Monday, May 30, 2011

6 Months of Myers

This post can be alternately titled any of the following...

"One Long Post"

"Yes, I Have A Son"

"No, I Haven't Forgotten About My Son"

"Second Child Syndrome"

"A Long Time Coming"

"Bad Mommy"

"Myers, Myers, and More Myers"

"It's Been Awhile"

"Baby Brain"

"A Whole Lot of Updates"

"Baby Overload"

This blog originally started off as a blog about Reagan.  Then it kind-of transformed into my blog about Reagan and everything else in my life.  So naturally that would include Myers.  And I have mentioned him and added a few pictures of him here and there to many of my posts.  But I haven't done a true Myers update since he was ONE MONTH OLD!  Yes, one of the alternate titles was "Bad Mommy"  and I think maybe I should have gone with that one instead of "6 Months of Myers!"

Oh well, better late than never right?!  Just be prepared for a WHOLE LOT of Myers in this post to get us all caught back up to date with our little man!  Thankfully, I have been taking lots of pictures and writing little notes in his baby calendar everyday so that I can easily keep track of what he's been up to.  Without that, I'd be lost... I can barely seem to remember my own name these days much less how old he was at each little milestone!

So, we last left off with Myers at one month old.  If you can't remember all the details from that far back, click here!  And here's a quick photo reminder so you can easily see how much he has grown by the end of this post!

Not long after he turned one month old, his horrible diaper rash FINALLY cleared up.  We moved him out of the bassinet in our bedroom and into his crib in the nursery when he was 6 weeks old.   He loves his crib, and it wasn't long after we moved him into his own room that he started sleeping for 6-8 hour stretches at night.  (If only he would still do that now...)  By the time he was two months old, he was a pro at sleeping!

2 Months Old...

At his 2 Month check-up, he weighed 12 pounds and 7 ounces, and he was 24 inches long.

As you can tell from the photo collage above, this is when his amazing little personality started to develop.  He was/is ALWAYS smiling!  During this second month, he became very vocal.  He started laughing out loud and squealing LOTS.  You may even remember this video of him "chatting" with his Daddy.

He also became extremely active... spinning around 180 degrees in his crib while he was sleeping, and he rolled over for the first time going from his tummy to his back.  He discovered his hands this month, and he found them to be fascinating little objects to play with and stare at.  He started using those little hands for grasping and playing with his toys as well.  He also started playing in his exersaucer for extended periods of time.

3 Months Old...

At 3 Months, he weighed 13 pounds and 13 ounces, and he was 26 inches long.

He rolled over for the first time from his back to his tummy a few days after he turned three months old.   Whereas the previous month he was playing with his hands, this month he was playing with his feet!

The main focus of this month seemed to be his mouth... from the drool coming out of it, to the cereal going into it!  Ryan and I quickly learned that we were just going to have to get used to the fact that we were going to be constantly drooled on.  From his Sophie the Giraffe teething toy, to frozen teething rings, to his own little fists, there seemed to always need to be something for his gums to be rubbing on.

I started feeding him cereal at 15 weeks old, and he really loved it from the very first time.  He eagerly ate it once a day, everyday, for 2 weeks, but then I decided to go back to only nursing him because he seemed to be very fussy and gassy from it.

4 Months Old...

At his 4 Month check-up, he weighed 15 pounds and 2 ounces and he was 26.5 inches long.

He stared propping himself up on his elbows the day he turned 4 months old, and you can tell from the pictures above that I loved taking pictures of him doing it!  You can also tell from the video above that he was really trying hard to talk at this point too.   Everything still came out as squeaks and squeals, but he was certainly able to communicate the fact that he was/is a VERY happy baby.

He started jumping in his jumperoo this month, and loved it from the very first bounce.  It is actually still one of his favorite toys!  Speaking of toys, he started really playing with all of his toys this month.  He was no longer just batting at his toys, but actually pushing buttons, picking them up, and playing with them all. 

I re-started cereal feeding towards the end of this month, and he was very happy for me to re-introduce it into his diet!

Now for the bad news... 4 months old is when he decided that he no longer liked his car seat, and he no longer slept well at night.    He would (and still does) start crying and fussing for any car ride longer than 20 minutes, and he went back (and still continues now) to only sleeping for 2-3 hour stretches at night.  

5 Months Old...

We didn't have to go to the doctor for a 5 month check-up, so I don't have any weight or height stats.

My handsome little boy said "mama" for the first time the day after he turned 5 months old!  Exactly one week later he said "dada."  Now I know that he has no clue what he is saying, but that doesn't change the fact that we love hearing him say it just the same! 

I added several new foods to his diet this month... all foods that I roasted and pureed myself for him.  Yep, I'm making my own baby food this time around.   I started him off with bananas, and by the end of this month he had also had avocados, carrots, peas, sweet potatoes, squash, and blueberries. 

If the picture collage above wasn't prove enough, let me just tell you that he is one happy baby!  During his 5th month, he smiled all the time, he loved to stick out his tongue, he would blow bubbles at us, and he started giving us great big open-mouth kisses.  He still does all of those things!

