Theo is 6 Months Old!

Big Events 

• 8/30 - 5 Months old
• 9/3-5 - First time away from Mom and Dad (anniversary trip)
• 9/8 - Rolling back to belly (and all over)
• 9/8 - Started "solids"
• 9/17 - Trip to the ER with Lily
• 9/20-23 - Super baby while the rest of the family was sick
• 9/30 - Happy half birthday!

Size/Percentile: As of 8/3/16 

• Weight - 14lb 0oz (3%)
• Height - 25.75" (24%)
• Head - 17.05" (36%)

Daily Schedule: 
Between everyone being sick, the 6 month growth spurt and transitioning to 2 naps, there isn't a very consistent schedule right now. Typically he eats sometime between 3-5:30a and then wakes up for the day about 7. If it's a 2 nap day, they are from about 9-11 and 1:30-3:30. This means time with Daddy at lunch! Theo gets his puree during dinner with the family and then bath/bedtime starts between 6:30-7.

Things I Love:

• Rolling all over
• Playing with my spoon
• Kiki the elephant
• Riding in the stroller
• Playing with his toes
• Bath! Just hearing the water run calms him down.

This Month's Milestones:

• Rolling all over
• First overnight babysitter
• "Solid" foods
• First time cheering on the Cyclones at Hilton
• Tripod sitting 

Highlights of the Month:

• Still wearing 3m clothes and size 2 diapers. The 3m pants are starting to get too short though, and moved up to 6m pajamas for length. 
• Bottles are the best thing ever and he kicks and grabs for them as soon as they're in his line of sight. Still eating 26opd typically. 
• Purees are super fun. He eats about half a container (a little over an ounce) at dinner each night and then gets bored and just wants to play with the spoon. So far we've tried peas, sweet potato, carrots, peaches and squash. He has also had tastes of avocado, oatmeal, apple and banana for "real" food, but has a hard time since most gum-able foods are also slippery. 
• Our perfect sleeper isn't quite so perfect anymore, but still not anything we could complain about. Theo is still sleeping in our room in the pack n play and has been waking once in the (very) early morning to eat. This has gotten closer to back to normal the last couple days, so it may have just been a growth spurt. 
• On the other hand, the ability to roll back onto his stomach by himself has improved his falling asleep so much! He is often able to settle himself to sleep, but sometimes needs help to find his pacifer and some back pats to calm down. 
• Along with the nap transition has come a harder time falling asleep away from his bed, which has made church a challenge. His first nap perfectly overlaps both services and he can't/won't fall asleep for the nursery workers, just getting too worked up, so we are back to bouncing in the Ergo during service. 
• The front porch swing is a magical place when he can't decide which nap schedule he wants and therefore just doesn't nap. Hopefully the schedule is set before it gets too much colder ;)
• Theo slept in the Ergo through the vast majority of his first trip to Hilton. We watched the Cyclone volleyball team win over NDSU. 
• That same afternoon we met Jenny, Tyler, Ben and Madeline at Center Grove Orchard. It is essentially a family farm amusement park. We had a great time walking and watching Lily and the cousins enjoy the activities there. 
• The next weekend, Lily got sick at the farmer's market and was clearly in pain. Because the after hours clinic couldn't help with what we assumed was an ear infection, we were sent to the ER. Theo was so patient while we waited to find out that she had swallowed a penny AND had caught a stomach bug. Luckily the penny caused no lasting damage and Theo successfully avoided the virus that Lily shared with the rest of us. Thank God for Nana coming to watch the kiddos while Mike and I recovered!
• We are loving going on walks in the fall weather. Campus and Ada Hayden are our favorites, but campus wins because of Auntie Amanda!
• One of Mom's new favorite things is that when we pick him up chest to chest, Theo wraps his arms around your neck to hold on. It's like a self-preservation hug :)

"sitting"

Playing with Auntie while M&D were in MN

Too excited to sleep for Nana and Papa

Home for baby snuggles!!

First trip to Hilton - go Cyclones!

Mobility makes pumping a lot harder - can I have it now Mom?

September had both summer walks...

... and fall walks

6 months old!

5th Anniversary Trip: The Twin Cities

Over Labor Day weekend, Nana and Papa came to watch the kiddos and Mike and I got to take a late anniversary trip to the Twin Cities. For our 1st anniversary, we took an impromptu trip to Omaha and it has started a tradition of a weekend road trip, just the two of us, to a city with a zoo. So far we have gone to Omaha, St. Louis, Chicago, Kansas City, and now Minneapolis. We're still getting the hang of balancing activities with pure down time, but this has been our best go at it yet.

We left mid-morning on Saturday, stopped in Mason City for lunch and arrived in Minneapolis with about 45 minutes to spare before our first stop - a couple's massage. So nice to start the weekend relaxed. After that we checked into our hotel so I could pump and we could get ready to go to the Twins game that evening. They were playing the White Sox and both teams had home runs in the first inning! It was a REALLY long game, so we left early for dinner at The Local. Mike had "the best Reuben he had ever had" and helped me finish my giant plate of fish and chips - which he said made him regret his Reuben. Clearly one of the best food recommendations we've gotten - thanks Nic and Kassia!

Sunday we slept in, attempted to navigate the incredibly full hotel breakfast area (nearly joining a family reunion on accident) and played a couple rounds of Dominion. After a quick lunch, we headed to the Minnesota Zoo. The weather could not have been better, warm and overcast, with just enough chance of rain to scare away some of the young families. We had a great time walking at an adult pace and I only teared up at the baby snow monkeys once. After the zoo we headed to the Mall of America to eat at Bubba Gump Shrimp Shop, since neither of us had ever had it.

Making me miss my baby...

...and then not so much. Sometimes I'm thankful to EP!

One more 10 hour night's sleep and we were packing up to head home. After checking out, we went back to the MoA to just walk around (read: Pokemon Go) before driving home. We got home to a full fridge, completed stair railing, and lots of snuggles. It may have destroyed the kids' sleep schedules for about a week, but now that they're back on track, it was definitely worth it. Take care of your marriages friends - they'll still be there when the kids move out. Plus, then the kids get to bond with their grandparents!