Category: Family

As usual, Kenneth has been growing and learning at an amazing rate! …and I am continuing to do a less than stellar job documenting it all. I recently got out his baby book to try to do some scrapbooking, but then Ken woke up from his nap and the book has been sitting on my desk ever since. Someday I’ll get it all done!

For now, here are some fun facts about Kenneth at 18 months:

• Ken recently had his 18 month doctor check up. He weighed 25.5 lbs and is 35.5 inches tall. He has caught up to the same height that Travis was at 18 months! But he is three pounds lighter – eek!



• He absolutely is obsessed with balls, his stuffed rabbit, and Buzz Lightyear. He wants to watch Toy Story any time we will let him. He just asks for “buuuuz?”
• He has all of his front teeth and his molars. He basically eats whatever we are eating and has been avoiding baby food packets. He is sometimes picky, but he usually loves bananas, strawberries, cheese, pickles, muffins, yogurt, eggs, milk, and juice. Juice is his favorite treat! Well, other than actual treats. He knows how to say donut and loves ice cream!



• He is babbling all the time lately. His favorite phrase seems to be “douga douga douga do.” We don’t know what it means… yet. He has also recently learned to say “more,” which has come in handy. He often wants “more milk!” He attempts to repeat all sorts of words, but multiple syllables are still tricky. He also seems to get frustrated more often when he can’t communicate what he wants. He has been doing a lot of forceful pointing!
• He is eager to read books with us before bedtime, and even “reads” to us sometimes. He is learning his colors and can point them out when asked (most of the time). He also pretends to count things. He doesn’t know the numbers, but points at things and makes them up. Very cute.
• He loves running, climbing, and hanging. He climbs on the furniture now, and can even climb up ladders at the playground all by himself.



• The week of his actual 18 month “birthday,” Kenneth’s Aunt Chelsea and Uncle Myles came to visit. They stayed with us and Ken had a great time showing them around the city. He especially loved our trip to the Natural History Museum.
• Last week we were in Portland visiting Kenneth’s cousin Ela. He loved her and wanted to give her a lot of hugs. Tomorrow we leave for Kansas to meet his cousin Emmett!

Ken is turning into a boy right before our eyes! It is such a fun journey, but I just wish I could remember and capture very moment. (Well, except for maybe the post-travel nap fights…) I love this fun boy so much!!

Kenneth is getting so close to being a one-year-old! He passed the eleven month milestone a week ago. It is hard to articulate, but he is feeling and looking like such an older boy these days. I can catch glimpses of what he will look like as an older kid, even a teenager at times. Over the last month he has been so much fun. I used to be worried about him being too serious, but he has gotten a lot more goofy and fun-loving lately. He is still slightly stingy with his big grins and belly laughs, but they seem to be happening more frequently. He loves surprises and tickles and going down slides. He really is an awesome baby and I am so glad we get to spend so much time together.

Fun Facts about Kenneth at 11 months:

• Ken got a bad head cold last week which came with a wonky eye infection. His right eye got puffy and red, so I took him to the doctor and she gave him antibiotics. You can see his red eyes in the photo above, our first of two photo shoot attempts this month.
• Kenneth has his own room! We moved him into the office room of the apartment over the Thanksgiving break with the help of his uncle Seth. I was really surprised at how easily he took to sleeping alone in the room. He really didn’t fuss about it at all. And we are all getting better sleep. He sleeps up to 12 hours a night!
• Even though it is sort of against the parenting rules, Ken keeps some stuffed animals in his crib. He plays with them before going to bed and after waking up. It is really cute. He hardly fusses at all when we put him down for naps or the night, and he can entertain himself.
• Ken has six teeth! Four up top and two on the bottom. He can bite off pieces of food (like bagels!) and chews food, too. He also loves to give a toothy, scrunched nose grin.
• Kenneth is still working on walking. He is so very close! He can stand unassisted, and will take one or two little steps on his own, but then he decides to skillfully squat down and start crawling instead. I think he is just being cautious. I am fighting my Type A drive to push him to walk more before he is ready. He will get there at his own pace. Plus, he gets around fast enough as it is!
• Crusher and Kenneth play with each other just about every day, chasing each other around the apartment. They both love it. Crusher has been much sweeter and more patient with him lately.
• He attended his last Moozika class of the fall session today. He loves the class and always gets right up in front to pound on the big drum. We are going to take the class again during winter session. He still loves music and is obsessed with his dad’s guitars.
• Kenneth is also obsessed with the Pat the Bunny books. He gets them out on his own and is still fascinated by them even though we read them many times a day. But now he wants all books to be interactive and is disappointed when they aren’t.
• Ken is making many more sounds lately. He seems to be saying “yes” and “mmmmamama” pretty consistently. He tries to repeat a lot of things we say (but I don’t know if he really understands it, just repeats sounds) and he is always singing and babbling to himself.

I know I say this every time, but taking baby portraits is so hard! We did two different days of photo shoots this month and I wasn’t really happy with either. Ken is just a busy guy! And he likes to be in charge of anything he can hold in his hand, like the pen, comb, and tape seen above. I am just hoping I can get a few really good shots next month to celebrate one year!

I LOVE THIS BABY!

Also, check out Kenneth at one month, Kenneth at two months, Kenneth at three months, Kenneth at four months, Kenneth at five months, Kenneth at six months, Kenneth at seven months, Kenneth at eight months, Kenneth at nine months, and Kenneth at ten months.

My sweet, little guy is 10 months old! Well, actually right now he is 10 and a half months old… we were traveling during the actual milestone. Fitting in picture taking and blogging is never easy, not to mention when you have just gotten home from a big trip! And, getting this baby to pose for his portraits was nearly impossible. He just wants to stand and move and climb! But I guess that is perfectly representative of his current stage, so we’ll just go with it. We do the best we can and call it good.

Kenneth is a big boy now! He acts like he is totally independent and not in need of parents any more… well, except for all the diaper changing and food providing. But he barely has time for those boring things anyway! He loves playing and exploring. He wants to inspect and deconstruct anything new to him, like the trash can, dog food bowl, file cabinets, laundry hampers, etc. He is a curious guy who gets really excited about his new discoveries. It is fun to watch him investigate and conquer his world!

Fun Facts about Kenneth at 10 months:

• Ken has five teeth! His top right lateral incisor is poking out and the left one is just about ready to erupt. He likes his teeth and often does a funny open-mouth grin to show them off.
• Kenneth can stand on his own! He has been walking and standing while holding onto things (furniture, walker toys, mom or dad) for a while, but now he often “free stands” without holding onto anything. He seems to be doing it just for fun sometimes and can balance for quite a while on his own, but still choses to squat down and start crawling instead of taking any unsupported steps yet. Crawling is still faster and more efficient for him than walking. But we’ll see how long that lasts…
• I think Kenneth is using language! He DEFINITELY says “dada” in reference to Travis. He also seems to say “dog” when Crusher is around. And I swear he says “hi” back to me and “ya” in response to my questions. Of course, he also babbles a lot, and squeals, and laughs, and grunts and reaches for things he wants.
• He basically eats anything. He really likes berries and yogurt and cheese, but he gets a taste of nearly everything I eat. He can drink from a straw and often shares a smoothie with me. (I also still breastfeed him four times a day.)
• Kenneth has gotten into a fairly set routine. He wakes up around 6-7, naps at about 9 until 11-12, naps again around 3 until 4-5, and then goes to sleep around 7-8. He doesn’t HAVE to have both naps everyday, but he is in a better mood if he does!
• Kenneth still LOVES: music, Crusher, other babies, and playgrounds. He also LOVES when his dad gets home each day. He excitedly crawls to meet him as soon as he walks in the door and reaches to be picked up. It is very sweet.

