The Forehead Has It

What's with this kid? Is he about to crawl or sit up?

He's acting a little shy now but there have been great strides...

He can get up on his knees, has even moved an arm or two...

but as you can see by his little red forehead he's very astute at the face plant.
Sometimes you just have to say screw it and go back to what you know

Electric Boogaloo

This weekend Rooney went to two birthday parties. Both were for babies turning 1 year old. Of course, one of those babies, was Rooney's cousin Felix. I didn't want to post until Dana & Renae posted about Felix's birthday, but they are taking too long, so too bad. Can you believe Felix is such a big guy now? Wow, one year old. That went quick.

Here is a picture of Felix with his "Big Guy 1 Year Old" cake. Let's just say he really wasn't that interested. Dana & Renae have been very health conscious with Felix which is great, and his little cake was made with a blueberry frosting and I think the cake itself was with all organic and non-allergy producing products, but I think Felix was thinking the same thing as the rest of us..."Where's the chocolate?" . Sorry guys but as you can see, he is eyeballing the delicious looking chocolate/peanut butter (?) cake made for all the adults with poor eating habits (Hey Felix, Aunt Suse took a bite & it was delicious!).

Afterwards there was a big Dance Off and Rooney thought he'd bring down the house with some of his super cool break dancing moves.

Rooney's other cousin, Cuyler, later came over to congratulate Rooney on his boss moves and to pick up a few pointers.

They Call Him "Boy With Crazy Arms"

Since Rooney was in utero he has always done this thing with his arms. I call it "Crazy Arms" and what it is, is when Rooney is laying down, his arms are constantly moving and spiraling around. He doesn't do it all the time, but he tends to do it when he is tired or hungry. I was taking pictures of Rooney today and when I was editing I realized the photos captured his crazy arms. I wanted to share this with you (and the pictures are just pretty cute):




When I bounce him to sleep, during the day or at night, I have to use his arm as a gauge to whether Rooney is asleep or not. While I am bouncing him, his right arm is always flailing about. Sometimes he throws it around wildly, other times, he tries to see if my lips are detachable. Although his eyes may be closed, you have to watch the arm, because even though his eyes appear closed and Rooney is asleep, he is not truly asleep, until he finally rests his arm.

Sweet Potato Pie!

Today was a big day for Rooney because he ate sweet potatoes for the first time.

Our little Roonster did really great. He seemed a little unsure of the spoon at first (definitely not the potatoes) but he soon caught on and was chomping on the spoon like a pro.


I think this was a big day for Courage and Rocco also. I bet they have been waiting for this day for 5 months!

It's Hard To Crawl...On Your Face

It's been brought to my attention that I have not posted since Thursday. I haven't been lazy. Really. This weekend we went to a 1 year old's birthday party. The party was at Gymboree and we seemed to be the only one's without a camera. Hence, no Gymboree pictures. Rooney actually seemed to have a good time even though he couldn't really play with the other kids or play on alot of the equipment. He seemed to enjoy watching all the kids, flirting with the adults & we found that he can catch a ball with his feet.

We also went to Uncle Dan & Aunt Kim's for dinner on Sunday. (This pic is from January) I think Rooney, lord help us, might be going through a growth spurt. He seems to be sleeping alot and because of this seemed to have slept through alot of the visit with Dan & Kim. However, Dan did discover that Rooney might be learning how to wave. Now I'm not saying he's ready for a parade but it looked like he got the general concept. Of course, when he was awake he kept his eyes glued to Uncle Dan.

Finally, as you may have seen in the last post, Rooney is getting on all 4's. Since I last wrote I think he has tried to crawl. On Monday, we were at Renae's house & Rooney was on the floor on all 4's. I wanted Renae to see how he rocked. That was pretty cool all by itself, but then Rooney moved one arm & the opposite leg...at the same time! Then he did a face plant. It was so cool though. I tried to get pictures later at our house. I think his little arms were tired because this is what I captured.

Gotta Move

This week I am trying something new. Well I guess it's not "new" because I have tried 2 other carriers, but I got a new ring sling & I am going to try wearing Rooney. He's been such an easy baby that a lot of the issues babywearing is supposed to help are kind of a moot point. However, I needed a convenient way to carry him since he will soon be in his new car seat (which is sans carrier). Rooney really seemed to like it at first, but of course, once I got home I did stuff wrong, and now he is a little iffy. He definitely lets me know when I have screwed up getting him in the sling though.

