Silas eats SQUASH!

Silas is a BIG BOY now!

When baby is between 4 and 6 months old, can sit up reasonably well and shows an interest in food – he is likely READY for foods! (One week ago, we started him on infant rice cereal and he handled that just fine.)

We COULD have done oatmeal next, but we thought that some REAL FOOD (you know, something that actually TASTES like something other than wallpaper paste) would be more fun.

First vegetable for Silas: SQUASH

(We served it out of this sauce cup, just to be sure that he would like it - instead of contaminating the entire jar. Turns out, he liked it JUST FINE!)

Bib - check. Spoon - check. First REAL Food - check. Older brother to help feed baby - check. Looks like all of the boys are ready for feeding time... Sydney, Grandpa Lowell, Silas and Daddy.

Silas appears to like it A LOT. He watches very intently wherever the spoon is going. He's very grabby, too; they give him his own spoon to hold.

By the end, he was resembling a baby bird, hanging his mouth open while waiting for more food to be dropped in. He ate half of the jar of squash; he likely would have eaten more, but we thought it was best to be more gradual... didn't want him to get a belly-ache from too much of a foreign substance.

• • • • •

For the record, he has been busy clawing at his face a lot this past week. I like to trim his nails when he is sleeping; however, I was finding it difficult to find the time where both boys were sleeping at the same time - where proper light was still available. FINALLY, I got the chance to cut his nails.

Baby's First... HAIRCUT!

This morning, we had a surprise adventure for Grandma Carol - which was planned by Mike. We told her that it was something that she has never done before. She was quite perplexed as far as where we were going, what we were doing and how she should dress. As we entered Capri College, she still had no idea what we were going to do.

Sydney got to sit on Grandma Carol's lap and got his Baby's First Haircut - complete with a certificate and a rubber-banded lock of hair that was cut from the base of his neck. He did NOT like the protective apron so, we encouraged them to take that off. He was distracted with a hairbrush and a squirt bottle while Mommy and Daddy took pictures and took turn entertaining him. Sydney sat VERY WELL. The poor beauty school student did not seem very confident; the teacher did most of the work.

Mommy and Daddy were slightly apprehensive to get Syd's hair cut from someone who had streaked PURPLE hair! (Times have changed since Mommy and Daddy were young.)

Everyone thought that Sydney was SUPER CUTE! (We think so, too!)

Entertained during his first haircut with a brush and a squirt bottle.

(Click on above photo to open it larger in another window.)

Certificate and lock of hair.

Some of his hair lock was over 2" long. (The really long part that was cut off was the only hair that was left on his head since birth; the rest of it had fallen out and had re-grown.)

Sydney sports his new hair-do at the ShotTower restaurant where we had some lunch. (It was within walking distance from the salon and we were hungry.) There, Sydney liked looking at the cars in the display case.

Now, with his new haircut, he is a pretty dapper little dude!

Sydney says MOON and demonstrates NO

Tonight, Grandpa Lowell had wanted to take Sydney for a stroller ride, but Sydney kept protesting and shaking his head NO. 

A few minutes later, Grandpa would ask again and again, Sydney would say NO. 

Eventually, Grandpa got Sydney into his jammies and had hoped to go for a stroller ride yet again, but Sydney said NO. (Thank you for honoring Sydney's opinion, Grandpa.)

Trying again, Grandpa asked "Do you want to go outside?"

Sydney nodded NO.

Rethinking, Grandpa asked "Do you want to go out in the yard?"

Sydney said NO.

Mommy asked "Sydney, do you want to go outside with Grandpa and look for the moon?"

Sydney quickly nodded YES!

As they made it out the kitchen door, I heard Sydney say the word MOON.

"Grandpa, did Sydney just say MOON?" I asked.

"I do believe he did." Grandpa replied.

MOON. That's fun!

Nice to meet you, Auntie Nicki

This afternoon, Sydney met Auntie Nicki for the first time. He was a little reserved at first; although, he had only been awake for a few minutes. He warmed up quickly to her. She and Grandpa played a giggly game with some sticks - poking Sydney's belly and Grandpa making Sydney jump from the poke. Sydney did most of the giggling.

