Eight Months

This month has been, yet again, a busy one. Between Jon's long work hours and fitting in lots of summertime fun we seem to always be on the go. We definitely have more of a Little Boy than a go anywhere do anything baby now. Kieran still waivers between being a good (not great) sleeper and a horrible one. I'm hoping that as we tick off a few more developmental milestones and a couple more teeth he might settle back down into a nice sleep routine. In the meantime I will be sporting dark circles under my eyes, but a smile on my face.

Last month I failed to mention that we took Kieran to the Allergist and ended up having him tested for a soy allergy, it came back negative. This means he doesn't have an allergy, but doesn't rule out an "intolerance" which is way less scary, but still a little concerning. I've attempted having soy twice since then and he's seemed to handle it just fine which at this point means I'm no longer on any kind of restricted diet and that we believe we may have a food allergy free kiddo!!! This is great news because Kieran has definitely developed a love for eating and now eats 2-3 meals a day with us. He always has food at dinner time and then if he is awake when Reed and I eat Breakfast and/or Lunch he will join us as well. At eight months I really only planned on him regularly eating two meals a day but I also subscribe to the "listen to your baby" methodology when it comes to solids/weaning so I'm just letting him dictate what he wants to do. He still is nursing 4-5 times a day and 1-2 times overnight so that is great.

The Little Guy spends a good chunk of time each day in a sitting position and can get himself back to laying down quite easily. He is working on pulling himself up to standing, which he can do from my lap but hasn't figured out how to do by himself from the floor. He also really, really, really wants to crawl but at this point only manages to scoot himself around in a circle with each turn equating to a louder and louder cry.

 

Monthly Statistics

Weight: 17lbs 6oz

Height: Didn't attempt a home measure this month

Clothing Size: Pretty much everything is size 6-9 month or 9 month. He is still long and lean so things are tight from shoulder to crouch but pretty darn baggy around his mid-section.

Teeth: New Category!!! 2 bottom front teeth

Kieran likes: EATING, taking walks, DODGER (and all other dogs/cats), bath time, riding in his car seat, watching Reed do anything, pool time, being tossed in the air, his toy table, reading books, his lovey Max, and Perrito his stuffed animal pacifier.

Kieran dislikes: Having his clothes changed/taken off, diaper changes, waking up hungry, being distracted while nursing, having something taken out of his hands, being told "no" and being overtired.

Food: As I mentioned above he LOVES eating and we haven't found anything he dislikes so far. New additions to his diet this month have included: broccoli, potatoes, cucumber, eggplant, puffs (made for babies), refried beans, Trader Joe O's, fish, pita bread fingers, nectarines, and pancakes.

 

Nicknames: Kier, K, K Dawg, K-Man, Kierito, Cuddlebug, and Baby Bear.

How Kieran is sleeping:  This changes weekly. We had a horrible few weeks when his two teeth were coming in, followed by a great week, and now we are back to early wake-ups again! As of right now he goes to bed at 7:30 pm and then usually wakes between 1:00 and 3:00 for a feeding. He then sleeps until around 5:30, nurses again, but most of the time I can't get him back to sleep and around 6:00 let him "get up." His first nap has been falling between 8:00 and 9:00 am and his second around 1:00/1:30. Both naps last about 1.5-2 hours (sometimes 2.5).

Favorite Moment: When we were up at my parent's cabin Kieran was struggling to get to sleep one night and would only calm down if I held him. I decided to take him downstairs and just hold him while I chatted with my parents and then I would try again to lay him down after a bit. He was instantly content in my arms and just slowly fell asleep while I was holding him. He hasn't done that in ages and it reminded me that he really isn't going to be a baby for much longer and that while I would prefer him to go easily to sleep the weight of him sleeping on me is a feeling I will always remember and cherish. I let him lay in my arms way after he fell asleep just enjoying the weight and contentment of a sleeping baby.

Milestones:
06/09/14 Kieran's first tooth pops through (right front bottom)
06/15/14 The Little Guy attempts to sign more at the dinner table
06/19/14 Kieran's first overnight trip
06/20/14 First time taking a bath in a real bathtub
06/21/14 K's first "hike"
06/23/14 He can pull up to standing from my lap
07/01/14 Kind of slept through the night - 10:30 pm to 5:00 am
07/03/14 Kieran's first fireworks

Favorite Photo Shoot Outtakes:

Reed Says . . . June 2014 Edition

Reed has been very into right vs. left and time the last few weeks. When asked which hand is his right or left he is almost always correct in his response. He also loves to ask what time something is going to be happening and usually follows that up with a question of am or pm? Often when he tells me something happened during his day I will ask "when did that happen?" He usually replies something along the lines of "at 6:00 pm." Lyla has been a big topic in our house this past month as well, and you will see that manifest itself in a few of the things that he has said.

After Lyla was born we asked Reed if he could remember her name and he said "Lyla, but I call her Meatball" (his nickname for her when C was pregnant).

I ran to my room to throw workout clothes on one day and in the ninety seconds that the Monkey was out of my sight he managed to unlock and open the front door. To my horror when I came out of my room the door was ajar and Reed was standing outside. Luckily he was just on the front porch and we have since childproofed the door knob. When I asked Reed what he was thinking when he opened the door and went outside he replied that he was "just checking the weather."

