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Tuesday, November 25, 2014

7 months

Elias is 7 months old! Where has the time gone??? I think the biggest milestone this month is sitting. He still occasionally throws himself backwards for no apparent reason, but for the most part he is able to catch himself from tipping over. He has figured out a way to get from sitting to his belly, although it's not too graceful. He pretty much faceplants forward and then rolls from there. The method doesn't seem to bother him, so we just go with it. lol. And while sitting has been a big accomplishment, he still prefers to roam around the floor. He is getting very good at getting wherever he wants to go, except moving forward. He's using his hands and arms more to help him move around, but he still hasn't figured out how to use his legs. Fine by me! ;)

He has started experimenting with different sounds. We're starting to hear consonants in his usual jabber. Mostly "dada", even though he doesn't know what that means yet. :) He also started making clicking noises with his tongue. :)

His second tooth popped through his gums shortly after the first tooth appeared last month. He's proudly displayed both of them in the 7 month picture below. haha. :)

And that's pretty much it. I feel like a lot of what he is doing these days is just a more exaggerated version of what he was doing last month. More mobility, more sounds, more eating, more goobery-ness. haha. ;) Here are some photos from Elias' 7th month of life. 

First time at the beach! This was on a weekend trip to San Diego with friends.
Cruising around the San Diego Zoo. Elias slept for most of it, but Ryan and I had a great time! :)
First Halloween! We were a safari family. Elias was the cutest little lion ever. :)
Bath time fun! He looooooves the bath. Doesn't like to get out. :)
Big boy, sitting up on his own. I still put a pillow of some sort behind him in case he throws himself backward. :)
Sleepy traveler. We visited family up near San Francisco, so Elias went on his second set of flights and handled it like a champ. 
Cuddles with Daddy.
Our final post-placement meeting with our adoption agency. More to come on the finalization process soon. :)

Monday, November 3, 2014

Baby Must Haves - Months 4-6

Time for our second round of Baby Must Haves! :) The items mentioned in my first post still apply (you can find that post here). I'm still using all but one thing, which is the Rock n Play. Elias is really mobile now, and though he still seems content to lay in the Rock n Play, I'm nervous that he'll try to pull himself up and tip it over. So we slowly phased that out at right around 5 months. I think very highly of it though, and 5 months of daily and portable use was well worth the $50. ::thumbs up:: Anyway, without further ado, here are my favorite products for months 4-6. :)

Play Mat / Activity Gym - We used this earlier on too, but I feel like it became an essential item at 4-5 months. He started playing with the overhead objects, trying to roll over to reach other objects, and it gave him some fun color to look at and drool on during tummy time. Seriously kept him occupied all throughout the day. If he wasn't napping, he was playing on his play mat. (you can find them here)

Sleep Sack - Now that fall weather is finally hitting southern California, it's definitely cold enough to layer up at night. We switched to sleep sacks/wearable blankets once Elias started breaking out of his swaddles at 3-4 months. I used lighter cotton ones during the summer and recently switched over to fleece for the extra warmth. Can I just say, I wish I would have registered for a million of these. I think they're much more practical and I get much more use out of them than standard blankets for Elias. They keep him super cozy, he sleeps great in them, he's not kicking off a loose blanket at night, and he's not getting tangled up in anything in his sleep. And BONUS, look how adorable and snuggly he looks!! lol. I think of all the items mentioned in this post, sleep sacks are my favorite. (you can find them here)
Teething tablets - we've definitely had rough days of teething and sometimes it seems like Tylenol can't keep up with the pain. These teething tablets naturally sooth the gums on contact. They're great for quick relief while you're waiting for the pain meds to kick in. (you can find them here)

Sophie the Giraffe - this toy is worth the hype. It's made of a soft rubber material and the shape is so perfect for little hands. No matter how he grabs it, Elias can get a nice firm grip and easily fit it into his mouth. He's even started rubbing the round area with the ridges back and forth against his gums when he's teething. (you can find it here)

Sound machine - Elias slept pretty much anywhere without a problem during the first few months of life. He's such an active little guy now, that he needs a little help to drown out his surroundings. The sound machine that we use is a battery operated stuffed giraffe with 4 different sound settings and adjustable volume. It has a velcro loop so that it can easily be attached to a crib, carseat, or pack and play. The timer allows him just enough time fall asleep with white noise before shutting off. (you can find one here)
Well that's all I've got for ya! Hope it was helpful! :)