You Give Me Fever

Another week and I'm still having issues with Photobucket not resizing my images. *sigh* Wish that I had actual time to look into it but alas, I just keep on truckin' and it's more camera phone pictures. They aren't that bad, right? (don't answer that).


Sick snuggly baby

So, we had a bit of drama a week ago today when I spent the night in the ER with Baby D. He had been running a high fever all week, lethargic and was denying food and drink. Didn't expect that when I took him to his appointment at 8pm that I'd be rolling out of the emergency room at 6am but that's exactly what happened.

Fortunately all is well now. The doctors withdrew blood (low white cell count was their only concern), put in two bags of fluid via IV, took stomach x-rays and there was much crying (from him, not me. Though it's very hard to see your baby in pain, that's for sure). After much poking and prodding, we schlepped home completely exhausted and napped all day.


Rash face

It really does take a few days to recover from that kind of thing (for both of us!). He broke out in a rash over the weekend and I realized that he must have had roseola, same as his older brother around the same age.

But all is well now. He's back to eating everything in sight and has slept through the night all week. Yay!!

My husband has been slightly obsessed with quiche, of all things. We went to a party a few weeks ago and despite weather hovering near 100 degrees, he wanted to bake a quiche. I've never made a quich in my life, but I found this quick and easy recipe online and he said it was delicious.


Mexican style quiche with sweet peppers, ham, cilantro and tomatoes

I baked him one last night on a whim because we had all the ingredients. I don't like eggs so quiche isn't my thing but it did look pretty with the sliced tomatoes and cracked black pepper on top. Danny said it was good too. Too bad the rest of us don't really like quiche because they are pretty easy to make and once you get the hang of the balance of eggs/milk/cheese/extras you can throw whatever combination you want in there. I think I'll have to try one with asparagus next time.

Seriously, does anyone else have big kids that insist on riding in the shopping cart? I told him this was the LAST TIME EVER and we took a picture to capture the moment so that he'll never feel compelled to climb in there again!

So embarrassing, pushing a 4'3" kid around in the cart!



Nothing new on the homebuying front. We are working with a broker on financing so it's going to be another month before we hear more on that issue. But it's not stopping us from looking at what is available online (Zillow and Ziprealty) and I've been Pinteresting furnishings for our future dream home!

Source: potterybarn.com via Julie on Pinterest

Love the mid-century modern style of the chair

Source: room-galleries.myhomeideas.com via Julie on Pinterest

I imagine lots of lovely chats in this gorgeous outdoor space

Not that we'll likely be able to afford to actually newly furnish this place once we get into it, but a gal can dream. That's what Pinterest is for, right?

And at the very least, how great will it be to have some color on the walls?

Source: houzz.com via Jolanthe on Pinterest

8 months - On the Move!

Sorry for the delay...my camera battery charger is MIA and I was hoping to upload more pictures for my next blog post but, *sigh* still trying to find the charger so you get what you get...

Today I am 8 months and 9 days old.



I'm a pretty busy guy, you know, crawling, pulling up, playing Pat-a-Cake, eating table food...who has time for a nap?

Now that I know how to crawl, I keep busy by getting into places that I don't know how to get out of by myself. At home, I like to hang out by the staircase because it makes Mommy very nervous (I even got to the second step when Daddy was in the other room!). I like to get into the bathroom too and sometimes I try to open the sliding pocket door when people are inside. They love that one, I always get a big reaction!

I pull myself up on anything I can reach, you know, the coffee table, the edge of the staircase, laundry baskets, Mom's legs...



I like to put everything in my mouth, especially the edge of this ottoman. It's perfect for gnawing on since I'm trying to work out my upper teeth. It's a bummer just having the bottom two because I'm drooling like a crazy man and these bibs they put on me every hour sometimes clash with my outfits, sheesh.



When I'm at Grandma & Grandpa's house, they put me in the walker outside and I get to push myself around on the grass. I'm just too busy having fun to take a nap and sometimes I only sleep ten minutes before I'm ready to get up and start it all again!



I am getting better at picking up my puff snacks off the highchair tray, though sometimes I still get one in my fist and don't know how to get it into my mouth. I started eating Cheerios last week, they are so yummy! And yogurt melts, seriously...don't get me started!

I like to yell at Mom & Dad when they aren't fast enough with the next spoonful of chicken pasta and peas. And don't even try to give me that smooth puree stuff, I will just cry because I want texture!



