3+ Months!

Earlier last week (Wednesday, to be exact) my Goofy Gus turned a whole, big THREE months old. Each time I write one of these monthly updates, it completely overwhelms me. I simply can't believe that it has been three months already, but then there is also the contradicting sensation that he has always been here and the tendency to forget how life was even possible before this little squirming monster came.

Before we get to the real reason we are all here (my impossibly cute little squirt), how about some nice family news...

Recently Ryan has started working nights. It's pretty hard on us, because our time together was so limited before and now we don't even get to sleep at the same time. We are working to adjust to this new schedule and basically where it leaves us, is with a whole lot of Mama/Baby time and the hugest of smiles when Daddy walks in.

Thanks to the inspiration of my meal planning sista, I have started making dinner most nights. Most of you are probably aware of my deep and abiding love for the Food Network, and you probably also know that despite this love, I very rarely cook. Not because I don't like to, I just have a hard time finding the motivation or drive or magic fairy dust to get it done; especially since there are always nachos and sandwiches! But I am really trying harder and so far so good. Kylan doesn't really care too much, he gets yummy milk either way, but Ryan sure does appreciate my efforts.

Now that the basic family update is out of the way, I shall do some.... well, not bragging... let's call it, unbiased informing of my child's brilliance! :)

Kylan hasn't had a doctor's appointment recently so I am not sure of his stats exactly, but the kid is not exactly small... but he sure is perfect. I am estimating that he is maybe 15 pounds and probably over 26 inches long.

He has been developing his singing and dancing skills! He looooves music and he loves it when I sing to him. It is so fun to watch his smiles and see his eyes light up.

His streak of 45 minute naps (rather than the lovely hour and half beauties that he really needs) is continuing, but he is also killing it on the sleeping through the night front! We had a patch of sickness and growth spurting that interrupted our nights for a few days, but we seem to be running smooth again. He sleeps a nice 10 hour stretch, eats and then sleeps a few more hours.

As you probably read, he is rolling over like a stud. He rolls from his back to his tummy. I read in some article online that usually they roll from their stomach to their back first, but what can I say, my kid is a trail-blazer. He goes his own way :) I have yet to get his rolly polly olly action on video, but I shall so never fear!

We go on walks almost every day, and he simply loves being outside. I have been bitten to hades and back, but luckily the mosquitoes have left him alone!

Kylan still loves standing and is able to hold more of his weight and do so for longer periods of time! He is just so stinkin awesome. He also jumps like a little kangaroo and looooves it.

He is beginning to use his hands more to grab things. It is so fun and exciting to watch him grow and develop! The other day I got out some toys that I forgot we had, on the package they said "3+ Months"... I was so excited to see him start playing with them. Kiddo looooves to clasp his hands together and what was so precious is that even when he was reaching for his little keys, he kept his cute little hands together in a sweet little fist!

He smiles and laughs and squeaks and squeals all the time. He has the most precious little voice and I love watching his face light up when he smiles.

There are probably a million more things that I could gush about but I don't suppose you people would enjoy that quite as much as I would :)

So instead I will share pictures of my little 3 month old piece of heaven.

My Baby is

....... A rolly polly olly! 

Yep that's right. Houston, we have lift off. 

After about a week of me hovering over the little one with my camera, in anticipation of this exciting milestone, he rolled over today... when my camera was absolutely not out! Little stinker :)

My Goofy Gus has not been napping well. He used to be the king of naps, but just recently he has forsaken that title in favor of rinky dink half hour naps. My mom and sister assured me that this lapse in napping royalty was because he was about to reach a big milestone: Flipping like a little self-propelled pancake! I have been helping him practice and giving him plenty of playtime on the floor. And it was not for naught! 

This morning he managed to kick off my leg and launch himself from his back onto his tummy. I was so excited, but I wanted to see if he could do it without using my leg to give himself that extra boost. I flipped him over and waited to see if he would do it again, but alas. Instead he decided he was done playing on the floor and announced this decision to me quite loudly. 

We continued on with our lovely day. Went to the store (which I seriously hate doing). Went on a walk (which I looooove doing). Got ready for bed.... and then WHAMMO! One second he is smiling and talking to me and the next he is on his tummy. 

My little man is just brilliant. I was so excited when he turned over, but the best part came later. Thirty minutes later, when we were snuggling, he had the most enchanting smile that would not leave his face. I could tell that he was so happy and proud of himself. A-Mazing! 

