Brooks-7 months

I have the best, most giving, and very talented sister Kristi who was so gracious to take these pics of Brooks' last minute at my request.  I may be bias, but I think she is the best photographer.  She really captures the beauty of children with natural light and settings.  Thanks again Kristi!

Brooks is 7 months old.  I can't believe how fast time has gone by with him.  We are so happy he came to our family.  He has been such an amazing blessing to us.  A few things I want to remember about Brooks at this age:

-He is so happy and smiley all the time. 

-He loves interacting with people.

-Brooks gets so excited when Daddy comes home.  He will just smile when he hears his voice and will kick both of his legs like crazy until Ryan comes and holds him.

-Brooks loves eating baby foods.  I really haven't found a flavor he doesn't like.

-He can pick up finger foods and eat them using his thumb and pointer finger.  His favorite are the Gerber Peach Puffs.

-His favorite toys right now are balls he can crawl after, the stairs which he loves to pull himself up on, anything that makes a crinkly sound, water bottles, my earrings, and any toy in Dalton's room.

-He is a master crawler and can get going anywhere he wants--FAST

-If he doesn't like the surface he is crawling on he takes his knees off the floor and bear crawls around.

-He likes playing and crawling on the grass (which surprises me b/c Ashby and Dalton did not like the feeling of grass at all.)

-Brooks adores Ashby and Dalton.  He will follow them and watch them play all day.
-Ashby is like a second Mother to Brooks.  He loves for her to hold him and take care of him. I'm glad she is responsible enough to do a good job!
-Anything Dalton does Brooks' just lights up with a smile and laughter.

-He has no teeth yet but is drooling a ton and bites and chews everything in sight.

-Trying to change Brooks' diaper or get him dressed should be an Olympic sport it is so difficult.  He is constantly trying to roll over and crawl away.

-He is starting to pull up on our stairs, couches and other things around the house.

-Brooks is 90th percentile for height and 60th percentile for weight. 

-He likes to stick out his tongue when he smiles.

-He loves his blue blanket.  When he is tired he likes to be held with it.

-Brooks is a great sleeper.  We put him in his bed awake and he sleeps 11-12 hrs. straight.  It is fantastic!! 

-He takes 3-4 naps a day.  He usually goes down without a fuss but sometimes there is a little crying.  I usually have to wake him up from his naps to take or pick up kids from school.  He is always happy and smiles when I get him.  It is nice he goes with the flow because it seems we are always on the move.

-He likes his pacifier and can put it in all by himself.

-He loves nursing but is not a fan of the bottle or formula.  He will drink 1 oz. from a bottle if I am lucky.

-Brooks definitely prefers to sleep in his bed and will only fall asleep in the car seat if he is really tired, and even then he will only doze off for 15 min.

-Although he rarely falls asleep in his car seat, he loves being in it.  He plays contently and talks to himself or Dalton when we are out and about.