Bear is SIX MONTHS!

Well, Teddy, you've been alive half a year. Unbelievable. It simultaneously feels like you've been here forever and that you just got here. Six months is a huge marker for me because I remember filling out my maternity leave paperwork thinking, "Well, if all goes to plan, I will be able to stay home until he is six months old." That felt like forever to me. And it was much longer than I got with either of your sisters. But that time has flown by. I go back tomorrow (insert crying emoji face). I remember going back with Leah. I went back to such a toxic school in another district. One of other teachers that hated me, but pretended not to, came into my room on my first day back. I had cried the whole way to school, but pulled it together by the time I got there. She asked me if I was sad to be back. I said I was, and misted up, but that Leah was in good hands. She went off on a tangent about how people like me made her mad, and we should just sell our homes and move to smaller homes, and sell a car, and just share a car with our husbands and only shop at Goodwill if we were so miserable working. I had been back for like 10 minutes and just looked at her until she awkwardly left. Thankfully, I am going back to the best school ever that is less than 2 miles away from our house. I will see you every lunch. 

 This was a pretty good month for you. You learned that you love jumping in the Jumparoo. You continue to love food and we always joke that you are wondering when it is "food o'clock". You love pears the most so far. You seem to like to chew more than the purees I've been making, but there aren't many foods you can chew, so you've been having your fair share of bananas, avocados, super ripe pears, and egg yokes. We haven't weighed you in a while, but you are a big boy! Officially into all 6-12 months and some are all ready getting small. You still wear size 3 diaper, but we need to move you up to size 4 for overnight diapers (which is totally crazy to me because NEITHER of your sisters ever got to size 4--they went up to size 3 and then were potty trained--at 2--still in size 3). You sleep 6 hours or more straight each night, so you need a pretty absorbent diaper. 

You love to roll, and flip over as promptly as possible during diaper changes. You can move around a room somehow, but you aren't crawling yet. I was cleaning out your drawers and you started off right beside me. By the time I was done, you were in the hallway! 

 You still have 2 little bottom teeth which are the cutest thing ever. You try to chew everything! You stick your fingers in your month sometimes, but, thankfully, I don't think you will be the finger sucker Juliet is. You don't get the point of pacifiers, either. You are your own man. Your newest trick is that you weirdly scratch the bed when you wake up. The first few times I got super freaked out because it sounded like something out of a horror movie right.next.to.my.face. You sleep in your dock-a-tot for your first (and longest stretch of sleep), then cuddled next to me for the next part. You like to be close, and will roll until you find me. I can't say that I mind... 

 You continue to be just about as easy as they come. You are typically totally content and full of smiles. When you get tired, or feel unsure, you like to be held, but that's about all you need. This weekend you must have been overtired on Saturday and you cried hard for like 10-15 minutes before bed. Daddy and I were like, "WHAT IS GOING ON?? IS HE SICK?" Then we remembered that most babies get in those moods regularly. You've just always been pretty easy. What a great personality to have. You will need a sunny disposition with your two preteen sisters. 

I could write about you forever, but I go back to work tomorrow and want to concentrate on cuddling you right now. Love you, Bearsey Boy!

Some More Random....

 You can see how swollen his gums were in this picture. It was right before his bottom 2 teeth broke through.

 Chris grew some facial hair. We liked the evil villian look. Teddy thought it was hilarious. 

 Teddy started eating food! His first food was sweet potato and he thought it was great. Now he has had banana, oatmeal, and carrots. He likes the banana the best. 

 Chris has been building us some new benches for our table. Teddy sat like a big boy at Home Depot getting supplies. It made me get all misty. I worked for years to get this boy here. Then he got so big so fast. 

 Juliet loves to do my hair and take pictures of her masterpieces . She really liked this look. 

Saginaw Valley Fun

 We went to 2 of my nephew, Trevor's, football games this year. The first was super hot and the second was a little chilly. We had so much fun (despite driving to Bay City on accident the first time). 

 The girls had fun dressing in all red and playing games outside. We had fun having a few drinks and seeing everyone. 

 There is a special tent set up for people who pay extra money. There are food and drinks inside and the temperature is more controlled. Having a baby got me in free both games. It was nice because it wasn't as loud and crowded as the stands. Teddy hates loud noises. Teddy and I sat in there for the majority of both games. Leah usually stuck with us. Juliet had too much fun socializing in the stands. 

