So Dramatic!

I took this video to show what Denver does EVERY time I put him down on his tummy.  I told the Dr. about it the last time we were in and he assured me that there was nothing to worry about.  Some kids are not as quick to crawl as others and some show no interest in it at all.  We think Denver is somewhere in the middle.  Most of the time, he shows no interest but some days he acts like if he would quit fussing for a bit - it wouldn't take him long to "get" it. 


I can't help but laugh at him, because he is so dramatic!  That little boy makes me laugh so much!  It is never boring around our house. 

I have a really bad habit of picking him up when he starts fussing like that, but the Dr. keeps telling me "Mrs. Fountain, it's ok for him to fuss some".  I think he knows that Denver has my number!

I have to start taking pictures with my camera instead of my cell phone.  The quality keeps getting worse and worse.





See, he is so close if he would just quit being so dramatic and try for a few minutes!  I'm not concerned with him learning in a certain time frame or because this child or that child learned to do it at this age - I just want to help him learn how rewarding the "trying" can be if he would quit giving up!

The Little Boy Who Is In To Everything!

Just look at this progression of pictures...

















Now look at all the toys on his tray and on the floor!

After a short nap we sat on a blanket on the floor to play. I put pillows up against the coffee table in case he were to fall - he wouldn't hurt himself on the table.



Well, today he decided to move the pillows and scoot up to the table. He kept trying to get everything that was on the table - he was having a blast! Then he kept trying to pull himself up on it but the top of the table extends past the legs so his little head would touch the underneath of the table and he would sit back down and fuss.







How adorable is that pouty face?

It was cute to watch but all of this pulling up business makes me a very nervous mommy!

Denver's New Game

I finally got a video of Denver pulling himself up in his crib. This is what he does every time I put him in it!

He's getting pretty fast & he's just so excited with himself. It's so cute to watch!

The Scene of the Crime

This morning, Marleigh had an explosive diaper so I sat Denver on the floor of his bedroom with some toys while I took her to the bathroom to get her cleaned up and bathed.  When Marleigh and I were coming out of the bathroom, Denver started fussing. 

We walked into his room and this is what we saw:


I couldn't help but laugh.  I'm not really sure what he was doing to wind up like this.  D seems to think he was "working" on the walker. 

I haven't let him actually use it to stand up with yet.  It makes me so nervous that he is going to fall down and possibly hurt himself.  I think I'm hindering his "travel" - I'm so afraid he's going to get hurt. 

When he was sick and in the hospital earlier this year, all we saw were little boys with broken bones there!  I keep thinking of that every day when he is trying to get into something.  I know that I have to let go so he can learn, but I'mn having such a hard time with it.

Cookie Monster

Mom dropped a cookie on the floor and didn't realize it.

Guess who did?


I stripped his overalls off and took a pic of him before we went to get cleaned up and a new diaper.

This boy makes me laugh so much. It was like he found a secret treasure - he was smiling and giggling! Stinker!

Attacking Cousin Matt

For whatever reason, Denver is always pulling on Matt or trying to lay on him or wrestle with him - he pretty much thinks that Matt is the coolest thing ever!

In the morning after they eat breakfast I let them watch cartoons before we take Matt to school. Occasionally Denver sits with Matthew but not usually for long because he won't leave Matt alone.

Today was no exception!



See how Matt never even takes his eyes off the tv? :)



At this point, Denver started whining because he couldn't get up and Matt was too busy to help him!

Needless to say, Denver had to sit somewhere else after that because he couldn't keep his hands to himself!

He wants to play like a big kid so badly. And look how long he is! He is growing like a weed!

Rockin'

Denver loves to sit in an infant to toddler rocker. Sometimes he'll lay back in it but most of the time he likes to sit up and play and he recently figured out that he can actually make it rock.

I took a couple of pictures of him in it today and then a little video of him playing.


My sweet boy!



Don't you just love those little cheeks?



He is moving ALL the time - the child is never still so it's getting harder and harder to get a decent picture of him.

He cracks me up! I just adore that little boy!

And he's up

Today was a really hard day. It's been 5 years since my father passed away. I was emotional a few times and Denver would just look at me and then put his little head down on my chest - it was so sweet.

What made the day so much better was watching this sweet boy get so excited about pulling himself up in Marleigh's crib. He pulls himself up to kneeling in his bed but in hers - he can get all the way up to standing!




Holding on!




Using his muscles!




Almost there!




He did it! Look at that excited little face!




He is so precious! I can't believe how much he changes everyday!

And of course - I had to take a little video!

That little boy makes me laugh so much!

Sunday Funday

I use Denver's crib as a playpen more than a bed. He's only taken 2 naps in there - I just keep toys in it so I can set him in there and he can play for a bit (while I fix bottles, put laundry on, etc). I really like that I can see him from the kitchen.

Since he is struggling with some separation anxiety, he now gets fussy every time I put him in there. Today, I heard him fussing and fussing and all of a sudden he got quiet. I peeked around the corner to check on him and I saw this little smiling face. He is so cute!



I walked in and this little boy had pulled himself up to kneeling and was very impressed with himself! He just smiled and looked around everywhere, trying to check everything out.



He also spends some time every day playing on the living room floor on a blanket. Sometimes he's more interested in the blanket and pillows than his toys but he seems to have a good time.



I'm not really sure what he was trying to do but he laid there like that for at least 5 minutes. He cracks me up!

I just had to share this with Denver's grandparents. He might be little but I assure you - our house is NEVER quiet.

He's just so active these days and growing so fast and changing so much every day!

Denver's Baby Book

Denver is now 7 months old and I'm embarrassed to say that I just now sat down to start working on his baby book.

Well, that's not entirely true. I tried to work on it right after his birth but I decided that I didn't like it so I wanted to start over. I didn't buy a traditional baby book because I wasn't thrilled with any of the ones that I had seen. I decided that I wanted to make some sort of digital scrapbook so I turned to www.mixbook.com and decided to start from scratch.

They have so many templates and backgrounds that it's a bit overwhelming but I decided to start with a blank canvas and see what I could come up with on my own.

This time around, I have more of an idea of where I want to go with this book and what I want the "end product" to be.

I'm so excited with how much I've been able to get done today (28 pages) and how many ideas I've had about other pages.

These pictures are awful. I was too lazy to do a screen capture and so I just took a pic of my computer, with my phone.

Here are some previews of what I've been working on...



Pumpkin Patch pictures!



Halloween & Carving Denver's first pumpkin



Denver's Christmas Pictures



First trip to see Santa



First trip to see the Bluebonnets

I decided that I'd find or create backgrounds to match the pictures instead of keeping a general theme throughout the whole book. I'm thrilled with the fact that you can use pictures as backgrounds (like I did with the bluebonnet pages).

On every page, I've include the date and what happened that day and how Denver reacted - like a regular baby book would.

My goal is to have it done for his 1st birthday party. Wish me luck!

Stomach Bug

Well, Denver got sick again this morning and woke up with a cough so I called the Drs office and got him appointment for this morning.

He threw up again this morning so I got him all cleaned up and bathed and then he wanted to go back to sleep so I just put him down in our bed.




This is how he sleeps now - on his side. Isn't he sweet? I just hate when my boy doesn't feel well.

D took him to the Dr while I stayed with Marleigh. The Dr said that he just had a stomach bug that has been going around our area and it is sometimes hard to tell teething babies have something because so many of them have some of the same symptoms while they are teething.
He also said that his cough was due to a weakened immune system because of the bug. He said that his lungs are still weak and we'll probably have issues like this for awhile when Denver gets sick.

He gave us something for his stomach and told us to start breathing treatments again until Denver stops wheezing.

He took his medicine at lunch time and he still acted like he didn't feel well but he didn't get sick any more and he played a little.




They "talked" for awhile.




He had to get close to tell her a secret I guess. Every day, they seem to get a little closer. At first, she didn't want anything to do with him but she smiles and "talks" to him more everyday. It is so cute to watch them together!

This weekend is going to be pretty low key so that Denver can take his medicine and rest. Hopefully, we can get him to feeling better soon!

A Day In the Life

One of my favorite things about keeping Marleigh every day is that not only do I get to spend so much time with her, but I get to see Matthew.

I take him to school every morning and today the sun was exceptionally bright - it was hard to see. He told me he was going to keep his eyes closed because it was so bright. I asked him if he wanted to wear my sunglasses and he said "sure" so he put them on and I told him that at the next stop sign, I was taking a picture.

This just makes me laugh! Oh, I love that little boy. He told me "they practically almost fit" so I told him I'd make sure they stayed in the car in case he needed to use them again! Silly kid!
We went to my house today (I had left Denver at home sleeping with his dad - we had a long night last night) and the babies played in Denver's bed awhile.

