Baby's First Christmas

 

 

6 Months Old

(Oops - this is over 2 weeks late!  I blame lots of family time over the holidays and some significant separation anxiety for this.  More on these things in tbe 7 month post.)

 

Oh, Little Man, I can't believe you are 6 months old!  You're a whole half of a year old! 

 

Here you are at 2 days old

 

You've grown and changed so much, and you've changed Momma and Daddy so much.

 

Look how much you've grown since then!

 

We've loved you since before we knew you, we loved meeting you, and we love how well we know you now.  You are so loved, Little Man, and Momma and Daddy are so proud of who you are.

 

 

This has been a special month since we jumped into the holiday season and got to see it through fresh eyes.  We got to celebrate our first Thanksgiving with you and started preparing for your first Christmas.  When Momma was pregnant last November and December, she pictured what it would be like to have you here this year.  You make it all so special. 

Here's an overview of the last month:

Likes:

• Your swing - after a few months in storage, we brought it back out and you find it so relaxing.
• Your Jumperoo is still one of your favorite things to use during play time.
• Riding in your stroller while Momma runs at the gym track - you laugh and your little voice echoes through the room.  You are so content playing in the stroller, and one time you even fell asleep!  Momma learned to strap your toys to the stroller after they went flying out a couple of times :).
• Sitting in your high chair while we eat breakfast - we started doing this after we realized you never saw us eating. You are definitely taking interest in food now.  We bought you some bowls and spoons, and you have fun playing with them.
• Rolling from your back to your tummy - as soon as we put you down on your back, you flip over now.
• Being rocked - you have started waking up at night wanting to be held again like you did as a newborn baby.  This has been a bit tricky b/c you calm down so quickly if we pick you up, but we have also worked hard in the past on having you fall asleep on your own.  We do love holding you, though.  I started singing to you and rocking you before I put you down in your bed (awake) in the evenings and it has really helped you fall asleep more easily.  We love that you are such a cuddle-bug.
• Your "Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?" book (received at Thanksgiving from Lia, Randolph and Orla)
• You love to pick your legs up and let them drop with force.  You do it when you're playing during the day but also when you can't sleep at night.  Daddy and I hear a LOUD thud, thud, thud coming from your pack n' play until you finally fall asleep.
• Music - you still love when Momma sings to you, and you really light up when you hear a familiar song.  You also enjoy the music at church and sit still on Momma's lap while you watch the musicians.
• Your toys - you are very interested in your toys now and spend a lot of time playing with them.  Your favorites are your activity ball and your chew chew ring (MAM Bite and Brush Teether).

For now, the highchair is for play time

Dislikes:

• Going to bed at night (we had some of the best nights this month but also some of the hardest)
• When you wake up without your paci in your mouth (you definitely let us know!)
• We are so thankful that this list has grown shorter and shorter as you've grown.  You are such a happy baby, but you if you don't like something, you really don't like it!

You love your feet this month

Big Moments:

• Your first Thanksgiving AND you first trip to Greensboro, NC, where we celebrated Thanksgiving and Christmas with the Angell side.
• You met Aunt Lia, Uncle Randolph, your cousin Orla, your Great-Grandma-Angell and your Great-Uncle Bob while you were in NC.
• You went to Grandma and Grandpa Angell's house for the first time.  You hadn't seen them since you were about a month old.
• You did great on the plane rides - you fell asleep during take-off on 2 of the 3 flights.  When you were awake, you played happily on Momma or Daddy's laps.
• You have a very long attention span and can play with the same toy for quite a while.  Grandma Angell commented on this while we were in NC.
• You learned to sit unassisted.  You started to tripod-sit but could only do it for a second at a time.  Instead of working on that position, you went straight to sitting up without the assistance of your arms.  I think you found it inconvenient to not be able to sit AND play with your toys at the same time.  It seemed like this was one of those things you learned overnight.
• You are learning cause and effect and anticipation.  You learned how to play peek-a-boo games, and you think it's so funny when Momma or Daddy pop up from a hiding place.  This is a sure way to get you to giggle.  You also demonstrate your newfound knowledge of cause and effect by dropping toys from your highchair.  I really don't think it's a game of getting Momma to pick it up yet; I think you are just learning that if you hold something over the side and let go, it falls.  You will look around for it even when it's out of sight b/c you know it must be down there somewhere!  And since I think repetition is good for you, Momma picks it right back up so that you can try again. 
• I love how much you laugh. You often make Momma laugh, which makes you laugh, which makes Momma laugh harder.
• You've known how to roll over for a while now but you've had little desire to do it.  However, this month, you have started rolling from back to front very frequently, and can do it with ease now.  You don't roll from front to back frequently yet, even though I've seen you do it before.
• You really pay attention to details.  You will zero in on something small on your toy like the tag or the antenna on your Firefly toy and examine it intensely for a while. 
• You started napping in your crib.  We knew it would take a day for you to get used to napping at home after we traveled for Thanksgiving, so we figured you might as well adjust to napping in your crib at the same time.  It took you a while to fall asleep the first time and Daddy had to help you, but after that you had no problems sleeping in your big boy bed as we call it.  You still sleep in your pack n' play in our room at night, though.
• You have started greeting us with the biggest smiles.  You smile when we come to get you in the morning or when Daddy gets home from work in the evenings. 
• You learned how to blow raspberries this month and it's so cute. I will blow one on your cheek and then put your lips to my cheek and you'll do the same plus I get a lot of drool :).  You will show me that you can do it when I'm changing your diaper or sometimes to get my attention if I'm looking elsewhere.  You also take breaks from nursing to practice your raspberries.

