7 months and gaining!

In the words of Finnean, O-my-geez-o-lanta!!! Hutchinson is seven months old!  We can hardly believe that our little tiny baby is inching up on being a year old.  Okay, that might be a little extreme but it does feel like he is growing too fast!  So what is a 7 month old up to you might ask?  Let me fill you in.

• Most importantly he is gaining weight!!  He gained TEN ounces last week.  We are pretty excited about that and are so pumped that I am still able to nurse him.  He even looks like he gained weight, those sweet cheeks are filling back in :) Yah!!
• He LOVES solids.  We mix oatmeal for babies and a fruit or veggie with it and call it good.  He is going to try nectarines tonight :)  It is a good thing that he likes to eat solids because he has decided that he is absolutely not going to take a bottle while I am gone.  I tried last week to give him a bottle and he looked like I was trying to poison him or something. Silly guy!  He doesn't get fussy with no milk, only when you are trying to give him the bottle (reports for the babysitters we had last weekend!)  Abby said it best to him "Hey, this is gold, you need to drink it." She said Hutch fussed and said "just put in my bed lady, I am not drinking it!"  So he went to sleep with no milk.  The next day we had plans to be gone for most of the afternoon and evening and again, he didn't drink a drop.  Silly thing.  Maybe we can get him to take a sippy of milk?  Anyone else been through this and had any tips?  Leave me a comment to share them!
• The boy can roll.  He is fast!! 
• He somehow manages to get just about anything, no matter how far you put it in front of him.  He inches towards it, he is not crawling but he can get around. 
• He loves to chew on just about anything.  He toes are his favorite.
• He hates socks.  It makes me look like I am taking my child out without any socks on because he pulls them off almost immediately after you put them on.  So we are Target, super chilly out and no socks on.  Silly boy...what fun are socks anyway?
• He protests strongly when you take something away from him that he was playing with (something that he shouldn't have or when Finnean forgets to "share" and just takes it).  It is an interesting peek into what my life is going to be like when Hutchinson and Finnean really have to start sharing! 
• He loves to talk to you. 
• His smile is pretty sweet and his eyes just light up the room when he is smiling at you.  Speaking of his eyes, we think they are kind of brownish, but not dark brown...so we will see what color they turn out to be!
• He is becoming a real pro at sitting up.  When he does fall over he just rolls on to something else. 
• He is getting into playing with toys.  It is fun to watch him manipulate toys and get them to work.  He loves the little toy that if you push the button the animals POP up and then you close it and starts all over again.  When he gets them all closed he smiles so big and looks so proud!  He hasn't quite mastered opening them yet but that is why you have a big brother. 
• He loves to BOUNCE!  We have the Jumperoo that we borrowed from Grady and Jace and he can really get going.  Michael says he gets "air" because he is bouncing so high!
• He loves to read books and really loves to study the pages. 
• He has good fine motor skills.  He turns and examines just about any toy, hmmm...sounds familiar.
• He is just an easy going guy.  He is sure to let you know when he doesn't like something but doesn't squawk about much.
• Sleep...well that could be better :) Once we figured out that he wasn't getting enough milk we decided to nurse him whenever he woke up in the night because he was probably hungry.  Since we found out that he is gaining weight just fine, we have decided that we are going to try to "train" him to sleep longer through the night.  I am okay with getting up once but I wish for him to sleep til 3 or 4.  He most have heard us talking about it because last night he slept til 415am!  Felt like a full night sleep!  So we are hoping to make that a habit and work towards sleeping through the night.  He is becoming a great little nap taker and goes down awake and then quickly fusses himself to sleep.  We are thankful for that because I can hang with Finnean one on one or get something done around the house!  Did you know that you have to keep a house clean AND play with your kids when you stay at home!?!?  :)
• Hutchinson is ticklish.  His little ribs and back are so, so ticklish and he lets out the best laugh when you "get him!"
• He has two teeth but I think he is always teething.  He chews and chews and chews.  He has a yucky little rash on his cheek and chin because of all the drool. 
• He has started to get this cheesy smile, it is so big and so funny! I hope to catch it on camera soon!

We can't imagine life without him and feel so blessed to have such a happy and healthy little guy.  Pictures of the big boy (and his big bro) will be posted soon!

Growing boy...

Here are a couple of my favorite pictures from the rest of Hutchinson's 6 month photo shoot. (yes, I know he is almost 7 months!!)  I can't get over that big smile and his happy eyes.  Love the one with Sophie, his favorite toy by far.   We are excited that Operation Calorie Boost and Pump-a-thon has had some great results!  Hutch gained 2 ounces in one week.  He should be gaining 3-5 a week but with my supply being so low, it makes sense that he didn't.  The best news is that my milk supply doubled!! We went back to Mercy on Monday and he took 5 ounces!  We are so excited and will continue to work at Hutchinson gaining weight.  I am so thankful for the awesome support of the Mercy Lactation consultants and all of the encouraging words from so many over the past few days, it really does help when you are trying to accomplish something!  We will be going back next Monday to make sure he is still gaining! 

Hanging around...

