I have to comment on this one because it was NEVER the case with Reed. Alison is in a mommy phase. When I see her after work she just wants me to hold her. Obviously this makes getting dinner on the table a little challenging, but I’m not complaining. It is so wonderful to have your child want you the way she wants me. Love that little girl SO much!
6 months
Half a year already! My how our lives have changed. This first six months certainly went a lot different than the first six months with Reed. All we can say is… she’s certainly a girl.
Ali has added more laughing to her smile this past month. When her mood allows it, she will smile at us from across the room and sometimes get herself worked up enough to giggle. At these times she seems to laugh at everything. I think she got a little of that from her mother. She is a joy to be around. Her teachers have even commented to us how good she normally is.
She is eating an assortment of solid foods now and is not as picky as she used to be. In fact she will dive into the spoon with her mouth wide-open for *almost* everything we have tried. She is eating bananas, cereal, peas, carrots, sweet potatoes and applesauce.
She is wearing size 2 diapers and 6 month clothes (and growing out of them quickly). At her 6 month checkup she was 50% in both height and weight…just like Reed.
She is finally sleeping like a champ and cross our fingers she has been very healthy all summer. Let’s hope she keeps this up!
As for sitting up, she is still a little wobbly and shouldn’t be unattended, or at least un-padded. And when left to roll around on the floor, you’d better watch your feet… she’s even started to push with her legs when she’s on her tummy. Watch out! We might have a crawler in the next month’s update.
Cole Jordan Kohnen
I met Ryan in college, but truthfully we never got to know each other until years later. He met Lacey and then I introduced Julie when she came around, and the four of us just hit it off. We have a rarity in couple relationships, where all 4 individuals get along great with the other 3.
Now Ryan and Lacey are celebrating their first child, and we couldn’t be happier. Sharing the experience of our own kids with them while they were preparing for their own, has really strengthened our relationship. Now that Cole is here, we are anxious to get to know him and watch him grow with our own kids.
Cole came in at 7lbs 5oz and 20 inches long. Lacey and the baby were doing great when we got to visit them, and your couldn’t wipe the smile off Ryan’s face.
-RB
Fourth of July
No trip to the lake this year, but who needs the lake when there is a perfectly good swimming pool just down the road?
We took it easy this year and decided to hang out at Duke and Ya-ya’s new house with the pool in the back yard. It is certainly easier than packing for the weekend at the lake, and with two little ones, it’s really the most logical choice.
Last year, we couldn’t keep Reed out of the water. He was fearless…literally. This year, he has developed a good, healthy fear of the water, but he swung 180 degrees the other way and would not go near it. That is, until Reed spent an afternoon at the pool with Miss Kate Pike.
You see, Kate has been taking swimming lessons and she knew how to jump into the pool to her dad. Reed saw this and refused to be upstaged by a girl, so he wanted to get his swim trunks on and jump into the pool to dad as well. Ever since that weekend, Reed has been just as fearless as he was last year… pushing his boundaries in the water. First he was falling into my arms from the side of the pool, then he began jumping at me, so I moved back. Most recently, he has added a running start to his jumps and getting several feet out into the water.
Ali likes her time in the pool as well. She is usually grinning from ear-to-ear while Mommy holds her. She will kick a little, but she really just likes to be a part of the action.
Boy Big Bed
That’s right… you read the headline right. We converted Reed’s crib to a daybed by taking the side off. We call it his big-boy bed, but he jumbles the words and trips over his tongue a little when he talks about his “boy big bed”.
We took a chance on making the conversion, really just on a whim. Reed rarely threw his leg over the rail of his crib, and never made any serious attempts to climb out. We just felt he was ready for it and he is already such a great sleeper that it didn’t feel TOO risky. After all, we had just got Ali to start sleeping through the night so why not change it up a little bit?
I knew going into this that he was going to fall out of his bed. I think everyone in my family (including my dad) has memories of falling out of the bed and waking up on the ground. Apparently we are a bunch of floppers, and Reed is no different. Hardly ever did he wake up in the same side of the crib that we laid him down in. So, for Reed’s first night in his new bed, I expected to deal with a few falls… I just was uneasy at how he would take it. Sure enough, his first fall was around 2 hours after we put him down… and he slept right through it! The other 2 that night, however, woke him up and he cried when he realized what had happen. He took it like a champ and climbed back into bed and let us tuck him back in.
He has slept better every night since his first. We have even had a least one no-fall night in the first week. We put some floor pillows down to cushion his falls, and he talks about his falls like a badge-of-honor (like a little boy should). The excitement he had the first morning when he woke up and talked about his “boy big bed”, validated the chance we took. Our boy really is getting big.
RB
Alison is 5 Months Old!
My little chunk is 5 months old already!!
Alison you are the smiley-est baby I have ever seen. You really only cry if you are hungry or want to be held.
You love to play in your exersaucer. You are reaching for toys and chewing on everything you can get your hands on. I wonder if you will get your teeth on time or be a late teether like your brother.
