Dane - Eleven Months

Hi there!

Only a moment to post this tonight.  Wanted to get it in before it was too late.
Dane's first birthday is coming right up!

Enjoy!

Dane - Nine Months

How do you like my faux-hawk???  :)

Haircuts!

We went a little crazy this weekend and had both the boys' hair cut!
It was the first real haircut for Dane (aside from Mommy's hacking), and he was such a good boy for the whole thing.  We got Jacob's hair cut, too, and it was a little bit of an adventure.  Our regular coiffeuse, Marlene, only had time to cut one of the boys' hair, so I had her cut Dane's.  We then took Jacob to a nearby salon who accepted walk-ins, since I couldn't stand the bushy mop any more.  I asked the lady to leave it longer on top and shorter on the bottom.  She must not have had a lot of experience with children, because it was looking a little hacked up, and every time she tried to fix it, it kept getting shorter and shorter!  Finally I told her to stop, thinking I'd fix it myself at some point.  Oh, well, it still looks cute.  Here are the pics!

Getting ready for his first haircut:

The mop

 See?!?!

 Marlene working her magic!

Very chill...

The final product!

He looks so grown up!

 And speaking of grown up...

Shorter than I had hoped for, but still adorable!

Playing Catchup - Dane's Monthly Photos

Okay, I KNOW!  I'm terribly behind in Dane's monthly pictures.  So, to make up for it, today I have THREE pictures of the little guy.  :)  He is a bubbly little thing who has learned how to blow zerberts with his tongue and is sitting for short periods of time.  He's almost ready to crawl, too, and does the "downward dog" yoga pose, as well as bouncing on his hands and knees, just trying to figure out what to do next.  His latest addition is: THREE TEETH!  Can't believe how much he's growing and changing.

Snips

Well, I did it...



Poor little Dane. He has this GORGEOUS head of hair, and hasn't rubbed it off in the back like most babies. Instead, however, it has rolled itself into little dread locks. Not my idea of a baby hairstyle. So, I chopped it. YES - He's only 6 months old, but it HAD to be done! I cut off enough so that it could be brushed out, and then I had to cut some of the rest of it to look like it was "meant" to be like that. He now has an asymmetric haircut, that I'm sure would cause any good stylist to shake their head. But it will grow out again, and I'll have a professional do it next time. :)

Love at First Bite

Now that Dane is 6 months old, it was time to try some solid food.  Well, I don't know that I would really call it "solid", per se.  We learned recently that until a baby has teeth, they don't have a certain enzyme in their saliva with which to digest carbohydrates, but that soft fruits and veggies are fine for them to have.  So, since little Dane has no teeth, we dove into his first taste of...sweet potatoes!At first he wasn't too sure.  After figuring out that Mommy wanted to put that long metal thing in his mouth, he took a bite, made a strange face, and then tried to eek out a smile, as if he was feigning delight.  But after a few more tries, he was grabbing my hand to put the spoon into his mouth.  Here is a before and after picture, and a video.Bon appetit!

 

MonkeyBuns

Just thought I'd post a few pics of Dane in the outfit he got from Grandma Smith for Christmas.  I commissioned a lady on Etsy.com to create these "sock monkey" pants.  They are SO CUTE!  (Especially on Dane...)

Enjoy!

Dane - Five Months

Mommy got a new toy for Christmas (kinda), so this month's photo was especially fun to take!  And look at the results - I am thrilled! 
And, for all you empathizing parents of tinies out there, I am happy to have proof that my baby doesn't ALWAYS scream and cry during "tummy time!"  :)

Sweet Dane is really getting fun.  He is very interactive and VERY happy.  Just look at him and his face lights up.  He smiles with his eyes, which Mommy just loves.  He is trying to sit up, working his little abs every day.  He also opens his mouth very wide when he sees the bottle.  He reaches out and grabs it with fervor, as if we never feed him.  I think you can see the contrary.  What a delight he is!

Dane - Four Months

Well, everybody - Here we are!  Dane is four months old!
It's hard to believe that I already have a deck of photos for him and can watch as he has changed and grown.  He is quite the talker these days, and has a STRONG GRIP!  He especially likes to hold onto his sleeve when I'm changing his clothes, and MY sleeve when I'm changing his diaper!  This does NOT make the process faster.  :)

Here is the latest installment in the story of Dane:

Have a great day!

Halloween 2009

All who know me know that I don't get into Halloween much.  However... the part that I do like about Halloween is yummy goodies and cute kids in costumes! 

Today Jakey and I made owl cookies.  We had a lot of fun, and Jakey LOVED putting the sprinkles on.  Mommy had quite a time convincing him NOT to eat all of the pieces before we got them together!  :)

After naptime, Jacob and Dane donned their costumes and got their first taste of trick-or-treating.  Jacob was a biker and Dane was a cowboy.  We went just to a few houses around ours, and one at the end of the street.  Jacob didn't quite get it, though, because at one house he tried to give candy to the people who live there!  It was hilarious. 

Please enjoy these photos of the day:

Dane - Three Months

Again - The time has come to take the monthly photo, and I CANNOT believe how quickly time passes. 

