Happy Half Birthday!!!

Weight: 18 lbs

Length:  He is too squirmy to try and measure.  I will find out tomorrow at his 6 month appt. 

Size he is wearing:  Starting 6-9 months.  Seems like he runs true to size which is great on my wallet.  He is definitely getting the wear out of his clothing!

Development:  He likes to roll from tummy to back and back to tummy to get where he wants to go (almost looks like a gator rolling around ha).  It is pretty funny actually.  He is also sitting up (90% of the time without help!)  We are starting teething which has been an ABSOLUTE NIGHTMARE!!!  He is incredibly grumpy, not napping as well, and cries quite often.  I have tried everything and the only thing that he somewhat likes are his Sophie and a cold washcloth.  If anyone has any ideas on how to help his gums please please PLEASE let me know before I pull my hair out.  Thanks.     

Funny things he does:  Talking to his Sophie.  See video.

Daily activities:  Still on the same schedule as before.  We have been trying more playtime on his own so he can learn to entertain himself.  I have a whole setup downstairs for him to roll around and play (I just recently turned the white portion of the quilt pink.  Awesome.)

Sleeping:  Sleeping great minus napping.  Goes down between 7-8 p.m. and wakes around 7.  He is napping but it takes FOREVER to get him down and most days he would rather just sleep on us which I find so sweet and love but then I don't get a dang thing done around the house.  I do love how he loves to cuddle.  Makes my heart melt.

Eating:  We have introduced cereal.  He was not a fan of rice cereal but seems to have taken to oatmeal better.  He seems to like sitting in his high chair which is good.  Next on the menu is sweet potatoes.  I have invested in some wipeable bibs.  I foresee many messes in my near future.  

Things he loves:  Playing with his feet, soaking through his shirts with his drool, music, Elmo, and bath time.

Things he hates:  His gums, when we go too long without giving him attention, and being overly tired. 

How Mom and Dad are doing:  Great!  We finally went and bought our "we are now officially old and boring" vehicle...a MINI VAN!  We love it.  For all those haters out there I totally get it.  Who would want to drive a mini van?!  I was just like you.  I was NOT going to be a soccer mom.  I thought they were ridiculous and I always wanted a big suv.  Then came Alex and we looked at a few vans.  WOAH.  BEST FAMILY VEHICLE EVER.  To have the ability to change Alex with all the doors closed and be able to spread out and basically do the splits is amazing.  To be able to haul 2 dogs, a baby, ourselves, and all our crap and still have room to do the Macarena if we felt so inclined is INCREDIBLE!  No joke.  We will run this vehicle into the ground and I am proud to say I am officially THAT mom.  See link below ;-)

Swagger Wagon!

The loves of my life =)

5 month little man

Weight: 16 lbs 8 oz

Length:  I have no clue.

Size he is wearing:  Still in 3-6 month clothes.  

Development:  He is rolling over from belly to back now and has discovered his feet.  He is also starting to hold his own bottle and is becoming more and more aware of what we are eating and gaining some interest in the foods we eat.  Looks like we are headed for solids next month!  He grabs at toys he wants and is constantly wanting to look at new things.         

Funny things he does:  See video ;-)

Daily activities:  Now that I am home I have got him on a somewhat reliable schedule (I say somewhat because we can't stick to it 24/7) He wakes up around 7 and eats.  We play until about 8:30-9 and then eat a little more and are down for our first nap.  He sleeps until about 10:30-11 and then eats and we play.  I put him back down around 12:30-1 and he sleeps until about 3.  He is usually up until bedtime (7-8 p.m.) unless we run errands and he falls asleep in the car.  I try to run errands when he is rested but sometimes I have to do things in the morning so he just naps while I run errands (sometimes...he really doesn't want to be in his car seat unless the car is moving lol.)  

Sleeping:  Sleeping great!  His last nap of the day he fights so he sometimes doesn't take a third nap.

Eating:  Still eating the same.  Almost time to start solids!  

Things he loves:  Giggling, his new bouncy seat, and Sophia the Giraffe.

Things he hates:  Sitting too long, the nose frida (best booger sucker there is but he realllllly hates it)  

How Mom and Dad are doing:  I am now officially home!  I don't think it will hit me until everyone goes back and I am still at home.  I have signed up to substitute part-time and am working on the accounting for Dan's business.  I am also loving spending time with my little man.  Being a mom will always be my #1 job.  Dan is great and we hope has some down time soon so maybe we can get out of town for a few days.  

First Easter

Just a tad late posting this but oh well!  We spend Easter up in Ledbetter at Daniel's family's ranch every year.  We love spending time up at the ranch.

Napping is a past time at the ranch.

Lots of time rocking and chilling on the porch.

Our super funny and super cute nephew William.

