Kyler's 1st Christmas

We started the celebration at home the Sunday before Christmas. Since we were planning on leaving town as soon as I got off work on Wednesday, we thought Sunday evening was the best time to open gifts. Ky couldn't wait to get started.

Kyler had plenty of gifts to open before we even left the house. He got some "Engrish" shirts from Uncle Ryan and Aunt Jessica in Japan. They have English writing that doesn't always make sense so they are pretty funny. They also sent over some boxing shorts from Thailand.

From Santa and Mom and Dad, Kyler got a baby basketball hoop, a stuffed dog called My Pal Scout that knows his name, a toy cell phone, a Yo Gabba Gabba book, and his favorite book from the library: "And the Cow Said Moo." He was starting to get the hang of unwrapping gifts by the time we were done.

A couple days later while Mommy was making Christmas goodies, he made a big mess with his cookie. But at least it was yummy and he enjoyed it.

Kyler was at Grandma and Grandpa Brack's from Wednesday night through Christmas day. He got a box full of books - one of his favorite things. He also got a bunch of things to play with in the bathtub. We can't wait to get home and try them out. He also received another stuffed doggie that plays music from Great Grandma and Grandpa Weber.

On Christmas day we headed to Seneca to Great Grandma and Grandpa Haverkamp's house. Kyler had a lot of fun playing with all the younger kids there and he got a little toy train. Then on Sunday we opened more gifts at Grandpa Tig and Grandma Debbie's house. By this time Kyler had it down. We are getting a bike to ride this spring and Kyler also got some pop up toys, a bike helmet, and a recordable book with Grandma and Grandpa reading to him. It was pretty funny when he listened to it the first time - he kept looking at them as he heard their voices.

We have one more Christmas to go on New Years Day. Our car is already packed as full as it can go so hopefully we don't end up with too much more!

Merry Christmas!

We are off to visit the grandparents. Have a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

7 Months

Kyler turned 7 months old yesterday. Grandma and Grandpa were in town doing some last-minute Christmas shopping and Grandpa Tig could not believe how big Ky had gotten. We have been noticing the same thing each time we get Kyler dressed. He is growing out of more and more clothes on a daily basis. Can you say growth spurt?

Here is a day in the life of Kyler at 7 months:

MORNING

• Kyler wakes up around 8:30 each morning. He eats some baby cereal or Cream of Wheat with a couple tablespoons full of pureed apples or pears mixed in. He also has some toast or graham cracker or some other finger food to go along with it. Lately he also has to take his medicine (an antibiotic for his cold and nearly an ear infection). 
• Kyler constantly has his tongue out. We think he is feeling his two new bottom teeth and hope he keeps that tongue in his mouth when the top two get here. 
• Ky usually makes 2-3 dirty diapers in the morning, one right after the other. He loves playing with his feet and socks so we are constantly fighting over them when he is getting his diaper changed. 
• Kyler takes a bottle either before or after breakfast - around 6 ounces. And then he plays with his toys until he goes down for a nap around 10:30. He rubs his eyes and gets fussy when he is tired and he will fall asleep with his paci, blanket, and his mobile on in his crib.

AFTERNOON

• Around noon I hear him making noises in his bed. He is usually playing with his feet or the ties on his crib bumper. 
• He gets up, has a diaper change, and it is time for lunch. This is usually some finger food like canned pears or a banana and close to 1/2 cup of some mixture of squash, sweet potatoes, and fruit. 
• Then it is playtime again for a couple of hours. His favorite toy right now is his Little People nativity scene. We even opened gifts last night and he was still wanting the nativity scene over all the noisy and bright toys we bought. I guess we should have gotten more Little People toys instead! 
• Kyler loves sitting up and playing and is trying hard to move around more. He plays like a boy, always banging and throwing toys. He gets upset when he is reaching and rolling and bangs into a hard toy. His arms are always up in the air when he is excited and instead of wagging a tail like a dog would do when they are happy, Kyler moves his feet in circles. 
• He takes another bottle while he is awake and at around 2:30 he goes back to bed for an hour or so. Then it is playtime again for a couple of hours and he will have another bottle during that time.

