Christine and Curt

elliot's first day of school!

2012-01-11T21:36:00.002-06:00

today was my first day of school! i had a great time. I smiled at the teacher while she talked and smiled at other babies and their moms and dads. i am one of the youngest babies in my class. when it was mom's turn to share my age during circle time everyone gasped. it must be because I look like i am 1 year old! our morning was a bit hectic. mom couldn't find the keys. she found them eventually. they were still in the mailbox. dad left them there the night before. she was rushed and forgot the camera. but when we got home she took some pictures so that we can remember what I wore on my first day of school...

i looked very studious in my outfit.

my brother Sebastian loves me a lot. and I love him back. together we are going to be a friendly duo.

almost 2 years old!

2012-01-06T12:59:00.002-06:00

In just a few more weeks Sebastian will be 2 years old! I've been looking back on some of his pictures from when he turned a year and then comparing them to more recent ones...my how he has changed just in physical appearance! Not a baby anymore!

The past few weeks have been kind of sticky. 80% of the time Sebastian is great, great, great. But then there is the other 20% (mostly when he wakes up in the morning and after his nap, and sometimes when Curt gets home) where he is crabby, crabby, whiny, irritable, and in a crying mood. It's been hard. For the first time ever he managed to climb and fall out of his crib. This happened during a three hour screaming episode. I put him in his crib hoping that it would calm him down, but he must have been so frustrated that he flung himself up and over the railing, yikes. And he just LOVES getting up at 5 am! But I think we are making a turn for the better. I don't think Sebastian's frustrations are due to lack of words and not being able to communicate. If anything we feel like his brain is taking another leap and that he's going through another huge developmental phase...this happened to him around 16-18 months too. There are times when I watch him and it looks like he is going to lose it, but then he actually catches himself and tries to stay calm.

Sebastian likes to talk a lot, if you are around him and he wants you to interact with him, he'll say, "mommy talk!" or "daddy talk!" he does this when he wants you to talk him through what he's looking at, or if he wants you to respond to what he's saying and the silence is too long for him. kind of funny.

something cute is before naps and bedtime he says, "goodnight" with an emphasis on the "t" and then says, "wuv you!".

a few things I enjoy doing with him during the day:
1. making tunnels out of legos for his trains.
2. pretend cooking in the kitchen. although he ends up licking a lot of utensils and I have to wash them all over again.

it's safe to say that he can identify all numbers from 1-10, all colors, and capital letters. the concept of counting objects is hit or miss. i just introduced him to lowercase letters, he looked confused, but interested. pronouns are starting to be used. he likes the piano...really expensive ones we figured out when we were at Schmitt's Music...he picked one out that was $70,000! way out of our budget! on the keyboard he knows low C, that there are white keys and black keys...i guess that's a start until he learns how to read music.

i like that he tries to be clean now. he likes to clean tables, himself. He'll ask for a washcloth or napkin if he gets dirty.

a bad habit we got into was allowing him to watch home videos of himself over and over on the computer. he loves his home videos, we are trying to limit those now as I think it kind of wrecks him from finding other things to play with...but he likes to "check email" now or "Sebastian is working" on the computer.

his smile is great. we get lots of comments from people that his smile is going to get him into trouble someday, i believe it.

he is still a delight! even on the bad days!

4 month tripod picture

2011-12-26T20:48:00.002-06:00

This update is a bit overdue as little Elliot is about 4.5 months old now. I can't believe he is almost five months! Little Elliot is not little, in fact he is quite large. He is easily wearing 9 month sized clothing (and maybe even 12 months). He is the sweetest baby ever. We enjoy his shy yet frequent smiles and when he talks to us. He just learned how to roll from back to tummy! I'm so proud! And he is starting to grab on to toys and suck on them. Elliot is a drool machine and loves to eat his hands. He naps pretty well and fairly consistently throughout the day: 9 am, 12:30/1, and then at 5 pm. His bedtime is around 7:30-8 pm. He gets up way too much at night though...11, 2, 5, 6 am...what's the deal Elliot?!?! As jolting as it is to get up so much during the night...it's pretty cute to see him smile and stretch while I change his diaper. At some point we may have to take away the night feedings...I hope he'll just learn on his own so that we won't need to do any sleep training with him...

For weight Elliot is at 18 pounds. For height is at 27.5 inches. We had him tested for a milk allergy...and that came back negative which is great news. We just have to put a hydrocortisone cream on his face to help with the eczema and some thick lotion.

Elliot is super content and seems to just go with the flow...we just love his easy-going nature! Thanks for who you are Elliot and being with us! Muah!

sleep

2011-12-19T11:33:00.002-06:00

we've got two completely different kids. elliot is really mellow and seems to be content all of the time. sebastian is super fiesty, very spirited, and needs stimulation. but both boys are giving us some trouble with sleep the past few days. sebastian loves to wake up at 4 am (only to become super crabby by 10:30 am). and elliot loves to wake up at night...simply to wake up? like at 11, then at 1, then at 4, then at 7 am. not only that, but elliot really prefers me at night, so if Curt wanted to help me out, he wouldn't be able to because elliot would cry until I came to the rescue. so we are trying to figure out why Sebastian will probably never sleep until 7 am. and trying to determine if Elliot is waking up at night mostly for comfort, or if in fact he really is hungry and needs those calories.

in more happy news...we got an early christmas miracle this morning at 8 am at an appointment with an allergist for Elliot. we've been really concerned about his rough skin along his cheeks. i was thinking it was a dairy allergy, but after the test we now know he is not allergic to dairy. I am totally relieved. however, we went into the apppointment a bit stressed because we JUST found out that Elliot was never added to our insurance. so our amazing doctor must have looked at us and thought, "whoa, here are two hard working parents who are totally sleep deprived and stressed out, they do have health insurance, but due to the red tape with health insurance companies and getting paper work filed their son was accidently dropped from their coverage...so I am going to give them the benefit of the doubt and just give them the simple scratch test so that this overly stressed mother can get an answer so that she can proceed. plus they look like they would be really grateful for my kind gesture and we will get paid once the insurance fiasco gets figured out." not only that, but she gave us a plan for elliot to get through his mild eczema, what he has, with some hydrocortizone cream and then Vanicream (which we already have) to keep his cheeks moisturized. I'll stop there and thank Jesus for giving us this huge blessing through our amazing doctor we met this morning.

our golden nuggets

2011-11-23T20:48:00.002-06:00

we have lots to be grateful for this year. grateful for our parents, siblings, niece, and nephews. grateful for our home. and i am grateful that we are making it work so that I can spend my days with these little golden nuggets (even though it is so NOT glamorous). they are our blessings.

Three Month Tripod Picture

2011-11-21T14:52:00.004-06:00

happy to get to this point...

2011-11-11T12:49:00.002-06:00

This week has been an answer to prayer! I had an amazing week with the boys where I really ENJOYED them and wasn't anxious about getting through the day! I finally have figured out how to keep Elliot well rested and well fed so that we avoid meltdowns. He is enjoying us too! He loves looking at Sebastian and loves looking at books with characters with big eyes! He is such a happy baby...he smiles a ton.

Sebastian is funny and has a great sense of humor. We like how he takes a pretend gas tank and fills up his belly. I also love how when I come downstairs to see CDs, books, blocks, and clothes everywhere he will say, "Sebastian make a mess!" and give us his cheesey smile...

I am still bogged down with editing but am praying/working my way through that so hopefully by January and February we can all catch a break and I can truly savor my time with the family!

fall pictures

2011-11-04T14:15:00.002-05:00

"HI!" to the bug...

2011-11-04T10:18:00.002-05:00

whoa! what's this?

it's a bug! hi!

bug, you sure are cute!

so what do you do for a living?

bye bye bug!

ahhh

2011-10-27T21:14:00.002-05:00

we go through lots of "two steps forward, one step back" moments. today was one of those two steps forward kind of day. hurray! there was nothing specific that made it fabulous. sebastian had a great time at school (also meaning that elliot and i avoided meltdowns at school ). elliot napped very well. and I made it to my photoshoot on time and in one piece...minus getting pulled over for expired tabs...from March! yikes!

some cute phrases from sebastian: "ready, set, go" is said often to prepare us for his sprints across the living room. or his version of twinkle twinkle little star "twinkle, twinkle...star, how I wonder are, up so high, like a diamond in sky".

a tender moment with elliot: i love laying next to him in bed as he drifts off to sleep! he enjoys snuggling! maybe elliot will be our child who actually wants to sleep and snuggle with us in bed! sebastian wants nothing to do with laying down or resting! once he is up, he is up!

a random family update during a busy time

2011-10-22T21:13:00.002-05:00

the blogging has been very minimal lately. we have been very busy with work and adjusting as a family. this fall has been especially busy for my photography business which I am very grateful for, but with it new challenges in finding time to fit everything into a 24 hour day.

sebastian is ultra cute these days. we enjoy watching him learn new words. he is discovering that language is a powerful thing and loves to impress us with what he knows. he has moved from numbers and letters to now...shapes. he knows what a triangle is and enjoys pointing out the triangular shaped signs in Target. his umbrella stroller has a foot rest with a diamond tessellation pattern on it. one day i watched him stare at the foot rest with total interest and then blurt out, "diamond!" it's cool to see him make connections between objects we have at home with things outside of our home. i've been enjoying watching sebastian show concern for Elliot when he is crying or needs something.

elliot is growing like a weed and is awake for more hours in the day. he has very gentle eyes, is getting better at baths, and is pretty good at holding his head up during tummy time. he has helped me to get through some quirky boob issues related to breastfeeding. elliot loves looking at Sebastian and listening to him as he plays...he breaks out a smile whenever Sebastian comes over to say hello to him. elliot is now 2 months old. a 2 month old tripod picture is due...

newborn phase is almost over...

