7 Months

Everett is 7 months today and here are a few pics from his little photo shoot this morning. It is hard to get a good comparison shot of him and the bear. He is doing so well with his sitting that he keeps leaning forward. They are pretty much the same size now though. That is a lot of growing my boy has done in 7 months. I had him weighed a few weeks ago and he was 15lbs 10oz. I assume now he is well over 16lbs. That is pretty impressive for a baby who started out at 4lb 7oz.

~ He is just so irresistible ~

~Hey, Give me that camera mom~

~ Close up ~

~ 1 very happy baby ~

~ attacking the teddy bear ~

Yummy Treats

There is a lot of snow here. Even with the sidewalks shoveled and the streets plowed it is impossible to push a stroller around. This is how Everett gets around here in snowville. Usually we just sit him in the sled with a big blanket to prop him up and keep him warm. This day we were on our way to pickup a car so we needed the car seat. It fit prefect and Everett enjoyed the walk through the snow.

This past weekend we did a lot of Christmasy stuff. Saturday we did some Christmas shopping during the day and that night we headed into Virden for Christmas dinner. Ryan's Poppa always takes the family out for dinner before Christmas for a little get together. It was really nice to see everyone again. We had Chinese food then went back to Poppa's to visit. Some of our family friends kept Everett during the dinner which was so nice. I actually got to sit down in a restaurant and visit without being interrupted or have to leave.

Sunday morning Rawley and I cuddled on the couch and watched Home Alone while Everett and Daddy slept. Then we headed to Grandma & Grandpa's. Grandma bought Rawley a gingerbread house to decorate. It was a lot of fun but it was also very time consuming. He was very particular about what candy was used and what pattern was made. I got to help out a bit but only with strict instructions on what to do. The house, path and tree turned out great.

~finished product~

We also iced some more sugar cookies ehich we got to sample after dinner, Yum!

Yesterday I finishes my Christmas shopping and my wrapping. I thought I was done but then I was reminded that I needed to buy Rawley a gift from Everett. My Grandma also send me a letter with money to buy the boys gifts because she doesn't like spending the money to ship gifts. So yesterday Everett and I headed to the mall to finish up.

I have Christmas brunch planned and the groceries bought, The gifts are all wrapped and under the tree, baking was done at mom's and I finally made a decent batch of peanut brittle. Now all I have to do is clean my house for Christmas morning. Maybe I should be doing that instead of blogging. Hmm.

I was Right...

...it was not an ear infection.

Monday Everett woke with a mild cough. Tuesday it was a lot worse. Tuesday night he was up all night coughing and crying. Ryan and I took 3 hour shifts with him till morning. During the night I considered taking him to the ER but called 24 hour nurses line instead. She thought it was croup. So in the morning we went to the walk-in-clinic. Unfortunately the only doctor on was one that had seen Everett previously and didn't seem to know or care much about anything.
He kind of listened to my concerns looked in Everett's ear and diagnoses him with an ear infection. Ryan was a little angry when I called him to let him know. Last time we checked an ear infection didn't cause a barking cough, and wheezing when breathing. I got the prescription filled anyway and asked the pharmacist for his opinion. His reply was, "well I guess it could be liquid in his ears draining into his throat causing him to cough. but I would have him checked again in 48 hours if it does not get better"

Since then it has gotten worse and every breath Everett took seemed mucus filled and laboured. So I decided today to take him back to a different doctor. There is a doctor at that walk in who used to be a pediatrician and he is really nice. I called to make sure he was working then took Everett to see him. The doctor took the time to listen to Everett's breathing for a few minutes. He asked me a lot of questions about his behaviour and how long he has been like this. Then he told me that Everett has Bronciolitis (RSV). http://pediatrics.about.com/cs/commoninfections/a/rsv_bronchiolts.htm

He prescribed a puffer and some nasal drops to use on him. We have been using a cool water humidifier and he told us to continue that. I have also propped up one end of Everett's mattress so he is sleeping on an angle to help him breath.

