November & December 2013

Yes, I'm going way back in time to November and December.  We did so many fun things I can't just skip over them!  I'll be playing catch-up for a while.  What can I say, I'm still trying to catch up from newborn life.  :) 

November and December were 100% survival mode months.  In many ways I don't wish to remember them.  Mostly I remember trying to get some kind of sleep, trying to get Max to gain weight, Andy watching lots of TV, trying to buy a car and a house...etc. But as I look back over pictures, we did make some fun memories! Most of November was spent in Texas trying to adjust to a new baby, coordinating a move, and starting a new job in Utah.  We did have a few fun goodbye parties. I had a girls' night, and we also had a little dinner party with Cameron's work friends he'd started FDP with.  We celebrated Thanksgiving with family back in Utah after the move.  We had a nice dinner at my house with immediate family.  Cameron's family did a big dinner the day after Thanksgiving with his Baker side.  (Can you tell we were a little out of it that month?  We're a little lacking in the picture department.)

Goodbye Dell!

Hello, Instructure!

I think we snuck in a zoo trip somewhere in November.

December was full of fun Christmas traditions. Andy loved building our mini-snowman.

Andy's favorite part of sugar cookies was pressing in the mold.

Sledding with Grandpa.

We also celebrated my beautiful Grandma Ruth's 90th birthday with the whole family.

We I made this masterpiece at a little party with our friends Dima & Monique.

We had a great time at our Lee family annual Crab feast. It was so fun having Dave and Wyatt in town! Andy sure loves all those cousins.  

Our little family the Sunday before Christmas:

I WON! I won the annual Messick family gingerbread man decorating contest.  This is a major deal.  Sara was in a really bad mood the rest of the night.

My winning cookie.

We took a family trip to see the lights downtown.  I was SO GREAT having Ben, Christine, and Sam in town!

Christmas Day!  The pictures are really lacking.  I had a particularly rough night with Max the night before (I think I had 3 hours of sleep?), so I was a little out of it.  Luckily, Andy had a great day!  (Despite our gift to him never arriving the night before like it was supposed to. His basketball hoop finally came 3 weeks later.)  He got some great legos from my parents and a bunch of great things from Greg & Kathy.  I think his favorite things from them were his football toss thing and his car track.  We spent the morning with my family and the afternoon and evening with Cam's family.  I gave Cameron a coat.  (That also didn't come on time...we were cursed!) He gave me an amazing spa day: massage, facial, pedicure.  Best. Present. Ever. 

Another Christmas Day pic.

We have loved having G.G. close!

We also had a few other fun outings.  We went to breakfast and went bowling on New Years Eve Morning.  Andy loved bowling. He couldn't stop jumping!  What I mostly remember from bowling is that Rachel lost and was in the worst mood about it.  Guess we have a competitive family. ;) New Years Eve was fun!  We met up with a friend from Amsterdam, Allen, and had dinner with him at Tarahumara in Midway (our favorite!).  We spent the rest of the night at Paul's and Christie's house in Midway partying!

Max at 6 Months

My baby is 6 months old!  How did that happen?!  Technically he's closer to 7 months old now, so I'd better hurry and do this post.

• Generally, he has such a chill disposition.  People always comment on it!  I would agree.  He's pretty content...as long as he's being held.  :)  
• He's loving food!  We started him right at 6 months.  He tried some peas first and wasn't a fan.  He's unsure about rice cereal.  But he is a major fan of sweet potatoes and squash so far.  He also tolerates tiny strawberry pieces.  He's eating one baby food container a day right now.  
• I think he's improved (a little) in the nursing department in the past few weeks.  He generally frustrates me because he's so fidgety and a little lazy. (He gets frustrated when he has to work for the "harder" milk.  He unlatches and screams, demanding to switch sides instead.)  But I really do love nursing him.  He won't take a bottle.  And he eats pretty frequently.  Like...6-7 times a day.  I think that's more often than most babies his age?  But whatever, it works for us.  
• I'll tell you what doesn't work for me: how he gets up 3-4 times to eat/scream/whatever.  I think I was feeding the habit because I'd feed him about every three hours at night, whenever he'd wake up.  But after consulting my sleep bible a few days ago (healthy sleep habits, happy child), I've just started only feeding him two of the times he wakes up (somewhere between 10-11 PM and 4-6 AM) and ignoring him the other times.  Apparently, babies his age can be legitimately hungry two times a night, but not more than that.  Anyway--it's helping so much!  He's pretty much only waking up those two times now.  And I feel a world of difference only waking up one time a night instead of 2, 3, 4 times.  
• He goes to bed at 7 PM and wakes up about 7 AM.  He's a really good napper!  He sleeps a couple hours each nap, at 9 AM and 1 PMish.  He's such a pro at just falling asleep on his own.  I love that. 
• He can flip to his tummy now.  It's the first thing he does when you lay him down to sleep.  For a couple weeks it drove him (and us) crazy, because he'd flip over, realize he didn't want to be on his tummy, and then screeeeeeam for help because he didn't know how to flip back over.  But now he's used to sleeping on his stomach and seems to prefer it.  
• He's been sitting on his own for about a month now!  He's to the point he rarely tips over.  He loves the independence.  
• He seems to have had a growth spurt.  We don't have his well child visit until tuesday, so we'll see what he's measuring.  But I just barely put him in 6-9 month clothes a few weeks ago, and he's already busting out of them.  And he suddenly feeling so heavy.  I can't hold him too long without getting a dead arm.  
• He loves his brother.  Andy is so sweet to him.  He always brings him toys.  Max watches Andy all the time.  Andy cracks him up.  (Occasionally.  Max isn't quite as giggly or smiley as Andy was.  He has to think you're pretty funny before he'll laugh!) 
• He loves, loves, loves kisses.  He gets the biggest smile on his face when you kiss him.  
• He loves tickles and raspberries.  They make him giggle like crazy.  Especially if it's me doing it.
• He's a mama's boy.  And I love it.  

We love this sweet boy to the moon and back.  For me, life seems to get a lot more doable once these babies hit 6 months, so we're heaving a sigh of relief and celebrating that we made it! We love you, Max.  

This photos are from March

The next photos are from April/May. The poor thing had a rough bout with RSV.  He's taking a rest with Grandpa Mark.

Is he just the cutest, or what?!

Loves, loves, loves bath time!

Easter Sunday! 

He has the craziest/worst hair.  It parts naturally in the middle in the front and sticks strait up in the back.

First time trying food.  Apparently he hates peas.

And rice cereal is only slightly better.