Happy Easter!

I hope everyone enjoys this very beautiful Easter weekend. I, of course, couldn't resist dressing up Ryan in furry green bunny ears and doing a little photo shoot for his first Easter.

I'm Going To Miss This

Sometimes i just can't believe how fast my little Peanut is growing up. So many things are changing on a daily basis now. And there are times that i'm tired or frustrated or stir crazy, but then i think "I'm going to miss this." If you had told me when Ryan was a newborn that i would ever, EVER miss a time when i was constantly exhausted, unable to sleep, getting up every hour or two to try to comfort a crying baby that couldn't convey which of a multitude of things could possibly be wrong...i would have called you crazy. But now i miss it terribly. That crying newborn would love nothing more than for me to cradle him in my arms and snuggle him close. But now that newborn is a "big boy" and when i try to cradle him like i did only 6 months ago he wriggles and squirms and tries his hardest to sit up and look around. He has a whole world to explore, and no time for his mommy to hold him.

So when i come home from work: exhausted, hungry, and my feet hurting so bad i just wish they'd fall off already, those are the times that i just wish i could lie down and veg out in front of the TV. But then i scoop up my little munchkin and take him to play in the bathtub. As i watch him stick his little ducky in his mouth and make cute faces and then i wrap him in a soft towel and play peek-a-boo, suddenly my feet hurt a little less and i remember "I'm going to miss this" There will come a day in the very near future where Ryan will not want to be cuddled in a towel to play peek-a-boo. He won't want to lie with me in bed reading book after book before bedtime. He won't want to make silly faces and laugh at every silly thing i do to get his attention. He won't even be sobbing little baby tears because his very first teeth are coming in and they ache. For all these things i remind myself "I'm going to miss this."

So if you happen to stop by around bedtime and i have to make you wait until the baby is asleep, there's a small but very important reason. I'M GOING TO MISS THIS. Bedtime is the only time that i can still snuggle my baby close and rock him and he just stares at me with those beautiful little blue eyes. There's no wriggling or squirming (well not for long anyway) or crying or talking. Just me and my baby enjoying the day we had together. I don't care if it's better to put him down "sleepy but awake" so that he'll learn to go to sleep on his own. I will rock my baby until he won't let me rock him anymore because i'm going to miss this and it will be much too soon.

Not only is Ryan cutting his first two teeth (at the same time), but today he also sat in a highchair at a restaurant for the very first time and he has suddenly decided that he no longer needs a bottle...he's a big boy and big boys apparently use sippy cups. This has taken me by complete surprise as i was not expecting him to wean from the bottle anytime soon. And of course, big boys don't need mommy to help them with their sippy cups because they can do it all by themselves. I'm so very much going to miss this.

Happy Half-Birthday Peanut!

Height: 27.5 inches (84th percentile)
Weight: 19 pounds 7 ounces (81th percentile)
Head Circumference: 18.0 inches (93th percentile)
Milestones: So much has changed in just a month! Ryan can now sit up all on his own, unsupported and without using his arms to balance himself. He leans over to grab things and is able to sit back upright and play with things and stick things in his mouth while sitting. He can now roll tummy-to-back AND back-to-tummy, which means he's basically a little rolling monster. He has suddenly learned he can roll around all over his crib and has scared the crap out of me the past couple of mornings when i woke up to find him face-down in the bed, not moving, only to have me rush in there to see...he's just sleeping peacefully. Little arms and legs get stuck out of the crib constantly and he uses the slats to push and pull himself all around the crib. He can also find and replace his own pacifier pretty well, so that's nice. He can stand by himself when holding on to something, but you have to be right next to him because he will eventually let go or fall backwards.
Favorites: Stealing peoples glasses, iPhones, computers, basically anything that he sees us using. I tried giving him an old computer keyboard to play with but he wanted nothing to do with it...he only wants to use *our* keyboards with the pretty glowing screens that make noises. He still loves his feet and tries to suck on his chubby little toes.
Sounds: He wants sooooo badly to talk! Now he will watch our mouths as we talk to him and then his little mouth will open and shut and open and shut (it looks like a little ventriloquist dummy!) and sometimes he will be silent like he wants to say something and mouths it but can't quite get it out, or other times he'll squeal or say "yayayaya" "dadadada" "gagagaga". Current nicknames (and the reason he probably has no idea what his real name is): Monkey, Munchkin, Peanut, Munchy-kin, Monkey-doodle
Foods: He hasn't found a baby food he doesn't like and will basically eat anything you stick in his mouth...IF he's in the mood. If he's not hungry and you try to feed him he just spits it out all over the place and gives you a huge grin. I try really hard not to laugh, but it's quite cute.
Hours I Let Mommy Sleep: Ryan was such an awesome sleeper until about a week ago. Then he discovered that all that rolling he was doing on his playmat in the daytime could ALSO be done in the crib. So now he's sleeping on his side or stomach sometimes (which scares me) and little hands and feet are often poking out of the crib. Hopefully it's a phase and will end soon!
Other News: We had so much fun this past weekend because it was finally gorgeous and sunny! We met Ally and Lucas at the park one day and Ryan borrowed Lucas' sunglasses and shoes. Ryan thinks he looks sooooo cool in those glasses and is very proud of himself. We also practiced walking in the walker in our driveway. The thing that got him to move? Jake's iPhone.
 At the doctor's office today for his 6 month checkup, Ryan was a little flirt. He smiled and talked to all the nurses and the doctor. He absolutely loved the exam-table paper. He crinkled and crunched and tore and waved it around. Then when the doctor was trying to examine him he: stole the doctor's glasses, tried to use his laptop, and when both of those failed he snatched the stethoscope dangling from his neck and chewed on it. And he was all smiles and giggles for the nurse. The first vaccine she gave him was RSV. It's a liquid that apparently tastes yummy because she put it in a little bottle thing and when he drank it all and she tried to take it out of his mouth he snatched it with both hands and wouldn't let go. He wanted more! And he was soooo happy...until the nurse then smiled at him and jabbed him with a needle in each leg. He cried soooo pitifully for about 30 seconds, it was so sad to watch. But then he was fine...maybe a little quiet, tired, and distrusting, but his world was still intact.

P.S. I realize i'm obsessed with my baby and take way too many pictures. I attribute it to my self-diagnosed OCD, so there's just really nothing i can do about it. Sorry! :)

5 Months

Height: 27 inches (87th percentile)
Weight: 18 pounds 3 ounces (81th percentile)
Head Circumference: 17.8 inches (94th percentile)??
Milestones: Ryan has discovered his feet. He constantly puts his legs up in the air, grabs his toes and tickles his feet a minute, then SLAMS them down on the ground...before doing it all over again. His feet are one of his favorite toys. He has also mastered rolling from tummy to back. Which means he no longer gets ANY tummy time because the second you put his on his tummy he immediately rolls over and then gives you a huge grin as if to say "Ha ha i win!" I *think* he knows his name. He'll usually turn and look when you say it...unless he's just flat out ignoring you. It drives me crazy when he does that, because i could jump up and down and make monkey sounds and he'll flat out ignore me if he feels like it! But if *he* wants attention? No way are you allowed to ignore him. He's such a silly monkey. He turns to find noises and sounds and voices. We've been working on sitting up. He's getting so good! I still have to be right next to him because when he leans too far back or sideways he just falls head-first to the ground (i found this out the hard way), but he can now sit up straighter and for much longer than just a week ago. Possible separation anxiety starting.
Favorites: Playing with his feet, pulling mommy's hair, pulling the cat's tail, pulling daddy's beard, sticking EVERYTHING in his mouth, and eating baby food!
Sounds: He can now blow bubbles and make raspberries. He usually wakes up in the morning and from naps and just babbles and coos and talks to himself for awhile.
Foods: Ryan loves all the Stage 1 baby foods, even the peas and green beans! It's so cute when he eats because he'll take a bite and then go "Mmmmm" and open his mouth for more.
Hours I Let Mommy Sleep: He's finally sleeping through the night!! I don't know what changed, but he suddenly doesn't wake up a million times a night to be pacified, doesn't need a nighttime bottle, and generally sleeps pretty soundly until morning. This is particularly awesome for me, especially when i get my butt in bed on time (which isn't very often). Jake, however, has insomnia or something because he can't fall asleep until the wee hours of the morning and then has to get up (if i'm working) with the baby. He's working on it, though.
Other News: Now that the weather has been nice we've been to the park a couple times. I also got Ryan a little toddler swing for the backyard. He isn't as excited about swinging as i thought he would be, but we've been out in the backyard almost every day and he loves to just look around and watch the squirrels, birds and neighbor kids playing. Today we went on a walk in his stroller. He sat up straight like a big boy and was watching EVERYTHING. We'll definitely be doing that more often!
  This weekend was Jana's baby shower. She is such a cute mommy! Sprout is one lucky little boy, too, because he made out like a bandit! I also got to meet teeny tiny Cullen Sandlin. He is soooo cute! I don't even remember Ryan being that little, it seems like such a long time ago already :(

Veggies Aren't So Bad

We have successfully started Ryan on veggies! We started with peas. He didn't seem to particularly like or dislike them. After three days of peas (to make sure he didn't have any allergies or reactions) we gave him carrots. He LOVED them and kept making "Mmmmm!" sounds whenever he ate a spoonful and protested *loudly* if we didn't give him another bite quickly enough.

