Growing a family

Chef Andrew

2012-01-24T05:21:00.000-08:00

As part of Andrew's nine month photo shoot, he played the chef role!

We've been practicing at home, but the spoon and bowl were the best thing ever!

Piglet Loves to EAT

2012-01-23T08:50:00.000-08:00

Mommy has been cooking dinner and Andrew's been eating!

Our child can eat! For dinner all week he's been eating blueberries, pears, peaches, veggies, and whatever meat we've had!

He likes the little chicken hot dog things I bought!

He eats really dirty some nights!

Andrew's favorite meat, so far, has been the crock-pot roast we had on Thursday!

9 Month Photos

2012-01-22T05:07:00.000-08:00

On Saturday, Andrew took his nine month photos at JCPenny's. He is such a champ and had a great time with our favorite photographer, Lupita. He was all smiles!

Last Weekend

2012-01-21T08:21:00.000-08:00

We spend Saturday and Sunday in Long Beach and Lakewood with Andrew's grandparents and great-grandparents. First stop, Great Grandma T and Great Grandpa's for lunch. Grandma T made her famous tuna sandwiches, fruit salad, and a special treat of individual ice creams! Andrew had a great time playing with all of their singing and dancing stuffed animals.

We spent the night at Grandpa and Grandma Bennett's house. On Sunday morning, my dad's church had their 'Sanity of Life' event. Last year, we participated in the "baby parade" on stage with Andrew in utero, this time, he got to watch and smile at everyone as a nine month old!

He was pooped out by the end (but SO stinkin' cute while sleeping).

9 Month WELL Baby Appointment

2012-01-16T17:07:00.000-08:00

Andrew went to the doctor today and left WITHOUT any medications and any diagnosis!

He's been waking up screaming in the middle of the night and pulling at his ear, so I wanted to rule out ear infection before I just blamed teething or separation anxiety. Thankfully, it is one of those two things and nothing is wrong with his ears. Dr. Ghebrial confirmed that his four top teeth are working their way out. We went over everything that he should be doing (and like always I was told that he is physically advanced) and which new foods he should be trying out. Because we delayed some of his six month shots, he also got two vaccines today.

We also celebrated 22 days of total wellness!

Length:

9 Months: 28.5, 71st percentile
6 Months: 27.5, 84th percentile
4 Months: 25 inches, 51st percentile
9 Weeks: 24 inches, 89th percentile
3 Weeks: 21.5 inches, 58th percentile
Birth: 20.5 inches

Weight:

9 months: 20 lbs, 8 ounces, 47th percentile (major drop, but Dr. Ghebrial isn't concerned)
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:

9 Months: 20.5 inches, 99th percentile
6 Months: 18.5 inches, 99th percentile (back on the charts!)
4 Months: 17.75 inches, 101st percentile
9 Weeks: 16.73 inches, 95th percentile
3 Weeks: 15.5 inches, 84th percentile
Birth: 13.5

Want to join me?

2012-01-10T14:53:00.000-08:00

I have had several people ask if and how they could join me on my 5K journey in 2012, so here are the "races" that I'm planning on doing, the link to read more about it, and registration (if available).

1. Citrus Heritage 5K, Jan. 7
2. Riverside Raincross 5K, February 25

Information and registration: http://www.riversideca.gov/park_rec/
To register, click on the 'Online Registration' link of the far left of this webpage.
It is $20 until February 4th and then goes up to $25.
I've heard they have a pretty cool goodie bag.

3. Color Run-Southern California (Irvine), April 22

Information: http://thecolorrun.com/socal/
We need a team of 4 for it to be $30 a person, or else it is $35
Let me know ASAP if you want to do this one (registration before 1/15 is cheaper)

4. OC Wahoo 5K, May 6

Information: http://www.ocmarathon.com/races/oc-wahoos-5k.aspx
I haven't registered for this one yet, but I'm pretty sure it is $35

Nine Months

2012-01-09T07:57:00.000-08:00

New Developmental Milestones this Month: Andrew has spend the month perfecting his skills. He crawls everywhere and crawls fast; he crawls into every room of our house, up and down the one step, up a flight of regular stairs, and specifically he crawls to what he wants. He has also gotten very good at pulling himself up and standing at pretty much anything (the walls, doors, toys, couch, etc). Cruising from one thing to the next is also a perfected skill. He can make it from the front door, along the wall, baby gate, entertainment center, and chair all the way to his highchair and the dining room without sitting down. While eating, much more ends up in his mouth than on the floor or Reese's mouth. He can play a mean game of peek-a-boo with you too.

Here are the new age-appropriate developmental things that he can do: share things (handing objects to someone else), wave (sometimes with his hand opening and closing, always at appropriate times, but never "on command") and understands a firm no (usually cries in response to it). He is also showing very mild separation anxiety.
Verbally, Andrew started "talking" a lot at the end of month eight. Around Christmas, rare babbles turned into constant babbles and usually quite loud. He's learned to yell and thinks it is pretty cool. Mama and Dada are clear, sometimes directed at us, sometimes just indiscriminate. He also has added due-due and ba-ba to ah-ma and ah-ba-ba from month eight. It isn't clear what these sounds mean yet. He seems to understand that signs for eat and more, but has set to do them himself.
Still just two teeth, which mommy is happy about.

Physical Growth this Month: Only one weight to go by and his official nine month appointment isn't for two more weeks.

December 21: 19 lbs, 12 oz

Doctor's Trips: We only went ONCE this month! Seriously, this is probably the best thing EVER! You all read my sick post and many, many of you expressed concern, ideas, and encouragement and I am forever grateful. Since that post and our last trip, we've watched prayers and antibiotics heal our baby! For the first time in four months, he isn't coughing constantly. He hasn't had a fever or running nose in two weeks. Even better, he's back to sleeping through the night and was well enough for us to go to church (with him in the nursery) for the past two weeks! Hears to an 'emergency appointment' free 2012!

Things Andrew likes: A well baby is an even happier baby, Andrew really does likes everything. Other than when he falls over and bangs his head on the hardwood floor, he's happy to play with people, his toys, the wall, the couch, or anything else within his grasp. The bath continues to be a favorite, along with his old and new toys. Christmas brought big-boy toys for him to play with and he's loving them too. He LOVES Aunt Melissa and the dog.

Things Andrew doesn't like: being blocked from what he wants (aka the kitchen cabinets, the bathroom, and Daddy's computer fan). He doesn't actually throw any type of temper tantrum or even cry, but when we redirect him, he goes right back there again. Needless to say, we have two baby gates and have learned to keep the bathroom door closed.

Sleeping: He sleeps through the night most of time time (8 pm-6 am). If he does wake up, it is with screaming like he's scared or hurt. He wants a snuggle and then we can lay him down with his blanket and pat him back to sleep. The whole thing takes less than two minutes. When mommy was on Christmas Break, Andrew also took 2-3 naps a day (usually for at least four hours).

Reese actually lets Andrew 'play' (aka hit and pull at) with her most days.

Andrew learned that 'say cheese' means smile over Christmas!

Eating: Still pretty much the same with bottles, four 8-9 oz bottles a day (32-36 oz), and "real food" for most of the month. We transitioned last week to three meals a day, but it was pretty hard to get everything in during the morning before we get off to work and daycare. We're still going to need to tweak the breakfast to make it work. Andrew likes his food thicker so we have also started some of the third stage of baby purees, but we also mix his food with very thick oatmeal. He eats 1 cup of oatmeal (with 2-3 oz of formula) and 4-8 oz of baby food at each meal. For finger foods, we added Lil' Crunchies and WagonWheels to his Star/Puffs. He loves the veggie flavor of the lil' crunchies and will pick those specifically to eat off his tray. Wanting everything we're eating, he's also found that pickles and mandarin oranges are favorites. We start meats this week (as per pedi recommendations).

Diapers: Still in size 3s--we've used 256 diapers (1152 total in size 3).

Clothing: No change from month eight, Andrew is wearing all 6-9 month clothing with the exception of a few 12 month sleepers.

Playing with Audrey

2012-01-08T05:36:00.000-08:00

On Saturday, we visited Des' finished (beautiful) house and Andrew got to spend some time playing with Audrey (Des' niece). She was very into 'Baby Andrew' and shared her toys, tried to pick him up, and hugged and kissed him! The above picture is probably the funniest picture I have EVER seen. She did not even realize that he was licking her.

Andrew played with her big girl toys too. This little motorized quad was fun for Andrew and Daddy, even though when Andrew figured out how to push the button and go it scared Daddy a bit.

The real fun of the afternoon was riding in Audrey's new Barbie Jeep. She begged to give him a ride, so we strapped him in and Dave stayed very close. He loved every second of it! She really wanted him to drive too, so we tried that... he thought that was even better.

Andrew's First Haircut

2012-01-07T17:31:00.000-08:00

Today we took Andrew to Monkey Dooz for his first haircut. His cute little hair curled all around his ears and make quite a rats nest in the back and he wiggles around on the floor or in his crib, but mainly the stinkin' little curls drove me nuts and I wanted a "real" haircut to be his first cut.

The place itself was really cute. It was a jungle safari and he got to 'ride' in a Jeep while his hair was cut from the stylist, Sienna.

She showed him the clippers and let him feel them vibrate before she used them on him. He didn't seem to care and was very interested in climbing up the chair.

He let her cut his hair without much of an issue.

To wet his hair, she sprayed the bottle up and let the water land on on his hair, face, and tongue. This was his favorite part of the entire experience.

Handsome boy practicing his cheesy smile!

Citrus Heritage Run 5K

2012-01-07T17:14:00.000-08:00

My first 5K of the year was this morning.

I was excited and slept strangely as I kept dreaming of the walk. I set out with the goal of 50 minutes (16 min/mile) and readjusted it to 55 minutes (17.7 min/mile) because that seemed more realistic.

Brenda and I before the 5K started.

