The DeLorme Family

Monday, August 8, 2011

First Foods

We have finally started Dawson on solids. I wanted to introduce them slowly. This time I am making all of my own organic baby food. I also decided to skip rice cereal. It is so much fun to make the food. I also love knowing exactly what Dawson is eating. We started with a sweet potato. I didn't puree it because I am also exploring baby led weaning which involves giving babies cooked pieces of food and allowing them to feed themselves. The idea behind this is that it teaches them to eat only until they are full and not until someone stops spooing food into their mouth. It's supposed to teach them healthy eating habits for later on in life. I'm doing this along with some purees. It's just too fun making food. So far Dawson loves bananas the most. He is also a big fan of avacados and peaches. He didn't like peas the first time we gave them, but I gave them to him two more nights and he grew to like them. Here are some pictures from his first food experiences.

All clean ready to eat. He thought he would just eat the bib.

Wasn't too sure what to think.

What is this?

Ashlyn was very excited for Dawson to finally be able to eat real food.

As you can tell by his face, he wasn't too sure what to think.

Big boy feeding himself

Still really likes the bib

He really was enjoying it.

What a mess!

Look at the way he looks at Ashlyn.

Trying some peas

He always goes for the bowl.

The peas were very messy

Some how a picture of Alli snuck in here.

Another random picture that snuck in here.

Ashlyn loves feeding her brother. I am so lucky to have such a good helper.

New School

This week was another quick one that seemed to just fly by. We spent the weekend at the cabin again. We have just been having the best time up there. The kids just love it there. Ashlyn really likes getting to spend time with everyone and all the stuff to do there. Joey and I are trying to go up there as much as we can because we know that once winter comes, there will be nothing to do on the weekends. I think we will be making two more trips up there before summer is over. I have such fond memories of spending time at our old cabin as a child. I am so excited that my children will have similar memories.

We got Ashlyn enrolled in her new school this week. I had previously mentioned that she would be going to a preschool five days a week. The more I thought about it, the more I realized I wasn't comfortable with her going five days a week. I feel that she has many, many years ahead of her going to school five days a week. She will only be this young once and I don't want to miss a big chunk of it. I found a Montessori school that is very close to where we live. We toured it and I was very impressed with what I saw. The Montessori method is very different than a traditional preschool setting. It allows kids to work at their own pace and level. It really focuses on differentiating instruction for each child, which is the direction I definitely see education going in the future. Ashlyn is a very independent child, and I see her thriving here. On Thursday night, we went to an open house at the school so Joey could see it. We met her teacher and got some one on one time with her to really explain things. Ashlyn got to go Friday morning for a trial day. She was excited to go. The teacher had told the class that they were getting a new student and the girls were excited to meet her. When she walked in all the girls said, "She's here, she's here!" They do show-and-tell every Friday and she brought something to show. When I picked her up her teacher said she has a great first day. I asked Ashlyn in the car what she thought and she said she loved it and the kids were nice. Every time we drive by the school, Ashlyn says. "There's my school." I pray this is a good fit for her and that she continues to love it.

Sadly, I will be returning to work on Thursday. This is a very hard transition for me. I am blessed that I got to spend six months home with Dawson. However, I feel that those six months have made it harder for me to go back. I have just so thoroughly enjoyed my time as a stay at home mom and I wish I could always be one. I am doing a job share with a friend and we will be teaching 4th grade. I will work a half day Wednesday, and all day Thursday and Friday. Katy and I worked it so we are covering each other's work schedules so we don't have to put the babies in daycare. I know Dawson will be in great hands, I just know I will miss him so much. I also pray that it is a smooth transition and I am able to cope with going back to work again.

Dawson got his second tooth yesterday! He tolerated this one much better than the first, but I have noticed some more fussiness and he has been sleeping horribly. This could also be a result of a growth spurt. I am just hoping he starts to sleep better. I am very nervous about being up half the night and then having to go to work the next day.

Here are some pictures from this week.

