Saturday, January 21, 2012

3 Months: A Letter to James

 Dear James,

Wow baby, you've been having a blast this month!   You started out with Christmas and meeting so many new people. They loved you, you know. Of course they did. You are 11 lbs. of cuteness in your sweater and baby jeggings pajama jeans. The holidays were a little rough on your mommy and daddy because we just couldn't figure you out at family gatherings! Later in the evening around 9, momma would feed you, play with you, and then you'd fall asleep. You'd be passed around to grandma, grandpa, and your great aunts. Sound asleep and then... "Waaaaaah!" out-of-control crying. We'd leave the gathering with you screaming in your carseat. We'd be sad for allowing you to get to is point. I'm sorry buddy! We're new at this! We did figure out that you enter a trance when we turn on white noise on the radio. Thank goodness for that! One awesome thing: you slept through Christmas church so momma and daddy got to worship and sing carols. (mommy's favorite!)

Another of mommy's favorites is you sleeping through the night! On Christmas you slept from 11:44 to 6:32. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.   It was the perfect gift.  We all needed that sleep! 

We rang in the new year with you. You swung in your swing while we ate a delicious meal. We played with you on your gym- little kicker! Then we read books, you ate, and we all went to bed by 11. Can you believe how wild your parents are?  We're a little worried about you being a party animal when you're older.

We started talking baby talk to you is month. "Ma, ma, ma, da, da, da, James" is our favorite phrase to say to you.  (I'm only slightly offended that you smile more at the 'da, da, da' part) All of the goos and gahs, mahs and dahs have paid off- you're now talking back to us. I love watching your little mouth change shape as you start making new sounds. Your tongue moves around and you smile as you coo. It's amazing watching you develop language. 
You are sitting in our laps and looking at books when we read to you. It helps that you have better head control now- you even hate tummy time a little less these days. Can you believe it?  Your teacher (from Parents as Teachers) was impressed by your head control and hand-eye coordination.  She was so amazed that a 2.5 month old baby could look at something and decide to hit it.  Her eyes were wide as she watched you, and she told mommy and daddy, "This is really good, you know, for a 2.5 month old baby."  We just shrugged and said, "It's just what he does."  After she left, we praised you for being a genius and bought you this hat.
source
These days you eat like a champ. I can hardly believe we're a quarter of the way through nursing! It's such a part of our lives that I am not sure how to be a momma without it. Maybe this is greedy, but I love that it's time just between you and me.   You are becoming such a chunker- especially those arms! 
This past month we celebrated our first snow day together.  Mommy got up early to feed you since school hadn't been called off yet.  She sat there thinking about how great it would be to stay at home with you all day.  Then 15 minutes later daddy came in and said school was cancelled.  Mommy got her wish!  You started the day off with a bang by rolling over from front to back for the first (and only) time. We were all so excited for you!  The rest of the day was spent sleeping, kicking, eating, and reading.  It was perfect.

You mean the world to me buddy! I can't imagine loving anyone or anything as much as I love you! I look forward to spending the rest of my life watching you grow.

                                                                                    Love,
                                                                                      Mommy

Saturday, January 7, 2012

10 Little Monkeys

Now that James is smiling all the time, Kyle and I are better able to get an idea of his likes and dislikes.  Some of his dislikes include: being left alone awake in his crib at night, Bon Jovi, tummy time, being wet, having his arms swaddled, surprises, and being tired.  His likes are plentiful: eating, bouncing, white noise, kicking, sleeping, looking at dogs, riding in the Bjorn, bath time, faces, and the 10 Little Monkeys.

I discovered 10 Little Monkeys over break one day when Kyle was at work.  James was on our bed, resting against a pillow when I decided to sing to him.  During the " ____ little monkeys jumpin on the bed" part, I bounced the bed a little.
 Then when it came to "bumped his head," I put my hands around his face.
 Let me tell you- it's smile city.  His eyes light up, and he squeals with delight.  This makes 10 little monkeys my new favorite thing too!  I'd post a video of it, but then you'd hear me singing.

Here's some randomness: we think James will be right handed.  He is already so dominant with his right hand.  It's the hand he uses to hit dangly do-dads on his play gym.  It's also the one he brings to his face when he wants to suck on his fist.  Is it too early to call?  Maybe?  With about 90% of the population being right-handed, we at least have a good chance of being correct with our guess!

