9/26/12

More Zoo Pictures


Polar Bear in action


Little Bear meets the Polar Bear



Holy Cow those are some HUGE feet!


"Mommy, is the Polar Bear coming back?  He's fun!"

"Do you come here often? I'd like your number"

"No, seriously! That totally happened."


9/24/12

Operation Dropping the 4am Feeding

Well, this week has been another big week in the den.  Little Bear had his 9 month check up at the doctor's office.  He passed with flying colors of course.  He is 29.5 inches long and 22 pounds and 7 ounces.  BIG BOY!!!  I asked about feeding and the schedule of introducing new foods.  It was still recommended to do a new food every 3 days.  I said it's gonna take forever at that rate.  The nurse practitioner we saw said we can go with strictly table foods and just mash them up a bit of necessary.  One thing's for sure - Little Bear loves to feed himself.  He will often refuse food I try to give him in a spoon.  So, we are using up the baby food I've made or bought.  Last Wednesday I gave him yogurt and he totally loves it.  Today I gave him toast with a little bit of peanut butter on it.  He ate it right up.
The other thing I asked about was weaning.  I plan to breastfeed for a year for sure.  But, I wasn't sure how and when to start the weaning process.  The NP and I decided to drop the 4am feeding.  Little Bear often wouldn't eat much when he woke up at 6:30 because he had eaten so close to that time.  I decided to try right away.  So, Wednesday night was tough.  He went to bed at 7:30.  He woke at 3:30.  He fussed a bit for a 1/2 hour.  I finally went it and tried to pat him back to sleep.  Since he was sitting up, this didn't work.  So, I finally picked him up and cradled him.  When I tried to sit in the rocking chair, he immediately went for the boob.  So, I got right back up and tried to get him calm and back to sleep.  I put him back in the crib and he totally screamed.  I tried to calm him a bit and then left the room.  He fussed for a bit and then I thought he went back to sleep.  However, he fussed again around 4:30-4:45.  I tried to calm him again, held him a bit, put him back down, he screamed for a bit, then a little fussing, and then silence.  It was shortly after 5am by the time he was quiet.  Well, my alarm was set to go off at 5:30.  No going back to sleep for me.  Needless to say it was a tough and very long day at work.  Thursday night was a little better.  He woke up at 4:45 and fussed a little, but went back to sleep and ended up waking up at 7:20.  Friday night he slept the entire night (7:30-7:00).  Saturday we were at a wedding and so he didn't go to bed till 9:45, but he slept clear till 8:45.  Last night was great too!  I'm very glad I made the decision to drop that feeding.  I think it'll benefit everyone in the long run.

Last Friday Little Bear and I went to the Kansas City Zoo with a friend of mine and her daughter.  Little Bear had a great time!!  He loved the otters, polar bear, and leemurs.  I'm trying to upload some pictures, but again, I'm having issues.  I'll see if I can at least get a couple on here.
Totally excited about the otters

Completely exhausted from a day at the zoo

Family photo at an outdoor wedding reception




9/15/12

Almost Walking

I'm hoping this video comes through.  I got Little Bear a push toy so he can learn how to walk.  He loves it.  I think he likes the music that it has.  He'll even start dancing when he heres it.  He's doing well cruising around and will even go from one piece of furniture to the other.  We're having so much fun watching him grow.  He brings such joy!

9/11/12

Looking Manly

Who is that manly man of a baby boy looking all big in McKenna's carseat?
Well, it's Little Bear of course!
A note to Daddy & Mommy from LB
Daddy & Mommy,
Look at me. Do you see that smile? That's the look of one happy boy in a BIG boy carseat. Ya' see, I'm getting big at the speed of lightning and that infant seat just isn't cutting it for me anymore. I love getting to sit up and see myself in the mirror (attached to the seat back) and LOVE the big kids giggling and playing with me from the back seat. So, good bye, fair well, so long infant carseat and helllllllloooooo convertible carseat. 
Look who's a big boy now! 
Wet kisses, 
Little Bear

