A First!!!

I know. I should be ashamed of myself for not updating sooner. We have had our first Halloween and Thanksgiving, and I haven't posted a word. I will have to update the blog on those events later. Mark's motherboard fritzed out, and he has all the Halloween and Thanksgiving pics on his hard drives. I will post them later this week. Today I am excited to post about our first haircut!!!! Ian was starting to look like a shaggy dog or one of the Beatles. This weekend at Suzy's Christmas party, our friend Jaime was telling us about Snip-Its. Its a chain specifically for kids. He looks like a little boy now! Enough of this talk. Here are the pics.

Before (some this past weekend before going to the party and some from Sunday night)










After

7 Months

Wow! Once they start growing they never stop. Ian is now crawling, pulling up, and standing for short periods of time. He isn't cruising yet. He doesn't have the balance for it. He can also hold his own bottle. The last month has been a whirlwind with all of his accomplishments. Tooth number seven is also trying to make an appearance. Did I say he was only seven months old? At his last appointment he was 27 inches long and weighed 21 pounds. We finally broke down and purchased a proper car seat for him. This new one allows him to see out of the window. He was getting a wee bit too long for the infant carrier. Here are some new pics and video. Enjoy!

6 Months!!!

We have finally made it to the half year mark. Ian has now achieved quadrupedal locomotion, he can sit up, and has 6 teeth. Our house is nowhere near baby proof. We need baby gates for the playroom and stairs. I need to put plug covers on the outlets. We need to hide the bazillion wires hanging beneath the computer desks in the office.

Regardless of what we need to do, he is so much fun and has so much personality. He has now taken notice of the cat. Anytime the cat enters the room, everything else around him stops. It makes me a little nervous and the "mama bear" comes out in me, but I haven't had any reason to shoot Willow into space yet. She has been quite patient with all of his noises, movements, and crying.

Below are our newest videos and pictures of the little man (not so little anymore). Mark uploads all of Ian's videos at www.youtube.com. Just search for "Wuahn." Enjoy!





1 month

2 months

4 months

5 months

6 months





With Leslie at Harris's birthday party showing off the Pittsburgh Steelers bib Suzy gave me

Having my afternoon bottle at the party

Swinging with Jaime

My bottom teeth

Playing with Mommy

Waving at the camera

A little pose for Daddy

Exhausted after Catherine's birthday party

Almost 6 Months!

Yes, I have been horrible at updating lately. School started 4 weeks ago, and I have been going non-stop ever since. Mark and Ian became sick the first week of school. It took both of them another week and tons of medicine to feel better. Ian is now sick again (I do not think his first ear infection completely cleared up) and on stronger antibiotics. Up until a week ago, I had done nothing but cry over nothing and everything. Transitioning back to teacher and continuing wife and mother was killing me. Mark and I had a nice long talk about my displeasure with "gender roles," my independence, and my need for balance. Things have been much better since. I am trying to make it a point to get out of the house and do something alone at least once a week. No, that does not include grocery shopping or household chores.

As for the little guy, he changes everyday! I look at his pictures from a few months ago, and he looks like a different child. At the last doctor's visit for his earache he weighed in at a little more than 19 pounds. The coolest thing now is that he has started eating solids. So far he likes all the veggies that Gerber offers. We are now working on fruits. For the next few days he will be eating bananas. Next will be apples. I seriously need to purchase a highchair for the little man. He is getting too big for the bumbo seat. Which really sucks because that bumbo seat conveniently sits on top of the table.

Grandma and Grandpa Walley came up for a visit a few weeks ago. This was Grandpa Walley's weekend to meet Ian.





The following weekend we took these pics of Ian and Mark's mom, Gran.



Here are some pictures Mark took at 5 months (August 20).

Four Months and Two Weeks

We now have two teeth! Little man is gnawing on anything he can put in his mouth. Our last checkup was July 31st. He weighs 17 pounds 3 ounces and is 25 1/4 inches long. Once again he had to get shots. Only four this time. He started daycare July 30. He is adjusting quite nicely. I am just adjusting. We have started practicing eating solids. He is not quite sure what to do with the food once it is in his mouth. Here are his latest array of photos.