6 Months

Happy half birthday, JW! You are growing up to be such a big, happy boy. You are rolling around leaps and bounds. You LOVE to be outside. You will lay on a blanket on the lawn or sit in your Exersaucer in the shade for a long time (well, 15 minutes. That's a long time for you). When you tire of all of that, I put you in the Baby Bjorn and we bee-bop around together. The other day I put you in the Baby Bjorn and tried to sweep the sidewalks. You held on for dear life to the broom. This made my chore more difficult, but I know you just wanted to help.

You make me laugh. Your sense of humor is starting to emerge. I was talking on the phone with Auntie the other day {while carrying you around in the Baby Bjorn again...}. Every time I laughed with Auntie, you would let out a little "hehe" courtesy laugh in your manly, grunting sort of way. I'm glad you agree...Auntie is funny.

Dear boy, why have you suddenly become such a pill when it is bed time? You are the best sleeper, but you fight going to bed, even when you are soooo tired. The last few nights I've had to show some tough love. Mama lets you cry, no, SCREAM yourself to sleep. "They" say this teaches you to settle yourself down to go to sleep. Quite frankly, it kills me to do this. I just want to snuggle with you and let you know that I love you SO MUCH, but you get so mad that you're going to bed, that you just hate me. I'm sorry. This is all for your own good, I promise. Hopefully you will soon learn that bed time is glorious and you'll lay down and go right to sleep like the champ you are.

Dang you are cute. Every morning I get you out of bed and eat you up with kisses. This is our ritual. The other morning you surprised me by putting your arms around my neck and nuzzling your slobbery face into my face and you schmooed me. I have bottled up that moment to remember forever, it was so sweet.

You made your inaugural trip to the cabin this month. You were a bit of jerk on the drive. I know, it is kind of a long time for a little guy to sit in the car, but the look on your face when we got inside the cabin was awesome. You were in heaven! While we were there we went with Uncle Daniel and Auntie Elizabeth to Yellowstone National Park. We were hoping to see lots of bears, instead we saw lots of buffalo, elk, and a stupid guy in an orange shirt trying to get frisky with the animals (we were waiting for the dingbat to get gored by a one-ton elk). Don't try to play with the wildlife, OK bud?

You also saw Old Faithful for the first time. You could have cared less about the geyser, but you were pretty impressed with the crowd. You are a people watcher. The crazier the better.

Everyday is a new adventure with you. Pretty soon you'll even be able to sit up all by yourself (you're pretty good at it now, but you still have a rolly-polly bottom and tend to face plant into the carpet).

Dubs, you are growing up too fast. For the millionth time today, I LOVE YOU SO MUCH! Muah!

5 Months

My little buddy is 5 months old today!

To celebrate he ate a giant piece of chocolate cake.

OK, I lie. It was actually a giant helping of stage 1 {read: liquid} pears.

He was very pleased.

The other day I was looking at pictures of JW as an infant. I wanted to cuddle with him again as a wee newborn. I could smell the baby lotion through the picture, like a scratch and sniff sticker. For a second I had forgotten how HARD those first weeks were when I was wishing he was not an infant, but a frisky 4 yr old.
Now I try to savor EVERY moment because this kid is in the growing-up-too-fast lane.
I love him.

My Little Buddy

My sister sent me the link to this blog this morning. I've tried to read it all day, but can not get through it without getting completely weepy. This girl had a daughter who passed away a few months ago. Her sweet baby girl was JW's age.

There is something so special about the bond between a mother and her child that is just impossible to express in words. I felt it early on in my pregnancy and it grew exponentially as I could feel JW kicking and rolling as I got a sense of his personality. I remember being so scared about losing him after learning about my abnormal umbilical cord situation. I have never been such a mess as I was for those few days, and that was before I had met him.