2011-10-10T13:19:00.002-05:00

we have two very happy, smiley boys! elliot has been smiling a lot for everyone when he is ready to play. he enjoys looking at sebastian, going for stroller rides, and playing with Curt.

i am starting to figure out his sleepytime cues during the daytime. the trick for us is to put him down BEFORE he is tired. even if he is cooing and making sounds...i put him down, even though it's very tempting to want to continue playtime. our goal is to have elliot learn how to self-soothe and not depend on rocking for sleep. we made that mistake with Sebastian and would like to avoid it the second time around.

elliot's face is still not 100% clear. we've had a wide range of issues with his skin. from baby acne, to red flare ups, to facial seborrehea (sp?), etc. but there definitely is improvement. before his entire face felt like sandpaper. when i see the slightest hint of another flare up, i put a bunch of expressed breast milk on his face. supposedly that is a miracle fix for all baby skin problems.

elliot can definitely see us now and notices different things around the house. i can only imagine what he must be wondering when he takes it all in. finally, elliot seems huge to me. we have a 6 month snow suit from Sebastian, but I am not sure if that will fit him come time for the winter months...

here is a video of Elliot practicing some drumming skills...

here is a video of Sebastian listing off names of people he knows...

Growth at 1 month plus tripod picture

2011-09-19T20:07:00.003-05:00

At one month Elliot is 13 pounds and 23.75 inches, putting him near the 98/99th percentile for height and weight. So he has gained about three pounds since birth. This makes me really excited because we are breastfeeding and I wasn't sure how much volume he was getting from me. He also gets about 2 ounces of formula four times within a 24 hour period...depending what kind of mood he is in :).

Elliot gets up twice a night to eat. He is up in the morning around 7 am. Ideally he should be sleeping again at 9 am...but some days he is up until noon. When that happens he is irritable. He has the ability to put himself to sleep, but there are times where he needs movement...like rocking, which makes us nervous that he will be a baby who will struggle to fall asleep on his own.

He has acne on his face. Sometimes it looks horrible, sometimes it looks not-so-bad. We are hoping it clears by two months. The day he turned four weeks old not only did he lose his hair on top, but he also broke out. They say it's the hormones?!?

Elliot is a good baby, so cuddly, so sweet. He is also a grunter, especially at night. He is starting to make more cooing sounds and is smiling more each day. I'm looking forward to when his vision will be a bit better so that he can really see all of our faces!

what it was like to have elliot

2011-09-16T16:25:00.000-05:00

we were sitting at 5 cm dilated for a week yet i was not feeling unbearable contractions. the last week was difficult in that i could hardly move and it was challenging taking care of Sebastian.

when elliot's due date came and went it was time to discuss an induction date. how strange is it to pick your child's birthdate?!? anyway, we figured a thursday would be nice...for no reason other than my mom would be able to watch Sebastian on thursday, friday, and saturday. peace came after I accepted that it was necessary to evict elliot. i wanted him to come naturally as possible, so it was a struggle to come to the conclusion that we were going to pop my bag of waters. (side note: i went back and forth and did lots of research on letting the pregnancy go past the 40 some weeks, figuring out optimal positions for baby, and was this close to calling a midwife for advice).

the night before the eviction i was excited, nervous, scared and sad. I was second guessing if this forced exit would be safe for elliot. I was also sad about leaving Sebastian for the next couple of days. but i was really comforted and reassured for two reasons:
1. I knew Sebastian was in good hands at my parents house. Plus my sister was going to spend time with him along with his cousins George and Callum.
2. Prayer...all during the last week I was comforted by the book of Psalms...I would pray over them for myself and Elliot...all i wanted was peace about a decision and confidence to move forward.
i will remember my last "supper" was a chipotle burrito and eating with Josh and Carolyn and their boys, Curt, and my parents. that night I also walked quite a bit in hopes that maybe at the last minute Elliot would come on his own, but nope...

on the morning of the eviction we arrived at the hospital around 7 am. the plan was to pop the bag of waters and see how things progress. boy did they progress quickly. in 90 minutes i went from 5 cm to 7 cm. so thankfully there was no need for pitocin. i knew that good progress was being made when nurses came in to prep the room and my doctor came back and just lingered by my bed. honestly, the contractions weren't too terrible. but around 8 cm they asked me if i needed an epidural. i wasn't sure. Curt and Dr. Allen encouraged me not to go with an epidural because it would really lengthen the whole process...so we said no. but they gave me something (don't remember the name) that would take the edge off the contractions, but it would only last an hour and I would still feel the pain.

i can't believe i am saying this...but the laboring with our second child wasn't bad. the really bad part was the pushing! i felt everything and wasn't prepared to push for 90 minutes! it was exhausting. I kept wanting to stop for a break. they wanted me to push for three sets of 10. by the time i got midway through the second set i totally fizzled out and said that i couldn't go anymore. i had a peach stashed in the closet...totally wanted to take a snack break so that i could sink my teeth into a juicy peach! also, my contractions weren't strong enough to force me to keep pushing. plus, i really had no idea if i was pushing correctly. i remember squeezing Curt's hand really hard. at one point i wanted to bite it too! i remember thinking, i really need a stick or bone to chomp down on something. at one point the nurse was wiping my head with a wet towel. apparently i was sweating lots...didn't realize this. my doctor was so great in that she said the right words at the right time to help me to keep going and push properly. curt was great too. but at one point he was counting so loud that i had to tell him that he needed to be more quiet.

i was so relieved and happy when he came out. he wasn't in the most perfect/optimal position with his face posterior, instead it was anterior. that is probably the reason why the pushing took longer than what the doctor was anticipating. he came out with an abrasion on his foot, probably from rubbing against a bone when coming out, but that healed within a day.

elliot's birth experience was totally different from sebastian's. we are glad to have experienced both. for sebastian we went in during the late evening and labored long without any progress. I didn't feel much of anything while pushing him out due to the epidural. for elliot we went in during the morning and were well rested. the laboring was quick and effective with me feeling lots during the pushing.

my recovery was quicker, better with elliot. the breastfeeding is working out for us. i am very grateful for how things worked out.

special note: at the time our special friend Denny was laying unconscious in a Colorado hospital after having a bad mountain biking accident. thoughts of him also got me through the birth process. Denny has passed on since Elliot's arrival. weeks before Elliot's birthday I was praying for us and also for Denny and his family. For us we wanted to meet Elliot for the first time. For Denny's family they wanted another chance, an opportunity to be reunited with a great man. Even though our situations were completely different...the prayers being offered up were the same. I was hoping for a double miracle, but got just once. Until we meet again Denny...

long and lean

2011-09-14T14:41:00.002-05:00

this picture is when elliot was two weeks old. he is long. this makes it difficult for him to fit in clothes that worked for Sebastian. instead of using sleep sacks we are using gauzy blankets to keep him swaddled at night. another little tidbit...he kind of has a strange butt. it's almost like he has two butt cracks...poor little guy.

tugging at your heart strings

2011-09-08T13:16:00.003-05:00

sebastian and elliot really have made my heart tender. sometimes i start shedding happy tears because their sweet and innocent ways just get me everytime. the juggling act of caring for two little (messy) boys has also taught me to just let things go...like not caring if everything is picked up, or if we just end up eating on the floor and crumbs spill everywhere. i guess at the end of the day it's more important that i had quality time with the boys.

today was the first day of fall classes for Sebastian. I managed to get all of us dressed, sort of fed, and out the door in time for the 9 am class. Here are some things i learned from the experience:
1. I need a bigger diaper bag. One with lots of pockets, something that provides insulation for milk and snacks. One that is semi-easy to carry.
2. I want to do everything and be everything for elliot and sebastian, but sometimes it's not possible. but it still breaks my heart when one kid has to wait for a second...sometimes crying.
3. i really do not like separating from Sebastian when he starts to cry and cry out for mommy. but i am thankful for the awesome teachers who know him and redirect him so that when i come back he is totally happy.
4. one of these days i will have to let Sebastian walk from the parking lot to the inside with me...instead of using a stroller, cart, or being carried...which is what we've been doing up until this point. but i'm terrified that he will just start running around in the parking lot. i would really like a double stroller like the Bob Revolution Duallie, as would Curt. but they are just so darn expensive...and now I am wondering if the thing would fit through the doors at Sebastian's school.
5. I'll for sure have to pack an extra change of clothes for Sebastian. They have a water table at school. He's the kid that will end up being completely wet from wildly splashing the water...if he could crawl in the table he would. Luckily I had a spare onesie today...we avoided him going shirtless at school...that would have been embarrassing.

elliot is three weeks old today! time is flying. he is super sweet, and can be really alert in the morning and evening. he continues to not like water and hates it when you take a cold wipe to his butt. he has the perfect swimmer's build...think Michael Phelps with the long, large torso, and small short legs...but we don't have a lot of confidence that he's a water baby. today during the parent education hour he was alert and awake and totally smiling at me, i was a bit distracted :). finally, for being the little brother...i wouldn't say that he's really little. he is wearing six month old tops and 3 month old bottoms.

sebastian has really grown attached to curt. they have been doing a lot of running and biking together. curt discovered that sebastian has practically memorized some of his books that we've read over and over together. curt will start a sentence and then allow Seb to finish it. It's kind of a neat thing to see.

elliot two weeks

2011-09-05T14:54:00.002-05:00

our little boy came!

2011-08-31T14:36:00.002-05:00

just a quick update: elliot theodore was born at August 18th. depending on which due date you want to use, he could have been two days or eight days overdue. doesn't matter, he is finally here with us! his birth story will come soon, i hope.

life at home with the two boys the past two weeks has been very, very different than life with just one. it would be so nice to have a clone of myself or an additional two arms! i try to stagger feedings, meals/snacks, diaper changes, attention, reading, and cuddling...but sometimes i simply cannot stagger them...they both need me at the same time. it's really hard going back and forth, or pulling away from one kid to quick grab something for another.

sebastian loves his brother, almost too much...i am SOOO very afraid that he will touch him too hard or accidently fall on him. when Curt went back to work the honeymoon phase ended...Sebastian quickly learned that my attention was divided and started doing things like climbing on chairs, opening the fridge and taking things out, and opening other doors. all very unsafe activities. but i've already had a great start to this week with him where he has learned to play on his own, use his imagination, and understand more that he will get his cuddle time with me too.

elliot so far is a real easy going kid too, much like his brother. diaper/clothing changes and even baths are not his most favorite though. i just think he hates being cold and naked?!? it's safe to say that his legs are super skinny, which he probably got from me, but the rest of his body is large. he is getting up 2-3 times a night to eat. i'm trying to carry him more in the bjorn or ergo, he doesn't seem completely in love with it, but doesn't hate it either.

my recovery is going a lot better than after Sebastian's birth. i still am not sure if i would survive a walk longer than a mile...but i am able to move around at home, lift Seb, take out the garbage, etc.

not ready for launch we guess

2011-08-12T10:25:00.002-05:00

baby update: spent about six hours at the hospital yesterday only to leave at 5 cm dilated with no more contractions. we went in because i was having a lot of bearable/false labor ones. learned a lot about optimal fetal positioning though. we are wondering if he's not in the best position to keep pushing down on the cervix. the option was to break the bag of water to get things going, but we said no. i want to give Clementine a chance to do his thing.

so here is what I am hoping for:
that his head is presented first.
that he is facing my posterior.
that his head will fit through my pelvis.
that his entire body is in proper alignment to get his head into the birth canal to begin with...