Everett's Puffer

Everett is not a fan of the puffer but if I get him once he is asleep it is easy going. He also hates the nasal drops but he will have to get over that. If it gets worse he could need to be hospitalized and put on oxygen but Everett is tough so I think he will do great on his puffer.

He has not been eating much at all lately. Solid food he refuses and through the day he snacks on bottles but maybe only finishes 2 or 3 four ounce bottles. I was worried about dehydration but Ryan's mom suggested getting Pedialyte freezies. In the past he has enjoyed sucking on ice cubes so maybe he will take the pedilyte freezie. It may even help with a sore throat if he has it.

The toughest part of having a sick baby is they can't tell you where it hurts or what is wrong. Poor guy. Doctor has said to give him lots of Advil as well because the swelling can be painful. So I have taken all his advise and am praying for a better night with Everett.

I would like to add though through all of this he has still been a joy. He is more cranky, and a little dopey or out of it but that doesn't stop him from smiling at everyone he meets; especially the ladies. He keeps playing with Rawley and reaching out to Daddy when he comes home from work. He still watched the snow plow in awe and bats at his toys in his exersaucer. He really is one tough little guy

~Standing on the couch watching the snow plow~

Holy Cold

A post of tid bits.

It is so cold. I mean not today. Today it is only -12 (feels like -23) not bad at all. Sunday however.. when we woke up at 9 it was -32 without a wind at all. Then when we decided to run a few errands the wind picked up a bit. Seriously I have never in my life felt my snot freeze inside my nose. The whole inside of my nose froze. With each breath in I felt it freeze and then as you breath the warm air out it melts again...On and On. Then later that night we went to the Brandon Wheat Kings hockey game and it was so cold when we left. Brrr.
For the most part it really is not that bad, but when the wind picks up I stay inside.

~~~~~

Rawley got into his morning program. I am so so happy for him and us. They called yesterday afternoon. It is going to be a long 12 weeks. He has to be there right around the time Everett goes down for his first nap. So it is going to stink going out to drive him to his group and Everett either having a short nap in the car and not napping after or me driving around aimlessly while he has a full nap. Hmmm But the good far outweighs the bad in this situation. Rawley is going to learn so much he is going to have a full time nurse that is assigned to him and then work with all the other nurses on different things. I can't wait till he starts. I think he is going to like it.

~~~~~

I thought we were done all our Christmas shopping until Rawley came home and said, "I am writting a letter to Everett telling him what I want for Christmas. I bet everyone is already done their shopping for me but I don't think Everett is". He was right. I gave him money to buy Everett a gift but totally forgot to buy him a gift from Everett. So now we are waiting on the letter to come home so Everett and I can go shopping. I got all the gifts ready for my westcoast family and should have them on the bus this afternoon or tomorrow morning. Now I just have to plan Brunch for Christmas day and I think we are set. Oh huge Manitoba bummer...I cannot find Tinsel anywhere. What is a Christmas tree without tinsel? I am so sad. Our tree looks great already but the tinsel is the final touch that makes it glisten. *pout*

~~~~~

Everett started to get a cough yesterday and today he has a full blown cheast cold. His cough is heart breaking. poor little guy. So far there is no nasty snot face as it is all in his cheast si I can be thankful for that. He is very cuddly though, more so than usual.