EVENING

• We usually feed Kyler dinner (and recently his medicine) around 6:30 after Brett gets home from work. Dinner is similar to lunch and we sometimes give him crackers or some kind of snack so that we can eat or do things while he is in the high chair. 
• A few nights each week I give Kyler a bath after dinner. This is one of his favorite activities. He now has a bath seat and can sit up in the tub. I dump water right over his head and he has no problem with that. He splashes quite a bit and is fascinated with the drain when I pull the plug.
• Then it is playtime with Dad for a little while. Brett has been really trying hard to get Kyler to crawl and Ky is way more patient on his tummy than when I try. 
• Kyler has been pretty vocal lately. He sometimes yells pretty loudly and does a lot of babbling... bababa or dadada are his most common phrases. 
• Around 8:30 it is time to start calming down. Kyler takes a bottle; we try for 8-9 ounces at this time so he will sleep longer. Then he usually wants to sit or lie with one of us and read a book or play with a quiet toy with his paci until he is tired enough to go to bed.

NIGHT

• Once in bed, Kyler has been waking up every 20 minutes for the first hour or two. We think it is because he is working on his top two teeth. He loses his pacifier and immediately wakes up (normally he would sleep right through that). 
• Once he is finally down, he will sleep until around 4:00 when he needs a bottle and a diaper change. Then he is back down until morning.

We are really looking forward to Christmas with Kyler. We did our own family Christmas last night and he did pretty good opening gifts. He started realizing that he pulls the paper and then something fun appears. I sure I'll be eating my words when it happens but we can't wait for Kyler to start crawling. I know he will be into everything and will probably be pretty fast - the kid does not stop moving!

Santa!

We took Kyler to the mall this morning to sit on Santa's lap. I highly suggest doing this on a weekday morning. There was absolutely no line! Brett and I thought for sure that Kyler would scream when he sat on the big guy's lap - he is afraid of strangers sometimes. So we set him on Santa's lap without turning him around and he was so happy. Even when we turned him around to get a look at Santa he was just fine. Santa's comment: "Wait til next year." Haha!

The Reason for the Season

Nativity scenes are one of the only pieces of Christmas decor that have a direct correlation with the birth of Christ (the reason we started celebrating Christmas in the first place, in case all the commercialism has distracted you). This is the one my mom bought me as a little girl and I display it each year.

I remember always wanting to play with the figures which are breakable. One of the wise men has a glued-on head which I assume occurred when I was playing with him as a child. Kyler is too little this year to have much interest (unless I bring him to the figures and then he tries to grab them and put them in his mouth) but I know by next year this will be something he really wants to get into. So I decided for his first Christmas season, I would get him a toy nativity scene.

I gave it to him as sort of an Advent gift rather than waiting until Christmas (since I will be packing all the Christmas stuff away by the time we get back home in January from our visits to family and friends). He was way more interested in the nativity set than I thought he would be. I thought he would want to play with the packaging more than this toy but I was wrong. Kyler was very excited about his new toy.

 

I got it down for him to play with and right away the pieces started going right to his mouth. I think the sheep is his favorite because of the texture. He also liked the angel's wings and is fascinated by the stable for some reason.

As he picks up the different people and animals I tell him what each of them is. It means nothing to him now but hopefully this will be a way to teach him what Christmas is really about. When he puts Baby Jesus in his mouth, I tell him that he is giving the baby kisses (seems more appropriate than eating or chewing on Jesus). The only one I struggle with is what to call Joseph. He isn't really the Daddy but Brett thinks we should just tell him that for now since Joseph helped raise Jesus. We can explain to him later that God is really the Father of baby Jesus. I agree since the other option is to say he is married to the Baby's mama. ;)

And here is a picture where you can see the stockings hung from the chimney with care. Yes, the dogs have stockings and Brett and I do not. The important thing is that Kyler does have a stocking and it will be STUFFED this year. Oops... it is just too hard not to buy things for this little guy. And he has been a very very good baby so Santa should be good to him too.

A Tooth!

Kyler cut his first tooth today. It is his bottom left one. The other should be coming through any time now. Thankfully, Ky hasn't been all that fussy while teething (so far).

The leaves are falling...

And they are so much fun to play in! We just had to stop Kyler from trying to eat them.

