How Quickly Six Months Have Come and Gone

August 27 marks six months since Mark was born. The last month Mark has made some big changes:

1) Has 4 teeth (two on the bottom and two on the top)

2) Eats solid foods (rice cereal, oatmeal, carrots, and sweet potatoes so far--he thought peaches were too sour and despite my desire to see that face again, we only tried to feed it to him for two days before moving on to something else)

3) Sits up for a few minutes before falling over as long as he doesn't try to reach for something to the side

4) Loves to stand and only needs light support

5) Smiles and laughs tons

6) Physical Stats:
-17 lbs, 2 oz (50th)
-27 1/2 in tall (75th-90th)

We took Mark out for a short photo shoot on Saturday. He wasn't in a smiley mood so we'll be taking some more, but they still turned out pretty well.

Once Again, Colorado

We took a quick trip to see my family in Colorado at the beginning of August. I was out there for a little over a week and Bryce came for the last four days after a camping trip with the Teacher's Quorum. It was a bit difficult, but we were able to do just about everything we wanted to while we were there.

Mark got his first mohawk. I think he found the camera more interesting than his hairstyle.

My niece, Grace, had her 3rd birthday. My sister (with some last minute help from me) made this amazing teddy bear princess cake. It's completely edible and dairy free! Next time Suze, let's just make a sheet cake, especially when you're eight months pregnant :) We're excited to see her next week!

Mark enjoyed a new toy courtesy of Grace's gifts. It kept him entertained during the entire party.

Grammy and Grandpa Ted came out from Utah to join the party. It was great to see them and we're so glad they were able to meet Mark. Hopefully we'll be able to go and see them and the rest of our family in Utah next summer! Joy also flew in so we had a chance to take a quick picture of all of us.

We always have to stop in and see friends that have somehow ended up back in Colorado. We had a great time full of laughs and a bit of trash talk with Heather and Tyson, got to see Michelle's new digs and three kids, and had a wonderful dinner with Brad, Amanda and Jason (above). We never did send you this picture, did we?

Now we're back in Baltimore and in full swing. We look forward to the upcoming holidays and more chances to see family!

And, does anyone know how to stop some of my text from doing double-spacing? I can't see anything in the code, but I'm not that good with HTML. Thanks!

Speckled Frogs

We were given this bouncer when Mark was born. For the first three or four months it's only purpose was to allow me to take a shower without Bryce at home. Recently Mark has learned how to grasp things so we reattached the toy bar to the bouncer. His favorite game is to pull the frog which plays a spiced-up version of the "Speckled Frogs" children's song. He'll do this at least 5-10 times in a row in less than three minutes.

The toy is more touchy than you'd think. If he continues to hold it, the song won't play again so he either has to let go and then grab it again or let up on it a little and then pull it down. He caught on quickly.

We also started feeding Mark solids this week. He's just doing rice cereal right now, but seems to like it okay. Our pediatrician wants to see us before we give him other foods so he'll start on those at the end of August.