He has also started sticking out his tongue at us. Every time he smiles he now sticks out his tongue and it is so adorable. My munchkin is growing so fast!

He still loves computers, TVs, and phones. Here his daddy is teaching him how to play games on the computer.

Lastly, he can very, very briefly sit up all by himself. He quickly face-plants on the floor so we have to be right beside him when he does it, but it's progress.

4 Months

Height: 25.75 inches (74th percentile)
Weight: 16 pounds 11 ounces (79th percentile)
Head Circumference: 17.25 inches (84th percentile)
Milestones: Ryan smiles and laughs all the time now and i will do *anything* to get this to happen. It's true, parents do and say some seriously weird things just to coax out one of those little baby laughs. Ryan is also a bouncing fool, and when you stand him up on his legs he will stand up for several minutes at a time. He is no longer content to lie on the floor and play by himself, he wants to be involved in whatever is going on around him and is very vocal about this. For example, if you leave him playing with his toys and walk out of his sight he will soon start whining or fake coughing until you reappear...at which point he gives you a HUGE gummy grin and goes back to what he was doing (but looking back to make sure you're watching him of course.) He talks alllll the time and he wants to be heard...he's even been known to make a phone call or two just to talk on the phone. He is also starting to put everything in his mouth (i already pulled out a piece of cat litter) and grabs hold of whatever his little arms can reach (mainly my hair).
Favorites: Ryan loves to bounce...and bounce...and BOUNCE in his jumperoo. Jake thinks he's going to skip crawling and just start walking one day because he always wants to be on his feet.
Sounds: Lots of "ooooohs" and "aaaahs" with a couple "g" and "b" sounds thrown in. He talks a LOT.
Foods: Similac Advance formula, and we've gotten the green light to introduce baby foods. Of course Grandma Susie already let him have sweet tea and Papa gave him some cheese...
Hours I Let Mommy Sleep: On New Years Eve little Peanut went 10 whole hours without a peep. So from then on we started just pacifying him instead of giving him a bottle if he woke up at night. Well....i guess it was just a fluke because he started needing to be pacified 5 times a night. So now he'll go about 4-6 hours, suck down a bottle while still asleep, and then sleep the rest of the night until 9am (for a total of 10-12 hours). He's a pretty great sleeper now, even with naps. It's such a difference from just 2 months ago when we were struggling with every nap and every bedtime. Now he'll sometimes pass out before he even makes it to the bed!
Other News: Ryan's freaky-fast growth spurt has now slowed down. I think he might actually last close to the 5 or 6 month mark in the 3-6 month clothes! He's still increasing his percentiles on height, weight and head circumference though (they all increased ~5% since his 2 month checkup).
  I was actually starting to relax about SIDS since Ryan is now 4 months old...until i found out that 2 of the babies from my September Moms forum have died of SIDS recently. I'm glad i chose a video baby monitor because it's much easier to just flip on the "baby tv" and make sure he's breathing instead of having to sneak in his room and stick my finger under his nose every 5 minutes. But i found myself checking the monitor much too often, so i ordered the Angelcare movement monitor. It's basically a square pad that goes underneath the mattress and can detect even the tiniest of vibrations. I was skeptical as to how it could possibly sense the slow, deep breathing of a sleeping baby all the way through a mattress....but it totally works! I've only had it a couple nights but it gives me peace of mind and i don't check the monitor as often. The first false alarm is going to scare the crap out of me though.
  Peanut has been spitting up a bunch lately, so if you're visiting and want to hold him i suggest you bring a poncho.
  Ryan has recently discovered: Sophie the Giraffe. She is a natural-rubber teether that looks and sounds just like a dog's chew toy. But he LOVES her. He will munch on her for hours! We've also been introduced to the "Silly Sandra" books (Sandra Boynton) by the Sandlin Family. They are AWESOME, and our favorite is the Belly Button Book. Her illustrations are so cute.

(Visit my blog laurenbolton.blogspot.com to view the videos)

Why i was *really* late for Ally's bday dinner:

Ryan Giggling

Sophie the Giraffe: Nom Nom!