5 months

Dylan turned 5 months old yesterday. He is a very happy baby, during the day at least. He likes to roll over, blow bubbles, screech like a little bird, giggle, and play in his walker and exersaucer. He is eating cereal, bananas, pears, applesauce, sweet potatoes, squash and peas. And he loves it all. Unfortunately, he doesn't like naps or sleeping in general. Oh well, you can't have it all I guess...

Hannukkah is over so we are ready for Christmas! We'll spend Christmas Eve with Chad's family and Christmas with my parents. Time for lots of beer and football. Then we'll rest up for our big trip to Florida New Years Eve. Can't wait!

Its beginning to look a lot like Chrismikkah!

Happy Holidays from Dylan! Maybe next year I will get around to sending cards but this year a blog post is as good as its going to get. Tonight we are celebrating the 6th night of Hanukkah.

Yesterday Dylan dressed up as Santa for our Christmas party at bowling. He loved the attention.
And finally, Dylan turns 5 months on Saturday. Maybe then he'll start sleeping through the night. HA!

White Out!

We are inside hibernating today since we are under a 'blizzard warning'. So I thought I would snap a couple of photos. One other update since yesterday - Dylan is rolling over. He has been close for a while now but last night something finally clicked. He rolled from his back to his tummy. Then did it three more times within ten minutes so I think he's got it figured out. Darn because I have a bad habit of leaving him alone on the changing table...
He has been extremely happy since lunch, which is kind of suprising because he didn't sleep much last night and had a rough time going down for a nap this morning. But here he is. Eating sweet potatoes... Yummy!
And playing in his very favorite toy, the walker. I guess we really didn't need the fancy exersaucer, jumperoo, bumbo sitter, etc. Oh well, live and learn!

Going Bowling!

Late on the blog update again. Lets see whats happened this week... Fiesta the fish has already come and gone. That's right, he only made it 4 days. Darn. Dylan started eating rice cereal, bananas and sweet potatoes. He loves food and wants to hold his own spoon and feed himself. It is messy and very stressful as he panics that we are not feeding him fast enough and throws a fit once its all gone. Oh well.
Chad and I headed to Chicago Saturday night for my college roommate's engagement party and Dylan stayed home for an overnight with grandma and grandpa! We had a great time away but of course we missed the little guy. When we arrived back home Sunday we all gathered round to watch the BCS bowl selection show. We had kinda jumped the gun and had a trip to Phoenix planned but now looks like we are Miami bound on December 31st. Dylan's first vacation. We are excited for warm weather since we got our first snow storm today.
That's all I can think of for now, not very exciting. I didn't take one single picture of Dylan this week so I'll try to get a few posted before the weekend. Happy Hannukkah this weekend!!!

Here we go again...

For the second Thanksgiving in a row we have a little announcement... This was definitely not planned and most of you will be as suprised as we were. In fact, I considered waiting to share the news of the newest member of our family to our friends until we were for sure things were going ok but here goes....

We have a new Beta fish, Fiesta. Like I said, this was totally unexpected. Friday night we celebrated Thanksgiving and Hannukkah with the Weigles and my cousin Ellie had my name for the gift exchange. She is always so clever and can pick out the most creative gifts. I guess she did it again this year. I threatened that turnabout is fair play and she should prepare herself for a hamster for her daughter's birthday but then I thought she may retaliate with a puppy or something worse so I guess we can handle the fish.

We had a great Thanksgiving and we are all so thankful for family. Thursday we celebrated with the Everitts. Dylan got to spend time with his cousin Jon for the first time since he was 1 week old. Below, a picture of Chad's parents with their two grandsons:

After the Everitt feast we headed over to Uncle Dave's to meet up with the Weigles. Dylan had a play date with cousins Christopher and Madeline. For some reason I didn't take any photos with my camera!!! But Sarah the professional snapped some good ones so maybe I'll post a few later. Here are a couple I took of Dylan staring at Miss M. He was obsessed with the sleeping baby!

Then as I mentioned, Friday we hosted Thanksgiving with the Weigles. 16 adults and 3 babies. We had the vibrating chair, a walker and an exersaucer in the dining room so we could enjoy dinner. I think we made it about 6 minutes before the first baby started crying. Oh well. Life has really changed.