Traveling with a 10-month-old:

Earlier this month we took an eleven day trip to Hawaii and Los Angeles. We went to Hawaii with more than a dozen of our Brooklyn friends for Brian and Jeanette’s wedding. It took 13 hours of travel to get there. I can’t tell you that I wasn’t nervous about bringing a baby on flights that long, but it was actually ok. I tried not to get anxious about it and I think treating it like no big deal rubbed off on Ken. He was perfectly fine, if really fidgety and NOT sleepy, on the flights there. Travis had upgraded our seats to the bulk head area with extra room and I had packed a bunch of toys and books, but I don’t think either was necessary. Ken basically just loved exploring the plane stuff and playing Peek-a-boo Barn on my phone the best. Snacks (for everyone involved) were a necessity. Also necessary were our own car seat and stroller, which we checked (for free!) on the flights.

We stayed with 13 friends in an Air BnB house for the first five nights in Hawaii. It went really well. I was worried about Ken crying and keeping people awake, but we just tried to not let him cry much. The huge time zone change messed us all up somewhat, so we basically just ended up waking up really early. But that meant that Ken got in his good morning nap before much activity started each day. The house came with a high chair and pack-n-play, which was really handy. For the additional two nights in Hawaii, we switched to a hotel. They also had a crib for us to use and even provided nice baby toiletries and some new toys!

Ken liked swimming in the ocean and pools. He was enthralled by the luau at the wedding reception. He was a real trooper and happily tagged along on all of our sight seeing around the Big Island. Getting him in and out of his car seat was a hassle, but otherwise, it was fun having him around and not too much of an inconvenience. I hope our friends felt the same way. Travis and I each did one solo adventure (surfing for him, snorkeling with manta rays for me) while the other stayed with Ken, which worked out well.

By the time we were on our way to LA, Ken was just chronically tired. He didn’t do as well on the flight there. He cried a lot and Travis stood and held him for much of the flight. I was stressed. Thank goodness that plane was nearly empty. No one seemed perturbed by him at all.

It was great for Ken to meet his family and friends in California. We spent a whole day with his great aunt Carol and great uncles John and Glenn. He got in some good naps, but he was still tired and totally out of his routine and time zone. On our final day we took him to Disneyland! It was really fun for Travis and me, but Ken could barely stay awake at the park! He fell asleep DURING the Haunted Mansion ride. The entire trip had finally worn him out.

All in all, traveling with a baby is totally doable. Even fun! Of course, it is way easier to travel without a baby… but traveling with one is still much more fun than staying home!

Travis took this photo of Ken in a hammock in Hawaii right after his 10-month “birthday.” I think he looks so old in it. I am so glad we’ve gotten to share so many experiences and adventures with him already. I look forward to a life time of many more!

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Also, check out Kenneth at one month, Kenneth at two months, Kenneth at three months, Kenneth at four months, Kenneth at five months, Kenneth at six months, Kenneth at seven months, Kenneth at eight months, and Kenneth at nine months.

Kenneth is growing up so fast and learning so many things! As of yesterday, he is eight months old. It is amazing, but also a little scary. He no longer seems like a baby. He does things. He has plans and goals. He goes and gets what he wants. He is so fun right now and I love him so much. I keep wishing I could freeze time. But I also feel guilty saying that because I never wanted to be a parent who didn’t want their kids to grow up. I want him to have a full, fun, long life, but I just wish I could keep revisiting these moments with him as an 8-month-old forever.

