He is going to keep me guessing!

This little boy of mine, I tell yah! :o)

If you have been reading my blog you will now that for a while now Dane has wanted to be a BIG boy and only feed himself....i couldn't get a spoon anywhere near his mouth without him shutting his lips tight. I had a nice chat with the ladies at daycare too because they were having the same issue. They even tried putting food on the end of a nuk to see if they could trick him (I knew that wouldn't work, Dane hasn't sucked on a nuk for who knows how long...I don't even know where any are in my house and didn't even know they still had one of his at daycare for him). So I asked if they would be able to try giving him table food since that is what I have been doing at home (I really thought I already had this talk with them last week, but maybe that was in my head?).

Wouldn't you know it, yesterday at daycare he ate a roll with a piece of cheese, and allowed them to feed him a jar of banana/strawberry/granola jar food, plus he had 10 yogurt bites all in one sitting. A couple of hours later he had a 6 ounce bottle of breast milk and another roll with a piece of cheese. He didn't nap ALL DAY at daycare, so naturally when i picked him up he slept from 12:30 - 2:30pm. He wasn't grumpy at all from not napping...the ladies said that when babies are going through growth spurts they tend to not sleep as much and eat a whole lot....GREAT! I have all this 9 months clothes that is brand spankin' new that he isn't going to get to be able to wear too much longer!! Thank goodness cousin Jamie gave me a HUGE bag of her son's clothes that will fit Dane just at the right times! I don't think I need to buy Dane clothes now till summer! Woo Hoo!!

Anyway, come dinner time last night he was still so hungry even though I gave him some cheerios and a biter biscuit as a snack. (I cannot confirm or deny if Chai actually is the one that ate the biter biscuit though). For dinner I fed him 1/2 a chicken nugget, 2 jars of baby food (he would actually let ME feed HIM this time!) and 1/2 a nutrigrain bar (thanks for the suggestion Stephanie! he LOVES nutrigrain bars!!)

He ate so much that he was in a food coma during bath time. It was too cute. He kinda just sat in the tub and was like "ahhhhhh, this is the life!" With his chubby tummy rolls sticking out, the only thing he was missing was a beer in his hand!

I have to admit though, I really do miss the infant breast milk poops....all this food makes for some interesting (and smelly) diapers!! It is easier to clean up, but boy does it stink!!

*****
Dane got up on all fours again last night!! This time he took a "step" or two and then just kinda stopped and decided rolling to his destination was way easier. Soon!!

*****
Monkey has learned to "click" with his tongue and the roof of his mouth! It's so funny - I did video tape it with my phone, so it's not so good a video. I also held the phone sideways so the video is now sideways (oopsies). Either I am going to have I.T. (a.k.a. Darren) fix it, or I am just going to re-record him clicking using our real video camera. He does it all the time so I am sure to catch him on video....Funny!!

One day at a time....

If there is anything I learned since being a parent, it's that you have to take everything one day at a time!

My monkey just now for lunch ate 1/4 a kosher turkey hot dog, 10 cheese puffs, and a JAR OF BABY FOOD! I couldn't believe he went for it! He of course had to hold the spoon and "feed himself", but I guess he got tired of doing that and decided it was easier just to open his mouth. I am so happy!! He started off putting the hot dog pieces in his mouth with his hands, and then i put a piece on the spoon and he would guide the spoon in his mouth....since he was doing that i decided to try putting baby food on the spoon and viola!! (isn't it funny how just a couple of weeks ago I was so upset that it was time to start feeding him food other than breast milk, and not i get upset when he doesn't eat?!?!) Ha!

He is now in his pack and play having a conversation with his bowl of cheerios and sippy cup....it's quite comical!

****

I know I've said this before, but i really do believe his is going to start crawling any day. Yesterday he got up on all fours and was rocking back and forth. I started going "GO DANE! YOU CAN DO IT!" and he kinda looked at me and toppled over...oops....I must have broken his concentration....ha! He still rolls everywhere and I will find him in the most peculiar of positions sometimes. The house is almost baby proof thank goodness!! When he sits he scoots his hiney forward and gets around that way too....whatever works I suppose!

****

We had a wonderful New Years! Some friends came over with their little boy and we played the wii and had a smorgasbord of food and drinks. Dane was a champ, he took a late nap from 5:00pm - 7:30pm, was up till about 9:00pm then stayed asleep till about 2:30am!! I was surprised I was able to stay awake till after midnight...I sure was paying for it the next day too (or it could have been all that wine and champagne I drank....ugh, champagne...that really kicks your butt!). Dane went back to sleep from 2:30am till about 6:00am....Luckily Darren was up and he let me sleep in while he watched Dane....He's such a great dad and husband!!

Vroom!! Vroom!!

Dane's Great Uncle Larry taught him how to drive a car....enjoy!!

I can DO IT MYSELF mom!!!

