Getting Ready for the Holidays

Happy Solstice, Merry Christmas, and a joyous holiday season to you and yours! Fischer makes an adorable addition to Santa's team of reindeer :) He liked the headband--he could see it out of the corner of his eye so he kept tilting his head back to try and get a better look at it.

Here's a current family pic, too :) We're all very fashionable in our jammies.

Fischer continues to be interested in the kitties. They're tolerant of his random grabs and slaps, if they're lucky enough to get within his reach! You can see how red Joe's beard is--Fischer's hair continues to fill in, and it's staying a nice strawberry blonde.

The other night when Mike and Chris visited us from nextdoor (aka the Crazy Neighbor Lady and her Husband), they had their holiday headgear on. It was a very festive atmosphere--it was hard to get a good photo because everyone was laughing so hard!

Fischer stays sitting up on his own, now. He occupies himself sometimes in his crib, turning his jungle soother off and on by hitting the button...until he tips over by accident, then he just hits the button with one of his feet! He grabs at anything that catches his eye that might be in his reach.

I think he's teething, again, because his appetite is reminiscent of October, when he would drink very little for them at daycare. Despite this, he nurses well for me when we're together, and eats his fruits and veggies like a champ. He thinks he's too cool for bottles, too, because what little his teachers can get him to drink, they give him from a sippy cup. His 'productive' cough continues, but it comes and goes throughout the day. Hopefully we'll have some new teeth early in the new year!

Fischer has begun to wimper a little when I walk out of his classroom, too. He does the same thing when I enter his classroom and don't pay him attention--if I just have a quick message or question for his teachers. At home he doesn't seem to mind when I am in and out of the room he's in. We'll have to see if that changes soon!

Fischer can officially roll in both directions, now. He was hanging out with me in the office at work one day--I was trying to give him a break because there were lots of sick kids in his room, and his teachers needed to clean up a yucky mess at the time. I spread out my sweatshirt on the floor and gave him an empty water bottle to play with. He tossed it to the side and rolled right over to get it. I noticed when one of the teachers saw him and exclaimed "Oh, what're you doing?!" He was on his belly, but was struggling a bit with his arm awkwardly pinned to his side--he had put it down to roll and was having trouble getting it out in front of him. But he did it! One evening recently when I went to Appleton to have coffee night with Kristy, Joe and Fischer were home together and Joe settled in to watch him roll. When I was on the highway about half way to Kristy's, Joe called and said, "He just dropped that shoulder and rolled right over! Gotta go. Bye." :)

Fischer is very observant of all that is around him. He's very ticklish and quick to laugh and smile. We can't believe he's gonna be 7 months soon!

Fischer meets Santa

Fischer had his 6 month check-up over a week ago with Dr. Hoyer. He's in the 50th-75th percentile for all of his measurements. Since October, he's grown an inch (27 in. long, now), he's gained 2 pounds (17 lbs. 8 oz., now), and his head circumference has increased 1 cm to 44cm. His lungs and ears are completely clear, and in Dr. Hoyer's words, he's "perfect--an absolute doll."

She said we've been right on track with how we're feeding him, and now we can start working a little with a sippy cup and give him a mid-day fruit or veggie (he already gets a morning fruit w/rice cereal and an evening veggie w/rice cereal).

Wouldn't you know it, though, two days after we saw the doctor, Fischer came down with a little cold--all 3 of us have, in fact. I pretty much feel better, Fischer's got a 'productive' cough, and Joe still feels lousy. Fischer's appetite this weekend has been sporradic, he's gotten out of his normal sleeping and napping rhythm, and he's been a bit whiny...this is exactly how he was in October, a few weeks before he got his first teeth. I wouldn't be surprised if we see some new ones in time for the new year.

For my birthday this past Wednesday, Fischer spent the evening with one of his teachers, Ms. Haimi and her son, Ezra at their house. Joe and I went to see the movie "Bolt" in 3-D. It was a good movie :) Then we went to Noodles & Co. for dinner. Afterward, we drove around looking at Christmas lights. I got a few pics of one house on the west side of Green Bay that has lots and lots of lights on display every year.

When we returned to Haimi's house, she had a good report for us about Fischer's evening. He was very good and was very curious about his surroundings. He was asleep when we picked him up, and he stayed sleeping until after we'd had cake.

This past Thursday at daycare, we had our Holiday Open House with Santa. Fischer got lots of attention in his little Santa suit. He was adorable. When he sat on Santa's lap, he tried to eat his beard. We got some sweet pictures.

Friday we got a package of bubbles from Grammy Pam. Fischer liked watching and trying to grab them while he was in his jumperoo.