Happy 18 months to Sebastian

2011-08-09T13:39:00.005-05:00

Hey Sebastian,

You are officially 18 months now. You get cuter and more spunky with each passing day. I often look at you and say, "what am I going to do with you?" And you just smile! For the most part we would say that you are outgoing, but I have seen you in situations where you clam up, partly cause you are anticipating being separated from one of us...like at summer school. Or you tend to be really quiet in new environments with new people. But you have the greatest time at Target. You enjoy saying hello to people, but lately we've noticed that you pick people who also seem friendly and will most likely say hello back. Today while enjoying our weekly snack of milk and a rice krispy bar at the Target food court you said hello to every passerby except this one man who just looked like he was grumpy and uncomfortable around little kids! We like that you are really aggressive in being friendly with others, but hope you learn that sometimes there are kids that need personal space!

Daddy continues to give you your nighttime baths along with brushing your teeth and reading books to you. I just like to sit there and watch. I get a bit sad when I'm not home to watch the nightly routines go down. It's one of the most precious times in the day. I would say that when Daddy is home you really, really cling to him. You need to follow him everywhere or be a part of whatever he is doing.

At 18 months you are wearing 18 months, 18-24 month clothing. This summer we got you size 7 Keen sandals. Yes, you have very big and very wide feet. You are wearing size 2-4 yr socks, it's the big feet!

Ever since you were little we were never worried about your gross motor skills. You do a good job of climbing and running. But you seem to pick up the fine motor stuff a bit later. Just recently you've really become interested in stacking blocks. But you haven't figured out how to open bedroom/bathroom doors or to get flip top lids open yet. We are starting to really push using a fork and spoon now. You are starting to get the hang of it.

You are starting to know letters, numbers, and colors. You seem to point those things out a lot with objects in your environment. You know more and more words each day and talk a lot...sometimes this wears me out, but I honestly don't mind listening to what you say. You are pretty close to knowing how to count to ten. You can identify 60% of the letters in the alphabet correctly 65% of the time, and know how to pronounce and identify most colors except...it's hard for you to say orange and yellow.

Some words don't come out right, but we think it's cute. Milk is mook. Water is wa wa. Truck is huck. Clock sounds like...cock :), oh well. You know the important body parts :). Penis is pee pee. And you love to point out your butt :).

Things you enjoy doing: reading books and magazines, playing with sticks, playing with blocks, looking at yourself in the mirror, cuddling with some of your stuffed animals, waiting for the weekly garbage truck, running outside, swinging with daddy, going for bike rides and running with daddy, looking at ants on a tree...something we feel bad about is not taking you to the pool more this summer. It's been hard because mommy has been pregnant. But maybe for fall we will look into swimming lessons as you really enjoy the water.

You are now 27 lbs which puts you in the 65th percentile and are 34 inches tall which puts in you in the 86th percentile for height.

Lastly, I would say we enjoy your smiles and laugh the most. You like to kid around!

We love you Seb!

one week out

2011-08-08T21:44:00.002-05:00

we are playing the waiting game here...waiting for Clementine. it's funny because our due date is so fuzzy...it's somewhere between the 10th and the 16th of August. it's not just me waiting, it's Curt, Sebastian, and our families.

i have another doctor's appointment on Wednesday. so we shall see. Baby Clementine is definitely plumping up these last few days. With the exception of not having bags packed yet (i know, i know, i know)...we are ready for him.

I am trusting in the Lord to see us through this time and to give us peace.

making us laugh

2011-07-21T22:01:00.002-05:00

sebastian is just about 18 months. there are a few things at this age that I don't want to forget:
1. sometimes he will try to force a fart out so that he can make himself laugh. not only that, but he'll lift up one butt cheek by leaning to the side too. it's hilarious.
2. he has an inefficient running form. it's really bouncy with legs flailing everywhere.
3. he gives goodnight kisses now.
4. he now will use the words "yea" and "no". it's cute to see a little person be able to assert his opinion...he does it so confidently/nonchalantly, it's kind of weird.
5. he is ready to meet his brother Clementine. everyday we talk about baby. he likes looking at my belly and hugging it.

I guess I will be ready for whenever Clementine comes, but it would be great if he could just hold on until the month of August. We are at 37/38 weeks. I am 50% effaced and 2.5 cm dilated. Clementine, you sure are a strong baby! I'm curious to see how this will be related to your movements and personality when you come out!

35 weeks and 1 day...go Clementine

2011-07-07T20:43:00.002-05:00

we get one more look into Clementine's world tomorrow with an ultrasound to check for positioning. it's really hard to say where he is at...his movements are all over the place, so it's a good thing to double check.

he moves WAY WAY WAY more than Sebastian, and his movements actually hurt. today the doctor said that baby will come into this world running...we shall see, that actually scares me.

i have a pregnancy symptom...it's an inflamed pubic bone. it does not harm the baby. it just makes it hard for me to walk. that whole area feels bruised. the doctor said if it gets really bad we could get a wheelchair or induce. I said, "let's try to avoid that."

a not so awesome sleep schedule

2011-07-03T00:30:00.002-05:00

a little pregnancy update:

it's been a little rough getting by. pregnancy insomnia hit hard the past four weeks. every night i'm up at least until 1:30 am. after falling asleep then i'm up an hour later to go to the bathroom, then it takes another hour or so to fall asleep. everyone says to get plenty of rest these last few weeks, i'm definitely trying. black out curtains, unplugging any possible electronic device that illuminates any lights, reading, avoiding computer usage...nothing seems to do the trick. i've accepted the fact that maybe this is all in preparation for all of the baby nighttime feedings. i end up sleeping on the floor on a camping pad with a pillow between my legs...it works.

then it's the unusual pains in my lower abdomen, the pelvic pressure, or when I walk it feels like I have a bowling ball in between my legs. some of the pains are a bit concerning...i'll have to bring them up with the doctor this week.

i'm trying really hard to push through these last few weeks with editing projects...i want to be done with everything by the beginning of August...ahh!!!! work usually has to wait until the weekend when Curt is home so that he can watch Sebastian, so time is running out! soon enough baby will be here and it will all be worth it.

survival mode

2011-06-26T19:41:00.002-05:00

so here we are at 32/33 weeks. about seven more weeks to go.

I am for sure in survival mode with getting through all the day-to-day stuff with Sebastian. I tire easily and it's hard to get up off of the floor if I am down there in the first place from playing with Sebastian, changing his diaper, or picking up things. I'm pretty curious now how big Clementine will be. Any guesses? Sebastian was 8 lbs, 2 ounces. A funny story...at Target two boys saw my stomach and said, "whoa her belly is so big! She must be having a baby!" the nanny with them quickly hushed them and said that was not a nice thing to say. I had to laugh because I didn't care or was offended. It's the truth. Belly is big and we are having a baby!
My mobility isn't the greatest right now, so I'm really afraid to take Seb outside. There is no way that I can keep up with him and keep him safe. So we do what we can. This picture makes me laugh...he's talking to the neighbor and using lots of hand gestures. They had a serious conversation for at least 5 minutes. The neighbor was so nice to go along with all of his martian language.

A few weeks ago we went on a walk...he spotted an airplane, he loves things flying in the sky now.

I never knew why people loved having a fenced yard. Now I get it. Wide open spaces can really tire a person out if they are trying to chase a little person around.

first boo boo on father's day

2011-06-19T22:27:00.003-05:00

well...Seb got his first ouchie today on father's day at 17 months. he ran too fast on our driveway, tripped, and his chin hit the pavement. fortunately, i wasn't there to see the blood, i might have freaked out. my heart did hurt a little when I noticed it after coming home.
here is a picture of my nephew sitting on a floatie with my dad...funny.

seb had a great weekend with Curt, they had quality bonding time together. sebastian for sure is sad to see Monday come...

31/32 weeks

2011-06-17T09:40:00.002-05:00

We had another doctor's appt for Clementine yesterday. We are now on a two week plan. Things seem to be pretty normal except I personally was a little alarmed that I have only gained 16 pounds so far...I wasn't keeping track or anything, but maybe I should have been? Believe me, if you've seen me I look much bigger than that. The doctor didn't express concern or ask me to change anything, but I'm going to drink whole milk until the end and sneak more snacks in. Sebastian's hearty weight at 8 plus pounds at birth gave us both peace of mind. I loved that he was of decent size. I want the same thing for Clementine too. Six weeks ago at a different appointment they found me to be anemic, but I was able to turn that around in just four weeks and now things are normal. The trick was to consistently take the prenatal vitamins with orange juice. That's all. Let's just say that I along with the doctor were pretty pleased with the turn around...I was one number away from a blood transfusion she said! Yikes!

Clementine seems to be really strong to me! His movements are really frequent and strong. They keep me up at night! His positioning is already low...I hope this is all for the good when it's time to have him!

Sebastian is showing some signs of being a great older brother. I was actually doubtful of how he would be early on in the pregnancy. But he has been so fascinated with babies lately, will ask about his own baby brother, and will lift up my shirt and kiss my belly. Around his younger baby cousin George he really does seem to be aware that he is younger and smaller...so he's pretty sweet around him.

Finally, we are creating a plan for what to do with Sebastian when it's time for the baby to come. We've got my entire family close by...but my parents both work during the day and my sister has two little ones to haul around. And Curt's work is 30 minutes away. So we are taking everything into consideration and trying to find people who are home during the day without little kids...I think we will be okay. If anything I will just call 911 if things happen fast.

jumping right into summer

2011-06-06T13:56:00.002-05:00

i feel like it happens every year...we never truly have a spring season or a time of transition...it goes from cold to hot in a blink of an eye! that's okay because we are finding ways to keep cool!

