Happy Eight Months!

Another month has gone by, and Peter is growing like crazy. He is now measuring 19 lbs 8 oz and 29 1/4 inches long, putting him in the 75th and 95th percentiles. The doctor was very happy with his progress at our appointment yesterday, he is doing wonderfully with everything.

Peter has been doing great with a sippy cup, although he prefers someone to hold it for him. We have also added some new foods, including string beans, carrots and peas. String beans are not his favorite at the moment. Soon, we'll be adding more protein and finger food. We are really looking forward to Cheerios! He has also started to sit in high chairs at restaurants, it makes him so happy to feel like a part of the meal.

He is getting much quicker with his crawling, and has started to explore much more now. He would go all the way down the hall if we would let him. We'll see how he does once our tree is up, which will hopefully happen this weekend.

Peter has also started to try to pull himself up on furniture. At the moment, he can only get up to his knees, but he is trying very hard to figure out how to get up on his feet. The crib has been lowered as far as it can go, and I often find him trying to climb up the slats. Peter also loves to stand by holding on to our hands, and has even tried walking like that. (Looks a little like Frankenstein's monster, but is still super cute!)

Sleep is much better now. We've recovered from Daylight Savings, and have fallen into a decent schedule. He'll nap two or three times a day (depends on how the first nap goes), and is for the most part sleeping through the night. The only time he gets up is if he drops his pacifier. Our plan is to try to wean him off of it after we get back from England, but we'll see how that goes.

Currently, we are holding steady at two teeth, although the doctor pointed out that a third tooth (on the top) is on it's way down to the gum.

We have also joined a playgroup, where Peter is the oldest baby (by one day). Between that and our library and book store groups, we've been making new friends all over town. It's lots of fun to play with other babies, and great to get out of the apartment. It's been a little harder since it's been so cold, but Peter doesn't seem to mind too much.

Here are pictures from the December album. I will continue to update it throughout the month.

Last Month to Vote for Peter!

Unfortunately, Peter did not win the Gerber contest last month either, but we are now in the last month of voting! Peter has a new picture to vote for in December. You can vote once per day, per email, per computer. (So if you have access to more than one computer, and have more than one email, you can vote more than once per day, just saying...)

Peter's ID is 216851 and he is still in the blue category.
You can vote for him here.
Thanks so much to everyone who voted last month!

Happy 100th Post!

I cannot believe that I've already written 100 posts, or maybe I can't believe that it has taken me this long to write 100 posts. I'm not sure which one is true. Either way, I thought I would do something special to celebrate this milestone. Originally, I was going to go back over the weekly wisdom from my pregnancy polls, but is seems that I repeated myself a lot. (Hey, it's hard coming up with 35 different things.) So I figured that I would just pick out a few posts with the best advice, as well as a few of my favorites.

6 Weeks - No one will notice that you aren't drinking if you don't make a big deal out of it (Unless, apparently, you are me, and you turn down a glass of champagne while you are trying to get ready for a wedding that you are in. Yeah, that's how my friends figured it out.)

13 Weeks - It's better to eat lots of little meals than fewer large meals and letting yourself get too hungry

18 Weeks - Names will be a hot topic, start thinking early and don't share if you don't want to hear negative responses

23 Weeks - When registering near the new year, make sure to ask if the patterns you like will be continued (Or, even better, wait until after the new year to register for big items if you can. We were told that our stroller/car seat wouldn't be discontinued, but then they were.)

26 Weeks - Baby Bargains is a great book, and you should look into it before you even start thinking about the registry and what you will need to buy (I wish that I had) (I referenced Baby Bargains long after Peter was born, one of the best purchases I made.)

31 Weeks - Don't put off major purchases like furniture for too long, you never know when something will be out of stock and will take 8 to 12 weeks to arrive (We lucked out and our glider came long before it was supposed to, it was originally supposed to arrive in May...)

36 Weeks - Pack your hospital bag since (as everyone keeps pointing out to me) you can go at ANYTIME now

39 Weeks - Take your car seat to be inspected, just to make sure it is installed correctly, and they give you a lot of other useful information

Welcome Peter Joseph! - I don't think that I need to explain why this one is here

One More Video - I love this sound

In Just One Year

No Shoelaces Are Safe

Here is a picture of Peter, since he is the reason that we are here.

