a hunting we will go

It was time for our annual Tree Hunt today.  It was the day after Thanksgiving, and J's parents were here and wanted to experience the hunt with us, so today was the day.  It was pretty sad up there.  The highway is still open because there's not enough snow to close it.  And a spot that had plenty of trees a few years ago, had nothing but beetle kill. 

However, we pulled over at an open spot, B got his snow clothes on (J, his dad, and I were fine in just boots - there wasn't enough snow for snow pants, unlike last year!), I put little b in warm clothes and strapped him into the snugli, and off we went.  Holy moly, I'm out of shape.  Especially with 15 lbs of baby on my front.  Time to start working out, darn it.

B-man had a great time hiking up the side of the mountain.  He may have fallen down on purpose about 100 times.  He had already declared this day his favorite day ever. 

We found a tree - we got one that was flat on the backside on purpose, since we don't have a lot of space in our house!  This way, it can slide right up against the wall. :)

Our annual tree hunting picture - our first as a family of FOUR. :)

it's because his dad was valedictorian - again

I already used this title a couple years ago but I thought it was totally appropriate for this post.

We had our first public school parent/teacher conferences on November 8.  This was the day I was struck with the stomach bug but I felt better by the time it was time for his conference so I dragged myself out of the house.  I'm so glad I did!

My B-man is a genius.  OK, maybe not a genius, but one dang smart kindergartener!  His teacher said he's quite the mathematician.  And showed us his writing and I was blown away - he's writing paragraphs.  They had to write about Halloween in the example she showed us - I can't remember how it was all spelled (we had to leave his writing there) but she said it was so good, she could read all of it without asking him what it said.  He wrote "I am going to be a skeleton for Halloween.  My brother will be a skeleton for Halloween.  We go trick-or-treat.  At my house, we give out candy."  And his illustrations are incredibly cute. :)  She said he loves calendar time and science, and I know he loves library time and music!  She said he has his closer friends, but that he's so kind and caring and encouraging to EVERYONE he comes across and that makes me incredibly proud.

His PE teacher said while the rest of the kids are dribbling basketballs off their feet and missing them completely with their hands, he's dribbling like a pro.  Um, duh.  :)

We have one smart kid on our hands!  Perhaps he'll be valedictorian like his daddy. :)

one more spd hurdle - down!!!

My B-man went to the dentist for the first time ever on November 2.  A year ago, this would have never even been a possibility.  Way too much new and unknown for him to be able to handle it.  This year, he was asking about it so we thought we'd seize the opportunity and give it a go.  At the recommendation of our sister-in-law, we took him to her kids' pediatric dentist that just happens to travel to Laramie during the week.  I had to work, but it was a Friday, so Josh took him.  I was so worried all day long about the possible meltdown that might happen.

I didn't need to be worried.

He was a total rock star!  He gagged at some of the x-rays so they didn't make him do it, but everything else was awesome!  He got his teeth cleaned, giggled at the saliva sucker, especially when it sucked up his lip, and his favorite part, he got a new toothbrush. :)  They did find one tiny cavity on a molar that he'll have fixed here in a couple weeks.  But they asked if he brushed on his own and were totally impressed when he said yes - they said he does an amazing job brushing and the cavity is not because of that.  He has super deep pits in his teeth so it's hard for the brush to get all the way down there.  So when they fix his cavity they will also seal his teeth.

And while he was telling me about his day, he used the L word.  "I LOVED the dentist, mom!"

I'm so proud of that kid!

4 months

I'm behind.  So, so behind.  I'm sorry!!  The week everything happened was the week the stomach bug went through our house and the last thing I was thinking about was blogging.  So here is my attempt at catching up.

Little b turned 4 months old.  I love this age.  He's so active and engaged and just so FUN!  Don't get me wrong, I love the newborn stage, but this age is pretty wonderful too.

Length / Weight: Up to 14 lbs, 7 oz.  50th percentile.  Length is 26 inches, which jumped to the 75th percentile.  Head was 50th percentile too but I don't remember what it was.

Eating: He still is on breast milk.  Most daytime bottles are 4 oz, but sometimes he cluster eats and can do 8-10 oz in a couple hours time.  If he wakes up at night he wants between 6-8 oz.

Sleeping: More and more sleeping through the night!  LOVE that!  Swaddling is a thing of the past and now sleeps in sleep sacks, which he seems to like a lot.

Wearing:Still in 3-6 month clothes.  He's also wearing size 2 diapers now.

Miscellaneous: He smiles and smiles and smiles! And his laugh - to die for!  He's grabbing for EVERYTHING now, and bringing it straight to his mouth.  Toys, blankets, his little cool ball he has... He also grabs for the phone while I'm using it, grabs bottles when we're trying to make them, and the other day B had to keep pushing his hands away from the iPad.  True big brother moment, right there. ;)  He rolled over from belly to back!

this little piggy went to market...

... And loved the oatmeal that was bought there. Our baby is old enough to try eating cereal. I was going to wait - he isn't starving, he's most likely my last baby, and I'm in no hurry for him to grow up. But J was pretty excited when we got the ok to try it at our well-visit on the 7th, so while we were out tonight, the purchase was made.

*sigh*

And wouldn't you know, my eater loved it. No icky faces at all. Opening his mouth for more like a little bird.

I guess he was ready.

add to the list

A couple more milestones this week...  slow down, time, I can't keep up! You're taking my baby too fast!

He has discovered he has toes.  Only a few times have they interested him, but those few times, he thinks they are super interesting!

He has also discovered he has hair.  He's been slowly discovering that for a little while now, but today I noticed a few different times where he'd reach up there and play with it.

Grabbing the bottle and shoving it OUT of your mouth is apparently pretty entertaining.  Too bad it now takes forever to feed him.

I told him tonight I think he's going to be my trouble maker.  It's a good thing everything we have for him that isn't on the floor has a strap to hold him in, because he'll try to buck himself out of it.  He also spent quite a while growling at me tonight and then laughing about it.  Ornery little fellow.


***


We stayed home with the B-man today.  He woke up last night throwing up.  Luckily he keeps a garbage can on his bed already, and he was quick enough to get there before throwing up all over the bed.  He only threw up that one time but he moaned all through the night and even asked to stay home today, which 1) that's weird... he LOVES school! and 2) we were going to keep him home anyway.  J had to go to his sports scheduling meeting out of town today, so I burned another sick day to stay home.  B was pretty puny this morning but perked up this afternoon, which was a good thing so I could take the boys out with me to the polls to vote!

rolling rolling rolling

Little b has hit so many milestones in what seems to be the past week!  Let's see... he is so good at grabbing things and immediately shoving them in his mouth, he's really interested in trying to get my phone while I have it and actually tried playing some words on Words with Friends the other night, trying to knock the bottle out of my hands while I'm trying to fill it up.... 

He had his first cold last week and did not sleep more than a TOTAL of 6 hours in two nights... I was so afraid my awesome little sleeper was never going to sleep again but as soon as he felt a bit better on Thursday night, he slept through the night!  With this illness he earned his first sick trip to the doctor where they found red ears, but not red enough to be called an infection.  At the doctor, he weighed 14 lbs, 3.5 oz.

And another milestone, rolling from belly to back!  I didn't even know he was wanting to do it, until the babysitter told me Friday that he did it at her house, and then we got to witness it that night for ourselves and again yesterday a couple times.  He's *thisclose* to rolling from back to belly - if that shoulder would get out of the way, he'd be successful - I'm expecting it in the next couple days.