On the Move - 10 Months Old

Weight and height: Whatever he was last month...we're slacking

Sleeping patterns:  He thinks naps stink, but he sleeps well at night.

Eating habits:  We added yogurt to Dom's diet in the last month to add more variety. We've also attempted table food - spaghetti, chicken, peas, bananas, and Lucky Charms in preparation for St. Patty's Day. He seems to like being fed more now, but we're okay with that. It's only a matter of time before everything is "I do it!"

He knows what to do when the camera comes out.

New discoveries he's made: He's a curious little guy - he gets into everything! He also started waving hello and good-bye, clapping, and giving high-fives in the last month. He's such a little ham! He terrorizes poor Coco and Marbs too. And we finally had him touch snow. He didn't care much about it.

Accomplishments:  We have a supported walker! He cruises around the house with his walker, and while holding on to the furniture. Here are pics from the first night of walking.

Places he went:   We went to Omaha for the boat show weekend, and Dom got to play with Bennett and Mac. He seemed to have lots of fun, especially with Grandpa Mitch.

Special friends he's made:  Apparently Dom's stranger danger doesn't apply to other men with beards. He just crawled right up to Mark's buddy, and started tugging on his pant legs to be picked up!

Noises and babbles: I'm not certain but I think that he says Dada and Mmmaa (for milk). He's pretty good at joint attention, which makes it easy to figure out what he wants most the time.

Nine Months (my favorite number)

 

Weight and height:  About 20ish pounds and 28ish inches

Sleeping patterns:  He had a week or two where he was napping so perfectly, but now he's back to "normal". Normal means sleeping from 6:15 pm to between 5 and 6 am with maybe 2 40-60 min naps.

Eating habits:  Bananas in his teether continue to be his preferred snack, but he also now loves puffs - sweet potato, blueberry with purple sweet potato (didn't know there were purple sweet potatoes!), and strawberry with beets. He tries to stuff multiple in his mouth and ends up with them all over the place. Kind of like Brian eating popcorn.

He's such a goofy guy when he eats too. He's gotten really good at his yummy face:  tilts his head up, squeezes his eyes shut, and goes "hmmm". It's so cute!

New discoveries he's made:  Other people have teeth! He loves trying to touch teeth and is always sticking his fingers in our mouths.

His favorite toy now is his motorcycle that he got for Christmas. I taught him to push the button to make music play to get pushed around. He did that for 40 minutes straight one day. It's a great work out! I seriously considered recording his mini bursts of button-pushing and whining that happen when we stop pushing him to use for trainings at work. But now he knows that if the music is playing he gets to move and if we make sure that we turn the volume off when we're done he doesn't have the bursts.

Accomplishments:  Uh oh, little buddy is crawling now! He's progressed from army crawling to full out crawling but chooses to army crawl more often because of his poor red little knees. One of our daycare providers said that he and his buddies chase each other around, and Dom usually army crawls. But as soon as Daddy comes to pick him up, Dom races over to him on his knees. Dom definitely loves his Daddy!

And even bigger uh oh - Dom now pulls himself up on pretty much everything and is starting to take steps while holding on to things. His crib. The coffee table. The TV stand. Recycling boxes in the kitchen. The fridge and dishwasher if they're open. It's only a matter of time until he pulls all the baskets down on his changing table or starts walking...

Places he went:  Abso-freaking-lutely nowhere! This is the first time since he's been born that we've been home every weekend. But that will be over next weekend.

Special friends he's made:  He and his daycare buddies are besties. Apparently they rule the infant room. I dropped off some flowers for his care givers and the main one told me all about how he and the other two little guys his age guard the door, pull sippies and yogurt out of the fridge, and wrestle each other. I'm a little worried that Dom is going to think I'm super boring when it's just us hanging out this summer!

Other than that, friend making is at a new low due to Stranger Danger. While I love it when he reaches out to me or clings to me, it's kind of annoying that we can't pawn him off on family and friends right away. If he's tired we can't even leave the room! But then I just think of that Darius Rucker song and get teary eyed (I'm a HUGE sap now).

Noises and babbles:  His big belly laughs are so hilarious! And it's so easy to make him laugh.

We've really slacked on the sign language stuff. Oh well. But good thing is that he still understands what the signs mean when we do them so we can tell if he wants a bottle or food.

Firsts:
Valentine's Day
We got Dom (let's be real, I got Dom) two books and a little owl for Valentine's Day, and Grandma and Grandpa Carlson got him a cool ball and a talking puppy that he's slightly afraid of. Dom had me buy some flowers and candy for his teachers, and in return they gave us the cutest picture of Dom. The best part of my day was cuddling with him that morning.

