Colin and his buddy, Sam.Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Gust Brothers Pumpkin Farm
Today, the boys and I made our annual trip to Gust Brothers Pumpkin Farm to pick out Halloween pumpkins. We had plans to go last week with the Toledo Parents Group (TPG), but the weather was so cold and rainy, we opted not to. Then, we planned on going last weekend, but it felt like Winter instead of Fall, so again, we put it off. We're so glad we waited because today was absolutely beautiful! I discovered this farm last year when Colin and I went with some friends from TPG. We had such a great time and the owners are so sweet, I knew I wanted to come back the following year and make it a tradition for our family. In addition to having pumpkins, the farm also sells a variety of other gourds, cornstalks, hay bales, mums, fruit, and jams. They have pick-your-own pumpkins or you can choose from some already picked. They also have animals you can get up close and personal with like pigs, cows, sheep, goats, and bunnies. On the weekends, they offer hay rides. Today we just chose pumpkins from those already picked and enjoyed the gorgeous Fall weather.
Colin and his buddy, Sam.
Colin and his buddy, Sam.
Friday, October 16, 2009
Eli is 6 Months Old
I can't believe our baby has already reached the half-way point of his first year! He's still the happy, smiley baby he's always been... as long as he gets enough sleep. During the last month, Chris and I started sleep-training him using a modified Ferber method. I would say now that it has worked beautifully, but for a week or two at the beginning of the month, we discovered a different side of Eli - the overtired, irritable baby. That week or so seemed to last for forever with lots of whining and crying and skipped naps, but thankfully he's gotten the hang of self-soothing, is back to sleeping well, and is happy again. He now goes to bed around 7 PM, wakes once in the wee hours of the morning to eat, and gets up for the day between 7-8 AM. He usually takes 3 naps each day, unless one is particularly long, then it's just 2. He has also been weaned from his binkie and from swaddling.
In addition to sleep-training, we've also started introducing fruits and vegetables to his diet. It's been an interesting experience because unlike Colin, Eli has hated every new food we've given him. He loves his oatmeal and opens his mouth for it like a baby bird, but start giving him something else and he clamps his mouth shut and turns his head away. So far we've offered prunes, carrots and bananas. Despite the first few failed attempts, I have high hopes that he will soon be a hearty eater like the rest of his family.
Most everything else about Eli is the same. He's still enthralled with Colin, loves playing in his exersaucer, and loves reading (and chewing on) books. He puts everything into his mouth, enjoys throwing things on the floor, and is quite a chatterbox. He still isn't moving around a ton, other then to twist and turn to watch what's going on or to reach a toy, but will play on the floor for longer periods of time now. He loves to be carried around and really enjoys the Baby Bjorn. I also think (dare I say) that we may have a mama's boy on our hands. :)
I also wanted to give an update on his medical appointments. His "cosmetic" surgery with the urologist has been scheduled for November 4. We decided to stick with the doc we were already seeing because they other guy in the area couldn't even see us for an initial appointment until December. He's going in for his 6-month well-child appointment on October 20 and I'll update his weight and height after that. He has his pre-op appointment on October 21. His next follow-up with the pediatric surgeon is October 28. I'm going to ask if he can get his surgery scheduled at that point, but I think the doctor is going to insist on waiting until after he sees how he's healing from the other surgery. His last appointment with the surgeon was pretty uneventful. He's doing great with the dilations and we've reached the largest size we needed to go to (13 mm). I still dilate him twice each day, but he doesn't even blink an eye when I do it. Both boys have been real champs when I drag them to all these appointments, but I will be relieved when we don't have doctor appointments scheduled for every week.
In addition to sleep-training, we've also started introducing fruits and vegetables to his diet. It's been an interesting experience because unlike Colin, Eli has hated every new food we've given him. He loves his oatmeal and opens his mouth for it like a baby bird, but start giving him something else and he clamps his mouth shut and turns his head away. So far we've offered prunes, carrots and bananas. Despite the first few failed attempts, I have high hopes that he will soon be a hearty eater like the rest of his family.
Most everything else about Eli is the same. He's still enthralled with Colin, loves playing in his exersaucer, and loves reading (and chewing on) books. He puts everything into his mouth, enjoys throwing things on the floor, and is quite a chatterbox. He still isn't moving around a ton, other then to twist and turn to watch what's going on or to reach a toy, but will play on the floor for longer periods of time now. He loves to be carried around and really enjoys the Baby Bjorn. I also think (dare I say) that we may have a mama's boy on our hands. :)
I also wanted to give an update on his medical appointments. His "cosmetic" surgery with the urologist has been scheduled for November 4. We decided to stick with the doc we were already seeing because they other guy in the area couldn't even see us for an initial appointment until December. He's going in for his 6-month well-child appointment on October 20 and I'll update his weight and height after that. He has his pre-op appointment on October 21. His next follow-up with the pediatric surgeon is October 28. I'm going to ask if he can get his surgery scheduled at that point, but I think the doctor is going to insist on waiting until after he sees how he's healing from the other surgery. His last appointment with the surgeon was pretty uneventful. He's doing great with the dilations and we've reached the largest size we needed to go to (13 mm). I still dilate him twice each day, but he doesn't even blink an eye when I do it. Both boys have been real champs when I drag them to all these appointments, but I will be relieved when we don't have doctor appointments scheduled for every week.
