Week 38

Sorry for the late post; Matt has been keeping me busy...

Luckily Matt seems to have avoided the rash and stomach bugs going around - this week, at least. Knock on wood that continues! Our week got off to a slow start, although we got out for a few good walks. Wednesday we finally managed to coordinate the morning nap schedule to make it to library story time, and that afternoon we went over to a friend's house, where Matt played with her new pirate water table. He sure loves splashing! You may be able to tell that the entire front half of his romper is soaking wet.

Helping me with the laundry on Thursday - after he added to the pile by finding the cat's water dish

Friday we hosted some friends. Matt decided to start waving for the first time (although he's still working on connecting meaning with it and doing it with his other hand) while his friend decided to take his first steps. Whew, what a busy play date! This is what it's like trying to take a photo of two very active babies:

Later that evening Matt inspected Jon's progress on the deck, looking longingly at the power tools he's still far too young to use.

Having a good time on the front lawn during our lazy weekend

Matt continues to work on his crawling and standing.

He is becoming very adept at pulling himself up to stand almost anywhere.

And he figured out how to pull his toy train along with him.

Matt prefers to find the shortest way to get to the things he'd like to explore, even if going around would be so much easier. Here he is trying to go through his high chair.

Here he is holding his arms out and working on his waving action.

We continue to add new herbs and spices, new grains (barley), and new vegetables (bell peppers, onions) to Matt's meals. He tried asparagus for the first time. This week I started making him recipes rather than just combining together a few different items. Baby "stew" with homemade chicken stock, chicken, rice, and roasted root vegetables was a huge hit, but not as big a hit as red lentil dhal later in the week.

Yummy!

I was eating an apple before I decided to offer a bite to the baby. Needless to say, he took me up on the offer!

Week 37

Matt felt much better last week; we're hoping that continues, because his baby buddies have been getting sick. We ended up having a decently busy week, and hopefully this coming week will be similarly busy and fun. We're also having fun watching Matt reach his arms straighter overhead and becoming increasingly more articulate with his individual fingers; hopefully I can catch him doing some of his new movements in photos and videos soon.

Last week we went to a couple of baby play groups. On Monday we hosted one at our house, and the step between our family room and rest of the house was a big hit for all of the mobile kiddos.

Finally crashing after a very busy morning

Raiding the toy box because he was already bored with all of the toys we had out for play group

We had another play date mid-week to catch up with some friends we hadn't seen in a while. The five little ones had made up the youngest members when I first joined my moms' club back in January; now we have a huge group of infants and toddlers, only Matt and his one buddy are under one year old, and all of the original babies are at least crawling, if not walking.

Matt and his "birthday buddy": these two big, adorable, active boys are 1 day apart

Exhausted after a very active play date!

Thursday we participated in another study where they're looking at how babies play. We'll see how much useful information they got from watching Matt try to eat everything. That afternoon we went for a walk with a friend.

Enjoying a lovely afternoon outdoors

Friday we took an exciting little day trip: we went to the beach for the first time. The water was rather cold, so neither of us got too wet, but it was a good first dip into the ocean.

Saturday Jon and I took Matt to a couple of local places, a spring water bottling company with a marketplace and alpacas, and a park with a small working farm, consisting mainly of chickens, sheep, a cow, and a few geese plus a butterfly garden.

Baby's first encounter with alpacas

Checking out the sheep at the sheep pasture

That evening one of my friends came to visit; we had been trying to meet up for a while, so it was good to catch up. Matt had a good time being cute and silly, and she brought some yummy snacks and dinner from which Matt managed to sneak bites, proving just how adventurous of an eater he is.

Having a good time and showing off his speed

Thanks, Jeannine, for the visit and the photos!

Sunday was a nice lazy day at home, with some time playing in the yard and on the increasingly finished deck.

We're still adding more herbs and spices to Matt's meals, and he has now eaten some new fruits, dates and coconut, and fish, specifically salmon. He also managed to steal some crackers from us, so apparently he's good with crunchy foods and wheat. And he revisited avocado, which he hasn't had since his first week of eating solid foods. He gobbled it up, eating half of one over the course of two days!

Feeding himself nectarine and playing with his spoon

Some other photos from the week:

He has reached the height limits on his jumperoo but still enjoys the occasional brief stint in it; it'll be joining the rocker seat and kick & play mat in the basement soon, though.

Fun with bags and boxes

The cat's patience for the small shouting, grabbing, increasingly faster crawling child has just about run out.

Flashing his eight teeth (four on top, four on bottom)

How does this thing start?

So many toys, so little time...

Week 36

Last week was a rather uneventful week, as we spent some time working on Matt's two new teeth and new nap schedule. Matt didn't feel well to begin the week, but he was mostly better relatively quickly.

A not feeling well baby

We did get out for a couple of walks, one with some friends, and had a play date with some other friends. We also participated in another study, which Matt find odd because they kept giving him toys and then taking them away (they were testing where he was according to different developmental milestones). Definitely the most fun day was Sunday when Jon took Matt to the berry farm, which seems to be his favorite playground.

This time around he got to spend some time in the sandbox.

He also watched the World Cup final with us. Here he is hoping to sit with Daddy for a bit.

And later that evening he got to check out Jon's progress on the deck under the wary eye of the cat.

He doesn't even know he's being watched!

Looking forward to crawling around outside more often

I see you!

A few more photos from this week:

Matt is taking fewer but longer naps, and he's ending up in sillier positions during them.

He's ramping up his crawling and climbing.

Teething made eating solids not quite as fun, but he's still trying new things, including new fruit (nectarine) and a new grain (millet), and we're able to start exposing him now to things like olive oil and herbs and spices that we use in our meals.

Still a messy eater!

I'll close with a trick Matt has perfected through repeated practice over the past couple of weeks: blowing raspberries...

... on my leg...

... on his arm...

... and on the ball.

Week 35

Apologies for the late post. Matt came down with a slight fever on Sunday, which luckily went down and then away quickly, but between that and a new tooth I was a little busy yesterday.

Anyway, last week was not a very busy one for us. Other than going on a few walks and going to a meeting for my moms' club we didn't have much during the week. Perhaps the most exciting event was on Monday when a friend invited us over for a little baby pool party; after some hesitation Matt decided he likes splashing.

Although the rain washed out the 4th of July, our weekend was much more exciting. On Saturday we stopped by the farmers' market at the local dairy bar to say Hi to the animals, and then we went over to the local berry farm to say Hi to even more animals and play on their playground.

Matt petting the noses of some sheep and goats

Billy goat and baby aren't sure what to make of each other

 

Matt riding on the bouncy see-saw thing (in order, a toucan, a motorcycle, and a plane - there was also what we think is a whale)

Then Sunday, before Matt's fever hit, we went for a walk at a new local park, where Matt got to crawl in the grass under some big old tree.

When we got home, Jon had gotten Matt his very own kiddie pool. So exciting! Well, eventually he'll find it exciting. He's still getting used to the idea.

Matt's menu is rapidly expanding now that he's 8 months old. Last week was a big one for him because he now eats meat, specifically chicken and pork. He also tried beets and potatoes, too, for the first time.

Sometimes Matt is a very ambitious eater!

Beets make for an extra messy dinner!

Finally, a few more photos from the week:

Guess who's not napping!

I think I'm being kept out of some places!

Silly baby