A Very Late 12 Months

 

A couple weeks ago (April 30) Baylor turned 1. I say this all the time, but I honestly can not believe just how quickly the time has flown. It is bittersweet--on one hand I get to see the little person he has become but at the same time I no longer have the small, cuddly baby.  This has been the absolute best year of our lives and I know things will just continue to get even better. I did not know love until I had Baylor.  The depth of my love for him in immeasurable. I would do ANYTHING for this sweet baby.  Okay, enough with the mushy stuff. Here's where he is at one year:

 

-he is wearing size 12-18 months

 

-in size 4 (or 5 in some brands) diapers

 

-size 3 shoes (we are trying to put him in shoes more frequently now)

 

-he sleeps like a champ! Goes down usually between 7-8 and we wake him up in the mornings at 7:30 for school. He also takes 2 naps a day that are usually a total of 3-4 hours

 

-by his first birthday, he was off bottles and formula. He eats 3 meals a day, with lots of snacks in between. He has about 2 sippy cups full of whole milk a day

 

-his favorite foods are fruits. He loves bananas, blueberries, grapes, strawberries. He refuses to eat anything green. He likes cheese, crackers, cookies (anything sweet really), chicken nuggets, and hot dogs

 

-he is not walking quite yet.  He is cruising like a champ and uses his push toys to get all over the place

 

-he likes to dance and it is honestly the cutest thing ever

 

-he can say mama, dada, uh oh, ball ("ba"), and dog ("da")

 

-he has learned to blow kisses and loves to do this, even to strangers

 

-he got his first haircut and did great!

 

 

It is honestly amazing to see how much he grows and learns each and every day. He has the best personality, is very bubbly and loves to laugh.  He can be quite the clown, often making himself and us laugh.  He is very curious and into everything--we are a bit fearful of when he actually does start to walk!! Every phase during this last year I have said is my favorite and I think it will just continue on.  I love this precious gift God gave us and I hope and pray he always knows this. 

11 Months

 

I can't believe my teeny, tiny baby is 11 months old!! He is getting so big! I feel like every month I think "this is my favorite time" and each month I say it again. As he grows and gets older, he is becoming so fun and adventurous. His personality is really starting to come through and we love it!

Here's a snap shot of where we are at now:

 

-he is wearing size 12 months in clothes

 

-size 4 diapers

 

-eats 3 8oz bottles a day, one in the morning, one mid-day, and one at night

 

-he is not getting the sippy cup down very well.  He likes to tip it over or throw it and say "uh oh". I'm a bit worried about how the transition from bottles to sippy cups will go. Eek!

 

-he eats like a pig! He seems to love everything from chicken nuggets to grilled cheese to fried okra and pineapple

 

-he is walking with a push toy and cruises everywhere. He cries when he falls down because he wants back up to walk.  He is also pulling up on everything.

 

-he can say "mama" "dada" "uh oh" and "bye bye" (while waving). He loves to jabber, but we aren't quite sure what he is saying. He sometimes loves to just yell out loud which is hilarious

 

-he still loves balls and any toys he can bang together

 

-he is still very shy in large crowds or new places. Once he warms up though, he is his happy sweet self

 

-he sleeps all night long in his crib. He goes to bed between 7-8 and if we don't wake him up for school he sleeps until about 8am

 

-he loves taking baths and cries when we pull him out

 

He is amazing. We just love him to death and we have had the best time with him. I look forward to every minute we get to spend together!

 

-

 



10 Months!

I am about a week behind on this month's update but better late than never, right?! I guess this is a perfect example of how our little man has us constantly busy!

Here is the stats for this past month:

-he is wearing size 9-12 month clothes

-size 4-5 diapers (depends on the brand)

-I estimate that he weighs around 21lbs

-he is crawling all over! We have had to put a baby gate to separate our living room from the rest of the house, which has been a lifesaver.

-we have been starting the process of transitioning him from baby food to real food which has been interesting. He loves grilled cheese, french fries, flavored puffs (yeah I'm counting that as real food, ha!), yogurt, and oranges. He dislikes pizza, fried okra, corn, green beans, peas, and some chicken nuggets.

-he can say dada, mama, and uh oh

-he LOVES balls! Big or small he will get a huge grin on his face when he sees one, hoards it so no other babies can get it (at school), and will even try to crawl with it. He can throw, bounce, and somewhat catch them. He definitely is your typical boy!

