nom nom nom

Today Kyle got his first taste of rice cereal. He was a pro! He ate it up like he's been doing this his whole life. He loved it and gobbled every bite, then wanted to play with the spoon forever and ever. I can't wait to give him veggies in a couple weeks! Eating is fun!

ruff ruff!

Today, Kyle decided that my "bark" was the funniest thing he's ever heard :)

tight jeans & converse

Here are some pics from Kyle's 6 month photo shoot at JC Penny's. I bought a Groupon - $25 for 3 pics on a CD and 3 print outs. That's a pretty smokin deal, so I thought I'd try them out since I was really disappointed with his 3 month studio pics from Target. I'm pretty happy with these 3 shots I chose for the disc, but I think like any mom that the pictures don't capture Kyle's personality as much as they could have...

I feel bad because these jeans (size 6 months), were so tight I could barely snap them and it made sitting up a challenge. But Grandma Suz bought them before he was born, he hadn't worn them yet and I thought they looked so cute with his baby Converse! Too bad he only got to wear them for the 15 minutes it took to take these pictures. I hate how often that's happened - something sits in his closet until it's too late! I need to go through his clothes like once a week!

6 month check up

Yesterday was Kyle's 6 month check up! He weighs a healthy 19 lbs, 4 oz (75th percentile) and everything looks great! The doc recommended we start rice cereal this week, and then introduce green veggies in about 2-3 weeks. He also wants me to start giving him a little water, out of a bottle or sippy cup. We tried it when we got home, and the faces he was making were so funny. But after a few tries he drank a little bit. I think we'll try the sippy cup next time.

He also got another round of shots, which he took like a champ. He only cried out of irritation that they were holding his legs straight; the shots didn't even phase my tough guy. I'm so relieved he hasn't had a reaction to any of his shots so far... if anything, he is just really tired.

After his appointment we relaxed out front on our new outdoor blanket. I'm not sure how we survived the summer without one of these things! I got this one at Better Surf Than Sorry and it is huge and awesome - perfect for sitting on the grass (which we do at least twice a day!).

Kyle thought it was hilarious when I was shoo-ing away the ants that were trying to crawl on his head :)

light speed

Last night we met some family for dinner and Kyle tried out the restaurant high chair for the first time. I think he felt like a big boy sitting next to his cousin Jacob (they even held hands for a little bit) and playing with his toys. It was one of those moments that I just looked at my baby in awe of how big he is already, and showing no signs of slowing down... it's these little moments that make you realize how fast it all goes by. I woke up this morning wanting to soak in every minute I have with my 6-month-old little love.

feed me!

6 months old - check!

sister's baby bullet out of storage - check!

food storage containers - check!
super cute baby spoons - check!

watched "how to make baby food" videos on BabyCenter - check!

new Keekaroo high chair put together - check!

happy baby who has no idea what food tastes like - check!

Let's do this. Starting food after our 6 mo. check up this week and we can't wait.

How cute is this high chair?! I'm in love with it, even though it was a beyotch to put together. But I am proud to say I did it {mostly} by myself while Brian conquered 8,000 other home improvement projects this morning. It feels good to start with a bunch of parts and put together something so cool for my boy! We picked this high chair because it goes with the rest of our kitchen furniture & loved the cherry-colored infant seat, plus the chair grows along with the baby. It seems really cool and will hopefully last him many years.

6 months

Kyle, you are 6 months old!

You are the most adorable baby and I can't believe you're ours. At 6 months you:

• are sleeping in your crib at night and for naps! Lately you've been sleeping 8 pm - 8 am, waking up once to nurse around 3 or 4 am (a huge improvement from when we first moved you to your crib 2 weeks ago.) You nap 1-2 hours in the morning and afternoon.
• are sleeping on your tummy! This gave me anxiety at first, but you are big enough to roll over on your own, and choose to sleep on your tummy (or sometimes your side) every time.
• sit up like a champ! you have the best posture.
• roll over, and over, and over.
• use our fingers to pull yourself up and STAND! (with our help)
• grab onto every single thing in sight. You especially like napkins, mommy's hair and phone, and Penny's ears & legs (yikes!).
• say any one syllable word that starts with the letter "N" - na na na, ni ni ni, noo noo noo
• like to make silly noises, like fake coughs and low grunts.
• love the itsy bitsy spider.
• sit in your big boy stroller for walks.
• play with toys in the bath.
• are making nursing a little more challenging. You are easily distracted and like to grab onto mommy's boobs pretty hard... ouch!
• smile and laugh... all. the. time. It's the best.

