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| Note the box under his feet |
Saturday, June 30, 2012
How'd you get to be so tall Stanley
Ah, the new toy that is supposed to be used for learning shapes has another use.
Friday, June 29, 2012
New heights
If Stanley cannot reach what he wants, he has figured out new methods to get things. Here the xylophone is being used to help reach mom's phone. Unfortunately she grabbed the phone to snap this picture as soon as he got up.
If he wants to get up higher, he puts his foot up and tries to figure out how he can climb something. For example, Stanley started to figure out if he can put his toe into the gate holes so that he can climb the child gate to get onto the other side.
Here is another example, I missed the beginning of this video when Stanley was climbing through the handle of his cart to get into it, but I think you get the idea from the last section.
Wednesday, June 27, 2012
Did someone give you caffeine?
Stanley turned on the turbo speed this evening. He ended up falling once because he threw caution to the wind tonight. He is not doing new things, but instead doing the things that he can do at a rapid rate.
Check out his new crawling speed.
Check out his new crawling speed.
Tuesday, June 26, 2012
Swing Time
We stopped by the little park near our house on the way back from coffee last weekend and pushed Stanley on the swings for a bit. While he was swinging, Julia and I got on the other two "big-kid" swings and we all swung together. I took a little video, but if you get motion sick (I'm looking at you Lorraine), you might not want to watch it too many times in a row. It's a little disorienting.
9 months old (+ 1 week)
A week ago Sunday, Stanley turned 9 months old. It was also father's day. This past month has been amazing to watch as Stanley grows and develops. Just in the past week, Stanley has really started to develop mentally and physically.
As I said with 8 months and all the previous months, this might be my favorite age so far. Stanley started to 'play' with us or at least understand that we are around when he plays.
Last night Stanley slept 9 hours in a row (first ever). It was amazing, especially for a little boy who just a few months ago was waking up almost every 2 hours. Stanley has also been very good about going to sleep on his own. Steve started bouncing Stanley when he was about 3 days old. Steve use to bounce Stanley till he was asleep. Now, though it is now like a pavlovian response for Stanley. Just two bounces and Stanley sets his head on our shoulders and then is ready to be put down in his crib to go to sleep. He is great at going to sleep on his own. And, when he wakes up, sometimes he plays happily in his crib with his monkey--emphasis on the "sometimes". Also with regards to sleeping, Stanley has his mom's ability to sleep through anything....noises, someone patting him on his back, the lights, etc. It is a great trait.
Stanley is very curious. He will watch and study what we do carefully and then try it himself. We have had to lock down everything at this point. He is already trying to open our baby gate. He also studies rooms or new places very carefully. He loves to figure out what is around before he sets off for an exploration. Stanley also really loves watching things open and close and has even figured out how to open and close drawers and cabinets (fun for him, less so for us).
This past month, Stanley really has become very attached to Steve, me, and Halima. When we come in he gives us a huge smile and when we leave he gets quite upset. In addition, if we are sitting on the floor, Stanley will crawl over and sit right on our knee/feet or right next to us. It is quite endearing. He still avoids snuggling since snuggles and hugs greatly reduce his movement and ability to explore new things.
Stanley has become quite the eater. The list of items is below. He still will not take a bottle. And our trick to put a cheerio on a spoonful of milk is starting to fail. Stanley has figured out how to take the cheerio and let the milk drool down his front. Clever I must say. On the other hand, if we put food mush in front of him, he will spend about 30 minutes slowly feeding himself. He far prefers to feed himself. It is interesting because he always uses his left hand (left handed?).
On the topic of food and teeth, turns out that little 'white dot' that I thought was the start of a tooth...well... it is not a tooth. The doctor assured us that we still have a ways to go before getting a tooth. I guess Stanley is still in the running at the pediatrician's office for the oldest child before they get teeth. (15 months is currently the record)
Stanely has really started to try to climb. If there is a shelf low down, he will put his foot on it. And, he often climbs up on the bucket of his little cart.