Yeah, Itsy-Bitsy-Spider is my favorite song and I'll do the hand movements sometimes when I want you to sing it with me. I learned to clap last week, which makes Pat-a-Cake so much easier! But pretty much any song you sing to me will put a smile on my face. I even like to sing along with a "la-la-la".

I don't really do too much other talking though, right now shouting is my vocal of choice. Once in a while I'll say "mama" when I'm crabby and I need her attention and I said, "ba" when Mommy was giving me a bath. Other than that, I'm a great mimic and will imitate you if you blow rasperries, cough or sneeze. Sneezing is the best, I love that one!

Bath time is my favorite part of the day. Mommy puts me in the tub and I splash all the water out onto the floor... and all over Mommy! I don't even mind when she pours the water over my head, in fact I like it.



Yeah, I'm a pretty smart cookie.

Hey, speaking of cookies...do you have one to share?

7 months

Technically I'm jumping the gun a bit here as he won't be seven months old until Monday but I have these sweet photos to share and Baby D deserves an update because a lot has been developing in the last few weeks.

As you can see, he's sitting up unsupported by himself for long periods of time. He still occasionally does the "weeble-wobble" thing and tips himself over but he just rolls over and scoots around. He's actually pretty close to being able to move from a push up position into a seated position.



Just yesterday he started really crawling on his hands and knees completely. He's deliberate, with big dinosaur-like hand movements and it's adorable to watch! He moved about 3 feet with his tummy completely off the ground.

And while Danny and I were chatting in the kitchen he crawled around our armchair and destroyed a page out of my new Martha Stewart Living...but I think he had a good time doing it!



He's definitely got a good appetite and rubs his lips together, fusses and says, "Mmmmm" anytime anyone is eating and not sharing with him! He's eating a good amount of puree every night now and I'm giving him soft bits (like smushed peas) to chew in his gums. I have some baby rice crackers that I break up and give him too but he doesn't have the pincher grasp yet so he doesn't know how to pick up the pieces. Good for not eating carpet lint, not so good when I'm trying to get him to feed himself!



He has started giving hugs too, but only to me. When I pick him up after a long day apart from each other, he will bury his head in my neck, scrunch up his little body and say, "Ahhhh!"
Totally heart melting!

Disney Baby - Photo contest

There is a baby photo contest on the Disney Baby website.

Babies have the chance to win $10K towards a college education as well as some other fun and unique prizes (like helping to open a new Disney store in LA, a "crawl on" TV role and a photo shoot for a Disney Baby print ad). You can enter pictures as often as you like and one is chosen each week by judges to win Disney Baby gear and to be a finalist for the grand prize.

I couldn't resist entering my little lump of love! I have this photo of Baby D entered (as well as a great many others, I couldn't resist!). This is my newest favorite picture of him, I love his sweet little expression! Even if you aren't chosen by the judges, the Fan Favorite (the photo with the most votes) wins a dream vacation!



Please put in a vote for Baby D, if you get a chance! You can vote once per day.

6 months old

This Friday,  he'll be 6 months old.


A half of a year has gone by...already?!

I know everyone say it but seriously, time really does fly.


So what has our little half-year old baby boy been up to?

He's sitting up alone but still needs to have someone right behind him with hands ready to prevent him from toppling over. This happens too often still for me to say he's sitting up well by himself.

He is however pressing up on his tummy extremely well. He has started tucking his toes under and pressing into a push-up position and over the weekend started popping his knees up so he's completely on all fours. He tries moving one knee forward but doesn't have the coordination or strength to move his hands too so he'll stay on his knees for a few minutes before lunging and flopping down forward. Looks like we'll have a crawler very soon!


We haven't introduced any new foods in a few weeks. Not because Baby D isn't ready, it's just that we've not gone to the grocery lately! I do have a bag of frozen organic peas, so I'll need to get those out and processed in the Baby Bullet for him to try. Some days he's not really in the mood to eat solids at all and other days he'll have two servings, so we just play it by ear.

Since the two teeth broke through last week, getting him to bed at a decent time has been much better. He's falling asleep quickly again and not getting upset when I lay him down. He's still sleeping through the night which is great...I thank my lucky stars that he's such a good sleeper!


I picked up a few baby books at The Boy's school book fair last week. Instead of pulling out all the books at once, I'm just going to show him one of them until he gets bored with it and then we'll rotate them. First up is a Curious George book which he is absolutely loving. I think it's the bright yellow pages, the red lettering and of course, adorable little George's smiling face! Baby D has already chewed the edges so they are dog-eared. It's very cute to watch him hold the book and talk to the pages.


