"Big Boy" Car Seat

I did a little rearranging in the car this past Sunday. Remington was outgrowing his infant seat, (I remember moving Southern to his current car seat around 6 months old!) and we were given a hand-me-down "big boy" car seat from some friends. It had just been sitting in storage waiting, so I decided to get it out.

Now, as some of you present-day moms know, car seats are not easy. Yes, there are ways for you to just slap it on the seat, wiggle a seat belt through it, and go on your merry way. But I want these kids safe! So maybe I secure the seats down more than necessary? But hey, they carry precious cargo.

So... I was waiting for a day when I would have enough time to get the car seat ready. And Sunday turned out to be perfect! My dad was coming to visit but was running late. It was right after lunchtime, and Remington was getting tired. I put him down for a nap, left Dustin to supervise, and headed outside with a shop vac and Southern.

First I took out both Southern's seat and Remington's infant seat. Then I vacuumed the seats and floors. (Wow, talk about some Cheerios!) Then I positioned Southern's seat in the spot behind the driver's side (where Remington's was) and latched all the different straps from the "Latch System" as well as ran a seat belt through it. I also took the time to raise Southern's head support/safety gear. (His car seat can last through rear-facing, forward-facing, and booster AKA up to 80 lbs.) Once it was snug and secure, I went to Remington's new seat.

It was free, so no complaints! But it didn't have as many features as Southern's. So we brought our padded head support system out of storage (you may remember it in his infant seat when he was just days/weeks old). I got that installed in the seat. Then I connected all the "Latch System" latches and buckles to the car. I also attached the rear latch strap to a bar that runs along the bottom of the seat so that it could not flip backward in case of an accident. The instructions didn't say to do this, but why not?

So now they are all ready to go!

Remington has enjoyed being able to reach Southern easier. Southern has enjoyed being able to climb up into his seat himself (when it was in the middle, it was too hard to get to). Southern's not able to see out of the front of the car anymore, but he has a great side-view that he hasn't had before. I'm not able to see him as easily (my Mommy mirror can pivot so I can see his face, but the back of Remington's seat blocks my view of Southern's hands unless I lean up a bit - which this little troublemaker has been making me do lately!), and I'm no longer able to reach back to hand him things easily. I'm looking forward to the time when both boys can face the front!

our sweet little monkey

8 Months Old

Remington will be 8 months old tomorrow!

At 8 months old, Remington...

- has 2 bottom teeth
- wears size 3 diapers
- wears size 18 and 24 mo pajamas, size 9 and 12 mo bottoms, and size 18 mo tops
- sleeps through the night usually and takes 1-2 naps a day
- eats 2-3 jars of stage 3 baby food a day
- enjoys nibbling on pretzels, crackers, bread, cooked potato bits, and anything else he can get his hands on
- says Mama and Dada
- can crawl, sit, and pull up to stand
- loves to smile and laugh
- rides in his rear-facing "big boy" car seat
- likes to take off his bib
- is starting to learn to sip water from a sipply cup
- plays chase and "rhino" with his brother (Chase involves Remington crawling quickly and looking back to make sure Southern's following him then laughing. "Rhino" involves some head butting from Southern on Remington's side causing him to roll over.)
- takes a bath in the big tub with Southern (he loves to slap down at the water to splash)
- responds more often to "Remington" than "Remy"
- will grin like crazy if you smile and wave to him
- still sticks everything in his mouth
- loves to open and close books and turn their pages
- gives big, open-mouthed drooly kisses :)

Diapers

Late last night, I asked Dustin to change Remington's diaper. It was around midnight. Dustin had recently gotten home from a tennis tournament and was fixing to get into bed. Remington had woken up, filled his diaper, and didn't look to be ready to go back to bed any time soon. Ugh. I was tired and didn't feel like changing yet another diaper... and when I asked Dustin to do it, he said something to the effect of why should I be the one to change him? I didn't respond, but my thoughts were and why should I be the one??!! Haha

But Dustin took pity on me and changed his diaper. And while he was changing him, I got to thinking. Now, just how many diapers do I change a day? Not counting the one Dustin was changing, I estimated I changed 10 diapers that day between both boys. Wow! No wonder I was pooped out on changing diapers.

Heart Melting

Sometimes these little guys drive me batty. There are days when I just want to pull my hair out and/or take off running.

But there are also those moments that are simply heart melting...

Yesterday, we were in the car. Remington was getting a little restless and had grown bored with the toy he was holding. He was whining. I asked Southern to tell him a story, not really knowing what to expect. But Southern took his little task very seriously and started off with "a time" (Once upon a time). He then proceeded to tell his story: "nennis courts, dada hi, so happy, miss you dada, fun, a end" (We went to the tennis courts. We told Daddy hi. That made him so happy. We told Daddy we missed him. It was fun. The end).

Awww :)

Eating and Greeting

Eating Lesson #1: Don't leave your food unattended around Remington!

Remington sure is taking advantage of those two bottom teeth and is trying to eat anything he can get his hands on! Just in the past three days, he has eaten toast, Cheerios, and popcorn and has gnawed on Southern's food - a breakfast taco, cooked carrots, and apple slices. He will stand up and reach just about anything now, so we have to start being more careful where Southern takes his food to eat when he's not sitting at the table.


Greeting Lesson #1: Never walk by Remington without giving him a proper greeting!

When Dustin got home from work yesterday, I had just put Remington down for a nap. He normally has two a day. His first had gotten cut short that day, so he slept extra long during this one. Dustin was outside grilling steaks for supper when he woke up. Remington was playing around with Southern and was on the floor when Dustin came walking in with the food. He had his hands full and didn't notice Remington on the ground. But he did see me and said something. And boy, did that upset little Remington! He whinned and started crawling toward Daddy. Once Dustin saw him and spoke to him, he was all grins. He continued to crawl to Daddy who was squatting down. Dustin picked him up for a hug and a kiss, then set him back on the floor. Remington was content after that and went back to playing.

A Week Off

Today ends a wonderful (almost) week off for us. Dustin, being a high school teacher, gets many days off throughout the year. He got over 2 weeks off for Christmas, but it hadn't really felt "off" until this past week. With all the Christmas madness, family events, and deer hunting, we had little time to just relax. Well, this week we got it!

We were able to spend time taking care of little projects around the house, catch up on sleep, and spend time together as a family. We went out for burgers one evening.

We might have eaten a little too much...

But it sure was good!

Dustin and Remington took their mid-afternoon naps together the last couple days, so I was able to spend one-on-one time with Southern which was nice. I hadn't really been able to do that since May. We went to the library and rode his bike around the neighborhood.

The boys really enjoyed their time with Daddy. Southern keeps asking why Daddy had to go to work today. And he says "miss Daddy". Aww...

On another note, I finally got a picture of Remington's new teeth! He got the first one on Christmas Eve and the second 3-4 days later.