8 months, whew

8 months have passed since little Foresty Forester popped out.  Can you believe it has been 8 months?  I remember saying this with Olaf too -- each stage just seems to get better and better!  (Maybe its because I get more sleep as time goes on??)  Forest is at the stage where he sits independently and plays with his toys in the living room by himself pretty well.  Of course I am paranoid so I still put a pillow behind him (hardwood floors + big unbalanced baby heads don't mix well).  He can usually occupy himself for 30 minutes at a time or so - bonus for me!  And he'll spend even more time if Olaf is up running around and entertaining him, which happens every now and then (when he's not taking all of Forest's toys away for himself...).

Also recent in the last month is that Forest has started pulling himself up on things!  He is constantly reaching for our hands to help him stand.  And he tries to pull himself up on things like the crib, or chairs/tables/toys... but he's successful about 5% of the time I'd say. I think he's maybe gotten his feet under him correctly twice out of 40 tries :) He'll get it though.

Forest is a PEOPLE PERSON.  He loves smiling at everyone, but especially the girls.  What a little charmer!  (What a Saugen).  He just LOVES going to Miss Julie's three mornings a week when I go to work and Oly goes to Cashmere Kids.  Her kids are his best little buddies and they just dote on him like nothing else.  And Julie dotes on him too.  I think perhaps besides me and Steve, she loves him best.  Seriously.  And how wonderful and comforting it is to me to know that while I am at work, he is being cared for by someone who adores him!  Pretty sure the feeling is mutual.

Unlike his brother at this age, Forest is not a big fan of eating solids.  So far he's only eating avocado, oatmeal, squash and banana.  And of those 4, he only really likes the avocado.  (Nice, he's got gourmet taste on a McD's budget).  I know he doesn't really need the food for nutrition right now since he is still drinking so much breastmilk, but I am hoping he starts liking it more.  Mostly because that makes it easier for me! Ha!  I'd love to move on to finger foods at some point.  We aren't sure, but he might have a small reaction to either rice cereal or sweet potato.  Those were the first two foods he tried, and he ended up with colitis (sp?) which basically is just an irritation of his colon, and he ended up with some mucus and blood in his diapers... ew!  So I took him back down to just breastmilk, and then started with avocado on round two and all seems to be going well. 

Well, I will have more updates in a month or two when he has his next checkup.  I don't remember if it's at 9 or 10 months... will have to check my calendar!

Happy end of April!

Oly Updates

Helping Olaf get ready for bed is usually pretty fun, so long as he isn't overtired.  We have our routine down pat.  Some of what he does just makes me smile!

Because I want to remember it when he is 10, and no longer wants my help, I am writing it all down here on my blog.  Because I can.  Because it's mine. Hopefully it amuses Oly's grandparents too :)

First Oly goes potty ALL BY HIMSELF (emphasis his).  Then he runs around naked and always asks if I will sing the "Mickey song"  (hey Micky you're so fine, you don't understand, you take me by the heart when you take me by the hand) so that he can dance and shake his little booty.  Soon after, we get his jammies on then head into the bathroom to brush teeth.  He insists on brushing first, then giving me my turn where I slowly count to 20 while brushing those li'l pearly whites.  (Poor kid... he got my tiny little mouth... his baby teeth are already crowded and crooked... I see braces in this family's future...)  After teeth brushing we usually read 1-2 books in bed.  If we are not rushed for time, then sometimes it's 4-5 books.  Kid LOVES to read.  Finally it is song time.  Olaf requests that I sing "raindrops" (my favorite things) every.single.night.  I don't usually mind though.  He gives me Rosie the stuffed dog to sing with, and while I make the dog dance and sing, he always has Chelanny the giraffe pretend to be eating Olaf's blanky.  Sometimes Chelanny is joined by additional animals, most recently Pluto, and sometimes Blue-blue the dog.  Olaf is really not much of a stuffed animal guy, except right at bedtime I guess.  Finally we say prayers, then lights out.  Barring any falling out of bed incidents, all is well for him until around 6:00am!

I really do love our little routine.

Olaf is also saying funny things lately.  I think it's just because as his amazing little vocabulary expands, he is trying out different words, and slang, to see how it fits together and if it gets a reaction.  He's also showing little bit of compassion with words every now and then.  My favorite few recent ones:

Mommy: "Olaf, please come over here and put your underpants on."
Olaf, while itching his bottom: "Not just yet Mommy, I have a scratchy booty!"

