Year One

 

One year. Mommy and Daddy have kept you alive for one whole year little boy. Yay us! It has been the most tiring, challenging, patience-building, fun, amazing, rewarding year of my life (I'm sure your Dad feels the same). I can't believe how quickly the time has flown by and the little boy you are becoming.

You are a happy filled little being who is quick to smile and just as quick to laugh. You have definitely gained an opinion though about almost everything and you do not hesitate to express it/try to enforce it. You let out an ear-piercing screech and throw yourself backwards when we try to stop you from doing something you want. Your new thing is exercising your control by refusing most foods and, when you do accept it, chucking most of it off the high-chair. At least I know that you will always eat yogurt, hard-boiled egg whites, mushroom rice, and mandarin orange slices---you won't starve. There is no doubt though that you are set on what you want; you are already showing yourself to be a strong-willed child. I didn't expect to face such challenges so soon and while sometimes Mommy just doesn't know the correct way to respond, I pray daily that your "power" will make you a strong man of God. How amazing if you are as dedicated to God and following His ways as you are to trying to get the things you want now. You could change the world!

You are still our "big little boy". While you are now in the size clothes that match your age (12-month, a few 18-mnth PJs and shirts) you are in the 100% for height at 32-in and somewhere around 90% for weight (24lbs 14oz). You are tall and pretty thin, although it's no wonder since you NEVER STOP MOVING. You are Mommy's sterotypical little high-energy boy: nothing holds your attention for long, you love nothing more than to make messes and take things apart, and I can barely get you to hold still long enough to even give you a hug. You are an incredible amount of fun!

Your favorite "toy" right now is the broom. You also love the vacuum. I am praying this love of cleanliness and order continues since you currently often put things back where you found them (not toys, but many other things). It is ADORABLE. I'm also glad you've found some things you like since you've pretty much lost all interest in actual toys. Its things in the pantry/cabinets, on tables, and in Mommy & Daddy's bags that you care about. Oh, and the cat's crate---you love to pull the little kennel around behind you and put things in it. Oh, and to move the shoes to either the living room table or a big ol' silver pot we have...You are seriously just too funny little love =D

 

You will never know what a blessing you have been and are to us each and every day. I pray that God will continue to watch over you and richly bless you as you grow in wisdom and stature. We love you Robert and cannot wait to spend another year with you!

SOMEBODY TURNED ONE!!!

 

Pictures from throughout his first year

Hot Dog Bar! Guests enjoyed hot dogs with mayo, mustard,
ketchup, onions, pickles, peppers, cheese & chili. Chips,
fruit, and a veggie tray made up the sides.

Oma & Opa provided the home-canned
peppers



Chocolate fudge cucpakes with a Reese's miniature
in the center. Topped with homemade Peanut Butter
Creamcheese frosting and drizzled with homemade
chocolate ganache. YUM!

Robert's initial action was to palm the cupcake, frosting side up...

 

He figured it all out pretty quickly though!

Ahhhh, cupcake bliss!
 

Thank you to everyone who came and celebrated our wonderful Robert with us!!!

11 Months!

Dear Precious Robert,

Mommy must start this post by apologizing to you for not being disciplined in recording our memories. Whether it's your monthly milestones on here or jotting down little things in our black journal, I feel like I am failing us. Not only do I want you to be able to look back at your story, but I want the chance to look back and remember everything too---every sweet, precious moment of it. Taking care of you and the house, as well as going to school full-time, seems to eat up every moment of my day, but I believe that this is important enough that I need to find a way to work it in too. I'm afraid that I'm so far behind that there is no way to catch up, so I'll just try to remember what I can and do better from here on out (sorry y'all, this may be long!). I love you more than life my little man and can't even believe that in one short month we will be celebrating your 1st birthday!

• You are currently 31in long and weigh 24.5lbs. You are above the 95th% in everything.

• You are pretty much in the same clothes you were last time I wrote. You wear 9mnth or 12mnth shorts, 12mnth to 18mnth PJS, and size 12mnth for everything else. We are starting to move to some 18mnth stuff though as you are so long.
• You can walk! (started at 10mnths 3wks)
• You have 5.5 teeth---top two middle ones, bottom two middle ones, the bottom tooth directly to the right of the middle two, and the other one popping up on the other side (hmmm, what are those teeth called?)
• You "talk" all the time. You say "Dada" constantly but I'm still not sure if you ever use it in context yet. You have said "Mama" 2 or 3 times in the last week and it makes my heart explode in happiness!

• You are doing very well in daycare. All the teachers love you & you seem quite happy to have the joy of freedom to play with pretty much whatever you want in a room.
• You have experienced being sick for the first time. You got a runny nose soon after starting daycare and after about a month it turned in to a sinus infection. We started you on amoxicillin but it didn't seem to help---you actually got your 1st ear infection while on it! You also broke out in a head-to-toe rash. We don't know at this point if it was the medicine or a virus, so we'll have to keep an eye on you in the future. Now you are on a new antibiotic (Cefdinir) and we are hoping it clears things up, although you started running a fever (for the 1st time since this all started) while on it and pretty much just want to sleep. You are super happy though when you're awake.
• You are pretty much always happy =)

• You have discovered that you can put thing "into" and "over" stuff. You enjoy emptying out containers just to put stuff back in, throwing toys into your playpen, and chucking shoes over the baby gates and into the kitchen. You are also a huge fan of the tupperwear cabinent.
• We bought you your first pair of shoes this past month. You don't like them yet.

• We took you to the park for the 1st time. You weren't very impressed by the swings but LOVED climbing and going down the slide.

 

8 Months

Wow baby, you are 8 months old now! You are getting sooooo big and learning so many things so very quickly. Did you know

• You are over 30in long and about 23lbs
• You wear size 12m onsies, 12m shirts, 12m pants, 12m PJs, and 9m shorts. What can I say, you're tall!
• You can not only crawl now, but pull up on things too
• You are eating more and more foods. This month we've been doing a lot more "adult food". Besides toast sticks we do potatoes, fish, chicken, etc. You've also had your first taste of ice cream, a tiny piece of bacon, and more. So far, you love it all.
• You have 2 teeth! Both of your bottom teeth came in this month. You actually did quite well with it (normally you hear horror stories of babies teething): you would become somewhat cranky and very clingy for a few days right around when they were coming in, take more frequent but shorter naps, and would slack off on ounces of formula, and then POP---there the tooth would be.
• You went to the beach for the first time! When we went to see family in South Carolina, Daddy and I took you to Pawley's Island. You were fascinated by the sand, including figuring out whether or not it was edible, and you loved the water too. Mommy's not normally a huge beach person, but it was soooo much fun with you =)
• You are talking more, adding some consonant sounds in with all those little vowels. You still haven't come close to uttering "Mama" or "Dada" yet, but what you do say is always entertaining (and usually loud---we need to work on our inside voice)
• You finally figured out about reaching your arms up or out to people when you want to go to them. It thrills us every time.

You have always been a joy, but it is so much fun to see the changes that you seem to go through almost daily. You are growing up so fast and part of me wants to find a way to stop it and part of me is thrilled at what's to come. We love you SO much little boy!

7 Months

Hello Robert. You are 7 months old now and you are getting to be such a big boy. It seems like each day reveals new skills and a new adventure. This month:

• You not only get on all fours and rock, but you've actually learned the "bear walk" stance and try to use it to get around. You're not quite crawling yet, but you are getting closer & closer each day.
• You can get yourself into and out of a sitting position.
• You are eating 3 meals a day of baby/finger foods. You still do not like peas, & we discovered you don't like broccoli either. You love all fruits, toast sticks, fish, potatoes & sweet potatoes. You eat pretty much everything enthusiastically.
• You have started waking up an hour earlier than we've been doing for months. Most of the time you're pretty content to play for a while in your crib though, and for this Mommy thanks you.
• You went swimming for the first time. I thought you'd have a total blast, but really you were pretty chill about it. You just floated around in one of those little sling things chewing on the green plastic shovel...