About 2 weeks ago we let you try rice cereal. You weren’t a fan at first, but I wasn’t doing a very good job of feeding you. I knew you were hungry for more than breast milk, so I let the professionals try. Of course you ate like a champ for your day care ladies. Rosario commented that you were going to get ‘fluffy’ once you started eating food. Boy was she right! You really are a big ole’ chunk of a baby girl and I love it!
Now we are on to oatmeal and applesauce. I can’t wait to make all of your baby food just like I did for Reed. (I wonder how it will go when I make you sweet potatoes…Reed is truly obsessed with sweet potatoes so I might have to make one for you and 3 for him so that he won’t eat yours. HA!)
You are a terrible napper and we are hoping your naps will get longer and more consistent next month once you move to the next room at day care. We think the room you are in is just too noisy and hectic for you to ever get into a deep sleep. Right now you only sleep for like 45 minutes 2 or 3 times a day. We need you to sleep longer than that!! At night you are finally sleeping through the night…but not every night. I still feed you around 10pm but I try not to feed you again until at least 5am. Luckily your congestion has finally cleared up so we don’t hear you coughing all night long. Let’s hope you stay clear for a few months.
You are wearing 6 month clothes and we are still shoving your little bottom into the last of our size 1-2 diapers. You really should be in size 2s, and we will get you there soon!!
It is a good thing you are such an adorable and happy baby when you are awake because it makes up for all the times you wake us up in the night.
Your daddy, brother and Duke are still wrapped around your little finger. Luckily the feeling is mutual.
The other night you were fussy right before bed. I was trying to put Reed to sleep at the same time that I was holding you to calm you down. As soon as I walked into Reed’s room and you saw him you stopped crying. He made you laugh and you were happy again. Both of you went right to sleep (but only after Reed could ‘kiss A-li’ and ‘hu-g- A-li’. He demands to do that at least 3 times every single day). I hope your relationship is always this special.
Every day of your life has been a great one for me. Your smile literally lights up my life. I love being your mommy and I love watching you get bigger and stronger. I can’t wait until you can talk and we can go on mommy/daughter dates.
I love you sweet girl!
I just can’t ignore this.
I read WAY too many blogs. Seriously. It is getting out of control.
You need to read this post. For some reason it hit my heart hard. It made this problem real. Too real for me to ignore.
http://shaungroves.com/2011/06/meeting-the-neighbors-next-door/
(And it makes me embarrassed that my last post was about Aggie Football…seems so insignificant)
Football!
Is anyone else itching for some football? I realize it is the start of June, but I am SO ready for football season.
Last night I was watching College Football Live and thos guys rank the Aggies at 11th overall to start the season. I am SO freaking excited for a good Aggie football season that I can hardly contain myself. Let’s just hope they show up for every game and don’t let all this publicity go to their heads…
Here’s to a short summer (since it is already 100 degrees in San Antonio and we are already on Stage 2 water restrictions due to this horrible drought) and here’s to a fantastic Aggie football season!
Memorial Day Weekend
We spent the weekend in Leakey, Texas with 2 other families that have kids. In a cozy 3 bed/2 bath hill country house, we set in for a 3-day weekend with 6 adults and 5 kids under 3yrs old. This may as well have been traveling daycare.
We had what you would expect from a weekend with kids involved: some sleepless nights, toddler meltdowns and scheduling events around nap time. However, we did have a great place on the river to relax and get wet, as well as plenty of good food to cook and grill.
Below: Reed and Kate set out to find some deer that were all over the property. At first, Kate calls the deer on the phone, and then she and Reed set out. Among the notable finds: deer poop.
Pretty Girl
Reed has a new favorite word. ‘Pretty girl’
I’m sure this is sort of my fault because that’s what I call Alison. Reed is my ‘good boy’ and Ali is my ‘pretty girl’. He has taken it to a new level though.
Last Saturday we were flipping channels. Randy stopped on CMT and a Sugarland video was playing with the girl in a bikini. Reed stopped dead in his tracks and stared. In a zombie voice he said ‘pretty girl’. If she wasn’t on the screen for a second he got all upset and kept repeating, ‘pretty girl, pretty GIRL, PRETTY GIRL’. Then she came back and he was ok. When the song ended mayhem ensued. We kept flipping the channels looking for a pretty girl. Then I tried to distract him with baseball (which always works). Not this time. Finally a Carrie Underwood song came on and he was happy.
Fast forward a few days. We were playing in the front yard and Megan was playing outside. She is a middle school girl who lives across the street from us. Reed went into zombie mode again. He stood next to me and zombie voiced ‘pretty girl’. It is hilarious because he stands totally still, but points his fat finger while he says it. Megan came over to see Ali and Mr. Pretty Girl hid behind my leg. He was acting so shy and silly around her…like a middle schooler.
Who is this kid?? It is NOT time for this boygirl nonsense yet!!!
Regardless…it was awesome.