Trips, Family, and the 9 month mark

Okay, where do I even begin. The last month was jam-packed with two trips to Lake George, a visit from my dad and Kellie, 3 weeks in Colorado with Anthon for Kellie's wedding, a 9 month appointment, and probably much more. I think this is another post where I'll mostly just let the pictures do the talking and I'll throw in some comments here and there. That's always good in theory...I think I have way to much to say for that ever to actually be the case.

That  being said...I started this post over two weeks ago and still haven't managed to finish it. I am determined to post it by tonight. This means I'll really be skimping on words. And probably pictures as well. Actually, I might have to just do a separate post with our Lake George and Colorado trips.

What can ya do! Also...Excuse the typos; I likely won't have time to proof-read this tonight... Here goes! :)

The month of July, I discovered our fancy camera. We received it as a wedding present, but I hadn't braved using it; I attempted tackling the user manual one day and then put it away again for a very long time. As it happens, there's an automatic option. Halelujah! lol. It's a good thing Matthew had a photography friend give him a how-to in fancy camera use for real picture taking.

And that Matthew is far more patient than me...

Anywho...here are some fun ones around the house that I took. I decided it's probably a good thing I didn't start using this sooner. I could sit and take pictures of him all day. Every day. But, really.

 

 This one kills me..

 

  Our boy LOVES rubber duckies. When we first show him we have one for him, he'll get up on all fours, squeal, and rock back and forth while smiling excitedly.

It is SO cute.

 

 

I took this first batch before my trip to Colorado. The second batch was after. As you can tell from the pictures, his mobility increased ten fold in that month or so.

 

 

I also learned that it's no longer easy to take a picture of him with a stuffed animal of my choosing. There was a day when I could hand him a toy or stuffed animal or set it next to him and snag a picture or two (or twenty). Now a days, if Anthon does deem a toy interesting enough to play with (which he didn't...as you'll notice in these pictures..), it barely stays still long enough not to be blurred in any picture.

 

 

 

This is how pictures usually end up going these days...

bahaha

 

 In other news...

Anthon's toy chest/ottoman gave him whatever incentive he needed to pull himself up to a standing position.

 

He LOVES this thing.

Bummer I hadn't figured out how to turn out the flash yet on this picture..but oh well.

Sometimes I take toys out and set them on the floor for him, but I think most of the thrill is standing and pulling them out, as he seems to loose interest in them once they're out. He stands here for what seems like forever reaching for things. He often balances his stomach on the side while he reaches in to pull things out or touch them. He's only went in headfirst once as a result...

He LOVES being outside.

The only downside to walks is that, about ten minutes into them, he starts turning around and trying to get to me. I've decided someone needs to invent a stroller with a swivel chair--because really, I'm sure he'd get tired of looking at me the whole time, but if he had the option to do either at will...it'd be money :)

This is usually the face he makes mid-raspberry blows.

 

Landmarks:

Anthon has started crawling-- He's been army crawling for ages, and still prefers it. But he's now does a few 'big kid crawl' strides before breaking into his army crawl--or when avoiding a cold floor.

TWO teeth!-- Thankfully, he doesn't use them often.

 

He slept through the night--, not once--not twice--but THREE times in Colorado! Sadly, it was short-lived. I say sadly...but, to be honest....I kind of missed him those nights! By the time he wakes up, if feels like it's been SO long since I've seen him last.

I know that sounds ridiculous.

But, it's true. And this is my blog. So...I can say it.

 

Stats from our 9 month appointment:

 

Sidenote: I LOVE that Matthew has a job that let's him take medical time off to come to appointments with me. It is so fun having him there :)

...umm....I misplaced the paper from our doctor's appointment, so I'll insert this part later. But, in short, he's only put on about a pound since our last appointment, he's a little lower in the head circumference department, and is...taller. (I don't remember any details about height...)

Sad and wanting me to pick him up. Our appointments never seem to jive with nap times :(

On the bright side, no shots took place at this appointment! It was such a happy surprise!

 

Favorite things:

Graham Crackers--we discovered these in Colorado and he is IN.LOVE.

 

Any kind of food--I never realized it, but Anthon opens both his mouth and eyes incredibly wide while he waits for an approaching spoon full of food. haha--my family all cracked up watching him eat and I guess I had always just assumed all babies ate like that..