~~~~~

Everett went to see Santa last Friday or maybe Thursday...I don't remember. He loved Santa. He laughed and pulled his beard. Then when Santa turned him around to look at the camera he would not smile. It was hilarious. He did not smile once at the camera girl or her ringing bells. He just wanted to turn around and play with Santa. The picture is still cute, but no smile.


~~~~~

Ryan worked long hours out of town all week last week and is doing the same this week. I hate it. He leaves about 8:15 and does not come home till after 7. It makes for very very very long days. Dinner is never that great either because Everett always seems to be crabby when it is time to make dinner. Tonight will probably be something simple like spaghetti.

Well baby is awake from his nap and screaming... must go.

What's Rawley Up To..

I love Rawley a lot, but I am not going to bundle up myself and Everett to load the boys in the car and drive a block and a half to school so Rawley does not have to walk in the deep snow. I do feel sorry for him because he is quite short and the snow is quite deep. He is exhausted by the time he gets to school and home he says. So the other day when I was feeling quite energetic Everett and I bundled up and went out to shovel Rawley a path. The path goes right out our back door and across the field between two sets of town houses. From there on Rawley has found a path made by other kids to follow. It was exhausting and I could barely feel my arms afterwords but Rawley was so excited. He thanks me so much for doing it and now when he leaves for school he runs down along the path.

~From our back door, out our gate and to the field~

~across the field to the other parking lot~

Rawley has been getting better each day at curling. He was a very good sweeper right from the beginning but had trouble throwing the heavy stones. Last week the head coach was working with his team and she helped him a lot. Their last end Rawley threw his stone and it went perfectly down the centre and stopped in the house. He scored a point to tie up the game. This was the first time his rock actually made it that far so it was exciting that it did not get bumped out and the team got a point from it. He was so happy and I was so proud.

Rawley is still having some struggles at school but most of his problems are at home right now. The school gets him when his meds are at their peek of working. We get him in the morning when they have not kicked in yet and at night when they are wearing off. It is a bad combination because first thing in the morning I am also irritable and by night fall I am exhausted from the day. We butt heads a lot. Rawley's little jokes and smart ass remarks have lost all humour by this time and are just irritating and mouthy.

He is still struggling a lot with manners, how to act in a social setting and sensing and understanding his own and other peoples feeling. Like if I talk with him and say, "I have had a really bad day and I am in a bad mood. It would be a good idea for you to go find something quiet to do and not bother me because I am grumpy." He cannot understand this. He cannot sense when there is tension and even when he is right out told he still cannot adapt to it. He also has troubles talking about what is bothering him or how he feels at any given time.

A while ago I was talking with a family friend and she suggested counselling for him. When I said we could not afford it she found a place I could call that would help us out. She started the ball rolling that day and we have been getting closer to some help for Rawley ever since. The Brandon Child and Youth Treatment Centre has so many resources and are very willing to help with Rawley.

He is on a wait list to get into 'Morning Group'. This is where he will go 4 mornings a week instead of school for 12 weeks straight. While there he will work with 4 different nurses on many things with 7 other kids. They do drama, interpretive play, work on manners, family relationships, how to make and keep friends, dealing with emotions, anger management, social settings.. and much more. There is play learning, written learning, acting out.. Rawley came with me for a tour last week and he loved it. He is really hoping he gets in too. They do a session and get a score. Then they have break where snack is provided and get to play for 15 minutes. After that they have their second session. I would have to drop him off at 8:30 or 9:00 and pick him up at 11:30. He would eat lunch at home then go back to his school for the afternoon. We are not sure if Rawley will get in at this point. Only 8 kids get accepted. If he does not make it into the January group we can try again for the April one. I am praying he will get in though. I think it would be so beneficial to him.

Even if he does not get in they will still see him for private counselling. they also want to have him tested for sensory issues. Oh and the best part is this is all covered by manitoba Medical

