Happy Apple Farm

We visited the Happy Apple Farm today, on Von's 7-month birthday. It was super windy, and Von was super confused as to why we were there. :) Lots of people oohed and ahhed over him, but at the end of the day, pumpkin farms aren't that much fun for babies. Von's favorite part was sharing my apple pie at the end. Or at least, he thought he was sharing my pie as he ate apples. Then we went to a coffee shop before heading home.

It was so totally windy.

And dirty!

I wish this weren't blurry! It was so sunny we couldn't see what we were taking pictures of.

Still working on sitting up alone!

 

This is at the coffee shop afterward; I can't figure out how to move it to the end.

 

Did I mention it was windy?!

I love this picture!

I forgot!

To post the pictures from Caitlin's visit. We didn't get much, and we didn't get great pictures. But with 4 children under 4, you just do the best you can. :)

Hooked on a feeling

Strangers always comment on two things about Baby--his big blue eyes and his expressiveness. In the span of about 45 seconds, I was able to capture a big range of feelings after he had eaten supper. By the way, we tried avocado today after several meals of banana, and Von was not interested. I was afraid he was developing a sweet gum, so tonight I used the babyfood maker that The Twins* gave me to make baby chicken, and Von LOVED it. MORE than the banana. So protein, here we come!

*The Twins are the MacAulays--Jennifer and Catherine. Our parents were very close growing up, and for the rest of my life (and my sisters'), whenever someone says "The Twins," we will mean and understand that it is a reference to them. :)

Von Skippy

When cousin Samuel was a baby, I sent him a little stuffed puppy dog. He fell in love with it, and it's still one of his softest friends. When Von was born, Samuel knew exactly what his little cousin would love--a little Skippy dog just like his. He and Auntie Michelle searched high and low until they found one, and we got it in the mail the other day. It's the first stuff animal that Von has ever shown interest in. Every time we show it to him, he gets a great big smile on his face.

We did it!

So after the failed egg yolk last week, we went back to nursing exclusively. Baby went back to his happy self with 6 or 7 nursings a day, cheery and smiley. Then on Friday, we were at my ladies' group. He sat in my lap as I ate soup, and all of a sudden, he was very interested in what I was doing! So after I would sip my soup, I'd stick the spoon in his little mouth. He let me "feed" him with the empty spoon probably about ten times, so I decided to try the soup. I dipped the spoon in the broth and let him taste it. He loved it! When I stuck the clean spoon in his mouth, he objected, so I let him taste the soup a couple of more times. That night, we decided to try solid foods again. I didn't have any cooked egg yolk, so I mashed up a banana. SUCCESS! He LOVED it!

You make me happy when skies are grey

Von responds to music. When I sing or play the piano, he often "sings" with me. When I am teaching voice lessons, he sometimes "sings" along. When we're in church, he likes to "sing" during worship. We played music (Sigur Ros) during labor and birth and have sung to him since before he was born. BUT. He really prefers one specific song. No other song calms him like this one. In fact, when Caitlin, Lael, Von, and I drove to Texas, Lael became a pro at singing this to fussy Von in the backseat (wish I had video of that!).

Von's apple

The first time we visited England, Caitlin's oldest, Lael, was about a year old. One morning, she sat on her papa's lap and ate an entire little apple. It was one of the cutest things I'd seen.

 So today while Von and I had second breakfast with Polly, I thought to give him one of the apples she brought us. He was amused for a moment but without teeth, had a difficult time understanding the appeal.

First food!

I dropped Baby's dreamtime feeding (nursing before I go to bed without waking him up) a few days ago, and he has been very grumpy since then. So Aaron and I decided to try giving him solids. He isn't sitting up on his own, so I knew that he might have trouble with his swallow/gag reflex, and he also has shown no interest in food, but if he's hungry, we want to satisfy him!

 

First attempt: FAIL! He didn't actually swallow any of the egg yolk until I nursed him right afterward. Oh, well. We'll bring back the dreamtime feeding and try solids another day... 

Carrot

When I work in the kitchen, I put Von in the highchair to hang out and play. Tonight he was discontent so I gave him a carrot. Here is his reaction...

Six months!

Baby boy had his 6-month appointment last week. He weighs in at 17.6 pounds (51%) and is 29 inches long (over 99%). I was concerned about the weight, but the doctor said that it's typical for breast-fed babies to drop around 6 months once they are more active. The doctor is thrilled that Von is still nursing and said that only 15% of American women and 25% of Colorado women still nurse by 6 months. She said we can start solids any time in the next 6 months, although preferably in the next 3 months, as research shows that the risk for food allergies is greatly reduced when certain foods (wheat, eggs, etc.) are introduced between six and nine months while baby is still nursing. Who knew?! She said that once Von starts showing an interest in food (reaching for our food, opening his mouth when we open ours to eat, etc.), he'll be ready!

He is trying really hard to sit up. He can sit up for a few seconds before either falling forward or back. We practice on the bed where the landing is safe. And he is a super duper sleeper--down at 7:30pm and up at 8am! His naps are still short during the day, but I'm okay with that! He is more alert now and notices what's going on around him. He loves his Baby Einstein video and playing in his jumperoo. He is a pro at sticking his binky in his mouth, and he has graduated to big baby binkies! His favorite toy is my cell phone, and he loves running errands with Mommy and going for walks as a family.

I came to get down, so get out your seats and jump around. Jump around.

Or stay in your seat, like Von does in his jumperoo. We got this for him almost 2 months ago. He moves so, so much I thought he might really enjoy something like this. But until now, he's really been too little to jump. As Aaron says, it's more like he staggered back and forth like a drunk. :) Now that he's almost 6 months (YES, SIX months!!!), he has finally figured out the jumping part of it and he loves it! And we love watching him. I hope you find it as sweet/cute/funny/adorable as we do. Or at least a fraction.