Right after he flipped over... I wasn't able to get a video like I had hoped  but thats ok!

Working on trying to get his cute little arm out!

Cutest boy ever. 

I am one proud mama!

p.s. Kiddo will be THREE months old tomorrow!!! 

The Whole World.

Its amazing to me. I just can't get enough of this whole being a mom thing. And I was thinking how it just changes your whole world.

I mean, you get so huge that you are practically your own planet (at least I did!), and then suddenly, and instantly (if not painlessly) the world shrinks. It becomes so small you can hold it in your arms.

Right now my world is:

---A perfect little boy with curious, deep, dark blue eyes and a smile that melts my heart. Monkey toes, and fingers with fuzz from his blanket in between them. Crazy, adorable, soft, and fluffy hair. The most precious voice. A little bit of Heaven in the cutest little package.

---Schooling Ryan at Mario Kart, Mario Party, Super Mario Bros... Pretty much all things Mario... Cuddling during naptime. And just generally soaking in every bit of time I get with Ryan before he starts his new job and I never get to see him. Family + School + Work = A very busy mister and not a whole lot of time for anything! Its for the birds, I tell you. (But then again so is living in a tree, which is something we would like to avoid... so working and school and all that jazz is kind of a must...)

---Times: Tummy Time, Bath Time, Sleepy Time, Eating Time, Play Time, Nap Time, Nakey Time (Strictly for babies only!), Diaper Changing Time...

---My apartment, that is slowly, but surely getting unpacked, and which I practically never leave.

---Netflix, I will admit I am quite the junkie. I have blown through Wildfire, Bones, The 10th Kingdom, and Alphas. Currently I am re-watching One Tree Hill.

---Nachos and fig newtons. Not the healthiest of diets I agree, but verrrry tasty.

Yes, its true. My world has become quite smallish and cozy. I like it here though and I think perhaps I will stay!

A month or two!

Gus is now two months old! He even had his check up last Thursday, so it's definitely official. (p.s. Watching your sweet little baby get shots? No. Actually that doesn't even cover it. Having to restrain your sweet little baby so they can stab him with a needle multiple times? Pretty much the worst thing ever. He cried. I cried. It was awful.)

Back to my point: I can't believe he is getting so big! Holy moly.

So what is my big guy up to these days? You may not actually want to know but I am going to tell you anyway!

Little man is now a pro at holding his head up! He can even do so while being lifted like an adorable smiling little airplane and at a 45 degree angle... His daddy likes to joke about how he longs to actually take flight and be tossed in the air. Luckily for Gus, Ryan knows I would kick his cute brown butt if he ever even attempted to try to maybe do such a thing!

Kylan is talking more and more each day it seems. One of my favorite things to do is lay in bed and listen to him talk when he wakes up from his nap. He goos and gaas, ooos and ahhs in the most enchanting manner. I could listen to that forever!

He eats his hands pretty much every chance he gets, even when they are wrapped up in his blanket :) And he LOVES holding his hands in front of him, on his chest. Its pretty much the most adorable thing ever. He is learning to swat at things and when we have Tummy Time he tries pushing himself up.

Thanks to Pinterest, I found this awesome site with activities to do with your 0-6 month old! I have been loving it. Our favorites are the ones using a ball. Kylan just loves it and I love being able to interact with my little one so much. I sit him in his little bouncy chair, put the ball on his feet and ... kick kick kick! Just like when the little man was in my belly! :)

He loves standing and trying to support himself with his big, strong legs! Just recently he has began jumping too which is sooooo fun!

He sleeps through the night pretty fantastically. Of course for a 2 month old that means about 5 hours at a time in between feedings. I tell you what, the first time he did this, I seriously just about had a heart attack. I am definitely a worrying mother! It took a lot of convincing on my own mother's part to get me to let the little guy sleep more than 3 hours at a time. For quite some time I would set my alarm and if he didn't wake up to eat I would get him up and feed him anyway. And even now I am a huge stresser-outer if he goes longer than I think he should without eating (although my 13 pound 10 ounce kid is clearly not starving!)

Hey I think I forgot to mention the most recent stats! As of last week, he is, yes, a whopping 13 pounds and 10 ounces (that's 4 pounds of weight gain-age since birth!) and 25.5 inches long (3 inches longer than at birth)... He is my perfect little big baby.

There is no way I could sum up the most wonderful two months (and some change) ever, but this is a start... Oh how I love motherhood.