If a child does get into the morning program one of the parents must attend a 'Positive Parenting Program'. In this program we will learn new idea for family management, planning and routines, how to discipline a child with behavioural issues and how to appreciate and acknowledge good behaviour. It sounds like such a great course and even if Rawley does not get into morning group I can still take the parenting program. I am looking forward to this. I don't know how many times I have emailed Ryan's mom or other parents of kids with ADHD and said, "I just don't'know what to do anymore!". Now I will have a chance to learn.

Other than his ADHD Rawley is doing well. He is reading at the top of his class with one other boy. I love it when he reads to Everett. He is still huge help with Everett; loves to make him laugh and smile. Rawley is getting very excited for Christmas. He did his shopping with Grandpa & Grandma last week. On the weekend he wrapped it all. Sunday he helped with Christmas baking, tonight he is going to decorate the tree with me and then he is going to help Grandma & Grandpa decorate their tree.

Date Night

Saturday night Ryan and I finally got to go out without the boys. We were suppose to go a couple weeks ago but I got strep throat, Everett had an ear infection and Ryan's mom got the stomach flu. Guess it just wasn't' meant to be.

Saturday we dropped the kids of around 3:30 and the relaxed for a bit before going to dinner. We went to Applebees for dinner, which for the most part has amazing food and service. That night there was a lot of new staff on and the service was not that great though. After they brought me the wrong food, then cold food, we got my food free. But once they got it right it was still very very good.

We originally were going to go see Morning Glory but the crazy theatre in town only had it playing for 2 weeks. That is a sign that there are too many movies being made if a theatre with 9 cinemas has to get rid of movies after only 2 weeks of showing them. We thought about maybe just renting a movie and coming home but this was our one chance to get out and do something. So we decided to go see Due Date instead. It was kind of funny in spots but the language was atrocious. like unnecessarily atrocious. Even the western union guy that had about a 3 minute part drop about 30 F bombs.

We the movie was over around 9:15 I was home with a glass of wine by 9:40 and asleep before 11. The best part was that Ryan's parents kept both boys over night and I didn't have to get up once. I spelt till 10:45 the next morning. Talk about catching up on sleep. It was so needed.

Thank You Thank You Thank you Mom & Dad!

6 Months Old

So, he was 6 months old on Monday and I am just way behind on my blogs. Monday we spent the day at the doctor. The IBS medication was not working at all and things were actually getting worse. He is on a new formula now. A new hypersensitive (very expensive) formula. So far I see no improvement but we have to wait till the end of next week to see how it goes and go back to the doctor. In the mean time he is cranky through the day and up 6-8 times through the night. I am tired and miserable, but who wouldn't be.

SIX MONTHS: The Happy Times


I just can't believe he has grown so fast. One part of me is thankful that some of the grumpy times are behind us but the other part is sad. Every milestone he reaches is pure joy and excitement. I am glad I have taken a ridiculous amount of pictures of this little boy. The days that are really hard I can always look back and remember all the wonderful times too.

When Everett is in a good mood he is the most wonderful baby ever, full of smiles and laughter. When we go out and he gets attention from other people you would never know he is a grumpy baby. People often tell me that he is the happiest baby they have ever seen. Other parents at curling ask me things like, "does he ever cry?" this always make Rawley laugh and then tell them all about it.

Everett is a huge flirt and can melt any girls heart I am sure. He scans the room for any girl looking at him then smiles his big smile and bats his beautiful blue eyes.

He has also reached a few more milestone. He is reaching out for us now when he wants picked up or to go from one persons arms to the next. He can stand for a bit while holding on to the couch or stool. he fallows object that drop or roll behind something. It is fun so watch these new things happen and see how his brain is working.

We have let him drink water out of a cup a few times. A lot of it dribbles back out down his chin, but he swallows some of it and really enjoys doing it. We bought him a sippy cup today so that he can drink water from it. He also really likes this but needs some practice.

That is about all that is new with him. Here are some more cute pictures.

Baby It's Cold Outside

