10 Months

WOW!  Philip is already 10 months, actually older, but it took me forever to post these photos

10 months

three years old!!

At 10-months, here are your stats:

• You have three teeth, with one trying it darndest to pop through
• You roll over from belly to back and back to belly - regularly!
• You scoot on your bottom, but haven't crawled - although you are close
• You (at this point) were still sleeping in my arms...more on that change later
• You coo and say mama and dada.  Otherwise, you babble LOUDLY

can't believe you will be one soon...

9 Months!

WOW - time seems to be flying by.  It was just yesterday that Philip was born, right?  I mean, I'm tired enough to know it was 9 months ago, but really?  I'm starting to forget how small he was...

At 9 months:

• You sit up very well and you enjoy it
• You are starting to creep and swim on the floor
• You are still a mama's boy and sleep in my arms every night
• You like your toys and are starting to not hate the car
• You love your sister and get so excited when you see her.  
• Sister still loves you and likes to mother you.

And here is Natalie on the month before she turns three!  Lord help us, we will soon be dealing with a very strong willed three-year-old

Fixing her hair

Sitting pretty

8 Months

Well...traveling once again got in the way of the monthly photo...so we will skip month 8 in photos and talk about the other changes going on:

• You have two bottom teeth and I think there might be another one coming because you really like to bite
• You sit up like a pro, even though there are times that you get really excited and toss yourself backwards, so we still put pillows all around you on the floor
• You love your sister so much and miss her when we travel.  In fact, Grandma was asking you to say "dada", then "mama", then "sister" and at the word sister, you started to cry.  As soon as we saw her at the airport you couldn't get enough of her
• You are eating cheerios now and pretty much anything else we give you.  You have a huge interest in eating everything on our plate!
• You still sleep in mommy's arms, but when we travel you insist on being on your own next to me and not in my arms
• You wear size 3 diapers, 6-9 month clothes, although some things aren't long enough for your legs
• You sit in the high chair now and love it
• You still talk ALL THE TIME
• You have just started doing the motorboat with you mouth and mostly when you are tired

Those are the highlights. Let's hope that next month we can get a photo!

7 Months

7 months already?

WOW!

Philip is sitting up better and better and is trying REALLY hard to crawl. He climbs up you when you hold him, loves playing in the activity center and is getting more and more aware of the world around him. His tooth is breaking through more each day and the drooling continues. He still loves his sister and she loves him, but mom is his first choice. In the sleep department, he is sleeping better each night - often getting 8 to 9 hours between feedings. He is also getting better and better about not having to be held to sleep. He likes being close to me, but will sleep next to me for a few hours at a time. He likes to have his belly rubbed in a circular motion to get him to sleep and has started to stretch his legs out and put his arms above his head while he sleeps.

He is so much fun (except for the days that are hard). He loves to smile, laugh and talks (babbles) all the time. Even more will change over this month, I assume he will start to army crawl soon - possibly before the 8 month mark.

Actual 7 month birthday!

Actual 7 month birthday!

day before 7-months...because I didn't realize it wasn't the 10th

6 Months

One day after Philip's 6 month birthday, we had his 6 month well baby check up. He is doing great and growing (although more about his weight in a minute).

I'll start by saying that we were excited to get his measurements. We don't have a baby scale at home so we had been guessing that he was about a pound heavier than the last visit and we were pretty much right on with our guess.

At this appointment he weighed 16 pounds 6 ounces (29%) and he was 27 inches long (54%). After the weight check, the doctor started talking to us about the fact that he has dropped in his percentile on the weight chart, and although it could be because he is getting more and more active, she was concerned that he wasn't getting enough to eat. This totally shocked us! He eats ALL THE TIME. The doctor asked us how much he was eating during the day and I said that he has around 2-4 ounces with each bottle, plus cereal and a fruit or veggie. She said that kids his age normally eat 7 ounces of formula at every feeding. I was SHOCKED. Not only is there no way he could finish a 7 ounce bottle, there is no way I could produce that much milk. Even though we are not planning on using it, she sent us home with a bottle of formula, just in case we decided to try it. Nice to have a freebie, but hopefully we won't need to use it any time soon.

Here are some photos from the doctor's office

Following the appointment, we took the monthly photo of Philip in his rocking chair. He was less than thrilled.

He looks downright scared!

5 months

Alright, I'll admit it...I forgot to take the chair picture on Philip's 5 month birthday. I remembered when we were about one hour into our trip south. Too late to turn around, so I figure that taking this photo at 5 months and one week is good enough.

Pre chair shot

Natalie trying to get the camera

These are the best photos I can get...

He is so intent on getting the chair arm in his mouth he can't sit up straight for mama

You get the general idea, right? He is growing.

This is the actual 5-month-day

Things to remember about this past month

• You giggle more
• Your sister loves you and kisses you all the time
• Your sister still likes/insists on calling you "Baby Brother"
• You seem to have grown, but I haven't called to make a shot appointment, and therefore don't have your exact measurements
• You still want to sleep while being held and will generally only sleep for the night while in my arms. Although, over the past weekend I was able to get you to sleep alone for about 20 minutes at a time!
• You are a great eater! You love oatmeal cereal, bananas, pears, mango's and tomorrow we will start prunes. I think if I gave you steak you would be happier, but soon enough...
• You are sitting up more and more and have almost mastered the back to belly roll over.
• You are constantly moving, kicking your legs, waving your arms, and you talk all the time!

Four Months

Philip turned four months old while we were in Minnesota, so the chair photo on his actual birthday didn't happen. But, I did take a hotel bed photo on the four-month-mark, followed by a chair photo two days later:

You can see by his face that he was in NO mood for a photo op

At four months, here are a few things we want to remember about LP (little Phil)...

• You still sleep in mama's arms every night, just like you have since birth.
• You have been smiling and cooing and even started laughing recently.
• You have totally mellowed out at night, except for the occasional crazy fit, but a big improvement from the first few months of your life.
• You want to be bigger or older than you are - always trying to sit up when you are in your bouncer chair, trying to crawl when you have tummy time and looking at Natalie while she runs, as if you wish you could be running around too.
• You have turned into a cat napper, just like your sister used to be. Napping throughout the day for 30-45 minutes at a time...but you like to sleep while being held in the ergo carrier and you don't like being moved once you are a sleep.

Can't wait to see what new developments appear this month!

3 Months

Philip is already 3 months old, well actually he is closer to 4 months now, but figured I would post these photos anyway.

As a "birth" present, my Aunt gave Philip this adorable little rocking chair. I decided that it is the perfect chair to use to take his monthly photos.

At 3 months, he weighs 13 pounds 2 ounces and I'm not sure how long he is because he is always either being held or kicking his legs around too much for me to measure him. And he is super cute and fun and I love him!

This whole monthly photo thing is something I had wanted to do with Natalie, but forgot or didn't have time or something. Now, she is at the age where yearly photos make more sense - so starting in November, I'll try and remember to take her photo :) Until then, here she is in all her 29 month glory. It just so happens that she and Philip were both born on the 10th of the month (as I planned, ha ha ha - cue wicked laugh).