Wednesday, January 4, 2012

First Day at Daycare

The day has arrived.  I knew it would.  There was no avoiding it:  today James had his first full day at daycare.  A popular question people asked over break was, "What are you doing with James while you're at work?"  Some asked if I would be a stay-at-home mom, which was totally laughable since I would actually be a stay-at-box-under-the-bridge mom if I wasn't working.  Rather than move under a bridge or into a boxcar, we're taking him to a retired couple that live less than ten minutes from our house.  They watch babies until they are 2 years old, then they are 'aged-out' to daycare.  Including James, this couple will be watching four babies.  This couple was highly recommended by one of my coworkers who sent her son to them a few years ago.  They have said they'll treat James like he's one of their own grand kids and after seeing how much his grandparents love him, I feel good about him being with his babysitters.

He had a half-day yesterday.  Kyle dropped him off in the morning (I'm obviously not ready for that trauma), and I picked him up around noon.  We left him with a 4 oz. bottle, plenty of diapers, two changes of clothes,  wipes, and his pack'n'play.  You may notice one important item missing: the pacifier.  Oops!  The sitters kindly requested we bring one for him today.  They also were a little worried about the amount of milk we brought, remarking, "I was afraid I'd have to feed him a french fry if you didn't get here."  Double oops!  We're total rookies at this parenting thing; I'm thankful his babysitters know what they're doing!

Today we were able to make up for our mistakes- bringing a paci, bottles, and frozen milk.  Even though I knew he was in good hands, I couldn't help but miss him all day.  Hopefully this gets better! 
How could I not miss this face?
Another big change recently was beginning cloth diapering.  You may have noticed James is laying on fluff in the two month picture.  This big boy has used them for 4 days now and so far I love them.  They are adorable and produce so much less waste!  My eco-conscience is slowly returning, one cloth diapering at a time.  As an added bonus, his 'too big' pants are now 'just right' with all the added diaper bulk! 
He sure is growing up fast; we'll be taking him to college before we know it! : )

Tuesday, January 3, 2012

Baby's First Christmas

Some people are really on the ball about things and actually send out Christmas cards.  We are not those people.  However, if we were those people, we would have a tie for the picture on the card.
James was busy Christmas Eve through the day after Christmas.  He undoubtedly had the most fun Christmas morning, when these pictures were taken.  He loved meeting all of his great aunts and uncles, second cousins, second cousins once removed, and our friends.  He was especially excited to meet Lucy, who we've told him all about. It was incredible to see the difference between a two month old and a nine month old!  They have one thing in common though: they are both adorable!  We were  so happy to share James with everyone over the holidays and hope to keep in touch throughout the year!

I've got to say, James made quite the haul this Christmas.  Most of his swag came from his grandparents which is good since Santa only brought him books!  We've already put some of James' loot to use.  Here he is enjoying a walk at the park in his Bjorn.  
Why did we wait so long to get one of these?
He's also had a blast reading all of his new books! Auntie Caitlin gave him a book called A Sick Day for Amos McGee.   It's adorable.  James' BFF Evangeline gave him Little Polar Bear.  Thankfully it's fiction; we're not ready for the story of the present day polar bear. Santa brought him my old favorite- Go Dog, Go! which is not as amazing as I remember it.  My favorite page was where the dogs party it up in the tree.  Now, it's not as cool.  How aging 20 years changes one's perspective!

Well, we hope you had a Merry Christmas and are ready for the new year!  Here's to 2012 being full of teeth, talking, and walking!  

2 Months

Wow, the difference between one month and two months is huge!  James has been through so much during his second month.  He met all of his great grandparents over Thanksgiving.  We couldn't get James to contain his excitement.
 His first snowfall on December 6.  Again, his enthusiasm was hard to contain, perhaps he knew the snow would melt in just a few hours.
His first bottle, which was important since his mommy went back to work.  Mommy being gone all day wasn't too big of a deal since he got to stay home with Grandma and Grandpa B for five days and McGrandma and McGrandpa for  another five days.  He undoubtedly loved the attention and enjoyed all the extra company by practicing his new favorite skill: smiling.  He gave his first real smile while he was being fed on the morning I went back to work.  It was just what I needed to get through the day!
 On the evening of the 21st, he had his two month appointment.  Little man weighed in at 10lbs. 7 oz.- that's a 4 pound increase from his birth weight!  His weight is in the 25 percentile while his head size is in the 45 percentile.  So if you think his head looks proportionally larger than his body, you are correct.  : )  The appointment ended with (cue the scary music) SHOTS.  He got three shots.  He only cried for about 30 seconds immediately after the shots, but later that night was crying inconsolably because his legs hurt.  We eventually got him fed and put to sleep.  Although the night was rough, he ended up being fine the next day.

All in all- he's growing and having fun!  He loves to kick at his play gym, listen to books, and watch the dogs.  Kyle and I are loving every minute with this little guy!