SEVEN.

Here we are again with time flying out from under me,  there is something so sad about saying I have a 7 month old. I think it is because we have jumped that half a year old mark and we are just high tailing it to his first birthday. He is closer to ONE than my itty bitty newborn. our house is on a non-stop train to toddler-dom.. foam mats have been added and daddy is working on that baby gate. why is this happening and why are my days running together?! he's grown exponentially over the last 30 days and from what I can recall, I think this is the most he's changed in just one month's time- even though it makes me sad to say he is getting older I am loving it -  I can say that this month has been my favorite so far. I am absolutely loving this age.

whats new...

• big boy baths.  we've had so many 'baby's firsts' this month- one of which is baths sitting up in the tub. hopefully, next month daddy has our farmhouse sink in so we can have sink baths. 
• scooting.  all over the place.  he doesn't quite get himself in the crawling position just yet, but we are so there.  he will get nearly on all fours and then start fussing because he's not exactly sure where to go from there, I suppose.  until then, he is happy rolling himself to where he needs to be. he doesn't stay in one place long. i can set him down and walk out of the room for a second and he is on the other side. same goes with his crib, he is all over that thing at night.
• sitting.  100% unassisted and prefers it this way.  he can even go from the (modified) crawling position and back to a seated position about half the time. 
• laughing.  those big belly laughs-TO. DIE. FOR.
• blowing raspberries. he now blows raspberries on mommy and daddy. He thinks its so funny and so do we. We always blow on his belly and he loves to do it to daddy now.
• interaction + reaching.  his interaction with toys, the dogs, and other people around him has improved a lot.  he reaches for people he wants to be held by and definitely plays the 'look hard with a huge grin to get attention and then bury my head somewhere to be shy' game.  totally precious.
• he loves to facetime his glamma.  his face lights up with the sweetest grin- not to mention the wiggle and squeal that goes with it. 
• sugar.  Canaan gives the best baby love.  oh my goodness when he grabs my face and dives in for some monster sugars it is hilarious and so sweet.
• table food.  we have been eating all kinds of things!  he loves it !
• Canaan wears size three diapers + 3-6 month clothes for pants and bottoms. 6 months in the one piece outfits for the length. boyfriend is tall.

E A T

He loves to eat-anything. I haven't been too crazy with spacing out all the foods he is offered.. at least the low allergy types- roasted sweet potato, roasted butternut squash, brown rice, apples, banana, avocado, whole milk yogurt, grilled chicken(new this month and a favorite), quinoa, pancakes, waffles, teething wafers, and oatmeal.

other foods: scrambled eggs, toast, strawberries, blueberries. We are going to try peanut butter soon, well as soon as a have the time to make it. I plan on making my own peanut butter for him.  

I have also tried to teach him to suck from the organic fruit and veggie food pouches that I picked up at the grocery store (I like the Ella's Kitchen, and happy baby brand, aldi also have a nice selection of them) and we are getting the hang of it! These are perfect for when we are out. he actually really loves those.  

we are still going strong on the breastfeeding front.  most days while I am away at work he takes two bottles of breastmilk and the rest of the time he nurses.

daily feeding/solids schedule:

 7:30am: wake (nurse)

9:30: yogurt+fruit/oatmeal+fruit

11am-11:30am: nurse (bottle)

11:30am-2:30pm:nap

2:30pm:nurse (bottle)

5:00pm/5:30pm: nurse

6pm: dinner

7:30pm: bath

7:45pm/8:00pm: nurse/bed

P L A Y / D E V E L O P M E N T

play time has become much more interactive. he has started to figure out that flipping/turning handles on certain toys make a new music noise, or how to turn the pages of a book to see something new. Canaan also has started to learn what buttons to push for lights and sounds. we will sit him in the middle of  the floor with some toys and within just a few moments he's scooted and rolled himself over to the side to get the toy he wants or caught his eye.  scooting- goodness hes' a pro.  so, the smart little cookie will get what he needs without worrying too much with the technical movements to do so.  

he loves anything that makes noise.. and if it doesn't make noise, he's banging whatever he can find to force sound out of it.

