Changes

PJ is now 9.5 months and it seems enough changes have happened that I should take a moment and write them down. Not all of the changes are true development milestones you would read in a book, but they are changes to his reaction of his environment.
PJ remembers his G-Ma. She was worried he wouldn't recognize her but he does each time he sees her, this visit was no exception. Several times during this visit he crawled right by me straight to G-Ma. This is a change because for the past month PJ has been a momma's boy. Daddy has been crawled by, but this was new for me.
PJ now takes his hands or whatever is in his hands and touches the back of his head. He doesn't pull his hair or anything like that, he just reaches up and sorta back and touches his head. Its funny to watch, I have no idea where he got it from or why he is doing it but its pretty cute.
PJ gave me a real hug on Sunday. Usually when I hold PJ he is kinda leaned in for comfort but he looks out, exploring his surroundings. But in this instance he had both arms around me and snuggled in. It was a sweet few seconds!
PJ is doing his best to master balance. He will be cruising along the furniture or his upright toys and then get a little courage and out go his little hands in a funny off balance sort of pose, along with a grunt or two and if he does it for more than 3 seconds he makes a sound of delight. He is really getting good at mastering the catch from his imbalance. He lands squarely on his diapered bum or he leans into the furniture with his belly and his hands. I am really enjoying his reaction to his imbalance. Sometimes the reaction is frustration and tears, but mostly its a serious determination in his eyes and glee that he mastered it for just a few seconds.
Teeth! Two more teeth are coming in. The top right front tooth was poking out this morning (making the long night worth it), and the top left front tooth is coming, you can see the white in the gum.
PJ is talking a lot more! He says Mama and Dada, but not directed at the right person yet. Lately he has been saying Bah a lot. In general he is trying out all his sounds and the range that his voice can go. He doesn't squeal high pitch but he does try out different throaty sounds.
PJ laughs a lot more from actions not just faces and sounds. G-Ma is the winner for finding this out. She took PJ's binky and made it jingle inside her coffee cup and then put it in his mouth, then pulled it out and repeated. PJ had pure joy from this simple act. He is starting to react to tickles and he thinks feet and hand eating/kissing is hilarious.
All this change has made for some tired parents. Goodnight!

G-Ma's Visit

We have had a wild few days here at Younk-'O'-Fun house. For the last 5 days we had Giant Milo the sweetest, largest golden retriever visiting, with the biggest paws you have ever seen. We had the cuddliest puppy in desperate need of hugs and attention.  The best baby of all, PJ was moving around all over the place via crawling, pulling up on anything sturdy enough or cruising along furniture. All this busy-ness while my eyesight has been sub par, and no driving allowed. G-Ma is tired! She leaves us tomorrow and will be missed!

PJ using G-Ma as a sturdy support

Rosie is a big baby, she is snoring in this picture

 

 

 

 

 

As if laying on her back, belly out, and snoring is not enough she has to claim all comfort by stretching a her legs-DRAMA QUEEN!

Saturday Morning

G-Ma, PJ, the three dogs and I had a fun day. We started out the day staying in our pajamas hanging out, just playing. While PJ tested his hammer on everything including as a gum soother; G-Ma was calming the four legged babies. PJ has his two top teeth coming in so he spent the day gumming on everything, but for the most part a happy little dude.

Milo, Rosie, and Cheyenne on top of G-Ma

PJ enjoying his new hammer

We Went to Ikea

Today G-Ma, PJ and I ventured out to Ikea to see what they had for kid furniture. We weren't exactly sure what we were looking for until we found it. We came home with a cute little PUONG chair, a stool that will be used as a little table until PJ is bigger, and a little toy box that he can walk around, climb in and bang on. We also got a little hammer and peg table thing that PJ can smack at with purpose. He loves it all!

PJ lounging in his new chair

PJ with his hammer and peg table

Rosie Girl

G-Ma is here and PJ is enjoying her songs, silly sounds, binky tricks, hands for balance, kisses and food sharing. They are having so much fun together it's hard to capture a picture of them being still! Tomorrow I will try for a picture of the two of them, but today we have two pictures of the newest Hammell member, Rosie girl.

Cuddled in the pillows before bed, after a big day of playing with PJ, Cheyenne and house guest Milo

Rosie's close up

G-Ma is Coming!

G-Ma is coming, G-Ma is coming!  R headed out of town for the next 5 days and I am out of commission.  The short of my issue is that I have a bad bacterial infection in both of my eyes.  It is so bad that I can not see well enough to drive; I can barely see well enough to walk in a straight line (some would say I could barely even do that when I was seeing clearly).
Anyways with R out of town and my limited sight, we were going to be in a bit of a bind for the next few days; until G-Ma said "I will see you in 8 hours."  Sweet sweet words to me.  So I need not worry, my eyesight will return and until then, G-Ma is in town!
No pictures today, my eyesight is so fuzzy and I am pretty sure the picture I posted yesterday was blurry.  I don't want you all to think you can't see well either!  Once G-Ma comes we will return to picture posting.
-K

No Hands!

