7 months and counting!

Well, our big guy is 7 months old! I told Nathan it feels like we have a real baby now, not an infant. 7 months just feels like an older baby to me... Nathan thinks I'm weird (what's new).

His first two teeth are really coming in. We had a couple of days of biting, but other than that, I just love seeing his little smile grow! We don't have a doctor's appointment until 9 months, but I can't wait to see how much he's grown! I might have to do an approximate weight and height to satisfy my curiosity.

He's been loving all the solids. Not a picky eater at all, though the thicker texture is taking a little getting used to. He loves to play with his feet and put them in his mouth. He can even sit up on his own. Now that he can sit, he would rather do that then lay down. He likes to be able to see everything and reach for his own toys. He also loves his jumperoo. He gets super excited playing in it, and we just love watching him explore all the toys and try to figure out how they work. Of course, he has already beaten his father at chess.

We had a bath time adventure last week. One of us will usually bathes him while we are taking a shower. Especially for a busy mama, it's easier to just clean both me and the baby at the same time. So I sit him in his little tub, playing with his Sophie the Giraffe, while I get cleaned up, then I sit down and give him a bath. Last week, I was already to get us both clean. He was happy in his tub while I was showering really quick. I sat down to finish him up, and I brought the shower head over to hose him off. Suddenly, the water in his bath tub was all murky. Awesome. He pooped.

So there we are, soapy, wet, slippery, poop water all over the floor of the shower. (It's a little stressful holding a wiggly, poopy, slippery baby in the shower.) He wasn't really sitting super well by himself at the time, so I couldn't just sit him outside the shower while I cleaned up for fear he would fall over on the tiled floor. (Then I'd have a wiggly, poopy, slippery, screaming baby. No thanks.) I had to clean us both up as best I could, get him out of the shower, dressed and happy, so I could go back in the shower, disinfect and rewash us both, minus the poop water. Luckily, Nathan came home in the middle of the craziness, so he could play with the boy while I disinfected. Welcome home, honey! Excuse me while I attend to some poop.

Will is an amazing adventure, and even the gross parts are fun because Nathan and I get to experience all of this together. I'm so happy to share this funny little person with my hilarious best friend! Really, the best part of all of this is sharing it with Nathan.

We both love getting to know him and can't wait to see more of his personality come out, little by little. The more interactive he gets, the more facial expressions we get to see. We can't help but laugh at the many faces of William. I'll leave you with just a few...

Growing up so fast!

I am William. Here me ROAR!

Wow! At 6 months, Will's development has just exploded! Not only is he rolling over, but he has 2 teeth coming in! I was going to post about his first tooth, but then his second tooth came in just a couple days later.

Check out my two front teeth!

He's also tried several new foods. So far he's had avocado, butternut squash, prunes, green beans, and peas. Green beans were not his favorite, to say the least. I seriously thought he was going to throw up. So green beans are off the menu for a while. We had fun giving him avocado for his first food and watching his reaction.

His favorites right now seem to be butternut squash and prunes. Of course, sweet tooth like his mama.

What's with the paparazzi? I'm trying to eat here!

He also had his 6 month check-up recently. All systems go. He is "hitting all his developmental milestones." Almost sitting up, finding his feet, passing toys back and forth between hands, blah blah blah. We seriously have so much stuff we have to learn before we are fully functioning human beings. And in case you were wondering, yes, he has a giant head. 85th percentile to be exact. He is currently 17 lbs. 7 oz. (50%), and 26 inches (36%). Yep, we are all brains in this family.

Hitting developmental milestones is hard, yo. RESPECT!

We have lots of fun on the weekends with our little family. We love listening to his babbles and giggles. We hear quite fascinating tales about "ya, ya, ya," "gaya," and "Iya." We have yet to meet these people of whom he speaks so highly. Will is also a snuggler which we both love. I just want to drink in all his snuggles before he starts running around and leaving me in the dust.

He also loves to play in his jumperoo and go out pretty much anywhere. He really likes to observe his surroundings and see new stuff. Inspired by mini-cousins Callie Jean and Audrey, we decided to take Will to the park. Maybe there will be fun stuff to look at, and we can try the swing for the first time. Not so excited. 

