Nine Months Old

 Where did the time go?!?!  Oh that's right, it went out the window with doctor appointments for me and getting some of my nesting out early.  Well thankfully our little guy stayed busy in his own way.

 He has cut his fifth tooth!  One that I didn't even expect to come yet.  I've been checking his mouth everyday and was quite surprised to find that one.  He has really taken some leaps and bounds when it comes to the moving department.  He does okay for standing but he does great at (get this) WALKING!!!  The most steps he takes in a row is five right now.  He does this normally when daddy gets home from work because he is so excited to see him that he just has to rush to greet him.  At times I really try to encourage him to walk to me but then he will just crawl.  Oh well, one day I know he'll run to me too.

Seth is doing great with finger foods and is loving having a little more control and being more independent.  I knew this time would come but just not this soon.  He is also finally becoming more interested in other kids, especially when they have a cool toy that he wants to try.  There is one little girl in our neighborhood/church that he loves to hang out with.  Everyone we meet all stop and say how cute he is too.  Yes we have a cute little looker on our hands and I am sure that he knows it.  The last thing for him that has been changing a bit is his smile.  I don't mean with getting more teeth but the way he does his smile.  It is kind of interesting because it looks just like one of my baby pictures.

As always, or at least becoming tradition I think, I have to share one more photo.  This kid is really making it a challenge for me to get good pictures of him with all of his have to go, go, go, phase right now.  At the moment he had to play with his special growing buddy.

A Baby's View

This kid just cracks me up!  He has such a cute laugh and he does some really funny things but today he did something extra special.  Seth has a few favorite televisions shows.  Yes, I'm an evil mother that lets my kid watch TV.  He loves to watch one show in the morning and one in the afternoon and it gives me a few minutes to relax which I am needing more and more with this second pregnancy.  Well this afternoon while watching Curious George he had to be surrounded by his toys but also in a position to watch the show. 

 

 This is what he decided was the best way to achieve that goal.  As you can see our television is up high because I've had to many little kids in our house/apartments over the years to ever let it be close to the ground again.  I also figure it is good up high because then you can't have the problem of kids ruining their eyes with sitting to close to the TV.  If they tried that with how we have our TV now then they really wouldn't see much of anything from this angle.

Funny enough while watching the show Seth was still able to play with his toys while laying down.  Hopefully next time he will just fall asleep instead of playing with his toys, silly kid.

Finger Foods

Well since little Seth has been spiting out his food when we try to feed him like I recently told you we have decided that he is old enough to try some finger foods.  Plus I read in a baby cook book that I have that he is okay to have those now.  The book has a lot of great recipes and from those I was able to form a list of finger foods that we could try with him.

 

 Michael has been talking about these baby teething cookie things and so we got Seth a small box of them.  He loves them as you can see.  I only let him have one because I want to see how he will do with them and I also want them to last as long as possible too.

We also include some foods that he has already had before but now it is cooked until super soft so he can feed himself.  He does actually amazingly well.  It is so nice that he can feed himself because then it gives me plenty of time to get other parts of his meal ready.  I also love seeing him work his fine motor skills and the proud smile he gets on his face when he gets the food to his mouth.  Hopefully the doctor wont be to upset that we moved him on to finger foods but he was sure more then ready for it to happen.

Messing With Food

One night Michael was really sweet and decided to feed Seth his dinner for me so I could take a bit of a brake from the day.  Well it wasn't too long before I was being called to the kitchen to come and look at our son.  This is what I found.

 

 Somehow Seth had gotten food on his face, hair, and highchair plus a little on daddy too.  He has recently discovered that it is really fun to blow and to make raspberry sounds with his mouth.  Well I guess it has been so much fun for him that he decided to do this during dinner time while Michael was feeding him.

 The strange part was how was Seth ending up with so much of it on his face and hardly anything on Michael because Seth was blowing it all forward.  Well the answer was Seth would start spitting before Michael had a chance to take the spoon out all of the way and the spoon was in a curved shape so it would then hit him in the face.  Of course, Seth thought this was super funny and would start laughing and wanting to do it again.  Strange kid.

By the end of the meal he looked like this.  Pretty much all of the food all over him and hardly anything in his stomach.  He got a big bath right after this meal time and wasn't too happy about that since we had to scrub his face pretty good.  Sadly, Seth now wants to play this game every meal and I'm just not up for all of that fun.  I'm hoping it won't take him long to grow out of this new phase of his because I know I don't have enough maternity cloths to change every time I feed him.