Saturday morning Dylan and I woke up and headed to Aunt Jen Jen's for a penguin pajama party with his aunts, cousin Jon and grandma. Jon and Dylan had matching pjs and the Everitt ladies all wore matching pants. We ate pumpkin pancakes and watched Happy Feet. Believe it or not I forgot my camera (again!) so hopefully I'll get some more photos later. We were exhausted after a weekend of family fun so we stayed home last night and watched football. Maybe today we will work on the tree? Then tonight is the Wizard of Oz at the Adler. Happy Belated Turkey Day, only 15 more days until Hanukkah starts!!!!

Better Late Than Never

Some of you may have noticed but I skipped last week's post and somehow its Saturday already. So here it is. Dylan turned 4 months Thursday. We had his Dr appt yesterday. He is 24 1/4 inches and 13 1/2 lbs. He is now 25th percentile for weight which is not suprising because he is constantly kicking and exercising his little legs and throws temper tantrums when he nurses. Oh well. Maybe time for rice cereal soon. Nights are as unpredictable as ever. A few nights ago he slept 10 hours with one 2 am feeding and the next night he slept 6 hours with a 2:30 and 5 am feeding. Unfortunately he is usually up 4-5 times a night. Hmmmmm.

We have a big week coming up. Today we sent daddy and grandpa to Iowa City and mommy and grandma are staying home with Dylan to cheer on the Hawks. Then tomorrow is Chad's bday and next week is Turkey Day! Hopefully we'll have lots of good photos next week. Here are a few recent ones:

Eating animal cookies...

Playing in the bumbo...

4 month photo with Micky...

Ready for another Hawkeye win!!!

Gotta Love the Indian Summer

You just can't beat 70 degree days in November. We have had an awesome weekend and now I'm excited for spring. Too bad we have to get through a cold Iowa winter first. Oh well. Chad has been busy at work and I have had my hands full with the baby. Same old same old around here really. Friday night we went to a SIDS fundraiser at DCC. Lots of good wine and fun times. Dylan was at home in good hands with Aunt Jen Jen.

Saturday morning we headed up to Iowa City for the Hawkeye game. I can think of a lot of four letter words to describe the day but I will just say 'shucks'. Losing one game would have been ok but losing our quarterback is going to be a problem. Next week's game versus the Buckeyes might be hard to watch. On a positive note, it was a beautiful day so Dylan got to come party with us as well as cousins Ellie and Madeline. Dylan and Madeline were the hit of the game.

The update for this week is Dylan is soooo close to rolling over. He loves to turn from his back to his side, over and over again. I am very excited for him to flip to his tummy at night so hopefully he will sleep better! I keep thinking its going to get better every week but so far no signs of improvement. Life goes on!

Trick or Treat!

Dylan celebrated his first halloween this weekend but I'm really not sure that he was a fan of his giraffe costume. Everytime I put it on him he gave me a look like "Mom, do I have to???". Oh well, part of the fun of having a three month old is he can't talk back... yet! Saturday mom and dad went to Iowa City to watch the Hawks while Dylan stayed home with grandma. It is way more stressful being an Iowa fan this year than being the mom of a fussy infant who doesn't like sleep. But they somehow pulled off another victory so we were happy.
Dylan is growing like a weed and keeps us laughing every day with his new babbles and noises. According to his grandma he rolled over in his crib this week to his tummy but I haven't seen it yet. Uh oh, he's going to be mobile before we know it!!!!
We can't believe October has come and gone but today is one of my favorite days of the year - Fall Daylight Savings! Hooray!

Fun with the Cousins

What a fun week its been! Thursday I celebrated my 29th birthday (forever holding). I got a new winter wardrobe (comfy sweatsuits, mittens, coats etc) and am also now the proud owner of not one, but TWO snuggies! A pink one from my parents and a hawkeye one from Dylan. They are wonderful. Chad took me out to dinner so that was a fun treat.

Friday night we attended a halloween party at DCC. We dressed Dylan up like a giraffe but he slept in his carseat the whole time so we'll take pictures of him in it this week.

Saturday we had some Weigle family fun. Dylan partied with his two cousins Christopher (who is one day older than Dylan) and Madeline (1 month). We all got together for a photo shoot with Aunt Sarah. The babies were so cute!!! A couple favorites:

The babies with a proud Great Grandma Nancy...

And the babies with their mommies...

After the photo shoot we dressed up in our black and gold and watched the Iowa v Michigan State game. What an amazing ending! Looks like we may be taking a trip down south for New Years!!!

