Strawberry Picking

Last week Philip and I went strawberry picking.  We had planned to go over the weekend with Andy, but they were picked out one hour after opening (and we certainly weren't out the door at that time of morning)!  One of the many advantages of being able to stay home with Philip is that we got to go in the middle of the week and we had a great Mom/baby experience. I am so thankful that I am able to stay home with him!

Here are some pics of the little man checking out our harvest.  I couldn't get him to look up at me - he was preoccupied!

And here he is enjoying the fruits of our labor.

10 Months

Philip is 10 months old! 

He is a very busy boy.  His day consists of crawling around, pulling up, then sitting back down.  Up and down and round and round he goes all day long!

Philip got his sixth tooth this month.  He has quite the toothy grin!  He is using those chompers to eat more food now.  There was one day when he all of a sudden decided that eating solids wasn't such a bad thing after all.  The switch happened sometime between lunch and dinner.  At lunchtime that day, I was literally putting a piece of food in his mouth, just to get him to taste it, and at dinner he couldn't get enough carrots and blueberries.  He eats better at some meals then others, but overall he has made a lot of progress.

We started working on introducing a sippy cup with water. He didn't quite get it at first:

He still isn't too good with it.  Sometimes he just gnaws on it, but other times he does manage to suck some water out.

We are seeing signs of separation anxiety now.  When Andy leaves for work, or leaves his room at night after bedtime prayers, he starts to cry.  He does the same if Andy is holding him and I leave the room.  It isn't too crazy yet, but it is starting.

Philip is continuing to nap very well.  I have been able to get my work done during his naptimes almost every day.  Some days I even get a little free time before he wakes up again.  He is starting to spread out the time between naps now though, which has led to a pretty late bedtime - usually in the 9:00 hour.  He still gets up twice a night, but they are very brief milk breaks, so I am hoping he will outgrow at least one of his wakeups soon.

When I go to get him out of his crib, he is usually sitting up and playing with his lovey.  He likes to bite its ears.

I think it is funny that babies really do say "ga ga goo goo."  I love hearing all of Philip's conversations and the new words he comes up with.  It also seems that he understands a lot more of what I am saying.  It is hard to imagine that he understands me, but he does respond appropriately sometimes to things that I say.

He likes to go on walks in his stroller.  This is the same kid that used to scream through the neighborhood when I tried to take him out on walks.  I often ended up putting him in a baby carrier and pushing around an empty stroller.  So glad he grew out of that!

Philip in his new ride - I would say that he is a satisfied customer.

Just in case you didn't get enough pictures above, here are some more of our favorites from this month:

He is towering above his toys now.

Next step in baby-proofing needs to be figuring out what to do with our recycling bin.  He likes to knock it over and check out what is inside.  Luckily it is mainly "clean" trash.

Happy Birthday Little Ladybug!

Don't worry, we don't call Philip a little ladybug, and you didn't miss his birthday!
My niece just celebrated her first birthday!  Isn't she a cutie pie?

I can't believe it has already been a year since I got the call in the middle of the night saying that my sweet niece had been born.  Wow - these kids grow fast! 

We weren't able to visit her on her birthday, so we are living vicariously through pictures.  How cute is she sleeping through her own party:

For part of her birthday gift, I took this:

and made this:

I love how it turned out.  I got the idea from another blog.  Here is the tutorial I used.  To solve the dilemma with the knobs, I just used a single hole punch.  It created holes just a little bit smaller than the knobs which was actually perfect because it made for a nice, tight fit.

The photos are of her grandparents, aunts/uncles, and cousins.  I would have included godparents as well, but in this case, Andy and I are blessed to be the godparents.  One of the reasons that I loved this idea is because none of us lives in the same town as her, so she doesn't get to see all of us as much as we would like.  Hopefully when she comes up for Philip's birthday this summer, she will recognize us!

