Erik's 9 Month Well Baby Visit & Other Ramblings
Gisela
I know...I'm SUCH a slacker! I'm trying NOT to give up on my 365 blog, but it is getting harder and harder to maintain. I'm hoping that I can get a few hours of time to catch up on the past 6 weeks. I don't know if I've even taken pictures every day, but if not...I will figure something out!

Today was Erik's 9 month well baby visit. He's now 22 pounds 11 ounces and 30 1/4" long. BIG BOY INDEED! His 9 months stats are bigger than Nicholas', but Nicholas didn't grow much from 6 months to 9 months, and then from 9 months to a year he gained 4 pounds! So who knows how Erik will grow. He seems to be just steady, although he is 95 percentile for height and 85 percentile for weight.

This weekend is a busy weekend for us. Tomorrow my nephew Michael turns ONE! I can't believe it has been a year already! Saturday is our annual block party. They're calling for rain and flooding (ACK...no FUN!) but I hope it holds off. And then Sunday is Michael's first birthday party. And next week we have friends coming into town from Wisconsin so it will be a busy weekend next weekend as well!

Hopefully once summer is done I can dedicate more time to updating everything!



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So Busy!
Gisela
I'm here! I have not fallen off the face of the planet, I promise! Summer is just a busy time around here, and I have not updated my blog. (Even worse, I'm about a month behind updating my 365 blog! Maybe I'll work on that, too!) This summer has been full of birthday parties, bridal showers, baptisms, and a million other day-to-day activities!



Around here we have been SO busy that we've only made one trip down to the Jersey Shore as a family. This weekend Nicholas is down there with Opa & Nana, but the rest of us are here at home. Ken is taking our pool down, while I work on ebay listings, and Erik...well, he will hang out and do his Erik thing. Which lately, because he is teething, is not much more that eating and sleeping. He's not a terrible teether- he just wants to eat and sleep. So he's taking about three naps a day and sleeping 12 hours at night. I can't really complain!



So, as I mentioned, Ken is taking our pool down. You may ask...taking a pool down, in the middle of summer? Are you crazy? Well, yes, I am crazy- but for many other reasons! Anyway, we're taking our pool down because it takes up the entire backyard. Our yard is about the size of a postage stamp, or an above ground pool! Since we live in the city, and on a fairly busy street, it isn't safe for the boys to play out front. Not to mention our front yard is pretty much non-existant. The kids in the neighborhood play in the driveways and on the sidewalk, but there is no place for a swingset or play structure. So we are taking the pool down so we have a yard for the boys to play in. It is entirely fenced in, so it will be a safe place for them to play. I cannot wait!



Well, that is just a bit of what is going on here. We have a wedding next week, followed by a bridal shower, and the following weekend brings two block parties and a birthday party. I think our weekend calendar is booked through January!



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Nine Months
Gisela
Can I PLEASE stop time? We are creeping FAR too close to the one year mark, and I don't want my little man to turn one!

Ok, I suppose it won't be THAT horrible, but it does make me a tad bit sad!

So, this month has been full of new adventures. I have myself a climber. Erik climbs on E-V-E-R-Y-T-H-I-N-G! Really, he is TOO smart. He moves boxes and books and anything else he can find so he can climb to where he shouldn't be. And on several occasions he has given mommy quite a scare! Of course, he just smiles and laughs as if it is no big deal!

He is not walking yet, but crawls faster than the speed of light (ok, maybe not THAT fast, but he is quick) and cruises all along the furniture with ease. He will stand alone and it looks as if he is contemplating taking a step, but at this point we have nothing.



Erik has a few words- Mama, Dada, and something that sounds like a cross between Baba and Bop. Often you just hear him babbling or squealing with delight. He is still very much a happy, laid-back guy.

Erik is also enjoying some new foods. He loves eating bits of fruit and veggies and also small ditalini pasta. I still laugh every time he takes a first bite of food though, because he makes a face as if it is the most disgusting thing ever, and then he proceeds to gobble it all up!

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Not Me! Monday (with a twist!)
Gisela
For this week's NMM the focus is on the kids, and all they crazy things they have not done!


So (after you read all about my kids) head on over to MckMama's blog and check out what her MSC aren't up to, along with everyone elses kids!

On Friday, while eating dinner, Nicholas was NOT caught trying to blow raspberries/spit at the table, and in response to that he definitely did NOT try to explain it by saying, "But Daddy tells me if I have words stuck in my mouth to just spit it out!" Yes, I definitely did NOT get outwitted (yet, again) by my three year old.