Happy 3 Months Dylan

Dylan is 3 months old already! I tried to get a cute picture of him with Mickey tonight but he would not crack even the slightest smile. Oh well. We have a few updates for the week. The little guy is starting to get very interested in toys and likes to reach for them. He is also soooo close to finding his thumb. Last night he slept from 10 until 5:30 (which is extremely rare might I add). But when I went in his room at 5:15 to check on him he was sucking his thumb. It was so cute. We think Dylan is probably around 13 lbs by now and growing up too fast. Well, I must admit he gets easier each week but is still a handful! I am lucky if I get 6 or 7 hours of sleep at night which can make for some long days but we are hanging in there!!!
We have a busy busy week ahead. Unfortunately it includes my birthday :( but at least its an excuse for a date night with Chad. Friday night we are going to a halloween party and Saturday we get to meet cousin Christopher for the first time so hopefully we'll have good pics to post next week. Last but not least, how bout them Hawkeyes???

3rd Time is Not a Charm

For the first time in 12 weeks the news we have to report is not about Dylan. Mythos, our third fish together, has died. We let Dylan witness the ceremonial goodbye down the toilet but I'm not sure it had much of an impact on him. Oh well, we are done with pets until Dylan begs for one. If we're lucky it will be another fish or a caged animal. Moving on....

Not much new to report with the baby other than he moved upstairs to his big boy room last week. We think he likes his crib ok but just when we thought he was only getting up once a night it seems like two feedings is now becoming the norm. We probably made matters worse by letting him stay at his grandparents house until 12:30 on Saturday night while mommy and daddy went to the Black Out Saturday Michigan game. He retaliated by keeping us up until 3 am and then sleeping until 10 am this morning... What a rascal. Anyway, here are a few photos from the week.

Dylan playing in his new Baby Einstein activity center at Grandma Kathys...

Getting ready for bed in his comfy night nights...

Closest picture to a smile this week (he doesn't always cooperate)...

Week 12 photo!

Week 10 activities

Time to post some updated Dylan photos! He has been a busy boy. Monday we went to the doctor for a check up and his first set of shots. Weight 11 lbs 11 oz & Height 22 3/4 inches which puts him in the 50th percentile for both. That works for me! Below are some snapshots from the week.

Bonding with Grandma Kathy after his first appearance at Tuesday bowling...

Meeting cousin Madeline for the first time (we use 'cousin' loosely in our family). Congrats Ellie!

Hanging out at a massive play date Thursday afternoon. Can you find Dylan?

Skype-ing with GG & DD Friday morning (Dylan's great grandparents)...

Sporting his new halloween pajamas courtesy of Aunt Jen Jen...

Time to catch some zzzs in preparation for tomorrow's trip to Iowa City. Go Hawkeyes!

Dylan's Routine

Well it only took two months but Dylan is finally putting me on a schedule. Not yet down to a science but our days are something like this:

7-8 am - Wake up and eat breakfast
8-10 am - Play with mom or grandma
10-12 pm- Morning nap (Mom's favorite time of the day)!!!
12 -2pm - Lunch and play time with mom or grandma
2-4 pm Afternoon Nap
4-6 6 pm - Eat and stare at fans or cry while mom is thinking about getting dinner started
6-8 pm - Evening nap if we are lucky
8-10pm - Eat and watch tv with mom and dad
9-10 pm - Bed Time
1-2am - Wake up to eat
4-5am - Eat again
7-8am - Start all over!!!!

I am going back to work on Mondays and Thursdays now thanks to the help of the grandmas. That's about all to report. Bowling starts next Tuesday am (woo hoo)! and the Hawks play at Penn State saturday night so we'll be at DCC cheering them on.
Also, congrats to Ruthie and Josh on the birth of their daughter Corrine! Now we are just waiting on one more cousin to pop... Hang in there Ellie!

Slackin'

Sunday came and went and I forgot to post photos from week 8. Whoops. It's been an eventful week and a half. Dylan is growing and changing so much each day its amazing. All for the better! He is so much more fun as he is smiling and babbling more frequently. His favorite activities are taking baths and staring at the fans. We have all of the fans in our house going all day so whatever room he is in he has something to stare at. Cheap entertainment. A few photos from the week:

Hanging out in his boppy (we love the overalls Rebecca)...

