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.