Our Boy Can Sit

For a while, I've suspected that Dougie could sit but every time we tried, he'd flop over and try to crawl (which he can't do yet). Over the weekend, we decided to get him some "sitting toys". We thought that having something to sit and play with would encourage him to stay sitting instead of flopping over. Well, it worked!! Here are a few pictures from Dougie's first independent sitting.

Weekend Update

We had a wonderful long weekend. It was so quiet. We spent most of the time doing some organizing things around the house and relaxing. We've gotten a playroom made for Dougie. I did most of the work last week but we put the final touches on this weekend. We just have to hang blinds and paint but as far as Dougie is concerned it's finished. We love going in there during the day and spending some time.

We also went over to Uncle Rudy and Auntie Carol's new house. We haven't seen them in a while and it was great to catch up. They don't live too far from here in a great little community. Hopefully, we'll be able to see them more now that they're back in DFW. Unfortunately, we forgot our camera so we don't have any pictures from the visit. Uncle Rudy took some though and said he'd send them along. I'll include some once we get them.

President MOM

Our MOMS Club had their elections for the board today. I was elected president of our chapter. I'm really excited because I'm hoping to be able to get a few more activities that are inclusive of people that have children younger than toddler age. I think it's going to be a great opportunity to meet more people and get more involved as well. I officially take over at the beginning of July.

I Think Dougie is Spending Too Much Time with the Dogs

I've noticed that Dougie has started to take on some of the characteristics of the dogs. He certainly loves them and is quite content to just sit and watch them eat or play. But, perhaps it's too much? Looks at some of his latest activities. :)

Eating Maggie


Playing With Dad's Socks


Eating His Own Socks

The First Mother's Day

Yesterday was our first Mother's Day since we acquired a Dougie. As you can imagine, the little guy was tremendously excited since he and his Mum are such good buds, and he wanted to say a little "thank you" for taking such good care of him. He even got himself a new bib for the occasion:



We started the day off with (liquid) breakfast in bed -- Dougie and I put together a tray for Kim with coffee, juice and Diet Coke. (It was Dougie's idea -- I helped a little bit.) Dougie gave Kim a lovely frame with their favourite "Me and Mum" picture:




We had a nice breakfast and then trundled out to get our first family portrait done at Babies R Us. The photographer was great & very accustomed to working with babies, and she took some fantastic shots -- including the new family photo that now graces the top of our blog. Dougie was pretty cooperative for most of the photo shoot, though his patience has its limits -- after about 15 minutes he declared himself done.

Then we went out for lunch at one of Kim's favourite restaurants (a Cajun place called Razzoo's), did some shopping in the afternoon and a relaxing evening at home. All in all, a pretty successful Mother's Day for a couple of rookies!

One Random Daddy/Dougie Shot

Scott has been spending some extra time with Dougie this weekend (part of my Mother's day gift). They were hanging out this morning at the computer when I grabbed this shot. They just looked so cute together.

First Time on the Swings

We took Dougie to the park today. We've done that before but this time, we decided to try him on the baby swings.

Unfortunately, when we arrived, Dougie had fallen asleep. So, we had to wait a while for him to wake up again.


Once he was up, we put him in the swing. He really wasn't sure what to make of it at first.


Maggie stayed under the swing the entire time. A few times she sat up and got bopped but apparently that wasn't enough motivation for her to move.


We really did have a fabulous time. If the weather holds out, we're going to go back tomorrow.

The Move to Sweet Potatoes

Dougie has been eating avocado for a week now so we decided it was time to introduce a new food. The next food on our list was sweet potatoes. Dougie had his first taste yesterday. He seemed to like them though he ended up wearing a lot of it.

Sweet Potato War Paint


A lot of the mess comes from feeding himself.


With the bad weather we've been having lately, Dougie has been getting a lot more exposure to the puppies. Most of them continue to ignore him, which is great. Maggie is still his protector though.