I don't have pictures of all the snow to show you but I can tell you...there is a lot. It has been between -12 and -19 without the windchill for the past few days. It really doesn't seem that bad out if the wind is not blowing. When the wind is blowing and it 'feels like -26' it is almost unbearable outside. Rawley had parent teacher interviews last Friday and we were all bundled up and ready to walk the block and a half to the school. However,, once we actually stepped outside I changed my mind. When the wind hits your face it is like a slap and then you can't breath. Welcome to Manitoba I guess.

Rawley has been playing out in the snow everyday. Sometime for almost 3 hours before coming in. I guess his new jacket is very warm.

Here are some of the deer that we see every time we pass this field. They are still out there now with all the snow digging through to find food underneath.


Everett and I were trying to make super for family games night last week. I think Everett ended up being more of a pain than a help. He can reach so far in his Bumbo chair and turns himself around in it. He got into everything on the counter.

Gnawing on cold carrots feels good on his gums.

This was moments before he knocked the entire spice rack over and made a huge mess.

Everett has been having some of the worst nights ever. I am not sure if the new medicine is not working and actually making things worse or if it IS working and this is the start of fixing the problem. I can tell you that I will be calling the doctor back today to find out how long the meds should take to work because the screaming through the night has got to stop. At 4 am this morning he was up and I tried everything to sooth him and nothing worked, by 4:30 I was in tears and had to go get Ryan to help me. I just can't stand to see him in so much pain and be able to do nothing for him.

I have a few ideas of what else might be bothering him so next time we see the doctor I am going to be very firm that I want testing done to rule out a few things. I have said that before and always backed down when the doctor says that he knows what it is....but I Am not going to back down this time.. This has got to come to an end.

Irritable Bowel Syndrome

I was at the pediatrician with Everett again today. It was an appointment I made last week when Everett was having really rough nights and naps. I am glad I made it because he has had 2 really awful nights in a row again.
It just seems to be the oddest thing. Sometimes he is not even awake when he is screaming in the night. He in thrashing around and screaming then he farts a few times and calms down. Usually I can calm him by laying with him and just rocking our bodies back and forth together. This works okay for me because I usually fall asleep in between crying spouts. This does not always work though and sometimes we have to stand and walk with him or bounce him..
Anyway I am at the point of total exhaustion with him and frustration. I want sleep. I want to know that after I feed him and put him down I am going to get at least 3 hours of sleep. I told the doctor today that I had every intention of leaving Everett with him until they find a solution to this problem.
I felt like every time I went to the doctor they said, "oh well he is almost ready to grow out of it, it is just colic, give it till he is 3 months, then 4 months, then 5 months" He is now almost 6 months and the "colic" has not left.
So, today the doctor took a full history again, asked A LOT of question and came up with what he think is the answer.
Irritable Bowel Syndrome
This is what he told me is happening to Everett. His bowels get sluggish and everything stops moving. When it sits idle in his bowels that creates a lot of gas.this explains the ridiculous amount of stinky farts he has. Then when the build up needs to be moved his body has to work extra hard to get everything started again. This is what causes all the cramping. Our bowels are suppose to move in a nice smooth constant motion. The doctor thinks Everett's are stop and go which can be incredibly painful.

So tomorrow he starts on some medication that will hopefully smooth out the movements in his bowels and keep everything moving at a regular pace. This should eliminate the gas pains and the cramps and help him sleep at night.

Here are some totally unrelated pictures just because...he is so darn cute.
BC Lions cutest fan, by far.

Just a typical day around our house. We wake up to see deer in the yard across the street. Sometimes we see them in the middle of the night instead. They usually get a drink from his bird feeding and eat his plants.
This particular morning the mail man came and scared them away.

Then there is always a nap or two involved. Sometimes he sleeps in his crib, sometimes in our bed, sometimes on the couch and that day he slept in the clean laundry. Eventually the laundry does get folded and on a good day it even gets put away.

