Tuesday, September 29, 2015

Food and Football



Our little guy loves him some food.  After our 6 month check up the doctor was very blunt and told me I need to start feeding him real food, breast milk wasn't cutting it anymore.  We had given him avocados and sweet potatoes, but now he was going to eat papinha (a mix of vegetables, greens, and meat).  Keila and I headed to the grocery store and bought fresh vegetables and meat for her to make the food.  She is amazing and helped me translate and find what we needed.  She is part of our family and so thankful to have her.

He started full swing the next day with fresh orange juice at 10:00, a couple spoonfuls of papinha de dia (carrots, eggplant, brocoli, and chicken) at 12:00 followed by a bottle at 1:00.  Then at 4:00 he had a piece of papaya, and then had two more scoops of papinha for dinner at 6:30. I nursed him right before bed at 8:00.  Wow, talk about jumping right in.



Every time he eats he is so happy and often cries when we are finished. What can I say, he comes by it honestly, both his parents love them some food too!  We are teaching him baby signing, and he seems to have confused the sign for more. Instead of tapping his hands together he bangs on the table for more.



He is so expressive without even saying a word, it just kills me.  Dinner (and lunchtime on the weekends) are my new favorite times. He is so happy and I love watching him try new things, and by the looks of it he will continue to love food.  We'll need to watch out when he'a older or he will eat us out of house and home!

What do you mean you're leaving for work? 
Before heading to work today I had to snap some pictures of him in his little football onsie. We sure do miss catching all the college and NFL games back in the States, but that doesn't stop us from dressing him in American football outfits.  

I'll hold down the fort mom.

Saturday, September 19, 2015

Tae is 1/2 a Year

6 Months 
September 19, 2015 



Height: 23.5 inches  
Weight: 17 pounds 



Likes: 
  • Anything that is risky...fake dropping, tossing him the air, jumping out at people.  I think we have a dare devil on or hands. 
  • He loves the sand...playing in it, eating it, you name it. 
  • His toys, especially his stand and play activity center, balls, the jumper, Sofie, and his stacking cups 
  • Looking at himself in cell phones or on the computer during Skype and Google Hangout 
  • Being tickled...his tummy and neck 
  • Putting any and everything in his mouth 
  • Water bottles and cups. He takes them and tries to drink out of them. 
  • Eating his feet.
  • Facetime with family 


Dislikes:
  • For the past couple of weeks he hasn't been too keen on his car seat.  He will arch his back to get out and cry when we are driving. 
  • Sunlight in his eyes
  • Going to bed, he sort of fights it for a little and then succumbs 


Milestones:
  • Jess and I had a date night with a babysitter (Keila) and all.  
  • First vomiting experience.  It was so sad and pathetic.  I felt horrible when he looked at me like, what's going on mom.  Seriously the worst feeling in the world not being able to help your child. 
  • Tried real food!  He has had avocado, sweet potato, and carrots. 
  • Puts his paci in his mouth.
  • Sits up on his own. (I still sit behind him because it makes me nervous)
  • Now sits in the stroller without the car seat (facing forward)
  • Slept without his Magic suit 
  • First time at the beach
  • Knows the sign for milk (and gets very upset if he isn't given it right after you sign it) 


Sleep
  • Jess created a nighttime routine.  Jess and Tae take 3 laps around the apartment and then read books.  Jess gets him ready for bed and then I put him to bed. This normally involved rocking and holding him.  I know I probably shouldn't but he won't be this small forever and I secretly love it. 
  • He wakes up more often than he did in the previous months, I think because he is hungry.  Once he starts eating solids on a more consistent schedule I hope this stops. 
  • He is still taking 4 naps a day, all different lengths.  Either a long one in the morning or afternoon and the others are shorter.  When we get home from work he is normally ready for a little cat nap.  I have been having him nap in my arms because again he won't be small for much longer! 
  • He has started waking up earlier than before, around 6:15 am. We have a little playtime before I leave for work. 


