May 18 - May 21

Hi baby!
Not a ton to tell this week buddy. You visited Grampa and Heather for a bit on Tuesday. On Wednesday, you hung out with Gramma Debbie while dad & I went out on a date. We walked down for tacos on Thursday.

Today has been a weird day buddy. You went to bed last night at 8:00 and slept all the way until 7. That wasn't a big deal but you hadn't eaten since 5. You slept 13+ hours without eating so I was a bit worried about you. After you ate, you came into bed with me and talked to me for about 10 minutes then you crashed. I woke you up to change your clothes so you could go to Mary's. You crashed immediately again. You had never done that before and you felt a little warm so we kept you home with me. When I called Mary, she said that one of your friends at daycare was also sick this week. We did OK on our own today. You ate, slept a TON, played on your mat and played on your exersaucer. it was a big rotation between those activities. It was difficult for me to juggle you and get my work done but we made it. Definitely not something I would want to do everyday but we made it through. Because you stayed home, we missed our date with Great Gramma. We are going to go visit her this weekend.

This week, you have been on your tummy 80% of the time. No matter how many times we flip you, you roll immediately back over then you holler at us because you are on your tummy. This week was also the first week you seemed to enjoy the exersaucer that Gramma Ruth brought you. You are such a big boy - your dad and i can't believe it!

Next week, you are going to be 5 months old. it is amazing to think that you are that old. We will have to revisit your goals for last month and see how you did. :)
Monday - daddy playing with you in your Be Green onesie


You look so big in these photos since you are standing up. Daddy is just balancing you - you are holding your own weight!



Tuesday - It takes a lot of concentration for you to play on your mat. I was trying to get artistic on you and get some shots of your and also of you in the mirror.



Wednesday


Thursday - you are almost too big for your bath tub. Means daddy and I have to get the real tub ready for you.


Friday - in between your long naps and eating, you played

May 17

Hi Lijah!
I have a new story that we will share with your fiancee down the line! Tonight, we did food (no further progress on the squash) and a bath. Our routine in the tub is that I fill a cup with your bath water and I pour the water on your belly. You shake a bit in shock then you purr. So, we settled in and entered our routine and life is going good. Then, I look in the cup right before I pour it on you and, ummm... there were ummmmm....floaties in the cup. You were so relaxed and comfortable that you decided to let lose. We had to hurry up and get you rinsed off and dried off. Despite being gross, your dad and I had a hearty laugh.

Like I told you yesterday, you have kind of been a fussy pants lately and we don't know why. Today was really no different. In the blink of an eye, you were a fussy pants!! I have been trying to do what I did when you were a newborn - squeeze you really tight in the rocker so you can't move your arms or legs then sing to you. I know that I don't have a good voice and won't do karaoke unless I have had too many margaritas. But, it soothes you a little bit. I wonder if you remember it from when you were a newborn and it makes you feel better. I don't know if it really does soothe you or if it is in my head but it makes me feel better that my voice helps you feel better.

I took some pictures of you today in your Be Green onesie from your cousin Brandi. I don't know that she expected you to be in your 9 month onesie so quickly :) I went through your clothes and started pulling out your 6-9 month stuff that was long sleeve because you won't be wearing them much longer as the weather gets warmer.

Talk to you soon, monkey!

Photo Catch up

Hi Buddy,
I have been behind on adding your photos so here are the ones from last week.
Monday
Last minute lame photo in your bed! You roll all over now. We never know how we are going to find you in the morning. I kind of like this one because you don't have too many shots of the back of your head and your hair :)

Tuesday
Hanging out on your boppy.

Wednesday
Still working on training you to hold your own stinkin bottle :)

Thursday
Trying to train you to chew on your teether rather than people. Little Brecken at daycare told Mary that you "Bite me, bite me...."

Friday
Hanging out with daddy on the love sac after our walk in the neighborhood.

Saturday
Playing on your mat and looking like a big boy!

Sunday
Your Squash adventure!

May 13 - May 16

Hi baby!
Your mom kind of deserted you this week, didn't I? On Thursday, I had book club. On Friday, I had an appointment until 7:30 then we went for a walk together. On Saturday, I had to work and today, we just hung out. You and your dad had some quality time together all week.

We tried something new today - we gave you squash baby food. You seemed to do better with it than you do your cereal. You made funny faces but you ate quite a few bites. Next up is carrots or sweet potatoes in 3 days. Can't wait to go to farmers market and get you some good veggies this summer.

You have been out of sorts these past two days. You are a bit fussy. We don't know if you are coming down with something, teething, or what. Today, we just didn't know what to do with you - kind of like when you were a little baby!

You are definitely a pro at rolling from your back to your front but then you get really crabby because you can't get back over! It is so weird for me to put you on your mat and then turn around to see you on your tummy with your arms pushing up and your head looking all over.

Finally, we have decided you are a genius. Last night, you took your pacifier out of you mouth and put it in mine. Then, you took it out of my mouth and put it in yours. Granted, you haven't mastered getting it in nipple first but I was amazed that you made the connection of your mouth, my mouth and that is where your pacifier goes.