House Tour Stop #5: Front Entry

Here is one of my favorite unexpected additions to the house and one of my best buys of the year.  When we first moved in, we just had a little marble-top table at the front entry.  Though I love the table, it made for a messy front entry area.  We tended to have hats, gloves, sunglasses,

keys, shoes, laptops, and bags strewn about. 

One day, I was walking through Kohl's and happened to see this bench and coat rack/shelf.  I loved it right away, but left it at the store.  For the next few days, I kept thinking about it and realized that it would make a much better-looking and functional addition to our front entry.  So, I went back and got it and a few other items for the home during Kohl's cash time.  Everything that I bought was at least 50% off, and I walked out with about $40 in Kohl's cash. 

Philip was getting close to moving into 9 month clothing, and we didn't have much in that size yet.  Luckily, we haven't really had to spend much money on clothes for Philip because we received a lot of clothing as gifts.  9 months was just a size that no one seemed to buy.  So, the following week I went back and shopped the Clearance section for 9 month outfits.  I walked out with four 2-3 piece Carters outfits and three new onesies. 

I was able to use a $50 gift card that I received from my office at Christmas, so in total, I came home with about $550 worth of merchandise that I only paid $170 for!

 I purchased these letters from the craft store and painted them white.  The project cost less than $5 total.  The other items were purchased at Michael's and Home Goods for cheap. The tin is used to hold keys, sunglasses, and hats/gloves in the winter time.

I purchased the baskets to go inside the bench from my craft store for 40% off.  Only cost $20 for the pair!  They fit perfectly.  Andy and I each have a basket to throw shoes, umbrellas, and other items in.

I can just picture Philip sitting on this bench while we put on his shoes.  It is going to be too cute!  For now, this is one of Herbie's favorite places to lay, especially when we have the front door open so he can get some sun.

Wonder what that picture is on the wall going up the stairs?

9 Months

Philip is 9 months old now - 3/4 of a year! 

Wow, what a month he had! 

First, he started to crawl. Next he got his front two teeth, followed by another tooth on the top.  Then when I went to get him in the middle of the night one evening, I found him pulling himself up to a seated position, so now he can sit up on his own anytime he wants!  Of course, I already posted he can now pull up to a stand as well.  This guy was nonstop!

He started eating more solids, but stuck mainly with snack foods.  He loves Puffs, Mum Mums, and Yogurt Melts.  We gave up on the purees completely and are trying to get him to like "real food" instead of just snacks.

Trying some avocado

I am almost afraid to write this down, for fear of jinxing it (insert Andy eyeroll here).  Philip started to become a very good napper the last couple weeks of this month.  It has taken A LOT of work, but it was all worth it!  I still have to help him fall asleep, but once he is down, he is taking a couple good naps a day without needing my intervention.

All wrapped up and ready for bed

At his appointment, Philip was weighing in at just under 20 lbs (19 lbs, 15 oz. - the absolute closest he could get to 20 lbs).  His percentiles were much the same as his 6 month appointment - 45% for weight, 25% for height, and a whopping 75% for head circumferance.  He is going to be a smarty pants like his dad!  As far as developmental milestones, the doctor said he was already achieving 10-11 month old skills - I knew he was growing up too fast!

I just read that babies normally get their chubbiest around 9 months old and then they start burning it off as they get more active.  He has some great thighs and a round belly right now, and I am trying to enjoy them before they melt off!  This little man is into everything right now!

This was a big month for cute pictures with Dad.  Here are some favorites:

He likes watching Andy play guitar

A visit to our brother and sister-in-law's house. 

He was a little grouchy, hence the pacifier.

Happy Anniversary Mom and Dad!

Wow, this is a huge day!  Not only is it Divine Mercy Sunday, John Paul II's Beatification Day, and First Communion at our church, it is also my parent's 40th wedding anniversary!

Congratulations Mom and Dad! 

My sister and I were so blessed to grow up witnessing such a strong marriage!

You are an inspiration to Andy and I and to many others!