Dawson at 5 Months

Yesterday Dawson turned 5 months old. I will say what I always say, where did the time go??? I just can't believe he is already 5 months old! He is growing up so incredibly fast. I am trying to cherish each and every minute, but they seem to just be flying by.

At 5 months, Dawson is doing so much more than he was even doing a month ago. He is sitting up by himself for about 20 seconds before toppling over. I think he will be a pro at it in no time. He is on the move these days. He is constantly rolling and scooting. When he is playing on a blanket, I am often amazed at how far he can move himself in just a matter of seconds. He is really going places. He is so interested in toys now and already has a few favorites. He loves entertaining himself with a toy while in his carseat. He loves to be entertained by Ashlyn. When he is in his excersaucer, she will often come over and talk and play with him and he loves every minute of it. Dawson seems to be doing everything at almost the exact same time that Ashlyn did. If this continues, he's going to be pulling himself up on furniture at 7 months and walking at 9 months. I can't believe it could be that soon!

Dawson's personality is emerging more and more. He continues to be very laid back. He is great at going with the flow as long as he is with his family. He is truly one of the sweetest babies I have ever been around. He is always so happy and smiling like crazy. He loves to get kisses and loves to cuddle with his mama. He is genuinely a sweet and happy baby. I couldn't ask for a better child.

Dawson still isn't sleeping very long stretches. He usually sleeps from 7:00 p.m. to anywhere from 12:00-2:00 a.m. This is still considered "sleeping through the night", but I still wish he were sleeping 9-12 hour stretches. He has come a very long way and I am happy with only one waking a night. I know it will continue to get better with time.

Dawson is going longer and longer between feedings. This is making things a lot easier on me especially when we are out and about and it is sometimes hard to feed him. He continues to thrive and grow. We won't be starting him on solids for another month or two. I want him to fully get all of the benefits of breastmilk before we start him on solids. I am no rush to start him on solids for many reasons. I am excited to see his reaction to food though. I bet we will get some great pictures.

Dawson continues to be the perfect addition to our family. I was just thinking today that I can't imagine life without him now. It truly feels like he has always been here. I continue to thank the Lord each and every day for blessing me with two amazing, beautiful, and wonderful children. We are truly blessed!

I took a bunch of pictures of Dawson on his actual 5 month "birthday". They all look somewhat similar, but I posted a bunch because I think each one captures Dawson in a little different way.

This one is my new favorite of him

Sitting up like a big boy

First Weekend at the Cabin This Year

We spent this last weekend at my family's cabin in the mountains. We just LOVE the cabin. I don't think we have ever had a bad time up there. We always just have so much fun. The cabin is kind of in a remote spot, so cell phones and Internet do not work. It is nice to get a way from it all and just enjoy one another's company and the gorgeous surroundings. The cabin has a big covered front porch where it is so nice to just sit and listen to the river and the birds.

We try to get up to the cabin as much as possible in the summer. Unfortunately, we have been too busy to get up there before this weekend. July is looking like another very busy month. I hope to get up there again at least once in the month of July. We are hoping to spend just about every weekend there in August.

Ashlyn has always loved the cabin and loved it just as much if not more this time. I was a little nervous as to how Dawson would do, but he definitely has the Rocks family mountain gene. He jumped right in and had a great time too. Sleeping at night was a little rough since he didn't have his crib that he is used to. I didn't get a whole lot of sleep, but it was a small price to pay. I know that Dawson will continue to enjoy the cabin more and more each time much like Ashlyn has.

Here are some pictures from the weekend. Dawson turns 5 months old this week, so I will be posting later in the week about that. Next weekend, we are planning on going to the Renaissance Fair and we will also be having our big 4th of July party, so I will have some good pictures.

Dawson was dancing like crazy to the music. I wish I could have gotten a better picture to capture it.
Ashlyn decided to dance to the music too.

The babies playing before bed

I was trying my carrier out with Dawson on my back. He seemed to like it.

Ashlyn wanted to be silly and wear a helmet.

Ashlyn always LOVES feeding the chipmunks. She fed them three different times this trip. She is so brave with them. I am a little afraid of them myself.

Two were eating at the same time

They were even crawling in her hair and she didn't care.

The beautiful town of St. Elmo

This one was a hungry little guy

Dawson and Mommy

Ashlyn being silly as usual

Dawson and Mommy again

Dawson absolutely loves his carrier

Beautiful Katy and Ella

Joey managed to get Ella asleep

Ashyln in some goggles she found

The weather was so beautiful up there. We laid down a blanket and Dawson had a great time rollling around and playing.

I think Ashlyn was most excited to eat S'mores. She just could not wait to sit by the fire and roast marshmellows. Here she is holding the bag.

Papa and Ashlyn

Uncle Bryan and Ashlyn devouring their S'mores

Ashyln and her silly face

Ashlyn getting ready to ride to "town". Notice how blankie had to be buckled in?

