Ten Months

Height: 28"

Weight: 17 lbs.

The sticker definitely doesn't stay on his shirt anymore. It worked on the chair for about 30 seconds, until he found it there. The little stinker started slowly standing up and tried to be sneaky about pulling it off.

This is the face I got when I was telling him "No."

We are a really fun, really exhausting stage right now (which is probably descriptive of childhood). Sleep is still a guessing game every night. There is no discernible pattern to his waking/sleeping. He typically wakes up 2-3 times a night, but the times aren't consistent. We do everything you're "supposed to do" to help your baby sleep through the night (regular bedtime routine, put baby in bed drowsy but not asleep, the room is dark with one small nightlight, he uses a sound machine, etc.) but it really doesn't seem to matter to him. I go through cycles where I'm extremely frustrated by this and am determined to fix it (which obviously doesn't work) and I'm currently in the part of the cycle where I just accept that this is a season and we'll get through it and I take regular naps to make up for the sleep I lose at night. 

Thankfully, he's still a good napper. He takes two naps every day that are about 1.5-2.5 hours long. He doesn't wake up for the day until 9:00 most mornings and I'm very, very grateful for that. 

He doesn't have any baby food purees anymore. So far, I haven't found anything he doesn't like or won't eat. I cut up fruits, vegetables, and meat for him and he loves to feed himself. Sky gets to come in for floor clean up duty, which is the only time I think he likes Peter. 

At Peter's 9 month appointment, the Dr. was concerned that he wasn't making any discernible sounds, so we got some hand-outs and information on how to help him learn to talk. I wasn't worried about him and was actually pretty annoyed by the whole discussion because I already talk to Peter all day and I figure he'll start talking when he's ready. Well, wouldn't you know that the day after his appointment, he started making these specific sounds they want him to make! He says, "Buh", "Guh", and "Oooo" and also does a fake laugh that is pretty great.

His separation anxiety is much better these days. He will play independently for quite a while and doesn't seem to mind other people holding him. When he gets sleepy, he will cry if I leave him and go to another room, but that's about the only time he seems to mind. 

Some Current Favorites:

*Patting his hand on anything within reach

*Diving face first off the furniture

*Cheerios, Bananas, Applesauce

*Sky, though Sky is still not really interested in Peter

*Emptying cabinets and unloading laundry baskets

We've been at home a lot this month. There hasn't really been anything too exciting for us. Kory's been gone to a couple camps/weekend retreats, but Peter and I have been home doing regular, every day stuff. Maybe we'll have a more adventurous 11th month!

Of course, the big news from this month is that Peter's walking! He took his first steps on a Saturday, and by that Tuesday, he was taking 12-15 steps at a time and he's never looked back since! I need to order some shoes for him so he can walk outside. He has a pair of TOMS I really love but they're a little bit too big and they trip him every other step, so we need something a little smaller for now.

These walking pictures are clear and sharp on my camera and computer until I put them on Blogger...I can't figure out why.

As we inch closer to a year, I get really excited about what's to come. Peter develops more personality every day and as much as I love snuggling a cuddly newborn, this stage is truly more FUN! I know the best is yet to come with this little guy and I'm incredible grateful I get to be with him each day. What a gift!

15 in 2015 Update

It's been a while since I did an update on my 15 in 2015 goals for the year. I feel pretty good about my progress so far, especially considering that I forgot about these goals for a few months...oops! :)

1. Write at least 2 blog posts per month. 

Not exactly. BUT this is post #16 in 8 months, so it averages out, right?

2. Read 5 books.

Check!

1. American Sniper by Chris Kyle
2. So You Don't Want to Go to Church Anymore by Jake Colsen
3. His Needs, Her Needs by Willard F. Harley, Jr.
4. The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo
5. Interrupted by Jen Hatmaker

3. Eat more whole foods.

We've done better than last year overall. My motivation comes in waves and largely depends on my energy and motivation to cook.

4. Spend less time on my phone.

This really depends on the day. Lately, I've made a "rule" that I can only be on my phone (specifically, social media) first thing in the morning when I wake up and then at night after Peter is in bed. It's going pretty well, but it's hard to break the habit of picking up my phone when I'm bored or avoiding work.


5. Find creative ways to save and/or earn money for our family.

A few months ago, I started watching a little girl one day a week while her mom (a dear friend) works at our church. She's 11 months older than Peter and it's given me a glimpse into how fun and completely exhausting it is to have two babies close together.

6. Keep up with my One Line A Day journal.

Success. I'm up-to-date on this one.

7. Purge our home of 300 unnecessary items. 

I quit counting at 500 items, but I've donated/sold 5 trash bags full of stuff since then. I'm on a purging binge right now and am getting rid of SO much unnecessary junk in our house. It's kind of addicting actually.

8. Spend time outside.

Well, we've had the hottest summer on record this year, so that hasn't helped much. I was running in the Spring/early Summer so that helped. We've definitely spent some time outside swimming, picking fruit, laying in the hammock, and going for walks, but we still spent more time indoors than I would like. Once I'm outside, I always enjoy it, but sometimes I have a hard time motivating myself to actually get out the door.

