6 Month Photos

I feel so blessed to have a talented photographer here in Chicago to capture the essence of my sweet baby. We just die over the cuteness of H in these photos! Thank you, Tiffany Rebecca!

Baby H {7 Months}

SEVEN Months old!

Stats:
20 lbs - according to my scale

- On his 7 month 'birthday' H's 2nd tooth decided to (finally) arrive. It only took a week of teething and H clinging to my side all day every day for that little tooth to finally break through. Hallelujah.

- H loves to hear himself 'talk'. He loves to say "Da da da da", click his tongue, and when he's feeling especially happy or annoyed with us, he will scream (ear-piercing screams-- note, it's not our favorite).

- H loves to eat solid foods, he eats with us at dinner and so far has loved everything except green beans (I'll keep working with him on those). We've decided his very favorite is apple. He also loves to drink water out of our cups like a big boy, its so cute.

- He has finally learned how to roll around! He can roll from his back to his tummy and tummy to his back. He's got these moves down and can do them pretty quickly. Almost every time I pick him up out of his crib he is on his belly now.

- His new favorite toys have emerged-- baster and cup, and tupperware. Poor moose and goldfish got the boot-- for now at least. These toys keep him entertained for hours.

- H loves to look at the world sideways -- he tilts his head with his eyes so wide and a big grin on his face-- its the cutest.

- Every day we walk over to the window and watch the cars go by on the expressway below. We talk about the weather, what he sees outside, he loves it.

- He still love his toe toes. With shoes on or off he loves to grab and play with his cute little toes!

- We've been taking lots of walks in the ergo and he loves to look out at the world.

We love this little man so much!! He brings so much happiness into our home, it makes my heart want to burst!

Babies on Board! {A Shower for a friend}

One of my dear friends in Chicago is pregnant - with twins. I could not be happier for her and her new family! She will be the best mom and spoil those babies with love and happiness.

I was so excited to celebrate with her, and was lucky to collaborate with two super creative women on the baby shower. Since L &M love the east coast and Anchors, our theme of Babies on Board! was born.

Photos courtesy of the amazing Tiffany Rebecca Photography. 

Obsessed with these cute little nautical inspired outfits!

I was in charge of the food.

Aren't these just the cutest? Those are strawberry donuts with a vanilla glaze and virgin mimosas.

I think these onesies turned out so amazing!

Thanks for letting us celebrate with you, L!

Baby H {6 Month Birthday Party}

H has two little friends who were born within a few weeks of him. It's so fun to have friends who are going through the same things we are at the same time, and will hopefully be around for lots of playdates in our future!!

Since all 3 babies were 'celebrating' 6 months since birth, we decided to have a little party on February 3rd.

H showing off how well he can sit up!

3 babies.

I'm bummed this one is blurry! The only one with all 3 looking at the camera....

Not the best picture of me - but i love these ladies & our babies! The banner above says "Six Mos"

Cute little bums!

This one is my favorite! It can be tough being the ladies man ...

(Almost) Spring

I can't believe it's March. I'm so excited for spring to come-- this dreary winter weather is giving me the blues! Thankfully we have the Lincoln Park Conservatory to escape to when we need some color and energy in our life. 

Photo courtesy of Tiffany Rebecca

Baby H {6 Months}

Photo by the talented Tiffany Rebecca

I honestly can't believe my little man is 6 months old. It's so crazy how fast time goes by and how much they grow and change every single day. In some ways it feels like he's been a part of our lives forever and in other ways it feels like yesterday I was pregnant. Crazy. Ok, I'll stop being that mom now... onto the stats.

19 lbs 7 oz, 75%-95% weight
26 inches long, 75% height

He does this head swinging thing that is so funny and cute. Its like he's dancing with his upper body as he swings back and forth. If you do it back to him, he will do it again. It's a game we like to play!

His new favorite toy is a plastic tupperware container. It has entertained him for hours.... so funny.

He does have other favorite toys that have emerged -- goldfish (a rattle from his GGMA for Christmas) and Moose. It's so cute to see him get so excited to play with his favorite toys.

He figured out how to click clack with his tongue and also has started sounding out consonants. Ryan swears he said "dada" tonight but I haven't heard it yet so I'm not convinced! :)

His weight gain has slowed down -- I'm surprised he is still wearing 6-12 month clothes; the rate he was at before, I thought he would be out of them already.

He can sit up on his own!!! Unsupported he can sit there on his own and play with his toys. Of course we hover and stay close by but he is getting so strong.

He loves his Johnny Jump up more than ever. He has figured out how to run and jump and then swing back and forth. He gets quick the work out! Ryan is convinced he will walk before he crawls... we'll see about that!

H had his first bites of solid food!! We started with rice cereal and it was so bittersweet. I couldn't believe how emotional I was about it. He was totally ready for it and knew how to slurp the cereal and swallow. Next we tried applesauce and with that we got some funny confused faces!

Sleeping, oh sleeping. Its been a very long month in that regard. After Christmas break his sleep digressed and we had a lot of bad nights and a few miserable nights. We have decided to re-sleep train him and believe we are on the upswing finally; with a week or so of solid 12-13 hours of sleep.

A tooth!! His first tooth broke through on Monday Feb 11--- no wonder sleeping has been such an issue. Poor baby has been in pain!

Swimming! We took a trip to Wisconsin overnight and took Hunter swimming, he totally loved it. I can't wait to take him again.

There's a reason they call this yoga move, happy baby.

love that face.

White Christmas in Utah

Trying to play catch up here. 
 