Fun Facts about Kenneth at Eight Months:

• You guys! Kenneth can high five! I worked on it with him for one day and now he can pretty much do it on command. It is really cute. He will also usually give you a kiss when you ask for one.
• We did an at-home measurement, and Kenneth seems to be at least 30 inches tall. He is catching up to his dad!
• He crawls at top speed and can make it all over the apartment in minutes. He grabs and reaches for EVERYTHING! He has really put my cleaning to the test. I vacuum everyday just so that he doesn’t find anything gross on the ground.
• He can easily pull himself up to standing all on his own now. And he does it as often as possible. He seems determined to practice standing at every opportunity. He has even been doing a bit of cruising, walking along the couch while holding on. I think he is going to walk soon, which is crazy!
• This baby LOVES music! He only pays attention to the tv when there is music playing and he loves carrying around my phone when it is playing music. He’ll dance along by wiggling his body. SO cute! I took him to two group sing-a-longs at a local toy store this month and he adores them. He pays attention the whole time and uses the instruments. I sing (poorly) to him every day, but I feel guilty for not doing more music activities with him previously.
• I only nurse Ken 4-5 times a day now. A few months ago, I thought it would be impossible to feed him so few times a day, but the solid food transition seems to be happening naturally.
• I’ve been really, um, not strict (relaxed?) with giving him all sorts of solid food. He feeds himself tiny pieces of fruits, veggies, bread, meat, cheese, cereal, etc. He has had peanut butter, eggs, and strawberries without having any reactions, so there’s no evidence of food allergies at this point. His favorite foods seem to be avocado, plums, and plain yogurt. He LOVES yogurt! He doesn’t like cucumbers or pureed baby food containing meat.
• Kenneth is still very passionate about cords and he has developed an extreme interest in the vacuum. Which is good, since I have it out every day to clean up his food messes.
• Ken got his first stomach bug this month. He had a slight fever, lower appetite, and lots of icky diapers. I took him to the doctor even though I probably didn’t need to. He got over it in a few days.
• He has the bluest eyes and lots of blonde hair growing in… I can’t be objective, I think he is cutest baby in the world. I know I am losing my mind a bit and I’m not being rational, but he seems perfect to me.

Thoughts on parenthood…

A friend of mine from grad school lost her six-year-old daughter this month to cancer. I have cried many tears over the last weeks just considering the loss she and her husband are experiencing. I truly can’t imagine what they are actually going through. I think about them every day. Add on the heart-breaking refugee crisis in the news and the recent death of a childhood friend, and it has been an emotional month.

Being a parent is scary. The love is so intense and the heart-stopping fear of losing your child is ever-present. At least for me. But I am trying to be brave. I won’t allow fear to rule my life. Or Kenneth’s. Because being a parent is also so fun! More fun than I ever pictured. The first few months were tough for me, for sure, but now I am so happy. It surprises me. There are still personal things that aren’t perfect (I still can’t really run, I’ve been sick with a terrible cough, my weight loss has slowed/stopped, etc) but being a mom to Ken trumps all of it. In my pre-mom life I dreaded the thought of parenthood taking over all of my interests and hobbies, and I still hope to never lose my self, but parenthood feels good. It is difficult, it is emotional, and it is tiring, but it has brought me a lot of peace. I’m not trying to evangelize, I promise. I am just sort of amazed. The really crazy part? I am having thoughts about having a second one!! Ahhh!

Kenneth’s original flickr album has gotten way too large (with 7,000+ photos) and now I can’t load it or edit it. Eek. So I started a new one for 8-12 months. Check it out.

Also, check out Kenneth at one month, Kenneth at two months, Kenneth at three months, Kenneth at four months, Kenneth at five months, Kenneth at six months, and Kenneth at seven months.

Kenneth is seven months old!! Wow. Specifically, he is 31 weeks old today. He has become such a little BOY lately. He is very mobile and loves exploring everything. Which includes grabbing everything and tasting everything. This is very good for his development, but not so good for accomplishing his monthly photo shoot. He could not resist his sticker this month. I was frustrated that we couldn’t get the “perfect” photo, but Travis reminded me that he is just a baby. Oh, right. Maybe I expect too much from him, but he always seems to roll with everything we subject him to. He goes into the city on the subway, checks out museums and parks, goes for hours of rides in his jog stroller, and even flew (on a red eye) to and from Oregon last month without much trouble. He is a cooperative and fun boy!

