Backyard Fun

In between naps, feedings and playing with Cian, Brian and I have also been tackling our backyard. Since we are home bound much more these days, we wanted to be able to actually enjoy using our backyard and grill out. Instead of dragging the grill out of the garage and grilling out in our driveway, which we currently do. Classy!

First the positives: our view from our backdoor of the golf course. Lot's of green grass and trees and once in a while a golfer or two. Seriously, this is the most bizarre country club where they never play golf!

Looking down from our back door. The lovely wood steps the builder put in and our small patch of grass before the ravine.

The back of our house from the golf course. Not much going on and not a lot of fun to hang out at.

Now, the negatives. Ideally, we would LOVE to have a deck off of our house like our neighbors to the right:

 Our deck would have a pergola and go out to the edge of our property line, hanging over the ravine. But a deck like this will be around $20,000(!) and that's just not in our budget right now : (

My sketch of our dream deck. Impressive, I know.
 Who needs blue prints when you can design a deck in microsoft paint? ha ha ha ha

Our neighbors to the left added a roof and raised patio, but its too small for our plans.

So in order to be able to enjoy our backyard this year, have a table and some chairs and the grill out back we decided to have a small paver patio installed. We got a GREAT deal, as Brian used to run track w/ the landscaper's owner's son in high school. As we wait patiently (I am learning patience having a child!)  for the patio to be installed, we started some prep work to improve the backyard: we moved some shrubs from the front yard to the back, bought some new chairs and spray painted our old table black, to match the chairs.

Now, the patio is installed ..... more pictures soon!

Lights, Camera, Action!

Have a couple of quick videos of Cian from the past month or two in case you would like to see him action....

Quick little video of Cian outgrowing his swing (wiping away my tears)

This video is from June, one day Cian came home from daycare talking up a storm!

Cian figured out how to jump in his jumperoo. Its a little long, so skip to the last 10 seconds when he freaks out jumping. Its pretty funny.

Cian eating his 1st real food- sweet potatoes!

Time for some cereal!

Cian got his first taste of cereal on July 11th. So far, he is a really good eater. Didn't really care for the rice cereal but loves oatmeal.  Here are some videos and pictures... sorry about my annoying voice!  (and no, Cian's hair is not red. It's from the lighting)

First taste of cereal..

Cereal, day 2 (he knew what was coming and was a total freak!)

Brian feeding Cian cereal for the first time...

Cian still deciding if he likes it...

Starting to like this and get excited...

Until the bowl is empty and the tears come.

A couple days later Cian had mastered feeding himself! (joking) This picture shows his real hair color.

Cian - 5 months old

Posting the five month onesie shot very late this month! Cian's going to be six months next week....


Cian turned 5 months old on Friday, July 13th. By the end of June he was weighing 16.4lbs so we are expecting he is over 17lbs by now.

This past month has been such a fun time and we are loving every moment of being with Cian. He is laughing and giggling a lot, which makes us act goofy all the time to try and get some of his belly laughs.  He figured out distances, so we play a lot of  the "I'm going to get you" and "where's mommy/daddy" games which he loves. He also started grabbing our noses and hair with much more accuracy, which we don't love. He's got a really strong grip!

He is moving around a lot, rolling from his back to his stomach but no rolling the other way. No crawling yet, which is fine with me! He started sleeping on his stomach, but this is more to do with falling over from his side than wanting too.  Every morning its anyone's guess where he will be in the crib from moving around all night long.  He still sleeps like a champ - he goes down around 8-9pm and wakes up between 6-7am, even later on the weekends (love this kid!!!).

He is talking up a storm and still loves his fingers and hand in his mouth. No teeth yet, but they are coming soon! He started cereal and baby food and so far he is a really good eater. Hopefully he won't get my picky eating habits!

 

Very hard to get a smile from Cian this month because he would not stop talking! This is him mid-babble!

And he also wouldn't sit still. Loves to roll all around!

His normal look- fingers in his mouth.

Wished I would have done this shot since birth! Great way to show you how big Cian is getting!

For Leslie - she has been dying for a crying shot!

Catching up

Wow, where did July go??? I can't believe it's August already! Have lots to update, so here are some pictures from June and July to keep you busy while I write a ton of posts....



Our happy little guy one morning before daycare. Love him in this outfit, he looks like a little kid.

Cousins! Jackson (2.5 months) and Cian (4.5 months) hanging out. This is what our living room floor looks like all the time!

Saturday mornings! PJs, blanket and snuggling on the sofa. Love these mornings!

Some of Cian's goofy faces

Cian discovered his toes and doesn't let go of them. (Hope you all enjoy this Flash t-shirt, as Uncle Josh bought Cian one of these shirts in every size until he's 3!!!!)

I finally cut off the always present ponytail and got myself a new haircut that requires I wash and style it! Wish me luck!!!

Cian's favorite game- playing airplane with daddy. Look at Brian's face- love this picture!

Cian's funny face while playing airplane!

For those of you with older children - bet you don't miss this!!! Cian was having so much fun playing with Brian that he totally crapped himself all over and didn't care! He was mad we stopped playing with him! Oh the fun of cleaning that up!

Happy 4th of July!

Hope everyone had a great 4th of July!

Here's Cian's first 4th of July. As you can see he was totally thrilled. Bet you didn't realize that sharks were part of our Independence Day? Yeah, well the shirt was red, white and blue...

Cian - 4 months old

Cian turned 4 months old on Wednesday, June 13th.  At his four month well visit, he weighed 15lb 15oz. He gained 1.7lbs in a month! He's 24" tall. He is wearing the last of his 3month clothes and is starting to wear mostly 6month clothes. Hoping the 6month clothes last him summer/early fall, as I have no clue what size clothes to buy him for cold weather, so passing up great sales.

He still loves sucking on his hands and fingers and everything goes in his mouth. He is rolling onto his side a lot and has rolled over (front to back and back to front) several times but no big desire to do it all the time. Still loves his activity mat, his rabbit on the changing table and his swing. Starting to enjoy his jumparoo much more (the red parrot no longer terrifies him!). He is such a happy boy - laughing and smiling all the time. And, I'm afraid to say this out loud, turning out to be a great sleeper! We put him down around 8:30/9pm and he'll sleep until 7:30am.

Preparing ourselves for the next big thing: introducing solid food! (More like, preparing mommy that her little boy is growing up soooo fast!) Don't worry, we'll post some videos of him trying food for the first time!