Being BUSY--little man is a do-er. He loves to be going, touching, moving, and partying.

Rubber Duckies--I'll let the pictures with the rubber ducky do the talking on this one (if you missed them, scroll back up...). He gets SO excited everytime I whip that little guy out.

Mirrors: I have to be sure he doesn't pull my mirror down on himself (I've caught it midfall a few times already), but he loves it.

(note the rubber ducky in hand)

 

Bath Time--he has started pulling himself up to a standing position in an effort to speed up the process of getting into the tub

Mangoes--Mango pits. Can't live with 'em, can't live without 'em. He LOVES, I mean, LOVE them. It's about the cutest thing you'll ever see to watch him try to keep hold of those slippery things though.

Mom--he's got a thing for me. After naps, if Matthew goes to get him, he'll usually about gives himself whiplash trying to turn around and see where I'm at or get dad to walk out to find me. He does fairly well with new people (especially post-Colorado trip), but, if he sees me, he's making a beeline for me or starts whining to either be by me or held by me. So, I'd say he does best with new people (and anyone) when I'm not around.

Dad coming home from work--I swear, it's the highlight of every day for him. I think it's the most excited he gets. If he's in his high chair, he's rocking back and forth smiling, if he's on the floor, he's doing the same.

His Blankie--this guys still a favorite. Anthon will drop any toy to pursue that blanket. I haven't tested it with food--but I think it would even trump his salivary pursuits.

All things Red and Pink--those are just the colors he is drawn to, of all of them!

Crawling on me--if he wants to go somewhere, there's no going around mom. He crawls over my legs at least eight times a day. It's cute--he usually breaks his fall with his forehead as he transitions from my legs back to the ground--sometimes gracefully, sometimes not-so gracefully.

Wandering away before he's fully clothed--

 

Fun Things that Only Anthon Does:

The opening eyes and mouth thing when he eats

Downward Dog Sitting--I posted a video to facebook and instagram, but Anthon learned how to sit by putting his head on the ground, bum in the air, and then walking his feet closer to his head until his center of gravity transitioned to his bum, which then swung down to the side and ground--landing him in a sitting position. He by no means needs to do this anymore in order to sit, but he still puts head on the ground and bum in the air sometimes before sitting and it cracks me up.

Giggles at Bedtime--this kid is still so stinking slap happy at bedtimes. Sometimes I'm not sure if it's him that's giggly at bedtime, or if I am the one getting him giggly. I really do think it's his mood that usually comes first though.

Reaching for the camera when you're trying to take a picture of him. Okay, maybe more babies do this, but I just love his faces when he does..

 

Here's a picture on Anthon's actual 9-month Birthday.

We are just eating little man up. Really, we are. I'll write another post about our Colorado trip and fun things from the Summer. For now, this will have to do.

 

Dang, our kid is sure cute :)  

 

 

 

 

 

Pools, Teeth, Highchairs, and Walks

It's been a happy last month at the Hutchinson home. Here are a few fun tid bits about little man these days. I thought maybe I'd even things out with last post and overload this one with pictures. Not because that maintains some sort of equilibrium, but because I just have WAY too many cute pictures not to post right now.

Among other things, this Anthon's life this month has included sitting up, TWO teeth, feeding himself, graduating to the high chair, baby talk, and much more. I'll let the pictures do some of the talking...

Sitting up:

  What theeeeeee!!!! 

It is still THE weirdest thing to go into Anthons room after a nap or during the night and see him sitting up in his crib. 

He's been sitting up more and more often, whether it's when he gets excited about something, is waiting for me to give him something, or just looking around. 

hahaha. But that face. This is mostly the sitting he's been doing for the past few weeks. However, as of two days ago, he started sitting all the way up and balancing without any hands! He teeters/sways back and forth a little bit, but he's getting the hang of it. I could watch him figure new things out all day; it's so fun to see his brain work and learn these crazy new things.

Okay, pause for a cute story. This morning, I was in Anthon's room reading to him and just playing on the floor with him. He sat up like this--so, look at this picture, but visually insert a board book under his right hand (and carpet beneath that). hehehe. He just slidddddd right down onto his tummy. He had a confused look on his face like, 'Wait...what is happening...Wait...must move hand!...wait....I'm committed to this lean....oppp...oppp....and I'm down...'

Adorable.

