When the Baby was on Board

Lookie what I found in one of my picture files this morning.  I never posted any photos from the baby showers I was so blessed to have while pregnant with The Boy.   These are from the shower hosted by my dear friends Ivonne and Lorri (mothers of the other 3 Amigos gang members).  We had such a marvelous time with games and goodies.  I had told folks over and over that I did not want any kind of shower of party, but these gals got me!   The ladies even had a scrapbooking section set up so folks could make a starter book for Seth.  So awesome.   The cake and cookies were made by Miss Ivonne....she is such a baker.  I am so blessed to have such wonderful gals in my life! And Ivonne, I don't just love you for your cakes, but they really sweeten our friendship!

This is me and my little "Oatis" at a little over 38 weeks.   The picture on the right was the winner of a guessing game on what the baby would look like.  Thankfully, he was much cuter.

The ladies convinced me that my photos would look like I was mad if I kept saying, "Ohhh, how adorable" after I opened each gift.  They suggested I look surprised instead.  Hence, the look on my face while opening gifts.

I havent' located pictures from another shower I had, perhaps those will be found sometime when Seth is in college, but I wanted to document this special time in my life.  So there,  documented.

Observations at half a year

Kaelan and Seth at about 6 months of age.

A couple of things I've noticed:

*Seth is definitely a BIGGER baby than his sister.  His head is probably twice the size as hers. 

*Seth is a silent watcher, while Kaelan was always watching and yelling.  

This could change in the next few weeks.

*They both have crooked little smiles and dimples up by their eyes.

*Seth's little baby biscuits (rolls on his legs) are much thicker than Kaelan's were. He often gets stuck in the bumbo, poor fella.   But they make munching on him much easier...nom nom. 

*Judging by the pictures these kids have cheap parents.  Or maybe the word is "thrifty" or "green". 

Same toys for kids 5 years apart?  Geesh.

Seth at 5 1/2 months

Kaelan at 6 1/2 months

 

Seth in the bumbo at 5 1/2 months

Kaelan (sideways....grrrr.  I tried for 20 minutes to save it in the right direction, and though it showed it saving horizontally, it kept uploading sideways....grr....)   Kaelan at 6 months.

Please Hammer, Don't Hurt Em

It can be a little worrisome when Kaelan and daddy go out on their father/daughter dates and excursions, simply because my stomach can sometimes knot wondering what sort of music dad is pouring into that little sponge-brained kid of ours.   Let's face it, this Michael Jackson obsession stage we are going through right now.....completely her father's doing.   And the fact that she even knows who Winger and Poison are????  Again, the sin of her father.   Me, I try to expose her to the more refined side of music.  I give her healthy doses of  The Beatles and Beethoven.  I spice things up with Foo Fighters and Weezer.  Yes, I even give her the Bieber she so desires even though it makes my ears feel like they are being cleaned with Qtips dipped in acid.  But the 80's hair bands and the rap of his youth, I steer clear of those.   He feels it will be a gap in her musical knowledge, and therefore he takes every opportunity to close that gap.  
And that my friends is why Kaelan does things like this:

Vanilla Ice-"Ice, Ice Baby".   The world could have survived without that one, eh?   Yet my kid knows ALL the words to that song.  She even accused David Bowie and and Freddie Mercury of stealing Vanilla Ice's music when she heard "Under Pressure" on MY ipod.   I smacked Doug in the head for that one.   Are you kidding me?   Ice totally ripped that music off.

Now, if you were born after 1980, I realize that none of this post has made much sense to you.  In fact you should probably stop reading now, because this next picture will mean nothing to you.

 In fact, maybe ALL of you should stop here. 

This picture may scar you.

Yes, that is me.  Yes, I attended an MC Hammer/ Vanilla Ice concert.  Yes, I wore Hammer pants, and yes, I married a man who wore Hammer pants.  Yes, that is an African freedom emblem around my neck and sadly, I probably could not have told you who Mandela was back then, but I was stupid and that was the style.    

NO, I did not buy the ticket.  It was a gift. 

Does that serve as redemption?

Oh, but for the record, YES I could do the running man.

I  can't have my daughter listening to this kind of nonsense.  It brings up too many painful memories for me.   Just look at those shoes!  Oh, the pain.  Like a dagger in my heart I tell you.

5 MONTHS (HP style)

We will have our usual month to month update at the end of the 5 month mark but for now, in honor of the last Harry Potter movie release, we celebrate month # 5.

Are you seeing the little lightning bolt scar on his head?
Kaelan and dad were really getting into this photo shoot.

Stay tuned......Kaelan already has big plans for month 6!

Month by Month: 4

Month 4

My dearest little stinker, you really can be quite smelly at times.   We don't know what happened this month....mom did not change her diet in any spectacular manner, but something certainly changed in your "output".   It has  been a little sad, actually.   We could tell that your tummy was hurting and your were feeling a bit uncomfortable....then came the confirmation in the form of the most gaseous baby EVER!    We are talking put the dog to shame kind of gassiness!    The doctor thought it was rather comical and did not seem concerned.  He mentioned that it was just a change in your "flora" and it happens with babies.  

