8 Months Old

Height: about 28 inches  Weight: about 18 pounds

This month Dallin began sleeping a lot more! His naps are usually about an hour long but we do still get the occasional 20 minute nap. He eats two solid meals a day with some snacking in between. He nurses about every two hours as well. It has been fun to watch him learn to pick up pieces of food or get excited when he is put in his high chair because he knows what is coming! 

Other fun things he has learned is how to pull himself up to a stand. He started only a couple days ago and now he is practicing every day! In fact, last night we had to put his crib mattress on the lowest level because he kept standing up. We also moved Dallin to a convertible car seat this month which he was skeptical about but now he likes it well enough. 

As for sitting up on his own...we are making slow and steady progress. The piano toy (pictured below) is the only thing that truly motivates him to sit up. But other than that he just throws himself backwards or to the side so that he can get back on the floor and army crawl around. 

Likes:

- Standing

- Climbing on Mommy and Daddy

- Gerber puffs

- Drinking from cups

- Theme songs when we watch tv

- Cords ( I think they will always be a favorite)

- Exploring everywhere in the apartment

Dislikes:

- Having things taken from him that he shouldn't play with

- Having his nose sucked (caught another cold)

- The vacuum cleaner, hand dryers, or hair dryers (these actually frighten him to tears at times) 

Can i see the camera? 

7 Months Old

Here are his new stats:

Weight: 17.4 pounds    Height: 27 inches  

Dallin is on the move now! He is an army crawler and loves to find new places in the apartment that he hasn't explored. The hallway has a return duct which he loves and he just recently discovered the door stops which he loves to play with. He also has two teeth! They haven't fully protruded but they are sticking up enough that I caught them in some of the pictures. He won't sit up unassisted very long but we try a little bit every day to help him learn to balance. He has the strength, he just has to want to learn. Silly kid would rather be moving than sitting I guess!

Likes:

- Pulling mommy and daddy's hair 

- Cords and the blinds on the sliding glass door

- Chasing his train toy

- Playing peek-a-boo

- Moving 

Dislikes:

- Staying up passed his bedtime 

- Being in groups where the attention is on him

- Not being allowed to play with cords

- Peas and squash

can you see those teeth?!

6 Months Old

Dallin has been growing like crazy! He is now 16 lbs 2.5 oz and 27 inches long. Our baby is growing too quickly. Time needs to stop! This month he started to scoot around the floor. Some of his greatest motivators are remotes. He just loves them. I find now that if I leave the room I will always come back to him in a totally different place than I left him. Time to baby-proof! 

Likes:

+ Remotes

+ Phones

+ Rolling 

+ Books 

+ His carseat

+ Standing and scooting

+ The Ants Go Marching song (It is his absolute favorite)

+ Bath time

Dislikes:

+ Going down for naps

+ Mommy leaving him for even a second

+ Oatmeal 

+ Sitting (he always locks his legs so that he can stand instead)

5 Months Old

At five months old, Dallin is 14.4 pounds and 26 inches long. This month he started solids! He is okay with rice cereal and sweet potatoes but he really likes his bananas! He reaches for them and can't get them in his mouth fast enough. He got his first cold this month as well and it really threw off his sleeping patterns. He was giving a solid 8 hour stretch then another 3 hours after that, but after his cold he hasn't been the same. Now he is waking 1-3 times at night. Hopefully he will get back on his good sleeping schedule soon! 

Rolling over has become second nature to him now. He easily rolls from his back to his belly and has even made a couple trips across our living room, only to be stopped by the couch. His rolling is contributing to his lack of sleep as well, I often walk into his room because he is crying and he is on his stomach with his face pressed against the walls of his crib. Also with the rolling comes tougher diaper changes. He thinks it is pretty fun to try and roll over in the middle of changing his diaper. It can take 5 minutes to get him to just lay still so that we can finish. Oh the fun! :)

Dallin also likes to do baby crunches. He tries to sit forward in his swing, in the bath, and in his car seat. He also still loves to stand up and will sometimes fight me when I try to get him to sit down. He is also interested in everything that we hold in our hands. He always grabs at whatever it is and tries to put it in his mouth. 

Our boy likes to interact with the people around him. At church he will smile and interact with the people behind us. He loves to coo and talk when we are out as well. Every time I go visit people in the ward he talks up a storm. He was screaming for fun a lot this month as well, but thankfully that has ended! 

Overall, we love our baby boy and love watching him grow!

Happy Halloween!

Dallin's first Halloween wasn't really eventful. The activities were obviously mostly for us! I saw this adorable T-rex costume at Costco and had to buy it. He looked so cute in it! 

Once Tyler got home, we dressed Dallin up and went over to the retirement home that is right next door to us. The residents were gathered in a room and we just paraded him around and got some candy for us. Dallin wasn't too thrilled. He didn't give anyone a smile like he normally would. But that's okay. There is always next year! 

Fall Colors

Tyler and I decided that today we would go drive the Alpine Loop that we heard so much about. I was amazed at how beautiful it was! Here are some pictures of the scenery:

4 Months Old

Dallin is 4 months old now! Time is flying! We went to the doctor for a well visit and the results are in....Dallin is no longer in the 10th percentile for weight. He is now in the 16th ;). That puts him at 13 lbs 14 oz! And he is 26 inches long which puts him in the 83rd percentile. So our boy is long and skinny! 

My favorite thing Dallin started to do was belly laugh. It all started in the bath and now we can get him to giggle to the silly songs we sing or the funny faces we make. He smiles a bit more for the camera as well and he is getting more interested in the computer when we skype with his grandparents. He is so much fun!

This month, Dallin learned to love toys more. He now will pick up toys around him and entertain himself for a little while.  He loves to stand up all the time and so putting him in his bouncer helps a lot! He is also loves blowing spit bubbles and making noises with his lips.

We have been teaching him to sit up and he is finally realizing he can use his arms to hold himself up rather than flopping forward. He is making progress! Dallin started giving a high pitched cry/squeal when I lay him on the floor. He would much rather be held! 

Our boy still struggles with naps. He quit taking a pacifier (he never really took it well anyways) and so naps have become harder. We try for 3 naps every day but we dont always get them! He usually wakes up after 30 minutes. However, he does sleep well at night. He is still giving us a 6-7 hour stretch and then another 3-4 hour stretch. He is also now in his own room, in his own crib, and sleeping without being swaddled. 

We think he has a possible milk sensitivity as well. So now I am off all dairy and it seems to be helping him. He isn't spitting up as much and gained weight pretty fast when I went off of it. I don't know if that is just a coincidence or not but I will try eating dairy again in a couple months and see how well that goes. 

Now for the pictures, such a cutie! 

Can you tell he didn't want to take pictures on the floor?

Staring at the camera. What is that thing?

Much happier to be sitting up!