29/30 weeks

2011-06-01T21:44:00.002-05:00

Clementine seems to be doing alright! I'm curious how the last ten weeks will be for me though...with us heading into the hot summer months. Should be interesting.

Sebastian seems to be chugging along just fine too, which is good...because sometimes I wonder if he notices that I'm beginning to slow down a bit more and tire more easily. Poor guy. We seem to do a good job of keeping each other company during the day though. He's really fun to have around...he keeps me young :).

I'm starting to daydream about Clementine. I hope he likes being with us when he comes out!

24 hour staycation/babymoon

2011-05-31T15:21:00.004-05:00

In 24 hours we managed to do the following: Check into our hotel, shop a little at the MOA, grab dinner at Soul Daddy's, watch the movie Bridesmaids, catch the lightrail to downtown mpls, check out the mill city farmers market, tour the mill city musuem, cross the stone arch bridge to have lunch at Aster's Cafe, walk to gavidae commons, and then catch the lightrail back to our car so we could get back to Sebastian.
so here I am at breakfast at the Embassy Suites hotel. we were pretty excited about grabbing breakfast here, the made to order omelettes are fun. i am noticeably pretty tired looking...we were both in desperate need of a mini-vacation!

by the time breakfast was over we were destressed and ready to have some fun! we are on board the lightrail, which was my first experience ever! fun!

it was a very cool and refreshing time away from life, the weather was perfect for our agenda of activities...I was a bit jealous of Curt's iced coffee...once Clementine comes I am going to enjoy a nice iced coffee of sorts from anywhere...

a carefree life...even if it was for just 24 hours

mother's day weekend pictures

2011-05-20T14:08:00.002-05:00

on one day we hosted a little brunch. Curt's grandma was able to make it too, Sebastian especially loved having her company. while we were eating Sebastian gave great grandma a lot of smiles across the dining table.

then another day we had a dinner at my sister's house where all the guys created a meal. it's kind of funny because they still needed a bit of coaching, i think, to get something proper out on the table :). but it was lovely.

we heart tulips!

2011-05-17T14:11:00.002-05:00

offering the tulips some water...

simply enjoying the beauty while eating snacks...

he was saying hi to people passing by...he's very friendly in that area...he also enjoyed looking at all the water fountains.

staying tough

2011-05-15T21:29:00.002-05:00

clementine's due date is in about 13 weeks. honestly, we are a bit scared. scared about how we are going to juggle everything. scared about how frantic life will become. after a busy and kind of challenging past few weeks I really wonder how I will manage taking care of two little ones...especially on days when I am really tired and exhausted. we know we are actually pretty lucky because we have grandparents close by who help us out so we can catch a break...but it's still kind of challenging. we always are in awe of single parents who don't have family close by...it's gotta be rough.

i have a lot of concerns about how this change will impact Sebastian. I pray that he will be resilient. I pray for patience for myself that I can walk him through the frustrating times. clementine's arrival will be when Sebastian hits 18 months. I've learned that can be an age of great emotional and developmental change. it will be a double whammy of sorts...yikes.

my goal for this third trimester is to appreciate the pregnancy, there is an incredible young life in me! clementine moves a lot, a lot, a lot. i thought Sebastian moved a lot, but Clementine loves to move way more. Here's to a great last trimester Clementine!!!!

an undergraduate commencement ceremony

2011-05-14T06:27:00.002-05:00

yeah! calvin graduated! only to start his grad program in a month or so...yeah school!

15 months

2011-05-03T19:41:00.002-05:00

at 15 months he continues to enjoy berries of any sort.

he still loves his books.

...is starting to figure out his legos.

Sebastian still loves going to Target with me. He says hi to everyone he sees. We have been noticing that he can be very strong willed and a bit stubborn. He likes to do things his way. I had a hunch when he was a newborn that this part of his personality would come out eventually even though he is really sweet too. It's an interesting combo...sweet and strong-willed. A fun, new word for him is "baby" which is great because there will be a brand new baby brother for him very soon. Sebastian enjoys pointing out other babies in public and in pictures. Lately he's been interested in bellies...mine, Curt's, and his own. With my belly he likes to kiss it and hug it. I've been telling him that his baby brother is in there...so maybe he knows that something is up!?!? I think he likes it partly because it's super round too :). He'll be a great older brother.
At 15 months he is in the 57th percentile for weight at 25 pounds (this is with clothes and diaper on) and 91st percentile for height at 32.75 inches. We are really surprised that he has not gained any weight since 12 months. He seems bigger to us.

another part of easter

2011-04-27T09:33:00.002-05:00

first experience with searching for eggs...

awww, a golden egg...

dad, i'm better at finding sticks.

audrey contemplating her next move.

going through the loot.

a part of easter

2011-04-25T19:34:00.002-05:00

Happy Easter! We had an intense yet fun weekend. It was kind of hard to come back to monday, but it was nice for me and Sebastian to get back into a routine. Over three days we managed to drive to WI for Curt's marathon, celebrate with my family for Easter, and then drive to Mankato for Easter with Curt's family. We did about eight hours of driving. We all slept really hard last night! I told Curt that I don't think I can repeat that kind of weekend as we move closer and closer to Clementine's third trimester. Whew! Sebastian seemed to enjoy himself. He really seems to enjoy being around uncle calvin and callum. With Calvin you can tell he totally looks up to him. With Callum, Sebastian wants to follow him wherever he goes...like a little shadow.

some tender moments with the boys

2011-04-16T20:16:00.002-05:00

These clips are taken AFTER Sebastian and little nephew Callum were running around the place just SQUEALING from excitement. It was totally nuts.

another mover?

2011-04-15T13:08:00.002-05:00

we all know that Sebastian is active and physical. at 22 weeks I feel lots of movement from Clementine too! Great! I'm ready for two lively little boys! Just want to mention that I was able to feel movements from Clementine at 18 weeks, but never documented it anywhere.

Sebastian enjoys "sitting" on chairs and "relaxing" now. He likes to climb up and sit for a few seconds before climbing down to run off again. He's adding a few more words...he says mommy a lot now. The funny thing is when he starts to whine or whimper that's often a word I hear. Other words: hot, heart, and bus.

We are pretty excited for Clementine. I think Sebastian is too...he likes to look at my belly and will want to kiss it and pinch it. Funny because we didn't teach him this...all I said was, "your little brother is in there."

haircuts for Easter and spring

2011-04-11T13:09:00.003-05:00

seems like every year when the weather gets warmer Curt goes for the buzz cut. i am not a hair dresser, but we did the best we could last week. i was surprised by the amount of hair that came off...Seb was taking everything in.

callum and seb spectating...it's cute. sebastian didn't get his hair cut on the same night because it got kind of cold. we did cut his hair eventually the next day...it's a very odd haircut. there was some miscommunication and my dad handed curt a different sized clipper than what I wanted...poor kid's got some interesting designs on his head. pictures to come maybe? hope it grows out by easter.

a random picture from a walk...

we are definitely taking advantage of the nice weather and trying to get a bit of fresh air everyday. sebastian loves looking at ALL sorts of shadows, inside and outside. he's so visually oriented, very interesting.

some fresh air

2011-04-03T20:50:00.002-05:00

we gave sebastian a taste of what it's like to run outside today...he's hooked and puts up a fight when it's time to go in!

he actually runs really fast now! it's officially hard to keep up with him. this makes holding his hand and protecting him from falls really impossible.

today's weather is what we've been waiting and wishing for ALL winter long. and it finally came! so happy! the fresh air did all of us some real good. we took Seb to lake calhoun for the first time today (he has been to lake harriet many times, but never calhoun). we've never seen him that animated in the stroller before. usually when you put him in the stroller he becomes very stone faced...but with lots of people to look at he was quite hilarious and chatty. he loves people. other exciting news? after what seems like 15+ attempts in the church nursery we actually had a success today! it might have helped that the nursery was very FULL...so he had lots of other babies to look at and lots of babies were looking at him :). finally, we think that Seb may have semi-officially dropped his first morning nap. it's going WAY better than i expected. the past four days he has had only one afternoon nap...and he seems fine. i was really worried/obsessed about this transition, but it seems to be okay. with just one nap to be home for now...this totally frees up my mornings to take care of errands, etc. as you can imagine with two 90-minutes naps before at 8:30am and then at 1:00pm...it was very difficult for us to leave the house. but now other things like showering, getting myself mentally prepared for the day will be a bit more challenging!

we are having a boy!

2011-03-29T09:45:00.002-05:00

Clementine is a boy baby! Last week we had an ultrasound and our tech lady was able to tell us the gender of our baby. Pretty neat experience. I'll need to post some pictures from the ultrasound, but Sebastian and Clementine have IDENTICAL profiles when they were both around 19/20 weeks. I noticed that Clementine has skinny legs though. Oh no! He may have my chicken legs! We shall see. From what we saw Clementine did lots of rolling around...slightly different from Sebastian where he did lots of kicking and sucking on his hands when he was in the womb.

We are close to being sure of a name for Clementine.

It's kind of neat because I have a mental picture of what our family will look like now. I'm starting to prep myself for all that is to come...some of it is great and some of it is not so great. I hope to get through the birth and recovery without passing out...that stuff just freaks me out. I'm starting to think through some of the logistics of carrying on day to day functions with two instead of one. A big concern is that both boys will have to share a room. Clementine will be with us for awhile, but when it comes time to transition baby to crib and Sebastian to big boy bed...a napping schedule might take some serious effort. I'm worried that Sebastian will miss being the center of attention. I'm worried that Clementine will never get the one on one attention that Sebastian had. I only have two arms and two hands...I hope that is enough.

some recent pictures

2011-03-27T13:31:00.002-05:00

kissy, kissy

sebastian's eyes always light up when he sees uncle calvin. seb thinks he's cool. when they play together uncle calvin really wears him out. it's a good thing!

look dad, a garbanzo bean!

on days where i worry about his eating i should just look at this picture. check out his belly! and he has chubby arms! so cute! sebastian is modeling his swimming suit for summer. i accidently put them in with the white load where I used hot water and a bit of bleach...so they came out a bit faded. oops.

some sebastian updates at 14 months

2011-03-25T09:05:00.004-05:00

new words for Sebastian at 14 months:
ball (his most favorite to say because we probably have a lot of balls around the house)
up (we have to go "up" for everything, diaper changes, night night, bath, stand up, etc)

ball and up we hear a lot, but here are some other words:
papa
mom
mommy (like momeee with emphasis on the 2nd syllable)
hot
sun
mu (for music)

He recently figured out how to climb, so if a piece of furniture or toy is at the perfect level for him to swing his knee up, he'll probably figure out how to pull himself up. he still does A LOT of pointing. he finds the American flag everywhere! if we are driving or walking outside he also likes to look for water towers. at home he will often point to two objects (alternating) just so that we can say what they are. light, shadow, light, shadow, light, shadow, light, shadow, or elephant, moon, elephant, moon, elephant, moon, elephant, moon.

it's cute when he walks into the room just to say hi to you and then leave. or how he says, "ooooh" when he gets to eat blueberries. now he asks to turn on music and will occasionally bend his knees to dance.

a not so cute thing that we've noticed is sometimes he loses his cool really, really fast and will cry. luckily in most situations he can recover quickly. but this is a change for us since we once had the most easy going kid ever. i guess he is realizing that he has his own wants and desires separate from us and is learning that he can refuse or say no to things. he's super happy and funny, but also does not have a lot of patience for things that go against what he wants. we shall see.

