6 Months

Here we are, already half way through Drew’s first year.  My baby is six months old (6 months and one week to be exact).  I’d say I can’t imagine our lives without baby Drew, but it’s not true.  It really wasn’t that long ago that we didn’t have our sweet little boy.  So I can imagine life without Drew, it’s just not nearly as happy and joyful as it is with him.  

Wednesday was his six month checkup and his stats…

Height: 27.5 inches (75^th percentile)

Weight: 18 lbs, 7.5 oz (60^th percentile)

Head: 17.72 inches (75^th percentile)

Drew remains consistent with his morning nap. He goes down about 9am (waking up around 7:30am) and usually sleeps 2-3 hours. The afternoon nap continues to be less predictable.   

Still sleeps swaddled and his crib remains in our room

Drew has been really gassy this month.  I’m pretty sure our Halloween candy has been the culprit.  Those first few days after Halloween he was super stinky.  He was uncharacteristically fussy too so after a few days of overindulgence, I've tried to eat in moderation, but it hasn't been easy. 

Drew is no longer our cryless boy.  He still doesn't cry often especially during the day, but this past month has been different during the night.  I used to have no concern about taking him places overnight cause he slept long spans and if he did wake up he'd just make a little noise, barely audible, then lay silently while I changed his diaper (smiling of course cause he loves getting his diaper changed) and then go right back to sleep after eating.  I remember at my family reunion in a house with 30 other people, nobody heard a thing out of him all night.   Drew hasn't been as predictable at night lately.   Sometimes he'll sleep all night, other nights I'll have to get up with him more than once.   He still smiles every time we change his diaper, but during the night he gets impatient when I take too long fastening his clothing and he'll start fussing at me.   He doesn't like the 0.5 seconds it takes me to get situated to feed him either.   And there was even a night or two this past month where he didn't go right back to sleep, that hasn't happened since he was a newbie. I know for some Moms that record sounds heavenly, but this mama misses her peaceful nights and can't wait for Drew to get back to sleeping like an angel.  

It’s not very often that I cuddle him while he sleeps – one of the best perks of having a baby without a doubt

Carly continues to be my biggest helper with Drew.   She loves to hold him, can’t wait to be able to feed him, and even offers to take him when he's fussy so I can get things done.   Ever since he was born she's wanted to carry him in the Bjorn, she kept reminding me that I let Abigail do it with Katie. 

Katie was much smaller at the time than our boy Drew is now. 

Still does great in the car.   We'll often think he's fallen asleep back there, but here's just sitting silent enjoying the ride. So glad we've never had a kid who's disliked being in the car. 

A few weeks ago Justin gave Drew his first tastes of rice cereal.   He seemed to enjoy the first couple bites, but the experience soon turned to tears. 

Last week we tried carrots and that was even less successful than the rice cereal.   We've never had a baby that didn't love to eat so we’re not sure what to do there.

The girls babysat him on Saturday while Justin and I when to the new Hunger Games movie with friends.   I was nervous leaving him knowing he wouldn't take a bottle and we hadn't been successful with any foods.  Just leave it to Carly.  She got him to eat half a container of sweet potatoes while we were gone.

The girls have never watched Drew at bedtime or for so long.  They did great.  When we got out of the movie I immediately called to see how they were doing, I knew the likelihood of Drew going to bed for them was slim.  I asked if we should rush home or stop at Krispy Kreme for our traditional after date reward (half price after 9pm).  They were coping well enough that they wanted their donuts. 

Drew has become a hip baby.  It's nice that he's strong enough to be held on my hip, but a sad sign that he's growing up. 

Spends lots of time with his hands and fingers in his mouth.  The other night he got a hold of Abigail' s finger and was just munching and sucking away on it.   I don't think I've ever seen Abigail giggle so much.   We were laughing so hard that I was nearly in tears.

Blows bubbles/spits often – still think it’s totally adorable

Drew had his first rolling over experience back on October 18th.  He didn't roll over again until November 11th.  He's still not fond of it though and can't get himself back over to his back.  

I dug out our Bumbo chair a few months ago and used it to get a few cute pictures of Drew. We've tried to use it a few times since but his chubby little legs don't fit in it very well. 

Drew recently discovered his toes.   He hasn't gotten them to his mouth yet, but it's fun to see him grabbing at them. 

