home again, home again...

today we came back to madison from grandma and grandpa's. before we left, i had to play with all my toys and grandpa.

i'm not too sure what to think of my sled. first we tried it inside, and then we got all bundled up and went outside. i didn't really let on if i was having fun or not...but i didn't cry or complain, so everyone considered it a success :)

I showed grandpa that the sippy cup he has for me makes a great toy too...

and then i gave everyone a recital. i'm pretty good for my first time, don't you think?

in other news... mommy has been letting me climb (supervised, of course) up the stairs. i get most excited when she says/shows me (with signs) it's bath time or i hear her or daddy start my bath water. i'm getting pretty fast at climbing the stairs. when mommy and daddy aren't looking, i can make it to the first landing pretty quickly ;) one of these days i'll slow down a bit so mommy can take some pictures for you.

Merry Christmas!

after church last night we went back to great g&g thompson's and opened presents. i barely lasted through pictures, and then went to bed.

mommy and daddy had to open all my cool presents. but i played with them all this morning. then before we went to my other great g&g rosty's, we went to see my great aunt rocky and my cousin charlie. rocky and joy got on my good side by tickling my feet and eating my toes, and i laughed at them :) then i laughed at charlie because his mommy dressed him to look like santa ;) and he laughed at me when i got tickled. we had lots of fun.

here i am with mommy, grandma and great grandma.

i had lots of fun crawling around the living room and playing with my water bottle. i even tasted a cucumber for the first time! and had yummy raw carrots.

a busy christmas eve

yesterday i had a checkup with the doctor to see if my ears are better. she said they are doing better and i just need to finish my medicine. then we went home and packed up stuff to go to g&g thompsons. we opened a few presents before i went to bed. but then i woke up and we opened lots more - although i would only sit on mommy's lap.

This morning we got up and helped g&g pack the car. then we started the long drive up north to my great-grandma & grandpa's in swanville, MN. Grandpa made good time in the car. i helped him out by taking some nice long naps and being a goofball.

mommy and daddy were worried because i don't even sleep the whole trip to decorah or mt. prospect. we made it 3.5 hours before i insisted on stopping. we made it in time to enjoy some yummy supper and then headed to christmas eve service.

i stayed close to mommy when we got there (my new nickname is "monkey"), but i eventually warmed up to everyone. some of the time i watched great grandma gladys (G3) play the organ. but the rest of the time i was noisy and convinced mommy to hang out in the hallway of the balcony.

Christmas program and meeting Santa

today i had a christmas program at school. i was an elf and was very well-behaved. i even smiled at mommy as i came out the door. when i was done, i sat with mommy and clapped for the rest of my friends. they sang very pretty christmas songs.

i also got to see santa.

i wasn't sure what to think of him...he had all this hair on his face.

can you see my lip getting bigger and bigger?

when we were done, mommy took me out to the car in a blizzard. i love the snow - miss margie says it doesn't even phase me. when we got home, mommy tried my new snowsuit on. it fits perfectly. then she heard that grandma found me some snow boots, too! mommy can't find ANY. i'm all set to play in the snow when i get to grandma's!

time for a haircut!

today i got my first haircut!! i was such a good boy. i sat on daddy's lap and sat very still. i was very curious when the lady used the clippers. Daddy was shaggy , too. Here are some pics from our trip to the hair cutter's.

Daddy's and my "before" picture

my cape had penguins on it

i kept a close watch to make sure the lady didn't cut too much off ;)

our "after" picture. aren't we handsome? :)

i've also been getting into lots of mischief lately:

i like to get into the end table drawer and play with all the stuff in there.

Then, this evening mommy put me for a nap in my pack-n-play, and heard a squawk out of me. She came to check on me and this is what she found:

for the record, when i laid down for my nap, i had pants on ;) somehow i got them all the way off.

back to the doctor

today i had to go to the doctor again. the daycare called and told mommy i was sounding "croupish" so she made an appt for me during the day. I got to see the same doctor as I saw on Sat. today, though, he had worse news - i have another ear infection :( but no croupe! he said the medicine will make my ears and nose drain into my chest, so that will make me sound icky. time for some more amoxicillan.

after some medicine i felt a little better and we played peek-a-boo again.

sick again

today i had to go to the urgent care doctor. last night i felt really warm - my tummy, hands and head. this morning i didn't sit long enough for mommy to take my temp, but it still went up to 100.4 before i squirmed away. i just wasn't happy!

the doctor got 100.2 with the ear-mometer. the doctor said i just have a virus and will probably feel icky for a few days. lucky for mommy and daddy this always happens on the weekend :)

i felt a little better after my nap. here is my picture with andy - 38 wks old.

