Yummy Hands

[Video of Tyler sucking on several fingers at once]

These days Tyler often tolerates tummy time because he is so focused on sucking his hands.

Out of the Mouths of Babes

Lost in thought

Bebe & Clara taking over my living room ; )
(this is only a fraction of the toys that were in use)

Today my friend Elaine's daughter Bebe commented that Tyler's head no longer looks crusty. LOL! Tyler has had cradle cap (essentially really bad dandruff) for a while now. It looked pretty flaky when it started but is almost cleared up. Bebe (age 5) was full of good questions: Why does Tyler need burped? Does Tyler eat anything besides milk? What does Tyler's giggle sound like? Tyler was a really good sport as Bebe and Clara draped a burp cloth over his head and played peekaboo with him. He even gave them some of his dazzling smiles.

 

Yesterday I got together with co-workers/co-workers' wives and their babies (ranging from 1 month to 7 months old). I was so busy socializing that I forgot to take photos of all the cuties to post online! It is pretty amazing how much babies change within their first year of life.

Heat Wave

We have been experiencing very un-Portland-like triple digit heat. Depending on whose website you check it was 102 yesterday, 106 today, and 105 is expected tomorrow! We finally just got central air conditioning (technically we got a heat pump) 2 weeks ago. Most summers we have only suffered the odd day or two here and there and have been fine without AC, but decided it would be ideal to have AC to keep Tyler comfortable. The photo with the lack of clothes is just for show. Tyler and I have been venturing out in the mornings and then we hibernate in the AC all afternoon/evening.

Ew!

Michael (who hates getting dirty!) was quite disgusted when Tyler spit up earlier and then decided to suck on his hands and proceed to spread the spit up around to more places. I tried to snap a picture of the grossed-out look on Michael's face but Michael was actually laughing by the time I took the picture because he was so amused that I wanted a picture. You will notice that Michael is holding Tyler away from his body to avoid contact with the spit up and so that he could have me clean up the mess.

5 Months Old on Friday (the 24th)

Angel Shot from this morning

Devil shot from this evening

(blurry due to all the movement involved with wailing!)

We can't believe Tyler is 5 months old already! We took some very scientific measurements this morning:

• Weight = 15.6 pounds
• Length = 25 inches

That means Tyler is now almost 4 times his birth weight! Looking at him now you definitely would never know he was a preemie.

During the past half week Tyler has unfortunately developed a tendency for the dramatic (translation: wailing meltdowns!). I don't know how babies muster the strength to wail when they are so darn sleepy. Tyler has been particularly vocal at bedtime. He could already be asleep (in his car seat, in your arms, etc.), but a few minutes after you put him in his crib he wakes up and starts wailing. It usually takes a few rounds of the pacifier or letting him fall into a deeper sleep in your arms until we can get him to go down for the evening. Tyler is still fighting nap time in the crib too, but at least for the moment he is sleeping for long stretches at night! He has been waking up somewhere between 3 and 6 for a bottle, but he will typically go back to sleep for another few hours.

Elowah Falls

On Saturday we joined Outdoor Dads (moms are welcome too!) on their monthly hike. There were several other dads (plus one other mom besides me!) with babies in backpack carriers and one 3-year old. We visited Elowah Falls, which is about 35 miles east of downtown Portland. It is near many of the other renowned water falls in the Gorge, but we had actually never hiked to these falls before as we had never heard of them as the trailhead is not on the historic Columbia River Gorge Highway as many of the other water falls are. It was an 0.8-mile hike to the falls with a 600-foot change in elevation. Michael carried Tyler in a Baby Bjorn and Tyler did really well. The only time he got fussy was when we were sitting around enjoying the beauty of the falls. He actually slept on the hike back to the trailhead! While the Baby Bjorn worked nicely, Michael is looking forward to when Tyler can sit up and be carried in a backpack carrier as that will make hiking easier. The front carrier puts quite a bit of strain on your back!

Tyler's First Brew Fest

We took Tyler to the Oregon Brewer's Festival on Friday. (Surprisingly this is the only photo I snapped.) We have rarely missed this annual event and debated whether or not we wanted to subject Tyler to the throngs of people, noise, and heat (while the temps were in the 80s the crowd makes it hot). We decided to go anyway and met up with friends. All in all Tyler did fairly well the 3 hours we were there. While he did not seem to mind the random "Whoo" yell that rises up from the crowd he did cry when a small brass band played nearby as it was rather loud. He even took a 30-minute nap in his stroller! Eventually though he did start to get fussy so we decided to call it an evening.

Baby Shakespeare

The cheeky onesie is courtesy of Tia Ludy. Don't worry Ludy- next time we
see you I will let you change Tyler's diaper and you can find out for yourself!

Gee, I can't seem to fit this entire soccer ball rattle in my mouth
but I am going to keep trying anyway.

Tummy time sometimes starts off with smiles. This session ended about
4 minutes later with screaming and tears.

Strolling/Napping with Calvin

Tyler and I went for a stroll this morning along part of the Fanno Creek Trail with Calvin and his mom Lourdes. Both babies were awake for awhile (hey- you gotta eat sometime), but they were out by the end of the walk. Tyler and Calvin are growing so well that you would never know they were both preemies! (According to Lourdes and her hubby preemie stands for premium baby. We couldn't agree more.)

Tyler Shows Us the Love

These cute hand-me-down PJs let Tyler show us the love!

