Colton James: Eight Months

Dear Colton,

Yet another month has come and gone. This past month, from month seven to eight, has been quite the month for you. You started crawling!! Almost to the day after I wrote your seven month update, you got up on your hands and knees and started rocking. The first time you got up on all fours it was a Tuesday night, so daddy was in class. I sent him lots of pictures and videos though. You big boy!!

You are still our happy, smiley little babe, but you have got a little bit of an attitude recently. You go from smiley to mad in about 2.5 seconds. It's kind of funny actually. You're happy 98% of the time and every now and then if something gets taken from you...whoa. You settle down pretty quickly though and are pretty easily distracted.

You also got some more teeth, were sick this month with the worst cold, and you started crawling on your eight month date! Like I said, this month was a month full of changes. I am loving every second of it, but would also like you to slooooow down little man. I love you babe, to the moon and back!

Love,
Mama




Eight month update:

Size -  around 18 pounds 

Words -  none, but you do say quite a few sounds and multiple syllables now

Activity -  You sit up very well, you got up on your hands and knees and started rocking right after you turned seven months old, and about four weeks later you started crawling. Funny story. Dayton had his toy gun and nerf bullets in the living room. Your daddy and I have seriously tried everything in the books to get you to crawl. Toys, puffs, etc. You took one look at those nerf bullets and started moving right towards them. Your daddy and I quickly started setting piles of them out to get you to crawl towards us. It worked like a charm. You are definitely #allboy. 

Food - Your schedule is just about the same! Although, you eat a little less when your teeth are coming in.

• 6:30-7 am - wake and nurse
• 9 am - bottle/nurse
• 10:00-11pm - nap
• 12 pm - 2 oz veggies, 2 oz. fruit, puffs, finger food
• 1-3 pm - nap
• 3/3:30 pm - bottle/nurse
• 5:30 pm - nurse
• 6 pm - 2 oz protein, 2 oz veggies, 2 oz. fruit, puffs, finger food
• 7:30ish - nurse to bedtime

You love picking up finger foods and trying them. So far, you've had banana, broccoli, and avocado. You prefer the banana, but will eat anything that we put in front of you. I've added the protein/meat baby food to your dinner. You love the mixed vegetable and turkey and the chicken and brown rice. You're not too big of a fan of the chicken and sweet potato. It usually takes you 2-3 tries to like a new flavor of veggie or fruit, but we haven't found anything that you really don't like yet. 

Sleep - You got to bed around 7:30 pm after I nurse you. Most nights you nurse to sleep, but when you don't I just lay you down, you get comfortable, and you go to sleep. You usually wake up between 6-6:45 am.

You are still taking two naps during the day. A morning nap around 9:30-11 am and an afternoon nap from 1:15-3/3:30 pm. You are a light sleeper, but you sleep well.

I think you've hit a growth spurt because recently, you've been waking up 1-3 times at night. You want to eat each time I go in there. Oh baby boy, you're making your mama tired.

Hair - blonde

Eyes - dark brown

Teeth -  4 - two on the front bottom and two on the top, but not the middle two. You have the top two that are either side of your front middle teeth.

Wardrobe - size 12 months

Diapers - size 3/4

Likes -  You are a happy little guy. You love your brother. I mean, you love him! I'll explain more in the mama's favorite section below. You love going for walks, riding in anything, looking around, crawling, playing peek-a-boo or any "boo" game, playing with balls, and Abe. Your daddy makes you laugh more than any of us and you still like to sit with mama.

Mama's Favorite - I absolutely love watching you with your brother. He's the first thing you look for in the morning. As soon as you see him, you smile. It's like you guys say good morning to each other in your own way. If I try to change you while Dayton is at the table eating, you strain to see him so now I have to keep the door shut so I can actually get you changed! I love how much you love your bother. He loves you too. A lot. However, now that you're mobile we'll see what happens! I love you both so much and I can't wait to see how your relationship goes up an down.

Colton James: Seven Months

Dear Colton,

My sweet boy, the months fly by way too fast. Your mama hasn't done the best job keeping track of your monthly updates and pictures, but I'm trying my best. Working full time and taking care of two busy boys has kept me quite busy, but I am loving you both more than ever. I am already counting down the days until we get to spend every single day together in the summer.