Half way through the 5th month, he flipped/crawled out of his Bumbo seat.  Thankfully, Ryan was right there beside him to catch him or else he either would have ended up in a plate full of chili or he would have rolled right off the dining room table.  Yes, he was the centerpiece for dinner that evening!  This must have just been his way of telling us that he was soon not going to need the Bumbo seat anymore... exactly one week later he was sitting up like a big boy all by himself.   He started doing this on Mother's Day!

His other big accomplishment (as if everything else wasn't enough) for this month was that he got his FIRST TOOTH!  His front left tooth on the bottom came through, and boy did it give him a fit in the process.  The teething process continues as more teeth are on the way...

6 Months Old...

At his 6 month check-up he weighed 17 pounds and 2 ounces and he was 28.35 inches long. 

His second tooth came through a couple of days after he turned 6 months old.  He now has 2 pearly whites on the bottom, and I can see signs of his top two teeth coming soon.   One of his favorite things to do these days is to show off his teeth and stick out his tongue!

His other favorite thing to do is to show off how well he can sit by himself now.  He no longer wants to lay in his playpen or lay on his playmat... he wants to be sitting!

He can now get up on all four's and rock like he is ready to crawl, and I have a feeling that I will be reporting this accomplishment sooner rather than later.

As you can tell from all the most recent pictures, he is still a very happy baby by day, but he's not sleeping well at night.  He now averages only 1-2 hours of sleep per spell, which is starting to take a toll on me to say the least.  I guess I should just be thankful that when he does wake up at the end of each spell, I can usually get him back to sleep within 15-20 minutes. 

So there you have it!  Six months of pure cuteness, all jammed packed into one blog post.  Hopefully I'll stay on top of the updates from now on if my poor sleep-deprived brain can remember to do so!

Sunday, May 15, 2011

Pops & Momsey

We were finally able to convince my parents to leave sunny Florida to come back up to what they refer to as the "Frozen North" for a visit.  They spend their winters in Florida in their motor home, and they were quite content to stay in the 90 degree temps for a little while longer.  But a phone call from Reagan begging them to come visit, and a few pictures of Myers in an email from me got them motivated to leave the sunshine to come back to the rain even though we are having what has been reported to be the "coldest and wettest Spring in over 50 years!"

We did our best to keep them warm... there were many long soaks in the hot tub.  Myers even joined in on the fun for his first hot tub dip....

Reagan made them exercise/play enough to almost break a sweat...

We drank hot tea at a tea party...

We let them have endless amounts of warm and cozy snuggles...

And we let them feel the heat of the intense pressure of watching the Canucks in playoff hockey!  As you can see, Myers is already "one of the boys" when it comes to hockey...

They were here with us to celebrate a bundle of occasions... Reagan's birthday, Easter, Reagan's gym meet, my birthday, and Mother's Day.  But of course they know that there need not be any special occasion for us to want to have them come for a visit.  Just having them here makes it a special occasion for us!

Sunday, May 8, 2011

Mother's Day Extravaganza

I can honestly say that this Mother's Day was the BEST MOTHER'S DAY EVER! Of course, something tells me that I will say that year after year... but so far this one takes the cake!

The Friday before Mother's Day, Reagan's preschool hosted a tea for all of the moms.  Since my parents were here visiting with us, we got prior approval for Momsey to come join us as well.

When my mom and I arrived at the school, we were escorted into the classroom by Reagan.  Each child brought their mother into the room one by one and told us where to take a seat.  All of the moms (and Momsey) were then pampered with a FABULOUS pedicure.  First, Reagan washed our feet.  Then she gave us a fantastic foot massage with some sweet smelling lotion, and then finished off the pampering with a spritz of perfume.   All of the moms were a bit relieved to know that this pedicure did NOT include any polish!

Then the real fun began.  Reagan's teachers instructed us on how to play a little game called "The Mom Connection" much like the old TV show "The Love Connection."  Each child had previously given the answer to a question, and the teachers wrote down those amazing answers.  The kids were split into groups of five, and each group received a different question.  Some kids were asked how old their moms are... the answers ranged from "7" to "50 or something."  Another group was asked what their moms do best... those answers included everything from "giving hugs" to "working on the computer."  Hmmm... I bet that computer mommy is a blogger!  One group was asked what mommy's favorite tv show is... those answers were actually pretty acurate!  Reagan's group was asked "Where was your mommy born?"  The answers from her group were hilarious!  One kid said that his mommy was never born, that she has just always been big, but she used to live in England!  Reagan's answer was priceless... "My mommy was born in the place with the stars and stripes on the flag!"  I wrote down South Carolina for my answer, so even though it wasn't a perfect match, it was the PERFECT ANSWER!