oatmeal and hide & seek/peek-a-boo

tonight mommy fed me lots and lots of oatmeal. after the incident with the rice cereal, she is a little nervous to increase the thickness - can you blame her? and since we use mommy milk to make the oatmeal, she is cautious on how much she makes at a time. especially because i'm notorious (at least in this house) for acting hungry and then not wanting food ;) she had to make me 3 "servings" (although, mommy's servings are small...). Each time she finished the bowl, i screamed until she made more. :) i've got her trained!

then after my bath and mommy and daddy's supper we played hide and seek. i've been working on this for a while. i know how to find people when they put my drool rag or blankie over their heads. but tonight i did the hiding! i'd hold it up to my face and then drop the blanket. oh boy did i scare mommy and daddy. then i buried my face in the blanket, and i still scared them ;) this is a fun game - i'll have to have mommy video it for you to see how much fun it is.

Paciugo!

Yesterday daddy was feeding me some oatmeal and he saw a 2nd tooth coming in! in two weeks i've grown 2 teeth!! it's no wonder i've been a little fussy.

i had some bananas for breakfast this morning, and some yams for lunch. it snowed quite a bit, and wrigley and i were on the watch for passersby.

later on, mommy and daddy went to see harry potter 7, part 1. i got to stay home with grandma tammie. she stuffed me full of food! I had some bananas, and then green beans and milk. then when grandma was having some banana, i asked for more.

after mommy and daddy go back, we had supper and then went to have some gelato at the mall. paciugo is yummy!! i had some sneaks of mommy's orange tangerine sorbet. i loved it!

thanksgiving fun

for thanksgiving we went down to my grandpa and grandma saillard's in chicago. grandma jan gave me some cool socks that have grippers. i was having trouble walking, and they helped me out.

and guess what i figured out how to do - on Thanksgiving after we ate, i climbed up their stairs for the first time! it was easy to learn there - their stairs are just a little shorter than mine are.

then when i got home, i went right to our stairs...and got up to the landing. that's as far as daddy would let me go :)

i sat at the table while everyone ate, and was a very good boy. grandma bought me a booster that had lots of fun toys on and i was entertained the whole meal. I also had some sweet potatoes while everyone else had turkey, cranberries, green beans and sweet potatoes too!

friday, sat and today mommy had some appointments, so i hung out with daddy. i wanted to cuddle a lot and to have daddy hold me. i lucked out that the internet was down and i got some quality mommy and daddy time ;)

we got a new ottoman recently - this is to replace the dangerous coffee table with lots of edges. i can stand up very easily now! you can see more picture of me standing by the ottoman on my picture site (link to the left).

i also am talking a LOT lately.

8 mo old with my first tooth!

last night i went to bed pretty early - mommy made me stop at the grocery store with her on the way home, so i didn't get my car-ride nap. i went to bed around 7:20 and then woke back up at 7:30. mommy and daddy should have known better.

i decided to play for a bit, then finally went back to sleep at 9:30. i called for mommy again at 10:00. i told her my teeth were hurting me - a LOT. She tried a good ol' trick - rubbing my gums with her finger. that usually works. but this time she caught her finger...on part of a tooth!! she told me she was gonna see if she can get a picture today...but we'll see how that goes. i don't plan on cooperating.

mommy is relieved, because my nose was getting really runny the night before, and sometimes i would wake up and cough up my extra drool! i was also pulling at my ears every once in a while. so mommy and daddy were worried my ear infection was back (or hadn't completely gone away).

and...today i'm also 8 months old! here is my picture with andy - they're starting to get further between. I'll have to remind mommy to take some more pics with Andy. This is me at 35 weeks old.

busy little bee

you'll have to excuse mommy - we've been having so much fun together that i won't let her take time to post updates for you. :)

lately i've been up to lots of mischief:

* pulling up on my own on anything within reach

* practicing walking, with mommy or daddy's help

* if not walking, insisting on standing (if mommy helps me walk and then makes me sit, i tell her how mad i am)

I have been so busy lately, i usually fall asleep on the way home from daycare. i was still holding on to my musical crab.

mommy made me some yams a few days ago. i LOVE them. i've also had some sneaks at mommy's food. i love apples, but not bananas yet.

pop goes the kaiden

today when mommy picked me up at daycare, i had a fat lip! one of my daycare teachers said she didn't notice it a little earlier in the afternoon... but i had been playing with the xylophone for a while. mommy said she understands - especially how i love to "shake" things with my hand. i probably popped myself in the lip.

i am getting really good at standing up. don't be surprised if i'm walking soon! you can see how well i can stand in this video. i love it when mommy makes 'pop' noises with her lips. ;) i even manage to keep my balance when i laugh really hard.

lots of activity

Yesterday i had my last dose of amoxicillan! i hope it made me get all better.

