June 17, 2008:  It's offical....Pie is a walker! He has been walking much more than he's been crawling today and twice I saw him stand up on his own with no hands and take off. We were so hoping that he would walk and the basement would be finished before the baby came and we got them both. Well, I should say the basement is almost ready. Just a few last touches such as doorknobs and this and that but we're hoping to get our final inspection tomorrow which means we can move in down there.

June 14, 2008:  So yesterday we had our carpet installed in the basement and when Ryan got home from work the three of us decided to go hang out on it. Well, I guess this is what Sethie has been waiting for because we had only been down there a few minutes when he decided to start walking on his own! It was so exciting for us. New carpet and a whole new phase in Sethie's life. So he's not really walking yet because he still is crawling unless we encourage him to walk but it should be any day now. I have to admit, it is a little strange to see my itty bitty Cutie Pie have such independence but I know it's how it's suppose to be.

June 13, 2008:  Seth has a couple of things he's been doing a lot lately. One thing that's not so cute is he has been gagging himself and making himself throw up. He sticks his fingers in his mouth so far that he pukes. I'm not sure why he's doing this. At first it seemed like he just wanted to chew his fingers because he is teething and maybe that is still the reason he is doing it but has taken it too far. He seems to do it a lot in the car which stinks for obvious reasons. Another thing is I was showing Sethie pictures of himself on the laptop the other night and he would see a picture of himself and say, "Sethie Sethie Sethie". So now whenever I sit down at the laptop he grabs the screen so he can see it and says, "Sethie Sethie Sethie" thinking there's going to be pictures of himself. I think it's fun that he can recognize himself in pictures now. That leads me to another cute thing. Seth can say his own name. He says both Seth and Sethie which I find adorable. In the last week or so Seth has also been lifting my shirt so he can see my belly and rubs it and even has kissed it a few times. I have no idea if he is understanding that his sister is in there or he is just particulary fond of my bare belly. Seth also learned how to blow kisses which again is just so stinking adorable.

June 11, 2008:  I realized this past Sunday that we haven't taken pictures of Seth probably since his birthday back in April. I guess we should probably get on that especially so we have some recent ones to post here. Seth is growing up very quickly. He's teething (he still just has two on the bottom) but those darn top ones are being pretty stubborn about coming out. He saw the dentist last week and actually let the dentist look at his teeth without any fuss. I was so proud of him because he doesn't even let me see them. His vocabulary seems to be growing exponentially. It amazes me how many words he knows and how many of them he can associate the object with the word. He's very very smart. Just yesterday I realized I could tell him to bring me something and he does it. Pretty handy. He's not walking yet but he has taken random steps, usually one or two at a time. Also, can walk if we just hold one of his hands. We often take these walks to the mailbox hoping to gain his balance and confidence. Seth is just a fun little guy and we love having him around.

May 12, 2008:  I'm sure any parent who goes to church on Sunday's for three hours at a time will agree that Sunday's are hard. Seth is really good at church and always has been. The amount of times I've ever had to take him out in the hallway because he was fussy I can count on one hand. It's actually the before church and after that is really hard. We go to church at one 'o clock so I don't put Seth down for his morning nap because I would just have to wake him up soon after to leave so right before church when Ryan and I are frantically putting the final touches on ourselves Seth gets clingy and cranky. After church is usually fine because Seth will go to sleep, however, if we have anywhere at all to go that evening we usually have to leave shortly after church so he doesn't get that nap either. I feel bad for the little guy because I definately know how it feels to need a nap so badly and not get one. Anyway, any misbehaving on Sundays I usually overlook because I don't think it's his fault. I do feel bad though because if we do go anywhere after church it's usually to see one of our families and Seth isn't himself because of the insane tiredness so people don't always get to see just how awesome he really is.

