I planned on writing these posts for the first year and it seemed like forever away.  I remember going – “can I keep this up for a whole year?”  Now I only have 2 left and I’m like, “I don’t want to stop!” I think I’ll keep posting after his birthday but maybe only do them every 3 months or so.  I’m desperately trying to keep up with his baby book too.  Thank god for my Baby Connect app.  I make notes and document milestones on my phone when they happen and then go back and fill in the baby book when I have time.

We recently took our first family trip to the beach.  Ritter adjusted well to the changes.  He didn’t nap great in the car going down but did better coming back.  He napped and slept like a champ in his pack-n-play.  He loved the beach and the pool and the sand.  Mommy is so happy because I love the beach so much!  His schedule was a bit off while we were there but, again, he adjusted great.

New Stuff:
– Now can pick up his paci and put it back in by himself.  If he loses it in the night, he finds it and puts it back in.

– Plays peek-a-boo by himself or initiates a game with you by covering up his face and waiting for you to say “Where’s Ritter?”  It’s SO funny!  See video below.

– Loves playing with his feet and even chewing on or sucking on his toes!

– Tries to get Jackson to play with him by trying to hand him toys.

– Fascinated by our noses, mouthes, ears, and feet – that includes Jackson also.  He grabs my nose while I’m feeding him.  And when he’s in the floor playing he tries to grab Jackson’s ears, nose, and feet all the time.

– Eating all kinds of finger foods now – peas, beans, puffs, bits of fruit, carrots, etc.

– Dropped the zipadeezip for naps finally!

– Rolling around like a crazy person when we lay him down for naps and bedtime.  He rolls from one end of the crib to the other for about 10 minutes then just stops and goes to sleep.

– Clapping all the time when you ask him to!  It’s so cute!

– Barely walking with a push toy if you help hold him up.  He will push it away from him then take tiny baby steps to catch up to it.
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– More cuddly and clingy than ever before and we are loving it!

– Absolutely LIGHTS UP when someone he loves walks into the room – even Jackson.  He gets the biggest smile and starts clapping his hands!

– Has become a tummy sleeper.  Even if he starts out asleep on his back, he ends up on his tummy by morning.  He also loves to have his face covered when he goes to sleep so he usually covers it up with his lovie or blanket.  Drives me nuts because I’m scared of him suffocating but if he doesn’t have a lovie he tries to pull the bumpers down onto his face.  It’s pretty funny.

– Has started taking less and less formula (on avg an ounce or 2 less w/ each bottle). Could this be the start of baby led weaning or just decreased appetite from current Wonder Week?  We will see!

Current Schedule:
Wake 7:15-7:45
Bottle – 7.5 oz
Solids – fruit
Play
Soothe down around 10
Nap by 10:30

Wake / Bottle (6oz) 11:45 – 12:00
Solids – veggies (mostly thick purees or finger foods now)
Play
Soothe down 3 hours after wake time – usually around 3:00
Nap around 3:30

Wake / Bottle (6oz) 4:45 – 5:00
Solids – veggies
Play

Bath 7:15-7:30
Bottle (7.5 oz) – 7:45
In crib by 8:15
Asleep by 8:25-8:35
Still STTN – usually around 11 hours

Recent Photos/Videos:

These split screen photos include pictures of me as a baby and current pictures of Ritter.  PROOF that he does have some of me in him afterall.  It’s kinda freaky!…