7 monthday!

Dear Colin,
Today you turned 7 months old.
This month has brought just a few changes. You still have no interest in learning how to crawl. You'd rather learn how to stand instead. On Saturday, you were playing in the laundry basket. You examined your feet and the sides of the basket.
You grabbed on to the perpendicular sides, pulled really hard, and did this all by yourself.
You laughed at yourself for a few seconds, then carefully sat back down.
This month you worked really hard on getting into a stable bedtime routine. You now know that after your bath, you get your pajamas on. While you're lying on the changing table, you ask for your nukie. Sometimes you like to be rocked, but many nights you're so tired that you'd rather Daddy and I put you straight into your crib so you can fall asleep. You have had a cough for going on a month now, and it wakes you up in the middle of the night. Sometimes you fall back asleep, but sometimes you really want to be rocked a little bit.

We are trying to teach you some sign language during supper time, but you don't seem interested in anything but the food itself right now. Hopefully you'll pick up on it. You are really grasping (hehe) the concept of holding your bottle now, and now you have handles on them so you can transition to using a sippy cup soon.
Sometimes you are really cranky. Especially when you haven't gotten enough sleep. But when you're in a good mood, you are one funny guy!
You are quite the verbal little man these days. Your favorite sounds to make are "nynyny," screaming, and other various gibberish. We like to hear you giggle.

As the holidays are fast approaching, I am so excited to introduce you to our family traditions and see your eyes reflect the twinkling Christmas tree lights for the first time. There's still so much to learn about my little Punkin Pie.

Love you Little Man!
Mommy

Or not.

Of course once daycare starts back up for the week, someone decides to shape up! He's now back to eating solids, he's in a better mood, and finally slept through the night again last night. We haven't needed to give him any Motrin or teething medications of any kind since Sunday. We haven't even given him any ice cubes to suck on to keep him content. ::sigh:: False alarm. Again.

More teething signs

Aside from the 99 degree body temps, we have more teething signs:

1. Colin hasn't eaten solids since Friday. 2 bites is all I can get him to eat, and then he screams.
2. His nose is runny. The watery-runny type.
3. I bought him a mesh feeder (made by the people at Munchkin) and put ice cubes in it. He sucks on them and loves it. His shirt is absolutely soaked with water when he's done sucking the ice cube.
4. We think we can see the pearly whites still under his gums! Colin doesn't like us feeling his gums, so if we can get him to laugh (or when he's crying) we can take a peek. Today, Kevin actually got him to cooperate a little more for a full evaluation.

Progress

This week at daycare, Colin has taken a few of his morning naps in his crib! They even reported they can put him down awake and he goes to sleep. Yesss! And as I speak, and I hope I don't jinx this, he's taking his *hopefully* long afternoon nap in his crib. Yesss! Here's what he looks like as I type. Sometimes he sleeps with his butt up in the air, and it makes me just want to crawl in the crib and snuggle with him. I doubt I'd fit.
Colin's food repertoire now includes fruit! He even eats a little bit of fruit with his rice cereal at daycare in the morning. He's not too sure about bananas, and I wouldn't be either, because Gerber bananas smell so sour. He loves applesauce, peaches, and pears though! This weekend we're going to stock up on 2nd foods since all of our 1st foods are gone, and he's ready for some more texture.

On the occasion that I do take his temperature (recently it's been, like...uh...every other day because he feels warm to me), it has been at 99.something degrees. He's been pretty cranky on and off for a whole week. Or maybe I should say "less content more often" instead, because he is moody by nature. Last night when he was taking a bath, he was looking up at the ceiling and laughing. I sure hope he saw the Tooth Fairy up there. Chant with me now, "Tooth! Tooth! Tooth!" I so want these first 2 teeth to poke through. And still...I have no idea whether they actually are on their way or not. I may be chanting the word tooth until he's 2. And oh, the drool. This is his drooling/finger-chewing/mad face picture, which is commonplace these days:
Parenting is such a guessing game.

Fever update

Here I am, blogging while a batch of lactation cookies are baking in the oven :) I don't eat a whole lot of them these days, but I like to keep a bunch in the freezer ready to go just in case. I do admit to eating 1 a day because I like them so much, and just to keep things flowing, if you know what I mean.

Colin woke up a few times last night, which is unusual these days. He and I slept on the couch from 4:00-7:10 this morning. When he woke up, he only felt a little warm. I gave him some more Tylenol, just to be on the safe side. When I took his temp later, it was in the 99s and has stayed there pretty much all day.

I googled teething temperatures last night. Some people believe that low-grade fevers (those below 100.4) are associated with teething. These fevers usually last 4 days, then the tooth breaks, and then the fever could last another 3 days after that. So...let's hope this is a tooth coming in! We seriously have thought he's been teething for a month now. So far we've been wrong. But people, this could be it. And if it's not, then I'm wrong again.

Another fever

Colin was feeling warm this evening, so I took his temp and it was in the 101s. I gave him some Motrin. When it was bath time, I took his temp again, and it was in the 102s. He took his bath, and went straight to bed after it. If you're still awake and reading this, send some vibes his way that his fever goes down tonight. I curse you, icky sick bugs!

Halloween and other random thoughts

In one word, Halloween was uneventful. We had 28 trick-or-treaters (yes, I counted). We stayed home, and no, Colin didn't dress up as anything. Call me a party pooper. After all, every party needs one. I just didn't want to spend $15 on costume, I guess. Colin didn't know the difference, anyway. Next year, my friends.

Then on Sunday, I went shopping and took Colin. Thanks to Daylight Savings Time screwing everything up, the only time he napped on Sunday was on the way to the shops and on the way home (40 min drive each way). I bought an Avent sippy cup that can be disassembled and interchanged with our Avent bottles, so we can make a transition between bottle and sippy cup soon. I also couldn't resist buying him a big ball and a toy remote control since he loves our TV remote. If he sees it, he has to have it.

Leah and Isaac came over on Sunday to watch the big Vikings-Packers game with Colin and I. It was fun to see them again! Isaac sure is a little roller and scooter! Colin isn't so much. He may have learned a thing or two from Isaac, though, because today he scooted a little if I pushed on his feet when Kevin was a few feet in front of him. All in good time. While I want him to hit his developmental milestones, I also know that it's nice to have a somewhat immobile child as opposed to one that goes wherever he pleases and puts whatever he finds in his mouth.

Bedtime continues to go well. He sometimes fusses for just a minute when we put him down, but not every night!

I wish either a) his teeth would come in or b) we would stop assuming his teeth are coming in, because we've been assuming they're coming for about 3 weeks now. You know what assuming does.

We're on week 2 of the convertible car seat. It's going pretty well. I was sad to have to wake him up when we arrived at our destinations on Sunday, instead of just carrying him in his infant seat and letting him sleep. That's pretty much the only bad part.

Trying out the cowmooflage:
Lovin' veggies:
Bathtime with the rubber ducky! Colin's really good at sitting up in the tub now :)
I shouldn't even mention this, but in case you're one of those readers who likes to make the picture bigger by clicking on it, that mold on the bathtub wall is not our fault. The previous homeowner didn't use the right kind of caulk, and it's nasty McNast. Don't judge. Tell me what to use to clean it. I've tried the Magic Eraser, bleach, vinegar and baking soda, various bathroom cleaners, and Tilex Mold and Mildew, which works the best of all, but still not good enough. That stuff is the reason I don't take baths, and the reason my baby will be bathing in his "baby" tub until he's old enough to shower.
Wet, decomposing leaves in mouth = we're done and going back inside.