Traveling Sleeper

I am always amazed at how much Tyler moves around in his crib while he sleeps. We always lay him down parallel with the long length of the crib and often find him turned sideways. It just doesn't look very comfortable to have his head up against the crib rails but as long as he is happy and sleeping. When he's not swaddled we sometimes find his feet poking out the crib rails.

I am really starting to enjoy this sleeping through the night thing! Tyler went down around 8 pm last night and didn't get up until 7:30 am this morning. Michael is a little bummed by the new earlier bed time because that means he gets to spend less time with Tyler in the evening after he gets home from work. On the plus side it means Michael and I get to spend some time relaxing together after Tyler goes to bed... at least for now because when winter rolls around Michael will probably go to bed as early as Tyler!

Latest Developments

• Tyler recently discovered he has hands! Currently his favorite activity is to suck on his hands and he even tries to get both in his mouth at the same time without any luck. Tyler has also started to grab and hold things. When you are holding him he likes to grab your shirt and he often likes to grab my hair and hold on to it while he is in my arms.
• Tyler has also discovered his mouth. Although he has been using a pacifier practically since birth, Tyler has also decided he wants to explore other items with his mouth such as his hands, bibs, burp cloths, our shoulders/arms, toys, or really just anything that is handy.
• Tyler may actually be on a routine bedtime now. While he has previously been a night owl, ever since we got back from our trip east he has been going to bed anytime between 6:30 and 7:30 pm. While I am liking this new earlier bedtime it means he gets up earlier (6:30 to 7:30 am), which means I have to get up earlier. On Saturdays and Sundays this means I get to sleep in since Michael is such a morning person and enjoys doing the early morning feeding. On the bright side, this new schedule should help when I go back to work part-time in a month.
• Tyler is sleeping through the night. For almost 2 weeks now Tyler has really only been getting up once in the middle of the night. He typically sleeps for stretches in the 6 to 9 hour range. Last night he slept for 12 hours straight! We were surprised the first time he went 9 hours and definitely had to peek in on him to make sure he was okay.
• Tyler is still working on the whole napping thing. While he does take naps (most often for short stretches lasting up to 25 minutes), Tyler does not have a consistent napping schedule. The only times he takes longer naps is when he is in the car (or on the airplane), in the stroller, or while being held. We still need to figure out how to get him to take longer naps in his crib.

Mouseketeer

Tyler doesn't know about Disney yet, but I am sure it is only a matter of time. Michael's sister Ludy lives in L.A. so we will probably make a pilgrimage to Disneyland within the next few years.

Is it hot in here... or is it just my outfit?

Sometimes you just have to break out of the blue outfit rut!

Tri-State Trip

Tri-State Trip

Click on photo for album. I whittled down the photos to the best 89! We spent a week in the Ohio/West Virginia/Kentucky tri-state area visiting my extended family. My parents also came in from Houston. My Dad grew up in South Point, Ohio and my Mom grew up in Huntington, West Virginia. They migrated to Texas due to a job opportunity when they graduated from college. Tyler was quite a good little traveler and needless to say he was spoiled with attention! He is probably feeling deprived now that we are back to normal life in Portland- laundry, dishes, errands, etc.

Tummy Time Video

[Video of Tyler trying to lift his head during tummy time;
At one point Tyler does a face plant and Michael says,
"You can't lift yourself up with your face!"]

Although he is not a big fan of tummy time, Tyler tolerates it at times without crying and actually tries to lift up his head. He's still not sure what to do with his arms though!

Vacation

We just got back from a week-long vacation. I promise as soon as I get caught up around the house- unpacking, doing laundry, reading mail/e-mail, etc. I will post a ton of photos from our trip.

Milk and Beer

A bottle of beer (poured in a glass) for Daddy and a bottle of formula for Tyler. Just a little evening relaxation!

The Onesie Says it All...

Happy Independence Day America!

Click on photo for album.

July 4th

Tyler had a great first independence day! We celebrated with good friends and Tyler didn't even seem too phased during small fireworks. We did play it safe and avoided going to any large fireworks shows as that probably would have startled him.

Bumbo

We got a Bumbo seat today, which helps Tyler sit up on his own now that he is starting to get better head control. Yet another way to keep him entertained while we eat or need some hands free time to get stuff done around the house. Apparently the Bumbo (and its rival the Bebe Pod) are all the rage because there has been an increase in flat head syndrome now that babies are supposed to sleep on their backs (plus car seats, bouncers, etc... also contribute to the problem). We tested the seat out in the store and Tyler really seemed to like it.

Shark Attack

Tyler looking happy in his shark outfit. It's
supposed to be 94 degrees today and
so sleeveless seemed very appropriate.

Drooling and blowing bubbles. Tyler has been drooling a lot
this week. Apparently around 4 months the digestive system
starts developing more and the drool reflex kicks in.

Chomp!

Chomp! Chomp!

Chomp! Chomp! Chomp!

Anything is fair game for the mouth once Tyler starts getting hungry. This seems to make the shark outfit all the more fitting. Although I do seem to be drawn to outfits with marine life on them- sharks, fish, crabs, octopus...

Sleeping Duo

Michael is somewhat embarassed by all the sleeping pictures I have posted of him and Tyler, but even he agrees that this one takes the cake. Late one evening last week while I was doing dishes in the kitchen I noticed the house seemed really quiet, except for Michael snoring loudly! I found him and Tyler asleep on the floor. They must have really worn themselves out playing!

Mmm... Yummy

Who needs a pacifier when Daddy's finger tastes better?