You are growing so fast! I feel like every few weeks you hit a growth spurt and you've all of a sudden gotten bigger. Stop! You're changing every day. You're learning new things and are such a happy little nugget. You adore your brother and I love watching you two begin to play with each other. Dayton loves you, but you don't move around too much so we'll see what he does when you start crawling.

Daddy and I love you, Colton. You're the piece of our family that we knew we were missing. I can't hardly remember what life was like without you. I love you baby boy, to the moon and back!

Love,
Mama

Seven month update:

Size - I'm not 100% sure, but I think you're somewhere around 17-18 pounds. You've chunked up a tiny bit more since you've gotten the hang of eating down. You've definitely gotten taller!  

Words - None. However, you're making quite a few sounds! We've heard "ma," "ra," and "ba" sounds. You usually repeat one of these sounds about 30 times over. You "talk" to us quite frequently now and sometimes it seems like you're really telling us something or telling us a story. 

Activity -  You baby boy, never stop moving, bouncing, kicking your feet, or waving your hands around. I'm starting to think that if you are still, then you're asleep or sick. Bless. You started sitting up by yourself between 6-7 months. By the beginning of February, you were sitting up for extended periods of time by yourself. Woo! 

Food -

• 7 am - wake and nurse
• 9 am - bottle/nurse
• 10:00-11pm - nap
• 12 pm - 2 oz veggies, 2 oz. fruit, puffs, finger food
• 1-3 pm - nap
• 3/3:30 pm - bottle/nurse
• 5:30 pm - nurse
• 6 pm - 2 oz veggies, 2 oz. fruit, puffs, finger food
• 7:30ish - nurse to bedtime

You've started eating a few finger foods. We started with puffs, which you love! You've also had cut up banana pieces and avocado. You love feeding yourself and try to grab at the spoon when we do feed you your baby food. 

Sleep - You started waking up every now and then in the middle of the night wanting to eat. Could it be teeth? Your cold? A growth spurt? Who knows. You go to bed around 7:30 pm and wake up around 6:30-7 am. Most mornings, I wake you up!

You are still taking a morning nap for about 1-1.5 hours and an afternoon nap for about 2-3 hours.

Hair - Your hair is so soft and thin...and blonde!

Eyes - dark brown

Teeth -  Two teeth! Your two front, bottom teeth have arrived!

Wardrobe - size 9 months

Diapers - size 3

Likes -  You like pretty much everything. You are such a happy babe! You don't like being hungry or sleepy, but even when you're sleepy you really don't fuss that much. You love your brother. Oh my goodness! Your whole face lights up when Dayton is around. He can make you smile and laugh better than anyone. Your daddy is the same way. You love playing and laughing with daddy. We love your laugh Colton James!

Mama's Favorite - I adore your smiles. When you smile at me - which is often - it makes my day so much brighter. Waking you up in the morning and getting those first sweet smiles after I nurse you are some of my favorite times of the day. It's just you and me time. No one else is around or awake. I adore that big grin!

Colton's Six Month Photos

I'm in love with these photos. Michelle has done it again! She's quickly becoming a family friend and someone we love bringing our kiddos to! Michelle owns Stricker Photography and has taken almost all of the boy's photos from birth until now. She is the baby whisperer. I'm convinced.

Colton was in a good mood, but he just would not smile for us! Seriously. The happiest baby on earth barely cracked any smiles the entire session. We could not believe it! Michelle worked her magic and did get a few money shots of our sweet boy's smile. Thank you Michelle!

Colton James: Six Months

Dear Nug,

6 months old. How has it already been half of a year? It seems like just yesterday that I was bringing home our new baby bundle. You've more than doubled your size since then. Each day that goes by, I fall more and more in love with you. You are such a funny little guy. You smile with your whole body and your now toothy grin lights up the room. You are such a sweet little nugget!

As you can see, mama likes to give you lots of nick names. Daddy calls you Colton-man and so does Dayton because, well Daddy does. I tend to call you "Bug" or "Nug"/"Nugget." Like a chicken nugget. Get it? Uh, I have no idea where it came from, but you're my little Nug. And a cute one at that!