I wonder how long Drew would sit in his little bathtub before wanting to get out.  He enjoys baths so much it seems he could play in there for hours. 

Like all my children, Drew is entranced with television from a young age.   If I need to keep him content for a while I can put in baby Mozart and he'll enter the zone.   It's not just baby shows though.   Justin claims that Drew loves watching sports with him. 

Drew is a smiley baby and recognizes when his Daddy gets home.   Justin gets lots of love when he walks in the door.

Seems to still be fine with other people holding him.   If you remember, my friend held him so I could enjoy our ward primary program.   He also has a cute relationship with a counselor in our bishopric who has also been our home teacher until just recently.   It seems every Sunday Brother Willis will come across Drew and I in the halls.  Drew always gets excited when Bro. Willis talks to him and he usually wants to take Drew for a few minutes to get some baby lovin’.  

We sure love our little guy!  Monday at parent teacher conferences Carly’s teacher gave me the most adorable story about Drew that Carly had written.  She starts her essay with, “If you had a five month old brother, would he be special to you? I bet you he would.”  A few of my favorite lines are, “He’s so adorable and even just holding him cheers me up.” “He is always there to greet me with his cute and chubby smile.” And the last line, “Don’t you think brothers that aren’t big and annoying are special?”

Snoqualmie Falls from Below

We live just a few miles away from Snoqualmie Falls – an uber popular scenic attraction in the Seattle area.  It is beautiful.  Since we moved here the hydroelectric plant at falls has been undergoing major renovation so the hiking paths down to the base of the falls has been closed. Not a huge loss for us, we’ve only hiked down once and that was before we even moved to the northwest.  Everything recently reopened so we thought we’d take the kids on the hike to the bottom.  The kids goofed off a bit while Justin read the map.

We (as in me and the girls) were worried when we read that the hike back up is like climbing up a 30 story building and that many people get to the bottom of the falls and then can’t hike back up.  We walked down anyhow and were pleasantly surprised to find there was a parking lot down near the base, which meant that when we were done Justin could hike up to the van then drive down and pick us.  My legs were already getting painful and itchy (you recall I am allergic to exercise) so that was a relief. 

We continued past the hydroelectric plant and down the boardwalk to the falls viewpoint.  I’m sure there's a lot to be learned from looking at the actual plant, but until someone in our family actually has an interest in hydroelectricity I think we’re good skipping over it.  

To be honest the viewpoint is so far away from the bottom of the falls that the view really isn’t that spectacular.  I was surprised that there were several people that ignored the warning and jumped over the boardwalk to get a closer look.  Next time I think we’ll just stick with the views from up top instead.  

Drew and the girls hung out with me at the parking lot while Jason and Justin hiked up to the van.  Apparently, the hike wasn’t nearly as intimidating as the sign indicated because we didn’t have to wait long til they picked us up.  

Neon Ninjas Soccer

Justin went to the bulk of the girls’ soccer games this year.  I only went to a few of Abigail’s and either I didn’t bring my camera or just didn’t use it, but here we are the season is over and I don’t have a single picture from her games.  Major bummer.  I found this one I’d taken at one of Carly’s games, but I don’t think it counts.

Thankfully someone took a good picture of the team and emailed it to all the parents.

Abigail’s soccer season was frustrating.  She has had cruddy soccer teams ever since we moved here and we haven’t been willing to commit the time and cost to put her on a select team.  Her team lost six players to select teams this year.  By the end of this season she was frustrated and ready to be done.  Hopefully next year we will see more competitive and skilled playing when she can play through the middle school program. 

She had her last soccer game on the 9^th, but their end of the season party wasn’t until this past Saturday since they were waiting on ordering sweatshirts for the girls.  A fun alternative to useless trophies though I’d rather have them at the beginning of the season so they could wear them while they were a team.  Oh well, Abigail loves her new sweatshirt.

Sayonara Neon Ninjas – I think this is goodbye for good!

Bracing for the Future

Big day at our house today!  

She's smiling now, but I don't think she will be tomorrow!

(Justin came up with the title, isn't he clever?)

