March Milestones

I know I have been behind on my posts but Mommy and I have been very busy.   In addition to day to day life, where I find myself very busy playing, talking, and eating, the end of March and the beginning of April were full of fun.  I am now rolling over frequently but it is still mostly on accident.  I am better at rolling from my back to my front and then usually whine until Mommy comes to help me roll back over.  My feet are still my favorite toys but I am enjoying all my toys more and more. 

I have started grabbing everything that gets close and pulling it into my mouth.  Watch out Mommy and Daddy, don't let me get too close to anything on the counter because it will either go in my mouth or off onto the floor.  I am talking a lot and giggling more and more.  The dogs make me laugh the most.  I love when they lick me and come close to let me pet them. 

I had my first bath in the big bathtub.  I had to have Daddy help me because I don't sit up by myself yet, but I had a lot of fun and am looking forward to getting into the pool this summer.

Mommy also got my high chair out.  I sat in it for the first time during dinner two weeks ago and played while Mommy and Daddy ate dinner.  Little did I know but this would be the practice I needed.

I continue to get bigger and bigger everyday.  Mommy keeps telling me to slow down because she isn't ready to be chasing me around.  I don't understand why not!  

I rule, Dogs drool.

The current score is me - 1, dogs - 0.  This weekend, after he spent an hour sweeping up a pile of dog hair the size of a toy poodle, Daddy moved my play yard fence to corral the dogs out of the living area of the house.  The dogs can now get into the laundry room, where they have a doggy door to the outside, and into the Mommy and Daddy's bedroom where they sleep at night.  No longer can Conner check for scraps of food after they have cooked dinner and no longer will Mommy get up and let Calvin in the backdoor when he wants in.  My toys have moved into the family room and I get to have a lot more play time on the floor.  I imagine it is just one of the many changes that the dogs are in for as I get bigger.

4 Month Check-up

It is time already for my 4 month checkup.  Time is flying by.  Once again I got a clean bill of health from Dr. Irwin.  He thinks that I am right on track with my growth.  When the nurse came to give me my shots I decided I needed her to stop and let her know!  The nurse asked if I always have such a temper.  Both Mommy and Daddy said "Yes!" at the same time and then laughed!  It is my grand plan.  It will be hard for them to say no when I can yell like that.  My stats from today's appointment:
     Weight: 12 lbs 13oz (26%)
     Height: 26 inches (95%)
     Head Circumference: 41 inches (46%)

Mommy and Daddy have been noticing some new milestones I have reached within the last week.  I am becoming wary of strangers.  I am able to recognize Mommy and Daddy but if anybody else talks to me while we are out and about I no longer smile at them and just study them carefully to see if I recognize them.  In addition to talking, I have laughed a few times.  It is still few and far between because every time the sound comes out of me, I stop immediately and feel confused as to what that noise was.  I love to lay on my blanket on the floor and rock back and forth and scoot around on my back.  I still haven't rolled over but I am getting closer everyday.  I have also discovered some new toys that are always there to play with - my feet.  I make it hard to change my diaper because I don't want to let go of my toes.  Here is a picture of me after my bath last night.

Look-a-Like?

I keep hearing that I look a lot like my Mommy but I think that I look a lot like my Daddy too.  I thought it would be fun to post these pictures of me at 3 months and then a picture of Daddy when he was 3 months old.  What do you think, do we look alike?

Changing Daily

Every morning when Mommy gets me out of bed she changes me into the outfit I am going to wear for the day and takes my picture.  I was confused by this but she has explained to me that she is taking my picture everyday in the year 2010 to see how much I change during the year.  It doesn't matter if I am happy, sad, or screaming, she takes my picture.  She decided that the one place I will consistently be everyday is laying on my changing table so that is the backdrop.  So far she has only missed a few days and those where when we were on vacation and things weren't ordinary.   I thought I would give everybody a sneak peek and see if you all think I am changing.

January 2, 2010

February 2, 2010

March 3, 2010

My Third Month

It has been awhile since I have posted on my activities so I thought it was about time for a little update.  Since the big California trip it has been relatively quiet around here.  Mommy and I are settling into a routine and with a few exceptions I only make it out of the house for quick shopping trips or walks to the park.