Dane is now three months old, and an absolutely SWEET baby boy.  He is quite smiley, and almost always happy (except for when he's in his car seat...).  He loves to talk to us, and sometimes makes these crazy noises that sound like a bird!  His big eyes and mass of dark hair get him noticed wherever we go.  He has taken well to daycare, now that Mommy and Daddy are both at work again (though we just HATE leaving him and big brother!).  Everyone there comments on what a happy guy he is!  Here is his three-month picture:

Cutest Buns on the Block

As some of you may know, we have begun using cloth diapers for Dane.
(We thought about doing it with Jake when he was tiny, but I didn't know much
about cloth diaper options back then, and the daycare won't do it, so we didn't get
very far.) I have a handful of "pocket-style" cloth diapers from the attempt on Jakey,
and now also have a full stash of "prefold" diapers (like our parents used on us when
we were little) and a few covers to go over the top. Here is our current setup:


We're using baby washcloths for wipes (so everything goes into the wash, instead of picking
out wipes to throw in the trash) and a homemade wipes solution, in the green spray bottle.
We are liking the cloth diapers for their environmental friendliness, their lack of chemicals,
and the cost savings over disposables (I got set up with the prefolds and covers for a little over $60).
But, by far, the best part about cloth diapering is the CUTE diaper covers that are available!
Here is a photo of the diaper cover that arrived at our house this week:

I purchased this cover on Etsy, the online store for buying and selling handmade items,
from a store called Olive Jane Designs. It's actually a more expensive cover, in the scheme
of things, but it was so cute I had to have it. :)

And now, Dane has the cutest buns on the block! Take a look:

See, doesn't he look happy? (I'm SURE its because of his cute buns...)

Jacob turns 2!

Believe it or not, Jacob turned 2 today! It is astounding how fast the time has gone. Everyone tells you that, but experiencing the phenomenon just baffles me.

We had a fun day. The Sharps came to play and have lunch. At dinner we sang Happy Birthday to Jacob and gave him his present from Gary's "Aunt" Geri and "Uncle" Harry. Jacob liked our song so much that he started singing, too. "Happy to me..." OH. SO. CUTE!

This weekend we'll go to Grandma Merry and Grandpa John's house to celebrate Jacob's birthday with our family, and his friend Aaron's, too! Aaron will be 2 next week, also, and the Sharps have become family to us. It will be fun!

Until then, enjoy these photos from today, and a couple of Jacob entertaining Dane earlier in the week. Such a good big brother!

Happy Birthday to Jacob!


Blowing out the candles:

Opening his presents:



Having fun with baby Dane:

It's Football Season!

Thought I'd post a pic of our cute little Bears fans. (Daddy has *nothing* to do with that! Right!)

The poor dears - I hope last night's game is not indicative of the kind of season we'll be having here in Chicago. We didn't pay big bucks for Jay Cutler for nothing!

(Listen to me - I sound like I'm married to a sports fan or something!) :)

Here they are!



Dane's outfit has a cute hat that Mommy found irresistible,
so here's another picture of him:



Go Bears!!!!

And Then There Were Four...

If you haven't yet heard - Baby Dane has finally arrived!

He was born on Wednesday, July 29, 2009, at 9:01 am,
weighing 7 lbs and 15 oz and was 19 1/2 inches long.

But that is only the very end of the story...

I have struggled to write this blog post, because I couldn't decide what
to put in it. There is so much to tell, so many details that have significance to us.
But without writing a novel, it may not all make sense to anyone else. :)
So, I have decided to write a detailed account of Dane's birth story to be published
at a later date. But for now, the Cliff Notes:

Tuesday evening, the night before, I noticed there was something going on. I had no idea
how long things would take, so I called Sarah (my doula/friend/photographer/etc.) and
Becky (babysitter for Jacob) to give them a heads-up that it could be happening soon.
We all went to bed, wondering what the next day would bring. Around 3:30 or 4am, I woke
up with contractions strong enough to keep me awake for good. I putzed around the house,
tidying up and gathering things for the hospital that hadn't already been packed. At 5:30, I
decided it was time to call in reinforcements. I called Sarah to ask her to come, and then
called Becky.
I attempted to wake up Gary and tried to find more ways to cope with the strengthening contractions. At 6:30, Sarah arrived and we called the midwife to let her know things were progressing. She said to keep her in the loop and to let her know when we left for the hospital.
Thank heaven she was already there when we finally did leave. Becky arrived at 7 to occupy Jacob. By that time, contractions were getting pretty serious. Sarah and Gary were a great support to me as I labored with this baby. I didn't want to get to the hospital too early, so we stayed at home until no one thought it was a good idea anymore. :) Around 8:30 we decided to leave, and Gary RUSHED me to the hospital (only a good 3 blocks away, but I think I must have had 5 contractions during that time!) We screeched into the parking lot and someone from the ER helped us navigate some lesser-used hallways (and maybe even a shortcut) to labor and delivery, though it did take us probably 10 minutes to get there, as I kept making them stop when I had a contraction to let me get out of the wheelchair. During one of these contractions, in a dark hallway in the bowels of the hospital, my water broke. I was so surprised, as were Gary and the ER lady! A minute later we arrived in the birthing room. The midwife walked in and asked to check how far I had dilated. "Oh! - There's the head!" she said. Another contraction started, and I exclaimed with GREAT surprise, "Oh! - I'm pushing!" They quickly got me on the table, and in two more pushes, Baby Dane was born. I looked up at the clock and said, "Hey - He was born at 9:01!" After all, I was the only one facing the clock. :) And with that, we welcomed our new, precious son into the world. It was an awesome moment.

So, from the time we pulled up at the hospital until little Dane was born, it was about 16 minutes, total. We certainly gave the labor and delivery nurses a shock. That was probably the most excitement they had seen in awhile! We both felt great, and decided to go home the next day. Dane had to deal with a little bit of Jaundice, since he and I have different blood types, but that was quickly resolved. He is a happy, content little snuggler, who has already stolen our hearts. Even big brother Jacob loves him. Please enjoy these photos.





As I mentioned, Sarah was there to snap photos, as well as help me through the process.
She has created slideshows of Dane, both from that day, and a week later.

Photos from the hospital: http://imagesbysharp.com/extra/birthingDane/

Photos from his newborn session: http://imagesbysharp.com/extra/Dane/

Here are a couple of teasers, compliments of Sharp Images Custom Photography: