Mood:  happy
mommy was reminded (thank you Aunt Laura) and rightly so, that it's been a looooonnnnngggg time since anything was added here.

since the middle of August lots has happened.

I got to go to Georgia, still not really sure where that is- it all looks the same from my car seat. We visited my Aunt Karen & Uncle Tim and my cousins Brooks, Jack, & Bryan (he was very small, compared to me).

We had a good time, mostly I rolled around showing off my new skill. I got in some cuddles with Aunt Karen and Brooks and Jack gave me kisses, Bryan and I stared at each other sometimes but he wouldn't let me taste him so I don't really know what he's like. Mommy says she's a little bit nervous about life with me in a few years, it's alot louder than it is now.

Then after we came back from Georgia we got to a different place called Puerto Rico, it's where my daddy grew up. It's very hot there. Not a big fan of hot. At least not a fan of going on "adventures" in the hot. I liked the plane ride, the humming of the engines and the motion of it puts me right to sleep- like a really, really big swing. And, I like the car rides, especially when daddy would go fast on the curvy roads (except for when it would start to tip my car seat over, that was a little worrisome and I know it made mommy nervous). I just didn't like hiking outside- daddy put me in a backpack and tried to carry me around in a rainforest, well I wasn't having it, no sir! and I let mommy & daddy know it. actually, I let anybody hiking in a 10 mile radius know it that day. and, I don't like exploring caves either. mommy was worried about the bats waking up due to all my screaming, but they didn't.

the things I did like though were the beach and the pools. daddy took me in the water and it was sooooo warm and it tasted yummy too, very salty. then we sat in the sand and played with it. sand has a funny texture, but it doesn't taste very good. mommmy kept jumping around all funny (she was being attacked by sand fleas) but she managed to get some pictures of daddy and me anyway.

the pool was wonderful too- daddy took me in and it was warm too! he helped me float around and I could do all kinds of fun stuff I can't do in the bathtub like go on my belly and kick my legs.

at the end of our trip we visited some people called the Grabers and they were very nice to me. Esther Rose was good for cuddling and playing. I think she's held babies before. the room we stayed in sounded like my noise machine at home only ALOT louder! and there were frogs that make a REALLY loud sound called coqui's (because they say koh-KEE).

after we came home we got to rest alot. AND, I got to try food for the first real time. mommy tried it once but this time it's for real- and I've been eating ever since! I've tried rice cereal with banana, regular rice cereal, bananas, green beans, and today I tried applesauce. So far I haven't tasted anything I don't really like, but I saw there's a jar of prunes in the cabinet, so we'll see. but all this eating is doing funny things to the rest of me, and mommy notices it too- especially when she changes my diaper!

In other news... I went for my consult & casting at cranial tech yesterday. I think mommy sent out an email about that and she's working hard on a website that will be all about my plagiocephaly. she put pictures in the brachy baby album.

well, it's late and past all of our bed times. I hope you feel more caught up now. I'll do better now, I promise, but you have to forgive me because I'm only 6 months old, right??

ttfn.

mommy added my rolling pictures on the "ranch" album... she's pretty proud of me, and I am getting lots better at it :)

Mood:  celebratory
by jove I think I've got it! well, mostly. yesterday I was playing with mommy on her bed and she was helping me practice rolling. she held my hand and helped me to my side- BUT from there I rolled to my tummy and then to my back. actually it kind of scared me. But I didn't have time to cry because mommy was cheering so loudly.

today we were working on it alot. and I'm getting pretty good at it.

That teething thing is really ouchy. I keep trying to find something to make it feel better and it keeps hurting.

in fact I keep waking up from my naps and at bedtime because my pacifier falls out and my gums hurt. (that's what mommy thinks anyway)

well, mommy's trying her best to get me to sleep tonight so I better go.

till next time...

Mood:  sad
my mouth hurts. I keep chewing on everything to make it stop- but it doesn't help. Mommy keeps rubbing things on my gums but it doesn't help. she gave me that grape stuff and now it's not hurting as much and I feel sleepy.

also- I've finally figured out how to stay on my side and look at things but mommy keeps pushing me over to my tummy- then I cry and tell her I don't like it on my tummy and she puts me on my back, then I roll on my side again... I don't think she gets it.

today we had a weird day. we went to this old house that was very dirty and mommy seemed apprehensive (big word for me) and this little old couple took lots of pictures of us. all I wanted to do was go home and take a nap.

tonight mommy says we get to have lots of cuddles because daddy is going on a trip. she promises we get to stay home tomorrow.

well, need that nap. bye all :)

Mood:  hug me
hi everybody. I know it's been a long time but my mommy's friend Robyn was here so we were busy playing with her. she's pretty funny, does a good raspberry on my tummy.

lately, I've been practicing my roll technique. I've nearly got it. I turn my upper body to the side, push off with my foot but then I get stuck. sometimes mommy and daddy try to help by showing me how to get there but I think it's going to be something I learn on my own.

I've also taken to 9 hour sleeps at night. Did you know that you just feel so much better after sleeping so long like that? I didn't. It sure makes me feel good!

Today I'm feeling a bit crabby. Mommy thinks it is because I got held so much this last week and now I think I shouldn't have to play by myself at all. I think it's because she's upset that she can't sneak out of the room anymore- I know she's left and I let her know I know. Part of it is that I'm tired because of having such a busy week so I'm sleeping alot today.

