The Walker

Well, The Roo has officially taken his first steps... and second steps... and many many steps now. He is transitioning from being a very speedy little crawler to a very wobbly walker.  It's precious though. Of course, instinctively he knows when I am about to pick up my camera to film said walking, to provide some sort of evidence so that you people don't think I'm just trying to brag that my kiddo is walking before he is even a year old... so as soon as I pick up the camera he drops to his booty and crawls over to the stairs to climb up those. 

And now that we are wobbly walking, I realize we are probably only weeks, days, hours, minutes away from not-so-wobbly walking and before you know it he will be running circles around me. I suppose it's time to baby-proof. Like for-real baby proof.  We covered all the outlets, moved some breakables and picked up most of the knives and guns that were laying around... but that sly little guy has now realized that we have no cabinet locks and no baby gates on the stairs.

And he loves the stairs.  As soon as his little hands, knees, feet, bottom hit the floor he makes a B-line for the stairs.  The wooden stairs. With the sharp corners. The steep stairs. And he wants to go up. And keep going up.  All the way up. Until the 3rd stair from the top. Where he likes to just stand. And grab the rail. And bask in the glory of his accomplishment. And there is very little stopping him once he gets going because he can boogie up those things faster than a girl can untag herself from a picture that makes her look fat.  So baby gates are on their way...
 He also has found the cabinets. And of course his favorite cabinets are the cabinets with cleaning supplies and glass bowls. Why oh why doesn't he like the tupperware cabinet? (smart boy... tupperware is stupid... I can never find a lid and container to match...god forbid you try and organize it) We actually have cabinet locks, but haven't put them on the cabinets yet. I'm quite afraid that I will end up locking myself out of cabinets and having to get The Roo over ot figure out how to get the darn thing open!

Anyway I can't get the video I DO have to upload, so you'll just have to trust me that the little guys is taking steps...

Anyway... He is awesome.

Once Upon a Time....

I started a blog shortly after The Roo was born because I thought it would be a great way to keep people updated on the ongoings of my little guy.  Little did I know how terrible I would be at keeping up with said blog.  I mean, it has literally been months since I posted anything!

So please accept my apology as I come to terms with the fact that I am a terrible blogger. Every time I think, "Oh, I should update my blog" I get busy doing something else and never seem to make time for it... I promise, few blog stalkers that I have... I will try to do better!

6 Months

So I am about a month late... but since I've been out the little Roo turned 6 months old! Time flies when you are having fun!

You've probably already seen these on Facebook, but I have to share his 6 month sneak-peek pics from Aimee Fuller Photography. They. Are. Amazing.

I am quite convinced that I have the cutest child in the history of 6 month old babies. 

So a few things about my little 6 month old:

- Just when I am convinced that he is teething, and there is no way possible that he could possibly chew or drool anymore... he does. The water faucet that has replaced his mouth is constantly turned on, and at some point I am sure we will get teeth... or drown...

- Instead of crawling, Roo has taken to a kind of hop like that is reminiscent of a frog. He wriggles his legs up under him, then stretches his arms out with a bit of a leap to it. One day he will be an expert at leap frog. For now, we are just waiting for him to realize that crawling is actually easier than what he is doing.

- We are signing to him, but I don't know if it's enough that he realizes what we are trying to do. We sign, "I Love You", "Mommy", "Daddy", "Eat", "More", "All Done", and "Sleepy". I'm pretty sure he understands zero of them yet, but who knows. Maybe one day he will surprise us.

- We use the regular bathtub now. He loves to splash around for as long as I let him. We can't wait to take him swimming in a baby pool. We may also do swim lessons if they offer them a the rec center.

- The Roo is a little piggy. He eats like a champ. He loves oatmeal, apples, carrots, green beans, green peas, bananas, sweet potatoes, squash and zucchini. 

We had our first baby birthday parties last weekend. We actually had 2 one-year old birthday parties! Two of his little friends turn one in April and we celebrated with them on Saturday.  I will post pics from then soon!

Four Months Already?!?