Stanley loves:
- Boxes
- Climbing stairs
- Standing
- Moving, moving, moving
- Hiking in the backpack
- Exploring new crawling places
- Feeding himself
- Drinking water in the bath from the plastic duck
- Walking behind his cart and even climbing up on the cart
- Balls (throwing and rolling)
- Climbing onto things like the window ledge
- Eating everything in sight
- His lunchbox
- His helicopter
- Peakaboo
- Nursing (still)
Stanley dislikes:
- Bananas (he gags if you give him any)
- Bottles or sippy cups
- being made to sit still for a moment
Stanley can:
- Start imitating. If Steve says 'Ga' Stanley will repeat it and if Steve changes sounds, Stanley changes sounds a bit
- Push his cart up and down the long hallways about 3 round trips (probably like 50 ft round trip), video is below.
- Get up and down being very careful. He never really falls over unless something moves or catches him off guard
- Feed himself (not the cleanest thing, but he gets the job done). We also think that he might be left handed since he always eats with his left hand
- Sleep about 6 hours in a row
- Go to sleep by himself. We have his routine and then he always goes to sleep by himself. His little routine is: bath or hand washing, diaper change, book, nurse, and then bounce him two or three times and put him in his crib.
- Wake up and play with his monkey for a while
Stanley eats:
- Beets, Broccoli, Peas, Chicken, Cottage cheese, Cream Cheese, Hummus, Bagels, Kale, Potatoes, Bread, Cereal, Cauliflower.
- He LOVES bread--he takes after his mother!!
- He loves any type of puffed rice, cheerios or cereal type thing
As I said with 8 months and all the previous months, this might be my favorite age so far. Stanley started to 'play' with us or at least understand that we are around when he plays.
Last night Stanley slept 9 hours in a row (first ever). It was amazing, especially for a little boy who just a few months ago was waking up almost every 2 hours. Stanley has also been very good about going to sleep on his own. Steve started bouncing Stanley when he was about 3 days old. Steve use to bounce Stanley till he was asleep. Now, though it is now like a pavlovian response for Stanley. Just two bounces and Stanley sets his head on our shoulders and then is ready to be put down in his crib to go to sleep. He is great at going to sleep on his own. And, when he wakes up, sometimes he plays happily in his crib with his monkey--emphasis on the "sometimes". Also with regards to sleeping, Stanley has his mom's ability to sleep through anything....noises, someone patting him on his back, the lights, etc. It is a great trait.
Stanley is very curious. He will watch and study what we do carefully and then try it himself. We have had to lock down everything at this point. He is already trying to open our baby gate. He also studies rooms or new places very carefully. He loves to figure out what is around before he sets off for an exploration. Stanley also really loves watching things open and close and has even figured out how to open and close drawers and cabinets (fun for him, less so for us).
This past month, Stanley really has become very attached to Steve, me, and Halima. When we come in he gives us a huge smile and when we leave he gets quite upset. In addition, if we are sitting on the floor, Stanley will crawl over and sit right on our knee/feet or right next to us. It is quite endearing. He still avoids snuggling since snuggles and hugs greatly reduce his movement and ability to explore new things.
Stanley has become quite the eater. The list of items is below. He still will not take a bottle. And our trick to put a cheerio on a spoonful of milk is starting to fail. Stanley has figured out how to take the cheerio and let the milk drool down his front. Clever I must say. On the other hand, if we put food mush in front of him, he will spend about 30 minutes slowly feeding himself. He far prefers to feed himself. It is interesting because he always uses his left hand (left handed?).
On the topic of food and teeth, turns out that little 'white dot' that I thought was the start of a tooth...well... it is not a tooth. The doctor assured us that we still have a ways to go before getting a tooth. I guess Stanley is still in the running at the pediatrician's office for the oldest child before they get teeth. (15 months is currently the record)
Stanely has really started to try to climb. If there is a shelf low down, he will put his foot on it. And, he often climbs up on the bucket of his little cart.
Stanley loves:
- Boxes
- Climbing stairs
- Standing
- Moving, moving, moving
- Hiking in the backpack
- Exploring new crawling places
- Feeding himself
- Drinking water in the bath from the plastic duck
- Walking behind his cart and even climbing up on the cart
- Balls (throwing and rolling)
- Climbing onto things like the window ledge
- Eating everything in sight
- His lunchbox
- His helicopter
- Peakaboo
- Nursing (still)
Stanley dislikes:
- Bananas (he gags if you give him any)
- Bottles or sippy cups
- being made to sit still for a moment
Stanley can:
- Start imitating. If Steve says 'Ga' Stanley will repeat it and if Steve changes sounds, Stanley changes sounds a bit
- Push his cart up and down the long hallways about 3 round trips (probably like 50 ft round trip), video is below.
- Get up and down being very careful. He never really falls over unless something moves or catches him off guard
- Feed himself (not the cleanest thing, but he gets the job done). We also think that he might be left handed since he always eats with his left hand
- Sleep about 6 hours in a row
- Go to sleep by himself. We have his routine and then he always goes to sleep by himself. His little routine is: bath or hand washing, diaper change, book, nurse, and then bounce him two or three times and put him in his crib.
- Wake up and play with his monkey for a while
Stanley eats:
- Beets, Broccoli, Peas, Chicken, Cottage cheese, Cream Cheese, Hummus, Bagels, Kale, Potatoes, Bread, Cereal, Cauliflower.
- He LOVES bread--he takes after his mother!!
- He loves any type of puffed rice, cheerios or cereal type thing
Saturday, June 23, 2012
Friday, June 22, 2012
Doctor's all around
I still need to write Stanley's 9 month birthday post, but for now, we have a different post to write.
Yesterday, we all got to visit doctors. Yup, the whole family!
Stanley's stats for his 9 month check up:
20 lbs exactly (~45%)
47 1/2 cm Head circumference
27 1/4" long (~25%)
Fair warning, this is basically complaining, so if you want to skip, feel free.
Now for a quick summary of our week and why we all got to visit a doctor yesterday:
Sunday evening: The whole family is tired and cranky and Stanley screaming.
Monday: Steve & Julia come down with a flu--Stanley is meraculously better
Tuesday: Steve & Julia still misearble with the flu--Stanley is fine.
Wednesady: Steve & Julia feel better and go to work.
Wednesday night: Julia ends up coughing all night and cannot sleep.
Thursday morning: Stanley gets checked out for his 9 month apptoiment and is told that he is ok, despite his cold/cough. But the pediatrician tells Julia to go to the doctor "today" because pneumonia is going around.
Thursday afternoon:
Steve gets a cough.
Julia and Steve see doctors where Julia is told that she has basically has pneumonia (Steve was cleared by his doctor, though he still has a rough cough.)
And just to put a little toping on the cake, the older daughter in our nannyshare comes down with hand-foot-and-mouth disease.
Friday: Julia/Steve home sick...again. Stanley home with us because of the hand-foot-and-mouth which means it is even harder for us sick ones to catch up on our sleep.
Wow! Really?
TGIF!!
Yesterday, we all got to visit doctors. Yup, the whole family!
Stanley's stats for his 9 month check up:
20 lbs exactly (~45%)
47 1/2 cm Head circumference
27 1/4" long (~25%)
Fair warning, this is basically complaining, so if you want to skip, feel free.
Now for a quick summary of our week and why we all got to visit a doctor yesterday:
Sunday evening: The whole family is tired and cranky and Stanley screaming.
Monday: Steve & Julia come down with a flu--Stanley is meraculously better
Tuesday: Steve & Julia still misearble with the flu--Stanley is fine.
Wednesady: Steve & Julia feel better and go to work.
Wednesday night: Julia ends up coughing all night and cannot sleep.