This week we have continued to go to our playgroups. This is a picture of Anna w/Rooney. This was taken by Anna's mom, Laura, who goes to 2 of the mom's groups Rooney & I go to. I think Anna already has her eyes on my sweet baby...what do you think? Rooney is trying to be aloof but he later shared his drooly hand with Anna & then tried to roll on her head.

Finally, Rooney is continuing to move. I've been waiting and waiting for him to sit up on his own, but it appears maybe he'll crawl first. He recently started getting up on all 4's and is rocking. I have seen him get a knee moved before he does a face plant but I think he'll get that mastered soon. After looking at the statistics my mom posted, on me, in a previous post maybe Rooney will crawl before sitting up.

I hope Rocco is ready.

Wrapped Around My Finger

Last night Rooney spent the night over at Aunt Annie & Uncle Jim's. Aunt Annie gushed that Roonster was a great pleasure to have over and he finally got his Uncle Jim wrapped around his little finger(I'm a little surprised it took so long!). Of course there were wild and crazy times too...

can you ever have enough marabou?


Seems little Roonster really likes dogs like his momma. ... Annie said that he was laughing and cooing at her pugs, Izzy and Mo... but who wouldn't with mugs like these (btw I tried to fix the "red eye" on this pic)!

While Rooney was being worshipped and snuggled at his Aunt Annie's, Mike and I took the opportunity of being childless, and stayed at home and watched a slideshow of his pictures.

Our loss is Courage and Rocco's gain- as they received the extra cuddles.

Poor babies.

Let's Go Spelunking!

Our suspicions have been confirmed and there was a 2nd tooth siting today.

To scout the location, please follow the easy to read arrows and signs posted on the attached map

It's Not "The Final Countdown" But...

it's got it's own merits. I was eavesdropping on Mike & Rooney via the baby monitor. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to capture the really cute show that they were putting on earlier but I captured this and still thought this was sweet. This is Mike singing to Rooney while he was changing his diaper.

Sometimes You Just Have to Let the Stallion Run Free

Yesterday marked Rooney's 20 week "birthday". It's amazing to me that he will be 5 months old soon. At his last 20 week mark we were getting his ultrasound.

Pretty soon he'll be twenty years old and "letting the stallion run free". (I promise I won't post that picture again)

Anyway we celebrated by hanging out with friends at a playgroup hosted by Renae & Felix (thanks again guys). We had a really good time and as always it was great to see the babies.

Mike & I think little Roonster must be getting another tooth. He's been doing his "chewing gum" face and has had a miserable last couple of nights. He has been waking up alot during the night. He seems really snotty & I think he is having problems breathing. This seems to cause him to breathe through his mouth, which causes him to lose his pacifier and that of course causes him to cry. It's a vicious cycle, believe me!

I have been using Rooney's much loved (and I'm being sarcastic) saline drops & aspirator method of trying to clear up his breathing but that only works so well. I have also raised one end of his mattress a little, so he'll sleep with his head elevated. That seems to help a little but he does have a tendency to roll down to the bottom of his crib. I guess you just have to take the bad with the good.

How About A Massage For Momma

Yesterday Rooney was a model for the Infant Massage class at Bellevue Massage School. Unfortunately, I was rushing, forgot my camera & did not get a picture. The above picture is similar to how he looked there. He seemed to be the real hit of the class. Rooney puts on a great show and charmed everyone there. He really seemed to like the massage, and even though he had just woken up from a nap, he fell asleep in his carseat shortly after. Oh man, I was thinking the whole time I was there "How about one of those for the Mom too!!!".

Speaking of carseats...hee hee hee... Mike and I spent some amount of time and a great deal of frustration trying to install Rooney's new car seat in my car. We just couldn't seem to get it tight enough. I believe leveling is the key but we gave up before I could try. Ugh that carseat is very lucky it was so expensive (by the way I'm sure it was US, not the car seat, because this model is "easy to install"). Turns out we may not really have to worry about it for a little bit...once I took the Bundle Me out of Rooney's old carseat he suddenly had a lot more room! Egads! Now he fits fine in it. I guess we can use this extra time to figure out how to install the easy to install new carseat.

Finally, after the frustration of the "carseat debacle" we decided to do something easy & lower the mattress in Rooney's crib. Let me tell you how I pictured this being done. Mike would lay on his back & get underneath crib. I thought he would loosen some wing nuts, drop the mattress down & then retighten wing nuts. Quick and snappy! I'm sure you know that this was not the case. I'll spare you the gory details but let's just say the bumper and our exercise ball have been maimed or were DOA. Rooney was able to pull down his mobile and if I actually took a few seconds to think about it, I probably would have just taken down the mobile. At least now we should be covered for when he starts standing...