Then there is some time spent in the exersaucer so Mommy can wash dishes, make lunches or prepare bottles. Everett really likes the exersaucer now that he has better hand control. He can reach out for toys, spin himself around and pull the toys to him mouth.

Just the other day I changed his swing from the reclining position to a sitting up position and added the toy bar on the front. Everett was pretty happy about these changes. These are new toys he has never seen before. I wonder how long it will be till he gets bored of them too. Everett has about a 10 minute attention span. He does not like to do anything longer than about 10 minutes. Even if he is having fun...it gets old.

I have to point out that Everett looks a lot like a baby Uncle Dustin in this picture. I know when I look at him I see Ryan and Grandpa Gary, but there must be some Jenkins in there somewhere because here it is.

It has Arrived

The snow found us the other day. Last Wednesday night; we went to bed with a green yard and woke up to a very white world. There was only about 2 inches but that was enough to get Rawley excited. He was up at 7 and outside playing by 8:15. It was remembrance day so he was excited that he had all day to play in the snow.
I didn't let him go find any friends until 9 because I didn't want him to wake anyone up on their day off. So, he just played in front of our house.

He had so much fun outside that I didn't see him till 1pm. He came home for soup and went back outside to play.

Along with winter, snow and cold winds comes illness I suppose. Everett has an ear infection which requires antibiotics, then I got strep throat which also requires antibiotics. Of course this all had to happen within 2 weeks of my benefits running out with work. Then there was Ryan who tried to cut off his finger. Luckily he only lost about an inch long chunk off the side. It got infected and he needed antibiotics. And then just for good measure I decided to put Everett's Amoxicillin in the freezer instead of the fridge thus rendering it useless and I had to go buy new stuff for him.

Sometimes I wonder where my brain is. I lose my keys almost everyday even though I have a hook to hang them on everytime I come in the house. I have managed to lock myself out of my own house twice already. Both times leaving me with a hungry baby and no bottles or formula. The first time I was able to drive to the store and get him stuff and feed him at Grandma's. The last time I had to call Ryan to rescue us because I didn't even have the keys to my car. I do stuff like put the cereal in the fridge and the milk in the cupboard. How long are you allowed to blame all this on mommy brain?

Last week while Ryan was working 2 jobs I did almost anything to keep my sanity. Lucky for me all 6 days were sunny are warm. Everett is generally happier when we are outside so we had many walks. Shoppers Drug Mart is only about 11 blocks away and that is where our mail box is so we would walk there. Everett does not usually fall asleep while we our out on our walks so it is nice when we get home he is usually tired enough to have a nap. This day was a little more chilly than others so Everett opted for his snowsuit.
Thursday we went to watch Rawley curl. This was the first day they actually played games with their teams. Rawley was so excited. Everett on the other hand not so excited. I do think he makes a pretty cute centre piece though.

The weather here has been amazing. Everyone is so shocked we dont' have snow yet. I think Manitoba is just being nice to us newcomers and easing us into Winter. The skies have been blue as far as you can see and it has been fairly warm.

I have to admit Everett does not look the cutest in this picture, it is more just to show he has hair. His hair lays very flat and he still looks baldish. When I comb his hair up after his bath he actually has quite long hair it is just very fine. Poor tired baby, mommy is being so mean taking pictures of you.

Halloween at Our House

I saw one of these skeletons at another house just off our street so I decided to copy it. It was a lot of fun but because I have very little free time it took almost 4 days to do.
Rawley was a robot for Halloween. Ryan took him trick-or-treating, but from what I hear he got a lot of compliments on it. I always feel so good when we make his costumes as opposed to buying them. Last year I had zero energy and I bought him a Ninja outfit and I just did not get the same satisfaction. I feel we may never out do the Astronaut costume but it is still fun.

Our pumpkins

Rawley got a good haul. He will never eat it all. We still have last year Halloween candy that i need to throw out. Everett was a wee bit jealous I think. He kept trying to nab the chips.

Everett did not come home empty handed though. He got a new burrito blanket, A bib, a tag blanket and a receiving blanket. All mad with love from Grandma. This is him loving his new fleecy burrito blanket.

He was festive and wore his Halloween jammies. "Mommy's little Mummy"

All By Myself

