Oct 26, 2006

New Milestones

Cort has been growing up so much the past few weeks. Here are a few new things he started doing:

1. Cruising - its not very graceful but he is def. going places.
2. Waving - only whem prompted
3. Ok - I've been hesitating on #3 because I didn't want to be one of those moms that swore their child said something when they reallly didn't but I think it's pretty official now. A few weeks ago, Cort started saying "t" everytime we said Cat. He would only say it if he saw the cat AND we said "cat" . Well, today, Cort and I were playing upstairs and Mowgli came running up. When cort saw him he smiled and said "t." So, I know it's not the actual word "cat" but he def. trying and totally associated that sound with cat.

The park

There is this great park around the corner from our house. I used to take my class their because it has a big wheelchair accessible part.
Chris and I took Cort there on Tuesday evening. It was cold so he got to wear his adorable new winter hat. He had such a good time and LOVED the little bouncy toys. He would bouce them himself and get so excited. This is my favorite picture right now:






A few of my favorite things

Here are a few of Cort's current favorite things:

1. This pumpkin jingle bell I bought at Target for $1.

2. The pots and pans I let him play with for the first time today. He was most fond of banging the little sauce cup on the pan. The louder the better!!


3.Riding on this walker at his Grandmommie's house.


4. The train peek-a-boo block. He ALWAYS finds this one. If dump them all out and they scatter all over the floor, he immediatley finds it. If I stack them all up he will knock them down and immediatley grab this one. If i pick it up and try to hand him another block he will decline it and reach for it. It is so funny. He loves sticking his little finger in and turning the train.


5. I don't have a picture of it but wish that i did: magna doodle. he loved Chandler's MagnaDoodle. She had a little one here all week and the loved playing with the pen. Then, in Columbia, she got a big one for her birthday with magnets big shape magnets and he would actuallly take the shapes and draw on the board!!!!! He would get very upset if we tried to take it from him.

Stair stepper

We have stairs in our house but they just lead up to the bonus room so we don't use them a lot. We have had a gate up ever since Cort started thinking about crawling so he has never really discovered them.
At my parents house last weekend he discovered them and climbed all the way to the top with NO HELP!!!! We, of course, kept our hand right under his little toosh the whole time but never had to help him. He would occasionally slip back down to the previous step but would just keep on steppin'! He was so proud of himself.



Chandler turns 2!

My Neice, Chandler, turned 2 last friday. She had her birthday party at home before they came to visit us but we had another one down in Columbia last weekend for family. She's growing up so fast. She was very into the presents this year and she knew exactly what to do with the cake!!!!!












Sisters




My sister and her little girl visited us last week. They came in on Monday evening and stayed until Friday. It was so much fun. Cort just adored Chandler. He was just so intrigued by her. He loved her toys and entertained himself for very long periods of time with the "big kid" toys. It was great for the four of us to get to spend time together. I think we were both worried that it might be a little hectic but it was actually pretty relaxing. Michelle and I had a great time together as always and I miss her tons. Five and a half hours is just too far apart.





Oct 23, 2006

Cortland, Cortland, Pumpkin Eater















Ok, so Cortland doesn't have the same ring as Peter but Cort has been eating pumpkin for a while now and last week he got to see what they look like before they are all smashed up!! I think he might like the look of them more than the taste now. ( he is not so big into anything pureed anymore - all "table food" for this kid - but that's another post)
Cort enjoyed the little pumpkin patch we took him too and he even got his own little pumpkin. He also enjoyed the little petting farm they had there. He just thought the little goats were so funny.
































































9 Months Stats

Cort got a good report at the doctor. He got an A+ for gross motor and personality!!!
We will continue his prevacid until his one year birthday and try going off then.
Weight - 15 lbs 12 oz. (~3%) still following his curve
Height - 28.5 in. (50%) - may be a little high - he was quite the wiggler.

I was hopeing for 15.5 lbs so I was pleased with this weight. I think it's just official that he's a little guy. I still struggle sometimes with the fact that he doesn't take much of his bottle and doesn't really seem to care about food but he's developing well and is happy so I just have to trust that he is fine. I know God is in control and that he is taking care of His child.

Oct 13, 2006

9 month pics









Here are some of the raw pictures from his 9 month photo session. We didn't get all of these and they used a lot of props this time which we aren't usually fond of but hey - he looks adorable anyway.

