eight months old!

In the wise words of my husband: "You've almost been out as long as you were in!"

Ethan is a BIG 8-month old, bigger than the 12-month-old babies at daycare! He's getting really close to a legitimate crawl; he gets up on his hands and knees and rocks, just before falling to the ground and army-crawling across the room. He moves so fast, too! Bear will let him get fairly close, then move across the room, and wait for Ethan to catch up to him again.

In the past month, Austin and I went to New York and D.C.

At the TODAY Show! We met Willie, Tamryn,
and Savannah.

We took Ethan to the zoo for the first time:

He LOVED it!

We took Ethan to an Astros game for the first time:

Thanks to his Uncle Sam, he also met a
pro baseball player!

Papaw had to choose between buying Ethan ice cream or a new hat.
So glad he chose the hat! I've never seen a cuter hat model.

I was in a wedding, turned 25, I started my new job, and started Ethan at daycare. He loves daycare! He gets excited when he gets there and he sees his teacher and his friends. Fortunately, one of us is usually there to pick him up before 5 pm, and I have Fridays off, so we always have the weekend together.

So far, I like my job, but I have only gone for 4 days! It's a little slow starting but I'm sure more work will come. In early August, I get to decide whether I want to stay on full- or part-time, and until then, just test the waters and see if I like it! I'm really enjoying the flexibility and my new boss is a really nice person, too.

Without further ado, our monthly photos!

Mommy is HILARIOUS.

Really, Mommy is just holding my whale.

YAY! I love my whale.

I'm DONE with this sitting still business. Adios!

And one last one: Ethan admires our art. He didn't touch it - he just looked at it!

Flashback to the last time I used that blanket for backdrop (the one on the left is a little more zoomed in):

 

He is getting so big!

xo,

getting over our first cold

We ended our streak of no baby sickness last week - at 5.5 months old, Ethan got his first cold! We think he caught it at church. He is a very strong baby, though, and after about 9 days of cold symptoms, we started to see relief! Today he is asymptomatic, aside from a few little boogies.

I got very little done while he was sick, because there was snuggling and healing to be done. I had to make sure he was propped up on his mattress, swaddled, warm, had his humidifier on, had his baby eucaliptis/spearmint rub on his chest and feet, and suck out more boogies than I care to recount. Do all babies hate that snot-sucking thing?

Since I'm not working from home, we've decided to transform the back office (4th bedroom in the back of the house) into a man cave for Austin (plus my sewing machine - so masculine) and make the would-be dining room - which is attached to the living room - Ethan's play space.

It's safe to say this little boy is without want.
He has never even touched half of those toys!

That play mat was $13.50 after a coupon at Garden Ridge! It helps keep Ethan off the carpet when he scoots, which is great because there's an endless supply of Bear hair in the carpet since he is shedding his winter coat.

Next on my list is painting all of our trim white, which I started when I recently painted the dining room and the entryway, beginning with the living room trim and then the kitchen, followed by the hallway, bedrooms, and then - finally - spraying all our doors! We all know how much I hate painting doors...

Happy to have a healthy baby boy again! And here's this gem, too - three generations of Haynes men!

xo,

five months old!

Our babbling ball of energy is 5 months old today! He has been such a blessing. He is a little flirt, picking up cougar girlfriends at HEB every week. He talks nonstop, unless he is completely enthralled, which does happen occasionally. He even babbles in his sleep, like his dad. He may look like me, but he is just like his dad.

At 5 months old, Ethan:

• LOVES Bear. Bear is Ethan's favorite thing. No matter how upset Ethan is, if you get him close to Bear, he will giggle, or at the very least, calm down.
• Rolls his way around his play mats - front to back to front to back.
• Is a little scooter! He actually just wedged his little head under the couch a while ago. Since he didn't cry about it, I'm guessing it was probably more frightening for me than it was painful for him.
• Hates his car seat. I've learned that errands must be run right after nap/feeding him, and that I had better get through the grocery store quick, otherwise I'll be carrying him through the store, as I did today...
• Still sleeps fairly well, about 8-10 hours, though most nights we do have to pat him back to sleep around 1-2 in the morning.
• Is a bouncing machine. He really enjoys his doorway bouncer and the Excersaucer! They're helping him stand a little better.
• Is really flexible. He loves sticking his feet in his mouth! (He actually was doing this on one ultrasound!)

