Life Update

It's been a long time...I shouldn't have left you...without a dope beat to step to.
Okay, enough of my singing.  We've had a lot going on at the Haylett household over the past few months and blogging just really wasn't at the top of the list.  What, with chasing around a one year old and all.  One!? One year old.  Yup!  Aaron has turned 1 and is quickly moving into 13 months old!  He's walking as he feels so inclined, so nothing consistent.  Why walk when crawling gets you there SOOO much faster?
A is a big boy.  Not "BIG" but tall with a big head.  He's 31 1/2 inches tall (90%), 23 1/2 pounds (50%), and a BIG head.  I don't remember the measurement specifically but I remember it being in the 95th percentile.  Whew!  Glad that wasn't the case at birth!  (sorry for that)
Here's some fun Aaron facts:
-loves buttons, particularly pushing them (both literally and figuratively)
-points at everything, all day, wanting us to name them
-said 'kee' for tree over the holiday
-points at different pictures in books and makes noise 'guh'
-loves books, especially touch/feel books - He picked one up and brought it to me the other day and we read for 10 minutes.  This is amazing because he DOES NOT SIT DOWN!  :)  So cute!
-loves stuffed animals, particularly his puppy (we so need to find a replacement as I fear puppy will need a washing some day in the near future)
-when he likes something, will say 'ooooh' and/or jabber at it (such as holiday lights or something shiny)
-sleeps like a champ (hope I didn't jinx us), he's been going to be around 7:30 and we wake him up at 6:30 to get ready for daycare (sorry to my friends suffering from sleepless nights)
-loves people watching
-does not like jack-in-the-box or getting scared
-eats like a teenager
-loves fruit (especially pears)
-loves loves loves anything bread related (toast, sandwiches, pancakes, cornbread, waffles, you name it, he will eat bread)
-walks, when he wants to, where he wants to, and no, there is nothing we can do about it.
-wobbles as he walks-A's balance isn't the greatest, which is likely a developmental thing, but may be related to fluid behind his ears.  We're keeping an eye on it...

Here I will leave you with a little photo of my bitty gnome.  Hat is handmade by me, coat a gift from Aunt Jacque, location Botanical Center in Des Moines.  Photo taken by Stephanie Doll.

Crochet School & Baby Calder

I'm learning how to crochet.  I think that makes me old, but it's so rewarding!  You can see your progress right in front of you AND you get something when you are done!  I'm using Crafty Minx, who is a great teacher with her videos and explanations.
I'm looking forward to making a blanket in particular and plan to sell it or auction it off to help raise funds for my friend's baby, Calder.  Click his name if you can donate to their fundraising for his heart transplant!  Also there is a Scentsy party where all profits are being donated to Calder, Becky and Zac.  Donate to that HERE.  Also, you can eat at Buffalo Wild Wings on Merle Hay on the 19th of October, 2011.  Let them know that you are with Baby Calder and 10% of your bill goes towards the Seabrooke family.
I just can't even imagine the thoughts and feelings I would be having if my newborn infant suffered heart damage and needed a transplant.  Please keep them in your thoughts and prayers that everything will be successful and Calder will recover safely, as well as Zac and Becky will not be burdened by the financial weight of this challenge.  Thanks everyone for your thoughts and support!

10 Months OLD?

Crazy!  Time has flown by and it's all been amazing and challenging!  Aaron is busy bustling around the house via crawling, cruising, and walking with a walker.  We had 9 month photos taken by Stephanie Doll Photography.  She does an amazing job catching Aaron "in the moment" and really captures his personality each session!  I can't believe we have only one more left in our package!  It's really almost been a year already!  Here are some of my favorites from the day, but to be honest, it was hard to choose just three!
I thought for sure by now I'd feel like I had some sense of balance back in my life.  Well...that has NOT happened.  I'm still working out how to even have time for myself - to work out, create crafty stuff, bake, etc.  I have to take time off of work just to get my car worked on, a hair cut, or to get groceries.  That is CRAZY!  I'm hoping to figure out how to afford to work a little less to get a little time in for me. Yes, even grocery shopping alone is considered "me" time now.  Ben and I don't get much "us" time either.  We need to work on that.  It's hard to leave but it's nice to get a break as well.
We are gearing up for Halloween.  We have visited two pumpkin patches, taken photos with pumpkins, made some Halloween-y crafts and are ready for the candy!  Okay, Ben and I are ready for candy.  We hope to get out and trick-or-treat with some friends and their kids.  Will post pictures soon!  Okay, that's all for now!  Hope you enjoyed the photos as much as we do!

