We are well again!

I sure hope that me saying that doesn't jinx us.

So Ian had his 6 month well check last Tuesday. He is 21 pounds, 13 ounces and 28 1/2 inches long! So that's where 35 ounces of formula every day has been going... lol

He has slowed down his formula intake though. I was kind of concerned when we went to the doctor. He has dropped about 10 ounces a day since we started solids, and honestly, he prefers solids over drinking a bottle. He loves his baby food! I spoke with the doctor and he said that he would recommend adding meats just to make sure he is getting enough protein but that some children never look back after starting solids and take to it really well . So, now we are on what seems like a routine with foods, at least from what I can tell from the weekend.

• when he wakes up, he eats 1/4 cup oatmeal with a stage 2 fruit and 2 ounces of formula mixed in.
• about 2 hours later, he eats 6 ounces
• about 2 hours later, he eats lunch which consists of 2 tablespoons of rice cereal mixed with a stage two jar or tub of veggies or meat and veggies or even fruit and meat every once in awhile.
• within the hour, he'll drink most of a 4 ounce bottle
• 2-3 hours later he takes 6 ounces
• 2 hours later he eats dinner (same type of food as lunch) and sometimes wants 2-4 ounces of formula, especially if he didn't get both of the previous two bottles
• 2 hours later he takes a bath and gets an 8 ounce bottle and goes to bed.

Now we'll see how long this lasts...lol.

He is sitting up fairly well and will be crawling as soon as he figures out how to move his arms.

I am still amazed (and frustrated) by...

...how different my children are. I seriously feel as if I am having to learn everything all over again, and this is very eye opening to me and, naturally, very frustrating.

Ian is ill. He has had a fever since early yesterday morning. Now, whenever Melody has had a fever (except for two times), she's had some sort of infection...an ear infection, UTI, pneumonia, strep, etc...we get the antibiotics and she feels better within 12-24 hours.

I took Ian to the doctor yesterday morning and the doctor checked him and said it was probably viral and then on his chart wrote "teething syndrome". This is after I asked him if it could be teeth and he said, "well, maybe, but there's a virus going around where they run a fever for a couple days then get a rash". Well, ok, but now I wonder why he marked teething syndrome on his chart?? I digress...

I am frustrated because I cannot cure Ian with an antibiotic. I am not saying I want to have to give him antibiotics, because I totally believe he shouldn't have him without an infection, but I am a fixer and I cannot make him feel better except for giving him Tylenol or, now, Motrin.

And now I'm trying to figure out if I should call the doctor in the morning. Is 2 days too long to have a fever?? I hope I don't have to find out. Lets hope the fever goes away tonight just as quickly as it came Wednesday morning.

On another note, at 8:31 pm tonight, Ian Paul turned 6 months old!! I cannot believe he is already 1/2 a year old. This means I get to start thinking about birthday party ideas. I've got to find a place to host a party besides our house...it's just not big enough for everyone I'd like to have celebrate with us. Happy 1/2 birthday, little man!

It's really be a day of excitement for me!

1st, you should know that I've deemed my self "soggy" - this means that I am a huge proponent of convenience items especially when it comes to Ian. So I've been buying disposable diapers and baby food in jars and those sorts of things. These days, with all the cloth diapering going on in the world and websites built around making your own baby food, I was starting to feel like the minority sooooo... I got over my "sogginess" and made some Green Beans for Ian tonight and blended them into a yummy puree and he ate a pretty large serving of them! Now, I did buy the steamer bag of green beans from Birdseye and steam them in the microwave BUT I still think it cost about 1/2 as much overall and it didn't take nearly as long as I thought it would and it didn't make much of a mess at all.

2nd, the carseat I ordered is in!! I installed it tonight and I'm thinking I may take it for inspection tomorrow to be sure it's in right, but it seems really comfy for Ian, he was really getting scrunched in his infant seat - he is such a chunk! We'll know just how big he is by this time next week - not sure exactly when but he's got his 6 month check up coming up within the next week!

3rd, Kim (our beloved childcare provider who has become a great friend) said that Ian went forward today in his crawling attempts. Here is a picture of him and a video of him from this past weekend working on his skilz.

He is also beginning to sit up some more. I haven't gotten a picture yet because he's still wobbly but by the beginning of July, I am positive that he will have moved on from being a horizantle baby. This is bittersweat for me. I am glad that he is growing and that he is healthy, but he is changing so quick I'm afraid I'm forgetting everything as soon as it happens.

