5

Well, another month has passed, and our sweet baby boy is 5 months old. I can't believe that it has been almost half a year since he joined our family!

At five months old, Braxton is almost sitting up by himself. He can hold himself for about 5-10 seconds at a time, but is still figuring out how to position his legs so he doesn't topple over.

He loves playing with his toys, and everything he can get his hands on goes in his mouth. He is fascinated with people's hands and tries to suck on those every chance he gets.
I don't have the exact stats, but I am guessing that Braxton weighs about 18 pounds and is about 26 inches long. He is such a big boy!
Here he is playing on our bed. He thought the sheets were so interesting. He is such a sweetheart and we love him so much!

Life Lately...

I have been meaning to blog about a lot of things that have been happening lately, but I kind of ran out of blogging juice. These events all deserve their own post, but it just isn't going to happen. Plus, I bet most people wouldn't even read back far enough to read it all... so here is my big, fat, long post... in random order...Braxton laughs all the time. Best noise ever!

He still hates tummy time, but has been trying to scoot. He succeeds when either Daddy or I sit behind him so he has something to push off of.

Look at those baby blues! How am I ever going to be able to say no to that?!

Testing out toys at the store... ya know, to figure out which one is best...

Daddy and Brax checkin' out the birds at the pet store... just looking, not buying!

Serious face... Braxton has the best facial expressions ever. Just look at his eyebrows and you'll understand...

Braxton loves going for rides in his stroller. Some days it is just too hot for him though, so we try to go early in the day, which is hard when I am in class...

My LAST first day of school!

We went home for a couple days in between Spring and Summer term. This is Braxton trying out Papa Kent's hat.

My dad teaching Brax how to play the piano... I can't get over how cute this picture is! My dad does not look old enough to be a grandpa!

My sister Allie serenaded us on her guitar. She started playing about six months ago and is SO GOOD. Plus, she has an awesome voice! Brax was completely mesmerized by the guitar.

Braxton hanging out with Uncle Toph. Braxton absolutely adores Topher--Topher got Braxton laughing so hard. They are two good lookin' guys!

Braxton all stretched out long. This was taken right around the time Braxton turned four months old. At his four month doctors appointment, Braxton weighed 16 lb 13 oz (82%), measured 25.5 inches long (75%), and his head circumference was almost 17 inches (20%).

Fav picture!

Happy Independence Day!

Daddy showing Braxton the baby ducks at the Duck Pond south of campus.

Daddy and Brax at the 4th of July Parade.

Mama and Brax on the slide at Kiwanis Park.

Brax playing with his giraffe puppet.

Mama and Brax sitting outside in the sunshine.

So, that is a brief recap of what we have been up to. We are keeping busy, as always. Kyle and I are both in full time classes, working part-time, and trying to squeeze in time together around caring for Brax and homework. There are only three weeks left in the term, so we only have a couple more weeks of madness before I graduate and have to quit my campus job. Overall, life is so good. We are busy (obviously you know this if you read the above paragraph), but we are happy and love it when we are able to sneak in some time together.

Oh- and if anyone knows of any job openings in the Provo/Orem (or surrounding area), let me know. I will need a new job starting around the first of September.

Since it's been sunny...

we have been enjoying a lot of time out in the fresh air. Braxton loves being outside and exploring this big, beautiful world we live in.

I'm happy because...

IT'S THE WEEKEND!!!

Silky

Braxton recently discovered his new favorite object- his Silky. As the name implies, it is silky on one side and fuzzy on the other side. It is his comfort object. He is always playing with it. The picture above says it all-- "Ohhh, so nice!"

Peaking out from under the Silky

Nice and cool... Maybe I can eat it...

Oh, so happy!

Distracted... Gotta eat my hands now.

This little thing has accumulated a ridiculous amount of baby slime. As Braxton has gotten more coordinated with his hands, he has started pulling it up towards his face so he can snuggle with it. A couple of times I have heard him fussing and look over to see him wiggling around frantically because he can't pull the Silky off of his face. I think he has formed an attachment with this object though. He prefers it over all of his toys.

Laughing: Take Two

A more recent video of Braxton laughing. Sorry about the awful filming. I took this on my phone... and I can't rotate it. So just enjoy the wonderful sound of my baby's laughter. :)

3 months

I am a little late in posting this, but Braxton turned 3 months old on Sunday. He didn't go in to the pediatricians office this month, so I don't have percentiles to go with his stats, but he is about 14 pounds and 25 inches long. He is growing so fast! Here are some new things that Braxton has learned in the past month!

• Braxton now sleeps through the night! I knew he was close because he has been waking up only once a night since he was about a month old. It is so nice getting that extra little bit of sleep at night. He also takes 2-3 naps throughout the day.
  
• Braxton smiles all the time and is a little chatter box now. He makes all sorts of baby coos and gurgles. He has also started making this awful high pitched squeal when he gets angry.
  
• He can hold his head up and loves to sit on my lap or to sit up on the couch.
• Braxton has recently discovered his hands, and he loves to suck on them. They have gotten really chapped and I have had to put vaseline on his hands with socks over them so they can heal. He gets so frustrated when I do this.
  
• Braxton started laughing the day before his 3 month birthday. It is the cutest sound in the world. He has to be in the right mood or he won't do it though. Usually right after he wakes up is the best time.
  
• He has started to drool. A LOT. He dribbles all down his front sometimes. I googled this and BabyCenter says that it is his body's way of preparing to digest solid foods. Interesting... :)
• Braxton still hates tummy time and will only go a couple of minutes without crying. However, before he starts crying he tries to scoot with his legs.
  
• Braxton loves to go outside. Sometimes when he is fussy, we will open the front door and stand out on our steps and he will instantly get quiet. He is absolutely fascinated by the outside world.
  
• He went up a diaper size. Yay for size 2! He is still in 0-3 mo. clothes though.
  
• Braxton has developed a new love for his silky. He loves having it rubbed on his face and chest. We play peek-a-boo with it sometimes with it and he LOVES that. If his silky is laying on his tummy he will grab it with his hands and move it up to his face. He likes it that much. And he loves to suck on it, too.

I am certain there is something that I am forgetting, but this is all I can think of. Braxton is such a sweet baby. We love him so much more than we ever thought possible. He is so much fun and we absolutely love playing with him- especially now that he is growing and changing so quickly. We love you, Buddy!