six months.

It's happened. My little baby is half a year old. I can't believe how much he's grown and how much he's learned and changed in the last six months. 

In his 6th month, Franz...

• has ALMOST learned to sit by himself. He can go for a few seconds at a time, but always falls over eventually.
• babbles all day long, and has learned to say, "dada," and says it all the time. Dadadadadadadadadadada.
• loves to jump in his jumperoo (that JoJo let us borrow!). Also loves to put his feet on anything and everything and try to jump off of it, even if he's lying down.
• is laughing a lot more. The things that make him laugh the most are tickling his back, neck, thighs, and armpits, playing peek-a-boo, fake laughing at him, and eating his tummy.
• is the worst sleeper ever (he's been waking about every hour at night lately and refuses naps unless he's in the stroller or boba carrier).
• smiles at just about anything.
• plays this game where he puts his burp rag over his head and waits, excitedly, for us to pull it off.
• pants like a dog when he's excited.
• has hair that sticks straight up, and always gets compliments on it.
• loooooves to be held and loves the boba carrier. He's starting to put his hands up when you reach for him.
• is crazy about solids. So far we've only fed him apples and carrots, but he loves them (apples more than carrots... I think my dessert craving when I was pregnant got passed on to him). And he tries to eat everything we're eating.
• is starting to get his two bottom teeth! They're not quite here, but should be here any day now.
• does a pouty lip and cries when he's scared--see last picture above (things that scare him: random sounds that we make and the blender).
• tries to crawl, but he doesn't quite know how to get his legs to cooperate yet. He can scoot a few centimeters, though.
• is 21 pounds and 10 ounces, and 28 inches tall. He's a big guy, just like his papa was.
• wears anything from 9-18 months in clothes, and size 4 diapers. Seriously.
• loves baths, and loves to splash! I'm excited to take him to the pool in a couple of weeks.
• had his second cold and his first flu, all within a week of each other. Add two doctors visits and one ER visit in the middle of the night, and that's how the last part of April was for us.
• is fascinated with books.
• has started rolling over onto his tummy in his sleep, and then sleeps face down, and scares the crap out of his mama. He's also started sleeping with us in our bed once or twice a night. I can't say I'm upset about it, especially when he falls asleep with his hand on my face.
• has started chewing on his feet.
• gives really tight hugs and really wet kisses that are the best things ever.

This boy is full of personality. He's so fiesty and so sweet. When I was pregnant with him, I just knew that he would be the type of person who kinda marched to the beat of his own drum, just by his kicks alone (is that weird?). And I was totally right. It's incredible to me that his personality is coming out, and how I can see what kind of person he'll be. I am so lucky to be this boy's mama!

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bbq on a saturday.

^^^Hey, look! Tooth buds! 

Last Saturday, we invited Erica and Wes over for a BBQ in our complex. There's a really good grill on the side of our apartment that we don't use enough, and we were in the mood for some chicken and veggie kebabs, so we grilled some up while Franz bounced and bounced behind us.

It was so windy out, and our napkins and plates kept blowing away, but it was warm, so we stayed outside long enough to roast some s'mores, and then hurried inside so Zac could show Wes his new Play Station 4, and so Erica could show me her Leslie and the Lys record (which is awesome, by the way).

I love having friends so close. And as it turns out, we're both looking for houses to buy and move into, so it won't be for too long, so this summer I think I'm going to eat this close proximity up.

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easter weekend.

^^^Easter Bunny poop

We had such a good Easter this year--Franz's first!--with two big dinners and two Easter egg hunts: one at my parents' house and the other at Zac's parents'. 

Saturday we drove up to my parents' and ate a dinner of ham and potatoes, went on the most elaborate Easter egg hunt (with eggs scattered around the perimeter of the entire house), where Aiden shook every egg he picked up to make sure there was something inside, and ate carrot cake made by yours truly for dessert! My belly was pretty happy that night. 

And on Sunday, Franz played with ate his toys that the Easter Bunny got him, and we had a turkey dinner with the Swensons, went on another Easter egg hunt there, where we lost one egg filled with ten dollars to the garden (seriously, no one could find it, and we spent about an hour looking for it), and then Zac and I taught the FHE lesson. 

Having Franz with us to enjoy the holidays this year (and the last part of last year) has been so much fun. Even though he's tiny and doesn't react much to the things we do, I just love starting our own holiday traditions with this little family of mine. And I am sitting on the edge of my seat waiting for next year when he'll be a little bigger and little more excited about things! :)

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franz sits!

Okay, so he can't sit on his own for an unlimited amount of time, but he can sit on his own for a 20 or 30 seconds! And he's the cutest little chunky ball when he sits up.

In other news, this baby is teething. I can't wait for those two bottom teeth to come up, because I hate seeing him in pain. As I type this (with one hand), he's asleep in my arms, because that's his number one preference of where to be all the time these days. I don't mind one bit. He's even let me rock him to sleep for nap time the last few days, and I absolutely love it! Baby cuddles are my favorite.

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five months.

This fifth month has been my absolute favorite so far! Franz's little personality is coming out, and it's so much fun to watch! He has a sweet side like Zac where he smiles and laughs at us, but he's also got a fiesty side like me where he growls when he's angry and will scream when he's hungry and I'm too slow to feed him.