The night before Bri and I went out to dinner and Bess and Megan came over to co-parent. We decided that we need to go do things more often in the evenings because his week-night tiredness coupled with his new stranger danger made for one crabby dude. Thanks again for watching him girls!

Big Boy Car Seat
Dom is now using his big boy car seat that he got for Christmas. How is he so old already?!

Eight Months

Look at that Craun calf action going on in his left leg!

Weight and height:  He's 19 1/2 pounds, and between 27 and 28 inches tall.


Sleeping patterns:  He's such a good little sleeper - I feel like we are extremely lucky! He sleeps like me - as soon as we lay him down on his back he rolls onto his side or tummy. A few times we've caught him sleeping like how Bri used to sleep when he was little - on his tummy with his butt up in the air. And likely an arm or leg will end up sticking out of the crib. We decided to lower his crib before he even gets the idea of pulling himself up in there.

Eating habits:  Solid food time is so less messy now. He's got it down! Dom now eats a large variety of foods, including fresh bananas and cucumbers in his fresh food teether. He loves that thing, and goes to town on it. The other day he ate half a banana in like five minutes! He also started eating sweet potato puffs. He's been able to get a few to his mouth on his own, but he's still refining his fine motor skills.

The most awesome thing happened in the last month too. He can now drink from his bottle without any assistance. We can just prop him up on the couch or with the Boppy pillow, set the bottle by him, and he does all the rest. We have all this extra time now!

Bananas for my little monkey

New discoveries he's made:  While he hasn't started fully crawling yet (thank God! I'm not ready for that yet!), he is pretty good at scooting backwards on his belly, going in circles, and army crawling forward (almost as bad as crawling). He is never in the same place if we put him down and leave the room for a few minutes. Because of that we set up gates to block the stairs in our main floor. Turns out we all hate them! I almost fell down the stairs the other day trying to carry my laundry down the stairs and the cats can't figure out that they can jump through the larger spaces. Coco freaking broke one three days in - just jumped through the swinging part and got her back legs caught. We didn't have the gate latched so it kinda swung open and BOOM. Coco and the gate ended up on the floor, and thankfully the only thing broken was one of the hinges on the gate. Which also means we need a new gate.

Accomplishments:  If he's not standing, he's trying to stand by attempting to pull himself up on his activity cube or looking at you like, "make me stand" or crying until you make him stand. He's getting closer to fully crawling now too. He gets up on his knees and rocks back and forth. We haven't made much more advancement on the sign language. He still signs for milk, and he knows what "eat" and "cat" mean. Brian and I have been slacking on this, mostly because the only thing he ever really cries about is being hungry and we have a way to communicate with him around that.

Places he went:  We went to Omaha the weekend before Christmas to celebrate the holidays with Brian's family, and then we spent Christmas eve and day at my parents. Good thing he goes to bed early so the adults could have fun with jello and pudding shots! :)

Special friends he's made:  No new friends this month.

Noises and babbles:  He says "dada" but I'm thinking it's still babbling and not anything meaningful yet. He's better at imitating the noises that we make, but mostly he's just interested in making excited screams/yells and saying "aaaaaahhhhh" over and over. It's funny when we go back and forth with our silly noises, and his giggles and belly laughs are so sweet! Brian is the master at getting Dominic to belly laugh. I love watching and listening to them play together!

Evening giggle session

Firsts:
Christmas
My favorite holiday ever! Dominic spent pretty much the whole month of December decked out in Christmas gear. One of my favorites was a shirt that had Buddy the Elf's hair and hat and said, "Raised by Elves." As evidenced by the pictures in last month's post, I was also obsessed with his Rudolph hat.

Dom loved looking at all the holiday decorations, and I think he had fun tearing open his presents. He got some pretty sweet toys for Christmas. He knows how to turn on his Elephun (yay babysitter for a few minutes) and he likes sitting on the motorcycle/walker thingy he got. And to Uncle JD's dismay, Dominic got his first drum set. After JD saw the picture of it, he said that the one he gets Dom someday is going to be even bigger and more obnoxious. Lucky us.

In his Christmas outfit from Grandma and Grandpa Craun

Another holiday matching with Bennett

New Year's Eve
So lame. Dom went to bed at his usually time (6:30), and Brian and I celebrated New York's NYE at 11 so we could go to sleep. We meant to celebrate at noon on New Year's day, and I even bought some hats for us all, but Dominic took an extra long nap then. So he never celebrated NYE. But he did pass out in his tux that night, and he peed on it the next day, so I think he did some of the same things some man somewhere in the world did that night.