May 9, 2008:  Yesterday was Seth's day. I spent the entire day giving him tons and tons of attention because I've felt bad for kind of ignoring him the two days before that because he was so cranky and I felt so rotten. It's amazing what a difference it made. We had a day without any tears (from either of us). I waited to shower until he was napping and didn't clean or pick up a thing unless he was sleeping. I made sure we had lots of giggling time. It was really nice. We started the day playing with Trevan and Halie from next door. Trevan is 2 and a half and Seth loves watching and learning from him. Trevan calls Seth a baby like his little baby sister (who is 8 months old) and loves it when Seth says a word. I think he's just more amazed that the baby (Seth) can talk. It just started our whole day out really nice. I look forward to the warm weather when all the moms and kids in our neighborhood come outdoors. Last summer it wasn't really fun because Seth couldn't stand up but now that he's standing and crawling he can explore while I talk to my friends. Speaking of standing up, Seth is working on his balance. He can stand up without holding on to anything but hasn't quite gotten brave enough to take that first step. If he realizes he's not holding on to anything he doesn't fall over he just bends his knees to sit down. I assume he'll be walking in the next month or so. I didn't walk until I was 14 months old and I'm not sure about Ryan so I still think he's normal. Seth stayed up until almost midnight last night so he slept in until a little after ten this morning. I love my late sleeper. I'm not sure what I'd do if he was an early riser. Today Seth had his friend Sierra come over for a few hours while her mom went to class. We're going to have her come play every Friday until the new baby comes. Seth does really good with other kids. He shares his toys and only has to be reminded once in a while to not take toys from others. I thought it would be really good to have Seth have someone to play with and get used to sharing mom's attention. I think that Seth is done being in pain because he's just been so delightful yesterday and today. He still doesn't like to show me his teeth so I'm not sure if #3 came in or not.

May 7, 2008:  Ay yai yai. Alright, I have no idea how to spell that so maybe I should just write sheesh. I did my research and found that Seth's lack of appetite most likely has to do with his teething along with this awful rash he's been sporting on his cheeks and chin. Teething just got hard. At least I think it's teething. Yesterday was a really bad day for Pieman. The poor little guy must just be in so much pain it makes him pretty irritable and yesterday I was feeling 8 months pregnant so that didn't help the situation. Poor Ryan came home to a screaming Seth and a crying mom, but he stepped right in and took care of the little guy (who by the way LOVES his dad right now and I think would prefer if I went away each day so he could play with dad instead of mom) and even cleaned up after dinner which is something I usually do now that I'm not working. What a great dad and husband. Anyway, according to the doctor and the internet a tooth should come in about once a month now. Seth has been teething about every week and a half so he's not really getting a break from it. He's thrown up three or four times in his crib in the last two weeks which sucks because my washer and dryer got disconnected last Friday so the drywall could be done (see the New Baby page if you're wondering why we're drywalling). Anyway, this morning has been another cry fest for the Pieman. He doesn't usually give me grief about taking his morning nap but he screamed for over an hour until he just fell asleep a few minutes ago. I guess with parenthood you have the easy, fun, and enjoyable stretches until one day your world is rocked. I can't wait for the peace again.

May 5, 2008:  Arrrrg! Seth has decided that he doesn't want to eat anymore. I think he's just bored with the same 'ol food. I also think he's tasted lots of things with good flavor so his bland veggies and fruit and cereal just aren't doing it for him anymore. It's tough because he doesn't have any chewing teeth yet so I'm still limited in what I can give him. Meal time used to be fun and he'd eat whatever we put in front of him. Now it's him saying "no no no no no" as he shakes his head and refuses to eat. Even bread has lost its appeal. He doesn't like drinking juice but drinks lots and lots of milk. I gave him chocolate milk the other day as a treat and I guess it wasn't such a treat because it made him throw up. I think he's sensitive to chocolate. Ryan made Seth his first peanut butter and jelly sandwich two Sundays ago and it was hilarious. He makes this funny smacking sound because it's so sticky as he eats it. I fed him another peanut butter sandwich in Sunday school yesterday and everyone was turning around to watch him because it was so funny to hear the smacking. Seth had a good weekend. My best friend Emily was here for the weekend and he loved her. I'm pretty sure liked playing with her more than playing with me. It was nice to have someone he enjoyed playing with so I could put my feet up for a few minutes.

April 30, 2008:  On Monday Seth cut his second tooth. He is being such a big boy about it. He hasn't complained or cried. He does stick his finger in his mouth quite a bit but that's about the only indication we have that he is teething. I sure hope all the teeth come in this easily. I'd post a picture of it but he doesn't like to show us his teeth. Everytime I ask to see them he says "no" and shakes his head side to side.