Oct 11, 2006

9 months old


Cort is 9 months old today!!! Wow - he has now been here, living outside of my body for the same amount of time that he developed inside my body. I am in awe of our God and how he forms these little beings and feel so blessed to be a part of this miracle of life.
Cort is growing up so fast. He is crawling everywhere. I really don't think there is a single corner unturned in our house. He quickly discovered all of the areas in our house that I thought might be a problem( ie. Mowgli's food bowl, the fireplace, etc.) He has really enjoyed his new found mobility and sometimes just crawls around the house laughing in delight. He loves to chase Mowgli around the house. It is so weird for me to put Cort down to play with some toys only to find him trailing behind me or rounding a corner to find me. He pulls to stand all the time now. His favorite place is probably the glass back door and in his crib when he is suppose to be sleeping. :)
He LOVES being outside. It is so cute to see him crawling around on the grass, inspecting each blade and the fallen leaves. He laughs and looks around when he hears birds chirping.
He is still so full of personality. He just eats up life and I love it. His smile lights up the whole room and his laugh is contagious.
He is playing with dropping his third nap but still needs it on a good many days. He has had some sleep trouble this month - I think perhaps a little separation anxiety at night but I think we are getting back on track with that. He is waking earlier in the morning than usual and we hope that is just a phase.
He is definitely starting to exert some independence. He doesn't like to be stopped in the middle of play or crawling. It's like he doesn't want to pause from all of his new discoveries to take care of business(diaper change, dressing, getting in the car, etc.) He fusses a bit and will even arch his body back in protest but it's usually short lived and then he's back to his merry self. With his new mobility, "no" and "Don't touch" have become common words in our house. I think he is actually starting to understand the meaning as they will usually stop his action and sometimes even redirect him.
He continues to love his solids and in fact seems to be beginning to refuse pureed baby food. He will hold his sippy cup on his own but sometimes has trouble tipping it enough.
He dances/bounces to music or when he really likes somthing. It's really cute. He really likes it if I bounce back.
It continues to be such a delight to watch him grow up . I cannot believe that he is 3/4 of the way to a year!!! It seems like only yesterday......



PS camera batteries dead - I'll post what I could get of his nine month pics tomorrow.

Family Day

Saturday was a good day. We had a good day at home. Worked and played in the yard a little.



Then, we took Cort to GE's family day. They do it every year. It's suppose to be a big perk I guess. It's sort of like a mini fair. There are rides, french fries and vinegar, elephant ears, and then a catered meal tent as well. We were only their for about an hour but Cort seemed to enjoy it. We took him on his first Merry go Round. He wasn't scared at all and seemed to like it. He loved watching all the rides and really enjoyed the steamed veggies we ate.



Baby Friends

Last Friday, we had some friends over. The girls and their babies came earlier in the day and we just all hung out and the husbands joined us when they got off of work for some chicken taco soup and a card game. It was a fun day.


Kelley and Sophie, Logan and Walker, Me and Cort


Kelley with her hands full!!


Cort's new trick - climbing up the hammock


Dads on duty while the moms get dinner going


Cort and Sophie in their 2nd bath together - just a
little more personal than their first bath together.

TOYS

Cort loves his toys - which is a good thing because he has a ton of them. His Grandmommie gave him this really cool crawling toy/obstacle course. He loves it!





I decided to reorganize Cort's toy baskets. Cort thought it was great to have all of his toys spread out all over the room!!!!

Oct 5, 2006

Separation Anxiety

* This post is about 1 week late!! I just now got around to uploading all the pics. *

Cort is almost 9 months old. Lots of people say that this is when separation anxiety kicks in. And while I guess Cort is expierencing it a little bit I really got to experience it last weekend. I spent my first night away from Cort!! I let my mom take him on Friday night to Columbia and Chris and I stayed in Greenville until Saturday morning!!!! It was really a full weekend without Cort. Friday night Chris and I had a dinner thing to go to and then hung out with some Friends. We went down to Columbia on Saturday but I had a girls day all day with a friend of mine who is having a baby in December and a shower for her that night.We had a lot of fun and Cort did great... I missed him a lot!! Cort got to stay with Chris' mom on Saturday and then on Sunday I got to visit with my sister and Chandler! Yea!!!!
Things are def. busy around here now. Cort is crawling in full swing and I don't think he has left a single corner of the house unexplored.
There are lots of pics posted below. Enjoy.
We had a blast all hanging out together

Cort and cousin Chandler reading together





Nice that Cort wore this shirt last winter too!!


My favorite place to sit after a bath




Ew, no, I don't like girls...girls are gross


Except Sophie, Sophie's okay!


Look, Mom, all by myself


DRUMS!!!!! Chris finally got his drum set back at our house. Cort love it!!