After the game, Teacher Anne read us all a super sweet story that I have read myself many times before.  For some reason, hearing it read to us all in that setting, with Reagan curled up in my lap, I couldn't stop myself from becoming a blubbering mess!  You've probably heard it before... "Love You Forever" by Robert Munsch.  It's the super sweet story of a young woman holding her newborn son and softly singing to him:
I'll love you forever,
I'll like you for always,
As long as I'm living
my baby you'll be.
The story continues throughout the stages of the little boy's childhood until he becomes a man.  There is one part of the story that is, let's be honest here, just a little bit creepy.  After the man moves out on his own, the mother would drive across town in the middle of the night and climb through his bedroom window to still sing the song to him.   Ummm, no.  That is weird on all kinds of levels!  Munsch could have just left that part out of the story if you ask me.

Anyway, I wasn't the only one that got choked up listening to the story.  Even Teacher Anne had to take a moment to catch her voice and wipe her eyes by the end of the book.

Once we had all recomposed ourselves, the children escorted us into another room for tea and cake.  It was a lovely little service, and it was obvious that the kids had put A LOT of work into decorating and making everything special for the moms.

After we had finished our tea, the kids serenaded us with a super sweet song and then presented us each with a gift...
The quote on Reagan's picture frame says "My mommy loves me with all of her heart.  I love her as much as the whole wide world!"

Seriously, the entire afternoon was adorable, loving, sweet, and perfect!  It was like a gigantic overloaded mommy love-fest!

For Mother's Day Sunday, Reagan and Myers presented me with a beautiful necklace that I had been wanting ever since Myers was born.  If you haven't ever heard of Lisa Leonard and her amazing original hand-stamped designs, you really need to go check her out.  Go ahead and click on her name, but be sure to come back to finish reading here too!

Myers gave me an extra surprise that day as well... he started sitting ALL BY HIMSELF!  I will always remember that he reached that milestone on Mother's Day!

Reagan and Myers helped me to create the perfect picture to give to Momsey, Great-Gran, and Grandma to make their Mother's Day special as well.   I was extremely happy to get such a great shot of both of them actually looking at the camera AND with smiles on both of their faces... that in itself was like another gift to me! 

So, like I said at the very beginning, this was the best Mother's Day ever.  I was pampered with love and affection from my children, AND I got to share the day with my own Mom too.  It just doesn't get any better than that!

PS... We decided to play the "Connection" game at home later the same night as the Mother's Day so that Ryan and Pops could see how cute the answers could be.  I took Reagan into another room and asked her all four of the questions that were asked of the kids at preschool, and I had her give me an answer to each question for Momsey, Pops, and her Daddy.  The best answer of all... "What does Pops do best?"  Her answer... "Go to the bathroom!"  Hmmmm, someone spends a lot of time reading in his office!

Wednesday, May 4, 2011

Happy Birthday To Me

You know you are spoiled when you get not just one, but TWO cakes for your birthday!  Seriously, the bakery that we use is so amazing that I just couldn't decide between the white chocolate strawberry mouse cake or the tiramisu, so I got both.

I was also spoiled with presents.  My parents gave me some new Lululemon cropped pants, and Reagan added to my Lululemon headband collection.  If you haven't ever heard of this brand of athletic wear, you seriously don't know what you are missing.
I introduced my mom to this wonderful clothing line, and she now loves their stuff just as much as I do.  In return, she introduced me to the line of jeans called Not Your Daughter's Jeans.
Ryan gave me two pairs of these amazing jeans for my birthday.  Ladies, trust me when I tell you that modern technology mixed in with your clothes can work miracles.  Both Lululemon and Not Your Daughter's Jeans have mastered the art of lifting and tucking in all the right places!  Click either of the logos above to find out more for yourself...

When I modeled my new clothes for Ryan, he declared them to be "False Advertising" because he knows things don't look the same without the magic pants!  Now if that doesn't make you want to run out and buy a pair of your own, I don't know what will.

The best present of all was when Reagan decided to make up a song on the spot and sing it to me while rocking out with her Barbie guitar.  I was sitting there with tears running down my face as she sang about how much she loves me... all the way to outer space, and how I am the best mom ever.  No amount of money in the world can buy a gift like that!

Sunday, May 1, 2011

Aviva Cup Gymnastics Competition

Reagan's second gymnastics competition was the first weekend in May, and just like her first competition, she ROCKED it!

She started the event on bars, and then moved on to beam.  She did great on both events, but had a slight bobble on the beam that caused her to step off.  (We found out the next day that she was suffering from a severe ear infection, so we'll blame the balance issue on faulty equilibrium!)

She next moved on to floor and then vault.  As proud as I was of her on all events, I was the most impressed with her floor routine.  She did the best back extension that I have EVER seen her do... actually extending into a handstand at mid-flip!  You can see for yourself in the pictures below...  The large picture in the bottom left corner is her starting position.  The pictures then progress throughout the rotation of the extension starting in the top left corner working your way across and then down to the bottom left corner for the finish.

She had been struggling in practice to do her arch-back to bridge without having a spot, so I was THRILLED when she did it all by herself in the competition!

She even managed a near-perfect cartwheel.  The progression of the pictures starts at the top left to right, then moves to the bottom left to right.

Her scores had definitely improved from her previous meet back in January.  She earned silver on vault and floor, bronze on beam and bars, and SILVER FOR THE OVERALL!

Way to go Reagan!  We are all super proud of our little gymnast!