Tripp: Eight Months

Eight months, Little Dude.  Eight months. 

Likes: toys!, Charlie Ann entertainment, knee bounces, outside, fresh fruit, Mommy, loud toy banging, tasting and biting all things in arm's reach, being held and exploring under couches, changing tables and cribs when Mommy isn't looking. 

Dislikes: the outside baby pool, staying on the blanket on the wooden floors, veggies--especially sweet potatoes, waiting, diaper changes in the middle of the night and the baby swing. 

Size: Tripp is in 9-12mon clothes, size 2 diapers and size 3 shoes. He is a LONG and SKINNY boy-- no more baby rolls for this guy. 

New food: egg yolks, nectarines, plums, rice, peas, applesauce and 1 lentil tortilla chip (oops). 

In general, he is improving with the solid food love. It's still unpredictable as to how much he'll eat, but he is eating a regular two meals (lunch-ish and dinner-ish) a day. He still makes miserable faces with most food, and can scope out those terrible sweet potatoes in an instant. But, on the whole, this past month is MUCH better than last month's appeals to solids. 

Nursing: On average, Tripp still nurses about 6-7 times in a 24 hour period- upon waking up, before naps/bedtime and twice in the night. I know that nursing is a wonderful, beautiful and amazing thing, but I'm over the awe of it. Perhaps it is because Tripp refuses a bottle and I am so, so tired of being on demand-- it is exhausting. Kinda like motherhood in general.. Ha. 

Sleep: Tripp is officially a twice a day napper. His morning nap is super reliable, you could set your watch by it. If this little guy isn't sawing logs by 9:15am, look out! His afternoon nap depends on the end of his morning nap, but generally it's 1pm. Bedtime is 6:30pm and wake up time is 6:15am. I am so thankful the sleep has shook out successfully. Of course not all days are text book, but I'd say 80% percent of the time, sleep happens successfully.  

New tricks: maneuvering everywhere. He twists, wiggles, rolls, pushes and spins his way from Point A to Point B with no problems. Waving (!) it's so sweet. Saying "dih, dih, dih, dih" when he is happy and excited about something. I love how he says his little "dih" phrase with such certainty and authority. Almost sitting! It's not quite there, but at least he's now bending at the waist. Riding in the stroller sans car seat! Like a pro. 

In other news, Tripp is very much the happiest baby on the block.. Or all of Rochester. He is one smiley and cuddly little guy. I can't imagine our life without him. 

Tripp: Seven months

Seven months old! Too fast, too fast, slow down! 

My sweet little snuggle boy, 7mon and 1day. 

Loves: being held; giving big, open-mouth kisses (kiss in the cave!); mommy; outside; bathtime; chewing on EVERYTHING; being rocked and rolling, rolling, rolling. 

Dislikes: 18+ hour car rides; most solid foods (besides plums and mangos); getting stuck under the furniture while rolling; the Johnny jump up; beards; and being awake past 5pm. 

Foods: I'm not sure what happened, but Tripp up and decided he was over the initial excitement of solid foods. So much so, that the only new foods we tried this month were acorn squash and prunes. Im not sure if it had to do with being sick, teething or what, but one would have thought feeding a spoonful of sweet potatoes was pure torture. The only time of day in the past week that he's been interested in eating anything solid is dinner time. So, I'll probably need to chat with the pediatrician, but this whole milk/dairy allergy is really throwing me for a loop as far as additional food to feed him besides fruits and veggies. And, he also acts as though ALL solids make him uncomfortable and constipated (hence, the daily prunes). 

Mango love

No dairy love. (A closed ziplock bag of cheese touched his face) 

(Sick with a cold and still smiley)

(Sick with a cold and no smiles--he had a temp that bounced between 100-102.7 on most of the drive from NY to Oklahoma) 

"Seriously, Dad?" 

Sleep: sleep is improving, folks! He's doing his 12 hour night sleep with only one wake up (after 10 hours of solid sleep). Yes! Finally. And naps are definitely becoming more predictable in time of day and duration. He's a three-naps-a-day kid, generally at 9am, 11:30am and 2:30pm. Sometimes, he even gives me a fourth nap. Each nap is at least an hour long and the boy seems rested and very happy. I'm so thankful! 