The Perfect Boy.

Ryan and I have this on-going joke about how girls are always looking for the perfect boy. I have discovered a fool proof way to do so...

Fall in love.

Get married.

Grow a human.

Work reallllllllly hard and push that human out.

Perfection. 

I am so grateful every day that this is my life. 

I could not be happier!

Seriously. This face.

Needless to say, I love being a mommy. It's pretty much the most incredible blessing. 

Know-it-all

Last night, or I suppose you could say early this morning, as I was laying in bed trying to recapture sleep after feeding Kylan, a thought occurred to me. I laid there pondering this thought for a while, till I realized that my precious minutes for sleep were tick-tick-ticking away. So I called myself a dummy and went to sleep!

But what was this thing that kept me up you might ask? Nothing ground breaking really but I find it quite interesting that as humans, we have a certain undeniable tendency to be know-it-alls! You may think otherwise, but I am willing to bet that you (yes you!) are a know-it-all! How many times have you gone into a situation thinking you knew what to expect? Probably quite a few times! And generally, I think we tend to be wrong. Serves us right, for getting all sassy pants... Years ago, I thought I knew what kind of man I wanted my husband to be. Then I met Ryan. And when we started talking about getting married (after like two or three weeks of dating, yeah we are one of those couples...) I thought I knew what marriage would be like. I thought I knew what being a teacher would be like. I thought I knew a great many things. But something I have learned is that often times, if we are following our Heavenly Father, things don't go as we thought: they are better. While Ryan is not the kind of man I thought I would marry, he is one of the greatest blessings in my life. And I am grateful every day that I was wrong. Marriage is full of trials and blessings. It is more than I could have ever dreamed, so how could I have known...

The point of these musings? Last night, while snuggled up to my sweetie I could hear our sweet child breathing. It is one of my favorite things. Just laying in bed with my husband, listening to our son breathe. Before I was pregnant and throughout the whole nine months I thought that I knew how much I wanted to be a mother. I thought I knew what it would be like, how much I would love my little one. Silly know-it-all. I've heard many people say that there is just no way to describe the love of a mother. No way to tell someone how it feels. No way to put into words the instant, binding, blinding, consuming, enriching, unconditional love that fills you the second that baby comes into the world. I thought I knew but this kid has hit me like a ton of bricks. He has changed my entire life and I can't even really remember how I ever lived without him. I thought I knew but how could I have?

How could I have known his little smile when he wakes up and sees me above his bed, would be what fuels my day? Or that his deep blue eyes would pierce right to my soul? Or that making him laugh, would become a worthy goal to which many hours are devoted?

Oh how I love being a mother.

I could definitely go on forever... Enough of the serious. So in parting I will leave you with:

***A funny little mental image...Kylan pooped through his onesie, shirt, pants, and blanket today. In addition, he leaked milk out of his mouth and onto my shirt, in just the perfect location (I was not the one that leaked! It was him I promise!). And to complete this lovely exchange he spit up on the side so that both of my girls matched. Wouldn't want one tot feeling left out now would we. My baby is very thorough (as demonstrated by his mad pooping skills!).

***And some adorable photographic images! p.s. My kiddo is a champion. He is now 2 months old and weighs over 13 pounds and is 24.5 inches long! Winner :)

Our First Month

Kylan is a month old. Holy cow how did that happen!?!?! Already it has been a whole month. I don't think I will every get used to this: I am in awe every time I see his beautiful face and have to blink back tears when I think about how blessed I am to be his mother. I love this little guy way more than a month's worth, good thing he is mine for eternity (way to go temple!!!)...

This first month of motherhood has been blissful! But it has also been a challenge! I have learned a great many things (including how to live on very little sleep!) and had the best time growing into this new role! It has also been heavenly watching my husband embrace fatherhood. And it helps that our son is just absolutely perfect.

He loves pooping on Mommy (especially in the middle of the night)...

 and Daddy! He has even pooped all over my phone. There is still some proof in the cracks between the buttons.

He loves bath time...

 And being outside. We go for walks and just hang out on the porch too. I love watching him discover with his big curious eyes!

He loves sleeping............ pretty much all the time!

He loves tummy time too!

We just can't get enough of this boy!

It is indeed sacred and completely indescribable, the love that I have for this little one. But what has surprised me this past month is the love that he has for me. I feel so honored and try every day to deserve his love.

Best. Month. Ever!