Our 6-month check up is next week, and I can't wait to get his updated stats. We're also ready to start solids soon! Our new high chair should be delivered tomorrow, which I'm sure he is going to love. I'm excited to make his food and can't wait to get started. 6 months is so much fun!

where's Kyle?

In the past week, on 2 occasions I've woken up in the middle of the night frantically searching for Kyle. I jump out of bed, throw the covers down, look under the pillows... no Kyle. Then I start really freaking out - I start yelling at Brian "Don't move! Kyle might be under you!! I can't find him!"

Looking at me like I might be certifiably insane, Brian calmly tells me to look at the baby monitor - and I see Kyle, sleeping soundly in his crib. I kind of wake up, but not really, and get back in bed and fall right asleep.

I guess it's true that a mom is always worried about her baby, even in the deepest of sleep. The feeling I have when I "wake up" and can't find Kyle is pure panic. What's weird is that Kyle has never slept in bed with us; he was sleeping in our room up until last week, but he was always in his rock 'n play. I'm not sure what triggers these types of dreams and why I think he gets lost in our bed, but it's such a terrible feeling. I hope when I'm more used to Kyle sleeping in his own room that these nightmares go away.

i'm up! i'm up!

This is what I see now when I walk into Kyle's room after a nap (after watching him on the monitor roll from one side of the crib to the other):

I'm awake mom, and there's nothing you can do about it!

Oh, and here's another picture from today... just because ;)

finding his sea legs

facing out

Today Kyle, Penny and I took a stroll in the park in Kyle's big boy stroller! No infant carrier for this little man who sits up like a champ!

Of course he loved it, seeing the park from a whole new angle. I took advantage of his new love for the stroller and kept him strapped in while I folded all the laundry as he checked himself out in the mirror :)

(The stroller is Britax B-Agile, which we love. The infant carrier snaps right on top, or you can just use it as a normal stroller like we did today. The coolest part about it is that when the infant carrier is strapped in, the sun protector goes over his legs and makes a full barrier from the sun!)

crib struggles: farewell rock 'n play

We are in the thick of crib sleep training and it's brutal. A few nights ago I woke up in the middle of the night to find Kyle in his rock 'n play next to my bed, trying so hard to roll onto his side. Also, his feet were practically hanging off the edge. At that moment I knew my beloved rock 'n play needed to be retired for good. Kyle was ready for his big boy crib.

goodbye, sweet rock 'n play... I love you so...

Well, maybe "ready" isn't the correct term. Night 1 wasn't too bad - he made it 6 full hours without a peep, and then another few hours after that. But night 2 (last night) almost got the best of me. He slept 5 hours (9 pm - 2 am), but then was fussy and could not go back to sleep until almost 5 am! He would doze off, and then immediately wake himself up. Yes, you read that right: mommy was up from 2 -5 am with her fussy, tired boy.

I didn't think the transition would be so challenging, since he's been taking (generally) great naps in his crib for a few weeks now. He's learning how to put himself to sleep and seems pretty comfortable sleeping on his side. I had to let him cry it out the first few times we put him down for naps in his crib, but it only took a day or two for him to get the hang of it.

Silly mom. Of course it's a challenge. He's moving from right next to our bed, where he's slept every night for nearly 6 months now, into his own room and his own large space. Not to mention his favorite thing to do at night is to take his pacifier out of his mouth and then wave his hand around, at which time his paci will sometimes make it back in his mouth (YES!), sometimes fall out of his hand where he can reach (*hold your breath*), or sometimes get thrown out of the crib, practically across the room (NOOOOOO!).