Poolside with Uncle Austin

Just reading the Atlas..

...With my mouth. 

Tricks: he's a rolling machine and is very good at 180 degree turns while belly up. The dude has his father's flexibility; he hates bending at the waist, and rarely likes to "tripod" to practice his sitting skills. He is very skilled at inserting his paci and prefers wrong side in, so as to better scrape off the cute design with his teeth and gums. He is determined and excells at twisting and reaching (and inserting) anything within a 24" radius of himself. He also has discovered his feet and prefers the taste of his left toes. 

Time for the walker to get a second use! Glad I listened to my mom and didn't get the pink one with Charlie Ann. :)

In other news, the boy crossed his first state line! And many state lines, at that. Apparently, Jarod and I have deemed 6 1/2 months as the perfect age for cross country travel (CA was 6 1/2mon old when we drove our UHaul from California to Missouri). We drove to Oklahoma two weeks ago and Tripp (and Charlie Ann) both did well, all things considered. 

Midwest Grandma Love! 

Looking forward to the next month, Little Man. Love you!

Trippy: Six Months Old

My little boy is already six months! I have such a love hate relationship with this growing up business... Sigh. 

Tripp's likes: the post-diaperchange hip wiggle (gotta get that on video soon), eating solid foods(!), rolling and rolling and rolling, putting everything in his mouth, his playmat, outside, snoozing in the (fake) Ergo and cuddling with Mommy. 

This silly face. 

Mall shoppin' while Dad was outta town. 

First park visit of the Spring Season. 

Swingin'.

Tripp's dislikes: sharing bath toys and washcloths, new teeth, car rides over 2 hours long, beards, putting himself back to sleep in the middle of the night and pacifiers when he's not sleepy. 

Trying to escape. 

Also this month: Tripp took his first camping trip! He had a ball! (See previous post for details on that trip). 

Hangin' out in the tent. 

Sister's sippy cup is really cool. 

Campin'. 

Enjoying the view of his blanket at Lake Placid. 

New tricks: rolling back to belly, putting his pacifier in by himself, grasping and passing objects from hand to hand, stellar hand and mouth coordination, blowing raspberries, knowing his name and saying 'mamamama' when he's hungry or upset. 

The I-Just-Rolled-Over face. 

Sleep: a bit hit or miss these days. In other words, unpredictable and inconsistent. Tripp goes to bed around 6pm, and wakes up between 1 to 4 times a night. Sometimes he goes back to sleep with a reinserted paci and simple shushing, other times it takes a full on nursing session or the standing baby bounce-n-jiggle.. However, now that he's 6mon old, we will be on a mission to sort out this night waking business. Mommy can't take many more interrupted nights of sleep! Naps are just as scattered.. We were doing better about two weeks ago, but then we went camping and got two teeth, so we are back at square one. 

Eating: we started solid foods! This part of baby life is easily the best!  I love making Tripp's baby food, LOVE IT. 

I started two weeks prior to him turning 6mon old, as he was beyond ready. He has had bananas, avocados, oatmeal and mangos. And he loves it all! I had heard that boys eat a lot, and now I can vouch for much truth in that statement. 

I sure do love this little man.

Campin'

Taking a five month old and a two and a half year old anywhere, I mean camping, for five days is a gamble. This time around we came out on top. I am so impressed and so in love with my little family. 

Camping and being outside are two things that Jarod and I are quick to agree on and can do well together. So to celebrate the end of his semester, we threw our tent, some sleeping bags, a dog and the two cutest kids I know, into the Pilot and headed north east to the Adirondack Mountains. 

It was a laid back, low key, low expectation family trip. We ate meals around the campfire, went on a few hikes, saw a waterfall, played in the river, had a fox visit, learned to poop by trees, ate a lot of "golden bwown" marshmallows, played in the dirt and pine needles, weathered rain and wind, and watched Daddy climb "waaaay up high". Charlie Ann had some of her cutest sayings thus far.. Including, "I so excited!" "A lottttttta times" "woasted mashmawwows". Completely adorable. She was genuinely thrilled about every part of the trip. Tripp was a trooper too. He was teething most of the time, which meant more nursing through the night, but otherwise, he loved being outside too. 

Let's keep our fingers crossed that these kiddos will do this well again in another month or two :)