Dillon - walking! Well, not really

Dillon has taken three or four steps here and there. His preferred mode of travel though:

First Day of School and Dillon

Dillon is nine months old now and I realized that I have not done monthly pictures for about three months. I still don't have a month shot but we did get some photos of him playing with Daddy and I got a video of him just being himself. He likes to climb, stick out his tongue and babble. He wants to go everywhere he is not allowed to go. He is playful and easygoing and never cries. We moved him into a crib in Ayden's room and he's doing very well. Ayden is too. I was worried that if Dillon cried at night Ayden would be a pill about going back to bed, but he's totally fine with it. Sometimes he'll ask what's wrong but all I have to do is answer him and he just goes right back to sleep. Wow!

Beware to anyone who lays on our living room floor. We have an attack infant.


Dillon found a niche. He's so funny.
Ayden likes to take the cushion off our chair. It's lower anyway but once that cushion is gone, it's the perfect size to climb up and hang out!

Seth's Harry Potter wand finally came. I bought it for his birthday and had to call and have it resent. He was so excited, it was worth it.

Caleb and Seth decided to have a duel now that they have two wands.

The first day of school dawned... well, it didn't dawn. It was dark! Very dark! The boys were ready at 6am, an hour early. I woke Brooklyn up a bit early so I could get a photo before I had to leave. Here are my three (big) babies on their first day. Brooklyn is in 6th grade now, Caleb in 4th and Seth is in 3rd. They are growing up so fast.
The night before school I made a special, back-to-school dinner of pot roast, potatoes, and carrots. Then we all had strawberry shortcake with real whipped cream. They each got to build their own master piece. It was our one last celebration of summer. Good bye summer, welcome fall!
I guess I need to do an Ayden update next. He's been sadly absent from my posts. I'll get right on that. He has been just hilarious lately but I'd never get it on camera. I'll manage something.

Another thing you don't miss until it's gone

Sleep. I'm not getting any. It is affecting my thought process at this point. I have a hard time putting words together to form a sentence and I lose my train of thought in the middle of talking. My vision is getting blurry by noon and I'm grumpy. Part of this loss, or lack, is my fault. I do not go to bed at a decent hour. My excuse is that my night doesn't begin until Dillon is in bed. I don't want to immediately go to bed myself. I want to do things that I don't get to do all day because I'm chasing two little boys. Not only that, I want to spend time with my husband. For instance, last night we sat and watched a movie until 11pm. It is so nice to sit down with Bobby at the end of a long day and hang out with some popcorn and cokes. So, I will admit that part of the problem is me.

The other side of this sleep depravity is Dillon. When Ayden was a baby I would read or listen to other's complaints about their babies not sleeping well with a sympathetic ear. However, my days of a poorly sleeping baby were over. My worst sleeper was then eight years old, and bed time was no longer an issue. As I heard their stories of babies a year old waking up in the middle of the night, I was reminded how grateful I was for a little boy who liked to get 12-13 hours of sleep and took wonderful, consistent, long naps. Not only is he a great sleeper but he loves his bed and goes down happily and never tries (knock on wood) to get out of his bed. Then Dillon came. Dillon is an easier baby in most ways, no doubt. I will talk more about how he is doing in a couple of days since he'll be officially 8 months tomorrow. BUT... it's a big but, the kid does not sleep well. He'll nap. Usually for two hours. Sometimes not so much. Lately though, he will not sleep through the night. For example: he went to bed at 8pm, woke up scared at 10pm. He didn't need a bottle, he just needed comfort. Then he woke up at 3am. He insisted on a bottle. Then he woke up at 7:30am. He wasn't always this way. He was sleeping from 9-6:30, which was totally doable. I don't know what happened to change this. Is it because he's teething? or because he's still in our room? Or could it be a growth spurt and he's just super hungry? I have no idea. I do know this, I need to go to bed earlier because this is killing me over here!

Any suggestions from all the baby experts out there?

No, No, No, No!

It just can't be.

Swinging babies and guitar rock out!

I was shocked when Bobby got home from work yesterday and suggested taking the boys to the park. Anyone who knows him well is probably surprised also, but there were several reasons it took me off guard: 1. I had just told him his PS3 was on the fritz. (It is also our blueray and dvd player, so that was no fun). 2. By the time he suggested it, it was 7pm, Ayden's bedtime. 3. Bobby hates to leave the house, ever.

But, to the park we went! There is a very nice one just half a mile down the road. All the equipment is brand new and it has this awesome, super-squishy, fake bark. I'll shut up now and show some photos.

Okay, I lied, but it's just a caption. Dillon likes to sit in the swing like he's in a bowl - so cute.

Ayden spent all of 10 seconds on the swing. He was just so excited to be there he couldn't settle on one thing. I did not get any good slide pictures. I think I messed up some settings on my camera so those were blurry.

I took Ayden and Dillon to Target this morning. The trick with Ayden is to swing by the toy section and put something in the cart with him to occupy his mind. Then, I ask the cashier to put it back when I check out. Today, I decided to let him keep it... do you want to see why?






He is just too stinkin' cute with that thing!

I let him take it to bed with him for his nap. I know, horrible mom that I am. I can hear him rockin' out now!

Fit

That word is used in our house a lot lately. I wish we were using it in the context of, "I'm so fit because I'm working out" but, alas, that is not how it is used. It does not usually pertain to Dillon either but last night he threw a whopper of a fit. It was so sad and so funny at the same time, so what does every proud parent do? Record it. Dillon is blocked off, keeping him in the living room. One thing blocking him is a little doorway. He figured out he could just open the door and crawl through so we had to get clever. We blocked it with a bumbo. He just figured that out...

Here he is, in happier times, enjoying the house.


Ayden has been throwing at least four fits a day since the day he turned two, I'm not kidding. Now that three of his siblings are gone and he's the big man of the house, I thought it would improve things. It didn't.

Here are the stages of his angst. It starts well.

Ayden feeding his baby (he has to grab the baby's head to feed him).

He got down because the baby was finished. Now he's getting grumpy here....
And here's the fit, a literal meltdown if you will...
I can't tell why he is crying but that's life with Ayden lately.

Wordless Wednesday: Attitude already? Or was it just a tart popsicle?

What keeps me sane?

It's already been said that Ayden is not the easiest child. He is highly emotional and has an extremely strong will. I often just want to throw my hands in the air and give up. He has his moments though and they make up for the craziness.

Ayden letting Brooklyn sleep on him after her long nights and pool parties with friends. (Yes, we shaved his head again. I made a bet with Bobby and lost.)

Ayden decided to do the dishes. I turned the water on so it trickled and he had a blast. It kept him quiet and out of my hair for a while.



Dillon also helps keep it light around here. It's hard to get too upset with his big grin around.

Nanners

Nanners on fingers,
Nanners on toes,
Nanners on mom.
I like them and all
But I must admit
My fingers taste best.




And on a last note....
Never a truer statement...

Six months/Brooklyn's a robot!

Dillon is six months today! He is still such a happy baby. You can see in his picture though that he isn't feeling great. He has a bad cough that is very persistent. It does not stop him from giving us big smiles all the time. He sleeps all night and loves to eat. So far he only likes bananas (of course), pears and apples. I mix in some rice cereal so it isn't too runny. He munches down a size one serving in no time flat. I think I need to give him two servings per feeding! He is such a joy and will calmly sit and watch us and try to suck his toes.
Look how much he's grown!
one month:
















Six months:













Hmmm.... I think those pajamas look familiar....
Yep! Ayden was wearing those at the beginning of this summer! Now, granted, they are size 12 months and are not snug on Dillon but still! Ayden is two years older and just outgrew that top and now Dillon is wearing it. They grow so fast.


Speaking of growing up so fast, Brooklyn had a program at her school tonight. The fourth and fifth graders dressed up as famous people in history and turned the school into a museum. They were told to act like robots and when viewers came by they would 'press their button' and the robot would tell them all about that individual. Brooklyn was William Lloyd Garrison. What's that you say? You don't know who he is? Well then, have a listen...



Bobby said she looked like a puppet but that was the point. I think she did great. Garrison would've worn knicker type pants and tights so, luckily, she had her brother's too short pants and his shirt. She looked pretty good considering she put it together at the last minute. I didn't think she'd be able to go since Bobby works most nights. She did this entirely on her own. She wrote her part, memorized it and planned the outfit without ever asking for help! She's a doer, for sure!

Crawling Take 1

Dillon likes to get on his hands and knees and rock. Surprisingly enough he will get across the room this way, it's just very slow.