9/10/12

Family Day

So we're finally getting some fabulous weather here in the midwest.  Yesterday and today it was in the mid to upper 70s (F).  We turned off our A/C and opened up all the windows.  I love it when we can do that.  The only thing I don't like about it is that we live on a busy street so the road noise isn't so much appreciated.  Oh well, I still like having the windows open and really airing out the house.  After church we went to a Mexican restaurant for lunch.  Little Bear had his first taco.  Well, at least the shredded chicken from the taco and a few bites of the tortilla and some rice.  He loves feeding himself.  He's starting to not want me to give him anything from the spoon and just feed himself.  He had eggs this week (just the yoke), BBQ brisket, & asparagus (just played with it, but didn't like the taste).  A couple of weeks ago I weighed him and he was 22 lbs.  So, at least some of the food that he's feeding himself is making it to his stomach.
After I got back from a work event, the whole family went to Shawnee Mission Park.  Even Brother Shadow came along since the park has an off leash area just for dogs.  There's a lake at this park, so once we got to the doggie beach, Shadow jumped on in.  We did a lot of hiking through the woods.  I wore Little Bear in a carrier.  He had a great time looking around.  He loves being outside for which I'm very thankful.  Mark and I love the outdoors.  We're looking for a bicycle trailer so we can go for bike rides this Fall.  They're expensive brand new, so I've been keeping my eye on Craigslist.  We have some great trails right by our house that we walk on everyday.  But, I'm ready to get out on our bikes now that the weather is better.

Enjoying the gorgeous weather - Shadow wouldn't cooperate for the camera 
The one thing I don't like about this carrier is that the straps seem to twist easily so the padding doesn't sit right on my shoulders




Happy Boy - LOVES being outside!!

Being goofy for the camera - he was grabbing at it cause Daddy was super close

"Daddy, would you stop with taking pictures already!!"

Brother Shadow loves to roam free


Shadow would NOT sit for the picture

Little Bear is telling Brother Shadow to sit

Brother Shadow being totally defiant
Little Bear loved being able to look around. He was giggling at all the dogs

Sweet moment. The sun was actually in his eyes, but it looks like he's sleeping

He would put his arms behind his head and clasp his hands like he was totally chillin' out

The nice thing about this carrier is it has several positions - facing out, facing me, backpack style, and hip carry - it comes with a covering for his head to protect from the sun if he falls asleep.  Little Bear seems to be really comfortable in this carrier - he doesn't complain at all.


9/3/12

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

I realized as I was loading pictures today for Little Bear's 9 month birthday, I hadn't ever loaded the 8 month pictures.  OOPS!!!!  Oh well, I'll give you all a 2 for 1 deal today.  It's been a fun weekend.  My parents were in town - but not at the same time due to their work - so they got to hang out with their grandson.  They had a great time.  I had to work on Saturday.  Normally Mark hangs out with Little Bear when I work on weekends.  However, we're trying to get a ton of projects done on our house.  One of which is putting vinyl siding on our house.  So, in an effort to allow Mark to focus on the siding, my mom came into town to hang out with Little Bear.  However, Mark wasn't able to work on the siding because it was still raining here as a result of the remnants of Hurricane Isaac.  Oh well, he worked on some indoor projects.  My Dad had responsibilities at home, so he couldn't come until Sunday afternoon.  My Mom had to work today, so she couldn't stay the whole weekend.  So, as soon as my Mom got back to her house, my parents had lunch together and then my Dad drove up.  Despite the dis-jointed-ness, it was great to be with family.  My Dad was talking about when he was growing up, his parents had the tradition of having pancakes for breakfast and working on a project on Labor Day.  So, to help keep up tradition, I made Banana Walnut Pancakes and turkey bacon for breakfast.  Then Dad and Mark started working on the siding.  Do you have any Labor Day traditions?



Happy Boy!

He was constantly moving - so it was hard to get a good shot

Loves being outside on a stroll - isn't that the cutest face ever!!!


Drinking from Grandpa's cup

Heart to heart moment between Little Bear and Grandpa

Fun with bubbles!

Lots of bubbles - he was mesmerized



He wanted to hold the sign himself