We're finally taking family bike rides!!!

It seems like FOREVER since we've ridden our bikes together. And really, in the last 9 months, I've been on a bike twice. After doing tons of safety research, we got the perfect helmet for our Shmu and found this great seat. When the helmet arrived in the mail we were outside faster than fast. Since then, we've been out almost every day. Here are some pictures of our second family bide ride which was Kyle's first trip to the Back Bay on Daddy's bike!! :) We've been looking forward to this since before I was pregnant! Now, when I follow Ru and see little K-man riding in back, I get all choked up. It's the cutest sight ever!!

Our sleep coach is fired!!

I bet Kyle's pretty proud of himself. He's not only outsmarted his parents but a sleep coach as well! After working with this coach for over 2 months, we've decided to call it quits and get our refund. We are beyond frustrated. We've been sleep training Kyle since he was between 3 and 4 months old. After six months, many books, a sleep coach and consistent dedication to the effort ... we aren't too sure just how much we've improved our situation. We've had many ups and periods of time where we thought we'd finally made progress only to return right back to where we had started. At best, Kyle was sleeping 12 hours a night and waking up only once, very briefly after about 10 hours. He'd nap for 1.5 or 2 hours twice a day. This was AMAZING! And it lasted a little over a week. Our worst consists of him waking up every hour or two hours during the night and wanting to start his day at 5am with two 29 minute naps sprinkled throughout the day. We are currently in that "worst" category. You can add to it that he practically refuses to go down for a nap and after crying it out for however long, only sleeps 29 minutes! Other than crying when he wakes (a sign he's not rested), he is pleasant and energetic and seemingly lacks any need for sleep!

It hurt my pride to have to even hire this lady. I mean, how hard could it really be? I had read many books and had found a great one called, "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child," and had implemented "the plan" right away. This was back in early November!! It worked for almost a couple of weeks and then it all went south. I have no idea why. Perhaps I wasn't as consistent in the middle of the night and Kyle caught on. He is a smart one when it comes to any inconsistency. After giving it our best effort for over 3 months, we finally caved in and called for help. We were both sure this lady had met her match. She laughed it off, saying that she guaranteed her system and would refund us completely if it didn't work. Throughout these 2 months, she commented over and over what a stubborn one we had. She said he was "one for the books" and was absolutely "unbelievable." Turns out she did meet her match. We tried to fire her a month ago, but she offered to continue working with us for however long it took and we thought we'd give it just one more shot. Another month passed with no progress and no "new tricks" and we decided to call it quits. This time for real. We are grateful for the few things we learned and for how this whole process actually encouraged us as parents. It turns out Ru and I aren't idiots and that we really did do all we could and we clearly have a unique situation and a stubborn son. Fortunately, we've yet to see this stubborn side to Kyle during the day. He doesn't yet cry when we take away a toy or refuse to allow him to play with something dangerous. He's really mellow and clearly loves being awake!

We stopped talking about K's sleep issues in our circle of friends many, many months ago because although well-meaning, they consistently offered the same basic advice we'd tried, read about, tried again, read more about, tried again and read even more about. I don't understand it. It's like these people must really think we like living this way? Otherwise, wouldn't it be safe to assume we would do ANYTHING to solve the problem? And that we'd have the brains to research solutions? I mean, I haven't slept well for over 9 months... do people really think that's acceptable to me? These sleep conversations reminded me of ones I'd had about my morning sickness. Folks, let me tell you... if you felt like vomiting for 24 hours straight, every day of the week... and you knew this would last for months, don't you think you'd try anything to get relief??? So after 3 months of this torture, I'd get several suggestions a day about trying ginger, putting crackers by my bed, and wearing sea-bands. It got to be comical and I could only laugh it off. It was either that or cry.

So, this is a similar struggle. One we have worked VERY hard at fixing and if the 18 years of experience our sleep coach had wasn't enough to solve this, you can bet we've CONSISTENTLY tried EVERYTHING and we've got ourselves a tough case to crack. Rudy and I aren't giving up though. We refuse to accept that I won't be sleeping for however many more months.

Kyle, it's you versus your parents and let me tell you... we're gonna win!!! Surrender, my son. Just give it up. And SLEEP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Making friends

Kyle and I have been pretty social lately. I think I go in spurts from wanting to just be home and not minding being alone with Kyle, to wanting to be with others and give Kyle opportunities to interact with other babies. Overall, I'm kind of surprised just how much of a homebody I've become. I was always really social growing up and through college, but since getting married and having Kyle, I really enjoy just staying home. Kyle and I get out many times a day and we both like the change of scenery, but I don't mind being with "just" him. And I don't feel like I bombard Rudy with adult talk later on either. Maybe that's the teacher in me. I'm used to interacting with kids all day. I just flat out feel so fulfilled being a mom. That, and all the other ways I've changed surprise me and I find it weird that I wouldn't have been able to anticipate those changes at all.

