6 Months Old

Goober boy is half a year old! :) He is doing new things all the time and we really feel like each stage is even more fun than the one before. It just keeps getting better. :) Elias is 17 pounds of pure personality. lol. He enjoys laughing, being loud, and rolling around all over the living room. He is becoming a little active boy. He's just in a constant state of wiggling and moving around. :)

We finally had a tooth break through the surface on 10/15! You can see a glimpse of it in the 6 month picture below. :) His drooling has gone down a little but he is still rubbing his gums a lot. I have a feeling that a second tooth is not far behind.

He started showing an interest in what we were eating this month so we gave him his first taste of solid food about two weeks ago. I just mushed up a little piece of banana and added a smidge of water to liquify it a little bit for him. I think he was ok with the flavor, but he wasn't sure what to do with the texture. lol. Anyway I gave it a few days and tried again with the same response. I moved on to baby apple sauce next. I let him hold the spoon, stick it in his own mouth, chew on it. You know, just let him feel it out. He seemed to like that. And when I tried spoon feeding him again the next day, he actually tried to eat it. We're still in exploration mode. Not rushing to get him on baby food, just giving him the opportunity to try some new flavors. It's fun. :)

And last but surely not least, he started leaning in for kisses this past weekend. Ryan and I are in heaven with that. lol. It's so sweet! Anyway, that's it. Enjoy the pictures of month 6!

Getting ready for Elias' first flight and our first big family vacation. :)

He was a total trooper on the plane! He was all smiles playing with Daddy here.

Hanging out on the balcony at the hotel and watching the boats go by. :)

This is Elias with his aunts, uncle, and cousin. We had such a wonderful time with them. It was a big day for him even though he doesn't know it yet. :) We're blessed to be connected to such a loving family through adoption. 

He decided that he's a stomach sleeper this month. It made me nervous at first, but I've gotten used to it. :) He's always readjusting and moving around in his sleep now. :)

First taste of banana. Kind of unsure about it. lol

Cuddles and smiles with big cousin Brookie. I love this picture so much! :)

Kisses for Daddy!

My happy boy. He brings us so much joy! <3

Tips for Traveling with a Baby

I'm so glad I finally got this vlog done! haha. :) We went on our first big family vacation a few weeks ago and it was a very successful trip. We not only had a great time, but really felt like we adequately prepared for traveling with a baby. The video below is just a recap of our learnings. Hope this is helpful to anyone looking to travel soon! :)

I realized after I uploaded that my camera cut out a section that I had filmed about a carseat check bag. Boo. Anyway, this one came in super handy as Ryan carried it through the airport, and the bright color made it easy to spot at baggage claim - http://tinyurl.com/nmucry7

Other products mentioned:

Sophie the Giraffe 

Similac premixed bottles 

Diaper disposal bags 

Wet bag 

Neck pillow 

JuJuBe BFF diaper bag (these bags are pretty pricey. I scored on a used one on eBay)

Baby K'Tan baby carrier 

Ring sling baby carrier

5 months old

I'm a little behind on posting Elias' 5 month update. We have been on vacation and I had the best of intentions to get this posted while we were away but it just didn't happen. Side note, traveling with our baby boy went wonderfully, and I will do a post on all of my learnings in the coming weeks. :) Ok, on to Elias - that 15 pound bundle of cuteness! :)

So much development happening these days! The biggest physical accomplishment this month has definitely been movement. Shortly after passing the 4 month mark, I started getting more intentional about giving him time on his tummy. He could only do a few minutes at a time before he got frustrated. A few weeks later, he is not only spending lots of time on his tummy, but he's gotten so good at rolling over, and has actually started to move himself in specific directions as he wants. It's so fun to watch! He's using hands a lot more now too. He reaches out for toys, touches our faces, holds his hands out to look at them, and seems to enjoy grasping at different textures. 

From a character standpoint...well he's just a cute little goober. ;) The most recent thing is fake laughing. He kinda smiles and chuckles to himself or at us, just to hear himself. It's so funny. lol. Oh, and on the flip side, he started to let us know when we're making him upset. He's a super happy and easy going baby, but we have seen a few moments of a temper this month.  He is also starting to establish preferences. Like he has a couple favorite toys now, he likes to fall asleep on his side, he occasionally has a hard time with unfamiliar faces. 

