6 month check-up

Michael had his 6 month check-up today. It went really well, except the little stinker decided to grab the needle before he got his shots. He pricked his finger good and it started to bleed. That didn't make him too happy. But, he calmed down after he got his shots and mommy held him. Jason and I both went to the appointment and we got to ask all the random questions we have about this stage....about sleeping, eating, teething, etc. One thing the pediatrician recommended was to feed him two meals a day of solid food. We had just been giving him solid food once a day. But, apparently our growing boy needs more, which may help him sleep more too...woo hoo. Anyway, here are his stats:

6 months:
length: 28 inches (93rd percentile)
weight: 18 lbs. 8.5 ounces (70th percentile)
head: 17.5 inches (70th percentile)

4 months:
length: 26 inches (88th percentile)
weight: 15 pounds 3.5 ounces (50th percentile)
head: 17 1/8 inches (75th percentile)

2 months:
length: 23 3/4 inches (80th percentile)
weight: 12 pounds 7.5 ounces (65th percentile)
head: 16 1/4" (75th percentile)

1 month:
length: 23 inches (90th percentile)
weight: 10 pounds 5.5 ounces (75th percentile)
head: 15.5" (75th percentile)

Birth:
length: 21.5 inches
weight: 8 pounds 15 ounces
head: 15 cm

6 months old

Michael turned six months old yesterday! It is hard to believe as the time has passed so quickly. I took him to get his 6 months pictures done yesterday and they turned out really well. Especially since he got his first tooth this weekend and hasn't been his usual happy self all the time. Yesterday was probably the hardest day for him. He had circles under his eyes and just wanted to be held. But, he gave a few of his signature faces for the photo shoot. I decided to show you just how much he has changed (and to look for myself too) by showing pictures of him from the last 6 months. The last two pictures are from yesterday. They are copyrighted so there is a watermark on them...fyi!

Welcome, Michael!!!!!

Michael's birthday!

4 weeks old!

8 weeks old!

3 months!

4 months!

5 months!

6 months!!!!

6 months!!!!!!!!

In all the pictures, the one thing that is the same is his big, gorgeous eyes!!! Sooo cute! Jason and I are so blessed to have such a sweet, happy baby. Even with him teething he still manages to smile and laugh. In fact, we took a video of him laughing last night before bed. We'll post that later.

First solid food....

Michael tried rice cereal for the first time last Sunday. He was a bit tired as you can see here. He still enjoyed the new food. This past weekend, we gave him bananas and he loved eating them! I have been making him baby food and freezing it for him. Yesterday, I made apples and carrots while Jason and Michael went walking. Michael tried the carrots today and made some funny faces at first (sorry, no picture of that). But, I mixed it with cereal and he ate the rest.

Cuteness.....

Meet my new BFF

Michael and Josiah (JJ)

JJ crawls, Michael tries to crawl

Having a conversation with Daddy/Jason

Josiah is Jason's BFF's son (understand?). I know guys don't have "BFFs", because it's not manly or something. But, in my eyes these guys are all BFFs. Oh man....I just realized I should have taken a picture of the daddies and the babies. Next weekend we'll see them again and I'll try to remember. Jon and Kat (JJ's parents) live in MD and went to Messiah with Jason. They came up unexpectedly this week for a family funeral and stayed with us. Michael and I had the best time playing with Josiah while Jon and Kat were gone one day. The funny thing is that Michael and Josiah are soooo stinkin' similar it's hilarious since Jason and Jon are very similar too. More pics to come next week of the crew......

Mini Golf

In the cove!

1st Hole - Michael is intently watching!

I lost, but only by 3 points :-)

An evening at the Boardwalk

Family Picture

LOVING the boardwalk

You guys are sooo funny!

Looking at the Ocean

I love this guy!

Michael loves being upside down..seriously!

Smiling at my daddy!

It was awesome seeing how much Michael loved being on vacation at the beach. Both Jason and I grew up going to the beach often each year and we wanted to continue that with our family. Watching Michael smile and just have an overall great time just confirmed for us that his name, Michael Rory, suits him perfectly. My dad loved nothing more then to go to the beach for vacation and Jason's dad lives close to the beach and continues to surf every summer.

Michael LOVES the beach!!!!

