Feeding Time.

Small Fry loves blueberries.  He loves them.  And even though they are very-much out of season, he is perfectly content to eat frozen, defrosted blueberries.  Since I'm hesitant to introduce citrus fruit until he's closer to a year old (it can be highly allergenic), there's not much available right now besides apples, pears, and bananas.  So we've been relying heavily on frozen fruit.  When he eats them, he gets the cutest, berry-stained mouth.  Just had to share.

 

And check out these precious baby fingers grabbing for Cheerios.

Fawn Picasso (Take Two).

On non-school days, Fawn and I do art during Small Fry's morning nap.  He loves an art project (as do I), but it's just too chaotic with Small Fry crawling, pulling up, cruising, tumbling around.  It's become a nice routine to do something quiet and fun during Small Fry's nap.

Happy boy (of course, he's still in pajamas -- there's no convincing him to get dressed unless we are on our way out the door).

 

Concentration.

Mom, clean my hands.  Fawn does not like to get messy.  Dirty -- that's totally acceptable.  Muddy -- bring it on.  But, messy?  As in paint, marker, food, or drink on him.  Totally unacceptable.

We're working on the "big boy" grip.

Love him and love our one-on-one time.

 



School Days.

Obligatory first day of school photo outside the welcome sign:

School is going well.  We seem to have adjusted to our new, three day a week schedule.  It keeps things busy around here.  I didn't think it would feel like much more school time than two days a week, but it does.  Perhaps because we are homebound for Small Fry's morning and afternoon nap -- it feels like we have such fleeting free time for playdates and outings.  But, Fawn is having fun at school and soaking up all the learning.  He loves his teachers and his class is so sweet.

Pajama day was (of course) a huge hit:

Fawn also had "School Colors" day and (gasp!) chose to wear his UNC shirt instead of his Alabama shirt.  Buck was flabbergasted.  Fawn just has really good taste in colors...nothing beats Carolina blue.  Go Heels!

What's New & Going Private.

Heigh-Ho, Heigh-Ho.  Yep, Belle's back at work (well not technically back "at" work since I work from home during nap time and at night) -- but back in the swing of part-time lawyering.  It's been great to have an item on my to-do list that is not a "mommy chore".  For me, that really helps my sanity and actually makes me more productive in all aspects of my life.  But, it's also been difficult (and at times exhausting) to squeeze the extra hours out of the week to devote to working.  My plan was to wait until January 2013 to transition back in, but I figured when Fawn started school it was a logical time to go ahead and make my transition too.  I've been at it for about six weeks (hence the light blog posting!).  While I have no idea what the future holds for me in terms of work, I know that for now I will enjoy the opportunity presented to me and consider myself blessed!

Giving up the blog?  Nope -- just going private.  It's been considered multiple times since Small Fry arrived.  I worry about safety and privacy for my children -- enter the blog names and my new decision to utilize the privacy settings.  I would love for you to keep reading -- but I want to know who my readers are!  I also worry about people's perceptions of my children based on the snippets of life I choose to share.  I've had people assume two extremes about Fawn; one girl said to me "he just seems so sweet and perfect" while another said "wow you've got your hands full."  Neither is accurate; Fawn is just Fawn.  He's is wonderfully made -- but he's not a character in a book, he's a little boy.  And, I choose to share the stories I want memorialized for the boys in the future.  When my memory has failed me (and when Buck and I are long gone), I want to have memories of the boys' childhoods stored up for them.  What that means is that this blog is not a totally accurate portrayal of my boys' personalities or of our lives.  It's our 21st century scrapbook.  So enjoy it as that -- and know that not all days are easy and Fawn's not always funny.  And, as my boys grow up in this community get to know them for themselves.  I strive to be honest -- and I hope my love for my family and my love of my job as a mom comes through.  This blog has been a wonderful outlet for me and a blessing in that it encourages me to capture life these days.  It's also a great way for my out-of-town family to keep up with the boys.  So, for now, it's not going anywhere...it's just going private.  I'd love for you to stick around for the rest of the journey... 

