10 Months

Have you ever wondered why plastic bags have written on them "This item should not be used as a toy?" Like, what imbecile would give a plastic bag to a child to use as a "toy?" I have, but then I gave it some thought and really what's not to love? It's bright, makes noise, changes shape, and tastes good. Okay, maybe I went a little far on that one, but perhaps it does taste good to babies. After all, aren't their taste buds different than adults? Sadly, I must admit that I now understand why they would have to spell that out. It's because babies do love non-toy items, like plastic bags, tupperware, and in the case of Z, mail/paper.  I have mentioned before that Z doesn't put things in is mouth often, so when he showed interest in our mail, I thought, might as well make use of the junk mail, thinking that the worst thing that could happen would be a paper cut. I left the room for a minute and came back to find him gumming going to town on a gross old envelope. I'm pretty sure he ate some. This theory was confirmed today during our 10 month photo shoot...

Z 10 Months! Sign safely out of reach....

"I ga I ga" (I got it)

Oh boy! Two pictures in, and there goes the sign

Z! No! Not before dinner!

I guess I asked for it. I knew of his tendency to paper eating, and I still let him have the sign. Here are the rest of the pics from the shoot.

The teachers at Z's school are telling me that he is doing so much better there. He is moving all around the room and playing with all of the cool toys and the other sweet babies in his class. He's napping well, and I would venture to say he is starting to like it.  I am very thankful for that school. They have been taking great care of Z. 

I am constantly watching him on the webcams, and I have to admit sometimes it cracks me up. Like the other day, when one of the other babies was sitting next to Z, then he took off crawling across the room, so Z turns and attempts to follow suit, as if he were an expert crawler (which he isn't). After about two paces, he just gave up and army crawled, which seems to be the preferred mode of transportation for long distances. So I just watched him work his little self across the room on his belly.

He is getting so strong on his feet and loves to pull up on things. He is changing everyday. He is rarely ever quiet and loves to blow rasberries in the car (non-stop). He is still sleeping great, and just generally happy. I am so thankful for every second I have with him. I simply love him!

Crawling!

Z has officially graduated from army crawl to full out hands and knees crawling today! I knew he could do it! AND he did it for the first time on a Friday so Mommy could see. What a sweetie!

9 Month Appointment... 2 and 1/2 Weeks Late

I know, I'm usually a little late with Z's check-ups, but this one was way late. He had a GREAT check-up though. He weighs 18 lbs. 13 oz. (20th percentile) and is 28 inches long (50th). The doctor and I were good with that, since he started out a little on the small side anyway. They pricked his finger, and he didn't even flinch! His iron levels were through the roof (even without supplementation, Mama-1 Doctor-0. Since it had been a hard day and a hard week, I decided to bring him back to the office with me instead of taking him back to school. He was pretty happy about that.

We had a fantastic weekend, and I am seeing Z change right before my eyes! He's not fully crawling yet, but he's gotten pretty good at army crawling. On Sunday, he pushed up from his belly to sitting, and today he was sitting in his bed when we went to get him! He's getting better and better at pulling up to standing, too. He has several things he enjoys pulling up on (besides a person) like his diaper caddy on his changing table, very dangerous, I know. Also, he has started waving (sometimes). He occasionally waves with both hands, but I think he is getting it. Speaking of, whenever we are practicing something like standing, he says "I ga I ga," which I think means "I got it."

I am officially delclaring that he is saying mama with intention. I got confirmation on that from the doctor (because he did it while we were there). So, while baba was his first consonant sound, "Mama" is his first word, Mama-1 Baba-1. But who's keeping score?

We took Z to the pool on Saturday and Sunday. He didn't even have to warm up. He just went right in, and he started kicking his legs like crazy in his float. It was pretty adorable. We also kept him up way past his bedtime both days, which made me anxious, but he had no problem with it.

I have had several people, including my own family members look and Z and chuckle saying "why is his little nose yellow?" I knew that babies can turn yellow/orange if they are fed too many carrots, but Z really doesn't eat carrots that often. So that begs the question, why is his nose yellow? Well, according to La Leche League International, it could be carotenemia.

The condition is caused by ingesting a large amount of carotene, a nutrient most often found in human milk, carrots, squash, sweet potato, pumpkin, spinach, beans, egg yolks, corn and yams. Note that most of the foods listed fall into the "yellow vegetable" category. Cooking, mashing, or pureeing foods increases absorption of carotene (Leung, Alexander. Carotenemia. Advances in Pediatrics. 34: 223-248. 1987). Human milk is also full of carotene, and can even become yellowish or orange if a mother eats a diet high in the foods listed above. (LLLI)

Save a couple, that list is exactly what Z eats almost every day! What did I expect? I am going to try and change it up a bit though, so my little man won't be glowing! But, for those of you that are wondering that's why his little nose is yellow in pictures.