It's also pretty cute when he is (purposely) transitioning from a seated position to his tummy army crawl position. He hasn't exactly perfected it yet and does somewhat of a slow motion face plant as he puts his chest to the ground and then tries to wriggle his legs out from under him and to behind him. It's the cutest thing you've ever seen. And, it's slow motion, so the face plant part really isn't bad :P 

Feeding Himself: 

These are some of the pictures from of the first time Anthon fed himself. When I started giving him little cereal pieces and such, I initally just popped them in his mouth. He has since kind of figured out the whole "thumb and forefinger" thing (ish), but it was SO cute to see him pick up the cereal in his fist, and then attempt to get at it through his hand. haha. He started out by pretty much just putting his whole fist in his mouth. It was adorable.

Those dang fingers just kept getting in the way!

Success! 

I haven't gotten many pictures of Anthon up in the crawling position (mostly because it never lasts long when he does it), but lately, when I show him I have food for him (side note: the kid LOVES food.), Anthon will get up on all fours, rock back and forth a little, and make tons of excited noises. Then, he it's like he realizes he can't actually get any closer to the food this way, exciting as this raised position is....So he plops himself back onto his tummy and returns to his favorite army crawl. And man, is he getting fast! He'll zone in on something, whether it's a toy, the shoe rack (a regular occurrence), or food. I've got to move fast if I'm going to beat him to whatever he's going for. 

Baths: 

When my mom visited, she introduced Anthon to a life with belly baths. Which, lets face it, is SO much more fun. He is all over the place these days, sliding from one end of the tub to another, turning himself around to get to toys at either end. He's played with the drain as water drained, the flowing water as the tub filled, and tons of toys in the tub. His go-to right after I put him in on his back (and he flips almost immediately over) is to knock the baby wash off its shelf and into the water. Not sure why, but man, he loves that baby wash bottle. He then proceeds to chase it all over the tub and suck on it for however long he manages to capture it. 

High Chair:

The last week or so, Anthon's Bumbo chair has come with him when I try to lift him out of it....hahaha. For those of you who aren't familiar with those chairs, that is due to an increased circumference in his thighs (tee hee). So, I figured it was about time to get him in the high chair. It was a double win, because, now days, if I'm in the kitchen, he's army crawling around the kitchen floor and at my feet, just wanting to be a part of it all. The high chair puts him up at my height and means he can nibble on something to keep him doubly entertained :) 

check out those teeth!

Pretty cute kid, right?

Tell me about it. 

Pause for a joke. 

I just went to make myself some food and left the fridge door open while I grabbed some sandwich meat really quickly. While I was doing so, the fridge fan/motor kicked on. I thought to myself, 'Man, that fridge just looses its cool so easily!' 

Pause for laugher. Or not. I didn't realize I was being funny until after that thought completed itself. Then, I thought, hey--someone else should hear how funny that was! Thank you, for being my someone today. 

Pool:

We had our first trip to the pool recently! The water was a bit cooler than we expected. And the time we went was a bit closer to nap time than we had anticipated....but it was a fun time anyways! Anthon loved looking at all the people there and his surroundings in general; we love new experiences :)

I couldn't keep myself from snapping a picture of Matthew getting Anthon dressed for the pool. I came around the corner to see this naked little baby (and baby bottom) sitting on his dad's lap as he tried to put his swimming diaper on. It was adorable. Something about a naked baby. 

Oh, and I took him today for pool trip #2! :)

He liked round two even more. I think it might have to do with the practice he's had in our bath tub the last little bit.

Life without shoulder straps: 

Anthon loves walks as it is, but he has always pulled his shoulder straps tight from trying to sit as far forward as possible so he can see everything going on. Don't get me wrong, sometimes he likes to kick back reclined with his feet up on the cup holder.... But depending on his mood, I swear the kid could leave marks on himself from pulling so hard forward. haha. So, I thought, for a change, we'd just clip his waist strap. 

As you'll observe, he was a fan. I don't think "edge of his seat" really does his position justice. Take into account that his seat was fully upright, and he's still that far away from the back of his seat. I spent half of this walk taking pictures of him, I thought it was so cute. Oops. 

Anthons favorite things these days:

Being outside..

If he's fussy at all, it just takes walking outside with him. Typically, I just hold him and walk out by the water to look at ducks and whatever else we happen upon. This is also part of our pre-nap routine to help settle him down.

 Food of any kind...(on our plates or for him, either way...)

 His basketball. He actually shoots hoops with Matthew; it's pretty cute.

 His blanket. When he wakes up from a nap, we usually leave it in the crib. Sometimes I let him keep it for a few minutes. He'll army crawl his way to some toys and suddenly realize he left his blanket! haha, he army crawls back over to get it. He'll also drag his blanket behind him in one hand while pulling himself forward on the floor towards something interesting with the other.

Or...sometimes he just reaches, willing a toy to come to him. ;)

Being a part of whatever I'm doing. He'll entertain himself for a few minutes, but, ultimately, he wants to be doing whatever everyone else WITH them! :) ...I usually put him in the baby carrier when I vacuum or on the floor in whichever room I'm in. haha

 Shoes. Not just any shoes, but dirty shoes. I managed to get him to move on to something else. But, take notice that it's not the clean looking shoes he wants to pull off and suck on...

make-up or any little bottle things of stuff

 Mom's keys. One of the free packs I got of baby stuff from a pediatrician office had a teether keychain in it; it's the only teether he really likes/uses. I've also determined that the teether is for mom's too, since it's often how I hold my keys when I've got a baby on one arm and an armful of who knows what in the other.

 Haven't tried any other flavors of this yet. But, oh my gosh, he gets SO excited every time he eats these. When I ask him if he wants another one and shake the case they're in, he does that, 'happy, up on all fours rocking back and fourth' thing and then squeals after he sees me actually pull out one of them. Or just happy excited noises, you get the idea.

He also LOVES to smile at strangers. At the grocery store, library, street, pool. Anywhere, really. He's just a happy baby and people love him. Can't say I blame them. As far as smiles go, I think some of my favorite times are when I go in to his room to wake him up from a nap; he is always soooo happy to see me and it makes my day every time. His other happiest time is when Matthew gets home from work. Actually, this brings me to my next point...

Matthew: 

First off, he rocks the farmer tan, doesn't he ;) 

Secondly, how could Anthon NOT love a dad who sometimes takes an extra five minutes to leave the house simply because he's stopped at the window knocking on the glass and making faces at him in the window?

Needless to say, Anthon is a lucky boy and I'm so lucky to have such a helpful, playful, handsome husband to raise our boy with. 

Life is definitely funner with Matthew around :) 

8 month photo shoot: 

Kind of a bust...but I was already three days overdue, so I was set on getting some. 

caption, anyone?

those little toes kill me

He only likes to sit up when it's not forced... can't say I blame him. 

That faceeeeeee! 

Today's post-nap photo op: 

You can't make up these faces. haha, he really is so much fun. 

And, in other funny business, thusly reminding you that Matthew and I actually do exist, which you might not know from this flood of Anthon pictures...

Growing up in a family of five kids, there were many memorable rituals. I don't know that ritual is the right word...but we'll go with it.. One in particular I remember is going to pour yourself a bowl of cereal, only to find that there was barely anything left in it. Most often, the perpetrator was avoiding needing to smash the box and put it out in the recycling bin. 

These days, I sometimes enjoy a small bowl of cereal as a snack, which leads to me leaving fairly empty cereal boxes on the shelf. Poor Matthew has, on multiple occasions, fell victim to this offense. There's nothing worse than getting your heart set on a big bowl of cereal and finding out there's barely enough for 1/2 (or 1/4) a bowl. It's kind of like craving cereal and then realizing you have no milk... 

To "right" the wrong, this week I left him a note. haha, I guess it's not as good as making the box disappear all together...but, it's something! 

haha, thanks for reading, (or, in many/most cases, skimming ;) all! We're happy and loving life with little man. 

Happy Baby

Alright, this post will be mostly words, rather than photos. We'll see how vivid of pictures I can paint you using only my words, since the storyline rarely involves taking pictures.

Most babies get fussy when they're tired. They rub their eyes, they cry, they might want to snuggle or be held. I just put Anthon down for a nap and felt sharing this experience will give a more accurate depiction of our little man's sleep process (and personality) than just about anything else. Wish me luck. Here goes...

I'm a little fuzzy on the exact times...but I estimated. . .

1:30
Anthon's talking noises sound slightly less happy and a little agitated. I know it's about time for him to go down for a nap, so I take him into the bedroom to feed him. I feed him, but he is still bright eyed and wanting to crawl around. I let him crawl on the ground and just lay next to him as he does. He crawls to the bookcase (one of his favorite forms of entertainment), and grabs a few books out of it. I lay him on his back and read to him after giving him his pacifier and blankie.

1:40
Anthon looses interest in being read to, and army crawls with a board book in hand toward his closed bedroom door. I think to myself, alright--I guess he's got some more play time in him. I put his bink and his blanket back into his crib and come out to the front room with him.

1:45
I read to Anthon in my lap on the couch (while he plays with some toy keys to keep his hands busy). Meanwhile, Matthew grabs himself some food in the kitchen. I read Anthon 'Brown Bear, Brown Bear What do you see?' once and 'Hop on Pop' twice. During the second reading of 'Hop on Pop,' Anthon stares at Matthew the entire time, not breaking eye contact. I couldn't actually see where he was looking, but Matthew mentions it and we see it as a sleepy sign and I decide to try putting him down again.

2:05
I take Anthon back to his bedroom, get his bink and blanket, read him some of 'Goodnight Moon', top off his tummy tank, and sing him a song. At this point, Anthon is rubbing his eyes and seems really tired. His eyes are a little red and definitely not as wide as usual. I think to myself, "yay! victory!" As I put him in his crib and pull his blanket up to his chin before walking away.

2:15-2:35
I turn the baby monitor on in the kitchen and proceed to do the dishes and make some brownies.

I can hear him rolling around in his crib.

What starts off as little rustling noises of Anthon rolling around, turns into a monologue of baby noises. ('Bah, bah. Dah, dah. bah-doo-bah-duh. Buh, buh buh...')

I hear banging. From experience, I know this is Anthon kicking his feet against the sides of his crib after pulling his bumper down either with his feet or hands. Sometimes, he'll kick the attachment piece to his mobile and get himself some music going.

2:40
The banging lessens (though sometimes this isn't the case). His happy, talkative noises, become intermittent with a few fussier noises. Not crying, but every once in awhile he'll slip in an agitated sound or a someone feigned outcry.

At this point, I think to myself, 'Okay, maybe he needs a diaper change'

2:45
I go into his room. I enter to see a baby on his tummy, face up towards me. He gets a huge smile on his face. He makes a few excited, 'so happy mom is here!' noises.  I see he's managed to toss his bink on the floor.(Often, he's still got his bink, but it just dangles from a wide open grin at my entrance..)  His eyes still look tired.

He then straightens his arms and rocks back and forth excitedly as he looks at me with a big grin on his face and his blanket under his arms.

I put in his bink, put his blanket on my shoulder, and pick him up to see if I can help him settle down. He rubs his face into his blanket and lays his head on my shoulder.

'Okay, self, I know he's tired....'

He pushes his arms against me to put some distance between us so he can get a better look at my face.

He smiles, only half hanging on to the bink in his mouth as he makes another happy noise.

His eyes still look a little red, puffy, and tired.

He starts to bounce his legs up and down, laughing as he does so. 'Mom, this is SUCH a party!'

I give him a little smile and his excitement increases as he laughs.

He starts to bounce again and I figure this approach might not be the best way to get him to sleep right now.

I think, 'okay, let's check that diaper and see if that's what was keeping him up'

No poop.

Pretty much dry.

Okay...we'll give you a fresh diaper just in case.

I change his diaper. He giggles everytime I look up from the diaper changing to his face.

I put on his pants. He giggles as I touch his stomach.

Okay. I'm not strong enough. I start to tickle him.

He cracks up. A new kind of belly laugh I actually haven't every heard before.

It kills me.

I tickle him again.

Why is this SO much fun??!

He cracks up, yet again.

Okay, okay self...I need to let him sleep. He still looks tired.

I move from tickling to silly facial expressions.

That's more helpful, right? Or...at least, less unhelpful...

I look around the room, while standing next to his crib, pretending not to notice him, and then make my eyes really big when I finally look at him.

He looses it again.

This continues for a few rounds.

2:55
Okay. I know he's tired.

I put him on his back, (he's still got his bink), pull up his blanket yet again, adjust the bumpers he's pulled down around his crib, and walk out.

3:00
No more noises. . . .

I can only assume he's asleep.

Don't think for a second a walked in right at three to take this picture...

I did, however, sneak later, after I was REALLY sure he was asleep. (And after I decided that this post did, in fact, need a picture...)