Canaan loves to play, but wants someone close by. he will play in the exersaucer for 30 solid minutes if the dogs are hanging around entertaining him.  he has gotten so much better at entertaining himself. He will sit and play contently for quite a while all on his own before he wants someone to play with him.

he loves to sit in the front of the cart and would be far too angry if we left him in the car seat to walk about the grocery store- even for a quick trip.  he's too cute though, so I don't mind.

S L E E P

this little boy is an amazing sleeper. finally at 6 months it clicked. it happened in one night too. he sleeps a solid 12 hours. every. night. I forgot what it was like to get that much uninterrupted sleep( I'm obviously not getting 12 hour) 

but golly gee,

motherhood isn't for wimps.

it is for this reason alone that motherhood isn't for wimps. Oh sweet sleep is GOLDEN.  

Canaan wont just nap anywhere- he wants to be in his crib, and I don't blame him- its comfortable.  but we have made a real habit of always letting him sleep in the same place around the same time.. so naps in the car our just randomly falling asleep wherever isn't the norm. I will say the one exception to this rule is if he is in the ergo carrier.  he loves it and will snuggle close and pass out almost immediately if we're wearing him.  

he struggles when he is away from home to nap, but I think he is starting to get more comfortable. He almost always gives us a good solid 3 hour nap when we are at home on his normal schedule and most of the time we try and stay around the house so we can let him get in at least one good nap during the day.

typical sleep routine

wake: 7:30am (nurse)

nap #1: 11:30am-2:30pm

nap #2: 4:30-5:30pm (sometimes, this is normal if the earlier nap gets cut short)

bedtime: 8:00pm

 I do still nurse him at night before putting him down.  this is my most favorite time. quiet time with this boy, just she and I, is the most precious time of my entire day.  I snapped this picture last night, because I didn't want to miss or forget moments like this one. 
i.love.him. more and more everyday!

C A N A A N

sweetest canaan.

you are every bit of the little boy I imagined you would be when I dreamed about you while you were in the womb.  you are most definitely a mama's boy, but you love your daddy something fierce.  I cant even express to you the joy I feel inside when you reach for me, but even when you are reaching out for someone else- it reminds me of how very sweet you are. your heart is solid gold.  that smile of yours is ever so contagious and I cannot get over what a little gem you are, both inside and out.  we giggle and are silly together all day and I am reminded of how very blessed I am.

you are very talkative and in between chatter and babbles, you’ll let out a yell that seems like it came from the bottom of your belly.  It definitely reaches everyone’s attention- and will often put my heart in my throat if we are in the car.  just a little reminder to everyone not paying attention- "I'm here!!" Daddy and I often respond "We know your here Jude."

We seem to be calling you Jude more often than Canaan lately, you answer to both, especially 'Moody Judee'

your baby hairs have been fully replaced by baby soft hair, with wild untamable curls- especially after bath.  this mama hates to comb them down sometimes and when you cry out for me to come and get you from your crib I find you with the most hilarious morning mohawk.  you are using your fingers and hands like a pro- grasping your toys and food and even the smallest little speck on the ground.  you are very intent with your thoughts and full examine the situation before taking part.  its really amazing to watch you observe the dogs and all of your surroundings, you are amazed by life and I'm catching myself learning to be more amazed at the world we live in. 

Canaan Jude you are everywhere!!  not crawling, but you make your way aroundrolling and scooting to get what you need.  

Every day comes with a new learning curve for us, sweet boy, but we overcome them together and we grow together and learn from each other. watching you experience life everyday is what it is all about.  I am so excited and blessed to be your mama.

seven month photo dump.

He was giving me major tude' with this photo, it was the best I could get.