We spent the afternoon visiting and decided on dinner at Olive Garden. Auntie Nicki turned on the Sesame Street movie in the car (on the way there) and sang "I love trash!" with Oscar the Grouch.

We enjoyed a nice dinner together.

Afterwards, Sydney was excited to go for a stroller ride and then, read some books at home - alternating between Grandpa Lowell and Auntie Nicki. They sure are fun to play with.

When Grandpa and Nicki went home for the night, Sydney gave Auntie Nicki a kiss. (I think he likes her.)

It's nice to finally meet you, Auntie Nicki!

NOTE: Photos to add to this post another day/time.

Baby's first... broken bone (and cast)

On Sunday, Sydney had tumbled when we were out on the sunporch and had landed near the leg of one of the rocking chairs. He has been raised under the "walk-it-off" pain management, but we noticed that he actually cried. After a minute or so, he had forgotten the injury; however, we noticed for the rest of the day that he was favoring that arm and that he wasn't applying weight to it when getting up off of the floor.

He was still able to sign the words DRINK and MILK. He played just fine and demonstrated no problems when lifting and carrying things. He didn't react at all when we picked him up by his hands/arms into the air, like we often do. However, we noticed that he struggled to operate his baby fork and spoon when we attempted to get him to eat. There were NO signs of swelling. 

Last night, Sydney and Mommy were outside walking around the neighborhood before bedtime and Sydney had stumbled in the grass, landing on his sore right arm. Again, he cried; carrying on for a few minutes this time.

When I mentioned to Mike that he had fallen again and that his arm appeared to be bothering him, I asked if we should call the doctor. Mike, personally, thought that it was un-necessary, but if I felt that it was best, that we should, by all means, take him in or at least call the nurse to bounce it off of her. (I didn't want a potential baseball career flushed down the toilet at the age of 14.5 months because of an injury that we ignored; although, if you saw the way that he throws, you'd guarantee that a baseball career is NOT in his future because he throws like his mom... and sometimes forgets to let go of the ball, just like Mommy.)

Being that he has had little-to-no appetite for most of the past few days and has had a lingering fever on-and-off for 4-5 days, we thought that perhaps it was time to call the doctor. So, they suggested that we bring him in this afternoon. We figured that while we were there, we would have them take a look at his hand/arm, too.

Sydney protested the thermometer in his armpit, but we assured him that it was MUCH BETTER than a rectal one. Through his protesting and wiggling, they did manage to detect a fever. The doctor, who we've never seen before, rubbed us the wrong way when he made a point to show Sydney his fancy stethescope and waive it in front of his face before attempting to use it to hear his heart; at that point, Sydney was just mad that he offered a "toy" and then played "keep away." The doctor asked us some questions and eventually, looked inside his mouth where he announced that he had infection in his throat that looked a lot like strep throat. He did say that strep is almost unheard of for this age group, but he swabbed it anyways. As for the arm, he pushed and pulled, twisted and bent it; Sydney growing more agitated all the while.

Sydney was sent for Xrays. It took FIVE adults (including Mike and I) to hold him down for a series of 3 xRays. (It was QUITE TRAUMATIC for him! I think being restrained was the worst part of it and the fact that he doesn't understand what the heck is going on.) Then, we were sent back to see the pediatrician for the results of the strep test and xRay. 

Turns out, it was NOT strep, but a virus. They said that the fever should come down by Friday, but if it doesn't, that we should bring him back in. Then, when they showed us the xRays, we discovered that Sydney had a fracture on his radius, near the wrist, but NOT near the growth bones. Dumb-founded, we were sent to an orthopedic doctor who was waiting for us upstairs where they decided to take one more xRay. (Lucky for Sydney, right?) This time, he got to nurse, sitting on Mommy's lap while we did the xRay, which was A LOT less scary when just Mommy and Daddy were there and he wasn't being forced, against his will, to lay still.