Well baby, not a busy week but we are busy for a few weekends - graduations, parties, holiday then vacation!!

May 11 - May 12

Hi buddy!
We are getting so boring around here - work/daycare, eat, sleep! You have been working through a new sleeping schedule so you have been getting up once a night to eat. That is ok as we work out the kinks. Your mom read a book that we should put you in your crib whenever you look tired so you get better naps and that you should be sleeping 12 hours a night! I think that you want to sleep that long but you also need food. When you wake up periodically, it isn't to play, it is to eat. I have noticed in the last 2 weeks or so, you certainly do know your bottle & you are getting more coordinated in reaching for it. I was walking from your room to ours to get you settled to feed you. I had my arm under your bum and you were looking over my shoulder. I had your bottle in my hand and you twisted yourself all around (bent down, forward and to the right) to get to it! I didn't realize what you were doing then you CRACKED me up!

The other thing going on recently is your total love of your bouncy. You will play on your mat for 30-45 minutes before you get bored. You will stay in your bouncy for 2 hours before you get bored! It is so funny watching you that your daddy even busted out the video the other night. He said that you were planting your feet, bending your knees and catapulting! We did learn that you only like to play that long when you know one of us is in the room with you!

I do have pictures for you that I will add later - of course, you are always cute but these aren't that spectacular. However, I will add 2 new scrapbook pages for you now.

Talk to you later gator!

May 10

Hi Lijah!
Mommy doesn't have anything to report. I picked you up then I was gone for the evening. You & your daddy had a guys-only night. He fed you, bathed you and put you to bed. We are trying a new sleeping schedule so you were out EARLY and he was lonely for you. My photo for today was just you sleeping in your crib so I figured I would share some scrapbook pages with you instead. Talk to you later gator!

May 4 - May 9

Oh man Elijah - I am so far behind, aren't I? It isn't a reflection of how much fun we are having together but that we are so busy! Let's recap what we did this week -

Tuesday
Nothing much to report this day baby - work, daycare/Grampa Keith's, food, sleep!


Wednesday
Today was the day that I was dreading! We went to the doctor and you got your shots. It was much better than I expected! You didn't scream as much and we didn't get in a lot of trouble with the pediatrician! You weighed 15 lbs 14 oz and were 27.25" long. You are still a tall boy but you went down a bit in the percentile for weight. Guess that means you are well proportioned. Dr. Macklem said that we did a great job of flipping your head and it is now growing exactly where it should be. Yeah mommy & daddy! At night, we went over to the Beaty's house for dinner & you were able to meet Debbie's mom and dad.


Thursday
Fussy pants today because of your shots. For the first time, my phone rang with the special ring tone that meant it was Mary calling. My heart stopped for a second and then I figured you might have a fever with your shots. She just wanted to juice you up with Tylenol to help you feel better! We kept you juiced up at night too so you would sleep through it. Darn it - we hate shots!


Friday
Not a ton to report here either - work, out to eat, juiced you and hoped that you would feel better. It is hard for us to watch you be in discomfort and know that you don't want to be because you smile at us in between those sniffles. Even though it didn't look like it in the picture below, you were mostly fussy with a few spots of happy Lijah. I didn't take you to Great Gramma's because you were fussy pants.

Saturday
We went down to Farmer's Market and walked around a bit then it was all about Baby Jake as we did our photo shoot with him. You slept through most of it but then I think you were a bit out of sorts because you are so used to having your photo taken. :) You still had a touch of fussiness in you because of your shots so we had to juice you up a bit. I am hoping this is the end of it. We went out to dinner and I had the most unreal experience. I had you sitting on the table with my hand in front of you. You started sucking and chewing on my thumb. It was a weird sensation to feel you gumming my thumb and sucking. Kind of like the Sting Rays at Sea World. You sure did love your bouncey today - you were in it for about 2 hours!! It cracks me and your daddy up to watch you.

You & your newest cousin - Baby Jake!


Quick shot of you in your crib while we were taking Baby Jake's photos


My favorite two Baby Jake photos


Sunday
Today was Mommy's day. It was a good day Mister! You & your daddy had some doughnuts for me when I woke up along with a card, flowers and a movie I wanted. He let me sleep in while you two played together. HEAVEN :) You and him went to see Gramma Brigham then we went over Auntie Sheila's for dinner with the Langs. It was a packed house! The highlight of my day was our mini-photos. I really wanted some photos with my son on Mother's Day. And, we even got your daddy involved and some really good photos. Then, we went to see Gramma Debbie. Since I am going out with her tomorrow, our visit was all about her having some Elijah time :) Thank you buddy for being here and treating me to a great Mother's Day.

I have to be really honest with you about something though. During the time that I was by myself, I had a really rough time. For some reason, this Mother's Day was the hardest day yet. You would think that it would be the best Mother's Day ever since my baby is here but realizing how great you are made me sad to know that so many little ones aren't with us. I am not sure if it was because people were so nice to me and said "Happy First Mother's Day." It was great to celebrate my first Mother's day but not the first year I felt like a mommy!