  Today though, I nursed him and then slept with him until 8:30am!  Totally messed up nap time of course, but he needs it and we'll deal with napping after travelling is over. (mini brag:  he slept 7:10pm to 5am on Thursday, of course I was still up hourly though)

We are driving up to DC next week then onto NJ where we'll get to see Rick again, very excited about that.  Not sure how he'll do in the car for that long (Bobby, not Rick) but we'll take our time and see. Will pass on going to St. Louis for Ricks last weekend there (4/11), I really want to, and even found good flights, but the boy needs to be in his crib.  And I signed up for swim lessons and want to be here for them.  And I'm supposed to run a 10miler with Emily that weekend.... I guess I need to find a babysitter for that. 

Bobby doesn't like to eat off a spoon, unless it's yogurt or something sweet.  Only likes to feed himself and even then is really picky.  I think it's a phase/transition so I just have to give him time and keep trying to make sure he eats more than carbs!

Otherwise, he is a happy healthy baby with ridiculous amounts of energy and curiosity.  He is very fast and a good climber, so watch out! (And now that I look at this picture, I would have not let him in there at all, (moot point now since he then broke that table)) He loves the bath and I can't wait to get him in a baby pool this summer.    This is a really busy month and we are excited to have Rick back and see the Martin boys again soon.

He's a Machine

I may have a robot for a baby.  He doesn't seem to need sleep or food to survive.  He continues to take really short naps and they seem to be getting farther apart which makes for the possibility that we only nap twice - no big deal for a 9 month old but not when they are barely over an hour added together.  he plays so hard and so nonstop, I don't know how he doesn't crash for hours at a time.

he is a really slow eater too, and pretty uninterested in food.  I try to feed him often since he doesn't take in very much at all at one setting.  Breakfast is pretty light, second breakfast is just a little fruit,  lunch varies and if we get it timed right, dinner can be substantial.

so what does he like?  baths and water - from the water dispenser in the fridge, sinkwater, showers, cups of water - all fun.  "brushing" his teeth, climbing stairs, climbing anything actually, opening doors, knocking down blocks. laptops, banging his head against the wall, dancing to music, the dog - a lot, throwing things on the floor and me.

i mention this because he is particularly attached to me.  fine playing by himself, as long as he can locate me.  this makes childcare at the gym difficult and my workouts get cut short.  this part is lousy.

we are gearing up for spring and summer and happy the weather is getting better.  we can go walking more now, but he is getting over the stroller and wants to be out of it.

He wore his Virginia jersey for the ACC tournament, but they lost to Duke, oh well.  He was also trying on some shorts, which are a little small, but show off his calf nicely (right Allison)  He also likes to put blocks on his head, hence the pose.  He is really not my kid though,  those skinny legs, sheesh.  maybe the pasty white part though.

Stats

9 months
19 pounds 8 oz (50 percentile)
30 inches (75%)

Shout outs

Interesting week here. Rick came to GSO for 3 days. Yay.

First, huge huge THANKS to mom for watching Bobby lots and lots. Not because Rick and I went on dates and movies, but because we were soooo sick. Lots of puking and other stuff, Rick was way worse than me, I'm just tougher actually, but we were just tired and weak and nauseous for a good 2 days. Rick also had a fever - which you don't usually get with a stomach bug. So I was a waste of space, and Mom thankfully stepped in to feed, walk, play with Bobby etc. So his trip was pretty lousy, no dates, no home cooking, no rest, very little playing with Bobby, and then his flight was delayed and we had to get up at 3:30am to catch a 6am plane in RDU. But he's now in St. Louis and doing better - for now. Work situation is still iffy. I think Bobby missed the bug, but actually he did puke a couple times Sunday night, but I just attributed it to his rough cough /post nasal drip and my infection if anything. And he was over whatever he did have right away.

Second big thanks to Elizabeth. Who brought Archer up to NY state for a quick 36 hour visit just to babysit so we could attend Kirins wedding. It was the longest period for me away from him (over 7 hours) but I wasn't really bothered. I knew he was in good hands - even if he was awake too late, I didn't mind b/c I know he hates sleep. I was also happy to hear Wiley survived.

So I am very lucky to have family around and able to help me out in such a big way.