JW's presence has completely changed my life. I admit, motherhood didn't come naturally to me. His first several weeks of life were really hard. I think life outside the womb was a bit of shocker for him too. All he wanted was to be swaddled and rocked and warm and to be awake at night and sleep all day. JW had his own agenda and I wasn't following along. He just wanted to eat, but struggled so desperately to latch on. That darn tongue tie messed up everything. Of course he couldn't tell me he wanted or needed all of these things and I spent every minute of my day (and night, it seemed) trying to figure him out. I don't know how many times the two of us just cried together because he wanted something and I didn't know what.

Here we are four months later in full swing. Just as soon as I think I've learned his tricks, he grows up a little more and has moved on to the next item on his agenda. He has reached so many milestones in his short life. He is a serious kid, but there is no shortage of laughs and giggles. He laughs at his own jokes. He laughs while changing his clothes. Itsy Bitsy Spider is downright hilarious.

JW rolled over for the first time on Sunday. Twice. After the first roll I thought it might just be a freak incident, so I put him back on his tummy and sure enough, he did it again! He didn't seem terribly startled by it, just irritated that he had to have tummy time. He has never been much of a fan of tummy time.

Getting a full night sleep was only a memory in his first weeks of life. It wasn't until literally a few days before I went back to work did he start sleeping longer than a three hour stretch. Suddenly one night he slept five hours, then the next night seven, then nine. Now he begs to go to bed by 8:30 PM and this week he has actually slept all night (11 hours!) without needing to be swaddled. I thought he would never grow out of that!

He loves a long ride in his stroller, hanging out in the Bumbo or the exersaucer and being the center of attention. He is the center of my attention. I love this kid and life without him would be so empty.

First Time for Everything

JW got his first taste of baby cereal today. He wasn't impressed.

How do you feel about Seattle?

I'm pretty sure it's time for me to move and here is my new house. Want to come visit? I wonder if G's job can relocate him to Seattle...

Happy Birthday JW!

JW turned 4 months old today! Instead of a party hat and birthday cake, this little duffer got his second round of immunizations. Oh he felt so betrayed.

1/2 Marathon 2010

I don't really have red hair, even though it looks as if...

This past Saturday I finished my third SLC 1/2 Marathon. My time was the worst ever (the guy who won the MARATHON passed me in the last mile. Yeah, I was basically on all fours crawling down the street at that point), but considering I had a baby 4 months ago and I didn't train, I'm pretty happy I finished the race without serious injury or death. Although, I practically broke my arm patting myself on the back.

Kate ran with G's number since he ended up being out of town for work. She's hardcore. She ran her best race yet. Too bad she's on the roster as a 36 year old male.

Big hugs to Auntie Em for loving JW while I ran...er...crawled to the finish line.

Donate to a Good Cause - National MS Society

JW and I are walking in the MS Walk on Saturday, April 24th, for a co-worker who was recently diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis. I need to raise money! Click here to donate to the National MS Society (once on the website, click on "Donate to Walking for Ren" above the thermometer). No donation is too small! The firm I work for will match your donation dollar for dollar. Plus, your donation is tax deductible. Bonus!

Thank you for your support! Pass it on!

Mover and a Shaker

Taking a picture of JW is like trying to take a picture of a wild flower on a windy day. He is always moving, which just means one of his body parts is always a blurrrrrr...

It's not all his fault though. I'm kind of short bus with the camera. I always wonder if I get the $1,000 Nikon if my pictures will be awesome. I'm pretty sure the pic has little to do with the camera, something to do with the skills of the photographer...

and everything to do with the subject. He's dang cute.
Mr. Chappy Cheeks

Growing Boy

As I put JW to bed tonight I was suddenly overcome with emotion. Today a friend of ours had a baby-her first-a little girl. Looking at her sweet pictures, just hours old, reminded me of the day JW was born just a few months ago. Though it seems like a lifetime ago, the memory of that day is still so vivid. I never want to forget how I felt the moment he touched my skin-feelings too personal to share with the world. His presence has been life altering. I can remember my life before my sweet boy was here, but I can't imagine life without him.