I hope...

we're screwed.

Bed, Bed, Bed

(I'm not sure it's possible, but I think this kid is getting even cuter!)

Yesterday was Valentine's Day and it was a good day for little Roonster. We went to a Mom's Club Valentine's Day party- hosted at one of the other mom's house. There were a lot of Mom's there and alot of kids/babies. Rooney really couldn't participate much in the play but these things are all about networking. Rooney did seem to enjoy watching all the kids and rolling around on the floor though. Plus he got presents (from Mom & Dad) and any day you get gifts is a good day.

Today, Rooney and I went to our new Mom's group, held at the hospital.
The girls outnumber the boys 2 to 1 but Casa-Rooney has already started flirting. I'm think I'm really going to have to keep an eye on him at all times. Makes sense though...look who his dad is.

We are also working on a possible bedtime routine. I got these books for Rooney that are books+CD (Bed, Bed, Bed & Dog Train). We put a little CD player in his bedroom and now before bed we (Me) read and sing along. Seems to work like a charm. Rooney has been falling asleep right away when I put him down. We've done it 2 nights in a row so it's not quite a schedule yet but so far, so good.

(I just thought this picture was cute)

One last thing of note...I was almost able to wear my wedding rings again! I've been waiting to be able to wear them since Rooney was born. There not quite comfortable yet but we're still working on it.

Savory Toes

Things have been moving along for Rooney this last week. He still only has one tooth but he seems to enjoy showing that one off every chance he gets. Wednesday was a good day for us. We had a really good time at the new Mom's group we joined and riding that high Rooney and I went to another Moms' house for "Craft Day". Normally I would not have taken Rooney to a craft day, for obvious reasons, but other Mom's with babies were supposed to be going, so I thought it would be OK. Aren't these little get togethers really just an excuse for the Moms to talk anyway? I got to this woman's house (I have not met her before) & I am one of only two Moms that end up showing up. Of course. And the other Mom that came is good friends with the Mom that was hosting & they both have older children. The youngest was 3yrs old! And for the first time no one seemed that interested in Rooney. We chatted for a little bit but it felt awkward so Rooney & I made an early exit. That was depressing. It totally killed my good Wednesday high. I decided I've had enough of Mom groups for the week & didn't go to the Friday playgroup.

There were some exciting things for Rooney this week though. He is now eating rice twice a day. We are feeding it to him via his bottle but I think I will try to feed him some with a spoon occasionally to get him more accustomed to it. He also got his new car seat.

I will admit that Rooney's new car seat is the Rolls Royce of convertible car seats. I did alot of research though, and this brand & this model had everything we wanted and performed very well in crash tests and with other parents. We could have bought a cheaper model, to Mike's surprise, but when it comes to safety I had to go with top of the line. Clothes I can certainly buy cheap and I don't mind buying some used toys or a stroller but not something that might save his life. Unfortunately, this Rolls Royce didn't fit into Mike's car when we purchased it (while it was in the box) so we had some tense moments in the parking lot. We got it out of the box, and after some rearranging, got everything home- thank goodness (I was worried for a few minutes with Mike being already on edge after our spendy purchase).

Finally, Rooney's new trick. I'll let the picture speak for itself but we are very proud parents to say the least.

Can I Get That With A Side Of Rice?

Yesterday Rooney had his 4 month MD appointment. I can't say Rooney was very excited (he got 4 more shots) but I was glad to find out his latest statistics. Before I get into those I'll tell you what the MD said. Dr. Morse said the Rooney "was as big as a 9 month old" and "smart too". I'm sure it's to no one's surprise to also find out our little Roonster is functioning at 6mo. old level. (But was there really any doubt?)

Now to the statistics...(Drum roll)...Rooney's latest measurements have him measuring in at 28-1/2" and 16.5lbs (ta-da). His height still >95%. He's actually grown so tall that he is 1/2" shy of being too big for his infant carrier. The next one we're getting goes up to 49". He should be in it until he's @ least 1 yr old (I hope). Since Rooney is starting to get teeth, and since I've seen him eyeball my food, I decided to ask the MD if we should start him on rice. As you could have guessed from the attached picture the answer was yes. It was an emphatic yes. Dr. Morse said that with Rooney being so big he can't be satisfied. I tried spoon feeding him at first. He took a few bites but didn't seem to care much for the experience (it was recommended to feed him w/a spoon by the MD vs. through a bottle due to choking hazards). I decided to try today, through the bottle & Rooney ate swimmingly. Once he's able to sit up solidly we will probably try to spoon feed him again. He'll probably be starting baby food then anyway.

