6 Months

6 months... wow. July 18th my son turned 6months and celebrated his half birthday!

At his 6 mo. check up he weighed in 17lbs 4 oz and was over 26 in long. He's going to be a big boy and tall like his daddy. Each time I pick him up I can feel the muscles in my arms straining at the added weight- he gives me a full workout. Despite him only being 6 mo. I still can't believe that he's sitting up on his own, keeping his balance, scooting across the floor, and rolling around. We started pricing and researching gates with full understanding that it would be better to buy them BEFORE he starts moving. If his current state is any indication as to what we've got ahead of us we're going to have to keep a close eye on this one.

He has been eating solids for about 1.5 months already; however, he now eats them with a vengeance. He frequently opens his mouth like a little birdy ready for the next bite before you even get the spoon back in the jar. We've discovered that he thoroughly enjoys oatmeal, like his mommy, and will eat just about anything you put in his mouth- thankfully!

Diaper changes have become more difficult as he's reaching, grabbing, and chattering up a storm. He loves to play with diapers, since they crinkle, and if you're not careful he'll snatch one right out of your hands followed by an evil laugh. His vocabulary includes YEA, HMM, DADA, and something that sounds like OK. Sarah taught him how to shake his head no so when you ask a question he loves to answer with a head shake. Granted he may not understand what he's actually saying and doing but I still think it melts Brandon's heart each time he hears dada. Our little monkey is a daddy's boy to the core. NO ONE and I mean no one can make him laugh the way Brandon does. He'll smile at me but he lights up for his dad.

One thing that has remained constant is his love of music and lights. He'll groove and bob his head to music and his face lights up at his toys that blink and flash at him. The best purchase we've made when it comes to toys, a Vtech baby laptop that we got at Once Upon a Child for $1.

Teething is our current lesson. Each day his drool increases and it is an impossible fight trying to keep his hands out of the back of his mouth as he tries to knaw on his fingers. We've learned, just this week, that teething toys are trial and error and what works for some infants does nothing for ours. For our little monkey a Raz Berry teether soothes him the best; outside of his fingers of course!

Lessons this month:
- Just because someone swears by something doesn't mean your child will LOVE it too!
- Tylenol on a daily basis is NOT okay so if you don't provide it to the daycare they can't give it to him. ;)
- Teething can get the best of even the easiest going children
- Children are expensive and keeping them contained to a particular area, baby gates, can cost as much as the child- seriously considering just throwing him in the backyard with the dog. :)
- 6 mo old children CAN eat you out of house and home!

Don't Let Go

Like any mother I cherish any time spent getting to snuggle my child with full knowledge that those times will grow less and less and shorter and shorter as my little monkey grows up.

Gentling place my little monkey in his crib I sighed with relief as I thought about the rest of my evening. With a plan in mind I made my way back to the living room and to my closest girl friend and husband. Quickly I took my spot on the couch as the three of us geared up for the movie that we carefully had selected earlier that day.

Music played, the screen filled with a gorgeous snow filled scenery, and the little monkey cried out in confusion and loneliness. Taking a moment to pause the movie before standing Brandon declared he would get it. The look I gave Sarah expressed my deep apologies with out saying a word and she just smiled in return and shrugged her shoulders. 10 minutes passed with out sight of Brandon and as I raised to check on him and the monkey the two made an appearance; Brandon carrying him lightly on his arm. The monkey's head bobbing up and down as they walked into the room, his eyes moving about to take in what was going on, and tears stained his cheeks and held at the corners of his giant reddened eyes.

Brandon took position in the recliner and readied to cuddle and rock the monkey back to sleep but he would have none of it. Arching his back, crying out, and flailing his arms Brandon could not get the monkey to settle down. Hearing his "pain" cry we dosed him with Tylenol as Brandon spent another 30 minutes attempting to comfort him with no real result. Oral Gel on his lower gums was next and although his crying died down it did not cease; defeated Brandon handed him over to me.

Immediately the little monkey clung to my hair and shirt as if fearing I might drop him. He desperately wanted to make sure that I knew not to let him go. Carefully I eased down into the recliner and worked to get both of us more comfortable and slowly began to rock the chair back and forth. Turning on my "mom" voice I cooed at my son to calm down and reassured him that everything was okay; almost instantly his body relaxed and his breathing calmed. Quickly his breathing evened out and he fell limp in my arms, sleep having over taken him. Slowly I walked the short distance to the nursery and gently lowered the monkey into his crib. His body having touched down on the sheet his eyes popped open and he cried out in protest. Confused, I raised him up again and watched as he settled, yet again, contently in my arms. After rocking for another short 5-10 minutes in the glider I attempted a second time to place the monkey in his crib; again, his eyes opened and his cries were heard through out the house.

