Keeping in Teutsch

Juliette's 7th birthday was on Saturday and we celebrated all day long...mostly with food! Matt got donuts and kolaches that morning for breakfast; for lunch Juliette wanted Chick-fil-A; and then there was pizza and cupcakes at her party, followed by dinner at a local Cajun place (where they surprised her with a brownie and ice cream  for her birthday). Here are pictures of her birthday party. (I've got one more post about Juliette for this week that I didn't get posted this week, so check back in the next day or two for it.)

All the kids that were at her party, minus one little boy who was hiding in the back.

John Hayden got to play in the "under 5" area. He wasn't so sure about it.

One of Juliette's friends from 1st grade.

Matt got in to play with John Hayden.

Singing "Happy Birthday" to Juliette.

Blowing out the candles. (I forgot to bring the real camera so I had to take pictures on my phone which is why some are fuzzy.)

The "birthday throne" that the kids get to sit on to open their presents.

Juliette got quite a few little handwritten notes along with her presents that were so sweet.

This picture was taken at the restaurant after her party. When Juliette was visiting Matt's parents a few weeks ago before school started, she asked his dad to take her to Office Depot (she loves that place), so he did (and bought her a few "office supplies."). Anyway, he got her a gift card to Office Depot. She was thrilled!

Every year, I also like to do Q&As with Juliette. When she was smaller, they were funnier, but then she got kind of serious about answering them (which comes with age), so I've added in a few new questions at the end of the normal ones in order to spice it up a bit. If you want to read the other Q&As with her, you can see them here and here. (Looks like I forgot to do them last year!) 

What did you do today? I went to school and I liked it, spent time with my family, and ate stuffed crust pizza.

What did you play today? At the first recess I played soccer with my best friend.

What's your favorite food? Stuffed crust pizza, Chick-fil-A's chicken nuggets, Goldfish.

What's your favorite game? Toy Story (PlayStation) and Animal Crossing (3DS)

What's your favorite thing to do? Spend time with my family, play school, art, dance, and read.

What makes you happy? When John Hayden starts laughing, when school begins, and when school ends.

What makes you sad? That I have a new class and don't have a lot of friends.

What's your favorite movie? Toy Story 3 and Alvin and the Chipmunks Chipwrecked

What's your favorite TV show? Shake It Up

What's your favorite animal? Giraffe

What do you want to be when you grow up? A teacher (said enthusiastically!)

What's your favorite book? Junie B. Jones

What's your favorite color? Pink

What's your favorite toy? Dollhouse

Where's your favorite place to eat? Chick-fil-A

Who's your best friend? Madison

What's your favorite thing to do outside? Play soccer

Where's your favorite place to shop? Justice

What's your favorite candy? Tootsie rolls

What's your favorite flavor of ice cream? Chocolate chip cookie dough and chocolate

What's your favorite cookie? Oreos

What's your favorite fruit? Applesauce

What's your favorite vegetable? Broccoli

NEW ONES:

Why do you like being a kid? Because you like get to like have fun and do fun stuff and adults have to like take care of chores and all that. (clearly channeling her inner Valley Girl with the use of all those 'likes')


What advice would you give your parents?  Don't have any more arguments for the rest of your life. (She interprets every single disagreement or conversation in which we aren't talking all lovey-dovey as an argument. She told Matt the other day that when she gets married she is never, ever, ever going to argue with her husband.)

What is something funny that has happened to you? I wore two pairs of shorts all day long the other day and didn't know it. (True story!)

What do you love most about John Hayden? That he's cute and chubby and sweet and I love how he laughs.

What was the nicest thing you did for someone? There was this kid on the playground in kindergarten and no one was playing with him so I decided to play with him.

What do you think you will be doing 10 years from now? I'll start studying harder and start looking at college.

What is your favorite thing to do in the summer? Go on vacation.

What does Mommy and Daddy do for a living? They take care of us; Mommy works at UL Press and Daddy works at the school across the hall; Mommy gives books to people and boxes them up after she gets the phone call and then she mails them; Daddy teaches classes that are in college.