Playing at the cabin

They love playing together so much

Mommy and Dawson

Ashlyn was feeding her baby

Daddy and the kids sitting by the fire

Already a Broncos fan

Ashlyn loves riding in her Papa's Prowler

Of course, we had to have smores.

Chipmunk girl

Joey is brave too with the chipmunks, I don't like to get near them.

Sunday, July 31, 2011

6 Months

This week Dawson turned 6 months old. I can't believe he has been in our lives for half a year! Time is just flying by! Dawson continues to be such an amazing and wonderful addition to our family. He is just such a great little boy. His smile is so contagious and melts my heart every time. Ashlyn continues to be a great big sister. She loves playing with Dawson and making him smile and laugh. She continues to be Dawson's favorite person. His whole face lights up every time he sees her. She is a great helper and like to keep an eye on Dawson while I'm cooking.

Dawson is definitely on the go! He is already crawling!!! He gets up on all fours and crawls around. He has been doing this for about 2 weeks now. I can't believe he is crawling this soon. He also loves to stand. The other day I was holding him up to stand. I kept trying to sit him back down on the floor and he was straightening his legs so he could keep standing. I'm predicting he will be pulling himself up to stand very soon. Luckily our house is already pretty much baby proofed from Ashlyn, but we do need to put gates back up and move a couple things to higher ground.

Dawson loves to play with toys. His favorite toy is my keys. Any time I have them out he wants them. They are a nice tool when we are out and about because they can always hold his attention. Ashlyn was crazy about phones and remotes, but Dawson isn't very interested yet in them. We recently got out Ashlyn's favorite toy, a sound stage thing and he really likes that too.

We are still working on sleeping through the night. He still gets up for one feeding a night. I have gotten so used to it, but it would still be wonderful to get a full nights sleep without interruption! I am concerned about getting decent sleep when I go back to work in a week. The pediatrician gave me some suggestions to help him not need that middle of the night feeding anymore. I really hope they work. The pediatrician said that a lot of breastfed babies continue to wake in the night and it is mainly for comfort.

Dawson is still in 3-6 month clothing and I think he will be for a while longer. He does have some room to grow in them. He is also still wearing a size 2 diaper. I think he has been in a size 2 for 3 months now.

Today we went to Dawson's six month checkup. He now weighs 16 lbs 1 ounce. He only gained about a pound in the last two months. He is now in the 25th percentile for weight which is where Ashlyn has always been. I'm thinking he's going to be on the thinner side like his sister. He is now 25 1/2 inches tall. The doctor said he looks great once again. She was very impressed with the way he could sit up. She said he had some amazing gross motor skills. She said he is the kind of kid that will be walking at ten months. I know he will be too. He's a mover and a shaker just like his sister was. Plus, I think he wants to be able to follow her around. I asked her what color his eyes will most likely be. Ashlyn has brown eyes and they were brown by this age. Dawson's are sort of a blueish/gray color. Joey and I are really hoping for blue eyes since both of our mother have blue eyes. We will see.

I can't wait to see what the next six months have in store for my little man. I am sure God has great plans for my sweet little boy. As usual I took a bunch of pictures of Dawson the day he turned six months old. Here are some of my favorites.

Mr. Man crawling

Love this face

Look at the boy go!

This is his serious face.

Dawson and his big sister

I had to take some diaper pictures because he is too darn cute!

Love them both so much!

This is the sound stage toy that Ashlyn loved so much. Here is Dawson standing with it.

More crawling practice

Rodeo Time

This weekend we headed up to the cabin for another great weekend of lots of rest and relaxation. On Saturday night, Joey took Ashlyn and Dawson to his Dad's house and they went to the local rodeo. Joey really likes the rodeo and Ashlyn always has a great time there. She really likes seeing all of the animals. Joey said Dawson really liked the animals and had a great time at his first rodeo. Joey said it was a great night. I think Ashlyn enjoyed getting to spend time with her Papa the most.