Ian - 9 Months

Ian is now 9 months old.  He has hit several milestones this month--Ian has been a busy boy! 

He is finally eating a little more baby food.  I know he doesn't eat as much as the typical 9 month old, but he now eats yogurt, pears, mangos, oatmeal (baby cereal), Cheerios, and his favorite, Gerber puffs.  I really need to work on vegetables, but I mostly get a nasty face when I give him vegetables.

He has several new teeth (6 teeth in all have cut through).

We said goodbye to the indoor "baby" swing this month and hello to the outdoor swing, which he loves.  He leans back, kick his feet, and relaxes!

Ian has begun to crawl!  He is also pulling himself to standing and taking a few steps holding onto furniture.  I have to watch him all the time as he is really into exploring now.

He has also learned to kiss.  Or, he at least makes the smack noise if I make it to him.  So, we blow kisses to each other.  And, Ian has started babbling more--he now says mama, dada, gaga, and lots of squeals.

He had his 9 month old checkup today.  It was a several hour ordeal as he had to have blood drawn for a routine CBC and iron check.  We spent lots of time waiting, but he was very good.  Poor thing he was poked so much today--TB skin test, 2nd dose of flu vaccine, Hep B vaccine, 1st attempt at blood in the arm, and finally got the blood from his finger.

He weighs 21 lbs. (75th percentile) and is 28 1/4 inches (50th percentile). 

Here are some videos of him crawling.

Race for the Cure

I spent a fun Saturday morning (October 3) walking with friends for a great cause.  It was a 5K walk, along with a long walk to and from the car, so we walked at least 7 miles.  After the walk, we had a yummy lunch of Mexican food. 

We also had the cutest shirts - "We are walking for these GIRLS" was on the front - "And for our girls" (with a cute picture of our daughters on the back).

There were lots of people walking and running for breast cancer.

This was also the first time I had been away from Ian for an extended period of time.

Visitor

Last Tuesday this little guy appeared at our back door.  He had no tags or collar, and seemed to have no desire to leave our backyard.

I could tell he was someone's dog.  He seemed well fed; although, he was a puppy and like to chew and jump.  I should have taken a picture of our backyard while he was there.  He made quite a mess!  He even dug up some fresh mulch that Juan had just put down.  And, everytime he would jump on Avery and Sterling, he would scare them to death.

We asked around the neighborhood, but no one seemed to know where he came from.  I even posted some signs around the neighborhood.  I continued to feed him and hoped that we would find his owner.  I just couldn't imagine us keeping him.  I would love to have a dog, but I just don't have the time to give a dog the attention they deserve.

So, Thursday afternoon we were driving home from school and Avery said, "MOM!  There's a lost dog sign--it said a blue heeler."  I thought she might have been imagining things, but I turned around, and sure enough it was a sign for a lost 3 month old male blue heeler.  This had to be the owners!  I pulled over immediately and called.  Sure enough it was the owners.  The little guy's name was Rascal and he was over a mile from home.  I still don't know why or how he ended up in our backyard.  I'm so happy we found his home and he just came to visit.

U2 Concert

Juan and I celebrated his birthday by attending the U2 concert.  We had never seen them live, and it was so awesome.  They sounded great especially singing the classics like I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For, One, Stuck in a Moment, Sunday Bloody Sunday, With or Without You, and Where the Streets Have No Name.

I did not bring my regular camera, so these pictures are not the greatest from my Blackberry.  Our seats were pretty good; although, we did have part of the cool stage blocking our view at times.  The guys did make their way around the stage several times where we could see them a little closer.

We laughed and said we were too old to stand in the pit.  I will say this was one of the best concerts I have ever been to!

Soccer Fun - Sterling

Sterling had his first soccer game this morning.  I was a little nervous because our first practice was a little rough (he and some of his other teammates cried for a good portion of the first practice).  But surprisingly, the Chargers played very well (especially for 3 year olds). 

Sterling almost scored a goal, and several of his teammates did score.  Although, officially the league does not keep score.  Juan is also the COACH!

It’s going to be a fun soccer season!  GO CHARGERS!

Ian – 8 Months!

 

I missed posting this on the actually date (22nd) Ian hit the 8 month mark.  It’s been so crazy lately with activities, school, etc.

Ian still does not seem too interested in baby food.  Some days he eats about 1/2 jar to a jar.  I’ve tried yogurt, too.  He really likes to feed himself little baby cereal puffs and is still very happy with his milk.  He doesn’t seem to be missing the food so much—he is still a little rolly poley. 

He is almost crawling.  He gets up, rocks, and either dives forward or slides backwards.  It will not be long.  He also gets up and does “pushups”!  I don’t know how he can lift his whole body!

   

Ian said his first word – MAMA!  Sterling and Avery both said Dada first, so Ian made my heart melt. I love to hear him.  For about the last two weeks, he has been saying, “mama mama mama” over and over again.

No doctor visit this month, so I don’t have any measurements.  He does have two cute little teeth on the bottom that you can see in the picture.

Sterling’s First Day of Preschool

I just dropped Sterling off for his first day of preschool. He was so happy and excited. He did not cry at all. I was so proud of him. Only I shed a few tears in the parking lot.

He was not too excited about carrying his school bag. He said it looks like a purse! This is a bag provided by the preschool that all the kids carry.

I was also glad to meet a family from our church. Victoria is in his class and also had VBS with Sterling.

We were running a little late, but we found his new friends on their blanket. They all meet up at 8:45 a.m. for devotionals and songs with the parents.

Then at 9:00 a.m. they line up and head to the classroom. I know he will have a great time making new friends and learning from his teachers Ms. Carol and Ms. Danielle. Sterling is already “in love” with Ms. Danielle. I love this picture of him. He was so excited. The cute little girl with the yellow bow is Victoria. I can’t wait to hear all about his day!

Getting in the Swing of Things

It seems we are falling into a routine now that Avery has been back at school for over a week now.

I can't believe I have been cooking every night, and we haven't eaten out since our trip to Galveston, except for after church on Sunday. It must be a record for us! I started blogging about our dinners on my recipe blog. You can check it out here.

My house isn't as clean as I would like, and my laundry isn't caught up. I haven't had my friend that was helping me clean come in over 2 months. I miss the laundry not being caught up and a cleaner house, but I am trying to save the money for a new car. We still can't decide exactly what we want. I am just not "in love" with any particular car. And, Juan and I are debating over a minivan vs. SUV. One is more convenient with the kids (and that's what I'm looking for) and definitely cheaper, but Juan doesn't like minivans. Have you tried loading 3 kids all in car seats or boosters (in the Texas heat)?

Our mornings are running a little smoother thanks to closet organizers. The past 2 Sundays, we have picked out outfits for the week and put them in their daily slot. I've seen these in catalogs for $20 and up, but I just made our own from a $7 organizer from Walmart and a little paint pen. I tried to do this last year with Avery, but we didn't keep it up. I bought one from Target this year for Sterling.

Avery and Sterling had dentist appointments this past Wednesday. Everything was great--no cavities for both! Avery currently has 3 teeth that are loose (a bottom tooth and her 2 front teeth).