AAP updates carseat recommendations

2011-03-21T20:08:00.002-05:00

LINK TO RECOMMENDATION
I'm just curious if anyone else with a child under age 2 saw this today. The american academy of pediatrics now recommends that children ride rear facing until the age of 2. this is different from earlier where you could flip them around when they reached a certain height and length. we switched Sebastian to forward facing around 11.5 months. he is currently 31.5 inches and 25 pounds. we will listen to the recommendation, but are worried that Sebastian will be confused and be unhappy during car rides now. any thoughts? thanks.

sebastian at 14 months

2011-03-20T19:41:00.002-05:00

he's looking like a young boy these days, right? yes, we think so too.

momma to sebastian and baby clementine

2011-03-20T19:34:00.002-05:00

first pregnancy picture! at 18/19 weeks!

sebastian's sibling and love of the american flag

2011-03-09T14:22:00.004-06:00

in a few weeks we will hopefully discover clementine's gender. i'm hoping the baby cooperates during the ultrasound and doesn't "hide" anything :). we are excited either way. i have a slight hunch/leaning that clementine could be a girl. i crave all things sour and citrusy/fruity. everyday i inhale a grapefruit with lots of delight and love sour patch kids. the sour taste is so delicious to me right now. we are grateful that Sebastian came out pretty normal and healthy, and would really love the same thing for Clementine. it's always on the back of your mind that a complication could occur. babies are so small and helpless to begin with...you just don't want anything to go against them in that fragile state.

sebastian has an eye out for all american flags...in books or in real life. he is familiar with the red and white stripes and stars. i think this is cute.

pondering a thought

2011-03-07T09:04:00.003-06:00

I love my time with Sebastian. I knew even before we decided to try get pregnant with him that it was my heart's desire to be there for my kids, at least for the first five years of their lives, in a full-time stay at home kind of way. the experience really has been interesting. it totally isn't glamorous. I'm in my pajamas all day long. i never comb my hair anymore. sometimes i don't even shower until after dinner. but honestly those things don't really concern me. what i struggle with is...am I really maximizing my time at home? am i using my gifts to the fullest potential? honestly, i do find joy in doing laundry, finding new recipes, changing Sebastian's diapers, and playing with him. but it's always on the back of my mind...what direction is our family headed in? and most importantly, is this honoring to God?

so lately, i've been pondering a lot...my career, my passions, using this time at home. and i really have been pondering adoption. yes, adoption. you must think i'm crazy...you have a little boy, are pregnant with a second baby...why are you thinking about adoption right now!?!? i have to add that this is all me for now...Curt is not quite on the same plane with me on this one.

here is where the thought came in...from watching Sebastian (who is our little gift from the Lord)! He is the happiest most joyful baby/kid on the block. He has a lot of joy. Every morning he wakes up ready to make himself laugh or us laugh...it's kind of hysterical. For a baby, Sebastian is pretty well adjusted (for the most part)...and I would like to think it's because his physical and emotional needs are met. And then I get really sad because I know there are too many children out there who are suffering from anything and everything...and are going through life without a mom or dad who want to provide and be there for them. I seriously sometimes wonder if there is a child out there who is supposed to be called our son or daughter.

So this is a pondering thought. I'm just pondering. I know adoption is not easy, not cheap, there will be heartache, problems with attaching to the new parents, adoption of older children can bring on lots of problems and issues, etc, etc, etc...BUT I am willing to go down that road if that is something our family needs to do. By this I mean that all...me, Curt, Sebastian, and Clementine are aware and willing to embrace everything that adoption brings because we feel strongly that God called us to do this.

Finally, I believe that adoption is the heart of the gospel. The spirit of human adoption comes from the fact that we are able to be adopted by God through his Son. John Piper, pastor at Bethlehem Baptist in downtown mpls, lays it out great in this article. It's kind of long, but it's been a helpful read for me as I'm trying to figure out if this is just a fleeting thought or a thought that is a seed for now that might come to full fruition in the future. At the end of the article Piper publishes a letter he wrote to his wife, Noel, after they make the decision to adopt their daughter, Talitha Ruth. This adoption came about when Piper was in his fifties and already had four sons or something. It's a great letter.

Link to Piper's article

getting a bit spunky

2011-03-06T19:14:00.002-06:00

Sebastian is becoming a bit spunky these days, maybe a bit fiesty too. Hard to explain other than he's got a funny way about him. He finds a way to be a busy body. Lately he's been pointing EVERYTHING out that he sees. So we try our best to name the object he's pointing to or at least let him know that we see it too. His favorite objects to point out are: hanging lights/chandliers, clocks, windmills, the pictures we have on our wall. He still is most comfortable around mom and dad. He separates well at our ECFE class, but he has cried when leaving him at my parents house, and we are basically 0 for 10 at the church nursery. It's weird because his ECFE teachers say that he's really independant (at his age...what they mean is not needy :). I see that at home too, but at church there is always a volunteer who is carrying and walking around with him because he's sad and crying. We shall keep trying.

Sweet Clementine...i think we are at 16/17 weeks? This pregnancy has been way different. I'm feeling pretty good, but sometimes I just need to lay down and rest for a bit. My growing belly is sitting a bit higher. I find that eating a large amount of food in one sitting is not a good thing, so I eat smaller portions several times a day. I can't gulp liquids either, sips are the way to go. I have not taken any pictures of myself. I hope to change this sometime this week. I can't neglect Clementine's growth!

different sounds

2011-02-27T08:49:00.002-06:00

Seb Sounds from Curt Wood on Vimeo.

sebastian has been making lots of sounds lately. one of my favorites is how he says, "green!".

sunday, our day of rest

2011-02-21T09:17:00.005-06:00

Sebastian likes to stay busy. I never thought a baby could be busy, but he is! he is always on the go. but i would say that me and curt had a restful sunday. after church we went home and enjoyed having a warm cozy home all afternoon, then had pizza for dinner.

random tidbits

2011-02-15T19:16:00.003-06:00

The past few days Sebastian has taken to repeating sounds. He now knows how to say the letter Z. If you say it, he'll say it too...but make it really drawn out and extra long like, "zzzzzzzzz!". My dad taught him how to say "nigh, nigh", for "night, night". This is useful because we use it for naps and bedtime now. On his birthday i told myself to mentally and emotionally let go of the 0-12 month old baby that I knew and to accept the toddler boy that was emerging. It really is amazing how he is becoming more and more toddler. It must be the whole walking thing. He's realizing more and more that he is independent of us, is willing to explore and get into new spaces (good and bad), and is always trying to share and communicate what he's looking at. He does lots of pointing, funny hand gestures, and inquiring facial expressions. Since I am around him all of the time I feel like I totally get what he's trying to share just by looking into his big brown eyes. They are definitely very revealing.

On Monday we had an interesting day because Sebastian had an ear infection with a fever. We went to the doctor, got medicine for him, and everything is fine now. This is his second ear infection and it worries me because I know that Curt had lots of ear infections and ended up with tubes in his ears. I'm really hoping that this isn't a chronic issue for him. We have a follow up appointment in three weeks to see if his ears are clear...I'll be sure to ask all of my questions then. Of course it always kind of gets to me because I know there is literature out there saying that babies who are breastfed WITHOUT supplementing can overcome genetic tendency towards ear infections because of increased immune effectiveness...but then Curt is quick to remind me that he was breastfed as a baby, but still got the infections. And then I wonder...why did we drop him off at the church nursery instead of taking him into the service with us? why didn't we use the cool mist humidifer last week when it was so cold and dry? it could go on and on...grrr.

baby clementine is still growing. Today Sebastian and I got to hear the baby's heartbeat during my check-up. we are at 14/15 weeks! It has gone by fast! yikes!

three sebastians!

2011-02-12T09:00:00.002-06:00

three sebastians! well, not really, that's not possible. he's one of a kind. you can only have one sebastian. for his birthday he got a bunch of snack traps! it has been really cute watching him figure out that thing. at first he was afraid to put his hand through, but now he loves them. we went to the mall yesterday with a snack trap...his hand was inside the snack trap the entire time, with fingers twirling around in the cheerios, but not once did he eat a cheerio! weird. i think he was too mesmerized by the people and interesting sights. he's officially been walking for about two weeks now...it keeps him busy. sometimes he's too busy to drink milk. instead of sitting and drinking, he likes to walk and drink at the same time. actually, he likes to pair walking with one other activity like reading a book, hugging his doggie, or holding an interesting item. it's cute. finally, a NEW quirk...he'll pat himself on the chest after he coughs, sneezes, or tries to clear his throat. it's funny.

a one year recap from mom and dad

2011-02-08T19:56:00.004-06:00

we tried to put together a summary of the first year and to provide a picture of what Sebastian was like at one year...

we were able to get Sebastian's birthday announcement on KARE 11...

a repost of Sebastian's first year in pictures...

the birthday bash

2011-02-07T14:47:00.002-06:00

we had a little party for Sebastian last weekend to celebrate his 1st birthday! Sebastian loves having company around and was really kind of sad when everyone left.