This kid has been showing off his temper lately too. He really hates the car ride from Grandma's house to our house. Fortunately it's only about 7 minutes long but the screaming is enough to drive you insane. It's so hard to hear him cry and not really be able to do anything about it but shush him and rub his little head. I think it's the stop and start at every red light that does it, because whenever we hit the freeway he falls asleep.

We haven't been able to get him to say any words yet but we do repeat words for him and he watches our mouths and moves his lips. He coos and "talks" but nothing with actual words yet. He can certainly blow raspberries like nobodies business though! He's still a drooling machine, working his way through a bib an hour. I was hoping the drool would taper off with the appearance of the teeth, but he's still a very juicy little boy (as these photos of him with a shiny chin prove!).


We are enjoying all the little moments along with the big events. How sweet you look curled up on your side at night, wearing those white footed pajamas. How excited you get when we slip you into the bathtub and you kick your legs and splash water all over. How, when I wake you in the morning, you can't even open your eyes yet, but you still smile so big when you hear my voice.


Can't wait to see what the second half of the year brings us. We love you Baby D!

Tiny Guy

According to the pediatrician, I have a "tiny little guy". He's 16 weeks old and weighs 12lbs 13 oz, which is in the 25th percentile.

The pediatrician is not concerned, he's following the curves and is a healthy & happy guy (despite spitting up in large quantities after every meal!).



He was not fond of my red-eye double-flash on the camera.



He showed us what we fondly refer to as "crazy eye". It's the same look his dad gives me when he's excited and talking animatedly.



Note the big wet circle on his shirt. He's drooling like crazy and I usually have a bib around his neck.

Big Brother has been so helpful with Baby D, including entertaining during tummy time and he even asked if he could change a diaper today. I let him...thank goodness he didn't get squirted or that might have been the last diaper he requested to change!

Similarities

Other than be shuttled in his car seat from house to car to church to grandma's, Baby D hasn't really had many outings. After our day in Julian when the poor baby couldn't really open his eyes because the sun was so bright, I picked up a pair of teeny-tiny sunglasses at Target.

Aren't they adorable? And the baby too, of course...


Baby D, not terribly pleased with his new shades


Baby D and Daddy

From the start, I could really see a resemblence between Baby D and my husband. In particular, the mouth. They both have very full lips. And a small cleft in the chin. The flare on the nostrils. And their expressions...it's funny when Danny is holding Dillon and they are both looking at me with the same expression! Now that Baby D is filling out, other people have commented on how similar they look to each other.



However, I have seen my husband's baby pictures and oddly enough, Baby D doesn't really look anything like Danny when he was a baby. He looks like Danny does now, as an adult. Isn't that interesting?


Poor kid, squinting in the sun!

Not sure if the blue eyes are going to stay but they have been getting lighter and more blue. There is not a hint of any brown or green in them. I was doubtful that we'd have a blue-eyed child but there he is, as of this moment. My eyes are brown & my husband's are hazel. Both of our mother's have brown eyes. My husband's father has blue eyes, my father has hazel. A few of my grandparents had blue eyes.



And The Girl has blue eyes, too. Makes me wonder if Baby D is going to inherit her freckles!



The funniest thing I've heard though is how people say that Baby D looks "just like his brother". I don't get that at all ! Baby D has blue, almond-shaped eyes and very fair skin and The Boy has enormous, round, chocolate-brown eyes and a tan complexion. They have similar ears and cheeks, maybe...but that's about it!



I don't see the comparison, except maybe in their expressions?


My boys, both 3 months old

Baby D's eye shape is all mine though. We both have almond-shaped eyes and one (our right eye) is slightly "winkier" than the other. You can see it when we smile *wink*



He's already changed so much in the first 3 months, I can't wait to see what he'll look like on his first birthday. At the very least, he should have a bit more hair...

Suck it up

The day that we drove home from the hospital with The Boy, I recall stopping at Walgreens and I ran inside to buy pacifiers. We didn't have any at home and listening to him cry during the half-hour ride home was too much to bear...we needed pacifers, why had I not thought of that earlier?!

Over the course of a few months, and then a few years (and then, discouragingly, a few MORE years...), The Boy developed a certain affection for his "Nukky". He had multiples, wasn't attached to any certain brand and would accept any old paci. He wasn't particular, he just had to have one!