Five months

I can't believe Dillon is five months old already! He is outgrowing his 6-9 month footie pajamas. He's long but not too chubby, as seen below. He truly is a delightful baby and so easy going. I will admit, he does drool like a maniac! (if you click on the five month photo you'll see it - eww). He loves the jumperoo and the bumbo. He's content in his swing. The only trick with Dillon is that he likes to be moved every 15 minutes or so. In the evening, during dinner, he sits like a king in his court, in his bumbo on the table while we eat and talk around him. He always has a smile for us and a giggle for daddy. Dillon sleeps about nine hours a night, usually, but woke up at 3:30 am talking away last night. It took me an hour and a very warm bottle to get him back to sleep. We can't be upset with him though because he's so happy and just grins and giggles even in the wee hours of the morning. Dillon is a finger sucker. He prefers the middle two fingers but will take whichever finger makes it to his mouth. I'm ok with that. It means he can comfort himself at night and he often does. I'll wake up to him grumbling but before I know it, he's right back to sleep, sucking on his fingers.

Dillon and the hat at 5 months:
Dillon fell asleep on my lap, check out the chub and the fingers:
I took a few pictures of the boys playing outside. Caleb and Seth love to go out on their scooters. Ayden always wants to come too. The boys are good sports and don't usually complain (too much) about watching him outside. I like to park the van at the end of the drive way so they can have the entire stretch to roam free on. Here they are riding, doing tricks and posing for the camera.

Four months and a bit more..

March 19th came and went and, although I did not post it, I did take a four month picture. Here is Dillon four months strong.


Dillon is the happiest baby. He is teething right now, you'll see evidence of that in the pictures with drool dripping from his chin, but he grins through the discomfort! He can roll from tummy to back and from back to tummy. He thinks it's the funniest thing. He gets a big grin on his face when we lay him on the floor on his back and promptly turns over. Then, he just as promptly spits up from being on his tummy. He is so funny though. He yells and talks and laughs. He responds to most everything with a smile. I doubt there will be many pictures of him without a bib. He is the drooliest baby I have ever had. I am excited about taking all the kids in for a group picture sometime in the near future, so be on the lookout for that. Dillon sleeps from 8-10 hours a night. He gulps down his bottles and wants more. The only difficult thing about him is that he likes his bottles very warm, and even that is not too difficult. Really, Dillon is a joy and we are thrilled that he is part of our family.

Ayden thought Dillon needed a hat while swinging.

Dillon likes the jumparoo - yay! Ayden hated it and I thought we'd wasted $80.

So many milestones

I suppose with five children a busy household is a given. Lately it seems like we are just hitting one milestone after another. Today my baby is 3 months old! Time has flown with him. He is so strong and talking all the time. He will sleep all night about three nights out of the week. I went to take a picture of him for his monthly photo shoot and could not find the hat. I found one similar and took it anyway. I also decided to leave him in just a diaper so that he could show off his fat rolls. Hey, why not? It's the only time in his life that it will be socially acceptable, not to mention I didn't want him to spit up on clean pajamas. So, if you need a reminder of what he looked like one month ago, click here. Here is Dillon at 3 months!
Another milestone tonight was Dillon's first taste of cereal. I know it is early for cereal but he was spitting up so much tonight and has been so hungry lately that I thought the rice might help settle his tummy. He loved it! He was a bit impatient, as he is used to the flow from the bottle, but he gobbled it down! Here are my two favorite shots.

I love the cross eyes look! Hilarious.

Seth brought his report card home. It really was not the best. He is having a hard time concentrating in school and it is really showing in his grades. We are working on that. While we do work on that, we are celebrating each success. He received the "Good Citizenship" award. Seth is such a friendly, helpful little boy. I am so proud of him.

I also thought he would like to share his current passion. Seth wants to make movies. Not when he grows up, he wants to make movies now. His first ideas have been greatly inspired by his favorites. The most recent is Harry Potter 8 - Return of Voldemort. The idea, for you Harry fans, is that Harry sees a dementor and when he tries to vanquish him, nothing happens. It did not work because it was not a dementor, it was Voldemort. Here is the cover of his book/movie. The medium changes all the time between those two.
Caleb really wants to write also, but using a different outlet. He has an email and he wants a blog, like his sister. He checks his email faithfully (he wants more everyone!) and is working on earning the blog. Caleb writes reluctantly at school so we have a deal. If he brings up his writing grade for the next marking period he can have a blog. All three older kids love getting on the computer. This truly is a different generation, more so than I could ever have imagined.
Brooklyn also earned the "Good Citizenship" award and was on the "Honor Roll". We are so proud of her. I wanted a picture but she couldn't find her certificates and she said we could wait to update her info because she and I are spending some time together on Saturday. We will take some pictures and give more information then.

Ayden mimics everything we do and say (oh dear - huh). He is using complete sentences like - my turn, I want on (the light) and I don't want this. Very opinionated, our little man. He also is imitating what he sees while he practices on the potty.