Riser is 6 months old

Our sweet Riser is 6 months old! His 6 month checkup is next week so I will update this post with his stats then. I believe he is around 16 pounds. 

He has now tried most of the main fruits/vegetables and we will move onto eggs/nuts/meat/etc. after his next check up. So far he seems to like most of what he tries, but doesn't ingest nearly as much if it's not pureed. He is still drooling a ton and still no teeth to report. 

Riser continues to do wonderfully with sleep. He did regress a little bit with his night feedings (now up 1-2 times a night) but he is a dream at going down and getting back to sleep after waking up. He usually goes to bed between 6:30-7 and wakes up around 7-7:15. He also takes around three naps a day. Two of them are very sporadic depending on what we're doing that day, but one of them is still consistently in his crib in the afternoon while his sister is sleeping. The afternoon nap is around 2 hours or more, sometimes we have to wake him up depending on what we have planned that afternoon. He also has absolutely fallen in love with this monkey my mom brought him from her house, he is always snuggling it when he sleeps or playing with it when he wakes up. 

Riser is practicing sitting but is not stable at all yet. He recently has started getting up on all fours and rocking back and forth, so we know crawling will be in his near future. He has been going to childcare at church more often and has had no issues. The only thing we can tell he doesn't really like is loud or unexpected noises like sneezing. He seems to startle or get scared easily. He really doesn't like Blippi (a show Bonnie has tried watching) and cries every time we turn it on. This little boy continues to be a dream who completely melts our hearts.

Fort Eustis Transport Museum

We visited the Fort Eustis Transportation Museum and were very impressed! They had vehicles from all different time periods and so much history about each one. They had vehicles that were dreamed up and produced but never actually made it to military use after testing. It was amazing to see the innovation and creativity from deep water transporters to jetpacks to personal standing helicopters. It was such a hidden gem.

Grandma and Dave's house

Earlier this month our family all met up at Mom and Dave's house for a little summer stay-cation. It may be harder to get everyone together often but it's always worth it. It was exactly what a vacation should be - puzzles, pool time, relaxing, games, good food, a hike, Great Country Farms, and good company. We had such a nice time!

It is fun to see Bonnie now completely comfortable with her aunt, uncles, and cousins. She has always been (sometimes painfully) slow to warm up to new situations and people, but these days she very much looks forward to seeing her extended family.

We got to celebrate Katie's birthday!

The boys - Ben always knows how to make Riser laugh (and occasionally cry - hah!).

Great Country Farms added a new slide this year.

It was a hot week, which made us very much appreciate the pool! 

Bonnie even got to meet Duncan for the first time! I am so sad I didn't get a picture when it actually happened, but he didn't stay out from under the bed for long. 

Jane gave Bonnie her first braid, and she loved it! This became a common thing throughout the week.

Ice cream was had by all.

Followed up by evenings of 'Follow the Leader' and 'Ring Around the Rosie' to wear them out before bedtime. 

Bonnie did the entire 2 mile waterfall hike on her own two feet (with some help from Grandma and Aunt Katie holding her hand).

Lots of cousin time. 

Dave manned the most of the grilling, but even Benny stepped in one night. 

Uncle Eric was always keeping the kids entertained. He's a never-ending source of games and new ideas for activities. 

Bonnie discovered a new love for corn.

More ice cream and bedtime shenanigans. 

Water balloons, also compliments of Uncle Eric.

Riser got to try watermelon for the first time and loved it.

While Chris and Katie were on a birthday date, we put together an obstacle course for the kids. 

Grandma snuggles.

It was a wonderful trip! We are certainly taking advantage of having this beautiful place to visit as long as it lasts. Thank you for hosting us Mom and Dave!