4 Months, Round 2

Four months on the Fourth of July!

Likes:

• Hanging out on the playmat. His latest trick is to position himself under this toy and just chew on it hands-free. 

• Bath time and lotion time. He has been sleeping in the Magic Sleepsuit at night since we got home from vacation, but I worried that his feet might get too cold as a result of the AC being especially effective in his bedroom. After a cursory search for baby socks, I realized I pretty much got rid of all of them (they fall off and go missing and then you have 19 unmatched tiny socks) BUT I did find these toddler Santa socks in a bin in the closet. Christmas in July.

• The swing--in which to chill and to nap. I am sure that napping in the swing violates all kind of baby-sleep rules, but I'm putting that on the "deal with it later" pile.

 

Dislikes:

• Pooping his last diaper in the McDonalds in Crossville, TN and having to borrow an overnight diaper from big bro (approximately 3 sizes too big). He also cried any time anyone turned on the hand dryer. 

Milestones and stats:

• Some serious travel in the books
• 14.5+ lbs
• Size 2 diapers (will size up once this pack is gone...he's bustin' out)
• 6 month clothing
• Rolls front to back
• Sits with assistance
• Good head control
• Emerging reaching and grasping

Summertime Is The Best Time

for creative outfits...

Farmer's Market dinners... (or "dinners")...

front porch sittin'...

surprise naps...

dining out with friends...

tasty treats...

 swimming in the rain...

forts...

it's a lot of kicks!

Two Months, Round 2

There's another kid over here now, and he's two months old. There's just no way I'm going to be able to post with any regularity, and I'm trying to be honest with myself on that. However, I do need to do a monthly post (or...close enough) for baby book purposes.

Baby H is, all in all, a lot like his brother. I feel like we came through the dark days much faster this time, though I have no way of really knowing whether that's objectively true. On balance, he may be a wee bit trickier during the day and somewhat more chill at night, but it's not a massive difference. I went back to read C's two month post and I could basically copy and paste almost all of it into this one.

Likes:

• the ergo oh my God always the ergo and only the ergo. Turns out, with subsequent kiddos, you really need your hands. I busted this out one day when I decided the Moby took too much time to wrap, and we haven't looked back. This is where he naps during the day, and generally how we do outings. It's not perfect--I might be ruining the future nap situation and my back kind of hurts--but I'm so grateful that we have a Thing That Always Works and that it's a thing that allows me to have two hands and be mobile. If you are having a second kid and you never got one of these, Amazon it to yourself so fast and don't look back. Remember the infant insert!

• Old Faithful, the Snugabunny swing. Again, like with C, it's no miracle worker, but he'll chill in it for a bit, especially in the morning ("Happy Swing Time") and naps have been known to happen. 
• Bathtime
• Big brother, as well as other familiar faces and voices
• Real white noise, like the hair dryer and vacuum cleaner
• Watching hockey on tv

Dislikes:

• When the car stops moving. He started out as a real car baby--always put him right to sleep--but not so much anymore. Basically I have to brace myself for the crying whenever we have to drive anywhere, and then pop him in the ergo when we arrive. Oddly, he doesn't mind the car seat itself and is happy if someone is carrying it...but pop it into a stationary car and it's game over. I cannot wait to be able to drive again without constant anxiety about hitting a red light.
• Not being held by a human for any significant period of time
• The hours of 8-10:30pm

Stats:

• 11 lbs, 11 oz with an empty belly
• 1 ft 11 inches -- just shy of two feet tall!
• Size 1 diapers, though the next box I've ordered is size 2
• 3 shots and a rotovirus oral vaccine
• 3 Spiderman bandaids

Construction Camouflage

Do you think he wants to get up?

2015: Year In Review

There's no new material here, and this is totally cheating as a post. But I had some extra time this morning and was trying to think back on 2015. Frankly, when you have a small child, it can be hard to remember yesterday, so I wanted to do a visual recap to appreciate where we've come from and where we've been this year.

The Skimm has us covered from a global perspective...

2015 was on fleek. Adele said ‘hello.’ Bieber said ‘sorry.’ NASA said ‘hey girl hey’ to Pluto.  Ahmed made a clock. Apple  sold us a watch. Greece said ‘oops, we went broke again.’ Left Shark stole the halftime show. The 2016 election stole all the attention.  “Star Wars” really had The Force with it at the box office. The  US women’s soccer team won World Cup gold. California could have used a shower. Amy Schumer was a Trainwreck.  Floyd Mayweather’s undefeated. Ronda Rousey was not.  Paul Ryan got the promotion that he really, really didn’t want. Everyone read Hillary’s inbox. And watched “The Jinx.”  FIFA’s balls got busted. You still can’t whip/nae nae, or spell  American Pharoah’s name. Charlie Sheen has HIV. Jimmy Carter beat cancer. Kimye  had another baby, and did not name it Wild West. That was a lot. Here’s what you need to know… so I just went back in my photos for our little story. He's bigger now, but still enjoys a yogurt picnic. January "and the piggies chased me" is still oft retold. February                                       future looks bright!   Valentine's Friendship lunch at school and an ice storm  Cloudy with a chance of doughnuts Zoo School! March + April Easter + playoff hockey May Buddy friends Pool's open! and (lots of) birthdays! June Adventures in Upstate (vehicles, mostly) Pete + OJ got hitched Pej is here July August Back to school September It's a brudder! October Hockey's back Halloween + underwear Loss of multiple household appliances, gaining a big boy bed November Thankful for school + friends + mac n' cheese December Merry and happy to all! Best wishes for a sparkling 2016...there's a lot in store!