Halden at 7 Months!

When people say time flies…they mean it! I can’t believe he is already this big and I feel like I say that every single day! But this kid, my goodness, growing like a weed! However his teeth are not. They are tough little buggers to get in. You can tell the days they are bothering him, not just by his crankiness, but by the massive amounts of drool coming out of his mouth. Luckily he usually doesn’t get a ring of drool around his clothes, I attribute that to his amazing ability to lean over and drool. Because he is basically sitting like a pro! He’ll still tip over every now and then, but I think it’s because he’s trying to get mobile and doesn’t quite know how to get from sitting, down to his belly.

As far as food goes, nothing has changed. He still pounds down anything and everything! He still loves his puffs and tries little pieces of most everything we have for dinner. It’s really made me realize how much dairy we eat. Haha He did have his first little taste of ice cream at Dickeys and he was a fan to say the least. We only gave him a bite but he kept wanting to go back for more. Anytime we are eating and he isn’t, he is sure to let us know by letting out a little “eh eh eh eh eh” over and over again until something is in his mouth. Even if he already ate and is stuffed, he thinks he needs it. I think his absolute favorite thing though, are the little purees with the squeeze top. He downs them so fast, especially if he’s hungry, they’ll be gone before we’re down with prayer. He also started drinking trying to drink out of a sippy. He is having a hard time understanding that he has to tip it. So he usually takes it laying down. But then he ends up basically drowning. Haha He’ll get it soon though, I’m sure. I have faith in him.

I have to start being very particular about where I sit him, because if a cord is within arm’s reach, it is in his mouth in half a second! This kid is seriously fast. One day I went into the bathroom to throw something away and as we were walking out his hands swung out and knocked EVERYTHING over and he just about picked up half of it. Speaking of picking up….those hands!!! I have no doubt that he will be palming a ball when he is very young. For a while now (a few months) he’s been able to hold things in one hand and pass them between the two. And now, he can pick up very large things and palm them without even thinking about it.

Speaking??? Yes, he is doing it….kind of. Haha His favorite thing to say is, “dadadadada” so we just claim he’s talking to Tyler saying “dada”. Gurgling is also his thing. And in his eyes, tubby time=A+++++++. He is a splashing fool and loves to just play around. The bad thing is he has found out how to maneuver his food out of the slot and push against the center pole and launch himself into the water in about .2 seconds, so watching him (and usually keeping a hand on him) constantly is essential! Our love for this little guy…oh man. Words cannot do justice!

Also, his first Aggie Basketball game happened. He was a huuuuge fan. Between the band, the kids in front of us, people running around on the court, the mini Aggie dancers and the Scotsman, he was in heaven.  

A trip to Hu Hot in Jammies

 

 

Tyler had an open house at work so we went and saw all

the tractors. Halden loved it!! And the pancakes they served. But was

soooo tired after!

Still lovin on that balloon

Discovering the mirror on his exersaucer

 

He and Bolden are not quite too sure what to

think of each other...

Say cheese!

Addie wanted me to take a picture with her...

Blackberries, rice and corn are always a favorite...tortillas not so much

Yay for liking tubby time!!

 

Christmas 2015

I'm just going to start off by saying that Christmas with a kid is sooo much fun!! My only regret is that I don't have as many pictures as I would have liked :( But that's mostly because our Christmas was CRAZY this year!

So it all started 2 days before Christmas when my Grandma Jensen passed away, to say I miss her terribly already is a massive understatement. Unfortunately her time leading up to her passing was not pleasant and cancer and chemo took all of energy and sass away, so I am so glad that she is relieved from this mortal existence and she is whole again. And with her mommy for Christmas. For that I am so happy for her. But the rest of miss her a whole ton. So that night was our scheduled family party, but because of that my family ended up getting together with my aunts family that night. We just chatted, played some poker and ate a lot of good food.

Wednesday (Christmas Eve) Tyler had to work a half day, but then we headed out to his parents for Christmas! It was so fun being with all his family and all of Halden's cousins. We even got to Skype with Dawna, Ryan & Reese out in PA!