Well, we've had our share of play dates and I'm loving being a student of my son in this new way. He's become more and more social as he recognizes another small person in the room and sometimes tries to interact with them. So far girls are not a favorite (which is fine with mom ;)! Of course, I really know its just more about personalities than gender at this point. Over the weekend we saw a lot of friends who are at least a few years older and it was a bit different. Kyle got a lot of love from the bigger kids but wasn't interested in trying to understand them. Maybe he was just trying to keep from getting squashed by all the hugs and tugs he was getting. Yesterday we were with Elsie and later on we saw Jillian. Kyle didn't know what to make of both girls. Jilly and he just stared at each other and made weird faces. J is just 3 months ahead of Kyle so they were much closer in development and could relate better... in theory. Neither one would approach the other until we played outside by the ducks. Kyle curiously touched Jilly's hair and she poked at the alligator on his shirt. That was pretty much it. Then, when we brought them back inside, J went in one direction and K in the polar opposite. We could not get them to play together! Both have a "let me size you up before I decide whether to play with you" type of attitude, so we think it might take awhile.

Today we saw 1 year old Alexander. What a difference. It was a riot!!! They loved each other. Kyle was all smiles and squealed to get down to play. They followed each other from room to room and "talked" back and forth. It was so cute!! Unfortunately, the mommies wanted to go running, so the two boys were left to look at each other through the slits in their strollers. Next time...

So all in all, while I enjoy being home and doing our own thing... I am definitely excited about all our future play dates where Kyle and friends will get to know each other. Fortunately, so far, Kyle is sharing his toys. Even Mr. Fish.

Kyle and the empty pool.

Thanks to Rudy's resourcefulness and Shmu's generous grandparents, the little guy has been blessed with quite a few fun toys that he can play with in his backyard. He has a pop up tent, tunnel, rocket, car, learning picnic table for future fun with play dough and paint, and a swimming pool. He loves being outside on his balcony. Here's a fun video of the K-man with his empty swimming pool. Who knew it could be so much fun before water was added?

Happy 9 Months, Kyle!!

Each month, I try to take a picture of him doing something that represents a particular developmental milestone he's mastered or of something he enjoys playing with. I want to look back at these pictures and remember what he was like or into at that time. So, as you can see with this first picture, he loves standing up and playing with all the musical knobs on this Leap Frog table. If you want to know how I find time to cook... you're looking at it! Thanks, GG, for finding this amazing toy! :)

This picture shows 3 things: Mr. Fish, his couch tumble and climbing space, and the fact that he's trying to let go and "walk" to the camera. He'll let go completely and then quickly realize he's not sure what to do and grab on again.

This has been another really fun month, but we've had a few challenges. The biggest would have to be all the wonderful sleep we're NOT getting! ;) We've been working with a sleep coach for over 2 months and are still struggling! It seems like just when we get him sleeping through the night, his naps become terrible, and just when the naps get better, we go on vacation and it all goes out the door. Then, we re-establish our routine while struggling to get back on CA time (and stop waking up at 4am ready for the day!) only to start our next round of teething! We know our son is unusually stubborn in this area (confirmed by our professional help) and all these other factors don't help in the least. Mix that with Kyle's activity level and you've got two really tired parents.

On the upside, we've enjoyed watching Kyle develop by the day, it seems. It's so cool to watch him size things up and try to do something beyond his limits. He's a risk taker and will keep us on our toes following him around from room to room as he discovers what he can and can't do. It took him just a few days to get the hang of pulling up to a stand, so it's nice to be able to watch him without having to be 2 inches from him all the time. Still, I can't seem to get anything done before he's in harms way and while I thoroughly enjoy being with him, I must admit his naps are priceless to me! Now if only they were more than the current 30 minutes and back to their previous 1.5 or 2 hours!!! (sigh)

Kyle is currently teething both his top, center teeth and is very bothered by the process. He's a champ during the day because he's so distracted by all we do. During the night, however, he wakes up every couple of hours and is pretty inconsolable. We can't wait for this round to be in and get back to our regular (ha ha!) sleep routine.

Kyle had his 9 month well-check appointment today. The doc said he looks great and commented after watching him try to climb up and over my shoulder, that he'll be walking soon. All this exercise he does is burning calories he desperately needs, so we need to fatten him up more. When I told her that he eats 3 huge meals of solids per day, snacks, and nums, she reassured me that he is not malnourished, but needs more fats in his diet. So we're adding avocado, butter and healthy oils to all his meals. We had added avocado after his last appointment, but when he didn't like it and I struggled with adding straight butter, we kind of dropped the effort. I'm over it now and am adding globs of the yellow stuff. Hopefully, he'll be on the curve next time.

Kyle updates...

Weight: 15.8 lbs (0 percentile)

Length: 27.5 inches (25th percentile)

Kyle's Favorites:

Mr. Fish (Hands down!!!)

