ALMOST 5 months and recent fun

This beaming boy will be 5 months old on December 21st! How can that be? 

No, who are we kidding. It definitely feels like 5 months :) 

Since I last posted, Dylan has made some MAJOR improvements. Half the time I am actually feeling normal these days. 

He still only poops every day or two or three, but he doesn't seem to be in nearly as much pain anymore. And he mostly sleeps in between his night feeds now, which is such a relief. He's had many 5-6 hour stretches at night in between eating, but that sleeping through the night thing still eludes us. And it seems like whenever he gets close and I think, *maybe* tonight is the night he'll do it, he seems to take major steps backward and wake up 4-5 times again. GAH! It frustrates me to no end. But then I wake up with him and he eats and gets so smiley and makes the most adorable gurgling sounds that of course I can't be mad anymore.

He now weighs 12 lbs, is 24 inches long, and has really been packing it on lately! I don't have to fortify his bottles anymore because he regularly eats anywhere from 4-6 oz per feed. I've given up on breastfeeding and am exclusively pumping. I've tried a few times but he is set on the bottle, and we've got our routine down. Truth be told though, I absolutely hate pumping and it takes so much time, but I'm in it for the long haul. I plan to do it for the full year because Dylan does not stomach formula very well. 

Dylan loves to smile, loves to stand up, loves to suck on his fist and stick his tongue partly out. He is not quite laughing yet and not rolling yet. But we'll get there :) I have to remind myself that he was early with complications and he needs time to catch up. But I'll admit, I get really jealous of all these babies born after/at the same time as Dylan who seem to be way ahead of him. It's hard to be a mom. All the sudden I have so much to worry about! But it is most definitely worth it and I couldn't be more blessed to have Dylan in my life.

We blessed him the first Sunday in November, and Taylor gave such a sweet blessing. I recorded it on my phone (is that bad?) and Taylor typed it up so we have it. He is such a special little baby and I thank my Heavenly Father every day for sending him to us. The amount of joy he brings to our home is something I just couldn't fully anticipate.

 I was a dummy and didn't get a good picture of Dylan by himself in his blessing outfit. But Taylor was blessed in the outfit Dylan is wearing...isn't that so cool?! He was a little angel and kept quiet during the blessing. I think he charmed everyone in the circle with his smiles before they started.

The support we've had from both our families has been so wonderful. I can't say enough how blessed we are to have such amazing families! 

The classic 4 generation picture. They all look so alike. Minus Dylan, because I think he is totally a mini-me. Except when he smiles, then Taylor comes out in him. 

The whole Burnham side of the family went to Colorado Springs for Thanksgiving. We all stayed at my brother Craig's home, and it was a party! So fun to be there with all my siblings. I was worried how Dylan was going to do, but he was SO good. Like the best he's ever been, all week. I think he loved having so much going on and so much to watch. And he was an angel in the car. He slept the whole way there and back almost, and when he did wake up he loved having Taylor and I in the back seat with him (we drove with my parents). 

Taylor, my daddio, Mark, and Judson ran a turkey trot and it was gigantic! There were 4,000+ participants. Taylor got 3rd! He won some money to a running store and he got some new shoes, so that was awesome. It is a bummer not getting those free from BYU anymore... At the rate he wears through shoes, that money could really add up fast. 

The girls went on our annual "Girls Shopping Trip", an event we all look forward to all year long. We've done this like 5 times now, but my mom is extremely generous and gives us all money to go shop at the outlets with. We usually go to Park City, but there are outlets close by in Colorado, so we went there this year. Seriously my mom, she's the coolest. I used to get excited for this event, but now that I'm married and extremely poor, I was ecstatic. It's the first time I've bought clothes for myself in ages. Woohoo! We went on Black Friday, so we got some great deals, and it wasn't terribly crowded either.

In December we've enjoyed work parties, ward parties, riding the Stringtown Polar Express Train, and we can't wait for Taylor to finish up his finals so we can head up to Pocatello. I love December. 

I am so grateful for the Savior, Jesus Christ, who was born in Bethlehem. I'm so thankful for his life, for his death, and for his resurrection. He truly is the meaning of the season. 

And a few more pictures :)

Merry Christmas from the Farnsworths!