Your personality is starting to come out and I love watching how it changes as the time passes. You are such a happy little man, but you've started giving us a little bit of "tude." You can laready do daddy's eyebrows, so now I have three men in the house who can twist their eyebrows to give me funny looks. Oh boy. #outnumbered. You definitely let us know when you're not happy about something. You start crying and it is loud. Like 0 to 60 in 2.5 seconds. You usually are appeased pretty quickly though. That's one of the things I love about you!

Well my happy little man, here's to .5 years of you. Happy half birthday Colton-man! I can't imagine our life without you. You've taken your spot in our family just perfectly. We love you little bug, to the moon and back!

Love,
Mama

Six month update:

Size - You're up to 16 pounds 6 ounces. You've got a few baby rolls on you, but you still look "skinny" to me and your daddy. We're quickly learning you may look like you're brother, but we're starting to see some fun differences!  

Words - None, but you are starting to "talk" to us. You're starting to say "rara" sounds and a lot of "ba" or "ma" noises. Too cute.

Activity -  You are rolling over all of the time now. You're even starting to attempt to sit up on your own! You will sit up for 10-15 seconds and then will fall over, but you're trying! and I can tell you are so excited about it. Oh baby boy, you're the cutest. When you're on your belly, you like to push up on your arms and straighten out. Your eyebrows go up with you lift your head high like you're straining so hard to see what's going on around you. I hope you never lose your sense of curiosity! You like to "stand" if we're holding your hands and you start jumping automatically. Bouncing baby boy has a new meaning. You are always. jumping. always.

Food - You have started eating soid foods and we've zipped through all of the veggies (peas, green beans, sweet potato, butternut squash, carrots, zucchini and yellow squash). We've also gotten through fruit (apple, avocado, pears, mango, peach, and banana). You were not into eating food for quite a while there, but you've picked up on it. I'm pretty sure your teeth had something to so with it. You've got the hang of it now!

• 7 am - wake and nurse
• 9 am - bottle/nurse
• 10:00-11pm - nap
• 12 pm - 2 oz veggies, 2 oz. fruit, oatmeal
• 1-3 pm - nap
• 3/3:30 pm - bottle/nurse
• 5:30 pm - nurse
• 6 pm - 2 oz veggies, 2 oz. fruit, oatmeal
• 7:30ish - nurse to bedtime

Sleep - At right about 6 months, you started sleeping through the night again. THANK YOU! I was really starting to feel beyond exhausted. You were waking up 1-2 times per night. I get up at 4 am to go workout, so that was not working out for me, buddy. But now you're back to your normal sleep schedule and I couldn't be more happy about it. Bless. You go to bed around 7:45 pm and wake up between 6:30-7 am. You are an incredibly light sleeper, however.

You are still taking a morning nap for about 1-1.5 hours and an afternoon nap for about 2-3 hours.

Hair - You're starting to get a little more hair I noticed this week. It seems dark, but at other times I can tell it's going to be blonde like your brothers. It looks like it's lightening up to me.

Eyes - Your eyes are dark brown. Just like your daddy and your brother. Swoon.

Teeth - You have teeth! You popped up your front two, bottom teeth. 

Wardrobe - We've switched you to 9 months! You're just so long.

Diapers - size 3

Likes - I'm convinced that there's very little that you don't like. You are the happiest, smiliest, content baby. You're such a good little guy that I've been keeping you in church with me instead of bringing you to the nursery. That may change soon though, because you're getting pretty active...and talkative. What can I say? You're a happy little mister! which is why we call you "Smiley." 

Mama's Favorite - I love picking you up from daycare. I love the smile you get. I love when you lean from Ms. Lisa's arms to come into mine. I love how excited you are and how you try to jump in my arms. You grab my shoulders and almost hug me. You bury your face on my chest/shoulder and come up smiling. It just melts my heart! I look forward to it from the time I drop you off until the time I pick you up!

Colton James: Five Months

Dear Colton-man,

Your daddy has started that nickname. Dayton caught on to it pretty quickly and he calls you Colton-man most of the time now. Especially, when he's trying to get you to laugh or watch him. Speaking of your brother, he adores you. I'm telling you that now because he might not adore you in a year or so when you start playing with his toys. He's always excited to pick you up after school and I think he gets a lot of joy from making you laugh and smile.