Welcome Fall

My favorite session is totally fall.  I love it!  The leaves change to such beautiful colors, the temperature is just right for going on long walks, and you get to enjoy lots of nice warm good food too.  I am so excited that I now get to share these fun things with Seth.  Of course we ran out and got him a fun item to play with to help him discover the wonders of the session.

 

 Yep, a pumpkin!  One of the best fall representations out there.  I thought this was a great idea because it is so brightly colored and will help him play with his other senses too.

 As you can see he was very happy for his new toy and had to show me that joy with his big cute smile.

 I thought it was really funny how he started to steam roll the pumpkin around the back yard.  I know he was just trying to use it to stand up but it wasn't working how he planned.

 Again this gave him another thing to figure out with the pumpkin.  Right now his favorite toys are ones that roll away and he has to chase so I'm sure he was wondering why this one wasn't rolling away as far as his other toys.

After awhile Seth became more interested in climb on his best friend Faith.  Faith was very interested in the pumpkin and wanted me to through it the way you would a ball.  That's when our outside time became done.  Our next plan for his little pumpkin will be either to carve it for his Halloween pumpkin or to cook it up and let him eat it.  Not sure which one we will do yet.

Color Madness!

Normally I like starting a new project but this project already has me very frustrated.  I'm making a birth cross stitch for our little girl.  It is going to look really cute but I might go crazy in the process.  Besides only having a little over three months to get it done I don't like how the manufacture set things up.

There are thirty six different colors and it was very difficult to figure out what color was what.  Some where so close that they look like they should have been grouped together.  I know when I stitch those on the canvas you won't even be able to tell the shading being done.  I had to lay everything out to be able to sort it correctly and the only place it would fit was on the back of our large couch.  Once I had them divided into their colors it took me an hour and a half to figure out what symbol went with what color.  I am just hoping this isn't a sign of how it is going to be for the entire project or it might not get done on time (or ever).

Quilt For A Little Lady

Well with how fast time has been going by I thought I better get baby girl's quilt done.  I had started it a long time ago but just never knew that little extra cuteness it needed so I put it to the side until I could figure something out.  I'm very happy to say that I finally came up with an idea and I love how it turned out.

 



Every little girl is a lady so what better thing to applique on the quilt then lady bugs!  It was also a great fit because it went so well with the color scheme that I have going at the moment.  I also got the help of a friend to embroider on her name too so she knows this quilt was made especially for her.

Here is a little closer view of the lady bugs.  I couldn't find the size or type that I wanted in a store (plus I didn't want to spend a lot of money) so I just made them myself.  I printed them out on fabric and then just stitched them onto the quilt.  The hardest part to stitch was the antennas since I had to move the fabric around so much in my machine.  Now I can't wait to see this baby blanket quilted.  Hopefully I'll be able to take it with me when we go to the hospital to have this sweet little girl.

Sack Load of Fun

I just love how with children anything can be fun to play with, even a simple sack.  Of course you have to watch them very closely but it is fun to see them have such a good time.

 

 While I was cleaning/organizing our bedroom Seth discovered a sack that was given to me by the second baby's doctor to help me prepare for the new arrive.  It really only had pamphlets of things you "should" buy for your kid.  Once I took those out he let me know that this item was all his.  He was so funny putting his head inside.  Not sure what he was looking for though.

 Obviously he didn't find it because he can out of the sack.  He then had fun dragging it around the floor with him wherever he went. 

With school being back in session I have enjoyed watching the kids walk to school carrying their sack lunches.  Well one day Michael brought home this little sack and it was just the perfect size to look like Seth could carry his own lunch in so I had to get a picture of him playing with it.  He is going to be so much cuter when it is time for him to go to school and even more so when he gets to take his own homemade lunch with him too.  Although I can totally wait for that time to come.

Newest Pillow Option

I am always amazed where and how kids can fall asleep.  I have seen a lot of funny things before but not too much with Seth.  Well one day we had to do a lot of shopping to do and he hadn't gotten in very long naps earlier that day so of course I knew he was going to fall asleep in the car.  I just wasn't ready to see this.

 

I had given him the water bottle to play with while we were driving around (since he just loves them) and I guess it was just better to be used as a pillow then a toy this time.

Little Assistant

I have such a good little guy!  He is very supportive of any project that I am doing and finds his own ways to keep me going to get things done.  This is really important to me since I have several projects that I want to get finished or at least mostly finished before baby girl gets here.