Those are the main things! Here are a few highlight pictures of month 5. :)

Trying to get used to spending time on his tummy. He's not too excited about it. lol

Elias thinks that the little boy in the mirror is so cool. ;)

Snuggles with Daddy!

Already more comfortable on the floor after just a week or two consistent tummy time.

We're kinda crazy about each other. ;)

Sticking close to mom during a rough day of teething. 

This is the first time I realized that Elias is officially mobile and I can't just leave him unsupervised. lol. He had rolled to the other side of his playmat, reached under the bed and pulled out the electrical cords out to play with. ::hands over face::

Rolled to the other side of his crib to play with his stuffed animals. This was a much more enjoyable scene to walk in on than the one above. lol. There are definitely positive aspects to his mobility. :)

We're enjoying every single minute with our goober boy!

4 Months Old

Our boy is 4 months old! :) I feel like Elias has grown so much over the last month. At 14.4 pounds, we're having to readjust how I hold him in the baby carrier because he's just too heavy for some of the positions that we started with. He's also strong enough to break out of the swaddle, not matter how nicely I wrap him in it. :) But beyond his size, he's growing in his motor skills and overall awareness as well. He's always been pretty alert, but now he is able to follow my voice or Ryan's voice if he hears us, look for us if someone else is holding him, watch us as we leave his room for nap time, etc. Along with that alertness comes the ability to get bored. haha. He gets restless if we leave him in the same spot or with the same toy for too long. Speaking of toys, he is getting much better at holding objects and pulling them to his mouth. And he really chomps down on whatever goes in there. I know because it often ends up being my knuckle. ;) We haven't seen any teeth break the surface of his gums yet, but they're definitely in the works. 

Elias loves being active and seeing activity. If he is laying down, he's kicking his legs, waving his arms, and usually talking up a storm. He prefers to stand or sit up as much as possible though. I've been setting his Bumbo seat up on the counter so that he can watch me do dishes or put dinner together. I'll also wear him as I'm taking care of stuff around the house and he just looks around and takes it all in. :) It's fun. The only down side is that because he likes watching everything, he is more easily distracted now. I have a harder time getting him to finish his bottle if there is a lot going on around him, and he can't just fall asleep anywhere anymore. I've got to close off the world for him a little bit in order for him to relax enough to fall asleep. :)

hmm...I think that's about it. Here are some pictures from month 4! :)

Standing up on those gorgeously chubby little legs of his. 

Doing some afternoon reading with mom. 

Chomp, chomp, chomp!

Being crazy with cousin/BFF Derek. :)

Enjoying some pool time in Palm Springs.

Elias' first hotel stay! He liked looking at the room service menu with daddy. ;)

Doing some chores with mom.

Little escape artist - three limbs out of the swaddle! haha

Hanging out at the park with his lady friends. ;) I love that we know so many babies his age!

He's such a happy boy. :)

Baby Must Haves - Months 1-3

I've realized and embraced something about myself over the last year or two. I'm a salesperson. When I find a product I like, I will tell people why I like it, how to use it, and how much they need it in their lives. lol. Having Elias has opened up a whole new world of products, which has been awesome! :) I know that there are a lot of new moms and moms to be that follow the blog, so I thought I would share a list of my personal Baby Must Haves for months 1-3, in no particular order. :) I'll include links for where you can find the items if you're in the market for such things. 

A compact changing station. The specific one that I use is an Eddie Bauer change kit that I picked up from Target, but I know there are other brands that have compact options as well. I love that this doesn't take up too much space in my diaper bag, and that everything I need to change Elias is all centralized in one location. No digging around for wipes, no carting the whole diaper bag to the bathroom at restaurants, I just grab this little baby and I'm good to go. *find it here

A compact bath. Notice a theme already? lol. We don't have much storage space in our home, and my wonderful sister in law was kind enough to take that into consideration when buying this bath for Elias. :) This is a Summer Infant bath that folds up nice and neat. It's small enough to throw in the bathroom cabinet with room to spare! We also like that the bottom is inflated so it's nice a soft, not a hard plastic or rubber surface. It's an all around win! *find it here

