"Where will we fit it?"

So, what to do when you are running outta space in an 1100 sq. ft house? Well...get more stuff to fill it of course! We decided to buy the Graco Duo-diner highchair because this one was so cute and it turns into a booster seat once she outgrows the highchair. Plus, I can easily wheel it into the kitchen from the dining room. I'm so amazed at the straps on this thing as shown below. Eva is now eating 2 times a day. I make her own food with a food mill and we also got a big donation of baby food from a friend. Here is a breakdown of foods:

Favorites / Not-so-fav

Avacadoes / Sweet Potatoes
Green Beans/ applesauce
Yogurt / rice cereal
Squash
Bananas
Puffs

Let me know if anyone knows of any good suggestions on increasing variety of foods past the Gerber selection. Even Dietitians need help....

(This is Eva strapped down in her star trek highchair)






This is our new American Design jogging stroller! I found it on Craigslist for only 100 dollars and they even gave us a highchair ,too.! According to the Baby Bargain Book, it is comparable with the Bob Stroller. It is super light weight and the handle bar comes up high enough so that even Jay feels comfortable running with it. I asked Eva if she liked it but she seemed unable to communicate due to the several layers of clothes that were on her.

Crawling and Pulling Up - Eva Style

Eva crawled across the bedroom today and it seemed to be a legitimate crawl. Although, she still likes to go backwards more than forwards it seems. She would rather be on all fours than in sitting position which makes it difficult to play with her toys. She loves to climb!! She loves to pull herself up on anything as you can kinda see in this clip. Sorry if this clip is blurry; I used my phone to record it since we are having some techinal difficulty with our camcorder.

New Cousins to Arrive Soon!

We are so happy to have two new additions coming soon to our family. My sister Sarah and wife ,Liz, are expecting Miles Jacob Kesler on March 26. And Jay's sister ,Shannon, and husband ,Tyler, are expecting Olivia Ruth Benitone on April 6. Olivia may be arriving the same time as Milo if she comes when her big brother Maddux did which was at 38 weeks! Growing up in a small family, I always craved that extended family that my friends all seemed to have. It also didn't help that families in the South tend to not move far so it made mine feel really small. It probably also didn't help that we didn't have things like web cam or you tube back then.





I hope that Eva grows up and feels connected to all her family members whether they are close by in person or not. One thing that I've learned from having a smaller family is that you really do appreciate the ones that you have instead of complaining about "having to go see so-and-so."





It is so nice that they will be so close in age so that if nothing else, at least they will have that in common! :)



Babies are not cheap so anything that can be borrowed from Eva is welcome. Although, I'm not sure if Milo would appreciate looking at baby pictures of himself dressed in a smocked pink dress.

6 Months

Eva has reached the big 6 months! She was 17.1# and 26.5 inches at her check-up. This puts her at the 75th% for wt. and ht. So much has changed with our little poober. Besides her favorite rocking back and forth on all fours, she does downward dog. It's not effective in moving forward but it is very entertaining. She does do a good backward crawl which makes Eva very frustrated.

Surprisingly, she pulls herself up all by herself! We had to put the crib mattress down a notch. She is very strong and I'm guessing she'll be an early walker. I'm not sure if that's good or bad. :)



Due to Eva's nursing strikes, we are no longer breastfeeding. I was not ready to quit but it was getting too stressful trying to force her to nurse. And what a liberating feeling! I'm glad I did it for 6 months but its nice to go for a long run!
Speaking of food, she loves avocados and is practicing picking up little puffs. She's holding a 4 ounce bottle and we're working on the sippy cup with juice. She still wakes up for one night feeding which her pediatrician says to keep doing for a little longer since babies who had colic take longer. We just think of her as "special" at 3:00am.

Flying Chopsticks

So, we are slowing learning that our baby girl is no longer the little girl who is content to play with one toy or has trouble reaching for things. I think our favorite phrase is becoming, "Oh no, Eva, don't touch that!" And the funny thing is that she can't even crawl but seems to gain lots of distance by doing the rocking and lunge move which is quite effective.
Last week while eating sushi with friends, Eva did an Olympic baby lunge for my wasabi covered chopstick (yes, I lurve wasabi) and then gave her best shot put throw. Luckily nobody was temporarily blinded in the process. I think we'll be skipping the fondue restaurant...