Bran...6 Months

Our baby boy is already half a year old, I can't believe it.  Time has really flown by and most days I really wouldn't mind if it would all slow down a little bit.  Brannock is such an incredibly happy boy and is full of personality.  Six months is such a great age. It is so fun to watch him learn, grow, and discover new things everyday.  The world is his playground and he finds entertainment in the simplest of things. Bran tends to keep very busy and he really loves to socialize.

Happy Half Birthday Brannock Alan!

Weight: 19 lbs. 3.5 oz.

Height: 26.5 inches

Sleeping Pattern: Our wonderful sleeper is back! Bran sleeps 11-12 hours at night.  He is early to bed and early to rise.  Mommy and Daddy are not early birds so I am not sure where he got this trait from!  He also takes about 3 naps a day.  All this extra movement really wears the little guy out.  We normally put Bran to bed awake, and he really likes sleeping in his crib (naps on the go are not very good these days). But Bran has actually been falling asleep on us some nights before we can even get him up to bed because he is so exhausted. He loves his pacifier for sleeping.  We have two in his crib and he is able to find them on his own in the middle of the night to self soothe.

What a tiring bottle, you can't really expect me to burp now too?!

Feeding Schedule: Bran takes five 6 oz. bottles every day. He also has two meals consisting of cereal and a fruit or veggie.  We added sweet potatoes, peas, squash, pears, and zucchini to the menu this month.  Bran LOVES to eat!  His favorite foods are sweet potatoes, apples, and avocado.

Bran Likes:  Touching and chewing on everything! He is very interested in faces and loves to touch them. He will also spend the entire day playing on his belly if we let him.  He has started to play independently, blocks are his favorite! Bran also loves jumping around in the jumperoo, and the exersaucer.

Getting into toys at the babysitter.

Bumbo time while Mom showers.

Bran Dislikes: Having his outfit changed (such a boy, no interest in fashion!).  Thankfully summer time allows us to keep him in a onesie most of the time. He also hates sitting still when he thinks it is playtime.

Changes This Month:
Bran is able to sit unassisted for short periods of time, usually like a tripod using his arms for added balance.  He is still working on his balance and is very easily distracted. He also has a tendency to fall face first with the intention of trying to get on his belly to play.

By the end of the month Bran could pretty much get anywhere he wanted to by turning on his belly or by rolling.  He doesn't get anywhere quickly at this point but can get to an object across the room if he is interested.

Silly Mom, you really thought I was going to be stuck on this blanket and pillow?!

At the end of the month Bran started working very hard on crawling.  He gets up all on fours and rocks back and forth.  He is still trying to figure out how to actually crawl forward and often ends up doing the "worm" to make forward progress.  He also spends a lot of time planking. The pediatrician said she'd expect him to be crawling within a couple weeks, or maybe even a couple days.

Baby Plank.

Bran is also really finding his voice.  He makes lots of noises, and loves to make raspberries.  One night at dinner Bran kept putting his hand up to his mouth and going "arr arr arr".  He has continued to do this with his hand sometimes when he "talks" to us.  We aren't sure if maybe he is trying to wave hi and talk?  Who knows?!

What We Have Been Up To:
We spent the Fourth of July at Nate and Callie's house.  Their annual party has become full of kiddos, which until this year has been all girls.  Kelly and I finally added some boys to the mix! I can't wait to see the group pictures grow over the next few years.  And maybe one year all of our kids will be on bikes for a photo. Grandma Lude came to town to babysit for a few days so she even got to join us at the party. Bran hadn't gotten a good afternoon nap so we decided to call it an early night and skip the actual fireworks.  Maybe we can give it a try next year before the fireworks scare Bran too much.

July 8-10 was a very busy weekend for us. We spent the weekend in Sardis for Art's Memorial.  Bran got to meet lots of new family members. We also ran in the Eleonore Rocks 5k that weekend.  (Well Mommy and Daddy ran, and Chris Baker pushed Bran in the stroller). Bran rocked the pink and purple in his first "race".  We celebrated Daddy's 31st birthday. And Bran got to spend lots of time playing with his big (although not much bigger than Bran) cousin, Greer.

Joe and I are training for the Columbus Half Marathon.  We decided to start taking Bran along in the jogging stroller on some of our training runs.  He loves it!  He is either excited and kicking or taking a nap.  Joe does most of the pushing.  Running with a 20lb. baby in a stroller is quite a challenge. The first time I did it by myself my arms were really sore!

Grandma and Grandpa Roelle came down for the day to visit.  They hadn't seen him in a little while so it was fun they got to see him rolling all over the place.  Bran also loves to pull Grandpa's beard.

We bought a baby swing for the swingset and Bran loves it.  We usually try to get Bran out right before our bed time routine begins.  I love the look of pure joy he has while swinging.

We have been very busy visiting friends and enjoying all of this gorgeous (but hot) summer weather.  Bran has been a trooper being out "late" many nights.

Photo Ops: