Holidays

I'm so sorry for not posting an update last month. Things always get crazy around the holidays as you all know, and having a 7 month old takes the craziness to a whole new level. I wouldn't have it any other way though! Having Brock around for the Holidays has made this season the best one yet.

November, 6 Months old:

We spent Thanksgiving here in Austin over at my Mom's house. The Bungo's joined us over there and it was really a fun day for everyone. Brock was the center of attention, of course, and he did very well. Brock is such a good baby, and Joe and I really have nothing to complain about. He adjusts very well to different environments and has a pretty good schedule. Brock's MiMaw (Chris) is still taking care of Brock on Mondays while Nana (Donna) has baby duty on Tuesday. Thursdays vary a bit; when Joe isn't traveling he stays home with the baby and when he is, we have a babysitter who comes to our house and watches him for the day. Kasey is really good with Brock and he seems to really like her too.

I have listed below some of the milestones Brock reached in his 6th month:

-Brock started eating veggies along with his cereal once a day at 6 months. He likes them all but sweet peas. I am making his baby food and that is going really well. It's actually quite a bit of fun and I get really excited each time I make something new :-)

-Brock got two of his bottom teeth in! The first when he was about a week shy of 6 months and the other two weeks later. Brock's smile has always melted my heart but seeing those two tiny teeth in there make it even more precious!

-Brock rolls ALL OVER the place! You can lay him on the floor and in no time at all he has barrel rolled across the floor.

-Brock LOVES his toys and boy does he have a lot of them!! It's fun playing with him because he can interact so much more these days.

-Brock can sit completely unsupported. He was getting pretty good around the end of 5 months, but by early December he was a pro.

-At Brock's 6 month well-visit he was 27.5 in long and weighed exactly 20lbs. He's in the 80 percentile for both.

-The Dr was VERY impressed by how strong Brock was and she said he's developing "perfectly".

-Brock found his voice and loves to test it out and hear himself talk loudly. It isn't uncommon for him to let out an all out yell for 5 minutes or so. If he's not in immediate sight, it might sound like he's unhappy or about to cry, but I assure you, they're happy screams!

-Brock started waking up in the night to eat at 6 months. I read that this is normal as they go through a pretty big growth spurt at 6 months. I'm happy to report that he's back on his 10-12 hour sleep schedule and goes to bed between 7-8 PM every night :-)

zucchini first veggie

trying out the sippy cup

loves to read

looks like Daddy here

still LOVES bath time

Nickname- One Sock Brock

sitting like a big boy

December, 7 Months old:

December has been FULL of all kinds of excitement!!! Joe and I went to the Riverwalk in San Antonio for a weekend trip and my company's holiday party. We had a great time getting away for the night but were excited to get home to our baby boy! Melanie and Georgia visited for a long weekend in mid-December. It was fun having them here and Georgia loved "Baby Brock"! She even named a doll after him once she got home, and I hear she takes very good care of him. Celebrating Christmas with a brand new baby has got to be the best thing in the world. It has been 10 years plus on both sides of our family since there was a baby around for the Holidays. Brock, being the first Grandchild on both sides, was well taken care of as you can imagine. One of the neatest parts of our Christmas was that we GOT SNOW, and LOTS of it!!!! We spent Christmas Eve in Forestburg, Texas (north, close to the Red River) and it snowed for 10 straight hours and dumped a total of 8 inches on the ground. I've NEVER seen snow like this before and never had a white Christmas. Sharing my first white Christmas with my sweet angel Brock was very special and one that I'll certainly never forget!

December was another month full of milestones for B:

-Brock is crawling! Well, "army man crawling" is what we call it. He can crawl with his legs and crawl with his arms just not at the same time. However, if there's something that he wants he'll get it! (Not sure who he got that from.....) His favorite item to go after is a cell phone, and a close second is the TV remote. Haha!

-Brock saw snow for the first time.

-Brock is on a pretty consistent 2-naps-a-day schedule. One in the morning around 10 and the other in the afternoon around 2. He naps naps on average about an hour each.

-Brock eats 2 solid meals a day. Fruit and cereal in the AM and veggies and cereal in the PM. His favorites seem to be pears and butternut squash. Brock isn't a big fan of bananas.

-Brock started a "sippy" cup. He just drinks water at the moment, but he's getting pretty good at it. It took a few weeks for him to figure out what to do with the cup but he has it down pretty good now. I think he enjoys chewing on the spout the most but seems to like the water some too :-)

determined to get the present

GOT IT!!!!

Christmas Day

Daddy and Brock in their "fort"

unfortunately, Brock has NO toys.....

I hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas and wish you all the happiest New Year. I will post again soon, I promise.