We are so lucky to have such a sweet, snuggly, happy baby. Not that he doesn't cry and poop. He is human. But he is pretty awesome. Especially when he wakes up with excited giggles and babbles like this.

6-months-old and a whole lot of firsts!

Will is officially 6 months old. WHAT?! How have we had this little guy in our lives for 6 months already?! This month brought several firsts. He had his first taste of baby food. Avocado. Mmmm! He makes the most hilarious faces when he eats. Not grossed out, but definitely confused.

He also rolled over from his back to his stomach! The first time it happened, I was sitting on the couch next to him as he played on his play mat. He was having a grand old time, playing on his back, then suddenly I heard him make a fussy noise. I looked up and saw he had worked his way off the mat in the 2 seconds I wasn't looking. I got up to rescue him from the hardwood floor when I realized he was on his stomach! His first time rolling over! I squealed with excitement and reached for the camera. Maybe it was my squeal, or maybe it was waiting me to take a picture, or maybe it was the hardwood floor in his face, but of course, he burst into tears. Oh well...

Now he is a champ at rolling over. He does it all the time like it's the easiest thing ever. It's so funny because he was really close to rolling over for a month or so. He would get almost all the way over, but his arm was always in the way. Then, all of the sudden, he has it mastered. What a funny boy!

The other development is learning to sleep with his arms out. He was moving around his crib so much, and now rolling over. We decided it was time to train him to sleep with his arms free of his swaddler, so he could turn himself back over if he flipped onto his stomach. So we did one arm out first, and then both arms. Why is it he is so much cuter sleeping with his arms out of his swaddler? I have no idea, but it's true.

We love getting to know our little guy and seeing his personality blossom. One of our favorite things is all his many facial expressions. What is he thinking behind those crazy eyebrows?

Love our morning walks

Will and I have been taking walks in the morning, and I absolutely love it. It makes me feel great to get out of the house and get some fresh air, but even more, I just love snuggling with my little man. I have been walking with him in my ErgoBaby carrier, and it's just such a special time for the two of us. Having him snuggle up to me while we enjoy the beautiful view and the sunshine. Such a wonderful start to our day. Today, he took a little snooze during our walk. So sweet! I just love my little man.

 The view on our walk

 Sweet snuggles!

Beautiful beach view

What a week!

(Getting ready for my stroller walk!)

The little man and I have been super busy this week! I've finally kicked myself in the rear and gotten super serious about getting back in shape. This week we went for a walk every day, which made me feel energized and refreshed, and Will loves to look around and see what's going on outside. Plus, we met up with several friends for walks! Monday with Kate, Tuesday with Niki, Wednesday with Karen, and Thursday with Vicki. So mom got lots of social time, exercise time, and Will enjoyed the great outdoors. Thursday I decided to try out the ErgoBaby carrier instead of the stroller for our walk. He really liked it. When we went out Friday morning, he fell asleep in the carrier on the way home! It was so sweet having my little man snuggling with me as we strolled along, taking in the ocean view.

(Ready to meet Mommy's friend for a walk!)

(Loving my ErgoBaby walk with Mommy!)

I brought him in the house after our walk, and he was so happy! I turned around to put down my purse and stuff, and he started fussing really loud. I turned around to see this... That darn hat!

So it was a great week! I was feeling like I finally understood his nap schedule and where I could squeeze exercise in between his naps. Then this weekend... was a mess. Our great napper suddenly decided he didn't want to nap at all. UGH! We have no idea why. Teething? Wanting to hang out with daddy? Growth spurt? Low milk supply? Change in my diet? I seriously have no idea. At least still slept through the night on Saturday. We'll see how tonight goes. Oh well. Babies are weird.

5 Months of fun!

(I'm 5 months old. I like to stick out my tongue.)

