a day at the park...

We had some perfect weather this Saturday, low 70s and sunny, so it was time to take Everett to the park. We were also excited to bring the little boy outside because he's finally able to sit up by himself for long stretches of time. The link to all the pictures is below, lots of repetitive shots - it's easy to get camera happy with Everett! It was hard to get Everett to look at the camera because he was so excited looking around, but here are a couple good ones from our outing:


We're guessing now that Everett can sit up pretty well that he'll be crawling soon. He's now able to get up on his hands and knees and rock back and forth without getting anywhere. I tried unsuccessfully to capture a picture for evidence, the moment he saw the camera he would flop onto his stomach and assume the "superman" position. Everett is still more likely to push himself backwards with his hands, but we noticed that he'll now propel himself forward with his feet if he puts his face on the ground. Once he gets mobile, this little guy is sure to get himself into some trouble. Here's Superman:


Everett has now been at daycare for 2 weeks. The transition was rough for all of us. After the first couple days, our daycare lady was telling us that Everett was extra difficult - didn't like to be put down, couldn't entertain himself, cried and fussed all day, etc. At first I was thinking, not my child, she just must not know how to handle him. Then when we had Everett full time last weekend, we discovered that the little guy is acting up, going through separation anxiety - though we're not sure if it's a phase or a result of being at daycare. Everett used to be able to play by himself for short bursts of time, but now if you turn away from him or step away for a couple seconds the little guy starts crying and screaming his head off. Thankfully the second week went a little smoother, and the daycare lady is willing to be patient. Hopefully Everett will adjust soon.

11 more days til Everett is 6 months old - can you believe it? We're going to start him on solids next weekend, can't wait! Should make for some good pictures. :) Everett's still on a liquid only diet, mostly breast milk but I've had to supplement with some formula since I can't keep up with his huge appetite. It will be nice when the solid foods become a bigger part of his calorie-intake so I won't have to be such a slave to the pump, it's so much work!

Alright, here are the rest of the pictures for your viewing pleasure. Usually I edit out all the repeats, but there were just too many cute ones and I'm feeling a little lazy tonight. Enjoy!

2011-01-15 Everett

5 month update - Everett's first Christmas!

Merry Christmas everyone! We hope everyone had a good holiday, we certainly did! We spent our Christmas Eve and most of Christmas Day with our friends and family, eating well and watching holiday movies. Christmas morning, our little family started our first traditions - present opening and a fancy homemade breakfast (ie, not cold cereal for a change). Thanks to our very generous loved ones, Everett had many gifts to open. While he was too young to understand what was going on, we were able to get him to rip away at the wrapping paper - though he spent more time trying to eat the packages than open them. :)


Everett then celebrated his 5-month birthday the day after Christmas. Everett started rolling over from back to stomach about 2 weeks ago, and for a while forgot how to go from stomach to back - but now he can roll freely in every direction. Along with being able to roll onto his stomach, we felt safe letting Everett sleep on his stomach - which coincided with him sleeping much better. With very little training (crying), on a good night, the little boy is now sleeping 11-12 hours a night with usually only one wake up at 3 or 4am to eat, with a final wake up time from 6 or 7am. Naps took a little more patience, but now EJ is usually able to soothe himself to sleep in 5-10 minutes, and then stay asleep for 1 to 1.5 hours, 3 times a day. It's amazing how much more we were able to get done during the day when you don't have to carry him for all his naps. I feel much more relieved that Everett can nap by himself now since he's going to daycare.


It's amazing to watch and see how much he changes every day. Everett has taken a lot more interest in his toys, especially things that rattle and spin. He is able to entertain himself for longer periods of time, and even enjoys tummy time now (finally!). He's constantly grabbing at things and turning things over in his hands, followed by chewing on stuff. It's usually not too much trouble, except for when Everett tries to grab and suck on his toes while we're giving him a bath! EJ's not ready to sit up by himself, but he is preparing to crawl. He can push up onto his hands and knees and will push himself backwards. If he wants to get to a toy, he'll roll or pull himself sideways. Looks like we're going to have to baby-proof the house soon!


We're looking forward to 2011 with our little boy, the new year is sure to bring a lot more exciting changes as Everett gets older!

12/27/10 update

19 week (belated 4 month) update

Hi Everyone!

Sorry for the delay in updating... I've been back to work for a month now and the catching-up never seems to end! While I'm sitting here at my desk, I'm constantly reminded throughout the day of how I am super jealous of Eric who is on leave and gets to spend his mornings like this:


and spending his days with our cute, giggly little boy. (It's cute how often I find them doing striking similar poses, even in their sleep - Everett really is Eric's "mini-me") . Eric's been super-dad to Everett. He's so patient with Everett, and he finds new ways to make him giggle and laugh every day. Eric's staying home with Everett until the week after Christmas, at which point I'll be home for the week and Everett will then start daycare on January 3rd. It's coming up so fast!

Everett had his 4 month check-up last week and he's weighing in at 15.2 lbs and measuring 25 inches tall. EJ got his 4mo booster shots and Eric said he handled them like a champ and only cried a little bit. He's back to the 50th percentile for both height and weight. They say on average that babies double their birth weight by 6 months and triple it by one year. Everett is ahead of schedule, but not gaining weight as fast as he did the first 2 months. Lengthwise, I knew my little baby was getting bigger, but it's getting really obvious now that he's grown 6 inches since birth. His feet almost hang over the side of the rocking chair while I feed him, and his 3 month pants fit more like capri pants now. Everett is just starting to wear his 6 month clothes now, although the tops are a bit baggy and the pants are a little bit long - he just looks a little bit asian ghetto stylin' :)

Everett still hasn't learned to enjoy tummy time, and is lazy about flipping over although he can do so more easily when he puts his mind to it. He's starting to prepare himself for flipping over from back-to-front, he gets about half-way there and would be almost over with a kick of the legs. Now that his upper body is getting a lot stronger, we have him doing more activities sitting up, like in his Bumbo:


The first time we put him in this chair, I just laughed and laughed he looked so funny. He's not comfortable sitting in there for long since it's more of a padded bucket than a seat. After a couple minutes he'll start arching to push himself out.

What he does love is to be in his jumperoo. He'll jump and squeal with happiness, spin around and play with all the toys... it's a good babysitter:


Except he's not quite tall and heavy enough to touch the ground... so we had to modify the set-up a little by putting a box under his feet like this:


Yes... that's a box of kitty litter. I did find another box that was better suited later on :)

The days have gone by fast the last month. We've all taken turns being sick a couple times this past month. First we all had a stomach bug, which thankfully Everett only seemed to get a mild version which resulted in him refusing to eat as often as he should for about 5 days - but he never got dehydrated, thank goodness. And just this past week, we've all had a bit of a cold. Everett's nose went from being runny to being very stuffed up - so much so that we had to aspirate his nose every time he needed to eat, but luckily his appetite wasn't affected. Sleep-wise, Everett went from sleeping 7-8 hrs continuously to going to bed at 9pm-ish, waking up at 3am, and then again at 6am... it's been rough with me being back at work full time and having to wake up twice early morning to feed him. The doctor said we could try and wean him off the 3am feeding when Everett gets closer to 6 months of age.

It's also been a busy month at the house. Eric has been working on the weekends to wrap up our new wood floors, they're almost done! We spent Thanksgiving at my grandmother's care home in Escondido to celebrate with my aunts and uncles on my Dad's side. We also put up our Christmas decorations this weekend, went and bought a tree and strung up some lights and garlands. We're sad that this will be our first Christmas away from our family in Illinois, but also excited to be starting a new tradition with our new little family. Christmas pictures will be the next update! Until then, enjoy these photos:

update 12-06-2010

Happy Halloween!

My Uncle Mark says I looked like a carrot instead of a pumpkin :)

3 month update - rolling over!

Everett turned 3 months today! And he started rolling over! Today was Eric's first day watching him solo (I'm out of town for a whirlwind business trip) and Everett rewarded him with hitting a big milestone today. Eric said he placed him on his back and he kicked and flipped himself over. Thinking it was a mistake, Eric put him back on his back and saw a repeat performance! The little boy never did like tummy time, and now he'll never have to spend any time on his stomach unless he wants to. Video to follow soon...

In the picture link, you'll see that Everett likes doing his ab exercises, getting ready to flip from stomach to back. If you put him sitting in his boppy pillow, he spends the whole time trying to sit up and eventually doing one long stomach crunch just frustrates him and he'll cry to be put flat on his back. If you use the boppy to do tummy time, he'll launch himself over the top with his constantly kicking legs and face plant himself into the ground... so I think we're going to have to call it quits doing activities with the boppy!

Everett still isn't grabbing onto things by himself yet. He'll hold onto toys if you put them in his hands and bring them to his mouth to try and eat them. He'll swing at his toys on his playmat, and he really wants to hold onto them but hasn't quite got the coordination down. So far the only things he's good at grabbing are his hair (leading to bald spots!) and clasping his hands together like a little opera singer.

Our little boy is also a giggle machine. He loves sitting on his dad's stomach, and thinks it's hilarious when you clap his hands together. Also, saying "Yay, Everett!" is a pretty sure fire way to get a laugh or smile out of him if he's well rested - which is great for getting some good pictures.

Everett's happy, so we're happy.

And here are the pictures to prove it :)

10/26/10 update

11 week update

Hi Everyone!

Everett had his 2 month appointment on October 6th. His measurements confirmed that the little babe is growing up a LOT. At birth, he was in the 25th percentile for height and weight and now at his 2 month appointment he's jumped over the 75th percentile. He's 23.5 inches long and 12 lbs 13 oz. Since his last doctor appointment at 1 month, Everett gained 3 lbs again - so the little boy is definitely eating really well. Everett's thighs look enormous (like white turkey drumsticks!) and he's got multiple chins :-). He's fitting well into his 3 month clothes with a little bit more room to grow into, but his legs are so fat that I'm having trouble finding socks that will stay on his feet but not cut off circulation.

At his doctor's appointment, the doctor checked his head shape and Everett's not in any danger of getting a flat head - which I knew since he tosses and turns throughout the night and is constantly moving his head. Everett's also got a strong neck, the doctor pulled him up from lying down to a sitting position and he held his head steady and didn't let it flop back - which she said was a milestone that usually isn't achieved until around 4 months. Also, although his appointment was at naptime, Everett was very attentive and cooing at his pediatrician the entire time - proving that he's hitting all his important milestones on time.

Everett then got his vaccinations, 1 orally and 3 shots. The nurse was great and moved very quickly so by the time Everett screamed from the first injection (and man, did he turn super red!) the nurse got the other shots done before he even took a breath to scream again. He whimpered a little bit while I got him dressed, but by the time we walked out to the elevators he was fast asleep. Everett took a couple longer naps during the afternoon but had no other ill effects from the vaccinations (ie, no fever, fussiness, etc) except leg soreness at the injection sites that bothered him during diaper changes. What a champ, he's a tough little boy!

Here's a G-rated photo from his appointment, unhappy that he's naked and not being carried:



For other updates, Everett's started to get very particular about getting put down. He likes to be on his back to play on his playmat, where he could spend hours. He has, however, decided that he doesn't like to do tummy time on his playmat - he'll fuss after 5 minutes and want to be turned over to play on his back. He'll only agree to do tummy time for longer if he's laying on mommy or daddy's stomach - which is fine by us since he's so darn cute when he plays with us :-).

Everett also does not like to be put down for naps - it's very rare that we can get him to sleep unless he's being carried. All the books says it's impossible to spoil a baby under 4 months, but that's what all the signs are pointing to! Everett will nap in his baby carrier and in our arms most of the time. I mentioned this to his pediatrician, and she said it might just be easier to let him nap and get his much needed sleep while carried instead of wasting time fighting with him and letting him cry trying to put him down in his crib. He's napping in my arms right now as I type this! I'm just thankful Everett doesn't need to be carried to sleep at night.

At nighttime, Everett is now sleeping in 6.5 - 7 hour stretches. Every once in a while he will get up at 4am and fuss a little bit, but will usually go back to sleep quickly. Now, just because Everett is sleeping 6.5 - 7 hours straight, that doesn't mean that I am. Everett is a really NOISY sleeper. From 3am to 6am, Everett will grunt and sigh very loudly and toss and turn, even though he's pretty soundly asleep. I'll wake up when I hear him on the monitor and watch to make sure I don't need to go and soothe him back to sleep, and this happens every 30 minutes or so - ensuring that I'm still pretty tired when his day starts at 6am.

Overall, Everett is very happy baby. He loves to coo and chat with people, which makes him a big hit with the relatives at parties. He smiles and laughs a lot. He's especially happy now that he's learned how to get his fists to his mouth to suck on, and he's starting to reach out and either bat or grab onto his favorite toys on his playmat - which gets him really excited.

I go back to work in 3 weeks - too soon! I'm jealous that Eric will get to be home with the Everett for 7 weeks, especially since he's so much more interactive now. Sigh.

Here are some more pictures of Everett to tide everyone over until the next post. Take care until then!

10/11/10 update

8 Week Update!

Just as I was starting to worry that Everett wasn't meeting his milestones, I went to go get him from the crib yesterday morning and the little guy waited until exactly on his 8 week birthday to start smiling at us. He normally doesn't like waking up to find himself swaddled tightly, but this morning was different - he was cooing, laughing and smiling like crazy. Up until now, his smiles have been random (and probably gas related) but for sure this was the real deal. See exhibit A below:


Everett's neck is definitely getting strong so his head isn't flopping all over the place anymore, and he's been holding his head up for longer periods of time when you put him on his tummy. He'll reach out occasionally to grab at the toys on his mat when you put him on his back, but still would rather stare and talk to them.

Some more pictures and a couple short videos (I don't have any really good videos yet of him "talking" with us, so I'll just have to keep trying and remember to keep the recorder handy!)

update 09/18/10

Everett's 2-month appointment is a little late, Oct 6th - that'll be our next update. Not looking forward to his first big round of vaccinations...

Love,
Kristine