I know I'll eventually need to take that thing away and teach him to fall asleep without it, but we're taking baby steps here. Fingers crossed that in the next week or so things will mellow out and he'll go back to his previously amazing sleep schedule, courtesy of the rock 'n play: 8:30 pm - 7:30 am, typically only waking up once around 4 or 5 to nurse. <---that is doable. This is not. so. tired...

Sweet boy.
(PS - at night I put him in a sleep sack. No blankets when I'm not keeping my eye on him!)

beach day

It's crazy how much we don't take advantage of living 15 minutes from the ocean. Every time I'm at the beach, I vow to visit more often. But there's always an excuse - we have to work, too much to do at home, or other activities take priority. And when Kyle was first born I needed to keep his fair skin out of the sun! (I still do, but feel a little more comfortable taking him out for short periods of time with a hat and doctor approved sunscreen.)

When I saw the sand sculpture contest happening in Long Beach this weekend, I thought it was the perfect opportunity to enjoy the sand and sun with the fam. Parking was $10, which was incentive enough to walk about a half a mile down the path and park for free. This ended up being my favorite part of the day! Taking a walk on the bike path is one of my favorite things to do. The sculptures were fun to look at, and it was just the reason we needed to make it down to see the ocean on a beautiful summer day.

concert in the park

Nothing says summertime like concert in the park! We were able to go twice this year, and really enjoyed ourselves. Last week an 80s cover band played, and we brought lots of friends and snacks. The perfect Thursday night!

my new fave picture!

cheese!

Just wanted to share some pics of Kyle (& me) from the past week... it's fun having a 5 month old cutie pie!

conquering naps

At 5 months and 1 week, we decided it was time to teach Kyle to nap in is crib. Prior to last week, this was our nap "routine" (if you could even call it that): wait until he was tired, rock/sway him to sleep, put him in the swing (or crib if we were feeling frisky), hold our breath, say a prayer and hope he stays asleep for a little while. Our success rate was not good and oftentimes I would just hold him so he could get a good nap in. I knew I was going about it all wrong, but just didn't have the heart or nerves to let him cry yet.

But last Friday, nothing was working. I was rocking him, bouncing him, swaying him, swaddled him... the boy would not go to sleep even though his eyes were rollin and it was obvious he NEEDED A NAP! So I decided at that moment that he needed to cry a little. I was going to put him down in his crib AWAKE (aaaah!) and let him fall asleep on his own. I'd read a bunch of books and blogs about conquering naps, and decided to follow the advice of The Sleep Lady.

That first try was torture. He was probably overtired and it took him almost a full hour to fall asleep. I would check on him every 5 minutes or so and tell him everything was ok. He would calm down, and then start to fuss again. But finally, one hour later, he fell asleep. (I should add that I was a complete wreck for the entire morning. I think more mama tears were shed than baby tears.) For his second nap that same day, he fussed for 30 minutes and then fell asleep.

Could it be?! Was he learning? The next day, for his first nap he fussed 10 minutes and for his second nap only 3 MINUTES! HE FELL RIGHT ASLEEP! I was amazed and annoyed at myself that I didn't just bite the bullet and do this sooner so he could get the daytime sleep he needs. But the idea of letting my little baby cry and not rushing to his aid was just too much for me; I wasn't ready until last week.

It's only been 3 days, but naps are already improving. Just the fact that we can lay him down in his crib awake and he's falling asleep is a breakthrough. Naps aren't lasting long enough yet (45 mins-1 hour), but I think it's because he's getting used to his crib since he's sill sleeping in our room at night.

Now I need to work on sticking to a schedule until he's done with nap "training"... looks like I'll be sticking close to home for a few weeks.

I spy a sleeping baby!

thank you Albert Einstein

oh wait... Albert Einstein didn't invent this little contraption? Well it must have been invented by someone equally as brilliant, because it is the coolest thing in the world. Kyle loves it and I think I love it more because it keeps him entertained and safe while I make dinner! He'll sit and play in that thing as happy as can be!

PS - watching this video makes me so happy. I can't believe how much our little boy has grown up in the past 5 months. He's going to be on the move before we know it! I think it's time to baby proof!