Yellow rattle ball

Running water

Table activity center

Anything electronic

Wagon Rides

Outside (watching birds, airplanes and loud trucks)

His backyard, tub, swimming pool and fort

Making noises with his mouth

Climbing on couch and a room full of couch pillows to find Mr. Fish

Kyle's Latest:

Waving

Giving kisses or "Kyle love" (I've failed to mention this before, but he's done this for months)

Standing around on everything

Climbing anything

Cruising

Happy 9 Months, Kyle!!

Dad's Distraction

On Sunday afternoon during a study crunch time, Ru decided to go and study in the garage. Several minutes later, I got a text asking me to bring the Shmu down to see him. If you're thinking he just missed the little guy and wanted to see him, you don't know my husband. Instead of studying, he'd spent his time building, threading, hanging, tarping... (you get the idea) a whole bunch of "toys." You'd better believe I'm only showing some of the pictures. Ru quickly realized that he was a bit ahead of himself with Kyle's development and will save some ideas for a year or two down the road. Was I nervous? Yep. Do I worry about Kyle getting hurt? Every day. Was I standing there giving my safety commentary and being slightly annoying. You bet! I'm here to report, though, that Kyle had a blast and all was very safe for him. Getting him to sleep after this was another matter!

Playing "the buckets." Great Uncle Doug would be proud.

Ladder drills using bear crawl. He went up and down the boards. We think he liked feeling the contrast between the pavement and the boards.
Hoola hooping, or just enjoying the noise it made.
Can he catch it? You bet!

Tug of war!! (Yes, Rudy is really pulling hard. The kid has quite the grip.)
Practicing for future pony rides.

A tunnel of 2 sawhorses and tarps. He loved going back and forth between Mommy and Daddy and Mr. Fish.


From dad: Kyle, I am so proud of how much you can do. You didn't hesitate to do anything, like crawl through your first tunnel. I think it's so cute that you feel safe with whatever challenge I give you. I love your adventurous, active spirit!

Our Little Adventurer!!

We've taken tons of video and pictures this week of our little adventurer. There are just too many to share in one post, but here are some of the highlights. He's been pretty busy and both dad and mom are very tired. Here's our little guy on his new favorite tub. He climbs on to this one and pounds on the larger one. It's apparently very entertaining and must be done MANY times a day! And he knows how to get down using his arms instead of face-planting. Yay for learning and giving Mommy less scares! :)

Playing with boats.
He fell in love with the "big" water and wouldn't stop splashing around until we forced him to go back upstairs. Both Ru and I are pretty excited about giving him future swim and surf lessons.

Rocking out on his toy rocket!

Climbing into boxes.

Trying to skate like Daddy.

Or, climbing up our car! I guess that's one way to use our time while pumping gas.

We took his pants and socks off so he could have better traction.

Yay!! He did it all by himself!

And finally, walking all over the house pushing this toy. He rounds corners and tries to maneuver around objects. When he takes a spill, he gets right back up and tries again!

We aren't pushing him to walk at all. In fact, we are encouraging him to crawl more as we know that it is really good for his overall development. Even if we tried to stop him, he'd cruise around and try to walk with me. At least this way my back gets a break! We've enjoyed watching him play with what interests him and it has made for a busy, busy week! :)

My visit from Grammie!

Since Kyle's way into talking right now, I'll let him tell you... :)

My Grammie comes about once a week, sometimes more. This time, she brought some fun things for me to play with. She brought balls, musical instruments and magnet letters.

Oooh, what are these? One by one, I pull them out.

And these are my new letters!

I put them on and take them off. My favorite letter is O. I can hold on easily and chomp!

This is my family: Dad, Mom and me!

Thanks Gram. By the way, I wasn't sleeping well when you came because I have a new tooth! It's on the top.

Ok, come back soon! :)

He's all boy!

Having a boy has given me quite an education on the male race. There is no mistaking Kyle's "maleness" and it's kinda crazy to see it so early on. And... I love it. Kyle is such a sweetie and gives "momma love" quite often, but it doesn't take much to get his bull snorting nose up and head down for the charge. Here's how it goes just as the camera caught it...

"Arghhh!!! Gimme the camera!!"

Happy 30th Ru!!

Yesterday, Ru had a birthday!! He woke up to his Shmu trying to climb over him and bite his face. Immediately the two went out to Kyle's "backyard" and played. We had worked on it the day before and Ru was just as anxious as Kyle to get out there. So far, Kyle mostly enjoys pulling up to a stand on his storage container and banging on it. It's amazing how simple entertainment can be.

Ru having his cake on the special red plate and the place mat Kyle decorated for Daddy.

Kyle started clapping today, so we clapped for Daddy all day long!

Opening presents with our hats on!

Off to the beach for a surf session. Shmu loved watching the Sandpipers.

Lunch at one of our favorite restaurants, PF Chang's!! Shmu was HYPER!! What an experience! Ru even said he was exhausted! ;)

The napkin entertained him for, oh... 5 seconds! Here's 1, 2 and 3.

Then, after Kyle went to bed, I got to go to a wedding and Ru stayed home to babysit with a group of buddies who came over to play poker. Rudy said it was "one of the best birthdays ever!" :)