Five Months

I'm not sure why this never posted... i thought it did. Oh well - way overdue, but here is Connor's 5 month update.

Bathies! and I'm '5 months old!'

At the beach - with my little beach bum.

Me and my daddy ... rockin' our shades.

Laughing at Auntie Kiks ... she was making silly noises.

looking more like my mama everyday.

I havent weighed him in a couple of weeks, so i'm not sure of his exact weight, but I'm guessing it's around 17 lbs.

When I look through the pictures from the past 6 weeks, I can't believe how much has happened and changed with Connor. We've really had many 'firsts' recently!

YUCKIES:

- Had his first tummy virus (which mommy then got right after him! not a fun week) and first bee sting!
- Had a bad run in with Excema, which we're still working on. Really he couldnt have avoided it since both his mommy and daddy still have it. We're all about the Aquaphor in our house.

- Has been having Asthma-like symptoms. His ped. says it seems to be extreme allergies, so we started out with some breathing treatments and now are going to try some preventative allergy relief rememdies.

- We've definately got some teething goin' on!

Now, the "happies" - TOYS and ACTIVITIES:

- Connor can roll both ways now, but i haven't seen the tummy to the back roll again.

- He likes being on his tummy now and will push all the way up and scoot backwards. Watch out world! Connor is getting on the move!

- We've moved up to our 'big boy' stroller. The umbrella stroller, which is nice and light for mommy!

- First trip to the beach! Played in the sand and giggled as Aunt Kiki made her 'dolphin' noises. (she's a funny one, that red-head)

- Visited Houston Arboretum at Texas Childre's Hospital's Family Fun day - Nana and Aunt Poo took me and played.

- First and Second roadtrip! He did great through them all and only got fussy around the last hour of the ride home.

- He sits very well with support and tries to pull himself up to sit when lying down.

- Still LOVES to stand and bounce!

- Tried the Johnny Jumper... not so sure about that yet. He got wacked in the side by Coby's tail so it put a downer on that little venture, but we'll try it again soon.

- LOVES his bouncy station and 'piano'

- About to outgrow his 'green chair' because he's starting to pull himself up on the side of it and try to roll off (sad day) that thing has been used so much!

- Doesnt really use his swing anymore. He still likes the one at his Nana's house.

- Still loves bathtime everynight and we'll probably have to move into the big tub soon (sniff sniff). He can now put his feet up on the end of the counter tub we use.

- His other favorite toy right now is his set of keys. Helps keep him occupied during diaper changes, otherwise he's kicking and chewing his feet!

- On that note - his feet seem to be the new favorite teething toy.

FOOD and SLEEP:

- LOVES his food. He now has 5 bottles a day, rice cereal in the morning, a fruit at lunch and some cereal mixed with a veggie for dinner. He's an eating machine!

- We just tried the 'mum mum' things. Jury is still out on those...

- Sleeps SO well (finally!) he goes to sleep at 7 p.m. and sleeps through the night until 7 a.m. (yay!) This started right at 4 months. All of a sudden he slept through his 3 a.m. bottle.

My mission as a mommy is to make sure Connor knows every day when he wakes up and every night he closes his eyes, how much he is loved. He is such a joy and blessing. He just makes me happy. When everything else in my world is stressful and challenging, Connor just warms my heart and melts everything else away.

Four Months Old!

CONNOR IS FOUR MONTHS OLD!

My goodness. This happened fast. Where was I?! :) Oh yeah... i was taking in every minute of life with this amazing little person. Such a light in our lives.

Here are his current stats:

Weight: 14.14 lbs (51st percentile)
Height: 24.5 in (35 percentile)

Not sure what's going on here with the height since none of the men in either of our families are exactly small. Connor comes from a long line of tall males. I know this isn't an indicator as to their full grown size, but I was still surprised.

A few highlights from this past month:

(there's a lot, but it's been a busy month with lots of new things!)

