quick post :]

Hurlee's most recent obsession is grabbing my face and biting my nose. What a weird-o.

stats!

I forgot to include Hurlee's measurements from his 9 months check-up, kind of outdated now :/

He weights 22.5 pounds and is 31 inches long :) Quite the arm full! The picture is Hurlee waiting in the exam room. He wanted to leave so bad!

oh! and I forgot to mention in my last post (the picture reminded me) Hurlee doesn't use a pacifier anymore! He has completely lost interest in it, which is fine with me!

Hello old friend

I cannot believe it has been so long since my last blog, I have definitely been slacking. I can already tell that this is going to be a long one (I'll try to title-ish each paragraph so if a certain topic doesn't interest you.. you won't even have to waste your time reading it).

Summer Vacation:

We had a great and busy Summer. We went on two vacations that were tons of fun.

Th

e first was staying at the lake with friends for a few days. Hurlee did so well on the boa

t and in the heat. He was realllly unhappy on the car ride up and back though, lots and

LOTS of crying. Also, the two nights we stayed he was pretty much up all night (ahhh!). BUT overall we were so happy that we went. The second vacation we went on was amazing! We drove up to the bay (Hurlee also hated that drive) and visited my sister and

brother-in-law. They were the best hosts! We toured the tea gardens, went out the dinner and shopped around. And one of the nights, Jenna and Brandon babysat Hurlee so Shawn and I could go on a date in the city, it was AMAZING! I was shocked at how mellow Hurlee was, he loved all the new sites and scenery ( and especially loved his auntie).

School:

Well as my husband put it, this whole school thing is really putting a damper on my summer vacation. School is back in session (going on week 4) and so far so good. I am taking two online classes and two in person. So far the classes aren't super hard, just very time consuming. I am staying pretty much on top of my school work, but house work has definitely taken a hit. With Shawn working and schooling full time and me Hurlee-ing and schooling full time we are definitely keeping ourselves busy. So far it just seems like a big balancing act.

JOJO:

Hurlee will be ten months tomorrow and it's true, IT GOES BY SO FAST! He is a very active baby and is always curious and exploring. He starting crawling at about 7 months so he is an old pro by now and I am wondering when he is going to start walking, YIKES! He is surprisingly social and loves flirting with people (waving for their attention at restaurants!!). I will occasionally show him videos on youtube of babies laughing and he cracks up, I wish I could know what was going through his head. He also is crazy about animals. He loves petting them and even squealed with excitement when he saw a giant bunny on our neighbors lawn. Overall, he is a super calm baby and normally only fusses when he is tired. These last few days have been kind of unusual though. He has been super whiney. At ten months he only has two teeth so it could very easily be teething.

Scheduling:

So starting about a month ago, I put Hurlee on a nap schedule and it was the best decision! It is so nice and convenient to know when and about how long he will nap everyday. I was having such a hard time planning activities because he would nap at different times everyday and could only fall asleep at home (definitely not a fall asleep in the car seat kind of baby). It normally works out that he takes two naps a day. One short one in the morning (around 9:20) and a longer one in the after noon (around 2:20), then bed time around 8:30 (solid food at 7, bath at 7:40, and asleep in crib by 8:30). It's wonderful! During his first short nap I get ready and clean up around the house, and during his second I will work on a little homework. Hurlee sleeps through the night more often then not, but still has his little spells. You seriously do not appreciate uninterrupted sleep until you have a baby.

Breastfeeding:

I am so proud to say that after ten months Hurlee is still breastfeeding. Once I started breastfeeding, and saw how hard it was, I really didn't think I would be able to keep it up. I exclusively pump (long story), and it has progressively gotten more and more difficult. My goal was 6 months, then when I there I wasn't ready to wean so I decided 8 months and then wasn't ready to wean so I finally said 10 months. But now that I am at ten months I really am not sure what I want to do next!! I can see with school starting it will be hard to keep my supply up (not lots of time to pump), but hopefully with his increase in solid food it won't matter too much that my milk supply is decreasing. The kitchen will definitely be closed at the 1 year mark though! Although I hate pumping (very mechanical and lacks connection), I love giving Hurlee breast milk.

Blanket:

Hurlee is a full blown blankie-holic. He has a light blue blanket that he sleeps with at night that he loves. It is chenille on one side and a satin look fabric on the other side. He eats it, cuddles it and plays on it. Man, if I would have known he was going to be a blankie baby I would have gotten him a nice one!

Will add more pictures soon, just too late now.