Pregnancy Favorites

Snoogle Vitamin D Breathe Prenatals BeBand Camelback Palmers Tums

1. Snoogle: This was a life saver in my second and third trimester. I was a stomach sleeper prior to pregnancy so when it was no longer comfortable to sleep on my stomach the Snoogle made it a little easier to get some rest at night. I also got a lot of lower back pain towards the end of my pregnancy and I felt like if I could just lay on my stomach I would feel some relief so I would roll the Snoogle up into a circle almost to look like an inner tube and I would stick my belly in the middle so I could "lay" on my stomach.

2. Vitamin D: The leg cramps were real. I would wake in the middle of the night with awful Charlie horses, heck sometimes I would walk the wrong way and I would get them. After talking to my doctor about them I thought for sure he would recommend some Potassium, but he recommended Vitamin D instead and it helped tremendously. I felt so much better and they almost went away, they were few and far between.

3. Breathe: With being pregnant through the winter months, I struggled with some congestion and the Doterra oils helped solve all those problems. I was terrified of getting sick while I was pregnant but I think between all the Vitamins I was taking it was nearly impossible.

4. Prenatals: These are probably your No. 1 highly recommended necessity during pregnancy. In the early days of my pregnancy I could barely stomach them. I eventually settled on the gummie prenatals, they seemed to settle better in my stomach.

5. Belly Band: The Belly Band was super helpful when I was in between those days where you don't quite look pregnant yet but your busting at the seams of your regular jeans. There is also the hair tie trick that you can use, but that only works for so long. I probably stretched that one TOOO far.

6. Motherhood Maternity: Backing up to the hair tie trick, that works and is great but save yourself and go straight to the full panel maternity pants. THEY are the BEST! Ultimate comfort, you will never go back to that hair tie again.

7. Camelback: Water was all I ever wanted and essentially NEEDED...ice cold water. I carried my Camelback around with me everywhere. 

8. Comfy bra: This was the first change I noticed, I couldn't fit into my bras almost immediately. I wasn't about to pay crazy money on new bras when I new this was the one thing that would be changing like crazy for the next 9 months ++++ Comfort was way above all my choices at this point.

9. Palmers: I used it ALL, Palmers, coconut oil, and they still came, they being stretch marks..... Blah. I still tell Canaan if he would of been a good little boy and showed upon lay 2 weeks sooner I wouldn't have the ones on my stomach at all. They showed up super late and I was SUPER disappointed when they appeared.. There may have been tears. Yea, yea I know they were worth it, but I still tried to do everything to avoid them. I chose Palmers as my favorite though because the smell and texture was what I preferred. I used it the most and I think for them to wait that long to show up, 37 weeks, was pretty impressive. I also think it has to do with genetics. If your mama got them, you probably will too.

10. Tums: Heartburn means hair on that sweet baby head right?! At least thats what I kept hoping for every time I had heartburn. I had Tums everywhere, I actually think there is still a bottle in the car.

SIX.

Welp.  That was the fastest 182 days of my life.  It literally feels like yesterday that we brought him home from the hospital.  Here we are an entire half of a year gone by. 

The end of his first summer. 

His first Halloween.

..and then there was Thanksgiving.

Rounding out the end of the year with his first Christmas.

I  still cannot believe some days that he is ours.  Our sweet, silly, happy, and content baby boy.  All wrapped into the perfect little package.

Oh.  and his cheeks are basically the cherry on top of every single day of my life.

They are as squeezable and kissable as they look.

just like Play-Doh.

But- he's SIX WHOLE MONTHS!

What?!??  No.  Time you are just the biggest bully!

remember what he looked like just 26 weeks ago??

this leetle babe!!

Canaan at SIX months

Weight: 15 pounds EVEN (7th percentile)

Birth: 6 lbs 9oz

Height: 26 in (18th percentile)

Birth: 19.5 in

Head:  45 cm (35th percentile)

We took Canaan in for his 6 month check up, which was a little bit of a dream.

He's gained two pounds and has grown half an inch since his last well visit at 4 months.   

