Wow!

One of the reasons why we started this blog is so that we could remember all the fun new things that Escher discovers. Well, I was thinking about it last night, and he has a lot of "firsts" this week! Here are a few:

Escher rode without his carseat in his Jeep stroller! He absolutely LOVED it! When we were walking, all I could hear were sqeals of joy as he looked up at the leaves and the sky. We even got a few chuckles as we walked by others on the same trail. I'm sure they could hear him from a mile away!

The high chair was pulled out this week, which is another first. We have put him in it several times now, and I really think he likes it! He loves being in the kitchen anyways, but now he can REALLY see whats going on!

Also, he has been managing to put anything he can get ahold of in his mouth! I know that this is a big developmental milestone (we are hoping his hand-eye coordination takes after his daddy. wait, who am I kidding... we are hoping that pretty much all of his skills needed for physical activity take after his daddy! :-D ). Its also a big reminder that I need to start sterilizing all of his little mouthy toys. Yay...

Another first is that he has started sleeping in his crib until its time to get up in the morning! Before, he would wake up around 5 and just fuss, so in order for me to get some sleep, I would stick him in the swing in his room. Well, we have been doing this for months now, and I was just getting over it. So one morning this week, when he started fussing at 5 or so, I just refused to put him in the swing. I sat with him until he was sleepy again, and put him back in his crib. About an hour later, I had to do the same thing. But it worked! The next night he slept until 5, he ate, then he slept until 730! In his crib! He has done it since. Ahhh... good sleep. I love it!

These are just some of the things that have been going on this week. I love that these firsts are going to come faster and faster. I'm sure at some point I will blink and he will be crawling! (and talking... and walking... and running... ) It really is just amazing to watch him. I'm sure every parent feels like this, but we both really think Escher is one smart cookie :)

This last picture is one that I took at Sunday Park. I'm proud of the way it turned out, so I wanted to share it. I hope everyone has a great weekend!

Off to the river we go!

Today turned out to be another beautiful fall day, so we piled in the car and drove up to Pony Pasture, by the river.

This was the first time we had been back to the river since the day before Escher was born. On July 6, Matt and I took the dogs for a walk there. A dog, not on a leash, came running up to Truman, and they started fighting. It gave me a good scare, and we think that the adrenaline rush helped trigger the onset of labor later that night. Escher came the next day! Yay!

Here are some great pictures from tonight. And just to be funny, I included the picture that we took on July 6! I was huge!

The Wonder Weeks

A few weeks ago I heard about this book called "The Wonder Weeks" by Hetty Vamderijt. It talks about how babies go through 8 developmental "leaps" throughout the first year or so of life (Weeks 4, 8, 12, 19, 25, etc). After each developmental "leap", babies view the world much differently, therefore they need a new set of skills to be able to adjust to their new world. During this time, the baby can be very fussy, as they are working to master a new set of skills.

Well, let me tell you. These Wonder Weeks, they aren't so WonderFUL. Apparently the leap at Week 19 is one of the most intense leaps, and the fussy period can begin as early as week 14. Escher turned 16 weeks today, and I believe he is in his developmental leap fussy stage. These are some of his "symptoms", all which the book say are completely normal:

• super fussy, about anything and everything. He's not just hungry, he's STARVING. and he's not just wet, he is DRENCHED.


• very clingy. this is very unusual, because usually Escher likes to play independently. Our best friend right now is the baby bjorn, because he can "help" me vacuum, cook dinner, etc.


• needs to be entertained. another new one, because he usually keeps himself busy. it seems like all the toys we have just don't interest him anymore. I'm trying to find random stuff around the house to please him.


• sleep problems- he has been sleeping until about 4 or 5 am, then he eats, but he has woken up at random times during the night the past few nights. naps are getting hard too, he won't stay down for more than 30-40 minutes, which i think makes his fussiness worse
  

I'm so glad that I found this book, because now I know what is going on. And, after reading the first few chapters, I went to the calendar and realized that the few times that Escher has been really difficult have coincided with a leap. So that makes me feel better too, its not something that I was doing wrong!