Will is 5 months old! (Well, 5 months and 12 days, so I'm a little behind). He had a wonderful Christmas with the family and was such a trooper during all the festivities. Christmas Eve we spent with my mom, "Grammy" Eneyda. Christmas Day was with Nathan's parents and siblings, then we drove up to Nathan's grandparents' to be with all the aunts, uncles and cousins, including Mini-Cousin Audrey!

(Will on Christmas with Grandma Nancy)

(Hanging out with Grandpa Larry)

(More Grandpa Larry time with all the extended family, too!

Check out my cute vest!)

"Sheesh! Women are so emotional!"

(Hanging out with Mini-Cousin, Audrey)

We spent the next day with the other side of Nathan's family. More grandparents, aunt, uncle and cousins, including Mini-Cousins Cooper and Callie Jean. Phew! Lots of driving, but such a blessing and so much fun. I still get choked up at these events. Just can't believe we get to live near all these amazing people again and raise our amazing boy near such a loving family.

For New Year's, Nathan and I celebrated by sleeping. Yep, when you have a 5 month old that sleeps through the night really well, you celebrate by sleeping. Because you are still making up for sleep lost in those early weeks. And you are just so thankful for the gift of a sleeping child you don't want to take it for granted or jinx it by not sleeping. After all, the day I decide to party past midnight will surely be the day Will decides to stop sleeping through the night for no apparent reason. So we put our boy to bed and enjoyed sushi delivery, watched "Bridesmaids", and ate Ben & Jerry's "Schweddy Balls" Ice Cream. I wonder what that combo says about 2012?

The last couple weeks I've finally started to feel a bit more settled. Will has a more definite nap schedule which makes my life so much easier! I now know when to plan errands and outings with friends without ruining his sleep schedule and risking sleepless nights. I've been trying some really tasty healthy recipes (will post my faves soon) and reading a bunch of books. It's amazing how much you can read when your baby takes 40+ minutes to eat and eats 6-7 times a day. That's a lot of reading, folks. I was watching TV most of the time, but now Will gets too distracted by noises. Books are probably better then Housewives shows anyway.

Today, we went to the library for the first time, and Will got to experience baby story time! He LOVED it. He was enthralled by the stories and, of course, loved the songs and motions.

(Listening to a story. So attentive!)

(Miss Ally, the story time leader, and her "baby")

At 5 months, his list of preferred activities is growing. He loves watching sports on TV. We used to think it was just TV in general, but it's definitely sports, and mostly football. He loves to grab faces, especially Daddy's, and also Daddy's hair.

(What is this stuff on Daddy's chin!)

(HA HA! I got Daddy's hair!!)

He also loves listening to Mommy sing. It's kind of awesome that my singing is like a magical spell. He will be fussing and instantly quiet when I start singing. I now do most of my shopping to the tune of "You Are My Sunshine." (Good thing I don't embarrass easily!)

He also loves to talk to himself. He talks himself to sleep and talks to himself when he wakes up. He talks to himself riding in the car and playing on his play mat. He pretty much talks everywhere, unless he would rather be watching what is going on.

Will talking himself to sleep

The last 4 months...

Our little man has been with us for 4 MONTHS now! Wow! It's really gone by quickly! He has changed so much! He is a much bigger fan of his Yoda toy, and he even puts up with his mom taking silly pictures of him (on occasion).

(Will at 1 week old. Not a Yoda fan.)

(Will at 4 months. He and Yoda are one.)

He is such a smiley boy and very curious, loves looking around and observing everything going on around him with his big blue eyes. He is "talking" more and more everyday, often waking up from naps to chat with himself for up to 15 minutes before going back to sleep. He thinks his daddy and mommy are hilarious (but then again, who doesn't?), and often squeals with delight when we play with him. He also loves grabbing things and putting them in his mouth and has made several failed attempts at doing so with my chin. (He's very determined, so I'm sure he will figure it out very soon.) He has a knack for spitting up when we are least prepared, which tests our ninja spit up catching skills. (Yes, Nathan got spit up on the face already. We now where plastic ponchos during playtime.) He loves to cuddle, play on his new gym, chew on plastic rings, and fart like a man. Every little part of him is loved!!