Finally It Has Arrived!

I am speaking of Z's first tooth. It finally came! I never thought I would be so excited to see a tooth, after all, I see them every day! But today, Memorial Day 2010, it was different. We were in the Publix shopping center, I made Z laugh and lo and behold there was his first pearly white peeking up at me. It's on his lower right in the front (tooth P to be exact). When I saw it I yelled to Nick, "I see a tooth!" He came over and looked and we both got so excited, we congratulated eachother and hugged... right in the middle of the grocery store. I know, and I'll be the first to admit that that was probably an inappropriate response to such an event, but you have to remember we don't get out much.

The rest of the weekend has been awesome, aside from a leak issue we are having to fix in the condo, we have done a lot of relaxing and hanging out with Z. The aforementioned forced us to stay with my parents on Saturday night, so Nick and I took it as a chance to go out to dinner together while Z slept there. It was great to have a little date night for just the two of us. It was also nice just to be able to eat out after 5.

Sunday night, we went to early dinner with friends, and I got to go to Sex and the City 2 with some girl friends and my mom. I honestly can't remember the last time I went to a movie, and it was great! I realized just how much I need to get out when I found all of the previews good/funny/touching... Scary! Reading this, I am realizing that I sound like I never take any time away from my child, and I do, but I feel like work takes me away from him enough that in the evenings and on the weekends I just want to be with him as much as possible.

Well, the rest of the weekend we just did a LOT of furniture shopping. Z is a fantastic shopping buddy. He went with the flow and even had to eat in the car (parked) several times. Poor kid. Next adventure, the pool. I'm just waiting for the right weather. Happy Memorial Day, or for us first tooth day!

Big News!

We're home owners!! We closed on our dream house today! We won't be moving in until the end of June, but we are so thrilled about this transition in our life and can't wait to raise Z in this beautiful house! It is just perfect for us! And the best part is that it's only a short drive away from my office!

So, clearly we have been working on this for a while, and I have tried to stay tight lipped about it until it was sure to happen, but today it did. So, I'm spreading the news! I'll have more to come on furniture, moving and all that goes with buying a house, but for now we are thrilled and excited and can't wait to get settled in to our new house!

On that note, our condo is now for sale. I will be posting more about it soon, so if you are in the market or know anyone that is, please check back for that. It is a fabulous place and super convenient to many Birmingham locations, including downtown. The view is spectacular and it will be one of the things we miss the most!

8 Months!

Okay, I've been having major writer's block lately, or maybe it's because things are going so smoothly (thank God!) that I haven't had any good material. Either way, I've been neglecting the blog a little, and it's not because I haven't had any time either. You're probably thinking Z must be crawling or pulling up by now, and you would be wrong. While, he is pretty strong on his feet and can basically support himself if I stand him up against a piece of furniture or his crib rails, he hasn't figured out crawling yet, and I don't think he quite has the arm strength to support himself, much less move much. And, I'm not sure how pulling up starts, but I don't think he's showing many signs of that either.

Upon further investigation of the little man, I have figured a couple of reasons for his lack of motivation to move around much. First, his every need is catered to all day every day. He doesn't really ever have to defend himself from an older sibling trying to take all of his toys (like in the case of my little nephew). He doesn't really even sit in one place for very long, because before he gets a chance to be bored, my nanny, my mom, or I scoop him up and take off somewhere or at least provide him a change of scenery. And, secondly, I think he's a lot like me. While, I enjoy physical activity and try to make it to the gym every once in a while, what I would always rather be doing is sitting on the couch with a cold Diet Coke watching Fresh Prince of Bel-Air or some comparable useless television. Also, once he becomes a little more self-sufficient, we are going to expect just that, self-sufficiency and he will lose some of his royal treatment. Perhaps he knows this on some level. So, I prefer to view this one of two ways: Z taking full advantage of his ever abiding caretakers or him expressing his inherited traits from me.

In other news, he's eating so well. Much to my surprise, his favorite veggies are yellow squash and broccoli. He still loves peas and ANY fruit. We've done apples, pears, cantaloupe, strawberries, mango (usually it has to be mixed with something else like bananas and/or avocados).

He's on a pretty good schedule, which I will elaborate further on for my own future benefit, but you may feel free to skip this part.

Wake up between 6:00 a.m.- 7:00 a.m. (though we rarely go in before 7:00), nurse at 7:00, fruit/rice cereal mixture at 8:00, First nap at 9:00, Nurse (or bottle during the week) at 11:00, Play or run errands, second nap at 1:00, Nurse (usually between 2:00 and 3:30 depending on when he wakes up, the afternoon nap tends to be longer), Mommy comes home (during the week) at 5:00, nurse at 5:00, vegetables at 6:00, bath 6:30, and bedtime at 7:00 (I do usually top him off right before bed). Then, I exhale, eat dinner with hubby and chill. Note: all of these times could have an -ish added to them. They are not by any means occurring on the dot every day. 

He weighs about 17 and 1/2 pounds, and I'm trying to fatten him up. He doesn't reject much, but I have found that if I overfeed him, he fusses before he falls asleep at night. I can't even express how blessed we are to have this little angel in our lives. He is doing so well, and I pray every day that God will protect him now and for always.

As usual, I had fun taking pictures of him. There are some smiles in there but more of the faces we've been seeing a lot of lately. Enjoy!

Makin' Progress

Perhaps I should amend my previous post. Maybe we are in the pre-crawling stage after all. We had to work with him a little, and we will be doing more. But, here is some proof.

By the way, he clearly is not happy about this transition...

Our Visitor

Z's been sharing the spotlight lately with my niece, AG. My sister and brother-in-law have been up to their ears in moving stuff, so my mom is taking care of AG for a while. I should get some pics of her with AG, because they have been together 24/7 for the past week! But, I got these of my dad with them. Z is not sure what to do with another child running around screaming playing. He's used to relative quiet and adults!