Maggie checks up on Dougie


Sometimes, she just hangs out to make sure he's okay

Our Kindermusik Teacher is Moving

Miss Kat is moving. She's going to stay for the first summer session (which we have signed up for) and then she's moving away. I'm quite disappointed. The little kids in our class who have been doing it for a while love her. She gets lots of hugs from everyone throughout the entire class. Looks like we're going to have to find another teacher. She has someone she's recommending but it won't be the same.

My-Gym Finally Started

The My-Gym near us finally opened. We went to the Grand Opening this weekend to check it out and we were pretty impressed. The staff there are all really nice and it looks like it will be a good fit for Dougie. Unfortunately, we were the only people who signed up for our class so we were moved into the next class up (for 7m-13m) which runs on Tuesdays instead of Wednesdays.

So, our first class was today. It was okay but not quite as wonderful as I had thought it would be. Most of that was likely related to the fact that Dougie was just getting tired when class started (he napped too early yesterday morning). Also, while some of the activities were right up his alley, some where a bit too much for him. They indicated that there would be some special activities for Dougie since he was the youngest one in the class and we had to switch classes but there was only one "special" activity. A few of the regular things were just not meant for someone his age (i.e. they were geared toward a child that can sit unassisted).

We've decided that we're going to go back. Dougie isn't too far from being physically ready for the class and I think if we can get a better nap in him, he'll be a lot more likely to enjoy it. I will talk to them next week if they don't have enough activities that Dougie can participate in.

Dougie Feeding Himself

Dougie is getting better at this solid food thing. He's still eating just avocado but he's learned to feed himself a bit -- okay, he'd starve if he had to rely on his skills alone, but he's getting there.

We think it's pretty cute, so for your view pleasure we have two short videos.

Dougie Feeding Himself (with a bit of Dad's help)


Dougie Even Cleans Himself Up

First Solids - Dougie Meets the Avocado

At our last doctor's appointment, he again mentioned that he thought starting Dougie on some solids would help with the reflux. We had originally planned to hold off solids until he was 6 months but the doctor said that based on his activity level and development, he is definitely ready. So, we decided we'd give it a whirl.

Yesterday, I spent a bit of time making baby food. We now have tons of avocado, sweet potato and banana cubes. We decided to start with the avocado since they are so high in calories and fat.

Getting ready for the first bite


Dougie helps get the first bite in


A lot didn't make it in


Daddy had a turn feeding as well


Edited to Add:

We did more avocado at dinner tonight and Dougie has found a way to help. He uses his fingers to pull the food off the spoon and put it in his mouth. It really is too cute. We'll try to get a video to you all can see it.

Holding Feet

I was just working on a post to show you Dougie holding his feet when he pulled his sock off. He's never actually gotten the sock off before. So first:

One Sock Dougie


Holding Feet for Diaper Change

Dougie's Tummy Update

We took Dougie back to the doctor yesterday. He's been throwing up again and seems to spend quite a bit of time in pain. The doctor increased his medication to half a Prevacid in the morning and another half in the evening. He said that if this doesn't correct the problem he wants to do an ultrasound just to be sure there isn't something else causing the problem. Hopefully, this will be all Dougie needs to get him fixed up.

Also, Dougie has increased his fascination with his feet. He's been playing with them for a while but they are irresistible now. He actually grabs them while we change his diaper and it makes it almost impossible to do it up.

Dougie Foot Photo Montage






My favourite one is the last one. He has a "I know I'm cute and I know I can get away with pulling off this sock" look.

Toronto Trip Summary

We are back from Toronto and we had a great trip. The jewelry show went really well. It was certainly harder to get ourselves ready before the show with Dougie around but we had some extra time and managed to get everything done.

Some pictures from the show:







During the show, Dougie hung out with my mother's friend, Naz. She was absolutely fabulous with him and he sure loved her.

Naz and Dougie (ignore the mismatched pants -- it's Scott's doing)


Napping With Naz


Our flight back was a bit more eventful than the flight to Toronto. Dougie didn't sleep through the landing and it was hard on him but he made it through. Unfortunately, when we arrived in Dallas we realized that Scott had taken the car keys and the house keys to Houston. It was a bit of an ordeal to get ourselves home and then get the car back from the airport but we managed.

Visit to Toronto

We decided to go to Toronto early so we could meet up with my sister, Laurie, and our niece, Molly. We didn't have a lot of time together but it was great to see everyone again. Dougie was excited to meet his aunt and cousin. He also got to see Grandma and Grandpa McCall again. It was great to have a bit of extra time before our jewelry show to socialize.

Molly and Dougie (the crazy looking toy with him is a gift from Aunt Laurie named "Zelda", his new favorite toy)


More Molly and Dougie


Grandma and Grandpa and Dougie


Mum, Dad and Dougie

Dharma Name

Last Thursday, we took Dougie to meet with Khenchen Rinpoche. He received a Dharma Name of Sangyay Chophel. Dougie really liked the Kempo though was really distracted when we tried to take some pictures.

Scott's Birthday & Passport Drama

Yesterday was Scott's birthday. We had a quiet but really nice day. Scott worked from home so we were at least able to spend some time together. We went out for lunch and dinner and generally had a nice day. Dougie got Scott a web cam so they can see each other when he's on the road.

The most exciting thing that happened yesterday was Dougie's passport arrived. We filed for the passport in mid-February knowing we had a trip planned in mid-April. We had been assured by the post office that 6 weeks was plenty of time to get the passport so we didn't expedite it. Two weeks before we were scheduled to leave, I called to find out where it was. They told me to call again in a week. A week later, I called and was told not to worry the passport was being printed and signed that that we'd have it for sure by the time we left. Whew. He added that if it hadn't arrive by Tuesday, to call back. Tuesday's mail came, still no passport. I called the office again and was told that it wasn't ready and he had no idea why they would have told me it was being printed. He also told me it wouldn't be ready in time. We were furious. Scott had the idea to call our congressman, Kenny Marchant. They got on the case the next day and by the end of the day had gotten the passport expedited and express mailed to the house. It arrived yesterday and we leave for Toronto this morning.

Four Month Check-up

Dougie went to the doctor today for his 4 month visit. He did really well.

Stats:

• Weight - 12lbs 14oz (10%)
• Height - 24 1/2" (50%)
• Head - 16 1/4" (25%)

He got his second DTaP shot. He met all his developmental goals which is great. The doctor said he was one of the healthiest babies in his practice. That was certainly shocking for us. I guess they don't count reflux and stuff. He did say that Dougie only has 2 more months to get his tear duct open before they'll send him in to get it opened. His right eye has opened on its own so hopefully the left can do the same.

Dougie and Maggie

He Did It! - More Rolling

Dougie rolled over from his back to his front today! He's been able to do it with assistance for a while but this is the first time he's managed all on his own. We're so excited for him - though Scott wants to see a full revolution.

Uncle Mike's Visit

Uncle Mikey made it to Grapevine. He and Scott played golf in the afternoon (apparently, not well) and then he came by the house to meet his nephew.



Dougie liked Uncle Mike a lot. He could sure count on him to pick up the toys he dropped.

Thumb Sucking

Dougie has started sucking his thumb. He doesn't do it often but we managed to get a picture.

Some Pictures Before Uncle Mike Comes

Uncle Mike is coming to visit tomorrow. Dougie hasn't had an opportunity to meet any aunts or uncles yet so this is going to be exciting. Scott and Mike are going to play some golf in the afternoon and then come back here afterwards.

We are definitely going to get some pictures while Mike is here but we had a bunch that I hadn't posted yet so I thought we'd start with those.

Dougie in the Jumparoo


Playing with his Puppy


Hangin' Out


"Genius At Work" (see shirt)


More Puppy Playing


Stealing Dad's Glasses - Part 1


Stealing Dad's Glasses - Part 2


Stealing Dad's Glasses - Part 3


Hangin' With Mum