April 23, 2008:  Seth just got back from his one year check up. He weighs 20 lbs and 3 ozs and is 30 inches tall. He's very healthy and even gets to stop his iron supplements (that's more of a yea for mom and dad who thought it was a bother to give them to him). If you notice the orange tint to Seth's nose and cheeks in pictures it's just because of the orange veggies he's eating and the doctor said it's actually healthy. He got four shots today and did great. He cried when the MMR went in because apparently that one stings but that was the extent of his tears. He also had to get his finger pricked to check his iron levels and that upset him pretty good but as soon as the lab lady left him alone he stopped crying. I hear the MMR shot can hurt pretty bad for a few days so we'll see how he does. Also, there's no worry about Seth only having one tooth and he should start getting one about every month. Seth gets to have a big boy car seat so as soon as Ryan has some free time we'll go pick one out for him. I think he's going to love facing forward and be able to see what's going on in the front of the car.

April 22, 2008:  Sethie's tooth coming in doesn't seem to be bothering him. Another woo-hoo! I've heard stories of cranky babies but mine doesn't seem to be bothered. Also, since his tooth came in the incessant drooling has stopped. He has been sleeping lots and lots so maybe that's how it's affecting him. I'll take tons of sleeping anyday. I'd love to post a picture of his brand new tooth but he doesn't like to show it off. Seth has been talking more and more. It's fun to see him recognize an object and call it what it is. Some of the popular words these days are balloon, yeah, diaper (biper) and basketball (okay, he says b-b-ball but still pretty cool). He can repeat tons of words and it's fun because it's not so lonely during the day anymore. I feel like I have someone to talk to. Seth is also off his Lactose-free milk and seems to be doing fine. He is also developing more tastes both likes and dislikes. If he finds a container of his puffed grains he'll bring it to me or Ryan so he can have some and if he's done eating a certain food he says "No" and shakes his head from side to side and you can't get him to eat anymore. It is nice so we don't have to worry if we're overfeeding him anymore. His hair is coming in and getting long in the back. He's got these curls in the back that are unmanagable and stick out, but at least he's getting hair. It seems like there are so many changes each day I just can't remember them all when I sit down to write about them. He just seems to be growing up extra fast since his birthday. He's not walking yet and it doesn't seem like he will be for a while. It would be really nice if he was by the time the new baby comes, although since he can crawl he's really good at following us around and coming to us if we need him to so maybe it won't be such a big deal if he's not.

April 16, 2008:  Sethie has a tooth! Woo-hoo!

April 13, 2008:  Friday was Sethie's first birthday. It turned out to be a pretty good day. Me and Ryan took him to lunch and one of the workers made a big deal out of Seth's birthday and made sure he got a birthday ice cream cone. We also had a Sesame Street party for him with family and a good family friend. Seth accidently put his hand in the cake and got frosting all over it and did not like it at all. When we cut him a ginormous piece he wouldn't touch it. I had to fork feed him his cake. He was wearing a white t-shirt and no bib and came out perfectly clean. Gee, you think his parents are clean freaks? Present wise he got some really neat stuff and has enjoyed playing with all of his loot all weekend. His very favorite present seems to be an Elmo book that Aunt Tonya gave him. He drags it around the house saying "emoh emoh emoh emoh emoh". Seth is growing up quickly. His vocabulary is growing every day and he seems to be growing quickly. I noticed his face is filling out and his fingers and feet seem to be getting bigger. Here are some pictures of the big day.

March 19, 2008:  Seth Pie is doing great. He is a crawling maniac. He's learned now that he can go room to room looking for his mom or dad if he gets left alone. Seth takes every opportunity to pull himself to standing. He's even learned he can climb his mom and dad. He just discovered the dishwasher the other day. He likes to stand at it and touch everything he can reach. His new independence is exciting and a little emotional (for mom). I (mom) can't believe in less than a month Sethie is turning one! I swear we just brought him home from the hospital yesterday. Piester has a great appetite and will eat anything we let him. I keep telling him if he'll grow some teeth he'll get to eat so much more. Seth Pie loves his pacifiers. He doesn't really need them most of the time, but if he sees one he will ignore everything on his way to pick it up. It's really funny if you put more than one in front of him. He will sit and take one out and put another in and repeat this for as long as we let him and he'll go through as many as you put in front of him. When I get him out of his crib sometimes he ends up with two and he's always got his hand on the extra. Seth loves attention and one of his favorite games is "I'm going to get you" which he often starts. His favorite way to play is to crawl a little, then look at you and smile and then hurry and crawl away really fast. That means you are suppose chase him while saying "I'm going to get you". He's a real fun kid.