Dr. Tony gave him the once over and listened to his lungs, checked his ears- all clear!  Impressed with his sitting ability, attentive demeanor and how calm he was while he checked him out.

We talked about solids and he encouraged us than anything is fine for him to eat except honey, which mama already knew! We've already started some foods, but I feel much more confident now.

Whats new...

• Sitting.  He's almost perfected the seated position and will sit unassisted pretty well for several minutes while he plays.  Still a work in process, but he's got a really strong core, so it won't be long before he's able to do it all the time on his own.
• Larry the cucumber is his homeboy.  He giggles, kicks his feet, and grins ear to ear at the television when he is on. All hail the Veggie Tales!
• Speaking of giggles: he is so easy to make laugh. It. Is. the. Greatest.
• Loves to play.  he prefers to play either in his jumper or on the floor.  He LOVES tummy time! He rolls all over the place to get to where he needs to go and plays with anything in arms reach. 
• Recognition.  He definitely recognizes faces now.  He started this a little last month- but this month he knows and recognizes his people: Mommy, Daddy, Glamma, GDaddy, & Uncle Ken
• He really loves his mama.  He likes his daddy pretty well, but when I walk into his eye's line of view his whole face lights up, especially when its time for his to eat, and I've never felt more proud to be his mama! He even started crying when I leave a room. Melt. My. Heart.
• Reaching.  He's started reaching out to be held.  It is the sweetest.
• Airplane.  He's not crawling yet but he will lift his whole chest, arms and head/neck off the floor and kick and scoot his legs like he wants to go somewhere. 
•  He is still a social little boy and wants to be in the mix of everything all the time. 
• Teething.  We have two bottom teeth, they came out of nowhere and SO QUICK! I never even knew because there hasn't been a fussy bone in his body. 
• He totally digs the ergo360.  Daddy and I wear him any time we go out and in the house when he just wants to be held. We don't mind.
• He is a big fan of his fingers and feet- if he can see his toes they are going in his mouth!
• Bathtime is his FAVORITE.  If he is fussy- which happens in the evenings close to bed time, We stick him in the bathtub and his entire mood changes.  He loves it!  I think once he's sitting up in the bathtub he will love it even more.
• Canaan is still in size 2 diapers- but size three diapers are coming very soon because he is  just about busting out of the size 2.  I am waiting on some nighttime diapers to come, wearing some 3 months clothing still.. but growing into and fitting better in 3-6 months and 6 month sleepers.

E A T 

According to those rolls that line his legs- he has no problem eating his way through his little life.  It is his favorite thing to do.  He does this thing now when eating, he likes to grab my face and play with my lips, silly boy. It's annoying and mildly cute all at the same time. We have had a really good time with breastfeeding- so I am excited to say we are still going strong. I am home about 3-4 days a week when I can nurse him for every feeding- and while I'm away those other days he gets two bottles of breast milk.   For the most part Canaan sleeps and eats and plays around the same time every day.  3-4 hours is still the norm between feedings, eating 5 to 7 times every day.  We have been sort of all over the place because his wake times have not been very consistent- but here's the typical: 5-6am every morning when he wakes and then 10am, 1-2pm, 5pm, 8pm before going down for the night.  MOST of the time we hit this schedule pretty well- and for the most part I like the stick to it pretty strictly during the work days away from home because at the 10am and 2pm he gets a bottle and I pump while at work.  So it keeps him on a good schedule and me, too! We started food at 6 months exactly, since that's what was recommended to use by my doctor and Canaan's since he is strictly breastfed. We haven't been feeding Canaan food for nutrition as much as we have just been letting him taste foods. 