Eating right out of her hand

Ashyln World's Best Sister/Cousin

I just wanted to make a quick post about how good Ashlyn is with her brother and cousin. She just loves them so much. She loves helping out and doing anything she can to make them happy. The other day I heard Dawson crying on the monitor. When I got to his room I found Ashlyn in his crib telling him it was okay. It was very sweet. When we were at the cabin this weekend, we discovered that she is an awesome entertainer for the babies as well. She was dancing around and Ella was getting the biggest kick out of her. None of us had ever heard Ella laugh that hard before.

Dawson just adores Ashlyn. In the morning they lay in our bed together and Dawson just smiles and laughs at Ashyln. I can't say enough how much I'm enjoying watching them bond and become closer each and every day. I know that they are so lucky to have each other. Dawson and Ella are very lucky to have a special girl like Ashlyn to be around.

When I was babysitting Ella last week, Ashlyn wanted to hold her while she drank her bottle.



Too cute

She is so good with them. She is so nuturing.

Whirlwind of a Weekend

Ashlyn with Uncle Adam and Aunt Jane (unfortunately Dawson was sleeping)



As predicted, this weekend was a very, very busy one! We had an amazing weekend. Joey's brother Adam and his girlfriend Jane came to visit for the weekend. We don't get to see Adam and Jane often enough since they live in Texas, and we absolutely love it when they come. Ashlyn had such a good time with them and spent a lot of time entertaining Aunt Jane. She always loves it when she has someone new to play with. They also got to meet Dawson for the first time. We had such a great time with them watching fireworks, eating out, and visiting with them. We were very sad to see them go today.

Among many things we had going on this weekend, I had a race Saturday morning. I didn't make a new PR, but I am still happy with how I did. I am planning on running in four races in the month of July, so that gives me lots of opportunities to get faster. I'm just going to continue to train and push myself even harder. I am still pretty happy with how far I've come since I've only been training for about 3 months after taking an entire year off.

Joey had a good Father's Day. Things were a little bit hectic this year. My mom and sister bought tickets months ago for a Broadway show called "Rock of Ages". When they bought the tickets they didn't realize that it was on Father's Day. Joey was originally going to go to the show, but he decided that he would rather spend the time with Adam and Jane since they were here for such a short time. So, I went to Denver to the show with my dad (which was AMAZING) and Joey spent the day with the kids and Adam and Jane. They went out to lunch and to Joey's softball games. When we got back from the show, we had a bbq at our house. I kind of felt bad for Joey because he had to cook on Father's Day, but he was doing one thing he loves best: grilling and cooking. The food was amazing as usual. We finished the night by getting yogurt which Joey requested and watching a movie. It was a great ending to an awesome weekend.

Dawson discovered his feet this week and just loves playing with them and grabbing them. It's very cute. He also loves his baths. I have started putting him in the tub with Ashlyn which is a setup they both love. Ashlyn loves having someone in the tub with her, and Dawson loves watching her. He has started to really splash around. His other favorite thing to do in the tub is to suck on a washcloth. He is really working on sitting by himself. He can do it for 15-20 seconds before he falls. I'm going to get some pictures of it this week. Last night he slept like a champ. He fell asleep about 10:00 and didn't wake up until 5:45!!! It was so nice for me. I could really get use to sleep like that again. I am praying he keeps it up and it wasn't just a fluke or a one time thing.

Ashlyn is on "summer break" right now, but we are still working on school stuff. I bought a huge workbook for her full of different skills. We do several pages each day. The girl loves to learn and loves to show off how smart she is. She amazes me each day how much she knows for only being 3 1/2 years old. She always begs me to do more pages. She has also started to read. I bought her a series of beginning books. We have been working on the first one all week titled, "Matt". She is getting very good at it, although I have a feeling a lot of it is her memorizing it. I think we will start a new book tomorrow night. I am just so unbelievably proud of my amazing little girl.

Next weekend should be another great one. We are heading up the cabin for the first time this summer. We are so excited to hike, eat smores, feed chipmunks, and get away from all distractions for a weekend. Ashlyn is beyond excited to go. I hope Dawson likes it. I will be back next week with pictures.

Dawson in the tub.
Fresh out of the bath.

Peek a boo

One of the first things I bought when I found out I was having a boy was this adorable little pair of sandals from Baby Gap. They seemed so small when I bought them and I can't believe he can already wear them. They looked too cute.

Hanging out playing

This is the result of Mommy trying to get creative with the camera. I can't say it enough how much I absolutely love my camera. One of my best gifts ever. I actually do like how this picture turned out.

Dawson and Aunt Jane

Ashlyn and her Papa. She loves him so much!

Joey with both babies. I noticed this morning when I was looking at pictures that we didn't get one with Joey, Ashlyn, and Dawson. That's too bad.

We did get one of myself and the kids

Uncle Bryan on his first Father's Day. He is such an amazing dad to Ella.

Dawson and Uncle Steven

Ashlyn and Aunt Jane

Ashlyn laughing at Uncle Adam