 

Most of the time he is really happy playing in this toy thing and watching a movie.  Anytime I sew, well mostly anytime I sew, I watch Pride and Prejudice because it is long and I don't have to change the disc too often.  I guess my little man will have some nice class to him or he'll get a cool accent out of how much we watch it together.

As you can see I'm working on several quilts right now (which all are done at the moment, YEAH)  The only sad part is that we had to do some room rearranging so my craft room no longer looks like this anymore.  I'm still trying to figure out a good organization method to the new set up but I know that is going to take awhile.

Best Spot In The House

Is the kitchen by the highchair; that is if you are a dog!

 

The dogs have final learned that it is a good thing to be around Seth during any of his meal times. 

They would hang out here because Michael and I would be there and they would just want to be close to us but they have discovered another reason why this is a top spot.

 

 They both have their favorite area to wait at until the good stuff falls from the heavens or at least I'm sure that is how they see it.

Hope normally picks the best location as to where Seth's food will fall when he is waving his arms all over the place.  Funny enough it doesn't always get in her mouth.  Here it is on her face just a little (hard to see because of her light color fur).  Faith has offered to help Hope clean it up but she won't ever allow her to do so.  So once Seth is done eating and cleaned up himself I sometimes get the joy of cleaning up a puppy or two too.

Changing Station: Sewing Section

This project is getting closer and closer to being finished and I am really enjoying how it is turning out.  I found these two pins on Pinterest that I decided to combine what I liked and also what would work for what I needed and so far everything is going good. 

 

As you can see I am making fabric box covers.  Except my boxes I'm making from plastic canvas (my idea to help lessen the weight for when I will have this hanging).  I was also a very sweet mommy and let Seth pick out the fabric he wanted for his box.  I also let him pick his sisters fabric too.  I must say that he has picked up his daddy's taste of good fabric.

I got the outside fabric covers sewed together quite easily.  Seth's box is on the left and his sisters is on the right.  I made front label holders so I can put their names on the boxes.  I'm hoping this will keep the confusion of what goes to who to a minimum.

Next I put the outside covers onto the boxes and hand sewed it in place at the top.  This was super easy because there were already wholes in the canvas stuff.  I also liked doing this by hand because it let me control how tight the fabric was on the boxes.

 Finally I just sewed the lining together and did a casing for some ribbon to go through to tie it in place.   I couldn't use elastic because that would crush the top of the boxes in too much.  I'm okay with the ribbon because it adds a cuteness to it with the bows in the front.

 

Of course I always have my cute happy helper making any project I do fun.  He just loved these boxes and had to play with each one of them for awhile.  At least now I know they are durable.

The newest stylish hat out on the market today.  You know you want one too.

He loved his hat box so much he didn't like me taking it back away from him as you can see with how he is gripping at it while it is on.

Now that we are done with our part of the project it is up to daddy to do the last little part that I can't and then the diaper station will be ready for both kids.  I'm so excited to see the final look and show it off too.

Updating The Diaper Station

Our home is kind of on the small side so we have to make every inch of our space count.  That can be kind of trick at times since some of our furniture is rather large.  I end up rearranging rooms again and again to try and find a better layout.  It can also be difficult to keep them stylish while also being functional.  My favorite room in the house is probably Seth's since it is just so cute.  I love so many things about his room but now that we are going to make him share it with his little sister when she gets here we have to do some major updates.  Especially to help us fit all of her things into that room too .  I'm still going to try and keep the nursery theme that is already in there because I like it so much but I'm also going to try and update the style a little more.  But I have decided that the first place I am going to tackle is the diaper changing station.

 

 I saw a really cute organizational design on Pinterest (love that place) for a peg board in a man's garage and thought it would look cute in a kids room with a few simple tweaks.  Thus I begin with the peg board.  Seth was quite interested in what I was doing and wanted to help.  He made sure the board had a good spit shine to it before I got started.

 The first part of the design is probably the easiest thing ever.  I just took a sharpie marker (black because the nursery is grey, white and black with color for accents) and put a letter S on the front for the first letter in both Seth's and his sister's name.  I like how it looks very classy right now.

Once we are done with this it is off to the next part of the project and that will involve some sewing and cutting of plastic.  Now I'm sure your wondering what on earth I'm doing next.