And then last night, mommy and daddy had to lower my bed frame. this morning mommy watched me go from lying, to sitting to standing at the front of my crib. all in about 5 seconds flat.

Today mommy made me some peas - i loved 'em. they are the only veggie i asked for more of at the first-time tasting.

mommy and daddy also put up some christmas lights today. it was so nice, and others in the neighborhood had already done it, so we're not the first :) they brought my exersaucer outside, since it was so nice. i hung out and watched some cars drive by, and watched daddy climb the ladder. every so often i had to tell him where to put the hanger. mommy was too busy holding the ladder for daddy to take a picture of me, but i had lots of fun - i love being outside!

sitting up

this week i've worked really hard on sitting up and pulling myself up on things, especially mommy and daddy.

tonight when i was eating, i decided to bite mommy. she told me "NO" and then put my milk away. i made some noises ("huh?") but didn't really protest. a little while later, i fell asleep on mommy's lap. this will make feeding times a little more interesting...

more fun at grandma and grandpa's

This weekend i got a surprise visit from grandpa! He was turkey hunting, but since he got his turkey right away, he came home to see me!!

he helped me learn how to sit up on my own. and grandma even pulled out some of uncle mitch's toys - i loved his choo choo train, and learned pretty quickly how to make it toot! grandma also let me play with her old laptop. i love to pound on the keys and push the screen back. good thing it's a hardy machine ;)

this week at daycare i'm having veggies 2x a day! i eat them really well, they say. mommy thinks i don't like to eat them at home because i know i have mommy milk as a backup. i'm so stubborn!

Happy halloween!

After a fun morning with grandma and grandpa, we came back to Madison, and i got dressed up to help mommy and daddy hand out candy. i was some kind of monster - we're not sure what, though, because there was no tail! i did have spikes down my back, though. what do you think i was?

wrigley even dressed up as a ladybug. it didn't last long with her though.

i watched out the window for trick-or-treaters every once in a while. mommy thinks i look like such a big boy here.

ISU homecoming

yesterday i got to go home early with mommy and daddy. we drove to decorah and dropped wrigley off with grandma. then, after a quick mabe's pizza, we were back in the car to ames. it was a long ride for me and i didn't sleep very long. when we got to the hotel, i wanted to make sure everyone knew i was there, so i blabbed until about 11 and finally went to sleep.

i figured since i was kind of difficult, i'd let mommy and daddy sleep until 6. we got ready and stopped by HyVee for some Starbucks and grilling meat. We finally made it to the tailgate lots and i got to meet lots of mommy and daddy's friends. i fell asleep soon after we got there and daddy carried me around. then we went to watch the cyclones win! at half time mommy and i went on a trek to find a place for me to eat. then we stopped to see some people in the alumni band and some of mommy's rah-rah friends. later on when i went to have my diaper changed, we saw the band again, and they "cycloned" us! i had a good time, and was on my best behavior - i even flirted with the ladies behind us at the game.

after the game we went back to the tailgate and had some quick supper and were on our way back to decorah. i slept most of the way and played with grandma lots when we got there. Then i went to bed late again - what a weekend treat! :)

oh, my aching ears

yesterday mommy got a call around noon from the daycare. they told her i was pulling at both of my ears when i was eating my beans for lunch. mommy had told them i got up 4 times the night before, so they suggested taking me in to the doctor. at 1:00 we went to urgent care. the doctor said i was so happy - my lungs sounded good, and my throat looked fine. but both of my ears were a little red. he said after my icky cold, i got a tiny ear infection. so he gave me some amoxicillian.

i took it really well last night, and then only got up once, at 2. i decided to give mommy and daddy a challenge this morning, though. it took them 10 minutes to give me a little dropperful of medicine.

today at daycare we went trick-or-treating. so mommy sent my costume. they told mommy i was super cute and everyone oohed and aahed at me. :) i brought home my candy to share.

new friends

yesterday i met a new girl - katelyn. My grammy and her nanna are friends, and they were both in madison at the same time. So we went and played at katelyn's house. I also played with katelyn's sister, lauren. she moved the toys away from me lots because she liked to watch me crawl.

then we came home and played with grandpa and watched the badgers beat iowa. go bucky! I also ate lots of nummy carrots, and got my cool vintage bib from auntie rachel all full of 'em. Mommy loves this bib because it's so big and keeps everything else clean! :)

today was grandpa's last day here - he left around noon. but first we took some pictures of me, mommy and grandpa.

and grandpa helped me work on my walking.

