Visiting Grandma Cindy and Thom

The end of our summer adventure took place in Minnesota, visiting with Cindy and Thom.  We had a really great visit.  These pictures are long overdue... Maddox playing, cuddling, climbing, rolling on, etc. with Grandma Cindy and Thom.

A little snuggle before the wiggles start again

Climbing Grandma Cindy

:)

Explaining to Grandma Cindy and Thom how that plastic tubing works

Just kickin' back like a big kid

Solid Food Fun: Broccoli, Pear, and Carrot!

A week ago we gave Maddox his first solid food, sweet potato.  He did pretty well with it, so we introduced three more foods to him this week: broccoli, pear, and carrot. 

For the broccoli, we microwaved frozen florets so they would get a bit mushy.  I had heard broccoli florets were a good first food because the stem makes for a good handle so it is easy for baby to hold on to.  The florets are kind of a weird texture, though, and I'm not sure Maddox is a fan.  We've given broccoli to him several nights and he doesn't seem too thrilled with them.  He'll stick one in his mouth, start gumming the florets, then get a disgusted look on his face and throw it.  It's too bad he doesn't care for it yet... broccoli is by far the cleanest food we've given him. 

The next thing we tried was pear.  It was nice and ripe, and very quickly turned into mashed up pear bits and juice.  He loved it!  We are pretty sure he ate more of the pear than he had anything else up to this point, but it was so messy!  He was covered in pear, as was the highchair, tray, floor...

Last night we introduced carrots.  This also seemed to be a hit and also extremely messy.  We microwaved little baby carrots and then mushed them up.  He seemed to really like it, but, like the pear, the carrot ended up all over him, the highchair, tray, floor...

We also gave him broccoli last night with his carrot, and tried to get a video of his disgusted response:

Solid Food Fun: Sweet Potato!

Maddox is a solid food eater!  Well, kind of... more like he plays with solid foods and maybe some of it gets into his mouth and even more maybe some of it gets swallowed.  At any rate, we have officially begun our adventure into the messy (and fun!) land of solid foods.  His first food was sweet potato.  We took pictures and video, which are posted below.

Before we get to those, though, I wanted to say a bit about how we are going about introducing solids.  We decided to do baby lead weaning (also known as baby lead solids).  Rather than feed Maddox purees, we are feeding him finger food sized chunks of food.  We liked this approach for several reasons:

1. It lets baby control what and how much enters their mouth.  They place the food in their mouth, so they also have more control of what actually gets swallowed.
2. Because the baby has more control, they only really swallow food when they are ready.  If they aren't ready, they gag it back up and spit it out.
3. There is a lower risk of choking because baby is controlling the food in their mouth rather than having it placed in their mouth for them.
4. It seemed more like a game (food exploration!) this way because Maddox can play with the food... and maybe get some of it in his mouth.  

We have read up on this approach a lot and it made sense to us.  You can read more about it here: http://www.babyledweaning.com/some-tips-to-get-you-started/

I wanted to point this out because I didn't want people to think we were nuts giving Maddox chunks of food.  Or, as you'll notice, that we are terrible parents because we laugh when he is gagging on food.  Gagging is a natural reflex and it is what they are suppose to do if they aren't comfortable swallowing yet.  Gagging does not equal choking.  :)

Ok, on to the super cute pictures and videos!

Like any good explorer, it is  necessary to have good equipment went embarking on an adventure.  Behold, Maddox's sturdy, new high chair!

Sweet potato, before

Sweet potato: after. 

Now, here is some stuff that happened in between:

Maddox stats

Maddox had his 6 month doctors appointment today.  Here are his stats:

Height: 28 inches (!!!)-- 90th percentile
Weight: 16 lbs 1.5 oz-- 25th percentile
Head circumference: 44 cm-- 50th percentile

I was a bit concerned about his weight... he has been in the 50th percentile range since his birth and so I thought his drop to the 25th percentile was alarming.  The doctor didn't seem concerned, though.  She just said, "he's deciding that he is going to be a tall and skinny boy".  She said that as long as he is eating well we shouldn't worry about it.  So, tall and skinny it is!  :)

Maddox Ammon at 6 months

Today is Maddox's half birthday!  Here are some things about Maddox at 6 months old:

1. He can roll in both directions, but can't sit up unsupported yet (he topples over).
2. He says "mamamama", and I just know he is referring to me. ;)
3. He loves the Beatles and Louis Armstrong and dislikes U2 and Sea Wolf (sorry Uncle Jared).
4. He anticipates play and gets super excited whenever someone stands over him... this is probably because Papa likes to stand over him and slowly reach out to get him.
5. He has been on 3 planes and visited family in 4 states this summer, and is an excellent little traveler.
6. He is a very serious little player and a curious guy... though he definitely has a playful streak.
7. He poops in the toilet but pees are still hit and miss.
8. He has started crying when we take something away from him that he shouldn't be playing with... we like to remember that this means he is developing cognitively and able to express his wants. ;)
9. He doesn't have a favorite solid food yet, those will start in a few weeks.  For now he is still 100% mama's milk.  
10. Possibly his favorite thing to do is "fly" when he is on his belly (see pictures in previous post).  
11. He has taken to putting his hand on my nose when he falls asleep.
12. He likes exploring mama and papa's faces with his hands.
13. He hasn't had his 6 month appointment yet, but I would guess he is about 28 inches and 16 lbs. or so. 
14. He is just too cute for words.  

Oh yeah, and he can read.  ;)

Happy 6 months, sweet boy.  You are such an amazing little guy; you make us laugh and smile every single day.  We love you! <3

Four sets of four generations

Over the course of the summer Maddox has met all of his great grandparents, from every branch of the family tree.  I thought this was pretty neat and we made sure to snap pictures of all the sets of four generations.

Great grandma Pat, GG Alison, Mama, and Maddox

Mama, Great grandma Jayne, Maddox, and Grandpa Kirk

Papa, Grandpa John, Maddox, and Great grandpa Hank

Papa, Grandma Cindy, Maddox, and Great grandpa Bud

I love that we have these pictures.  :)

A Family Weekend

This last weekend we got to spend a lot of time with Cindy's side of the family.  Maddox met a lot of his great aunts and second cousins and third cousins and cousins once removed (though I prefer just calling everyone either aunt/uncle or cousin... it's less confusing that way!). 

Cindy and Thom were married on Saturday and it was a beautiful ceremony.  Maddox was once again dressed to the nines in one of his formal onsies. 

Papa and Maddox at the wedding

Thom and Maddox

Grandma Cindy and Maddox

Great grandpa Bud, Great grandma Pam, and Great Aunt Sandy

Maddox terribly fascinated with Great Aunt Susan's dress

Where's the party??

We then went over to Luke's Aunt Susan and Uncle Brian's house on Sunday for more family fun.  They hosted a baby shower for Maddox, which was very sweet.  He got a lot of new books, some soft blocks to build with, lots and lots of warm clothes, and a few pairs of cute little shoes.  He also got to meet his third cousin Elanna, who is a few weeks younger than him.  At (almost) 6 months old, he's already quite the charmer. 

Mama kisses at the baby shower

Swimming with cousin Hannah at the baby shower

Meeting third cousin Elanna...

...and trying to impress Elanna with his super awesome flying skills