Speaking of the beginning of July, the 4th is coming up. I really want to watch the Bentonville fireworks display this year but we'll see how that works out.

I will get a day off this week since I worked this past weekend. I am looking forward to it. I think I will take Melody to see a movie on my day off - some mommy and me time! She is definitely deserving of it. What a great sister she is!

I am grateful!

When Ian first began learning to roll well (around 5 months) - I should also note that he was also recovering from being sick with Croup - he began to wake up in the middle of the night again. I understand that he will go through phases but I was really frustrated with his night waking because there wasn't much I could do to help him. Of course, when he was ill, I fed him when he woke up because he wasn't eating much, but once he got his appetite back and was eating, ahem, three meals of baby food a day and 35-40 ounces of formula a day on top of that I felt that it was OK to expect him to go throughout the night without eating and that he really needed to learn to go back to sleep on his own. It took him a good week to two weeks to work through this (much longer than Melody). When he woke, I would make sure he was ok, try to give him his paci, and pat his back and check on him every 5 minutes or so, tell him I love him and that it's time to go to sleep, and then listen to him cry through it which a couple nights lasted for an hour (again, much longer than Melody every cried). But I feel that I can safely say that it worked. (please, just because I said it, don't make it not true, please please lol)

For a week at least now (2 weeks I think!), he's been sleeping through the night again, the longest waking being long enough for me to replace his paci. But the greatest thing that has come of this is that he sometimes stays awake through his nighttime bottle and then play with us a little more. Then when I can tell that he is tired, I lay him on his tummy in his crib, give him is paci, and his lovey (either his bear or his little hippo blanket/plush that his aunt beth got him) - and he doesn't move from that position and he doesn't cry - he just goes to sleep!

So...I am grateful. I think we are off to a great start with healthy sleeping habits.

...and since he went to bed right after dinner (at 7pm) I'm hopeful that his good habits will continue until at least 6am...please?

I have a lot to share!

1) Melody's girl scout troop had their end of year celebration. They also had a sleepover, had donuts for breakfast, and went to McDonalds for lunch. Just imagine, fifteen 7-8 year-old girls in the playroom at McDonalds...yeah, next year is going to have to be outside I think or at least a bigger venue. The bear she "built" is soooo her. She named it "Sunny". Sunny is sporting a swimsuit, goggles, and a surfboard.




2) Melody's last day of 2nd grade was Thursday. She got excellent grade - all above 95%. She is ready for summer, but already has the 3rd grade sparkle in her eyes lol. She's been eyeing the school supply list that the school sent home and has been working through some leftover workbook pages like crazy!
By the way, the school did receive one of her library books back from the Boys and Girls Club - they found it and sent it to the school. I got a little bit of my money back. I'm just waiting for her to ask for her tv back. (She isn't getting it back because SHE didn't find the book. B&GC did.

3) I got up at 4:30am on Friday to go to the shareholders meeting and had a lot of fun. Miley Cyrus was there as was Ben Stiller, Michael Jordan, Kris Allen, and Smokey Robinson. Here are some pictures.

MILEY CYRUS & BEN STILLER & MICHAEL JORDAN

KRIS ALLEN!

SMOKEY ROBINSON

And then Kris joined Smokey on stage!

3) Tony, Melody, Ian and I went to the park Friday evening. It was a nice evening and it was nice to get out a little as a family. Melody had fun on the monkey bars, Ian gave the swing a try, but it turns out he was sleepy. After that, we went to dinner at Zaxbys! Here are some pictures from the park...enjoy!

4)Mr. Ian has been working on crawling. He tries sooo hard! He screams and gets mad when he can't get where he wants to go. But he's getting close! My prediction? Within a month, we'll be chasing a crawler! Oh golly I gotta find a baby gate! Oh, and by the way, he lifted his arms, and was up on his knees 4 times this weekend. Couldn't get that on camera, but I did get some cute pictures. I was trying to upload a video as well but it's taking too long so I'll try to get it on here in a day or two.

I don't think I left anything else picture worthy out. I have a horribly busy day tomorrow so I better get to bed. I hope everyone has a good week. I am hoping that since I went to work today, I will be able to take a day off sometime this week.