10 Months and "The Crime Scene"!

We are officially out of the single digits... at least in months!  Little W is 10 months old now!  First, I'll give you his update, but please stick around for the pictures of the mess AR made while finger-painting our bedroom with Vaseline.

I thought these pictures were hard at this age with AR... um, boy was I wrong.  The differences b/t boys and girls are really starting to come to light!

What W is up to at 10 Months:
-crawling at extreme speeds!
-cruising pretty well and even figured out how to push a chair as if it was a walker!
-caught him standing without holding on for just a second or two a few times
-sleeping much better since the top two teeth came completely in
-total of 4 teeth
-eats 4 times a day with a snack here or there ... appetite has improved since the teeth came through as well
-newest tricks are waving and doing this sniffing thing with his nose
-starting to be more vocal about letting you know when he doesn't want something
-talking a lot but just randomly, no real words yet... loves to say "eh" really loud!
-packed up most all the 9m clothing last week... on sunny/warm days he gets to wear his summer clothes that he's soon to grow out of!
-doesn't really have a favorite toy though he does enjoy playing with AR's play food and dishes
-HATES to be confined, especially if he can see me
-no separation anxiety from me though... yet

The rest of the photo shoot went something like this:

AR can't be left out!!

 

She wanted her own picture!

I'm not sure if he was actually imitating her laying on the pillow, but he kept doing it.

 Some randomness from the last couple weeks:

Introducing W to some Praise Baby... he looks like such a big boy in this outfit :(

The fairy must eat breakfast!

Daddy got some new sand and this girl has gone to town playing with it!

Catching up on her calls!

I actually did my mantle in time for Spring instead of being a few weeks late like normal!  AR enjoyed helping me set it up and keeps saying "It's Springtime!"... not that she really gets what that means!

AR taking a nap in Mama and Daddy's bed.  I was letting her nap here b/c she seemed to fall asleep easier (maybe due to the heating blanket?!?!)  She lost this privilege due to the next pics coming up!

The "Crime Scene":
AR has been napping some in our bed during the day.  She knows she's not suppose to touch anything on my nightstand but apparently the temptation got to her.  I have vaseline for my extremely dry winter hands and the tub on my nightstand was at least 2/3's full.  I was running some errands on Sunday and William was home with the kids.  He said AR walked out when her clock turned green (indicating that she's allowed to get up) with "cream" smeared all over her face, hair, and Sunday dress.  He didn't take any pics of this but here are the pics from the scene:

As you can see, she was having a blast with her huge "canvas".  I think I got most of it off with my homemade cleaner (Dawn, alcohol, and water)

The comforter is still soaking with Dawn on it.  You can see spots on her dress if you really look.

Here is the dress on it's 2nd soak.  I currently have it sitting with Dawn on it for a 4th time but it does appear to be working... I have avoided drying it so it wouldn't set.

As for the lampshade... it'll just have to face the wall where it has Vaseline on it... too bad it's almost exactly on the opposite side of the seam which will now be in the front.  It's made of burlap so there's no digging it out of the holes or anything. 

William also gave AR a bath and when drying her hair it became obvious that one bath wasn't going to cut it.  We had to wash her hair with Dawn, of course, and it did the trick.  I could be a spokesperson for Dawn (blue kind only) as it has worked some wonders in this house and it is always on hand... absolutely NO substitutes for it! 

Oh the joys of toddlerhood!

How is it March 12?!

No, seriously... how is this month almost 1/2 over?!?!  I went to upload my pictures into my "Feb" folder and realized that we are no longer in Feb!!

Well, I have LOTS of pics for you... I've been a bit trigger happy with the camera lately!  Hope you enjoy!!

Where 2/3's of his food actually landed!

 

If W's a bit fussy, putting him in the highchair looking outside (with some puffs or toys) usually soothes him.

We've finally got back into the swing of "school" after skipping the month of Feb!  Right how we are talking about breads/grains and so we painted toast.  This activity was quite a hit!

She can be a big help to not even be 3... but it usually doesn't last too long!

Poor child... after every bit AR feeds him, she feels the need to wipe his face off... which he hates!

AR told me she was a princess... is it obvious we haven't really watched any princess movies?!?!  Must work on this!

 This past weekend, we got to celebrate Cousin G's 5th birthday!  We had a great time at his "NDN" party and enjoyed seeing the family!