All in all, the orthopedic doctor talked with us for a minute or so and announced that we'll cast it for 3 weeks. (A Greenstick Fracture on the radius bone, we're told.) We were told that kids, so young, heal VERY QUICKLY. He pressed on it rather roughly and made him flinch, wince and cry. 

Shortly thereafter, a nurse and a orthopedic physician's assistant came in to cast him. The nurse was SUPER with Sydney. "Sydney, we're going to put this funny sock on your arm." She talked to him appropriately for a toddler. "Now, we're going to put this tiny sock on your thumb." Then, they used a gauze-like foam to hold the sock in place before wrapping a roll of wet fiberglass material around his "funny padded sock". He cried a little bit when the physician's assistant tried to hold his fingers still. (I'm guessing that had he not just been traumatized in the xRay room, he would have been perfectly fine with this procedure.)

We're told that we have to keep it clean, keep it perfectly dry and keep it on (for three weeks). "Little kids, like these, are great little Houdini's and somehow manage to get these casts taken off on their own. If that is the case, bring him in for a new one and he'll get one past his elbow so he can't take it off."

Once we got home, it was evident that Sydney WAS right-handed. Now, it will be interesting to see if he'll eventually go back to the right hand after learning to adapt with his left for the time-being.

We managed to get him to eat a few bites of watermelon, which he insisted upon feeding himself with his baby fork and his left hand. As for the rest of dinner, no dice. I guess I can be thankful that he is still being breastfed and gets nourishment there since he has had almost NO appetite. After dinner, we got him to snack on a few Cheerios and a few goldfish crackers. (It's better than nothing at all, I suppose.)

 Basically, all he wanted to do was (lethargically) lay around and watch Sesame Street while we finished our dinner, as well as the rest of the night. (We watched the "Wing in a Sling" episode where Big Bird had fallen, hurt his arm and needed an xRay; I thought that would help him to understand.)

He moaned and whined a bunch today. (Reminds us how thankful we are that he has been so healthy and happy all of the time.) I don't blame him for whining, moaning or his loss of appetite: sore arm, sore throat, fever and a handful of trauma at the clinic. We got a few smiles out of him today; he was MUCH BETTER if we kept him entertained. He also discovered that he can "knock, knock, knock" with his cast as he goes up the steps, which he thought was kind of funny.

OH, YEAH... and when they weighed him... with a soaking wet diaper, shorts and socks on, he weighed exactly 20 pounds. (YEP, been stuck at that weight since February!)

Busy day baking and playing with Mommy

I clipped a recipe from the newspaper last month and decided to make it today. Sydney had brought me the remote control and dragged me into the living room. When I asked "Do you want to watch Sesame Street?" his response looked a lot like I thought you'd never ask!

While he sat in the recliner and watched his friendly Muppet friends, I gathered and measured my ingredients and zested a lemon. Just as I was finishing that up, Sydney came into the kitchen to see what I was doing. So, recalling fond memories of baking with my own mom, I wanted to get Sydney a chair to stand on so that he, too, could help bake. (He is CONSTANTLY in our cupboards and playing with the mixer and its beaters so, I figured it was a fine time to let him see it in action.)

I got one dining room chair for him to stand on. Then, the back of a second chair was used as a barrier on the right side so that he wouldn't fall off of his chair. I stood "on guard" on his left side.

After I was done zesting and juicing the lemon halves, Sydney was playing with them and a spoon that was within reach. (NOTE: the new countertops in our still-in-progress, but coming together beautifully do-it-yourself kitchen.)

Sydney plays the drums with his spoon after sampling the lemon halves.

Sydney is SERIOUS about helping out in the kitchen. He watches LOTS of cooking shows on TV with his daddy and he's learning his way around the kitchen. (How can you NOT take this face seriously... complete with lemon chunks on it?)

Sydney likes to play with the measuring spoons and measuring cups as well. He's QUITE a good helper! (NOTE: the new tile backsplash that has not been grouted yet in our still-in-progress, but coming together beautifully do-it-yourself kitchen.)

Sydney is having a great time playing in the kitchen while we make our Lemony Sour Cream Muffins. Sadly, the article in the paper forgot to include the oven temperature so, we had to wing it; to me, that is kind of a major detail... a lot like running an ad for a everything-must-go rummage sale, but forgetting to include the address.

