Parum Pum Pum Drum! B. toys Photos!

Yesterday Monster received his gift from our lovely new friends over at B. toys! Here are some photos of Monster's first reactions to his Parum Pum Pum Drum!

Here is Hubbs helping Monster open up his Drum full of other instruments!

Checking out his Jingle Bell Ant and Cute Caterpillar Tambourine!

Now that all the toys are free from their packaging, Monster is reaching for one of his Shaka-Shaka Eggs!

Some of the toys standing proudly in their new home!

Typical or Genius?

I'm at a crossroads... Something happened yesterday and I'm not sure if it's evidence of a typical baby or a supremely genius baby?

Let me set up the situation. Hubbs and I are in the living room eating breakfast, Monster had already eaten his so he was playing on the floor next to me, and Lola (our pug kid) was begging for scraps as usual. I decided to toss a bite of toast for Lola and it landed in the center of the base of our exersaucer.

This presented a dilemma for Lola because the base isn't flat so that it can rock around while your baby is playing in it. Every time she put her paw on it, it rocked forward so got scared. After about 5 minutes of her surveying the situation and trying different angles she still hadn't been brave enough to get the toast.

Monster watched as Lola struggled and decided he could get the toast for her. He bum scooted closer and attempted the same feat fearlessly. His arm length was the only thing that kept him from achieving his goal.

I am surprised and amazed at the thought processes it must have taken in order to see Lola failing and decide that he would give it a shot. I'm not sure if this behavior is typical "I want what she wants!" or if it's genius baby problem solving?

I know Monsters behavior is evolving everyday but what is typical for a 7 month old in terms of problem solving?




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What to Expect... In the 7th Month

Last month I decided to blog about Monster and how he's hitting hit monthly milestones according to the book What to Expect in the First Year. I'm a creature of habit, so here goes the 7 month milestone blog! It's just a few days late. Just a reminder that the milestones are separated into sections with different headings.

By the end of this month, your baby...
...should be able to:

• Sit without support - Check! For over 2 months now!  
•  Feed self a cracker - Check! Well, I've never tried a cracker but he really likes Mum Mums
• Razz - Check! He stared around 5 months, but then stopped after he mastered the skills. Now he does it every so often... Usually when we're trying to feed him something.

...will probably be able to:

• Bear some weight on legs when held upright - Check! His love for standing predates his love for sitting.
• Object if you take a toy away - Meh.. I'm not sure if this milestone is accurate? What if you have a passive baby who doesn't really care? He fusses about it sometimes, but a lot of the time he doesn't mind.
• Work to get a toy out of reach - Check! About a week ago the little Monster used a wooden spoon to reach for a toy I put a foot away from him. I was attempting to get him to crawl to get the toy.
• Pass a cube or other object from one hand to the other - Check!
• Look for a dropped object - Check! One day that whole exersaucer is going to topple over!
• Rake a raisin and pick it up in fist - Check! Only sub Cheerios for raisins
• Turn in the direction of a voice - Check! Wasn't this on the 4 months check list?
• Babble combining vowels and consonants "ma-ma-ma", "da-da-da"- I'm sad to say no. He doesn't babble he shoots out combinations that sounds like he's trying to say words. We've heard "Hey", "Hi", "Yeah", "Dad", but the only babbling he does is "mmMmMmMmmmMmm" at meal times.
• Play peekaboo - Check, kind of. If I put a receiving blanket on his head and ask "Where's Monster?" he will pull it off and that's when I say "Peekaboo!". Is that close enough?

...may possibly be able to:

• Stand holding on to someone or something - Check! Once we master crawling we will start practicing cruising.

...may even be able to:

• Pull up to a standing position from a sitting - Check, but only with mommies hands. He hasn't pulled up on anything else.
• Get into a sitting position from stomach - He has only done this once, so I'm not going to count it.
• Play patty-cake or wave Bye-Bye - Check, kind of. He's waved a handful of times without coaching. The rest of the time it's hit or miss. He might wave, he might play shy. No patty caking around here though.
• Pick up a tiny object with any part of thumb and finger - No, Monster has not mastered the pincer grasp. He tries desperately, can make the motion but has not actually picked anything up.
• Walk holding onto furniture - No. He walks while holding someones hands though.
• Say mama or dada indiscriminately - No. Boo.