Thursday morning: Stanley gets checked out for his 9 month apptoiment and is told that he is ok, despite his cold/cough. But the pediatrician tells Julia to go to the doctor "today" because pneumonia is going around.
Thursday afternoon:
Steve gets a cough.
Julia and Steve see doctors where Julia is told that she has basically has pneumonia (Steve was cleared by his doctor, though he still has a rough cough.)
And just to put a little toping on the cake, the older daughter in our nannyshare comes down with hand-foot-and-mouth disease.
Friday: Julia/Steve home sick...again. Stanley home with us because of the hand-foot-and-mouth which means it is even harder for us sick ones to catch up on our sleep.
Wow! Really?
TGIF!!
Thursday, June 21, 2012
New Funtime
Stanley found a new way to amuse himself the other day. He thought it was the greatest thing since sliced bread, but when I looked over I saw Julia with her hands over her ears and the most horrified look on her face. I guess it's not for everyone. Maybe an acquired taste?
Tuesday, June 19, 2012
Sick Mommy and Daddy
Stanley has once again appeared to avoid something that took down both Steve and me. (For those that remember, Stanley gave us, but at the same time avoided getting Norovirus a few months back.) Stanley had a bad cold last week, but he seemed pretty chipper and happy except for a major melt down on Sunday. At that same time Sunday afternoon/evening, all three of us where having a hard time.
Steve and I woke up Monday with fevers, aches, and sinus headaches. We both ended up in bed basically the entire day except for when we needed to feed and take care of Stanley. Stanley was very energetic and content the entire day. The only problem was he was frustrated that neither of his parents would play with him. Instead, all that we could bring ourselves to do was lay on the floor and throw hin a ball. I'm not sure where Steve and I got this virus, but it really threw us for a loop.
I guess with little kids comes viruses. Before this last 9 months, I had not been sick in years. Ugg.
Steve and I woke up Monday with fevers, aches, and sinus headaches. We both ended up in bed basically the entire day except for when we needed to feed and take care of Stanley. Stanley was very energetic and content the entire day. The only problem was he was frustrated that neither of his parents would play with him. Instead, all that we could bring ourselves to do was lay on the floor and throw hin a ball. I'm not sure where Steve and I got this virus, but it really threw us for a loop.
I guess with little kids comes viruses. Before this last 9 months, I had not been sick in years. Ugg.
Monday, June 18, 2012
Photo Backlog
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| Stanley "Dad get me out of here, I'm done shopping" |
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| Enjoying the view of SF in the background |
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| Family hiking trip |
Father's Day
For Steve's first father's day, we had a big adventure to Santa Rosa. There is a wonderful state park where he had a great 6 miles hike. Stanley enjoyed the backpack ride and Steve and I enjoyed being out in nature.
And, Stanley got to meet his first horse. She was a beautiful horse and we got to feed her. Stanley was a bit perplexed but not at all scared. Below are some photos of our wonderful adventure.
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| Stanley meeting his first horse and probably thinking it is a huge dog. |
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| Happy Kelly men in the woods |
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| Happy Father's Day |
After our hike, we went to a very large pond near the park where they have a beautiful sand beach and a very fun area for kids to play. Stanley enjoyed playing in the water and even put his own face in the water.
The day was wonderful until Stanley started screaming and Steve and I ended up with fevers. Apparently we were all getting a miserable cold/flu thing. It ended in a rough night and Steve needed to care for his wife and son rather than us give Steve a rest for father's day.
Never a dull moment with a little 9 month old.
Swimming lessons
We took Stanley to a swimming 'lesson' on Saturday morning. The lesson part was just having him get use to the water. Though there was supposedly another 8 month old baby who can swim between his parents since he has been going to lessons since he was 3 months old. It was in a warm pool outside in Oakland. Stanley seemed to enjoy the water, though he was clutching Steve for a while since he was a bit scared of the loud noise that the 50+ kids and parents were making.