OK, so I thought I cracked the code on getting this child of mine to eat. I just don't understand, he was doing so well for such a long time eating baby food three times a day and then all of a sudden he decided to not eat! I thought that we were all good when Darren heated up his cereal and Dane ate it like a champ (The "Its Miller Time" post), but that was a one time thing I suppose.

Now, Dane will eat - only if he feeds himself!! If I put food on his plate, he will feed himself. But if I try and put the food in his mouth - he wont eat it! I guess this is a good sign!! We are going to start just giving him pieces of whatever we are eating. We went out and bought frozen peas, carrots, and other veggies that will get nice and soft when we boil them for him to eat. He also ate some banana and apples this morning. He still loves his puffs and biter biscuits - he feeds himself those of course.

I gave it one last shot this morning and tried to feed him some apple/chicken baby food - and he grabbed the spoon and fed himself! I put more food on the spoon and he did the same thing. It's pretty messy, so I am going to have to remember to take his clothes off before he eats, but sheesh!! What a big boy he has become!!

Other than fruits and veggies, pasta, and hot dogs (turkey, kosher - not the gross kind) does anyone have any other suggestions for finger foods for him? any thing to stay away from?

It's Miller Time!

And no, I don't mean the beer.....hold on to your hats because this story is a doozy!!

To begin this tale, I will inform you that Darren's mom's maiden name is Miller. It seems that all the Millers (and descendants of Millers) like to eat their food right out of oven. Or better yet, if they could eat it while it is still in the oven they'd be happy! I had dinner at his moms house one time and the food was taken right off the stove and put on plates and the Millers were actually eating it right away! I had to wait like 10 minutes before I could dig in! Long story short - Millers like their food hot.....

Well, according to Darren, I like my food cold. (it's not cold, just a little warmer than room temperature and not hot enough to burn my mouth...a.k.a. normal temperature that food should be eaten at...hee hee) He would always comment (err....complain) that when we would eat at my families house, the food would be sitting on the table - steam and precious heat leaving the food - while we all got situated.

Well, the reason I've painted this picture thus far is because for the past two weeks or so I could not get Dane to eat solid food to save my life. I thought he just wanted to nurse more because he was teething or had an ear infection. I'd sit him at the table and get so frustrated with him (not outwardly of course) because he would tighten his mouth up so much that I could not squeeze the spoon in....Since he wasn't eating solids, he was getting up at night because of hunger.. Not this again! I thought we were out of the whole "getting up a couple times a night" routine....but, yet again I attributed it to teething or his ear infection.

Last night I had Darren try feeding him (Dad's always seem to have luck with stuff like this - doesn't seem fair...ha!) and he wouldn't eat for him either (I thought "yeah, it's NOT me!")...so Darren asked if I would just heat up the cereal/pears/blueberries for sh^&t's and giggles.

Wouldn't you know it, the little bugger ate it all up? We had to keep reheating it because it would get cold and he would tighten his lips up - but seriously?!? that's all it was!?!?

He has become his fathers son all right....a picky eater and his food has to be hot!!!

Dane's first snowball!!

I just wanted to share some pictures of Dane eating his first snowball. We are snowed in today and will not be able to see family :o( It has stopped snowing finally (we have about two feet of snow on the ground) but the roads are still un-driveable unless you have 4 wheel drive, and even then it's dangerous. To top it off, once the sun goes down all the roads are going to freeze over and becoming a icy mess....SO - thank goodness we had a back up plan! We have a turkey in the oven and Darren is cooking till his heart is content!! I am enjoying the day - cleaning up a bit here and there and relaxing. I think I have done about 12 loads of laundry....now I have to put it away which is the worst part! I am glad Darren picked up some Captain Morgan and Ginger Ale!! +slosh slosh+

Let it Snow!!!!

I know everyone wishes for a white Christmas....well lucky us! We get it to the extreme! We already have about a foot or so (see pic) and they are expecting at least another foot or so tonight! It is supposed to snow an inch an hour.

I went out earlier today because we ran out of wrapping paper (go figure....all the toys and clothes I bought Dane!) and all the roads and parking lots were clear and fine....but as soon as i got into my neighborhood KAPLOW!! They didn't plow yet, so i couldn't get home!! There is a slight incline...and i mean a slight slight slight incline to get onto my street and i couldn't make it up! I thought I could back up and get a "running start"...nope, didn't work. So i tried to get into the neighborhood and different way and ended up getting stuck. Luckily Dane wasn't with me because I had to walk home! Darren then came out (while i stayed back with Dane) and shoveled my car out. Go Darren!

Hopefully we are able to go to Uncle Larry's for dinner and drinks tomorrow! If not, we bought and turkey and fixings just in case we are snowed in....

I hope everyone is safe this holiday if you have to travel anywhere!!

His first one (and hopefully his last)

Dane has had a cough going on two weeks. :( I decided (with much persuasion from Darren - thank goodness) to take him in to the doctor. I thought he was just coughing from a couple different things 1. teething 2. it's really dry everywhere 3. he sometimes does it to get my attention. Boy am i glad i took him in!