The race started with a huge uphill climb that I wasn't expecting and wasn't very good at... let's just say that right off the bat I thought I may actually have been too cocky to think that I could do a 5K after spending a year and a half doing nothing. Thankfully before the race, Brenda had introduced me to some of her friends from the Riverside Roadrunners. I could not keep up with Brenda and Andrea, but Becky was there for me! My new friend and I worked hard and finished at 57 minutes and 37 seconds (18.05 min/mile--although it was a very SLOW first mile, faster second mile, and a very fast third mile).

Becky, my new friend, and me after finishing!

Considering this is my first 5K of the year and I plan on doing at least four more, I now have a baseline number. I'd hope that I could beat this time next time (Feb. 25th--Raincross 5K at Fairmont). I also know that I should actually practice some more before I expect that my 40 pound heavier body can perform a physical task it hasn't been asked to do in over a year.

Swingin' with Aunt Melissa

2012-01-03T08:02:00.000-08:00

New Years Eve 2011

2012-01-02T11:48:00.000-08:00

New Years Eve was pretty laid back at the Pfeffer house. The beautiful weather allowed us to hang out outside for awhile. Dave put up Andrew's Little Tykes swing on the front porch as we watched. I realized a bit too late that Andrew was overdressed. Inside our house it is a pleasant 68-70 degrees and the long sleeves are okay. I didn't realize that by 10 am (when the swing was going up) it would be 80 degrees outside.

Andrew LOVED swinging! After about fifteen minutes we came inside with a sweaty, red-cheeked little boy. He now looks at the front door like he knows what it out there for later.

After naps for Andrew and Dave, we headed over the the Webster's house to to hang out and celebrate 2011. Andrew and Nate played, ate (a lot), and watched Dave play swords with Sammy.

The spatula is the sword, the seat cushions were the shield, and Sammy even found his knight helmet somewhere. He tried to play with me, but I wasn't nearly as fun ad Dave.

Tawni made yummy food for us (taco soup with ALL the toppings, yummy!).

At this point, I stopped talking pictures (opps). We ate more, talked more, and played Seven Wonders. It was a new game for me and I didn't quite understand what was going on until the end of the game; I'm sure I'll enjoy it a lot more the next time.

We celebrated the New Year with New York at 9 pm and came home to go night-night! They actually managed to stay up the whole time with the other friends that aren't "old" like me ;)

2012 Resolutions

2012-01-01T11:37:00.000-08:00

It's resolution time again.

This year I'm going to set three goals and try to be realistic about them.

1. Participate in five 5Ks

(already signed up for two--Jan.7 and Feb. 25).

2. Cook dinner at least three times a week

(only fast food on Wednesdays).

3. Keep working at Weight Watchers

(even though it is the most frustrating thing that exists on the planet right now).

Christmas with the Pfeffers: Recap 5 of 5

2011-12-31T11:34:00.000-08:00

On December 26, we drove down to Lakeside for Chrismtas with the Pfeffers. It was a beautiful sunny day in Southern California so we got to spend some time outside watching birds, doggies, and everything else move around.

By this point, Andrew knew what to do with presents! We crawled right over to the present stack and starting opening the wrapping paper.

Grandma bought Andrew a Little Tykes swing for the front porch.

He became very serious when he opened his push gear car.

He liked pushing it, but even more he liked to take it apart.

Grandpa messing with it too.

Andrew had a stellar first Christmas and was so spoiled by everyone who loves him.

Christmas Day Church and Bennetts: Recap 4 of 5

2011-12-30T18:47:00.000-08:00

After opening presents and naps for Andrew and Daddy, we headed to Faith Fellowship in La Palma (my dad's church). Last year while Dad preached his Christmas message, we teased him that he's have an eight month old goofing off during his sermon this year. While Andrew wasn't bad, he did do his fair share of moving around and spitting. Everyone around us was paying attention and smiling at him, so I don't think anyone minded.

After church classic pictures

(I'm pretty sure there is one of these from every year of my life)

The steps going up to the platform were just too much fun for him not to climb.

After church, we went back to my parents' house. While Andrew took his nap, we ate a yummy meal of ham, potatoes, and salad made my by mom. After changing into our PJs and listening to Melissa read the true Christmas story from Luke 2:1-20, we opened presents!

Andrew helped everyone open presents and got into everything!

After awhile, we got tired of chasing him around so we strapped him into my parents chair top high chair. It worked out wonderfully. He ate puffs as we opened presents one at a time and enjoyed ourselves.

Grandma, Grandpa and Aunt Melissa spoiled Andrew!

Grandma made Andrew bigger hooded towels!

Among other things, Aunt Melissa bought Andrew a crawl-through tunnel. This is, by far, his favorite thing to play with. I will eventually be able to get a stinkin' hilarious video of his laughing as he crawls in and around it, but I keep forgetting.

My parents got Andrew a ride/push Little Tikes car. He loves being pushed on it and has tried to walk with it, but it moves a bit too fast for him at this point. I'm sure in the upcoming weeks, he'll get better.

Christmas Day at Home: Recap 3 of 5

2011-12-30T05:55:00.000-08:00

Andrew woke up nice and early on Christmas morning, "excited" to play with mommy and daddy. Instead of waiting, we started the present opening at 5:30 am. We started with our stockings!

We let Andrew explore the presents a bit while Mommy and Daddy opened their stockings.

Exploring turned into smashing into the presents and tree--opps.

We opened our presents to each other. Dave's main present was already opened and used (his XBox 360), but he also opened socks, undershirts, a new wallet, and a photo mouse pad and a frame to take to work.

I opened a new blow-driver, a Brighton Mom keychain, and a Kindle Touch!

Andrew received a tool rattle set and a star shape stacker from Mommy and Daddy. In his stocking, he had puffs, wagon wheels, a new bib, and a book.

Santa brought Andrew a giant container of foam, stacking blocks.

After opening presents, I made everyone French toast. Andrew enjoyed his 1/2 slice.

After breakfast, Andrew played with his new toys as mommy cleaned up and Daddy went back to sleep. Awhile later, Andrew crashed for his morning nap (7 am) and Mommy got read for church.

Christmas Eve with our little Family: Recap 2 of 5

2011-12-29T05:44:00.000-08:00

After our long day with my mom's family, we came home to start a new tradition. So far in our marriage, we have pretty much done what my family did as our 'traditions' at Christmas, but I was thinking that it would be nice to start some of our own. I'm sure in years to come it will matter more because Andrew will actually know what's going on, but I wanted to start at least one thing new this year. We decided that on Christmas Eve after our long day that we'd open a few presents from people that we weren't going to see on Christmas. I had several presents for Andrew from people at work, his secret Santa, and his aunts in Oklahoma.

We moved the couch away from the front of the tree, I quickly put up a few of the plastic (shatterproof) balls I'd bought, and Dave introduced Andrew to the tree. I sat back and enjoyed his curiosity.

Andrew opened a few packages, which he LOVED.

He played with a few of his new toys.

Andrew headed off to bed a bit later than normal (9:15 pm).

Santa came and filled our stockings and left Andrew a nice present to open first thing in the morning...

Christmas Eve with the Langevin Family: Recap 1 of 5

2011-12-28T20:00:00.000-08:00

We're recovering from Christmas at our house. Going non-stop from Saturday-Tuesday, left Daddy with a horrible cough, Mommy with a migraine, and Andrew actually WELL (talk about role-reversals) yesterday. It's a good thing that I have another few days off before going back to work!

On Saturday, Christmas Eve, we headed to Lakewood at 8 am. We arrived at my parents house and Andrew had time to play with Grandma and Grandpa. Grandma made his is very own stocking that matches Mommy, Daddy, and Aunt Melissa's stockings. He thought it was the best thing on the planet.

Grandma had a much bigger tree up than we do and Andrew could access it, so he spent most of the time standing at the packages, trying to reach the lower ornaments. I thought it would be a good time to give her his hand print ornament to hang on the tree.

As Andrew played, Grandma got lunch ready and watched Andrew move and touch every single thing in the living room, dining room, and kitchen. It's a good thing that they baby proofed and put locks on the kitchen cabinets.

At lunch time, Great Grandma T and Grandpa came over (my mom's dad). Andrew pretended to be shy and clung to Mommy's leg as GGrandpa played peek-a-boo.

Andrew likes them and they LOVE to give him attention!

My mom's house is beautifully decorated. This picture is mainly to just show it off!

GGrandma T was tickled pink over the Jailed Reindeer (singing 'Grandma Got Ran over by a Reindeer') from Andrew.

After lunch and presents, we headed over to Aunt Luanne's house (my mom's sister) to visit with the rest of the Langevin family. Andrew chomped away on a sour dough roll!

but was pretty worn out (sitting with Grandpa who was worn out too).

This was the first time in a long while that all the Langevin cousins have been together. I am the oldest and, by far, the shortest.

Jennifer (28), Melissa (25), Garrett (23), Andrew (18), Matthew (16 and the tallest).

The whole family

Four Generations: GGrandma Dee, Grandma, Me, Andrew

The Bennett branch

After a yummy dinner of Lasagna and lots of talking we headed home to Riverside at 7:45 pm.

Wordless Wednesday: 2011 in Pictures

2011-12-28T17:21:00.000-08:00

January-4D Ultrasound

February--Baby Shower with Melissa

March-Maternity Shots with Brenda

April-Welcome to the world Andrew Blake

May-Bath time baby

June-Enjoying summer with mom

July-personality galore

August-to school we go

September-Football season

October- pumpkins everywhere

November-Daddy's buddy

December-Christmas was SO fun!

A look back--idea taken from an April mommy, Gina, over at the Ish Blog.

Merry Christmas

2011-12-25T05:28:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas from the Pfeffers

Sick

2011-12-22T12:20:00.000-08:00

I've tried not to whine about Andrew being sick on the blog and try only to mention it in his monthly updates, but it is seriously the most time consuming part of our lives. I can't go places without getting dirty/concerned looks as Andrew coughs up a lung. We haven't been to church since early October, but no church nursey will let him him. In December, Andrew only attended 6 days of school (each of those days ended up costing $102.35 because you still pay for sick days).

I feel like by not writing about it, I am keeping it a secret, which isn't the intention. He's one sick baby and I'm one frustrated/tired/scared mommy. When one thing goes away, another thing takes its space.

Our pediatrician clearly knows us, but the receptionist and CNAs in the pediatric area and the pharmacy techs at Kaiser also know us (for those you of you don't have/never been to Kaiser, this is a HUGE deal because they probably see 5,000 people a day). They know our names, our illnesses, Andrew's happy personality, his normal temperature and oxygen levels, etc.

As sick as he is, he is still usually pretty happy during the day. He turns into a giant MESS at night. Coughing, crying, screaming, coughing, throwing up, coughing, crying, screaming, coughing... you get the point. Our happy sleeper isn't a sleeper. You can tell he wants to sleep; sometimes he cries with his eyes squeezed shut. He wants to be held, yet his won't hold still. He needs to be sitting/propped up, but he won't stay there and heaven forbid you strap him into something to keep him propped up.

We've tried everything everyone has suggested. I've cried. I've cried a lot. I've screamed and yelled. I've been a holy terror to Dave. I've gone to work with no patience and yelled at my students when they only kind of deserved it.

The worst part?!? There really is no end in sight. Every time we go to the doctors or he starts a new medicine, I have a small hope that this will be the 'one' to make a change. It's hard to have that hope still.

His rundown of diagnoses from the many doctor's visits:
Aug. 27: Croup (prednisolone, round 1)
Sept. 6: GERD re-evaluation (upped Zantac)
Sept 10: Bronchiolitis (Albuterol breathing treatments start)
Sept. 19: Bronchiolitis, Croup, Sinus Infection (prednisoline, round 2 and amoxicillin)
Oct. 13: Broncholitis (albuterol continues)
Oct. 17: Broncholitis with wheezing (prednisoline, round 3 and more albuterol)
Nov. 9-Nov. 22: Home treating Broncholitis and wheezing (more albuterol)
Nov. 22: Pedi confirms Broncholitis still going on
Dec. 2: STILL broncholitis, Asthma discussed (Flovent inhaler added to albuterol)
Dec. 7: Pneumonia, Asthma (prednisoline, round 4, Cefdinir-antibiotic, continuing Flovent and albuterol)
Dec. 21: Ear Infection and possible Whooping Cough, waiting for test results (Augmentin for his ear and Zithromax for Whooping Cough)

Also, we've spent $305 on Kaiser co-pays and over $400 in prescription co-pays. Thank goodness, we have excellent coverage!

Bass Pro Shop

2011-12-19T13:47:00.000-08:00

Happy 30th Birthday Daddy!

Dave chose to go to Bass Pro Shop for his birthday celebration. The coolest part of this choice is the totally free Winter Wonderland set up. They had Santa photos, a carousal, video games, quad rides, coloring, and crafts for the kids. It was a bit nuts and Andrew was on overload (thus the limited smiles), but he totally enjoyed looking at everything.

He spent most of the time on the carousal looking up at the lights, but cannot miss the fact that he was riding a reindeer!

Grandma and Grandpa Bennett joined us for our Santa visit.

Andrew seemed pretty indifferent to this giant guy (although he looks sort of tortured in this picture).

At dinner (we ate there too), Andrew enjoyed steamed veggies, puff, and a whole lot of attention!

Our seating situation made it a bit tight and I failed at the picture taking. Thank you for everyone who came (Bennetts, Melissa, Desiree, Gregory Family, Travis, Webster Family, and Diaz Family!)

Happy Birthday Daddy

2011-12-17T09:24:00.000-08:00

Dave turns 30 and celebrates by playing video games with Andrew

(and much more with his buddies at Bass Pro Shop).

Santa Drew

2011-12-16T09:23:00.000-08:00

More JC Penny's pictures of Andrew's First Christmas

Sparkles

2011-12-15T09:09:00.000-08:00

A lot of the April mommies have been taking ADORABLE pictures with their kiddos and Christmas lights, so I thought I'd give it a try. I know how to work the "fancy" camera, I understand lighting, I have a cute kid, Dave set up our 'studio,' I got Andrew in his santa pants and hat...

What I didn't take into consideration is that my child WILL NOT hold still or stop moving. I tried singing, dancing, holding him down, and everything else I could think of to get him to be in one spot. Dave tried, we moved the lights so he could hold them... nothing. Out of 513 shots, the top two are the only ones that I liked enough to share.

One attempt to get him to sit still was the dancing/singing reindeer.

While it did make him sit still, he gave it dirty looks the entire time it was making noise and when it stopped, he tried to kiss and lick it and "yelled" at us until it started again.

Yes Mom, I realize you want me to smile and be my cute self, but I don't feel like it.

The escape artist plotting his next move and the mean mommy that is trying to get him to sit still.

Wordless Wednesday: Mommy's Bookworm

2011-12-14T09:21:00.000-08:00

Festival of the Lights

2011-12-13T09:01:00.000-08:00

Dave, Andrew, Melissa and I headed out to Riverside's Festival of the Lights the first weekend in December. We've been doing for the past seven years! We bundled up our sick baby and took him out for about 45 minutes. Thankfully, we live less than five minutes away and it gets dark at 5 pm; we arrived at five before it was super cold and were home by 6!

Andrew LOVED the lights.

He stared and followed the things that caught his attention even as we walked passed them.

Even though he was fascinated, you could tell he wasn't really feeling well.

The dancing penguins outside Casey's Cupcakes were his favorite!

Eight Months

2011-12-09T08:00:00.000-08:00

New Developmental Milestones this Month: Andrew has so many different skills now it is hard to make a list of them. Here are the new age-appropriate developmental things that he can do: pull himself to standing with one hand and on a flat surface, walk holding onto furniture, pick up tiny objects, and stand holding on with one hand. He can also actually get the puffs into his mouth on the first try (most of the time).

See those teeth?!?

He finally has his two bottom teeth! The first one popped out on December 7 and the second one on December 10 (technically month 9). I'm really hoping that the top two will take their time so he can have a bit of a break.
He is also finally making some sounds! "Mama" has been a consistent all month and he uses it directed at me. He also says "ah-ma" and just in the last few days, he's started saying "ah-ba-ba." There are other times where we swear that he says "hi" and "yeah" but who knows. He still isn't a consistent babbler.

Physical Growth this Month: He only went to the doctors three times this month--the smallest amount of trips since August! He had a week long growth spurt and gained back the pound he lost during his seventh month, but he still hasn't gotten a lot more "size" on him.

December 7: 19 lbs, 6.4 oz
December 2: 20 lbs, 4.5 oz (with a full belly and diaper)
November 22: 18 lbs, 9.6 oz

Doctor's Trips: Less trips=healthier baby? I wish! Like I said, last month, we know what it is, so we home treat. Andrew has actually been the sickest this month... he started on his seven month birthday with a runny nose. By the week before Thanksgiving, it has progressed into a full cough/brocholitis despite the 3-4 times a day breathing treatments.

A quick trip made it clear that we didn't have croup so we grinned and bared it for another week or so. By December 1st, it was even worse. We took him in, but his lungs sounded clear. We did add an asthma inhaler at that trip (not officially diagnosed as asthma). A few days later, it was even worse so we went back. This time, chest x-rays were done. I'm glad I pushed for them, because turns out that he has pneumonia. We caught it early and he did not need to be hospitalized. He is now on a heavy duty antibiotic and another round of predisone. Add that to the breathing treatments 2-4 times a day, asthma inhaler, and prevacid for GERD, it is hard to keep up with what he needs and when...

Things Andrew likes: Andrew likes everything. He loves crawling, pulling up, and playing with everything in every room. He especially likes taking off for the open bathroom door; if he succeeds in getting in there, he pulls himself up on the bathtub and bangs away. I'm pretty sure that the bathroom is his favorite place because he LOVES taking baths. Peek-a-boo is totally the best game invented in Andrew's mind. Toy wise, he rotates between his music table, his book shelf (where he pulls off all the books), and the dining room table (where he crawls underneath and around). Mommy is definitely his favorite person, with Daddy and Aunt Melissa a close second. His teachers also tell me that he has a favorite person there--Miss Nancy.

Andrew watching the dog!

Things Andrew doesn't like: Being sick. This round has actually taken away his happy-go-lucky personality. He's been whiny, cranky, and overall miserable. He coughs, then cries, then coughs again.
Sleeping: This is a sore subject right now. Pneumonia has made it almost impossible to sleep so no one is really sleeping. It is kinda like the newborn stage, except we're getting up and going to work.
Eating: Andrew was back up to a normal 8-9 oz bottle until last week when he got really, really sick. Now he's not eating bottles well again (I'm a broken record, everything sucks when he's sick... moving on). He prefers "real food" (6 tbsp of oatmeal and 4 oz of fruit for breakfast at daycare and another 4 tbsp of oatmeal and 2-4 oz of veggies and/or food for dinner) and feeding himself. He hates green beans and peas and even if I mix it with fruit, he will not eat it.
Diapers: Still in size 3s--we've used 310 diapers (1054 total in size 3).
Clothing: Andrew is wearing all 6-9 month clothing with the exception of a few 12 month sleepers.

Bye bye for now!

Andrew and Daddy's Game

2011-12-04T11:47:00.001-08:00

This was from awhile ago, but we thought it was super funny.

Wordless Wednesday: Sneak Peek

2011-11-30T07:42:00.001-08:00

More feeding ourselves

2011-11-29T10:42:00.000-08:00

With Andrew's two bottom teeth trying to come out so badly, he does not really want to suck on his bottle. He really, really likes the idea of feeding himself. Although he doesn't do every well getting it into his mouth, he's a happy camper with food in front of him.

He tried broccoli and promptly gagged and threw up; however, he wouldn't let me take it way from him! He wanted more.

He LOVES slightly cooked peaches and apples

(cut, peal, and cook in microwave for 15 seconds to make them soggy).

He also likes puffs (and has learned where to find them when he isn't in his high chair) and mum-mums. He is still eating oatmeal and purees, but increasingly he wants to do it himself.