• The best way to entertain you is to throw a bunch of random toys/things into some sort of bowl or bucket and let you go at it. You LOVE to dump the whole thing out and then explore each and thing in it.
• You wear 12month PJs, onsies, & many shirts (though some onsies and shirts are 9months), and you have 9month & 12month pants. The 9 month pants fit, but some of them are short...
• You learned how to blow raspberries and have begun to "talk" quite a bit when you play.
• You are starting to show your stubborn streak more and more, but you are still always full of smiles and laughter.
• You finally discovered the baby in the mirror---and you like to try to head butt him (seriously boy, you're going to break the mirror...or your head)

I'm sure there's a million other things I couuld write, & perhaps I'll come back & post them at the end if I think of them. Mostly though it just seems as if time is flying by. You are growing and changing faster than I can keep up and I treasure each and every moment with you. I love you buddy, happy 7 months!

5 AND 6 Months

Wow, we did it---we kept a whole new little human being alive for 6-months!!! If you don't have children you might not realize what an accomplishment that is, but any parent can probably understand our elation. It's so crazy though to think that he's already 6-months. What a wonderful time it has been!

6 months:

• You weigh 21lb 4oz and are 28.5inches long.
• You wear clothes from 6-months (shorts) to 9-months (onsies & rompers, though you're quickly outgrowing those in length, & pants) to 12-months (PJs). Soon though you will be in all 12-month stuff. You're just so long!
• You eat a variety of baby food now: beans, squash, sweet potatoes, carrots, applesauce, & pears. Some of it I [Mommy] makes, & some of it is store-bought. Either way you like it---you just still don't like peas!
• You roll from back to front in nothing flat. It's actually hard to keep you on your back anymore. Which is funny, because you still get upset if Mommy lays you down on your tummy. Apparently only you are allowed to do that...
• You are still working on sitting. You tripod very well, but then you sorta just slowly fold in half, letting your tummy sink to your feet.
• You can get up on your hands and knees---AND you can rock! It won't be long I bet before you figure out crawling, and attitude wise you are more than ready to go.
• You finally take naps really well. It makes for a much happier afternoon for both of us.
• You outgrew your infant carseat & we had to move you into a convertible one. So far you seem much happier in it. Yay!
• You are such a people person. You smile & talk to anybody who even glances in your direction. Also, to stuffed animals =)

5 months:

• We don't see the pediatrician this month so I'm not sure how much you weigh & all, but I think you're around 20lb and around 28in
• You wear 6mnth clothes but are moving into 9mnth sizes (and are outgrowing 9mnth PJs)
• You tried food for the 1st time this month! You HATED peas but have liked green beans, squash, & applesauce so far.
• You have rolled over from tummy to back a few more times.
• You sleep ~12hrs a night
• You discovered your feet this month---and that you can eat them =)
• You tripod sit, but you quickly wabble & then fall down
• You drank water straight from Grammy's glass!
• You are fascinated by everything & have started trying to hold the book pages while we read each night
• This month you: had your first trip to Cabela's and had your first portrait studio pictures taken.
• You cover every inch of your crib at night you little mover & shaker
• You are generally happy but you are stubborn & quickly get bored (at least I guess that's what it is since you get cranky after doing pretty much anything for more than 5min)

Easter 2012

Sorry y'all, this is a pic-heavy post, but only because our boy is so cute that I couldn't chose just one! This was Robert's first Easter, and even though he won't remember it, we did our best to make it special. Below is a picture of his Easter Basket with it's many, many items from us, Oma/Opa, Grammy/Grandpa, & Aunt Annie. Because he's so little it's mostly full of stuff that we would need to get him anyway, but there are some extra's thrown in there:

So, in the basket (or around it) are: soft-tipped spoons, a teething "necklace", next size up pacifiers, a sippy cup, a camo bib from Cabela's, an adorable onsie, a pull-down jittery chick toy, some bunny ears, and two books. Whew!

 
As you can see above, he was quite taken with the jittery chick. Actually, he was happy with it all:

After breakfast & the Easter Basket, we all dressed up & headed to church, then spent the rest of the day with the Ryals family. What a great 1st Easter for Robert!