- Connor is really ticklish. On his tummy, under his neck and under his arms :)
- He giggles if you touch one of his tickle spots. His laugh is just the best sound!
- He will hold his head up and sometimes push up on his arms, but he still doesn't really care for tummy time that much. He'd prefer to stand and balance or bounce.
- He will roll onto his side, but hasnt completely flipped yet. We're working on this, but I figure he will do it when he's ready. He's so close. This boy is a little stubborn.
- Bearing weight while standing supported. This is his preference.
- He doesn't really care for his Bumbo seat very much. He tries to push up, I think because he wants to stand upright.
- He still loves his swing and naps in it everyday.
- We tackled rice cereal and now are adding in a little veggie and fruit to our wonderful adventure in the world of food! Our pediatrician says, and we agree, that all signs point to him being ready and eager to eat. So far so good! Sweet Potato was a success this evening!
- He eats 5 times a day and now has some food twice a day.
- We've got our bedtime routine down pat. Have for a while really. I'm a stickler for our routine, but it works - every night! I very rarely have trouble with him falling asleep at night. (now daytime napping is another story!!) We now have some food added in, so after that we have bath time, (which he still loves. We kick and splash a lot!) get into PJ's then a bottle and bed. Connor has trouble staying awake past 6:30 or 7 at the latest. He goes to bed really early, but wakes up pretty early each morning.
- Day time napping is not so great. At school we're lucky if he naps more than an hour total on most days. At home in the afternoon and on the weekends he does a little better with a morning, midday and afternoon nap.
- He H-A-T-E-S Tylenol drops. I tried to give him some before his shots and he made the most disgusted face, did a rather exaggerated gag and proceeded to force throw up. That's how he felt about it. (he's a little dramatic) He had his shots and cried at first, but was fine the rest of the day. Hopefully we won't need Tylenol anytime soon!
- He seems very happy at school and is loved on by such sweet ladies.

This past month Connor enjoyed his first Valentines Day and Rodeo!

Here are a few pics of our growing boy:

New favorite trick: Blowing bubbles and sticking out my tongue!

Staring at the fishes at MD Anderson's large fish tank. He was captivated!

An early bird! He loves morning time.

Four month appt. with Dr. Brack at BlueFish Pediatrics.

Smiles for the camera! What a cheese...

Rice Cereal for dinner! He gets so excited when daddy feeds him! At first he would just play with it in his mouth, but now actually eats it.

Loving play time.

We painted a valentine for daddy!

Favorite position... supported stand! (usually more supported than this!)

My first rodeo parade at school. I wore boots and an adorable outfit with my own horse on it!

I love, no that's an understatement, I ADORE my daddy. He makes me smile and laugh. I made him this valentines card!

Elizabeth Ann's Recipe Box Giveaway!

Head on over to Elizabeth Ann's Recipe Box for a 'don't miss' giveaway - The Pioneer Woman's book! I can't wait to read it - hope i win!

We're trying her chicken and dumplings crock pot recipe for dinner tomorrow night.... i know it will not disappoint!

A few of our favorite things...

We've been busy bees around here! The past month has flown by as I went back to working in the office for part of the day and Connor now goes to "school" 5 days a week. I am enjoying the balance between work and mommy-hood, even though some days are harder than others. The key is organization with a capital O! Every night I have everything ready to go for the next day - bags packed, clothes out, bottles ready. It makes the mornings run a lot smoother!

Connor is loving school (he told me) and playing with friends, going on walks and doing all his favorite things...

Like Swinging! Doesnt matter - indoors or outdoors - he loves it!

He loves his mobile and we've got some teeth coming up and down, so right now we're trying all different things to chew on! His hands (or yours) are still his preference. :) If he can see it and grab it ... it's going in his mouth.


Today, we're spending the day at home. Cuddling, folding laundry (he wanted to help) and playing! I can't seem to get a picture in focus lately - this little man gets really excited when he sees my cell phone and starts kicking and flailing his arms!