We arrived in Utah on Christmas Eve and were welcomed to Utah with lots of snow!! We flew into what Chicago would call a blizzard and even got stuck trying to drive into Ryan's parents cul-de-sac. It was an adventure to get the baby and all our luggage and groceries up the street and into the house. It was beautiful to watch the snow fall and be enveloped into a winter wonderland.

 Ryan has a lot of our pictures from Christmas, but here are a few I got on my phone (we packed so tight to get everything into 2 carry-on's... our camera didn't fit!).

Lights at Temple Square - H did not love this outing so we saw everything super fast and then went to City Creek for a delicious dinner from Red Iguana Cafe. I love his face in this photo.

This trip included lots of snoozing in the car for H! He loves Sophie.

Ryan carrying H through 2+ feet of snow to get to his parents cabin by Sundance. It was gorgeous after the snow storms we got that week.

H loves his Uncle Camsy!

Skiing at Sundance!

H had just starting rubbing his eyes when he is tired -- cutest things ever.

Another milestone from this vacation -- H planking & holding his bottle on his own! Such a big boy.

H and Uncle Matthew!! We got see Matthew after he flew in from DC on NYE.

 We had such a great time! Can't wait for our next Utah trip!

Baby H {5 Months}

Where did January go?! We were busy over here and I'm so behind on my blogging...!

Seriously, does it get any cuter than this?!

January 1, 2013
Stats: 19 lbs (according to Ryan)

Loves his rings and sophie.

Playing with tissue paper and Christmas gifts

Blowing bubbles with his lips

Working on sitting up on his own!

Can hold his bottle on his own!! Hunter loves to grab and hold and just the other day I looked over and he was feeding himself. Where did my little helpless baby go?! Good thing he can't do that with breastfeeding because I love our times together.

Loves to be walked around (insert any person and walk him on their hip) vs. sitting down and holding him.

Gets so excited to see his mama -- he will kick his legs like crazy and crack into a wide grin when I am in view (of course I love this) and sometimes makes hyperventilating noises.

Drooling like crazy- which results in chapped chin/lips.

Will put anything and everything in his mouth- blankets, toys, tissue paper, christmas ribbon...

Has now been on 7 flights! We are learning what our friends have been telling us ... that as babies get older, it gets harder and harder to travel with them. Hunter's last flight was a challenge. We were totally 'that' couple on the plane with the crazy baby.

Rubs his eyes when he is tired -- it is SO cute!!

Likes to run and swing in his Johnny Jump Up-- he hasn't figured out the jumping part yet! :)

He found his toes and loves to grab them and chew them, we call it "TOE TIME!"

I love this face!!

Toe Time!

Chicago Christmas {A Merrill Tradition}

Snuggled up on the couch after church.

Ryan and I started a tradition when we were dating of having our 'own' Christmas. I decorated his bachelor-pad apartment with stockings and garland, and we exchanged gifts. After we were married, we continued this tradition with a full Christmas dinner and stocking/gift exchange before we leave town to visit our families. Its one of my favorite things about Christmas each year!

My handsome men.

Morning snuggles.

Of course Hunter's favorite thing was the tissue paper!

This year, we held Christmas on Sunday December 23. We started with cinnamon rolls for breakfast, church, and then an afternoon of gift exchange and cooking. For dinner I made: Roasted Pumpkin soup, twice baked potatoes, cider-glazed bacon green beans, rolls and Prime Rib with a berry punch. I have to admit, it was one of the best meals I have ever made. AMAZING!

Christmas Feast!

We like to hang our stockings on the speakers...our yule log is on the tv :)

Entry way.

After dinner we held a group skype with my family in Maryland and California. It was so fun to be all together and open gifts together-- almost as good as being there in person. We finished the night with packing for our Utah Christmas (I was very proud with the minimal packing I did and fit everything, including gifts and my madela in my carry-on bag).

Hard to see but this is my mom, dad, brother and then sister, nephew, grandma, brother in law, aunt and cousin.

Hunter skyping.

Baby H {4 Months}

My happy boy!

December 1, 2012
18 lbs, 3 oz (95%)
26 inches long (85%)

Grabbing things like crazy - pulling them down, often to his face- His perception has gotten better and he has figured out how to put things in his mouth if they are hanging in front of him.

Loves his stroller blanket- I had no idea that he would love his tag blanket so much! Its bright colors and black and white and he loves holding it and chewing on it.

Loves baby Sophie- He can chew on Sophie and play with his chew rings all day. Its a lifesaver for days he is in his carseat while we run errands.

Rolls for days- I can not get enough of his chubby legs, belly, and arms! I think Ryan is jealous of how big Hunters arms look! Haha.

Rolled over 1 time so far-We are still working with him to have this be more of a regular occurrence but he is one the move!

Loves his Johnny Jump Up- His dad has been working with him for over a month to figure out this toy! Hunter is finally starting to get it. He turns more than he jumps, but he loves to be in it!

Such a happy baby- he is so happy and content all the time. If he is fussy, its for a clear reason, and usually because he is tired.

Sleep Training- we trained him over Thanksgiving at my parents house. It was the best holiday gift ever!! Now he goes to bed when I lay him in his crib for 12 hours each night. He still wakes up to eat, but at least he goes down without a fight and is taking regular naps during the day. Halleluiah! I am a new mama!!

Supported Sitting- He loves his bumbo and sitting up to see what's going on!

Clothes - he is wearing 6 mos/6-12 mos clothes already!

love that face!