5 months

Five months.  Five months!  Gosh, that's almost 6 months.  Which is almost half a year.  Which is almost a year.  Which is craziness.  Sometimes it feels like this little baby is slipping through my fingers like sand on the beach and it's so sad.  And also wonderful.  Sometimes I can't decide which.

And sometimes it makes me want to have another tiny baby...

And then I laugh.

Stats:
Height: 27 1/2 inches (95%)
Weight: 18 pounds (96%)
Head Circumference: 46 cm (>98%)

He's evening out, but still a huge little dude.  We love every chubby bit of him.

This little guy has now found his toes and his thumbs.  One or both are in his mouth at all time.

We're down to three naps a day now and four meals + a dream feed (that I'm not sure we really need or not...).  I swear we used to be eating round the clock and taking a lot  - a lot - of naps and then all of a sudden - poof!  Not anymore.  It happened so fast.

We're staying awake for 2 hours between naps now too, and it's the best.  I love having time to go shopping with an awake traveling buddy - it's much more fun.

One of my favorite things is watching this little guy figuring out his hands.  He's gotten so much better at holding and grabbing his toys.  It blows my mind how fast he learns.

Although sometimes I wish he'd learn a bit faster...Right now he's completely proficient at rolling from his back to his tummy.  I think he almost does it without realizing it and he most definitely practices while he's asleep.  So he'll roll to his tummy, get frustrated because he's not comfortable and cry for momma to come right him.  We're working really hard to figure out this tummy to back thing over here.

He wants to sit up by himself so, so badly these days, but we're just not there yet.  I swear, he's going to have the strongest little abs in the world the way he's doing crunches all day long.  He's close though.  So close...

I've also found my baby's first love: his bouncer.  Holy cow.  That kid could bounce all day long - and he might - if I'd let him.  The happy squeaks he lets out when he's in that thing are magical.  And the air he gets is kind of unbelievable. 

Daily baths are my favorite things these days as we wind down for bed.  Then we put on lotion and do a little massage and put on our PJ's before playing a little bit in the nursery as his eyelids get heavy.  It's such a sweet moment cocooned in the smell of baby lotion and warm blankets.  It's heaven.  My kind of heaven.

Things I want to remember about this little five month old:

• His slow blinks.  They are incredibly flirtatious, and thoughtful, and my favorite.
• The way he is always holding out his arms to keep his balance.
• The way his eyes dance when he realizes I'm smiling at him.
• How when you hold him up over your shoulder he'll look back and forth behind and in front of you.  Back and forth.  Back and forth.  Taking it all in.
• How he grabs his feet and pulls them up to his cheeks.
• His baby thighs.  They are chunky and delicious and I will be slightly heartbroken when they start thinning out.
• They way his heavy sleepy head feels on my shoulder.
• His rosebud lips that pucker so delightfully when he looks down.
• Current nicknames: Bubba, Mr. Magoo, Chunk-a-Chunk, and Clarkey Boy

We love you so much our little five-month-old chunker.  Never loose those delicious cheekers.

on being a mom

3 | 13 | 15

Today I lay on the floor in the nursery and just stared at my baby.  He lay on his blanket chattering away in that sing song baby voice of his and I started thinking.

I've been doing this mom gig for four months now and, while that's not long, it's long enough to have some thoughts.

I've gotten up in the wee hours of the monring because baby decided he was awake and if baby's awake, we're all awake.
Except Dave.
So just I'm awake.

I've been pooped on, peed on, and spit up on and still deemed the outfit I was wearing to be socially acceptable.

I've sat in my rocking chair with a warm sleeping baby in my arms and wanted to cry because that seemed like the only way the happiness inside me could possibly escape.

I've watched this little guy go from being an infant to being a baby and sort of mourned the transition.

I've done almost anything to get that little boy to laugh.  That laugh is the best.

For four months I've fed, clothed, carried and cuddled this little boy and it is a job.

At first it was hard to be so needed.  So very, very needed.  It was overwhelming and almost suffocating.

Honestly, the fact that he took a bottle at 1 month was the best thing in the whole world for my sanity.  It meant a few more hours of shuteye and being able to leave him with his daddy so I could do something - anything - without a car seat and diaper bag in tow.

And now we're in a rhythm.  A rhythm that's hard to imagine didn't exist four month ago.

My life revolves around diapers, naps, and the sleep schedule of a tiny human being.

And, despite the multiple loads of laundry, the late nights/early mornings, and a crick in my back that needs some TLC pronto, it is good.

Life is so, so good.

Having a baby isn't really much like I thought it would be, but it's what it ought to be.  And I am grateful for it.

the big 2-8

Having a birthday during busy season is a hit or miss, but this year was a definite hit.  We got to have David all day long and party just us three.  It's crazy to think we found out we were pregnant this time last year!  To the day in fact.  I gave David a birthday present with the pregnancy test in it to tell him we were expecting.  A lot can change in a year...

