Eric: 11 and 12 Weeks Old

Well, I was wrong.  It took a few days to figure it out, but taking Eric off Prilosec was a mistake.  He ended up having a horrible day once it was completely out of his system.  He's back on it now, and he's doing a lot better.  He even goes some without needing gripe water at all.

Eric is up to 12 pounds 12 ounces, which should mean that he has moved on to 6 month clothes.  I still think the 3 month stuff looks fine on him, though, so we're getting as much wear as possible out of those outfits.

Here is Eric at 11 weeks old:

And here he is at 12 weeks old:

Eric: 10 Weeks

I don't want to jinx it, but I think we've got Eric's colic figured out, and he is a much happier baby these days.  I don't think he has acid reflux.  I think he has a sensitive stomach.  I have cut out dairy, and his stomach doesn't hurt anymore when he eats.  I accidentally forgot to give him his Prilosec one time, and he was still happy, so I've experimented with not giving him the Prilosec, and he still seems happy.  He still spits up, but it doesn't seem to hurt him.  Occasionally he still gets an upset stomach, but gripe water helps more than Prilosec does.  I don't want to unnecessarily medicate our baby, so I think we're going to stop Prilosec and just have the gripe water on hand as needed.  And I will continue to stay away from dairy.

Here's our happy guy at ten weeks:

Eric Anthony is 2 Months Old (9 Weeks)

At two months old, Eric is able to do all of the following:

• Smiles
• Tracks objects with his eyes
• Makes noises other than crying
• Kicks and straightens legs when on his back
• Opens and shuts hands
• Pushes down with legs when placed on a hard surface
• Swats at dangling objects
• Recognizes familiar people (he giggles at me when I make faces)
• Beginning to develop a social smile
• Interested in circular patterns
• Holds head up with control (most of the time)
• Typically sleeps 6 - 7 hours at night without waking (we LOVE this!)

Eric has been the perfect addition to our family, and we love him so much.  We are so excited to see him grow and become great friends with his big sister, and maybe kiss her back every once in a while.

The comment I hear most about Eric is that he just looks so much like a boy.  Someone today told me that he has such distinct features, and you don't see that often on such a little baby.

Here is our handsome little guy at two months old:

Eric smiles at me quite a bit, but whenever I try to take a picture, he stops.  This is the best I could get, and I thought I'd share.  Hopefully, I'll get his huge smile one of these days.  It is SO cute!

 Not really a smile, but I think it's a cute expression.

Adriana Leigh Herman is TWO!

Our little girl turned TWO on Wednesday, September 11.  She celebrated the weekend before with family and friends at a Monsters, Inc. themed party, and she had a great time!

At two years old, Adriana has definitely met and/or exceeded all of the typical milestones.  Some of the stuff she knows amazes me, and I can't believe the memory that this kid has!  About eight weeks ago, Sue and I took Adriana to ride a carousel at a park in Noblesville.  Yesterday, we went to lunch with Ron at Panera after our library time.  When we left Panera, Adriana said "care of self."  Sue asked me what she was saying, and I told her that's how she says carousel.  Sue said, "what would remind her of that?"  And that's when I remembered that we had eaten lunch with Ron at Panera after riding the carousel.

On June 26th, we went to Scott's work to take him out to lunch for his birthday.  A lot of the admin women talked to Adriana, and we had her say hi to them.  She didn't see any of these people again until last Saturday (September 14) at Scott's company picnic.  At one point during the day, Adriana was playing in the bouncy castle, and Peggy (the head admin person) came over to talk to her.  When Peggy went to leave, I told Adriana to say bye bye.  Adriana looked up and said, "bye bye, Peggy."  Amazing!

What amazes me most about Adriana, though, is her good heart.  She kisses EVERYTHING!  She kisses me, Scott, her brother, her toys, sticks on the ground (eww), everything.  I can't count the number of kisses that Eric gets everyday.  And she is always concerned about how he's doing.  I often hear, "hi there, Baby Little Eric.  Whatcha doin'?"  She loves to help take care of him, and she practices on her babies when she isn't trying to help with him.  It's fun to watch her interpretations of how I take care of a baby.  Based on watching her, I think I'm doing a pretty good job.

She is definitely in the imitation phase of her life, and she wants to be just like Mommy.  As a result, she showers Daddy with attention, and looks forward to him coming home all day long.  I constantly hear, "Daddy do it when he comes home."  Once he does get home, she can't wait to play with her "dog house" (doll house) and eat candy with him.  And she thinks he is the best dancer.  It is nonstop laughter when Daddy is around.

I tried to take an Elmo picture of Adriana, but she wasn't being too cooperative, so I'm including a cuter picture that I took of her on her birthday.  Here it is:

Happy 2nd birthday to the sweetest little two-year-old I know!  We all love you so much!

Eric: 8 Weeks Old

Sorry this post is so late.  I will be putting up Eric's 9 Week/2 Month momentarily, so I'm going to make this post quick.

Here is the picture of our little guy at 8 weeks:

Eric: 7 Weeks

Eric is continuing to grow like a weed.  I weighed him this morning.  Granted, he had on clothes and a diaper that needed to be changed, but he is up to 11 pounds 14.5 ounces!

He is starting to smile more and more.  His acid reflux is still causing him some trouble, and I'm going to call the doctor tomorrow to see about switching his medication, but he is usually a pretty happy guy.  He's starting to make a lot of noises other than just crying, too!  He also likes to imitate me when he can.  If I stick my tongue out at him, he will start sticking his tongue out.  He's definitely becoming more interactive.

Here's a picture of our handsome little guy at 7 weeks old:

Eric - 6 Weeks

Eric had a busy week!  First of all, he did a great job of taking a bottle.  He looked at me like I was crazy for about 2 seconds, and then he started drinking.  Sometimes I forget to give him a bottle or it doesn't work into our schedule, but he gets a bottle a few times a week, and he is doing a great job!

 On Sunday, August 25, Eric was baptized.  Here are some pictures from the event:

Adriana's Marilyn Monroe impression

Quentin, Adriana, Gabby, and Bell waiting patiently.

Father David Huemmer baptized Eric.

Eric screamed through most of it.

Adriana and Grandma Hermie watching

 

We really appreciate everyone who came to celebrate with us!

He wouldn't calm down for Daddy either...

...no matter what he tried!

Adriana thought it was funny to see her brother throw a fit.

Godfather Jeff Miller lighting Eric's baptism candle

Eric started to calm down toward the end.

 

Zekey...looking as cute as ever

Connor did a great job of keeping an eye on Adriana!

 Afterward, Sue and Ron had everyone to their house for lunch.

We cannot thank them enough for being such wonderful hosts!

Posing with Eric's Godfathers, Brandon and Jeff

 

Posing with the Penrods

The beautiful cake!

Adriana blew some bubbles with Daddy.

Posing with the Hermans.  Adriana didn't feel like looking at  the camera, but what can you expect from a nearly-two-year old?

And finally, Eric's weekly picture with Elmo: