6 months

Sweet Boy,

Your Mama is behind on updating about your monthly progress! It has been a crazy two months. We can't believe you're half a year old now!! You are proving to be one smart cookie, for which we're very thankful. I had to take your 6-month pictures alone and they're not very exciting to say the least. It's hard to be the baby wrangler, photographer, AND try and make you smile.

The last picture made me laugh so much because it reminds me of one that your Great Granny took on our first Mothers and Daughters Gone Wild trip. I decided to flip your pic and put them together. And of course save it here to remember forever and ever!

All we asked Granny to do for her picture was "Strike a pose"--this is the pose she chose!

You moved to your big boy stroller insert and now you can sit up and look around at the world. I think you're much happier that way. You've made it very clear you don't like being in your pumpkin seat anymore and try to push up to get out as soon as we put you in it. Your big boy carseat is coming soon, but considering it'll be at least $300 you might just be squashed in the baby seat a bit longer.

Big Boy!!

You went on your first vacation this month (which I'll do a separate post on in more detail). You were a champ! A week away proved to be a little too much but we asked so much of you and you were a great little traveler overall.

Your Daddy left to start his masters in Oregon right before your 6-month mark. He was gone for 3 weeks which was very difficult for me especially. I don't know how single parents do it.

When we got back from vacation you suddenly realized your brother and sister exist and started reaching out for them. You think they're hilarious and LOVE Finny's tail and follow it with your eyes when he walks around. You've grabbed a couple good handfuls of his fur too and I'm happy to report he was a VERY good boy and has never swatted at you or tried to bite you. He just waits for me to unclench your fist and then moves about a foot out of your reach.

KITTY!!

You can almost sit up alone but still need the boppy pillow or a blanket behind you to catch you when you inevitably fall over. You also bend in half and then get stuck with your forehead on your feet!

Big sitter!!

You laugh regularly now. You think your Daddy is hilarious, as well as flying and jumping and all kinds of different things. Such a cute little giggle you have.

You're still up once a night but you DID sleep through the night once so I know you're capable. But I was unfortunately still up at the normal time ready to feed you. *SIGH* One day!!

We also switched you to cloth diapers! We've been meaning to forever and finally just bit the bullet and made the investment. We haven't looked back. You're doing great with them and it's really nice not to have to buy $40 worth of diapers every couple weeks. Here's a photo of everything: 18 cloth diapers to start but we'll probably want another 6 for him at some point. And if there's ever another baby we'll need a whole other set of them!

Snuck in a pink one!! :) 

And finally, a really fun new skill--you have started reaching your arms out to me! It happened after vacation and was a pretty great surprise. It's nice to know for a fact that you think your Mama is tops. Plus the pediatrician said she thinks your eyes are going to stay their beautiful blue. I think you're officially my mini-me. :)

You are so much fun little guy! We love you so much!

7 Months

Roly Poly,

Your 7-month pics are by far the best yet!! You were a good little show pony (that's what we call you when we're out and you smile appropriately at people who think you're adorable) for sure!

That face!!

So big!!!

The beginning of your 7th month was pretty intense--your first cold! You were thrown for quite a loop. It was the night before your Daddy got home so I spent almost the entire night up with you. Your nose was so stuffy and you were just miserable. We spent all night like this, but without the peaceful sleeping:

You are the clear favorite at daycare. It's nice to know how much Michelle loves you too! You're a very cheerful, funny little thing.

Who wouldn't love that sweet little face!!

You sit up like crazy now. You can bend over and sit yourself back up. I think you like being such a big boy and sitting up and seeing the world. But it definitely means your pumpkin car seat has got to go soon.

Sitting up and loving your new big boy high chair! 

You've finally had good weeks with both grandmas watching you! You were happy and fun and took two naps a day for both of them. So that's a big relief for me! And it's nice to know you're getting more comfortable with your routine. This summer has been pretty crazy for you bouncing around from place to place almost every day to be watched by different people in different places. You've been very flexible!

Cheerful little boy!

Pretty soon after you got over your first cold you ended up with a second one, and this time a little cough! It was horrible to listen to you coughing but it didn't seem to bother you as much as being stuffy. So of course your sleep was a little strange again but you're back on track again now.

You are a rolling machine now. Front to back and back to front. I think you feel safe in your crib and are always on the move in there. There's one blind spot with the monitor at the bottom of your crib and fairly often when you're cruising around in there it looks like you've completely disappeared. A little disconcerting the first time that happened, to say the least.

You also had a big day recently--going in the big shopping cart for the first time and in the big baby swing in the backyard.

Weeeeee!!

In addition to having colds and being a little needier you took those two opportunities to eat around the clock. You have upped your (my) milk supply so much in the past 4 weeks!! I'm pumping an extra 4 ounces during the day for you and you're up to drinking two 8 oz bottles with your sitters. Which means you're probably drinking an extra 6-8 ounces total every 24 hours. So crazy. I guess being a bit more mobile (even though you're not crawling yet!) burns a lot more calories.

Look at this 4-week difference. You have thinned out so much. I can't even imagine how skinny you'll get when you actually start crawling and walking.

You're a real little boy!!!