First soccer game!

Today was Novak's first soccer game. It included lots of pretending to be a superhero, a game of tag on the field, talking to random sideline observers, and not very much soccer. 

To his credit, as of today they had played a whopping 15 minutes of practice and most of them had no clue what to do. 

But it was still fun, nevertheless!

The highlight of the game had to be when he was playing goalie and "stopped" the ball (in the goal).  Afterwards, he looked over to us and yelled, "Mom!  Did you see? I got the ball!  With my hands!  I want to give you a big hug!" And he ran over for a hug. 

words...at 19 months

My Novak...

Becky pointed out to me that in the last month or two she has put up more blog posts than I have.  What can I say, life is busy.  Busy is an understatement.

But I did think it was fitting to take a few minutes to sit down and capture a snapshot of Novak at this moment in time.  You might recall that a little over a month ago (just a few short posts ago), Novak got tubes in his ears.

At the time, he wasn't walking at all, and he wasn't talking much.  I had heard anecdotally that kids often started talking more when they got tubes.  We had learned at his first referral appointment that he failed all his hearing tests.  (which he has now passed with flying colors, yay!) 

So for Novak, the last month has been, well, "ear-opening."  A month ago, Novak's verbal library consisted of:

• "wa-da" (water)
• "da-deeeee" (daddy)
• "ma-ma" (mama)
• "daaaaa" (dog)
• "ba-ba" (Papa)

And that was about it.  Now, just a few short weeks later, his vocabulary has grown:

• "mil" (milk)
• "neigh-ni" (fan) <-- This one doesn't make any sense, I know...
• "wing" (swing"
• "binky" (binky, his pacifier) <-- This may be the clearest word he speaks
• "lie" (light)
• "gama" (Grandma)
• "Neigh" (Nate)
• "Ni-ni" (Nile)
• "Na-na" (banana)
• "lello" (yellow)
• "boo" (blue)
• "emma" (cousin Emily)

He also makes sounds:

• growls (like a bear, lion, or pretty much anything he doesn't know the sound of)
• "hoo hoo ha ha" (monkey)
• "oof, oof" (dog)
• "murm murm" (truck)

So I'd say this is great progress!  We're still working on the walking part, although he did take some steps for Papa and Grandma this weekend.  

I won't get into the "terrible twos" which are starting just in time...suffice it to say he has learned how to communicate when he is not getting his way.  

The Tooth Fairy Cometh

Finally, Nate has lost his first tooth. You can barely see it in this picture, but his permanent tooth came in a few months ago behind his baby teeth. So we have been talking about this since Thanksgiving.

Nate is beyond excited. He keeps asking what the tooth fairy might bring. He suggested $20.

Time to lower the mattress again.

Checkup

Today Novak went for his 15 month checkup.

My little chunk weighs 25 pounds.

For perspective, that's at least two pounds heavier than Nate was at this age.

And he only needs to gain 9 pounds to catch Nile at 34 pounds. Nile probably weighed 25 pounds at age 3.

Novak also enjoyed his first lollipop from the doctors office. He acted like an old pro - must be from watching Nile and Papa. He even "crunched" it at the end.

Mobility

Being mobile gets me into all sorts of trouble!

Crawling

Novak just crawled! I'll post a video later when I'm on the computer but wanted to document that he did it!

And what do you think was the motivation for crawling? To get to Tom's iPhone.

11 months

Novak will be 11 months old this week. I'm still looking for that magic trick that will slow down time.

Doesn't he look so big in his highchair?

Sitting

Novak learned to sit up this week while at Grandma and Papa's house. He's still a bit wobbly but each day he gets a little better!

Almost sitting

Novak is almost ready to sit unsupported. Almost.

Choppers

This week Novak cut both of his two lower front teeth. So for teeth anyway, he doesn't follow Nate's lead. Nate didn't have a tooth until he was over a year old.

I will try to catch a picture when they get more visible. For now at least I have the event documented!

First Bites...

This week we gave Novak his first baby food.  Although I've read mixed reviews on whether to start with cereal, we decided that it was best for us.

With Nate and Nile, we started cereal and baby food at around 4 months.  We decided to wait longer with Novak.  So, there was almost NO learning curve for him.  He knew exactly what to do when that spoon came up to his mouth (guess he's been watching those big brothers eat!).