Saturday, October 10, 2009
Erie Orchards
In an attempt to not stay inside at home again all weekend (last weekend we all went a little stir-crazy) and to discover more the "greater" Toledo area has to offer (it was just over the border, I swear), the boys and I went to Erie Orchards for the first time today. It was awesome! Granted, it was a little further than we like to go, but I think it was worth it. They were having a little harvest festival with some really cute attractions (a bounce house, crafts, pony rides) and some slightly random booths (one was selling just Twilight paraphernalia).
As soon as we got there, Colin ran straight for the pumpkins. He thought the little ones were so cute - just his size. We then went inside the store to check out their apples, donuts, and cider. Lo and behold, Erie had a window inside the store specifically for watching the juice-man work his magical machines. Colin was super excited. Unfortunately, the juice-man never made an official appearance. Luckily we were able to pry Colin away with cider and donuts. I would like to add at this point, that between the three orchards we've been to this year, I think Erie's donuts are as good as MacQueens's (although they only had two varieties to choose from whereas MacQueen's has at least a dozen) and their cider is as good as Plymouth's. So, the best of both worlds just happens to be in the middle of both worlds.
After noshing on our donuts and cider and running from the bees, we walked around the little festival area. They had a tractor and a little wooden car set up that the kids could sit on. Colin called the car a train because it had a bell. After sitting on the car for a good 10 minutes, we convinced Colin to go into the children's play area. It was just a little area covered in hay, but apparently that equal a really good time. Colin was a bit tentative at first, but after awhile he really started to enjoy diving into the hay and throwing it all around. In fact, even though we practically had to bribe him to go in, we had to carry him out when it was time to go home.
I really enjoyed what Erie Orchards had to offer. There were a lot of activities that the kids could enjoy even without the festival, including a little petting zoo, the play area, picture props, and a hay ride. Maybe next year, we'll actually venture into the orchard and pick our own apples. We'll definitely be able to spend more time there once Eli's not napping as often. Speaking of Eli, he also had a good time, riding around in the bjorn, as per usual, and people watching. It will be fun next year when he can run around too.
As soon as we got there, Colin ran straight for the pumpkins. He thought the little ones were so cute - just his size. We then went inside the store to check out their apples, donuts, and cider. Lo and behold, Erie had a window inside the store specifically for watching the juice-man work his magical machines. Colin was super excited. Unfortunately, the juice-man never made an official appearance. Luckily we were able to pry Colin away with cider and donuts. I would like to add at this point, that between the three orchards we've been to this year, I think Erie's donuts are as good as MacQueens's (although they only had two varieties to choose from whereas MacQueen's has at least a dozen) and their cider is as good as Plymouth's. So, the best of both worlds just happens to be in the middle of both worlds.
After noshing on our donuts and cider and running from the bees, we walked around the little festival area. They had a tractor and a little wooden car set up that the kids could sit on. Colin called the car a train because it had a bell. After sitting on the car for a good 10 minutes, we convinced Colin to go into the children's play area. It was just a little area covered in hay, but apparently that equal a really good time. Colin was a bit tentative at first, but after awhile he really started to enjoy diving into the hay and throwing it all around. In fact, even though we practically had to bribe him to go in, we had to carry him out when it was time to go home.
I really enjoyed what Erie Orchards had to offer. There were a lot of activities that the kids could enjoy even without the festival, including a little petting zoo, the play area, picture props, and a hay ride. Maybe next year, we'll actually venture into the orchard and pick our own apples. We'll definitely be able to spend more time there once Eli's not napping as often. Speaking of Eli, he also had a good time, riding around in the bjorn, as per usual, and people watching. It will be fun next year when he can run around too.
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Halloween Cookie Decorating Playdate
I love October! There are so many fun Halloween-related things to do. Today we had 5 of Colin's TPG friends over for a Halloween cookie decorating playdate. It was fun watching which cookie shape each kid picked and which colors they wanted to use as frosting. It was also fun to see how some kids (like Colin) wanted to just eat the toppings straight-up, while others wanted to actually decorate their cookies with them. Eli had a great time just sitting in the baby bjorn and watching all the big kids do their thing.
Saturday, October 3, 2009
You know it's October in the Ring household...
...when this guy starts popping up in the cupboards.
Thanks for the scare this morning, sweetie! ;P
Thanks for the scare this morning, sweetie! ;P
Thursday, October 1, 2009
Eli Sitting Up - A New Milestone
Eli has hit a new milestone! He can sit up on his own for a short period of time. I was starting to think that the extra large diapers and the half diaper across his tummy were going to hinder him from reaching some of these early milestones (he still has yet to roll from back to front, although I think he's getting close), but I guess I was wrong. Go Eli!
Down he goes!
Down he goes!
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