Anton's Updates :: 35 weeks

Our happy boy is back! Whatever was bothering him last week is long gone and we've got our happy, silly, smiley baby back in action. He is still very serious in new places though. We are packing like mad and Anton has decided the empty boxes are pretty fun to explore. He doesn't quite crawl, but I'd call it a creep. He usually  completes a 360 degree circle and ends up where he started.

New Favorites: Trips to the park for picnics. Feeding himself.

Eating: Eating 3 solid food meals a day. Has mastered picking up puffs and dry cereal. Still a bit confused about slimy finger foods like fruits and veggies. He is really interested in holding the spoon and feeding himself.

Sleeping: Back to his regular schedule. He goes to sleep anywhere between 6:30 and 7:30 and usually naps from 9-10:55 and 1:30-3:00 or so. He switches it up a bunch, but I can tell he's liking sleep and seems to be cozy in his crib. I hope he feels the same way when we transition to the new house.

Milestones: Feeding himself. It's nice to be able to eat together as a family and take our own bites instead of constantly feeding him.

Mom and Dad: Dad had several nights this week where he was in charge of Anton while I went out with friends and had appointments. They had a great time together.

A Birthday Celebration

:: Anton was the center of attention as usual ::

 :: Great grandma Marie Francis and a grasshopper ::

 :: Anton was smitten with cousin Rachel ::

 :: She shared some iPhone tricks ::

 :: Birthday boy / Grillmaster / Dad ::

 :: Uncle John entertaining as always ::

 :: Steak instead of Cake ::

 :: Auntie Susan snuggles Anton ::

:: A Grammy Sammie - Anton is so lucky ::

Anton's Updates :: 34 Weeks

 We are up to our ears in packing around here. We are getting really excited about the big move. Anton has had a really fussy week for some reason. Poor little guy just doesn't seem like himself these days. We keep blaming it on teething, but still haven't seen those little white buggers pop through. He has been just very emotional, very happy and giggly one minute and fussy the next. I guess thats babies for ya. Hopefully he will be back to himself soon. He is a very serious baby when we are out and about in public places. He really wants to take a long moment to take it all in when we go anywhere new. I don't blame him I think it's smart. At music class he sits quietly and gazes around at the teacher and students. By the very last song he finally gets into it, just when its time to leave. 

Eating: He has finally started picking up little finger foods and actually making it into his mouth. Big changes with eating are in the near future. It would be nice to have a dog to clean up under the table.

Sleeping: He is doing a great job in his own bed. I am really proud of the way he went from a pretty terrible sleeper to a sleeper in training. We have been really lucky to get so much rest around here.

Milestones: Getting really good at picking up small objects.

Mom and Dad: Finding new ways to entertain Anton every day.

Anton's Updates :: 33 Weeks

  We are having lots of summer fun around here these days. Spending lots of time in the kiddie pool, having playdates with friends, and attending music class twice a week. Have I mentioned how much I LOVE summer. It's one of the best parts of my job. Aside from teaching wonderful teenagers :).

New Favorites: Watching our cats and looking at cars out the window. Splashing! In the pool, and the tub. I think it's time to move to the big bathtub soon.

Eating: Eating 3 solid food meals a day. (purees)  Also practicing with a sippy cup and getting much better at picking up little puffs and cereal. Still not making it into his mouth much. Still nursing about 5 times a day. Working on not nursing to sleep for naps and nighttime. 

Sleeping: One of my least favorite parts of parenting thus far is teaching a baby how to sleep. You'd think babies would just love to snuggle up in their little crib and go right to sleep. We are still doing ok with sleep, but it is a source of stress for me still. I never know if he is going to have a good naps, day or bad naps day. For the most part he is taking two 1.5 hour naps a day, but sheesh, sometimes we just want to go out and play, but if one of those naps is skipped, it's just no fun for anyone.

Milestones: Tummy time movement. He does these full circles on the floor. Kind of an army crawl but not really going anywhere.

Mom and Dad: Packing for the big move next week.

Anton's Updates :: 32 Weeks

It worked! Baby sleep training boot camp was a total and complete success. I should knock on wood and hope it lasts, but this little man is sleeping 11-13 hours a night straight through, no wake ups in his OWN room in his OWN bed! It all started on our visit to Medford two weekends ago. We were all exhausted. We had been rocking, swaddling, bouncing, snuggling Anton to sleep since he was born. It turns out he had never figured out how to put himself to sleep. After a long weekend of feeling like zombie parents we decided when we returned home we would try some new things. We made the decision to try some sleep training and letting him fuss and cry himself to sleep for a night or two. If you had asked me about this a week or two beforehand I would have said "no way" to cry it out methods. But when you get tired enough everything changes. So on Sunday after our trip (also Ivalle's 30th birthday) we did our bedtime routine, bath, book, breastfeed and then put him in his crib with room darkening shades, sound machine, and his blankie. He cried for a long time the first night. We went in an checked on him every 10 minutes or so, and eventually he fell asleep. He woke a couple times that night, but just whimpered a bit and then soothed himself back to sleep. It was amazing. The next couple nights were also a bit rough but eventually he figured it out and is now sleeping like a champion! We are all feeling a lot more rested and Anton is a happy giggly baby each morning when he wakes up. His naps have been longer and consistent too. It was hard for me to give up having him sleeping right next to me at night. I had my eyes glued to the video monitor the first couple of nights, but now I'm enjoying having my bed back.