Mommy: "Olaf, I am going outside to start the car, and then I will come back inside for you."
Olaf: "Okay Mommy, I will watch Forest while you are gone!"


(He also asked me this morning if he could come downstairs, because Forest would be alone all by himself... what a sweet brother... sometimes...)

Olaf, being melodramatic while downstairs by himself hunting for his water bottle:  "I looked everywhere!  I can't find it!  (sob...)  It's gone forever, it's not here.... (sob)" 
It was on the coffee table...

Our Saturday morning scene

Making PW's pound cake for a baby shower later this afternoon. Yum!!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone. That's right, I an totally technologically hip and with it.

Location:River Rd,Leavenworth,United States

Filling in the Blanks

playing along with Lauren, at the little things we do...

1.   My favorite daily responsibility is,      feeding Forest his milk.  There is nothing sweeter than nursing a baby who is playing with your hair and necklace.

2.  My least favorite daily responsibility is,    dishes.  Luckily if I cook, Steve always cleans up.  Oh, also going to work is my least favorite.  But I do have to go!

3.  My favorite cuisine to eat when going out is    definitely thai noodles. Phad thai.  Phad kee mow.  Phad see ew.  (spelling?)  3/4 stars.  Oh my goodness yum.  With a diet coke.  And don't forget the spring rolls with peanut sauce for an appetizer  .

4.  My favorite cuisine to prepare at home is     just about anything. I really don't do one thing best, and don't enjoy one thing best.  We eat everything from tuna-noodle casserole to tofu stir fry to steak and potatoes.  I do enjoy cooking anything that I can cover in cheese so that I can snack on cheese bits while I cook.

5.  Andy Warhol said that everyone is famous for 15 minutes. My claim to fame is     Hmmm  my little sister was in a Reebok commercial - does that count?  I honestly don't think I've had my 15 minutes yet.  That's okay with me :)  Maybe I will have famous kids instead!  .

6.  If I could have 3 wishes I would wish      to stay at home with my babies instead of work, to be a solid 5.11 climber (ha!) and to be able to eat WHATEVER I want and never gain a pound.!

7.  My biggest pet peeve is       ...hmmm, crumbs on the counter.  No wait, I HATE when people let the toothpaste tube cap get all crusty and full of old toothpaste. Ew!   .

Evening Smiles

Just a little post-dinner playtime!





- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone. That's right, I an totally technologically hip and with it.

Location:River Rd,Leavenworth,United States

New babes

What an incredibly lucky guy little Forest is.  In the span of 2 days, he gained a girlfriend, and the 3rd musketeer to his trio of little dudes!  (The second musketeer being his cousin, Kyler, who was born last fall).

On Friday April 1st, Shannon and Gabe welcomed little Maya Marie Cohen.
7 lbs, 4 oz of pure sweetness :)  She joins her big sister Chira, who is a good little friend of Olaf's.

Love this sweet little gal.  We met her on Friday - she's just beautiful!

And then yesterday, April 2nd, Jaimi and Nick welcomed little Dudley James Krenz.
8 lbs, 11 oz (holy moly!) of red haired cuteness! 

Dudley James

The daddies and their boys (Olaf was at home with Miss Kendra the babysitter)

Happy family of 3! Can you believe she just gave birth?  She is GLOWING and beautiful!

Dudley came a few days early, lucky for his mama.  Steve and I were so blessed to just happen to be in Wenatchee when he was being born, so we got to see him within the first hour he was here!  Love him!


I am so delighted that some of my very best friends are having babes... I like being in the same stages of life.  How lucky am I that instead of having to make "mom friends," my friends are mothers!  (some for the second and third times...)  and I can't wait for my remaining best friends (...y'all know who you are...) to someday have kiddos too! 

Also I am so impressed by both Jaimi and Shannon, who were amazing and strong women and had the babes totally naturally!  Tough as nails, those two :)  


Welcome little ones!

Technologic.

Well I finally purchased my first app for this iPhone. Sure I have downloaded plenty, but they were all free!! But since I take so many photos on my phone now I wanted an easy way to blog them. So I bought blogpress for a whopping $4. And here is my first post for you.



Mr. Forest. Cutest 7 month old ever thank you very much.

Happy rainy flooding mudslide avalanche closed roads day to all!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone. That's right, I an totally technologically hip and with it.