It's A New Day

I'm sure my dad is laughing at the title of this blog post!!  But seriously, it is a "new day" at the Bland house!

We began 2011 by doing an "overhaul" on our house and getting rid of tons of "stuff".  I took loads to goodwill and donated a car full to Junior League's rummage sale.  We organized all of the closets, drawers and bins in our house.  Additionally, Derek cleaned out and organized our entire garage!  It looks amazing!!

Hayes met a new friend, Bennett Elkins, who is just 3 days younger than him!  It seems as if all my friends have had little girls lately so it was so nice to finally meet his male buddy!!  Here they are playing on the play mat and in their bumbo seats:

My new job has been going well other than having to miss a few days due to being sick!  We have actually all been sick several times this year and found out this week that poor little Hayes has croop!  Croop is "a condition that causes an inflammation of the upper airways — the voice box (larynx) and windpipe (trachea). It often leads to a barking cough or hoarseness, especially when a child cries."  It has been so sad to hear him in pain!!  With all the germs that have been circulating, I have been on a mission to sanitize EVERYTHING in our house!

Despite being sick, Hayes still manages to smile and warm our hearts.  Here he is in his argyle sweater.....

having fun in the exersaucer....

and taking a quick "cat nap" on daddy

Neyland is no exception to the new year clean out.  He got a brand new bed and took a much needed trip to the groomers!  Here he is sporting another new bandana....

Cereal Time!

We decided this past week, after much debate, to start trying rice cereal with Hayes.  I figured it would take a few days, maybe even weeks, for him to really eat any.  Boy was I wrong!  Our little man gobbled it up the first night!  Here are some pictures from the first few days.....

first time wearing a bib

first couple of bites

daddy's turn

"give me some more of that"

all done

just a little bit on his face...........

*Below are a few other shots from this past week*

His high chair doubles as his home office.....

"if only I could eat these things, too...."

reading time with daddy

*Our little man has also had a cold this week which has been so sad!!  On a good note, he is learning how to soothe himself now that he is sleeping on his stomach and we are finally getting used to all his movement in the crib!  Who knew that after getting him to sleep through the night on his back that we would have to "sleep train" once again now that he is on his stomach.  We stopped using the sleep sack (which we think may have been hindering him from rolling back around) and just have him sleep in very thick feety pajamas.  Also, after removing the bumper pads, then putting them back in again, I decided that neither option really made me comfortable.  So I found these "breathable bumper pads" that seem to be working great.  They keep him from getting limbs caught between the slats and are also breathable if he rolls into them.  Cheers to always finding new baby products!*

5 Months Old!

Baby Hayes is 5 Months old today!  

It has been a big month with his first Christmas, first snow, and first New Years Eve (although we watched the ball drop the next day on DVR!)  Today was especially a big day because it was also his first day at Cambridge Academy where he will be in January while I am training for my new part time job.  I think he had a great time and really enjoyed getting out of the house and being with other babies.  Here he is making some new friends.....

Currently, he is still breastfeeding exclusively 5 times a day (no formula or solids yet) and sleeping un-swaddled in a sleep sack mostly on his stomach!!  He has turned into our little "rolly polly" and is ALL OVER THE PLACE including in his crib!  Lately he has been waking us up at night disoriented when he discovers that he has rolled over.  Although this is great for his development, it has been a scary change for us!  We hope to be getting more sleep soon once our little busy-body gets used to all this "sleep rolling"!

He is putting absolutely EVERYTHING in his mouth and has lately developed a very intense, high-pitched squeal!!  It's pretty funny to see his little personality come out!

He is starting to learn to sit up like such a big boy......

Look at all the hair he has started to get!

He is loving joining us for meals (with all his toys) in his new high chair......

We love the "space saver model" because it actually feels like he is at the table with us!  I, of course, especially like it because it doesn't add any additional clutter to the kitchen!!

Speaking of clutter, we have actually moved furniture out of our house and re-arranged our living room to make room for all of Hayes' new gear.  I give you his new "play area"....

Here he is "computing" on his laptop he got for Christmas....

He still LOVES watching Sesame and literally smiles and laughs out loud when he sees Elmo!

Happy to be wearing his new overalls....

and still LOVING his bath time.....

And we are still LOVING being his parents and seeing him change every single day.  We cannot believe how rapidly he is changing and developing into a little boy!  Thanks sweet Hayes for another great month!  We love you!!