Post-Vacation Recovery

We're back from our 9 day vacation in PA and are happy to report that Maddox handled the road trip, new faces, and new surroundings like a pro! We had an amazing time with both sets of great-grandparents and loved being able to see aunts, uncles, and cousins. While we were away, Maddox learned a some new skills (and I'm shocked at how quickly he is changing and growing). He's now scooting/semi-army crawling but can only go backwards. He also is getting up on his hands and knees and rocking back and forth (like he's ready to take off). It's only a matter of time before he is really moving! I got tickled at him yesterday morning because he scooted himself halfway across my bedroom floor and then got upset because he couldn't get to any of his toys...I guess you had to be there but it was really cute. Also, he's learned how to feed himself finger foods (which is a pretty big developmental milestone). He's mainly feeding himself puffs at home but is learning to eat all kinds of new food at daycare (where they have a kitchen that makes breakfast/lunch/snack/etc). Daycare asked if it was okay to start letting him eat "real" food so this morning, he's having french toast sticks and pears for breakfast (of course they cut it up into really small pieces). Yesterday for lunch, he had some bread, peaches, and cheese. Our little baby is quickly turning into a little BOY!

This Saturday is Maddox's first swim lesson. We're excited to see how he likes the water (he loves bath time) and I'm looking forward to having a scheduled activity that we can do together. Brandon and I will probably alternate weeks so that we both get to experience this with him. Of course, the other one will be there taking pictures/video!

I'll add some pictures from our trip later this week.

6 Months- New Pictures

6 months old!

Maddox is 6 months old! His 6 month appointment was on Friday and they confirmed what we already knew...he's perfect! :) Actually, he's had a tough time with the shots this time and has been running a fever of 100-102 all day today. Unfortunately, there's nothing we can do besides give him some extra cuddles and Tylenol. Poor fella. Hopefully he'll be better tomorrow in time for a visit from Mamaw & Papaw!

He weighed 17 lb 12 oz and is 26 in long (or should I say tall?). His height and weight have evened out a bit into the 50th percentile. He has quite a big noggin though and his head circumfrence is measuring in the 95th percentile.


At 6 months, here's what he's up to...
-Sitting on his own (has been doing this since about 5 months)
-When he's on his tummy, he is 'scooting' by pushing with his feet. I think this is the first attempt at trying to crawl. He isn't there yet but he's figured out that he can move around.
-Constant "talking" and babbling. I just wish I could figure out what he's trying to tell me!
-Eating fruit/oatmeal or yogurt for breakfast and veggies for dinner. He hated how watery stage 1 foods were but loves stage 2 and 3. We'll probably add a third meal of solids for lunch in the next month or so.
-Drinking about 5-6 oz of formula every 3 hours.
-He LOVES puffs...can't get enough of them!
-He's quite fascinated with drinking from a sippy cup and is doing great at holding it on his own. The doctor said it was fine for him to have a couple ounces of water or juice (but we aren't planning on giving him juice at all- we'll stick to water) at a time.
-He's still dazzling us with his toothless grin...no TEEFS yet!
-We're learning SIGN LANGUAGE! This is very exciting for us and we can't wait until he gives us the first sign back (typically around 9-10 months). Starting with just a few signs but will add more with time. Right now, we're signing these words/phrases: mommy, daddy, I love you, more, finished, milk, diaper, eat, thank you, sleep.

We leave on Friday for our first road trip to Pittsburgh as a family of 3 + Coco. We're hoping the trip will be relaxing and stress-free!

Easter

Maddox's first Easter was a blast! We started the day with lunch at my grandparent's house at 11am, moved on to our second lunch and egg hunt (200 eggs!!) at my Aunt Debbie's house at 1, and ended the day with a delicious dinner at Jeff & Lisa's house. Maddox, as usual, was spoiled rotten and received a total of SIX Easter baskets! Unbelievable!

On Saturday, we had a family picture session at Freedom Park in Charlotte. We should have the proofs by the 18th and can't wait to see how they turn out!

Maddox will celebrate his half birthday this week and has his six month appointment on Friday afternoon.

This should be a fairly relaxing week, which is very exciting since we're coming off of a very busy weekend. We're grilling steaks & asparagus on the grill tonight and will hang out outside while chef Brandon does the grilling. We are taking dinner to the Lerch's on Wednesday, and then have Maddox's appointment on Friday. This Saturday, I'll be going to Abby's baby shower to celebrate the upcoming arrival of Baby Sexton. Other than that, we will be relaxing and enjoying this beautiful spring weather (80's and sunny!).

Our annual trip to Pittsburgh (well, Valencia) and State College is rapidly approaching. We'll be gone 9 days total and are looking forward to our first road trip with Maddox. We can't wait to spend lots of quality time with both sets of great-grandparents and the rest of the family!

Here are some pics from Easter...(by the way, he had on an adorable Easter outfit but we had to strip him down to just his onesie since it was so hot).

Here he is with his cousin Faith...giving big kisses! He couldn't get enough of these girls!

Here's my cool little man with his shades on.

Maddox with Mamaw Norma & Papaw Mike (everybody always jokes that Mike and Maddox look alike with their bald heads & sunglasses!)

Here's Maddox with his Uncle Jason.

My favorite picture of the entire weekend. My little bunny!