Stewart Family: Catching up is hard to do...

It wasn't until someone at work said "I went to your blog the other day..." that I immediately blushed. I honestly couldn't remember the last time I was on here. As soon as I logged in, well there was a slap in the face. It's been since March.

I set out with the best intentions of this blog being my journal for Boston. Sorry B-boy...mom's not doing a very good job.

Well, as if we were old girlfriends meeting up for lunch and have one hour (or in this case, 15 minutes) to catch up...

As of the last week in May, Boston was finally given the okay to be a normal child and start exploring the world! FREEDOM! So I did what every mother of a preemie would do (NOT)...I took him to the most germ-infested place in the city! My sister was in town and we took our kids to Discovery Gateway-the children's museum downtown! Boston had a blast! I wasn't sure how he'd react to hundreds of crazy kids running around, screaming, etc... but he did really well! He especially loved the water area. There was a rock wall that had water streaming down different channels. He leaped out of my arms just to throw his hands into it. It was a good thing I brought a change of clothes. He drenched himself!
What an introduction to the outside world!

Boston and his cousin, Andee

Bad mom...I did let him stick the germ-covered balls in his mouth!

My sister Dee, with Boston and her daughter Andee!

Grandma with all of the grandkids!

Boston frowning...why is this girl taking away my fruit?

Boston ready to smack Andee for taking it.

my kid is going to be a bully :)

Playing with his first doll (shh..we won't tell dad)!

Boston leaping out of my arms for the water!

He LOVED this water feature!

Splash Splash!

Time out to feed. We hid in the treehouse!

Boston's first time riding a horse!

And he hated every second of it!

But once we were off, he thought the horse was pretty cool!

We went to lunch after the museum. Boston's first time in a highchair!

He thought he was BIG Stuff!

(I'm interrupting myself here because as I continued writing my blog got longer...and longer...and well, if you just want to see pictures...Please skip to the bottom!)

Boston had his 9 month doctor's appointment Tuesday, June 22nd. At first I was shocked because the doctor said he was a little behind because he wasn't standing up on his own. It wasn't until a few minutes later as the doctor was examining him that he said "now, he was born at 32 weeks right?". A duh. NO, he was born at 29 weeks. "Oh...never mind buddy. I'll give you some slack then," he said. I could've smacked him.

After he looked at his charts and realizd who his patient was (we've got a bright one) he proceeded to tell us how GREAT Boston was doing! He had hit 33% for height and 22% for head circumference on a Normal Baby chart! This means he is quite tall for his prematurity. Sadly, his weight is still under 0%. He is not even on the charts yet! He weighed in at 15 pounds 3 ounces. This truly is fantastic for him but we've got to concentrate on bulking this kid up. Joe said "just turn him loose with me. I'll have him lifting weights, eating protein bars, etc... I'll beef him up in no time!" :)

He did get an "ahead of the game" in one area. Mobility. My little boy now CRAWLS! Really crawls! Yes, he's 9 months, but technically he is 6 months adjusted age.  But you would never know this. He is a mover!
Time to baby proof the house!

Over the past 2 months we've had lots of fun experimenting with food. And oh, the messes we've made! I especially love our feeding times now that he is trying to grab the spoon or SPLAT he lands his hand right down in the bowl of food. And I've been putting him in a bumbo while I feed him...not a good idea anymore. He is still so skinny, all the while too strong, so he maneuvers himself right out of the chair. He did that the other day right as I put a spoon up to his mouth. Down the spoon and bowl were thrown so I could catch my little monkey. Food everywhere! Time for a highchair with lots of straps :)

Boston has 2 bottom teeth. He is such a dang good kid. We didn't even know he was teething. He didn't fuss, get a fever, drool, or anything. How lucky are we?
We think he might be working on some others. Yesterday my mom said he was knawing on things like crazy. Maybe more bottom teeth.

Let's see... oh, one day after the doctor's appointment Julie (joe's mom) called me to let me know that Boston was showing off and wanted me to say HA HA to the doctor.  One day after being wrongly told that he should be standing up what did he do...exactly that! We don't have many things at our house for him to pull himself up to but he finds things. If I take him over stairs, or I set him in his pack-n-play with the bassinet board still in it, he will grab at the sides and stand up! What a strong kid!

Boston's favorite things:
1. Song: Rubber Duckie (I found the vintage Ernie rendition on youtube). He loves it! Joe says I love it more than he does...but whatever. It makes us both smile! He also, loves the "Beth" song from GLEE (originally sung by Kiss). Julie plays that for him and whenever it comes on he starts singing with it.
2. Toy: Mickey Mouse walker/rider. We were at Kayli's (one of Joe's cousins) daughter's first birthday party and Boston crawled half way across the floor to get to this toy when she opened it. So, what else was there to do but stop at Target on the way home and get him one! Thanks Bill!
3. Outfit:  None. He's definitely a boy. He really would just crawl around naked if it were up to him. Oh, speaking of naked. We had fun. While teething he got some bad diaper rash. I decided to take extreme measures and let him "air out".  I was in the kitchen when Joe started freaking out.  Not even 5 seconds after the diaper was removed did he pee and oh yes...poop streaked the blanket he was sitting on.  Joe said, "put that diaper back on right now" but I braved it and let him have at least 30 minutes of air time. I did have to dodge a stream that missed me by centimeters! It really was disgusting but it helped the diaper rash tremendously!
5. Drink: He is still on formula, but he thinks he is big stuff when he gets a sip of water from a bottled water or a plastic cup.
6. Activity: Going to either grandma's houses. They spoil him rotten. He also loves water.  My mom has a water fountain in her yard that he just goes bananas for.  She has to hold onto him tight because he will just leap out of her arms to splash his hands in it! She bought a small pool and he really enjoys that.
Also, my mom has given him a "big boy" bath in a real bathtub. She said the first couple of times he "went swimming". He would launch forward trying to get a toy that was floating away from him and he would take a dive. I have yet to brave that. I just bought an inflatable "rubber duckie" that fits in the tub to bathe him in. He loves the fact that the beak quacks when you squeeze it.

Fast asleep in his swing