Andrew's first visit with Santa

2011-11-28T09:21:00.000-08:00

Andrew visited Santa this week when the mall was pretty empty. He was fascinated with him in the 'stare with a blank face' kind of way, but didn't cry or whine at all. Santa encouraged us to take our own pictures (even though it is against the rules), but Andrew wouldn't smile when I was taking the pictures. He did smile for the professional photographer so we got sucked into buying the $23 photographs (crazy, huh?). I can't get the scanner to work, so I can't show it to you now...

Andrew asked Santa for his two bottom teeth to come out.

Black Friday

2011-11-27T10:33:00.000-08:00

While people stood in line for the best deals of the season, we tried to sleep in the trailer. Our cutie-pootie had other plans and woke us up at 4:45 am. Dave took the oppertunity to go over to Radio Shack and by himself his birthday (new Evo 3D cell phone) and Christmas present (XBox 360 with Kinnect) while Andrew and I played in the sleeping bags.

After a bottle, play, and another nap it was a reasonable time to go play with Grandma and Grandpa again.

Three generations of Pfeffers

Playing with Grandpa

Thanksgiving in Review

2011-11-26T10:15:00.000-08:00

Ready for a TON of pictures?

We had a very busy day in San Diego with two full meals. Andrew was a champ and had a grand time with all of his grandparents.

We started with a smooth 1.5 hour drive down and a short stop at Grandma and Grandpa Pfeffer's house. Andrew and Reese played for awhile.

At noon, we headed over to the Buxton's house and Dave and Danny helped get the turkey into the deep fryer.

Andrew enjoyed his own version of Thanksgiving dinner. First, he enjoyed some chunks of sweet potatoes and tried mash potatoes (which he didn't like).

We gave him a larger chunk of turkey for him to gnaw on and he LOVED it. He gnawed and sucked on it and did not want me to take it away.

After dinner, Andrew played with Grandma and crawled around to work off his meal.

After our time at the Buxton's we went back to the Pfeffer's for our dinner Thanksgiving meal. Andrew was ready to eat again (much more than mommy and daddy).

More turkey!

He actually managed to eat some of it this time! He also added pieces of corn to his daily food intake.

Andrew crashed for the night about 8:45 and mommy and daddy followed immediately!

Also, Andrew made turkey-hands for his teachers at school and his grandparents. I got the idea from a fellow April mommy, Ashlee.

Happy Thanksgiving

2011-11-24T09:11:00.001-08:00

As we drive to San Diego to celebrate the day with our families, I wanted to take the time to be thankful for the great things in life.

I am blessed to have an amazing son who lights up the room with his infectious laughter and bright smile. I knew that mommyhood would be good, but I didn't know it would be this good. I am thankfully for Dave, who participates and helps with Andrew. I am thankful for our extended family and the continual love they provide to all three of us. I am thankful for Aunt Melissa and her ability to love on Andrew all the time. My friends have been amazing as we transition into parenthood and it is so cool to watch Andrew start to develop friends with the kids too. My mommy group of April moms has been a major blessing this year and although I have never met any of them in real life, I feel like they are some great friends!

I am thankful for my job that provides for our family and the beat daycare ever for Andrew while I am at work. His teachers truly love him.

I am thankful for Kaiser, their quick action, and their sincere care for my child's well being. Also, the ability to take Andrew 15 times in the past three months can't be overlooked (thanks RUSD for having stellar benefits for us).

And on a silly note, I am thankful for smart phones that let me use the internet on my phone. I would be forever behind on Facebook news without it (and this post wouldn't exist)!

Low key weekend

2011-11-21T08:23:00.000-08:00

Daddy worked outside to finish the cabinet doors.

Andrew loves standing up at the baby gate.

We set up the tree (behind the couch) and Andrew watched closely.

It was COLD!

We played and sang songs.

Wordless Wednesday: Who needs toy?!

2011-11-16T08:25:00.000-08:00

Baby Proofing

2011-11-15T08:27:00.000-08:00

Andrew is crawling and pulling up on everything he can get to and it has become pretty clear we have some things to 'fix' to help protect Andrew from this fixer upper. Thank goodness we have the dining (red) room done and carpeted because we try to keep Andrew in there as much as possible.

Our fireplace had a metal chain skirt and Andrew had actually started going INTO the fireplace, so this was my first "need" in the baby proofing process. This is a metal and glass fireplace door set up. We ordered it from Amazon (Pleasant Hearth Edinburg in gunmetal) and it arrived in two days! It took Dave 15 minutes to install.

The second project is cabinet doors for the bottom cabinets in the kitchen. When we moved in, most of the doors were falling off, off, or broken so instead of trying to save them (if you'd like to remember them as ugly as they were), we just took them all off and threw them away.

Anyway, Dave has started making the doors one at a time. The frame is built out of birch (as recommended by Dad) and the inside will be wainscotting. Getting the frame just right took most of last Sunday, but most of them were successfully built and attached.

While Daddy worked outside, Andrew talked to him through the sliding door.

This is what the door will look like before it is painted all white.

Seven Month Photos

2011-11-14T20:00:00.000-08:00

Andrew looked sick in his sixth month photos at Pennys, so we went back! He was starting to get another cold, so I was worried that we'd repeat the same issue. Instead, he was wonderful and smiled the entire time!!

Random List of Confessions

2011-11-14T08:50:00.000-08:00

Andrew started saying Mamamamama and Dadadadadada this week. I'm not sure that he means anything by it, but it is clearly a different set of sounds than his normal 'talking.' I want him to keep doing it.
I'm 65% done with Christmas shopping. In less than 8 days from now, I plan to be 100% done.
Five days of teaching are in store for me this week, then a week off. Thanksgiving break can't get here fast enough.
I have really good students this year and I should feel lucky, but I don't. Seven year burnout?
Andrew is really clingy to me in the afternoon/evenings after work and some days I enjoy it.
I can't remember the last time I cooked dinner.
Andrew is sick again (runny nose and cough); a huge part of me feels like it is my fault for not being able to provide him breast milk and having to put him into daycare.
Somehow people at work think that I am so sweet and nice, but they have no idea the mean things I say into my head.
On Friday (Veterans Day), I had the day off and sent Andrew to daycare in the morning to be productive at home. I did manage to work on the Arlington website, but I also watched four hours of TV on the DVR in my pjs.
I was basically told that I wasn't going to be teaching Yearbook at AHS anytime soon and it makes me really, really mad.

Happy Birthday Aunt Melissa

2011-11-13T15:25:00.000-08:00

I'm almost a full week late, but these pictures were taken on the actual day!

Melissa turns 25!!

Seven Months

2011-11-09T08:50:00.000-08:00

best photo of the "shoot" and it was at the beginning without his white onesie and sticker

Rolling around instead of getting dressed

No matter what I did, I could not get Andrew to sit, smile, and be 'normal.'

Pushing himself against the chair as hard as he could

Climbing up on everything

This might have to be our 'official' seven month picture.

Hiding under the lion eating his hands...

"Mom took my sticker off, so I'm going to pout."

Maybe if we're upside down... nope, still not smiling towards the camera

New Developmental Milestones this Month: Andrew has so many different skills now it is hard to make a list of them. For the sake of space (and my time), here are the new age-appropriate developmental things that he can do: turn in the direction of his name, feed himself puffs, sit unassisted (without needing his hands for support), get himself into a sitting position from his tummy/back, pull himself up on pretty much anything, and crawl anywhere he wants. He also is showing much more recognition of mommy when he gets picked up from daycare each day.

He is still working on his bottom two teeth (and has been for the last three months), ~~I'd expect them to come out any day now.~~ You can see them right under the surface, who knows when they'll actually come out.

At the end he gave up the fight... but I'd already removed the sticker.

He still isn't making much disgustable sounds (like vowels and consonant combos like "ah-goo"), but has been more verbal. The doctor said it was normal for boys and they don't worry about it until nine months, but even then, it isn't normally an issue.

Physical Growth this Month: A few less doctor's visits this month, but still WAY too many. Andrew has spent the month losing weight. He is eating significantly less formula; we aren't sure if this is because he doesn't feel good or his new acid reflux meds are working. The priolec seems working well and he's throwing up a lot less.

November 5: 18 lbs, 0 oz
October 18: 18 lbs, 6.4 oz
October 13: 18 lbs, 5.8 oz, 27.5 inches
October 11: 18 lbs, 11.2 oz, 27.5 inches

Doctor's Trips: I feel like a broken record now, Andrew has spent most of his seventh (and sixth and fifth) month of life has been about being sick, trying to get better, and seeing doctors. We've been to the doctor's less this month because frankly, we know what he has and exactly how they are going to tell us to treat it. The croup returned on his sixth month birthday, which turned into brochiolitis again, which meant prednisone and breathing treatments again. This time we have done breathing treatments MUCH longer than previous rounds. We have FOUR refills on the abuterol for the BT, so obviously the pediatrician thinks this is going to continue. Even though his cough is almost gone, Andrew still has breathing treatments every morning and evening before bed.

Things Andrew likes: Andrew likes everything to do with people and moving. He is not content to sit on your lap, but instead wants to bounce, jump, walk, crawl, and move in general. Instead of smiling at strangers now, he just stares and takes it all in. Target capivates his attention and he doesn't stop looking the whole time. He follows people by moving his head around objects and mommy. He doesn't want to be "put" in anything that stops his crawling/standing game, which includes the jumperoo and high chair (although he'll be content for 5 minutes or so).

Things Andrew doesn't like: Being left alone in his room when he's awake. There is no such thing as playing in the crib. Remember the picture of him standing up holding on the edge? Yeah, he does that and screams for out attention until we get him. Andrew also has starting hating the 'going to sleep' process for naps--not that he doesn't nap, but he cries and throws his head back as he's "relaxing" into sleep.

Sleeping: When the sickness was said and done, Andrew went back to being mommy's kick butt night sleeper. He's been adding an extra hour in the morning (sleeping until 6:30 most days), which is amazing. His "normal" sleep schedule is 8 pm-6:30 am.