4 months

Ahhhhh, how on earth are you 4 months already?! Oh my sweet little baby boy, it is amazing how much joy you bring us each and every day. The last 4 months with you have been the hardest, scariest, most joy-filled 4 months of my life. It is amazing to watch you grow and change, and you've done a lot of both this month. This month you:

• Are 26.75in long & weigh 19.4lbs (in or above the 95th% for both)
• Wear size 3 diapers
• Have been ALL OVER THE MAP when it comes to bottles
• Added back in a 2:30a feeding for a few weeks
• More about bottles: You try to hold it yourself now, and sometimes succeed. I don't really let you though because I love our feeding times. You also talk around the bottle now, which is super cute.
• Try to sit up all the time. What you think you'll do when you get there I'm not sure, but it sure is cute to watch you strain against your stroller, swing, and carseat straps (and you'll have the most awesome abs ever seen on a baby)
• STILL don't like time on your tummy (or really even on your back) or naps, but we're working on it
• Have become much more vocal, both in "talking" and in complaining
• Have reached the stage where Mommy is not allowed to leave your sight or bad things (a screaming baby) will happen; related---sometimes Mommy is not allowed to set you down period.
• MIGHT be settling back into a routine after being off since Christmas (boy it's been a long couple of months): rise at 8a & take a bottle, 30min nap at 10, bottle at noon, nap at ~12:30p for 1.5hrs, bottle at 4p, 30min nap between 5p-5:30p, start bedtime routine at 7:30p, then a final bottle at 8p & Mommy rocks you for a while before bed
• LOVE going for walks in your new stroller
• Are starting to use your lovey (which Oma bought you)
• Wear size 9-12month PJs
• Wear clothes from 0-3months to 6-9months, depending on the brand
• On 3/6/11, you rolled over for the first time (from tummy to back)!!!! Mommy missed it though =( I'd left you on your tummy on a blanket while I ran down the stairs to throw something in the wash, and when I came back up you were on your back on the floor. SOOOOO exciting, and also so sad because I missed it. You haven't even tried to do it since.
• Have started chewing on your thumb and forefinger
• Have started rubbing your eyes and burying your head in Mommy's shoulder when you get tired. SO CUTE!
• Sit in a booster high chair, as long as Mommy puts some padding around you to help support you (there's a lot of extra space right now)

 So far you have proven to be very much like your Daddy. Things about you that are like your Daddy: Your looks (almost everyone says you look just like your Dad), the wrinkles on the back of your head, you get bored quickly, you like to be in the thick of things (Mommy likes to be invisible), you're hot natured, you get grumpy when you're hungry, you are ALWAYS moving, you are quick to laugh and smile, everybody loves you, you make Mommy laugh

Like your Mommy: Your eyes (some say), your button nose, the way your mouth turns down at the corners, you get grumpy if you don't get enough sleep, you love to observe, you love books (although so does Daddy)

Over the River and Through the Woods...

to Oma's house we go!

Yesterday little Robert and I took a road trip to South Carolina to visit Oma and Opa for a week (thanks for the ride Grammy!!!). It was a LONG day for the poor little guy. He spent 10 hours in the car, which is a lot when you're past the "put me in the car and I'll sleep" stage. He actually did amazing well...until the last 2 hours of the ride or so. And the last 10minutes was total "get me out of this seat NOW" baby. We were both thankful to be at our destination and had a great night getting reacquainted with Oma and Opa. Can't wait for the rest of the week!

Our New Stroller

When Robert was born we opted NOT to register for a travel system. We both just couldn't imagine having to lug around those huge, heavy strollers, not to mention they would literally take up my entire car trunk. We decided instead to get one of those Snap-and-Go frames to use with his carseat until we could better figure out what kind of stroller would meet our needs. The time to figure that out though has been quickly approaching as Robert is growing so quickly that he'll soon outgrow his carseat. We decided we wanted a lightweight stroller with wheels that would at least work on our horrible roads/sidewalks, and a huge canopy to protect our little one from the burning sun. It also needed to have a compact fold and a snack tray for when he gets older. I found a stroller I liked to fit these requirements, but being a stay-at-home Mommy really limits the budget, so we watched Craigslist instead. And though it's not the one I originally found, here it is folks---our 2008 Peg Perego Pliko P3 stroller. Robert is already enjoying it, and so are we!

