Teeth!

After months and months of excessive drooling, Walter finally got a tooth! He was chewing on my knuckle tonight and I got a sharp little poke rather than his usual gummy bite. After Nate and I felt his gums several times, we confirmed that, yes indeed, that's a tooth. Our mild-mannered kid took it all in stride. He was a little restless in his sleep last night and has a little case of the sniffles, but those seem to be his only symptoms. We'll see if this puts an end to the drooling. Somehow, I think we're not out of the woods yet.

Happy Thanksgiving!

It's a little belated, but it's been a busy week. We hosted the big feast this year and had lots of fun with all of our visitors. Walter got to spend his first Thanksgiving with all of his cousins, aunts and uncles, and lots of grandparents. He seemed to enjoy having a house full of people. He had to miss out on the turkey this year, but was happy enough with his bowl of butternut squash. Next year he can fill his plate and eat too much – just like the rest of us. Thanks to everyone who was able to join us!

Goalie

Nate has been making movies while I'm at work. He's getting Walter started with sports already. Like we didn't see that coming.

Sitting up

Walter has become an expert at sitting up. Just last week he had a very wobbly sit and would topple over pretty easily. Now he sits up, totally unsupported, and plays.

Of course, there's still an occasional fall...

Insomnia

This t-shirt seemed appropriate today. (Another great find at threadless.com) Walter slept wonderfully, but I tossed and turned all night. Too many things on my mind – a big "to do" list, work stuff, holiday stuff, etc. In my pre-baby days I would have popped a pill and been out in minutes. I guess I need to learn some better sleep habits. Am I too old for the cry it out method?

Apples!

Tonight we were feeding Walter his apple puree and doing our usual chatter about what a delicious meal he's getting. "Apples are so yummy!" "Do you want some more apples?" "Yum, yum, yum!" And he responded by saying, "Apples!" We both heard it and, just for tonight, we choose to believe our son is a genius. 

Thank you Walter!

In spite of the cold weather and the fact the the local radio station is already playing Christmas music 24 hours a day, I perked up this morning when I realized that the eggnog latte is back on the menu at coffee shops everywhere. And this year, instead of feeling guilty about consuming almost 500 calories and over 20 grams of fat in one cup of coffee, I can easily justify it because I am a nursing mom. And when you add in those 16 grams of protein - that's just icing on the cake. 

Preventive care

Nate: Did you give Walter his iron today?

Me: No.

Nate: You better. I don't want him getting Armenian.

Me: Um... do you mean anemic?

Nate: Yeah, whatever.

5 months

Walter is 5 months old today! He has gotten so much stronger in the past month. He is getting better at holding himself up in a sitting position. When he is on his tummy, he pushes himself waaaay up with his arms. He's still drooling like crazy with no teeth to show for it. On the sleep front – some days are good, some are bad. He's definitely learned to settle himself to sleep, but we still have occasional nighttime wake-ups. I'm sure that will be the case for a while. Nate figured out that the trick to a long nap is to keep Walter warm in a cozy sleep sack. The exersaucer and peek-a-boo are favorites for play time. And he still finds Molly captivating. Sometimes it seems like he is cheering for her to fetch her ball. He is getting ticklish and he gives up laughs and smiles easily. Click here to see a slideshow of photos from the past month.

Protective instincts kicking in

Under normal circumstances, when I see a bug inside the house I yell for Nate to come immediately to my rescue and kill it. My tone varies from calm to screaming depending on how close the bug is to me. You can imagine how freaked I was when Walter was playing in his gym and right there next to him was a spider! Nate wasn't home. I couldn't yell for help. And I wasn't going to let that spider get any closer to my baby. So I swooped in and killed it myself – with my bare hands! Now that's love.

Squash-tastic

Walter got his first taste of veggies today. After a couple of weeks of rice cereal and oatmeal, he finally got to eat something with a little more flavor – acorn squash. He liked it. Believe it or not, some of the squash actually ended up in his mouth. Good thing it was bath night. 

Smitten

Walter has discovered Molly. He stares at her, follows her every move, reaches for her. She must be the most fascinating thing he's ever seen. Molly, on the other hand, is simply hoping he'll drop some food.

Oh BOY!

My sister and her hubby are expecting baby number two and they just found out that she is having a boy! She had her ultrasound on Tuesday. Everything looked great, baby is healthy, and come March, Walter will have a boy cousin to pal around with. We're all excited to meet the new little guy. Congrats Kristin and Jeremy!

Happy Halloween

We got Walter all dressed up for his first Halloween last night. We took our little dragon to visit his cousin Kyla (the unicorn). Then we headed over to Grandma and Grandpa's house for dinner and to see his cousins Emma (Belle) and Ginny (Snow White). 

Since we went out visiting, we didn't hand out candy at our house. Now that big bowl of candy is just sitting on the counter tempting all of us.