Playing with your "Chew Chew," as we call it.

This month you had a much less structured schedule than the past few months, mostly because I couldn't figure it out.  I think you were in the transition from 3 to 2 naps, which made things tricky.  You weren't quite ready to get by on 2 naps, but you didn't want to take your evening cat nap and started really fighting it.  However, you started going down easily for it at the end of the month, just to keep Momma guessing.  If you took 2 good naps though, I would usually have you skip the cat nap and we'd put you to bed early.  The good news about the unstructured schedule was that you have shown that you are more flexible about when you go down for a nap and will sleep for an hour and a half as long as you are tired enough.  In the past you wouldn't nap well if you were under- or over-tired, but now you just can't be under-tired.  You had some of your best bedtimes at the beginning of the month where you would fall asleep without a peep.  However, things did get a little trickier towards the end of the month.  Here's a rough idea of what your schedule was like at the end of the month:

7:00am wake up
7:00am-8:00am play
8:00am eat
8:10-9:00 play
9:00-10:30am nap
10:30am-11:30am play
11:30am eat
11:30-12:00pm play
12:00-1:00 go to gym with Momma
1:00-1:30pm play
1:30-3:00pm nap
3:00pm eat
3:10pm-6:00pm play
6:00pm bedtime

You still eat 1-3 times a night and wake up several times asking for your paci :)

This month Daddy wanted to add something to your post.

Dear Elias,

You have been at the center of our lives now for over a year, and we have loved these last six months of getting to know you. As a dad, I knew I'd want to laugh and be affectionate with you, and try to connect with you as much as possible. I knew I'd want to care for you whenever you were having trouble relating to the world or to us, but I have been surprised and pleased to see how well you interact with your parents and your surrounding. You are a joyful little man. You like to laugh with me, and you let me shower you with bear hugs, kisses, and silly faces. You watch my every move, and you enjoy "peek-a-boo" games in which we pop out from behind furniture and smile at you. Two things I look forward to every day are seeing you for the first time in the morning - when you beam at me - and seeing you light up when I walk in the door from work. I want us to enjoy each other's company always, and I pray that I can be an example, protector, and provider for you. I look forward so much to coming home to my alert, inquisitive, cheerful sonny. Sleep has been hard for you to figure out, but your amazing momma and I are going to give you all the help you need as you grow into good sleep habits. We'll always try to help you in your struggles, and we'll pray with you and teach you to be a little man of God.

Love, Dad

 

 

 

 

Snow Day and 6 Month Stats

Momma and Daddy were not feeling very well so we cancelled all of our plans for the weekend and stayed home.  We got quite a bit of snow so it worked out well to stay in.  We did take a quick walk outside so that our Little Man could experience the beautiful snow.  Plus, he is the hottest little guy and actually had heat rash in December, so we thought the cool air would be good for him. :) 

We also did leave the house on Friday for Elias's 6 month appointment since we knew the doctor was going to be out of town for the next 2 weeks.  This appointment was harder for Elias than our previous appointments b/c stranger anxiety has started to set in.  However, the doctor confirmed that he is a small but healthy little guy.  Here are his current stats:

Height: 26 in., 24th percentile
Weight: 15 lbs. 9 oz., 15th percentile
Head: 17.5 in., 67th percentile

More from NC...

Elias got to meet his Aunt Lia, Uncle Randolph and cousin Orla while we were in North Carolina.  Orla is 6 months older than Elias.  I think they'll have a lot of fun together as they grow.

 

Meeting everyone for the very first time.

