Ricketts Glen

This weekend we hiked at Ricketts Glen State Park. It was colder and much snowier than in Bloomsburg, but we were still able to get out for a little while. We dressed Trafton very warm, but he still got cold and fussy about twenty minutes into the hike. The sun was shining in a cloudless blue sky, which was beautiful, but it still felt like winter weather out there.

Sitting on the tailgate before getting bundled

Bundled and ready Hanging in the car waiting for Mommy and Daddy to get ready

Luckily Daniel is willing to wrap Trafton for hikes - at over 20 pounds he's too heavy for me now!

Starting to get cold, but still pretty happy :)

The beginnings of the fuss

Full-on fuss!

Let's get back to the car guys, I'm freezing!

We turned Trafton from facing out to facing Daddy thinking that would keep him warmer. It helped him calm down a little bit.

Back near the road to the entrance of the park - Trafton was very happy to get un-bundled and sit in the car where it was warm. We even went out to eat at the Hoboken Sub Shop and he was super sweet and charming to everyone around us.

Family picture

The Bridge

Last night Daniel convinced me (he is such a great husband!) to go away for the night and have some fun seeing some live music (something we used to do together just a bit more in the pre-Trafton days). It was such a great night! Jess, Joe and I met Tara and Carrie at the Appalachian Brewing Company in Harrisburg to see The Bridge rock the house. Two years ago for my 30th birthday Daniel and I saw The Bridge in Baltimore (where the band is from) when they opened for moe. They played such a terrific show then and an even better show last night. Trafton and Daniel had a good night together and Trafton was great through the night. He only woke up once and Daniel was able to get him back to sleep with no trouble. Trafton missed his last feeding from me last night and his first one this morning, (since he won't take a bottle) but he was still great! What a fun time :)

Jessica, Tara, and me

Joe and Jessica

The Bridge

takin' it deep :)

Kale?

Trafton is such a good eater! He continues to eat all the food I make for him - he just gobbles all my concoctions right up. Tonight, however, he wasn't too thrilled. I made a mixture of whole grains, lentils, tofu, zucchini and kale. He has eaten all these foods before with the exception of the kale. He did eat it, but not in his usual starving baby manner. I guess kale has a very strong flavor. About halfway through, he decided that he just wanted to play/feed himself. Here is the messy result.

The bowl tastes better than that kale mixture!

I won't eat anymore

but playing with it is kinda fun :)

9 month check-up

This week at Trafton's 9 month doctor's visit he weighed in at 20 pounds, 8 ounces and he measured 2 feet, 4 inches. His height and weight have leveled out now to the 50th percentile, but his head circumference still remains in the 90th percentile. I just think his big head is so cute! He wiggled like crazy and ripped all the paper on the exam table to shreds and tried to eat it. Then he promptly pooped when the doctor came in. What a wild man . . . There were no shots this time, but he does have another ear infection. This time it's only in one of the ears and the doctor gave him Augmentin which she said is stronger than the Amoxicillin he was taking for his last round of ear infections. I hope it makes him feel better since he's been coughing a bunch at night again.

Downstairs Bathroom

This past weekend Daniel's father came to help us tile our downstairs bathroom and put in a new toilet. The project started Friday afternoon and went late into the night and continued all day Saturday and Sunday. But, all that hard work was totally worth it. When we first moved in, we quickly painted the dark wood paneling and updated the faucet and mirror. We also ripped out the yellowing linoleum to expose the old wooden subfloor. It wasn't until just now that we could finish the job. With a little research we found out that the toilet in our bathroom was last made in 1957 and used 7 gallons per flush - talk about wasteful! Our new sleek model (I used to be so cool, now I get excited over new toilets!) uses only 1.28 gallons per flush. Hooray for the water bill :)

Trafton checking out the progress after the cement board was partially laid

Cement board is finished, time to lay the tiles

Tiling is finished, time for the new potty

But first, let's stick the baby in there!

Oops - the new toilet tank is much smaller than the old one, causing a need for us to run out and get some more orange paint for the walls where the new tank will expose some dark wood paneling. Break time while the paint dries :)

There she is - what a beauty!

Time to grout

One day Trafton will sit there for real.

9 Months Old!

Today Trafton turned nine months old! Our big guy is sitting very well and laughing a ton. He is not only scooting like crazy, but also rolling several times in a row to move side to side. He sucks his thumb to soothe himself and can clap his hands and wave, too. He still shows no signs of crawling, but he is an efficient mover, nonetheless :) He went to the doctor two weeks ago (for double ear infections, which have thankfully cleared all up) and weighed in at 19 1/2 pounds. His well baby visit isn't until next week. His favorite toys are his baby mirror, his rolling/singing/counting turtle, and the remote control for the TV. Our friend, Rich, just donated an old remote that doesn't work for any of his electronics to Trafton's cause and Trafton just thinks it's great! The other day he decided to go on a nursing strike which caused me all sorts of grief. He took milk in the morning and then refused it at all other feeding times throughout the day. Maybe because he was in teething pain? I am not sure why, but he is back to eating - it only lasted one day. He has two bottom teeth and his two top teeth are about halfway in now. Trafton is still a wonderful sleeper getting about 15 hours a day. We are just having so much fun with him!

Happily playing on the floor

Chillin' in the crib (sockless, of course!)

I love how Trafton is artfully posed in the nude so as not to show any indecent parts!

Trafton is helping me peel potatoes with wooden tongs.

Anytime Trafton is being held and gets near the drums, he goes for them. Maybe he'll be just like his daddy and have a love for the thump.

Pack n Play time

Trafton loves to scoot as far under the couch as possible. I really think that he thinks that he is going to be able to get under there, but his head won't fit. He tries, though by pushing his face under there and scooting into the bottom of the couch headfirst. He loves to be in tight spaces (like our cats) such as under tables, under our bed, and under the TV stand.

Trafton's favorites: the baby mirror and the turtle

Maybe I should climb higher?

Look-alikes

Having dinner at Rich's house

Trafton is happy to be held by Rich.

Trafton has rarely fallen asleep in my arms - I just think it's so great when he does!

And now he's sleeping in Daddy's arms!

Even more rare - he actually took a nap with me :)

President's Day weekend

On President's Day weekend, we traveled to New Jersey to visit the Beyers. Here is Trafton playing at Pappy's house while Jack the cat relaxes next to him. Unlike our two cats who want absolutely nothing to do with Trafton, Pappy's cat loves to be near Trafton almost all the time. Of course, Trafton just thinks this is the greatest thing in the world since he loves cats, but can never seem to get enough of ours. When Jack sat down here, Trafton froze and barely looked over at him. I love his expression - like "Did this cat just sit down next to me - oh my goodness - I better not make a move or he'll run away like those other cats I live with!"

Ready to get into pajamas, but first - naked babies are so fun to pass around. He's happy to be on soon-to-be Aunt Melissa's lap.

On Saturday night, Pappy watched Trafton (Trafton was sleeping the whole time, thank goodness!) so we could go see Cabinet at the Sarah Street Grille in Stroudsburg with Jonathan and Melissa. It was so much fun except for the part where we went to sleep at 2 am and Trafton woke up at 6 am ready for the day. That was a little rough! But, he is such a good napper that I just slept while he did during the day - like when he was a newborn :)