6 Months

It has already been half a year since our little man came into our lives. Here is a recap of what's going on with Kyler at 6 months.

• He can sit supported and is learning to keep his balance sitting without support. He can scoot backward a little but doesn't like staying on his tummy for very long.
• He is a big eater. He loves his cereal in the morning and eats about 4 cubes of homemade baby food for lunch and dinner. He eats takes between 4 and 8 ounces of formula every few hours and holds his own bottle.
• He usually wakes up once each night after sleeping for around 6 hours. He goes to bed around 10:00 and wakes up between 7:30 and 8:30. He takes two naps each day for about an hour or so each.
• He is growing out of the 2nd size of cloth diapers and I am going to have to order the next size. He is wearing mostly 6-9 month clothes now (and most are hand-me-downs from my cousin Nolan).
• He is all boy. He loves electronics and always wants our phones, computer, and remotes. When he plays toys he shakes them around really hard and sometimes they go flying quite a distance. He is liking noisy toys and "big kid toys" like his little dump truck.
• He still loves books. He is starting to get into the ones that have textures in them. When we sit in the rocking chair he reaches for the pile of books. He flips through pages of his board books.
• He really likes the dogs, especially Baxter. He is getting better at catching them and they are learning to avoid Kyler.
• He is making new noises. He sometimes puts different sounds together, making an incoherent sentence. His newest sound is "bababababa." He has started laughing quite a lot too.
• It looks and feels like he finally has a tooth about to come through.

We are really looking forward to Christmas - Kyler loves paper so he will probably actually sort of unwrap some gifts (until the paper makes it to his mouth). And we can't wait for him to start crawling (although we have yet to babyproof hardly at all).

He has a doctor appointment on Monday so we will include an update with his vital statistics then!



Update: Kyler weighs 16 lbs, 8 oz and is 26" long. Head circumference is 17. All fall in the "25-50%" range in terms of percentile. Poor guy got 3 shots this time. He did good though and just ran a slight fever for a couple days. That and his irritability may have been due to his cold and the fact that his gums are swollen and we are expecting teeth to pop through any time now. We also went to the K-State basketball games with him Monday and Tuesday (late nights) so he was a tired boy.

What's so funny?

The other night Kyler and I were on Skype with Grandpa Charlie and Grandma Tammy when he started getting a little fussy. To distract him for another couple of minutes I grabbed one of his toys and tapped it on his highchair tray. Little did I know that Kyler would find this laugh-out-loud hilarious. He needed a diaper change so we had to stop and I hoped he would still think it was funny when Brett got home. Sure enough he was really giggling this time. We couldn't figure out why that was so funny to him but Kyler got us laughing too.

Kyler and the Peas

After he had the stomach flu a couple of weeks ago, Kyler stopped eating his peas (that's what he up-chucked at daycare). I kept offering them to him occasionally thinking that he still wasn't feeling well and they just didn't taste good. But I'm pretty sure he hates them now just like his mom and dad. It was also mildly entertaining watching him take a bite...

Another Cold

I think we need a good hard freeze (although I hate for it to be that cold). Kyler has another cold and this time it seems to be a little worse than the first one. His nose is runny and stuffy and he's got some congestion in his chest too. We haven't gone to the doctor yet - I really don't want him on antibiotics more than absolutely necessary - but we are keeping a close watch. He's been acting and eating fine and no fever and he hasn't really been coughing either, just some raspy breathing. We got some baby vaporub this morning and have been running the humidifier in his room the past couple of days.

On a similar note, we were sad to get a letter in the mail last week saying that Ky's pediatrician was leaving. She has been great and very patient with my requests to break up vaccinations. We will see her one last time at Kyler's 6-month checkup and then we will have to find someone else. Bummer!

Lunch Time

Here is our typical lunch time. Kyler just woke up from a nap and is ready to eat!

"Yum!" Right down the hatch.

Distracted by the doggies...

Angry face means "Hurry up with that food, Mom!"

"Just let me do it."

Messy face!

But he loves getting cleaned up...

A drink of water from the big boy cup.

And an after-lunch cocktail.

Did we make you hungry?

So Much Fun

Kyler is getting to be so much fun. He is actually starting to think Brett and I are funny and entertaining (rather than just the dogs). He laughs at us and squeals when we tickle him. He's definitely got a big personality.

