Happy HALF b-day to Drake

I have to warn whomever may read this that I'm feeling a little sappy today, so if you aren't in the mood, please don't read.

Well, today Drake is 6 months old. I knew the time would fly by, but NEVER did I think it would be this fast! I have to thank my absolutely amazing, wonderful, gracious, hardworking, loving, inspiring and BEST DAD IN THE ENTIRE WORLD....my husband. Because of him, I get to spend every precious moment with the most perfect boy in the world. God has blessed me beyond words and I'm so grateful that He chose me to marry my best friend, and stunningly good-looking man, and be able to stay home with my son. We've built so many memories that I will cherish forever. I know when we have more kids I won't be able to devote as much time as I've been able to do with Drake, so I've been soaking it all up. There are times my house is a wreck or there is laundry busting down the doors, but all I want to do is hold Drake while he takes a nap....and I do! I feel like he is my best friend because we spend ALL of our time together. I'm SO in love with this stage of life he is in right now. I wish I could bottle it up and save it forever. I love how he looks at me and smiles when I get him from his crib, when I say, "say momma" or when I make funny faces and noises. Drake jabbers and jabbers....he's getting very close to saying "dada" but right now it's just "blah blah" and I'm ok with that because he needs to say momma first! He's very ticklish too. He laughs so hard when I tickle him and squirms to try to get away....it's so funny.  I KNOW he already has the BEST personality and he's soo happy. He literally smiles all the time. These past two months have been so special and I've loved every minute.

Today, we started our day at the doctors office for his 6 month check up. Dr. Pope said he could start eating breakfast, lunch and dinner. He said he could even have water and juice from a sippy cup. WHAT!? He's getting soo old! His head is 16 inches (7th percentile) he weighs 14lbs 12oz (8th percentile) and he's 26 and 1/4 inches long (45th percentile). I feel like he is absolutely normal and big, but I guess he's smaller than most babies his age? But, the doctor never acts like I should be worried, so I'm not....he's perfect to me! He had to have his last rounds of vaccinations and he took them like a PRO! He cried for 3 seconds and was done. Dr. Pope was very impressed with how well Drake was sitting up and said he was doing MUCH better than others his age. I was so proud! Drake is now in 3's for diapers and I guess we're going to have to go by some sippy cups so he can have some water! He also told me that we need to baby proof our house, like now! AHHH That mean's we have to get everything because our house isn't crawler/walker friendly at all. I guess Target will be seeing a lot of me in the next few weeks.

It's obviously raining again today, because it does EVERY day....so we haven't done too much, but I did take some pictures :). HAPPY HALF BIRTHDAY, DRAKE! I LOVE YOU!

Waiting to see the doctor...he loves being naked.

Kisses!

Still waiting.....

Almost shot time

My poor baby....tired and hungry after getting stabbed with the needle. 

Staying Busy

This week I have a lot to work on. Jamie's grandmother is wanting to write a book of the memories she's made through her lifetime. I think it's an AWESOME idea and Jamie and I agreed to help her get all of her thoughts and what she has written down in a readable format. So, my job this week is to compile everything that's on files and everything on paper and get it all typed up so we can read though it and edit the document. She was born in 1927 and I love reading what she has to say and thinking about how much life she has lived! 

I'm just starting, and I already have to take tons of breaks to feed Drake, play with him and put him down for naps. So,  I feel like the only time I get in a good rhythm is when he's napping.

I can keep an eye on Drake while I write.

Drake has been starting to get up on his hands and knees this past week and rock back and forth. He moves his knees up like he's trying to crawl, but he doesn't understand that he has to move his arm at the same time and he just falls over. I feel like he is going to be crawling VERY soon. He's always in the ready-to-crawl position when I get him from his crib or if I walk back in the room.In my steamer/blender I made squash and zucchini for the week. I gave Drake squash and avocado last night and he ate every bit of both! He is getting the hang of opening his mouth and actually getting the food in his mouth. I love trying new foods because his faces are so funny. He looks at me like, "Are you sure this is ok to eat?!"

It's been raining so much in Houston. Like we have a flash flood warning about everyday, it's so ridiculous. Saturday we were trying to get out of the house. I feel like I've been cooped up because the only time Drake and I get out is to go to the gym, so we decided to go somewhere indoors (because it was STILL RAINING) and the Galleria was the only logical choice. BAD DECISION. First of all, this mall is MASSIVE. I don't even think we saw 1/4 of the mall. I forgot my cell phone at the house and got separated from Jamie and Drake and had a mini panic attack because there were thousands of people there and there was no way I was going to find them. But, I finally spotted them and felt the blood start flowing through my body again after feeling panicky and numb. AND I didn't even buy anything! Needless to say, I don't think we'll be making that hour and a half trip again. I also have a new found love for my home and living in the BURBS. We rented some movies and Jamie made dinner. What a fabulous night in! 

