He's Still Our Little Peanut!

Today was our 8 month doctor visit, and he is certainly growing right up! The pediatrician (Good Ol' Dr. Mike...oh how we love him!) suggested that we try some finger foods now, such as noodles, fruits, soft veggies, lunch meat, etc...I can't believe we're at that point already! Then again, he is a monster with four teeth now! Now, just to get him to eat said finger foods...he still won't eat those puffs unless we put it directly into his mouth. Apparently, according to our lovely Dr. Mike, he's gotten lazy and knows we'll do it for him. Oooooopsies...........guess that's done!

His current stats:

-Head Circumference: 43 cm., 25th percentile, up from 3-5th just two months ago! He's putting that brain of his to work, I guess ;)
-Height: 27", 35th percentile, down from 50th two months ago (Hey, what do you expect, he's got two shorties for parents!)
-Weight: 16 1/2 lbs., 5th percentile, right where he always has been...he's our little peanut boy and we love him like that!

As soon as we got home from the doctor, baby gate installation continued! Our crazy house needs FOUR ridiculously expensive gates! With a split level, we need 2 top of stair gates to screw into the wall and (gasp) banister, so while we were paying up the wazoo for those, we figured the bottom of the stairs gates might as well match. So like $200 later (and trust me...this could have gotten WAY more expensive), we have matching baby gates that get in the way of everything, and a start to a baby-proofed home. Thank goodness, because he was actually just rocking on his knees for the first time a minute ago...what happened to my immobile baby?!

Also, I graduate a week from Saturday, so I will have four more glorious weeks at home after that...if anyone is up for some playdates, let me know! I'm totally game for a trip to the zoo or the pool or something!

8-Months-Old Today!

Happy Monthday to Brendan! He's 2/3 of a year old now, which I totally cannot believe!

Here are some things he is doing now:

-Sits up completely unassisted (since Father's Day).
-Rolls over all over the house.
-Does a push-up and then turns in a circle (looks like crawling, or at the very least, army crawling, is coming!).
-Says "dadadadadada" and "gagagagagaga" but to nobody in particular.
-Has 3 teeth and is working on the 4th.
-Refuses to lay still for diaper changes.
-Gives hugs.
-Starting to wave "bye-bye."
-He is in 6-9 month clothes still, and we will find out how much he weighs on Thursday!

As cheesy as it sounds, I just love this little guy so much and can't imagine life now without him!

Adventures in Baby Food!

Yesterday I began making my own baby food, which was MUCH easier than I thought. All that's needed is a saucepan and a blender. No need for a babyfood maker, although I have to admit that I almost did buy one! We made banana blueberry, peas, sweet potatoes, apple strawberry, peach strawberry banana, and peach strawberry blueberry.

Here are my findings:
Banana Blueberry- SUCCESS!
Peas- COLOSSAL FAIL!
Sweet Potatoes- FAIL!
Apple Strawberry- Hated at first, but by the end was okay with it
Peach Strawberry Banana- SUCCESS!
Peach Strawberry Blueberry- Have not tried yet

I think I'll make some more this week. I have food to make broccoli, green beans, and combinations of the above mentioned fruits. A book I'd suggest if you're interested is Top 100 Baby Purees. I learned something in all of this...did you know that some foods (like carrots) retain more nutritional value if you add butter to it? It holds more of the carotene. Fascinating!

Brendan is getting closer and closer to becoming mobile, which is so cool, and so scary at the same time! He's now doing a full push-up and will rotate himself in a circle this way. It's only a matter of time! Time to buy some baby gates! Any suggestions would be awesome! We will need 4...one for the top and bottom of each staircase, so I'm thinking 2 screw in, and 2 tension. Actually, I'm pretty sure we have one tension one from when Pepper was a puppy, so we'll need 3.

Speaking of poor Pepper, his Panosteitis is really acting up and I feel HORRIBLE. There really isn't much we can do, though. Right now it's on his two back legs, so he's having a hard time standing. Totally breaking my heart :( He's 4, so I'm hoping that another year of this and we'll be done. If you're interested in reading more about Panosteitis: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panosteitis . This article doesn't discuss it in complete depth (as it can effect dogs as old as 5), but it's a basic description.

Back to some positive news: SHOPPING! I bought a maxi dress today. I'm pretty sure they only look good on you if you're really tall and skinny, but my short and stout self thought they looked awfully cute and comfortable. We'll see! I also bought these today:


I'm such a sucker for this As Seen On TV stuff. But seriously, it's awesome! I actually have room in my closet now (for more shopping???)! And it forced me to purge, which is probably more important. Plus, I got it at BB&B, so 20% off is always sweet.

EDIT: Do not buy this product. Now that I have them all put in, I have discovered that it does not, in fact, save 3 times your closet space. More room, yes, but not enough to matter. *Sigh*

I'm Pretty Sure We Have a Ghost

You know, I never really believed in ghosts. Angels, yes, but ghosts...not so much. But I really think we have one. Last night I heard a noise like a pile of papers fell on the floor from a high location or something. Chris was there and heard it too. He said he heard it a couple times yesterday before that as well. Then today it happened again, but this time the dog also heard it and started barking at nothing. Hmmm. I have no explanation!

AnyWAY, some people might remember when I was pregnant that I ate nothing but fruit (who will forget that time I paid $20 for cherries that weren't even that good? Oooooopsies). At the time, this was great. I barely gained any weight (although I did get in trouble for that a couple times...), and I was happy and hydrated. Well, it seems this has traveled forward as Brendan really wants nothing to do with food if it isn't fruit related. I even started with veggies as suggested, but no. He's a fruit addict. Well, he also likes sweet potatoes, but that might have to do with my sweet potato fry addiction during (and after) pregnancy.

Which brings me to my next food issue. Brendan loooooves puffs. He thinks they're just the greatest (especially the aforementioned sweet potato). But he won't pick them up to eat them by himself. He puts everything in his mouth- carpet pieces, paper, fuzzies from my shirt, Pepper fur, just to name some common ones. But not the puffs. He thinks it is great fun to throw them on the floor. Fortunately enough, so does the dog. Pepper is already forgetting his jealousy! But he can't seem to feed himself. Is this something that will come as he gets older?

Also, something to vote on...tomorrow should I make a strawberry cheesecake for dessert for the 4th of July party we're attending, or should I make a German potato salad as a side (not your typical potato salad)?