Sick Baby

When I picked Kyler up from daycare today they told me he was sick. He had woken up from a nap a couple of hours before and just vomited all over. Then he was a little lethargic the rest of the afternoon. When I picked him up and held him in my arms he turned to me and very lightly gave me an open mouth kiss. It was so sweet but I would much rather have seen his usual big smile.

This is the first time Kyler has vomited. He has had a cold and runny stools before but this time he is really not feeling too hot. He wouldn't even take his bottle of formula - and that is very uncharacteristic of my little eater. I got him to drink a little water after we got home but within 20 minutes that came right back up. But he's such a sport. He doesn't even cry. He just gives me a sad look and sort of yells to let me know he's not all that happy. And then other times he will sit there and play or talk to his toys and you wouldn't even know he was sick.

He's such a trouper, even tougher than his Mama and WAY tougher than his Dad. We are more of babies when we're sick than he is at 5 months old. Hopefully he feels better by Sunday for his first Chiefs game!

Kyler and Baxter

These two have an interesting relationship...

There is mutual affection...

And tolerance from both sides.

Baxter knows his master...

And lets him do whatever he wants...

He secretly likes it...

Why else would he put up with this?

Well, sometimes he has no choice...

But mostly I think he likes the attention.

5 Months

At 5 months, Kyler...

• Sits supported and can support his weight standing with help,

Driving Grandpa's boat.

• Eats solid foods (baby cereal, pureed fruits and veggies) - he is a great eater and hates when his bottles or food are gone - he even grabs the spoon to try to get the food into his mouth faster,
• Has stopped nursing (not his choice) and holds his own bottle,

Getting sleepy drinking his bottle.

• Puts everything in his mouth including books as we are reading them and his own feet,
• Has a new funny face (wrinkles his nose and breathes heavily through his nose when he thinks something is funny),

Making his new wrinkle-nose face.

• Makes lots of sounds (sometimes really loud ones and occasionally responds to us when we make a sound he can repeat),
• Rolls around a lot on the floor and kicks to splash out of the tub at bath time,

Grabbing for the camera.

• Still looks like a little man (it's the 1st thing everyone says when they see him),
• Is all boy - he loves remotes, phones, anything with buttons and he grunts a lot,
• Is not afraid of strangers - he will go to anyone and smiles at everyone (he has learned how to flirt),

Getting pumped up with Dad.

• Laughs occasionally - but only at the dogs,
• Interacts with the dogs - he is really good at grabbing their collars when they are nearby.

No More Nursing

I have decided to wean Kyler from breastfeeding starting this week. I am really really glad I did it but I think it is the right time to stop. I thought I would nurse for a full year but some things happened that just made it a lot harder that I originally expected. This isn't a post that many of you will be interested in, but I thought I better document why I stopped in case someday I have regrets.

1. Pumping at Work - Originally I did not plan to return to work after Kyler was born. But now that I am back 3 days per week I have to pump on those days. And let me tell you, that is just not any fun. I have to lug around a big bag with a pump, cooler, and bottles. I have to keep track of time and pump when Kyler would normally eat. This started out at every 3 hours but he is now eating every 2.5 hours at daycare. This is especially hard when I am out of the office. Sometimes I have had to pump in the vehicle. Besides the inconvenience, I cannot pump as much as Kyler eats at a feeding so then I end up having to fit in extra pumping sessions at night. It is just a constant battle that I am tired of.

2. Pregnancy Prevention - While it is definitely not foolproof, breastfeeding is somewhat of birth control. We have decided to have one more child in the near future and breastfeeding will prohibit that from happening. Especially because my doctor will not start fertility treatment again until I have stopped nursing for 3 months. You can check out my other blog for more information on what we hope to be our upcoming second pregnancy.

3. Attachment Issues - I feel a little guilty about this one because I think it is the most selfish reason but it is a big one for me. Kyler is really whiny around me a lot of the time. And when I hold him he almost always wants to nurse. So he ends up crying in my arms and I have to either nurse him or hand him off to his dad. (And this is often after he has just eaten so I know he isn't really hungry.) He is also starting to use nursing as playtime and after he is done eating or not hungry he will bite and pull which is, as you might imagine, not comfortable.

