Tanner Ross || 7 months

seven months. 

boy you've got to slow.DOWN.
how in heaven's name are we now closer to you being one than we are to the day you were born. he's getting heavier and heavier for brandon to be holding like this too!

age: 7 months

stats:

7 months: 22.8 lbs  --  (from the scale at home)

birth: 8lbs 2ox  --  21 inches

2 days: 7lbs 11oz

12 days: 9lbs 1oz

1 month: 12lbs 4oz  --  23 1/2 inches

2 months: 15lbs  --  24 inches

3 months: 17.4 lbs  --  (from the scale at home)

4 months: 18lbs 13oz  --  27 inches

5 months:  20.4 lbs  --  (from the scale at home)

6 months: 21lbs 2oz  --  28 inches

clothes: 12 month

diapers: 3

Tanner name sign // Quincyjeanart

banner // hooray everyday

this last month has literally been life changing. Tanner no longer hates the car!! him not hating the car every time he gets strapped in and ready to go has lifted an enormous weight for me. I feel like i've gained some freedom back and we can go places pleasantly! :) I didn't realize just how much him hating the car affected me and what we did or didn't do. literally the day he turned six months old, it's like a light switched and he decided riding in the car was actually an ok thing to do :)

this last month has also brought some struggle on my part as I try to find balance as a wife and mother of two and to still fit in time for myself and most importantly for Jesus. it's a constant work in progress, but prioritizing my life is bringing clarity in the days.

E A T
still breastfeeding and all is going well.
we're now doing solids twice a day. oatmeal with breastmilk in the morning and a veggie and rice cereal with breastmilk at dinner. he doesn't take to a new food right away. we've found it takes a few times of offering it until he's ready to accept it. his favorite to eat is either oatmeal or rice cereal. most favored veggies have been carrots and butternut squash.
so far tanner has had yellow squash, carrots, butternut squash, and sweet potatoes. here in the next few weeks we'll be adding in kale, peas, spinach, zucchini, and yams.
excited for him to experience all these new flavors and textures! the facial expressions are priceless!
even though he often doesn't love a new food right away, we just wait a couple days and then offer it again. and just keep on doing this. it can take SO many times for a new food to be accepted. it's so important to not rule any foods out because you think baby doesn't like them. just keep trying and offering! 

S L E E P
when he's tired and ready to sleep he's so clear on it by rubbing his little eyes with the back of his fist. we're not really following the wake-eat-play-sleep quite as much these days. I've been finding that he takes longer, more solid naps if I nurse him before going down. and that's what works best for us. I also do not hate those extra snuggles, because they'll be gone before I know it and won't be back. ever! I love playing lullaby music while rocking him down and he's been making the sweet little noises as we rock. I could sit there all the live long day. if I didn't have any other responsibilities outside that nursery door. truth be told- it can be so tough when I'm trying to put Tanner down and in walks harper, all ready to play!
baby boy loves to sleep on his tummy. we always lay him down on his back first, but about 50% of his sleeping is spent on his tummy. all by him putting himself there. takes after his mama ;)

P L A Y
language is developing and new sounds are being made. I love it! he's been making little spitting noises with his lips and it's so fun to see him get happy about these new sounds he's making. of course we're all working on trying to get that first "mama" or "dada" or "harper" ;) out of him, but we don't seem to be anywhere close on that. especially "harper"!
it just keeps getting cuter and cuter as these two play, interact, and laugh with each other.
up until just recent we've lined up a couple pillows behind him while sitting. not because his sitting wasn't solid, but 1. if he got tired of sitting he would just let himself go backwards to lay down and 2. harper was enjoying playing doctor with tanner as her patient and to lay him down for his check up, she'd push him right on back. hey- what are little brothers for?? ;)

P H O T O   D U M P

love you so, sweet boy! xoxo

6 months

5 months

4 months

3 months

2 months

1 month

birth

xoxo

-Brittney

follow along on instagram @brittneyhjelseth

Harper Monaé || two and a half

it has been so darn long since I've done any sort of update on Harper. and I've been wanting to for so, so long! like even way before Tanner was born.
when I went and looked back, it's actually been a year! the last time I did one of these for her, she was just 18 months old (HERE). man has SOOO much changed since then! no way I can encompass it all and explain our harper girl's last year of life. but a snapshot of where she's at now will certainly do! these littles grow and change so stinking fast!
time, you're such a thief. but also so amazing, because I just love how our bond has grown over these past two and a half years.
my littlest BFF. and I pray she always will be.