We started off the day with snuggling that little cheeky boy and eating bowls of birthday cereal.  Laugh, but we never buy cereal.  It was delicious ;)

I was determined to have some fun family time and take Clark swimming for the first time - just a quick dip - butttttt turns out the pool is still icy.  We tried, but he wasn't having it.  Can't say as I blame him, but we still got to see him in those adorable swim trunks.  That's at least half a win.

For a birthday lunch/ pi day celebration we headed out to a local pizzeria and ate some delicious pizza pie.  Plus they felt they messed up on one of our pizzas (with a big air bubble in the middle) so they gave us another one for free.  Happy birthday indeed.

We spent the rest of the day cuddling this little munchkin, taking afternoon naps, and eating some razzleberry pie for the birthday boy.  It was a lovely day and we're so glad this birthday guy is ours to stay.  Now let's hurry up and get this busy season over with so we can have him around every weekend!

4 months

This little guy is growing so fast I can hardly stand it.  He now officially 18 pounds and 27 inches long.  Holy cow.  I was talking with a woman holding her little girl in church the other afternoon and she asked how old Clark was and when I told her her eyes went wide.  Turns out her little bundle was 8 months old vs Clark's 3-ish months, and she was at the very most half Clark's size.  Holy cow.  We've got a growing darling boy on our hands.  He is literally wearing 6-9 month clothes these days.  Aye, aye aye!  Stop growing baby!!

Up until a few weeks ago Clark has only really been chatty when he's at home and preferably lying safely on his back.  Maybe he could concentrate better that way?  Anyways, he finally figured out he can use his voice anytime, anywhere...in church.  During sacrament meeting.  While David was bearing his testimony.  Babies are the best ;)

This little kid is slowly becoming more and more aware of his surroundings which is equal parts so fun and sometimes not so much.  It's the best to watch his little eyes take in the world and see the trees and watch the cars go by and the kids on the swings, but he also is gaining a great affinity for being in Momma's arms.  Little cutie.  You know I love it.

The longest stretch we've gotten so far at night has been 7 hours, just a few times, but I'll take it!  Keep working on it baby boy - we're all rooting for you!

Kiddo has found his hands and it's so fun to watch.  They are now always officially in his mouth and making swipes at anything passing by.  His favorite things include his bibs, burp clothes, and anything I'm wearing.

Cutest Clark moment this month: we were at mutual on a Wednesday night and I was holding Clark on my hip while the kids played some sort of frisbee dodge-ball mash up.  They started yelling and cheering as the game came down to just a few people and Clark got so excited he yelled out with them.  Just one big excited squeak, but it was stinkin' adorable.  We might have a sports fan on our hands over here.

In other news, baby boy is figuring out rolling over.  I've caught him going tummy to back, but I only found him a few times after he rolled back to tummy while he was sleeping.  He woke up very frustrated that he couldn't roll back ;)

We've also discovered the exersaucer and the bouncy swing.  He's still getting the hang of both of them, but I can already tell we've got a hit on our hands.  Especially that bouncy swing.  It basically hangs off a bungee cords so little dude can get some serious jump on there.  He loves it ;)

After our three month check up, the doc wanted Clark to go get an ultrasound done of his noggin, just in case.  Out little guy has a very, very large head and she just wanted to make sure there was nothing to worry about.  It was incredible to watch them do the ultrasound (which the tech was able to do while Clark was asleep - bless that man).  They did the whole thing on his little soft spot and I got to see his brain and blood pulsing through it.  Really amazing stuff.  Results all came back negative and Clark just has, what our pediatrician affectionately referred to it as, a genetic disposition to a very large head.  We love every inch of it baby boy.

to the park

Saturdays, man, I really live for them these days.  Just a day to recharge, regroup, and spend time together.  I used to be a big fan of Friday nights, but since baby boy has been a part of the gang, it's all about Saturday afternoons honey.

And Saturday mornings.  Have I mentioned here how much I love Saturday mornings? (I think like 60 times) Baby boy comes and hangs out in bed with us and plays and we laugh and talk and sometimes bring up some breakfast to eat in our PJ's because we want that sleepy, lazy cocoon of a Saturday morning to last just a little longer. 
They're my favorite.

This Saturday felt like summertime and just begged for a family walk to the park.  Clark met grass for the first time and was thoroughly nonplussed by it. 
He looked at it, stood on it, felt it and pretty much decided it's like all the other things he's been standing on for the past month.  It's gunna take more than grass at the park to excite this kid.  Dually noted.

Of course that didn't stop us from taking a gazillion pictures to document the moment.  This poor kid.  He probably has more pictures of himself in his first 4 months of life than I do in my entire baby book.  I'll try to keep them somewhat organized for you son.

He did seem to like laying on the grass and looking up at the trees.  I'll call that a success.

It was wonderful, lazy kind of Saturday.  The kind that are good for the soul.

So let's hurry up and get through this week - - I've got a Saturday to get back to.