There weren't any appointments available, but the doctors office i take him to has this program called Ready Care. If you don't have an appointment - you sign in and it's first come first serve. They have doctors that are staffed just for Ready Care patients, so the wait isn't too long (I think i waited about 30 minutes). It's nice and its one of the reasons we went with this pediatricians office. They have Ready Care hours on the weekends too - which is a major plus.

Anyway, I took him in and the doctor said his lungs are clear (no bronchitis - yay!) but he has an ear infection in his right ear. I was surprised! He hasn't been pulling at his ears or giving me any signs that he was in pain. She said his ear drum was really red and pussy - so she prescribed him amoxicillin. I know that medicine all too well. I think I spent most of my childhood with an ear ache. I remember one Xmas i had an earache in both ears and i just cried all day - it hurt so bad. I hear (no pun intended) it's genetic, so i am just crossing my fingers, eyes, and toes that he has Darren's ear genes. At least he likes the taste of the amoxicillin (bubble gum) and drinks it right down!!

Little man had some more meat for dinner the other night! He really likes ham. I rip a few pieces off of what i was eating and put it on the tray of his high chair. He can pick it up and put it in his mouth all by himself! I even gave him a couple of green beans, but he didn't like them so much (he doesn't like anything green) He also loves feeding himself his cheese puffs. Lately he grabs the spoon too and guides the spoon full of food into his mouth. I'll let him think he is feeding himself as long as he wants! What a big boy he is.....ugh..... he is growing up so fast! I still cant believe he is 7 months old already!

He now weighs 20lbs! He gained almost two pounds since his 6 month checkup - that seems like an awful lot, but he has been eating solids now consistently for a month so i attribute it to that. Ugh! What a big boy!!! He is almost growing out of his 9 month clothes as well. After the holidays I am heading to Kohl's to stock up on clothing! I need to get him 12 months stuff already - yowza! I just packed up all his 6 month stuff! Thank goodness they have such good deals at Kohl's and it seems every time I go there everything is 50% off!!

We are so excited to celebrate his first Xmas! I bought him so much stuff - and I am sure he is going to have more fun with the wrapping paper and bows than what's inside! Hah! I will be sure to take lots of pics!

I hope everyone has a safe and happy holiday!

No wonder Chai is overweight!

Sorry it's been so long since my last post, I've been uber busy!

Dane is doing so well, he is still rolling around everywhere and every once and a while gets his legs in the position to crawl - and he will jut forward and then start rolling again - any day now he will be a crawling machine!! He also has two top teeth coming in (poor guy, I can tell they are more painful than his bottom teeth were). He has been sleeping through the night like a champ - most nights he doesn't wake up at all from 7:00pm - 6:00am and other nights he only wakes up once at around midnight. I definitely feel like a new woman with all this sleep I am getting, plus I am reading again since I am confident that I can go to bed later than Dane and know that I will still get enough sleep! I have read three books in the past month YAHOO!! I love reading, can you tell?

My monkey is eating solids like a champ too. He loves his yogurt bites and his cheese curls (they look like actual cheese curls but are for baby's and don't turn your fingers orange). He is eating solids three times a day and nursing 5-6 times a day. At each solid food feeding he gets a jar of either fruits or veggies mixed with oatmeal (banana flavored oatmeal is his favorite - come to think of it, anything banana tastes good). This weekend I am going to pick up some baby food that has meat in it. We did give him some ham from dinner the other night and HE LOVED IT! If we have something from our dinner plate that I can share - we do and of course Dane loves trying new things.

He has learned that if he drops some puffs on the floor then Chai will happily clean up after him!! He thinks this is hilarious - I did too at first until I realized he was doing it on purpose!! I have to keep Chai in the other room when I feed him now or she will gain even more weight!! While it's nice that she cleans up for me, I don't think its healthy for her to eat all this food....she is a little chubby!!

I have attached some pictures of this blessed event to share - enjoy!

Sunny Side UP

Ever since Dane has been able to roll over he sleeps on his tummy.....well, the past couple of nights he not only sleeps on his tummy - but his cute little hiney is sticking straight up in the air!! The pics are a little dark because I took them with my cell phone (no flash) but hopefully you can see!

Sunny side up!!

Poor guy, he is

growing so fast I didn't remember that i needed

to update the clothing he

has at daycare.

He spit up on his pants last week and they wanted to change his pants, and the only pair in his drawer were these tan 6 month pants...poor guy - they were so tight on him and his hiney was sticking out! It would have been better just to wipe the spit up off his pants, but whatever!! It was a great photo-op!

He is doing so great at daycare and at home!! He is just a happy kid!! He LOVES Cora....he smiles and laughs every time she is in the room and in petting distance.

We will be getting our tree this

weekend and taking some holiday pictures - so everyone can stop bugging me to send out photo's!! Hee hee, just kidding...I know that it's now my duty to make sure I send out pictures of Dane... :o)