9 months

I say it with all my babies no matter how cliche it is, and I'll say it with this one as well. Derek, you have been out as long as you were in! You are nine months old now! You have the cutest little personality. You have this sweet little giggle, you love to come over to mom when I sit on the floor and just bury your head into me, I'm not sure why you do it, but I am going to think it's your way of saying you love me. You have two teeth now and you still love to eat! Sometimes you get a little testy with what we give you. You desperately want more finger foods and foods you can eat independently, but because you only have two teeth, our options are limited. I always know when it's been awhile since I've given you finger foods because you swat your baby food away until I give you something you can pick up and put in your mouth. After a few bites of that you are ready again for the baby food. It's been fun to watch how you communicate what you want.

You weight 16 lbs (7th percentile
You are in the 1st percentile for height
and 60th percentile for head circumference.

You might be little, but oh are you precious! The whole family adores you! Well, almost the whole family. Haley is pretty neutral when it comes to you, but we found out this month that she is fantastic at feeding you! She's so gentle and slow and you seem to love it! It's not really her favorite thing to do, but she likes being a helper, so she'll do it after a little coaxing. I hope you never lose your contagious smile and your easy going demeanor. We love you, Little Bear!

8 Months

Derek is such a happy boy. I've said it once and I'll say it over and over, this baby is so dang happy all the time! He is so patient and can so easily entertain himself! He really is what I prayed for with our third baby. He's growing all the time and he is exploring more and more. He LOVES food! He might be a little guy, but don't underestimate his appetite. That boy can eat! He sleeps really well, but he does like to get up with the sun, just like his sisters. He's crawling faster and faster all the time and he tries so hard to keep up with his sisters. Kinley still loves him and loves carrying him around and loves making him laugh. We love you cute boy!

7 Months

Derek is seven months old and is getting so wiggly! It's been so fun watching him grow. He loves watching Kinley and Haley run around. You can see in his eyes that he is chomping at the bit to try and keep up with them. He's learned to sit himself up and he is loving all the new foods he is trying. We're still working on getting him to pinch with his thumb and index finger, right now he grabs everything he can tries to put it all in his mouth at once. He is very much a boy and we love having him around.

Six Months

Mr. Derek Scott is now six months old. Time is flying by with this little one. It seems to me like the first 3 months with Derek were slow and snuggly and sweet and once he hit four months, it's like time started to fly! We are loving this stage with our little man. This is honestly my favorite baby stage! He is such a sweet baby with the cutest personality. His smile can light up a room full of people and his dimples are still to die for! He is a social butterfly and as long as people are nearby he is a happy camper.  Here are some milestones:

He can sit up independently
Rolls from back to tummy AND tummy to back
No teeth yet
Weighs 13.9 lbs
Length is 27 inches (I think)
He is self soothing and putting himself to sleep in his crib
Starting to sleep longer stretches and hopefully sleep through the night soon

He is still on the small side. He is in the less than 1 percentile, but all our babies are small and he is developing as he should and is so strong! Seriously, from the beginning this boy has been a strong one. We have no worries whatsoever with him. He is loving solid foods and now that he is fully formula fed he is growing and filling out much more. For some reason I only seem to produce "diet milk" and honestly, he wasn't great at nursing either. It was a recipe for disaster, but I made it to 6 months and I'm proud I was able to do that, but formula is honestly what is best for my babies.
Here's to another month with "little brother". We are quite smitten and can't wait to see what's up next!

5 months old (Derek)

Derek is five months old now. And here comes the classic line after that sentence... "I don't know where the time has gone!"  In all seriousness this is my favorite time in the baby year. I love months 5-9. There is so much development that goes on I feel like that's when babies really start to develop their personality and open up. Derek is such a smiley baby and he loves being around people, which is the nice way of saying he can't be put down for a second! Sometimes he's in rare form and he'll chill on his play mat for a minute while I put a load of laundry in the wash, or can fill my dishwasher with dirty dishes or heaven forbid, interact with my other children! But most of the time he is literally attached to my hip. He is a mamma's boy through and through, and honestly... I don't hate it. He is a good little buddy and when he is attached on said hip, he's pretty easy going and just happy to be wherever I am.

Kinley is pretty obsessed with him and does everything she can to get him to laugh. Haley interacts with him every now and then, but sometimes Derek is so entranced by Haley when she's around and it's so fun to watch! Derek is still pretty chill for the most part and we are excited to see what comes next!