Fun facts about Kenneth at 7 months:

• Big news! Ken’s first tooth started poking through on July 28th! It is his bottom left tooth and he seems quite proud of it, even letting me touch it and take photos. Ha! Since then his second bottom tooth has poked through.
• I’m not sure of Ken’s official height and weight, but he is definitely a big boy! We are now dressing him in mostly 9-12 month clothes. I only buy 12-month or larger nowadays.
• At the suggestion of our pediatrician, we have been giving Ken some water to drink out of a sippy cup. He amazed me by catching onto holding and drinking from the cup right away. Wow!
• He has also been eating a lot more solid (“human”) foods, including his first Cherrios. Yum! He can feed himself from the baby food pouches and he eats in his high chair with us at nearly every meal. In addition to the usual fruits and veggies, he has had bread, smoothies, and a little cheese. Last week he had his first taste of animal: chicken! And yesterday, he had his first little taste of a Shake Shack burger!! He loved it and wanted more.
• He loves grabbing ANYTHING… and promptly putting it in his mouth or throwing in on the ground.
• Kenneth’s greatest passion of late is cords. He loves cords. He can somehow find and propel himself toward any and all cords in the house. Which isn’t good because they aren’t exactly safe baby toys. We are keeping an eye on him.
• He isn’t technically crawling yet — just spending a lot of time wiggling around on all fours — but he is scooting, army crawling, rolling, planking, and pushing himself all over. He spends a lot of time playing on the living room floor. He also likes trying to climb things and standing up while hanging onto the coffee table. He can pull himself up to standing from sitting, but it is still really tough and wobbly for him. He works especially hard at trying to throw his body off the changing able at every diaper change, which I am trying hard to discourage.
• He is definitely exploring his voice and loves squealing and saying “dada” over and over. He also seems to say things like “hi” and “hey” in response to us, but I can’t be sure if he is really trying to use language or just making noise. I think we still have some time before he officially says a first word.
• Kenneth is very interested in Crusher and other kids. He loves to pet Crusher, but Crusher has to be bribed with treats to allow it to happen. We’ve taken Ken to a few parks, but I need to get him enrolled in some sort of class so that he can interact with other babies.
• On August 2nd, Kenneth went to his first Mets game. He has now been to four baseball games at four different MLB stadiums… and has game balls from each to prove it!

Mama Thoughts:

Overall, I am feeling extremely happy with being a stay-at-home mom these days. Ken is a lot of fun and I am so glad I get to spend time with him. My only complaint is that I REALLY WISH I could get more non-mom tasks accomplished. I have so much on my Swap-bot to do list! I haven’t figured out child care yet, but we have actually booked our first babysitter for tomorrow night, so we will see how that goes.

Breastfeeding is actually becoming comfortable, which is really nice. With all of his extra solid food consumption, Ken seems to be nursing less. It makes me hopeful that the weaning process will happen naturally over the next few months. I still stand by my many previous statements that I won’t miss breast feeding, but it does feels a little sad to know that he is growing up and won’t need me for food for much longer.

I didn’t think I would be a very sentimental mom, but I have found myself crying on more than one night when thinking about him growing up. He already pushes my hand away when I try to wipe his face. He will be a boy soon. And he will be embarrassed of me and tell me not to talk to him at school. Then he will be a man, and get married, and move away, and never need me again. But I guess that is actually the best case scenario and I shouldn’t dread it. I am just really glad that I get to experience him and his development. Certainly, having kids is not for everyone, but I am enjoying being a parent even more than I thought I would. I am just grateful that it is part of my life experience.

Kenneth is awesome.

We have taken SO MANY photos of Ken! Check out all of mine in my Kenneth Gunner Johnson Flickr photo album. Nearly 7,000 photos at 7 months old, that seems about right, right? (Travis has also taken a few photos of his son… view them on his Flickr.)

Also, check out Kenneth at one month, Kenneth at two months, Kenneth at three months, Kenneth at four months, Kenneth at five months, and Kenneth at six months.