In summary, this little boy is absolutely dying to be mobile, and Austin and I know that the end of the "blob" phase is near. I'll say that we can't wait for him to be able to sit up in a grocery cart. Shopping with a baby who hates his stroller/car seat but can't sit up is torture.

His schedule has changed a bit over the last month. I've learned that his first nap comes quickly after waking up - as though he had to wake up to eat, but really, he just wants to go back to sleep. It's a struggle keeping him up for two hours, and if it were a perfect world, he would stay up for three. His other wake times are typically about 2.5-3 hours, followed by a 45-60 minute nap. One nap in the day will typically be a little longer - about 1.5-2 hours - and without that longer nap, he can really have a bad day! Now that I am a full-time stay-at-home mom, I base my schedule around Ethan, and I don't mind his idiosyncrasies!

We are looking forward to the joys his 6th month will bring! The last 5 months have passed so quickly, they give new meaning to James 4:14; these little moments, small joys and frustrations, are each part of a vanishing mist.

xo,

three months old

Merry Christmas!

We have had the most amazing Christmas with this sweet little boy, and we still have one more day of Christmas celebrations to go when my brother and sister-in-law come in to Houston tomorrow. Ethan has been so good through all the chaos of visiting family and being passed around!

Ethan is just an amazing little boy. We are in awe of every one of his little accomplishments, and we love seeing his personality come out. He's started giggling (not as much as I'd like - I can't get enough!) and he is such a little flirt with his sweet smile! He loves smiling at his mama for no reason, and he loves to sleep - almost as much as we do! If we wear him out really well, Ethan will sleep ten hours at night. On a normal day, he sleeps about eight hours. We're loving his long nights!

Ethan weighs 15 pounds and 10 ounces! Babies are supposed to double their birth weight at 6 months (which would be March) but he is already almost there - that would be 16 lbs and 6.8 oz for him (~13 ounces to go!). It's safe to say that breastfeeding is going well!

Our big man is wearing 6 month (and sometimes 6-9 month) clothes comfortably these days - I'd even say that some of the 6 month onesies are getting snug. This is the longest he has worn one clothing size, so I'd say he isn't growing quite as rapidly as he did the first two months, but that is kind of nice because we can't quite keep up with all the clothes he has already blown through.

Ethan can roll over from front to back, hold his head up when he is on his belly (with or without the help of his hands), follow your movements with his eyes, smile, laugh, and steal your heart (watch out ladies!). He's still trying to strengthen his neck, but he loves standing and sitting with our help. New environments and environments with lots of people both keep him entertained, quiet, and happy. He sleeps the best on the nights when he has had a lot of interaction!

We have loved (almost) every minute of the last three months with our sweet baby, and we are looking forward to many, many more!

Merry Christmas!

xo,

week 39

I had a really uneventful weekend, which is exactly what we had planned. We got a ton of rain (about 8") Friday night, along with more thunder than Bear has heard in his entire life. We learned that the poor guy probably needs a Thundershirt, but since we didn't have one, we both cuddled up on the floor with him. It was really sweet! (We also ended up completely covered in white hair!)

Panting through a lightning storm!

Saturday, Austin went dove hunting with Sam, which made his weekend a bit more eventful than mine! He completed his hunter's safety course just before the hunt, so now he can do a lot more hunting with the Strickland guys in the future! I think dove hunting is his new favorite thing... He's even thinking about saving for a shotgun!

This morning, our little furbaby wasn't feeling so great. Poor guy had a dry nose and isn't eating. We're watching him to make sure he is okay. He threw up once this weekend (he eats a lot of things he shouldn't eat, though). I think I see a vet trip in our future...

Austin went to work early again, so I opted for the selfie, rather than skipping another week!

How far along? 39 weeks! Let's go, Ethan!

Weight gain: A billion pounds
Maternity clothes? Still loving the dresses...
Stretch marks? Just one over my belly button.
Sleep: I keep waking up in the middle of the night - not fun! I did get to sleep in today, though.
Miss anything? Not at this point!
Movement: I can tell he is running out of room. Come on out, Ethan!
Food cravings: Nothing crazy this week!
Anything making you queasy or sick: Heartburn, if I forget to take my medicine..
Have you started to show yet: You can't tell?
Gender: Boy
Labor Signs: Nothing right now... we're dilated to 3 cm, though!
Belly Button in or out? It's in/flat. It's definitely not going to pop out.
Wedding rings on or off? On, miraculously!
Happy or Moody most of the time: Tired.
Looking forward to: Ethan's debut!

love,

32 weeks

For the first 6 months of pregnancy, I really didn't mind being pregnant. There were very few bad side effects (aside from losing 1/2 my wardrobe and needing prescription heartburn meds that I am bound to daily). Being 5'10" helps a little with spacial issues/crowding... that is, unless you're married to a 6'7" (maybe 6'6", we debate) man, who gives you a lanky baby. I'm convinced this kid is enormous - in length, if nothing else.

Ethan, I do believe we'd both be more comfortable if you were more into the fetal position than the "L" position - or whatever it is you're doing with your butt on my right and your foot on my far left. Yes, I am officially uncomfortable. I wake up with backaches, sit crooked at work so I can stretch out, and recline at every opportunity. Son, we have about 8 weeks left. Let's figure something out.

Bear made his appearance this morning (his ratted up toy, too).

 This week, theBump.com says baby is the size of a squash (a round one). Let's just refer back to the pineapple from last week: he feels bigger than that, and about as comfortable.

There's a baby in there!!

In other news, progress was made on the nursery, thanks to Austin!

Apparently, the only picture I took was of the one upside-down outlet.
I'm very excited that they're tamper-resistant! Yay!

Yes, the other thing(s) are those closet doors. Hate, hate, hate. I'm sure when they're done, I'll be the happiest mama on the block.

They still look like that, but the extra trim and compressor/nail gun is gone.

How far along? 32 weeks (starting month #8!)
Maternity clothes? belly-banding it today
Stretch marks? None
Sleep: Lots this weekend, none last night.
Miss anything? my wardrobe
Movement: All. The. Time. He just elbowed my hip for the 14th time today, and has already had hiccups once.
Food cravings: More like, "nothing sounds good and I'm not hungry, are you sure I have to eat?" every day.
Anything making you queasy or sick: Only when I forget my heartburn meds, or don't take them with food (they're serious about taking them with food).
Have you started to show yet: Undeniably
Gender: Boy
Labor Signs: None yet, thankfully
Belly Button in or out? Hanging in there!
Wedding rings on or off? On, no sign of that changing yet.
Happy or Moody most of the time: Argumentative? Not sure that's new though.

Looking forward to: Baby showers!

This weekend is our last "free" weekend until Ethan comes, with the exception of Labor Day. The others are full of showers, and/or not making plans in case a little man wants to cancel them. We have one or two more house projects that we'd like to wrap up before Ethan gets here.. but I also have a couple to post about later that we did in the last week!

I didn't get a video of it, but Austin and I both watched Ethan drag his foot across the left side of my stomach on Saturday night. Seeing that makes things a little more "real" for Austin, but I also think it scared him a little. Yes, there's a real live human in there!

Excited to meet our little man... :)

love,

meet Bear!

Bear is our new puppy, who we are obsessed with - partly by choice/force of cuteness, and partly because if we weren't, he'd poop and pee all over our house! He is twelve weeks old, and he is a mix of a Border Collie and (we think) and German Shepherd. He loves to play and have our attention. He is slowly learning to go potty outside, but he is also way too smart for that game.

Bear playing with his dad!

We read that we should just calmly pick him up when he starts to go inside (harder than it sounds when most of your house is carpeted) and take him outside. It's a long walk to go outside unless you're in the garage or our bedroom, which he almost never is. At some point, he learned that he gets to go outside if he "goes" inside, which ended up with countless trips outside (I think four times within 1 hour on Tuesday). So we started positive reinforcement (treats) when he "goes" outside. Works like a charm! Indoor messes have been significantly cut down. :)

Bear enjoying being outside... eating our grass (that's a no-no) sniffing EVERYTHING, playing, and going potty!

All this puppy sweetness just reminds me of the joys of babies. Bear got poop on the walls, and I read an article about babies doing the same the other day (I'm thrilled for that). I have little/no time to myself if Austin isn't around, I get ready within 15 minutes each day (I sacrifice the makeup) and spend all my time watching him. He isn't a baby but he sure is training me! All I have to say is... thank GOD that the baby will have diapers, and not have to run outside like with a puppy. The potty training will come later. And, thank God that babies aren't instantly mobile!

I'm excited for our baby to grow up with such a sweet and playful pup. S/he will have some awesome memories!


Love,