And my darling eight month old Erik definitely did NOT pull out a box of books to climb upon in order to bang on my TV. That is something a much older TODDLER would do, not my LITTLE guy! And a few days later he most certainly did not push another box next to his toybox in order to use it to climb up on the toybox to get to Nicholas' toys on the windowsill that he isn't allowed to have! Nope, NOT Erik!

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Such is my life as the mom of boys!




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Wordless Wednesday
Gisela
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Blog Hopping
Gisela

This picture (albiet a poor quality due to being scanned) is from October 30, 2004- the day Ken & I were married!

"A blue eyed boy meets a brown eyed girl, Oh the sweetest thing!"
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MckLinky Blog Hop



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Not Me! Monday
Gisela
Welcome to Not Me! Monday, the blog carnival created by McKMama where we can share all of the embarrasing things we have done! Head over to her blog where you can read about what everyone else has NOT done!
First, I most certainly DID NOT turn thirty yesterday. Nope, I simply celebrated the first anniversary of my twenty-ninth birthday. Yup, my mom and I are the same age!
I also did NOT let my eight month old eat half the sand on the beach when we went down the shore last weekend, which definitely did NOT result in me changing sandcastle filled diapers. I mean, what kind of mother would allow their child to eat fistfuls of sand? Not me!
And because I was heading to my parents' house in MD for the holiday weekend, I assure you I did NOT wait until 9:00 Friday morning to start packing, when in fact we were supposed to be leaving the house at 9:00. Nope, not me! I am far more prepared than that and would have had the bags packed the night before in preparation for the trip.


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My Next Thirty Years
Gisela
The day has arrived. I am officially- THIRTY!

Honestly, I know some of my friends we dreading the big 3-0. I wasn't. In fact, I was actually kinda looking forward to it. I survived another year, and I am grateful.

Today was a relaxing day. Hung out at my parents house with Mom & Dad, Ken, Nicholas, and Erik, and my cousin Jonathan who I haven't seen in six years. I got to take a nice nap, we played some dominoes, ate some good grub, and just had a good time. On Friday night I had gone out with some friends...had a REALLY good time, and we'll just leave it at that!

On Saturday is the big birthday extravaganza. My best friend and I will be having a girls only party to celebrate our birthdays. For the record...she's older than me by 4 days. I don't let her forget it! The party should be a great time!

Anyway- here's to my next thirty years! May they be even better than the first thirty!






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Eight Months
Gisela
Wow, I guess I should have seen it coming, but Erik is ALL over the place now! Not only is he crawling (at top speeds, mind you) but he's also pulling up on furniture, cruising along furniture, and *gasp* STANDING ALONE! Yes, just last week his brother was holding him up, and in typical three year old fashion- LET GO, and voila...Erik was standing there. By himself. For about 5 seconds. It seemed like an eternity to me, since I was across the room and was certain he was going to face plant into the floor. Alas, he did not. I, however got rugburn on my knees trying to reach him, as he gracefully lowered himself to his knees, and then hands, and quietly crawled away. People tell me he will be walking by 9 months. I pretend that I don't hear them. He's my LITTLE GUY...he is not allowed to walk yet. I won't let him!

Two more teeth have also appeared. One last Saturday, and another yesterday. Both his top front teeth, so the total is at four. These top teeth were a bit rough on him. He was cranky and woke up in the middle of the night a few times. Hopefully the rest will come in smoothly.

Well, we will see if next month I have a walker on my hands. Doesn't he know that there is NO rush to grow up?!?!



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It's Been a Year...
Gisela
A year?



Yes...a year!



For what you ask?



Well, it has been a year since Nicholas gave up his Nuk. (Pacifier, Binky, or whatever other term you may use.)



Nicholas was HOOKED on his Nuk. It was his comfort item, without a doubt. Towards the end he was mainly using it at naptime, bedtime, or in the car. However, if he found one he'd often just pop it in his mouth. Ken and I decided once Nicholas turned two we'd get rid of the Nuk. However, two weeks after Nicholas' 2nd birthday we were headed to Walt Disney World, and the thought of traveling (by train and plane) and being in an unfamiliar place would be a bit stressful without his comfort item.



Well, he proved us wrong!



We were leaving for Florida on a Saturday, and the Monday before Nicholas gave up his beloved Nuk- cold turkey. Ok, so the truth is it fell out while he was playing and he couldn't find it, and I told him I wasn't looking for it for him. Mean mommy (hey- I *was* pregnant at the time), but he really didn't protest much! The next day he found it (hidden behind the couch) and I simply took it, and we never turned back!



I did hate that so many pictures I tried to take of Nicholas were 'tainted' by him having his Nuk in his mouth, but I knew it wouldn't be forever. This is the last picture I have of him with his Nuk-



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