Gummy Bear Soccer

The girls’ final soccer games were this past Saturday.  It was a divide-and-conquer kind of day.  Justin took Carly to her 9am game and was able to stay for most of it before needing to leave with Abigail to get her to her game.  I picked up Carly as her game was wrapping up and headed over to the train depot for her end of the season party.

I think it surprises some people with how athletic Carly is.  She is a competitor and is easily one of the strongest members of her team.  She played a great season, scored in multiple games, and most importantly had fun.  We were glad that her coach from last year decided to coach again.  Her expectations for the girls are high and we’ve enjoyed having her coach these last two years.

While passing out signed soccer balls and pictures to each of the players, the coach commented about how Carly is a strong team player and how she can count on Carly to play well in any position.

Good Season Gummy Bears!

Sunday

I love Sundays.  Justin usually gets up with the kids so I get to sleep in.  Church doesn't start until 1pm so there is plenty of time for a leisurely breakfast (Justin typically makes pancakes; though if strawberries are in season we make waffles instead and waffles are my domain).  Justin and I even had time to take a little nap this morning before church.

Today was extra special in that we had our annual primary program during sacrament meeting.  The kids had been practicing for many months and were excited, but I was the most excited.  The primary program is my favorite Sunday of the year.  I love hearing the children sing and share the simple truths of the gospel.  The spirit is always so strong and it always ends up being an emotional week for me in a wonderful way.

We had 114 children performing today - that's a lot for one ward.  If I remember correctly, at our last stake conference the stake presidency shared that our ward has 25% of the children in the entire stake and there are eight wards in our stake!  I love our ward.  Not only do we have a solid primary organization with lots of friends for my kids, but our youth program is excellent as well.  With that many kids to squeeze into a 45 minute program the kid’s parts are small, in fact Carly actually shared a part with three other girls.

Like most wards, our ward has a shortage of adults that can play the piano.  Earlier in the year there wasn't a pianist during singing time so the presidency asked if anyone could play the piano.  Abigail raised her hand and accompanied the primary kids as they sang, "Heavenly Father Loves Me."  She did so great that they asked her to play the song during the program as well.

As we were getting ready for church I expressed to Justin how I was concerned about whether I would be able to keep Drew content and still be able to watch the program.  As a primary teacher Justin was required to sit on the stand with his class.  And since Drew prefers his caregiver to stand while they hold him it's been many, many weeks since we haven't had to stand in the halls during sacrament to keep him happy.  As I was getting settled in our usual pew in walked the Carman family, our friends from Auburn, who had just happened to pop into our church while they were in the area.  Barb loves babies and offered to take Drew out if he got fussy (in fact she said it would be my "gift" to her).  She whisked him out just minutes later and I was able to watch the entire program without a baby to care for.   She was my Angel!  Apparently Drew did awesome with her and she even got him to sleep for most of the hour.

The program was awesome.   There were so many times I had tears in my eyes listening to these sweet children share their testimonies.   Loved it. 

The primary presidency wanted to do something special during primary to celebrate after the program so they arranged a talent show.   The kids sat on blankets, ate popcorn and pretzels while they watched their friends share various church appropriate talents. 

Carly and Abigail have been playing duets on the piano and flute lately so we decided Carly would play "I am a Child of God" with Abigail on the flute.   

I bribed Abigail to also play the piano piece that she played at Carly's baptism over a year and a half ago.   It’s a medley of “Amazing Grace/Now we take the Sacrament/How Great Thou Art” I love the arrangement, which Abigail knows, but she won’t ever play it.  I recorded their songs this morning so next time I want to hear Abigail's song I can just hit play instead of beg and bribe her.  

They both did great playing during the talent show, such a proud and emotional mom moment for me. 

Justin usually cooks dinner on Sundays and tonight he cooked one of our favorites, we call it “Susi's meal” after our friend who founded it.  There was no complaining tonight about all the mushrooms and tomatoes, it was delicious.

After we cleaned up dinner there was a game of dominos and then we all gathered to watch the finale of Masterchef Junior, which left Justin and I wondering how we can get our kids cooking gourmet meals by the age of 9 or 10.  Can you imagine?

The kids were all in bed by 8:30pm and then Justin and I finished watching a movie we'd checked out from the library.   The perfect end to a nearly perfect day.  I sure do love Sundays.  Sure there are days there is more bickering than bonding, but today wasn't one of those days.  Today was pretty great.