Giving Thanks

In the last year I've grown a healthy baby in uteri, birthed that healthy baby boy (unfortunately I'm not thankful for the c-section delivery but that's a whole other blog!), and kept that beautiful, healthy little boy just that, happy and healthy!

I am clearly so thankful for him! Thankful for Monster, and for Hubbs because he helped me create, grow, and love Monster!

I am thankful for my support system of family and friends near and far, and I am thankful for those of you who read this and support me with helpful comments!

Cheers to more happy and healthy years!

Remember to say "I love you" and "Thank you" when you feel it whether the time is right or not because we might not always have the opportunity to. :)

Thanksgiving Dinners!

Yesterday was the first of our two family Thanksgiving dinners. Unfortunately because of the compressed shift Hubbs is on, Monster and I ventured over to my parents alone.

My mom tries her hardest to work her holiday meals around every ones work schedules, but unfortunately it doesn't always work out. This year our dinner was my parents, grandparents, soon-to-be-brother-in-law, Monster and I. I am slightly heartbroken that Hubbs didn't get to witness the first time Monster tried turkey, stuffing and a bite of cranberries.

Ok, you can slap me on the wrist for not only allowing Monster to try ONE new food. I couldn't help myself! Reasoning: He's tried chicken without an allergic reaction, chicken vs. turkey? Same thing! The only part of the stuffing he tried was soft bread hunks. He's had toast, turkey flavored break hunks vs toast? Same thing! He did fantastically! He LOVED Thanksgiving food!

Side note for Canadian moms: Why is everyone so absolutely obsessed with smothering everything in gravy? When I tell people Monster hates potatoes, they suggest gravy. You know what? I don't think smothering a carb with animal fat and salt is the right way to get him to eat something he hates! Ew. Monster is HUGE for his age and has gotten that way just from infant formula, fruit, veggies, lean meats, and infant cereals. He does not need any help gaining weight, especially from a food that is purely animal fat!

Ok, I'm done ranting...

Tomorrow will be Thanksgiving dinner number two at my in laws house. Normally they're pretty set on having Thanksgiving dinner on Sunday but since this is Monsters first Thanksgiving and Hubbs would be missing it completely they changed it for us. We are incredibly grateful! Mostly because turkey is fantastic! It's really no wonder Monster liked it so much, I think he had it 8 times while still in uteri. MmMmM Turkey!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

First Spaghetti Night!

Last week when Monster and I were visiting my moms house for supper he had his first experience with spaghetti!

It was really just cut up spaghetti noodles with just enough sauce to taste on them. Italian food is my favorite so it's no surprised I'd be up for starting him young! ;)






Most of the spaghetti noodles ended up everywhere but his mouth.





Look at the mitts on that boy! ;)


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Playtex Ventaire Bottles

This week was grocery shopping week, and along with Monsters infant formula we also had to stock up on some Playtex Drop-ins Bottle Liners.

I decided on a whim that I was going to compare the price of a box of 100 Playtex bottle liners vs. A couple new Playtex Ventaire Bottles. Monster has not needed to be burped for about 2 months, and I've read the Ventaire bottles are very popular with other moms on my whattoexpect.com homeboard.

Pros to using the Playtex Drop-ins is that they are absolutely perfect for the busy (or lazy) mom who doesn't have all the time in the world to sit and scrub bottles. You toss the liner after each use. I was one of those lazy moms who saw the appeal when Monster was a newborn.

Admittedly I have more time in my day now that I have a partially independent 7 month old, as apposed to a "I want to be held or worn 24/7" newborn. The cheap mom finally beat down the lazy mom and bought the Playtex Ventaire Bottles instead of the Drop-in Liners. It was a dollar difference in price to buy a 100 pack of liners vs a two bottle starter package at Walmart.

Monster loves his food so the change didn't even phase him one bit and aside from the extra 5 minutes cleaning time per day, they're working out great! I can't say they'd be a good bottle for a newborn with the potential to be colicky but for a 7 month old who burps himself they work great, and they're more esthetically pleasing then the regular Drop-ins.

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