 

 

 

They did a pretty good job sharing toys, which usually meant playing
with the same toy at the same time :)

 

Sitting

Here's another video that makes me smile every time I watch it.

 

Kaboom!

I was off camera playing peek-a-boo with Little Man, saying "Kaboom!" every time I popped up from behind the couch.  He loves how that word sounds, and he has just recently started to enjoy games that involve anticipation.  I love his sweet laughter!

Grandma Angell

Whenever Elias had the chance, he would get Grandma to take a break from her hard work to come play with him.  He even talked her into holding him for an hour long nap.  And for Elias, being held for a nap is the best thing ever.

Look at those cheeks!

Great-Grandma Angell

Little Man finally got to meet his Great-Grandma Angell while we were in NC for Thanksgiving. 

 

 

This last photo is my favorite.  Conor and I tried to take a group photo, but Grandma and Elias were too captivated with each other to pay any attention.

 

 

5 Months Old

Even though I loved having a newborn, things got really fun once we hit four months.  We really did have a 4th trimester, and I think you spent the first three months adjusting to the world.  You're much more comfortable now and to be honest, so are we.  I wrote about this last month too, because these changes started to occur around 3 1/2 months. I continued to see this progress this month. 

Here's a review of the last month:

Likes:

• High pitched "talking" and happy screams
• Jumperoo - playing with the toys and jumping
• Magic Sleep Suit (I should have mentioned this last month as well)
• Stroller Rides
• Weather Shield on your stroller, which allows us to get outside even on these chilly days
• Splashing in the bath and kicking your feet
• Your feet - you love holding them in your hands, and they have started making their way into your mouth
• Toys that you can spin, push or pull
• "Flying" in Momma or Daddy's arms
• Being kissed on your cheeks and neck - this makes you giggle, especially if Daddy does it.
• Sitting in your high chair
• Sofie the Giraffe and your MAM chew ring - really you love to chew on just about anything.
• Pressing your face against mine when I carry you, or putting your mouth on my face - which makes burping you exciting :)
• Singing - you still love hearing me sing to you.  A new favorite this month is "On Christ the Solid Rock," so we sing it a lot.

 

Dislikes:

• Daylight Savings Time!
• Going to bed at night - although this got better later in the month
• Staying asleep in the evening
• Changing the routine - you do best when we follow the routine
• Loud people

Big Moments:

• Road trip to Chicago to visit Great-Great-Aunt Lil
• Stayed at the McCart's house
• Grandma Pegelow came to visit when Daddy traveled to Lexington.  She could tell a huge difference in how comfortable you were with other people besides Momma holding you now. You let her play with you and hold you, and she ate it up! 
• 1st play date - you were the youngest and wanted to be held most of the time, but you really observed the other kids and seemed to enjoy it.
• Auntie Kim came to visit.  I think she was worried you weren't going to like her, but you had so much fun with her.  You even stayed on your schedule pretty well when she was here.  I think you're getting used to having visitors.
• Rolled from back to front - at the very beginning of the month you started playing on your side, swinging your legs over and getting to your tum, but couldn't quite get your head up.  About half way through the month, you figured it out and got yourself all the way up!  You don't do it frequently though. 
• Bearing weight on your legs - you love to bounce if I stand you up on my lap (Daddy is proud of your strong leg muscles).  You also really bounce hard in your Jumperoo now.
• You found your upper register - you love high pitched "talking"
• You have started to work on your pincer grasp.   You've begun to use your thumb and pointer finger to control the toys on your Jumperoo. 
• Your hand-eye coordination is progressing well.  You are getting better and better at putting your paci in your mouth yourself.
• You can really push up now during tummy time, and you are starting to put your bum up a bit - both things that are preparing your muscles for crawling
• You let other people hold you now, something that used to make you very nervous.
• You can sit with us through most of the church service.  You like the singing at the beginning and usually watch the choir (one week you moved your head so that you could see around the tall person in front of you - it was very cute), but you only make it about half way through the sermon.  Then Momma usually holds you and we watch through a window outside the sanctuary. 
• You've started to tripod sit, but just for a second at a time.
• You rode in your stroller without the carseat - you did pretty well, but you're not quite as relaxed as when you ride in your carseat.  You also rode with the weather shield on, which you didn't seem to mind at all.