 Leah wanted to take a bunch of selfies, and that was pretty fun. 

 She said I looked like a librarian in this picture. 

Some Random "Catching Up" pictures

 Chris put together the exersaucer for Bear in September. He loves it. It's so weird to look back at these pictures, because now he has 2 teeth. I loved his gummy smile!

 Sometimes we put Leah in charge of Teddy for a few minutes. She loves to make him "baby proof" gyms. Here he is on the couch, looking bewildered in his Leah-made baby playground.

 Our soccer star. They've won zero games. It must be some sort of record. Juliet goes back and forth between loving soccer and being completely disinterested in it. She scored a goal in her first game, though!  

 To celebrate her first game, she really wanted to make a "soccer cake". This is what we came up with on a Sunday night. 

 Bear goes to sleep nursing and sometimes wonders where the boob went when he wakes up. 

 I ordered Teddy like 10 pairs of baby sunglasses, but they are all too big. He wears this old pair of Juliet's, and Chris thinks he looks just like Elton John. We try to go for a walk most days. Teddy has grown to like the Ergo. I like it so much more than pushing the heavy stroller and wondering when he is going to start crying and demand to be held. 

 We got a collapsible wagon for all Juliet's soccer games (we bring a lot of stuff!). Teddy approved. 

 We snuck into Juliet's class during the Ice Cream Social. Juliet was so proud to show off that she was star of the day. She loves her class and her teachers. 

 We went and watched a bit of Daddy's last softball game. On the way, we stopped at the apartments we lived at when I was in grad school and Chris was a construction worker. Even though it's been painted, it still had the exact same feeling and vibe. Our old apartment is right behind the girls, to the right of the door.

Apple Orchard

 Way back in September, we went to the orchard for Honey Crisp day. We picked a ton of apples, and had grand ideas of baking something fancy with them. But we just ate them all instead. 

 Honey Crisp day is always around the first weekend in October, and it's always cold. 

 Bear didn't mind. He enjoyed the experience. 

 I spent like 10 minutes trying to get a good picture of them in front of the sunflowers. This was the best I got. 

Toledo Zoo Fun!

 I felt a little home-bound and stir-crazy all summer with having a baby and everything else we had going on. The one thing I wanted to make sure we did was go to the zoo. Every time we had an opportunity, it was way too hot for the boy. We finally made it happen when my parents were in town. We picked the Toledo Zoo since we hadn't been there in a few years. We had a great day at the zoo. 

I was most excited to show my Bear a real Bear. It reminded me of a year ago when we were at the St. Louis Zoo. The bear there was so cool. I remember texting Chris a picture of him and him texting me back, "is that a real bear?". My Teddy Bear was in my tummy at the time, and I had no idea. 

 Theodore was very agreeable. As always. He really liked the aquarium.  

 Leah and Juliet love these things. They always want to stick their heads in and get their pictures taken. They always fight over who gets to be "bigger". 

 Leah loves a map! Both girls were so excited by the zoo. They ran around talking about how great it was and how cool everything was. It was really sweet. I struggle with them growing up, but seeing them at the zoo reminded me they are still kids. 

 The zoo updated the aquarium since the last time we were there 5 years ago. It was really nice. Not quite The Shedd, but pretty impressive nonetheless. 

 This turtle kind of awkwardly floated and freaked out Leah, who wanted to find a worker and tell them that something was wrong with the turtle. Turns out, he was hit by a boat propeller and very seriously wounded. He has some weights in his body that make him float like this. He can still get around and leads a happy life, though.

 I loved the jelly fish. 

 Juliet liked watching the diver in the tank. He was giving high fives and fist bumps. 

 The monkeys/gorillas/orangutans are always equal parts beautiful, amazing, and sad. I hate seeing them caged up. I hate when they look sad and depressed. But it's crazy how human like and smart they look. But it always makes me sad thinking of how I would feel if I was in a cage with people watching me. 

 It was this guy's birthday. The kids made him cards. 

 The grandparents were troopers. We walked for almost 5 hours straight. We had to see it all.

 Chris and Bear were really excited to feed the giraffes! 

 Feeding the giraffes was really cool. They are such gentle animals. They are so much bigger in real life! 

 Juliet got licked by a giraffe and then was done. She wouldn't feed any more because she didn't want to risk it happening again. 

 A good time was had by all!