Naps at daycare have FINALLY started to improve. He normally takes one short catnap in the morning (30-45 minutes) and one longer nap in the afternoon (60-120 minutes). Depending on how late he takes the second nap, he'll take a third nap with me from 4-5 pm or he'll stay up... this third nap has become unpredictable.
The swaddle is officially gone. Andrew has been sleeping in a Carter's sleep sack on top of his pjs to stay warm, but with his extra long body, they are getting too short. I just bought a Halo Sleep Sack for him (in Large!).

Eating: Andrew has decreased his intake significantly (resulting in weight loss) this month. The doctor isn't concerned because he's still in the highest range. Whereas we was eating 8-9 ounces every four hours during the day, now he's only finishing 5-6 oz with the exception of bedtime bottle where he still finishes the full 9. He hasn't slowed on "real food;" he eats 6 tbsp of oatmeal and 2 oz of fruit for breakfast at daycare and another 4 tbsp of oatmeal and 2-4 oz of veggies and/or food for dinner.

He has pretty much had every normal fruit and veggie. We introduced everything one at a time, over a three day time period, to make sure he showed no allergies. It felt like it took forever to get everything covered, but now I don't have to worry if I grab a jar of mango, pear, oatmeal combo because I know he can have all three things without an issue.
His ultimate favorites so far seems to be squash and carrots. He likes pretty much everything he's tried with the exception of peas and green beans.
He likes his food thicker than expected; we've moved on to stage 2 foods in the jars and from the little I have left that I made, I have to add oatmeal to it to make it thicker.

Playing: Andrew plays peek-a-boo and loves to be sang to. He loves his music table because it lights up, sings, and gives him something to stand up on. Crawling over to the TV stand and banging on it is another favorite activity despite Daddy's efforts to get him NOT to do it. He crawls all over everything, pulls himself up on our legs, or the wall. He really, really wants to be in the kitchen, but without cabinet doors it is still off limits. Following mommy around the house is funny to him.

Diapers: Still in size 3s--we've used 384 diapers (670 total in size 3).

Clothing: Andrew is wearing 6-9 month clothing with a few of my favorite 3-6 month outfits thrown in there.

How was your day Andrew?

2011-11-07T07:18:00.000-08:00

Feeding himself

2011-11-06T14:17:00.000-08:00

We've been working on learning the pincher grasp and to practice Andrew has been feeding himself bananas, avocado, and puffs.

As you can imagine, it is not a clean activity! He ends up with food everywhere (even in his ear), but every time we practice, he gets a little better.

He does get frustrated because he wants to actually eat it and can't always get it into his mouth. We end up helping at the end so that he isn't cranky over it (I see a stubborn streak coming out).

Halloween Day

2011-11-01T08:27:00.000-07:00

Last week was SO crazy that I put up pictures without any write-up or explanation, so I'm back :)

On Saturday night, we went to the church around the corner's Trunk or Treat with Desiree, Larissa, and Audrey. Andrew rode around in the carrier with mommy. The eight pieces of candy that Andrew was given were eaten by Daddy before we left.

On Sunday, our friends came over for pumpkin carving and carmeal apple making. As mommy got ready for the party, Andrew played. Mommy tried on Reese's bumble bee costume to see if it would fit Andrew--it did, he thought it was funny. More pictures of the party to come.

On Monday, Andrew wore his Halloween activity to school and his pumpkin PJs to bed. Around 5 pm, we put Andrew into his dragon and visited Noma and Beverly (our two elderly neighbors) to show off his cuteness. Andrew enjoyed crawling around in Bev's very white living room. After our short visit, we came home for our normal evening routine. We didn't have very many trick-or-treaters, but it was fun for Andrew to "pass out" candy once. We turned off the lights at 8 pm and went to bed :)

Definition of Chaos

2011-10-31T17:00:00.000-07:00

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

2011-10-31T09:28:00.000-07:00

Pumpkin Patch

2011-10-30T08:23:00.000-07:00

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

2011-10-26T16:52:00.001-07:00

Mommy, I'm on the go!

2011-10-23T04:54:00.000-07:00

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

2011-10-22T16:54:00.000-07:00

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?

2011-10-21T17:44:00.000-07:00

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

2011-10-21T17:20:00.000-07:00

Scooter and Couch eater

2011-10-15T09:13:00.000-07:00

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

2011-10-14T07:03:00.000-07:00

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

2011-10-13T07:55:00.000-07:00

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

2011-10-12T10:13:00.000-07:00

Doctor's trip-6 Month Well Baby

2011-10-11T19:23:00.000-07:00

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

2011-10-11T10:14:00.000-07:00

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.

So Many Doctor's Visits...

2011-10-10T10:07:00.000-07:00

I'm super behind in posts and even more behind in photos. Our lives have been a bit chaotic with work for Dave, school/work for me, Andrew being sick, and just live in general. The next few days, I'm going to try to catch up. Here a few photos from one of our doctor's trips the last month. Our little trooper LOVES the paper off the exam table.

Let the push-ups commence--1, 2, 3,

Six Month Photos

2011-10-10T08:20:00.000-07:00

We took Andrew to JCPenny's for his official six month photos on Saturday. He has another runny nose (I know, seriously?!), but he did okay. I may end up taking him back when he's feeling better.

This shot is the only one that he was really smiling and when you look at it in full size, you can see all the specks on the floor and footprints (it wasn't set up properly).

Six Months Old!

2011-10-09T19:39:00.000-07:00

Developmental Milestones this Month: Andrew can do all of the following age-appropriate developmental things: everything from month four, month five and sit unassisted (supported with his hands) for over two minutes, stand holding onto something/someone, work/scoot to get a toy that is out of reach, pass an object from one hand to another, look for dropped objects, feed himself Mum-mums (rice crackers), creep across the floor, and pick up objects with him thumb and finger.

He is working on his bottom two teeth (and has been for the last two months), I'd expect them to come out any day now. You can see them right under the surface.
He still isn't making much disgustable sounds (like vowels and consonant combos like "ah-goo"), but has been more verbal this week. I plan to ask the doctor about this when we see him on Tuesday.

Physical Growth this Month: We've been to the doctor's office so many times this month, we've been able to see Andrew's growth pretty well. His official six month appointment isn't until Tuesday.

Sept 29: 18 lbs, 3.1 oz, 26 inches long
Sept 19: 17 lbs, 11.6 oz
Sept 10: 17 lbs, 7.2 oz
Sept 6: 17 lbs, 4.8 oz

Doctor's Trips: Andrew's entire sixth month of life has been about being sick, trying to get better, and seeing doctors. He's been to after hours peds twice, his regular doctor once, the pedi GI, and x-ray imaging. He's gone from a cold, to brochiolitis, to sinus infection, to severe reflux that could be the cause of the other respiratory stuff. He's done weeks of breathing treatments with albuterol, two rounds of prednisone for croup, a round of amoxcillin, and now is on prilosec instead of zantac (which I am not sold on).

Things Andrew likes: Andrew likes everything to do with people. He wants people to make eye contact with him; he craves their attention. He has started staring at people in public, seemingly waiting for them to smile back at him. When they do, he gives them a huge grin back.

This jumperoo is his favorite place to be "put," but his favorite thing ever is to be on the ground and able to move around.
Grandma T bought his a pink elephant that sings and lights up and he smiles at it more than any other small toys.
Pretty much anything that he can put in his mouth grabs his attention--including mom's cell phone and the computer.

Things Andrew doesn't like: Andrew still HATES and screams when I put nose drops in to help suck the boogers out, but only if Mommy does it. If Dad does it, he's happy as a clam. Andrew has also started "screaming" when he's ignored too long.

Sleeping: With all the different "sickness" that we've had here this month, we've had some sleep issues too. At first, Andrew was too stuffy to sleep through the night and would need to moved from his crib to the little lamb or swing half way through the night to help him breath. Then, when he started having intense coughing fits, he would wake himself up throwing up from coughing so hard. Dave and I took turns sleeping in the nursery and didn't sleep "well" for almost three weeks. Finally, after the final round of antibiotics, Andrew started feeling better and the magic sleep returned to our house! He's sleeping from 8 pm-5:30ish (nine and a half hours).

Naps at daycare are still not going as well as hoped. He usually takes two thirty to forty-five minute naps (remember at home he was taking two, two hour naps) and comes home exhausted. During the week, he usually comes home and sleeps from 4-6 pm. During the weekend, he skips the evening nap.
The swaddle needs to go away too because Andrew can now roll over with one arm swaddled. The last two nights he's sleep fine without it, but naps have been a different story. I swaddled just his body and that seemed to work pretty well.

Eating: Andrew eats 8-9 ounces every four hours during the day. He gets between 32-36 oz every day (exactly the same as last month). The biggest change has been his "real" food. He eats 4 tbsp of oatmeal for breakfast at daycare and another 4 tbsp of oatmeal and 1-2 oz of food for dinner.

His food so far: peas, sweet potatoes, squash, pears, and bananas.
His ultimate favorite right now is squash, but as always, he'll pretty much each anything in front of him.
He does not show a preference between my homemade food (peas, sweet potatoes, bananas) and the organic jars (Earth's Best) that I bought.

Playing: Andrew's idea of playing is moving. He's much rather be on the floor than anywhere else and will scoot from one toy to another that he can put in his mouth. He also pushes, pulls, and scoots himself to touch the chairs and couch. He loves when Mommy or Daddy stand above him and tickle him, he laughs and laughs. He's started playing peek-a-boo this month, along with loving the songs of itsy-bitsy spider and wheels on the bus.

Diapers: This month we'd been in size 3s the entire time--we've used 256 diapers.

Clothing: All his 3-6 month clothes fit, but I'm bored of them. I have been working this week to get all the 6-9 month clothes ready to go. Most of the stuff that we have are long sleeves and pants, so with fall coming we're going to need to pack up the shorts.