9. Learn how to use our new camera. 

I would say this is mostly a fail. I still haven't read the manual and I am not that much better than I was in January. I have practiced taking photos a fair amount this year, but I don't know much more about technique or lighting or anything to help me take better pictures. Thankfully I have a cute subject, so that makes up for my lack of knowledge/skill.

10. Run a 5k.

Check! I did the Run for Ohm in June. I haven't really run at all since then, but that's beside the point. I don't remember what my time was (slow! 38 minutes maybe?), but my goal was still met.

11. Complete 6 crafty/house/Pinterest projects.

I've made four projects so far. The first two were for my niece, Lucy.

I sewed a set of tea bags to use at a (pretend) tea party. This was, of course, a find on Pinterest that I made my own.

The Merenesses are really into drawing (and good at it! let's hope Peter got Kory's artistic skills and not mine). I made this little drawing pad/crayon roll for Lucy to use at church or in the car (or anywhere else she wants).

The next item I made was for my dad for Father's Day. He loved it and the message couldn't be more true!  

These twine-wrapped jars were pretty simple to make. I also wrapped a few in burlap. I'm using most of them to grew herbs in and the others are currently holding flowers left over from a baby shower I hosted a couple weeks ago.

12. Try 12 new recipes.

I should have kept track of this better. I know I've tried several new recipes, but I can't remember what they were. One that I do remember was Pork Carnitas from Alisa at Family Meal Blog. They are SO delicious and seriously easy. I'm talking "put salt on the meat and put it in the oven and then eat it" easy. You've gotta try it!

13. Lose 20 pounds.

So it would help if I actually remembered what I weighed when I made this goal. haha I'm pretty sure I am down 10 pounds since then, which means I have about 10 pounds left until I'm at my pre-baby weight.

14. Organize and file our stacks of paperwork.

Winning! This is one area where I'm succeeding big time. I've actually combined this goal and the one to get rid of 300 items and am organizing our entire house...and I do mean EVERYthing. The only paperwork I have left is keepsakes/greeting cards and that's going to take a while to sort through.

http://koryandmandymereness.blogspot.com/2015/03/junk-drawer.html

The bags on the right are papers I'm getting rid of and the file box contains the only papers we're keeping.

15. Plant a garden.

Check! This year I've grown zucchini, tomatoes, cucumbers (lemon and regular), jalapeños, broccoli, and cauliflower.

Nine Months

Height: 27.75" (25%)
Weight: 16 lb. 15.5 oz (10%)
Head Size: 18 cm (90%)

He wears almost all 9 month clothing (though he still fits in the few 6-9 month outfits he has). This summer, he's rarely worn pants, socks, or shoes, so that makes getting him dressed pretty easy. 

I honestly thought he might be walking by now, but he's not (and I'm REALLY ok with that!). He crawled pretty early and LOVES to pull up on everything, so I thought he'd be taking his first steps by 9 months, but he seems pretty content to crawl since it quickly gets him wherever he needs to be.

He has just started walking around while holding onto different items (like from the couch to the recliner) as well as pushing the laundry basket and trash can around on our laminate floors. Our friends let us borrow their walker and he likes to play in it, but hasn't really figured out yet that he can walk if he puts his feet down on the floor. 

Peter's current favorites:

*Climbing on us like a human jungle gym 

*Jigging the toilet handle 

*Chasing the Roomba around the room while it's vacuuming

*Bananas! He squeals every time he sees one.

*Pulling down ANYthing he can reach on a night stand/table/any surface

I like to think he's noticing how long his finger nails have gotten and is realizing that he should sit still long enough for me to cut them. He actually cut his face right under his eye in the nursery last week with his nails and drew so much blood that they had to page me so I could sign off on the accident report. I really do try to cut them regularly, but they grow so stinking fast!

The phrase to best describe our lives right now is Separation Anxiety. Peter doesn't like to be away from me, and he makes sure everyone knows it. One perk of this season is that he's become a snuggler again! I really love that. In fact, he's wanted me to rock him to sleep for naps and bedtime quite a bit recently, and he hasn't allowed that since he was probably 2 months old.

He is REALLY into anything electronic. If there's a cord to be chewed, he's going to grab it. He can also spot an iPhone/iPad from across the room and does everything he can to get it in his mouth before we notice what he's doing. 

Significant Moments for Peter in Month 9:

*1st hike to a waterfall (when Uncle Andy came to visit)

*Lone survivor in the Food Poisoning Incident of 2015

*1st trip to Church Camp: CIY Move in Corvallis, OR (He did pretty well, especially considering it was 106 and our dorms had no A/C!)

*1st trip to a local farm for some peach picking with friends

He's up to 6 teeth now: 4 on top and 2 on bottom. I've not seen any evidence of more coming in lately, and I'm really thankful to get a break from teething. It's tough on everyone! 

I preemptively put the month sticker on his chair because I knew it wouldn't last long on his onesie. It took him a while to notice it, but he still found it and made sure it was destroyed promptly.