Lastly, Rooney & I started another Mom's group today. This one is held at the hospital where Rooney was born & it is specifically for babies 0-6mo. It was great to see so many babies and see Mom's from prenatal water aerobics & other Mom/baby groups we've attended. Interestingly enough, the nurse that runs this playgroup, seemed to remember Rooney from when he was born. (I knew he'd be unforgettable).

Superbowl Sunday

(This picture was taken when the Seahawks still had a chance).

Ahhhhhhh what can I say about Superbowl Sunday? Unless you live in a cave you know that the Seahawks lost. Other than one broken Tivo remote we all made it through unscathed. Prior to this game we thought that Rooney was a good luck charm for the Seahawks. I was told they had not lost a game (that mattered) since he was born. Of course, any other baby born on Oct. 3rd could try to claim "good luck charm" status but I think Rooney's mojo got them through the NFC Championship. However, he's still a baby so maybe his mojo wasn't strong enough to fight off what I am told were bad calls.

This game was eye opening for Mom though. I'm not sure if football, and the emotions it seems to bring up, are the best thing to expose Rooney to. In his lifetime, with two men in the house, how many remote controls would we go through?

Don't tell Mike but we might start watching tennis.

Rooney Loves His Momma

Periodically I have to remind myself why I started this blog. It was a way to document Rooney's achievements but it was also supposed to be a way for me to document my feelings. I droned on plenty when I was pregnant about how I felt about things but once Rooney was born the focus shifted to photos and keeping family abreast of his changes and milestones. Then last night I had a little mini breakdown so I thought I should write about it.

Rooney has taken to being rocked to sleep these days. It used to be that we could just put him down with his pacifier and he would fall right to sleep. Sometimes it's inconvenient but I don't really mind because we get to spend uninterrupted, quiet time together. Last night I was rocking him, the room was dark and we were just cooing to each other. Rooney was smiling at me and pulling on my lip while he was talking. We laughed a little and it was a very nice moment. I don't know if these moments are so precious that they scare me or why my mind just can't accept how nice my life is right now, but sometimes I will start having panic attacks about Rooney growing up or one day not being with him (or Mike). Thankfully this past evening my attack wasn't so grim but I did think about Rooney growing up and I realized that I was on very limited time with these types of moments.

I realized Rooney is not going to want to cuddle his mother past the age of 10 for sure. I won't be allowed to kiss him in public, he will always think I am old and he'll ask me to drop him off a block before school. At some point he is going to think he knows more about fashion than I do and want to dress himself (and just because both pieces are red doesn't mean they should be worn together), he is not going to want to hang out with me and at some point he will probably tell me that he hates me (I know he will at least think it). He and his friends will think I am uncool, my taste in music will be lame and god forbid we go to a movie together. How often will he call me when he's moved out and will he want to come by for a visit? For Mike it will be easier. All he has to worry about is if Rooney will like his choice in video games. As long as Rooney likes sports, techy stuff and/or math they will find plenty of stuff to bond over. Since Mike doesn't really chat much any "uncomfortable silence" won't really be considered "uncomfortable".

Will Rooney remember how I held him and rocked him to sleep? Will he remember how we cooed to each to other and how he used to smile when I entered the room? Probably not and but now I have a new reason to keep this blog.

Not Just A One Trick Pony

In the week since I posted Rooney has visited alot of family and done many things. Rooney's Grandma and Grandpa Wade came to visit. He took them to Baby Fun @ the public library, Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium and the Microsoft Visitor Center/Museum. Rooney thought that was great and fun but he seemed to enjoy most when Grandpa would take him flying and his long walks with Grandma where they would have very deep, philosophical conversations.

In addition to Grandma and Grandpa Wade, Rooney also visited with Uncle Dan, Aunt Kim, Uncle Mark & Aunt Eileen. As you can see Uncle Mark was pretty taken with Roonster, but can you blame him? Rooney had a good time but he must confess, he slept through half of it. Not to say that he was bored. It's alot of work being a baby. Plus, Rooney was conserving his energy for what would become his official new trick...



Sadly, right after Grandma and Grandpa left, Rooney decided to start rolling over. If you think you remember from previous posts that I have already written about this, you would be correct. However what makes this different or (should I say) makes this official now is that he can roll over from either position- from tummy to back or from back to tummy. His arm still gets in the way every now & then (and haven't we all been tempted to cut an arm off for the same reason?) but he's been practicing all day and persevering.