Warming up to the pool

Cort has never loved the pool a lot but since he sits up now he seems to like it a little better! He loved the hose - he kept trying to drink the water. (I have no idea why my words are being underlined!)

A boy and his puffs

Cort enjoys chasing his puffs around the tray. More end up in his lap than his mouth but he still gets quite excited everytime I pull out the container! He ends up with the puff on the inside of his fists and then just sucks his fists - it's pretty funny!

To all of the moms out there....

Ok, so this blogger thing is really addictive. I know several moms who blog and through them often link to mom's blogs that I don't reven know. It's fun to connect and read about other's journeys through this motherhood thing. I have several new friends that are pregnant and thought it would be fun to get a conglomerate of "advice" from all of you fellow moms. So, if you are a mom and read my blog comment back and answer the questions below.... forward it on to other blogging mommies that you know. I'll post my answers too! Here goes...

1. Favorite Diapers? Pampers Swaddlers/Cruisers
2. Favorite wipes? Any brand in sensitive
3. Wipe warmer, no wipe warmer? wipe warmer
4. Sleep in gowns or footsies? gowns when they are little, footsies later
5. Schedule, don't schedule? flexible schedule
6. Current Favorite toys? musical toys, exersaucer(6.5 months old)
7. Three things you couldn't live with out the first few months? play gym, swaddle blankets,paci
8. Something you can't have too many of?burp clothes :)
9. Three things you couln't live with out once the baby is moving? not moving yet
10. Favorite new baby invention?bumbo
11. Favorite nursing pads?medela
12. Favorite bottle? playtex drop ins
13. Favorite car toys? musical and anything he can chew on
14. Favorite teether? frozen wet washclothes
15. Changing table, no changing table? changing table
16. Make baby food, buy baby food? a little of both
17. First food after cereal? sweet potatoes
18. Did you use your baby carrier? some
19. How old when slept in own crib(not bassinet)? 2 weeks
20. Did you use a sleep positioner? yes, but wish we had stopped earlier- became a crutch
21. back sleeper or tummy sleeper? side sleeper when born, he goes to tummy now
22. Favorite part about being a mom? the smiles
23. Hardest part about being a mom? all the decisions

A little toosh and some legs

This is the position we often find Cort in now when we go to get him from his crib or if we peek on him at night. It's super cute but it terrifies me too because during the day as he does this on the floor he slowly inches towards the other end the blanket he's playing on. Don't get me wrong - I'll be super excited when he crawls, I'm just not ready for a mobile baby yet!!!

Cort has always had really strong legs. He has loved to stand since about 2 months old. For a while now if we hold his hands he will "walk" across the room. I have intentionally refrained from seeing if Cort would stand if I propped him somewhere but I decided to try it last week. I'm not surprised - he stands. For like a 30-45 seconds and even lets go with a hand to grab at something and will take a sideways step. He is very wobbly but I just see his little mind spinning trying to figure out how to get there himself.

An Eye for An Eye...

...or in this case some hair for an arm. Our friends Kelley and Sophie came over to hang out last week. Cort and Sophie really enjoyed each other and seem to pay more attention to one another. They almost seemed to be parallel playing(sorry- throw back to the old career). They are growing up so fast and they both just get cuter and cuter. They were laying their peacefully playing when they decided they each wanted a piece of the other. Sophie wanted Cort's hair(she's perhaps a little jealous ;)) and Cort wanted a piece of Sophie's arm( she must taste sweet). It was hilarious because they really did take turns.. Cort would "bite" Sophie's arm and then Sophie would grab Cort's hair. They thought it was all fun and games. No hard feelings.

I'll Take some hair please

And a little arm for me


oh, i think i need some more of
that beautiul blonde hair

yum, I'm back for seconds



Still Friends

I like to eat, I mean kiss mommy

Cort loves to get kisses. He smiles really big and giggles when you kiss him. He doesn't initiate kisses but i do think he tries to give them back sometimes. He doesn't really understand how so he really just eats your face but it's cute and sweet none the less.

Hat day in the McGowan Household!

Cort and his bear hat from our Cousin Allison




Cort wearing his animal buckets



Friends Kate and Ryan joining in on hat day!!!

Which of these Corts are not like the others?

See answer below...








We typically dress Cort pretty casually. It just matches us and it seems to match him too. We don't mean to knock cute dressy outfits - i can appreciate them for their cuteness but they just aren't us. However, Cort wore this cute turtle smocked outfit to church this morning.
This one's for the Grammies and Grandmommies..... Hope you enjoy!

News From the Doc

Cort had his 6 month well check this week. He weighed in at 13 lbs 11 oz. - hanging on to that 5th percentile. I was pleased with this because it means he gained 11 oz. in 2.5 weeks instead of 3oz like he did the previous two weeks. His height was 27 inches( still the 50%). He's grown 2 in. since his 4 month check up.
Everything else checked out well. We will continue the prevacid but stop counting oz. so exactly. We are settling into the idea that this is just Cort. He is developing fine so we are just not worrying about the weight gain as much. We have graduated from the weight checks. We don't have to go back until his 9 month appointment. Yea!! I'll have to adjust to not always knowing how much he weighs seeing that I have known about every 2 weeks since he was born!
She had us start yogurt to give him some food with more fat and calories. I guess it's a little early for yogurt but he LOVES it and hasn't had a bad reaction to it at all.

Cousins

This past weekend we went to Wilmington to visit my sister and her family. Chris was able to take Friday off and my sister's husband, Chad was home from traveling with his job so it was great to all be together. Cort was perfect for the 5-6 hour drive. On the way down he didn't cry one time!! And he only cried once on the way back -love our little traveler.
We had such a good time and really enjoyed getting the kids together. ( ok - that last statement made me feel old!)
Chandler and Cort got along great - Chandler was so sweet to try to teach Cort things and help him with his toys. I can't wait until Cort is a little older and they can really play together.
We went to the beach on Friday Morning. This is Cort's third time to the beach. So far he has liked it every time. This time he really enjoyed the sand. He was able to sit up on his own and immediately began moving his little feet through it and raking it up with his hands. Chris and I were prepared to have to fight to keep the sand swallowing to a minimum but he didn't try to put it in his mouth one time!!!!


Cort had his first big boy tub bath! We had been bathing him in the sink at home without his baby bathtub but had not put him in the real tub. He liked it and enjoyed all of Chandler's tub toys.

On Saturday we went to the aquarium. Cort and Chandler both had a great time. I love how intently Cort will watch the little fish. He's so curious and I just know as he begins to talk he will be so inquisitive!


We also had a great time just hanging out at home. Here's some sweet pics of the little ones playing together.





Cort and chandler both love books. I love reading to them. Aren't they precious?


Cort occasionally sucks his thumb these days. He just started doing it out of the blue one day. He doesn't do it very often and still loves his paci but he sure looks cute when he does it.

Cort is so lucky to already have two cousins(my sister's child and Chris' sister's child). I am so glad that they will get to grow up together.

Where's Cort?

Can you find the missing baby in the massive pile of laundry?



















Don't worry - it's clean laundry!

Happy 4 Years!!!

Chris and I have been married for four years today!! It's hard to believe it's been that long. People say it gets harder. I think it gets better! We love being married to each other. It's awesome to share life with someone that is so special and that loves me for exactly who I am. Chris is a great husband and a great father. It has been a wonderful four years and we both look forward to many, many more.