Definition of Chaos

Andrew (6 months), Nathan (11 months), Ivy (15 months), Caleb (17 months), Sammy (3 years), Brendan (3 years), and Audrey (3.5 years).

Happy Halloween

Pumpkin Patch

 Last weekend, we headed to the coolest pumpkin patch ever.  The Live Oak pumpkin patch had more types of pumpkins than I've ever seen, along with a cut-your-own area, tons to see and do (a corn maze!).  Brenda came with us and took some beautiful photographs of our family and baby boy.  Despite the intense heat and lots of people, we have some beautiful shots!

 by the corn maze

 the cute little photo area they had set up was great, despite the intense sun

 "daddy, this corn stalk doesn't taste good"

 "oh, man, you mean I can climb up on these?!"

 "mom, I can't pose for a picture when these cool pumpkins are right next to me.  I must touch them!"

 "I'm hot"

 "Aw, finally, no clothes and the shade!"

 "Can I take this one home?"

 "These ones are huge!"

Wordless Wednesday

Mommy, I'm on the go!

Guest Blogger, Andrew

I don't know why Mommy is so suprise at my new skills, you'd have thought she'd read enough books to know that I'd be moving and shaking pretty soon.  I am not quite sure why she tries to make me lay down so much--who cares if I have a clean diaper or clothes on.  She needs to realize that I NEED to roll around, crawl, stand up, spit, and squeal.

• The blanket in the middle of the living room?  Pointless, "You want me to play there daddy, I'm going to play with the chair legs."  
• Eating from a bottle takes too long, "Mom, I'd rather roll around in your arms than eat."
• 
  Going to sleep is for the birds, "Standing up in my crib, blowing spit bubbles at the door is more fun."

 New sleeping positions:

"I roll around so much that when I finally do give in, sometimes I get my legs stuck."

 New Places to Play

"You mean I can't go into the fireplace Mom?  But, why?"

New Strength

"This walking thing looks interesting, I'm going to pull myself up on everything. 

Who cares if it moves?!"

Tom's Farm

 

Last weekend, we met the Gregory Family at Tom's Farm for the afternoon.  We had a good time walking around in the stores, mining for gems, and watching Devin get excited over small things.

 Devin with the baby pigs.

 Andrew rode around in his stroller, but Devin really wanted to play with him.

 We tried to get a cute pumpkin picture, but Andrew was WAY too interested in the pumpkins themselves.

Finger foods?

Andrew ate a few puffs yesterday.  He was pretty darn funny to watch; thankfully I was able to take pictures fast enough to get some of the faces.  After fifteen minutes, he was able to eat five of them and feed Reese five more!

Officially a Crawler

 

Scooter and Couch eater

 Andrew is such a fast scooter, he gets off the blanket and rug within seconds.  His new favorite thing is to scoot to the chairs and/or couch and eat it.  Literally, he pushes his face against it while licking and trying to bite it.  He thinks it is pretty darn funny.

 Reese and the rest of the family, think it is a bit weird.

Squash and Bananas

First taste of squash--he was so into it that he leaned his entire body almost out of the Bumbo.

 He finished the entire jar (2.5 oz) because he liked it so much. 

Then he REALLY wanted to eat more and played with the jar for a good fifteen minutes.

 On Saturday, we had bananas for the first time.  At first, he made a face like he didn't like them.  The texture was different than the normal "real" food (similar to his oatmeal), so that may have been part of the issue.

 He quickly decided that they were good.

A little story of how times change

 First, there was the four of us living together in Lancer Arms and having the time of our lives.

 Then, one summer not too long ago, Brendan and Sammy joined the group. 

Shanda moved to Texas, but we still thought of her and kept up with her crazy life on her blog.

 A year and a half later, along came Caleb.

Shanda moved to China!

 Nathan tied it up--four girls, four boys.

 This summer, Andrew official put the boys (and kids) in the lead.

And Shanda came home to us!!

It was a blast to get together with friends, boys, and babies for dinner at Rachel's.

Wordless Wednesday: Singing to Sophie

Doctor's trip-6 Month Well Baby

Feels like the 1,000th time we've gone, but this one was his official six month appointment.  We killed two birds with one stone--got all the "check up" done and confirmed that Andrew has croup again... at least we only had to pay $5 for this trip (vs. $15 if it was just a sick visit).

Because of his major reaction to his shots last time, I requested (and Dr. G completely agreed) that we should spread them out over the next six weeks.  We did two today, will do one more in two weeks, a flu booster two weeks after that, and one more in six weeks.  Hopefully the fever won't come.  Just in case, we're dosing with baby tylenol already.

Everything (other than croup) else looks good.  Dr. G was SUPER impressed by his physical strength and called him 'advanced.'  He told me not to worry about Andrew's limited sounds, that they would come (if he doesn't start making more sounds by nine months, we're suppose to call).

For the croup, we're going to try breathing treatments before we go to the predisone route.  Hopefully we can get it cleared up quickly.

Length:

• Six Months: 27..5, 84th percentile
• Four Months: 25 inches, 51st percentile
• 9 Weeks: 24 inches, 89th percentile
• 3 Weeks: 21.5 inches, 58th percentile
• Birth: 20.5 inches

Weight:

• 6 Months: 18 lbs, 11.2 ounces, 71st percentile
• 4 Months: 16 lbs, 4.8 ounces, 78th percentile
• 9 Weeks: 12lbs, 3.8 ounces, 51st percentile
• 3 Weeks: 8 lbs, 14.9 ounces, 24th percentile
• Birth: 7 lbs, 5 oz

Head Circumference:

• 6 Months: 18.5 inches, 99th percentile (back on the charts!)
• 4 Months: 17.75 inches, 101 percentile
• 9 Weeks: 16.73 inches, 95th percentile
• 3 Weeks: 15.5 inches, 84 percentile
• Birth: 13.5

Great Grandpa and Grandma T visit

Last weekend, we visited Andrew's great grandparents, Great Grandpa and Grandma T.  They took us out to eat at Ruby's and then we went and played at their house.

Andrew with Great-Grandma T (staring Great-Grandpa down)

 Andrew took awhile to warm up to Great-Grandpa, but by the end of lunch Andrew was reaching to for him.  They also had a full conversation.

Back at their house, Great Grandma T and Andrew got on the floor for some crawling and playing (and puking, but that is just "normal" with Andrew).

Too cute--Great Grandparents

Great Grandpa carried Andrew around showing him everything in their apartment.