New Favorites: Kiddie pool, and splashing. It has been hot hot hot this week in Portland and Anton has been having a blast splashing around in the water. We will be taking him to his first official swimming lesson tomorrow. We can't wait to see how he does in the big pool. 

Eating: Still loving his pureed foods. I've been giving him some dry cereal to practice picking up and putting in his mouth. Mostly he just picks it up and drops it on the floor. The putting it in his mouth part will come eventually I suppose.

Milestones: Rolling over intentionally to pick up toys. Standing while propped up on the edge of the couch.

Mom and Dad: Feeling much better about the sleep situation and enjoying the summer sun.

 

Anton's Updates :: Week 31

Today is our first day of summer vacation. Unfortunately its a bit drizzly outside and we all woke up with stuffy noses - go figure. We're taking it easy today and getting packed up for a trip to Medford to see the Grands. It's also going to be Daddy's big 30th birthday this weekend.

New Favorites: Balls! This kid loves em. He just sits there all alone on the floor with a pile of plastic brightly colored balls giggling his chubby little cheeks off. It's really a nice activity to keep him occupied as I get some chores done. Every so often one of his beloved balls gets away from him and he goes crashing to the floor out of his seated position as he attempts to catch it. He really wails when he tips over, his daycare teacher says she thinks he has a low threshold for pain. Hopefully this will change if we want him to be an NBA star.

Eating: Today he is going to try peaches mixed with rice cereal. I've been mainly focusing on veggies, but I thought the boy could use a change.

Sleeping: WE are in the throws of some major sleeping meltdowns. I have a feeling we are about 2 sleep deprived parents away from a full blown baby sleep boot camp. Anton and I are headed to the library today to check out every last sleep related book we can find. Mama needs help in this department. I think this wee one is on a mission to make us crazy. I also think he just needs to learn how to fall asleep on his own. All the rocking, bouncing, and singing has worked like an absolute charm, but a 22 pounder is no walk in the park to bounce in your arms anymore. I've decided once we get back from our quick trip away, we are going to get down to business. This little bundle of joy is going to learn to love his cozy crib.

Milestones: He has been doing this cute little bouncing rocking gesture with his entire body while he sits, stands, or even lies down. It's like his version of the worm. And he's actually sipping from his sippy cup now. 

Mom and Dad: I can't speak for dad, but mamma is really happy to be home for the summer. No more packing up baby gear with eyes half shut each morning. YaHoo!

Anton's Updates :: 30 Weeks

This is our smiley guy. At home that is. It turns out he is already experienceing a bit of separation anxiety. Lately he has started to cry when I leave him at daycare. It breaks my heart a bit, but it also makes me happy that he loves me so much. Good thing we only have a couple more days until we have the entire summer together.

New Favorites: Sippy cups. He still hasn't really gotten the hang of it, but he just lights up when I hand him a sippy cup at the end of a meal. He usually pounds it against the table for a while then gnaws on the spout until he realizes there is liquid in there. It's just water, but oh so refreshing.

Eating: I'm still trying out new foods every couple of days. This next batch is going to have some added seasonings. I want to experiment with some more interesting flavors and see what he thinks.

Sleeping: Just when I thought he had the sleeping through the night gig down, he decided to have a big midnight party on father's day eve. This one was a real doozy. He stayed up for about 2 hours playing and practicing his sounds. Eventually we put him back to bed, but we woke up pretty exhausted. He was exhausted too and proved it by taking extra long naps the next day.

Milestones: He's starting to pivot from a seated position to reach for things. He usually ends up tipping over face first, but I'm glad he's giving it a try. I love how stationary he is. I am enjoying this time before he really takes off. I know it wont be long.

Mom and Dad: We finally have a move in date for our new house and I'm ready to do lots of playing and packing this summer.

Anton's Updates :: 29 Weeks

Yahoo! Summer is right around the corner. Anton is jumping for joy in his jumparoo. Actually he just kind of swings there and gives a lithe hop every once in a while. But I'll take it. He is at such a fun age. He really doesn't know how to move too far but has a lot of fun staying in one place. He also gets the giggles at the littlest things. He is one funny little guy.

New Favorites: He loves balls! Or any round shaped object, like an apple or lemon. He laughs out loud when you roll a ball towards him. He loves to sit at the table and roll apples around on the table.

