He eats!

I was going to wait until Koen was 6 months old before introducing him to solids, but I figured he was clearly more than ready when he grabbed the spoon off my plate and shoved it in his mouth like a dang toddler. So at a little less than 5 1/2 months old he got to try his first bland taste of Earth's Best rice cereal. It was a resounding success and seemed like he'd been eating that way from birth. He's pictured here on day 3 with Daddy feeding him for the first time.

Baby room on a budget

Now that I am not working, it's more important than ever to get creative and save money wherever I can. The baby's room has been a work in progress and is about 95% complete. I was able to make it look pretty cool without breaking the bank. The crib, mattress, changing table and cushion with two covers were purchased at a garage sale for $90. Not bad in my opinion; that full setup would easily have cost more than $500 at Baby's R Us brand new and it looks barely used second hand. I hand painted the tree using leftover house paint and I made the grommet curtains from scratch with really high quality fabric I picked up at a garage sale for $5. The grommets were $8, curtain rod and hardware was $12 at Walmart. Everything else in the room is borrowed, gifted, and used. If you would have asked me 5 years ago whether I would be this stereotypical domesticated mother and housewife I would have laughed in your face... wow, how things have changed.

Spoiled rotten

How the heck did we get so lucky as parents? We just got back from Seaside, Oregon where we celebrated Justin's 32nd birthday; this was our first family trip out of town and it was an opportunity to see how Koen would fare with the two of us in a hotel room for a couple nights. I was blown away at how adaptable this 5 month old angel really is. Dang, there is no way we could possibly be blessed with another child as easy as this kid. On the 2 1/2 hour drive he slept, and when he was awake he just stared out the window laughing occasionally at who knows what. His bedtime got all screwed up and yet he didn't skip a beat, sleeping through the night and even giving us a chance to sleep in til 8! When the icy cold winter wind blasted his face he just squinted his eyes and carried on. I kept wondering at what point he would break down from all this new stimulation, especially since we had him strapped into the car seat and stroller 90% of the time, but it didn't happen. He flirted with waitresses and passersby, soaked in the views of the ocean and downtown Seaside, and waited patiently in my arms while I scoured the racks at the local Goodwill. This kid is amazing. Justin had a wonderful time finally getting some extended quality time with his family. I enjoyed the help from Daddy and was able to enjoy a long shower, eat my meals slowly, and give the arms a break. So how did this trip rate? 9 out of 10. I had to take a point off because we booked a budget hotel and, ahem, you didn't need a black light to uncover some of the goodies that somehow eluded the housekeepers.

Stop and smell the pesticides / bin diesel

It's Fall in the Hood River Valley and it's gorgeous. I love the reds, oranges and yellows and the crisp, cool air. Yay for Fall. It was so nice the other day I decided to enjoy a refreshing walk outdoors with my son. We couldn't be happier; Koen decided to nod off to dreamland all bundled up in his stroller and I took in the sights, the smells and enjoyed the sounds of life in the orchard around me. Our muddy orchard road runs into a paved back road behind our house so I continued on with abounding energy; I could easily go for an hour today. The road I was taking leads to neighboring apple and cherry orchards in steeper terrain and I was ready to give the ol' hamstrings a workout. My breaths got quicker and deeper sucking in more oxygen as the walk became more challenging. Then I heard a noise... an engine in the distance; yep, definitely a plane coming right overhead. It was getting exceptionally loud, indicating that the plane was flying very low and I immediately jumped to worst case scenario - a scenic flight gone bad, the plane spiraling out of control towards my precious baby ending life as we knew it for both of us. Just then the plane came into view right above the apple trees and dropped its lovely load of pesticide spray right on top of us. My attitude took a dive and I was quietly cussing out the crop plane, the pilot and his chemical warfare. I draped a jacket over my (surprisingly) still sleeping baby and tried to filter the air I was heavily breathing through the sleeve of my sweatshirt. Yuck. The bitter taste in my mouth was horrendous, like I had licked the inside of a bottle of mosquito repellant. I wondered what breed of cancer would ensue. Geez. I decided to turn around and head back as soon as I saw the plane whip around for another drop. I made my way towards cleaner air and once again took in my beautiful surroundings, furrowed brow relenting. The walk was coming to an end and as I came within 15 feet of my turnoff back into the orchard an old beater diesel bin truck gave me a sucker punch send-off crippling my spirits. I was in a black cloud of exhaust so thick you could cut it. Who was I to think I could enjoy the outdoors and be "one with nature"? Big fat load of crap.

4 months, week 3

Have I mentioned I love my kid? Koen is amazing me with new things on a daily basis. He spends most of his time on his belly (aside from the time in my arms) with head and chest up exploring all the new sights from this new vantage point. He can move himself around pretty well, wiggling and reaching for toys just out of his grasp. It's always a surprise to see what position he's launched himself into during his nap... time to start baby proofing. He has a lot to say and his face contorts with ultimate concentration on getting his "words" out. His squeals and laughter are contagious and we find that it's hard to have a bad day around the Moore household. We walked through the local Harvest Fest this weekend and Koen was fixated on all the new people, sounds, and objects. He's quite the attention-getter; people just love babies and what used to take us 15 minutes to check out all the vendors, now takes us three times as long because people want to know how old he is, what his name is, whether it's a boy or a girl (our favorite), and then we get to hear their story on their kid, grandbaby, God son, etc, etc. We actually enjoy it and we find that we have the extra time to socialize. It's our new-found patience and relaxed mentality... hmm, welcome to 30s and parenthood.

He sleeps!

Thanks to my dear cousin Melissa's wonderful recommendation, we had a breakthrough last night getting our baby to sleep longer than 2 hours at a time. Richard Ferber is genius. We put our little guy down at 8 and went in to comfort him after 1 minute, 3 minutes, and then 5 minutes and he had fallen to sleep in his crib, on his own. He's used to eating every time he wakes up, so when he woke up at 9:30 I fed him once more and then upon his next waking at 11:30 Justin "reFerberized" him and he was again asleep within a half hour. I fed him again at 3:45 and he woke up cooing at 7 this morning. Now as for his mother... I was up all night worrying. Why hasn't he cried yet? Oh my Lord he's died of SIDS! Looks like I've developed a sleep association of having him by my side, so now I'll need to enlist the help of my husband to Ferberize me. Anyway, I feel like major progress has been made, so we'll see how night 2 goes. I feel like I'm well on my way to kissing sleep deprivation goodbye. But it is bittersweet. He's growing up too fast - he's graduated to his crib and it will feel like a week has gone by and I'll be cheering him on at his high school graduation. Boo.

growing up!