Daily Grind

So with the arrival of new teeth, Aaron has begun to grind them together, making an awful awful noise.  In addition, he's learned that he can grab his head, ears, etc, making us very aware that he's got some aching related to teething.  Poor kiddo!  Despite this, he really doesn't act like he is in pain and plays contentedly most of the time.  Someday I'll try to snap a photo of those chompers but he's so protective of his mouth, I can hardly get in there to "brush."  We have 9 month photos this weekend before we head over to Gramma Connie's and Ben and I get an evening out!!  Gramma might be more excited than we are!  Look for 9 month photos soon!

Much delayed update

Whew!  It has been busy!  I've discovered Pinterest and it is a great way to let other's scour the internet for great ideas and then "pin" them to the virtual board for future use.  A great way to keep track of things you want to do or try!  Anyway, here's where we are at:
Eating some table food (still nothing with milk).
Always interested in whatever everyone else is eating.
Crawling on hands and knees more consistently.
"Cruising" minimally along furniture.
Babbling with multiple syllables ALL THE TIME.
Seems to prefer "momm, momm, momm," especially when he's upset.
Trying to really "figure out" his toys and things.
Pouts and cries when told "no" or otherwise gets in trouble.
Shakes his head when you say no, no, no.
Sleeping 11 hours straight.
Has 7, going on 10, teeth.
Pulls up on furniture.
Follows us around the house (into the kitchen, bathroom - okay, that's about all the bigger our house it but he really does follow us everywhere)
Naps like a champ!
LOVES daycare and smiles and babbles as we walk in each day.
Tried the swing at the park a few times.  He likes it for a little while.
Sucks down juice likes it's going out of style.
Feeds himself finger foods.
Getting more picky about what he wants to eat.
LOVES bath time and splashing everyone and everything within a 6 foot radius.
Starting to learn to wave bye-bye
Is a technology junky, making a bee-line for cell phones, lap tops, and tv receivers
We have successfully eliminated 2 bottles and moved to sippy cups!

That's all I can come up with for now.  We'll give an update again probably in another three months, when we get time!

Now what?

Okay...I think Aaron has tried all of the "1st Foods."  Short of mixing them now...where do I go next?  I can't believe we've made it through the 1st foods already!  I just noticed that next week, Aaron will be 7 month old.  I feel like I just posted about him turning 6 months old.  I don't realize how fast time is going until I realize, usually at work, that it's the end of the month, again!
One thing that is "up and coming," a TOOTH!  Maybe two!  Definitely could tell it was bothering him tonight as he kept rubbing and tugging at his ears and jaw.  Poor kiddo.  Last night he was in bed by 7:30 and slept almost 11 hours without a peep.  Tonight he was in bed by 7:45.  I feel like just the other day, he started rolling over!  Now he's sitting almost independently with a few crashes, chewing his food/puree, cutting a tooth, playing peek-a-boo, hide and seek with daddy, and babbling da-ba-ga-la.  Whew, and all that is within the last month, maybe even two weeks.  Friends say it goes fast...  I had no idea it would go this fast and I would already be forgetting when Aaron first slept through the night.  After thinking, I did remember (thanks Laura).  All we seem to think and talk about is Aaron...when he poo'd, when he ate, when he spit up, when he slept, the time he giggled and giggled and giggled, baths, story time, snuggling.  While it is different from our "old life" we've settled into a groove and I am enjoying every minute.  We will be getting some one on one time for ourselves in July for Ben's birthday.  I'm excited for that but nervous all at once.  New daycare has really helped me relax about who takes care of Aaron, but we are having grandma come up and stay with him for the night.  The following week, aunt Jess and my parents are coming up to watch him while we go to a wedding of a college friend.
Wow...this blog is pretty lame.  Sorry.  I'm too lazy to delete it.  I apologize for the time you may have wasted reading it.

