Life According to my iPhone

On any given day I take a minimum of at least a few photos on my iPhone. They aren't the best pictures but they capture what our family is up to pretty well. Here are a few of my favorite snapshots from the last two weeks.

Reed practicing floating on his back at the end of bath time.

Mommy and Kieran selfie after I got home from work.

We eat dinner outside at least a night or two a week. It's the best! Also, K is big into nose sniffing lately.

I subscribed to Kiwicrate which is a craft delivery service and Reed and I built an awesome campfire during Kieran's nap.

Reed came down with a high fever and yucky cold last week. He was so sweet during the days he was ill and while I wanted him to get better quickly I didn't mind the extra snuggle requests.

Reed and Kieran getting ready for Mom to take them on a "magic carpet ride" down the hall.

On Sunday Gran and Papa joined us for dinner at Nonna and Pepe's. Kieran was definitely mesmerized by Gran!

Dad put Kieran in "Reed's" chair at Nonna's. That smile on his face is him waiting to see Reed's reaction.

More Gran and Kieran love.

Reed has been taking swim lessons for a few weeks. He gets so excited for his lessons, but I think part of the excitement is because he is in awe of Morgan, his super sweet instructor.

Did I mention Kieran can pull up to standing now? It's pretty great, but he's not very sturdy yet so that means Mom has to be close by at all times.

After a bad reaction to almonds two weeks ago we took Reed to the allergist to investigate further. This is him hanging out at the doctor's office - he's such a trooper - he had a prick test that confirmed a tree nut allergy just a few minutes later. Although his reaction was pretty intense he handled it well and once they got the itching to stop he was all smiles again.

It took me a long time to hire a non-family member babysitter, but Julia started working for us one day a week almost six months ago (when Kieran was only three months old). The boys loved her and sadly for us she is moving away, today was her last day. This is Reed giving her a running goodbye hug. As he watched her leave he turned to me and said "I'm going to miss her!"

Well there you go . . . our life as of late.

Goodbyes and Hellos

My brother and his family are getting ready to make a big move to the Pacific Northwest. We are excited for them as they are moving close to Aunt Kari's family and it will be nice to have Grandparents on hand to help out with the kids. They definitely will be much farther from us with this move, but hopefully that will just mean that we plan ahead better and carve out special vacation and Holiday time with them in the future. This past weekend they came to town for a final goodbye. G-Mama also came down and stayed with us. Reed and Kieran loved their special time with her and we all had a very busy few days of kiddo bonding, catching-up, and tearful farewells.

On Friday we went to Grandma and Grandpa's for dinner. It was so neat seeing how much four month old Haleigh has changed since Easter and how much fun Reed and Annaliese have together. Even though they are still babies, Kieran and Haleigh loved hanging out together and were in fits of giggles when they first saw each other.

On Saturday Grandma and Grandpa hosted a going away party and invited family and close friends. Reed had a ball playing outside all afternoon despite the heat and I had to keep reminding him to drink water.

Auntie M and Haleigh

Kieran and Grand Aunt Penny

To round out our busy weekend Jon's college roommate Phil, his wife Kelly, and their daughters Maya and Lana made a stop at our house to watch the World Cup final on their long trek from Northern California back down to San Diego. This was their first time meeting Kieran so that was fun. Reed was pretty cute with the girls and just wanted them to play with him. He kept running up to Maya, touching her shoulder, saying tag, and running off. It took a bit for them to warm up to him but finally they all had a great time when Reed pulled out some plastic eggs and they took turn hiding and hunting them.

Happy Birthday America!

Our good friends Shannon and Laurie are sisters that married best friends, who also happen to be friends of ours from high school. At one point they all lived on the same piece of property so we referred to them as the "compound" for a few years. They have since each bought homes within a few miles of us (and each other) and for the last couple of years they have hosted a "compound fracture Fourth of July." Shannon and Kevin live a block away from the high school which puts on a fireworks show on the 3rd and then Laurie and Russell have a great house with lots of fun stuff to play with that we go to on the 4th.

On Thursday we got in some serious pool time, only taking breaks to eat pizza and then again for dessert and fireworks. Reed was so excited for fireworks and sat mesmerized on our blanket eating dessert and watching the colorful explosions. I wasn't sure how Kieran was going to do and figured he would be hungry around that time but too distracted to nurse so I threw in a bottle and crossed my fingers. He loved them too!!! The noise didn't bother either of the boys and K sat in my lap or sprawled out on the blanket the entire time. After Reed finished his dessert he sat with Tio for a while and then went over to a little girl (of like 7 years) grabbed her hand and pulled her back to our blanket. It was just about the cutest thing ever.

Clarita and Kierito

Shannon and Reedcito

While Dad was at work on Friday morning Reed and I made breakfast oatmeal in the shape of the American flag. I'm not sure which he liked more - putting the flag together or eating it! After the boys woke from their afternoon naps we headed over to Russell and Laurie's house to spend the rest of the day swimming and eating. Russell did a great job barbecuing and there were lots of yummy salads and desserts too. Besides swimming Jon and Kevin also played a game of pool beer pong, they upped the difficulty by each holding a kiddo during the game.

I took the boys home at their normal bedtime, after having such a late night the evening before we decided it was best not to push our luck with two nights in a row, Kieran was getting pretty fussy too. Jon stayed behind and came home a bit later so I told Reed that I had a special thing for him if he played quietly in his room while I nursed Kieran and put him down to bed. He was an angel, so I took him out by the pool and proceeded to light two dud sparklers much to both of our disappointments. I offered up the idea of blowing out a special candle instead and he bit. He thought the candle being blown out and then lighting back up on its own was so cool and we had a great time with our indoor "firework."

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: