It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

But it doesn't feel like Christmas here! Last Saturday evening the three of us went to Bellingrath Gardens to see the holiday lights, and we didn't even need coats! Before we went through the gardens, we stopped to see Santa Claus in the giftshop/cafe. He and Baby K were equally fascinated with each other, and his photo with Santa turned out wonderfully. (I don't think I can legally post it, though, due to copyright issues.)

Today our playgroup met at the mall. Some took pictures with Santa, and others of us rode the carousel. This was Baby K's first time to see a carousel, and he was fascinated. I parked his stroller right outside the fence of the carousel, and he immediately threw his arms out and started waving them up and down, giggling and grinning, and kicking his feet. The two photos above show him watching the carousel go around and around. I think he enjoyed watching it more than he enjoyed riding it! At least now I know a fun activity to do on a day when we're bored and just need to get out of the house-- we'll go watch the carousel!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Baby K celebrated his first Thanksgiving in Kentucky with his daddy's family. We had a nice time and enjoyed seeing all of our relatives. Baby K did surprisingly well on the nine-hour drive one-way. We did divide it into two legs, stopping to spend the night going up and coming back with my family, to make the drive easier on us all.

For Thanksgiving lunch Baby K gnawed on turkey, apple, and grapes using his mesh feeder. He has turned into quite the solid-food eater. He's had his first cold and is still suffering from nasal congestion, and as a result his formula consumption has dropped. This worried us at first, but our pediatrician reassured us it's normal, and sure enough, he's slowly increasing the amount of formula he drinks each day, while continuing to devour whatever solids we'll feed him. He enjoys carrots, apples and applesauce, grapes, peas, green beans, turkey, bananas, peaches, sweet potatoes, and squash. When he's really liking what we're feeding him, he'll lunge toward the spoon and chomp down on it with a "rarrrr" sound, like he's attacking it.

It's the Great Pumpkin!

Of course I'm talking about Baby K, not the Charlie Brown show. We took Baby K to the pumpkin patch today, his first time. He was having a great time, as you can see in the picture-- until he fell forward and his awful Mommy didn't catch him in time. He got a facefull of grass and CRIED. So we picked a pumpkin quickly and took him home for a well-deserved nap.

He's getting his front upper right tooth; the gum is hard there, and it's white as can be. Perhaps when we wake up tomorrow it'll have come through. His second tooth, on the bottom, was horrible-- he cried for two days and nights. I hope this one goes much smoother, as I don't know if Daddy and I can handle that.

Speaking of Daddy, he came home from Alaska Tuesday. Baby K was a little hesitant at first, but seemed to recognize Daddy's voice from all the phone calls and warmed up to him quickly. He enjoyed the beard that Daddy grew while gone; he liked to poke his fingers into it and feel the hairs.

We have a playdate Wednesday with other babies (kids under a year or so old) from our playgroup, and all the kids will be in costume. Baby K is going as a fisherman: he's going to wear a white long-sleeved onesie, overalls, boots, and carry a "fishing pole."

They were right...

Experienced parents always tell new parents, "They grow up so quickly." Many people told me and Baby K's daddy this at the beginning. I of course did not believe them. Until this week, that is. Monday afternoon, Baby K rolled over from his tummy to his back for the first time, to excited applause from myself, his grammy (my mom), his great-granny (my dad's mom), and his Auntie A (my sister). He did it five more times that afternoon and evening, receiving great adulation each time. Then, Tuesday afternoon, he was quite fussy, so I ran my finger along his gum-- and felt the tips of his first tooth poking through. Grammy had felt his gums the day before and nothing was there, so the tooth popped up literally overnight. He's been cranky and drooly and gnawing everything within arm's reach, poor baby. This evening at church, Baby K turned pages in his board book, stood on his own holding onto the back of the pew, and realized that he is the one who pulls his pacifier out and therefore can (attempt to) put it back in. He came very close to succeeding on the last one. He also patted Grammy's arm after I showed him how, which was really sweet to see. Also, before church, I fed him carrots after his bottle, and he grabbed the spoon several times and tried to feed himself. Auntie A took some pictures-- I'll upload one soon and post it here. When she was little, she used to say, "I do it myself!" no matter what "it" was. Baby K seems to have inherited the same determination to be independent.