-he got his first haircut from mama and looks so much older with it shorter. He already needs another one- his hair grows so fast!

-he loves bath time and will be starting baby swim lessons next month

-he has 3 teeth now--2 on bottom and 1 on the top

-learning how to use the sippy cup, he is almost there, but doesn't quite understand that he must tip it up to get the drink. He also likes to throw it or tip it over frequently.

-he is in love with our dog Gracie and gives her lots of hugs and kisses

-speaking of hugs and kisses he loves to give mama and dada lots of hugs and slobbery kisses and we love them!

I can't even say how much we love this boy. Our life has changed so much in these last 10 months in the most amazing ways. He is the best gift from God we could have ever recieved!!!

9 Months

I say this every month but I just can not believe how quick these last 9 months have gone by. I wish time would slowwww down! This has been one of the biggest months we have had developmentally. He has done so much in the past month. It is so exciting to see Baylor grow and learn. Here's where he is at now:

-wearing 9-12 month clothes

-wearing size 4 diapers but we are about to have to move up a size ASAP!

-he weighs 19 1/2 lbs

-28.5 inches long

-he is saying "mama" and "dada" all the time!
He has said "mama" while looking at me and reaching out for me to hold him. It was/is the best feeling ever!

-he can go from sitting to laying down to sitting. It's amazing how fast he can get out of a position.

-he can high five

-he can now crawl! He seems to be enjoying exploring the house now. He is fascinated by the door stoppers!

-he can now feed himself table food but is really picky and doesnt like much table food.

-he drinks about 4 8oz bottles per day and eats 2-3xs a day of baby food and whatever table food we can force him to eat, lol

-he loves fruits and hates peas and green beans. I honestly can't blame him.

-he loves to bang his toys on the table or on anything else hard

-balls are his favorite toys. He loves to throw them and then crawl to get them.

-he has started to hate being changed. He screams bloody murder when you put him on the changing table. Distraction is key.


I can't say enough how much greater our lives are with this sweet boy around. He is such a happy, sweet baby and I thank God for blessing us with him.

My Life Lately According to my iPhone

Of course mostly all Baylor...Thats just my life now!

It was a Merry Christmas!

Hello Blogger friends (if I still have any out there)! I have been a little MIA lately and to be honest, I have no clue how these moms blog frequently. I never have a minute to sit down and write a post.

 

Anyways, we had a wonderful Christmas. It was filled with lots of traveling, the stomach bug (all of us got-yuck), and tons of family.  We stayed very busy but it was great. 

 

A few weeks before Christmas we took Baylor to meet Santa. He did not know what to think. Look at how serious he was! It cracks me up!

 

The weekend before Christmas, we drove to Atlanta to visit with my family.  We had two early Christmases with them and Baylor had a blast (as did we). He got this rocking Dinosaur and he loves it.  When it stops, he starts to kick and bounce to signal you to keep rocking him.

My brother with Baylor

My mom and her Boyfriend Max

 I forgot to bring my camera into my dad's house, but we had a great time. Photo fail though on my part!

 

These pics were from Christmas day. We woke up around 8:15 and opened presents just our little family, and then headed to Matts parents house for breakfast.

 

We later had Matts mother and brothers (and my sister in law and her father) over for dinner. It was so special to have our sweet Baylor there for his first Christmas!

 

Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and have a Happy New Year!

8 months

I say it every month but I just can not get over how quickly the last 8 month has gone by. My life has changed in so many ways and I would not trade it for the world. Being a mother is something that is so amazing and I thank God daily that I get to be Baylor's mommy and that he is such a precious baby boy. I can't say it enough. Seriously!

So here is where we stand now at 8 months:

-he is wearing 9 month clothes

-size 4 diapers

-weighs around 19-20 lbs

-is thisclose to crawling. He has been going from a sitting position to being on his hands and knees and rocks, but pushes himself backwards instead of forwards.

-he is babbling a lot. He says "dadda" but I'm not convinved that he knows what it means. Of course Matt would tell you he does. Just the past few days it sounds like he is working on saying "mama", and of course he knows what that means! ;)

- he got a TON of toys for Christmas and loves them all, but nothing is as great as the dogs (who mostly run from him) or his stress ball that Matt randomly gave him.

- he now (once again) has a full thick set of hair, no more patchy bald spots. It has lightened up some also.