... and in his bathrobe...

...visiting Great Grandma Nancy...

... watching the Iowa v Iowa State game with Daddy (Go Hawks)...

... and finally meeting his new friend Mason. Congrats Kristi!!!

A Confused Little Fan

This week we introduced Dylan to one of his daddy's favorite pasttimes - college football! At only 7 weeks he is already a fan though we are uncertain who he will root for. Yesterday we took him to Iowa City for his first Hawkeye game. He was perfect and slept most of the day. So far no sunburn or swine flu so hopefully it was a success. The Hawkeyes pulled off a win but it was ugly. Anyone who believes Iowa deserves a top 25 ranking is seriously on drugs. We'll see what happens against Iowa State next week. Anyway, we had fun cheering on our Hawks!

Grandma Kathy and Dylan. Exhausted at the tailgate after a near defeat!

Watching the Wisconsin vs Northern Illinois game after we got home from Iowa City. Go Badgers!

Finally, a little Bevo! Go Longhorns? Don't ask but he seems to like burnt orange.

Happy Baby (Sometimes)

It has been a fun week for us as Dylan started smiling! Not suprisingly he most often smiles after eating and while staring at the fan or the windows. He really likes to know what's going on in the world around him. Don't be fooled though, there are still plenty of crying spells in between :) We are also settling into a little more of a 'schedule'. And by 'schedule' I mean that Dylan regularly eats every 2-3 hours and cannot go longer than 3 hours at night without waking up. Also he has routinely kept mom and dad awake between 1-4 am a couple of times a week. Thankfully I can appreciate reality TV shows such as Kendra, Parental Control, Cheaters, and E News so at least I am making the most of the late nights.....
Friday night we left the little guy at home with Chad's parents and dressed up for a Caveman Two Ball at DCC. Chad and I wore homemade outfits circa 1980 courtesy of Aunt Joan. We were stylin'!

Our team photo below. We won first place for best dressed team. Yay!

That's about all the news from here. We have a big Labor Day weekend coming up. Saturday is the Iowa Hawkeye football season opener. Go Hawks!

Dylan is 1 month!

Dylan is one month old today. I can't decide if it feels like its gone fast or not. Unfortunately Dylan developed colic last week so we have had a few long days and nights. Other than the crying spells we are having fun watching him grow. Its amazing how much he has changed in just one month. He is definitely more alert and curious about his surroundings. Now if only he could sleep more than 2 hours at a time at night...

We are having a fun filled week of family bonding. Here is a picture of Dylan meeting his Uncle Ben in town from Colorado:

Also visiting us from Texas are Dylan's great grandparents Pete & Don (aka GG and DD).

We love all of the company and visitors!

3 Weeks

We can't believe Dylan is already 3 weeks old today! Time flies when you are having fun. His 'I am the boss' shirt really sums up what Chad and I have learned over the past few weeks!!!

We were able to take the little guy out for a few beers and dinner last night for almost 4 hours successfully. What a treat! The only bad news we have to report is that Chad has to go back to work tomorrow :( We are very sad that he will be leaving us in the morning. The two boys have really bonded as you can see from the photo below. We'll miss you daddy!

Out and About

Chad was starting to get a little stir crazy around the house so we decided to go for our first outing yesterday! The three of us ventured off to Best Buy in search of a new washer and dryer and to Target for more diapers and baby wipes. Traci and Jenny would be so proud that I saved $7 off my Target bill with coupons. Anyway, Dylan slept the whole time so it was a success!!!

After our afternoon outing we figured we could muster up the strength to take Dylan to Davenport Country Club. We dressed him appropriately in a DCC logo polo shirt onesie for his debut. Wednesday night is men's poker night so we had to take Dylan up to pass out It's a boy cigars and to participate in gambling. A few weeks ago Chad organized a baby pool for Dylan's due date. No one guessed that he would come 2 weeks early so we had to do a random draw instead. Congratulations to our brother in law Eric Losen for winning the $66 pot!

Bath Time

Dylan is one week old today! We can't believe how much our lives have changed in just 7 days, but all in a good way of course. We celebrated by taking our first bath with the help of Grandma Kathy. He loved it!

We have spent the last few days at home like any other family with a newborn. Dylan loves to nurse, sleep (but mostly during the day), and create lots of laundry for mommy and dirty diapers for daddy! Life is good.