I am Ready. I am Able.

7 Months and Unstoppable

11:33:00 AM

Troy is seven months old and crawling and eating and playing like he's been doing it since day one! Yesterday he even tried to climb up the stairs, which put my mama heart in a panic! He has the face of an baby, but the mindset of a toddler and wants what he wants when it comes to exploring. He has burned some bridges with Zane because he can now take what he wants, and here Zane was, thinking they had a good thing going when he all he could do was lay there.

Troy loves food and wants to eat real food as often as possible. He loves puffs and yogurt melts and any real food we will give him. He is still nursing but is getting to the phase where he would rather have real food than nurse unless it is bedtime.

Two bottom teeth popped up the other day and they look like he is going to have a nice set of teeth. At first, only the farthest corners of the teeth popped up and it looked like he was going to have the biggest gap. At least he would have the cheeks to pull it off until he could get braces later in life. He likes to gnaw on anything he can reach but his personal favorites are also conveniently Zane's favorite toys.

T likes to laugh at Zane when he gets in trouble and giggle whenever you touch his bare skin. He is definitely a mama's boy, but we are in that stage where he wants to be held, but he also wants to be a free man to explore, and so we play a constant game of "Put me down! No pick me up again!" all day when I am home. When I do come home, he smiles the biggest smile and starts crawling right towards me. When he wakes up from naps or from sleeping, he will find me and love on me with the biggest, sleepiest grin I ever did see.

He is a lover through and through and loves other children and babies. If other babies are crying, he will seek them out and watch them with the biggest look of concern on his face. He enjoys big kids too and just smiles at everyone he meets. We are really going to need to teach him stranger danger soon.

Troy wants to do everything everyone else is doing unless he finds a door stopper (the thing you tug on and it vibrates and pings). Door stoppers are his favorite and he has managed to pull off several of our door stops and we find them scattered through the house. We are entering the phase of some serious baby proofing.

Troy is a sweetheart and I finally have a child that likes me best, so I am totally going to milk that while I can! (Also, I forgot how hard it is to take pictures of a crawling, moving child who doesn't understand your directions! Gah!)

6 months of chunk-able Troy are right here for your viewing pleasure!

Kissable, Squishable Troy: 6 Months

11:15:00 AM

Troy at 6 months has mastered winning over hearts. He is so sweet to other kids and other kids just ADORE him! He wins all of the ladies affections in Relief Society, and I have people asking to hold him every week. He is the best little baby and I have totally drank the Troy koolaid.

Troy has started to get up on his knees and toes and try crawling, but he doesn't really get anywhere. He rocks back and forth and then tries to throw himself forward, resulting in minimal progress. He is so eager to crawl though! He has definitely realized that there is a pecking order when it comes to toys and he wants only the toys Zane does not want him to have. Zane is going to have a meltdown when Troy really does start to crawl.

Troy is sitting up with ease and going from laying down to sort of sitting up if he gets enough momentum with that giant belly and cheeks of his. The head definitely weighs him down a bit. He loves to sit in the high chair and eat finger foods and will track our food when we eat too close to him. We can't hardly hold him anymore when we are eating or else we spend the entire time trying to keep his hands held down and get food into our own mouths. Troy's favorite treats are fruit puffs and he has had a lick of soup and acted like we had just given him a pure shot of espresso.

When it comes to sleeping, Troy sleeps like a rock, after he has been nursed of course. He does wake up hungry in the night, but he will calm right down once he starts being fed. He is a great self soother if there is food involved. Aren't we all, though? I am still nursing Troy when I am home and we've successfully worked through the toughest phase of breastfeeding where they unlatch anytime they hear a new or interesting noise. This guy just likes food too much.

Troy has graduated into size 3 diapers and wears size 6-9 month clothes. He is a little shorter than Zane was so his legs get all tangled up but he doesn't seem to mind. He loves to roll naked but again, don't we all? Haha!

He is excitable and calm, happy and content, and steals the hearts of millions. What more could we ask for?

Take a peek at Troy's five month photos here!

Zane the Engineer: January

10:51:00 AM

Zane has been growing like a weed and has really taken to building with blocks and legos and anything that he can. His biggest interest in building is carefully placing pieces together to build houses. His houses are completely unlivable, but we admire his resolve that houses, in fact, do not have to have walls.

Because Troy has started eating baby food, Zane wants to wear bibs now. It is the weirdest thing and we are thinking that he will grow out of it. When he eats now, he is hyper aware of how messy he is getting and once he reaches the deemed appropriate amount of messy, a bib must be put on. He also asks for a "nakin" (napkin) to wipe down his face and hands after almost every bite. Let's hope the manners continue, but toned down a notch or seven. We live right in the happy medium of not being a slob, but also eating almost entirely with our fingers.

Zman has also reached a level of independence where everything must be done "by me, not mommy". He wants to do everything and it takes so painstakingly long! I'm glad he is exploring and growing, but if I have to sit through another session of a bucket of legos being picked up piece by piece, I might hurt somebody.

Bathtime is one of Zane's favorite times and he adores being able to take baths with Troy. For his entire life, Zane has HATED getting his hair washed. He acts like I am fulfilling my threat in the previous paragraph. He screams and cries whenever we pour water on his hair, even if it doesn't get into his eyes. However, I am glad to report that this month, after watching Troy get water poured over his hair and not making a single fuss, Zane has mostly gotten over his fears. We also have bathtubs where he can make a little course for the water to run through. He is actually getting the hang of it very easily and even coming up with more creative courses than I do.

The boy has loved movies for a little while, but he is now starting to get engrossed in movies and recognize the sad parts or the scary parts and show empathy during the movies. I love watching his face while he watches movies because the eyebrows are going wild, let me tell you. He's also started asking for us to change the show if there are scary parts. It is crazy how we will be talking about something completely different and he will liken it to a show or movie he recently watched.

My Z boy still loves dance parties and singing, and trips to the DI. He still loves Mitch more, but I've got the LEGO obsession down pat, so while I may not be the favorite, Zman loves playing with me and I just relish in that!

Click here to see Zane's pictures for December!