-he is mostly* sleeping through the night. By mostly I mean sometimes he ends up in our bed in the middle of the night. I dont mind the extra cuddles though ;)

- he is such a happy boy. He smiles at everyone and laughs all the time. It truly is the best sound. Ever.

If Spring is for cleaning, Winter is for...organizing?

Today was one of those days when you start with saying "I'm going to clean the house" but after a good scrubbing and some pinterest inspirations we did so much more. After a trip to Home Depot and a couple hours we had some sucess.

Here's some pics of our newly organized areas:

6 Month Pics

We recently had some professional photos taken to document this special time in our lives. I anxiously waited for them and was so excited to recieve them yesterday! They turned out so great I wanted to share a few of my favs!

7 Months

 

 

On November 30, Baylor turned 7 months old. He is getting so big and so much fun to play with. Here are some things that are going on with him currently:

 

-He weighs 18lbs

 

-He is babbling all the time. "bababababa" is his favorite phrase right now.  We can't wait to hear a "mamamama" or a "dadadada"!

 

-He wears size 3 diapers

 

-He is wearing 6 to 9 month clothes (mostly 9 month)

 

-He is drinking about 5-6 6oz bottles daily, and is eating stage 2 foods.  He does not like thick foods and won't eat anything green (green beans and peas were a no go)

 

-He is sitting up really well now, rolls over great, and is trying to crawl.  I think we still have a bit of time left before he actually gets mobile with his crawling.  He does a lot of push ups but can't quite figure out how to pull his knees up though he tries.

 

-He now gives hugs and kisses, the kisses are open mouth and slobbery but wonderful!

 

-He still loves to jump in his jumperoo and loves to play on his kick and play mat. 

 

It has been so neat to see his personality come out and develop as he grows older. He is such a sweet sweet boy. I look forward to every minute that I am able to spend with him.

 

Must Have's for Moms (with a 6 month old)

When Baylor was born, I did a post recommending items that I thought were great for new mothers' with young babies. I thought I would write a similar list now that Baylor is 6 months old. Some things are still uber important for us such as paci's and burp cloths (he still spits up all.the.time.) but some are not (nap nanny, boppy). 

 

I think as he has gotten older, the biggest type of items that we use are toys.  Toys, toys, and toys galore.  It is so fun to see him play and explore new things. 

 

1. His absolute favorite thing in the whole wide world is his jumperoo exercauser.  We have this Baby Einstein one and it is great.  The jumperoo is by far the greatest invention ever.  I will say though if you get one, make sure to get the type that the seat bounces not just the part their feet touch.  Walmart and some other stores carry some that has a platform their feet stand on that bounces but the seat does not move. He does not like those near as much. In fact, he just seems confused when he's in them. lol. We also have a Johnny Jump Up which is the bouncy thing that hangs from the door frame, but he isn't a huge fan of it either. 

 

sleeping in his jumperoo

 

2.  He is starting to really like books.  I'd recommend getting lots with the thick (not paper) pages for this age, because he is constantly trying to turn the page or pull at it.  He loves this book (see pic) that has different types of fabric to feel and it makes a scrunchy noise.  He will play with it forever.

 

 

3. Galt Playnest. Someone recommended this toy for us and I looked it up on Amazon. The customer reviews had me sold.  At first when we let him try it he was too small and didn't really enjoy it. Now that he is sitting up he loves to sit in his own little "chair" and to feel and look at all the different things on it.  It's a great way to contain our mobile baby if we are busy.  Give him a couple toys and he is one happy kid.  I have read even as they get older it is a fun toy to play with.  Seriously, read the Amazon reviews. 

 

 

Playin' in the playnest

 

4.  Mesh bumpers + Angelcare Monitor.  Since Baylor moved to his crib in his his own room these two items have really brought us peace of mind. At first I wasn't going to use a mesh bumper and thought the regular ones were just fine, but once he was in there by himself I quickly changed my mind.  I don't want anything that could potentially not be safe for him in there.  It's a good thing we switched because he loves to put his head in the bumper to sleep.  Thankfully the mesh are super safe with the large holes in them.

 

The Angelcare monitor is a Godsend.  There is a sensor pad that goes under his mattress that monitors his breathing.  If he doesn't breathe for 20 seconds an alarm will go off. On the screen, there is a symbol on the top that swings to let you know he is breathing. There is nothing better than seeing that symbol move back and forth knowing he is fine.  Although we have had a few false alarms, it is still way worth having it then not.