Mardi Gras 2012

This year is Robert's first Mardi Gras. Now really, Mardi Gras isn't such a big deal for Trey & I, but we actually announced we were expecting last year on Mardi Gras (it was much later in the year---in March instead of the middle of Feb). So it seemed only fitting that we make sure to take the little one to a Mardi Gras parade. We steered very, very far clear of anything actually in New Orleans, and went across the lake to a family friendly parade instead. Of course, very quickly into it this is what we had:

 Yup, he simply curled up on Mama and passed out. Now most parents use their little ones to help garner more attention from the floats and get lots of beads and stuffed animals and such. That was kind of hard to do in this case, although one nice lady still threw us a cute little stuffed dog in Mardi Gras colors (purple, green & yellow for those of you who don't know). He did eventually wake up, but even as he caught the rest of the parade he apparently wasn't too impressed:

Oh well, at least Mommy and Daddy enjoyed his first Mardi Gras Parade.

3 Months...

Dear Robert,

Today you are 3 months old. It is absolutely INSANE to us that you have been a part of our lives for 3 months now. And my how you have changed! This month, you:

• Wear size 2 diapers. But not for long---you'll be moving up to size 3 tomorrow!
• Drink 5 bottles a day---a 5oz one in the morning and 4oz ones the rest of the day. We add rice cereal to them too because you were diagnosed with Reflux this month. Because of this, you also take Zantac now.
• Generally sleep 9.5hrs at night.
• Discovered your hands. You shove them in your mouth all the time, & it's adorable how you use the palm of your hand (with your fingers curling over your nose) to hold your paci in as you go to sleep.
• You figured out that you could REALLY put up a fuss if you're unhappy. Fortunately, you only do so if you're hungry or tired, and you usually turn a little fussy first as warning that it's coming.
• You also figured out that you can squeal when you're mad. Not that we don't care you're upset, but your Dad and I find it hilarious. :-)
• You can sit up in a Bumpo seat. 
• You do NOT like naps. During the day you fight sleep like it's a monster trying to get you. You refuse to be calmed and accept your paci and go peacefully; instead you continually eject the paci (because you know it makes you go to sleep) and cry, sometimes almost screaming. The only thing to do is hold you & love you until you finally pass out. Then, as long as you're being held, you might sleep for a little while.
• You smile all the time and talk nonstop. 
• You follow us now with your eyes if we leave the room or walk behind you. You observe EVERYTHING.
• You JUST snuck it in under the wire, but you laughed this month---a real, cackling, grown-up laugh. It's the most amazing thing I've ever heard!!!

I think this month has brought the most changes in you so far. You've really blossomed into your own little person with definite thoughts, feelings, and opinions. You remind me very much of your father. He constantly needs to be moving or doing something. At this stage for you, that means someone needs to be entertaining you and you don't generally like any one activity for more than 5 minutes at a time. You also still constantly have your feet and arms going. Like him you are quick to smile and generally get along well with everyone. You crack me up every day and make my heart so happy sometimes it feels like it will explode. You are amazing and I [we] cannot wait to keep getting to know you over the next month!

2 Months

It's hard to believe another month has gone by already and that our little man is 2 months old today. I'd like to say that it seems like you've always been here, but it doesn't---we are definitely still trying to get a hang of all this. Some days you make it harder than others, but we know that these times will soon be gone and we're loving getting to know you. Here's some highlights from this month:

• This month you learned how to smile and "talk", and how to sort-of laugh. It is SOOOOO much fun! You are especially talkative/smiley in the mornings. 
• You're still not sleeping through the night yet, though you are very close. For awhile we reached that milestone, with you sleeping from 10:30p-5a, but our trip to SC for Christmas definitely messed that up. 
• You eat ALL the time, though I suppose that shouldn't be surprising given that we determined last night you're probably around the 50th percentile for a 5 MONTH OLD (we'll find out more definitively at your 2-month checkup in a few days). You are not overweight or anything--in fact I believe you're right on given your height--but it's really crazy to have you already be such a big boy. Dad's already dreaming of you playing in the NFL or NBA. =)
• You are staying awake longer and longer, and by that I mean you pretty much don't nap during the day. Already you FIGHT sleep, which doesn't really bode well for your toddler years, but hopefully this too is just a phase. You need your sleep little buddy!
• You are a very strong boy. You already hold your head up much better than you should be able to at this point, and you can use your legs to push yourself up and even to hold much of your weight. 
• You are starting to recognize Mommy and Daddy---you'll follow us with your eyes, light up with a smile when we walk in to get you in the morning, etc. 

Yup, it's been totally awesome. We cannot wait to see what happens in this next month!