Lunch Break

Sometimes you just have to take a quick little break from work to venture out of the office to meet your sleepy baby (wearing yellow fuzzy ducky pajamas) at the mall for a quick carousel ride on a Bengal tiger.  

Not sure I could have gotten through my day without this little break.  

Baby Mac - Months 9 and 10

 
Dear Baby Mac,

I'm going to start this post off with the obligatory "HOW IS MY BABY POSSIBLY TEN MONTHS OLD?!" exclamation and move right into the "MY BABY IS AMAZING!!" statement.  Because that's just it...you are AMAZING!  Every month brings new tricks and new talents.  You get bigger and stronger, smarter and funnier.  And every month I am again amazed...not only at how incredible you are, but at how my little heart can possibly be big enough to hold all the love I feel for you.  I am so honored that I get to spend my days with you...that I get to teach you and love you...that I get to be your mama.  I don't know what I ever did to deserve such a wonderful child, but I promise I will do everything in my power to protect you, to encourage you, to make sure you are happy and healthy and safe.

I guess the biggest change over the last couple months has been your language comprehension.  You understand words now!  It's amazing to be able to talk to you and watch you understand what I say.  When we say hi or good-bye, you know to wave.  When we say YAY, you know to clap.  When I say turn off the lights, you flip the switch off.  When we're in the tub and I say kick or splash, you go at it!  You pick up on things so quickly these days - it's just incredible.  You're still only saying "Dada" as far as words go, but I think you're really close to saying "cat."  Any time I attempt to get you to say "mama," you just  say "DADA" as loud as you can and laugh.  Yeah, I know, that's funny.  Poor mama gets no love.

You are also a mover!  Nothing stops you these days.  Your favorite toy is your push walker and you walk EVERYWHERE!  Your daddy calls it "mowing the lawn" because you look like a little drunk man, pushing a mower!  We took you and the walker outside last week and you walked down the entire street!  You could go as fast as you wanted and there wasn't anything to run into - you loved it!  You also cruise from object to object in the house.  I haven't seen you take a step on your own yet, but you're so close.  Right now you still like having the comfort of holding onto something.  My prediction is that you're walking by the middle of April and running by May.  I'm still in shock.

You're getting much better about your car seat (finally).  I think you've figured out that getting in the car seat means we're leaving and going somewhere fun.  And everywhere is fun for you these days.  You get bored cooped up in the house for very long, so you need to be out and about.  You love going to the grocery store and riding in the cart.  You love Kindermusik class and your Little Gym class.  You love playdates and going to the Zoo on warm days.  You love going to your grandparents for the day and going on walks in the park with them.  Everything is an adventure!  You are happiest when you're outside - your whole face lights up and you squeal with delight.  I can't wait until the weather is warmer so we can hang out in the front yard and play.

You are still such a great eater.  You've really started consuming foods this month, as opposed to just tasting them.  You're definitely a meat and potatoes kind of kid.  You love steak, rotisserie chicken, burgers, salmon and fish nuggets.  And just like your dad, you love mashed potatoes and pasta.  You're still a big yogurt fan and can put away an entire container of Greek yogurt like it's your business.  This month you discovered black beans and eggs, both of which you can't get enough of, but they give you horrible gas!  And you went on a big blueberry kick this past month.  We had multiple days of blue poop!

I know everyone says that their baby has the best personality, but I swear your's is top notch!  You are such a happy and funny kid.  You love laughing at the dogs and at daddy.  And if you don't find something as funny as we do, you fake laugh, which cracks us up.  You've got the biggest smile and your four front teeth couldn't be any cuter.  You're getting a little bit more independent, but you still demand attention most of the time.  You love to be held and now you point to what you want and expect us to take you there.  You're very demanding for such a little thing!  You are so curious and want to explore everything.  You have super "grabby hands" and latch onto anything within reaching distance.  Nothing is safe!  You pull things off the counters/table, you swipe all the magnets off the fridge, you grab a hold of doors/walls/shades/curtains when we walk by and you have to touch everything we pass.  God forbid we walk by a plant without letting you touch all the leaves.  You most certainly are spoiled beyond belief.

And much to my absolute pleasure, you are a bit of a mama's boy right now.  I love that.  There's no place you'd rather be right now than in my arms and I cherish every single second of it.  Sometimes I'd love to be able to put you down, but I know you'll be running around and doing your own thing soon enough, so I try to get in as many snuggles and hugs as I can.  You are just so lovey right now.  You give the most amazing slobbery kisses and when you put your head down in the crook of my neck, it takes my breath away.  I couldn't even begin to count how many times a day I kiss you.  Probably millions.  And that's still not enough.