I recall night after night when he was a baby. He'd wake up crying and wanting his pacifer but was too little to put in back in himself. I'd be up over and over again all night long putting that darned thing back in. He just had a hard time falling asleep without it and would not settle down until he had it. When you are exhausted, you are pretty much a slave to anything that works and gets you a bit more sleep and we were slaves to the pacifer.


Cuddling with Grandpa

I didn't expect him to have the pacifer for too long and once he was talking, there was much discussion about when the pacifer would be going away. I was all for cold turkey, but my parents (who watched him during the day), not so much. We only allowed Nukky when he was sleeping or snuggling (not during play or TV), so of course, he wanted to cuddle all the time! And the ear rub would accompany pacifier sucking, he always had to be rubbing someone's ear.

I'd tried many times to get rid of Nukky, including whittling down the collection to just a few. We had a talk about how when he was ready, the "Nukky-Fairy" would come down to his room, take the pacifers and replace them with a present. He was intrigued by the thought of getting Legos for his pacifer, but he'd say over and over again, "Nope, not ready!"

The summer before he went to kindergarten he said to me one day out of the blue, "I don't need this, I want to give it to the Nukky-Fairy". Could have knocked me over with a feather, it really did come out of nowhere. The next morning when The Boy woke up, the Nukky was replaced with a new box of Legos. His last pacifer went into his keepsake box.

The next week my mom told me that she and he were cleaning his room and found a pacifer tucked away. She said she got nervous for a moment, that maybe he'd get excited and pop it in his mouth and then we'd be back to square one again! However, he just laughed and said, "Looks like the Nukky-Fairy forgot one!" and he threw it in the trash! Whew! After all the conflict and struggle, I guess he just wasn't ready until HE was ready.

Before Baby D was born, I made sure to pick up some pacifers. I bought a few in different brands because I wasn't sure which he'd prefer. However Baby D has only one pacifier that he will use. The others, well...if I try and put one in his mouth, he acts like he's choking and gags the thing out quickly!



Fortunately he doesn't seem to have the same adoration for pacifiers that his brother had. Yeah, he'll use it when he's sleepy for a little while, but once he falls asleep and the pacifer falls out, he's just fine and keeps sleeping on his own. I'm pretty sure Baby D won't have his pacifer until he's 5, please, oh please! I won't let that happen again!


Baby D with the only pacifier he will use

Apple Pie A' La Snow

This weekend we took a drive into the mountains, something we do every few months.



We have the same routine:
Park, walk up one side of the street, walk back down the other, stop at the candy shop for samples and a treat, stop at the pie shop and buy one to take home, visit the volunteer fire department, walk back to the car and drive home.

Nothing fancy, but we love the fresh air, the mountain views, and the lovely drive.

The last time we were there was in July and I was pregnant, so this was our first trip up with Baby D.



This time there was a chance there might be snow! I wasn't terribly excited about going up this weekend because I knew that it had snowed earlier in the week and I figured Julian was going to be crowded. Now for us native San Diegans, snow is a novelty and after a snow storm, the mountains are generally packed with people in search of the cold stuff.

Fortunately for me, most of the snow was gone and piled in dirty heaps at the corners for the streets so it wasn't terribly crowded. Unfortunately the kids had visions of themselves making snow angels and that just wasn't going to happen!

They had a good time nonetheless.

They picked out gummy sharks and lollipops as a treat in the candy shop.



The firefighters were training new volunteers so we stopped to watch as they practiced folding the hose "just so" back into the truck. Before I know it, one of the firefighters had scooped up the kids and put them in the engine where they were able to press buttons and turn on the lights, what a thrill!







Baby D spent the entire time in a carrier on Daddy's chest, quite happy and warm. People kept stopping on the street to coo at him and we even saw a man slow his car down and point out Baby D to his wife, who smiled and waved at him!

Seriously, any baby in a warm snuggly suit with ears on the hood is pretty hard to resist!


Check out those cheeks!



The line outside our favorite pie shop was 50 people deep! We opted for picking a pie up on our way out of town. Fortunately the pie shop has an annex a few miles out so we only had to wait a few minutes. By the time the sun went down we were home, eating apple crumb pie a' la mode!

If you have a chance this week, please follow this link to vote for Baby D's photo in Parent Magazine's online Most Adorable Kid Contest, I would much appreciate it! You can vote one time every day.