Mommy says she wants to say something- so I'm going to let her talk- see ya later!

-----
from "Mommy"
hey all. just thought I'd let you in on the latest development in the Diener world at Creekstone. After reading an article in Parent's magazine- I've come to realize that Dylan most likely has "flat head syndrome" more technically referred to as plagiocephaly. It is a condition that doesn't harm the child's brain or affect their development in anyway (potentially interferes with vision and TMJ). Anyhow- I've been researching this today and am very convinced that this is what he has/why his head is so flat. Those who've seen him in person can attest to it. It's fairly common- about 1 in 50 babies has it (used to be 1 in 300 before "back to sleep" campaign) but still not many people know about it and not many doctors really understand it well either- hence the "it'll round out on its own" theory.

it seems like we'll probably be making a trip out to Chicago soon to get Dylan checked out and most likely he'll end up needing to wear a band on his head (often referred to as a helmet) but the average time for kids to wear it is somewhere around 3-4 months- so in the big scheme of things- it won't be that long- (think of it as braces for your skull, but softer and you can decorate it)

so we're here, battling the guilty parent blues (should we have done this/that? etc.) but the reality is- it's more common in preemies (which Dylan was) because their skulls are so soft... nevertheless, those niggling worries are fluttering around... and the rest of this week I'll be making phone calls and setting up appointments and the like. The sooner we act the better because the longer we wait- the longer it'll take his skull to realign (it gets firmer after 7 months)

so, pray that we find the help we need in a timely manner and that all involved parties (ourselves included) act swiftly, intelligently, and with a good dose of humor...

we'll keep you posted (web site link to explain the situation is below- for those who haven't seen him lately, Dylan looks alot like the "before" pictures on the brachycephaly kids (smooshed in back of the head))

the plagiocephaly website

in peace with love,
Lynn

Mood:  chatty
I've been talking mommy's ear off this morning. I got up at the ta-da crack of dawn (somewhere around 6am) and couldn't get back to sleep. So I decided to talk for about 3 hours straight (with breaks for eating) now I'm sleepy so I'm going to take a nap.

Mommy thinks the reason I've been so unsettled is because I was on a brain-growth-spurt because I seemed to have learned all sorts of new things this week and maybe it just takes more out of a person when they go on a growth spurt. I've been sleeping better this week, too. Mommy keeps taking pictures of me and videos of me this week- so maybe they'll make a movie and send it out... I don't know.

Well, going to get on with that nap now. Thanks for checking in on me :)

Mood:  celebratory
while I don't condone smoking cigars, I am in a celebratory mood!

I finally figured it out- I figured out how to get those toys into my mouth. I've been trying to figure it out for a while, mentally planning it out so that when I wanted to do it, it would work- and I got it! Today I saw that mr. froggy staring at me from my carseat and I reached out my hand and grabbed his long tongue (tongue is really a pacifier holder string). I was very happy with myself.

Later I was a little sad because everytime I tried to grab one of the toys on my mobile they'd move away- I tried for a long time to catch one and it didn't work and it made me very mad.

At home mommy let me play with lots of things I could grab and that made me happy but now I'm very sleepy.

Mommy & Daddy also took me to a very big bathtub today. It looked kind of dirty. Mommy took me in the water but I didn't like it unless she held me very close. There were little swimmy fishies in there. I think I like my bathtub at home better.

It's been an exhausting but eventful day. There was one sad spot. Mommy was putting things into the car so we could come home and she shut her finger in the door. She was good and didn't say any bad words though. She says her finger is numb and it feels funny typing.

Well, I'm going to go take a nap. I'm especially looking forward to it since I can cuddle my little tigger properly now :)

Bye for now everyone!

(pic is of dylan "grabbing")

Mood:  loud
today is not going well. I keep trying to tell Mommy what I want but she's just not getting it. I try to tell her louder and louder but she just keeps trying to make me go to sleep.

Mommy decided maybe one of the reasons I was crying was because I was hungry. so she fed me some food. real food. she put me in a high chair and mixed up some funny stuff put it in a bowl and fed me with a spoon. I don't see what all the hype is over people food. In my opinion milk is so much better. I think I'll stick with milk for a while.

well. Mommy says she needs a nap after this morning and so do I, so we're going to take a nap.

Be sure you check out the photo albums, we put some new pictures on there.

Love to all! :)

addendum to "growing?" post
[editorial note by Mommy: it seems Dylan has now achieved an amazing 16lbs10oz. and 25.5 inches long. so it very well could have been a growing boy that kept us up this last week. thankfully, it's back to normal again!]

Mood:  spacey
I don't like shots. They are awful and no baby should ever have to endure such atrocities. Yes, atrocities is a big word for a 4 month old. I knew something was up when mommy gave me that purple grape stuff that makes me sleepy. Then I really knew there was trouble when I had to get naked and lay on that weird bed. I didn't even know what was happening until it was already started and I screamed to let them know it hurt and I didn't want anymore- but no one listened. And even when mommy was cuddling me she said "oh, you're not going to die" nice, mom. tease a kid when he's in pain.

well. after that I was just plain exhausted so I've decided I'm going to take a very long nap.

I wanted to tell my cousins in Texas to be careful and stay safe, I know that storm is going to come very close to your house. I'll pray with mommy for you tonight.

I can't talk anymore right now, I'm too sleepy.
Bye, bye.