Duke's 1st Cereal

Today was the day... Duke's first cereal! It was a bittersweet moment. It breaks my heart to think that as he gets older, he's slowly going to need me less and less. Pretty sure I'm going to have a meltdown when I stop nursing (is it weird I like it so much?!), but at the same time, it's so fun watching him grow and develop! 

My pediatrician said he needs to start cereal between 4-6 months, so we decided to wait until he was 5 1/2 months (can you believe how fast it's gone!?!?) The oatmeal was really watered down with breastmilk, but Duke LOVED it. I tried putting some on his tray at first to let him play with it, but he could care less about that and just wanted the spoon. It was really cute. He downed the whole bowl within 10 minutes. He was pretty upset when it was all gone. I'm excited to get in a daily routine with him and start introducing new foods. I love our little man and his Michelin man arm rolls (seriously though, they kill me. I'm obsessed ;) 

PS.. I couldn't help but post so many pictures. I've never met a happier baby with so many facial expressions!

{don't mind my gross voice, and wobbly camera...}

4th of July

The 4th of July is one of my favorite holidays. Parades, food, fireworks, swimming, BBQ's, family....doesn't get much better than that. Can I just say that holidays are 10x more fun with a child? I am so excited to introduce Duke into all of our families traditions. The 4th is one of the biggest traditions in the Weitzeil family. We have been going to the Freedom Festival parade in Provo for my entire life - I haven't missed a single year! All of my cousins come down and spend the night at my parents house. To say it's a party would be an understatement.

On July 3, we spent the day (and every other child in the Orem/Lindon area) at the Lindon pool. It was so packed, the pool was at it's maximum capacity. I had never seen a pool hit its limit before. We swam with cousins and cooled down in the 100 degree weather. That night, we ate dinner at my parents and did fireworks.

On July 4th, we got up super early to claim our spot for the parade. We have been sitting in the same spot as long as I can remember, and for some odd reason, it's always available. We don't campout or lay blankets days before, like most people, because we know it will be available - and it always is. It's funny because we don't actually watch the parade. Instead, we stuff our faces with otter pops, Swedish fish, tootie fruties and hot tamales... just to name a few. I look forward to the parade just for the sweets that get passed around ;)

It was such a fun weekend and I loved being able to spend it with our families!

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!