Late 8 Month Post

So... as many of you are well aware... Another month has gone by! Sorry for being late with this post.  Ryker is now 8 1/2 months old. He has developed so many skills! He pulls up next to things, crawls around...Everywhere... Eats more and more baby food, and we are now facing the battle of constant teething. Just last week we had a tooth make its appearance and then it disappeared. So after all those hours of no sleep, crying, and infants advil... There is no proof!

Ryker's favorite foods include:

• Sweet Potatoes
• Sweet Peas
• Squash
• Apples & Carrots (mixed... He won't eat them separate)
• And Lots and Lots of Rice Cereal!!

This next month we will be introducing meats and oatmeal. Hopefully it goes well and he eats and grows even stronger than he is now! 

Ryker has an adorable natural mohawk! His hair down the middle of his head is about two and a half inches long. He has also outgrown all 9-12 month clothes and is currently in 12-18 month outfits. He is sure a bundle of constant energy and fun!

He still sleeps in our bed, despite countless number of times keeping him in his crib. 

As far as Justin and I go... Justin has been picked as a Healthy U student for the 2013 year. This program gives him a trainer and a nutritionist at no cost to us. He meets with a group of 11 other people from the community all setting out to lose weight! So far he is loving it and we are adjusting to the new lifestyle that comes with trying to eat healthy. I have been advised not to work on weight-loss until after Ryker is done breastfeeding, so for now, I will just exercise and eat to be healthy! But... We are learning together and we are building skills and healthier bodies every step of the way. 

Seven Crazy Months

It has already been seven months! Our little man is growing everyday and loving life. He is so smart and happy, I feel so blessed! In the last month, Ryker has discovered several new uses for his hands. He is an expert at grabbing and yanking handfuls of my hair. He has figured out my reaction to a choking sound, and to get my attention, he will frequently pretend choke. NOT COOL!

Ryker still has blue eyes, red hair, and very white skin, just like his mom! He now has a birthmark on his chest that goes from the base of his neck to the bottom of his sternum. It is actually a pretty nice looking birthmark! Ryker has also bypassed crawling on all fours, he still army crawls all over, but he is now starting to pull up on things. He is becoming quite the expert at using his hands to create beats, or a rhythm on the floor, table, wall, or anything with a cool sound.

Ryker has a very healthy appetite, and still no teeth! He nurses quite frequently, eats rice cereal everynight, and occasionally he will eat some jarred baby food. He does like the Parent's Choice puffs, and veggie crisps. He is learning how to use his index finger and thumb to pick things up. Ryker is definitely a mommy's boy and he loves to be cuddled first thing in the morning. My favorite part of the day!

Overall, Ryker is doing so well and having so much fun learning all there is to learn! I was reflecting on his short little life last night, and I got emotional as I remembered how blessed I am and how wonderful it is to have such an awesome responsibility of being a wife and a mother! Nothing could make me happier this holiday season!

Happy Holidays Everyone!

Challenging Solids

As many of you know, we have started Ryker on solids... and it is rather difficult!!

At 5 months, we started rice cereal and he took to it so easily! He loved his rice cereal before bed. We liked it because it was easy to clean up, and Justin was finally able to feed him. At 5 months and two weeks, we started the pureed baby food. Ryker loved to play with the dab I put on his tray, he would stick his fingers in it and then taste it, or draw us flavored pictures. This fun continued for about three weeks, and four new flavors. This was all just fun and games, and Ryker was happy and loving the new flavors.

Then out of nowhere... It all stopped!! 

Even fruits, and flavors he liked end up on the floor, all over his face, on his bib, but never down his throat and into his sweet belly. I like to think that he is just being satisfied with breastmilk and he is not hungry enough to try new things, but at the same time I know he is old enough to start needing more nutrients and to start developing habits. I have even tried mixing the baby food with regular rice cereal... But it is all to no avail. Last night, he wouldn't even eat rice cereal. 

If any of you experienced moms have any advice for me on how I can remedy this situation and make use of all the baby food, PLEASE Comment!!