Saturday, January 18, 2014

Drew: 6 months


 

Drew loves: his feet, naked time, sitting in his high chair, eating solids, when people snap near his face, sitting up and playing by himself, and us reading his Jesus Loves Me storybook to him at night (he gets so excited he jerks around while laughing and smiling and looking eagerly at Kyle and me the whole time).

Drew hates: when I move more than 3 centimeters away from him, and any activity within our home that involves me being more than 3 centimeters away from him - including taking a bath. This is sad for me because he used to love baths! Clearly he's going through a separation anxiety developmental leap. He can usually be coaxed into whatever activity I've set him up with, it just takes a little time (which thankfully I have a lot of right now!). Oddly, he has no issue with other adults, including me taking him to the Kids Club at the gym. I fear "stranger danger" is next, though.

Milestones: Drew had some big milestones this past month. He cut his first tooth (no fussing), started solids, started sitting up on his own, starting babbling ("baa baa baa baa baa"), and got increasingly good at using both hands to play with objects. He also moved to a 4-hour schedule, ditching his third nap and instead taking 2 two-hour naps during the day. Loving the 4-hour schedule, as there is more time in between naps to get out of the house.

Favorite moments: I love mealtime! A few years ago, my mealtimes were nothing to be enjoyed. Breakfast eaten in the car on the way to work, lunch eaten over my keyboard as I frantically plowed through e-mails to keep up with my work load, and dinner eaten in front of my laptop at home as I worked on my master's degree late into the night. Hardly something to look forward to. Now, I love mealtime. Kyle makes breakfast in the morning, and we eat together as a family. Kyle and I are working through a Heidelberg Catechism devotional over breakfast each morning. It's such a great way to start the day! Drew and I have lunch and dinner together; I have a snack for dinner so that Kyle and I can have a proper dinner together if our evening schedule allows for it. I love watching Drew's face as he tries new foods, and day-dreaming about what mealtime will look like in years to come. Other favorite moments include: stopping to look at little details with Drew (zippers, colors, leaves, textures, etc), when Drew looks right at me and starts babbling (what is he saying?!), and this new thing Drew does where he puts his hand up to my mouth when I'm talking. Maybe he's telling me to be quiet? Not sure, but he likes to just rest his hand over my mouth when I'm talking or singing to him and it's really sweet (even if he is just trying to tell me to hush up).

Starting solids: we started with rice cereal and went from there. I do 1T of rice or oatmeal cereal with each meal, and the rest of the meal is organic fruits of vegetables. I have been making my own baby food, and it's been really fun! I briefly toyed with doing the Baby Led Weaning approach, but decided I'm not brave enough to deal with the potential mess from that method. I really like the Wholesome Baby Food Blog, so I've been using that to determine what foods to introduce when. We've done a handful of fruits and vegetables so far, as well as rice and oatmeal cereal. He's loved everything. It's hard to figure out how much solids to offer him at each meal. I think I was offering too much at first, because he wasn't as interested in breastfeeding. I dropped the amount of solids down a little, and he's now breastfeeding happily again.

Tooth: His bottom front left tooth has broken through and is coming in. Not much else to report there, as he didn't really show signs of teething (and I'd like it to stay that way!).

Sitting up: He started sitting up on Christmas Eve, which made photos of him opening presents really cute! I still put a pillow around him on the ground as he does tip backwards from time to time. Oddly, he still doesn't roll over much. He'll roll from his front to his back, but has never rolled from his back to his front. I'm going to ask his pediatrician about it at his next check-up, but I'm not too worried because he can do so many other physical things (stand with assistance, sit up, push up on his arms when on his belly).

Ok, picture time! (I'm saving the Christmas pictures for a separate post)
Trying solids for the first time
Going to visit daddy at work for the Up Time Christmas potluck
(my friend Erin made Drew's cut hat!)
Kyle caught this tender moment between Papa Peter and Drew
Watching his first snow fall
Christmas Eve bath time. We ended up having
5 Christmases, not counting our own!
Drew looking fly, playing with dad! That bow tie!
(Thank you Holly for the cute outfit, all the way from New York)
Brunch with some high school friends and their littles
One Sunday after Drew had a blast in the church nursery.
After years of volunteering in the Kids Ministry, it's cool to finally
be using the Kids Ministry as a parent. Love our church!
Playing with a new toy from our friend Jill. Drew is really
into cause and effect (push a button and watch the toy light
up or play music)
Drew will my sweet friend Keri, who lives in California.
Keri and I Face Time about once a week, but she hadn't seen
Drew since he was just a few days old. Keri is expecting her own
little boy this spring, and I'm excited for Drew to have a
 little play pal - even if he lives two states away!
Drew helping me shop for yummies at Trader Joe's on New Year's Eve. 
Hangin' with Auntie Sissy on New Year's Eve. Brooke brought over
my Quiet Book (hand made by my grandma Pat) from when I
was little girl, and Drew loved it! I've already placed an order with my
Grandma for Drew to get his own Quiet Book, as I now know he will love it!
Throughout the year, I save all of the birthday/thank you/just because cards
we get in the mail, and then we read through them on New Year's Eve.
We reminiscence about the events the cards are related to,
and pray for the people who sent them to us. I think reading
people's holiday letters are my favorite. Great way to ring in the New Year!
Playing with mittens...
"Mom, what are mittens?"
He's getting really great at sitting up!
"I'm 6 months?" Time flies, pal...
Not sure what color his eyes will be yet, but hoping they stay this color!

Those tummy rolls!
Loves playing with his feet!


Look closely and you can see that tooth on the bottom!

Giving it grace: Things are really starting to settle into a routine around here. I'm almost afraid to say that out loud, because I know the "routine" will change soon enough...but for now, it's great! Drew is taking nice, long naps in the morning, which is giving me time to take care of e-mails, get dressed for the day, and spend time reading the Bible, journaling, or...napping. Right now, I'm working through a Bible study with my women's Bible study group. It's a Beth Moore study, and it's really, really good. The homework for this last week was to seek out scripture verses on specific topics, and make memory verse cards. I started compiling verses to make my cards, and came across a verse that really stood out to me. At first I thought I was reading it for the first time, but then I realized it was the same verse my sister had made into a little poster for me to hang in my room when I moved out of my parent's house. Funny how the verse didn't stick in my mind at that time, but stood out to me right now. The verse reads:
Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world. And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. To him be the dominion forever and ever. Amen. (1 Peter 5:8)
In the midst of settling into a routine, it's easy to become complacent and let my guard down. Maybe take a few more naps, and spend a little less time in prayer. I loved reading this reminder that the enemy is never complacent, and is just waiting for a guard that's down, a heart that's lazy. I loved the reminder that there is only ONE enemy, and it's not other people, my husband, or even myself. Satan is the one enemy: the chief abuser and the chief accuser. I love knowing that when - not if - trouble finds it's way into my marriage/my church family/my home/my heart that I am not alone. I also love knowing that the God of all grace will himself be the one who rescues. Not a book, or a method, not Kyle, not me; God may use those things or certain people to aid in his rescue, but He is ultimately the one who rescues. As someone who has lived their entire life thinking they are in control, and I must stay in control or I will certainly perish, scripture that affirms God's dominion forever and ever brings me sweet relief only the God of all grace can provide!

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