lots of sleep...for now

yesterday grandma got here. i showed her how good of a sleeper i can be - mommy and daddy appreciated it. I slept from 9:30 at night until 5:00 this morning. grandma changed me, mommy fed me, and we all went back to sleep...except for daddy. he showered and went to work early, since he has to leave tonight for california. mommy and i slept in until 830. we both felt lots better!

do you like my new outfit from grandma? She put an owl on my onesie, but you can't see it very well. it matches the owl corduroy pants she made me too. and a little background to this picture. i found the ads from the paper, and had so much fun playing with them. wrigley also wanted to come play, and started tearing them up too! monkey see, monkey do. :)

mommy and i both had vacation days today. i played a lot during the day and mommy and grandma cleaned some, and then we went on some errands to the mall and whole foods, where mommy bought me some yummy organic baby food - Sprout. what's to lose when you've got a coupon? :) they have some interesting food combos. Mommy got me Roasted Bananas & Brown Rice; Sweet Baby Carrots, Apples & Mangoes; and Oatmeal with Roasted Cinnamon Applesauce.

We got home and hung out for a bit, and i was a stinker. I didn't go to bed until 10:00. Mommy told me grandpa was coming, and I tried hard to stay up until he got here - he came all the way from South Dakota!

SEVEN months old and sick :(

yesterday i had a bit of a fever at daycare and mommy almost had to come get me. i was .2 degrees away. but i took a nice, 3-hour-long nap, and had a 6-oz bottle! Then, when i got home, i ate some mommy milk AGAIN, just 2 hours later. last night, everyone in the house went to bed at 9:30, and i let them all sleep until 4:00.

today i did lots better at daycare. they told mommy my temp only got to the high 98s, and when mommy called, i'd already been sleeping for 2 hours. when mommy picked me up, she showed them how i can walk, and they said when they take me up to Kid Corner, where all the big kids play, they'll put me in a walker!

I even fell asleep while mommy was showing me how to make supper. she needs to work on her delivery.

And guess what today is.... I'm SEVEN months old (30 wks & 4 days)! here's my pictures! (forgive me, but i'm still a bit under the weather...)

zootie patootie

Here is my not-so-regular photo with Andy. This is from two days ago, Oct 16 - I'm 30 weeks old. i wore my cyclones apparel in hopes of a win. but we got exactly the opposite. :( Oh well. this cute picture makes up for it ;)

Look how tall i'm getting - i'm almost as high as the back of the rocking chair. Do you like my zootie patootie leg warmers? They have dinosaurs on them - Rawr!!

yesterday i went shopping with mommy. we went to the mall and two other stores. after each place i fell asleep, and she kept waking me up! then last night i woke up twice and she kept trying to lay me back down. at 330 i told her i didnt want to go to sleep, so she hung out with me until 430. my nose was so stuffy and my gums hurt.

today on the way to daycare i told mommy how icky i felt last night - nice and loud. i took a short nap just after i got there, then this afternoon i took a three-and-a-half hour nap, then ate a six oz bottle. both records for me. then on the way home i was noisy again.

tonight i army-crawled all over and tried to go upstairs cuz i knew daddy was up there.

some new things about me

today i had some green beans that grandma made for me. i liked them!

i can...

* sit up by myself (when put in the sitting position - can't pull myself up from my tummy yet, though)

* rock back and forth on my hands and knees for a bit, but eventually result to scooting

* drink from a sippy cup...but mostly i like to nibble on the spout

* crawl over obstacles (like legs!); they pose no problem when a remote is on the other side! i just motor my way over them :)

i'm bored

today i waved on demand when i went to the mall with mommy. well, it was more a twist of the wrist - i gotta work on my parade wave :)

i've also learned how to tell mommy and daddy when i'm bored. this time i was sick of being in my exersaucer.

movin' on up

today at daycare i had 3 big bottles. well, they were big for me, at least...and bigger than i've had. I also took longer naps. So they let me go play on the other side of the fence today with two of my other baby friends (the Baby Chicks) while the big kids (the Penguins) were sleeping. we also went upstairs to play in the "Kids Corner." they say I might move up soon... I get into lots of mischief on the little baby side - there are so many fun cords to see!!

Tonight i had more carrots - i'm still not sure what to think.

a surprise visitor

last night i didn't wake up until 4am. that's one of the longest times i've gone between eatings! mommy and daddy think it's because i was very busy all day with visitors.

today i got a surprise visit from grandma! I hung out with her lots - showed her how fast i can crawl and how well i can sit. She showed me how to drink from a real glass.

Mommy also finally got a good shot of my killer eyelashes - check 'em out!

when mommy fed me before bed, i fell asleep and started laughing! i was having a really good dream, and i even smirked at her.