Well The Roo had his 4 month check up today... my my how time flies! It is strange because on one hand, it's hard to believe he is already 4 months old... and on the other hand I feel like I have been a mom for much longer than a mere 4 months!!!

Roo is growing extremely well... he really loves his milk!! He now is well equipped with squeezable cheeks, chunky thighs and arm and leg rolls... which makes him the most adorable baby ever... if I do say so myself.

We now have a video camera, a new cable for my point and click camera, and a new laptop... so I promise as soon as I get my old laptop data migrated to my new laptop, pictures and video will be soon to follow!

The stats if you feel so inclined to know them are as follows:
Weight: 15lbs 5oz - 54th percentile
Length: 25 3/4" - 66th percentile

Hard to believe that 4 months ago he was in the 6th and 4th percentile respectively!!!

At the pediatrician today, Dr. G told us we can start solids if we want... so of course you know I ran straight to Kroger to stock up on some organic brown rice cereal for The Roo. We gave him his first serving tonight.. and well... it was messy, but I think he loved it! As mentioned previously.. video to come!!

He has also started 'talking' all the time, and has apparently learned how to 'fake cry', though it is quite obvious that it is just a cry for attention, and not a real cry. I will try to get it on video, because it just makes me laugh. Oh, and the screaming started today... you know the, "I'm just screaming to hear myself" screaming... yeah it could get really loud around the Stagner residence!!

Tomorrow night the hubs and I are having a date night... dinner and a movie. Heading to see Sherlock Holmes... I'm super excited!

I don't get her... but we got her...

I don't get it... What is it about this toy?!?

When I started going to a mommy group at Texas Women's I noticed that all these babies had a cute little rubber giraffe teething toy. I was told by one mom that her's son's giraffe was named Sophie.  Then another mom said something about "Sophie". And then I learned there is a Sophie Epedimic with new moms.

What is it about this toy?

Meet Sophie:

So here is why I was adamantly against purchasing Sophie for little Roo.

1. She is delightfully expensive. $25 for a 'Chew Toy' as Eric likes to call them. And let's be honest, with my dogs chances are she will end up in Lola or Patton's intestines before too long... I just could not justify spending that kind of money on a toy for infants!

2. She is French. I figure Andy was a little young to get too excited about 'designer' toys. Next thing you know he will be begging for some Marithe et Francois Girbaud baggy pants... 

3. The squeaking... oh the squeaking! And this isn't your 'squeeze it hard enough and it will make a little noise' squeak toy. I mean, if you look at this thing funny it will squeak enough to wake a sleeping baby! God forbid the baby falls asleep while Sophie is in the vicinity.

4. Confusion.... This goes quite nicely with the squeaking issue, but it is getting very difficult for Patton and Lola to distinguish between a puppy toy and a baby toy. And I knew that any time I heard a squeak, I would have to look around to make sure Roo wasn't putting a dog toy in his mouth, and the dogs weren't putting a baby toy in their mouth!

5. Sophie is a female named Sophie. I kind of like being the most important woman in Roo's life right now, and it seems a little early to give it up to this floozy!!!

But who am I to deny happiness to such a sweet boy? After seeing how IN LOVE all of Roo's friends are with Sophie I decided that she would go on his Christmas List and low and behold, Grammy got Sophie for the Roo! 

He. Loves. Her! The dogs are confused as hell... I've been replaced, He's squeaked himself awake on several occassions... but He. Loves. Sophie.

So... I don't know what it is about this little gal that the babes love so much... but trust me... all your preggo mamma's out there... your child's every happiness depends on it! :)

Dear Baby Jesus...

So Andy's first big Holiday Season has officially come to an end... as has my maternity leave. So now I'm just a regular working mother with nothing to look forward to until the birth of my next child I suppose... sigh

So for Thanksgiving we went to The Lake with my dad's side of the family. Of course Eric and I had tickets to the last A&M/ UT game... at least the last one for a while. So on Thursday my aunt, cousin and I got up early and went to White Bluff for their second annual Turkey Trot. My cousin finished first place and won a t-shirt! (There were probably only like 20 people that went, but she is still a badass runner, so she gets props still).

