EGG

Baby's First Christmas

We spent our holiday at home due to teething and colds. However, I must say, it was nice to be at home for Rhonen's first Christmas. We opened presents, went to the park, watched movies and solidified our new family traditions... as follows:

1. Christmas cookies (grandma Betty's recipe :~)
2. Dustin's eggnog
3. Cioppino


Rhonen just gets sweeter by the day and I can't wait to see what the new year brings us.

Merry Christmas

Baby Attack

Oh Christmas Tree

From Rhonen's perspective! No wonder he is mesmerized!

7 months old

I can't believe it! I say that every month but it just seems crazy that it's been 7 months already. Rhonen is the light of our lives and we couldn't be happier. He is such a joy each day. He is getting really fast on the floor but hasn't graduated to crawling just yet. He's a great eater and doesn't really protest about food. Recently he has found his tongue and thinks it's funny to stick it out, which is super cute. The best thing is his singing...when we are in the car he starts to sing a little tune, I love it.

Back to work

That's right...I'm going back to work this week- luckily only part time. I'll be working for Enloe Hospital as a department secretary. It's only two days per week, which is perfect. It's just enough supplemental income and adult time to make it work! I'm really excited. And the best part is Rhonen gets to stay home with Dustin during the day as he works mostly in the evenings. I will admit... I thought about Rhonen probally every five minutes today and told at least twenty people about him. It's a busy time for us right now but things seem promising here in Chico. Wish me luck.

On the Verge...

Rhonen is so close to crawling... I think it's just a matter of finding some momentum. For now this is how he is getting around.

Sweet Potatoes

Thanksgiving in Portland

For Thanksgiving we flew up to Portland for a few days. Our friends Dawn and Adam just bought their first home and we needed to celebrate with a good feast! On Wednesday we prepared a great dinner with all the trimmings (Dustin cooked a majority of the meal, but dessert was made by the ladies ;) Rhonen finally got to meet Adelaide, who belongs to our friends Alisha and Miles. Let me tell you...he was really excited to play with her. She is such a sweetheart. On Thursday we traveled to Dallas for a semi-family reunion with Dustin's family. We had a great dinner and were able to remember his grandmother who recently passed away. It was a wonderful gathering and Rhonen was able to meet lots of aunts, uncles, and cousins. Rhonen did extremely well during the entire trip. The airplane ride was a little rough, but we expected that.

6 month numbers

Here are his official numbers:

Weight: 19 lbs 10 oz
Height: 27 inches
Head: 44.5 cm

He dropped to the 85th percentile for weight and stayed at the 75th percentile for height. His head is in the 50th percentile for his age. Again...we are just so thrilled he is healthy!

6 months old

Can you believe it?! Well... Rhonen is getting to be quite the little charmer. His little personality shows through more and more each day. He is very fun to play with and loves the interaction. Rhonen is very inquisitive and curious, wanting to get his hands on just about everything. His second tooth is pushing threw so it's really about getting his mouth on everything. We started solids last month and, surprise, he's a great eater. Vegetables are his favorite followed by cereal. He does like fruit, but it's a little tart for him. Except for the bananas, he loves the bananas! I have been working on his sitting skills but he's more interested in rolling. Probaly because he can actually reach things that way.

He is growing so fast and getting so big. I think he's around 20 pounds, which is killing my back! I've been trying to swim and stretch to loosen up the muscles...I think it's working. He's got a doctors appointment this Tuesday so I'll post the new stats then. Here are some more pics I snapped on the 11th...


Can you see the enthusiasm fading?

Chico State Endorsement

Enough said.

Road Trip

Last Saturday my sister and I brought Rhonen to see my family in Elk Grove and Sonoma. It was a wonderful visit and Rhonen did extremely well in and out of the car. He is such a good boy :)















Dannelle, Vicki and Rhonen















Rhonen and his GiGi

What's that I see...

His first tooth! He has been teething for about three months now and finally I saw the little white tooth popping through this morning. I'll miss his little gummy grin. As if that wasn't enough excitement for one day, this evening Rhonen got up on all fours. Which means crawling is just around the corner. Wait...I'm not ready for that.

It's five o'clock somewhere

This is what happens in our house everyday around 5:00...our baby goes crazy! I love it!

Halloween

Me and my little lion















Zombie...don't eat the baby!















King of the Jungle




















Treat Street in Downtown Chico















Our friendly chicken crossing the road (ha ha)

Scary Halloween

Oh Rho...

We received our Argentine wine order the other day and Rhonen was all over it! Yep, he's our boy!

Rhonen's New Trick

Lullaby

Sickie

Rhonen has been sick all week with a cold. On top of the cold, he has been teething like crazy which makes my life all the more interesting. Trying to remedy his cold is almost worse than having him sick in the first place. He hates anything that has to do with getting snot out of his nose and he's pretty good at avoiding it. He hates the little nose drops and also hates eating...because he can't breath through his nose! If only he knew the snot sucker would help. Then he wants to bite into everything as hard as he can, which he is finding sometimes hurts.