PJ's latest skill he is working on mastering is balance.  He will be holding onto something and then just put his arms out and yell excitedly as he hangs in a balanced pose for several seconds.  We haven't seen it last too long but we cheer each and every time we see it which makes him want to try again.  

Blurry due to poor eyesight and a wobbly boy trying to balance

Puppy-sitting this Week

A little break from the P-man, for another bit of cuteness at the house of Younk-'O'- fun.  We are puppy-sitting a 85 pound golden retriever, about the same age as Cheyenne.  They love each other; it's pretty easy to watch another dog when it makes Chey-Chey so happy. My one wish is that it would stop raining because the boy's paws are HUGE.  It takes a huge bath towel to dry off Milo, while I use such a tiny tea towel for Chey.

Cuddle Puddle, Chey is 1/4 the size of Milo

Milo picked up his head when I got up to take this picture, Cheyenne just re-directed her eyes towards me.

Good People

We have some great people in our lives, near and far.  For all those reading this from a distance, you know how much we miss you but in your absence we have made some good friends; real people that we can be real with.  The Wieds are some of our good people in the Seattle area.  Sunday afternoon the family headed over to the Wieds' lake house to for nice afternoon.  While we were there Chey got some great exercise running laps around the outside of the house, Porter got some lovin', R got to eat lots of food and I got a Thai cooking lesson.  It was a great afternoon!  Red curry is now in my cooking repertoire!

TJ holding PJ; PJ checking out John's thick hair!

-K

PJ Loves his Puppy

This morning Cheyenne was outside on the deck and PJ was crawling around on the floor. Suddenly he noticed she was outside and hurried to the French door. He then spent the next ten minutes smacking the glass, trying to use the glass as support while he stood and using his limited sounds to get her attention. PJ was quite pleased when Chey looked at him.

Feeding the Babe

We are transitioning to a new phase at dinner time. PJ used to put his arms out and his head tilted up like a little birdie ready for the spoon to come and go as we were able. Now PJ wants food his food more immediately and he wants to do it himself. We had been giving him some food for him to pinch and deposit in his mouth on his own, but we were still managing the spoon for most of the meal. Well, tonight PJ fed himself for nearly all of the meal. He still can't get the pureed food on a spoon and will allow for one of us to help; but as soon as the spoon is loaded he takes over. Not only does he like to manage his spoon, but a bite or two from my fork is even more exciting.  Since the fork is more weapon like, I still hold onto it. He was a mess by the end of the meal but actually got a lot inside his mouth too.

Daddy - The Jungle Gym

Happy, tired boy is enjoying some daddy time before bed.

More Helping

I love the new phase of crawling, climbing and exploring.  This afternoon we spent some time in the pantry.

My Little Helper

PJ is pulling up on everything. Now that he crawls he can get to just about anything in the house and try out its stability. The latest is the dryer. While I folded laundry today m little helper grabbed at the clean laundry quite excited with each find.

PJ's First Valentines' Day

Today PJ and his other classmates made their first Valentines card to their parents. There is nothing more a new momma could ask for than this sweetness!
The penny in the picture is to show the precious littleness of PJ's hand.

A visit to the Park

On Sunday we went for a walk to the park.  The weather was supposed to be rainy all weekend, but Sunday afternoon we found a break in the wet and took advantage with a nice walk, checking out the park's smallest slide, watching Cheyenne run and a little bit of swing time.

Daddy and PJ after PJ's first slide down the slide

Not sure if he wants to do it again

Happy puppy

Momma pushing PJ

PJ at 9 months, love that smile

-K

PJ is 9 months!

Pj is 9 months and I am afraid to blink because he may become ten months.  I know that its such a cliche to say, but there is no other way to describe the last month.  Perhaps the month went by because now putting him down in one place means nothing more than a starting point that he will not be at for long.  If we give PJ a very interesting toy like a wooden spoon or a big bowl he may sit still for longer than a moment, but for the most part he is on the move.  We got exactly what we wished for last month, since he is now crawling and even walking while pushing his little cart, and its more fun than work.  PJ is so happy to explore and discover, and who doesn't want to see there child smile.
At PJ's 9 month doctor appointment he weighed in at 20 pounds and 29 inches.  He is around 45% for weight and 78% for height.  The doctor said that he is doing great.  The most unexpected bit of advice from the doctor was to be prepared for bruises and scrapes, its going to be our normal for the next few years.  I am not surprised by the advice, but I hadn't even thought about it.  Funny thing is, the very next day PJ got quite the nasty bruise on his ear and it was comforting to know that he is normal.
We haven't seen any more teeth break the gum line since his first two arrived, but if drool is any measure then all 18 teeth left will be here any day now.  PJ  drools a lot!  I can't tell if its teething or maybe he is so busy thinking about his next move there is no time to swallow.  Either way we are having to change his bib pretty regularly.
So does he look any older?