Then we had lunch, and little Roo got passed around to everyone. He also got to hang out with his cousin who is only about 3 months older than him. After lunch Eric and I packed up and headed to College Station for the big game. It was pretty depressing. Andy-Roo stayed and watched the game with Mimi and Poppy... Which was probably a good thing since Mommy had some very foul language! GRR! It sucked to see the Aggies lose, and the season was such a disappointment... but oh there's a whole nother blog for that...

Two weekends later we went back to Mansfield for "Christmas" with my side of the family. My mom has been dying to take family pictures so we finally got some! (Apparently I can't add photos from the computer I am on or something, so I will try to upload them later). We got to give all the kiddos their gifts which was a lot of fun.

Andy got  his picture with two different Santa's this year... and I even got Christmas cards out... sort of... actually there are some sitting on my dining room table that still need stamps... so I guess they'll be more like New Year's cards!

For Christmas we stayed in Houston and spent the holiday with Eric's family.  A few days before Christmas we got a phone call asking if Andy would be available on Christmas Eve to play Baby Jesus! They figured he behaved so well in the nursery he would be the perfect baby Christmas eve (ok, I may have made that part up myself, but it sounded good)!

Of course, Christmas eve morning he comes down with a cough and obviously wasn't feeling well.  Grammy brought over Chili and Tamales and we had dinner at our place. Also, our dog Patton had a siezure, which was pretty devistating. He has had a few in the past, but there is really nothing we can do about them. We still took Roo to the service and he was perfect the entire time! He was the perfect baby Jesus. Of course we didn't get any pictures, which is sad... but oh well... It felt kind of strange to pull out a camera and take a picture in the middle of a worship service.

Christmas day we went over to Grammy's and spent the day over there. The Roo still was sick... but he toughed it out and was super adorable for everyone. Fortunately I had the day off on Monday so I got to spend the day loving on my little sick guy and trying to make him feel better. Sick babies are no fun! He still got lots of loot from all of his family, so I can't wait until he is feeling better and can start playing with all his new toys.

So it wasn't exactly the Christmas I expected, and I didn't get to clean the house on my day off like I had planned, but at least my little guy is starting to feel better!

The Roo and the Poo

A little over 4 years ago, I rescued what I think is the most adorable little doggie in the whole world. After a lot of talk, we decided on naming our little guy General Patton. However, not long after that, for some reason I started calling him "Peanut". Our little guy now answers to both Patton and Peanut.

About 3 years ago, we adopted Lola, our very hungry 13" beagle. Out of nowhere I started calling her Lola Bear. I don't know why... though she could probably out-eat a bear if she ever met one.

My point is that I have a tendency to accidentally create nicknames. I even call my friend Brent "Brently" (Which now his wife sometimes even calls him from what I understand).

I thought "Andy" was going to be a sufficient name for Little Andy when he was born.  However, out of nowhere I started calling him "Andy-Roo", which has since been shortened to "Roo", "Little-Roo", and sometimes "The Roo". I worry that may one day turn into "Drew", which will only be a problem if my friend Sallie has a little boy because she has already 'claimed' that name :) But I suppose we will cross that bridge when we get there! :)

Now onto the Poo. My little Roo is growing up quickly, and after SEVERAL explosions over the Thanksgiving weekend, we are moving him on up to size 2 diapers.  He has officially christened several family members so far! Grammy, Grandma and Uncle Aaron have all been beneficiaries of his overflowing diapers! Hopefully we have that under control for a while. They say around 10 weeks babies may start pooing a little less, but The Roo has not gotten that memo...

Also, for everyone that I told over Thanksgiving that Andy was 11 weeks, I was wrong! :) He was 10 weeks on Thanksgiving and is 11 weeks today. I think I'm gonna stick with 'months' from here on out, because quite frankly I'm loosing count!

I still can't find my camera cord, maybe Santa will bring me one...