Hot dogs, Nemo and the green blanket

Evan is 21 months old today. This month is especially special because this is the month he will become a big brother. I'm so thankful for the last 21 months, and am treasuring these last days with just the two of us. Before I get too sentimental, here's a little peak into the world of my favorite 21 month old..

I'll start with one of his favorite things-food! Unless this kid is feeling under the weather, he'll eat just about anything and snack all the live long day. He loves most all fruit, but can be picky depending on the day of the week-especially when it comes to those green veggies. He's started saying "no" to things he doesn't like...dare I see a little attitude on the horizon? I guess it comes with the toddler territory! His favorite meals usually consist of a hot dog or chicken nuggets(with ketchup of course) and some sort of fruit cup or applesauce. Unfortunately, he's still dairy free for the most part. I'm working on incorporating more fresh snacks into his diet, and have had some success with the occasional celery and carrot stick. But who am I kidding really, those carrot sticks don't hold a candle to Finding Nemo fruit snacks. :-) 

A true boy, Evan's favorite toys are cars-anything with wheels really. In the same vein, his favorite movie without a doubt is Disney's "Cars" and more recently "Cars 2." It's starting to look like a boys world around here for sure, and I don't forsee that changing any time soon! He is definitely an active little boy and loves being silly and playing with daddy. Lately he's caught onto "tag" and loves to run in circles being chased around the house(add to that hiding behind doors and shower curtains). Other recent fun activities would involve empty cardboard boxes and flashlights-did I mention it's a boys world around here?

Recently I've noticed a growth spurt in him- both by way of mouth and of jeans! He seems to be randomly repeating a lot of our words, saying the same words often, and also adding new words to his vocabulary. Just yesterday he pointed to the turtle in our alphabet book and said "turtle" as plain as day. It's sweet to hear his little voice, and I can't wait to hear him talk more..or maybe I can, he's growing up way too fast! He surprises me daily with his increasing understanding of the world around him, and I couldn't be more grateful for the gift of watching him grow.

Lastly, this post would not be complete without a picture of his precious green blanket, or "bay bay banket" as he says. He's watching a snippet of his second favorite movie here, "Finding Nemo." I hate to say it but we may need to get him a goldfish soon!

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The schedule: (This is mostly for my future babywise reference, please feel free to tune out here haha!)
The following routine is just the "bones" of our everyday schedule-we're an on the go team and fastly fill up the space in between with friends, playdates, parks, "mops," church, groceries, just plain mommy/son fun and more! In fact, this morning was likely our last at our library's "lapsit storytime" for a while, at least until we all settle into the slower pace of life with a newborn. Boy how things are going to change!

8am-Good morning!  It was my goal to get him sleeping in a bit later before baby #2 gets here, and I am SO grateful to have achieved this new and refreshing 8am wake up call.
12 noon-Lunch
12:45/1pm-3:30ish- Afternoon nap *Can I just give my child a round of applause here for consistently taking wonderful 3 hr naps everyday! We had a challenging stretch of time in dropping his first nap, but I'm happy to say that we're in a great groove now, and he's combined the two just perfectly(you know, most days).
6pm-Dinnertime, usually followed by his much loved bath time
7:45pm-Books & bed

Into the double digits

Happy 10(almost 11 now) months baby boy! Congratulations buddy, you've now officially been outside of mama's belly longer than you were in.

And what a difference 10 months makes!

I know I know, I'm a little behind on this one since 11 months is just around the corner-eek! I plead Spring. :-) 

With each passing month we crawl closer and closer to the big "One." Life on the outside has been pretty great. Mommy and daddy are continually thankful for you Evan Matthew!

A few of Evan's favorite things at 10-ahem, almost 11- months:

• Snacks, snacks, and did I mention snacks?
• Cruising the furniture, and pulling up on everything-and I do mean everything!
• Piper
• All things "baby Einstein"
• Swings at the park on sunny Spring days!
• Bathtime-he's got that splashing thing down pat ;-)
• Walking and scooting with his green dino
• And last but not least-Mommy!

And a few "not so favorites:"

• Reaching the bottom of the snack bowl
• Being told "no" when trying to pull up on guitars, fireplaces, table runners and toilets (eew!)
• Staying still for diaper changes and getting dressed

Lastly, I haven't posted a schedule in a while and I'd like to document it for future reference. So, below is what our routine has been like for the better part of 8-10 months. The only changes this month is the one dropped feeding, and a bit of a shorter morning nap.We're currently on week 3 of the dropped feeding and Evan is doing great!

7am-Rise and shine, nurse, breakfast and playtime until...
9am-10:30/11 am-Morning nap
11am-Nurse, playtime and errands
12 noon-Lunch, usually with daddy! Then playtime until...
2-4pm-Afternoon nap
4pm-Nurse and playtime, afternoon walk around the neighborhood(*first dropped feeding)
5:30-6ish-Dinner and family time, one last feeding of the day, bathtime and...
7:30pm-Story and bedtime!