Sunday Soccer.

Our first foray into organized sports.  Sunday soccer -- five Sunday afternoons of practice/scrimmage time.

Fawn and his gear -- (yellow) soccer ball, shin guards, and the biggest XS soccer socks imaginable.  They would fit me.

Learning that we play soccer with our feet and not our hands.  Huge accomplishment.

 

Happy to score a goal during practice time.

 

Fawn's number one fan.

 

Check out the identical body language.  These two couldn't be more similar.

 

Watching some action with Buck.  Only four boys scrimmage at a time, and this is Fawn's resting perch.

 

Trying to keep Small Fry entertained on the sideline.

 

One Sunday the sky literally opened up and we were all soaking wet.  Fawn drying off in the back of the car.

 

It's been fun!  I'm very thankful to our kind, patient coaches who didn't take things too seriously and really helped the boys have fun.  Who knows what spring will bring -- Fawn will be old enough for T-ball and can also play soccer again.  So he will have to choose what sounds like more fun. 

 

 

Month Eight Update.

The sweetest baby voice in the whole wide world now says "Mama" (he says "Dada" too, don't feel bad for Buck).  Melt my heart. 

Speaking of that daddy -- Small Fry thinks he hung the moon.  Hung.  The.  Moon.  Cries when he leaves for work obsessed.  Cries when he puts him down obsessed.  Definitely his favorite parent obsessed. 

Two teeth!  With more on the way.  I know I've sounded like the boy who cried wolf for MONTHS waiting on Small Fry's teeth.  But, the first one finally made its appearance on September 23.  The second followed one week later.  It hasn't made much difference in Small Fry's life -- he didn't let the lack of teeth slow him down in terms of eating.  But, it's super-cute. 

And as for the food, Small Fry's eating habits are unbelievable!  Or at least unbelievable when compared to what I remember from Fawn's early eating days.  Unlike most babies, Small Fry has no problem with textures and would actually prefer "real" food over purees.  Fine by me; it's so much easier to just feed him what we are eating.  We've transitioned from oatmeal or rice cereal for breakfast to bite-sized pieces of bananas, pancakes, waffles, muffins or Cheerios.  Lunch is usually some sort of yogurt creation (I keep plain whole milk yogurt on hand and mix it with fruit or pumpkin) with another fruit or veggie.  If it's a family dinner night, I just mash up or cut up what we are eating.  He also loves shredded chicken or turkey, toast, broccoli, cinnamon applesauce, buttered toast, and roasted squash.  He's an easy baby to feed.

In other news, sweet angel is sleeping much better most nights.  He still gets up once in the 3 a.m. to 5 a.m. range but that is totally doable!  This is a new pattern of the last week or so but is so very much appreciated by mama!  He seems very content with his extra shut-eye too.   Now if he could only lengthen his naps...I don't want to get too greedy, but it's a chore to keep him awake until his super-early 6 pm bedtime because he gets too tired in the afternoon.

The boy is on the move -- now in the cruising stage.  He has more fun with his mobility except when we are doing something or are somewhere where I can't put him down.  Then he's frustrated!  He just wants to go.  The funniest is watching him try to remove himself from my Scootababy side carrier.

I've been taking the boys to a story time at our local library and Small Fry absolutely loves it.  In fact, he likes it more than Fawn -- but that's a good thing!  Usually he's the one "tagging along" so it's nice to feel like we are doing something really for him.  I know when we drop the morning nap I'll have more time during Fawn's school hours to take him to do Small Fry-centered activities.

This month's picture taking was a bit chaotic.  Daddy was at work so we improvised.  Sweet eight-month-old baby in his exersaucer:

 

Since a paper sign can't survive his grip, Fawn and I used the dry erase board:

 

 

Big and little:

 

 

A little brother fun:

 

 

And a tackle for good measure:

 









Month Eight in Pictures.

Week 31.

 

Week 32.

 

Week 33.

 

Week 34.