8 Month Checkup

Declan had his 8 month well-child checkup today at 8.5 months.

He weighs 19.5 lbs (50%) and 29.5 in (90%). He still has a big head (95%)! Hehehe.
When he was a teeny tiny, he was a little chunk, but now he is tall and skinny.

He is eating 3 meals a day + 24-30 oz of formula a day. We are integrating more and more people food every day, such as cheese quesadillas, eggs, chicken, ground turkey. 

He is CONSTANTLY on the move. Crawling everywhere and pulling up on everything. He is my little wild man! I have a feeling he will be walking before we even know it!

Sleep is not going so well right now. He is difficult to put down because he has started getting separation anxiety. He cries as soon as we walk out of the room. :( When we hold him, he wants to get down and crawl around. When he wakes up in the middle of the night, he cries until he gets a bottle. Our pediatrician told us to let. him. cry. So we are gonna try that!

He still loves his baths. We have not really had a "bedtime ritual" up to this point, so we are going to start working on that. My plan is to have a bath at 7, followed by a bottle, brushing his teeth (5+3 more coming in!!!!), reading a book, and putting him in his bed.

He is becoming more and more verbal everyday. He says "ma ma ma ma ma" when he is upset or really tired.  He has also started "copying" a certain noise he does.

And the best thing ever - he's giving kisses! Melts. My. Heart. He opens his mouth really wide and leans in to your face. It is the most precious thing EVER!

Baby Declan,

 You are the most amazing little man. You have such a cute personality, and I can definitely see that you are going to give me a run for my money. Please forgive me for letting you cry in your crib. Know that it is hard for me, but I know that it is best for you and our family. I love you so so much, and I am always here for you! I can't wait to see how you continue to change in the next 3 months. Your next appointment at the doctor will be your 1 year appointment. I can't even believe it!! 

I love you to the moon and back!

Momma

Thankful

It's 6:30 in the morning, and I'm up feeding my son a bottle. With this, comes a lot of time to think.
Today, I can only think about for what I am so thankful.

Last year I was so thankful to be pregnant. This year I am infinitely more thankful to be blessed with my little Declan. His fiery personality, and all. It's amazing how I continue to love him more and more every day.

I am always thankful for Patrick, but this year more than usual. He truly carries half the load (and a lot of times, more) in taking care of Decs. Being parents has changed both of us. Mostly in a good way. But we are still working on getting to know the new us. There have certainly been ups and downs, but I continue to love him unconditionally. I always say this, but I can't imagine this life without him.

I am also thankful for my supportive friends and family. Without them, we never could have done this, and Declan would still be a twinkle in my eye.

So, for what are you thankful?

I hope you all have a Happy Thanksgiving!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

An Update

It makes me sad that it has been so long since my last post. When I first started this ole' bloggy, it was with the intention of documenting our life, not only for my friends far away, but also as a way for us to look back from the future. And now I'm disappointed that I have been unable to keep it up. Life just gets in the way sometimes, ya know?

That being said, a lot has happened since my last post.

My child turns 8 months old in 5 days. 8 months old! I can't even believe it. He has turned in to the sweetest little man - with quite the temper, of course - and I just love him to pieces! 

He now has 3 teeth, all on the bottom. I keep worrying, "what if he doesn't have any teeth on top?" My mom tells me I worry about the weirdest things. Hehehehe.

Declan started officially crawling in Disney World. Oh wait, you didn't know we went to Disney World? Ooops! I had a research project to present in Orlando in October, so we decided to make a family trip out of it. See?

And here is my little peanut crawling around at home:

Don't worry, he didn't have a stroke. That's just a new face he's doing these days.

I just returned from a 24 hour trip to North Carolina. No pictures of that, as I was busy interviewing and touring the hospitals. That's right...I'm interviewing for residency. It's crazy stressful, but crazy fun. I have 9 interviews scheduled from now until January. All over the country. From Colorado to North Carolina. Pray for me.

And here's my little pumpkin, with a pumpkin:

And what does a 7 month old do when surrounded by a pile of leaves?

Well, he eats them of course.

Declan was a dinosaur for Halloween. The most precious, green with irridescent scales, dinosaur in the world. Mommy didn't take any pictures. She's still trying to convince Daddy to dress him up again and take some pictures. So hopefully you will see some soon! ;)

So that's all I've got for now. Hopefully you will hear from me again sooner than later!