7-and a half- Month Summary

Okay so I'm a little late w/ this 7 month update-I plead December! To start, I frequently turn to the "Babywise mom" blog for helpful hints and references for this or that. I especially find her "baby summary's" by week tab helpful, so here goes Evan's 7 month update in the same manner. I am really loving this age!

Nursing
Over the past month we shifted to a 4 hour schedule and he is now down to nursing 4x/day. Thankfully, the transition was smooth as butter so I know he was good and ready. After much deliberation, I decided to drop the dream feed cold turkey and it went surprisingly well. The next night was a repeat success, and so on...praise God!

Solids and finger foods
Evan is now eating stage 1 & 2 solids for breakfast, lunch and dinner, and enjoying his share of Gerber "puffs" for snacks throughout the day. He isn't into self feeding as much yet as he still has the fist thing going on and hasn't yet found his pincer skills-but with his appetite and determination, I'm sure it's just around the corner! We also started his sippy cup(water) at 6 months, and have almost got that down save the head tilting part. He also likes to play with his food, often putting his fingers in his mouth, sucking down every last drop that fell on his bib, and banging his sippy cup like a drum. Mealtime manners-it's a work in progress!

Sleeping & naps
Nothing too new here, he still sleeps like a dream through the night and takes his naps by the clock. He is still taking that third nap, and we've been yo yo-ing between taking/dropping it these past few weeks. I think I've finally decided to let go and give it another week or two since he obviously still needs it, and then get to work phasing it out as our schedule permits.

Eczema
At around 3-4 months it became apparent that Evan's skin was getting increasingly irritated, dry and red. Like father like son, Evan has classic childhood eczema. While it's fairly common(occurring in 1 in 5 infants), the odds are all but multiplied when genetic. It ebbs and flows with the weather and what I suspect to be food allergies of some kind-fall was wonderful but this cold, dry wintery season is no fun!
Because there is no real cure, all we can do is moisturize, moisturize and moisturize, and treat symptoms as they arise. We are currently treating his flares w/ hydro cortisone, but all that really does is mask the physical symptoms(aka redness) so the best thing I've found is to be diligently pro-active and avoid the known triggers. What this means to our daily living is being careful w/ his clothing(cotton) and diapers, using "free" detergents, and being selective with our soaps and bathing routines. We use a humidifier in his room to keep moisture in the air, and also lotion him up at least 2x a day using Aquaphor or Eucerin cream. I'm praying this is something that he will grow out of with age, but if not, that's okay-there are much worse things out there than dry skin and I'm so thankful for my healthy boy! Babywise mom also has a great post on eczema-check it out here for more information.

Milestones
Crawling? Almost but not yet. Currently, his favorite mode de transoportaion is rolling.

The other thing that stands out to me from last month is his new vocabulary. He is a chatterbox when he wakes up in the morning! It started w/ the "Baaa's" and then the  "Dadadadaaas" and recently, Maaaamaamaama." I'm not sure he's quite connecting the words w/ their meanings yet, but I can dream! On a related note, he's also become increasingly attentive to his "baby Einstein" dvds and favorite books; it's so fun to see the little wheels turning behind his eyes as he continues to learn new things everyday.

Finally, our schedule:
7am-Wake up, nurse
7:30-Breakfast, usually rice cereal w/ Apple, then playtime
9am-Nap
10:30-Wake up, nurse, playtime and errands
12:00-Lunch, usually a veggie
1pm-Nap
2:45-Wake up, nurse, playtime
5:30ish-Family dinner(veggie + fruit)
6-6:45-Short nap, then nurse, playtime
7:30-Pj's, story, bedtime

Evan at 5 Months...Already?!!

 I can't believe my sweet baby boy is 5 months old today! Where did the time go? We are miles and miles away from the lovely, limp, always sleepy and wholly dependent newborn we took home from the hospital. Evan is such a big baby now-super alert, smiley, standing, sitting(almost) and gagagooing all the day long. He is so much fun! Just recently he's been grabbing out for everything within arms reach-including Piper! He is ticklish, very social and loves being around people-such a ham already!

Toys are becoming funner by the day now as he becomes more and more interactive with them. And true to the boy within, it's no surprise that balls are most captivating. Also captivating his attention like none other are the "Backyardigains." We don't watch too much tv, but he loves him some backyardigans. We like to sing songs dance around the living room with them-Pablo the penguin is his favorite. :-)

Lastly, while Evan is a sweet & snuggly mommy's boy through and through, no one can make him laugh quite like Daddy. :-)

(Warning: The rest of this post is going to be terribly boring-I just wanted to write these details down for my personal reference and remembering.)

Our schedule at 5 months:
To sum it up, Evan is nursing every 3.5 hours, and takes two good naps a day with one shorter, less structured snooze towards the end of the day. The biggest change to our routine has been the addition of solids, which I've added at more traditional "breakfast, lunch & dinner" times-rice cereal at breakfast, a fruit at lunch and a veggie at dinner. The introduction of solid foods hasn't changed our nursing at all, but rather acted as an extra complement-a cherry on top if you will. :-) Evan just LOVES to eat, and is giddy even at the sight of his highchair. Here's what a typical day looks like...

