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| I found my quilt in the basket of (clean!) laundry... |
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| Hmm... tasty quilt... |
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| What, I wasn't doing anything... |
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| OK, maybe I was! (Mike calls this his stinker smile.) |
Sunday, September 23, 2012
Helping with the laundry
Thursday, September 20, 2012
5 months! (a bit belatedly)
Steven was 5 months old on September 10. I kept meaning to post an update and some new pictures, but time got away from me!
We've been doing solid food for almost 3 weeks now and so far we've tried carrots, rice cereal, green beans, bananas, peas, and peaches. He seemed to like everything, but the bananas were by far the biggest hit. The first time I mashed some up for him he gobbled them up and then cried until I mashed up some more! Next thing we're going to try is sweet potatoes. If he's anything like his Mommy he should love those, too. I ate so many when I was a baby that my skin turned orange!
He's also made quite a bit of physical developmental progress in the last month. He's now rolling all over the place, front to back and back to front, whereas a month ago he would just roll over sporadically and almost seemingly accidentally. It may have been due to happen anyway, but the doctor recommended that we do more tummy time so he would be more comfortable on his tummy and therefore not mind rolling onto it. Now he's happy on his tummy...
He also can sit up on his own now, and real sitting, not just gorilla sitting. It started the day after we got him the exersaucer--it really helps those abs! Only about 5-10 seconds at a time at first, but within a few days he was really good and now he can sit for quite a while before he gets tired and falls over. Most of the time, though, he gets upset because he doesn't want to sit, he wants to stand! His favorite activity is holding onto our fingers and standing/dancing (he loves to move the whole time), and he can do this for as long as we're willing to hold onto him. He doesn't need us to hold him up, he just needs us for balance. He's very strong!!
Other firsts include his first time with a non-family-member babysitter. My bell choir rehearsals are Thursday evenings, and last week Mike had to work late so our next door neighbor Claire (who watches Knute while we're gone on vacations) came over to watch Steve for an hour or so. She'll also be coming by next week when Mike is on call. He'll probably be home, but this way if he needs to leave or if he gets sidetracked by a bunch of pages he won't have to worry about Steven. Steven also spent his first couple of times in the nursery at church, during the service last Sunday and then again on Tuesday morning when I went to Bible study. I'm not sure how the Tuesday mornings are going to go in coming weeks, because it's for 2 hours and nap time usually falls during that time (he happened to have napped earlier this Tuesday). There is no way he'll be able to sleep in the nursery with all of the other kids around, so we'll have to see!
We've been doing solid food for almost 3 weeks now and so far we've tried carrots, rice cereal, green beans, bananas, peas, and peaches. He seemed to like everything, but the bananas were by far the biggest hit. The first time I mashed some up for him he gobbled them up and then cried until I mashed up some more! Next thing we're going to try is sweet potatoes. If he's anything like his Mommy he should love those, too. I ate so many when I was a baby that my skin turned orange!
He's also made quite a bit of physical developmental progress in the last month. He's now rolling all over the place, front to back and back to front, whereas a month ago he would just roll over sporadically and almost seemingly accidentally. It may have been due to happen anyway, but the doctor recommended that we do more tummy time so he would be more comfortable on his tummy and therefore not mind rolling onto it. Now he's happy on his tummy...
(Sorry, I have a hard time picking just one!)
He also can sit up on his own now, and real sitting, not just gorilla sitting. It started the day after we got him the exersaucer--it really helps those abs! Only about 5-10 seconds at a time at first, but within a few days he was really good and now he can sit for quite a while before he gets tired and falls over. Most of the time, though, he gets upset because he doesn't want to sit, he wants to stand! His favorite activity is holding onto our fingers and standing/dancing (he loves to move the whole time), and he can do this for as long as we're willing to hold onto him. He doesn't need us to hold him up, he just needs us for balance. He's very strong!!
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| This is his usual pose--3 fingers upside down in his mouth. He sucks his thumb, too, but more often when he's tired. |
Monday, September 10, 2012
Steven's Minnesota Adventure
The last week of August saw us taking our first real family road trip. Not that we didn't do a lot of driving while we were in California, but this time loaded up the new RAV4 and drove to Minnesota and back.
Steven did pretty well in the car through most of the trip. We had about 4 days where we drove at least 6 hours and the pattern was usually that he would sleep through the first couple of hours, and both Mike and I could sit up front during that time. After a stop for feeding and changing and a short bit of activity (we wanted to let him have more time out of the car seat but we had places to go and people to see!) it was back in the car. During the next leg he would get bored and start fussing and so one of us would sit in back with him to entertain him for a while until he got sleepy and took a short nap. This was pretty much the pattern until we got to wherever we were stopping for the night. Fortunately the back seat of the RAV4 is pretty comfortable and we could scoot up the empty front seat to give even more comfy leg room.