He was really happy. He didn't eat the cake, but enjoyed smashing it to pieces with his fingers...which is something he's been doing a lot lately with table food we give him...hmm.

We are glad you had fun Sebastian!

our last 12 months...magical, awesome, and crazy

2011-01-29T09:15:00.001-06:00

an almost catastrophe in the snow

2011-01-28T09:17:00.002-06:00

sebastian has been extra cute the past few days. it was so nice outside, i wanted to take him sledding. i thought he would enjoy it. i put him on the sled and tried to scale a snow bank. he tipped over and landed face first in the snow...it was very sad. his face was all wet, i had to use my shirt and mittens to get him dry. in the picture up above it's like he's saying, "are you kidding me? you expect me to sit here after i face planted in the snow? i'm cold and wet mom." he was kind of in shock, but recovered nicely to enjoy a little sled ride.. this is what we call his "cute" pose.

refreshing wknd/discovering some pictures/baby steps/menu planning

2011-01-24T14:15:00.002-06:00

i had a refreshing weekend. all of us were able to go to a party with some blog friends and all of their kids. it was just so great. they kiddos are all so cute and wonderful. it has been fun seeing all the pictures everyone took. i find this connection to be really special, it's a gift. then later that evening i was able to go to a book club party. super fun. we read a chick lit book...otherwise known as a "pink book". It was my first chick lit read and I have to say it was entertaining. we picked out another book for next time. a non-pink book. i'm excited because this forces me to read for fun and this is a good way to stay connected with some old friends.

as of the past few days, we can say that Sebastian is walking now. his main mode of transporation is still crawling or a combo of crawling/creeping along walls and furniture. but he figured out how to take his time with his steps...so everything is a bit more controlled :). we are so happy for him. very soon he won't want me to hold his hand while walking.

for sebastian's party this is what we have planned for the menu:
gourmet mac and cheese
pear salad
veggies
pita chips
hummus and veggie dip

since i'm not really good with baking i'm thinking of ordering a very yummy cake from somewhere...

lastly...i've been looking at lots of old pictures of Sebastian to emotionally prepare for his 1st birthday and came across ones that i totally forgot about...they were files just sitting on the computer, not touched yet. they are from the hospital. he is so tiny in them.

our baby after morning nap

2011-01-20T19:29:00.003-06:00

i've been keeping Sebastian mostly at home these past few weeks. i feel slightly bad because he likes going places and looking at people, but I don't think he dislikes being homebound either. luckily for me he is very lovable and goofy which makes getting through winter a little bit more manageable. thanks Sebastian!

january events

2011-01-18T09:20:00.005-06:00

other than wishing for any signs of spring or wanting to go to any location near the equator for a vacation we are doing pretty good. we can't complain much.
let's start with little baby clementine: clementine has been really busy growing. we had an ultrasound to figure out a due date...August 16th it is! My estimate was August 10th...so a little off. early on clementine zapped a lot of energy out of me, forcing me to nap twice a day. i went a week with a combination of mild nausea and constant fatigue without vomitting, but things seem to be better. we figure the early weeks of baby formation are crucial and amazing...the baby was taking what he needed from me. clementine is always hungry too.
(an image of clementine. i thought it was funny how the tech lady typed in "baby". we seem to come across the nicest healthcare professionals.)

baby sebastian: he's funny. we feel like he's on the verge of a major communication explosion or something. with wanting to talk, learn and listen, and walk...his brain has needed lots of rest. he's been taking two 90 minute naps daily and sleeping from 7 pm-5:45 am. he enjoys being silly.
us: doing pretty good...we have actually made an effort to see a movie each friday the past few weeks. black swan and true grit. black swan was good, but a little dark and uncomfy for our tastes. we figure now is a good time to go to the movies before i get too big that it becomes hard to sit. we are also seriously taking some measures to get new countertops and flooring in our kitchen.
lastly, a picture of sebastian's school friends. we are missing twin brothers brody and bennett. it's a fun group.

hearing Clementine

2011-01-13T21:18:00.002-06:00

today was my first doctor's appointment with baby Clementine. i was able to hear his/her heartbeat! it's like a swoosh, swoosh, swoosh sound. it was pretty cool. i must say that I don't really look forward going to the doctor...i kind of forgot what happens at the first OB appointment. not the most pleasant experience. i even had blood drawn. but i was tough, didn't whimper too much, and made things really easy for my super duper nice lab tech who probably picked up on my fear from a mile away and just felt sorry for me. so i'll just hold on to the memory of hearing clementine's heartbeat until we see it in an ultrasound this next week.

you are doing great Clementine!

seb's 11 month bike pump picture ( a bit late)

2011-01-13T09:46:00.002-06:00

I wanted to get these up before he turns a year old in a few weeks. Thankfully, we just have one more bike pump picture to do! It's getting really hard! He has no interest in laying naked on a blanket.

These past few weeks Sebastian has really transitioned from infant baby to infant toddler. His personality is really coming out. He just seems older. He's funny and silly...sometimes a bit whiny. His smiles are really cheesy now...he squints his eyes! And his laugh is awesome. He's got a great laugh.

yeah for school

2011-01-06T13:22:00.003-06:00

earlier this month i decided not to enroll Sebastian in any winter classes because they conflicted with his sleeping schedule and i was too nervous about having enough energy to get the both of us out and about. this made me really sad because i knew that sebastian enjoyed his friends and time at school. but one evening this week his teacher called us to explain that all the other moms had a hard time getting to the one class too. plus the class wasn't a good fit because our group of babies weren't really talking or walking like the older toddlers in the new class. so they designed a special class just for Sebastian's group of friends. how great is that?!?! same day and time from before!

today was the first class of the winter session. i feel so grateful! Sebastian's teachers are so wonderful. he loves it there. we also separated from the babies during the last 45 minutes for parent education time. i was really nervous because Sebastian is going through some major separation issues with us. he crys (with flowing tears)the second we leave the room. but the report from his teachers was that he did great and was busy entertaining the other kids in a circle! and that's what i saw too when i picked him up.

we are hoping that Curt can visit one of his classes if his work schedule would allow for it. if any of our blog readers live in the Chan/Chaska school district we would highly recommend the ECFE program. it's wonderful. the teachers are so amazing. if we do end up in this school district when it comes time for Seb to start school...i would be happy because of the connections we are already making.

a sweet 11 month old Sebastian

2011-01-02T19:22:00.004-06:00

we, especially me, are having kind of a hard time accepting that our firstborn son is turning a year old at the end of the month. i've been getting choked up and very teary eyed lately. it's hard to explain. i'm even teary now while writing this. i really hope these feelings are normal.

we could have never expected or even dreamed of having such an easy-to-care-for baby. he's a dream. he's always happy, always smiling, and pretty funny. and he's so sweet. he's the most precious gift ever. i just know that one day he is going to shine...i hope he shares his gifts and joy with the whole world.

it's been interesting to see his personality evolve. certain quirks are coming out. you can learn a lot about him just by watching him play. he loves hiding behind curtains, blankets, table, chairs...just so that he can peak out at you and smile. his movements are quick and he bounces from one thing to the next faster than I ever could. he enjoys talking a lot, sometimes i don't know how to respond because it's all babble...but he seriously goes on and on and on. i just say a lot of "uh huhs". and clapping...it's his forte. no one can clap the way he can clap. he's a pro at it. he's still pretty friendly around new people, i think it's because he loves the attention.

it's been awhile since he's gone swimming in a pool. we might need to think about taking a few trips this winter. bathtime is getting really interesting. Curt gives him his baths...it's really a riot. everytime i peak in to see how things are going Sebastian has the biggest smile on his face and is doing something that really makes us want to believe that we have a little swimmer on our hands.
here is a video Curt did...the last few seconds are priceless...

Christmas Toys from Curt Wood on Vimeo.

On his 11 month birthday he took a few steps unassisted.

Finally, we had a hunch that Seb had wide feet...his shoes weren't fitting very well. We took him to a store to get properly measured. He for sure has wide feet. The second we took off his shoes the lady called it out immediately. Apparently, most babies grow out of this when they start to develop arches in their feet...this comes from walking. It was cute when she pointed out his chubby baby fat on the tops of his feet.

a couple home videos

2010-12-28T19:33:00.002-06:00

So here are two videos. The first one is a sideways view of me and Sebastian sharing a dance. It's a very rare moment. Most of the time when I try to hold Sebastian close he squirms out of my arms.

The last vid is a long one of different clips just put together. It's kind of boring. But we like it :).

christmas 2010

2010-12-26T19:57:00.002-06:00

we had a nice christmas with Sebastian. He enjoys hanging out with all of his family. me and curt are kind of wiped out though.

it was great this year to see kids get excited about the simplest things. they really do have honest, pure joy. from opening presents, to being around other people, to seeing people sing and dance...i love how everything is so new and exciting to them. it's just so great.

something we will always remember is the delight Sebastian had at the Christmas eve children's service. after every song he clapped with such conviction and was squealing lots of ooohhsss and aaaahhhsss. i have ever seen him so excited. i hope Sebastian will always live his life with that much joy. it's contagious. he is always so very happy...it's medicine for when you are not feeling that great yourself.

finally, on this day last year i remember falling down the stairs while pregnant with Sebastian. what a difference a year makes.

a few days before Christmas!

2010-12-22T10:09:00.002-06:00

yippy! just a couple of days until the Christmas gatherings begin. i'm excited! all three of us were sick with a really icky stomach bug. it got kind of ugly because all of us were puking. the worst of it lasted 24 hours. the tricky part was trying to entertain and take care of Sebastian. Curt and I felt really awful, had chills, and sometimes would just pass out. We managed somehow until the evening and then went to my parents' house to spend the night and get help with Sebastian. We are really in awe of Sebastian though. He was still his happy, energetic self. Other than the puking you would never know that he was sick! Strange! Curt said it best...it's been so long since we've been sick that you kind of take being healthy for granted!

