5 Month Update

Clothing: 6-9 months

Bedtime: 8:30 pm

Sleeping: Duke take 3-4 naps a day. I have found the easiest way to put him down is by nursing him to sleep. He is really good at taking naps in his car seat, so sometimes I like to run my errands during his nap time. He usually sleeps for about an hour.

For bedtime, I nurse him to sleep. It's seriously so easy, and it knocks him right out. Normally, he wouldn't wake up until 3-4 am to eat, but the last couple weeks he has been waking up a couple times during the night. I heard babies normally have a growth spurt around the fourth month, so I just figured that's what it was. There was one really hard week, where he was waking up 3-4 times every night, and would only go back to sleep if I nursed him, but luckily it was just a phase and he doesn't get up that much anymore.

Development: 

- can officially roll over both ways

- is constantly smiling... pretty sure he is the happiest baby

- started baby talking and it's the cutest thing! He has learned how to say "mamama" and it melts my heart. 

- puts anything and everything in his mouth

- responds to his name

- can grab his binky and put it in his mouth

- can pull himself up with a little help

- can almost sit up by himself

- walks with help

Likes:

- LOVES to laugh, especially at Bruno. If you follow me on Instagram or Snapchat, you already knew that by now ;) (snapchat: melanieweitzeil) (instagram: @melaniedevore)

- loves to stand up (with our help, of course)

- loves to walk (with our help. He does the walking motion all by himself)

- playing with toys, books, etc.

- sitting in his bumbo

- playing with faces. He is constantly grabbing at my nose and lips

- loves music. We always sing "Hey Jude" (except say Duke), to him, and he loves it!

- taking baths

- rolling over

- playing on his "jungle gym"
- looking in the mirror

Dislikes:

- getting hungry... haha this is hard because he really is such a happy baby!

New This Month:

-won the Orem Summerfest baby contest

- first time staying in a hotel

- first time swimming

- met the Gardner quadruplets (he loved Evie!)

- first hike

Statistics:

- When I weighed him on 6/21, he was 18.5 lbs! 

Father's Day in Park City

I surprised Chad with a getaway to Park City for Father's Day. We checked into the Marriott Friday night, and stayed until Sunday. We spent the weekend shopping at the outlets & Worlds Market, lounging around our freezing indoor pool (we were pretty bummed the water was so cold), eating like there was no tomorrow (2 shakes in one day, candy pit stop at 7-11, burgers and fries at the hotel restaurant at 10 pm, and pizza delivered to our hotel room at 11 pm... gives you an idea of how healthy we ate), touring the Olympic State Park, driving up Guardsman Pass, breakfast at Squatters, walking around Main Street, and shattering my iPhone 5. It was such a chill, relaxing little getaway with my boys. I'm grateful for Chad and all that he does for our family. He seriously is the BEST husband and dad to Duke. I don't know how I tricked him into marrying me ;) Happy Father's Day, Chad!!

{I framed this picture and gave it to Chad for Father's Day}

Baby Contest & Summerfest

When I heard there was a baby contest at the Orem Summerfest, I was determined to enter Duke. I may just be biased, but I think he's pretty darn cute. I know it's just a silly contest, but I was so anxious for it. I can't imagine being a mom on that TLC show, Toddlers & Tiaras. I bet their nerves are all over the place.

We showed up to the contest at 9 am. It was categorized by age group, so Duke was in the 4-6 months. The judging process was easy, we went up to the table where the judge was sitting and showed her Duke. Of course, as soon as she started talking to him, he got SUPER happy and was smiling like crazy. She said, "OK that's it. He won. He is way too cute to handle. I definitely have to take a picture of him so I won't forget him." I didn't see her take a picture of the two contestants ahead of us, so I was convinced he was really going to win. She played with him (and his Popeye arms that she couldn't get enough of), and we went on our way.

We decided to go to Mimi's Cafe for breakfast, since we were starving. We hardly go out for breakfast, so it was such a treat!

 {PS don't mind my awkward face, I thought Chad was just taking a picture of Duke... but his smile and outfit are just too cute to not post}

We headed to the mall to do some shopping, and ran into the Gardners, they recently had quadruplets. When I had my cerclage surgery and was placed on bed rest, I immediately felt such a connection to Ashley because she went through the same thing around the same time. Although I didn't personally know her, I just followed her on Instagram and Facebook, I felt like I could relate to everything she was going through. It was so fun to talk to them and see their beautiful baby girls! 

At 3pm we headed back to the Summerfest to get the results of the contest. Duke placed 1st in his category! We are so proud of him. It's hard work being cute ;) The doTERRA supervisor stopped me and asked if she could take our picture to post to their Instagram, so that was fun! This is what she posted...

Duke won a basket full of goodies. Inside was 2 blankets, a ball, stuffed animals, coupons to a couple restaurants, 2 books, a t-shirt, and some candy.

 
Since he won 1st place, we got to ride in the parade! The fire trucks were right behind our float and were honking their horns the entire route, which is the worst idea ever. A couple of the babies were fussy because of it, which was a bummer. Luckily I brought a bottle, so as long as he was eating, he was a happy camper. Overall, it was a fun experience!

 

Weekend

Summer weekends are my absolute favorite. Farmers Markets, festivals, late night Wendy's runs... doesn't get much better than that. Friday was National Donut Day. Or course, we definitely HAD to take advantage of that. So we made a quick trip to Provo Bakery during Chad's lunch break. We could've gone to Krispy Kreme's for a free donut, but it wasn't worth an hour wait for a 79 cent donut. 

One benefit of having a child is getting up early. I have always been a morning person, but having Duke makes Chad be one too. It's my dream come true ;) We were at the Provo Farmers Market bright and early Saturday morning, which was so nice because we beat all the crowds and the heat. From there we went to the Utah Lake Festival. It was free fishing day so they had a bunch of booths set up around Utah Lake and a bunch of games for little kids. 

We made a quick lunch break at Costco then attempted to go on a hike up Dry Canyon. It was right during Duke's nap time, and he just wasn't feeling it, so we headed home. After his nap we headed to Chad's parents house to swim. Duke loved the pool a lot more this time. He and Chad took a little snooze together once we got out. It was pretty cute. 

Saturday night we went to our friend's art show at BYU. It was a busy, but fun, day with my fam! I love being able to spend all weekend with my boys. They are my everything!

Big Springs

On Friday we took Duke on his first hike up to Big Springs. It's one of our favorite hikes because it's easy, really pretty, and not that long. Duke loved looking around at the scenery. He was "cooing" the whole way up. It was the cutest!! I bought a selfie stick to see what all the hype is about, and it's actually pretty sweet. It was fun trying it out ;) We're so excited to take Duke on all of our hiking adventures this summer!