Ash - 9 months

Distracted by SuperBear!

Mom gave me this toy to keep me from diving off the chair...

It's the first time I've played with it, and I love it.

Can you believe I've lived 75% of my first year already?  I've been out of the womb for as long as I lived inside it.  And let me tell you, I'm loving my ability to grow and learn!  According to momma's measurements, I'm 28.5" long and 16.5 lbs.  This puts me in the 58th% for height and 3rd% for weight.  I'll get measured "officially" on Friday at my appointment, and I'll be a little longer and a little lighter, b/c that's how momma's measurements always compare to the dr's office.  I'm wearing 9-12 mo clothes and outgrowing my 9 mo pj's pretty quickly.

Learning how to sit myself up and thinking about crawling

So at my last appointment shortly after I turned 6 months old, I heard Dr Dawson say that I needed to be making forward movement by my next appointment (9 mos).  I realized last week that we were getting close, so I got busy teaching myself to crawl.  I spent one whole day learning how to sit up on my own, then a few days later I spent the whole day figuring out how to crawl.  One day of practice, and I've got it down!

The new DVD shelves, so now I can't reach the movies

Momma & daddy put up some new DVD shelves so I couldn't reach the movies and bought ottomans to hold their stuff since I was pulling on the tray tables.  They have to be careful to make sure everything is closed and picked up now, otherwise I'll get into it.  I love when Daddy leaves his cup on the floor or the remotes where I can reach them!  Momma went downstairs to the basement one day and by the time she came back up I was IN the pantry!  Loads of stuff to explore in there!

Momma stood me up so I could play with Rylee

I love playing with the dogs too

I'm such a happy boy that my parents know when something is wrong with me, and so they were worried when I wasn't myself last week.  Momma thought it might have been something she ate, so they were shocked to find a tooth popping through my gums.  Let me tell you, that sucker HURT!  But now I love experimenting with different things in my mouth.  I especially like putting hard toys in my mouth, and get a kick out of biting down on the spoon when momma feeds me.

The day I got my tooth I fell and busted my lip on it :(

Pumpkin pancakes!

Speaking of eating, I LOVE food!  My fine motor skills are so good, momma has started giving me all sorts of yummy finger foods to try.  Even though I just have a nub of a tooth, I love to eat chicken and veggies.  And here's where I take after momma - I LOVE french toast and pumpkin spice pancakes.  I can also finish 4-5 oz of baby food and STILL find room for a WHOLE pear. (Don't ask me why I'm not gaining much weight...)  Yum, yum!

My first Ritz cracker - yum!

Food has also got me started talking.  When I'm eating something I love, I tell momma "mahr, mahr" ("more, more").  I also like to wave hello, especially when I first wake up.  I get very excited and giggle and wave at the super heroes and SuperBear on my shelf, or the dogs on the floor.  I also wave to my buddy Rylee when I see her after a nap.  Another skill I have learned is kisses.  Mostly I give them to stuffed animals or my blanket that has teddies on it, but I've been known to give them to momma and daddy, the dogs and Rylee-girl too.  For some reason, daddy doesn't like my wet, open-mouth kisses, but momma loves them.

Giving SuperBear some kisses

Speaking of kisses, I can't wait to hug and kiss my Lola!!  She's coming tomorrow night to visit for a few days.  Momma & daddy keep telling me how spoiled I'm gonna be and how much she's gonna LOVE hanging out with me.  Unfortunately she's only going to stay for a few days before she goes to visit Aunt Christen & Uncle Jonathan and the cousins.  But we'll get to see her in a couple months when we go home for Christmas, so I only have to save up my lovin' till then.

Well, I've got a world to explore, so I'm gonna wrap this up.  Just wanted to check in and let you know that everything is going well here and I can't wait to share again next month!  Bye-bye.

Ash - 6 mo photo book

Click here to view this photo book larger

Start your own Shutterfly Photo Book today.

We made a photo book on Shutterfly and sent a copy to Josh's grandparents who don't get on the computer and therefore have no access to all the pictures of Ash.  These may actually be the first pictures they've seen of him at all.  But since I was making it, I figured I'd share it with y'all too.  Enjoy these "old" pictures till next week when Ash turns NINE MONTHS! :)

Ash - 8 Months!

Can you believe it's been 2/3 of a year since my birthday?  I've been so busy growing and learning and developing my own little personality.  Today I am 27.875" tall and weigh 16 lbs according to our home measurements.  That puts me around 50th% for height and 5-10% for weight.  I'm wearing anywhere from 6-12 mo clothes, mostly 9 mo stuff. 