 

What a crazy sleeper! Don't worry, he doesn't sleep with that ugly stuffed animal you see.

5. Space Saver High Chair. We do not have a large house therefore room for a  large high chair won't work well for us. We got a space saver high chair that basically is a chair that straps to the chairs that go with our table.  It is perfect as it saves space and gives us a place to put Baylor when he is eating, playing, or sitting at the table with us.  He loves it also! We can attach the tray and the seat cushion is real easy to take off and wash (trust me, after a gross blowout recently we learned this). It can recline and swivel also. We usually just stick some toys on his tray and he sits with us for dinner every night. 

 

happy to be in his high chair

 

 

6. Fisher Price Kick and Play Piano Gym. When I got this at my baby shower and my other mom friends mentioned they were jealous we got this I really didn't pay attention.  Now I am thanking my lucky stars for this toy. Play gyms alone are great for babies but this one takes the cake. He loves to kick and play the piano part and sometimes he will even sit up and hit the piano part with his hands. He never seems to get bored with this one. 

 

7. Infant Tylenol, Ibuprofen, and/or teething tablets.  These things are musts for the 6 month old baby.  Especially one that is teething.  And especially for one that is in day care therefore constantly with a snotty, runny nose.  These all work miracles. 

 

8. Vtech move and crawl ball. Baylor just got this from his grandparents and he loves it! It lights up, talks, rolls on it's own, and teaches numbers and songs. I think it will be perfect for helping him learn to crawl, which he is working on now!

 

 

I know all babies are different, but hopefully this gives people a good idea of what has been really fun and useful for us with Baylor at this age.  Anyone got any other suggestions for must have's for a 6 month old??

Life (or shall I say mostly Baylor's) Lately According to my iPhone

Precious sleeping baby

We love to roll around these days

giggles

look reaaaallll close and you'll see a tooth!

Watching Elmo!

Talk talk talking

6 Months (and a couple days)

 

 

Half a year. I can NOT believe we have had this sweet baby in our lives half a year. Gosh, time flies sooo quick I just wish I could grab onto time and make it stop for a bit. This is such a wonderful age and it is amazing to see how much Baylor grows and changes each day.  He is getting hard to get to sit still, as you can see in the picture above. Seriously, that was the best I could get!! lol. Okay, now for the details:

 

-I think* Baylor weighs around 17 or more pounds

 

-He is wearing size 3 diapers

 

-Size 6-9 month clothes

 

-Is now sleeping all night long in his crib! The whole sleep training ordeal was a mess but once we just went with the flow, he started to sleep better. He has began to sleep on his stomach which I think helps. I know the teething thing is a big threat to all of this!!

 

-Speaking of teeth, he has two coming in on the bottom

 

-He can roll over and uses this as his means of transportation. He rolls all over the place. We can put him down in one place look back two seconds later and he is no where near there!

 

-He can sit up all by himself.  He can still be a bit wobbly, but overall does pretty well

 

-He is trying to crawl, but has not quite got it yet.  He kinda just "swims" on the floor and tries to push his booty up in the air, but isn't on all fours.

 

-He LOVES Elmo.

 

-He is grasping things and has a death grip at times. A lot of times this death grip is on my hair. Ouch!

 

-He smiles at everyone pretty much all the time. He also likes to yell loud at times and then laugh at himself. It's pretty darn funny.

 

-His jumperoo is still the greatest thing ever. He is obsessed. He would play in it forever if we let him.

 

-He is starting to reach for us at times and he will kind of hug you back when you hold him. It is soo sweet.

 

I could go on and on about all the wonderful things about this sweet baby. He really is such a laid back, happy guy.  We are so so very blessed. Happy 6 months Baylor!

 



Hollis is Here!

Our best friends Mitch and Amanda had their beautiful baby girl Hollis yesterday! Mommy and baby are doing great. And she was a chunky 7lbs instead of the doctors prediction of 5-something. Those doctors sure can be off sometimes!

We had the pleasure of visiting them last night and Baylor got to meet his girlfriend! Amanda looked great and Mitch was over the moon. Its so crazy to think we were in the same place as them almost 6 months ago. Where has the time gone?!?

Here are a few pictures of the gorgeous baby and family.