Finnean still loves to bake.  With the milk supply issues we have been really baking a lot.  Michael is not always as impressed with our fun time as he is usually the one cleaning up our big mess :(  Sorry Michael!  We did learn that we should put away the CLEAN dishes that are in the sink before we start "baking" as they are not clean after we are done :)

Michael and I got a Sonic gift card, (THANK YOU Richard and Lisa!) for Valentine's day, so we headed out for a family "picnic."  We all (even the crazy 3 year old and the always rolling 6 month old) climbed into the back of the Trailblazer and had a picnic!  It was something different and a lot of fun!

This is the boys "Facetime-ing" with Grandma and Poppa!  Finnean LOVES to talk to them and Hutchinson even got into this time.  We are so thankful that we get to keep in touch with technology!

Love Hutchinson's big brown eyes.  I am pretty sure they are going to be brown!

Hutchinson heads to Columbia!

This past weekend we had a fun, driving filled weekend.  On Friday night, Finnean, Michael, Abby, Hutchinson, Jerry the Dog and I all headed to Bloomfield in ONE CAR! We didn't really want to drive two, so I sat in the back basically on one hip squished between the two car seats.  Hutchinson decided that he wanted to cry  scream like a crazy person about 1/2 the way there so it made for an interesting trip BUT we made it and we won't forget the trip for sure.  As we were leaving Abby and Cory's house Finnean said, "Isn't Cory coming?" We all laughed because there was no where for him to sit!  Abby and I left Finnean and Michael to hang for the weekend in Bloomfield and we headed with Hutchinson to Columbia to visit Laura, Ryan and Piper.  We had a wonderful time and I don't think we stopped talking the whole time.  There was a LOT of baby talk.  Laura and Ryan were such wonderful hosts and we can't wait to go back!  Check out how much Miss Piper has grown since January.

Sweet boy and those long lashes!!

Hutchinson looks like he is having a little bit more fun than little Piper!

He didn't mind her snuggling on him at all :)

SO BIG!

Happy Valentine's Day!

We had a Valentine's party last weekend to make cards for family and friends.  It was so fun and Finnean LOVED crafting with both Mom and Dad.  On Valentine's Day he was SOOO excited to see all of his cards and to help Hutchinson open his.  So thankful that I have such sweet Valentines!

Aww, look how sweet he is!

Finnean has really been into dancing lately.  This is him busting a move at our Valentine making party!

Happy Valentine's Day, Finnean Michael Wagler!

Those eyes...

Isn't he sweet?

I love Hutchinson's face in this one, like he is hanging on for dear life!  I believe they were in a "car" and heading somewhere fun I am sure!

Sweet cheeks.

Hutchinson has official found his feet.  He is ALWAYS pulling off his socks so he can get to his toes.

:)

This smile, one of my favorite things.

Finnean is reviewing all of the sweet cards that he got.  He LOVES getting mail!

Finnean and Hutchinson often get $2 bills from Grandma and Poppa and this is Finnean showing off his "Two 2 dollars!"
I am pretty sure he took Hutchinson's and put it in his own piggy bank! 

Our Valentine's night was topped off by a surprise visit from Jim and Marcia. They brought us Blizzards!  YUM!
Thanks Thompsons!

Dog Paw-ty!

Last week our little friend, Owen, turned ONE!!  He loves dogs, so he had a Dog Paw-ty!  His momma thought of everything, right down to the dog hats and sent us home with yummy puppy chow!  It was great to visit with friends.  Little Owen had double ear infection on his birthday and wasn't feeling the best, so we can't wait to go and play with the ONE year old! 

 

Miss Jane

Michael's co-worker, Jane, retired from MSI earlier this month.  She has been an awesome support to our little family and we are sad to see her leave the team.  She has watched us grow from young kids that just moved to Des Moines to where we are now, and has cheered us on the whole way.  We wish her all the best and hope she enjoys the beach!! 

Finnean helped Jane open her Kindle Fire and kept saying..."It is an iPad! It's an iPad!!"  He is loyal to his brands!  He is quite fond of Miss Jane.

Little Hutchinson.

We thought that Finnean was small and barely hanging on the growth chart, but it turns out Hutchinson has him beat.  He is at 1% for weight, even with those big old cheeks!  Really, you might ask? Sure enough, 13 lbs and 15 ounces will get you that low.  He actually LOST weight since his last check in December.  That is enough to send this Momma into worry mode.  Our doctor was not overly concerned but it definitely is something that should not be happening.  SO we started mixing his cereal with formula instead of water and started feeding him more often.  He would go 3-4 hours without fussing, so we went with that.  So, that most likely lowered my milk supply and when we went to check out much milk he is actually taking in, he only got about 2.5 ounces.  That is not enough for the little guy to grow.  So we started Operation Calorie Boost and Operation Pump-a-thon.  We are trying to get him as much milk as we can and then I pump, pump, pump, and pump some more.  Whew, it is exhausting.   I am also eating a lot of oats, which everyone is reaping the benefits of that, because we have been making oatmeal cookies!  Also, taking a supplement called Fenugreek and drinking "Mother's Tea."  Seems like a lot but goodness I am willing to try anything to get that milk boosted.  I am not anti-formula by any means (we gave Finnean formula for 4 months) but I just really want to be able to give Hutchinson a year's worth of milk.  Not only the health benefits but the cost!!!  So we are giving it our best shot and will check his weight on Monday to see how much he has grown (hopefully)!!  Thankfully, Mercy, has great Lactation consultants and they have been a great support during this time.  My friends and family have been an awesome support and great encouaragers during this too!   Finnean is even on board!  Each time I start to pump, he says, "You gotta pump, Mom?" I say yes and he says "COOL!"  He is very encouraging and helps entertain Hutchinson while I am getting the job done.  He gets so excited when I put milk into the freezer.  It is pretty cute! 

Other than not gaining weight, Hutchinson checked out great at the doctor.  He is right on track for all of his developmental skills and did great with his shots.  He is 26 1/2 inches long now!  It must be all of that rolling around that he does.  The boy LOVES to roll.  He goes from one side of the room to the other.  He even scooted forward two night ago!!  He has started to really scream, not like he is hurt, just mad that he can't move.  He also yells, squeals, and squeaks when he is excited!  He talks more and more everyday!  He is such a happy baby, that is why it was so hard to know that he wasn't getting enough milk!! Crazy, little guy.  Hopefully I will be posting next week about how much he has gained!

Oh, Finnean.

Just a few little things about Finnean...

1. We often say O my! or Geez Louise! or O-my-lanta! as terms of surprise/excitement.  Finnean turned all into one big word, "O-my-geez-o-lanta!"  Says it all the time.
2. He has declared that if something is broken I cannot fix it, "Dad can fix it later."
3. If something doesn't work, "It needs new batteries, Dad can get those."
4. He has taken a liking to Guns and Roses, specifically the song "Sweet Child of Mine."  I think it is because of the rocking guitars that are in the song.  He always says "that is me playing guitar"  when I try to sing, he says "No, Daddy sings, you are the shaker."  SO I am like the back up dancer girl?!?! What?  Where does he get this stuff.  Only if a girl is singing, he lets me sing, otherwise it is Daddy.  Even Hutchinson gets to be a drummer and I am the "shaker!"

So needless to say we need to be working on that girls can do things that boys can do too!  It is weird because in our house, Michael does a lot of things that only "girls" do but I clearly don't fix enough things around here to let him know that.  Maybe I will start. :)  We just can't get enough of the things he says.  We need to have a pen and paper with us all the time to catch everything. 

Kiwi

We have had kiwi before but Finnean must of forgotten, it was a fun little experiment!

This is Hutchinson watching the entertainer (Finnean) from his high post of the high chair!  He watches Finnean's every move.

I asked him what he thought it was going to taste like...he had to think about it...

...hmmmm....

This is his face while describing it to me.  Love this boy!!
These are the words he used to describe the kiwi, all very accurate I might add:
The outside was brown and a little bit ouchy
It was green, slippery, crunchy, sour, tasty and spicy, but just a little spicy.
We are not sure that he knows what spicy is but you definitely do not want things to be "too spicy"--- he won't eat it if it is :) 
I just love his attention to detail and his ability to observe.  Today he was messing on the kitchen chair with his feet and it was making a weird noise and he told Michael, "the chair sounds broken, we should fix it!" So now they have a project for this weekend. 

Little Photo Shoot

Checking out the fish and waterfall.

Big bro showing Hutchy how to smile for the camera :)

love, love, love!!

Snuggling with Dad.

Happiness.

:)

Love how this one really shows off his cheeks!!

We are still planning on doing a shoot at home...so more six month pictures to come!

Around the House

Big bro showing the little bro how to play with the pop up toy.

O MY GOODNESS!  When did he turn 6?!?!
He looks so old here and a lot like Adam Wagler in this picture.

I love this boy and his crazy imagination!
He rolled up my yoga mat and said "Look at my hot dog shooter!! Like at the Cubbie Bear games!  I can shoot t-shirts too!" 
So we spent the next few minutes catching "hotdogs and t-shirts!"

Did you know that washers had transmissions?
We didn't either, until ours went out!  So no our house did not flood again but we were without our washer for a week or so.  It is running normal again (after the repair guy was here for 7 hours!!) and we are thankful for that!!

Check out his second tooth!  It looks so silly with one big one and one tiny one, but who cares with that awesome smile!

I just love this picture.

Something is funny?!

 

AHHH!  Look out Finnean!

Love his open mouthed smile!  So does Finnean and boy can he make him smile!!

Finnean thinks it is great when Hutchinson "plays" with him, oh the fun they will have!

Hutchinson's new favorite chew toy-a measuring cup.  All thanks to Finnean and his imaginary ice cream shop he set up earlier this week.  The cups were the scoops or cones of ice cream and he gave one to Hutchinson, it worked perfect for him!

What else do you use mixer attachments for???
Drumming, of course!!
(They were also a part of the ice cream shop:)

January!?

We were so lucky to have amazing weather in January-tons of "play outside" weather kind of days, in a sweatshirt!  These pictures just didn't get posted but doesn't it look like they had fun!!