In my physical development, I've been focused mostly on fine motor skills lately.  I love to manipulate my toys, and I've gotten pretty good at picking up puffs and mixed veggies at meal times.  Fruit is slippery and still a little hard to figure out.  I haven't started crawling yet, but I can roll and spin my way across the room in seconds.  I also spent a couple days working on pulling my knees up under me, face down.  And today momma caught me inching forward towards a toy by rolling from side to side and pushing just a little with my knees.  So I'm not there yet, but I'm definitely working toward the goal of forward momentum, and will get it in no time.  Daddy and momma did some baby-proofing since I'm pretty mobile anyway.  Now the only thing in the living room I can get to that I shouldn't is the DVD's, which I like to do when no one's watching me.

Verbally I'm still having fun babbling, but I don't have too much interest in real words yet.  Momma keeps practicing signs with me, but I don't do any of them on my own yet.  I just let her know by my expressions if the words/signs she's using are what I want.  I love to listen to Rylee-girl talk all day; she can be super loud, but she's also got a cute whisper voice momma wants me to imitate instead.

Things with Rylee are going well.  We like to play together, and I love how she pulls toys off the shelves so I can reach them.  Most days we nap at the same time in the mornings, which is nice for momma.  One day silly mom tried to take us to the library for baby story time.  Not only did she have her hands full at the library, but neither one of us could stay awake for the car ride home.  So until we drop the morning nap, she gave up story time.  We just read books at home every day.

The weather is starting to turn cooler, and so I've gotten to spend a little bit of time outside.  Usually I'm in the stroller or the carrier, but one day we were at Mrs. Kari's house and I played in the grass.  We don't have this nice green stuff in our yard, but mom & dad are hoping to get some put in next spring.

I went through another sleepless nights phase this month and was quite the grump, but came out on the other side just as happy and easy as before.  I'm right back to sleeping through the night with only one feeding and taking good naps for the most part.  We had a couple rough days last week b/c my parents had some important errands to run during my nap time.  This weekend we spent most of the day Saturday at the Honda dealership, and with only 1 hr of nap I was pretty grumpy by the time we got home past my bedtime, but momma & daddy were excited to come home with new cars.  Today I got to take my first ride in momma's new Odyssey.

So, mostly this past month has just been day-to-day life, eating new foods and playing with Rylee-girl, and enjoying life.  I'm looking forward to more of the same in the coming month.  No visitors planned, just daily life and occasional play dates.

Ash - 7 Months

I turned 7 months old today.  Momma tried to take my picture and I just laughed at her and stuck out my tongue.  Okay, so eventually I cooperated, but she keeps talking about wanting to invest in an SLR so she can get shots even when I'm busy moving - which is most of the time!

Neener-neener

I've recently had a growth spurt b/c when momma measured me at home, I'm up an inch and a pound.  My height was 27.2" and my weight was 16.4 lbs, which means I'm still hanging out around 50% for height and 15-20% for weight.  Consistent; that's my middle name.  Okay, well really it's Logan, but you know what I mean :) I'm currently wearing mostly 9mo clothes with just a few 6mo and 12mo in the mix.

I've been eating more and more new things all the time.  I've got quite a range of fruits and veggies, and I'm working on trying some new grains and meats too (quinoa and barley and chicken, oh my!).  Some veggies I didn't like at first, but momma mixed them with some fruit and I started to learn to like them on their own eventually.

 

You know how last time I wrote, I wasn't sitting up yet?  Well a few days later I decided it was time, and I haven't looked back since!  I'm not kidding, one day I was tipping over and the very next day I was doing it all on my own.  

Can you find the baby in this picture?

I've also been very active in my physical development in other ways.  I'm not crawling yet, but I roll and spin all over the floor, and work on my push ups and "superman" so I'll be strong enough to start crawling when I decide it's time.  One day momma came in the room and I had pulled the liner out of my toy basket and gotten it flipped over on myself.  I love to explore everything around me.  

I like playing with the dogs' toys too

I've gotten better with my hands too.  I'm in the beginning stages of figuring out how to point my finger and use the elusive pincer grasp.  Momma's been letting me have a few puffs after meals to practice.  I also practice grabbing her hair or clothes or whatever she's got in her hands if she's holding me.

I've started to work on my verbal skills as well.  I can be found talking to myself or my toys or anyone who will listen.  I like to giggle at the dogs and the superheroes on the shelf in my room.  You'd be surprised how loud a little guy like me can be! 