Until next time, we are sending all of our love,

Joe, Emily and Brock

Hook 'em

Fall is in the air

Pumpkin Patch in Wimberly

Brock turned 5 months this past month and celebrated his first Holiday, Halloween. He is topping the scales at 18lbs. 9oz as of two weeks ago, and has even starting to sit on his own. He cant quite do it all by himself, but if he leans forward he can hold himself upright for a minute or so. Brock is rolling around all over the place, can walk in his new walker, and LOVES to talk. He has even started growling like a lion, it is quite funny to listen to him carry on with himself. I am amazed at how quickly he is developing and how he seems to do something new every day. He is starting to develop quite a little personality and is very interested in your every move. He is quite the flirt with his big blue eyes, long eye lashes and sweet smile. He certainly isn't shy when it comes to the ladies. :-) Brock was a lion for Halloween. I am fully aware that he is going to hate me when he is older and sees his first Halloween costume, but I don't care, it was so fun dressing him up. Secretly and I know he liked it too :-) Starting about 3 weeks ago, Brock had his first meal. He is eating whole grain rice cereal once a day and loves it! He is transitioning to solids quite well and eats from a spoon like a champ. He literally opened his mouth like a baby bird on the second bite. You would have thought he had been eating off a spoon for months! I am in the process of getting a few books, and the equipment necessary, to start making Brock's baby food. I have decided I am going to make most of his baby food and will hopefully start giving him some of the Stage 1 foods here in the next week or so.

I will leave you with a few pictures of what we have been up to the past month. I hope all is well with everyone and I am SO excited to keeping everyone up to date with new posts over the next couple months. Celebrating the Holidays with a new baby is very exciting for all of us!

MS 5K

Slept the whole time

Wants to crawl but doesn't quite get what he is supposed to do with his legs

Brock and Aunt Katy

Bungo Men, 3 Generations

Having fun at The Pumpkin Patch

Brock and Mommy

Getting ready to go Trick or Treating

Have you ever seen a cuter lion?

4 Months

Brock is literally growing like a weed and developing more and more every day. At his 4 month wellness check last week he weighed 16 lbs. 9 oz and was 25.5 inches long, in the top 75 percentile for both. He has complete head control, is trying to pull himself up when laying down, and can put most of his weight on his legs when held up. He started rolling over about 5 weeks ago and can roll both right and left from his belly to his back. Brock's favorite thing to do right now is jump in his jump-a-roo and talk. He is cooing more every day and will sometimes just carry on for 20 minutes or more. It is so cute, he'll even try to mimic some sounds that we make to him. He is reaching out for toys and bringing them to himself, and is a PRO at finding his thumb. Brock LOVES his thumb!!! He found it over a month ago but struggled with being able to put it in is mouth when he wanted it. Now, he knows exactly how to get it there. Me, nor the pediatrician, are worried about this as it is a great self-soothing tactic and won't likely be an issue when he gets older. Brock is also giggling more and it is just the sweetest thing. He has been belly laughing for quite some time, but this is an all out chuckle! I never thought a giggle could sound so sweet but it is sweet enough to bring tears to my eyes. With every new sound and expression he makes I fall more and more in love with him.

Brock's reflux seems to be improving. His voice is better and he seems to be less irritable. He still spits up quite a bit, but the medication doesn't stop the spit up, just balances out the acid in it so it's not uncomfortable for him. We did go to a specialist as recommended by my Pediatrician, but he was happy with the progress Brock has made with the medication and did not see a need for any further treatment or testing. We were very happy for the good report. The specialist did give me signs to look out for, but so far, he seems to be doing really well.

As for Joe and I, we are good. Joe is traveling a lot for work and getting to see some really cool places. He spent a week in Greece and Cypress, and even had an unexpected detour in Rome. He also went to Monterrey and Mexico City and has at least one UK trip in the next month. It is very hard when he is gone but it is getting a little easier... I suppose. As hard as it is sometimes I am very thankful for the jobs that we both have so really can't complain too much.

The biggest news from Joe and I is we spent our first night away from the baby. I was in my friend Logan's wedding a few weeks ago; instead of having my parents have to wait up late for us to get in we decided to let Brock stay at their house and we would pick him up in the morning. I felt a bit guilty at first because he is still so little, but with reassurance from my Mom and Joe that he would be just fine, I decided to go ahead and do it. I was a bit of a nervous wreck and showed up at 7 am to pick him up, but we all survived. Joe and I had a lot of fun with each other and all of our friends, Nana and Papa loved it, and Brock didn't skip a beat.

Attached are a few pictures from the past month. I hope everyone is well and we hope to see all of you really soon.

All of our love,

The Bungo's

Brock's 3 Month Pictures

Brock in his jumper

Brock's first time tailgating

Airplane

Ready to walk (Mommy is NOT)

Bobcat Baby #2 on the way. Sweet Caroline