Our muffins turned out great! We made 12 mini-muffins, 12 regular sized muffins and a mini-breadpan (with a recipe that said it made 12 muffins... must have been the REALLY BIG Mammoth Muffins!)

All of that baking must have tired Sydney out. (That, or the fact that we had a HORRIBLE NIGHT last night and he insisted upon waking at 6am.) He's really NOT too big for his bed; sometimes, he just decides to sleep sideways.)

After bringing Daddy some muffins at work, as well as a trip to the grocery store, Mommy AND Sydney ventured home to eat some lunch and BOTH take naps. Mommy fell asleep in her bed while Sydney was still whimpering in his; we BOTH had a good nap.

After our afternoon nap, we played outside in the sandbox.

Here, you can REALLY SEE the BUMP on Sydney's forehead (that he woke up with this morning.) We know he "sleep walks" in his crib; actually, moreso of a crawl than a walk, but nonetheless, he is QUITE ACTIVE while he sleeps. Things should get interesting once he upgrades from a crib to a toddler bed.

When Daddy came home, Sydney and Daddy showered and we got ready to go out to eat. We haven't gone out for a long time so, we decided that TONIGHT was the night for it. This was Sydney's first time sitting in a booster seat instead of in a highchair or on our laps. We had a booth and he did GREAT! At the Mexican restaurant, Sydney ate LOTS of salsa and chips. He also enjoyed dipping his tortilla chips in guacamole and refried beans. You could say, he was VERY into dipping tonight. (For the record, he ate some green peppers, onions, chicken, beef, and tomatoes as well.)

TODAY was a good day! (And thankfully, the 100.3°F fever that he had last night seems to have gone and his appetite has returned.) We'll hope for another good day tomorrow!

NOTE: I think you can view (most of, if not all) the photos larger if you click on them; they will open larger in a new window.

Sydney descends stairs all by himself

 Tonight, Mike and I watched Sydney climb DOWN our flight of stairs all by himself (with Mommy sweeping the stairs below him and Daddy supervising from above.) Deep down, I think he was trying to get at the hand broom. (We have been practicing here and there, but THIS was a great achievement tonight.

WAY TO GO, Little Big Guy! We're VERY proud of you!

That's funny, I thought you went to bed with pants on

Yesterday, I went in to RESCUE Sydney from his bed after hearing him announce that he was awake. When I peered inside his door, he stood in the same corner (as usual) and started to jump up and down. (We normally do 1-2-3-JUMP! to get up out of bed.)

Funny thing was... his monkey pajama pants were laying in his crib.

Hmmm, that's funny.... 

I thought you went to bed with pants on!

(Turns out, Sydney must have been awake for longer than I had thought...)

• • • • •

Surprise to us... BABY'S FIRST MOLAR is already in!

Yesterday, we discovered that Sydney has a diaper rash. Immediately, I thought it was from eating too much fruit again - since we had just resumed eating grapes. His butt and scrotum are BRIGHT LOBSTER RED! He SCREAMS and wiggles, in desperate attempts to get away from the changing pad and butt wipes. I've been applying LOTS of Butt Paste, in hopes that it will help. So far, it went from fire engine red to salmon pink and still remains QUITE PAINFUL for the little man! I feel HORRIBLE every time I try to wipe him off; he doesn't understand WHY I am hurting him like that. 

I think I have some Tuck's medicated pads left over from last year when Sydney was born; I wonder if those would bring relief to his sore, sore bottom? 

Both yesterday and today, he is VERY CAUTIOUS when sitting or when we pick him up. He wiggles to make sure that his butt is NOT touching our arm when we carry him, as well as positioning himself strategically when nursing. And when he bumps it, he winces and says "OOOOH!" as if it was VERY PAINFUL!

Aunt Sue said that my cousins both would get "bright red monkey butt" whenever they were cutting teeth. We DO know that his lower molars are starting to move because we can see big white bumps under his taught gumline.