I have a section in my notes in my phone, and when I think about it, I jot down some of the hilarious things this crazy girls says/does.
it's the closest I can get to bottling up her cute little self.
--- as we're about to walk out of the house to go to the store.. (most likely target) ....  Harper: "I have lots of monies, do you?"
--- referring to hiccups as "pick ups"
--- when saying "cake pops" it comes out as "cake ..." well, replace those "p's" in pop with "c's" ;) trying so hard to fix this mixup!!
--- tanner was newborn and had a clogged tear duct. he'd have dry little crusties on his eye and harper says.. "crumb in eye!"
--- driving through construction.. "ooo big mess. gotta clean it up!" ... yes harper.. we alll would agree with you on that one.
--- music comes out "mugis" ... kinda gross cause all I can think of is mucus. but whateve.
--- at dinner one night... Me: "honey please don't touch my food" ... Harper: "I'm sorry sweetie". ok if you're gonna respond like that- touch my food all you want. heart melting.
--- Me: "should we turn the fire place on?" ... Harper: "ooo! that'd be snuggy and warm!"
--- anything that is mini/baby size/or just baby related... "aww so cuuuttee!" ... while holding it up close to your cheek. again. heart meltinggg.

Harper Monaé  --  my favorite things about you:
--- the conversations we have while you sit on the potty. so stinking talkative. just chatting my ear off. about anything and everything. so so cute! I've taken a number of videos of this :)
--- how you are in this stage of loving to help mom with everything. especially cooking.
--- oh how you love to "cheers" everything. if anything matches or is the same, we cheers. cups. shoes. lipgloss. toys. straws. nail polish. tv remote/toy remote.
--- your vocabulary is unreal. for quite some time it has just been exploding with each and every week! I love the conversations we get to have now :)
--- your love for kindermusik. one of the best decisions we made was enrolling you in this class. my mama heart bursts seeing you excel and love every minute of it.
--- you sing all the live long day! allll day long. it is literally music to my ears hearing your sweet little voice fill our house.
--- if it were up to you. your outfit choice would be a princess dress. every.day. I know I'm gonna miss the day you grow out of this!

this girl. she has more sass than I can sometimes handle. she's most certainly a two year old. her sweet heart and spirit melt me all at the same time. she has such a giving heart and is always caring about others. smart as a whip. it blows my mind all that she knows and watching her learn is something that will never get old. a personality that far exceeds anything I ever could've imagined. 

this girl is growing and changing as the weeks fly by. every day she is learning something new while also teaching me all along the way. 

precious girl, you are so near and dear to me. to think we've had you for two and a half years and all the joy that has come with it. I could just burst thinking about all the lessons and memories we'll have in the many years ahead of us.

Xoxo

-Brittney

follow along on instagram @brittneyhjelseth

Tanner Ross || 6 months

six.

SIX.

S I X...

how!!?

when I woke on friday to my baby boy being six whole months old, I felt some sentimental emotions. gave me a little taste as to what I'll be feeling six months from now when he turns one. but that seems like a lifetime away. until it gets here and then it'll seem as though it came so fast. 

it really does amaze me how time just flies. but at the same time, it is all so great. so much joy is brought into our home with our sweet baby tanner.  his precious little spirit is almost too much for a mama's heart to handle. we're seeing his little personality shine more and more these days.

I feel like I keep saying it, and I know I'm gonna keep at it too- but this age is SO fun! his level of interaction with harper is just the best. he loves to play with her and she loves to play with him. most of the time ;)

oh our sweet tanner boy! we love you to the moon and back! and back again!

age: 6 months

stats:

                   birth: 8lbs 2 oz  --  21 inches

 2 days: 7lbs 11oz

 12 days: 9lbs 1oz

                                1 month: 12lbs 4oz  --  23 1/2 inches

                     2 months: 15lbs  --  24 inches

                                                 3 months: 17.4 lbs  --  (from the scale at home)

                             4 months: 18lbs 13oz  --  27 inches

                                                  5 months:  20.4 lbs  --  (from the scale at home)
**6 months: 21lbs 2oz  --  28 inches

clothes: 9-12 month

diapers: 3

Tanner name sign // Quincyjeanart

banner // hooray everyday

F I R S T S

some big ones this month!!

