Happy Halloween!

We went to Main Street tonight where the street is shut down and people pass out candy. We had an absolute blast...it's always fun to hear everyone tell you how stinkin' adorable your kid is. :)

We're making it!

Seth had his surgery last week, and we are so thankful to God that Seth is recovering so well. His Mimi and Pa-paw came over to visit on Sunday, and his Granny came to see him Sunday and went home this morning.

Trick or Treat!

It's been awhile, eh? Let's see...other than the fact that my hard drive finally gave up the ghost, I have a little baby who is crawling, pulling up, and trying to let go. He's into everything. One million toys, and he wants to play with the dog gate, the doors, the drawers to the dressers, and anything on the coffee table. He's so stinkin' cute, though, so that's his saving grace.

On Friday, Mike, Seth, and I went to the zoo for Halloween festivities. He is dressed up as a puppy dog, and he was the most adorable child there. :) He's graduated into the big boy bathtub, and thinks it is the greatest thing ever. The last picture is his "What? Who, me?" look that he gets right before he heads over to check out the light sockets.

Getting mobile.

Seth is sooo sooo sooo happy because he has figured out how to crawl. Yep, he's on the move. He has been rolling and scooting and even doing a little backwards crawling, but today there was an unattainable Elmo book and he went for it. I picked up the camera to take a video, and have five minutes of him doing just about nothing as I try to convince him to do it again.
The above picture is just Seth hanging out at Quizno's. I gave him my empty potato chip bag to play with and he was oh-so-happy.

Ah, yay.

So I finally figured out how to hook up my new camera to the computer. I figure Seth will be able to teach me how to use all this technology in a few years, so I'm not stressing out too much about my constant befuddled state.

All smiles

We've come a loooong way since those first few months that Dr. Harvey Karp calls "The Fourth Trimester". Now instead of hours of wailing and fussing, we've got smiles and smiles. Seth, too, of course. :)

No teeth, yet, though. I'm pretty sure he's going to the prom toothless. (Yeah, right. As if I'd let him go to prom. Do Mama's come to prom? Then I might consider it.)

Play date!

Buddies

Like a little Sumo wrestler.

Just a swingin'...

So happy.

Play dates are exhausting.

We had a play date yesterday with our friends, Tara and A.J. We started at Tara's house to play with some of A.J.'s toys, and then moved on to the park for Seth's first experience with the baby swings. As you can tell, the baby swings were a big hit. He also enjoyed watching all the other kids run around and knock each other down.

6 months old!

Doesn't he look dapper?

All those toys, and the measuring spoons make him happy!

Seth is doing really well. He had his 6 month check-up last week and weighed in at 18 lbs, 15 oz. He was 26 1/4 inches, and he took his shots like a little champ. (Ok, not really, but I'll remember it that way if I want to.) He's sleeping much better, although still not sleeping through the night. He's eating well -- he likes everything we've tried, including peaches now!

It's been awhile...

It's been awhile since my last post. There have been lots of changes going on for Seth. His night sleeping got progressively worse. He started waking up every hour or two, with waking every 5-10 minutes every other hour. After weeks of total chaos and sleep deprivation, I made the decision to start sleep training. For those mommies (or daddies) who have had to go this route, you know this wasn't an easy decision. Nothing about listening to your baby cry is easy. I did a "check and console" type of thing, and it worked. Praise God, it worked. He is now back to just waking to eat and go right back to sleep. Now if only we could get naps on some kind of schedule...

In more fun news, Seth is enjoying his journey into food. So far, sweet potatoes are the biggest hit. He likes the squash a lot, and pears are pretty good. I have the only baby ever known to humankind who doesn't care for peaches.

He's changing so much every day. And so am I.

"Not now, Mama, I'm busy."

It's been a wild few weeks for Seth. He outgrew his bassinet and had to be moved to his own room and his crib. Not a fan. He worked his way out of his swaddling blanket, and had to go unswaddled. Again, not a fan. Throw in some teething and a new sitter, and he went from waking about twice a night just to eat to waking anywhere from 4-(I stopped counting at) 11 times a night. Whew.

Hopefully we are on the road to better sleep...I mean, he's growing up, so eventually he has to sleep again at night, right?

In the meantime, we are enjoying all the new things he's doing. Mike is enjoying watching Baby Einstein videos with him, and playing peek-a-boo, which Seth thinks is hilarious. He weighed 16.2 lbs when I took him to the doctor this week to make sure there wasn't anything physically wrong that was keeping him up at night. She has her opinions on what we should do, and I have mine, and we're still weighing out our options. In the meantime, he's napping well in the swing, so I recite my new mantra: "Whatever works."

Adventures in feeding

More goes out than goes in!

Posing with the spoon. Not really eating it.

The pediatrician gave us the okay to start some cereal and some fruits and veggies. I'm a little torn about starting the fruits and veggies just yet, but Mike can hardly stand it he wants to give him food so badly. Seth is a little unsure just how he feels about the cereal. The first time he had it, just a little before the pediatrician visit, he squealed and loved it. We haven't gotten that reaction again, but he is definitely taking to it. I guess the next stop on the food adventure is some sweet potatoes!

New sights, sounds, and SMELLS!

All ready to go!

Looking at the giant turtles!

Worn out from all the fun!

Today Seth went for his first trip to the zoo. He enjoyed riding around in his stroller and taking in all the action. It didn't even matter when he started to fuss and have a meltdown, 'cause there were a lot of kids doing the same thing. Yay for the zoo!

Hanging out with Daddy

Sweet smiles.

"Daddy, you so funny!!!"

Appropriately using the Bumbo, or "Dodo", as Granddad calls it

Seth in his "Rocket Chair", which is apparently Daddy's masculine name for his swing.

Seth spent the day with his Daddy yesterday, and from the looks of it, a good time was had by all. The rocket chair pic was taken about a week ago...I think he looks different already! It's amazing how much he changes. I can't wait to see what new thing he does each day. Tomorrow he goes for his 4 month check-up and shots. :(

Mmmm...hand....

I'm a little behind...here's a few pictures from last weekend when Granny, Aunt Amanda, and Cousin Jett came to visit. Seth is really working his little hands! They are usually in his mouth, and over the last few days, he's figured out he can grab toys and put those in his mouth, too! So much fun!

My little model

Here's a sampling from Seth's first professional photo shoot. Seriously, I have no idea where he gets this thing about being such a ham. :)

Look what I can do!

In addition to a little rolling on his side, Seth has discovered how high he can raise his head! Seth also gets a bad case of the giggles when tickled. Poor kid is tickled a lot now that I've discovered that trick!

Travelin' Man

"They're cousins...identical cousins, and you'll find..."

Bottle with Granny

"When I get big, I wanna be just like you."

Last weekend, Seth made his first trip to Granny's and Granddad's. Seth's great-grandpa died, and our little family went west to go to his funeral. Although it was really sad to say goodbye to Gramps, Seth got to meet lots of family and friends. Gramps would've loved to have known Seth, and he would've loved the fact that we spent time smiling and laughing with our boys.