Christmas definitely has new meaning this year. Sebastian adds lots of meaning...but not in the let's buy baby lots of presents this year kind of way. (We haven't purchased him anything yet, not sure if we will). But in the...wow, Mary gave birth to Jesus...who was to become and is the Savior kind of way. Both me and Curt can kind of relate to this because we were able to experience the gift of a baby...it's such a miracle. But we are really excited to see Sebastian's eyes when he gets to rip some paper!!!!

dream house

2010-12-19T15:20:00.002-06:00

so there was an open house for dream house today. we went. it's even dreamier in person. we just need an extra $45,000 or so. where will that come from?!?! i'm hoping for a miracle. the house has a unique layout and is perfect for a family of our size plus or minus 1.5 kids. if we get a huge blessing from somewhere we would promise to invite everyone we know over for a huge Christmas party with delicious cocktail drink, appetizers, endless merriment, and a crazy photobooth.

it wasn't perfect by any means...the two upstairs bathrooms would need some new paint and updated flooring and vanities...but that's just what i saw from a cosmetic level.

Baby George at one month

2010-12-19T09:19:00.002-06:00

So sweet, and a good looking newborn baby.

school break

2010-12-16T13:25:00.002-06:00

Sebastian had his last class for fall session today. It has been lots of fun getting to know the other babies and seeing them grow and change! I really want to sign him up for a winter class and will probably do so, but the next logical one (most of his buddies will be in there too) is during his first morning nap. So it will be kind of tricky figuring out how to manage this...it is just once a week so not a big deal, but I'm kind of nervous about getting him off of his schedule. I know the both of us really look forward to school each week!

Sebastian has something important to say...

2010-12-13T21:47:00.003-06:00

If Lord willing Sebastian will be a big bro! It is probably way too early to share, but we can't hide our excitement. Plus we would really appreciate a huge prayer covering over Baby Clementine. I need confirmation from our doctor about a due date, but base on a very rough guesstimate I want to say August 2011. Even though Clementine is only five weeks along we love it and feel very protective of it already. Thanks God for another miracle.

my dream home

2010-12-13T13:55:00.007-06:00

my dream home...it's perfect in every way...i want to have it...ahhh...i can picture Sebastian playing and relaxing in it now and helping me with dishes..
i'm looking for something fairly contemporary and modern with a wide open floor plan. this one is very beautiful. we are not looking for lots of square footage, but something with clean, simple lines...i like this one.
CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE HOUSE

snow day

2010-12-11T19:59:00.002-06:00

after getting stuck in my parents' neighborhood early this morning we got scared and decided to stay home.

as you can see sebastian is very lively and fun-loving. in other news, we saw a great movie last night...127 hours...it's about climber Aron Ralston who basically cuts his arm with a dull, dull, dull knife, and then is forced to break his bone so that he can get out of a small hole. we are both still talking about it today...i'm in awe of the man...minus the scene where he amputates himself the movie really leaves you feeling triumphant and amazed at Aron's will to live. he's got such a neat spirit about him too. (we've been internet researching about the man a lot today :).

Sebastian's 10 month bike pump picture

2010-12-07T20:27:00.004-06:00

He is beginning to walk with a walker...he's not totally interested, but warming up to the idea. He prefers scooting along walls and the kitchen cabinets.

Time to take the sticker off!

thanksgiving day 4

2010-12-05T09:42:00.002-06:00

these pictures are a little late...but here is what happened on Day 4...
George is a sleeping machine

with three little boys under the age of two in one spot you need on average 3+ adults to maximize supervision and safety...this allows for breaks too.

Callum was actually pretty happy up until this point...I do have some pictures of him happy, but I like this one because it has character!

christmas is coming! and sebastian updates...

2010-12-02T20:49:00.003-06:00

well, Christmas 2010 is approaching very quickly. we are absolutely not in need of anything and do not want any gifts for Christmas. but to avoid being too much of a debbie downer, here is a list:

For Sebastian:
Books...he seriously loves them. Board books are best now. His favorite author is Sandra Boynton. He doesn't have Belly Button Book, Blue Hat Green Hat,Moo Baa La la la, Horns to Toes and in between...just to list a few. We've been going to the library and he only owns like four Sandra Boynton books, but he is so addicted to them. I feel really bad because everyday he'll lovingly stare at the four he owns for minutes upon minutes. I would like to provide him more variety :).

My biggest wish is just being able to hang out with family this year. That would give me the greatest joy. We had a great Thanksgiving and I would like to repeat the quality hang out time for Christmas. I would also like to eat a lot of unhealthy food too and sip on coffee, tea, and hot chocolate.

In Sebastian news...he's discovered the wonderful world of opening/closing doors, drawers, cabinets, etc. It's cute and dangerous at the same time. I'm pretty convinced that he knows the meaning of "no". He knows not to touch the garbage can or the wires underneath my desk, but will do it anyway...he'll look to see my reaction and then tilt his head to the side to be extra charming and smile. It kind of works...I'm in trouble for the teen years. Today we had a break through with his walker! Instead of playing with the wheels or pushing it around while crawling, he actually walked with it when I took off his socks! The extra grip worked!

Sebastian is 10 months old today

2010-11-30T10:02:00.002-06:00

Two more months and we can say we have a one year old! Sebastian has mastered the sippy cup and loves eating cheerios! He has had some diaper rash, which came right after the flu vaccination and some treatment with some amoxi for an ear infection which was diagnosed after we took him in for a 101.7 fever. He's kind of a tough kid so I worry that we won't know how bad his illnesses and ailments are because I feel like he's a kid who will keep smiling even if something hurts. Sebastian, mom and dad love having you around! Let's stay healthy together this winter!

thanksgiving day 3

2010-11-28T21:06:00.002-06:00

little nephew callum has been really busy hanging out with family that he now calls us "curk", "steen", and "deb". it's really cute. and uncle chris is "kwis" in an east coast accent. i would say that both Callum and Sebastian loved having the extra company/attention around. it was fun.

Thanksgiving Day 2

2010-11-27T10:01:00.001-06:00

Thanksgiving Celebration Day 1

2010-11-25T20:25:00.002-06:00

Today we went to Mankato to have a feast with Curt's mom's side of the family. We all had a great meal and had a good time. Then we hung out with my brother for an hour, Christopher, who is in from LA. Here is what I'll remember from the day:

1. Eating yummy squash.
2. Niece Audrey looking cute and enjoying coloring.
3. Sebastian hanging out with great Grandma and cuddling with her. It really melted my heart. What a sweet boy.
4. Brent not feeling so well which worked in our favor because we got to see him for a bit.
5. Christopher smelling poop coming from Sebastian. We were impressed with his poop radar (he noticed it before anyone else) garnered from walking through downtown LA. This makes me not want to visit LA.
6. Sebastian breaking Carolyn and Josh's DVD player.
7. Sebastian stealing Josh's piece of cheese.
8. Learning that Christopher also had a recent trip to the ER. His faced freakishly swelled up on a run, he ran to the nearest hospital and then collapsed upon arriving. My family is strange.

What will day 2, 3, and 4 hold for us!?!?! Hopefully more fun times and funny stories.

Alone at the Arboretum

2010-11-23T11:46:00.001-06:00

Alone at the Arboretum from Christine and Curt Wood on Vimeo.

If you ever want to be completely alone at the Arboretum, go on a rainy, icy November afternoon. It was a blast!

kind of a neat kiddo

2010-11-18T08:53:00.002-06:00

Sebastian is a neat kid, but I'm his mommy so it's my job to think that :). But he really really is neat. We like him a lot :). He's starting to drink water from a sippy cup now. I think he still prefers his food mashed up, but I give him dry cereal, goldfish, rice, couscous, along with baby puff foods too. His poops are so nasty now...it's easier to just bring him to the tub to give him a royal butt washing than trying to wipe him down. Diaper changes are not as easy...I'm hoping in a few months he'll understand that the sooner mommy or daddy can change his diaper the sooner he can return to playing. A really neat thing lately is his fascination with thumbing through books on his own. He'll sit there for 12 minutes just looking at the same book from different angles. It's really cute. His favorite author is still Sandra Boynton. I'm glad he likes to sit, cuddle, and read. I'm not sure if this is his personality or something learned. We definitely read to him a lot from day 1...partly because we didn't know what else to do with him...you can only bicycle his legs, do tummy time, show him the window, practice swimming strokes, or sing Jesus loves me so many times. We definitely have more options for playing with him now...he likes to be chased! He'll initiate it by crawling away fast and then looking back to get your attention. It's entertaining for all. I got him a used walker type thing for him yesterday. He likes the wheels, but doesn't get that he can push it around while standing yet. Maybe he'll walk in six more weeks...

Pure Joy

2010-11-15T19:43:00.001-06:00

Slo-mo in the Snow! from Curt Wood on Vimeo.

bye bye lovely fall

2010-11-13T21:26:00.003-06:00

fall was great in 2010...we had the most amazing weather, thanks for sticking around for as long as you did!

Today we were hit with lots of snow, it was kind of pretty, but kind of a drag at the same time. The amount of daylight is getting smaller and smaller each day, this is a major bummer. In other news, my brother Christopher will be visiting over Thanksgiving and we are really excited to hang out with my whole family! Should be exciting for my parents and Christopher with three little boys all under the age of two running around! We will probably be really tired and get lots of headaches, but it will be great just relaxing and chilling.

a memorable wedding anniversary celebration

2010-11-10T19:38:00.004-06:00

nothing like cleaning up baby poop smeared in the carpet to end a celebration evening! it was funny! we let Sebastian go naked before bedtime to let things air out a bit. he was having so much fun that poop and pee came out when we were least expecting it! of course he crawled over everything! anyway, we had a wonderful dinner together as a family and did some reminiscing. our first year of dating, even the first six months of it, was so action packed and condensed. there were so many experiences that are still vivid memories today. we are very blessed.

happy anniversary to us!!!!

2010-11-10T09:22:00.005-06:00

we are excited to celebrate our anniversary today! we are going to take Sebastian to a malt and burger joint in Chaska! It will be great!

