Ford 13 & 14 month Love update

Time flies when you're loving on a baby.  These past two months have been such a sweet time of development and growth for our little Rutherford.  His hair has continued to be a source of conversation and entertainment as it has grown even longer and at times been untameable in the most adorable of ways.  I've learned I'd rather let it fly than to comb it into a more business like style; after all he can only get away with it for so long.  :)

He is still a hop scooting king and quickly glides with a tucked leg across the floor but started pulling up on furniture to stand at 13 months and slowly cruising around the room by 14.  I don't think it will be long before he's walking and I'm not in a rush for him to get there, it's a total game changer.
We aren't sure if he will be a kicker in football or futbal but he loves to scoot right up to the ball and with his leg in perfect position kick it across the floor.  Balls are still his favorite toy and he can throw a mean line drive and just as easily catch a grounder.  :)

We have found ourselves in a sleepy state lately with lots of night interruptions that we can't quite get past.  Molars are on there way and I hope they make an appearance soon, I can't help but think the discomfort they bring are the main culprit of night wakings.

Eating has lost it's novelty and often he'd rather practice his baseball pitches with whatever lunch or dinner is presented to him.  He will rarely turn down fruit and has become a lover of cheese and yogurt as well.
Music has caught his attention lately and he claps when a song comes on, followed by bouncing, twisting his arms side to side and nodding his head.

He still adores his brother and sister so much and enjoys playing with them especially laughing at them in the car.  He has also become more vocal (yells loudly) about things he doesn't appreciate, like being rubbed on constantly or having a toy taken from him.

He is still exploring sounds and has started occassionaly signing for his food with "more" and "please".   I can't wait to see what this next month brings us as we watch him explore the Christmas lights, ornaments and tree!
You are a silly, heart warming, laid back, loving, cuddle bug and ohhhhhhh how I enjoy our days!

Sweet Fordy, you are so loved!

8 months of Knowing Heaven on Earth

Eight is great!  This next month is going to be filled with finding your personality and hearing you laugh more, I can feel it! 

Our life has been busy wrapping up school and keeping up with big brother's T-ball and sisters dance class, and taking a family vacation to the beach.  For the most part you ride along with the busyness just fine and are happy just to be hanging out with us no matter where we are.

 Hey Guys!  Look at this accomplishment!!

 I'm pretty proud of these ab muscles right here!  

 I mean look at this core strength holding this handsome head up.  

 Oh guys!  Stop it with the compliments already, you're making me blush!!!!

 Wait, have you seen these quads though?  Strong, yet flexible, all the other babies are jealous.  

 How about a nice round of applause for this 8th month of love!!!

 Alright, alright, now that's enough!  I mean, it just gets awkward when you all go on raving for that long!  Shew!

 Anybody else excited for summer???

 All this warm weather means a lot more baby skin sightings in our future!

 My futures so bright, I need shades. 

7 months brought us: 

Weight 15.14lb 

Moving on up!  Size 3 diapers

 9 or 6-12 month clothes

 Loves- holding your feet, clapping, sitting, SMILING, Being held/carried around, nursing, sleeping during car rides, your family, being outside, bath time and splashing in the water, playing with crinkle paper/plastic, singing songs like pat-a-cake, row your boat, twinkle twinkle, wooden teethers and chewing on carrots, being held to sleep, reading books.

Sleep: The sleep saga continues.  :)  More teeth, bad eczema flare ups, and having a tummy that loves to eat we somehow still wake up every 3 hrs....sometimes more, and rarely less.  

You started sleeping with a Zippadeezip and liked having the freedom but we quickly moved to arms out so that you wouldn't rub so much on your eczema with the fabric.  

Feeding: You still love to nurse every 3hrs around the clock.  We have continued to attempt solids but learned you still have your tongue thrust reflex which is why you won't swallow anything.  We are attempting it daily but you begin to get frustrated pretty quickly.  We've also tried some baby led weaning and letting you play with food; so far you are pretty good at making messes.  :) As much excitement as you show when you see food, I hope you get to enjoy a little bite soon!  In the meantime I'm thankful God's providing my body with enough food to supply your current needs.  