I think my favorite tradition with Tyler's family is the re-stocking of our 72 hr kits! It's nice that I never have to worry about the things expiring, we do it every Christmas so it's always rotating. Tyler and I also try to add one little thing to our emergency kit. This year we printed off some tips and got me a mess kit (YIKES! it took us long enough on that one ;))

 That night we did our sibling gift exchange, we got a chromecast from Jer and Kristi, it was total surprise and we loved it!! We had been thinking about getting one, but it never crossed our minds to ask for one for Christmas! We bought for Jacki's family so we made a board book with pictures from their past year. And they bought for Jer's, and they got the game telestrations...more on that later! We finished the night with a traditional game of BINGO. Tyler and I together won 2 blankets, an IFA calendar, coupons to pizza pie cafe, a gift card to panda and one to cold stone. I would say we did alright! Then Halden opened up his Christmas Eve jammies and off to bed we went. After the babes were asleep we went to the unfinished upstairs and played ping pong and pool until like 2 in the morning, then we set up all of our Christmas!! I was so excited. But I was so excited that I sooo did not sleep. Luckily Halden and Tyler both did alright. Danny cooked breakfast for us while we opened presents. Halden got a bath seat and some bath toys, a sit to stand walker, clothes, a beanie and some mittens, a couple books and some treats.

After opening presents we hurried down to Lehi to talk to Trevor and Tanner. Tanner doesn't like Skyping, but we were able to talk to him on the phone for a little while and it sounds like he is doing soo great! Trevor was a couple hours late Skyping, but alas he came on and it was so good to see his face! I miss them both lots, but it's been a while since we saw Trevor, I can't wait for him to get home-just about 6 more months. We also had our Christmas dinner there and opened up some presents. My mom got Tyler a dress shirt and a casual shirt, me a diaper bag backpack that I adore, and Halden got some new clothes and a quiet book. For sibling exchange, I bought Charli a knit headband and some slipper socks, Haden bought me a candle, Tyler got a machetti from Andrew and he got him an external battery charger. We bought my mom all new dishes!! She's had hers for as long as I can remember, and I was so excited for this gift! Then we got my dad gift cards for dinner, a movie and bowling.

By then the weather was getting bad so we rushed back to Fielding to end our Christmas day. The next morning we were oh so lazy and lounged around in our jammies until around noon. Then the guys went shooting and us girls played a few games of cards then decided to crack open Telestrations. We ended up playing that the rest of the night! Matt and Jacki ended up coming back over and we were able to play with them as well!

That night we finally came back home to Logan to sleep for 7 hours, then we got up and ready to drive out to Malad for my grandmas funeral. It was a beautiful service, it's always so fun to hear about her younger days and what an amazing lady she truly was, then we drove back to Logan for her burial. Then they had a dinner in Young Ward where she used to live. I lived there once upon a time when I was really little. That's the town that I had my first dance lessons in, and my teacher, Melody, has not changed one bit. I was 3 when we moved, but I definitely still recognized her! It was fun to see her again and to be re-introduced to so many people that knew me as a baby.

That night was also the Buck family Christmas party, so then we went over to my Grandma Bucks to catch the tail end of the party. We ate dessert and played cards as always. I love it. My sister decided to bless her baby the next day because they moved to California the next week. Soooo we hopped back into the car and drove down to Lehi for a night, went to sweet baby Zander's baby blessing, had some yummy sandwiches, played hand & foot (I lost terribly) and drove back home because the weather was bad again.

SO to sum up in one week we had 3 family parties, 2 missionary chatting sessions, a funeral & a baby blessing AND Christmas. Which means to Centerville and back in 1 night, Lehi and back twice, 1 trip to Malad, and one out to Young Ward. Totaling at about 14 hours in the car. It was busy and hectic...but oh so fun!!! Happy Holidays :)

A sight for sore eyes. I love my home and I love my bed!!

Halden in 6 months old!!

So I totally slacked on the 5 month post so I'll mention a couple things that happened when he was 5 months. So, pictures first!

On a fussy day and nothing could calm him. I finally wrapped him up and he was gone in seconds!

All ready for church! Definitely my favorite church outfit, all the old ladies gush.

He found the Halloween bowl.

On one of those not so good days.

Lunch date with Aunt Manda! Lovin that celery stick.

His favorite toy?? Waterbottles and the xbox remote.

Sitting up like a big kid!