And finally, I'm compiled a slideshow showing how Peter grew over these past 100 posts. Let's see what I come up with after the next hundred.

All I got for Christmas were my two front (bottom) teeth

The morning after Thanksgiving, Geoff and I noticed that a second tooth was about to come through. Sure enough, Saturday morning Peter had a new tooth next to the first one. I got a picture, although it is hard to see the second tooth. It will probably be easier in a week or two, but who knows how many teeth he'll have by then!

No Shoelaces are Safe

Due to Peter's new found mobility, Geoff and I have implemented babyjail. Most of the time when we are home, Peter and I spend it playing in the middle of the floor, but every once in a while, I need to leave the room. That is where babyjail comes in, and I am so glad that Peter doesn't seem to mind it at all. (At least in small doses.)

In fact, sometimes he tries to break into babyjail.

He has also been working on the crawling, and is getting much better at it. When he sees something that he wants, he makes a beeline right towards it. Right now, he wants to untie my shoes. He even tried to untie PopPop's sneakers when they were visiting. Here is a video from this afternoon, showing off his new moves.

Another of his new skills is going from laying down to sitting up. Often, I find him sitting up in his crib when he is supposed to be napping. I think it is his way of saying that he doesn't want to sleep.

Nap FAIL

In other news, Peter has been great with the eating. We have added green beans and carrots to our meal options. We are looking forward to Thanksgiving next week, especially since we now have a list of fall foods to enjoy with the family.

Yummy green beans

I also have gotten a better picture of the tooth! It helps that it keeps coming out more and more. He still only has the one, but it looks like the tooth next to it is going to sprout any time now.

Off He Goes!

This weekend, Peter crawled for the first time. He was playing with Daddy when he did it. He's still a bit wobbly, and doesn't make it too far before he goes back to his stomach, but he is on the move. He's also a bit camera shy, so I don't have any real good shots of him crawling. He tends to sit back up and pose when he sees the camera. I'm sure that he'll get over that soon. Here is a not so great shot from this afternoon.

Can You See It?

Try as I might, I have not been able to get a good picture of the tooth. My problem is two fold, one is that it is small and hard to focus with my camera, the other is that Peter is still trying to eat the camera. I think that there may be more teeth coming soon, as he is furiously gnawing on stuff now. Much more so than when the first one came in. I am going to keep trying to get a good picture, but here is a slightly blurry one. At least you can get an idea of where the tooth is, even if it is next to impossible to see!

Happy Seven Months!

I sound like a broken record, but I cannot believe that another month has gone by. It cannot have been only a month ago that Peter started eating rice cereal (more like wearing it). Now he's eating oat, banana, apple, pear, sweet potato, squash and pumpkin! Later this week he's going to try green beans. Peter didn't get measured by the doctor this month, so I'm estimating that he is about 18 1/2 pounds (based on weighing myself with and without him). It also appears that he's about 28 1/2 inches (also a rough estimate).

Peter is fully up on his hands and knees now, but not quite yet crawling. He gets about one step before he flops back down on the floor. That doesn't mean that he isn't mobile. He spent a great amount of time this weekend showing Geoff just how mobile he is by rolling to where he wants to go. He also loves to stand up, and can support himself by holding on to either furniture or someone's hands. He is starting to try to pull himself up, so we had to lower the mattress on his crib again.

We are having a rough time adjusting to daylight savings, which is too be expected. Other than that, sleep has been much better recently. He is back to sleeping through the night, and now he even takes two or three naps in his crib during the day.

Still nothing on the "dada" front. I think that Geoff is getting frustrated.

I also haven't been able to get a picture of the tooth yet. Every time I try, Peter seems to think that I'm trying to feed him the camera. Eventually, I'll get a non-blurry picture where you can see the tooth poking through.

Here are some pictures from the November album, which I will continue updating through the month. Again I had a hard time taking as many as I used to, he really wanted to be moving the entire time.

Playtime Surprise

Today, as I was playing with Peter, I noticed something in his mouth. Taking a closer look, I saw that his first tooth has come through on his lower gum! We knew that he had been teething for a while, but I didn't think that he was that close. So far I have been unable to get a picture, Peter seems to think that he should eat the camera when I try. Hopefully, I'll have better luck when I have Geoff to help me this weekend.

Vote for Peter!