If teething IS to blame, I wonder if the last incident a few weeks ago (when we also eliminated fruit from his diet) was also from teething.... you know, since we JUST DISCOVERED within the past couple of days that Sydney has his first molar already poked through and coming into position nicely. (It was an upper... and he is QUITE guarded when it comes to looking into his mouth; he'll let us look at the bottom ones sometimes, thankfully.)

Sydney's first swimming lesson

This evening, we (Mommy AND Daddy) took Sydney to the YMCA where he enjoyed his first swimming lesson with other parents & babies. His flotation device didn't stay put very well around his skinny little frame; it kept riding up on him. He didn't really know how to blow bubbles in the water and didn't seem at all interested in kicking his feet either. He did like to watch the other babies though.

We're told that after a couple more times, he will get the hang of it all. We were pleasantly surprised that he did not cry when we dunked him under the water. He was, however, rather surprised. 

Another skill for us to work on is throwing a ball. He hasn't really done that on land yet so, doing it at sea was equally awkward. A few times, it fell behind his head. (His mommy forgets to let go so, she is not one to teach him how to throw a ball.) It appeared that he might be a left-handed pitcher someday... guess time will tell.

We look forward to another round of swimming lessons on Wednesday night.

Learning a new sound while diapering.... P

We had a playdate with Lucy today, which was fun... except for the girl germs (from all of Lucy's hugs). They had a great time running around our baby-proofed house, laughing and squealing with delight. Sydney and Lucy were both sad when it was time for them to go home to eat lunch.

Sydney's tooth #7 must be bothering him... he was fussy unless he was 1) nursing, 2) held or 3) distracted with playing. (Hopefully, the Tylenol before bed will keep him sleeping through the night.)

While diapering before bed, in Sydney's jibberish baby language, he asked (what sounds a lot like) "What's that?" as he UM.... "assisted" in diapering.

Like usual, I informed him "That is your penis."

He smiled.

I finished diapering him, wrestling his hand(s) out from his diaper. I leaned in close(r) to his face and said "Puh, Puh, Puh, penis."

Instantly, he mocked me. "Puh," he paused to smile in recognition of his newest achievement. "Puh, puh, puh" he repeated.

Sydney was Puh, puh, PROUD! (We even went upstairs to tell Daddy his newest sound.)

Sydney is like a sponge; he soaks up SO MUCH each day!

Let Freedom Ring and a new baby swing

Today, Sydney was dressed in red, white and blue seersucker shorts and a red and navy baseball tshirt. He looked very patriotic and VERY CUTE! (Mommy also wore red, white and blue - showing her American spirit on this national holiday.) As usual, Daddy simply wore one of his MANY bright blue work shirts.

This afternoon, we enjoyed LOTS of sunshine. Right as Daddy was getting home from work, Mommy and Grandma Carol passed off the baby and ran to Kohl's so that I could purchase an American flag and two bunting flags for the front of the house - in honor of Memorial Day.

When we got home, Grandpa Lowell had taken over watching Sydney so that Daddy could plant some strawberries in the front of the house. While Grandma Carol was out for a walk, Mommy and Daddy hung the bunting flags under the sunporch windows and they looked VERY NICE.

Before dinner, Daddy and Grandpa hung Sydney's new swing (a birthday present from Grandpa) from the two large eyelet hooks that were affixed to the ceiling of the sunporch when we bought the house. They were a perfect fit for his new swing; although, rather high off of the ground. 

Sydney tried out his swing, which is the first time he has ever sat in a swing (other than his mechanical infant swing when he was a baby). He seemed to like it, especially when we said "WEEEEEEE!" or attempted to tickle his feet. 

I'm sure glad that Sydney does OK in a swing... as they make Mommy motion-sick.

Doc says: Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease

Sydney has managed to hold onto his fever since Wednesday so, we took him to the doctor this afternoon. (We figured that it was best to do it now instead of take the chance of having to take him to the E.R. during the holiday weekend.)

Doc says that the fever does NOT have to be treated unless he is lethargic or fussy. Otherwise, it is safe to let it run its course. Other than a fever, and not being nearly as mischievous as normal, we haven't noticed anything else. No rash. No loss of appetite.