Then we had new diapers all around, baby Denver got dressed and it was off to eat breakfast!
Marleigh ate her breakfast and was chilling in the bumbo when we sat down to feed Denver his oatmeal. He was fussing the whole time but kept wanting bites so I kept feeding him. With just two bites left, he looked at me and threw up every where and then his face turned a little red and he threw up again.
I took Marleigh (in the bumbo) and sat her on the bathroom floor while I got Denver in the bathtub to clean him up. We got all cleaned up, new clothes, diapers all around and the high chair taken apart and in the washing machine.
They played in his bed for a bit and then everyone started fussing - must be time for morning naps!
I got Marleigh asleep in Denver's bed and moved Denver to his rocker in the living room. He fussed and fussed until a very nervous mama gave him some milk - he drank 7 ounces and kept it all down (thank goodness).
After about another half hour of fussing and rubbing on his gums, he fell asleep. Look at the clock - oh, look at that it's only 9:30am!
After naps and new diapers, we played on the couch for awhile. Denver just loves sitting with Marleigh and she's starting to tolerate him! :)

After playing a bit it's time for lunch. Marleigh drinks milk and then when she gets done I let her sit up awhile while I feed Denver. He eats a veggie and a fruit and then about half an hour later, he wants to drink a little milk.
We play for a bit, read a story, have some tummy time and then it's time for nap #2. I get Marleigh asleep first because it doesn't take as long as getting Denver to sleep. I finally get him to sleep and get ready to fix some lunch for myself. On a typical day, I get my lunch fixed and sit down and one of them starts fussing. Some days I can get them settled back down so I can sit & eat lunch. Other days, it doesn't work like that. More time than not Marleigh starts fussing and then Denver starts getting restless. He's not a very sound sleeper a lot of the times. By the time I get her settled down and back to sleep, he's awake and fussing.

When they get up, time for new diapers, and snack time for Denver. After his snack, I usually cuddle with Marleigh while Denver plays in the bouncer and then the excersaucer. When he starts fussing to her out, I put Marleigh in her swing and I sit in the floor and play with Denver. Sometimes we do baby gymnastics and sometimes we just play with toys.
About that time they both hit their fussy time and they both fuss while I fix their afternoon bottles. I get them both fed, and both changed and put Marleigh in the chair to sit up while I put Denver in the walker to play.
Then, it's time to make sure all of our toys are picked up, blankets are folded and put up, bottles are washed & drying and Denver's bag is packed to go home or Marleigh's - depending on what house we are at.

This week has been VERY challenging - mostly on my patience and sanity. We've had one very fussy, whiny, little boy who can't get any relief from this teething nonsense and a little girl who is starting to throw major fits before each nap and then again in late afternoon - just for good measure.

So we've had a lot of crying and fussing all around. I hope that next week is nicer to all of us!


I'm normally very, very particular about the things that Denver eats but because I am weak - when he went after a cheeto I was eating, I let him have it. He chewed on it awhile and managed to eat about half of it and then because he's the sweetest kid ever - he put the other half in Marleigh's lap! :)
I'm going to believe he was sharing and not getting rid of the nasty, soggy end ;)

He also gave her his keys and then slid down to lay on her - silly kid.
The rest of the afternoon was much like the beginning (without the vomit) and after a meltdown this sweet girl was so exhausted she couldn't wait for Aunt Morgan to take her to bed and fell asleep right where she sat!

This has to be the cutest thing I've seen lately!
I felt bad for the way she was laying so picked her up to move her to the bed which woke her up and made her mad so then we had a meltdown. I'm not sure it was sympathy or frustration but Denver kept looking at her and then had a meltdown of his own!
See why it's so frustrating when people say stay at home moms don't do anything?

Teething Sucks!

Denver's mouth is really bothering him. His gums are so tight and swollen and he has been so cranky the last few days. He isn't sleeping really soundly because he keeps waking through the night because of teething pain. So, he's extra cranky in the morning after breakfast. He needs a nap so bad but he is restless and grouchy so it's been taking a lot longer to get him to sleep and although I'd rather him lay in the bed or in a swing - this week I've let him sleep whereever he will actually sleep. After almost an hour of fussing and fighting it - I rocked him to sleep. He woke up about 5 minutes later fighting me, so I put him down in this boppy pillow in the recliner next to me. He rolled on to his side and slept so soundly for a little over an hour. This little face cracks me up. He hasn't smiled a bunch this week - you can tell he doesn't feel good, but I can't help but kiss all over those cheeks! Oh, how I love that little boy. I introduced him to this little drum this week, and he loves chewing on the drumsticks more than anything. Occasionally, he'll actually hit the drum with them! After nap time, I take the kids into Marleigh's room for new diapers and then it's usually time for Marleigh to eat. Denver is now getting into everything, so to make sure I can keep him out of stuff, I put him in her bed. He has a hard time seeing me, so he figured out he can bend down a little and stick his face up to the bars and see me between them. He thinks it's so funny, he'll just laugh and laugh. I'm hoping Denver can get over some of these teething issues so that he can get back to being his normal happy self.