Favorite subject? Math

What would you do with a million dollars? I would spend it on toys and I would pay for your dinner.

In honor of Juliette's birthday week (she turns 7 on Saturday), this week on the blog will be all about her (because, let's face it, John Hayden has been a blog hog these past 9 months, not that it's his fault). Anyway, first up is my favorite thing that I do every year: Juliette-isms! In case you missed them in the past, click here, here, and here.


January 1, 2013 - Juliette wanted to hold John Hayden before I put him to bed and he started crying, so she gave him his pacifier and he fell asleep in her arms. She told Matt, who is sitting beside her, that "he needed to listen and be good with him like her." Haha!

 John Hayden is 9 months old today. (He looks SO much older in the picture above, but this was the best picture I could get of him since he doesn't like to sit still and pose for pictures! I don't think he actually looks quite like that normally.) Here's his monthly update:

--He weighs 22.5 lbs. and is almost 29 in. long. That's in the 90th percentile for weight and the 75th for height.
--John Hayden finally eats baby food now! Woohoo! In an effort to avoid another trip to therapy, earlier this month, I decided to decrease the amount of formula he was getting in a day to see if his adversion to baby food was actually an "I'm full on formula and don't want anything else" problem. And it was! (Or my experiment just happened to coincide with him deciding he liked food.) Now he gets 6 oz. of formula in the morning, and 6 oz. at bed time, but only 4 oz. other times during the day (typically 3 times) for a total of 24 oz., which is the minimum babies need at this age. Mid-morning he eats oatmeal mixed with fruit, at lunch he eats a fruit, and at dinner he eats a vegetable. Although a lot of babies will eat more than one container of baby food at a sitting, that is all he wants and the doctor said that was completely fine. (Oh, and those are Stage 2 containers.) He will also eat baby puffs now as well as Cheerios (he loves those and he can feed them to himself now), so now we have a way to keep him happy when we go out to eat (although, he's been a great baby to take out to eat so far!). We've all been praying for him to eat like he's supposed to...so glad for answered prayers.
--He is still in size 4 diapers, as well as 9-12 month pajamas (although I put him in 12-18 month ones as well even though they are a little big) and 12 and 18 month clothes. Size wise, he hasn't really grown much at all in the last month.
--And, another answered prayer: Baby is sleeping good now!! (And just my luck he'll start waking up again since I'm bragging on him.) Anyway, though, this entire month has been bliss between him finally eating baby food and sleeping through the night without waking! And, right now, he still takes two naps a day (usually 1 1/2-2 hrs each time) but we've started him back in daycare, so that might change. He went for a half day last Friday and didn't want to go down for a morning nap, and yesterday he sleep for less than an hour in the morning. Hopefully, the newness of being back in daycare will wear off quickly and he'll get back to a good nap schedule as he was quite fussy yesterday evening when I got home.
--John Hayden can crawl traditionally now, although he still army crawls as well, but he's definitely getting faster on his knees. It's funny because he slaps the floor with his hands (not graceful at all) when he's crawling, so you can hear him coming if you are in another room. He also has gotten really good at pulling up to standing, even pulling up on some of his bigger toys, and he's cruising on the furniture a little bit as well. I'm positive he'll be walking before his first birthday! Aside from "da-da," he definitely says "ba-ba" and he knows what it means. He'll start crying if you say something about a "ba-ba" and don't produce said ba-ba for him, so I have to say "bottle" or spell it. Sometimes we kinda hear "ma-ma" thrown in there, but he pretty much just calls everyone "da-da." He knows that "sister" means Juliette and has been pointing her out in pictures this week since she has been gone to North Louisiana visiting our parents. And, he's pretty good at mimicing the sounds of certain words we say, almost to the point that it sounds like he is repeating the exact word, but we know that is probably not true. We like to think he is, though! He's still practicing waving. I thought for sure he would have that down by now, but I guess he's been too busy working on those gross motor skills instead of his fine ones. Oh, and he gives kisses now...wet, slobbery, open-mouthed kisses on the cheek! And on command as well. It's the best, but he's very selective as to who he gives them to (mostly gives them to Juliette and me). He's also cutting his top middle four teeth (all at once!), and although I still have to wrestle him to keep him on his bottom in the bathtub, he's gotten better about not hanging off the side of the changing table (only doing that every few days now instead of every.single.time!). He's starting to climb (into and onto things) and he's into EVERYTHING. We put up the pack-n-play in the living room (although we have absolutely no room for it) just so we could corral him some and catch our breath every so often. He went to the beach for the first time this past month (and sampled some sand) and he got his first haircut (we hated to get it cut, but it was just too long; I still comb it over to the side because he looks too much like a little boy and not a baby when you comb it down). He's definitely keeping us on our toes, but it's such fun...and he's such a happy, smiley baby (except when it's a stranger--then he gives the "stranger danger" stare).