My parents are great with all of their grandbabies (they have 6!). We are tremendously lucky AND thankful to have them around for help and most importantly love for our babies!

Accomplishments

Well, I guess no news is good news. Things have been rather uneventful lately. So, I thought I'd take a minute and talk about things we've been working on.

First, we are trying to get better at grasping. Z can take hold of about anything, but he tends to lose interest very quickly. He is reaching for everything (including the camera lens), but  again doesn't really know what to do with it when he gets there, which is a good thing I guess in the case of forks and knives...

Next, self-feeding. This relates back to the first skill of grasping, which we clearly haven't mastered yet. But, I like to put puffs in front of him, then he moves them around and they usually end up on the floor. I keep hoping that one day I'll look over and see one in his mouth, but today, I found this...

Crawling. We are in the pre pre-crawling stage. That means he really doesn't show many signs of crawling, but mentally, he's there.

Talking. He still can't say mama, and believe me, we are working on that every chance we get. He does say "ba-ba-ba." Occasionally, he'll say "ra-ra" (Lady Gaga style) and "ba-ba-va." Exciting stuff, I know. I would say we are in the pre-talking stage, and clearly, he is there... Mentally.

Things we have accomplished...

 He eats 2 meals a day, and lately doesn't seem to be rejecting much (hence the fat rolls). If he were going to reject anything, I would think it would be broccoli, but wouldn't you know, the child loves it! He's also done really well with lentils, which I have been mixing with his vegetables here and there. We haven't tried meat yet, but I'm hopeful.

He's been sleeping very well, and usually takes 2 good naps at around 9 and 1.

I can take him almost anywhere, as long as I plan around naps and such, and he loves seeing people and new things, although, some places like Superior Grill and The Summit are becoming regular spots for him.

Mother's Day

We had another awesome weekend with the family that went by way too fast. Unfortunately, I didn't take too many pictures with my good camera, but I have some iphone pics I can share. Friday, Z and I hung out as usual and made an impromptu grocery run, as I was asked to make dinner at 4:30 that afternoon because my mom was just getting back from helping my sister pack. They are moving out of their house in Pensacola to a new house. Anyway, I took off to Publix without even thinking about where I would put Z. I usually wear him in the grocery. Of course, it was also like 90 degrees, so I wasn't jazzed about strapping his warm self to me. It usually causes us both the sweat. So, my only option was to put him in the cart. Anyone who goes to Publix knows that they have those giant green hummer of grocery carts grocery carts that are made for kids. Well, we had a bad experience with that thing once when Z was really little, and I vowed never to try and navigate one of them again. And, because I never thought I would do anything but wear him in the grocery store, I had nothing to put between him and the cart except a t-shirt that I keep in the car in case of drafty restaurants and such. Anyway, this was what resulted. Admittedly, I think it's adorable seeing him in the cart. I just can't believe my baby is old enough to be doing this!

He's got the grocery store feet to go along with it ;)

A puppy? Nope, that's my child. He has officially discovered his tongue and is all about it! I promise he didn't lick that cart, though.

So, dinner was great, and so was the rest of the weekend. Z bought me these flowers, because they were the only ones tall enough for him to see.

Mom and I celebrated ourselves by going shopping on Saturday. Z behaved very well, and was approached by many a young woman. Here he is in the Juicy store ;)

After our Sunday walk, we went to Flip Burger to celebrate Mother's Day. We had 2 of their delicious milkshakes before dinner. That's my kind of celebratin'!

As you can see, Z has gotten really good at eating on the go. He ate part of his meal in the car and the rest in the restaurant.

He reaches for everything, even the camera ;)

These days, Z gets really hyper after and while he is eating his dinner. Below is an example. Enjoy

This One's For You

This post is for my readers, both faithful and occasional, friends and complete strangers, baby blog stalkers, and people who just like to read about other people's lives (I am one of those, too). This is for those of you who know me, used to know me, know someone who knows me, or think you might like to know my baby or me. Thanks. Thanks for reading. Thanks for thinking this stuff is interesting.

This is for my friends who comment. It makes Z and me feel loved, those of you related to me, those of you that I see often and those of you whom I don't see often (I refer to you as my blog friends). Thanks to the friends who tell me they are following Z and me through the blog, the ones who can recall my crazy stories or methods, the ones who have told me they have learned something or had a similar experience and those who have enjoyed a good laugh.Thanks to everyone who has stopped by or will be stopping by. You make taking the time to write this stuff worthwhile.

So, if you're clicking link after link and you get to mine, hopefully you will see this post and know that I do appreciate you for caring, and if you don't care, then I appreciate you just for reading.

7 Months!

Things have been a little crazy lately, so I'm past due on this post. Oh well, Z is 7 months old! He's been 7 months old for 4 days, but who's counting.

There's not a whole lot to report that I haven't already, so I'll make this all about pictures.

Here are some pictures from the rest of the weekend.

Z can't be around the fam without someone (my dad) feeding him something inappropriate. In this case, it was a lemon (I love mom's face here).

Now, he has dinner and lemon on his face! Speaking of dinner, Z has been eating really well (thank God). He's never met a fruit (puree) he didn't love for breakfast, which I mix with rice cereal, and my newest mixture of peas, carrots, and lentils seems to be just right for dinner. Finding this was not easy. He has rejected butternut squash and really anything involving butternut squash (never mind that it took me a whole evening to make it, and I have a ton). And, while he ate green beans once, he now wants nothing to do with them either. There is some major gagging that goes on there! All in all, the food making/mixing has been a lot of work fun. It's all worth it for that sweet smile!