no teeth in sight...yet!

Trying to take a photo of his gums.  We think there are the tiniest little bumps under his gums.  It feels more textured to me.  The pediatrician thinks they are coming any day but nothing has erupted yet!

He is a wiley one.  Didn't manage to get any great pictures but the one in the middle is the best so far.

pre-crawling and standing status

Baby will be 9 months in 5 days.

He has his 9 month appointment on Wednesday!

Crawling progress:

In the past week I've really been pushing him to make progress with crawling or any type of locomotion and I've seen some changes.  He is taking his time rocking on one knee on all fours and won't rock far enough forward to propel him but that will probably be coming pretty soon!  He rocks to go from sitting to tummy usually, but I can tell he's always hesitant to rock too far.  I can't blame him - he usually faceplants before he rights himself on his stomach.

Pulling up on objects:

He started really trying to pull himself up on a table this week as well - he had never put any arm muscle into it before and would just look at me and whine for help, but tonight he was grunting and really trying.  He got his butt up off the floor but didn't use his legs in a way that could make him stand up.

Tummy time:

He still doesn't enjoy tummy time but there have been a few days where I caught him at the right time and he played and played for at least 30-60 minutes on his own.  He'd start out on one side of the basement and I'd look over and he'd be about 4 feet in a different spot.  He pushes himself backwards with his arms and can't go forward yet.

I've been leaving him alone more to play because he relies on me less.  If I'm sitting right next to him he will just try to climb on me and won't do anything for himself.  It's nice and gives me some extra "free" time.  This morning I sat in bed an extra hour while he played on the floor and got into mischief.

Possibly as a result of this increased physical activity, and just because we're getting into our most recent routine changes, he has been taking longer naps.  1.5-2 hours, twice a day.  He wakes at 730, is up for 3 hours, takes a nap, is up for another 3 hours, takes a nap, and is up until bed.  I think it is a good schedule and it lets us go out and do errands without a meltdown.  Today we went to the Optometrist and grocery shopping and he did great!  It helps to be able to put him on the floor to play which is what I did at the eye doctor when he got sick of being in his stroller (ok, so maybe it's dirty, but if I have to choose between dirty and happy I'll take happy!)

And we end with some videos from this week

 

Getting back in shape

Time to get my butt in gear and stop eating like I'm still pregnant and not exercising! elliott and i take walks regularly now during the day - today we went on a nice fast paced hour walk and then ran around outside with daphne. Everyone is tired now!

reaching the end

one more week one more week...

that is my mantra leading up to the end of tax season.

i am having regular breakdowns these days.  i can say with absolute certainty that i have never felt this way before and i have never felt so close to being at the end of my patience or at the end of my sanity.  i probably have one tiny thread left, if any.  i don't know what will make me feel better afterward either, which makes it seem even more doomed and dreary because i am uncertain about how long it will take for me to feel better even after jared is back helping more often again.  he's been away for so long that it will take awhile to get back in the swing of things and i don't think i'll start feeling like i'm getting some relief until all 3 of us are synched back together again.  he saw elliott twice in 7 days...once for probably 20 minutes in the morning before work, and once for a half hour holding him in the middle of the night when he woke up crying.

yes i have good parts of the day and some days seem pretty fun.  of course i would rather be home taking care of him than have him in daycare every day.  of course i love seeing him do new things and being his favorite.  but overall i am not very happy these days and it's because i never get a break and am going crazy.

FDSJ:LKFEWJIOFEWJOI:FEWJIO:FEWJKLFEWKJL!I!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

the end

videos at 8 1/2 months

Post bath baby

Post bath pics from today. Also, He's started to cross his legs when he sits Indian style. Funny babe. He likes his new cup from aunt Andrea too!

Nana and Grandpa's March visit

Photos with Daphne and a visit from Nana and Grandpa with a trip to Belle Isle one day