Steve used Lele's trick of blowing in Stanley's face and then putting Stanley's face in the water. It worked quite well and Stanley did not seem to mind having his face in the water. Once some of the kids left, it was much easier for Stanley to enjoy the water.
Stanley used Zach's wonderful wetsuit/sunsuit. It looked a lot smaller on him then when he wore it in Hawaii. This time it was just perfect. Thanks Zach for sharing!
Wednesday, June 13, 2012
Standing Stanley
There are no pictures for this post. But today, Stanley was busy playing with the stroller front. Then, I looked over and he was standing without leaning against the stroller. He stood there standing completely independetly for around 10-15 seconds. It seemed very much impressive to a proud mom.
Monday, June 11, 2012
Picnic with Rylan
Rylan came to visit last weekend. It was fun having him around. Here are some photos when we were at a picnic for Dr. Drake.
Evening walk
We went on an evening walk up to the park at the top of the hill this evening. They have a pretend fire truck front there and Stanley seems to like it. He and mom had fun driving it around.
Saturday, June 9, 2012
Peekaboo
Stanley loves peekaboo. He will continue to play way longer than I ever thought was possible. I get tired of the game far before he does.
The below picture is after he had climbed through the coffee table tunnel to get behind the couch. He has done this two or three times now. From there, I played peekaboo with him. Unfortunately the picture is blurry because our little baby Stanley never stops moving.
Also, a few days ago, Stanley seemed very entranced by the big black Timbuk2 bag. He is still tiny since he is dwarfed by the bag.
The below picture is after he had climbed through the coffee table tunnel to get behind the couch. He has done this two or three times now. From there, I played peekaboo with him. Unfortunately the picture is blurry because our little baby Stanley never stops moving.
A little touch of white
It took 1 week shy of 9 months, but Stanley's first little bit of white poked out for his bottom right tooth. The left tooth is under only about 1 layer of skin. It will arrive soon. I think I know why Stanley was miserable two nights ago. Now he is a very happy camper and even slept till 8:15 this morning (though he went to bed late and did get up twice to eat.
Thursday, June 7, 2012
No bottle
For the last month plus, Halima has been mentioning that Stanley will not take the bottle anymore. She spoon feeds him his milk and then give him some food during the day. (cheerios/yogurt/veggies etc)
Steve was at the doctor because of Stanley's cough and the doctor said for sure not to force feed him. Since he was not keen on being fed via a spoon, bottle, sippy cup, or really any cup, we told Halima to only feed him when he is hungry. However, this is somewhat challenging. He is hungry, but still won't eat. For example, he never took the bottle/up the whole time that I was gone last week in San Diego.
It feels a bit like we have the choice to either starve our child during the day or force him to eat. Since neither of those seem like good choices, we are trying a new method which also seems pretty terrible: trickery/bribery. Stanley loves cheerios and bread. So at this point we take a spoonful of milk and then put a cheerio on top. He will open his mouth wide and attack that Cheerio and our hope is that he gets a little milk with the bite. We are also at the same time working on him drinking out of a small cup. At this point, it just ends up with water all over, but hopefully over the next few weeks, he will get the hang of it.
Our son is definitely not an eater and for sure he knows what he likes and doesn't like. He just wants to nurse. As a mother I'm quite touched, but being gone during the day makes for a pretty hungry kid.
Steve was at the doctor because of Stanley's cough and the doctor said for sure not to force feed him. Since he was not keen on being fed via a spoon, bottle, sippy cup, or really any cup, we told Halima to only feed him when he is hungry. However, this is somewhat challenging. He is hungry, but still won't eat. For example, he never took the bottle/up the whole time that I was gone last week in San Diego.