Unfortunately, Peter did not win the Gerber contest last month, but it isn't over yet! Peter has a new picture to vote for in November. You can vote once per day, per email, per computer. (So if you have access to more than one computer, and have more than one email, you can vote more than once per day, just saying...)

Peter's ID is 182719 and he is in the blue category now.

You can vote for him here.

Thanks so much to everyone who voted last month!

Almost Crawling

I still have to go through all the videos (and I will go through them), but here is a quick one that I got today. Peter doesn't like to perform for the camera, so he's a little shy, but here he is getting  up on his hands and knees.

I do hope to get the rest of my videos organized soon.

Bananas, Sweet Potatoes and Apples. Oh My!

Peter now has a few more foods under his belt (and all over his face, head, hands...). He likes apples and sweet potato, but absolutely loves banana. He still gets so excited when we put him in his high chair and take out his bib, he knows what is coming next. He is also very helpful, and will grab the spoon and put it in his mouth. This might be making it a messier process, but it makes him so happy. It's slow adding new foods, since we have to be so careful of allergies, but I can't wait until we have some more options, and can begin mixing them together.

It's banana!

Last week was also Peter's first trip into the city on Metro North. The two of us went in to help Christine pick out her wedding dress. Peter did great on the train, and seemed to enjoy his walk down to Kleinfeld's. Luckily, I used the Maclaren, since it started to rain (actually, pour), and we have a rain cover. We did have an explosive diaper issue in the dressing room (for the record, they apparently have changing stations in the bathroom, which I did not know before I changed him). Peter also took his first trip on the subway (it was raining that hard when we left), and fell asleep on the way home. Overall, it was a very good trip.

It was a very long day.

He is also minutes away from crawling. He got up on his hands and knees on Sunday, but I was unable to get a picture since the camera was just out of my reach. He has done it a few times since then (including this morning pictured below). I cannot believe how much and how fast he is growing up.

Getting so close!

Happy Six Month!

I cannot believe that it has already been six months. It seems like just last week he was the tiny baby dwarfed by his car seat. Now he is getting so big, that he has almost graduated to the convertible car seat (which is in Nana and PopPop's basement waiting to be installed).

Peter is sitting on his own now, and doesn't like to lay down at all anymore. Everything seems much more interesting to him from his new vantage point. He still isn't quite crawling, but he does inch-worm his way forward to get something that he wants. He also is almost up on his hands and knees (you can just see the determination in his face when he tries). I really don't think that it will be that long before he is on the move.

Peter is also taking to eating like a champ. So far, he's only had the rice cereal, but we are going to add some fruit this weekend (probably banana), and some veggies after that. He just gets so excited when I put him in the high chair and set up to feed him. I'm really looking forward to trying new foods with him.

We still don't have any progress on "dada" yet, even though we both say it to him all the time. At one point, he did say "da", and I think that he is holding out just to drive Geoff nuts.

We've also been meeting some new people and making some new friends. We've gone to a couple of "Mommy and Me" classes around town, and discovered the new children's room at the library. In fact, we'll probably be playing the the Sock Gazebo at the library when the weather really starts to get bad.

Here are some pictures from the October album, which I will be updating throughout the month. I wasn't able to get as many as I usually do, Peter just wasn't interested in sitting still and smiling.

A New Link to Vote

I've added a link on the side to vote for Peter. Don't forget that you can vote every day. ;)

A Trip to the Doctor

Peter had his six month appointment this morning. He continues to grow well, even with the allergy. He is now 17 pounds 12 ounces and 28 1/4 inches long, keeping him in the 75th and 95th percentiles. He did get two shots, but he took them very well, and was back to smiles before we even left the office.

Peter's Eating

For the first time this weekend, Peter got to try solid food. I had originally wanted to start with a vegetable, but with the issues that he's been having with allergies, we stuck with rice cereal. He loved it, couldn't get enough. I am really looking forward to when we get to start with some fruits or veggies, which will probably be next weekend. But for now, here are some pictures.

Vote for Peter!

Peter has been entered into the Gerber Generations contest. You can vote once per day per computer and email address. While I obviously think that he is awesome, we need to get votes, so feel free to spread the word.

Peter's ID is 147330, and he is in the yellow category.

You can also vote for him here.

Thanks for your vote, and for spreading the word!

One Quick Video

I still have to go through the videos and get them out, but I just quickly wanted to share this one that I just took. Hopefully, over this week I'll be able to organize the rest of the videos.