Befuddled, I cuddled my son once again and made my way back out to the living room where Brandon and Sarah sat just as amazed as I was. Had he not just fought off an ear infection I would have let him cry it out; however, this type of behavior was very uncharacteristic of my little monkey so the three adults pondered what would cause such a needy reaction from the little one. Our conclusion: when you don't feel good you just want your mommy, it was all we could come up with to explain his drastic change in behavior.

Per Sarah's thought, I cuddled him while in my bath robe and we were able to finish the movie. Having been able to enjoy the movie in peace once it was over I make my way back to the nursery praying Sarah's idea would work. After placing the monkey in the crib I took off my robe and tucked it around him like a blanket and watched as he sighed with relief. 10 minutes later as my son realized that it was a bath robe he was cuddling and not me he cried out again. Frustrated and fearful that I might have to spend the evening in the chair I made my way into the nursery, for the third time, to pat the little monkey's bottom back to sleep. Cooing at him to calm and encouraging him to take the robe he settled down and fell in to an exhausted sleep.

As I leaned down to kiss him goodnight he had one arm and leg wrapped around my robe and was burying his nose in it's scent, my scent. I sighed with relief that I would get to sleep in my own bed and lightly chuckled at the sight of my son. Despite the change in evening plans it was nice to get some extra snuggle time and I took a second to cherish the thought.

He has been content each night since and despite my concern over his behavior that evening it was nice to feel so needed so badly for just one night.

5 Months

The boy is 5 mo. old.... AAAHHHHH!!!!!
The daycare has started feeding him rice cereal 1-2 times a day.

TH and F of last week he would NOT take a bottle from them during his AM feeding, they have no idea why, and they called asking if they could give him some rice cereal so that he had something in his stomach. It seemed to work and he was happy about it. He now gets cereal during his morning feeding, around 10-11AM, and right before bed (with some solid food, green beans/peas/carrots/squash). Every now and again in the PM if he doesn't eat a lot of his bottle the daycare will feed him cereal to fill his ever growing belly. My little porker is growing up so fast! Just last week he nursed, ate 3 tbls of rice cereal AND a 1 1/2 jar of green beans; CRAZY!!!!

His drooling increases on a daily basis and almost daily the daycare has to give him Tylenol for his mouth. I didn't check yesterday for any nubbins but I we should have a tooth here soon if the drooling keeps at its current rate. This means that my nursing days may come to an end before the summer is out because I have plans to quit once he starts biting me. I'm looking forward to NOT pumping but will miss our special nursing time. :)


Still the ever joyful little guy he is rarely seen with out a smile. He does great on his stomach and the desire to crawl is more than evident as he fights to reach for his pacifier or toy. He's almost desperate to have control and to be able to move; it's so cute!

He still loves people but no one makes him laugh more than his daddy. It is quickly becoming obvious that he favors his daddy over everyone else; Brandon is eating it up!

The boy now sits up on his own, can take his pacifier in/ out of his mouth, and can almost hold his own bottle. He LOVES to stand and his balance is getting better each time. If there is music playing he'll shake his butt to the beat; it cracks me EVERY time as he smiles and dances along.

His weight continues to goes up and I find that I can't hold him for more than 5 -10 minutes at a time. Cuddling for long periods of time while he sleeps is impossible as my arm starts to go numb quickly due to his increased weight. I'm looking forward to seeing how much he has grown at his 6 mo. doctors appointment.

This One's For The Birds

Given that we only have one tree in our yard I'm always excited when I find a bird nest; last year we had babies and it was my hope that we would again this year. I've never minded their high pitch chirping and since we have a garage they are unable to poop on our cars. :)

For weeks I've searched the branches for a nest and have never been able to see one. As it turns out my disappointed searches were due to my lack of height. Brandon informed me that not only do we have a nest but three little babies sitting inside. Determined to see the little guys I started jumping and hopping all around the tree trying to make myself tall enough to get a peek.

After thoroughly embarrassing my husband he offered to take a picture for me instead since my silliness was getting me no where. Eagerly I gave him my camera and watched as he attempted to stick it between the leaves and snap a picture. As Brandon made every attempt to get the camera to focus I noticed that momma and poppa birdy were perched on the roof top chirping a sharp warning at both of us. Eyeing the pair wearily I called out a warning to Brandon as one of them made a bee-line for the tree.

Swooping low the bird cried out as it soared past us with it's intent more than evident. Brandon bent at the knees and lowered his head he was just missed by the bird flying past. Eyeing the bird as it re-perched on the roof and began it's sharp warning again, I laughed and mentioned that he should hurry up and take the picture.

After the birds third attempt to peck Brandon's eye out he gave up and handed me my camera. My hopes of getting a peek at the babies were squelched as I looked at what Brandon was able to get.

Jingle Bells

Andrew's development is growing each day and now that he is gaining motor skills he has begun grabbing at anything he can get his fingers around, including my hair.

He has always had a fascination with my dark curls and thoroughly enjoys it when I lean over and tickle his face with them. If I'm not careful while playing with him he will get a hand full of curls and give them a good hard yank.

The favorite toy, as of late, has been a small shaker with jiggle bells attached. Each time I get it out his eyes widen and light up with joy as he eagerly reaches for them. He is quite familiar with their high pitched sound and thoroughly enjoys shaking and banging them around. I can't help but sing the favorite Christmas song "Jingle Bells" each time I bring them out and subconsciously get a craving for some peppermint hot chocolate.

I always encourage him to hold the handle the correct way, with all fingers on top and his thumb on the bottom, but when the bells are dropped or thrown he often picks them up however he can reach them. He'll laugh and talk as he jingles and as always there is a smile plastered across his chubby little face as his dimples make their well known appearance.

He is a happy child who, currently, jingles his way through life with a smile on his face and his bells in hand. :)

This past weekend while Brandon was visiting family in Boston the boy and I headed home to Cinci for a long weekend with my family. Thursday, Friday and Saturday were busy with activity and by Sunday we all were exhausted. Making a final trip to the store Sunday night my sister, mom, and niece all piled into the car and headed out to Walmart. Checking items off our list we loaded our cart and quickly made our way to the check out line in hopes of getting mom home in time to go to church with dad.
Rushing to the car the rain poured down hard and we all felt a little drenched once inside the car. Thankful that we made good time mom turned the key and heard nothing more than click, click, click. She turned to me with a sour face and I fought back a smile. Turning the key again, click, click, click and I stifled a laugh while mom cried out "Crap!". As mom called dad the rain and wind picked up speed and it began to look like a hurricane out the car windows as the rain came down at a slant and the trees that littered the parking lot bent at odd angles.

Plan A was to have dad come and jump the car; however, we decided that we didn't want dad jumping the car in the current weather and called back asking dad to bring the van and just pick us up, plan B. Since dad had Andrew and Kyndahl with him it was decided that dad would leave Kyndahl with Jen and bring the baby. 5 minutes later our plan was shattered as we realized that Amanda's car blocked the van and Amanda held her keys in her purse. Yes, at this point in time I broke into full blown laughter and exclaimed that there would be a Mann Update about this. Planning to possibly have dad pick us up in shifts, in Jen's smaller car, Amanda called her husband Jeff to the rescue.

Of course it would stop raining the minute someone came to get us even though we sat in a humid car for a hour watching the hurricane of a down pour. As Jeff pulled in to save the day the clouds parted, the sun shone brightly, and it was as if the angels sang at his presence: "AAAWWWWWW". hehehe.

We loaded all our Walmart goods in his trunk but unfortunately left no room for Kyndahl's car/booster seat. Since I am the smallest I was volunteered to sit in it for the duration of the car ride home, of course! We all piled into the car and laughed as we noticed that I fit quite nicely in Kyndahl's seat. Making it safely home, thanks to Jeff, we relaxed for the rest of the evening.

The following morning we were up early to head up to Springfield to see the grandparents. Mom and I pulled out in the van at 9:AM with plans to stop at Dunken Donuts on the way for coffee. We made it as far as the top of the hill before puttering to a stop and coasting towards the curb. Unsure if the car would make it even to get coffee we headed home, made a plan B to take two cars and piled into the Escape, the car that had died at Walmart the night before. Click, click, click. Stranded at home we were unable to see grandma and sadly unable to go get coffee. hehehe.

What is it with the Kennedy family and car problems?!

4 Months

The boy is 4 months old and continuing to grow like a weed. On a daily basis I am finding onsies and pants that no longer fit and adding them to the storage pile. I am quickly learning that when it comes to children and clothing you just never know what you are going to need, especially since I live in KY and the weather changes hourly. Andrew is growing out of his long sleeve onsies but I don't want to buy more given that summer is coming; however, the last few days have been extremely chilly. This often causes a financial pickle sprinkled with uncertainty but luckily we have access to a Once Upon a Child and it is garage sale season. :)

As the boy gets older he has become more active and is now swallowing his rice cereal and not just swishing and spitting. He even tips his head back like a little bird and reaching for the bowl indicating that he wants more. :) His active nature and eating of "solid" food has really helped him sleep. With in the last week he uped the average eight hour night from 3 nights a week to 3 ten hour nights in a row! This upward trend has brought many more laughs to the Mann household as Brandon and my moods have gotten better with increasing sleep.

Since the boy currently has a bad case of thrush I have finally been puked on, pooped on, and just generally defiled in every way an infant can disgust his parent in the last two weeks. Brandon is loving it, hehehe. Despite my new found appreciation for clean hair, clothing and furniture I am thoroughly enjoying the extra time that I've been given with the boy this week.

Each month we learn new things about being a parent and this past month has been no different:
-The boy learning to "get around" is NOT always a good/fun thing (i.e. past Mann Update where he jumped off the couch).
-Babies are hardy and sturdy for a reason.
-The doctor is not always right and sometimes you have to put up a fight for your child.
-Trust your instincts.
-Cable is not necessary when you have a child to entertain you for free!