PJ pushing his cart, its very serious business

-K

Well on His Way to Walkin'

 PJ pulls himself up on everything, he loves it when you hold his hands and walks, he has even mastered crawling and now he is ready for the next milestone...walking.  Obviously PJ has to master balance first; so he has been practicing with his push cart and we got it on video!

Daycare Pictures

 Daycare sends us pictures sometimes;they are so cute we had to share.  They take all the kiddos outside to ride in a buggy and to play on the slide.  They also do sensory activities which in these pictures they played with water and corn starch as well as cellophane and chocolate.

 -K

Bedtime

Putting PJ to bed is bittersweet, its the best part of the day and sad another day past. Its nice knowing we made it through another day. Not only did we make it through the day but it was fun and we are all still smiling! It seems that the days are flying by.

Daddy is Home!

R came home a day early. PJ was happy to see daddy, lots and lots of smiles. Daddy couldn't get enough kisses; he missed his little man so much!

Photos from our Weekend

PJ and I went to Medford to see the G-Rents, just for the weekend.  We had a great time!  We played with G-Ma and Poppy at the house, walked around and surveyed the property and all the trees Poppy has been removing from the large patch of land that will become gardens, pool area and a few fruit trees.  He has done awesome work so far, its fun watching the progress they make with the inside and outside of their place.  We also went and checked out a farm that G-Ma volunteers at once or twice a week.  The farm, Sanctuary One, takes in abused and abandoned animals of all varieties.  We saw dogs, cats, chickens, sheep, LARGE pigs, ducks, geese, cows, goats, llamas, and horses!  PJ was pretty interested, although he was a bit shy around the big animals.  I think he appreciated being protected in the Ergo.  Overall a fabulous weekend that was way too short!
I have posted a few of my favorite pictures from the weekend, click PHOTOS for the full set of pictures from the weekend.

PJ showing off his standing skills and giggles to G-Ma

PJ touching a LARGE pig, named Jigsaw

G-Ma introducing us to Brian the Sheep

G-Ma offering some love to Cookies

Not sure the goats name but he was interested in PJ's foot

PJ, Momma, and Uncle Troy

The G-Rents with their pups, Bella and baby Rosie

-K

Dinner Guest - Aunt Amy

We are back from Medford and having fun in the kitchen.  Aunt Amy joined us this evening for dinner.  I love to see one of my favorite ladies but I think PJ may have been even more thrilled.  Aunt Amy let PJ  help her with the spoon while she did her best to keep more of the prunes in his mouth than on his face, although that face looks pretty covered!  So nice to have a visit with Amy on a weeknight!

Aunt Amy giving PJ some prunes

PJ's prune covered face from helping Aunt Amy feed him

-K

Cheyenne's Sleepover

While PJ and I are enjoying the G-Rents, Cheyenne is sleeping over at Oscar the Dalmatian's house. Lots o pictures are being taken an until I return to my computer, here's a puppy picture. Oscar and Chey are definitely living it up...

New Baby in the Family

PJ and I are at Poppy and G-Ma's house this weekend while daddy is out of town. We are taking a lot of pictures with the new camera but they aren't downloaded yet. Until we get the pictures downloaded, I have two pictures of the new baby in the family. G-Ma got a 6 week, brindle boxer puppy. The little girl's name is Rosie and she is precious!

At the Airport

PJ and I are headed to Medford tonight. We made through parking, parking shuttle, check-in. AND security, with ease. It was so easy we are 45 minutes earlier than expected. So now we dance and pace and best of all enjoy each other until we board.

Retirement Party

Tonight I celebrated my mentor retiring from Boeing, with a bunch of coworkers at a Mexican restaurant. Since R is out of town PJ came with me. The guest of honor, Rob, was delighted that PJ joined the party too. Rob was actually the first coworker I told that I was pregnant. He has been an awesome support at work and for my transition to parenthood. PJ enjoyed checking out Rob and his wife at the party as seen in the picture.

Chey Chey Wake Up

This morning Porter was snoring away when I went in to his room. I had already gotten all my morning routine stuff done so it was time to get up for a morning bottle and to head out the door. Before I could say good morning, Chey was giving him kisses. I was worried for half a second that it was a terrible way to wake up, but she got big smiles from PJ. He is my son after all...