He's almost sitting up unassisted. He has pretty good control front to back, but still tends to tip sideways after about a minute. Fischer lets you know he's frustrated, too, when he drops a toy he wants. On the other hand, he's gotten more outspoken when he's happy, too!

6 Months Old--How Time Flies!

Fischer turned 6 months old yesterday! Can you believe it?!

His teeth are much more obvious, now, as you can see! Also, check out the Fisch Finder for a Thanksgiving Day video.

We had a nice Thanksgiving by Grammy Pam and Grandpa Bill in Trempealeau, WI (near LaCrosse). Uncle Nate was there--he and Joe came from Tomahawk where Joe had been hunting by Grandpa Ken's since the Friday before. He only got one deer, though, despite lots of cold time spent in the woods.
Fischer did really well traveling over 4 hours in the car to and from Trempealeau. He slept the majority of both car trips. I waited to stop and feed him until he was good and ornery, otherwise he was not so interested in eating as he was in looking out the window or staring at the ceiling of the car. I kept the car running and stopped in the parking lot of a restaurant while I joined him in the back seat to nurse and change him. It went much better than I expected. It also helped that we were on the road both times in daylight. Before we had him, I would've taken off after work and driven in the evening. As it was, Fischer and I got an early start on Thursday--after he was well-fed and freshly diapered. That's the way to do it :) Joe and Nate left from Tomahawk on Thursday morning, too, so we all arrived at Grammy and Grandpa's within an hour or so of each other. We had dinner later in the evening.
Grammy was very happy to help give Fischer his bath :) While drying off, he was showing off how tall he's gotten by stretching out his chubby legs. I guess we'll see officially what his measurements are at his check-up tomorrow!

Friday, my boys and I headed to Minnesota to see Joe's Aunt Mary and her hubby who's also named Joe. They live in a nature preserve--BEAUTIFUL!!! They have a pair of German shepherds. Fischer enjoyed meeting "Will". We enjoyed a relaxing visit and some super-yummy Thanksgiving leftovers.
When we returned to daycare this week, I could tell that Fischer was excited to be back at school. He was so happy and excited to see everyone--he must've been bored with all of us grownups over the weekend! He really is a happy boy. Often when I'm picking Fischer up in the afternoon from his classroom, his teachers will say, "You're taking our happiest baby!"

We are thankful for our little boy, each other, our families, and our friends. We hope everyone had a good time on Turkey Day, too.

Fischer goes to the doctor tomorrow for his 6 month check-up and shots. I'll update the blog again--probably over the weekend--with his latest stats.

Take care!!!

Whom Does Fischer Most Resemble?

Yay!! I've finally had a chance to get some of our old photos on the blog. This is the only one we have of Joe--how cute!
Here's baby Val in a pic taken by Grandma Gert.Here's Uncle Nate one year as Huckleberry Finn for Halloween--funny that one of Fischer's nicknames is "Huckleberry Bucklebutt"--hmmm.

Here's a nice studio shot of Val and Nate. It appears we got along well as young children. ;) Compare this shot of Grammy Pam with itty bitty baby Val to the pic of Fischer lying curled up on his lilly pad boppy--it's the "cover" pic on the "first few days at home" album on the left side of the blog page.

Here's another of baby Val in her crib.

Ok--now take a look at the poll on the left and cast your vote.

Happy Thursday, everyone!

He's Got TEETH!!!

Friday, November 14th, at about 2 pm, Fischer's teachers called me in my office and said, "Would you like to come and see your son's teeth?" I was so excited! That explains the past 2 weeks of appetite and behavior changes in our little man!

BOTH of Fischer's bottom front teeth have made it past his gums. Now we're just waiting for them to be more visible. I made several failed attempts at trying to get them on camera--he's good at clamping his lips shut! His cough's improved--I gave him what I hope is his last breathing treatment this morning. His eyes are back to being crusty--guess that's 'normal' for Fischer.

So much for getting a glimpse of Fischer's new chompers..Oh well. I'm still nursing him--I had originally planned on breast feeding until he got teeth, and then continuing to pump so he could have my milk until he started transitioning to cow's milk. But things are still going well, and I'm not ready to give it up until Fischer is...or up to one year. That's the revised plan, anyway.

He's getting rice cereal with fruit in the morning and cereal with a veggie in the evening, now. He takes his bottles pretty well at daycare, although he's definately less interested in them than he once was. When his appetite was growing, I thought we'd be going quickly from 5 oz. bottles to 6 oz., and I started taking Fenugreek--an herb to increase my milk supply. When he was little, the longer and more frequently Fischer would nurse, my body would be signaled to make more milk. Now that he's so interested in everything around him, our nursing sessions are shorter and less frequent. If he doesn't nurse long, I take out the pump and continue. This has been a pretty effective way to a) keep up our freezer stock, and b) keep me from getting frustrated and feeling too full after Fischer's had his fill.