Eating: We tried a bit of the baby led weaning technique this week where you just set out different finger foods and let them explore. It seemed like kind of a mess so far. I think he is still working on his pincer grasp so he ends up rubbing the food all over the table. We started with little tiny chunks of banana. He didn't hate it, he just had a hard time finding his mouth. I think we will stick with the purees for a bit longer.

Sleeping: Anton came down with another little stuffy nose the other day so we had a couple nights with more than one wake up. I think he woke himself becuase of the stuffyness and had trouble going back to sleep. He seems to have cleared up in the past couple of days so his sleep is much more predictable. Down at 7:00pm, up around 2 or 3 for a quick nurse and back down until we wake for work around 6:00 am.

Milestones: He has outgrown most of his 6 month clothing and has moved on to 9 month and above. I'ts tricky to even buy clothes for him anymore becuase he grows out of them so fast. Right now I would guess its safest to just buy 12-18 month sizes so he can grow into them. I have a feeling he will start to slim out as he starts moving around more. He is still really really tall but has started to look less stout to me. Those chubby cheeks are my fave!

Mom and Dad: Mom is ready to be done with work for a while. Anton used to love the daily commute and lately he cries most of the way home. Maybe he is ready for summer too.

Anton's Antics :: 28 Weeks

 Look - Anton is in his crib. We have been trying to give him a little play time or lounge time each day to get him more comfortable in there. We are hoping to make the big transition to his own room once we are officially on summer break. I've got big plans for him this summer. I hope he can keep up with me. I'm hoping to keep him on his twice daily nap schedule and squeeze in an activity in between. I just signed him up for a baby music class since he seems to really enjoy music. I think most of these classes are more for the parents to connect with each other than for the babies to become musicians. We might try a drop in swim class every once in a while too. We'll be busy moving and packing too, so I'm trying not to over do it with the planning.

New Favorites: Anton gets to go on walks at daycare in the big kid hallways. He rides in a 4 seater stroller with the other babies. He used to get a bit fussy during these walks, but his teacher told me he has started to enjoy them. It is really adorable to see them out on a stroll during the day.

Eating: Still loving his meal times. I'm tying a couple new foods on him each week. This weekend I'm going to make a batch of green bean puree and possibly start him on some fruit purees. I've been told it's best to hold off on the fruits for a while or they develop a preference for the sweetness.

Sleeping: Doing our best to keep up with the regular schedule even though it gets a bit hot in our house during the evening hours. We've got a bunch of fans blasting to keep things cool.

Milestones: I cant think of any milestones right now. He's getting pretty good at picking up and rolling balls. 

Mom and Dad: Taking turns sleeping in on the weekends has been a real treat!

Anton's Antics :: 27 Weeks

 Look at this big boy sitting at the table eating with the family! We really don't feed him lemons like the photo below. He likes to play with the fruit from the fruit bowl while I get his food ready. It's amazing how much giggling can come from rolling an apple or lemon around on the table. 

New Favorites: Anton is really loving his new standing legs. He can't stand on his own but as soon as we lift him from a sitting position his little chunky legs straighten up and lock into standing mode. He is so proud of his new position and shows us a big smile.

Eating: He is loving all the food we've been making him. He's had carrots, sweet potato, peas, squash, and beets. So far he scarfs them all down. Sometimes he gets a bit distracted during feedings.

Sleeping: We've had a major breakthrough this week. We were having a rough time last week and decided to put him in his own room at night to sleep. It was kind of a nightmare since he was still waking at least twice and I'm not really ready to do any cry it out. We decided to put off the room transition until school is out and the night we brought him back to our room he slept 10 hours straight. He's had two or three nights since then where he goes down at 7:00 and doesn't even wake up until 5:00 am. This has been really lovely. I'm fine with him sleeping in our room for a bit longer. He's only little once, and we've got the whole summer to work on the sleeping changes. His naps have been great during the day too.

Milestones: He had his 6th month booster shots. He also has been working on some teeth. I was only looking on the bottom for them to show and the other night I noticed his upper gums have some evidence of teething. I'm excited to see where these little fangs pop out first.

Mom and Dad: We are really excited to move into our new house. We are looking forward to finding out a specific move in date.

Anton's Antics :: 26 Weeks

 New Favorites: Squawking up a storm in the mornings while we drive to work. He has this fake laugh he really loves to practice.

Eating: He has been enjoying a sampling of homemade baby food lately. He really seems to like everything so far. The last selections have been beets and peas. It takes about a day for him to really warm up to a new flavor and then its go go go.

Sleeping: We're in kind of a rough patch with sleeping. Ivalle is ready to move Anton into his own room so we might give it a try soon. He seems to be suffering from some teething pain at the moment.

Milestones: He is loving his jumperoo and johnny jump ups.

Mom and Dad: Just feeling so smitten about our cute little boy. These pictures. That hat. Swoon! We had a really great visit with grammy and grampy last weekend. It was so much fun to spend time with them and Anton was a really good boy while they were here.