Doc did find a few red bumps inside his mouth, which confirmed his diagnostic guess, that coincided with the fever: hand, foot and mouth disease.

Doc says that he has been seeing a lot of it right now; plus, given Sydney's age and the rate of putting things into his mouth - almost inevitable. He said that if he is still fevered on Monday, that we should call.

I didn't think to ask the doctor if it is contagious... or if we are at risk of getting it. I stopped a nurse in the hallway and she confirmed that YES, it IS contagious and that chances are, I had it as a kid. I'm not sure how long he is contagious for, but from the sounds of it - he could have picked it up from just about anywhere... shopping cart, shared toy, floor, etc.

Poor little guy... hope he feels better soon!

Happy 9-month Birthday Little One

Sydney is now 9 months old.

Weighs: 20 pounds

Height: around 28" tall

SKILLS:

Crawling, Feeding Himself and WALKING!!!!

TEETH: 5

two lowers and three uppers

Baby's first: PLANE RIDE

We traveled from Madison to Detroit, where missed our connecting flight to Columbia, SC so, we re-routed ourselves to Charleston, SC. Our luggage went to Columbia and was delivered the following day. On our flight home from Columbia, via Detroit, we made our connecting flight to Madison, but our luggage did not. (Good thing they charge $25 extra per bag, per way... makes up for having to ship out our luggage to us... TWICE!)

We had a great time (visiting friends) in South Carolina for the week!

Little Big Guy Walking Alone at 8.5 months

On Mike's birthday, just 5 days ago, Sydney had taken his first steps. Each day, he gets a little more brave.

Last night, I was impressed that Sydney started by the couch and walked all the way across the living room. Of course, he was trying to get his mom. Still, I was impressed with his skill.

This afternoon, at the breastfeeding support group, he took off walking on countless occasions. For once, he was slow and steady instead of lunging forward and racing. I think he had studied  "the girls" because his baby friends Lucy, Josie and Miley are all (older) and walking. I think they had inspired him to be "a BIG BOY". He also turned on his charm and sat on the lap of all of the nursing students who were in attendance today. He flashed LOTS of smiles and was quite flirtatious. (Must get that from his daddy!) Somewhere along the line, he is supposed to start playing shy; that was NOT the case today!

SCOLDED FOR SOLIDS

I had been scolded today that I am still feeding puréed foods to a baby with 5 teeth who is nearly 9 months old. I was told that he needs to be eating more solids. (I do, however, disagree slightly because he still has a bad gag reflex with solids.) Needless to say, we will finish up all of the puréed baby foods that we have and WE will determine when he is ready to move on. (Sadly, he still is unable to eat so many things because he is still too young.)

I was also encouraged to teach him to climb DOWN stairs. They insisted that we keep trying and that he will "get it".

Baby's first Christmas

Baby's first christmas... 2009

An adorable reindeer at our door.

Last night and today, we celebrated Baby's First Christmas. We had opened a few gifts last night. Then, Sydney went to bed on Christmas Eve wearing the red, Santa's Favorite sleep sack from the Raboine's.

Sydney got some new books and a few new toys. 

Although, he was equally impressed with the wrapping paper (which he thought he should eat).

One of his toys came with three balls. You put the ball into one of the openings and it will fall out a tunnel below, making a giggle noise. Sydney kept opening his mouth and leaning towards the openings, as they must have resembled "A CUP" to him.

Since Sydney has a fascination with the remote control (aka Daddy's toy) and the cordless phone(s), it was only fitting that Sydney got a toy phone for Christmas. It sings songs, talks and lights up... which is WAY COOLER than the one red light on the remote control. (Phone not photographed with baby, sorry.)

He is also entertained with the sound of his toys as he tips them over in their storage bucket, as well as chasing plastic balls around on the hardwood floor. 

While playing, it took a few minutes (and failed attempts) before he realized that if he had a ball in his hand, he had to let go before trying to pick up another ball in the same hand.

I'm sure that next year will be a lot more fun, as he'll hopefully know NOT to eat the paper.