Shrimp fried rice!

Obviously Jamie picked the movies. Act of Valor was really good.

I've been going to an all women's gym, which I LOVE because you never have to worry about not being able to use certain weights, the locker room is more like a spa, the day care is GREAT and we have classes pretty much all day everyday. So, I've been going to classes for about a month now and I have so much fun. The first time I went to Zumba I could not help but laugh the entire time because I'm disturbingly uncoordinated. I'm sure everyone in there was probably laughing at me too. However, I really think my moves have improved and it's one of my favorite classes. 

So, I'll be writing and gyming it up this week! 

Tomorrow Drake will be 6 months! I'll be posting pictures!!

Past 3 months

I cannot believe I haven't updated my blog since MARCH! So much has happened since my little man was 2 months! I'm not going to put everything about our entire last 3 months, but I will try to highlight so I can remember what happened.
We've been traveling quite a lot these past few months. We went to Wichita Falls for my sister-in-laws shower (April 14). I'll remember that date because it's the first time Drake rolled from his back to his stomach, and now he never stops! I worried so much about him sleeping on his stomach because ALL I'd heard since the day I found out I was pregnant was that babies HAVE to sleep on their back. WELL, once Drake discovered to roll he would immediately roll to his tummy when I put him down. I finally gave up the battle of forcing him to sleep on his back and he sleeps through the ENTIRE night now! He started sleeping through the night right after he turned 4 months. However, I still wake up through the night to check on him, but he sleeps GREAT.

Another huge change we went through these past months was nursing. Since I never produced enough for him (and trust me, I tried EVERYTHING....taking medicine, pumping whenever he wasn't eating and feeding him every hour and a half to two hours) I decided I would try to give him 3 oz of my milk and 3 oz of formula since he was going through a growth spirt and needed 6 oz and I ever could naver make more than 3...from both sides! I started this about 4 and a half months because I was going crazy, he would kick me the entire time and I couldn't go anywhere because I was either feeding him or pumping. I finally got over myself and decided we would both be better if he just had formula. I still did a morning feeding because it was so hard for me to "give up" but once I finally did it was more of "moving on" than "giving up."

Drake's first formula bottle

Drake is getting so much better at grabbing things and doing things himself. He's becoming very self-sufficient and wants to hold his own bottle while he eats. He can grab his pacifier and put it in his mouth and some of the time it's the right way. He LOVES to grab my hair. I think the thing I say to him the most (besides I love you) is "let go of momma's hair please."

Drake and Donald Duck

He started cutting his first tooth right after 5 months. He has been chewing and slobbering like crazy! Right when he started getting his first bottom tooth the second bottom tooth broke through. So, both front bottom teeth are coming in at the same time. They're about halfway up now. I give him Hyland's teething tablets and teething gel along with baby pain reliever. A lady at Target saw me struggling with what to use because there are a MILLION things out there and told me she took a class on baby products and anything Hyland is the best to use because it's all natural. I was so thankful for her and her knowledge because I was LOST!
I've also started Drake on baby food. We tried rice cereal about 4 and a half months and he was not having it. We stopped for about a week and a half and tried again and he would gag and make funny faces like he just hate the worst thing ever. So, I decided to pull out my baby brezza and make him some food. My mom got me the food maker and I LOVE it! I make sweet potatoes and green beans and freeze them in ice trays and feed him one cube every night. He definitely likes the sweet potatoes better than the green beans, but I think it might be because I put cinnamon in the potatoes. He also eats bananas and greek yogurt. I'm ready for him to start trying other things!

Eating Sweet Potatoes

Finally, we just got back from our first family vacation! Jamie loves the beach and growing up their family went every year, so we wanted to start our own family tradition....and we DID! We went to Orange beach, which is in Alabama. It's between Gulf Shores and Florida. It's BEAUTIFUL. It has white beaches and clear waters. We stayed in a condo right off the beach which was perfect because Drake still takes three naps a day so we could go up as much as we needed. I was a little worried about Drake and sand since he puts everything in his mouth, but he stayed in the shade and on the huge blanket without ever getting a mouthful of sand. He love love loved the water. He would splash his hands on the top of the water and got really excited when a wave would come our way. Needless to say, it was a HUGE success (even the trip there and back) and we can't wait for next year!! Ok, here are some pictures I've taken over the last few months and I will be better about writing about all of our activities!

At the Zoo

Swimming in Dallas

Helping momma with the laundry

Our view from the condo

Headed down to the beach

Drake sleeping on the beach and Jamie reading his sports magazine

Eating at Mellow Mushroom. GREAT PIZZA

Me and my love on the beach...I think Jamie used all the sunscreen on his face so I got burned.

Headed home!