Firsts for this month

Chargers Baby

2011-10-04T17:45:00.000-07:00

Lakeside Trip

2011-09-29T07:14:00.000-07:00

This past weekend we made a trip to Lakeside to visit Grandpa and Grandma Pfeffer's house. Andrew showed off his new skills of babbling, standing, crawling, and engaging in tons of eye contact.

Practicing crawling with grandma

On Saturday afternoon we hung out with the Gregorys. Devin and Andrew has a few years more before they can play together (and by that time Devin might be so over Andrew), but it was pretty cute to hear Devin ask fifty times if Andrew could eat pizza, what he eats, and why he wasn't eating lunch with us. He also talked to Andrew and got a few really good giggles.

After lunch and shopping at the Outlets, we stopped by Cassuandra and Jeremy Olson's and hung out with them and Jersey. Andrew was pretty enralled with the great dane, but didn't quite know what to do with her. When Jersey licked him it completely covered his face and he just stared.

Back at Grandpa and Grandpa Pfeffer's house, Dave's cousin Mike and daughter stopped by for some play time.

Of course, Andrew took many naps because he was so tired for all the excitement.

Andrew stared at Grandma's big dogs too!

Wordless Wednesday

2011-09-28T08:30:00.000-07:00

EDIT: I thought this was a good picture to be by itself for Wordless Wednesday, but I have gotten a few emails about it already. Andrew is playing with his sippy cup and by no means, drinking from it. He likes to chew on it. He's also giving me the look of, 'no more pictures Mom."

Pears

2011-09-27T05:09:00.000-07:00

On Friday, Andrew added pears to his first foods.

Again, like with all the foods, he eats and eats! He actually seems to like pears.

So much so, that he licked the pears off his bib!

Crawling progress

2011-09-26T17:02:00.000-07:00

There is a whole lot of this going on at our house. Andrew now gets up on all fours and rocks back and forth over and over again until he face plants into the ground to move forward.

He eventually gets up on his toes to lunge forward.

Yesterday (9/25), Andrew lifted his arm up and actually moved forward the "normal" crawling way. He didn't get very far because he can't figure out how to move his knee.

Five Month Photos (a week late)

2011-09-22T07:13:00.000-07:00

Wordless Wednesday-Ouch

2011-09-21T18:48:00.000-07:00

a day at the park

2011-09-18T21:15:00.000-07:00

Robyn and I took Ivy and Andrew to Arlington Sports Park yesterday.

While Ivy ran around and climed the stairs, Andrew slept and rolled around on the blanket. He also practiced his sitting up unassisted. I put him in the swing to see what would happen, he didn't seem to mind it (but wasn't super excited either).

Andrew's practicing crawling

2011-09-17T10:52:00.001-07:00

Sweet Potatoes

2011-09-15T08:05:00.000-07:00

Even though Andrew is sick, we've been still moving on with the new food process. This week we tried mommy-made baked sweet potatoes.

The first taste face

He liked sweet potatoes a lot better than peas! Like with everything, he eats with vigor and finished a full ounce of sweet potatoes and four tablespoons of oatmeal.

Wordless Wednesday: Into the Ducky Tub

2011-09-14T15:28:00.000-07:00

Sick Baby

2011-09-13T16:01:00.000-07:00

It started nice and slow. Andrew had a runny/stuffy nose on Thursday. By Friday, he added a little cough and on Saturday the cough increased in frequency and became croupy again. He sounded like a barking dog as he was coughing. After the second time that he coughed so hard he threw up, Melissa told me that I could called Kaiser and see if we could get him in (it was 7:45 pm on Saturday).

I left a message with the after-hours nurse and when she called me back at 8 pm, she told us to come right away. We were able to get right into the pediatrician office and did not have to go to Urgent Care (fantastic!!).

After listening to his lungs and checking everything else out, the doctor pronounced the diagnosis of Bronchiolitis. Never heard of it? Neither had I--Bronchiolitis is a common lung infection, often caused by a virus. It most frequently occurs in infants, commonly younger than 6 months of age. Bronchiolitis starts out with symptoms similar to those of a common cold but then progresses to coughing and wheezing. Symptoms of bronchiolitis typically last for a week or two and then go away.

The treatment is a neubulizer and breathing treatments.

Breathing treatments + five month old = traumatic

We've spent a lot of time trying to convince Andrew to sleep (he's not having it) and eat (3 oz vs. 8 oz). He's cried more in the past few days then he has in his entire life! The humidifier is running any time Andrew is in his room and he likes playing with it, so I let him.

We have to do breathing treatments four times a day now (or more if needed) for this week and on Saturday we switch to twice a day for the next two weeks. In total, he'll have to have these traumatic treatments for three weeks!!

Football Weekend

2011-09-11T16:06:00.000-07:00

Mommy's favorite weekend of the year is here!

Football has officially started at school and home!

We celebrated Arlington's first home game on Thursday night (we share a stadium with three teams and have to share nights too-sucks). It was SO hot that day that instead of being concerned about Andrew being cold, I was worried that he'd get overheated. Thankfully it cooled off enough that we were comfortable in shorts and t-shirts. Andrew wore his 'little dude' shirt in AHS colors and Mommy and Daddy had their lion pride yellow on.

Andrew had a good time. He looked around, played with some friends in front of us, and smiled at my students. I think he was a bit overwhelmed though because his smiles were not constant, but there were no crying moments.

We left at half-time so Andrew could be home by bedtime, but AHS won the game!

It was fun for me to see a lot of the players that I had in class three years ago (remember when I had the entire freshman team in my Intro to Lit classes?!?)

On Thursday at the game, Andrew had a tiny runny nose, but I assume it was related to the two teeth that are trying really hard to come out. Thursday night we had a horrible night of sleep, Friday Andrew's cough got worse, but he was still pretty happy. Saturday, he was clearly sicker than sick. By 7:45 last night I called Kaiser and we went (more to come), so today as the Chargers' play their season opener, Andrew was pretty excited for about five minutes.

Then he remembered he was sick and the happy baby turned into a coughing, sick baby. He has sleep for the past two hours of the game.

It's okay little man, there will be plenty more football for you!

Peas

2011-09-10T07:17:00.000-07:00

After the first few bites--he was totally unsure if this was going to be something for him.

Andrew has mastered Oatmeal and consumes a lot of it (4-5 tablespoons if I let him), so I decided to add peas into his expanding diet. I pre-made the peas before school started a few weeks ago, but made them too thin (for next time, I'll know less formula added) so he actually had oatmeal-pea combo.

Like pretty much everything, Andrew ate them like a champ. He makes a face almost every single bite (because who actually likes peas?!), but continues to come at the spoon mouth wide open ready for more.

Midway through our first experience--Not too bad mom

In less than 10 minutes, Andrew consumed the full ounce (one ice cube) of peas mixed with one tablespoon of oatmeal. The still hungry piglet then ate another two tablespoons of oatmeal!

At the end--happy pea covered baby!

Five Months Old

2011-09-09T05:21:00.000-07:00

Monthly photos postponed until Andrew feels better!

Developmental Milestones this Month: Andrew can do all of the following age-appropriate developmental things: everything from month four and roll over both ways, sit in a tripod stance (uses arms for support) for over a minute, stand holding on to someone's hands, work to get an out-of-reach toy, pass object from one hand to the other, and look for missing objects (mainly the dog). He does not babble or talk very much, so we're working on repeating sounds over and over.
Physical Growth this Month: At the doctor's on Tuesday, Andrew weighed in at 17.48 lbs (gain of 1.2 from last month) and is measuring at 27.5 inches long (same as 4 months).

Things Andrew likes: My content baby is still pretty much "into" everything. He loves people and has starting staring/smiling at strangers at church or restaurants if they smile at him. The dog is increasingly becoming a favorite; he actually smiles at her now. Loving the jumperoo, laying on the floor to move around, food, being tickled, his and other people's hands. At daycare, they say he LOVES a little girl name Mariah and he'll look at her, smile, then giggle. Within the last two weeks, it has also become clear that Andrew likes to feel textures (like Mommy) and now "pets" things as he eats and plays.

Things Andrew doesn't like: still the car seat and being ignored, but we found a new one. He HATES and screams when I put nose drops in to help suck the boogers out. He doesn't mind the sucker (bulb syringe).
Sleeping: The first two weeks of this morning were HARD sleep wise. Andrew wanted to wake up 2-3 times a night to play (not eat, needing a diaper, or anything useful) and would not just go back to sleep (blog here). Thankfully as quick as it started, it stopped and we're back to normal at night time. Bedtime is between 8-8:30. The ~~sad for mommy~~ good part of bedtime is also that Andrew goes to bed without any intervention other than swaddling. He does not want to be held to calm down. Also, on the swaddling note, we swaddle with one arm out and don't really have plans to stop swaddling. He does not try to roll over while sleeping. He is not napping well at daycare still, so his nap schedule is all over the place during the week, but on the weekends, he is still takes two, 2-hour naps and a short catnap.

Eating: Andrew eats 8-9 ounces every four hours during the day and still refuses the dream feed. He gets between 32-36 oz every day (only 4 more oz a day than last month), but we've now added oatmeal and peas once a day. Next week, I plan to make it twice a day and he'll eat "breakfast" of oatmeal at daycare. When the sleeping issues went away, so did the eating concentration issues thankfully. We're at 1.5 ml of Zantac for the GERD, but we have a referral to see the GI specialist about the coughing/gagging that is waking up him even with the zantac.

Playing: He is all over the place while playing and enjoys moving his arms, legs, head, etc. He loves things that make noise and can go into his mouth; if there is anything that can do both (Sophie and his crinkly lion) it is a favorite.

Diapers: Leaving size 2s this week! We had a few nightime blowouts and started using 3s at night last week and I decided that I wasn't going to buy another box! We used 524 size 2s.

Clothing: Clothing wise nothing has changed from month 4. Andrew wears 3-6 month onesies and 0-3 month shorts. I did try on a pair of 3-6 month pants in prep for "cold" weather (wishful thinking) and they are just a bit too short to look normal. I have a feeling that we'll be skipping pants all together in this clothing size.

