Merry Christmas

We had a merry one indeed...

More brotherly love...

Daniel loves his little brother so much I can't help but get pictures of them together.

SIX months!!

Six months. Wow. My little man is SIX months old. So much has changed in the last few months and I can hardly remember a time without David's adorable little smile. He's such a good natured baby. Does he get mad? Sure. But he's normally just happy to hang out and smile at the world. Which is good because we're usually chasing his big brother. Six fun facts from this last month

1. David has FOUND his voice. I usually come running if I hear it from another room because he's got a strong upper range that sounds like his big brother might be doing something bad. Thankfully that's not usually the case.
2. David loves cereal and eats it like we starve him (which we don't), but we tried cereal with him two weeks ago and he ate every last drop. It took Daniel awhile to get used to the texture, not David. We usually have to pull away the bowl so he doesn't try to slup it up. His weigh in is tomorrow, but I'm guessing that he's really chunked up. His 6 month photo outfit is a 9 month outfit. Big boy!
3. David is attempting to sleep through the night again. He'll get to 4-5am most nights...some nights we're not so lucky. Weekend naps are all over the place. Here's hoping the next month is a little more reliable.
4. David's nickname with the daycare ladies is "guapo". He certainly is a handsome little boy. Big blue-green eyes and a sweet doe-eyed "who me?" look. I foresee him using that same look to get out of trouble in the future
5. He's rolling and scooting around. ACK mobility!!! I was starting to worry that he hadn't rolled from tummy to back (no problem going the other way). And then I caught him doing it while I was untangling Christmas lights. He rolled right towards the Christmas tree and started going after the plastic. Oh danger, so much fun.
6. David is an observer. He loves to watch things from the football game to the dog to whatever his brother is doing trying to entertain him. Future scientist?

Oh the places I have pumped...

It's hard to get over the "three hour" tether, also known as breastfeeding. But I made it. I made it to six months. And that was my goal. I don't really want to quit, but I'm also not going to beat myself up over it if I pull back. David was fine with his first bottle of formula last week...I was exhausted and just needed daddy to give him SOMETHING. And in true Upham fashion, he ate it. And with a mix of formula bottles at night and the freezer stash in the day, David was fat and happy while I was away. Me...I did my duty. I pumped. Every four hours. I went longer at night, but didn't sleep much anyway so it wasn't like I was rested. And while I produced 60+ ounces while away for a little over 48 hours, my boobs ACHED from the pump. I have no clue how I'm going to survive my next trip in two weeks that's twice as long. But until then...oh the places that I have pumped.

In the unisex bathroom at Dulles...at least there was a plug

In the middle of the night at my hotel.

Bright and early, overlooking the Hollywood hills

While inhaling some lunch in between meetings

While skyping with my boys at night before more meetings!!

Boobie juice hanging out in the minibar

While drinking my morning coffee and responding to emails

In my co-worker's son's room, before we left for an event at a donor's house

And the most disgusting...with the battery pack, in a large stall at LAX.

And what should have been the final time, back in a unisex stall at Dulles was rerouted, even with aching boobs, to go home and feed a real live baby. SOOOO much better than the dreaded pump. 

Post turkey snoozefest

Hmmm-somehow this never posted from Thanksgiving, though I never got around to posting other pictures. Some time I'll have free time.

All on board are a little sleepy after a busy Thanksgiving, so more photos later. But I'm so thankful for this little turkey.

Matchy matchy

I'm headed out today on my first trip away from David. I mad it nearly 6 months which is pretty good for my job. I had a bit of a lingering goodbye when I dropped them off at daycare and couldn't remember enough spanish to explain that mommy will be gone for 2 1/2 days. I took some extra pictures this morning to get me through the pumping in airplane/airport/random bathrooms while I'm on the road. I am looking forward to sleep on a nice soft hotel bed and keep telling myself that will make up for all of the disgusting pumping venues over the next 72 hours. So until Saturday morning when I see these adorable faces again, I'll remember my little matchy matchy boys and Daniel specifically asking for these pjs so he could match baby David.

Baby Swiffer

Who needs to clean the floor when you have a baby in fleece pj's who is learning to scoot around on his belly. He also seems a little too interested in big brother's not baby-friendly toys.

Oatmeal!

Little buddy had his first taste of oatmeal today...he was a huge fan. I wasn't sure if he would be into it or not, but he was grabbing at the spoon, swallowing the food and going for more. Hopefully this will help to fill up his belly a bit and help him sleep through the nights better. Here's to a milestone!