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!

Everett's First Halloween

Halloween took place in the middle of our Family Fun Frenzy Forever Road Trip, and I think his first time celebrating was a blast!  Big Brother Kai chose the costumes this year, and he had decided (before his brother was even born) that they would be Batman and Robin!  Then, a few days before the trip, Kai decided he wanted to ALSO go as Ezra from the Star Wars Rebels, so we decided that would be cool, we would just wear one costume on Halloween, and one to some kind of Halloween party or something.  It worked out well, because when we got to where we were going to be the day before Halloween (Petaluma, CA) there was an outlet mall hosting trick-or-treating, and we needed some cold weather clothes anyway since suddenly it was predicted to snow in Lake Tahoe!

The boys wore their Ezra and Darth Vader costumes to a cool pumpkin patch there, where we picked up some nice edible squash and gourds, and then to the mall for some treats!

Baby Darth Vader and Ezra

Everett as Darth Vader

Look at that maniacal grin, perfect Vader Baby!

Everett as Robin, super cute!

 As far as first baby costumes go, the Darth Vader outfit was basically just Pajamas with a Velcro cape.  Ever didn't mind wearing it at all and enjoyed walking around outside all day at the pumpkin patch and then the outlet mall.  

The only down-side was that Napa and Petaluma were both pretty hot, maybe 80 degrees, and both kids were pretty hot in their costumes.  We were back to the place we stayed before it even got dark so the sun was not on our side!  

The second day, we actually went to a DIFFERENT outlet mall, this time in Napa, where we were staying anyway, and the boys as batman and Robin were pretty adorable.  I actually preferred the Robin costume because it is more like a costume, with a mask and stuff, but Ever kind of hated the mask... so he didn't wear it for long.
The mall also had trick-or-treating and it was a bigger mall, but a lot more kids were there because it was actually Halloween, so it felt more festive.  We got to see all the other cute costumes, and there was another kid in Everett's same Robin costume, too.  We decided to go with the mall trick-or-treating since we were out-of-town and didn't want to just swoop in on some random neighborhood for trick-or-treating.  We discussed not even doing the trick-or-treating since begging and candy eating aren't habits we'd love instilling in our kids, but decided to go with it after all.  Next year we will re-visit the question.

As a bonus, I have included a picture of Everett with his Grandma, snoozing at Sea World.

Ever riveted by the Shamu show

5 months and now almost 6, where does the time go?

Five months Old!

Ever picked this toy out at the store

Well, we have been so busy playing with baby Everett this month, that I forgot to update the blog!  It is almost time for his 6 month update, but I will just do that one when we get back from vacation anyway.  The day after Ever turns 6 months old, we are going on a family road trip!  More on that later... for now:

Everett has grown and changed so much at 5 months old!  He doesn't sit up unsupported, but is very close!  He loves to grab and stuff toys in his mouth, or blankets, or Mommy's nose... 

A bittersweet milestone big brother, Kai noticed this month is that Everett "cries real tears"!

On my tummy

the teal family

Loves to fall asleep holding fingers

Everett has the same sleeping and eating arrangement as last month, sleeping at night in the bassinet attached to the side of our bed, and napping during the day in the crib in his room (if we are home) or the carseat or Mom's carrier if we are out.  We are out a LOT!  Everett is definitely seeing more of the world than big brother did as a baby, because big brother wants to show him everything!

First Swing!

Ever meets cousins Nicole, Melissa and
Baby Calvin with his mom, Jessica (not pictured)

Everett eats 5-6oz of Earth's Best for Sensitive Tummies Organic Formula about every 4-5 hours.  He seems interested in solid food, and we will try to see if he'd like to start rice cereal when we return from our trip.  Everett still LOVES to take a bath!  He splashes water everywhere with both hands and both feet and has been moved from his little baby tub to the big tub (with a towel under him) to give him more room to splash safely.  He has taken notice in his rubber duckie and frog bath toys as well this month.  

Bath Time is my Favorite!

Brother snuggles

Everett and big brother, Kai are still the best of friends and Ever loves to hear the sound of Kai's talking and singing.  Kai has special songs he sings to Ever and plays guitar for him.  Kai also has his own private nickname "Ev" which no one else calls Everett.  If baby hears Kai's voice but can't see him, he starts crying.  Ever will watch him all the time, his favorite entertainment, especially in the car.  

Everett loves to play in the bouncy activity center and on the floor or in his crib.  He is pretty mobile for a kid who doesn't crawl or walk yet, and precautions have been strengthened since he scooted himself off the couch and hit his head on the floor a couple weeks ago.  Perched on his stomach and arms, Ever can scoot backward in a kind of crawl, but not forward yet, the strength is in his arms, not legs.  He can sit up for a few seconds, then tips over, which he thinks is a super fun game!

Ever is in the peek-a-boo stage of entertainment and loves soft toys that crinkle.  He is just starting to play with some harder toys but sometimes hits them against his face too hard and gets upset.  He still gets frustrated when he can't quite make his body do what he wants, like reach something far.  Speaking of reaching, Everett's favorite thing to grab (and pull) is hair, most especially KAI'S HAIR!  He gets a very excited look on his face and dives right in when he can and Kai is very patient with him about it, even though he has sensitive hair.  Just a very happy, active, intrigued baby!

At this very moment, Everett is enjoying his first cold.  He had a low fever and congestion with some vomiting and sneezing Sunday night and went to the Pediatrician first thing Monday, to be sure he didn't need medicine before our trip.  She said his ears looked good and he should improve quickly.  Hopefully just a quick bug and then we can be on our way to vacation fun!   

Four Months, Happy Baby!

Brings Toys to His Mouth

Everett is very interested in everything!

 Everett is now 4 months old and such a happy baby!  He had his 4 month check-up at the pediatrician the other day, and here are his stats:
Weight = 18lb 4oz, over 95th Percentile
Length = 27inches, over 95th Percentile
Head Circumference = 16.5in, 40th Percentile

So Handsome

So he's also a pretty big baby!  Depending on the brand of clothes, he's wearing sizes for a 9 or 12 month old already!  Most of his clothes are his brother's hand-me-downs and we love seeing all the dinosaur stuff again!

Kai and Ever, best friends!

Mirror at Pediatrician

Ever's buddy, Catie

Likes the Blanket over his Face!

Everett's first tidepools, unimpressed.

Pool Party Shade Brothers

Everett Jack Graziano, 4 Months

Went back to Dr. Brown's Bottles

Watching TV with my Bro

Sucked his Thumb for a couple weeks, didn't take.

Everett has definitely found his voice.  He loves to hear himself talk, babble, but mostly yell.  He likes to yell at his toys when he is sitting in a bouncy chair, or on his tummy, or in the crib... pretty much any time he is not yelling at a person.  It is sometimes hard to tell when he actually IS upset because he yells just as loud.  You have to look at his face to tell.  
He is still having only formula, Organic Earth's Best for Sensitive tummies, to be exact and is pretty on-track with his eating.  He has a few bottles at night, likes to go to bed pretty early, ranging from 6:30-9:30 pm depending on the type of day we've had.  He will sleep (knock on wood) as many as 5 hours recently in the first shift, then eat change and rock and sing and right back to sleep often for 3-4 more hours!  I feel very lucky since we parents like to sleep.  His big brother stays up very late and sleeps very heavily so he doesn't usually get interrupted by Ever's sleep/wake cycle.  We are all sleeping in the (master) bedroom now, with Everett's bassinet attached to the side of the bed.  He also has a crib in his bedroom that is better for daytime naps.  

Speaking of daytime naps... again they vary a lot by what we are doing that day.  We don't stay home much.  When we do stay home he would probably nap about 1-1.5 hours at about 10am, and 2-3 hours at about 3pm.  When we are on-the-go, he usually sleeps best while riding in the car or in Mommy's carrier.

Kai and Everett really are the best of friends.  Kai has been so excited to be a brother since he first heard the news and he just dotes on Ever so much.  He loves to hug him and will lay on the floor and "show him how to use" baby toys, or tell him about the characters in his video game and how he can play with him when he is older (the game)  It seems like the feeling is mutual and Everett always is entertained and in awe of what Kai is doing and saying, always has a smile and laugh to give him, and the super-sweetest is when they fall asleep holding hands!  I just can't stand it.  

Well that's about all I can think of for 4 months!      

First Baseball game

Hello, Frog

I love to laugh!

Ever with his friends, Heidi and Emma

His chubby thighs hold him tight in the Bumbo.

California Boy