Re-vamping!

I'm in the process right now of re-vamping our blog site. I hope to have new info and pictures up soon!

Summer time!!!

We are officially out of school for the summer and Mitchell and I have been loving almost every minute of it! I say "almost" every minute, because I know we both probably drive each other crazy a little bit since we are not used to all of this one-on-one time. But so far, it has been fun to play everyday.

Since our last post, so much has happened. At the end of his eight months and into nine months, Mitchell really started to take off with walking. At this point, he runs everywhere! Keeping up with him has definitely been a challenge, but we have everything around the house "baby-proofed" so he is free to roam wherever he pleases.

Mitchell also has a mouth full of teeth! He is currently working on pushing through more molars and his final front bottom teeth. This has been a fairly smooth process, although the crib rails are suffering because of it!

We also recently found out that Mitchell's food allergies are a little more severe than what we originally thought. As of right now, we definitely know that he is allergic to milk, soy, eggs, and wheat. We will be visiting a Pediatric Allergist at Vanderbilt in August to do more tests to find out what else he is allergic to since his skin continues to break out. We are also hoping to gain a little more insight as to how long these allergies will last and if he will ever outgrow them. For now, we're just doing our research, reading our labels, and keeping his diet pretty strict.

Overall we are just enjoying our time with Mitchell as he grows everyday. We are so amazed with what new things he comes up with each day. He is beginning to say coherent words and "Daddy, ball, socks, hi, and bye" are some of his favorite. Moo-ing like a cow is also quickly catching on around the Reid house.

Now that I'm out of school for the summer, just maybe I can keep this blog more updated....we'll see!!

Sleeping Angel

We have learned that when Mitchell is ready to sleep, he'll definitely let us know. He is alot like his Daddy in that he sleeps best when he's in his own bed at home. When he gets tired he almost instantly falls asleep when we lay him down in his crib. But unlike his Daddy and more like his Mommy, he absolutely loves his blankets and pillows. Every time we lay him down he reaches up for a blanket to wrap his arms around and rub his little face in to put himself to sleep.

He has also recently been wiggling around until his head is either in between or on top of his crib pillows. He obviously enjoys the comforts of his crib and will no doubt be a high maintenance sleeper.

As I watch him settle into his sleeping routine, I know this is something that I will always remember about him as he grows older and moves out of his crib. I know that someday when we make the switch to a "big boy bed" I will be sad because he will no longer have the need to do these sweet things to put himself to sleep. But for now, I'll just take this time to enjoy how precious he looks when he reaches up for his blanket right before he drifts off to sleep.

We're still here!

I know it's been a while since I've posted when I have Brad asking me to post more often...but if you knew how our life has been in the past few months you may understand a little bit as to why I've been short on time...

Well to begin, we are both now very busy chasing our little crawler around. Not too long after Christmas, Mitchell began pulling up on things and standing. Brad and I were convinced that he would walk before he crawled because he still showed no interest in crawling. Well, we were wrong. Just over seven months old, Mitchell decided he wanted to crawl and he took off! Needless to say, we have seen alot of his backside since! He is all over the place now. Now that he's nine months, he's walking around holding on to things and beginning to stand on his own. It's only a matter of time before he decides he's ready to take off running!

Mitchell has also gotten in four more teeth. He now has his top two teeth and four on the bottom, for a total of six little chompers. And believe us when we say he is definitely learning how to use them! At his 9 month appointment last week, Dr. Tara also informed us that his bottom molars were starting to come in along with another top back tooth. I guess there is no rest for teething in this house!

As for Brad and myself, we have been very busy completing the duplex remodel. Brad finished up at the end of January and we were able to rent it shortly thereafter. It was such a relief to finally get that project finished and hopefully renters will be able to enjoy it for years to come.

I will try to continue to post several pictures, but I am starting to realize that in all of this chaos that is now our lives, I haven't stopped to take the time to capture these moments on camera. This was a great realization for me so I feel like I will be posting more often...starting tomorrow! :o)

So much has happened!!

Well, it's been a little over a month since my last post and so much has happened since then!! Mitchell has been able to sit up by himself for a little over a month now. This makes it nice for us because it gives him another way to play with his toys and keep him entertained. He loves sitting up because it makes him feel like a big boy and like he is in the middle of everything that's going on...which is where he loves to be!!!




