October 2009 – Our Family Adventure

Halloween

Ajax has been a bit under the weather lately. It seems if it’s not a tooth, then it’s his vaccines, then he’s had a touch of a cold, and now a majorly runny nose. Poor little guy. I’ve also learned that unfortunately there’s not much to be done for a congested baby. I keep thinking, when will you learn to blow your nose? If only you could blow your nose! Because Ajax was so congested today, his nap schedule was off , so our day wasn’t exactly as planned, but that’s ok.

We were up and about pretty early today, Dave cleaned out the gutters and worked outside, while I did laundry, started a stew for dinner, and made some baby food (sweet potatoes- Ajax’s favorite, and cauliflower- which it seems Ajax simply hates). We then headed over to my grandpa Nader’s house as a few of my aunts and cousins were going to be there decorating pumpkins and going trick-or-treating. Well, we got to grandpa’s house, dressed Ajax as a lion, and bam, the fact that he hadn’t napped well all morning/afternoon hit and we were home by 3:30. So no pics of Ajax with his cousins in costumes, but he’s too young to know the difference yet anyways.

My parent’s came over for dinner and to see Ajax. We only had about 8 trick-or-treaters, quite pathetic really. Since we have no sidewalks, we get very few kids, which is a shame, because we sit on the couch and watch out the window, is that a kid? do you see anyone? are they coming to our street?

Overall, a very nice Saturday and a great first Halloween for Ajax.

Ajax is all about standing up now. He may walk before he crawls! — Ajax is all about standing up now. He's a big boy.

Chicago

Well Dave and I are back from Chicago. What a cool city. Yesterday we were up at 4 am and on the road to Chi town. Dave wandered around the city and explored the Sears tower while I was in my meeting. I was done around 3 or so, and from there we checked into our hotel which was also right downtown. We tried to find an FAO Schwartz to get Ajax a toy, but to my surprise there are actually no more FAO’s in Chicago, they’ve all closed. The concierge suggested the Disney store, but we have those in Michigan. Oh well, he got some books. We met up with a friend for dinner and walked around some more. By8 pm, however, Dave and I were crashing. By 9 pm we were passed out in our hotel. So wild and crazy.

This morning we got on the road fairly early and were home by 3:30. We both missed the kid terribly and are quite happy to be home. My mom and dad babysat for us, thank you again, and they reported that he was an excellent baby the entire time.

Dave with Lego Man. — Dave with Lego Man

So nice to be home though. — Glad to be home

Running

Sorry for the late update. We had a hectic Saturday and I was out of commission on Sunday with a terrible migraine. Saturday my mother and sister in law came down to visit. My mother in law also brought the H1N1 and flu vaccine for Ajax and administered those. He cried for maybe 20 sec then promptly forgot the whole ordeal. lol. It was very nice to see them both and they stayed the night, we all hung out, ate a ton, and watched a silly zombie movie. Thanks again Dara and Lisa!

As I said, Sunday I was no help, and unfortunately was in bed most of the day. Around 4 I felt better and we were able to go for a nice walk, but that was pretty much our day.

Tomorrow I’m headed to Chicago for work. Mr. Dave is coming with me and we got a room in Chicago for the night. My parents are watching Ajax Tues. and Wed. and though I’ll miss the little guy, Dave and I are looking forward to a little trip.

Mr. Big Boy

Kicking baskets

Lately my child has been a pain to get dressed. He has discovered that if he kicks his legs and throws his arms in all directions, I have to chase him all over the place, while trying to cram a Tee shirt over his head, or sock onto his foot. It is now hilarious for him and he seems to enjoy the game. Overall it’s an ordeal. lol.

Tonight I was trying to fold laundry but Ajax is now obsessed w/ baskets.

First Tooth!!

Ajax has his first little tooth coming in. It’s his lower left central! You can just barely see it and each time I tried to pull his lower lip down to see it better he’d stick his tongue out and that would obstruct any view of the emerging tooth. How exciting! My little guy is growing up.