7am-Rise and Shine!
7-7:30am-Nurse, topped off w/ a spoonfull of rice cereal
8am-Morning walk outside folllowed by playtime
9-10:30-Morning nap
10:30-Nurse
10:45-noon-Playtime, errands
12:00-A fruity jar of "Earths Best" organic baby food for lunch. Apples this week-pears next!
12:30-2pm: Afternoon nap
2pm-Nurse
2:30-4:30 Playtime
4:30-5:15ish Last little snooze of the day
5:30-Nurse
6ish-A veggie for dinner-so far Sweet Potatoes take the cake!
Then playtime(and bathtime) until...
7:30-Bedtime!

Of course work, church, and life in general often shake up the schedule a bit-and that's okay! Now that our routine is pretty well established, I can kindly welcome flexibility into our day...you know, as long as it doesn't interfere with naptime. ;-)

Happy 5 months little love of my life!

One, two, threeeee!

Evan turned the big 3 this past weekend-3 months that is. To capture the motions of these special moments, here is a snapshot of our life at this time. Hopefully, this will serve as a good point of reference for baby #2 down the line. :-) So consider yourslef warned-extra long, detailed, and all about baby post ahead! Ready?

Nursing:

Evan has had zero problem eating from day one, and continues to be a champion eater. In fact, I'm sure we'll be starting our solids on the 4 month end of the recommended 4-6mo spectrum just to keep up with his growing appetite. For the most part, he is eating much faster these days and usually falls into the "happy spitter" category(not to mention the "wow that's alot of spit up" category!). Thankfully, he has overcome his bottle anxiety and is now able to take a bottle(pumped milk) without a fuss. This has been a huge relief in my transition back to work part-time.

Nightime Sleeping:

It's no easy task training a little one the skill of sleep-but by golly I think we've done it..almost! I love the babywise schedule for a lot of reasons, and early sleeping through the night is probably at the top of the list. Currently, Evan goes down for bed between 7:30 and 8pm, and sleeps through until 7am. Whoo hooooo!! I'm still waking him up at 10pm to squeeze in that "dream feed," and will likely wean that one out over the next month or so. In any case, we are thankful to be well rested!

Naps:

Sleep is a science, and believe me I've logged a ton of hours in the lab over the past few months! Nightime sleep came easy, if not natural, to Evan. Naps on the other hand have been a more difficult beast to tame. Thankfully, naps have become worlds easier recently, probably due to his age and his growing ability to really sync into a schedule. We've come through the woods of waking up too early, wrestled with our waketime windows, and conquered the "45 minute intruder." After many prayers, and seeking the advice of google, good books and great mommy friends, I'm happy to report that I am now enjoying the harvest of my hard work-quality, consistent daytime naps! Nine times out of ten, Evan now goes down with with hardly a fuss, and is content to stay in his crib and suck his thumb if he wakes up early. He naps anywhere from 45 minutes(towards the end of the day) to an hour and a half (usually the first nap of the day). It's a day to day work in progress still, but I'm finally starting to feel like "I've got this" in the nap depot. Amen!

Milestones:

Smiling, reaching out and grabbing objects, cooing, eye contact, thumb sucking, terrific tummy times-check, check and check! Evan is an explosion of personality lately, and so much fun to watch! I love seeing him discover new things; he is one smart, silly kiddo! I swear I've heard him giggle several times now, but the jury is still out on that one. I've also noticed that he's become much more vocal lately, and more dynamic and even louder with his "babytalk." He's not quite rolled over yet, but I think that's right around the corner as he's mastered, and even prefers laying on his side. He is absolutely captivated by bright, moving colors and loves him some Praise baby and Backyardigans. Last but not least, he continues to be a big music & movement baby.

This and that:

Evan is a drool-a-sourous these days! I'm sure he's going to be an early teether at this rate...bib town here we come! In other news, I've noticed he is starting to bear more weight on his feet from time to time, and has spent more time being carried on my hip lately as he's gotten better with this head control. Speaking of head, Chris and I have both seen a slight change in his hair lately-it's turning into a much lighter brown, with shades of auburn(where did that come from?!). I may be an ounce biased, but I've gotta say he gets cuter and cuter everyday. :-)

Schedule summary, 15 wks:

7am Wake up to start the day, first feeding.

7:30-8:45 Waketime / playtime

8:45-10am Nap

10am Eat

10:30-11:45 Waketime / playtime...insert errands "here"

11:45-1pm Nap

1:00-1:30pm Eat

1:30-3pm Waketime/ playtime

3pm-4pm Nap

4-4:30pm Eat

4:30-6pm Waketime, playtime with Daddy!

6ish-7ish Last short snooze of the day

7pm Fifth/last feeding of the day

7:30-8pm Bedtime!

10pm Dreamfeed