--- first family trip to Suncadia + Leavenworth before Christmas (dec. 13-15) --- first solids- rice cereal! (dec. 19) --- first christmas! ---  first tooth!! (jan 6) --- sitting up! (jan 12) ---  

E A T

this boy is going through yet another growth spurt. but then again that seems to be the case since the day he was born. growth spurt after growth spurt after growth spurt. just look at him though- what else should I expect!?
still breastfeeding and going strong! my goal is to reach at least one year. harper was breastfed for 13 months, so I certainly believe it to be possible!
we usually have to go up to his nursery to get away somewhere quite for nursing because he's become much more easily distracted with all that's going on around him.
right now we are doing solids only once a day. we started with rice cereal mixed with breastmilk. after about a week of that, we've been playing with some veggies too. we have a baby breeze from when harper was a baby and I love it! after pureeing the vegetable, I then spoon it into ice cube trays, put them in the freezer, then once they're frozen I move them into ziploc bags. makes it so easy to grab and heat when it's time for tanner to eat.
right now, it's been one cube of veggie, followed by rice cereal. until he shows signs that he's over it. which with this guy, become very clear! he's quite vocal at meal time and gets very into it. I'm guessing this is just the beginning with having a son ;)
Tanner has had yellow squash + sweet potato + butternut squash. the butternut squash seems to be his favorite as of now. his reactions when we introduce a new food are quite funny but as he learns the new taste and texture, he has been accepting it all very well! praying he'll be a good eater like his sister! but who am I kidding? there's probably no question in that. I mean, just look at the kid ;)

S L E E P

being off our norm with the holiday + teething + having a cold, it's hard to say what's been going on. we're definitely much improved from where things were at four months though. it's much more rare for him to end up in our bed. he's getting back to being better at putting himself to sleep after a little rocking when first going down. 2-3 night wake ups are our norm. then it's nursing, a little settling down, and he's back to sleep. not bad in my book!
naps are about 2-3 a day. usually shorter, 45min ish in the morning and evening, with a bigger couple hour nap in the afternoon. usually ;)
sometimes we'll find that he's rolled himself over to his side while sleeping. and now he's actually wanting to tummy sleep at times! though he's not quite sure what exactly is going on when he wakes to find himself there. we'll see where this goes though! we could have a tummy sleeper on our hands.

P L A Y

loves playing peek a boo :) there's just something about how he likes to be startled. and he always has since the beginning of his little life. the biggest, happiest smile!
BOOKS!! books have hit a whole new level with tanner this month. he has loved them before, but now even more so. we make even more of a point to make sure he's included in harper's bedtime stories. the way his arms fly and his little facial expressions when he sees each new page as we read through the book.  it is so so fun! and I'm so happy he's as into books as his sister was as a baby.
tanner LOVES his big sister! harper literally doesn't have to do a darn thing, but just look at tanner and often she'll get smiles and giggles out of him. many times it turns into big belly laughs too. things like... while she was sitting on the potty and while using the feather duster around the house. so funny! and she of course LOVES it too! I truly get a tad bit jealous. but it warms my heart to see them playing and interacting with each other. the two of them will often sit and play together just engrossed with each other.
he's become so good with reaching + grabbing + holding. though he isn't crawling, he still manages to get himself scooted around the living room on his tummy.

--things I want to remember--
--- he has really learned his name. we just love when we can call over to him and he looks our way.
--- I don't really want to remember, but little guy came down with his second virus of his life. another stinking cold! so much sickness was going around over the holiday and he came down with it too. SO thankful it didn't turn into anything as bad as his bronchiolitis a couple months ago.

--- I keep trying to get clothes for him in the next size up to grown into and by the time they're washed + put in his room, he fits into them. I just can't keep up with his growing!

--- hates the car. though I do have to say the last handful of times have been sooo much better. there is hope that we're moving in the right direction here!

P H O T O  D U M P

happy half birthday our sweet boy!!

5 months

4 months

3 months

2 months

1 month

birth

Xoxo

-Brittney

follow along on instagram @brittneyhjelseth