Half Birthday!?

Yes...Aaron celebrated his half birthday last week.  I have managed to keep a child alive and healthy, who knew, for six entire months.  I'm starting to feel like Aaron has been a part of our life for years, though I still remember what it was like to go out to dinner, visit friends, and family without packing an entire extra wardrobe; toys, bibs, burp cloths, clothes, and all.  Speaking of toys, I just HAD to go out and get Aaron a couple of 1/2 birthday presents...of course!  He got a little snail that rolls when he pushes it, plays a couple of songs and has a mirror to look into.  He digs it, but I think he'll like it more in a few weeks when he can push it while sitting.  I also got him a vtech book that has nursery rhymes and three pages.  Grandma and Grandpa "Flash" have one and he loved it when we visited in Nashville.  This thing is a life saver.  I actually only get it out when NOTHING else helps...especially long car trips.  Over the past weekend, we travelled back to NW Iowa to visit family, the long way to avoid the flooded stretch of I-29, unfortunately. The "long way" is only 20 minutes longer than the "short way" but Aaron has decided to sleep less and less on car rides and fuss more and more.  Can't blame the kid...I don't like being cooped up in the car either, not being able to roll around and stretch out and stuff.  I think our plan will be to keep traveling as often as we can afford and desire to keep him used to car trips.  With family more than 2 hours away in either direction, we are going to have to travel if we want to see them.  He just better get used to it...and I guess we might have to get used to fussy car trips.  Here's Aaron getting ready to drive.  Not sure how he'll reach the pedals but he was pretty excited about it.  I went into the convenience store and came back out to him in my seat.  He was smiling and laughing, thought it was a pretty funny joke.  Definitely not expected, and so totally cute!

We had a great trip visiting Papa and Nana in LeMars.  All of Nana's siblings were in town and Aaron got to meet LOTS of new people.  He did pretty well and even gave smiles to new strangers.  It was great seeing everyone and spending some time with family.  While there, Aaron started sitting up on his own.  He is now sitting for nearly a minute by himself consistently!!  He even fusses when he's laying and rolling on the floor because he can't figure out how to sit up on his own.  Grrrrumpy!  Here's a photo of some of our first sitting!  The new toy great aunt Deb bought Aaron was very motivating for him.  Thanks Deb!!

Today was Aaron's 6 month well baby check.  Despite some gas and achy belly, Aaron took the shots like a champ again!  He cried for less than 30 seconds, sucked his pacifier for 2 minutes and was ready to go, smiling at the nurses checking us out.  Such a ladies man!  So here are the stats on our guy!
Height: 28 inches (95%)
Weight: 16lbs 12oz (40%)
Head size: 45cm (75%)
Long and lean.  I don't think I could possibly feed this kiddo more!  He eats constantly, formula and now veggies too!  We have tried peas, green beans, and now squash.  Aaron sucks them down and likes sitting up at the table and eating with us.  He opens his mouth like a baby bird, makes little groaning noises if I'm not moving fast enough and  swallows it all down.  So far, I've made a pea puree and a green bean puree.  A little thicker than the Stage 1 foods you'd buy at the store but it was my first attempt.  Aaron still seemed to handle it okay.  Squash was definitely his favorite.  Peas are probably a close second.  Very fun to see him getting excited and so interested in eating foods with us.
With all the activity and rolling, we've definitely had more spit up.  So ANNOYING...but I guess expected for a spitty baby.  We are looking at stopping Aaron's prilosec.  Not really seeming to make much of a difference at this point and with the addition of more solid foods, we are hoping to keep more food in the belly.  Scary...all of the milestones already achieved and shortly down the road.  More to come!