Waterbed

This morning, Sydney woke up DRENCHED!!! His diaper had leaked and his entire front side was soaking wet, as was his bed. Needless to say, other than an odd feeding around midnight, it was a good night of sleep for all of us.

So, needless to say, first thing this morning, Sydney enjoyed a bath.

For breakfast, Sydney enjoyed some rice cereal that had been mixed with a little breastmilk and some of the applesauce that Daddy made earlier this fall (using Grandpa Lowell's apples). The applesauce was sweet and delicious.

Tonight, Sydney enjoyed watching us put up the Christmas tree and some garland on the stairway. He liked to look at the lights and even grabbed at the bottom branches a few times... just to see what they felt like. He really enjoyed looking at Mommy's Winnie-the-Pooh ornament, which Mommy hung low enough for Sydney to see it. Sydney knows Winnie the Pooh because Mommy drinks from a Pooh coffee mug each morning. Also, Sydney has a Pooh book (from Grandma Carol) and a musical Pooh toy (from Kerri).

Speaking of bed, Daddy is sleeping because he works the early shift again this week. We are keeping our fingers crossed that Uncle Mike will be able to shut-down in Dubuque tomorrow night and that we will get a chance to visit with him... and maybe even swim at his hotel. Sydney is now in bed after a long, mostly nap-less day. Mommy will work on a few more ornaments and then hopes to get into bed at a reasonable time herself.

We'll have some extra cooking on the agenda since we are hosting Thanksgiving this year. Thankfully, Grandpa Lowell offered to bring the turkey. It should be a busy week... full of smiles, laughter and fun.

Spoiled at 17#7oz.

STATS: NEW WEIGHT RECORDED

Sydney weighed in today at 17# 7oz. (I'm told that breastfed babies weight gain plateaus around 5-6 months and they slowly gain weight from here-on-out, instead of the leaps & bounds that he had been previously gaining at.)

MASHED AVOCADO

Tonight, Sydney enjoyed his first mashed avocado, mixed with a little breast milk. (Mike refused to feed it to him because he thought it was "disgusting"; however, it was actually quite good... judged from a big fan of guacamole.) I reminded him that we need to BE POSITIVE in our techniques for feeding Sydney. We should not distill our dislikes upon him. Therefore, I will do my best to PRETEND that ripe bananas are delicious (even though I prefer them on the greener side than on the riper side).

SPOILED:

We have also determined that Sydney is SPOILED.

Deep down, we're all a little spoiled; afterall, who DOESN'T like to snuggle?

He slept in my arms during an hour-long television show (Glee) and then, when I went to put him in his bed, he instantly noticed. He screamed... and screamed... and screamed. I gave him a few minutes, thinking he would calm down; however, he got EVEN MORE UPSET! He sounded as if he was going to lose his voice if he kept that up. Eventually, I picked him up. (He won.) I took him downstairs and changed his diaper. He continued to scream... and scream... and scream. As it turns out, THE ONLY COMFORT when he gets like that is to offer him a breast. His diaphragm continued to spasm (since he had gotten himself SO UPSET) and he would sometimes make a strange snorting sound that coincided with the spasm perfectly. (Ten minutes later, he was still doing it and was not back to his normal, relaxed state.)

Mike is convinced that Sydney is spoiled because he spends too much time with his mom and doesn't have enough "Syd-time". He thinks that he needs to learn to comfort and entertain himself. When he was put back in his crib, he would continue to scream - unless he heard our footsteps in the hallway; then, he would stop. If we stopped without coming to his rescue, he would wait, listen and then scream again. As soon as he was picked up, he stopped screaming and crying.

I wondered how much his gums are bothering him to be this fussy, but Mike stood firm that HE IS SPOILED, regardless of his gums hurting or not. Thankfully, not every night is a battle (like this). We cranked up his sound machine... to the sound of gentle, steady rain... and I rubbed his back when he cried. After a minute or two, he seemed calm again and I snuck out to blog this entry. Now, if all goes well, I plan to go to bed myself.

Deep down, we're all a little spoiled; afterall, who DOESN'T like to snuggle?