Ajax also attended his baby class today. My aunt said he had a great time, but that everytime his little friend (the 9 mos old) would crawl to a new section of the playmat, Ajax would throw a temper tantrum because he couldn’t crawl after him. Ajax would remedy this issue by lunging foward, ending up in a superman pose, sprawled out face first on the floor, yelling after his friend. He may be crawling sooner than we realize.

This is the little container that holds his toys for the living room. He loves it more than his toys.

He's starting to get the hang of these teething biscuits, but man are they messy.

Pulling out all his toys to get to the container.

Pumpkins

Well, Ajax is still a bit under the weather. He has an ear infection, a little cold with a stuffy nose, and having a hard time from his vaccinations this past Wednesday. Poor little dude. We have therefore stayed around the house this weekend with only one real outing. Today, we headed out to the pumpkin patch. We attempted to get to our favorite apple orchard, but after an hour of navigating detours and construction we ended up at a place literally 5 minutes from our house (really, 5 minutes. Actually as we passed it on our way out I suggested we just stop there, but then Dave and I decided no, no it would be nicer to go to the other one which shouldn’t have been more than a 30 minute drive from our house, tops). Anywho, we were out picking out a pumpkin and getting donuts for maybe 25 minutes, packed it up, and went home. Our great pumpkin adventure. Ajax was great in the car, he was warm, and just liked to look out the window, so overall the drive was at least nice.

I really overdressed Ajax, as it wasn't that cold out. Fleece lined overalls, long sleeve T, sweater, fleece jacket, hat, socks, shoes... again, first child.

Ajax is getting the hang of standing up next to things. Therefore we routinely allow him to stand unattended on tables, clinging to pumpkins.

Ear infection!

Today I took Ajax to his 6 month appointment. He did very well throughout the exam and even was a trooper through his shots. The doctor did say that he had an ear infection in his right ear though. I was a little upset as I had taken Ajax into the office a week ago suspecting one. The doctor assured me that when Ajax was in last week, there was no infection. The doc gave us a prescription for the nino and said it should clear up in a few days. Also, the doctor said that at 8 months we could start pureeing meat for Ajax (chicken, unseasoned beef, etc). This sounds truly horrible to me, so my kid may be a vegetarian until he has teeth. This week Ajax weighed 18 lb. 15 oz (down from the 19 lb 2 oz from last week… odd?), putting him in the 75th percentile for weight, and he was 28 in long, putting him in the 95th percentile for height.

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New Day, new baby class

Well it’s Tuesday and Ajax had his second baby class with my Aunt. I would like to report that Ajax had a great time! He was happy and playful and had fun watching the other kids (he’s the youngest in the class). He’s also made a little friend in the class who is 9 months old. I’m very proud of my aunt and cousin for putting this class together; they’re doing a great job. Tomorrow Ajax has his 6 month appointment at the Doctors office. He’ll be getting his vaccinations this round, so I’m expecting a bit of fussiness.

Craft projects from his baby class. Ajax's contribution to the frame was chewing on the corner.

Ajax sitting on the couch playing with his musical toy.

The Look Of

I had Dave upload some pics of each of us when we were babies, so that people can have a little background when they adamantly proclaim- Oh he looks like… blah blah blah! I think that Ajax has my eyes, and Dave’s nose and build! He’s going to be a big boy just like his dad. But I’ll let you guys decide who he looks like.

Dave as a newborn, I didn't have any of him a little older.

Ajax this morning after breakfast playing in the living room.

Ajax, one week old. Honestly I do not remember him being this small.

Zombies and Cleaning

This was a sad weekend. I am missing Max terribly and being home all day really makes his absences noticeable. We cleaned the carpets and overall did some deep cleaning of our home. I made quite a bit of baby food, so the freezer is now full. We brought up winter clothes, as unfortunately cold weather is here. We also attended the Detroit Zombie walk and had a very good time. We actually got a few people to go with us this year too. There was my sister, Emily, and friends, Mary and James, and of course Ajax! Good times all around. Ajax just smiled at everyone who came near him and was a very happy little dude. Ajax is still fighting the last stage of his cold, making him more tired than he realizes, thus making nap time a royal pain, but otherwise he’s doing fine. Below are some pics of our zombie walk and I would like to point out there there were a ton of babies/kids there, some were even dressed up and in the walk- Total Family Event!