This cake was bought at Costco's for $17 already iced white and we just added the other stuff... soooo much easier and less work!!  Grayson actually drew up a design and we tried to stick to it as much as possible.  Have to give props to Chad for the indian!

Trying to get all 5, and Grandmama, in one picture!!  Didn't realize while taking the pic that W was the only one without clothes... I'm sure spit up or drool was a big factor in that!

We're losing one!

We took advantage of the great spring weather we had the past two days:

I warned her that if you stand in front of the swing, you are going to get hit... guess who didn't listen?

First time trying out her helmet.  Would have loved a pic of her on the bike wearing it, but with a 23 pounder strapped to me in a carrier and pushing her, there wasn't much option for carrying a camera too!

9 Months and A New Perspective

So this is almost a week late, but our baby boy is 9 months old now!  This means things are a bit crazy and busy around this house and also, quite tiresome!  More on this after his update...

Stats at 9 Months and 1 Day:

Weight:  22lbs 6oz (77%)

Height:  28.8in (66%)

Head:  47.6cm (96%)

What W's up to at 9 Months:

-crawling everywhere and getting faster and faster

-pulling up completely and starting to cruise but still very wobbly

-just broke through a third tooth and it has caused us a looong month

-as far as eating... teething has that ALL messed up, but still 4 bottles a day with 3 solids is the goal (he's been getting a 5th, and sometimes 6th, bottle in the wee hours of the night though)

-completely weaned and on formula

-talks a lot and especially loves to say "dadadadada", but does have the "ma" sound down

-could probably be completely in 12m clothes if I allowed which means a lot of summer clothes are going to not be used... at least not by him (Baby E, they are coming your way)!

-loves Ritz type crackers and bread

-sleep... 2-3 naps and goes down around 7:15 at night and sleeps until his teeth/hunger(due to not eating well during the day b/c of his teeth) wake him but goes straight back down after a bottle

-clapping and clicking his tongue are his big tricks of the month!

A few more pics of our big boy:

Our little surfer boy with his "teething" necklace on.  We gave it a go for a little over a week and didn't seem to notice a difference but we were also in the prime of teeth breaking through.  I won't discredit it b/c it may work for another child and I'd definitely try it again.

After having a bald baby first, we are amazed by all of W's hair!  It's coming in nice and thick too... but, no curls. 

This child can produce some major amounts of drool!!

My new perspective:

   This past month I have maybe slept through the night 1 or 2 times (minus our FL trip) due to teething.  Teething never, ever phased AR so I feel like a new mama sometimes with all this!  I've been pretty discouraged about the whole thing and even getting upset/mad/sad/younameit when I wake up at whatever time in the middle of the night b/c W's crying.  It's just been hard... at least to me.  Then, the Lord convicted me the other night by bringing some things to light.  I have been blessed to give carry and birth to two healthy babies.  There are plenty of couples who would give anything just to have a baby to get up with in the middle of the night.  There are moms and dads out there who wish getting up in the middle of the night was their biggest problem.  I can't imagine having a child with cancer or some other illness or worse - losing a child.  I now realize how selfish, lazy, and ungrateful I have been through this.  Seems silly to some as apparently most babies go through teething but I was greatly spoiled by my first child (no excuse though).  Realizing all this has made those feedings in the middle of the night much more bearable... I mean, I'd still like to one day wake up at 7am and realize he's still sleeping but for now, I'll get up with my baby boy while he still needs and wants me!

   I write this for 2 reasons... just to get it out and b/c I think it's important for us moms to remind each other that "we aren't the only ones".  Too often blogs/facebook/social media doesn't tell the whole story and everything looks hunky dory.  I appreciate honestly from blogs and posts I read b/c it reminds me that I'm not suppose to be perfect and I can't be!  I hope this can be uplifting for another mama out there!  

Another great read for mama's can be found here:  http://yourbestnestindy.com/2014/02/27/mommy-somebody-needs-you/

Also, my friend reminded me the other day that during my current season in life, my children are my mission field and I greatly needed to hear that.  Remembering this can greatly change my attitude as well!  A quote I recently discovered and just love is, "Your greatest contribution to the kingdom of God may not be something you do but someone you raise." ~Andy Stanley.   Motivating and intimidating all at the same time!

If you're still reading... well, then sorry you have nothing better to do!!  haha!  JK!  

Now, I leave you with another sweet pic...I caught AR reading to her froggy the other day.  He was even wrapped up in her sleepsack, which is quite a big honor around here!!