Angell Trails: December 2013

(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