In case you didn't know how to chew your food...

Hunter will show you...

The Little Gym Show!

This week was our Show Week at The Little Gym! Hunter just loves going and I can't say enough good things about TLG and how much Hunter has learned. He started when he was 3 months and has come such a long way! He wasn't sitting up when we started class, and he sat up for the first time during a class. I loved working there (and still enjoy working when they need me) and I love the staff and everything that TLG does. It is totally worth every penny. I can't wait (but I can) for him to be old enough to go into an independent class and watch him do these things all on his own.

Class starts with the shakers and we sing our hello song. We put the shakers away and everyone introduces themselves.

We move into a warm up, which incorporates gymnastic skills. It gets everyone up and moving.

Then comes the group activity. We use some manipulative. This week it was the parachute. Hunter has grown to love the parachute and will actually shake it now. When we have done a class in his actual age group, I have let him take rides on the parachute. I'm a little nervous with the older kids, because I know they don't mean to run over anyone, but they can't help it. And Hunter isn't big enough to defend himself yet. But we did let him sit alone while we walked the parachute in the air around all the kids. He enjoyed that.

Then we went off for Exploration. This is where the kids explore the gym and the equipment (if they haven't already left the Big Red Mat by then). We also learn how to spot different skills of focus for the week. This week we were showcasing our skills that we had learned over the past 20 weeks.

Balls and bubbles always wrap up class. Hunter still isn't the biggest fan of bubbles, but tracks them and will try to get them once they have landed on the mat. He loves playing with the balls and watching the other kids.

This week we had our ribbon ceremony. Hunter had his picture taken with Ms. Sarah. For once he did not cry while she was holding him. I love Sarah, but she is very loud. Carl and I are both quiet people, so it is a big adjustment for Hunter when Sarah is holding him and talking. He tolerates it for about a minute, and then cries. Don't worry Sarah, Hunter will come around. So at 7 months, Hunter has his first ribbon. This is going in his memory box forever.

I just had to add this picture of Rachael and Sarah. We love them.

Just Some Videos

I'll write a new post eventually... until then, here are some videos of Hunter bud.

Hunter is very proud of this new trick:

7 Months!

Hunter will turn 7 months on Saturday. Since I have time while he is napping, I decided to create this post. He continues to amaze us every day!

At 7 months:

-You are sitting unassisted, but we really don't worry about you just falling over. You have a lot of control when you want to lay down. You are also going from sitting to your belly and have improved this a lot. Sometimes your little foot gets stuck under you. You are also trying to go from laying to sitting. You still need lots of assistance with this, but we are getting there.

-You have been reaching for us. When you are ready to be picked up, we know it. When you are done being held by someone else, we know it.

-You "talk" non-stop (which I absolutely love).

-You are eating some table foods. You munch like a champ. You now hold the Gerber veggie stick things (whatever they are called) and take bites. You want anything and everything we are eating (which isn't always something you can eat). You are also killing Stage 2 foods.

Eating some of Mommy's Chik-fil-a wrap

-Still drink mostly from your bottles. We introduced you to the sippy cup early this month, and we haven't found one that you absolutely love yet. You learned to drink from a straw. It startles you when you first get a sip, but you smile and continue to drink. We have tried sipping from a cup, and that is okay. I want to get you a nosey cup.

-You still rarely take your paci (which, again, I love).

-Still haven't gotten crawling or scooting down yet. You try really hard and will scoot backwards, but only on occasion will you scoot a little forward.

-You love to stand. You can hold your balance for a few seconds. You have pulled up on my leg with minimal assistance. We are in trouble.

-You had your first (double) ear infection. I'm sorry I didn't understand you when you kept screaming at me most of the day. But, we got it taken care of. And (knock on wood) the antibiotics have really seemed to help. Only 7 more doses.

-You look for things once you drop them or they have been taken away from you. I'm not sure we will be able to keep hiding our phones from you.

-You really like to watch yourself on our phones. Even when you were a little baby. You smile and talk back to yourself.

I have that same expression looking at prices

Diagnosis...

Double ear infection.

Poor guy! He just wasn't himself today. He was screaming for no reason and even being rocked and cuddled would not calm down. My sister suggested I call the pediatrician to see what they say. I was so hoping they didn't just say, "Oh, he's just teething." I love our pediatrician's office. The nurse assured me I wasn't a "crazy" mom and told me to bring him in. Sure enough, I wasn't a "crazy" mom. Thank goodness. I knew he was in pain and that was not the pain he had been in when he was teething.

Now the antibiotics. I am extremely allergic to Penicillin and Sulfa drugs. My sisters, my mom, and my 3 nieces are all allergic to PCN. I explained to our pediatrician that I'm just not comfortable giving him PCN or its relatives. He listened and told me that it is the best line of defense for ear infections, but he understood my concerns and prescribed something else. He said eventually he will likely need to try it for something, and I am okay with that... just not when he is under a year.

And because I can't end a post without a picture....

What We've Been Up To

Sucking out lots of snot from a certain baby boy's nose.

Hunter started getting a cold last Saturday and Sunday night was running a low grade fever. He's had this terrible cough before, and we were put on steroids and became proud owners of a nebulizer. But he never ran a fever. So we headed into the pediatrician's on Monday morning. His ears were fine, he wasn't struggling to breathe, and he was no longer running a fever. Just a cold and it would probably get worse within the next 48 hours. That was an understatement. I'm not sure who replaced my happy, independent baby with the miserable, cuddle bug (not complaining about that part) who woke up on the wrong side of the crib every morning, but Carl and I didn't like it. Even being as miserable and cranky as he was, he was still overall a happy boy. Poor guy learned when I turned him a certain way on the floor that the snot sucker was going to be going in his nose and he anticipated it by screaming. Our neighbors probably thought we were torturing him. I felt so bad because he felt so bad. Tylenol didn't help, Motrin didn't help... Benadryl helped to dry him up some, but it came back. Luckily, he woke up in the best mood this morning. I think it is safe to say he is on the up and up. Hopefully he will start sleeping through the night again... fingers crossed. It has been getting better these past couple of days and he is sleeping later and later. He also enjoys sleeping on his side now and will roll himself on it.

These were from Sunday evening. We knew something wasn't right when he was content sitting with Carl on the couch like this:

Friday night we had Carl's work holiday dinner. It was at Captain George's. I am not a big buffet person (Carl calls me a snob) and I'm not a big seafood person (Carl is a buffet person, but not a seafood person). I guess if we were both both of those types of people, $20 per person would be worth what they offer (no, we didn't have to pay). But I love to go and see the people that I once worked with and that Carl works with (well, most of the people, haha). And the food that we did eat was really good. Hunter lasted until right before his bedtime (he is very routine oriented), so we came home and put him down for the night.

Carl also started 2 college classes on Monday. They are both online. I am very proud of him. As I type this, he is reading his history book. I some how managed to sign him up for the hardest history professor! I feel really bad about that. It is pretty ridiculous some of the stuff she is having that class do. They have to read a chapter a week, and take a 10 minute, 10 questions closed book quiz. And the questions she asks, totally random, not very important to know about history. It is pretty frustrating and I'm not even taking the class! I guess I just don't see the educational benefits of reading a textbook from front to back. His English professor seems really cool, so hopefully he will make up for my lack of researching professors.

Work has been really busy. I have had a lot of IEPs over the past month, and I have a lot coming up in Feb. We have quite a few teacher work days coming up, so I will be able to get lots of those completed on those days (and maybe organize my game/toy shelves. One wrong move and I think all of the games are going to come crashing down).

The Pterodactyl Is Back

Wrong Way!

Silly boy!

Happy New Year

We spent the evening with our best friends, Harry and Kelly, and their daughter Emma. We didn't make it to the ball drop; we left around 11 and we promptly got into bed. Hunter didn't wake up being moved from the pack n play to the car, from the car to his bed.

Kelly made baked ziti, she even made a special one for Carl since he doesn't like ricotta cheese. She knows our family so well. We had a great time and I'm so glad we could continue our tradition.

Kelly has an awesome new camera and took pictures. Unfortunately, she was behind the camera the whole night and didn't get any pictures with the kids.

Oh, I forgot to mention, I chopped all my hair off

Favorites from 2010

I've seen a few different versions of favorite blog posts from each month in 2010 (projects, photos, etc.). I decided to just do my own version... my favorite posts.

January- We found out that we were having a little boy. We announced that his name would be Hunter Allen.

February- We had our Level 2 ultrasound to check on Hunter's cysts and remeasure his limbs. We discovered one cyst had disappeared and the other had shrank. We were having a healthy little boy.

March- Kelly, Ashley, and I made letters for Hunter's room. Thanks again ladies for helping me! I love you guys.

April- Another 3d/4d ultrasound of Hunter. We saw his chubby cheeks for the first time and saw how flexible our little boy is. He kept that foot up by his face the whole pregnancy and still puts those feet in his face.

May- I finished grad school and received my Master's in speech therapy. Yay!

June- Since his birth announcement didn't have the detail of his birth, I wanted his birth story as the favorite for June. I do love the announcement that he had arrived!

July- Hunter's newborn pictures.

August- Hunter's first swim. Our 2nd wedding anniversary was a close second.

September- Lots of firsts... first beach trip, first The Little Gym class, etc. I also loooved our family pictures post.

October- Ashley and Chris' wedding. I think I still have dreams about this beautiful day.

November- Hunter's first tooth. This post also previewed a picture from our beach photo session with Sarah. Which I still have to post pictures!

December- Hunter's first Christmas. December had a lot of posts (16, really?) so it was hard to pick. But this one is just a good memory; you only have one first Christmas with your baby.

"Mmmmmm"... Hey!

This video cracks me up. It is from a few weeks ago during a Hunter-Daddy day. It is really the end that is the best, he realizes that his replacement lovey is near him.