Snap closure jammies. This seems like a basic thing that maybe some people don't even develop a preference for. But I just wanted to throw out why we prefer snaps over zippers. We don't have mid night changes anymore since Elias sleeps through the night now. But when we did, I liked that I didn't need to completely unzip Elias' whole outfit multiple times a night for diaper changes. It was cold! I liked the ability to just get his little legs out, and keep his upper body warm in the jammies. I also found that the zippers bubbled up and always ended up poking him under his chin, which just seemed uncomfortable to me. *find some here

Dr. Seuss board books. If you follow me on Instagram, you probably already know by now that I am a Dr. Seuss fan. However, some of the traditional books can be long or would be more fun to read with older kids. I really love the Dr. Seuss Nursery collection board books. They're quick, simple reads that I think helped me get into the habit of reading to Elias regularly. The Sleep Softly Book is our favorite. :) *find it here

Tommee Tippee formula dispensers. These things are awesome when we're on the go! They allow us to have his bottles ready without taking up extra space in the diaper bag with the formula container. You fill the bottle up with water and scoop the formula in the dispenser to store until you're ready to shake it up and feed baby. *find them here

A baby carrier. I have a wrap, a sling, and a soft structured carrier. Right now, we're specifically in love with our Sakura Bloom ring sling. Whether we're shopping, eating out, having fussy/clingy days at home, whatever, we use our sling pretty much every day. I don't use a stroller anymore. There hasn't been a need to deal with it and the heavy carseat when I've got a linen piece of material that does the same thing while allowing me to be hands free. It's ergonomic for both of us- Elias is fully supported and it distributes his weight evenly across my torso. I can hold him a variety of ways and he can either see and interact with his surroundings, or sleep like a dream. It's breathable and lightweight. AND it folds up nicely to fit inside my diaper bag. Seriously, ladies, you need one. lol. Below are just four of the ways that I use it so far. :) *find it here

Fisher-Price Rock n Play. We used this as a bassinet in our room for the first couple months, and we still use it as a bed when we're on the go. It folds up flat for easy storage and portability. Lightweight, compact, comfy for Elias, it's just plain great. *find it here

Well that's it guys. I hope that you enjoyed seeing some of our favorite things. :) If you have any questions about any of the items mentioned, feel free to ask away! 

3 months Old

My little chunkamonk is three months old! It's weird because on one hand I feel like he's just always been here, and on the other, I can't believe he's three months old. :) He currently weighs 13.8 pounds, and is blowing through 5 ounce bottles like a champ these days. There were definitely a lot of fun developments this month. He has continued to be a chatter box, but he's added laughter to the mix as well. At first it was just in response to tickles, but we're now starting to see him laugh at things that he thinks are funny too. He's so much fun right now! His neck strength is great and he no longer needs help to hold his head up. Sitting in the Bumbo has been a regular activity over the last couple weeks. He pretty much only wants to sit up now. Apparently laying down is for newborns and he's moved past that. ;) lol. Just this week, he has started to lock his legs to put weight on them. It's only for a few moments at a time but he's doing it! :)

We're slowly working toward a day time schedule, but I've accepted the fact that Elias is constantly changing and growing so his wake time and food intake are still shifting and that's ok. His nights are consistent and honestly that's more important to me than the day time. He's going down for the night at 9pm, waking up at about 6am for a bottle, and then back to sleep till 8 or 9am. It's so nice! :) 

So those are all the positives. The only down side to life right now is that he has started the process of teething. Boo. He's definitely had a few days of misery where he's needed some extra lovin. So we'll see when those puppies come in! I think that's all for now. Here are a few pictures of Elias' third month of life! :)

Bath time with Daddy!

Excited to test out cloth diapers.

All smiles with mom. <3

Pooped after an afternoon swim on the 4th of July.

Big boy in his Bumbo. :)

Cuddles with mom during a rough night of teething. 

Holding on to a toy for the first time. 

Snug as a bug in a rug in our Sakura Bloom ring sling. We love being a party of three. :)

Cloth Diapering Update

Below is a super casual video update on how I'm liking cloth diapering so far. Experienced cloth diapering mommas, please feel free to offer suggestions for me! :)