It used to be that I'd nurse Fischer between 5:30 and 6:00am, so he'd be full for awhile before needing his first bottle at daycare. Then he'd have cereal with fruit and 3 bottles while at daycare, and I'd get in 3 pumping sessions throughout the day. Then he'd nurse at home once in the early evening and get his cereal and veggie. Finally, he'd nurse one "last" time before being put in his crib (and once or twice more throughout the night). The past week, Fischer's not been interested in his pre-daycare nursing session. I think he looks forward to his cereal feedings! I've seen this happen with other babies, too, where their interest in milk drops once they start having "real" food.

We've started giving Fischer graham crackers to explore. He gums them until they get slimey, and then they stick to his hands, face, shirt, you name it. We replace the pieces as they get too small for him. He really seems to enjoy them as a special treat. Fischer sits at the table in his tot-loc chair--we don't have room for a highchair! It works pretty slick--although until he's more steady sitting on his own, we put a towel on either side to keep him centered.

Mmmmm--the slimier the better! Check out those blue eyes!

Concentrating...
This is one of my favorites--with his mouth clamped shut for the camera, Fischer is still saving a peek at his teeth for another time.

5 Months Old--Still Got My Cold

The blog has been on the back burner due to other household priorities, so I'm writing this bit by bit as I have time at the computer. It's a mix of entries and pics from Halloween up to the second week of November...Halloween was when I'd say Fischer's cold hit its peak. It's still there, but he was super-congested and coughing. Now, over the past week, his cough has improved with the help of 3 daily breathing treatments and the vaporizer at night. His congestion returned a bit today...so it looks like we're going on about 6 weeks of not feeling well. Not to mention the fact that I'm in the middle of a doozie of a cold myself!

Despite not feeling so great, Fischer had a good attitude on Halloween. Instead of jumping up every time trick-or-treaters came to the door, I chose to leave the candy outside so Fischer and I could have a peaceful afternoon at home.

On Saturday, November 1, we went to visit Uncle Mike, Aunt Terri, Cousin Katie and 2nd Cousin Kaylee. It was funny, because Fischer and I had just gotten out of the house with the intention of getting gas in the car and then visiting someone when Uncle Mike called! I guess we had the same idea. So 10 1/2 month old Kaylee and 5 month old Fischer got to hang out a bit last Saturday.
Cousin Katie is happy to have another red-head in the family!

On Sunday the 2nd...by the way, can you believe it's November???!!?...we got a call from Holly and 11 month old Collin inviting us to hang out--perhaps go for a walk. Well, by the time Fischer and I got to their house, it was raining--so the walk was not going to happen. However, after the boys played for a little bit, we went to see 8 month old Ava and her mom Kiley (we used to work together) at our friend Stacey's house (Stacey used to work with us, too). There were a bunch of people there to watch the game, but the moms took over the dining area with toys, snacks, blankets and BABIES! Fischer slept through the first part of the visit, but he was in a good mood the whole day. Ava and Collin played while Fischer ate, and soon it was time for Ava and Kiley to split. It wasn't long before the rest of the crowd cleared out, too, after another Packers loss. At least we were there to play instead of really watching the Packer game!

Last week at daycare, Fischer's appetite was really sporadic. My guess is that all of the following things could be affecting it: his cold; possible start of teething--though nothing to show for it, yet; being MUCH more active and distracted by things around him; and getting cereal twice a day--which also has slowed down his pooping. Even when he's nursing, he's back to only eating one side at a feeding--he did this when he was itty bitty, too. I think he's got way too much going on to slow down and eat! The cereal with fruit in the morning, and now with a veggie in the afternoon, I'm sure, fills his tummy, too, so that he's not as interested in milk.

Despite continued congestion and coughing, he's sleeping decently at night--only waking once or twice to nurse. We're tapering off his breathing treatments--he's had only 2 per day for the last few days, and soon we'll be down to one, then none. At least he's not the only one in his class who's not been feeling well. Most of the kids have runny noses, coughs, or some other cold-like symptoms.