He Found His Thumb!

I have been meaning to update here more, and I am going to try to be better. If you want to read more about the places that we are going and things we are doing, check out our other blog, In Our Life, and you will hear about the zoo, birthdays and (upcoming) trips. There are also a lot more pictures and albums over there.

While he still seems to enjoy sticking his entire fist into his mouth, Peter has discovered the joys of sucking on his thumb. In fact, he will sometimes choose the thumb over his pacifier!

He is also getting much better at sitting up on his own, and he loves the applause that we give him when he sits up without supporting himself on his hands. He is a spinning machine when he is surrounded by his toys on the floor, and you can see in his face that he is trying very hard to figure out how to move forward. I don't think that it will be very long before he crawls.

While he still doesn't know what it means, he says "mama" all the time. Actually, he is showing his English side and saying "mummummummum". We are trying to work on "dada" so that Geoff doesn't feel left out.

That's a quick update, although I have a feeling that we won't be updating again until our six month doctor's appointment. (When did it get to six months?!)

Happy Five Month!

I know that it's been a month since I've updated, and I meant to do it more. I'm hoping that this month I will be better. I still have a ton of videos to go through and post.

Peter is really growing, and getting closer to being a mobile baby every day. He is constantly rolling over on to his tummy now, and he does it quickly. Even though I know that he can roll back, I've seen him do it, he cries for Geoff and I to help him. It doesn't seem like it will be too much longer before he starts crawling.

Peter is also getting much better at sitting, and has started to support himself with his hands. Although recently, he has been much more interested in his feet, which seems to make him fall over. He tries to sit up when he is in the bouncer or his car seat. I fear that this means that I should put him into the main stroller instead of the car seat, but I'm going to miss looking at him while we are out walking. He loves to stand on my lap, and needs less support than I would have thought in order to stay upright.

He is also expanding his vocabulary, and has started to say "mama", not that he knows what it means yet. I've been trying to get this on video, but I have not yet been successful. Peter does not like to perform for the video camera (and he knows when it is on).

Here are some pictures from the September album, which I will continue to update throughout the month.

Has It Really Been a Month Already?

Before the dreaded s-h-o-t-s

This morning Geoff and I took Peter to his five month appointment. In the past month, he has gained half a pound, putting him at 17 pounds 4 ounces, and grew one inch, making him 28 inches long. This now puts him the 75th percentile for weight, and the 95th for height. The doctor was happy that he seems to be pushing a lot of the six month milestones. We also talked about when to start solids, and we are going to be taking our cues from Peter, but it could be before our appointment next month!

Double the Baby

Peter is now 16 pounds 11 ounces, which is twice as big as he was when he was born! It puts him in the 90th percentile, and he's in the 95th percentile for height at 27 inches long. He is growing wonderfully, so the milk protein allergy is not affecting him there. He is doing very well developmentally, especially sitting and holding up his head. She was also impressed with his ability to pass his mesh ball from one hand to the other.

Happy Four Month!

I can't believe how much Peter has changed in the past month. He seems so much more aware of what is going on around him, and wants to be involved. He also feels so much bigger, but we won't know exactly how much until we go to the doctor on Tuesday.

He is much more content to play on his own, but much prefers me to be next to him. It also seems that all he wants is for either Geoff or I to be paying attention to him. We will play peek-a-boo with a blanket, and he will cover and uncover his eyes. He is much more active while playing on the play mat and in the bouncer.

He has found his feet! He uses them when playing in the bouncer to move whale back and forth as well as twisting it (I think that he is trying to take it off). He also tries to help me change his diaper by holding them up for me.

Everything is now going into his mouth, and he is starting to enjoy his toys. We always bring the monkey lovie with us, and he gets so excited when Sofie comes out of the bag. He also loves to suck on the burp clothes, but I try to stop him from doing that (since they are then soaked when I need them).

He rolled over for the first time while visiting Connor. He went from his back to his stomach, and nearly rolled off the blanket that we were laying on in the front yard. He is doing much better at tummy time and is able to push himself up and hold up his head while looking around.

He is also sleeping through the night, often for eleven hours. He will usually take one or two naps during the day, but he still won't nap in his crib (although part of that might be the construction that is going on right outside his window).

Here are some pictures of Peter. There are more pictures in the August album, which I will keep updating throughout the month.