Favorite Moments: 
  • Taking him to the beach for the first time.  He was so happy and loved the sand. We didn't actually get in the water because it was kind of chilly. Next time... 
  • Coming home from work.  He gets so happy to see us, his mouth opens wide and he squeals while jumping up and down.  Love it. 
  • Feeding him avocados for the first time.  His facial expressions were priceless. 
  • His laughs and giggles when we play. 
  • Jess loves the time him and Tae sit out on the patio together. 


Pics to Remember: 

Mommy's Thoughts: 


Each month gets better and better. Tae's little personality is becoming more and more apparent.  He is a chill and fun loving kid. He is more expressive with his voice, facial expressions, and body language. He makes me smile multiple times a day with his little laugh and smile. I don't know how I could love him more.  

We are still breastfeeding almost exclusively. It is our time together. I can't believe we made it this long, I remember wanting to quit the first month. I love our time nursing, it is our little escape from the busy day.  He always looks up at me and smiles and then gets right back to nursing. God is so amazing, he created us perfectly.  The fact that he has grown so much from just my milk is astounding to me. We are starting to introduce foods to him, and while I am happy about him growing up, part of me is sad he won't be fully dependent on my milk anymore.

Being his mom is such a privilege, and I can't wait to see the man he becomes.  Each night we pray that he will chase after God's heart and be a world changer for the Lord's kingdom. I pray that we can model a life of faith, love, and joy for him. 

Tuesday, September 15, 2015

Beach, Date Nights, and Vommitting

The weeks are flying by around here.  Seriously, how is my baby about to be 6 months old?  I know I say it all the time, but TIME SLOW DOWN.


Two weekends ago we went to the beach with a bunch of teachers. I was a little anxious at how it would go, a house full of singles, couples, and families, but all in all it went amazingly.  It was great to get to know the new teachers (they are fabulous by the way) and it was nice to get away for a little.  

Tae must have not felt the same about our little weekend escapade because he screamed for about 2 hours of the ride.  Which is really abnormal, normally he loves the car.  He did however tucker himself out so he went to bed and slept pretty well that night.  The next morning he got up earlier than the rest of the house so we took a walk to the beach. 


He loved it.  The sand was hard and damp, but that didn't stop him.  He jumped/squatted with so much enthusiasm and a big old smile on his face. He also ate a huge handful of it. Unfortunately the weather wasn't great, a bit cold and tons of wind, so beach time was limited.



Jess and I did get away for a date night on his birthday.  It was so nice to have a night to ourselves.  I love that man with all my heart. I need to do a better job of being a wife first, rather than a mom first.  We got back from the beach and hit the ground running for the work week.  Oh did I mention I decided it would be smart to take an online class that started that Monday?  I am loving it so far, but hello time management.  


We are still in the process of introducing foods.  The boy loved sweet potatoes.  I made a mommy mistake yesterday when I fed him.  I nursed him first and then gave him avocados, and I think I gave him way too much.  We got a call from Keila that he was vomitting all over the place, in the morning.  Poor little boy it was so pathetic.  He didn't know what was happening.  We took him to the doctor and he got a shot and then he seemed fine.  He was a bit dehydrated, but I think he is on the mend.  


This past weekend we went to a little Dutch town about 30 minutes away for the flower festival.  It was fun to take Tae and he loved it, obviously from the picture below. 



Tuesday, September 1, 2015

Avocados Anyone?

We tried to hold off until 6 months, but our guy is fascinated with food and just plain old breast milk isn't cutting it for our big guy. Last night we gave Tae some avocado and I think it was a success.  Of course, he wasn't too sure about it at first, but he seemed to warm up to it. I only gave him a teensy bit, but I think it was enough to peak his interest.


By the end of feeding him he was banging on the table asking for more.  I have a feeling this kid is going to eat us out of house and home.  Good thing Jess loves to cook.





More, more, more....


I love watching him experience his firsts of so many things.  It's like getting to relive my childhood.  The beauty of it is he doesn't mask his emotions so we know exactly how he feels about something.  Sometimes that's hard, like when he cries at his dad's sneezes and sometimes it is great, like when his whole body shakes and there is a huge smile on his face when we get home from work.  Raw emotions are a great thing, and I'm so thankful for being opened up again.