We went for his six-month check-up right before Thanksgiving and we were told that he can now eat meats and start trying to drink from a sippy cup! He also had swollen top gums and we were told that we should be expecting his top two teeth within weeks. He is still staying in the 90th %ile in height (27 inches) and weight (19.6 lbs). A big, healthy boy!!! If you look very closely in the picture below, you can get a glimpse of his two bottom teeth. He doesn't show them very often, so catching a picture with them in it is tough!



We are now working to get Mitchell on a breakfast, lunch, and dinner schedule. He has done pretty well with this routine so far. I'm pretty sure he is a bottomless pit because we usually have to cut him off. I am frightened to think about what future grocery bills will look like when he starts getting older!



On a sadder note, Mitchell's great-granddad, PaPaw Reid, passed away about a week before Thanksgiving. We are so appreciative of all of the thoughts and prayers that we received during that time. We are also so grateful that Mitchell got to visit with PaPaw Reid on Halloween. He will definitely be missed, but we take great comfort in knowing that we will get to see both of Mitchell's PaPaw Reids shining through Mitchell as he grows up.
Hopefully it won't be as long in between posts. I will try to keep you updated more often because Mitchell is changing everyday!!!

Happy Halloween!

Mitchell had a great first halloween!!! He loved dressing up as a spider. His costume was so puffy, however, that he could not fit in his carseat. Because of that, we had to dress and undress him at each stop. This became rather tiresome for him and for us, so by the end of the night, he was just a skeleton!

Mitchell decided after he woke up around 2:00pm that day, that he did not want to take a nap again. He did not want to miss seeing everyone and the action that was going on around him. He was really good considering he was awake until 8:30 that night! 6 1/2 hours awake for a 5 month old with few tears is a wonderful feat! He finally had enough and passed out in our arms. We would definitely call his first halloween a success!!!

Mitchell loves solid foods!

He loves his cereal!

Well, it has been almost three weeks now and Mitchell has really liked eating solid foods. He was a little unsure of the cereal at first, but now that he knows what to do with it, he is eager to eat. We have introduced carrots and those have become a big hit! He loves them so much that he literally screams and gets mad when you don't feed him fast enough. I'm beginning to wonder when it is appropriate to start teaching a child patience...

Anyways, we will be going to green beans next with the hopes that he loves them as much as he does carrots. Maybe by Thanksgiving, he will have a whole buffet of vegetables from which he can choose!

Meat and Potatoes!

Well, it looks like Mitchell will not have to wait any longer to try out solid foods! His doctor feels like he is ready to start taking in more than just formula. We are starting him out slowly on cereal for two weeks and then going to try out one vegetable a week. We are waiting at least a week in between veggies to make sure he doesn't have an allergic reaction to anything. We are keeping our fingers crossed that he won't show signs of allergies once he starts eating solids.

Mitchell has also officially broken the bottom gum line with teeth. When he lets us look under his tongue (a difficult feat), we can see his white tooth sticking through! The doctor assured us that it wouldn't be long before he'd be wanting meat and potatoes because he's a growing boy!!!

4 months and counting!

I can't believe a month has already flown by since my last post! As you can probably tell, we've been pretty busy this past month. I have started going back to work so it has been an adjustment at home. Mitchell is really enjoying his babysitter and loves being around the other kids during the day. I miss him so much, but I can honestly say it feels good to be back to work.

The transition from Hendron to Sharpe has been fairly easy, although I do still miss my HLOE friends. My new job has already taught me so much more about the world of education and it really has me wanting to dive in and challenge myself with learning new teaching strategies. I know that I made a great decision to take this new job and I feel good about what's in store for me in the future.

Brad continues to remodel the duplex that we own and he hopes to have it finished by November. It looks wonderful and I continue to be impressed by what he can do. We'll definitely post some before and after pictures when it is complete.

But enough about us and on to Mitchell...

Mitchell has grown so much over the past month. He now weighs almost 17 pounds and is close to 26 inches long! We will be going for his 4 month appointment in about a week and we're hoping that our doctor will let us put him on solid foods soon. He can now roll over from his stomach to his back. We were very excited when he started doing this on the day he turned 4 months old. He has also started noticing himself and us in the mirror. He gets a big grin on his face when we hold him in front of the mirror and he sees us! Mitchell has also figured out that he can successfully reach and grab things that he wants. Right now, he is fighting congestion and we are giving him breathing treatments three times a day. When we are giving him these treatments, he is constantly reaching for the tubes to pull them out of his way! Mitchell continues to sleep through the night and has made it very easy to transition back to work. He is easy to get dressed and fed in the morning and is usually very happy to do so.

We will try to post more often, it has just been kind of crazy this past month with all of us coming and going in different directions!

3 Months Old!!!

It is so hard to believe that Mitchell is already three months old!!! He is changing so much and continues to hit new milestones each week. Since our last post, he has already done so many new things. We can honestly say that he is now sleeping through the night. He takes his last bottle around 9:00pm and sleeps until 6:00am. We are so excited because this will help out tremendously when I go back to work after Labor Day. Mitchell is also very particular about where he sleeps now. When he is ready for a nap he wants to be laid down in his crib. We still want to rock him and hold him sometimes until he falls asleep, but he won't let us! He cries until we put him in his crib and as soon as he is laid down, he falls asleep! This holds true almost 90% of the time. It makes it great at bedtime, but difficult when we are visiting friends and family and he's ready to go to sleep!

Mitchell is also very eager to sit and stand up now. He will frequently grab our fingers and strain to pull himself to a sitting or standing position. He does not like to lay down when he's awake, he wants to be sitting or standing like a big boy! Because of this, we have found a new toy that he has taken interest in because he is able to stand up to play in it.



Mitchell has also developed the first signs of a tooth! We could hardly believe it because he is still so young, but he has one little point of a tooth barely sticking out over his bottom gums. Consequently, he is drooling alot more these days!

It is hard to believe how quickly Mitchell is developing. I am almost sad to go back to work because I feel like I'm going to miss so much! However, we are very excited about Mitchell's babysitter and the opportunity he will have to interact with other kids. We will try to continue to keep you updated on the many things that Mitchell is doing!

My new toys!

Mitchell has been paying attention to music and lights for a while now, so we decided to buy him a playmat that would keep him entertained. He really enjoys laying under the lights and music. He will coo and squeal along while trying to grab the animals that are hanging over his head. He has also grown very fond of one of his puppies. Each time he sees it he gets a big smile on his face and starts kicking his legs! We are having so much fun finding things that entertain him!

Gone Campin'

Mitchell had a good time visiting his Mawmaw and Pawpaw Lundy last weekend at the campground. They pushed him around in the stroller and kept him entertained.

It's been two weeks...

Well, it's been two weeks since Mitchell has started on Nutramigen AA and so far, it seems to be working. We are noticing less fussiness and upset stomach and he seems to be fairly happy most of the time. He still has his occasional colicky nights, but at this point it seems to be much better than before. Even though his special order formula is expensive and difficult to obtain quickly, we are ok with it as long as we have a happy baby!

On another note, our household is undergoing another change as I have taken on a new job. I will now be working at Sharpe Elementary as the 3rd-5th grade resource teacher. I am very excited about my new opportunity as well as the fact that I will be less than two minutes from Mitchell's babysitter. Please keep us all in your prayers as we continue to adjust to all of the new changes each day!!!

Emma loves her cousin!

Emma is always so happy to see Mitchell! She always wants him to have a bottle and loves to help Gran take care of him. Although she can't exactly pronounce his name correctly (it comes out "itchell"), she still shows him how much she cares about him by showering him with kisses and attention!!!

Ok, so maybe we spoke too soon...

So once again, it's back to the drawing board for the formula. We are now moving on to Nutramigen AA which is supposed to be completly free of any and all milk and/or soy proteins. We have noticed that when switching to different formulas, Mitchell will do great for about a week or so and then an allergic reaction starts to form again and of course, with each formula he's reacted in different ways. We are hoping this is our final switch, because we honestly don't know where to go from here. So, we'll have to keep you posted on how this formula works, although we'll be hesitant now to say for at least two weeks how he is truly responding to this. We tell ourselves many times that we are lucky that he is very healthy other than these allergies, but it is still hard to see our baby boy hurting so much. Please say a little prayer for Mitchell and his new formula!