I'm a little freaked out about how his toes look in this picture...they looked deformed!

Teeth
His bottom two teeth are in! They're so cute! He's starting to teethe again, so we think the top ones are starting to push through. We're trying to remember to brush them...key word there is trying.

And a side note:  we got a super nice camera for Christmas this year and I've taken a bajillion pictures with it. Maybe some day I'll post them on here!

Seven Months

I couldn't decide on which one to use!

Weight and Height:  Just under 18 pounds and about 26 inches

Sleeping patterns:  Same as the last few months - he basically sleeps through the night, with lapses here and there because of colds. Poor dude has double ear infections again and that wicked cough (that leads to lots of spit up) so he was waking up more frequently this past week.

Eating habits:  He's a little piggy. We added meat to his menu of options. So far he's had turkey and liked it. We can't bring ourselves to give him chicken yet because we really don't want to smell that puked back up...

New discoveries he's made:  He now realizes when he has a hat on. It's so funny to watch him reach for his hats and try to see them sitting on his head.

Accomplishments:  He reliably signs for milk when he's hungry, across different environments and people. As a behavior analyst/school psychologist, this is so amazing to me. I seriously think he's this genious kid, but then my view of what's normal is so skewed because of the students I work with. It's so awesome how much giving him a way to communicate with us cuts down on crying (hello, Functional Communication Training). All that training I have in verbal behavior was very handy! I love when he makes eye contact and starts making the sign. He also knows what it means when we sign "milk" or "eat". Next step - getting him the to sign "eat" so that when he wants food he doesn't say "milk".

He is also learning how to drink from a cup. First attempts aren't going so well - he'd rather look at the cup than drink what's in it. So I put the lid on it and let him go to town.

Marbles and Coco creep on him during meal times, so now meals are always in his high chair. Moochers.

Dominic is also able to stand for longer periods of time while holding on to something, like his activity cube that he loves (thank you DSM Autism Team!). It's pretty funny watching him playing with the beads on the cube with one hand, and gripping the metal thingys with the other. He just gets this serious look on his face trying to figure it all out. He's definitely a curious little guy. He loves to look around and take in everything. Grandpa Jeff says that Dom reminds him of me when I was a baby. And Dominic has a staring problem when we're out in public, just like Daddy. 

Places he went:  Brian's cousin got married so Dominic had his first trip to Cedar Falls. Then we had Thanksgiving in Sergeant Bluff, and an early Christmas in Minnesota.

After the wedding

Special friends he's made:  Dominic met Santa! Really he just sat on Santa's lap and was zoomed away before he even realized where he was.

Waiting so patiently for Santa

Santa! I know him!

Noises and babbles:  Sometimes I feel like he scolds us when things don't go his way. It's pretty funny to see his serious face when he's going on and on.

Firsts:
Thanksgiving
His first Thanksgiving was spent in Sergeant Bluff. He had his first serving of mashed potatoes, and wasn't a big fan. But at least he and Bennett matched! Our Thanksgiving trip also included visits with his new buddies, Madelyn and Cashton, who were both about a week-ish old. He was interested in all the little babies, but was confused as to why they weren't responding to him. We had a late Thanksgiving with my fam that weekend, so he got plenty of play time in with Laney and Brinley to make up for it.

Um, hello? I'm trying to get your attention.

Apparently she missed us after we were out of town for so long. Dom's like, "Get her off me!"

5K
His first race was the Jolly Holiday Lights Tour de Lights race. We did just the 1.5 mile walk because it was cold, but thankfully it was warmer than last year's. It was also his first charitable event - he helped support the Make a Wish Foundation! I hope that when he's older he'll want to run (well walk) races with me.

Not too thrilled about the mistletoe headband

Teeth
Dominic's first tooth is coming in! It's so darn cute. Teething, thankfully, hasn't been too rough on him. 

Horsey Ride
Okay it's not real, but still.

Minnesota Trip
He got to meet some of his extended family in Minnesota. First he met Great Grandma and Grandpa Michlitsch, Great Aunt Laura, Great Uncle Roger, and his second cousin Ben. He was the perfect little smiley baby at dinner, even though I was worried it was going to be awful since evenings are sometimes hit or miss.

With Great Grandpa Michlitsch

Laney reading to Dominic

The next day we ventured through his first blizzard to see Great Grandpa Lyle, Great Aunt Pam, and Great Uncle Ken. Because of the storm, several other family members weren't able to make it. I meant to take Dom out to see his first snow, but ran out of time. And of course we haven't had any snow here in Iowa yet - come on snow day Thursday!

