Will ~ 6 & 7 Months

So the big 6 and 7 month marks have already come and gone. I look at him just about every day and wonder how in the world he is already getting this big. What's next...college??!! :) But this really is my favorite baby stage. I just kiss on him all day long...so cute!

• In the world of sleep, he is doing great and sleeping 10-11 hours each night. We still don't have him on a timed schedule throughout the day, but he definitely has a pattern to his day. I don't need rigidness, but I need some predictability. Now the length of naps or what time of day they happen can look different each day, but there's a pattern or routine of sleep, eat, play, sleep. So for the 2nd child, I'll gladly take that.
• His naps have become a bit more consistent. There are still two or three (depending on how much we're in the car) a day and usually one of them is a good 1 1/2-2 hours. The others are usually short little 30-minute naps.
• And with the crazy month of October, I got a little behind in starting the baby food. Woops. But finally on his 7th month birthday, we celebrated with rice cereal. He didn't care for that very much but has seemed to be tolerant of squash and pears so far. Little does he know that I've got a serious goal to help make him a good eater. Hoping he cooperates.
• I'm surprised that he isn't closer to crawling yet, but at the same time, totally fine without mobility for now. He still pulls his legs in a lot to scoot up and will roll all over the place.
• And I'm still surprised no teeth have broken through. This kiddo puts every single thing in his mouth. (I'm becoming a little crazy in my radar for scary, small objects lying around.) Still no teeth.
• His fuzzball head is slowly turning into a real head of hair, but I still am not sure what color to use to describe it. Sometimes it looks blond, brown, or even at times a little strawberry.
• He's been discovering his voice and the volume capabilities it has. It's pretty cute to hear him babbling, "roaring," and making the funny strawberry noises.
• And he's at that fun stage of beginning to really recognize people and get excited about seeing them. The squeals come out and the legs start kicking when he sees his Daddy each day. And despite the constant in-his-face, you can tell that he adores his big brother. Tate gets most of the giggles and smiles from Will. I have to say, it comes in handy in the car as they already entertain each other.
• This past month, he got to experience his first plane ride and trip to California (maybe one day I'll get caught up on this blog and post some pictures), and he did great. Seriously such a go-with-the-flow baby.
• He's been back at our favorite place for physical therapy to work on the slight tortecollis a little more. But we're thinking that might be just about over. And we took him in for an evaluation for a cranial band (for the flat spot on the back of his head), but it was minor enough they didn't think we needed to move forward. The reflux is maybe getting a little better with the thickener we're using. Maybe. That's all in health news. Oh wait, there was the random 102 fever that resulted in blood draw, catheter, and several tests. All coming back negative. Just a virus. He keeps us on our toes!
• He still LOVES going outside, plays with baby toys more, has started enjoying his jumper more, loves being held in a standing position, but isn't crazy about the Bumbo.

We already can't imagine our family without Will in it. He brings us true joy!

Western Day

Tate was sick last year on Western Day, so he was pretty excited about it this year. And I was pretty excited about the $6.99 clearance shirt I found at Janie & Jack. :) And oh my, this kiddo is in LOVE with his cowboy boots and hat now. Good thing since those were critical pieces in the upcoming Halloween costume. It was a fun day with a pony ride, goats, a donkey, a turkey, and other animals I'm sure I should know the name of. Our preschool does a great job of making it a fun day for everyone.

Fall Festivus

Being out of town a scattered 12 days of the month can make things a little hectic. This is my favorite time of year, and I don't like that feeling of not being able to keep up, but it is what it is. And I do have some fun photos to prove that fall and October were adequately celebrated.

First we started with a trip to the local nursery to buy our fall pumpkins.

And of course we wore festive clothes.
Most years we make it to several pumpkin patches. This year it was just one, but it was definitely our favorite one that we've been to every year. Hard to believe these pictures as I remember bringing Tate here his first year. Now at almost 4, this place is heaven as he has so much room to just run to his heart's content.

And sweet Will is always a happy camper in the stroller.
The best of our attempt at group pictures.
The best of our attempt at brother pictures.


And my poor kids are completely unaware that you can paint or carve pumpkins. The furthest we've gone in that area is Mr. Potato Head pumpkin decorating.
But seriously isn't that cuter than pumpkin guts everywhere?
And we had to continue the torture...I mean the tradition.

Tate's first Halloween ~ October 2007 ~ 10 months old:
Will couldn't be left out.

Will's first Halloween ~ October 2010 ~ 6 months old:

Howdy Folks!

The last time Wade & I went to the State Fair of Texas together, we were 23/24 years old and had been married a total of six months. So 11 years later with two kiddos in tow, the fair experience was quite different. But also just as fun!

First stop. The Texas Star Ferris Wheel. So much fun for 3 of the 4 of us.
Can you guess which one was ready for a bottle?


Next stop. The obligatory corny dog. I crave these often.
Then we were off to the section of the fair that should be called "Welcome To Sensory Overload!" Oh my. We very quickly learned that we had to set some limits on the # of games and rides. OK for Mom & Dad as well. :) Once it was understood that it wasn't a complete free for all, it became much more enjoyable. Tate's favorite game was the Skeeball with Daddy. I'm just choosing to ignore the fact that we could've played Skeeball at Chuck E Cheese for much less $$. It's about the memories, right??



And it was a full family effort at Ring-O-Bottle. Seriously...is it even possible to win this game??

And here's a video from the favorite ride...the giant slide.

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

And of course another favorite...the car show. Tate LOVED getting to drive the "quartervette."
Will was back to his happy self after he got his bottle.
We now often hear Tate walking around quoting Big Tex, "Howdy Folks! Welcome to the State Fair of Texas!"
My sad attempt at a picture of the two of us on the carousel. Where's Tate?


It was a quiet drive home after about five hours at the fair. A fun day for us all!

The Big Boy Bike

This summer we knew it was time for Tate to have his first big boy bike. I have no idea how he was still squeezing himself into the Cozy Coupe. And we finally made progress convincing him to use the pedals on the Big Wheel. So it was time for the next step in the world of wheels.

But at the same time, the mixture of a new baby in the house and all that comes with being 3 1/2 (who knew 2 was really such a breeze?), he has been going through some behavior challenges. So we decided that the bike would be something Tate could earn.

No judgement please on the complete lack of cuteness of this sticker chart. I went for function. :) We focused on the areas that were the biggest challenges. It took awhile to fill up the chart, but he did it!

It was a pretty fun evening going out to dinner at his favorite restaurant for chips, dip, and burritos and talking about what kind of bike he thought he might get. His usual request was for a "monster, racing, Lightening McQueen, motorbicycle big boy bike." I also loved the chance to tell him over and over again how proud I was that he made so many good choices to fill up the sticker chart.

Then we headed over to the toy store to pick out a bike. We let him choose from three that were all the same price. Amazingly, his sixth sense must have led him to choose the closest thing to a "monster, racing, Lightening McQueen, motorbicycle big boy bike." His pick was the Harley Davidson one. He doesn't even know what a Harley is, but I guess the painted flames just drew him in. The driving years sure will be interesting with this kiddo.

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

And no surprise, he has been loving his new big boy bike. Yes I may have gone a little overboard with all of the safety gear, but I'm hoping for no more hospital trips this year. Each night, we've been walking and riding around the neighborhood. I have to say that I'm pretty impressed with how good he does on it. Even with a fall here or there, he hops right back on. And now every time he sees a kid on a bike he says, "That boy got all of his good choice stickers!"

Looking at these pictures makes me tear up as I just can't get over how big he seems lately. Trying to savor and soak it all in. We are so proud of our Tater Tot!