4. Convenience - I guess this one is a little selfish too but I spend a ridiculous amount of time pumping and nursing. In the past couple of days I have started giving Kyler more bottles and it is so nice. I don't have to leave the room or go to a bathroom in a crowded public place to nurse. I can actually be folding laundry or cleaning up the kitchen while he takes a bottle (he can hold it on his own). I don't have to think about when I am going to pump when Brett and I go out without Kyler. I know washing bottles will be somewhat time consuming but I can do that while Kyler is taking a bottle - and I won't have to clean a pump all the time.

5. Confusion - Kyler thinks anyone and everyone can nurse him. Anytime someone (especially women and more specifically well-endowed women) holds him, he will turn and put his mouth on their goods. It is sometimes very embarrassing with people we don't know that well and they always think my child is starving. Typical guy I guess?

So I know for some people these would not be good reasons to stop nursing at 5 months. But for me, they are more than enough. I have gritted my teeth and done it a month or two more than I really wanted to but now is the time. I did enjoy it a lot at first when I knew I was sustaining my baby and giving him the most healthy food available. And especially recently when he gets full and gazes up at me with a big smile on his face before going back for a little more. That is something I know I will miss immensely but it would have to stop eventually because my little baby boy is growing up fast!

Update: This turned out to be a good decision. Kyler is now much happier with me. He has stopped fussing so much when I am around or holding him. Within a week he was all smiles around me and it has helped our relationship tremendously. Even B noticed he became a happier baby. He also stopped trying to put his mouth on everyone else's ta-tas.

Loud

Kyler has been quite chatty lately. And it is no longer quiet little coos. He knows that he can make noise now. Usually it is a series of "ahh" sounds. And sometimes it is him yelling "AHHH" or letting out a squeal. Whatever it is, it is a lot of fun. Especially when he repeats me and has sort of a conversation. His new favorite book is called "And the Cow Said Moo." And when I recite it (I have it memorized) he chimes right in.

He has also been loving his feet. He will sit and just look at them in amazement. I'm not sure he realizes that they are his and he is the one moving them. He grabs them and pulls them close, especially when getting his diaper changed. Today he was sucking on his foot, sock and all, while sitting in the Bumbo chair.

Doggies are Funny

Kyler has been laughing a lot lately and thinks the dogs are especially funny. You can't help but smile when you hear him giggle.

These days...

Kyler has been doing all kinds of fun things.

Like smiling.

And getting his rest for the big game the next day.

He is all set for fall football weather.

And really enjoyed the game this week.

He is liking tummy time more and more.

And is a happy boy when he can jump around.

Or swing around.

But sometimes he just wears himself out.

Giggles

What a treat... tonight I was playing around with Kyler and he started giggling at me. Not the fake cough laugh he usually does but a back of the throat giggle. He has been kind of a crabby baby over the last week and that's just what mama needed. Hopefully we can get it on camera one of these days.

Four Months

Here is what Kyler is up to at four months...

Vital Statistics:
Kyler weighs 13 lbs 12 oz and is in the 25th percentile for weight. He is 24.5 inches long (50th percentile), and his head circumference is 16 (10th-25th percentile).

Socially:
People have been telling us more and more about how much he looks like a little man. That his features are very grown up and they can tell what Kyler is going to look like when he is older. We also get many comments on how expressive he is for his age. He has a lot of facial expressions. And he is actually less afraid of strangers than he used to be. I think that has a lot to do with him being in daycare. They say he is an awesome baby at daycare, only crying when he is tired or hungry. He loves it there. Sometimes at home I think he is bored because there just isn't as much going on. He has become quite the daddy's boy. There are a lot of times now that I have to hand Kyler over to Brett because only he can calm him down.

Eating:
Kyler started trying some solid foods a couple of weeks ago. His favorites are bananas, applesauce, and peaches but I haven't found anything he doesn't like. He does a really good job eating from a spoon. He will open his mouth for the next bite when the spoon comes near. He is starting to figure out how to get food in his mesh bag into his mouth.