Our wedding slideshow!
www.christinewoodphotography.com/christineandcurt

sebastian's 9 month pike pump picture

2010-11-10T08:50:00.001-06:00

it doesn't take much to make him hyper or squirmy.

a new nephew! (his arrival from my perspective)

2010-11-09T20:40:00.003-06:00

On Monday, November 8th, 2010 at around 6:45 am George Joshua was born! I will never forget his arrival as it is something that you hear about in movies or from people with wild imaginations. Josh called my husband at around 6:20 am letting us know that Carolyn was feeling something and they were going into the hospital and needed us to pick up Callum. Josh and Carolyn are currently homeless and so were staying at my parents house, which is a 5.9 minute drive from our place. I honestly was super nervous and was trying to go as fast as I can. When I pulled in all of Callum's essentials were outside. I put in his car seat, pack n play, and parts of his video monitor. Callum was already awake, dressed, and waiting for me at the door without socks on. He was holding his doggie. Josh was trying to pack up more stuff and put Speedy the dog in the garage. I went downstairs in the basement to check on Josh and Carolyn...and after a millisecond assessment I had a strong feeling they weren't going to make it to the hospital. I called 911 and tried to give the dispatcher as much info as possible: my parents' address, that my sister was having her second child, she was full term, the pregnancy was healthy and normal, that she wasn't going through contractions because she really wanted to push, that she was on the toilet, but she no longer is on the toilet, that she is something B strep positive. The dispatcher told me to get towels, a shoelace to tie off the umbilical cord, and that she could lay on the bed. She told me to tell Josh to look to see if he could see the baby's head. When he said yes, my heart was pounding. That's when I asked how much longer we had to wait for responders to come, she said they were almost there. The responder told me to tell my sister NOT to resist the urge to push. While all of this was happening I had Callum on my hip. He was the calmest most chill toddler ever. I was too afraid to be in the room with Josh and Carolyn, but when I went in to check on them I looked down at my sister and there little George SIMPLY slid right out!!!! It looked really easy and it was in slow motion for me. Josh, bless his heart, was not afraid to grab his son...someone had to be there to welcome him into the world right!?!?!? When I saw that Josh had his hands on him I told the responder that he came out. To be honest I wasn't worried about the baby...I just knew he would be alright. The responder asked me if the baby was crying and he was. Then there were 12-15 people running through my parent's front door. It was nuts. I remember Carolyn saying, "hi baby". Then I hung up the phone and was obsessed with finding socks for Callum. Weird, I know. At one point I handed Callum over to Josh because I thought that it would be comforting for him to be with his dad. They wheeled Carolyn out to the ambulance. Carolyn told me the baby's name at that point. I told her not to worry about Callum (me and Callum are buddies), but that I couldn't find his socks. Josh packed the rest of their stuff and left. I locked my parents house and went home with Callum.

Looking back on it I am totally amazed at how quickly every thing happened. George came out like 15 minutes after I pulled into my parents' driveway. Josh and Carolyn had no chance of making it to the hospital! The timing of everything was way too perfect. They were staying at my parent's house which is so close to us allowing me to quickly get Callum. Curt had not left for work yet and was able to stay at home with Sebastian (all of this happened and was done and over with before 7:30 am which is when Curt leaves for work). Josh, who normally leaves like at 5:50 am for work decided not to leave that morning. And dear, dear, sweet Callum was as cool as a cucumber...seriously he is one genius toddler. My day at home with Sebastian and Callum was near perfection! They nailed all of their naps and pooped at different times which made things way less stressful for me! Sebastian just craves Callum's company! I find it super cool that George did not want to wait for any paramedics. He had confidence in his parents that they could handle it! And they did!!! I am seriously in awe of this. It really was beautiful. i can't wait to get to know George a little bit more!

bye bye elephant

2010-11-07T20:45:00.002-06:00

Grandma was responsible for the creation of elephant.

It was loads of fun and thoroughly entertaining taking elephant everywhere with me. We enjoyed talking to random people who wanted to check elephant out. Elephant was always very friendly and would smile back. If anything I was really curious to see what sorts of reaction people would have seeing an oddity in an everyday place like the grocery store. Young and old alike seemed to get a kick out of it. Elephant is now washed and will be put away for safe keeping. What sweet sweet memories.

elephant snacks at Jimmy Johns then heads to library

2010-11-06T09:44:00.002-05:00

Sebastian is 9 months!

2010-11-05T07:55:00.002-05:00

Sebastian is doing great! I'm at home full-time permanently now. We send Sebastian off to the grandparents for when I leave for photoshoots or client meetings, but he's mostly at home with me. This has made it a lot easier and simpler to give him a predictable schedule. And I'm not quite as stressed anymore as juggling the logistics of sending Sebastian here and there for a few hours at a time a few days a week in and around his naps with transporting pack n plays and switching car seats was confusing me! To simply put it, Sebastian is a REALLY happy, smiley, bubbly, talkative, and physical baby boy. And he's super sweet. We took him to a pub the other night for a happy hour and he totally loved it! He was trying to engage everyone in a conversation at the table. He enjoys being heard! So make sure you listen to him and acknowledge what he is saying!

I've been taking him to a music class once a week and a ECFE baby class once a week. We really enjoy this time together. Sebastian loves enjoying the other babies, new toys, and new environment while I get to learn new things that will stimulate his learning and connect with other moms.

Sebastian is a friendly baby and likes to approach others. He's very, very, very physical. At home he enjoys clapping his hands, waving, saying da da, ma ma, and hey, climbing stairs, scooting along the couch while standing, and flipping pages while reading. Just recently he has really learned to LOVE his doggie, Spot. I think it's cute when he sits on his knees or lays there looking stunned after falling or bumping his head into something. He'll lay very still staring up at the ceiling, realize that he's okay, and then take off in an instant! It's hilarious.

We are going to introduce more textures in foods for him per recommendation of his doctor. He's a good eater so I'm not too worried...I just don't want him to choke. I've been pureeing all of his food. She said it's okay to give him tiny bits and pieces of meat, fish, bread, and cheeses now. I think i'm going to start with bananas and broccoli and cauliflower and cheese. I'll keep pureeing, but won't mash it to a runny mess anymore.

At his 9 month doctor's appointment today there were no scheduled immunizations, but he did get his influenza and finger pricked for iron and hemoglobin checked. The finger prick was very traumatic for baby and mom. We are okay now.

At 9 months Sebastian is 30.5 inches tall (97%) and 22 pounds (72%). Bike pump picture will be added soon!

where did little elephant go yesterday?

2010-10-29T06:20:00.003-05:00

first day of class!

2010-10-28T14:16:00.002-05:00

Sebastian made a friend right away! Meet his little buddy friend, Evan!

Evan and Sebastian were the two most physical babies in the class. That is probably why they flocked to each other. Babies come in all shapes and sizes. The little girl Sam to the right of Seb is 11 months old. Her mommy was shocked when she found out that Sebastian was 9 months old.

His first day of class was wonderful! Was I ever so proud to be his mommy! Sebastian spends most of his time at home with me so I am always worried if he's behind in developmental and social areas. Sebastian loved all the other babies, playing with the new and exciting toys, and doing circle time activities! He was a very good listener. When the teacher would talk, he would crawl over to her, touch her leg, and just look up and stare. He did his whole fake coughing thing during circle time to get attention too...this is after other kids would cough for real. It was nice to get positive feedback about how Sebastian is doing.

weather associations

2010-10-27T05:22:00.005-05:00

This sudden colder weather is making me very nostalgic for what it was like when we brought Sebastian home from the hospital. He was born on a crisp winter morning. When we brought him home there was lots of snow on the ground. The winter olympics were on, but we had little time and were preoccupied with baby to actually watch it. I remember the space heater we used to make sure it was extra warm for him during baths. I remember swaddling him and using newborn beanie hats. I remember wearing cozy PJs all day long and having staticky hair, but not caring how I looked. I remember taking him to the window whenver the sun peaked out so that he could experience the warmth of sunshine. I remember holding him all of the time and being afraid to set him down. It's crazy to think that summer has come and gone. With that we've seen a lot of firsts from Seb...rolling over, sitting up, teeth, crawling, standing, etc. Here are some of his many faces...

finger lickin good

2010-10-26T15:07:00.002-05:00

enjoying some puffs...today i mashed up some spaghetti in the Magic Bullet and gave it to baby. he really liked it. and i was worried the tomato sauce would be too acidic for him...

a little elephant at the grocery store

2010-10-25T21:53:00.001-05:00

where will elephant be next this week!?!?

planning a birthday party!!

2010-10-25T08:35:00.004-05:00

In one more week Sebastian will be 9 months! I guess now is the time to start planning a birthday party! He won't remember anything from the party so I guess it will be more for us than for him.

Sebastian is looking forward to wearing his elephant halloween costume all week long!

Here is a video of Sebastian doing morning exercises with Curt...

Recently he learned to climb steps and turn pages in a book. He does a lot of fake coughing if you sneeze or cough. We took him to the church nursery for the first time too. With him doing lots of crawling and playing on the floor we thought that he would enjoy hanging out with other kids and playing with new toys. We were really excited to see him playing when we picked him up, but instead the nursery ladies had him at the counter waiting for us to get him. Worse, his eyes were red from crying. The minute he saw me he totally let out this emotional cry. It was very sad. We'll try again next week.

all things wonderful

2010-10-19T21:49:00.002-05:00

It has been a most perfect and lovely month of October here in Minnesota. This has been the first fall in a few years where I have actually been able to enjoy it. We went to an apple orchard recently...my first time in four years...

Our little one in a hay pile, what is missing is the sound he makes when he gets excited. It's a cute gasping for air sound, then panting like a dog.

A picture of Sebastian after his first hair cut. We did it ourselves outside near twilight. As you can see we missed a few hairs. It was getting hard to see and our little one was really squirmy and ticklish!

Finally, at almost nine months we are finding ourselves completely enamored with Sebastian. I'm getting over the fact that he is no longer a newborn baby. Now we are getting sad for when he moves out of this chubby baby stage. He is very cute now. We like his chubby cheeks, the way he stares at people when we go to places, and how cute he is when he wakes up from a nap (standing up in the crib while smiling). Sebastian's latest thing? Wanting to stand on his own! He enjoys letting go of the couch or ottoman to practice balancing on his two feet. Good thing he enjoys landing on his well cushioned butt...

our soon to be beaver

2010-10-16T02:16:00.004-05:00

Sebastian has two little bottom teeth now and he's got one BIG top tooth coming out. It's a bit wide. When both top teeth come out he will surely look like a beaver. And act like a beaver too. We are glad we lowered his mattress to the lowest level. He is able to pull himself into a standing position in the crib now. His hair is getting overly frumpy and long. It will soon cover his eyes and is already down past his ears. A possible first haircut could be in order. But it's too thin so a buzz cut might just make him bald. A scissor cut might be the best bet, but I would be too nervous to do it. Maybe he needs to go to professional stylist.