I just LOVE this picture of him with his messy face... :)

Today, Nile and I made Novak some "real" baby food - we cooked and pureed carrots.  We've entered the big time now! 

watch out world...

Novak is mobile!

I placed him, on his back, on the floor under his play gym while Nile and I were baking cookies today.  

I looked over a few minutes later to see him here:

So, it was then that I took this video:

I walked away, only to look over a few seconds later and find him here:

Watch out, big brothers!  

Those toys you love to leave on the floor are fair game now!

I think it's safe to say...

That we have FINALLY entered a new chapter in the sleep saga that is Novak. (as I breathe a deep sigh of relief...)

For the last three nights, Novak has slept, from when we put him down (around 7), until approximately 2 am, then after nursing, back to sleep until 6-7. And, blessedly, he is happy when he wakes up.

This is truly amazing stuff.

He is 5.5 months old, and for the last two months (since Christmas), he was up about every 2-3 hours every night. And, I've been having a really hard time getting him to nap. So hard, in fact, that I was (and still am, a bit) convinced that he wasn't napping because his room isn't dark enough. Yesterday he didn't nap AT ALL. Literally. A few 20 min cat naps in my arms, but the moment he was put down in his room, wide awake.

But right now, he's asleep in his room, and has been for the last 2 hours. Can you see me dancing?

And the best part?  He's been happy!  Very happy!  All day! He plays, he talks, he rolls around the floor, and he now can play in his Exersaucer (that Nile and I brought up from the basement and cleaned off for him on Friday).

I have been reluctant to post this because I was sure that the moment I did, he'd revert back. So I have held off for three days. (Last time I posted, it didn't last more than that one night).  So I waited for a few days to see if it was really true.

Hold on while I knock on wood...

I think we might have broken the night waking habit!

Well, my sweet baby just woke up.  Going to go get him now! :)

laughter

I will admit that I'm a bit biased, but that "baby laughing at ripping paper" has some competition.

the sun also rises

Oh, glorious day!

Oh, happy day!

I love mornings! (well, not really, but I think you get the idea)

Novak slept last night. He SLEPT! He went to bed at 6:30, and didn't wake me until 2:20 am - then slept until 5:45!

After the last few weeks of being up almost every two hours, crying and needing to be nursed to sleep, last night was like pure bliss.

Why the change, you might ask?

Well, last week we decided to take him to the doctor to make sure there wasn't a medical reason for him to be waking so much. Turns out he had the start of an ear infection, but more telling, a red, irritated throat. Nate had two rounds of strep earlier in the month. Poor baby probably had it too.

Either way, I'm taking this new sleep one day at a time. Who knows, tomorrow he may be up four times again!

Rolling...

Novak has finally figured out how to roll to his stomach.  It's fitting that as I started to wonder if he would EVER do it (knowing that when he was ready, he would), he takes the opportunity to blow me out of the water.

This morning, I put him down on his back under the play gym as I always do.  I looked over a few minutes later, and he was on his stomach.  I was so excited, I took a bunch of pictures to document the event.  With Tom gone I wanted to be able to have photo proof.  I was thinking maybe it was a fluke, and I was afraid he wouldn't do it again for a while, maybe even a few days.

Yeah.

Right.

The kid has rolled over no less than eight (8) times today.  Pretty much every time I've laid him down on his back.

I think he has it figured out.

Rolling, rolling, rolling

Novak rolled from his back to his tummy this morning. He's been rolling to his side for a few weeks now, but this was the first time he made it all the way over.

Of course he got really mad once he did!

I wanted to get a picture, but I couldn't leave the poor thing stuck on the ground like that!

Chunky Monkey

Novak went to the doctor Tuesday to check out a rash he has on his face and head (turns out it is eczema, but that's another post).

When they weighed him, he was 13 pounds, 14.5 ounces! What a chunk!

I looked back at our charts from Nate and Nile. Nate was about this size at 3 months - maybe a tad smaller. Nile didn't hit 14 pounds until he was 6 months old!

And I'm really proud to say that Novak is gaining all this weight from my milk alone! Woo hoo!

I CAUGHT IT!

Novak's smile! :)