It feels a bit like we have the choice to either starve our child during the day or force him to eat. Since neither of those seem like good choices, we are trying a new method which also seems pretty terrible: trickery/bribery. Stanley loves cheerios and bread. So at this point we take a spoonful of milk and then put a cheerio on top. He will open his mouth wide and attack that Cheerio and our hope is that he gets a little milk with the bite. We are also at the same time working on him drinking out of a small cup. At this point, it just ends up with water all over, but hopefully over the next few weeks, he will get the hang of it.
Our son is definitely not an eater and for sure he knows what he likes and doesn't like. He just wants to nurse. As a mother I'm quite touched, but being gone during the day makes for a pretty hungry kid.
Sleep update
We for sure had our troubles with Stanley's sleeping. However, since we started feeding him more solid food at night, he has been able to sleep through till around 2:30 or 3am. He then nurses and goes back to sleep till around 5:30 or 6 am. Sometimes he just needs a little shot of milk at that time and is able to sleep till 7:30am, but then other times, he is up and ready to play at 6am.
However, last night, something was bothering our little boy. He woke up screaming and couldn't sleep around midnight then around 2am then around 5am. This would have been normal about 2 months ago, but now that he usually sleeps from 8:30-2:30/3am, last night was rough. It is amazing how our bodies get use to one thing and the change is hard.
Hopefully tonight we will be back to the 1 feeding per night schedule. His nannyshare friend Peter sleeps from 8 - 5 am straight. Then again Peter eats like a champ.
However, last night, something was bothering our little boy. He woke up screaming and couldn't sleep around midnight then around 2am then around 5am. This would have been normal about 2 months ago, but now that he usually sleeps from 8:30-2:30/3am, last night was rough. It is amazing how our bodies get use to one thing and the change is hard.
Hopefully tonight we will be back to the 1 feeding per night schedule. His nannyshare friend Peter sleeps from 8 - 5 am straight. Then again Peter eats like a champ.
Wednesday, June 6, 2012
Snot sucker
Stanley is finally getting over a bad cold he had for a few weeks.
For a while, Stanley's nose just kept on dripping and dripping. He had a hard time eating and nursing and it was not very attractive to have his face filled with snot. The nurse on the phone told Steve about the NoseFrida Snotsucker.
http://www.fridababy.com/shop/nosefrida/
It worked like a charm. As the nurse described, you basically suck the snot out of the kids nose with a straw type thing. She figured that any wonderful parent would do it without thinking, but don't worry it does have a filter.
It works much better than a bulb syringe (shown below) since we have much bigger lungs than that little blue thing.
If you feel inclined, take a look at the only other product Fridababy makes (http://www.fridababy.com/) It is even worse than a snot sucker.
This company really has a market segment for disgusting baby products.
Anyways, our child never really has a runny nose because of the NoseFrida.
For a while, Stanley's nose just kept on dripping and dripping. He had a hard time eating and nursing and it was not very attractive to have his face filled with snot. The nurse on the phone told Steve about the NoseFrida Snotsucker.
http://www.fridababy.com/shop/nosefrida/
It worked like a charm. As the nurse described, you basically suck the snot out of the kids nose with a straw type thing. She figured that any wonderful parent would do it without thinking, but don't worry it does have a filter.
It works much better than a bulb syringe (shown below) since we have much bigger lungs than that little blue thing.
If you feel inclined, take a look at the only other product Fridababy makes (http://www.fridababy.com/) It is even worse than a snot sucker.
This company really has a market segment for disgusting baby products.
Anyways, our child never really has a runny nose because of the NoseFrida.
Hiding
Stanley has always been very inquisitive, but lately he has been able to get into small spaces to explore new things. I walked into the living room a few days ago and stanley was under a chair pulling out books from a bookcase. See pics below.
Then 2 nights ago I couldn't see him in the living room. He wasn't under the chair. Turns out he had crawled under a coffee table we have blocking the area behind he coach. I'll post those pictures later.
Then 2 nights ago I couldn't see him in the living room. He wasn't under the chair. Turns out he had crawled under a coffee table we have blocking the area behind he coach. I'll post those pictures later.
Saturday, June 2, 2012
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