Catching up on some videos and pictures

One of my favorites pictures of him!

Enjoying a teething biscuit...

But then this happens....

So now we just strip down beforehand.

I love my kids in hats!

Loving the outdoors.

And we thought he was going to be our quiet baby...

Wanting to move!

A girl and her ball

" Whoah dad, that is soooo high!"

"Throw it to me!!"

"I'm going to catch it!"

"Maybe I can do it, if I just close my eyes and wish for it to happen."

"I did it?"

"I'm so cool"

6 months

I've been trying to post a blog since Makael turned 6 months old (last Friday) but for some reason only pictures I've taken with my phone will upload. Very frustrating! I've gotten some really cute ones of him recently that I wanted to include. Pictures or not, I have to give an update...6 months is a big deal!
Makael now weighs 13 lbs 12 oz, and is 25 inches tall. He's consistently staying in the 2 percentile, which is fine by me so long as he continues to grow. He's now getting real food which has been interesting. So far, we know that he hates zucchini, is okay with broccoli and sweet potatoes, and is a huge fan of apple sauce. He's also starting to insist on holding his own bottle, and is sitting up on his own (note the pictures above)! Most importantly, depending on how swollen his gums are I can feel his first two bottom teeth. He's been busy!
He's getting more and more playful by the day, and I just love it! He has learned how to give kisses, growl, and make all sorts of cute gibberish noises. Along with being more playful, he's also getting louder. We are going to have to start sending him to Sunday night day care during small group since he's becoming quite the distraction trying to "partake" in the discussion. I'm a little sad about it, I have yet to even send him to the nursery on Sunday mornings, but I think it will be good for him. He's much more reserved than Gemma was at this age, and has started to get upset if I leave the room, so it will be good to get him used to being okay with other people taking care of him.
I'll sound like a broken record and say it again, time is going by way too fast...but in a fun way :)

These are a few of my favorite things

I love going back and reading pasts posts. It's amazing how much I forget...even those things I think I never will. So this is specifically meant to "document" some of Gemma's current favorites.

• Puzzles- Putting puzzles together is by far her favorite thing to do right now...and man is she good at them. I'm not sure if she's advanced in this area or not, but I'm sure impressed by her. Not only does it impress me that she can basically put any puzzle together by herself, but also the length of time she can sit and concentrate. The only puzzle she hasn't been able to completely finish on her own is a 48 piece picture of a pirate ship, but she has sat for 40 minutes trying. It's pretty crazy.
  
• Riding the merry-go-round at the mall... or as she calls it, "the horsy round". I can't even count how many times she's been on it. She always decides on our way to the mall what animal she wants to ride. It's a big decision after all. Typically, she chooses the bear, the cat, or the horse, but occasionally she'll decide on the lion or the tiger.
• Hide and go Seek- This is probably the cutest thing in the world! She still hasn't figured out that just because her face is hidden, doesn't mean we can't see her. But of course we humor her and love every second of "finding" her.
• Going to the park- Luckily, we've been able to go a lot this winter with it being so warm. I have no doubt she'll want to be outside as much as possible this summer, and this year we'll have a pool membership!
  
• Wearing Hats- She has a pretty good collection of sun hats which she pulls out on a daily basis and takes turns wearing all of them. Hopefully the enjoyment lasts into the summer when it will actually be beneficial to wear a hat
  
• Taco Bell- We have made it a tradition to meet David for lunch about once a week, and TB is where we go almost every time since it's so close to his work. She loves their cheese roll ups! If I gave her the option, she would eat one for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
• Chocolate milk- This is the cure all, go to beverage. It will instantly put her in a good mood regardless of the situation.
  
• Grandpa crackers- The first time she ever had Wheat Thins was at Lita and Grandpa's house, and for some reason got it in her head that they were Grandpa's crackers she was eating...so naturally that's what they are called.
• Go Diego Go- I'm not sure why she has suddenly decided she likes Diego more than Dora, but it's the only thing she ever wants to watch these days. I have to admit...it's a pretty good show.
• ALL of her stuffed animals: I have no clue where she learned to love them so much or where they even all came from. They mysteriously keep reproducing but she keeps track of them and plays with all of them equally. It's like she has them on rotation or something... though her favorites are Tiger, Kitty, and her little dog Harley.

This picture shows how beautiful she's getting...

While this one reflects more accurately her personality. Ha!