We made a stop on our way out in Dixon, IL, for a reunion with our
old Bible study group from Iowa. Unfortunately we were having so much
fun we forgot to take pictures! I've put out an APB to the others that
were there, so hopefully we'll get some eventually!
After leaving Dixon we headed to the Twin Cities for the night before heading up to Alexandria. It happened to be Aunt Krista's birthday and she, Uncle Nick, and new cousin Elena met us out for dinner.
The next day was not only our shortest day of driving, but it was also the end of long car rides for several days! All three of us were very happy about that.
During our week in Alexandria we got to see and have dinner with Mike's friend Steve (Original Recipe Steve). Ron and Linda treated us all to a nice dinner out to celebrate Unruh Week (which includes our anniversary, Ron and Linda's anniversary, and Ron and Krista's birthdays). And Ron and Linda (Grandpa and Grandma for those not in the know!) also were very nice and watched Steven for an afternoon while Mike and I had a little belated anniversary date. We had originally planned to see a movie but then decided that we didn't want to spend our time alone together in a dark room not looking at or speaking to one another, so instead we went out miniature golfing and then got some ice cream. It was fun.
After spending the week in Alexandria it was unfortunately time to pack up and begin the long drive home. We made the trek back to the Twin Cities, which took a bit longer this time because we got back right at the beginning of Friday rush hour. That evening we met Mike's friend Dan and his wife Kris and their two kids for dinner at the MOA, which we could walk to from our hotel. We got to meet new baby Thomas and see almost-3-year-old Sofia, who we hadn't seen since she was practically as little as Thomas!
The next morning we met up with Nick and Krista and Elena again at the Original Pancake House (best breakfast in the Cities!) before heading out.
We spent the night in Madison before heading home. All in all a long trip but a good one. As a side note, I highly recommend suite hotels for anyone traveling with small children. Steve goes to bed about 2 hours before we do and it was wonderful to be able to put him to bed and then go into another room and be able to leave the light on, talk, watch TV, etc!
So Steven has now been in 6 states--more than one per month he has been alive! I don't think I left California until I was at least one year old, and Mike said he didn't leave Minnesota until he was 7 or 8, when he went to exotic North Dakota. We got ourselves a Travelin' Man!
Steven did pretty well in the car through most of the trip. We had about 4 days where we drove at least 6 hours and the pattern was usually that he would sleep through the first couple of hours, and both Mike and I could sit up front during that time. After a stop for feeding and changing and a short bit of activity (we wanted to let him have more time out of the car seat but we had places to go and people to see!) it was back in the car. During the next leg he would get bored and start fussing and so one of us would sit in back with him to entertain him for a while until he got sleepy and took a short nap. This was pretty much the pattern until we got to wherever we were stopping for the night. Fortunately the back seat of the RAV4 is pretty comfortable and we could scoot up the empty front seat to give even more comfy leg room.
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| Early in the day I'm a happy traveler... |
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| ...then I get bored and have to find ways to entertain myself. |
After leaving Dixon we headed to the Twin Cities for the night before heading up to Alexandria. It happened to be Aunt Krista's birthday and she, Uncle Nick, and new cousin Elena met us out for dinner.
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| Playing with Uncle Nick |
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| Smiling with Grandma |
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| Chilling with Grandpa |
My first trip to Jan's Place... I can't wait until I'm old enough to eat blueberry pancakes!
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| Can't stop in Alexandria without visiting Big Ole! |
Having fun with Daddy...
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| Win Twins! |
After spending the week in Alexandria it was unfortunately time to pack up and begin the long drive home. We made the trek back to the Twin Cities, which took a bit longer this time because we got back right at the beginning of Friday rush hour. That evening we met Mike's friend Dan and his wife Kris and their two kids for dinner at the MOA, which we could walk to from our hotel. We got to meet new baby Thomas and see almost-3-year-old Sofia, who we hadn't seen since she was practically as little as Thomas!
The next morning we met up with Nick and Krista and Elena again at the Original Pancake House (best breakfast in the Cities!) before heading out.
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| Cousins! |
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| In the three times we saw Elena over the course of our trip, I don't think she had her eyes open for more than 30 seconds. |
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| with Auntie (AHN-tee) Krista, not to be confused with Aunt (ANT) Christa |
So Steven has now been in 6 states--more than one per month he has been alive! I don't think I left California until I was at least one year old, and Mike said he didn't leave Minnesota until he was 7 or 8, when he went to exotic North Dakota. We got ourselves a Travelin' Man!
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