MLK Day

Yesterday Phil had the day off for Martin Luther King Day. We thought we would take advantage and do some Michigan sight seeing. We opted for The Henry Ford Museum since it was free for the holiday. It was awesome. Henry Ford amassed a lot of historical objects and now the public gets to see them. We got to see awesome things such as the car JFK was assassinated in, the chair Lincoln was assassinated in, and the bus in which Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat. There were a lot of cool things to see. On top of that there's a huge collection of trains, planes and cars.

We kept saying over and over again that if Felix were a few years older he would love it. But, he seemed to enjoy himself by occupying his time chewing the strap on his stroller.

He was actually surprisingly well-behaved. Since he's so mobile now crawling and standing up its harder and harder to keep him still (i.e. 3 hours of church). But I think as long as he could chew on something and he had things to look at he was just fine! 

Crawling and Standing

Felix has been crawling for about three weeks now. Once he started to get the hang of that he started pulling himself up on things. He's getting stronger and stronger and it seems like he's learning to do new things everyday. It really is amazing to me that he's already able to crawl! Anyway, here are some videos of him in action.

The Time Has Come

(Disclaimer: Phil got him dressed that day)

The time has come when Felix gets into anything and everything (as long as its at floor level of course). Everything from the DVD player to the Christmas lights. He has become so much more mobile now and curious about his surroundings. He's not doing the traditional crawl, but does what we call the scoot and lunge. He gets on his hands and knees, scoots his knees forward and then lunges forward with his body. It's possibly the cutest thing. He also does this thing where he gets up on his tippy toes. It kind of looks like a cross between a downward dog yoga pose and Mowgli from The Jungle Book (minus the elephant and the actual movement forward). I've been trying to get a picture of it, but Felix is too quick for me.

Felix loves to play with the blinds on our wall of windows. 

I've even tried putting pillows and toys in front of the windows to try and prevent him from getting over there, but that doesn't stop him.

This morning I looked over and I couldn't find Felix. Can you spot him? Yup that's him between his toys and the window. Nothing will stop this kid from his goal. This time it was the baby wipes box, which I think next to the blinds is one of his favorite toys. 

Very frequently I will find him underneath his Jumperoo or the table.

Speaking of tables, check out his sweet booster. 

Can I be honest? I think I like my son a lot more now that he's more mobile and interactive. Don't get me wrong I've loved him since the day we first saw him on the sonogram, but he's fun now! I hope that doesn't make me a bad mother.

A Typical Day

Here are some things you would see Felix doing in a typical day here around the house. 

Getting up on his hands and knees! 

Scooting himself until he gets stuck under the couch 

Playing in his jumperoo 

Sporting his two new teeth!!!!!

(they both came in last week!)

    

Oh the Things He Does!

I can't believe how big Felix is getting! I think I say that all the time...but really, he's huge! We took him in for his 6 month appointment this week and he weighed in at 18lbs 14oz and 28.25" long. He stayed in the 75th percentile for weight, but shot up to 94th percentile for height! 

Waiting on the exam table 

Chewing on his monkey to pass the time

Oh how I love that smile and those cheeks! 

He no longer looks like a baby to me. His features are filling out and he's getting a little personality...although I'm sure most of his current "personality" is the result of teething. No teeth are visible yet, but they sure are taking their time. 

He does this a lot. Lots of drooling too. 

Reading with Dad

We're also working on sitting up with Felix. He's getting better and better but still tips over on occasion.  Below he's sitting in the boppy pillow which helps. He loves to sit up and play! 

 I took these pictures one day while we were playing. He just looked so grown up in his jeans and polo shirt. 

Yesterday we started solids. He did really well. Early in the afternoon I gave him a few tastes of applesauce which he loved and last night for dinner we gave him some sweet potatoes. I'm attempting to make his baby food, which, if I can stick with it, will be much cheaper for us. I spent about an hour and fifteen minutes on Thursday making baby food, spent about $6 or so on produce and got about 32 servings of food (sweet potato, butternut squash, peas, and prunes), plus I had leftovers and made some sweet potato and butternut squash soup for us. Delish. 

Here's Felix rather confused at being put on top of the table. 

He began to be more interested in sucking the sweet potato off his bib than eating it from the spoon, but he ended up finishing the whole bowl!

Last weekend Felix and I drove down to PA to visit Jon and Deb. Owen had an emergency appendectomy which partially ruptured last week. My mom flew out to help out so I thought I would drive down and see everyone and help out if I could. Owen is doing great and recovering well. I think being there and seeing family was really good for me. They probably did more for me than I did for them! It's been hard for me to make the adjustment to Ann Arbor being away from family and friends, but being able to see Jon, Deb, Isaac, Owen and my Mom gave a little bit of added strength. There's nothing better than getting a hug from your mom when you need a little encouragement! 

It snowed while I was there. Here's Jon and Isaac making a snowman. Owen had a hard time just sitting on the couch during the first snow of the year, so he got bundled up and went outside to watch. 

Here's Nana snuggling her youngest grandchild. It's hard to resist those cheeks! 

Sweet Owie taking a self portrait! 

Picnic in the Park

Yesterday was such a beautiful day here in Ann Arbor. Sunny, clear skies, leaves changing, and 80! We decided to spend Sunday afternoon at the park w/ a picnic. We went to Gallup Park and I think we'll be going back there again. It's a beautiful park with a playground, biking/walking paths, picnic benches and beautiful scenery.

Felix in his new ride! We cashed in credit card points and got the Phil & Teds Explorer w/ doubles kit (this was a surprise when we opened the box...so we kind of have to have more kids right?). We got a great deal at Buy Buy Baby and we love it! 

 Mommy and Felix photo session (I won't tell you about the really thick and wavy long gray hair I had to edit out...I quickly pulled that out once I saw the pictures!!)

Daddy and Felix photo session! The second picture was completely by accident. Like father like son. 

One of a few family pictures we have! We experimented with the self timer on the camera and I think it turned out pretty great. 

The many faces of Felix Robert Singer. Isn't he a cutie?

Dad's about the get a nice little surprise on the face!!

There's a pond and a river by the park and Phil got these great pictures of the swans. Aren't they beautiful? 

I think this was our favorite day in Ann Arbor thus far. After a few hours Felix fell asleep in my arms and Phil and I sat on a bench by the pond reading our books. There's nothing better than taking a break and relaxing with my two best guys.