Firsts for this month: Eating our first solid food (oatmeal and peas), three weeks of daycare under his belt, first cold and croupy cough (followed by first Urgent Care appointment), second cold, first football game, and first bowling trip.

Inch bug

2011-09-08T17:11:00.000-07:00

Andrew has started inching himself across the floor and I'm sure crawling is right around the corner.

His scoot is pretty darn cute. First, he plants his feet and pushes his bum into the air and quickly plants his forehead into the floor. Then, as he pushes his feet, he rolls up his body (sort of like the second picture) and then falls forward. The result is moving a few inches. He repeats this pattern over and over again until he's moved several feet to a new toy, box, chair, person, etc. He's been trying this out for the past two weeks, but he's getting A LOT faster. Last night, he managed to get his knees bent and under him and his arms holding him up without his giant head crashing to the ground!

I have yet to really get it on video (something about that blinking light that really grabs his attention), but when I do, I'll show you.

First Week of School

2011-09-05T18:49:00.000-07:00

Two weeks before Andrew started daycare and I attended trainings, buy-back days, and all school staff meetings. As I wrote about before, Andrew had a great time at daycare. He laughed, played, and did what he what other happy babies do. He struggled with napping (too much going on and too many people to play with) and took his time eating, but you'd never know that he wasn't an old pro. He spent most of the afternoon with me asleep or eating to catch up on what he missed at school. He slept a lot all weekend to catch up on the sleep he missed while playing.

Last Monday was my first day of school. I started the year with a downright awful attitude. Who knows if it is the seven year itch (as it relates to a career) or if it was the fact that I wasn't getting to be at home with my baby, but either way, bad attitude Jennifer was in the house. I was extremely mad about teaching Read 180 again, mad that I was considered "the most qualified" even though no one making those decisions has ever seen me teach, and mad that the class from hell was going to descend upon me again.

Anyway, bad attitude Jen stayed through all the week before prep, the Saturday classroom prep and even Sunday "get ready for school" stress. After talking to Des, I decided I needed to suck it up and at least pretend to be happy and "normal."

It's a good thing I did because I was pleasantly surprised on Monday at my students. My Read 180 class starts the day and they were not overly rude on the first day (like they were last year) and the number of tough boys is only two. My Media kids were eager and my Intro students were FANTASTIC. My bad attitude was quickly replaced and by the end of the week, I actually felt like myself and I was actually EAGER for the day to start.

Andrew had another fantastic week at daycare. He's learning to nap there and actually had three days with at least one "good" nap. He did start rejecting his second bottle, but I'm assuming it is because he knows that I'm coming shortly (he eats it about 2:30-3 and I get there around 3:30).

The four day week upcoming holds promise and thankfully bad attitude Jen hasn't reappeared.

Grandpa and Grandma Bennett

2011-09-03T16:29:00.000-07:00

September 3, 2011

Five Hundred posts later

2011-09-02T17:11:00.000-07:00

This is my 500th blog entry! Crazy!

I was going to write blog about the first week of school, my students, Andrew's daycare week, and all that boring stuff; however, I thought it would be MUCH more appropriate to share a video of the best part of my day--Andrew!

You get to hear me talking and him talking/laughing/kicking back :) Yes, I sound like a moron, but didn't you already know that?!?

Wordless Wednesday: One Arm Swaddle and the edge of the crib

2011-08-31T19:40:00.000-07:00

Rest assured, I did move him after taking this picture

First Food-Oatmeal

2011-08-30T17:07:00.000-07:00

Andrew started eating Oatmeal on August 17. We skipped Rice Cereal because all the things I've read about it say that it has little nutritional value; also, when we experimented with in in Andrew's bottles to see if it would decrease reflux, it caused some major constipation for the poor boy.

Andrew LOVES the oatmeal! The first bite or two he makes a funny, yucky face but very quickly he starts leading towards the spoon with his mouth wide open. The silly boy also comes at the spoon with his tongue sticking out. The first two or three times we ate, he spit A LOT of the oatmeal onto his bib, the Bumbo, and it was all over everything; however, he is now all about eating as much as he possibly can.

Coming at the spoon with full force

Helping mommy!

Can you tell his tongue is sticking out??

BFFs

2011-08-27T16:55:00.000-07:00

This is Nate, Andrew's BFF.

Andrew and Nate are four months apart are are so fun to watch together. Nate REALLY wants to touch Andrew and Andrew is okay with it (expect for poking the eye, that didn't go over too well).

Last night, the boys actually "played" for the first time. Nate can now crawl and came right to Andrew. Andrew smiled and stared; later, he grabbed back at Nate.

Wordless Wednesday-Takin' a Drink

2011-08-24T20:55:00.000-07:00

Andrew laughing!

2011-08-23T20:26:00.000-07:00

We finally managed to capture Andrew's Donald Duck laugh on video! He's been doing it for a month already, but when he sees the camera he stops and stares at it (you can see that at the end of this video).

First day of School

2011-08-22T20:28:00.000-07:00

Today was Andrew's first day of school.

According to his teachers, he enjoyed himself and proved that he was a big flirt. The teachers report that he laughed, smiled, and played well all day. He "barely" spit up for them (don't worry, he saved it all for mommy this afternoon and evening) and drank his bottles without too much distraction.

They say that he likes the other kids and watches the older ones as they crawl around. He took two 45-minute naps for them, making him one tired baby (he normally sleeps four hours during the day with me), so he slept a lot this evening.

Everyone asks how I did... to be honest, I think I did okay.

Although I'm not a huge crier, I had a full on crying fest last night (poor, poor Dave) where I did all my worrying, freaking out, sadness. I basically cried myself to sleep, but that was good. This morning, I cried a little bit at daycare when another mom told me I was going to be okay (it was too sweet) and teared up from the daycare until I got on the freeway to drive to Norco for my training. Many of my friends were at the training and did a good job reassuring me that Andrew was going to do great and helped me be distracted enough. Tomorrow may be a different story, but today I kept it together.

4 Month Wakeful

2011-08-19T11:30:00.000-07:00

I want my baby back!

First, we dealt with a fever after his four month shots. He wasn't happy. All he wanted to do was be held and whimpered all day as his body battled a fever. Like mommy, his cheeks and ears got all red. Thankfully as soon as his fever broke the next night at 7 pm, he clearly felt better and slept a full, peaceful night.

Then last night, he woke up and wanted to play at 4 am. At first, I figured that he was hungry because his daily intake has been significantly lower than normal (after his shots). He wouldn't have anything to do with the bottle. He doesn't cry, but he made it known that he doesn't want to be alone. After an hour of trying to get him to relax and go to sleep with shush/pat, rocking, swaying, and humming, I simply put him down in his crib and laid down myself. He talked to himself quietly and I fell asleep at 5:30 am (good thing it isn't Monday, because I would be getting up and dressed to go to work at that point). Who knows when he eventually went to bed?!? He wasn't loud enough that it woke me up.

At 7 am, he was up and ready to eat, but wouldn't finish his bottle. He really, really wanted to go to sleep at 8:50 but pulled out the full on screaming, squirming, freaking out. Again, tried all the Baby Whisperer tricks. Gave up for awhile, tried again, got frustrated, tried again. Finally, after an hour of frustrating trying to get my over-tired baby to sleep, he crashed. Right now he has been asleep for one hour and nine minutes.

All the April Bumpies report that the 'four month wakeful' period hits with a vengeance so I know that this is 'normal,' but it still is really, really exhausting. I am hoping that we can continue to be consistent with our sleep routine while we go through this so that we can cover out of it (it does end right?!) without having learned any new, bad habits.

He's finally asleep... Well-baby Check up, 4 Months

2011-08-17T16:32:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, Andrew went to his four month appointment. According to the doctor, Andrew is a healthy baby boy who is a bit "advanced" in his physically abilities and size. He showed off his skills by pushing his head/torso up with his arms, standing up, and sitting in a tripod.

We discussed his reflux and the need for a higher dosage of Zantac (increased from 1.0 ml to 1.5 ml twice a day) and she recommended that if the Zantac does not continue to help or the symptoms start appearing sooner, he should go to a GI specialist. That is on hold for now because the Zantac appears to help.

When we talked about Andrew's eating habits and the amount of formula he eats (30-34 oz), she brought up that babies aren't really designed to have more than 32 oz a day because they have a hard time getting enough calories. The statistic that was on the appointment paper said "Four month old babies usually eat 5-6 oz every four hours" and Andrew eats 8. She wasn't telling me that I was feeding him too much (based on his weight he "needs" between 33-49 oz), but suggesting that based on his size and activity, he needs to start on solids. I had planned to wait until six months, but because I'm not breastfeeding, I don't feel as strict about it. Look forward to "eating" posts coming soon.

He had more shots and did not like them at all. He screamed much more than last time, but calmed down pretty quickly when I picked him up. He did whimper at the nurse when she walked back in afterwards (smart baby remembered who she was). I cried more than him. He did pretty well after the appointment until about 7 pm last night when his fever started.

Andrew's fever has gone on all night and today. He's super clingy and doesn't want to be put down, so much so that he won't sleep without me (gone is my super independent sleeper). I'm tired. Thankfully he was SO tired that he finally fell into a deep sleep and I was able to put him down (and why you have this post) and he stayed asleep.

Length: 25 inches, 51st percentile (the nurse didn't even straighten his legs? Not very accurate)

9 Weeks: 24 inches, 89th percentile
3 Weeks: 21.5 inches, 58th percentile
Birth: 20.5 inches

Weight: 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: 17.75 inches, off the charts! 101 percentile

9 Weeks: 16.73 inches, 95th percentile
3 Weeks: 15.5 inches, 84 percentile
Birth: 13.5

A boy and his dog

2011-08-13T16:44:00.000-07:00

We're working on a great relationship here friends. Andrew and Reese share mommy and this past week or so, they have starting sharing each other. Reese enjoys licking Andrew and Andrew now pets, pulls, and laughs at Reese whenever she is close enough.