He seemed a little better today so I took him on a walk in the park. Now Dustin is sick and hopefully I'm not next. We are planning to have a fun little Halloween at treat street, but we'll see how everyone is feeling. Rhonen is going to be a Lion, sick or not :=)

Sweet Boy

Hike in the park

We took Rho on a hike and picnic in Upper Park last weekend. We found this nice spot by the water to have lunch. Quite a nice Sunday!

Oma and Opa

Rhonen's Oma and Opa (German for grandma and grandpa) drove all the way from Utah for a visit. It was so nice to have them in town and Rhonen had a blast with them. Of course he got spoiled the entire time they were here...tons of attention, lots of play time, new toys and clothes! What a life :)

Cloth Diapers

I finally took the plunge and bought some cloth diapers. I love all the fun colors and I feel so much better about using them over disposables. I bought fuzzi bunz diapers, which are pocket diapers and they seem really well made. I also bought some biodegradable rice paper liners which make the messy diapers a lot easier to clean up. Trying to be as green as we can ;~)

5 Months Old

Today Rhonen is 5 months old! Currently we are getting him used to the new high chair, which he seems to like. Different perspective I guess. His mobility is increasing daily and he now moves along quite well on his stomach. Oh and the rolling...I had to break out the play pen because he was rolling around the house ending up in some strange places, next to some not-so-baby-friendly items. You know the usual...power cords, printers, metal furniture, etc. We haven't baby proofed yet but I think it's next on my project list. He is doing a lot of babbling, most recently he is saying B's and V's. I think he will have a lot to say so I remind myself to enjoy the baby talk as long as I can. I am still trying to decide on a Halloween costume, but as soon as I do it will be pictures galore! I love babies in costume.

Growing Like a Weed!!

When I saw this picture I couldn't believe how big he looked in his car seat. Then the other day we were at the gym and he was next to another baby who was the same age...and he was much, much bigger! It's amazing how quickly they grow in just one month. Oh well...at least my arms will be in shape :~)

Sleep

Besides the fact that I need more of it, sleep was becoming a major battle with Rhonen. Because he is so little he needs a lot of naps during the day, about every two hours you can really tell he needs to go down. So every two hours I was having to take him on walks so he would fall asleep, it was becoming a major inconvenience. Nap time was also supposed to be my break! I think I created this battle by having him nap in a swing for the first three months. Then he started to associate the swing with nap time and hated to sit in it. He was also getting too big so I switched to the stroller, but I didn't want to take five walks a day trying to get him to sleep. So I bought healthy sleep habits, happy child. The book basically talks about how children become overtired, making it even more difficult for them to sleep and the importance of napping for overall better nighttime sleep. What I liked about the book was that it didn't push one specific method over another. Whether cry-it-out or no-cry sleep method was what you wanted to do, it gave examples of both as well as the pros and cons. Originally I was against the cry-it-out method because I didn't think I could just let him cry for hours. But the book also illustrated a control cry method where you don't let your baby cry for more than twenty minutes. I decided to try it because I was at my whits end with him and I knew all he needed was sleep. I also was realizing that learning to put himself to sleep was a skill he needed to have and one that would prove very crucial in the years to follow. I was having visions of pushing him in the stroller until he was four trying to get him to sleep everyday!

So I decided to watch him carefully for signs of drowsiness and then do ten minutes of soothing and then in to the crib he went. I made sure Dustin was home for support and had some things to do during the twenty minutes. By far the hardest thing I have ever had endure...besides labor! But to my surprise, after thirteen minutes of crying, he was asleep. I was so excited I didn't know what to do with myself. When he woke up he was his usual happy self, well rested and ready to play. So now it's been about two weeks since I started this routine and it's worked wonders. Sometimes he doesn't cry at all or maybe for a couple of minutes, but then he just rolls over and goes to sleep.

More and more I realize that as a mother you have to do what is best for your baby and sometimes a little bit of crying is what they need.

One Mile

We are so lucky here in Chico...Bidwell Park is one of the most beautiful places to spend a morning or afternoon. I have been trying to take Rhonen as much as I can. We love to meet our friends, Sarah and Levi for walks. Levi and Rhonen have the same birthday, May 11th, but Levi is one year older.

Mr. Smile

Rhonen has always been a happy baby, but lately the smiling is out of control. All it takes is for someone to make eye contact with him and he flashes the biggest, cheekiest, ear-to-ear grin you have ever seen! Not that I am complaining, it makes most people very happy and they complement us on having such a cute boy. Even at home, Dustin and I just look at him and there he goes...over and over. What can I say...he likes the attention like someone else I know :~)

Auntie Dawn

My very best friend was in town over the weekend and she snapped these great pictures of Rho. I miss her very much but it was great to visit. Rhonen loves her very much!