Stylin'

With Great Uncle Ken

My favorite blanket of his from Little Hip Squeaks. I have like 10 of her blankets.

His big head sure is fun to accessorize! Here he's wearing a hat like the ones Great Grandpa Lyle always wears.

Every night since I first found out that I was pregnant with Dominic, I thank God for him, and I pray that God protects our little baby, that he keeps him safe and physically, mentally, and emotionally healthy. I am so excited for Dominic's first Christmas and all the other milestones we have yet to meet.

I always knew my life would be changed once I became a parent, and after Friday's events in CT, I am starting to understand just how much that is true. I don't think any other event that I've been so distant from has felt so close. I pray that no other parent faces what those parents are facing, and I pray that God gives them the strength to go on without their babies. And most of all, I pray that God continues to protect our perfect-for-us family.

On a happier note, merry Christmas to you all! Enjoy the last few weeks of the holiday season, and cherish the time with your family and friends!

Love,
The Crauns

I'm obsessed with Frog & Penguin's hats! I want the bunny one next!

 

And one more of the Rudolph hat!

 

Six Months

Weight and Height:  He's just over 17 pounds and 26ish inches. His six month appointment is Tuesday so we'll have official numbers then.

Sleeping patterns:  He mostly sleeps through the night, but there are some rough spots. We had a growth spurt where he gained almost a pound in about a week, and he's been battling not stop colds. I think he's been healthy for only about one week since day care has started - poor guy.

You never know where you'll find him when you check on him when he's sleeping.

Eating habits:  He's eating pretty much any baby food, and has gotten a lot less messy. Usually he's pretty chipper when he's eating food, but one time he actually fell asleep during his dinner!

New discoveries he's made:  He hasn't really made any new discoveries, he's just more skilled at some things than he was before. He's more efficient at rolling over from tummy to back and back to tummy, picking up things, transferring items from hand to hand, finding his mouth with objects, eating, and operating his toys.

Accomplishments:  He's sitting up on his own, but sometimes he still will face plant if he starts leaning too far.

Places he went:  This last month has been pretty busy! Dominic was baptized on 10/21...just a little late! He snored through the first part, and woke up when the priest poured the water on his head. Adam and Jennifer are his godparents. We had a fun little party at our house afterward with some yummy cake and cupcakes from Carefree Patisserie.

The Godparents

The framed card is from my godparents on my baptism day.

The next weekend we traveled to Omaha, where he got to meet his great aunt Rhea and Great Grandma and Grandpa Craun. We're so glad that Dom got to meet them all!

 Then the following weekend was the annual Charles City weekend in DSM. This weekend last year was the year that we made the official pregnancy announcement, so it was cool for him to meet all those people that last saw me with just a little baby belly. Dom had his first experience with really rowdy Hawk fans and survived!

Yesterday we went to Brian's cousin's wedding, and Dominic got to meet his second cousins and Great Aunt Kathi and Uncle Dave. Kathi and Dave haven't seen Dom since shortly after he was born - and he looks VERY different now. Dom was very interested in his cousin Bennett. They inadvertently matched, so of course we had to take some cute pictures of them together.

Those eyelashes!

Special friends he's made:  No new friends this month, but Marbles is actually letting Dominic pet her. It's so cute to watch him smile big when he sees her. Some of his favorite toys include:  his crinkle fabric blocks, his kitty, his giggle toy, his piano gym, the bouncer, people's noses, and a tv remote (don't worry - the batteries aren't in there!).

Noises and babbles:  He talks all the time now. I know he's not saying anything functionally yet, but it sounds like he says "hi" and "Dada" and one time even "I love you Dad" (like it was all mumbled together). We started teaching him signs for milk, eat, and cat. I *think* he's done the milk sign a few times, but since we're just accepting approximations of the sign, it's hard to tell if he actually did the sign or if he's just opening and closing his hand. Regardless, he gets a bottle when he does it (unless he just ate). He likes watching us sign so hopefully he'll get the hang of it in the next few months.

Firsts:  Dominic celebrated his first Halloween dressing as Brian and as a tiger for daycare. Holidays are so fun now with a child!

I had a minor freak-out when his face wipes wouldn't take off his eyeliner beard. Turns out I just needed to use eye makeup remover wipes!

Of course he had to dress up for Halloween day, even if he was just going to daycare.

Other adventures this month:  We did a mini fall photo shoot in his sweet Timbs and hat.