Man oh man, your flora is ripe.  

Thankfully, some major diet changes have helped and towards the end of the month the dark cloud had lifted. 

Literally.

Well, enough about your flora.  Let's move on to other great happenings.

This month your tendency to be vocal took a turn and instead of just noises, you started to make more lingual sounds.  You love to coo along to music, and there is a most adorable call that you make when you want your sister's attention.   It sounds a lot like a chimp, but it does the trick and brings sister to your side. 

You had several small road trips, and  your fist BIG road trip at the end of this month and you did a marvelous job!  We were so pleased with how well you traveled.  We had the chance to show you off to all our friends and family in the mountains, and not one of them didn't think you were something spectacular!   While on vacation, you said your first word.....seriously!   While hanging out in mom and dad's bed early one morning, you were cooing away.  When daddy said something, you stopped and seemed surprised by his voice.  Then, clear as day, you said, "DAAAD".   Dad and I both giggled and then repeated what you said.  Then again, you smiled and said it.  "DAAAAD".  You did this over and over again smiling each time.  Just to prove it wasn't a fluke, the next day when dad came in the room and spoke, you looked up from your floor mat and gave us a "DAAAAD".  You have since done it a few times.  Very cool that you talked.   Not so cool that it wasn't MOMMY that you said. 

No teeth for you yet, but you are very close.   You lose about 10oz of drool from your body an hour and you have a few swollen places on your gums. 

You are rolling both directions now, back to tummy and when you feel the need, back to tummy.   Putting you on the floor is quite interesting now, as you never end up where I put you down.  You are diggin' the jumperoo and the sit up toys now.  You are pretty close to sitting up unassisted and you LOVE to stand up.  

There is still no toy that can match the fun that your sister brings.  You absolutely love for her to come sit on the floor to play with you.  Luckily, you are still her favorite toy.

And here is what your DAAAD has to say:

Dear Seth-

Two steps forward and one step back.  Your growth rate is impressive, your new sleep pattern  . .  not quite as impressive.  Regardless, each time I go to pick you up and you smile, I forget that it's 3 in the morning and just enjoy spending time with you.  One of my favorite things is to watch you try to get your sister's attention.  As we drive down the road and she's busy playing a game or doing something other than making you the center of attention, you chirp, shout or pound your fist until she takes notice, then, once again, the smiles. I love you son, it's fantastic to watch you grow, and I can't wait until 3am to see you again!

Love, Dad

 

It is true, your sleep patterns changed a little this month.  Nothing too serious, but we miss those stretches from 7:30 PM to 6:00 AM.   Right now, you are waking up around 2:30 or 3:00 AM and wanting to EAT!   I have sent dad in to try and soothe you back to sleep because well, it is hard not to want milk when the milk truck is in your room!   You have gotten your way lately and forced us to feed you, but you usually go right back to sleep and then push on through to 7:00 AM.  We are going to work hard on dropping that middle of  the night feeding this month with the introduction to SOLIDS!  The doc says you are a big boy and you are ready to eat some of the good stuff.   Oh joy!  Here come the fun diapers!

Summertime

This summer, have you taken the time to ...........

....enjoy a cool splash on a hot day?

 

...taken yourself out to the ballgame to cheer on your favorite team?  (our favorite is the BRAVES)

.....taken advantage of any opportunity  to refresh yourself in the killer heat?

....spent some time out on the water?

....made your own water park in the backyard?

WELL, WE HAVE!!!

HAPPY SUMMER, YA'LL!

(I just have to tell you that when I saw that last picture, I noticed the little "beach ball" in the background and thought, "That's weird, I don't remember us having a white beach ball."

That was no ball.   Sorry kid, you have your daddy's noggin.) 

Much cuter than a beach ball.



Run Kaelan, Run!

Kaelan has become quite the little runner.  She recently completed her first 5K race and by completed, I mean she RAN the heck out of that sucker.  She has participated in several 5K and 10K races with mom and pop usually riding in the jogger for most of the race and then jumping out and running a bit here and there.  However, this year she really wanted to run the whole Pflugerville Pfun Run.   We decided to give it a whirl, and much to our surprise (and the bundle of folks she passed), Kaelan really did run the race.  Her finishing time was around 37 minutes.  Mom made her sit down in the jogger long enough to fix her shoe and get a drink.   We were hoping she would want to rest for a bit, but she begged us to let her out to go, so off we went!   She even wanted to do the Kid K after finishing the 5K...and she smoked that one, too!   I have a feeling a marathon is in her future.

Kiddie Tri

This was the third year for our Kiddie  Triathlon here in the 'Hood.  The kids did a great job running around a pond (about .25 mile long), biking a course through the 'hood (about .5 miles in length), and then swimming from one end of the pool to the other (about the length of a pool).  Ha, I made a funny.

Pre-race hugs and fun

Taking off for the biking portion

Stripping down and heading to the pool

I love that each kid did great, and each kid won a medal.   They were all winners!

This year, Kaelan designed the shirt decal.  They came out so cute!   Our buddy Jaime did a fantastic job putting everything together.    Next year will be just as awesome!