Sleep is the one area that we could really use some improvement.  Some nights you'll sleep through the night - 12 straight hours!  It's magic.  And then the next night you'll wake up in the middle of the night and be awake and screaming for 3 solid hours.  We don't get it.  We've been pretty easy on you lately because you've been sick, but something's got to change eventually.  Unfortunately, we really don't have a clue what we're doing in the sleep department for you.  Crying it out doesn't work any more - you are SO determined and persistent (I think you get this from me).  You just get louder and madder and there is NO self-soothing or calming down.  Lately you've been crying so hard you throw up.  So, that doesn't work.  I'd love to be able to bring you into our room and snuggle in bed with you, but you get too excited in our room because the cat and dogs are in there (and your dad) that you end up squealing and clapping and wanting to play.  Fail.  One of these days we'll get you figured out. We're learning how to be parents, just like you're learning how to be a kid.  We'll get better.  I promise you'll be able to sleep through the night before you go to college, ok?

Little dude, you are the greatest thing that's ever happened to me.  I thank my lucky stars every single day for  getting the opportunity to be your mama.  You bring so much joy and laughter to my life.  You teach me things every day.  I never knew I could love something so much.


Likes:
- eating the mail
- climbing in the dishwasher
- playing in the dog water bowl
- turning the lights on/off
- clapping
- waving
- patty cake
- peek-a-boo
- farting
- chasing the cat
- drumming (on everything)
- riding in the shopping cart at the grocery store
- balloons
- phones
- throwing things
- walking
- music
- cardboard boxes
- plastic bags
- food
- being on daddy's shoulders
- splashing in the bath
- outside
- blowing the duck call

Dislikes:
- getting your diaper changed
- wiping your nose
- when mommy/daddy leave for work
- bedtime
- naptime
- not getting exactly what you want at the second you want it (you totally get this from me)
- snot sucking

Weekend Detour

Our weekend was supposed to be filled with birthday parties and parades, good friends and green beer.

Instead, we had snot, sleepless nights and our first trip to the ER.

Mac had a slight fever Friday night then woke up from his Saturday nap with a 103.7 temp.  

We immediately took him to the hospital where we waited almost three hours to the see the doctor.  

Dude, it is ridiculously hard to entertain a 10 month old for 3 hours during his usual dinner, bath, bedtime. 

We made surgical glove balloons, played with all the medical equipment in the room, watched the most annoying Elmo movie in the world, and emptied out the diaper bag and my handbag at least 10 times.  

Poor little guy was such a trooper.  He was sweet and cheerful and adorable as always.  He waved and clapped for everyone he saw.  The doctor said he was her favorite patient of the day and asked (not really jokingly) if she could just keep him forever.  

Um...NO.

The verdict?  

Ear infection. Treat with Amoxicillin, baby Tylenol and love.

By Sunday he was feeling much better.

Still snotty, but no sign of a fever.  

We skipped the parade and missed out on the green beer, but getting to snuggle this guy made it all worth it.

He may be my little lucky charm, but I think I'm the lucky one here.  

Hope you all had a wonderful St. Patrick's Day.

(Next year there will be way less Elmo and LOTS o' beer.)

Mac's 9 Month Photo Shoot - Lifestyle Portraits

Here are the rest of the photos from Mac's 9 month session with A Better Story Photography.  I'm SO in love with them!  I'm obsessed...I can't stop looking at them!  Every one of them is my favorite.  I love these photos so much because they are just Mac.  Just us.  No props, no posing, no fancy outfits.  Just our lives, in our home.  A Saturday morning in our life captured beautifully.  It's Mac doing what he does best - playing with his toys, chasing the cat, snuggling with mommy, rolling around in bed, climbing the stairs, eating Puffs off the floor.  True story.  

I don't know how I'm ever going to decide which ones to print and hang.  

Which ones are your favorites?

A Sneak Peek

Last weekend I had Mac's 9 month photos taken with Caroline from A Better Story Photography.  This was my first time meeting Caroline, but she's done such a great job with my friend Jessica's photos that I was really excited to meet her.  We were going to do an outdoor session, but with all the rain and snow lately, we ended up inside at our house.  I was a little nervous about having an "in home" session at first, but the more I thought about it, the more I loved the idea of having a sort of "day in the life" type of session.  We turned it into a lifestyle shoot, with pictures of Mac playing with his toys, crawling around the house, chasing the cat, eating puffs off the floor and all the normal stuff we do on an average Saturday morning.  Nothing styled or fancy.  I didn't even buy Mac an outfit, I just put him in a white onesie.  Ryan and I were in jeans and socks.  The house was still a disaster, but that's life.  The whole shoot just felt so real and natural and relaxed.  No worry about us all matching or everything looking perfect.  Just life.  I wanted Caroline to capture Mac and his big personality in the most comfortable and relaxed location he knows (his home) and I think she did a great job.  I also asked for a few "mommy and me" shots of the two of us, since I'm usually behind the camera and don't have a ton of us together.  So far I've seen three photos she took and they are wonderful.  This first picture may be one of my favorite pictures of him ever.  And I actually cried when I saw this second one.  I'm DYING to see the rest.  They are just wonderful.  Exactly what I wanted.