One Month:
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| One month old and we just had to get away for the weekend. I don't remember exactly why we went up to PG, but we did. |
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| It was really great to visit Great-Grandma Lou and Great-Grandpa Bill. Van met Grandpa Alldredge for the first time. And both sets of my grandparents. That's kinda a big deal, to meet all of your living great grandparents! |
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| Most of our time was spent together. Oliver and Ruth were farmed out to grandmas and friends and neighbors, and Van and me would just stick together. |
I haven't really taken Ruth and Van to well-baby check-ups because I think they're expensive and dumb. So I don't have any weight and measurement stats to report. I do know that you were a very healthy baby!
2 months:
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| Snuggling in Salt Lake hotel room |
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| Van was 3rd wheel for our SLC get-away |
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| I quickly learned that photo shoots with 3 children are not easy. But Van is loved! |
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| Chris ran his first marathon and we were all there to cheer him on! |
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| Van and Ruth are not afraid of the Staheli Farms witch. (Oliver sure was!) |
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| There's that happy kid! |
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| Day of the Dead Halloween party at Uncle Wil's. Your Hulk costume looked cuter on Pinterest. Everyone thought you were smashed peas. You pretty much slept through the whole fiesta. |
3 months:
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| Ward trunk or treat on Halloween. |
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| All-time, favorite picture of Van! |
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| Cute boy in the lettermen's jacket |
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| Kisses and snuggles all day long |
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| Taken at the end of a busy blessing day, after all the guests left |
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| Grandma Lou's last and final visit to St. George (she claims). It was very nice of them to come down just for your blessing. |
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| Oliver adores his older cousins William and Riley. |
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| Baby Boston |
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| Ruth, Nora, and Mason Talbot |
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| Morgan and Ryan |
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| Boston and Stacie |
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| Diana is a baby-snatcher. Always loves a little baby snuggle. |
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| Oliver and Jake & Mason Talbot playing |
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| Family Christmas card picture for the year. |
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| We feel so proud and blessed to have you as our son, Donovan! |
I don't know how old you are in this video, but it's close to 3 months based on the onesie you're wearing. I would nurse, rock, and sing to you for nap times. I think you really loved it. You started to sing along with me to Sweet Baby James.
4 months:
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| I was proud of Ruth for giving up her baby swing so easily for you. She's watching to make sure you're having fun in it. |
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| We were packing up to go to PG for Thanksgiving. Oliver said this is his tough face. |
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| Thanksgiving Dinner with Great Grandma and Grandpa Alldredge |
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| Watching Ruth in her ballet class. Van was not impressed! |
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| Christmas Eve dinner |
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| That one time when Van took a binky and I was so excited! |
5 Months:
The first time you rolled over was around Christmastime. Aunt Kami was worried about it and kept trying to get you to do it while she was in town visiting for Christmas. You actually had a decent audience for that first roll. Grandma and Grandpa, Kami and Robby, us, we were all there looking at you. At 5 months, I decided that there's really no need for you to age anymore. You were delightful! Just rolling around and smiling!
Van is now 7 months old and we predict her will be easygoing and enjoyable for the rest of his life. I think he'll be busy and strong and active, but he's just a sweet kid and always happy to see you. He's really easy to get to smile and laugh. He rarely cries and when he does, I appreciate it cause I get busy and forget to feed him. He's eating a few foods. We're doing baby-led weaning which means you just offer a baby steamed or soft food and they feed themselves. It's convenient, but messy. Chris hates it and would prefer to just feed him. Van sleeps 11-12 hours solid at night, naps for 2 hours in the morning, and 2 hours in the afternoon. Both Oliver and Ruth have gone in his room and woke him up because they just wanna see him. Makes me crazy when they wake him up, but I love the love they have for their baby.
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| You loved to kick and bounce and were such a wiggly guy! So I tried to see how you'd like the jumper. It wasn't really your thing. You don't like to stand up/put pressure on your legs. But you're the best at tummy time! |
6 Months! I actually finally weighed and measured Van and figured out his percentiles online for this momentous day.
Weight - 14 lbs - 3rd%; Height - 28 inches - 87%; Head circumference - 17 inches - 25%
I started to get a little worried about how skinny he is. And he just wouldn't eat very well. He was too busy wanting to see Oli and Ruth. Van even enjoyed watching TV. I realized that I needed to supplement with bottles a little.
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| Saturday morning snugglefest with all of us! |
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| The Triumph TR4 and a lovely day! |
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| Uncle Tyler Day! Hey came to Las Vegas for a work vacation and drove up to our house for a few hours. |
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| Beautiful Grandma Potter |
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| Visiting Grandma Alldredge and I forgot to bring some jammies. She had these ones at her house though! Haha! Van looks just like a baby girl! |
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| Loves his Grandma Alldredge! |
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| First food: Strawberries! We were at a part one day and I was eating Strawberries. Van kept trying to grab them, so I just gave him one. He actually ate the whole thing! Since then, he goes crazy for strawberries and makes a huge mess gnawing on them! |
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| Asleep in Disneyland |
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| First family Disneyland Vacation |
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| Van loves Elsa |
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| Laguna Beach |
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| Ruth is swooning over Minnie. Van's not a big fan yet. But he did great and we had a fun trip! |
Van comes with me to Primary and all the kids fight over him. One Sunday, I had Van laying on the ground while I worked on the bulletin board. I stepped away to the library and all the Deacons quorum was surrounding Van and playing with him when I came back.
Chris and I have a running playful argument about Van's eye color. They were blue when he was born and are gradually getting darker. I'm hoping they end up green like mine.
I expect Van to crawl any day now. He can get around well on his stomach, but he's anxious to stay caught up. But he doesn't care to stand up yet. Van just started to sit up on his own this week.
We LOVE you Vanna Banana!