The Perfect Storm

I LOVE RAIN!  Especially rain storms because they have a beauty all there own.  The sound is wonderful and calming and the lighting show is fun and unpredictable.  Yes, I'm one of those crazy people that would be outside dancing in the rain if I was given the chance.  Of course some people really can't stand storms but I'm thankful for when we do get them and I really want Seth to see the fun in them too.

 Seth was a good support in watching the storm with me.  At first he didn't know what to think of it but by the end he was really enjoying it.  It is just too bad we don't live in an area that gets more rain.

I did have to get out a little lantern light just in case the power went out and good thing that I did since that happened a few minutes after I got it.  I know we probably didn't need it since it was still pretty bright outside but I like to be prepared.  I also think it isn't a real storm unless the power goes out cause that is when all of the fun happens or at least it did in my house growing up.

 

I took this short video (before my camera batteries died) to show you how we just had fun watching the storm together.

Must Do Everything!

I think that has to be any kids motto, especially my kid.  Goodness he is all over the place and making discovery's right and left.  Most of the time I can keep up with him but some days are hard.  Thankfully we had baby proofed our home long before he got here so he is pretty safe when he plays although I still keep a very close eye on him.

 

 This day he just couldn't leave the curtains alone.  He was so fascinated by the way they moved and how the light would come through too.

 Of course anytime I have my camera out he just knows it and has to come to me to try and take it but this time he forgot to let go of something.  Funny to say but he couldn't figure out why he wasn't moving forward.

 One of his favorite places to play right now is by/on the couch.  I just loves to walk up and down the couch.  He is getting better every time he gets up and down from here. 

 Although he always has one big main goal that he tries to get to and using the couch is the best way to get that goal.

 Yep, to his catch his best friend Faith.  He just loves hanging out with her and picking on her a little too every now and again.  I must say this dog gets a lot of treats in our house for putting up with it all.

 

Seth has also gotten really good at getting into his (yes) pink toy box.  He pulls out all of the toys until he is able to find the one that he wants.

 

His favorite toys are the ones with tags on them.  For some reason he likes the sound and feel of the tags but hey I don't care as long as it keeps him happy.

 

Another must play area in the living room is under our wagon wheel table.  He loves this place!  It has been a favorite spot since he first got home.  When he started to learn to roll he would roll towards the table.  Then when he could army crawl he would get to the table and chew on the legs.  Now that he crawls for real he likes to crawl all over the legs.  Sometimes I will even catch him trying to sit up under the table. 

Finally the last and best place he loves to play is in his laundry basket.  Sometimes he just likes to sit in the thing.  I think it is super cute how he can find so much joy in so many simple things. 

Gender Reveal

Well after waiting for what seemed like FOREVER we finally got to find out if baby #2 would be a boy or a girl.  So of course we let everyone in the family guess.

 

 Hope and Seth both guessed that we were going to have a boy and Faith thought we would have a girl.  The way we let them pick is by putting the bandannas down on the floor and let them take whatever one they want.  Kind of funny but the dogs picked the same thing this time as they did last time.  Guess you can call it determination.

Well it ended up with Faith being right.  We're having a GIRL!!!  Both my husband and I were pretty shocked and I even asked the nurse if she was sure.  There was so many things that made me think we were going to be having another boy.  Don't get me wrong, I'm thrilled about having a daughter that I can do her hair and dress up and teach how to sew too.  I just thought it was a boy based off of some silly wives tales and supposedly "scientific studies" that had been done to help predict the gender.  Yeah, not listening to that ever again.

 

So here she is already facing the word straight on at twenty weeks and one day old.  I know it is really hard to make out anything but her head is on the left side of the photo and her nose is the little sideways down heart next to the big dark circle (which is her forehead).  Right now she weighs 11ounces which is a little big but not by much.  She is also a very active girl so I might be in trouble later, lets hope not.  The nurse was having a hard time doing her job since this baby girl loves to move and wiggle like none other.  For some reason though I really don't feel her move around that much and she doesn't even kick hard.  I don't know why that is but that is just how it is happening for now.

 Now we just have to keep this little guy busy until his little sister gets here.  Although I don't think that will be to hard since this kid always seems to be on the move.  (Yes, these pictures were done before his hair cut.  I had to do them on a day that I was feeling well enough to.)

 I must say that taking pictures with kids is fun until you aren't able to be the photographer.  It was hard to get him to look at daddy for a good (top) photo.  Thankfully toys are always a big help.

Okay this one I just had to share cause I just love the funny face that he is making at the bear.  Too cute!