 

 

You increased your awake time by 30 min this month.  I'm seeing a pattern develop: we get a good routine down, then it goes haywire and you start taking very short naps, then you are ready to increase your awake time.  You quit taking your 2 hour afternoon nap, and then a few days later I couldn't get you to stay asleep for your 2.5 hour morning nap.  Then daylight savings time hit, so we had a couple rough days of sleep.  But we increased your awake time from 1 hr 30 min to 2 hours, and we were back into a rhythm.  You are very sensitive to your awake time; if it's too long or short, you take short naps.  After you showed me you could handle 2 hours of awake time, I tried to putting you down at the 2 hours 15 min mark to see if you could handle it, and you cut your afternoon nap in half.  The increased awake time allowed us to get out of the house a little it more, so sometimes we go visit Daddy at his office.

Here's what your schedule looked like at the end of the month:

7:00 wake up
7:00-8:00 Get dressed and play
8:00-8:10 eat
8:10-9:00 play
9:00-11:30 morning nap*
11:30-11:40 eat
11:40-1:30 play
1:30-3:00 afternoon nap
3:00-3:10 eat
3:10-5:00 play
5:00-5:30 cat nap
5:30-5:40 eat
5:40-6:30 family walk at the Science Building**
6:30 Daddy bathes you and gets you into your jammies
6:50 eat
7:00 Momma puts you in bed***
You still eat twice at night around 11pm and 3am

*You go down for naps wide awake with a very short wind down routine. You usually don't fuss when you go down, although sometimes you chat for a few minutes before falling asleep. 

**Every evening we drive to the science building (or as we call it the science museum) and we push you around in your stroller.  It's the biggest building on campus so there are lots of hallways to stroll around, and we can look at the plants and birds.

***Night times are very difficult.  You usually cry when I leave the room, but it did get better towards the end of the month.  We shortened your awake time before bed and that seemed to help. You have started having frequent evening wakings though, and you cry until we rock you back to sleep.  This is unusual for you; even though we used to bounce you to sleep when you were very little, you've never really been rocked to sleep, and you are typically pretty good about putting yourself back to sleep with just the help of your paci.  We've softened and will rock you because it doesn't happen every night.

I say this every month, but you really are such a happy baby.  A lot of days I realize that I haven't heard your cry at all, at least not until bedtime.  You are very content but still make your preferences known, so I can't really call you laid back.  One funny example of this is with nursing; you developed a favorite side this month.  You will only nurse on the side you don't like briefly, and when you think you've done enough, you throw your head back and arch away from me.  When I turn you to the other side, you often start grunting like a little cave man, like you want to reinforce that I'm doing the right thing.  Another example is that you won't take your evening cat nap if Daddy tries to put you down.  You'll just cry in your bed, so we find it's best if Daddy comes home after you have already started that nap.  You give him the biggest smiles when you wake up from that nap and realize he's home though.  He doesn't have to ease into things with you as much as he used to.

Your mind is working so hard.  Not only did you learn how to coordinate your movement so that you can roll from your back to your tummy this month, but you've also realized that rolling is even easier if you find a stationary object to grab onto and use it to pull yourself up.  Momma was so proud the first time I caught you pulling on a toy hanging from your play mat to ease yourself over, because even though it's "cheating" it seemed so clever, Little Man.  I'm amazed by how much you are learning and taking in, and how much you respond and interact with us.  You listen to the noises we make and laugh if one of them is funny.  You watch where we go and what we're doing.  You want to touch everything around you and see how it works. 

Little Man, I love seeing your personality emerge a little more each month.  You are laid back and you are opinionated.  You can play independently but you are so affectionate.  You are lighthearted and you are serious.  You are no longer a newborn but you are still all baby.  I am so thankful for who you are and that you are ours.  You're exactly what we needed.



Got Stripes?

Here's how Elias was dressed when I returned home from running some errands this morning.  Not everyone can pull off this look, Little Man! 

 

It should be noted that his Daddy dresses him most mornings, and he usually puts together a matching outfit.

 

Also, as a side note, I suggested that Daddy work from home this morning so I could run some errands.  I told him it didn't make sense for him to be out and about while I was at home with a sleeping baby since he had so much work to do.  I assured him that Little Man always takes a 2.5 hour morning nap, so basically he would just need to put him down and then he could get lots of work done.  Our little routine-lover only slept for 30 min for his Daddy.  Once I got home, I fed him and put him back down and he slept for exactly 2.5 hours.  What were Momma and Daddy thinking trying to change up the routine on you?! :)

Morning Snuggles

Someone had to wake up Auntie Kim so that she didn't miss church.

 

Auntie Kim

We took so many cute pictures when Auntie Kim came to visit, it's hard to narrow them down.  I'm posting quite a few of them since I can't pick a favorite. :)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Reading with Auntie Kim