McCutie

Take a look at this Irish (for a day) cutie:

(as if he has to ask for kisses!)

Happy St. Patrick's Day... hope everyone remembered their green!

Rice Cereal

Today Coleton had his first taste of rice cereal...

All ready for my new adventure; don't I look so cute in my seat?

Wait, what are you two up to?

Whatcha got Mommy?

Seriously, what is this?

Hmm, it's not so bad

But I think I'd rather have my toes!

4 Months

Our sweet baby boy is 4 months old! Our little guy...

• weighs 13.2 lbs (8th percentile), is 25 inches long (43rd percentile) and has a head circumference of 41 cm (30th percentile). We're still a little on the small side, but those thighs are definitely chunking up!
• is so attentive to everything! He definitely recognizes us, notices when we leave the room or come in, and has become such a talker and smiler
• consistently reaches for and grabs his toys - he loves his rattle and rings the most!
• eats 2-3 six ounce bottles a day at daycare and waking up once a night to eat (usually)
• has started eating rice cereal (more to come on that)
• wears 3-6 month clothes...I'm finding more and more outfits he no longer fits into
• grabs his feet all the time if on his back or sitting in the bouncy seat
• has the BEST laugh! Seriously!

I know I've said it before, but Coleton is such a JOY to us. I knew that being a Mommy would be awesome, but it's far better than I could have ever imagined. I thank God everyday for such a sweet and healthy blessing and I'm so thankful that I get to be his mommy!

A Day in the Life of Coleton

Our regular week day usually looks something like this:

5:30/6 am: Coleton wakes up and decides he's hungry! That means its time for Mommy to start her day.

7:15 : Out the door and into Daddy's truck, cause it's time to go to the CDC while Mommy and Daddy head to work (why, oh why can't money grow on trees?)

The next several hours consist of eating, playing with new friends, taking (usually) short naps, and maybe a field trip or two to Gram's room to visit the big kids.

4:45-5:15 pm: Daddy picks Coleton up and heads to the house, while little man either naps in the car or once he gets home

6:30ish: Mommy's home and its usually time to eat again. Sometimes this can be delayed to a later time, depending on when Coleton last ate at daycare.

7-8:15: Playtime, snuggle time (after all Mommy hasn't seen this boy ALL day!), followed by bath time every other night.

8:15-8:45: Burrito time! AKA, it's time to get swaddled and go to sleep! Coleton usually fights falling asleep, with fighting time ranging from 1 minute to 20. This has gotten better overall, where now he usually fights for 5 minutes or less.

9:30/10: Coleton does a "dream feed" = he nurses while still pretty much asleep without really waking up.

Sometime between 12:30-3:30 am, Coleton wakes up again to nurse. For the most part, we've gotten those middle of the night feedings down to just 1! Clif is a huge help with these, as he always gets Coleton, changes him, and brings him to me. Afterwards, he swaddles him again and puts him back down. It really is such a team effort!

For the first couple of weeks of being back at work, I really struggled with guilt over not being able to drop off or pick up Coleton from daycare. I agonized over needing to change my hours, adjust my schedule, etc. But, after MUCH prayer, I've let that go and realized that this is God's plan for now. So I'm learning to trust in Him with ALL my heart, which includes Coleton, and lean not on my own understanding... ahh, the joys of motherhood. :) Love to you all!

Sunday Morning

All ready for my first day of church:

(not the best shot as obviously I'm about to head out the door)

We attended the 8:45 service, which is our favorite. Coleton was the only baby in the nursery's crib room so he was able to get a lot of attention and love! And he didn't seem to mind being away from us! Yes, I realize we waited a while to take him to church. However, I've been wary of taking him places where he would be directly exposed to a lot of germs, especially from other children. It is flu season after all! Plus, I wasn't ready to drop him off and leave him in the nursery. However, now that he has started daycare and is a little older, I knew we were all ready. And I've really missed Sunday worship services.

Isn't he so cute checking out his little hang tag??

3 Months

At 3 months, Coleton...

• is smiling a lot and even giggled for the first time this month when Mommy tickled his chin
• still doesn't have much hair!
• is finally fitting the 0-3 month outfits and weighs about 12 pounds. Mommy had to pack away all those sweet little newborn clothes


• drools, drools, and drools some more and has started blowing bubbles
• loves to put his fingers in his mouth and tries to put all of them in at the same time
• enjoys his playmat and even being on his tummy


• holds his head up perfectly on his tummy and in sitting
• has figured out the Bumbo seat; he wasn't so sure about it at first!
• is starting to roll over onto his side from his back and is reaching for the toys on his playmat and bouncy seat


• eats three 5 ounce bottles at daycare and nurses ~4 times a day during the week (more on the weekend when Mommy isn't working)
• still wakes up ~1 time a night to eat

This little guy is the JOY of our lives! While going back to work has been a huge adjustment, I am so thankful to be able to leave him in good hands during the day! I am also thankful that I have Fridays off and can spend the day lovin' on my little man. Coleton, we love you so much and are incredibly thankful that we get to be your Mommy and Daddy!

Where the Wild Things Are

Gram and Whatsa gave me a zoo membership for Christmas and the weather finally cooperated enough for us all to take a visit. From the safety of my stroller, I saw elephants and giraffes...

gorillas....

lions, tigers, and even flamingos...

Mommy's favorite was the baby koala snuggling with his mommy... (click on the picture to make it larger)

Then we headed inside to the aquarium, where Whatsa and Gram took the time to show me each and every exhibit and even fed me a bottle...

What a great time we had! And we finally got our first picture as a family of 3!!