I just love pictures where he's making ridiculous faces. These next two are pure gold. 

This month has been tough on his (and my!) sleep schedule. We've been gone a lot and had visitors  and he got a new tooth and it just means he's up crying a lot in the night. Some times he will sleep through the night and then wake up 4 times the next night. I have no idea what makes the difference. We're going to be home for a good stretch now, so we're working on helping him learn to sleep through the night again. 

In the past few days, he's discovered doors, cabinets, and drawers. Specifically, he realized that they all open and shut. The first time I discovered that he could open cabinet doors is when he opened one of the kitchen cabinets and pulled a glass bowl down on top of himself. Oops! I guess it's really time to baby-proof now. I've got the door locks out, so now we just need to install them. (The bowl didn't break or hurt him, thankfully.)

He's also figured out that he can pull toys/books off the shelf and out of the toy box. It's fun to watch when he's giggling and clearly enjoying it so much, but when he pulls my clean, folded laundry onto the floor or unpacks my suitcase faster than I can pack it, it's a little bit less cute. 

He sits on his legs like this most of the time now. In fact, he rarely sits on his bottom. I think this position allows him to spring into crawling much quicker, which is pretty important to him these days. Sitting like this makes him seem more like a big boy to me. Bittersweet. 

You can see his long eyelashes in the picture below. It also looks like his hair has a red tint to it, but it's actually much more brown in real life. He's slowly getting a little bit more hair, but mostly it's turning into a mullet with some fairly long pieces in the back. We might need to remedy that situation before too long. 

Nine months seems like a big milestone to me, probably because it's the same amount of time (roughly) that he was in my body growing. My pregnancy went by far quicker than the time he's been here with us, and for that, I'm thankful. I don't feel like it's flown by. I've been able to really cherish our time together each day and I'm just so thankful that I get to hang out with him again tomorrow. 

Eight Months

Height: 26.75"

Weight: 16 lbs. according to our home scale 

(which is less than he weighed at 6 months, so I'm not sure if that's accurate or not?)

I think Peter is in my very favorite stage right now. Of course, I've thought that about 10 different times in his short life. He's just so fun! 

He hasn't had as many changes this month, but he's still as wiggly and giggly as ever. He continues to crawl everywhere and pull up on EVERYthing. He has started to let go while standing, but pretty quickly falls down on his bum.

I feel like I get a glimpse of what he'll look like as a toddler from several of these pictures. 

The best word to describe his behavior lately is CLINGY. He used to happily let anyone else hold him, but lately he has only wanted Mama. I've even had to hide from him at times so someone else can play with him and so I can get a little break. He likes to keep me in sight at all times, as evidenced by the picture below. He didn't like me disappearing behind the camera and kept trying to see around it to find my face. It's cute and heart-warming and exhausting all at once. 

Sitting still just doesn't happen these days. He sometimes looks like he's frantic as he rolls, dives, crawls and pulls up, in an attempt to keep moving at all times.

Yeah, these are the best shots I got with the stuffed animals this month...so you can only imagine what some of the ones that got cut looked like. 

You can really see his skin tone in the picture below. He's always had a more olive complexion and since he's been out in the sun this past month, he's got quite the farmer's tan going. (I do put sunscreen on him. He just tans easily, like his parents.)

Big Moments in Month 8:

*Peter went swimming several times

*Kory celebrated his 1st Father's Day

*Peter attended his 1st VBS and the theme was his middle name: Everest!

*Peter and I took a 2 week trip to Red River/Amarillo to see friends and family

*Peter spent his 1st Independence Day in Panhandle, TX & got to stay up late to watch the fireworks

He got one new tooth in on the top left and is working on a couple more now. The amount of drool this boy produces is pretty mind-boggling. 

One of my favorite things about his appearance right now is his old man hair line. It's been there since birth (and is probably due to his position during birth) but it's becoming much more visible these days and I just love it.

I love to just sit and watch him play. It's fascinating to see him figure things out and to imagine what's going on in that brain of his.   

He still sleeps really well in his crib. On our NM/TX trip, he woke up every single night 2-4 times. The first night we got back, he slept 11 straight hours and then another 3.5 hours after I fed him at 7:00 a.m. The only other place I can get him to sleep is in my Ergo. It requires a pacifier, the hood over his head, me walking/bouncing/swaying/sometimes all three at once, and him being patted on the bottom. It's quite the song and dance for me to perform, but it does work if we're away from the house and he can't nap in his crib.

He is still eating mostly fruit and vegetable purees, but he has had a few bites of meat lately and he really loved it, especially the steak. Go figure. 

Peter's Current Favorite Things: 

*Spitting (pictured below)

*Being held by me 

*Pickles (spears are great to chew on)

*Chewing/sucking on EVERYthing (especially shoes)

*Pulling up and then turning to make sure you saw him pull up

These photo shoots are a bore to him. As is life at home with just me, especially after he's been around his fun cousins for a week!

And, we must now end each of these sessions with the chewing of the month sticker. It's a good sign that he's done, and I should be too, because the pictures are all downhill from here.