Bobby is crawling decently, not super motivated to get around, but he gets it done. He is super noisy too, just non stop rambling. He seems to want more than anything to stand and walk. He pulls himself up on anything and then will let go of one hand and tries to jump to another object. He climbs up on me all the time. He's gonna be trouble. He still is a very bad sleeper. 2-3 very short naps, I don't know how to consolidate them. Still waking 2-3 times overnight on a good night. Bedtime can be 15 minutes, but it can be an hour long battle too. We've had no schedule/routine so I don't blame him for being messed up, but it's getting a bit old.

Oh, and while all of this is going on, there's also this. When we were in California, Bobby was fussy, so I was trying to help him nurse. Sometimes when he gets overtired he needs a little help starting nursing to settle down. Guess I forced him a little and he wasn't interested so he bit me. Hard. That was Feb. 10. It bled later that day when he did nurse (bloody mouth). And I don't remember what happened between then and now, but sometime last weekend the cut just got infected/bigger/deeper/who knows, but it hurts like hell. So I'm either going to have to find some medical super glue, not use that side or see a doctor soon.

I'm ready for my kid to get to the funny and silly personality blog posts.

mini milestone

this was so good, i had to turn the computer back on. When Bobby woke up at 11:15 tonight, I went him to find him STANDING in his crib! This is a big deal for him since it takes several steps to get there and I've never seen him pull himself up during the day. He's been trying for months but I guess now he can. This could be bad b/c anytime he's on his tummy, he'll want to get into seated position.

of course, he's up again, the first 30' of putting him down didn't take. gotta go!

cALIFORNIA

We are having a nice visit with Rick. The weather is phenomenal. Bobby is being really good although his sleeping is sometimes messed up. He is in the hotel crib which helps us all sleep better. He has had some late bedtimes but weathers them fine. We had a great visit with Judy, spent the afternoon touring and playing, then Rick came up for a home cooked dinner. Uncle Rob had a show in town so it just worked out to see him. Rick made a quick call to go to Islands since it is so convenient and pleases all and is baby friendly. I actually offered Outback.

I leave on Monday then Rick meets me in Saratoga Springs for Kirins wedding. Then he will go from there back to St. Louis for work for 2-3 months. I'll give him a week or two to get the lay of the land and we'll see what is next.

Bobby is still not crawling but can pivot really well. His teeth are very goofy, it will be silly when you see them when he smiles. i also hear him grinding his teeth occasionally. And, he likes to bite. You think he is coming in for a hug but he ends up trying to nibble on my shoulder. I am concerned about his eating. He is really hard to get food into. Not interested in being spoon fed, and likes finger food but will not stay still to eat. Sheesh.

SO you've probably figured it out now, but I am in California. Literally bought my ticket about 4pm on Saturday, then at 4am left for Raleigh airport for a 6:30am flight Sunday. Called Rick at 6am his time from Cincinnati and he came and got me at 11am. We got a car, some lunch and settled in to watch the Superbowl in his hotel room in Oceanside - which is right outside the base gate. Bobby did really well on the flights again, took some short naps and wasn't fussy or even that bothered by the cramped quarters for 4+ hours. I think he went to bed at 5/6pm and slept rather well but got up at 5am! I thought he had adjusted today, he took his 3 naps at usual times, but was not able to go down while we went out to dinner. He is actually now in that hotel crib (see flickr) but the mattress is so hard, I doubt he goes back in there after he awakens and I don't blame him. I get the idea of co-sleeping. It's so easy for the mom and quite comfortable/comforting for the baby. I just don't want to make it a long term thing. He is going to be all sorts of messed up sleep wise but it's worth it.

Today we drove around, went to Kohls, ate lunch with Rick, got some groceries, then went for a walk around the marina for about an hour. It was so warm and sunny and just lovely out. Rick worked until about 6, which is silly b/c no one else has anything to do but a couple of guys and him. Boo. Then Dinner at Islands!!! Rick is good though. Bobby is taking some time to warm up to him, but it's probably less him and more "not mom" so that sucks b/c I had visions of going running and stuff like that without the dear child, maybe later on.

8 Months

It's very hard to put a baby to sleep when it won't stop clapping. I think there was a little interpretative dance in there as well.

He is getting better at feeding himself, often having to put several fingers in his mouth in order to release the food though. He seems to be not interested in the food if it's on a spoon and just wants finger foods, even if the delivery is difficult.

Not surprising, but I am putting away a lot of 6 month clothes since he is getting too long for them. Still room in other directions.

Still only crawling backwards. but he does get up on hands and toes now.