Well sir, mama has been back at work for almost a month now and it's been interesting to say the least. I knew it was going to be hard going back to work, but this has been pretty overwhelming. Your daddy has stepped up big time and has been helping with a lot of chores. Thank heavens for your daddy! I know we'll all adjust, so I'm just waiting to get into the groove of our new schedule. We're getting there, but believe me, I'm looking forward to Christmas break! How many more days?!

A part of me is glad you get to go to daycare so that you're interacting with different people, but I miss getting to watch you grow and change each day. You are growing and changing so quickly. Oh my sweet baby, I know there is so much more fun to see down the road. I'm still wishing I slow time down, but I'm excited for you to continue to hit some new milestones!

I still can't get over how happy you are. You smile with your whole face and you light up the room. You laugh easily and often. I hope that never changes. Stay happy my little man, it's one of my most favorite things about you! I love you to the moon and back, Colton-man.

Love,
Mama

Five month update:

Size - You are a little peanut. At least you seem like it to us. (We only have your chunky brother to go off of.) You're up to about 15 pounds and some.    

Words - None, but you are trying to use your mouth to make various sounds. I love it when you talk to us. 

Activity - I think you might give me a run for my money little guy. You are always moving. Always. Even when you're nursing or sleeping. The only time you are still is when you are dozing off. You love to watch everything that is going on around you - which makes feeding you a lot harder. I have to hide away in another room to feed you now. You love "standing up" when we're holding you, jumping is your favorite, and you are rolling all of the time. You don't love being on your belly and you get mad after a few minutes. 

Food - You are mainly fed breastmilk, however, I'll be starting your first foods this month! During Christmas break, I'll start making your baby food. We'll start with avocados, then sweet potatoes, and so on. I'm excited to start making your baby food and feeding you new things! We'll see how you do. This time around we will not be starting with rice cereal. I've read a lot of research about it not being good for baby's digestive system, seeing as how babies lack a specific enzyme to break down starchy food. Babies get this enzyme by 8 months to a year. We'll reevaluate then! You'll be getting bottles of breastmilk at daycare and I will be nursing you full time on the weekends.

• 7 am - wake and nurse
• 9 am - bottle/nurse
• 10:30-12 pm - nap
• 12 pm - bottle/nurse
• 1-3 pm - nap
• 3 pm - bottle/nurse
• 5-6 pm - nap
• 6 pm - nurse
• 8:00ish - nurse to bedtime

Sleep - Oh little man, you're a bit of a stinker lately on the sleep. You started waking up at least once during the night a few days before I went back to work. No thank you. I can't complain too much because you started sleeping through the night at 7 weeks and you've been a good sleeper since. But it is hard to go back to waking up at night. You must have hit a growth spurt because you are hangry when you wake up at night. I nurse you and you go right back to sleep. Thankfully. You did throw a few "wake up 2-3 times" a night in there too. Ugh.

You are still taking a morning nap for about 1-2 hours and an afternoon nap for about 2-3 hours.

Hair - You have very little hair. It still looks brown to me.

Eyes - Your eyes are more and more brown, but there's still a little blue in there.

Teeth - None yet, but your gums are swelling, you're drooling, waking up at night, and gnawing on everything - especially your hands.

Wardrobe - 6 months 

Diapers - size 3

Likes - You like sleeping in your car seat, being swaddled, watching what everyone is doing, laughing at your brother, playing with daddy, mama wearing or holding you, bouncing in your jumper, and you're starting to like playing your mat a little more.

You don't like being by yourself or being hungry. You are not the biggest fan of food it turns out, so we'll see how that goes. Your face. Haha! The stank face you make every time you take a bite is pretty entertaining. You also give us "daddy's eyebrows" quite often!

Mama's Favorite - Now that I'm back at work, my favorite time of the day is when I nurse you to sleep. It's just you and me. It's quite and we get to cuddle for a good 15-20 minutes. You generally fall asleep on me, which I can't get enough of. I usually rock you while you sleep on me just so I can get some extra, much needed snuggles in. I love you, nugget.