-Tummy time is still awful. Just tears, frustration and flailing.
-He is so good at reaching for toys though! Whether they be above his head or to the side of him, he can reach out and pick them up.
-He's starting to sit!...a little bit. It's only for like 2 seconds before he tips to a side, but he's definitely getting there.
-He still reaches for any food or drink in sight. Like literally dives for it, and sometimes he still catches me off guard. He's smart  about it too. He knows where to go for a drink with a straw, or cap or open glass. But we are still trying to kind of limit the food he eats. Obviously no dairy, but he's had bananas, apples, avocados, rolls, celery and pumpkin! And he loves them all, mostly I think because he feels like he's one of us. haha Tyler may have also given him, on Halloween, a kit-kat to suck on. hmmmm, we just won't talk about that.
-He eats rice and oatmeal cereals like nobodies business. If you hold the spoon in front of him he'll dive for it with mouth wide open.
-Nothing has changed in the binkie department, still a huge fan! One night I didn't have one by me after I was done feeding him and he had fallen asleep for the night and I thought maybe he was out of it enough I could just put him down. But 5 seconds after he unlatched he had his little pucker going on trying to find a binkie! His eyes were closed the whole time, but he air suckled until I put one in!
-He loves talking, mostly to me though. If I lay him on the floor with a toy he'll start talking (and loudly!) for quite some time.
-We started giving him baths and he thinks those are pretty alright.
-Nights aren't as good as they were, but he usually only wakes up once a night if he does



Alright! Now for the 6 month update!! haha

4 generations

Meeting Santa

Crazy hair after a bath! I could NOT get it to lay flat.

His 2 favorite buddies.

Taking a nap with cousin Xander, grandpa and the kitty cat.

Dad's least favorite onsie, Eve's favorite.

All ready for his 6 month appt

Giving himself smooches.

Playing not so nicely with cousin Bolden...

-He rolled over for the first time on Thanksgiving!!! Tummy time still sucks, but now he'll roll over every now and then. But only if I'm not initiating it. If we're intentionally doing tummy time and practicing rolling, it soooo does not happen. He definitely only does it on his own accord and as a last resort, he'll scooch and turn and twist his body until he can grab the toy over simply rolling over any day.
-And dude, this kid LOVES to eat. Even if he doesn't like the taste, he'll still go in for another bite. Like he thinks he's starving or something. (Trust me--he's not!) We've started buying the little cereal puffs and baby food and he downs it! He is also a HUGE fan of pizza crusts. Mostly I think, because he can hold onto it while he munches on it. But we do have to watch him like a hawk because the second it breaks off we have to fish it out of his mouth because he can't quite chomp it yet... because
-He doesn't have any teeth! He still teethes and drools like crazy. Those teeth keep coming up and pushing, but then they go back down. Poor kid.
-Sleeping is soooo not going well. I don't know if it's because of the cold he has, teething, or what, but he only sleeps well when he's in bed with us. So, that's got to change because I get grouchy when I don't get sleep! haha Last night he finally slept through the night again, in his own crib. It was awesome. Here's to hoping tonight we luck out again.
-Napping is only going okay. And it's a total hit and miss. Some days he naps really well and right on schedule, other days he's a little fuss bucket and won't sleep unless we are in the car...but he always sleeps in the car :)
-His exersaucer is definitely his favorite. One day after being cooped up in his car seat while he went shopping with me, all day long, we got home and all he wanted was that. I put him in and he was going 100 miles an hour! He bounced between all the toys and was spinning around like a pro. He usually does all of that...just at a much slower pace! haha He usually just chills in the seat until he's ready to attack, then he'll stand up and  "eat" it and knaw at it for a while, and then sit back down.
-We've gone back to mostly showers just out of convenience, but he does still love a good bath as long as he has the cup we pour water on him with, or the wash cloth.
-He sits up really well by himself now. He can usually go a few minutes before he starts to lean to a side
-He is still smiles almost all the time, and even when he's grumpy and fussy you can still get a smile out of him. He loves to giggle too. Superman is his jam. And he has started initiating interactions with other kids too. He is just the cutest. Seriously.
-Ohhhh and he met Santa and played baby Jesus at our ward party :) He just chilled in his manger like it was no big deal being naked in a room full of people with mom and dad behind him all dressed up. He just smiled at the wise-men, shepherds, and children when they came near him. Nailed it.