Vacation ROCKS

Daddy torturing Michael

Michael was NOT pleased!

Playing in the Beach tent

Getting my grub on!

Chillaxin' - That's what you do at the beach!

Crawling lesson by Grandpa

Michael received a crawling lesson from Grandpa last week. We stopped in to see the grandparents while we were on vacation. Unfortunately, the crawling lesson put Grandpa's back over the edge and he now has a pinched nerve :-(. But, Michael was grateful for the help! Grandpa is eager for Michael to crawl, walk, and quickly learn to surf. We're working on it...maybe by next summer :-).

Ready for bed

Vacation

The van Brackel family is back from vacation, more physically rather than mentally. I know both Jason and I are dragging a bit. Vacation was relaxing, but coming home was exhausting. Michael's teething seems to be getting tougher....for all of us. He is fighting sleep and keeps waking up with circles under his eyes...poor guy. Playing is not something he wants to do for too long as he would love to just veg. So, Michael and Mommy's routine the past few mornings has been to cuddle on the couch together watching the latest on the Olympics. He is still his usual sweet self, smiling at us and making us laugh with his constant blowing raspberries. One of these days I am going to video tape him doing this because it is absolutely hilarious. Our car ride home from vacation was 4 hours long rather then the usual 2.5-3 hours (due to Bay Bridge accident in MD..yes, it caused problems for us). Most of the ride home Michael blew raspberries and the faces that accompanied this activity were priceless. At least Jason and I were entertained during our ride home.

Naked Photo Shoot

Michael woke up from his nap on Saturday a VERY HAPPY baby! He didn't seem to be as uncomfortable as when he went to sleep. I went to change his diaper and he went crazy when it was taken off. So, I decided I didn't care what mess might happen while he was naked and we grabbed the camera. Michael was having so much fun being naked, you would think this was a posed and planned photo shoot. But, it wasn't. He was just having the time of his life and Jason and I couldn't help but smile (and take more pictures).

Mommy is packing and the boys are....

...Programming! I was doing laundry on Saturday

while Jason and Michael did some work. Michael was fussy from his teething discomfort, so Jason strapped him on in the Jeep Carrier and set off to do some work. Jason is laughing in this picture because Michael was so excited he kept kicking the keyboard tray. Buddy had decided that he didn't want to work like the rest of the family so he took a nap in Michael's Moses basket. I would say he has such a rough life, but apparently he is having a rough time being home while we are on vacation. We would take him with us, but he does not travel well...he ends up getting himself too worked up. Poor kitty cat!

First popsicle

Michael has officially begun teething! He now has two tooth buds popping out of his lower gums. Poor kid! On Saturday, we noticed he was biting his hands like crazy and was more squirmy than usual. So, to relieve his discomfort we gave him his first popsicle. He got frozen milk in a cool little mesh holder. Michael thoroughly enjoyed the yummy, yet soothing treat.

Good mom or Bad mom?

I saw this blog earlier this week and thought this was great! Everyone has their own opinions/theories/methods on how to raise a child. If I lumped them all together, I'd be a BAD mom. But, I look at Michael's smiling face and realize that his opinion counts more :-).

This is a great quiz for any parent, but especially for new moms. Enjoy!

See for yourself.

Kyle and Michael

From my post on April 29th.

"WHAT?!"

From day one, Michael has been fascinated by Kyle. You wouldn't be able to tell in either of these pictures, but believe me it's true. Michael loves watching him and often is exhausted after playing with him. He also gets this way with his cousins too. He just LOVES older kids!

Berry Picking

On Tuesday, Michael and I went berry picking with Sarah and Kyle. We talked about it on Monday and on a whim decided to go the next day. I say "on a whim" because we really didn't think about it too much. We got there right before lunch and didn't really think about the heat. Nor did we think about how tedious berry picking can be, at least for amateurs like us. I have gone apple picking and peach picking before and you can get a lot in a little bit of time....not the case with berry picking. It was fun though and we already have plans to go back for apples, pears, and maybe other fruit. Next time we'll plan better.

The pictures are courteous of Sarah. I didn't have my camera with me. Thanks Sarah!

This week...

"I love the elephant"

"My old friend, the swing!"

Pajamas - Sleepy boy

Happy to go see Aunt June for lunch