We'll keep trying...

I don't think he would list sweet potatoes as a "favorite food" yet...

7 Months

Peter is 7 months today! Can you believe it? He is getting SO BIG!!! Here are a few pics from the past week or so...

I knew it would come in handy one day...

I am the world's worst pack rat. Ok, maybe there is someone worse than me, but I'm pretty bad. I have the hardest time letting go of things. My brain keeps asking..."But what if you need this one day?" Well, for probably the first time ever, I was able to tell my brain..."Yes, I finally need it." We got many appliances as wedding gifts. We have actually used most of them, but in the 6 (almost 7) years that we have been married, I don't think I have ever used my food processor.

Until tonight.

I made sweet potatoes. Now I know you are asking . . . why in the world would she use a food processor to make sweet potatoes? Well, because the person eating them has no teeth! Although I did take a little taste (and discovered that sweet potatoes aren't as bad as I remembered!), I made them for Peter. Now you are probably saying . . . Um, do you know that Gerber has already done that and packaged everything in neat little jars?

Yes, I know. However, I really wanted to make Peter's food. It wasn't hard at all. I peeled the sweet potatoes, cut them in small chunks, boiled them, and then pureed them with the water that they boiled in. Now they are in ice trays freezing into small portions. For $1.68, I made 26 portions! That comes out to be about $0.07 per portion (Now I have a reason to tell my students when they ask why I teach them how to find unit rate!). That's pretty cheap! Now the real test comes tomorrow . . . does Peter like sweet potatoes?

Stay tuned . . .

Thank You Aunt Amy (from New Jersey)!

Look, I got mail!

How do you open this thing?
I wish I had teeth!
Ooh, cool...what is it?
An elephant? Neat!
Yummy!!!

It has a place of honor on my shelf.

Mommy put my elephant away. She said it was breakable. This duck is much better for chewing...

Just an update...

Yes, he's still sick. We are now beginning week 3 of the miserable cold that has somehow turned our world upside down. I thought he was getting better (he seemed almost over it at the end of last week), but it's definitely still here -- congestion, sneezing, coughing, runny nose...I wish I knew how to get rid of it for him! He can't go in the nursery until the runny nose is gone, so we stayed home from church again today. We also can't go to Houston to visit PawPaw Metcalf or baby Camille until it's completely gone, so we are hoping that Peter feels better soon! We would also like to enjoy a full night's sleep again! :)

Still sick...but definitely on the road to recovery. :)

Well, we have started week 2 of being sick. Peter is getting better and better by the day, but there is still some congestion and coughing, especially at night. He's sitting next to me as I type, and I can hear the congestion as he's breathing. We didn't take him to church again this Sunday because we just can't risk him getting any of his nursery friends sick. He is sleeping better than he was last weekend, but I still spend about 2/3 of the night in his room sleeping with him. Although I'm sure he enjoys that, I'm really ready to get a full night's sleep in my own bed again! Hopefully he'll be fully recovered by next weekend so we can go see everyone in Houston and meet Camille very soon.

On a side note - I fed him a couple of tiny bites of pancake this morning while we were out to breakfast. He wasn't too sure about it, but he didn't spit it out. He kind of sucked on it for a little while and finally figure out that he was supposed to swallow it. That caused a small coughing fit, so I think I'll wait on pancakes for now...

Being sick is no fun!

Being sick is no fun...

Being sick as a 6-month old is really no fun...

Being the parent of a sick 6-month old is really, really no fun...

Peter has been sick since Saturday. He hasn't slept a full night on his own since Friday night. That has made for very long nights for us. I discovered some very large houses in a nearby neighborhood over the weekend as I was driving around at 2:30am trying to get him to sleep. Andrew drove for several hours Saturday night and Sunday night so that Peter could continue sleeping in the car.

Peter had his first "sick" doctors appointment on Monday. I am all out of days at work due to maternity leave, so Andrew took him. It's just a bad cold at this point, but we're watching him to make sure it doesn't turn into something worse. Dr. Esparza did prescribe a decongestant to help with the congestion and coughing, and it's working so far. Last night I got 2 hours of sleep in my bed and another 2 hours in bed with Peter. I'm so glad Andrew made sure we left the double bed in Peter's room!

Andrew is upstairs singing to him and swaying him now, so I'm hoping that he sleeps at least part of the night alone in his own room. I'm off to bed as well. Here's hoping for the best... :)

6 Month Update

Andrew took Peter to the doctor on Monday for his 6 month checkup. He is now just over 16 pounds and 27 inches long. He's a healthy, growing boy! The 5 shots were rough for both Peter and Daddy, so they went to the store and bought a new toy afterwards. Thanks to our friend Rebecca for letting us try her daughter's Jumpster before purchasing our own. Peter LOVES it!

The introduction of solids is also going well. When Peter was born, I decided that my goal would be to exclusively breastfeed him until he was 6 months old. We reached that goal last Friday, so we started rice cereal on Saturday. He wasn't too sure at first, but now he seems to be enjoying it. When I start feeding him, he doesn't really care for the thick texture. However, as time goes on, the mixture becomes more runny. I think it's the enzymes in the breastmilk that cause that, but it's working well for us. He takes a few bites of the thicker texture (which is good for getting him used to it), and then he gets the rest at a texture he prefers. Yet another wonderful thing about breastmilk. :) Now our goal is to continue breastfeeding until he's a year old as we slowly add various foods to his diet.

Six months has meant new freedom for Peter as he is sitting up on his own!!! He still falls over from time to time, but he can sit up for quite a long time without toppling over. I just give him a few toys, and he is one happy little boy.

We also visited the park for the first time last weekend. Peter had a great time sliding and swinging. I know that this will be a favorite place to hang out this summer when we have so much tim to spend together.

Remember when...

Time flies...

A New Cousin!!!

My younger brother Jonathan and his wife Amy had a baby girl tonight. We are so excited for them!

Camille June Beeler

April 1, 2008

6 lbs, 12 oz

18.5 inches long