Tate at Six, Seven & Eight Months

Tater is now eight months.  To say that time is flying by would be an understatement!  I am long overdue for posting about Tater’s latest milestones. So here goes….

Tate at Six Months. 

Let’s start with his six-month stats from his check-up in July (where we once again confirmed that he’s much bigger than Reid was):

Height: 29.25 inches (still off the charts!)

Weight: 19lbs 5.5 ounces (75 percentile)

He practiced rolling over and got really good at being a baby “airplane.”  He was sitting up but often tipped over so he spent most of his solo time laying down.

Speaking of airplanes, in July he took his first plane ride, met his big cousins in Ohio (more on our vacation in a future post), and started solid, pureed food. 

He was really getting good at big belly laughs around his half-year mark.

Tate at Seven Months.

He got much more stable while sitting (so long as a big whirlwind brother didn’t bump into him). He started scooching around the floor at the beginning of the month, but it was mostly a combination of reaching and rolling, not really crawling.

Tater is becoming quite the ladies man.  (Sorry, Reid. Looks like Ava has moved on to a younger dude.)

We got Tate on a sleep schedule (yahoo!) during his seventh month.  It wasn’t easy, but just like his big brother, he really thrives when he knows when his next snooze is coming!  He has a very specific “tell” when he’s ready for bed:  he puts both hands behind his head.  Believe it or not, this is the face of my sleepy baby.

He continued exploring new foods and by the end of his seventh month had tried carrots, sweet pots, peas, apples, avocado, yogurt, prunes, pears, pumpkin, asparagus, peaches and broccoli.  And what do you know:  he likes them all!

He loves watching his big brother play and getting into his business, too.

Tay-Tay loves to be outside.  It’s the sure-fire way to stop a crying fit:  go outside.  We swing a lot while Reid plays in the front yard and he LOVES it.

He has been babbling a lot and mostly says “ba-ba-ba”.  We have heard him “da-da-da” and “mmm” but nothing official, yet!  Oh, and no teeth.  Lots of chewing.  Lots of drool.  But no teeth.

And before we knew it, he started army-crawling on his belly!  (Videos to come.)

Tate at Eight Months.

We can’t wait to see what this month has in store for our little Tot.

Happy Father’s Day

Happy Father’s Day to my Dad.

Happy Father’s Day to Jer’s Dad.

And Happy Father’s Day to the best Dad my little boys could hope for!

We love you, Jeremy!

Farm Fun

We recently took took the boys to a local farm to pick strawberries and blackberries.  We first went to this farm in October of 2009 with our little baby Reid. Now Tater is the baby!

Dada taught Reid how to pick strawberries.

Let’s just say that we sampled a few…

Our friends Melissa, Darin & Hudson met us there. 

The boys had a lot of fun playing and running around.

After the harvest, we rode a “train.”  (In Reid’s broad definition of “train” this collection of barrels pulled by a tractor qualifies as a “train.”  He yelled “all aboard!!” and “Chugga-chugga!” to help it seem more real. )

Darin brought his RC car and the boys had a blast chasing it in the open field…

…and driving it!

As usual, Tate was an easy-going little dude.

And we made a few new (hungry) friends. 

I cannot overstate how much fun Reid had.  He asked to go back to the farm EVERY DAY for a week. 

Story Time

Reid still loves to read. And now he likes to read his books to his baby brother. Some books he knows all the words, we've read them that much. Others, he just does his best and tells Tate what is on the page. Tate usually lays still and watches Reid.

This makes me so happy.

Tate is Four Months!

Check out our little cutie pie!

When Reid was four months old, I was averaging a post or two a week. These days, I am lucky to keep up with my two growing boys. I wish I was better about posting, but I’m doing my best!

When people meet Tate, they always seem to comment on how smiley and happy he is, and then when they ask how old, they are surprised. “Yeah, he’s big,” I say. He is growing so fast, I’m already setting aside clothes for all my preggo friends having boys! Here’s the latest from his well-check two weeks ago:

Height: 27.5 inches (off the charts!)

Weight: 16lbs. 14oz (86 percentile)

He has rolled over twice, and I guess decided it wasn’t “all that” because he hasn’t done it since. (In his defense, we were at yoga and he may have been showing off for a cute little two month-old girl.)

Tate is super sweet, cuddly and happy. He is very ticklish and loves to giggle at his brother. He is chatty when Reid isn’t around, but when he is, quietly watches what Reid is up to. (Foreshadowing? I think so. )

Tate really seems to enjoy being outside, just like a Remington boy should. He loves to look around, feel the wind and watch the trees. We have been sitting outside on the patio and playing out in the back yard lately. It will be too hot before we know it!

He has been a good sleeper both for naps and at night. (Knocking on wood that it continues!!) One of my favorite things he does is as he’s falling asleep, he nuzzles into my neck and wraps his arm around my neck. Swoon! At this point he sleeps well in the crib, swing, car, and everyone’s favorite, in your arms. :)

Tate is teething right now so he’s doing a lot of chewing and drooling. We got him the “best teether” toy and he loves it. Reid renamed him Luke. (I don’t know why but that cracks me up!)

Tate has a lot of nicknames, as does everyone in my life. He is most often called Tater, Tater Tot, Tay-Ta, or Beefcake.

Oh, one last thing: we think he’s the cutest baby ever. (Don’t tell Reid…) It is very hard not to nibble on him all day!

“Thank You” Isn’t Enough

How do you thank someone for doing things – countless little and big things – that they gladly do because they love you?  How do you thank someone for making a hard time easier and a happy time happier?

Jer’s parents came to help us as our family welcomed little Tate and to help our little family transition from one kiddo to two. We promised them great weather and grandsons.  We only delivered on one of those!   Except for a few days, the weather was pretty crummy their entire visit (January-February)!

Words can’t express how much we appreciate their love and support.  Every day we saw how much they enjoyed spending time with Reid, helping us with anything and everything, and how much they loved getting to know their newest grandson.

Now that they are back in Ohio, to make the miles seem not-so-far, we’ve been using Skype as often as possible.  It’s fun for Reid to see Ammy & Papa regularly (and show off how big his belly is getting).  He basically drags all his toys in front of the computer camera and yells, “Look, Ammy & Papa!”  and “Wanna watch me play basket ball?” and “Can you see me?  Can you see my booty?”

So how do we thank them? I really don’t know. We’ll start with “Thank you!  We love you!” and end with “Hurry back soon!”  Oh, and there is a little something in the mail, too.