All this week Ryan is working two jobs and I am home with the kids. He leaves in the morning and maybe I will see him for dinner then he is gone again for the evening. Me, one eight year old with ADHD & one miserable baby. Yay! Today will be day 3 and so far we are all still alive. I think that is pretty good.

Last night I took the kids to the gym with me and left them in the daycare while I went to the Bums & Bellies class. It was totally worth the $5. Everett was miserable so they had him at the front desk with them. It was a nice break for me. So nice that i am going back at 5:30 tonight to a Zumba class.

On Monday Everett was miserable and crying pretty much the whole time Rawley was home for lunch. A minute or 2 before he went back to school I finally got Everett to calm down. When it was time to leave, Rawley came to kiss us goodbye and we had the following conversation:
Rawley: "Eww. Mom, Everett's eyes are dripping"
Me: "Yes Rawley they are tears, remember he was crying for the past 15 minutes?"
Rawley: "Oh, right."
This kid is so smart. He comes up with inventions and theories all day long, he outsmarts Ryan and I so often I begin to question my own intelligence, yet he can not recognise post crying tears on his baby brothers face?

Oh and Monday night I was video taping Everett rolling over. (by the way he can roll from his back to his tummy now and I have it on video. I would share it with you but as mentioned in previous blogs I can't figure out how to upload it to blogger) Rawley was sitting beside him and telling him how to do it. He even tried to move Everett's arm out of the way. I told him not to help or else the video would not prove anything. Then a second later Everett rolled over and i said to Rawley, "see he can do it himself". Rawley moved to the other side of Everett and was still encouraging him and cheering him on to keep going. Then he stopped, looked at me and said, "Oh mom he already rolled over. He was on his back now he is on his tummy" (I have uploaded the video to facebook)
He watched Everett roll over and then forgot he did it? I have no idea. Sometimes i wonder about that boy of mine.

Well Everett is asleep in his swing so I better get bottles done and everything ready for tonight. During the evenings I am lucky if I get to put him down for 10 minutes. Usually in the evening Ryan will hold him and entertain him while I do up dishes, make bottles, get ready for the next day and any other chores that need to be done. With him gone I am finding it really hard. I wonder how I ever accomplished anything on my own when Rawley was a baby?

Everett

Everett is sleeping in my arms so I am going to type a whole blog with one hand.
Almost every morning as long as we are home Everett has a 2 hour nap. There have been a few times that he has not and the rest of the day is ruined. Today he was having trouble staying asleep so I am holding him in hopes that he will make it the last 20 minutes. We already have pretty rough afternoons so this nap is important. Even though all the books say that i should not hold him while he sleeps when he is this old. I prefer to follow the 'do what works' rules sometimes.

Everett was 5 months old on Oct.22nd. I can't believe how much he has grown.

The past 9 nights or so have gone much better with Everett. For the most part he wakes up twice to eat and falls right back asleep. A few times while he is up eating he decides he is not tired enough to go back to sleep though. Last night was one of those nights. I was a long 2am feeding. I still prefer him being awake and just laying in my arms than up and screaming for hours so yay for him.

Our new challenge with him is keeping him happy through the day. He gets bored so easily. When they say some children are more suited for daycare..they are talking about Everett. He always wants to be around people. When he has other kids to watch and be with he is happier. At home he is miserable unless I entertain him or hold him. Both things I don't want to do all day.

He loves his exersaucer, jolly jumper, bouncy chair, piano, and swing, but gets bored of each after 10 minutes. It is exhausting trying to keep him happy. Anyone have any ideas? He can't sit up yet on his own so it is hard to give him any real toys to play with. I know I have to leave him on his own more or he is going to become used to being held and entertained..but he is also very defiant. Unlike most babies who cry then realize it is not working and stop he just keeps going. He will scream forever I swear.

On the positive side. When he is happy, he is such a joy, he loves music and usually sings along in his own way. He is the cutest thing in the world and his love for Rawley is unbelievable. No matter how upset he is Rawley can make him smile.

This is him one morning while sitting at the table with Rawley at breakfast. Rawley was making faces and noises at him and he was laughing so hard.

So, that is what is new in the life of Everett.