Houdini

All signs point to teething now (increased fussiness, gnawing, slobbering, restless nights) and yet I feel nothing on his actual gums. I rubbed my finger over his lower gums yesterday and though there was no sign of a tooth, you would have thought I had punched him or something by the scream he let out. Poor little man! I'm pretty excited for him to get teeth, not only because he'll no longer be in pain, but because his already adorable smile is only going to get cuter!

Aside from the teething, he is so much fun these days! I love how he gets so animated when he's excited about something. Typically, cereal, baths, and being naked are the three things that make him get the most excited...lots of grunting, flailing arms , kicking feet, squeals, etc. It's so cute! He's also getting really good at traveling around the room. I'm not really sure how he does it, since I never actually see it, but if I look away for just a few seconds, he 's always 2 feet away from where I put him. He's also getting to be quite the escape artist in the bouncy seat. I don't think I ever used the straps even once with Gemma, but if I don't buckle Makael in, he ends up on the floor. And to think he's not even crawling yet!

Baby Einstein is his FAVORITE! He will lay on the floor and watch (usually moving himself in circles) an entire 30 minute episode. I have several videos and he has made it pretty easy to figure out which ones are his favorites. It's nice to have something that will entertain him for a bit so I can get things done.

"I definitely feel a tooth mom"

"Watch me mom, I bet I can roll off!"

"Getting out of this gets more and more fun each time"

"Baby Eistein is the best!"

Gemma is such a little lady now. It's hard to believe that at this time last year, she was just learning to walk and this year she's officially potty trained. Everyone told me time would fly by once I had kids...I had no idea!

We experienced a "first" a couple nights ago. She had her first bad dream. Well, obviously I have no clue when she had her first bad dream, but it was the first time she woke up and wanted to get in our bed because she was scared. Gosh it was sweet! I can remember climbing into my parents' bed when I woke up with bad dreams, and just like David did, my parents would get tired of me taking up room in their bed and eventually carry me back to my room. That part I hated! So if it hadn't been for the fact that we had gotten little to no sleep the previous 4 days with both kids being sick, I would have stopped David from swooping her up to go tuck her back into her own bed. Thankfully, I don't think she woke up enough to realize what was going on.

Yesterday was Valentines day and Gemma got spoiled by her daddy. Actually she and I both did! I got a surprise day at the spa, and Gemma got a bag full of little gifts. The fact that David came home to surprise us just as I had put her in her room for nap time was probably the best part for her. She loves anything that interferes with her having to take a nap.

A look at how she has changed...

February 2011

February 2012

5 months

We went in for Makael's weight check, and at five months he weighs 13 lbs, 3 oz, and is 24 inches tall. Still hanging on in the 2 percentile for both height and weight. The doctor and I were both glad to see he hadn't dropped off the charts.




Makael's life at 5 months includes...

• cereal! His pediatrician said he usually recommends starting solids at six months, but didn't have a problem with me giving him cereal. He loves it, which makes me somewhat excited to start introducing fruits and veggies in a month.
  

• sleep training. This is as enjoyable as taking him in for shots... It's heart wrenching! Again, the pediatrician recommended I wait until 6 months...but I had to go against his advice on this one. I know from experience that the older they get, the harder it is. Last night was the first night and I can already see improvements, but I'm going to save all the details (even why I decided it was necessary) until we get through it and I can give a full recap. Probably later this week :)
  

• a new obsession with his daddy: Remember how I said I was his favorite person? I'm not so convinced anymore. He LOVES David! And what really baffles me is that David doesn't even have to try. The second Makael realizes David is around he starts making whatever noises he can to get David's attention,. The instant David acknowledges him, it's ear to ear smiles. It's pretty cute actually, I just wish he would put in that much effort for my attention.
  

• wanting more independence: He's getting really dang close to sitting on his own, but his ultimate goal is to crawl. During tummy time he fixes on a certain toy, and concentrates really hard as he grunts and stretches every which way trying to grab it. He has actually started moving forward a little, but not enough for him to realize it before he gets frustrated and starts crying. I'm not usually the one to wish for the "next phase", but I think he'll be much happier once he can move around a little bit.
  

On a different note...I've decided that having kids in the winter is hard. They just take turns being sick. Both of them had the stomach bug last week, and this week Gemma is congested, running a fever, and has a pretty nasty cough. I'm sure it's only a matter of time before Makael gets its. I'm ready for warmer weather!