I am actually really looking forward to this leap being over, not just because of the obvious reasons above, but because it means that he will be able to do so much more, and we can really start "playing". I found some infant lesson planning books from where I used to work, and I am really looking forward to being able to try some of those fun activities with him. Today I thought he might like a change of scenery, so I pulled out his high chair and set him in it in the kitchen while I cleaned up. I think he really liked being high up, as well as sitting up! He did really well for about 15 minutes, then his diaper was wet, so all h-e-double hockey sticks broke loose :)

Here is a link to the website about WonderWeeks. We got the book from the library, and I am slowly making my way through it. It is pretty fascinating stuff!

http://www.livingcontrolsystems.com/wonder_weeks/content_ww.html

Sunday Funday

Grandma and Grandpa Robson got to come visit today! They have not seen Escher since right before Labor day, so they were so surprised to see how much he has changed! Escher put on a great show, smiling and "talking".

We had a great lunch at Capital Ale House, then played with Escher for awhile. He enjoyed taking a walk in his baby bjorn to see all the pretty trees in the neighborhood. I love to see the leaves change, it is incredibly beautiful here. However, I'm not exactly thrilled that it means that the cold winter will soon follow. :-(

Daddy and Escher are having a great time watching the Falcons play the Cowboys. Love football sunday! Hope everyone had a great weekend!

Lunch With Family

Today, Escher and I went to Short Pump to meet Nani (Matt's mom) and Aunt Ali (Matt's sister) and her two boys, Robertson and Simeon. We had a yummy lunch outside at Chili's and enjoyed the warm weather. It was so fun to see all the boys interact. My favorite moment was when Sim sang to Escher when he was fussy. These are some of my favorite pictures from today, you can get the rest here : http://picasaweb.google.com/trishamundell/Chilis1#

Enjoy!

Sunday Park

Today Escher and I decided that it was too nice of a day to stay inside, so we went and walked around Sunday Park, on Swift Creek Reservior. I got some great pictures of Escher rolling around on the blanket in the grass. He really enjoyed watching the trees rustle in the wind. I was pretty proud of the way he held his head up! I'm sure it has to get exhausting after awhile, being so big and all :-) He rolled over from his tummy to his back at the end, although I don't think he did it on purpose. I think his head started to roll to one side and his body just followed!

Anyways, it was a great day to be outside. I'm trying to soak up all the sunshine I can before it gets cold and dreary. I will forever be grateful that I get to spend each and every day with Escher. Even though he is too young to really enjoy trips to the park right now, these experiences are still so fun for me. I love watching him grow, and I feel so fortunate that I can see every little thing he does each day.

Enjoy the pictures!

The Pumpkin Patch

On Tuesday, the weather was absolutely gorgeous, so Matt, Escher and I met my friend Stacey, her husband Nick, and their little one, Xander, at Levi's Pumpkin Patch down the street. Xander is just a few weeks older than Escher, so it has been great to have Stacey to talk to about baby stuff :) Stacey is also a photographer, and she caught some great moments for us.

The little dudes spent a few minutes checking each other out. We hope they become great friends!

We came home with two pumpkins; a big one for Matt to carve, and a little one for Escher to paint. Don't worry, we will take pictures of that adventure!

All in all, it was a great time. And now I can stop bugging Matt to take me to the Pumpkin Patch!

Have you gotten your Halloween pumpkin yet? :-)

Here We Go!

So, we have finally caved. We have decided to blog. For a long time, I promised myself that I would never blog. It just didn't seem like something I wanted to do. But now that Escher is here, I find myself wanting to document day to day events, so that I can remember all of his fun little milestones. Plus, this way, we can share our silly day to day lives with you! I figure this will save me some time, since instead of sending out several emails full of info and pictures, everyone can just visit our blog! (ha, save time... more like end up wasting more time posting stuff here!!)

So, here we go. I hope you enjoy the silly posts to come!

Much love,
Matt, Trisha and Escher (and Truman and Savanna!)