Wow...

Well, to say that I'm behind on the blog is a bit of an understatement.  My last post was May 1st!  Sorry G, Mommy has really been slacking! 

Griffin is now 21 weeks old!  I really don't know how that's possible, but I guess it is :o)  He is getting so big I can't even believe it.  His little personality is so much fun, and just gets more and more entertaining by the day.  His giggle is absolutely the most incredible sound I've ever heard.  There is nothing Matthew and I enjoy more than playing with G and making him laugh.  He has a ticklish spot just below his ribs and at some point every day I can't resist tickling him just to hear that amazing little sound. 

School has finally ended, so I am officially a stay at home mommy for the next couple of months!  While I do wish I had been able to stay home with him all the time, now he is doing so many new things, that's it's definitely more exciting to be around him than it was when I went back to work.  Don't get me wrong, there wasn't a single day that went by where I didn't wish I was home with him, but he's much more entertaining now than he was two-three months ago. 

His newest developmental trick is ROLLING OVER!  On Sunday night he rolled from his belly to his back for the very first time.  I was so glad that it was on the weekend and not during the week while at the babysitter.  I would've been so disappointed if I'd missed it.  I told the babysitter that he did it, so she had him do lots of tummy time on Monday and he was continuing to roll over the next day.  I wasn't sure if he'd do it again or if it was more of a fluke thing.  Turns out it wasn't a fluke!  Then on Wednesday, my first day of summer break, he rolled from his back to his belly!  I was so glad I didn't miss that one either.  Poor Matthew though, has yet to see the "live show."  I've been able to catch G rolling over on video, and sent that to him via text.  So he has seen it, just not in person yet. 

I have also decided to start trying my hand at making baby food instead of buying packaged food.  It's gone pretty well so far.  G is finally enjoying eating more than just a bottle.  It didn't go well at first however.  I don't think he was quite ready when we first started trying them.  He would cry when he saw the spoon coming towards him.  Thankfully that part is over.  He has now started to like avocados, rice cereal and bananas.  The one food that he REALLY hated, and I haven't tried with him again yet, was green beans.  To say he was not a fan is quite the understatement.  I'll let the picture below give you a better idea of how he really felt about them.  haha!

Well, that's been our excitement.  No more school for me, and G rolling over!  I scared the pants off of him the first time he did it.  I was so excited and squealing/cheering him on that it made him jump.  ha! 

Since it's been so long since I've managed to write a post, here are several pics from G's 4th month :o)

 

    It's really just wrong how cute this kid is!  (Not that I'm biased or anything...)

Mom, I don't like green beans!

Playing in your food is WAAAAAAAY more fun than actually eating it!

He makes the most hilarious faces!  haha!

Someone is sitting on Mommy's lap all by himself!  What a big boy!

Such a tired boy

Chillin with Daddy

Just a boy and his dog :o)



4 Months!

Griffin is now 4 months old!!!!  How in the world is that possible?  I really do not understand how that can be, but it is.  I guess I should just accept it :o)

Monday was his 4 months well-baby check up.  He is up to 15.2 lbs and 24.5in long!  My baby isn't much of a baby anymore!  He is in the 50th percentile for both height and weight now.  He has really shot up.  At his 2 month appointment he was only in the 15th percentile for height, so I'd say he's caught up quite well.  The doctor was amazed at his neck strength and head control.  He's had really good head control for well over a month, if not more like two.  He was also cracking the doctor up the whole time we were there.  Griffin was lying on the exam table just giggling, cooing and smiling through the whole exam.  His peditrician couldn't believe how happy he was. 

Then came the bad part of the appointment...shots :o(  G had the same round of vaccinations that he received at 2 months.  Three needle sticks and an oral.  This time the oral didn't go so well.  He had almost all of it down and the last bit must've gone down the wrong  pipe because he started coughing pretty hard, and all of a sudden everything he'd eaten recently came right back up.  It was like a volcano erupting!  Thankfully he was still naked so his clothes weren't soaked, and I managed to catch most of it in his burp cloth, but of course I got a good dose of it on me, the floor was also quite covered.  Thankfully the nurses gave us some towels and even rinsed out our burp cloth.  Poor little guy wasn't too fond of that!  Then came the really bad part :o(  He cried and cried like I expected.  Once I was able to pick him up he calmed down a bit, we got him dressed and fed him, which helped a lot. 

Since G has such good head control the doctor gave us the green light to start first foods!  I can't believe my baby is no longer on just formula.  That doesn't seem right at all!  Since we had the go ahead to start solids, I gave Griffin his first taste of true rice cereal.  He's been getting cereal in his bottles for quite a while now to help combat some reflux, so it's not completely new, but he'd never had it in such a thick consistency or eaten with a spoon.  It was quite comical!  He did such a great job for his first time eating out of a spoon.  The faces he made were cracking me up.  He'd act like he didn't like it, but would eat it anyway and then decide it wasn't so bad.  He went through that little process with every single bite.  He was a champ!  The only bit that came back out was what didn't get slipped into his mouth to begin with.  He never spit any of it back out.  Although I'm having a hard time adjusting to the fact that my baby is no longer on just formula, I can't wait to see what all he decides he likes and doesn't like.  My goal for the summer is to make his baby food.  We'll see how ambitious I get before summer is out.  I don't know if I will get any made prior to being done with work or not.  We'll see.  I'm excited to try it out though! 

Well here is G's 4 month picture and his first experience with big boy food!

4 Months Old!

First taste of big boy food!

16 Weeks!

Well G is 16 weeks old now!  Getting bigger by the day and so much fun too!  His little giggle is so infectious.  I've been taking videos of him playing with new toys then playing the videos back for him to watch.  He is enthralled by them!  Watching himself play and hearing himself giggle just send him into more giggling fits.  I find myself laughing right along with him most of the time.  It's amazing just how happy one tiny little person can make me :o)

Even on days like today, when he decided to begin his day at 4:45am (on a Saturday no less) as frustrated as I was to be awake at that time, the grin on his face when I would walk up to his crib and pick him up was the greatest thing I've seen in a long time.  There is nothing quite like seeing the happiness and excitement in your child's face just because they see you. 

Just a few more weeks and school is out for the summer.  I absolutely cannot wait for the year to be over so I can spend all day with my little sweetie.  I don't have a lot of new things to report so this post will be short compared to the others.  Of course though, I cannot post without a picture or two!

My silly boy at 16 weeks old

Captain Chubby Cheeks and his mommy :o)

Playing with my activity table.  It's so much fun!

15 Weeks!

I'm such a slacker!  Little man turned 15 weeks on Thursday.  Being back at work and having a baby just drains me, so I don't even begin to think about the newest blog posts until the weekend.  I guess late is better than never! 

G's first week back at the sitter post spring break went pretty well.  His naps got better each day.  He was very out of his nap routine from the week before.  I don't know if he's afraid of missing mommy/daddy time when we're home or what, but he doesn't nap well at our house any more.  We bought black out curtains for his room, which have helped some.  His room was always very bright during the day before the curtains.  Hopefully it will only take a few days once I'm home for summer, for him to get into his good nap routine at home as well. 

He has started holding and shaking a ball, grasping and swatting at the animals hanging above him on the bouncy seat, he pushes the "piano" keys on his activity table to make the music play, and absolutely LOOOOOOVES to lie on his activity mat and stare at his reflection in the mirror.  The mirror will keep him entertained for half an hour sometimes!  He still hates tummy time, so he's not making many moves to try and roll over yet, but we do practice rolling from our back to tummy and vice versa.  That only happens a couple of times before he gets mad though.  The biggest "new" thing he's doing is responding to his name!  It's not every time, but honestly I have kindergarteners at school (and a husband at home) who don't respond to their name every time!  He has started to look at Matthew and I when we look at him and say his name.  It was so exciting the first time, but I wasn't sure if it was real or a coincidence that he happened to look at me after I said Griffin.  I tried again a few seconds later and he did it again!  We've been practicing all weekend, and he's getting better and better :o)  I'm amazed at how proud I can feel and how full my heart is when he does something as little as respond to his name.  As adult it may seem little, but for him it's a huge step! 

He's starting to make more consonant sounds when he talks, too.  For several weeks now he's been stuck on the /m/ sound and "maaaaa maaaaaammm" noises.  I jokingly tell Matthew that our son is a genius and can say Mom already!  He's started to add the /b/, /n/, and some schwa sounds occassionally.  Even though I don't exactly care for the middle of the night babbling he is doing right now, it is incredibly cute to hear him lying in his room just talking away.  Every once in a while he'll make a very forceful "mam!" noise that I like to think is his way of yelling for mommy :o) 

And now for the best part...your reward for making it through all my rambling and gushing about the cutest kid on the planet (hehe) pictures! 

Rockin my Iowa Hawkeyes gear from Daddy's boss!

Mommy is playing with her phone app again :o)

Thank goodness for the self-portrait option on my phone.  Pics of G and I can be more frequent now!

This kid has the greatest expressions!

Just chillin in the Bumbo!

14 Weeks and Happy Easter!

Another week down.  Seems so crazy!  Last week was my spring break from school and I was SO happy it was finally here!  I absolutely couldn't wait to spend every day with my little guy!  We had so much fun.  Ran errands together, met friends for lunch, and got ready for a holiday weekend away.  G also had his 3 month pics taken last week!  The one sneak peek pic we got looks so great!  I can't wait to see the rest.  I'm sure they will be wonderful!  How could they not be, she had such a good subject to shoot :o) 

We went to visit my family for Easter weekend.  Matthew took Thursday and Monday off of work, so we'd have a nice long weekend together.  G did so great in the car.  It was a very long 6 hr drive to get where we were going, but he was a champ!  Everyone enjoyed seeing him again, and he was eating up every bit of the attention too! 

Thursday he turned 14 weeks old.  It just really doesn't seem possible.  I also can't believe I've been back at work for a whole month now!  Hopefully the rest of the year goes quickly.  Now that I had that little taste of being home with G again, I really can't wait for summer to be here so that we can stay home together all day. 

He's doing so many amazing things.  He keeps trying to sit up on his own.  He does his little baby crunches to try and get himself upright.  It's pretty funny and cute to watch :o)  He also LOOOOOOVES to stand.  He's getting so good at it!  He was just holding onto my hands the other day, I didn't have to hold him around the middle at all, and he was able to stay up for quite a while. 

Well onto the best part of the blog posts.  Pictures!  :o)  Here's my happy little guy at 14 weeks!

Playing with the bouncy seat at Great Aunt Brenda's house!

The sneak peek of G's 3 month pics!

Happy little guy on my first day back at the babysitter :o)

I can hold my ball all by myself!

3 Months!

I can't even begin to believe I'm writing G's 3 month blog post!  I don't think time has ever flown as fast as it seems to be now.  On one hand I'm SO glad it's going quickly because I'm that much closer to being done with work for the summer.  On the other hand, I hate how fast he's growing!  They're definintely not tiny babies for long. 

He's starting to do so many new things.  While I was taking his 3 month pictures yesterday he would straighten his back and try to sit up on his own and not lean against the couch cushions anymore.   A few days ago he was sitting on the floor, holding onto one finger on each of my hands.  He had no other support and was sitting up without trouble.  It really doesn't seem possible that he's able to do this yet!  Don't get me wrong, I'm so proud of him and amazed at how much he's learning and changing.  I want him to reach all of these important milestones, but I do miss the teeny tiny baby he was as a newborn. 

My favorite new development is the way he scans a room to find Matthew and I when we're not the ones holding him.  He will be watching and looking all over until he finds one of us.  If he hears either of our voices he instantly turns his head in that direction.  I love it!  When I pick him up from the babysitter he gets such a big grin on his face.  It's his way of saying "Mommy I'm glad you're here!" without vocalizing it.  I tell myself that anyway.  :o) 

Spring break started at the end of the day today, and I couldn't be happier!  Even though we're not going on vacation, I think it might actually be the best spring break I've ever had.  10 whole days home with my little snuggle bug.  I can't wait!  Two weekend days just aren't enough.  I know it's better than nothing, but I hate that I'm not home with him.  He's completely safe and happy at the babysitter's, but it's just not the same.  I know it's good for him to be there, and I'm very happy with the arrangement we have, we are very lucky in that regard, but I can't help, but wish I were the one home with him every day. 

Anyway, enough of my belly aching. Here's the best part of my posts...pictures! 

3 Months Old!

Tummy time and NO tears!  Look at me lift my head :o)

Playing with my ball.  I can hold it by myself (for a few seconds anyway...)

12 Weeks and Changing So Much!

Well it's week 12.  Griffin continues to grow and change before our very eyes!  I find myself in constant amazement of the new things he does.  Just today, we were sitting together on the couch when I got home from work.  I was singing (well more like whispering considering I have larangitis right now) the Wheels on the Bus and Patty Cake with him.  We've sung these songs and done the motions before and he'd grin, but today he was flashing me the biggest smile and laughing as we'd sing.  While neither of those things are brand new, it was the first time he's seemed to be truly entertained by songs and motions.  He likes music, but for the first time he honestly seemed to understand it.  I was laughing right along with him.  The looks on his face were priceless.  It was, hands down, the best moment of my entire week. 

G has had kind of a difficult week.  I'm hoping he's just going through a new developmental phase and the rockiness will be over soon.  Monday and Tuesday were very rough days at the babysitter's house.  He was screaming and crying a good portion of both days.  That is SO not his normal personality.  In fact it's the complete and total opposite of his personality.  He did better on Wednesday and Thursday, but he stayed home those days.  My sister was visiting over her spring break from school, so she got to have lots of snuggle time.  Hopefully he doesn't go back to screaming tomorrow.  I think the best part about my sister being with him these last two days is all the pictures she took.  I have had such a hard time taking pictures of him like I used to.  It's easy when you're home all day, but it's one of the last things I think of now that I'm back at work.  I hate that I don't have as many as I did in the past, but I guess that's part of it.  I just have to figure out a better system for taking them. 

Well here comes the best part of the blog post.  Pictures!  :o)  My sweet boy at 12 weeks old!

The world's most precious little face!

So sleepy after a day of shopping :o)

Can this kid get any cuter?!?! 

12 Weeks Old!