9 Months Old and Bonk, Bonk, Bonk!

Ok, I'll admit, I have let myself fall behind on the blog!  Each month I have been making a blog post and adding the photos I like from that month and then saving it and getting busy and never writing the description!  So now I am 5 months behind!  I will do my best to go back and fill in the gaps based on my memories.

Everett was 9 months old on January 23.  Just 2 days after big brother's 6th birthday.  We celebrated by surprising Kai at Disneyland (where Grandma and Kai's cousins were already taking him)  This was Everett's first time at Disneyland and He was a little young for a lot of the adventure but loved looking at all the sights and lights and people!  

Everett's first time at Disneyland

Near the end of the day, Everett got to go on his first ride, Pirates of the Caribbean!  He loved it and big brother held his hand so he wouldn't be scared in the dark parts.  Everett and Kai are still the best of friends.  Everett got a stuffed Mickey Mouse as a souvenir. 

Back home with stuffed Mickey

In line for Pirates of the Caribbean.

At Legoland!

We also took a trip to Legoland around the time of Kai's birthday.  Everett and Kai had a lot of fun playing at the Legoland Hotel .  Everett is having a lot of fun exploring the world around him!  We have to constantly update our baby-proofing.  Kai's toys are everywhere, and not always a safe size.  Everett is continuing to work out how to crawl.    

Everett and Cousin Calvin

Taking a dip

Especially fun for us, is when Everett treats us to a piano concert.  He loves music and bops and jams whenever he hears it, now he creates it, too!!  He also loves swinging SO MUCH!  Need to put up that swing set in the back yard finally!

Pirate Everett

This month Everett has had a couple serious falls from the 4 foot high bed to the hard wood floor, the first we took him to the ER and they were unconcerned so we didn't go back the second time. We are considering changing sleeping arrangements since he is basically crawling right off the bed. 

Forehead Knot after falling

Ever and Grandpa

Ever in "the hanger"

Everett still LOVES taking a bath and playing in the water, but has outgrown his bath seat so we lay him on a towel in the bath tub because he kicks his feet HARD against the floor of the tub and the towel helps soften the blow.  Just can't slow down this bruiser!  

He still enjoys trying new solid foods, with his hands.  He doesn't like to be fed with a spoon so we let him explore it himself and if he isn't getting enough intake ;-)  I blend some fruit and veggies up in a smoothie and he drinks that.  I think as long as he's getting all the nutrients he needs, it isn't really important to "teach" him to eat right now.  Not many people make it to adulthood not learning to eat.  I think we'll get there just fine.  

Ever and his buddy, T.H.

Everett's First Christmas

Everett had a wonderful first Christmas, full of family and fun and lots of new toys and clothes!  I think he was the perfect age to really get into those gifts and rip the paper without needing much help, big brother was quick to offer help if needed though.  
We lit the Advent candles as a family at church, celebrated with Nonno and Sue, did a couple of gift exchanges with friends and celebrated Christmas Eve at Uncle Tory and Aunt Maria's house with family.  Ever was a champ, staying up fairly late for the gifts and showing off his new "scoot" type crawl.  
On Christmas morning, Big Brother Kai helped Ever peek into his stocking and under the tree and it was so fun for all of us to imagine seeing the spectacle for the first time through Everett's eyes.
Later on Christmas, Grammy and Grandpa and Aunt Noelle came over for dinner and another gift exchange, too!
Everett is eating some fun foods, but did not partake of the Christmas candy or ham.  He opted for sweet potatoes, green beans and a little corn, instead. Looking forward to a hundred more fun filled family Christmases! 

7 and 8 Months, Go Go Go!

Everett is so much on the go, I haven't even updated his blog!  Just before Thanksgiving, he turned 7 months old and started scooting and inching around on the floor a bit.  We really need to get babyproofing around here!

Everett eats solid food about 1/3 of his meals now, with Organic formula being the remainder.  His nighttime bottles are spiked with rice cereal to keep his tummy full longer.  The bottles themselves, we have gone back to the Kiinde bottle system because Ever can hold the bottles himself and control the feeding better.  When he is eating foods, he likes sweet potato, peas, squash, banana, pumpkin, pear, carrot and apple puree.  He has just started some rice rusks, Baby Mum Mum, which Kai used to LOVE and now so does Everett.  They melt in his mouth, so it is not much of a choking hazard. 

Baby's First Thanksgiving

Everett LOVES to Eat!

Everyone loves Starubucks!

Everett with Grammy and Grandpa

Everett with Mommy

Everett with his Uncle

Everett with his Aunt and Cousin

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We spent Thanksgiving with Daddy's family and Everett showed off his scooting skills.  Everett cut his first tooth on December 19, and second soon after.  He has his bottom front 2 teeth!  He flushes in his face often, and we think it may be a side effect of the teething.  Ever has great check-ups at the pediatrician and is up-to-date on shots.  He has shown no indication of allergy.  He had one pretty major cold at 6 months of age, while we were on vacation and after.  He had to have antibiotic eye drops for his goopy eyes and his cough turned into croup.  
Just as always, Everett loves playing with everything and loves watching and playing with his brother!  He is so active and interested in everything!  It is so fun to explore the world through his eyes!

  

Ever at the park

Getting a checkup

Ever Flushes Often

Always watching Big Brother

6 Months and Wanderlust!

Well, this big kid is 6 months old now, if you can believe that.  Half a year!  He has been getting around a lot and having tons of fun anyway, but we are also just back from a super fun family vacation road trip!

Kai and Everett sat next to each other in the minivan, with an empty seat on the other side to change diapers on the go and also for one of us parents to sit in when Ever needed company on a long drive.  Everett loved the set up as much as Kai and he just stared at him singing and talking and being silly and kept cracking up.  The Kai Show is definitely Everett's favorite show!

As soon as we got back from the trip, we started Everett on solid foods, as he has been showing interest but we didn't want to start while we were on the road. 

 He can now eat Earth's Best Rice Cereal, in cereal form or diluted in his formula, and I have made baked Sweet Potatoes, puree'd that he likes and puree peas.  What he LOVES though, is banana!  I mashed a banana on a whim the other day because he had finished his sweet potatoes and seemed to want to keep eating and he just smiled and wanted more more more!

 Our road trip was to Napa and then Lake Tahoe, with stops along the way anywhere that looked fun or interesting.  Everett was a champ to travel with, too! Always up for an adventure.  I think pretty much every age he has been I have said, "Now THIS is the most exciting age for babies!"  

And it is always true! Everett is so curious and alert. He wants to see everything and gets frustrated that he can't always do everything he wants with his limited mobility and hand-eye coordination. 

I think Everett had a blast, wine tasting at a castle, Jelly Bean tour at the factory, Golden Gate Bridge, a sticker factory, his first Halloween, first snow, forst time out of the state, geysers and a ton of petting zoos!

Everett met his cousins Marnie and Carlos and their kids Cristian, Matthew, Madison and Carly on this trip, too! He had his first cold just before we left for the trip and we got a mini humidifier to use on the road.  

We saw some fish at Monterey Bay Aquarium and I was watching Everett Watching them! 

Month 6 has been a great one for Everett and he has done a lot of growing and changing! He is in a size 3 diaper, Honest Co. Are my faves! He can wear anything from 12 months to 18 months in baby clothes, running big I guess, but Kai did too. He rolls around and can scoot backward on his tummy a bit, which is sort of like a backwards crawl, maybe he will crawl soon.  No rush, we still have baby-proofing to do at home!