cruising

In the last few weeks Andrew has started 'cruising.' I still think he will go straight from scooting on his belly, to walking, and skip crawling altogether. He has crawled a few times, but he's so quick on his belly, I'm pretty sure crawling would just slow him down!

He's always loved bathtime, and even enjoys hanging out with his sister each night while she gets her bath.







I'm happy to say the four of us are all healthy, for the first time in months! Seems at least one of us has had a cold at all times. Andrew picked up RSV from Evyn, who picked it up at Trick-or-Treat. He had a really nasty, rattly cough for about 10 days, but he barely seemed to notice.... this kid is just always happy. Which isn't to say that he doesn't fuss- if he wants something, he definitely lets you know! But he never stays cranky and goes right back to smiling and snuggling.

waiting for Evyn at the dentist's office

Andrew turned 8 months old on Thursday, November 12th!

We recently packed away his co-sleeper bed and made the switch to the crib. He transitioned very well and has slept through the night twice! Most nights he wakes once or twice. Big improvement from the 4-6 wakings he was doing just a month ago.

Naptime is a different story. The first week or so after he moved to the crib, he was taking 2 good naps each day. Then came a complete napping strike. It's hard to say whether the RSV and/or teething (his two upper teeth are coming in) were/are contributing to his stubborn refusal to nap. This past week he's back to taking two naps... some days they come easy, and other days he fights it for hours.

We've added a few new foods - carrots, plain (unflavored) yogurt, Gerber's puffs, mango, even a few licks of my grape lollipop. Andrew has apparently inherited his Daddy's super-metabolism, so most days we stick with high-calorie foods like yogurt and avocado to try to keep his weight up. He eagerly takes water from a cup, although we don't give it to him often.

Andrew's learned a few new tricks in the last month. He's figured out many of his toys that move, make sounds, or light up (actually playing with toys instead of just looking at or chewing on them). He gives "kisses" on request, and waves bye-bye -although I don't think he knows what it actually means.

More pictures of both kids to come...

Halloween

Andrew eating - and wearing- his food

So let's get started on catching up over the last two weeks.

On Thursday October 29th Evyn got to wear her Halloween costume to dance class.
Here she is, modeling her new fairy tutu, wings, and ankle cuffs (made by her Mom!).





After that trial run she was ready for the real deal - Trick or Treating with cousins Emily and Elisabeth on Friday night.






Andrew didn't dress up for his first Halloween. He did get a treat, though- fresh mashed banana!
Here he is sitting in his cozy Totseat:



Halloween wasn't all about the kids. The grown-ups enjoyed awesome cheesesteak sandwiches and lots of other good food at the C.'s house.




Grandma and Grandpa watched Andrew while Julie caught up with the Trick-or-Treaters:





Along the way we saw this clever use for old plastic gallon drink jugs (sorry for the bad picture quality!).
I took a picture so we could steal the idea and remember to give it a try here at our house next year.

We got home too tired for bath, so some of the fairy makeup went to bed with Evyn that night.
She wasn't too tired to count her loot, though!

on strike

Andrew has been on a nap strike for the last week or so. He is doing great at night, though, so I am hoping it will balance out soon. In the meantime, I am not finding moments with two hands free to sort through our pictures and compose a decent update post. Keep your fingers crossed, maybe today will be the day that he decides to nap!