Now that Fischer can kind of sit up--with a little assistance, of course, he can play "baby in the bucket" at daycare. So cute! Can you see the bottom of his shoe in this next pic? He just fits in there :)

Last Thursday, the 6th, Fischer and I went to Kavarna for coffee. Kristy and Flora were there, our friend Amy came to join us, and we got to see Jenny with 7 week old Ike for the first time. He's all cheeks! :) I had called ahead to see if we could "reserve" the front area of Kavarna so that we'd have comfy chairs and room to spread out and let the kids play. It worked out fabulously!!! I brought a mat for the boys to lay on, and Fischer seemed very happy to be able to spread out--instead of being held or in his seat the whole time. He was absolutely perfect--I don't remember what order we did things in, but I nursed him, ate my own dinner (my favorite rosemary potato salad--yay!), gave him his breathing treatment, and fed him his cereal and applesauce. To feed him his cereal, I flipped the wooden restaurant highchair upside down so his carseat would sit on top of it. Then I tilted the carseat so Fischer was more upright, and buckled the bottom straps to hold him steady (didn't do the whole shoulder straps and stuff so he wouldn't feel too restricted). He usually eats very well for Joe, but for me, he is off and on. Well, that night at Kavarna, he made me feel like SUPER MOM! He was sooooo good and ate his cereal like a champ :). What a good boy! It was nice to see the girls and Ike, too.

We spent this past weekend together as a family--Joe didn't have to work. Fischer's sporradic appetite continued--although he'd still nurse fine at night and ate his cereal well. His bowels have definately slowed down, because we only changed 1 or 2 dirty diapers all weekend--thanks to the cereal, I guess. He was pretty demanding of our attention, too. I was easily frustrated, too because Saturday was the worst day of my cold. Now that Fischer's so much more aware of what's going on around him, if he knows Joe and I are there, he'll insist that we should be entertaining him! He wasn't bad at all, but just needed more face time from us, and I needed to feel better. :)

We went to Uncle Mike and Aunt Terri's again--this time for the Packer game. They lost again, but Fischer was good, and got to play a bit with Kaylee before she went off to nap with Kristina. Terri also fed all of us some yummy chicken soup. Maybe that made the difference--my cold is on its way out!

Well, that catches you up for now. We've started another week at daycare. Fischer's appetite continues to be unpredictable for both the breast and the bottle, but he's getting enough nourishment and seems in a good mood. So I guess he's just fine. Just being a stinker. Still no teeth...

Happy Halloween! / Still Getting Better / Almost 5 Months Old!

Hi, everyone. It's been a pretty busy week. I have some photos in this entry that are from the middle of October, when Fischer was chillin' in his swing watching Joe rake leaves...

There are also a couple showing Fischer "finding" his feet this past month... ...and hanging around with Daddy...

...and Jumperoo-ing so much at daycare that he tuckered himself right out!

Fischer is still battling chest congestion, cough, and now nasal congestion! He's not sleeping the greatest at night, and today it's been affecting his appetite, too. So, Daddy's taking him to the doctor for the 4th, yes fourth, time this month. Hopefully we can get to the bottom of this cold or whatever, so we can concentrate on teething...which seems to be right around the corner. Fischer's been munching on everything he can grasp--which often turns out to be his thumbs, which get pretty bright red from so much chewing!

Today at Bright Beginnings, almost everyone had some sort of costume on. Ms. Evelyn, our cook, dressed up like a chef. I sent Fischer in his 3rd and final costume--a Jack-O-Lantern outfit. Keep an eye out on the Fisch Finder--there's another video of Fischer.

In this photo, Fischer sneezed just as I snapped the shot...

And then he recovered nicely for a cute little punkin sprout pic! Caleb had a similar punkin sprout jack-o-lantern suit, and Maxim was a blue bunny, and Hailey was a Dalmaitian--soo cute!
There are more photos, because we got some group shots--I just want to be sure I have everyone's permission to go on the blog. Just wait until you see Collin's batman costume!!

Last Saturday, Fischer spent his first night away from us at Grandma D's house. He was up throughout the night like he is at home, but Grandma used a little maple syrup on her finger to get him to calm down when he was really wailing at one point! Grandmas know all the good tips! Joe and I had fun at our party. Our friend, Ben, came from EauClaire with his karaoke stuff and rocked the house.
The whole Enz family showed up--including "Ed", Mother Earth, Dorothy, and a Bag of Jellybeans.

The Caspersons (our "crazy neighbors") showed up and did a little "Welcome to the Jungle".

The "crowd" really went wild when "D-Style" and "V-Disco" did a smashing rendition of "The Time Warp" from Rocky Horror Picture Show!

Also in attendance (but sorry, no photos--you guys can e-mail me if you have pics of yourselves!!!) were George & Joess, Laura, Steve & Karen, and Scott & Donna. So we didn't have many guests, but we had a spectacular time. We're not as young as we once were, however, so the party fizzled out around midnight. Thanks for coming, guys!

Happy Halloween, Everyone!