 

One night while momma was finishing her shower, daddy decided to read me a bedtime story.  But if you know my dad, you know he couldn't pick a typical bedtime story.  He read me a couple stories out of his Scary Stories Treasury.  But you know what?  I loved it anyway, and I slept fine.

It's been an interesting month for sleep!  I've had growth spurts and teething fits and developmental leaps that made momma fear my regular schedule was a thing of the past.  But finally in the last week or so I've found my rhythm again, and I'm back to sleeping 7-10 hrs before waking just to nurse, making a grand total of 11-13 hrs/night. Momma finally finished my 2nd sleep sack.  She messed up the zipper and had to redo it, so it took her a while to find the time to work on it, but it's super cozy and super cute, don't ya think?

Also this month, momma and I took an impromptu road trip to Farmington, NM to visit with her friend Cassandra and her family.  It was a LOOOONG day in the car down there on a Tuesday and a LOOOONG day in the car back two days later on Thursday, but we made it.  We stopped for lunch in Pagosa Springs where daddy and momma had their honeymoon, at the McDonald's that was near their timeshare.  And let me tell you, I've never been so happy to see my home, my daddy, and my dogs!  I just laughed and smiled the whole night when we got home.

And the biggest change happened this week.  Momma got a job, which means I have a friend come to play 3-4 days a week.  She's a cute girl that's two months older than me.  She crawls and pulls up to standing already, and she's eating all sorts of finger foods.  It's exciting to see what I have to look forward to.  And I LOVE having someone to talk to during the day.  I'll have to ask her momma if it's ok for us to take a picture together for next month's blog post.  In the meantime, I'll leave you with a few pictures that Jordan took while she was here that didn't make it onto her blog.  If you haven't already checked it out, you should do that when you're done here!  http://www.jordanweilandphoto.com/

Me and Elijah

Chewing momma's shirt

We did a few pictures during my morning nursing session and Dexter decided to snuggle in too

Giggling and laughing at momma-tickles on the changing table

Ash - Six month update

HALF A YEAR!  Can you believe I'm already six months old?!  We can't.  Momma keeps saying "I swear, we just brought you home from the hospital yesterday!" and I hear my parents reminiscing about how tiny and floppy I was 6 months ago.  I'm strong and active now!

It's tough getting me to leave Super-bear alone long enough to snap that perfect shot

Even when you cut out all the blurry pictures, there's still a lot of movement

I don't have my doctor's visit for another 10 days, but according to mom's home measurements I'm 15.6 lbs and 26.5 in long.  This puts me around the 15-20th% for weight and the 50th% for height.  Momma was pretty sure that the nurse accidentally measured wrong at my last appointment (I was squirming and my head didn't look like it was touching the top of the measuring pad) and now she's convinced; my #'s would mean I haven't grown at all in 2 months.  That's just not possible as I'm starting to stretch the legs on my 6 mo pj's and kicked the zipper out of my sleep sack that got too small.  So while Nanoo was here she worked with momma on making a new sleep sack and it's great to have about 6 more inches of room to move and grow.  Now momma's trying to do a 2nd one by herself, but she hasn't finished it yet. 

Homemade sleep sack

Oh my goodness it's been a busy, full month!  My visit with Nanoo and Popoo was great.  I loved all the attention and had a blast hanging out at restaurants with Aunt Lindsey and Elijah too.

Fun at Texas Roadhouse

During the two weeks they were here my mom also watched another baby, so I had fun with my buddy Abigail the afternoons she spent here.  She's four months older than me and does some cool stuff like crawling and standing up at the play table.  I can't wait to try that stuff in a few months; it looks like so much fun!

I went with momma & daddy to see Amazing Spiderman and loved it.  I watched some, listened while I nursed, and honestly slept through most of it.  But mom and dad kept telling me how much they loved how I behaved, and they can't wait to go see Batman next week b/c they're not worried about me.  I love to make them happy!
  

Last week was a busy week too.  I started eating "solids", which really just means runny purees but boy is it fun!  Pros : avocados and bananas.  Cons : yellow squash and peas.  But all-in-all I really dig this eating thing.  I may start to gain weight if you don't watch out b/c when I love something I'll just keep eating and eating as long as you'll feed it to me.  Of course if I don't like it, that's a different story... ;-D

Avocado - yummy!

Squash - gross!

Also last week was momma's birthday; I can't imagine being 32 MONTHS old, let alone 32 YEARS!!!  But she said it was perfect because she got to hang out with me and Aunt Chellie all day.  Let me tell you, I love my Aunt Chellie!  The minute she walked in the door I could tell she was a baby person, and I gave her all my best smiles.  We had a blast, and we're all bummed she couldn't stay longer than two days.

Every year in July is Cow Appreciation Day where you get free chicken at Chick-fil-A by dressing like a cow.  Last year I went in momma's belly, but this year I got to go in my own cow outfit.

I've really been enjoying my freedom of movement now that I can roll.  I roll all over the living room when I'm on the floor and can grab whatever toys I want.  It's always an adventure to see what position I'll be in when you come get me out of my crib.  I've also been working on my sitting skills.  I'm getting better every day, but still not quite independent yet.  I do great sitting on the couch or with some help on the floor, but you know I'll be doing it on my own in no time.

The upcoming month is going to be a little less busy but still fun. We're going to hang out at Mark & Melissa's (yay, I love Arianna!) in a couple weeks with Sam & Jenna (& the little bun in her oven); the adults like to play games together, and I guess this is the last shindig with Sam & Jenna b/c they're moving soon.  Jordan & Jason are coming to visit us for a day and take pictures at the end of July; momma's super excited about getting some photos by Jordan b/c apparently she's the best.  We can't wait to show them Garden of the Gods and the beauty of Colorado Springs!  After that things settle for a while, but you never know what excitement is waiting just around the corner!! :)

Happy Father's Day and Five Months!

Can you believe I'm 5 months old!?  At my appointment a couple weeks ago I weighed 13.5lbs and measured 26.5".  That puts me around 15% for weight and 90% for height.  We're all wondering where I get my tall genes from.  No one who sees me in the carrier with mom thinks I'm as young as I am.

5 months old and I can hold my own bottle

Developmentally this has been a BIG month for me.  Momma thought I was going to be sitting and rolling by now, but she forgot that babies can only focus on one thing at a time.  I picked rolling.  I can now roll from my tummy to my back whenever I want; goodbye tummy time!  I'm almost rolling from my back to my front, too, but since my tummy isn't my favorite place to be I don't usually go all the way.  So now I'll start working on my sitting skills; keep an eye out for pictures of me sitting soon!

Working my core - I'll be sitting on my own soon!

I've also gotten a LOT more verbal this month.  I'm still not babbling with consonant sounds much, but boy-oh-boy you should hear my ear-piercing squeals.  Sometimes I squeal when I'm upset, but you're just as likely to catch me squealing for fun.  When I wake up in the morning, I don't fuss; I just play and talk and squeal in my crib till momma comes to get me.  My parents are always looking for ways to make me giggle and belly laugh, too; they think it's so cute and funny.

Playing with my new buddy Jackson

Those pesky teeth still haven't come in, so now I've been teething off and on for 2 whole months.  I hope I get a couple by next month!  Daddy wonders if I'll be as cute without my toothless grin, but you just wait and see ;-D  Momma's been trying to figure out each night if it's teeth or developmental issues or the stomach bug she and daddy had or something else, but this past week I have stopped sleeping through the night and I'm waking up 1-2 times before my 5am feeding.  I think she'll be a lot happier when I start sleeping through the night again.  And I'm still not completely consistent with my naps, but I've started going to sleep on my own and will often sleep for a couple hours at a time.  Not sleeping through the night and all the hard playing I do makes me tired!

My visit with Lola was WONDERFUL.  She was sick and kept apologizing for being "lame" or something, but I LOVED having her here.  Whenever I was upset (which was a few times thanks to teeth and accidental dairy digestion), she held me and burped me and walked around with me.  Plus she makes cool noises with her tongue which I'm still trying to figure out how to make, and sings me the best little songs.  Some of them are real, but I swear she makes some of them up on the spot.

Today we picked up Nanoo and Popoo at the airport and they're going to spend a couple days with us at the beginning of this week and the end of the week too.  They're going to visit the mountains for a romantic getaway in between, plus they've gotta spend some time with Aunt Lindsey and Elijah while they're here.  Don't you think they're going to LOVE hanging out with me?!

Dexter and I LOVE playing together

In July we've got some exciting things planned too.  There's a slim possibility that Aunt Christen & Uncle Jonathan & the cousins might come for 4th of July.  We're going to go see the new Spiderman movie while daddy has off for the holiday too.  Then momma and daddy might take me to Denver on the 7th to meet up with an old friend of theirs, Mr. Justin, who's going to be there for a few days.  On the 8th, Aunt Chellie comes to see me and celebrate momma's birthday.  And then before you know it I'll be six months old!  Half a year; that's exciting!!