Awake: We are starting to see a couple naps daily and I think we are onto a routine of sorts!  You are grabbing for everything which makes holding you more interesting for lots of activities.  You still love the exersaucer, jumparoo, floor play is still usually you lying on your back but you roll to your tummy and back again a lot more as you reach for toys.  Being on your tummy still makes ya mad pretty quickly so you found a new way to play, SITTING UP! :)

Dislikes: eating food, sleep, and honestly not much else.  You're a pretty content little dude.

Size: You are filling out more and more and becoming a heavier little stud every day.  We are all loving your fuller cheeks and think they make you look a lot like your brother as a baby.  

Milestones: Sitting Up!!  You began sitting up on the white sand beach on our vacation!  You enjoy your new view of the world and ability to sit and play with your toys.  You love clapping on demand and it always makes you smile!
Jabbering jawing!  You are really starting to play with sounds Bababa, Dadada, Mamamama and sqealing!
You love to laugh and will burst into a giggle fit over the smallest things!  It's the cutest darn thing and gets us all laughing every time!
TEETHING KING!!!  At the beginning of this month we saw your first little tooth pop through, bottom front right.  It was immediately followed by your top left incisor, (quite a funny pair) and then the second bottom left tooth, followed by the bottom right incisor.  Over our vacation your front right tooth, top right incisor, and bottom left incisor, aaaaaaand peaking through at a slow pace here comes the front left tooth now!

Eczema update- With flare ups not getting any better and your chin becoming raw and oozy we decided to make another trip to the pediatrician.  We were given a much stronger steroid cream along with a cream to stop infections.  We used it for a week and saw improvement but it came right back a week later.  So a trip to the allergist had us soaking you in a bath for 30 minutes a day, trapping moisture in with Vaseline, and rubbing you head to toe in aquifer 4 times a day.  Because she thinks your flares are outdoor allergy related we were also doing Zyrtec and Benadryl daily.  Oh and fingernail cutting daily.
After one day on this regimen you flared even worse, it continued all week on our vacay and was not fun to deal with on top of sand.  I had a feeling you were reacting to the red dye in Benadryl and we stopped it after day 4.  We were finally able to see your skin calm down with the stop of the medicine and a switch to BeautyCounter lotions.  I am still having to slather you in oil and lotion multiple times a day as your skin just soaks it up and peels away.  I have also cut out tree nuts and eggs and am trying to see if there's any connection to something you're being exposed to in breast milk.  I'm praying we find a way to make you comfortable.  It makes me sad to see you scratch yourself to pieces in discomfort.
Your sweet little personality is shining through at us more and more and we love you more and more each day!  You're a delight my dear.

 Look at those pearly whites popping through!!!

7 Months of Knowing Heaven on Earth - RPC

Well I turned around once and another month has passed.  As we trot down the road of 7 months I couldn't be more thankful for the love and delight you add to our lives.  

 This month we've watched you grow stronger as you constantly work those legs, more energized and more playful.  The big kids love you so much your practically smothered in a mountain of hugs and your smile shows us the feeling is mutual.
You had your first big adventure with a trip to the beach!  Your first set of wings as you jetted off to the west coast and watched the waves of San Diego lap across the shore.  You were a delight and a half even with the large time zone difference and it was so sweet to have some one on one time with you.

7 months brought us: 

Weight 15.11 

Size 2 diapers

 9 or 6-12 month clothes

 Loves- SMILING, Being held/carried around, nursing, sleeping during car rides, your family, being outside, bath time and splashing in the water, playing with crinkle paper/plastic, singing songs like pat-a-cake, row your boat, twinkle twinkle, wooden teethers and chewing on carrots, being held to sleep, reading books.

Sleep: Maybe one of our most challenging months to date.  Teething made several of our nights feel like a 20 min nap.  

Feeding: Feeding is something you still love to do often.  You have started becoming easily distracted and its made nursing you to a full belly a bit more challenging.  We have still been trying to eat some solids but are pretty slow moving since you prefer to spit things out and shut down pretty quick.

Awake: You prefer to stay in the middle of the action (aka on my hip or being worn) but also enjoy playing in your jumperaroo and exersaucer.  Though you roll over and will push up onto your strong arms on your belly you really don't love to be on the ground or sitting for long.  I have a feeling my little man who loves to stand more than anything is working on getting strong enough to walk.  Just so you know, mommy is ok with you doing all the things a bit later so I can keep you my baby.  :)

Dislikes: eating food, sleep, and honestly not much else.  You're a pretty content little dude.