Right at three months I decided it was time to start sleeping through the night.  The first couple of times I went down at 9 PM and slept through the night, Mommy and Daddy thought it was a fluke and maybe I wasn't feeling good because I was sleeping so much.  But I had decided that should be my new bed time.  I know that Mommy wasn't sleeping the whole night with me because I would hear her a couple times a night trying to sneak into my room to check on me.  But as I have remained consistently falling asleep between 9 and 10 PM and waking up between 7 and 8:30 AM , she has been sleeping much better (and all by herself!).  She also seems a little more active during the day so I think the extra sleep is helping her as much as it helps me.  Every morning I wake up with a big smile on my face and happy to greet the day.

 

Good Morning!

I am officially out of all my 0-3 month clothes.   It was sad to see some of my cute outfits get tucked away already but it is exciting to see what new thing Mommy gets to dress me in everyday.  Mommy took me shopping the other day and we got a lot of new things for summer.  I can't wait to wear them all.

I have been eating to match my new sleeping schedule.  I am down to eating 5 times a day, usually 4-5 oz at a time.  Mommy is still trying to breastfeed me but she just doesn't make enough milk so I am getting more and more unsatisfied with eating from her.  Pretty soon I will probably be a formula only baby.  It seems to make Mommy sad when I refuse to even try to take milk from her, but I know she is happy that she will make it to at least 4 months of breastfeeding.

Last weekend was a three day weekend.  I noticed because Daddy got to stay home an extra day and we had lots of fun together.  On Valentine's Day Mommy, Daddy, the dogs and I all went for a long walk.  I slept most of the way in my stroller, but it was a hot sunny day and I got sweaty.  We discovered a little park that I will be able to play at when I get bigger.  When we got home Daddy had me play in my new big girl toy while Mommy took a nap.  It was her favorite Valentine's Day gift!  

 

This is me in my Valentine's Day onesie - I think I look pretty cute!

 

  

  

On President's Day it was Daddy's day to nap after he had a busy day outside in the yard.  Mommy made one little comment that the bush/tree next to the front door was overgrown and then next thing she knew it was gone.  Now she has some landscape planning to do in the front!  This is me and Daddy both asleep while the Olympics were playing in the background.  

 

Listen Up!

This last weekend I discovered something very important... my voice.  Sure this might not be the most exciting of things that I will discover over the next year but Mommy sure seems excited by it.   She holds me close and talks to me while I coo and screech back at her.  Daddy captured an important conversation on video that I thought I would share with everybody.

Road Trip!

I had my first big trip to California to visit family.  It took Mommy and Daddy three days to get laundry done, bags packed, and get the car loaded down.  Mommy, Daddy, the two dogs and I loaded up and left before the sun came up on Friday, January 15th.   I wish Daddy had thought to take my picture in the car because I was completely surrounded with stuff.  But unfortunately the camera had to go into the backpack which had to go under the diaper bag in order for everything to fit securely.  I slept really good in my car seat and woke up every three hours to be changed and fed.  I started to get uncomfortable after about 9 hours so Mommy moved all the stuff from the back seat into the front seat and sat with me for the last hour.  After 10 hours in the car we finally made it to Visalia.  Everybody there was glad to see us and we were all glad to be out of the car.

 

On Saturday Mom got me all dolled up and we went to Michelle's baby shower while Daddy went golfing with Papa Delbert.  Aunt Michelle got lots of gifts while I got passed around and met all my Visalia relatives.  It was a fun day and I was really good at the shower.  I hardly even made a peep.   Here I am with Aunt Michelle and notice I am sitting on Peyton.  I can't wait to meet my new cousin in a few weeks.

On Sunday morning we hung out watching football in the morning with everybody. 

Then Daddy packed up the car and we headed to Modesto to Grandpa Browder's house.  We were met there by Gram and Gramps, Megan and Danny, Grandpa, two more dogs.  I got to spend time playing with Gram and everybody worked on crossword puzzle together.

 

We spent a nice relaxing day in Modesto on Monday.  We went for a long walk along Dry Creek with the dogs and then after dinner Gram and Auntie Meg thought it would be fun to make smores in the fireplace.  Grandpa was happy to sample the efforts.

Tuesday came and we all packed up and headed out.  After all the commotion I am sure the house was really quiet for Grandpa that night.  Once again Daddy loaded up the car and we headed up to Megan's house with a brief stop in Stockton.  Daddy drove us around Stockton, past their first house, and over to UOP.  The campus was busy on a Tuesday afternoon and we got out and went and explored the new student center.  Daddy was hoping to buy some Pacific gear at the bookstore, but as soon as we walked in the door I started crying so they hurried me out and back to the car so I could eat.  Then we took dinner over to Daddy's friends Robert and Tiffany.  They have two sons and a baby girl Julieanne, who was born four days after me.  After a quick and noisy visit with them (boys are loud!) we headed up to Ione to the ranch that Megan and Danny live on.  The next two days were spent holed up in the house as the biggest storm in 15 years hit California.  It was very windy and rainy so we napped and stayed inside.  Well, except for poor Danny who had to be out in it with the cows and came home very wet on Wednesday and Thursday nights.  On Thursday Daddy decided he was too close to the snow and even though it was still stormy he headed up to Kirkwood.  Mommy, Auntie Meg, and I spent another quiet day inside.  Daddy came home tired but excited that it was some of the best snow he had ever snowboarded on. 

Friday morning we left to head back down to Visalia for a quick stop.  Grandma Miaja and Grandma Jeri were happy to spend more time with me and Cousin Rylee was a big help in taking care of me for the night.

Saturday morning we once again loaded up the car and headed back to Arizona.  We arrived home at 8 PM after 10 and a half hours in the car.  We were glad to see the house weathered the big storm just fine while were away.  It was a busy week with lots of time in the car but besides a few cranky moments I really didn't mind all the traveling.  I even slept 6 to 7 hours every night we were gone.  Now I am home again with no one but Mommy to entertain me.  It sure is quiet here.

Daddy's New Toys

I realized this Christmas that both sets of grandparents must think I live a little too far away because they sent Mommy and Daddy ways to record my growth.  Grandma Miaja and Papa Kelly got them a video camera and Gram and Gramps Farschon got them a big new camera.  You have already seen some results of the video action with my Christmas video but I thought I would share some of the pictures that Daddy has been taking incessantly with the new camera.  Sometimes I feel like I am being watched by the paparazzi. 

Here is Daddy taking pictures to test how many pictures the camera will take in one minute (if you print them out and flip through them quickly you would almost have a movie):

Here are a bunch (but not all) of the pictures Daddy has taken of me and Mommy:

Here are some pictures that Daddy took of me when I was having a bad hair day (I thought it was pretty funny):

Some pictures Mommy took of Daddy and me:

Finally here is a picture Daddy took of himself with me:

Could it be my fault?

Over the past week I have started to realize how my sleep schedule might be affecting Mommy and Daddy. 

On Tuesday of last week Mommy went to the grocery store and left me with Daddy.  We were in the middle of playing with our new Wii Fit game and I was watching Daddy doing all kinds of crazy things when Mommy called.  She was at the store checkout line and didn't have her wallet with her.  Now I know her basket was completely full because she had been gone for an hour already and that means she had been through the whole store a couple of times loading up on food for the week.  So Daddy found her wallet and loaded me up in the car and we went a rescued Mommy.  

Yesterday Daddy was really busy in the morning.  He was getting ready to take a load to the dump and get the yard cleaned up.  The dump closed at 1 so he had to work hard in the morning to make it on time.  He finally got loaded up and left about 11:30.  Mommy and I stayed home and ate lunch.  About ten minutes to 1 the phone rang.  All I heard was Mommy saying "Oh you are kidding me!"  It turns out that Daddy locked himself out of the truck in the middle of the dump and the gates were going to be closed and locked in 10 minutes.  It takes at least 30 minutes to get to the dump.  So Mommy got Daddy the phone number to the front gate so he could call them and tell them he was still there.  Then she loaded me up and we took at drive.  There was a nice man waiting for us at the front gate to take the key up to Daddy and rescue him.

Now to all you Mommies and Daddies out there - is this something that happens based on the current sleep schedule or are Mommy and Daddy doomed to not having their wits about them now that they are parents?  Hmmm I hope it is the first one.  Next thing you know they will be forgetting me some place!