Getting into the DVDs.

Getting his hair cut.

He loves water!

With Juliette at the beach in Galveston.

Eating sand.

Checking out the water with my dad (PawPaw) at the beach in Galveston.

He climbed into our super classy, makeshift toy box.

In the ocean with Daddy.

Feeding himself Cheerios in my office.

John Hayden was 8 months old on Saturday (we were out of town, so just now getting to write this). Here's his monthly update:

--He weighs around 22 lbs. I can feel it in my shoulders...haha!
--He still eats 6-7 ounces every 3ish hours. Still doesn't like baby food, table food, any food. I don't know what to do with this kid...hope he finds his appetite for solids soon or the doctor will send us for an evaluation with a therapist at 9 months to make sure it's not sensory issues or something like that.
--He is still in size 4 diapers, but the other weekend, literally overnight, he completely outgrew his remaining 9 month and 9-12 month clothes and we had to go on a shopping spree. I bought a combination of 12 month and 18 month stuff and everything fits much better now. (The outfit above is a little big, but Daddy dressed him!) He can still wear the 9-12 month zip-up pajamas from The Children's Place (I love those things...the designs are SO cute), but that is the only thing in that size.
--Sleep sucks...as usual. (Sorry for the "language," but that's how we all feel about it.) Juliette has started praying for John Hayden to sleep good at night. I'm not sure if I should laugh or cry about that! He goes to sleep fine...he just wakes up most nights around 10 or 11 and it's extremely hard to get him back to sleep in his crib. Most nights he ends up in bed with me, where he then proceeds to wake up at the crack of dawn (around 5) and wants to get up for the day. Some days I get lucky and he sleeps until 6. And some very rare days, he'll sleep all night in his crib with hardly a peep and not wake up until after I've gotten out of the shower. Insanity is often described as doing the same thing over and over and hoping for different results. That definition perfectly describes our efforts at sleep training. (Before anyone offers advice: we've tried it all. He's one stubborn kid and we can only do cry-it-out [or more like fuss-it-out for him since he's not straight up crying] for about 10 minutes before we risk waking Juliette since they share a room.) He was taking naps good, but as of today, he can shimmy himself out of the swing--where he's been taking most naps--and Matt found him on the floor beside it twice when he should have been sleeping. (The swing is a low one that is almost on the ground, so he basically just crawled out of it...can't fall, thankfully!) You know it's getting frustrating when your husband starts Googling sleep training ideas and reading the baby books. (He NEVER did that with Juliette.) Until John Hayden decides to sleep better, I just have to remind myself often "this too shall pass." One day. Probably not any time soon, but one day.
--John Hayden has gotten super fast with his army crawls and is now venturing to all rooms in the apartment (which really doesn't take much effort on his part since the place is so small). Last week he started taking a few traditional crawls very slowly, but he hasn't gotten good enough to crawl across the room or very quickly, so he just does a few and then plops down on his belly and takes off in an army crawl (he's super fast like that) . Matt swears he said "ba-ba" for his bottle the other day, but I'm not convinced it was in reference to it and haven't heard him say it. He is trying to pull up ALL the time now, but he isn't strong enough yet to get on his feet. He can pull up to his knees, though. Since he can sit up good now, we're not using the baby sling seat for baths and he loves getting to play in the water. He got to go swimming for the first time this month and loved that as well. And, I've noticed him practicing waving a couple of times, but I can't get him to do it in response to my waving. I imagine he'll be developing more of those fine motor skills in the next month or so. He's a busy body and some nights I'm sweating by the time I've given him a bath (that involves sitting him back down on his bottom every few seconds while trying to bathe him) and then literally wrestled him to get his diaper and pajamas on. So far, he has done great at restaurants sitting in a highchair, although he prefers to turn himself practically all the way around and people watch instead of looking at us. He might not be a good sleeper, but he is definitely a happy, giggly baby (and that helps ease the frustrations with his sleeping habits!).