Size: You are filling out more and more and becoming a heavier little stud every day.  We are all loving your fuller cheeks and think they make you look a lot like your brother as a baby.  

Milestones: Lots more rolling thought you favor going right, clapping your hand against us or big messy claps with yourself.

Your eczema is still raring it's self quite often and though I try to keep it at bay with hydrocortisone and Aquaphor multiple times a day your little body breaks out into rashes quite often.  This month you've had two episodes where red fiery looking skin turns into a blister of sorts on your face.  We are hoping to find some relief for you soon and beginning to wonder if some discomfort might be your reason for not sleeping much.

You remind me of Buddy the Elf "smiling, smiling's my favorite!"  I hope you never out grow that grin cause baby boy it's contagious!  

6 months of knowing Heaven on Earth - RPC

Well this milestone makes me swallow a little harder, squeeze you a little tighter, and stare at you a tad bit longer than usual.  Half a year has passed since you made our world a better place and I just can't believe what the calendar is saying.  I've soaked up every second of you I possibly could, cuddled instead of cleaned, fed and rocked you instead of letting you scream, and enjoyed the slowness of a morning with you and your siblings instead of rushing to get the checklist done.  I have no regrets over this time with you that has been so well spent and I'm thankful for every moment we've been given to love you.

You are happy down to the deepest depths of your soul.  It shows in your smile that so easily spreads across your sweet face, the authentic giggles you generate, and your ability to be pleased as punch even when you're dog tired.

Loves: Chewing on fingers, swaddle, Sophie the Giraffe, wooden KY, exersaucer, jumper, standing and prefers that over any position, car seat naps, ergo carrier, bath time, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, (big sister started it and now it's your calm song).

Dislikes: night time diaper changes, sleeping, dry skin rashes :(

Eating:  Boy do you ever!  STILL wanting to eat every 3hrs and honestly sometimes it's 2.5 though I have managed a few 4hr stretches from you lately.  We started introducing solids this week with avocado, and though you are still figuring it all out you are pleased enough with it that you keep opening your  mouth for more.  :)  Nursing habits lately include holding my hand tightly and squeezing off and on while you eat, eating quickly.

Size:  6mo - 6-9mo clothing depending on the brand, size 2 diapers,

Sleep:  You are another energizer baby that just won't stop and require little sleep.  Your cat naps persist and yet you still wake every 2-4 hrs depending on the night.  I've wondered if you were getting a tooth but then again I've blamed little sleep and slobber on that for two months.  :)

Milestones:  Lots of sounds and jabbering have escaped your lips lately, especially "BBBBbbb".  You love to exercise your voice loudly and enjoy having your sounds mimicked as if we are holding conversation in a foreign language, starting solids with avocado as food #1.  You aren't quite sure what to think about the process and sometimes spit out more than you swallow but it's all just fun and games at this point anyway.  Grabbing and holding toys on your own is a fun new way for your to play.  Those little grabby hands make it difficult for me to hold you and take a drink or bite these days too.  You have started pushing up and straightening your arms out completely when having tummy time, so I'm holding you as much as possible to keep you from learning to become mobile.  (kidding....kinda) :)

Noteworthy:  My happy boy you melt my heart in a multitude of ways but nothing compares to you falling asleep laughing.  After nursing and stories I stood to rock you one evening until those eyelids fluttered and I could lay you down.  As I stood there staring at you I watched a huge grin stretch across your perfect cheeks, it lingered as we locked eyes.  Then you began to giggle, and I kissed your cheek overflowing with love for you, I told you how much I adored you as we continued our cheeky grins.  That sweet little exchange repeated itself for several minutes and then again on several occasions after that.  To say I'm oozing with love for you is quite an understatement.

Disclaimer: This is by far the worst cake I have ever made.  My most sincere apologies sweet Ford, but this is what happens when your mama is inpatient with letting a cake cool.

What a joy it is for those sweet hands to reach for me with excitement and joy.  You are a continued blessing to our lives sweet boy and the perfect compliment to your siblings personalities.  Ford you adored.