But, it makes him so strooong! I don't know where he got this from, but in between bites, he often raises up his arms and flexes his muscles as if to say, "look how strong I am."

Beach, Finally

Memorial Day and the Fourth of July came and went, and though I was wanting to be at the beach so badly, I let them go because I knew we were going down for the Blue Angels. Well, then the oil hit and spread and there went my plan for Z to experience the ocean for the first time. Although, there were people on the beach and even in the water, we just never made it down there. My parent's condo overlooks the bay in Pensacola and is a short walk to the beach. Well, that might as well be a long walk because we rarely ever go down there. This past weekend was no exception. We still did some traditional things, like eating at Flounder's and Jerry's Cajun, but mostly we just spent time together, which is really the best part about it anyway.

I thought Z may get to see the Blue Angels, but he was super tired by the time the show started, so we put him down for his nap and watched them without him. I can't even begin to describe how amazing it was! I can't believe my parents have had that condo down there for so long yet it was our (Nick and my) first time to see them fly! We were so proud of our U.S. Armed Services, and particularly the U.S. Navy! I'm pretty sure that will now be tradition, and I'm sure Z is going to love seeing them too. Here are the pics from the weekend.

Flounder's, a family fav

When we thought he may be watching the Blues with us, we shoved these earplugs in his ears. He didn't love them

Day 2

Well, he didn't cry on the drop off, but when I went to pick him up, I noticed this...

Okay, seasoned working moms who send your kids to daycare/school, please tell me that this is normal, and that it will probably not ever happen again and that this dropping them off and relinquishing all control of what happens to them will become easier. I sure hope so, otherwise his daycare days may be seriously numbered...

On a different note, in too many posts to link to, I have mentioned that my child HATED the swing. It actually used to make him MAD. Well, as babies do, he has changed again right before my eyes. According to the webcam, he has taking his morning naps in school, in the swing... At 9 months old. At this rate, all the unpredictability and lack of control is going to kill me!

Some Yard Pictures

We are so thankful for our new house, and we truly love it! In an attempt to play catch up with pictures. Here are some we took in our yard (I'm still getting used to saying that).

First Day of School... Beware Emotional Readers

Today is Z's first day of school. We have been anticipating this day for a very long time, and it is finally here. Nick has the honor of dropping him off, and I will be picking him up. That really works best with our work schedules (and it's better emotionally for me). Speaking of emotional, he sent me these pictures along with a message that read "he didn't do too bad."

I know, they are horrible. It was like torture. I cried.

One of the many things we like about this center is that they have webcams. So, you will be glad to know that shortly after Nick left Z was fine, and he is actually sleeping there now!

Baby on the Move

I guess when you begin to think something may never happen, poof it happens! This morning, I was waving a toy in front of Z's face like I usually do to see if he would come to me to get it. Until this point, there has been "go go gadget arm" reaching, but no movement. This morning, after watching his cousin Adam crawl all over creation all weekend and working with Nana all week, he finally made some forward progress. It's still more of an army crawl than anything, but I honestly couldn't be prouder!

He's been going from sitting to his stomach for a while, here's what he looked like when we started.

And here is some video

In other news, he is saying "mama" pretty regularly, and he really seems to say it when he wants me for something.

Nana Visit

Last week Z's Nana came into town to hang out with us and watch Z, and the timing was perfect! Our Nanny's tenure (sadly) had just ended, and Z new school was going to be closed all week for the Fourth of July. They had a great week together, and she took lots of pictures!

Welcome to our new house, Nana! Actually, she planted those pretty planters for us. We love them!

 

First on the agenda, food!

On Tuesday, we got to go to a Gymboree class together. The kids in there were a little bit older than Z, but he had fun, and so did we!

They all loved him ;)

Hangin on the deck with Nana

Wednesday was Nana's birthday, so we went to Chuy's together. Z loved it, especially the crayons ;)

Thursday, the hubs and I had a great date night to see Grown Ups. It was really funny and great to get out!

Then, at the end of the week, we (finally) had our beach trip to Pensacola for the Blue Angels. All I can say about that is WOW! It was awesome, and it is going to become a tradition. I have a feeling Z is going to LOVE seeing them fly in the future. Unfortunately, this time, he slept through it... I'll post on that later.

Eatin' Time

Mmm... Breakfast. Love that blueberry beard

More Please

Try again...

That's better, wrong end of the spoon, but close

Forget this whole spoon thing

Happy Fourth of July!

Picture Post

I am going to try to keep my camera more handy around the house so that I can keep the pics coming, but here are a few for now. Not the best quality but darn cute anyway. He is becoming a busy body, so it's hard to get a decent shot indoors. My little 9 month sign didn't have a chance, but you get the idea.

He seems to make a different facial expression with each snap of the camera. I love it!

The next pictures are of his first pair of big boy PJ's.He is sitting in his new room, which he has finally adjusted to.