Baby K's First Baby Food Adventure

We were going to start cereal with Baby K at four months of age and veggies and fruits when he was six months. However, this week our pediatric gastroenterologist said that many babies with reflux have trouble with cereal, and she recommended skipping cereal and going right to fruits and vegetables. I was a little bored Saturday evening, and the big stash of baby food we have (thanks to the incredible Target/Gerber coupon from July!) was starting to break down what little patience I did have. So I got out a container of carrots and fed some to Baby K. As you can see in the top photo, Mommy and Daddy need to work on their feeding techniques. In the bottom photo, his face is cleaned up, but the carrot carnage is still visible on his bib. We knew he liked them, because he does not ever hesitate to inform us if something is displeasing to him! We put the leftovers in the fridge and got some out this evening after his last bottle. He eagerly sucked the puree up and cried when I wouldn't give him any more!

Today he's been a bit cranky. For some reason, Sundays are hard on him, and his daddy and I aren't quite sure why. Yes, his routine is interrupted, but no more than any other day when we go to playgroup or have a doctor's appointment. So we have yet to figure out what the difference with Sundays is. Any suggestions?

4 months old!

Today is Baby K's four-month birthday. At his checkup today, he weighed 13 lbs. 5 oz. and measured 24 and a half inches long. He cried when he got his four shots, but just minutes afterwards was smiling at me. He napped for about two hours when we got home, then woke up and was his regular self the rest of the evening. I'm sure the poor baby's legs will be sore tomorrow.

Sunday morning during church Baby K's daddy was leading singing. Baby K was sitting on my lap, and I took his hand and touched his foot with it. Suddenly, it was like a lightbulb went off, and he realized that that was his hand and his foot, and he's been grabbing for his feet since, even while the pediatrician was trying to examine him today. When he's not reaching his feet, his fingers are crammed into his mouth. Yesterday morning he was on his back on a blanket on the floor, sucking the middle two fingers on his left hand, and his right hand wandered up to his head and he felt his hair, and another lightbulb went off: he realized that was his hair he was touching with his hand, and he laid there sucking his fingers and rubbing his hair. It was absolutely adorable and Daddy was mad I didn't get a pic.

Full of Surprises

Baby K's daddy found this surprise in his breakfast skillet Saturday morning. He claims he didn't even try to make it look like that, that it just happened. What do you think?

Just when I think I have Baby K figured out-- how much he'll eat at each feeding, how long he'll nap for, how long he'll stay awake-- he goes and completely changes everything on me. A typical day:

7:30 a.m.: wake up, eat 6 oz.

8:45: down for nap

9:30: up, eat 2-4 oz.

10:45: eat 2-4 oz.

11: nap

12:30: up, eat 2-4 oz.

2:30: nap

4:15: up, eat 4 oz.

6:30: eat 4-6 oz.

7:30: bedtime

Yesterday and today? Not a thing like that usual routine. With the exception of two ten-minute snoozes, he stayed awake today from 10 to 1. When I put him in his papasan for his nap, he grinned so big at me that his pacifier fell out! I just left him in there and walked out and shut the door, and so far, not a peep out of him, so he's either asleep or amusing himself (not sure how, since he's swaddled).

We had our first playgroup today. At this point the playgroup is really more for me than him, since he's still so young. We went to the Watermelon Patch, where we'll be starting our play class on Tuesday. The other ladies seemed very nice, young like me, and were very friendly. Baby K mostly watched the kids playing-- he's the youngest-- and grinned every once in a while, especially at the little girls! We stayed for an hour, and I think he would have been happy staying longer, but he started looking sleepy; he'd close his eyes for just a second, then they'd fly open again and he'd look all around like, "I'm still awake, guys! No sleeping here!" It was really cute. They had a little trampoline, so when we first got there I held him under the arms and bounced him standing up on it, and he loved it.