His little giraffe shirt says it all - happy. This boy is all smiles, all giggles, all happiness. I love how happy he is. I love how ticklish he is. I just love everything about him :)

(on a side note- we did have a little temper tantrum a couple of nights ago. I didn't make his bottle fast enough and he was hungry and tired. He screamed like i haven't heard him scream since the day he was born! It lasted a minute until he had his bottle, but it was pretty funny since it's so out of character for him.)

Oh What a Miracle...

I'm so thankful. Thankful for my little miracle. He fills my heart and brings joy to everyone around him. Connor LOVES music and singing.

We took a music class together called Tiny Tots Tunes. It was so much fun to learn new songs with him! Here is one of his new favorites ....

I have hands, I have hands,
Watch me clap, watch me clap.
Oh, what a miracle am I.

I have feet, I have feet,
Watch me stamp, watch me stamp.
Oh, what a miracle am I.

Oh, what a miracle, oh, what a miracle,
Every little part of me.
I'm something special, so very special,
There's nobody quite like me!

Connor is three months old today!

Monthly stats post with pictures coming soon...

Two Months Old

January 11, 2011

My monkey is two months old!

I cannot believe that it has been TWO months already since Connor was born!

Time with him really is flying by.

He is such a happy baby and we're having so much fun watching him grow and develop.

His personality and likes / dislikes with facial expressions are just now starting to come out and he loves to chat chat chat!

I love it and could listen to him coo and watch him smile all day long!

Here are some two month stats:

- Weight: 11 lbs 11 oz (50 percentile for age)

- Height: 22 1/4 (25 percentile for age)

He had is check up yesterday and his pediatrician said "he's perfect"! We already knew that, but I'm allowed to think that since I'm his mommy :)

He got his first set of shots and he was less than thrilled about that. He's been pretty quiet and sleepy since getting them but even with shots he's a happy camper.

Aunt Kiks went to the dr. with us and had fun playing with Connor while we waited!

Singing with mommy and auntie kiks...

Here's what else Connor has been doing in his second month of life!

- Wearing Size 1 diapers

-Wearing Size 3 month clothes!

- Eating 5 - 6 oz in each bottle (he loves to eat!)

- Sleeping from 8 or so at night and wakes once around 3:30 a.m. then again around 8 a.m. (lately he's added in a 5:30 wake up... not sure what that's about but I hope it stops soon!)

- Takes a short nap in the morning but long naps in the afternoon

- He LOVES his glowing seahorse and now loves his little projector with elephants on it that puts images of animals on the ceiling!

- LOVES bathtime and just started moving his feet in the water. We've also removed the newborn support now (such a big boy!) so his feet really can splish and splash now :)

- Celebrated his first Christmas and rang in the New Year with mommy and daddy at home

-Met his great-grandparents for the first time! He just loves his Great Gran'ma.

- Met three of his cousins from South Africa! He loved Leanne, Warwick and Cayla! (we had such a fun time with them here)

- Had his first cold. We were all three sick at the same time... NOT fun and glad that's over.

-Was spoiled and loved while he stayed at Nana's house for a couple of nights while mommy and daddy went to Dallas to watch the Aggies play in the Cotton Bowl!

- His Favorite Songs: The Wheels on the Bus and Pat-a-Cake

Overall we've been busy bee's this past month. We also go to a mommy's bible study and have made new friends! We have a playgroup once a month that we've only gotten to a couple of times, but hope to be there next time!

My message to Connor this month:

Happy 2nd month of life, Connor Bear! You light up our world and bring so much joy to our family and everyone around you. I'm so thankful for you. I'm thankful that my body carried you and kept you healthy and strong. I'm thankful for this time of being at home with you. I hope you always know how much you're loved and feel special every day! Even though I don't want you to get bigger, keep growing big and strong and keep those smiles coming. They just melt our hearts!

Introducing our present ...

Well, you all know about our little monkey already...

but here is his official announcements i had made!

Happy New Year's Day!
Wishing you all a happy and healthy 2011.