Sunday of sweet potatoes and slurping water off a glass

Sydney has become VERY OBSERVANT of people eating and drinking as of late. Last night, while dining at Daddy's work, Sydney was not interested in playing with his toys. He was much more interested in grabbing Mommy's plate off of the table and watching each bite of food go into her mouth.

Tonight, Sydney and Grandpa Lowell had been playing. Sydney must have noticed that Grandpa was drinking a glass of ice water. We laughed when we went into the living room to see Grandpa and Sydney sitting on the floor. Grandpa was holding his glass and Sydney was licking the condensation off of the outside of the glass like a thirsty little puppy.

For dinner tonight, Sydney enjoyed a concoction of Guard-grown Butternut Squash, along with his first taste of Sweet Potatoes. Grandpa Lowell fed him tonight and we were all a little surprised that he (Sydney) still showed the most enthusiasm for his Green Beans.

Sydney enjoys spending Sunday nights with Grandpa. (Today, he wore his BASEBALL shirt since he knows that it is Grandpa's favorite sport.) We're pretty sure that Grandpa enjoys seeing how much Sydney grows from week-to-week, as well as his new skills that he has acquired since the week before. 

Grandpa, thanks for spending Sundays with us.

B is for Baby, Bananas and Beans

B is for Baby, Bananas and Beans...

This morning, we tried BANANAS. Sydney was not very interested in them at all, which surprised us a little. He was not STARVING when we tried it either (since he had been breast-fed prior to this attempt.) so perhaps, if he had been hungry, it would have had a different result.

In honor of the first attempt at bananas, Sydney was dressed in his MONKEY CLOTHES; particularly his cute "Monkey-Butt" pants and the onesie that says "Mommy loves me".

This evening, we tried green beans, which were a BIG HIT! (To Mommy, they tasted a little too plain without salt or butter, but they DID have good green bean flavor.) 

Sydney did the "baby bird thing" where he kept leaning towards the tray with his mouth open. 

He also liked finger-painting with the green beans on his high chair tray.

Mommy tried to give him some more bananas tonight and interchanged them between bites of green beans. He spit more bananas out than he ate (I think) so, eventually Mommy gave in and served up some more green beans instead. (Hey, if the kid prefers vegetables... I guess that isn't all bad: although, PEARS may have won the decision if those had been offered instead.)

Baby's first FRUIT (Pears... with pics)

Sydney is getting the hang of eating solids as we have been trying to do them at least once daily. He knows what to do with the spoon and only spits it out if he thinks it is a little too "solid" for his liking. 

We laugh because when he is really hungry and waiting for more, he opens his mouth like a baby bird and leans his head in a forward and downward motion, almost as if he will slurp it off of the tray if we can't get it to him any faster.

BABY'S FIRST FRUIT: PEARS
Tonight, Sydney had his first taste of fruit after we cooked down some Sugar Pears for him. We mixed them with some of his cereal and he LOVED IT! His bowl was empty in no time and we returned him to finish his meal by breastfeeding. 

Scrapbook page detail: BABY'S FIRST PEARS/11.11.09 - We had some pears that were ripening quickly so we decided to cook them up and give FRUIT a shot. Sydney was VERY ANGRY with us because he wanted to eat and he wanted it RIGHT NOW! He nursed for almost 10 minutes before we gave PEARS a shot, but he was too mad to try them. It took some silliness (and blowing in his face) to calm him down. And then... he realized upon his first bite that: FRUIT IS YUMMY & I LIKE PEARS!

WATCHING US EAT...

After that delicious fruity experience, Daddy and I each enjoyed a dish of vanilla ice cream with chocolate sauce; Mommy's had chopped walnuts on it as well. YUM! Sydney kept a close eye on Daddy's bowl of ice cream as he moved it in multiple directions, as if he [Syd] was hoping it was an even larger bowl of PEARS. We laughed at his tracking ability and then, I explained "That is not a little baby bowl of food for you. Daddy has a big bowl of food for him. Sorry, but THAT is not for you."

I guess we know that Sydney will enjoy some more pears tomorrow since we cooked down a little extra.