Some pictures of this past month:

First trip to the library.

Juliette reading to John Hayden.

First Fourth of July.

With Matt's parents.

Four generations on Matt's side of the family.

John Hayden liked Zoe and kept trying to pet her, however, he didn't like for her to lick him and that was what she did when he got close, so it was a love/hate relationship. I made Zoe sit still to take this picture...she doesn't look very happy about that, but John Hayden looks excited because he thought he was going to be able to get a hold of her collar!

 John Hayden is 7 months old today. It seems like this past month literally flew by! Here's his monthly update:

--When I took him to the doctor a few weeks ago, he weighed 19 lbs. 3 oz. and was almost 28 inches long. He's around the 90th percentile for weight and between the 75th and 90th for height.
--We just recently moved him up to 7 oz. every 3ish hours. (If he would eat baby food like he's supposed to, I wouldn't have had to increase his ounces. He just really loves his bottle and could pass on the baby food!) He typically has 5 full bottles a day and a few ounces at bedtime. He's doing a little better with the baby food and actually ate half a container of carrots the other day, which surprised me. I gave him a sippy cup and he looked at me weird and then started chewing on the spout and has yet to figure out that he needs to suck on it, so I guess he won't be drinking from sippy cups anytime soon. Thankfully, we still have 5 whole months to get this eating and drinking thing down! Oh, and he started holding his bottle shortly after he turned 6 months old, so he can feed himself now, but I still try to hold him while he eats or at least for a few minutes.
--I moved him up to size 4 diapers for both daytime and nighttime. He has mostly outgrown all his 6 month stuff and is wearing almost all 9 month stuff, but can fit in some 12 month stuff as well. Some of the 9 month onesies don't have much growing room, so we'll probably be in 12 month onesies soon. He's still in 6-9 month pajamas but there is no growing room, so we'll be moving up to 9-12 months very soon.
--I'm almost afraid to type this for fear that he'll revert back, but he has been sleeping pretty good this past month. I moved his bedtime back a little (he was going to bed at 7 and now it's closer to 8) and started giving him a small bottle at bedtime and I think that has helped. Or maybe he's just finally settling down. He's been napping so much better for us as well. Up until recently, he had always been a cat napper, but he's started taking two naps a day now, usually 1 1/2 to 2 hours each. Sadly, he will no longer let me rock him to sleep unless it's nighttime, and sometimes he doesn't want me to then. And he could care less about a pacifier...won't take it at all. If you give it to him, he just chews on the edge of it and won't suck on it. That means I won't have to break him from it, but at the same time it's harder to soothe him when he's crying.
--This past month saw big changes for John Hayden, as he mastered sitting up unsupported, started army crawling, and cut two teeth (all of which happened within a week's time). He's all over the place now, trying to get into everything. His favorite spots in the living room to head for are the Internet router (because it has blinking lights) and the cord to the lamp and laptop. Also if Matt leaves his jump drive in the Xbox (which is on the floor), he will make a beeline for it as well. It's officially time to baby proof the house before he figures out how to crawl traditionally and can get places faster. He doesn't want to be held much anymore. He wants down or he wants you to walk around with him on your hip. He loves going outdoors and swinging. He hates being buckled into his carseat...he starts fussing as soon as you open the car door! (Once he's buckled, he calms down, though.) If we bring him into a restaurant in his carseat, he does pretty good. If we take him out and put him in a highchair, that's another story! I imagine we won't be eating out as much now since he's getting bigger (or at least until he is eating baby snack foods that I can use to keep him busy.) We've gotten really good at wrestling (literally) our little alligator for diaper changes and getting him dressed, since he refuses to stay on his back on the changing table. Half the time, he's hanging off of it, while we're holding a leg. I don't remember Juliette being quite as wild on the changing table...he's literally hanging off of it upside down and thinks it's fun...maybe that's just the difference between girls and boys. Most of the time we just end up dressing him on his belly.