He has had:

Avocado(his favorite)

Squash(his other favorite)

Toast

Banana(not a fan)

Apple

Applesauce(also not a fan)

Green Beans

Carrots 

Sweet Potatoes

Peppers

P L A Y / D E V E L O P M E N T

The biggest change in this area is his consistency and improvement in last month's skills.  H can pick up his toys or objects and flips them over and back to see what it looks like from all sides.  His balance has improved and he can sit for longer periods of time. Canaan definitely prefers being on his belly and has learned to maneuver himself from a wobbly sitting position to his tummy.  He is extremely curious and is constantly finding objects to play with that are NOT toys ( paper, my phone, a diaper wipes etc.).  I usually lay a blanket out on the floor with his favorite toys and he is happy as a clam just playing away.

That little voice is still as talkative as ever-sometimes and sometimes he is just my quiet sweet boy. 

S L E E P

We are still not consistent in this department.  Some nights he gives me every bit of 11 hours and other nights he's awake 1-2 times to nurse and go right back to sleep. When he does sleep through the night I often wake up sad that he didn't get up. I kinda, sorta love our time in the middle of the night, but boy sleeping through the night- WHAT. A. JOY. 

Bedtime is about 7:30pm.  Typically he will sleep until about midnight or 1am, wake to eat and then sleep until 5am-6am and wake to eat again.  Most of the time he will go right back down- and usually sleeps in the morning until about 8am. This is a typical night, but we have been sleeping through the night more and that is slowly becoming the typical( 7:30-6am).  Lately he's been napping two solid naps during the day (depending on when he woke it is typically about 9:30-10am and around 1pm) and one cat nap late in the afternoon of 45 minutes around 4:30pm every day.

Most of the time we nap really great for 2 solid hours and then sometimes its just one hour.  Or even 30 minutes.  AND THEN occasionally I am fighting him for an hour just trying to get him to go to sleep for longer than 10 minutes.

C A N A A N

My sweetest boy.  You are growing way too quick for me.

I remember those last couple months of pregnancy, anxiously waiting for your arrival and constantly daydreaming of who you would be.  I couldnt imagine what it would be like getting to become a mother to a baby boy.. and now that you are part of our lives and I know your every laugh, every baby cry and every look that you get in your eyes, we couldn't imagine life without you. 

This month you have definitely come in to your own. 

Your personality is really shining through these days- especially when you have the attention of mom or dad.  Like limbs flailing around happy.. and if you make eye contact and say your name its never without a big ol' grin!  Speaking of grins- you are smiling so much these days!  And when you do, it is the most adorable thing your daddy and I have ever seen, especially with those 2 bottom teeth peeking out.  It's a very joyful smile: your eyes brighten, and your mouth opens in a huge grin. You are independent, loving, and smart. You are also so curious and mischievous.   Our days have become much busier and more active lately as we spend our days exploring everything.  I cant have anything within arms reach without you grabbing, swatting, or slapping at it.  Oh my stars, little boy. You impress me every.single.day.  For me to say that you are just amazing is an understatement.  The phrase “you are so much fun” comes out of my mouth at least 3 times a day.  At least.  See also, "you're so stinkin cute." Always smiling, always laughing, always looking for the attention, but then again, totally content playing in your own little world of toys and anything else you can get your hands into. 

Your raspy little voice.

Blonde wispy hair.

chuuuuby cheekies.

Soft belly.

and those pretty bright shiny eyes.

Definitely one of a kind.  There is absolutely no one like you, baby boy.

My favorite thing you do right now is your gummy grin with two shiny teeth every time we say "CHEESE," you're my favorite comedian. 

Each day with you brings something new to remember and I’m so thankful for your happy spirit. 

My heart is so full with your constant hilarities- I cannot imagine my days before you, Canaan.

I simply adore you pieces. 

S I X MONTH PHOTO D U M P

boyfriend LOVES Fitzgerald

playing with Uncle Aaron

Christmas Eve Service

Christmas Morning

Don't even tell me he didn't know what was going on!

Daddy got the new turtles and Canaan got the outfit!

This thing you call Christmas is tough stuff.

TEETHING

Tooth No. 1 came Christmas Eve

Tooth No. 2 came two days later

Big Boy

Shopping with Mama

THIS. FACE.

loves his daddy

When I say "Cheese"