6 Months

Half a year...WOW! My little man is not so little anymore. I must say that it seems like he grew mentally and physically overnight....big difference from 5 months. He is such a social butterfly making everyone around him laugh. As I mentioned in my previous post, life is absolutely wonderful!! I'm loving every second and finally feeling real good mentally. The help I got along with the medication has really turned my life around. I am enjoying everything to the fullest.

Keaton has been eating solids now for 2 months. I started with rice cereal, barley cereal and oatmeal for a couple weeks before digging into the veggies. Once I felt he was ready I started with butternut squash, followed by sweet potatoes, green beans, carrots, mashed potatoes and tomorrow he will start peas. He seemed to really like everything so far however I got some disgusted looks with green beans. He has no problems eating from a spoon and knows just what to do when you put a spoonful of food by his mouth. Next week we will start fruits and introduce a little fruit juices. I am making all of Keaton's food and having fun with my new toy (I will post about this in a couple days). He is drinking water from a sippy cup now with little assistance. He gets the concept but struggles a little tilting it high enough to get it to come out. We also increased his ounces of formula...he know gets (4) 8oz bottles a day.

Keaton can now do the following:

- Sit up with little assistance (likes to thrust himself back though)

- Working on an army crawl...so funny to see

- Can eat a cracker (Mum-Mum crackers)

- Reaches for objects and picks them up

- Looks for dropped toys

- Chats up a storm forming vowel-consonant combinations

- Pass objects from one hand to another

- Understand the concept of cause-and-effect (this one is amazing to me...I LOVE to watch him manipulate the toys on his exersauser like spinning the ball with his hands, etc.)

- Turns when you call his name

His 6-month checkup will be next week so I will update with his height and weight then.

"So, what's up with you lately?"

So, I'm in the middle of making dinner the other night and my husband says, "so, what's up with you lately?" I ask, "what do you mean?" He was shocked to see me cooking dinner. Haha! Those that know me well know that I do not like to cook...at all! Give me a hard cake or cookie recipe and I'm in heaven....I LOVE to bake! For some reason, over the past couple weeks, I've turned into Susie Homemaker. Let's go over the past couple weeks to find out why...

I started "nap training" with Keaton a couple days after Christmas because I was determined to get him napping in the crib instead of my arms. I was absolutely SHOCKED when he caught on like right away! It took about 2-3 days for him to completely catch on but, WOW....what a wonderful late Christmas gift! He is taking 3 naps a day right now. One from 9am to 10-10:30am, one from 12:30pm to about 2pm and a shorter one from 4pm-5pm. I didn't know what to do with myself with all the spare time....LOL. It freed me up to get things done around the house, do some work (I'm working part-time for my parents at home), do lia sophia stuff or just relax and watch some tv....it's WONDERFUL!!!!

As a result of Keaton getting better naps in the crib, he has been such a pleasant and happy boy. He rarely cries anymore and his personality is coming out more and more. He smiles constantly and daddy gets him to laugh a lot.

I guess I just became overly happy in the past couple weeks...actually this is the happiest I have ever been in my life!! It's been a long time with my struggles with depression and such that I finally feel human! It's so hard to describe the feeling but I'm so incredibly happy with my life and being a mother to my wonderful son. All those tough times new parents face in the beginning are a distant memory.

I've become so organized too (more so than normal...lol). I'm planning out our meals for 2 weeks at a time and only buying what I need for them at the grocery store. When Keaton goes down for his 4pm nap, I get started with dinner for the evening. It's amazing how nice it is to know what you are having ahead of time instead of searching through the pantry deciding on what to make. This also gives me a chance to try new recipes.

I'm also extremely motivated with my lia sophia business. I am determined to win the big trip to Puerto Rico this year for my efforts. I guess I have been so motivational to my manager and others in our group that I've been asked to give a speech at our big lia sophia rally at the end of the month!! WHOA! I'm nervous but so so excited to do this. I've already planned my speech and I'm ready to go. : )

So, yes...I've turned into a little domesticated wife/mother and it's the best job ever! I couldn't end this post without some cute pics of my little man.

My Big Boy

We introduced the sippy cup a few days ago and Keaton figured it out right away. His face was priceless when he sucked and the water came out. He is such a big boy...growing right before my eyes.

Happy New Year!!

Keaton says Happy New Year to everyone!!

Keaton's First Christmas

Keaton's first Christmas came and went like a flash. All this time preparing and it's over so fast! Keaton had a great first Christmas and added such enjoyment to the traditional festivities with our families. Christmas Eve church service...not so great. We got all dressed up, drove to church, sat down and 2 minutes later Keaton was SCREAMING! I immediately took him out and tried to calm him down....yeah, that was not happening. We figured out that it was when the congregation clapped after a performance that scared the crap out of him that he started screaming. Needless to say we only lasted a couple minutes and had to go home. My poor boy was so scared and would not stop screaming, the tears were rolling.

Christmas day, however, went very well. He napped well and enjoyed the whole day. Between my parents, my brother, and my grandma...he will be well dressed for the year and entertained for hours. I can't believe it is all over but I'm very excited for the new year and to watch my little boy grow. : )

Bath Time Fun!

Keaton absolutely loves getting a bath. We use this little squirt bottle that I got from the hospital to spray on him and he thinks it is hilarious. I can get him laughing hysterically, it is so cute! His feet are kicking constantly because he loves to splash....I can't wait until he can sit up and play with toys in the tub.

Watch out dads...