Our little g!

Above is a picture of Baby K in his Hawaiian-print gDiaper. They're cloth diaper covers, with plastic liners and flushable inserts. Instead of the inserts, we use cotton prefold cloth diapers when we're at home. (We still use disposables at night and when we go out.) We're doing this mostly for financial reasons; although the environmental benefits are nice too, they're more lagniappe for us than necessity.

As you can see, Baby K is holding his head up very well. He doesn't spend much time on his tummy due to his acid reflux-- as soon as we flip him over, he spits up about 90% of the time. He'll support himself on his arms when he's on his changing pad (it's at an angle, to help his reflux), but he won't very often when he's flat on his tummy, say, on the floor.

Thursday he held his bottle steadily for thirty seconds. He also began trying to roll his "r's" without any prompting from me. I've been trying to teach him that, because I'm using Spanish with him, and for about a week he would try to roll his r's when I did it first. Thursday was the first day he looked straight at me and started to roll his tongue before I did.

He has been trying SO hard to talk to us. He looks right at us and begins "chatting." Grammy and Grandma have both heard him by phone, and Grandpa (Grammy's husband, my dad) asked tonight that the next time Baby K starts to talk, for me to call HIM so he can hear it. Last night Baby K had quite a conversation with the bathtub and his Bumbo seat.

So many changes!

Baby K and I have been at Grammy's this week. We came up Sunday morning and it was our first car trip alone such a far distance, and he did really well overall. We did stop twice so he could eat, and we had quite a diaper experience at the first stop, which included his diaper leaking and its contents dripping through the holes in my left Birkenstock sandal and settling on my big toe. Luckily, our trip to Nashville on Tuesday was considerably less traumatic in the diaper department. We went to my granny's (my dad's mom) so she could meet Baby K for the first time. My aunt (my mom's sister), uncle, and cousins joined us there, as well as Baby K's other grandparents, who hadn't seen him since the beginning of July. He behaved perfectly while we were there, napped in Great-Granny's arms and let her feed him, and let everyone hold him and love on him. However, on the way back, we learned the hard way that Baby K can only handle about four to four and a half hours in the car in one day. Since it's three hours to Nashville and three back, he reached his limit partway back to Birmingham and cried for the last hour and a half to two hours of the trip. Constantly. With breaks only to breathe occasionally. It was a VERY long drive back!

In the pic above, Baby K is enjoying his Christmas present from Grammy: a new Bumbo seat. No, you didn't miss the holiday. She went ahead and bought the seat and gave it to him. It helps him develop all the muscles he needs to sit up well.

Thursday night we went to our very first meeting of the Birmingham Big Orange Club. which is made up of UT fans and alumni. Baby K wore his UT socks and his "I spit orange" bib, and was the youngest one in attendance. (And also the cutest!) I got a great pic of him and my dad together there, but on my cell phone, and I don't know how to upload it to the computer. If anyone knows, please tell me how!

He's making all sorts of new noises. Today I trilled my tongue at him, like I was pronouncing a Spanish "r," and he kept trying to imitate me. Of course, once I got Daddy on the phone to hear him, he stopped doing it. Today he also started doing something new in his bouncy seat: he pushes with his feet against the frame of the seat, stiffens his legs, torso and arms, and opens his eyes WIDE. He looks like he's trying to jump or fly out of the seat. Of course, once I got the camera out to take a pic of him doing it, he stopped. (Are you noticing a trend here?)

How did YOU manage to have a baby as cute as me???

Of course Baby K didn't actually say that, but I bet he was thinking it!

He has discovered the television and my laptop's screensaver. The tv can be a problem sometimes when he's eating-- he'll get distracted by the flashing colors (this seems to be particularly true for "The Price is Right" and "Wheel of Fortune") and forget to suck on his bottle. We'll say his name, he'll startle, and often start to cry. Then we have to change his angle so he can't see the tv anymore.