Here are some pictures from this past month:

Being able to sit up unsupported means he gets to ride in the buggy at stores. He was so happy to be sitting in the buggy that the pictures I took were all fuzzy from him bouncing up and down!

Mother's Day 2013

The comparison picture from this past month (click to make larger):

John Hayden is 6 months old today...it's crazy how fast the time is going! Here's his monthly update:

--He hasn't been for his well-baby check-up yet (he'll go on Thursday), but when I took him for a sick visit a couple of weeks ago, he weighed 18 lbs. 3 oz.
--He's still eating 6 oz. every 3ish hours He typically has 5 bottles a day (and none at night). I'm still trying to get him to eat cereal and baby food. He's a little more interested in it, but still makes faces and spits it out. I've been trying to give him a little something every night so that he'll hopefully start liking it, but so far, that's not really working. He's tried cereal, applesauce, bananas, sweet potatoes, and peas. He doesn't like any of them (even when I give him the same thing multiple days in a row). Hopefully, he'll get on board with baby food soon so that he can get to the good stuff (table food!) at the appropriate time!
--He's wearing size 3 diapers during the day and size 4 at night, but I'm about to move him up to size 4s during the day as well. The 3s just aren't fitting that well although they are supposed to fit 16-22 lbs. Maybe his chunky thighs are keeping them from fitting right? He's mostly wearing 9 month stuff, but can fit in some 6 month stuff as well. He can probably wear some 12 month stuff, but the things I have are for middle of the summer and it hasn't been warm enough to put them on him yet. (The outfit above was 12 months, though.) He's still in 6-9 month pajamas.
--Sleep has still been horrible this past month, then last week it was great, and then it got bad again, or should I say "back to normal." I just have to keep telling myself that one day--maybe soon, maybe not--he'll sleep soundly all night long! He sleeps face down a lot and it drives me crazy! I try to turn his head to the side, but he will just turn it again. Also, there seems to be a Bermuda Triangle around his crib, as he has dropped two pacifiers out of it this past month and I have been unable to find them anywhere. We've all turned the room upside down looking for them...it's so strange.
--He gives big belly laughs now and will laugh over something you say, any physical comedy, and sometimes when you tickle his ribs. He laughs the hardest and most for Juliette. He pretty much thinks anything she does is funny. He's still smiling at strangers, but only if we are holding him. If they are holding him, he just stares them down. He's quite the roller now and like I said last time, will not stay on the rug and his blanket. He can operate all the toys on the Exersaucer now and at physical therapy the other day, he was really interested in one of their pop-up toys (you know where they hit the different buttons to make the animals or characters pop up), so I went and got some "bigger baby" toys out of storage this weekend, which I've been needing to do anyway. He can sit unasssisted only for a few seconds, but we keep practicing with him. I imagine in the next month he'll be able to sit alone. Still no teeth (I thought for sure he'd have them by now)! He can pass toys from one hand to the other (although he's been doing that for a little while), and just in the last few days has started trying to get up on his knees (unsuccessfully, though). We're wondering if he'll actually crawl properly since he's a bigger baby and they oftentimes don't crawl when they have more weight on them. Nevertheless, things are starting to pick up with his large motor skills, so it will be fun to see what the next month holds in that area. (Oh, and he "talks" a lot and Juliette says he says "Daddy" but he's not really.)
--We had another physical therapy session this past week and he is doing great. He doesn't have any tightness in his neck and moves it both ways easily now. The flat spot on the right side of his head has greatly improved and is not as noticeable now, but there is still some flatness. We're pretty optimistic that it will round out the rest of the way once he is spending majority of his time sitting up.

And the comparison picture (click on it so you can actually see it):