8 months old!!!

Feeding
We have officially moved towards 3 solid meals a day. Finn gets a bottle at 7 then breakfast after, lunch at 11 and then a bottle after, he has dinner around 5:30, and then he gets a nighttime bottle at 7.  This schedule has made things MUCH easier!

Weight
He was sick a few weeks ago, so we went to the doctor. He was weighed and came back as 20 lbs 2 oz! My goodness he is getting big! No wonder my back hurts from carrying him :)

Sleep
He has moved to 2 naps a day-10 and 2. Lately he has been sleeping around 1 1/2 per nap. He also goes to bed around 7:30-8. And sleeps all night! As always he's a great sleeper!

Wake Time
Things have just gotten very exciting at the Walkup household. Finn has starting to crawl. He can go backwards and side to side. He can also army crawl to get things. This has made entertaining him a little more difficult because he doesn't like being restricted. His new favorite thing to do is roam around on the floor. So adorable!

Clothes
Finn is wearing size 6-9 months now. His PJs are a size bigger. They have always run smaller in size. There's not too much fun with boys clothes. But I have enjoyed dressing him in plaid shorts and a cute tee shirt (as seen in his monthly picture).  He mostly just likes to be comfortable and I'm determined to let him go shoeless for as long as he can!

Fun fact
This past month Finn had 2 teeth pop through on the bottom. I'd love to give you a picture but Finn won't ever let me get a picture. Maybe one day! I have a video below of him playing with a magazine page. Oh the little things. I wish I could be so easily entertained!

Baby food making

Recently, I've had a lot of people asking me how I work full time and make all of Finn's food homemade. There are a few reasons I chose to make his food homemade. 1-It's super easy 2-I know where all his food comes from 3-I can control the consistency and 4-It's saved us hundreds of dollars a month! I have listed some tips below and also some websites I used for reference. Please let me know if you have any questions.

1-I only make his food once a month. It's usually around the middle of each month. I take a look at Super Baby Foods to see what types of food he can have the next month and then I add them to my grocery list. I always do this on Sundays, because I have a fabulous husband who will help while Finn is napping!

2-I buy frozen peas, green beans, peaches, and mango instead of the real thing. The peaches and mango I just ;et defrost enough to where it will puree. And the peas and green beans I have yet to master. I can't seem to get the consistency right for Finn. To be completely honest, last month I just gave him organic gerber because it was on sale at Kroger.

3-I buy bananas, plums, pears, carrots, and chicken at Costco in bulk because of cost. For example, at Costco-bananas are $1.32 for 3 lbs. Which means I can make a month supply of breakfast for $2.63-that's $.08 a serving!!! (by the way, his serving is 3 cubes of bananas and 4 tbsp of oatmeal)

4-I try to do everything at the same time so I'm pretty scheduled. Here's an example of my batch cooking: I put the chicken in the crockpot in the morning. (I cook enough for him and us-I also do some freezer cooking for us-maybe another post on that later if you are interested).  I pull out the mango and peaches so they can be defrosting. Then I put the sweet potatoes, potatoes, pears, butternut squash in the oven at 350. While that's cooking I can steam carrots, broccoli, and asparagus. And while that's steaming I can go ahead and puree avocado. After the avocado, I puree the peaches, then the mangoes. By the time I have that cleaned up the steamed stuff is ready to be pureed. And once that's clean the stuff in the oven has cooled and is ready to be pureed. And I wait to do the chicken at the end of the day, its best to cook for 8 hours. It actually purees really well.

So that's it. Just a few tips on how I do it. If you are interested in more details, like how much I buy or how I freeze things. Please comment or email me, i'd be happy to tell you what works for me!

Last but not least, here are a few sites I have found super helpful!


Wholesome Baby Food (this is one of my favorite sites, thanks to Michelle)
Once a Month Mom (this is also a great resource for freezer cooking)
Homemade Baby Food Recipes (this also has an email list you can subscribe to)
Babywise blog (I used this for sleeping tips too)

And if you readers out there know of any other helpful sites, please post comments!

Jumping Finn

Hey friends,
Thought you'd like to see my little jumping bean. He loves this! Thanks Great Aunt Tavie and Great Uncle Edd!

7 months old!

Feeding
Starting this month we are going to start the transition to 3 bottles from 4 bottles. We will see how it goes. If anyone has suggestions PLEASE comment. I'd love the help/advice! Currently his schedule has been bottles at 7, 11, 3, and 7. And he gets solids at 9, 12, and 5.

Weight
At his last doctor appointment a few weeks ago he was 19 lbs.

Sleep
His sleep is just the same as it was last month. We are blessed with a GREAT sleeper! Thanks God :)

Wake Time
I've heard people say it gets better everyday and that's totally how I feel. Everyday Finn makes me smile. He is so precious and I love him and his personality so much!

Clothes
Finn is still fitting in the 3-6 month clothes. He is a growing boy!

Fun fact
Last month Finn meet his great grandparents for the first time. It was very special. Here are a few pictures.

Storytime

Finn wanted to tell you all a story :)



I know this is probably only cute to me. Hope you all have a great day!

-Rachael-

"The Spring Break Project" by Gregory Walkup

Every year, Greg does some type of project at our house. He's organized the garage, sodded the yard, etc. This year he had a vision for the backyard. He pimped our yard. I think it looks AWESOME. The pictures speak for themselves. So scroll down and enjoy...

Great job Gregory, I'm so proud of you!

6 months!

Feeding
Finn is still on a great schedule. We added a lunch meal this month. So he has bottles at 7:00, 11:30, 3:30, and 7:15. And solid foods at 9:00, 12:30, and 5:30. This month he added a few more foods: peas, green beans, carrots, butternut squash, apricots, and peaches. He's loved everything but the apricots.

Weight
He most recent weight was 17 pounds 2 oz. That was a week ago.

Sleep
My sleep machine boy is back! His naps and nighttime sleep is now consistent. He naps at 9:30 and 1:00 for around 1 1/2 hours. And he goes to bed at 7:30 and most mornings I wake him up at 7:00.

Wake Time
These days wake times are even more more fun! He has gone with me to the store sitting in the front of the cart like a big boy! He loves the stroller and going on long walks or runs. Still loves the exersaucer. He can sit up now and has starting moving on his playmat. I think crawling could happen any day now. My boy loves to laugh, play peek-a-boo, have tummy time, figure out whats going on, people watch, and play sitting up. His personality is really coming out these days. And I love him!

Clothes
Finn is fitting in the 3-6 month clothes now. Most all his 0-3 clothes are packed. He is a growing boy!

Fun fact
Finn will be meeting his great grandparents (Maw and Pawee) next weekend. I am so excited for this! They live in Destin, FL. So this will also be Finn's first road trip and beach visit! I will update with pictures later.