This afternoon my mom, his Grammy, called. I had her on speakerphone, and Baby K stared at the phone, then slowly began grinning. I told Grammy, who began talking to him, and he laughed at her several times, loud enough so she could hear him!

I've been surprised at the number of hits this blog has received. So who are you, O Readers of the Baby K Chronicles?

The Big Question

As soon as a baby is born, friends and family start trying to decide who the baby looks like. For example, my mom, Baby K's Grammy, insisted that he had her Grandpa George's ears. Now that Baby K is three months old, it's easier to look at him and pick out aspects of us and his other family members. He has his daddy's widow's peak, chin, upper lip, long fingers, big feet, and no-butt. He has my skin coloring, my nose, the same hair color I had as a baby, and I think he has my ears too. (He also seems to have my patience. Poor kid.) Friends still seem a little divided. Today Baby K and I went to the bank where I used to work, and two girls said, "He looks just like his mama," but two minutes another girl came up and exclaimed, "I see so much of his daddy in him!" Seems like he's the perfect mix of us.

This past weekend we went to my parents' house. Baby K was showered with lots of snuggles, kisses, "he's so cute!" and love. I'd thought he'd be insufferable Monday after being so spoiled; instead, he was just worn out and slept most of the day. :-)

Almost three months!

Baby K will be three months old on Saturday. It's kind of hard to believe: on the one hand it seems like yesterday that he was born, and on the other it seems like MUCH longer.

Yesterday he rolled from his back to right side three to four times in a row! I was definitely more excited about it than he was. It didn't seem to faze him a bit. I, on the other, got on the phone and called his daddy right away to share the news. He did it again this evening, just once, so we're not sure if it was intentional or accidental. However, he is wiggling SO much more now, just in the last day or two. Changing his diaper and clothes was difficult before, but now it's like a wrestling match. Currently I still win, but I know someday that will change.

This weekend we go to my mom's. She's going to watch Baby K while his dad and I go out to celebrate our fifth anniversary. Five years! That too is hard to believe.

The start of another week

On Friday Baby K turned 12 weeks old. Above left is a photo of him from the day we brought him home from the hospital, Mother's Day. Above right is a picture taken of him today in the same outfit. He certainly fills it out better! He's almost double his birth weight now.

Three out of the past four nights, he has slept from bedtime (anywhere between 7 and 9, depending on the night) to 5 or 6 in the morning. On the mornings he woke up at 5, we put him back to bed after feeding him and he slept another few hours. His trend seems to be about 11 straight hours of sleep at night. I know that such a stretch is great, especially for his age and weight, so I feel a little guilty when I say I wish he napped better during the day. He sleeps maybe two to three hours during the day, usually in 45 minute-1 hour chunks. Sometimes I think we should keep him up a little later at night, but he turns into Mr. Snarly if we try to keep him up longer than he wants to be up. I guess he's like his mommy in that respect. However, he gets his morning cheerfulness from his daddy-- when we go in to wake him up in the mornings and we sing his "good morning" song to him, he GRINS!

He's still enjoying bathtime. I think it's his favorite time of the day. One of us always gets in the tub with him, which seems to make it even more fun for him. Daddy played around with the bubbles tonight and I took this pic: http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u73/ascwing/Keenan347.jpg

I love it!

Welcome!

A quick "welcome" to Baby K's blog! It seems a little ridiculous for a baby to have his own blog, but I think it'll make things much easier on his dad and I-- we won't have to clutter up anyone's inbox with the latest cute pictures or funny things he did. It might even cut down on the number of times per day that I call my mother. :-) Yesterday Baby K laughed for the first time. I was kissing his chin, making loud smacking sounds, and apparently that was just hilarious! He laughed a few more times during the day and evening, and Daddy got to hear it as well. Also, Baby K slept from 9 p.m. last night until 5:15 this morning!!! I hope it's the start of a trend...