Moving:
He can roll over both directions but doesn't do it very often. He is always grabbing anything he can get his hands on and putting it right in his mouth. My poor hair is getting pulled all the time, and he has a really strong grip. He is getting better and better at supporting himself. And he is still our little mover and can be a handful when I am feeding or rocking him.

Talking:
He has started babbling a little more lately. When I read him a book that he likes, he will start talking along like he is reading too. He thinks it is funny to watch his mama or dad have an adult conversation with someone and also enjoys when I scold the dogs. Sometimes, especially with his dad, Kyler will get pretty loud when he is talking. Brett is able to get him to talk a lot easier than I can.

Sleeping:
Kyler will go to sleep on his own. Once he is getting tired I just give him a paci and something soft to hold and put him in his crib and he will fall asleep. When he wakes up he doesn't just cry for us to come get him. A lot of days we will hear him making happy little noises in his crib. And sometimes loud banging as he kicks his legs around. When we go check on him, he has a huge smile (even behind the paci) when we look down at him. The doctor told us today to start putting him down on his tummy since we only have a couple months to even out his head shape (it is pretty flat on the back).

Coming up:
We are still waiting to hear a really good belly laugh. And I think he will be able to sit on his own pretty soon. He does pretty good but usually ends up leaning way forward or sometimes falling to the side. When his legs get just a little longer he will be moving all over the place in the walker - he can go a couple of inches at a time right now.

Back to Front

Apparently our little guy can now roll from his back to his front. I knew he was getting close. He has been rolling all the way to one side and then kicking his legs up really hard and landing on his back again. Last night in the bathtub I think he would have went all the way over if I hadn't caught him to stop him from going face first in the water. This morning he woke up before I left for work. I fed him, changed him, and put him back to bed. We always put him on his "back to sleep." Brett called me a few hours later and said that while he was showering and getting ready for work he put the monitor in Kyler's room so he could hear as soon as he got upset. He could hear him making noises. He usually lies in his bed talking to himself or his mobile and then starts fussing when he is ready to get out of bed. When he started getting upset, Brett hurried up to go get Kyler out of bed. But when he got there Kyler was on his tummy way over toward the side of his crib, almost hitting the rails. He had rolled over to his tummy for the first time and he did not enjoy the predicament he found himself in!

Sunday

Sunday morning we drove back home from Manhattan. We stayed at Cole and Amanda's - thanks guys, you have no idea how nice it is to not have to worry about the dogs in addition to everything else! Oh, and Kyler slept for 9 straight hours there. We are staying at the Eilders' hotel more often! When we got home, Kyler was in a great mood after all that sleep. So much so that he was having quite the conversation with his ducky friend...



Once we were refueled and changed, we headed to Lawrence to a birthday party. Cameron was one of my best friends in high school and his little girl, Attie, turned one last week. She is a doll and was loving giving Ky kisses.

We drove back to Kansas City and headed straight to church. Not a great idea as Kyler was in quite a mood. But luckily the church we went to had a cry room so we weren't disturbing the entire congregation. On our way home from church we decided to stop at a nearby park since it was so nice out. We put Kyler in the swing and he was loving it! Just like last time, he cried when we had to leave but it was getting pretty dark out.

More Football Fun...

I feel like this is the last two posts rolled into one. We tried the whole football thing again. This time Kyler took a nap right before we went into the stadium. And we brought ear plugs. 

He was a little happier. But being in the middle of a loud crowd still got to him after a while. So we ended up spending some time watching the game from the concourse which was all good... until I got pooped on. Kyler started crying in our seats so I told Brett to stay put and I would take him up to the top of the stairs. As soon as we got up there and out of the crowd he was happy as can be, looking around and "talking." I texted Brett that he was really happy. And a second later I felt a little rumble. About a minute later I happened to look down and noticed the poo. It was all over my shirt and shorts. I sat down and called Brett, told him I needed him NOW. Since I only brought extra clothes for Kyler and not myself, I had to wash off my clothes in the bathroom and continue on my day. I made Brett buy me ice cream for what I had to go through. He didn't complain about the $4.50 spent on a couple of scoops. Overall the day was great, even if Kyler's digestive system was apparently in overdrive this weekend.

Brett even had to buy the "Lil Wildcat" his first K-State ball cap. It's a little big but still incredibly cute.