Meeting Papa =)

Lots of music and singing.

I think Alex was done at this point.  Happy Easter everyone!

First Father's Day - June 16, 2013

We celebrated Dan's first Father's Day last weekend.  We started off the day with breakfast, cards, and gifts.  I put these three photos in a frame from Alex to Dan =)  

My gift consisted of some poop bags for his diaper bag, cards, and some new board shorts that he picked out.

We then took Alex to my parents house to swim for the first time.  He did so well!  He really loves the water.  I am obsessed with his swimsuit!  Pics to come on that later.

4 Month babble-bug!

Weight: 15 lbs 2 oz

Length:  23.5 in

Size he is wearing:  3-6 months...although I bought him the cutest hat at Baby Gap the other day which was labeled 0-6 which would not go past his forehead.  That boy has got one big ol' noggin'!

Development:  He is talking up a storm!  He loves to babble, squeal, and talk to us.  Also he is much more aware of things going around him these days.  He is constantly wanting to see new things and cannot sit still for more than a few minutes at a time.          

Funny things he does:  Spit bubble goatees, squealing EXTREMELY loud, and his sad/pouty/flat lip.  I know we shouldn't laugh when he is sad but this kid makes the funniest face before he is about to lose his cool.

Daily activities:  He wakes up between 6-7 every day, eats, goes back to sleep for usually 1-2 hours, up to play/eat and the process repeats itself throughout the day.  Summer is almost here so we will be changing that schedule a bit with myself running errands, lots of walks in the stoller, and extra play time.

Sleeping:  Still sleeping through the night although every now and then he will wake up between 3-4.  Also his naps are getting more erratic.  Like I said when summer hits we will be getting on a good napping schedule.

Eating:  7 oz first thing in the morning now and then 3-5 oz the rest of the day.  He sure does love to eat and when to take his food away burp he gets SUPER mad.  I guess I wouldn't like my food taken away from me either if I was hungry.

Things he loves:  Bath time (he no longer gets upset with getting out of the bath), movement, mirrors, his hands, standing up (he would rather stand than sit), and the bumbo for short amounts of time.

Things he hates:  If you sneeze around him it freaks him out, sitting for too long,   

How Mom and Dad are doing:  After 6 years of teaching we have made the decision for this to be my last school year.  I will be staying home with Alex and will be helping Daniel run his contracting business (the paperwork/accounting side of it).  We are very excited to start this new chapter in our lives and can't wait to see what the future holds!

First Mother's Day

There is no gift in the world that can top being a wife and mother.  Life is so unbelievably sweet.  

3 Month Stud Muffin

Weight:  13 lbs 3 oz.

Length:  I don't know lol.  I could try to measure him but he doesn't like that so we will wait until his appointment next month.           

Size he is wearing:  Starting to get too big for 0-3 month clothing.  Looks like we are headed into 3-6. I love warm weather clothes and now that I have a cute little munchkin to dress I am loving it even more.  I can't wait to buy him his first swimsuit!  Also I just found out they are building a Carters near my house.  Baby Gap and Carters within a 2 mile radius of my home is a recipe for trouble!

Development:  He watches us as we leave a room and knows when we come back.  He has started giggling too!  I love hearing him laugh.  Too cute for words!  He is also no longer a bobble head and has discovered that he can grab things with his hands like his blankie and small toys and puts them up to his mouth.        

Funny things he does:  He loves to babble and blow spit bubbles like it's going out of style.  He even giggles and squeals at himself when he blows a big one.

Daily activities:  Eating, sleeping, playing on his play mat, making silly faces at us, pooping and farting.  All in a days work for a baby.  

Sleeping:  We put him down at 8 p.m. and he has been sleeping through the night.  YAHOO!  He usually sleeps about 10 hours straight.  He will eat about 7 oz when he wakes up because he is starving and then goes back to sleep for another hour or two.  

Eating:  He eats until he is full but it is usually 3-5 oz at a time.  During the day he eats around every 2-3 hours but that varies by the day of course.

Things he loves:  Bath time (but when you take him out of the bath he gets super ticked off), his play mat, recently the bumbo (but only for little amounts of time), being interacted with and talked to, kisses on his cheeks, and any type of movement like the car, stroller, walking around, etc.

Things he hates:  Stopping to burp when we are feeding him, when we reach a stop light while driving, and when you stop playing with him.    

How Mom and Dad are doing:  We are doing well and have adjusted to parenthood very nicely.  I am back to my goal weight thanks to breastfeeding because I have not seen the gym since last fall although I am still quite squishy =P  School is starting to come to an end and I can't wait for summer.  Dan is very busy running his business and works extremely hard morning, noon, and night.  We are loving parenthood and love our time spent together as a family of three!