Here is the conversation that occurred between them and me...
"Mom, this kid can't seem to keep his spit inside his mouth, I'll clean it up for you," Reese, the ever present helper said while Andrew grabs at his ears and whiskers.

"Mom, this game is old, I'm tired," yawned Reese.

"Andrew, you may be bigger than me now, but my legs are still longer than your arms. I win," Reese smirks as she wins the pushing battle.

"Reese's tongue tickles," Andrew giggles as Reese continues to help clean up Andrew's throw up.

"If I sit here a bit more, will you pet me Mom?" Reese pleads with her eyes, "Andrew, I'm waiting for mom, you don't have to pet me too."

"This kid even has spit-up on his toes Mom! Don't worry, I'm taking care of it for you."

Operation: Label-it Part I

2011-08-12T20:38:00.000-07:00

With Andrew starting daycare on August 22nd, I've started Operation Label-it. Basically a bunch of stuff has to go with him and everything needs to have his name on it (and needs to stay there as I wash it in the washer machine or dishwasher). I did some fancy ordering on the Internet... step one: labeling bottles.

A fellow April mommy (Kristin) recommended Inch Bug Orbit Labels. Basically these beauties are stretchy bands (the thickness of a Boobies bracelet) that are custom made to include whatever you want to say. I went basic and just had Andrew's name included, but if you have a kiddo with an allergy or something out of the ordinary, you could include that too. They stretch onto bottles of all shape and size and can be used over and over again.

Just to highlight how cool they are, I put one on Andrew's playtex bottle, one on a sippy cup, and one on my venti size cup. All you need to do is pull and stretch!

The best part?!? They can stay put until you want to move them to another bottle/sippy/etc. They are completely dishwasher and microwave safe!

Four Months Old

2011-08-09T19:25:00.000-07:00

Developmental Milestones this Month: Andrew can do all of the following age-appropriate developmental things: lift his head 90 degrees and raise his chest with his arms while on his stomach, rolls over from tummy to back and back to side (he has rolled back to tummy twice, but he hasn't repeated the performance since 8/1), reach, grasp and shake toys, bear weight on his legs when supported, sits in Bumbo without wobbling, keep head level 50% of the time when body pulled to sitting, laugh and squeal out loud, smile at people spontaneously, follow tiny objects in 180 degree, follow Mommy and Daddy all around the room, turn the direction of Mommy's voice (especially when someone else is feeding him), razz and blow bubbles with his mouth.

Andrew spends 90% of his life like this on his side.

Physical Growth this Month: Andrew's official four month appointment isn't until next week, but unofficially he weighs 16.2 lbs (WW weigh-in) and is about 27.5 inches long (mommy measured).

Things Andrew likes: Andrew pretty much likes everything these days. His favorite thing of all time is standing up whether it is being held or in his Jumperoo. Anytime anyone is paying attention to him he is probably smiling back. He laughs (totally sounds like Donald Duck) when he's tickled by his armpits. His hands are still in his mouth constantly. Mommy is still his favorite person, but Daddy is a close second.

Things Andrew doesn't like: not being the center of attention, being strapped into his car seat, being forced to sit and held like a baby in a cradle.

Sleeping: Andrew is a great sleeper thanks to Baby Whisperer--this month he only woke up one night, all of the other nights were averaging between 9-11 hours of sleep. His naps have also gotten a lot more consistent. As long as we're home and we do his routine, he sleeps 90-120 minutes in the morning and early afternoon with a 30-45 minute catnap around dinner time. We've been working on getting an earlier bedtime in preparation for school starting. At three months, he was going to bed about 9:30-10. Now, we've managed to get bedtime about 8:30. We are also working on shortening the time we shush/pat as part of our sleeping routine.

Eating: Andrew eats 7-8 ounces every four hours during the day and has been refusing the dream feed. He gets between 28-32 oz every day (exactly the same as three months). The past two weeks, Andrew has had a hard time concentrating on eating and sometimes takes over an hour to eat one bottle. GERD is still in full force and I expect that at his next appointment, we'll be upping his dosage again.

Playing: He is less entertained by laying around and requires much more interaction with me and/or toys. His favorite thing of all time is his jumperoo because he has the ability to stand up, jump, and move around its little circle playing with the different type of toys. He'll play on his activity mat for awhile, but doesn't really want to stay there very long. He sits in the Bumbo while I work in the kitchen. Bath time isn't really play time at this point because he doesn't really fit happily in the sink and is too small for the bathtub.

Diapers: Happily still in size 2--so far we've used 380.

Clothing: Andrew wears 3-6 month onesies, 0-3 month shorts (skinny waist and length doesn't matter), and 12 month hats (big head!). He can still wear some of the adorable 0-3 month clothes (I know this because I'm not willing to pack them up).

Important Events of Month Four: Second trip to Lakeside, three birthday parties (Rob's 30th, Ivy's 1st, Brendan and Sammy's 3rd), Yearbook Camp, first night away from Mommy and Daddy, time spent with Aunt Nicole and Jesse, first real tears (8/7)

Aunt Nicole and Uncle Jesse

2011-08-08T20:50:00.000-07:00

The best part of our weekend??

Spending time with Nicole and Jesse!

Nicole's awesome planning made it possible for them to spend a lot of time with me, but also with Andrew. After flying in on Thursday and going to Disneyland, they drove to our house to spend the time. Friday morning was all Andrew time, then again when we got home on Saturday afternoon and evening.

Andrew enjoyed chewing on their fingers, making big smiles at Uncle Jesse's funny faces, and giggling when Aunt Nicole tickled him. They also really enjoyed watching me try to figure out how to get the ring sling to work properly (much more practice needed).

On Saturday night, they joined in on the nighttime routine. Aunt Nicole helped with bath time and they both read him a book.

Uncle Jesse reading Pat the Bunny

Aunt Nicole reading The Blue Truck

When I can figure out how to get a video to work properly, I have a pretty great one of Jesse reading to Andrew!

After the reunion

2011-08-08T08:43:00.000-07:00

We got to play together!

The four of us stayed at the Holiday Inn Hacienda Heights in Old Town, San Diego on Friday night after the reunion. It was our anniversary as well, so Dave and I enjoyed an Andrew-less night (well sort of, I talked about him most of the time and counted the hours until I could come home) and slept in until 7ish. After breakfast at the hotel, we walked around Old Town. As a kid, we use to take a field trip to OT at least once a year, so nothing is new there; however, I love walking around the little museums and the candy shop is always a hit.

the teacher in the school house

After Old Town, we headed to Mission Bay to meet up with a few friends who did not go to the reunion. After an hour, we headed to lunch at Tio Leo's to meet up with Justin (and Family) and David. Justin's daughter, Allie, is adorable and was fun to play with while we ate.

Our 27 hours away from Andrew is our last mini-vaction before going back to work in the upcoming weeks.

High School Reunion

2011-08-07T20:41:00.000-07:00

"Prom" style photo at the Baggette House before the Reunion

This weekend we celebrated being out of high school for ten years by driving to Lakeside (actually Santee) for the El Capitan Class of 2001 reunion. Nicole and Jesse flew into Long Beach Thursday and we all drove together. For Nicole and I, it was a bit of a "flash back" to be getting ready for a "dance" together! Overall, we had a great time together and seeing people after ten years proves that very little changes in the grand scheme of things.

Jessica and Margie

Flashback Friday, Anniversary Edition

2011-08-05T10:20:00.000-07:00

Five years ago, Dave and I said 'I do' in front of our friends and family. Some parts of it seems like it was just yesterday that we got married and then other times it feels like we've been together forever. Today is a time to celebrate the joys of today, the memories of yesterday, and the hopes of tomorrow.

Three Month Photos (take 2)

2011-08-04T22:35:00.000-07:00

I didn't like the first set that we took at Penny's (the week he turned three months), so we went again! The second time around, Andrew was MUCH happier and smiles a lot. It was hard to not buy every single photo!

My BIG boys!

2011-07-31T10:48:00.000-07:00

It has been a total joy to watch these two boys get so BIG! We celebrated their third birthdays yesterday at Pump it Up. It is hard to believe that they are already three.

Sammy was a bit leery of the jumpers at first, but then LOVED the big slide.

Daredevil Brendan had no problem getting right into the the huge jumpers.

Shanda made it all the way from China

Andrew slept through most of the party, can't wait until he can play too!

Yearbook Camp Swimming

2011-07-31T10:01:00.000-07:00

At camp we spent a several hours playing at the pool. After feeding Andrew, we had about 1.5-2 hours to play at the pool. Thankfully the "adult" pool (where yearbook kids aren't allowed to go) is in the shade 90% of the day. Because of this, Andrew did not have to be slathered in sunblock and we could take off his hat. The water was in the 80's so there was no cold shock for the baby.

Daddy taught me to kick and splash.

Yeah, there is no denying that they're father and son!

Getting Andrew's swim diaper on deserves smiles (well, of course, everything deserves smiles in Andrew's life)

Mommy and Andrew can make the same faces too.

Family shot in the pool!

A year ago

2011-07-30T06:55:00.000-07:00

Exactly one year ago at this exact time (6:55 am), I got up and drove to CVS to buy a pregnancy test. I'd been home from yearbook camp less than 12 hours and was convinced that I wasn't pregnant, but I couldn't shake the nagging feeling that something was going on. I couldn't sleep and tossed and turned all night thinking about the possibilities.

The test was really just suppose to confirm what the doctor's had said that pregnancy wasn't going to occur naturally. Instead, when I looked at the stick as it sat on the drywall dusted ladder in the unfinished master bedroom, I saw a VERY clear + sign. The gittery feeling of complete and total disbelief is still very clear in my mind. I also find it kind of funny that I didn't pee on another stick (like I now know a bunch of people do), but instead I called Kaiser immediatly to get it confirmed by the doctor (the top square test).

It is amazing that July 30th last year Andrew was the size of a lima bean and on July 30th this year he is a little boy full of smiles and personality. A miracle created by a loving God!