Reed knows that I used to do ballet and I've shown him a few moves that he likes to bring out from time to time. One day he was showing me arabesque and plié and I told him he had done a great job. He then proceeded to tell me that "Pepe told me only girls do ballet. Pepe told me a lot of things."

If he is having an early morning and Jon is still asleep I will let him go in and wake Dad up. One particularly early morning I explained that Dad was sleeping but that we could go in and wake him up in a little bit. He responded with "Dad's asleep like you're not!" Thanks bud - I hadn't noticed!

The Kiddo has learned a few Italian words from Papa so one night when I had made an Italian meal and was walking Reed over to the dinner table I asked if he could think of any Italian words. He responded with "Hold-a-Me" while pinching his fingers together and doing an exaggerated "Italian" shake with them.

We have a babysitter that comes one of the days that I work and she happens to be the girlfriend of one of our co-workers. When I was at work one day he told me that she had texted him because she was dying laughing over Reed requesting "spa water." When she had asked him what spa water was he had responded very exasperated that it was "water with cucumber and lemon."

When he gets overly excited and starts tripping up his words or stuttering trying to find the right word he often times stops and will say "my tongue is going crazy!"

The other morning I was getting ready when I noticed Reed was using a set of make-up brushes that he usually plays with to actually pretend to apply make-up. When I asked what he was doing he told me that he was "doing makeup to be a girl, so I can be a Mom for my babies."

On the way up to the cabin last weekend I was stopped at a stop sign for a little bit waiting for the cross traffic to clear up. Out of nowhere the Monkey shouted "slow down people" at the oncoming traffic.

When Grandma was watching the boys earlier this week she asked Reed if Lyla had been at dinner on Sunday. He said "yes, she is soooooo cute!"

Celebrating Grandma's Birthday with a Trip to the Cabin

My Mom's Birthday often gets lumped in with Father's Day, but this year it fell on the Thursday after so we decided to make an extended weekend and celebrate with her up at my parents' cabin. Jon was able to come up for dinner on Thursday night, but had to work the next two days so he headed home after our rib dinner and double chocolate cake dessert. The boys and I stayed through Sunday morning and had a great time with Grandma and Grandpa. Reed had such a hard time falling asleep the first night it was almost 2:00 am before he finally dozed off and despite a good first night Kieran fought with some sleep demons (also known as constipation) the next two nights. This meant that Grandma and I didn't get much shut eye during the nights (Grandpa slept through it all) but our days were so much fun and it was a treat to have someone play with the kids while I prepped a meal, did dishes, or took a shower since Jon is rarely home these days for any of those activities. I also had the luxury of them cooking for me as well.

 

 

On Friday we took a tour of Cat Haven, a sanctuary for wild cats including Jaguars, Lions, Tigers, Lynx, and Snow Leopards. Reed was very good during the tour. He of course asked lots of questions but didn't seem phased at all when a Tiger let out a huge roar right in front of him. Kieran was content in the carrier. I had thought he might fall asleep but I think the cats and people were just too exciting. He got a little fussy at the end, but overall did great.

 

 

On Saturday we took another field trip, this time to Grant Grove to see the Giant Sequoia trees. I tried out our backpack with Kieran and it was a huge fail. He cried so hard that I ended up going back to the car and putting him in the carrier which he immediately was fine with. Reed didn't seem too impressed by the trees and even told us the trees were small after he walked through the inside of one. He did enjoy the "hike" that we took to see the trees though.

 

 

It was great to spend quality time with my parents and the boys.  I think Jon enjoyed a little mini vacation at home to boot! I look forward to many more trips like this in our future. Maybe some with Jon and hopefully Dodger can join us soon too - as long as everyone gets a little more shut-eye!!!





Father's Day 2014

Jon and I have been hosting a Father's Day dinner for quite a few years now. We combine Nonna and Grandpa's sides of the family and try to squeeze the group in our dining room so we can enjoy each other's company. This year everyone came over mid-afternoon and stayed for an early dinner. Reed was of course our pre-dinner entertainment. He demanded to hold Grandma and Nonna's hands at the same time to lead the group into the living room. Then, inspired by the World Cup game on TV, he organized an indoor soccer game with some interesting rules including Kieran's play mat being the goal, strikes when you miss a goal, some of "these guys" being on the bench and not allowed to play, and Pepe being the "empire." We tried to make dinner as simple as possible and gratefully took Grandma and Nonna up on their offers to bring side dishes this year.

Soccer anyone?

Kieran and Aunt Di Di

The Adult Table

The Kids table

Pepe made the mistake of asking Reed to share his food

If Reed was the pre-dinner entertainment, Kieran was definitely the main attraction during the meal. He was so excited by his dinner of broccoli, zucchini, potato, and banana. Every time I plopped something on his plate he would screech with delight. He was all smiles and giggles and just overwhelmingly happy. He interacted with anyone that gave him attention and, much to our amazement, even attempted signing "more" a few times.

I love these pictures of Grandpa, Kieran, Pepe, and Lyla. Great Dads, that have become very doting Grandparents!!!

We managed to get a few group shots in, unfortunately it wasn't until after Benny, Diana, and TJ had left.


Great Papa Dean, Reed, Mom, Kieran, Grandpa, and Great Grandma Didi



Nonna, Dad, Kieran, Papa, Pepe, Reed, Mom, Lyla, Tio, C, and Gran



Kieran, Mom, Grandpa, Grandma, Reed, and Dad