Along with growling, his little voice has made itself known this month! He talks all day long, and uses so many words and sounds. He loves to move and stand and jump, and has found his feet, and loves to play with them when he's lying on his back.

I am so amazed at how different he is compared to a month ago. He's so much more aware, active, vocal, and so much more fun! I just wish I could bottle this little 5 month age and keep it for a while.

At 5 months, Franz...

• has found his feet, and grabs them every time he's lying on his back.
• is laughing more and more, especially when he's tired for some reason. I think he gets slap happy.
• eats every 2 1/2 hours on average, including at night (although he did sleep a 5-hour stretch last night in his carseat!).
• is sleeping in his crib for daytime naps now (I'm making him), and the only way he'll go to sleep there is if he's swaddled.
• wears size 3 diapers, but I'm sure he'd fit into size 4.
• wears 6-9 month clothes, and some 9-12 months.
• is as happy as a clam when he's being held facing out while you walk around. This will cheer him up instantly is he's crying (if he's not hungry).
• has practiced eating solids (homemade rice and oatmeal cereal), but isn't very good at it yet--he just spits it out. 
• gets sooo distracted when he's breastfeeding. He'll pop off, look around, and then open his mouth as wide as he can and scrunch his nose to get back on again, and repeat.
• loves to plank (his way of getting himself to stand up... with our help), and has started using his head to push off of things to try and stand (see last picture above).
• loves to splash in the tub (and plank there, too).
• loves the outdoors and the fresh air. He prefers the car and apartment windows open.
• has started sucking on his bottom lip.
• got a new binky (mam), and LOVES it like no other. And it actually stays in his mouth, so I'm happy (the soothies didn't).
• looks like the baby dinosaur on the TV show Dinosaurs.
• blows the biggest, most forceful raspberries, accompanied by the best spit bubbles.
• still sticks out his tongue.
• loves rides in the stroller, and most rides in the car.
• is okay if strangers hold him. He loves anyone who will pay attention to him. He's such a flirt.
• gets sad/mad (and sometimes growls) if we're not paying attention to him. Then stops when he pick him up.
• has eaten from a bottle a few times, and does great with it (the first one we tried!).
• loves to chew on toys, and is getting so good at grabbing them. His favorites are the ones that make noise.
• loves to squeal and make any other noise he can muster up.
• smiles after he sneezes and toots.
• slept in his crib at night for the first time, but only for a few nights, because this mama missed him (and didn't want to walk down the hall every 2 1/2 hours to feed him).
• started choking on breast milk, and had the ambulance called on him (scary mama moment). He was fine by the time they got here. Happy April Fools to me.
• still can't roll from tummy to back (or maybe he just doesn't want to).
• loves weird and obnoxious noises from his mama and papa.
• will put his hands on either side of your face if you get it close enough and will try to eat you, smile at you, or talk to you.
• has the chubbiest little body, and the best rolls, and the most kissable cheeks.
• tried a carrot stick and hated it.
• sat up without help for the first time (but still needs help from time to time).

This boy. He is a dream. I have so much fun with him! It's crazy to think how much he's grown in the last five months: from a helpless, still, tiny baby, to a chubby, huge, talkative, mobile, smart baby. I remember thinking, when he was brand new, that the first two months would drag on forever (because I was waiting to start him on a schedule), and now he's five months already?! Life goes by pretty fast, but I feel like with a baby, it goes by way faster than normal. It needs to slow down, because my baby can't be six months old next most. Nope. Impossible.

...

15/52.

A few days ago, Franz found his feet, and this is what he does each time we lay him down. I'm just waiting for the day when he starts to eat his toes!

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the big ol' 24.

I turned 24 on Sunday, and since my birthday fell on a Sunday, we decided to celebrate the majority of it on Saturday and go to the zoo! We drove all the way up there just to find out that it was freezing, windy, and pouring rain, so we decided to drive over to the City Creek mall for lunch and see how the weather was then. Sure enough, after lunch, the rain had stopped, and it was sunny (but still freezing), so we decided to go see all the animals!

I was hoping that Franz would be at least a little excited about all these crazy new animals, but they didn't even phase him. In fact, he slept through about half of it, and when he was awake in the monkey building, a huge ape walked right up to the glass window we were standing in front of, and Franz looked right at him, but didn't even flinch. I guess we'll need to take him back when he's a little older (and when it's not so chilly out).

After the zoo, I made Zac go to Trader Joe's with me so we could get buffalo mozzarella (which they did not have!!!!!), and ended up getting kettle corn, birthday cupcakes, and a chocolate bar instead. 

On Sunday, my real, live, actual birthday, we watched the first session of General Conference at home, and then drove up to my parents' house between sessions where we watched the last session, ate stir fry (my favorite!) and birthday pie, and goggled over how cute my baby is (oh, maybe that was just me... and my dad).

It was a very laid back birthday, but I enjoyed it! It was enough to make me oh so exhausted by the time we got home Sunday night. I was out like a light! And now I'm 24 years old.

See past birthdays here and here!

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