Rolling After Midnight

Well, last night sucked.  There’s no other way to say it.

After learning to roll over earlier this week, (yay!) Reid is now perfecting the trick on his nice, firm mattress.  Throughout the night he’d practice his new skill and then wake himself up because he couldn’t get back over. 

No one tells you that every time your baby learns something new, you have to learn something, too!  Like how the heck to get a baby back to sleep again when he just wants to show off his turns!  Sometimes he demanded to eat. Sometimes he was just wide awake and wanted to play. Sometimes he screamed and couldn’t be settled.  It was as if he thought WE were waking him up.  Long. Damn. Night.

I lost count after the sixth time I got up.  Yes, you heard right.  I’m guessing my friends with twins or more than one baby have no sympathy. That’s fine. I don’t need sympathy. I need a LONG NAP.

I was tempted to take a photo of him in midnight-meltdown mode, but decided to focus on the task at hand.  So for now, the only evidence is the dark circles under my eyes.  (And there will be no photos of that…)

After the long night, it seemed very appropriate to dress him in this outfit from my mom that says, I love Mommy and Mommy loves me!  I think I now know why people dress their babies in clothes that declare their love.  Sometimes, you need a reminder. He’s asleep now and I’m drinking coffee.  The day is looking up.

Four Months Old!

Our sweet little Reid is four months old today!He’s grown a lot since his last appointment two months ago.  Here are his stats:

• Weight:  16lbs 10 oz (83 percentile)
• Height: 26 3/4  in  (95 percentile)
• Latest milestones:  rolling over (finally! :), giggling, lots of babbling and making raspberries with his lips, exploring his Exersaucer (or as we call it, “filing TPS reports in his ‘cube’”), kicking in the bathub, “standing” (locking his legs) with support.

 

Fun with Bev & David

After our dear friends Bev & David got home and settled from their worldwide adventure, we went over to see them, catch up and cool off in their ‘bove ground pool (otherwise know as the BGP).  Good food, cold drinks and great friends….it was a fantastic way to spend a day! Even Sadie Belle went swimming!Can you guess what happened here?  (David snapped this photo to torture Reid with later.  :) Auntie Bev loves Baby Reid!!Someone pooped out after all the fun and took a nap in this impromptu cribby!  It was so nice to see them again!

Get to Know Reid @ 3 1/2 Months

Our little guy is three and a half months old – wow!  We don’t know who he looks like…any thoughts?Here are some new and fun things our little man has done in the last couple weeks:

He wakes up “singing!”  We hear him on the monitor cooing and humming and making all kinds of happy-baby noises.  This might be the best way to wake up:  happy baby sounds.

He’s blowing bubbles, gnawing on everything  and drooling – ahh, I could have gone a few more weeks before this started.  We think he is pre-teething.  He’s playing with his hands all the time.  It’s a new “toy” that is always available!  He has also found his thumbs, sometimes both at once!  (Watch out for the gag reflex!  It will be nice when he learns cause and effect.)Speaking of new toys, he tried out a “Johnny Jumper” for the first time last week, which was a gift from his friend Charlie.  He was so funny in it!  He had his first laugh for Daddy on June 27.  It was just a little chuckle, but even so, it was awesome!  Then the following week, he laughed for me the first time at momma & me yoga. We expect much more laughter in our lives as he grows! He’s becoming more and more verbal and squeaky and will “respond” to our coos back at him.  He really seems to like making noises and communicating with us.

Our friends describe him as “mellow” because when there is a lot going on he is content to be held, or lay on a blanket and look around.  What they may not see are the other times he’d prefer to stand, kick his legs and squeal! We have taken him swimming a few times and he is always very calm.  This last weekend when he was in a pool he splashed around and kicked his legs for the first time.  During his next bath he kicked his legs and had fun playing with the water.  Baths are going to get much wetter!

He’s close to rolling over, but hasn’t yet!

He’s quite the socialite (without much choice since he goes where his momma goes!) and has made friends with lots of other babies, like Ethan, Ava, Raquel, Cabo, Wyatt, Brady, the twins Sophia and Jacob, and Charlie (I need a photo with Charlie!!), not to mention his cousins Avery, Annabelle, Carson and Madi.

Likes:  he still loves being outside, although it is so much harder since it is so hot in Austin!  Reid also loves singing – luckily he doesn’t know that we can’t carry a tune, yet.

Dislikes:  going to sleep when he’s over-tired (which reminds me of his daddy!)  He also doesn’t like when he wakes up in his carseat and Momma is in the front seat driving.  Poor guy gets so hot in there!

Nicknames:  “El Senor Albondiga,” which Mariana helped us translate into Spanish for “Mr. Meatball” (Jer), “Baby Love” (Jenny), “Buddy” (Jer), “Dude” (Jenny)Sleep Habits:  he’s still sleeping 7-9 hours at night, which is awesome.  He’ll often fall asleep sucking his thumb and laying on his side.  By the morning or end of his nap, he’s often laying in the opposite end of the crib from where we put him!

Reid in a Few Words:  Happy, loved…morning person!

Play-date in the Afternoon, Pub-date in the Evening

It has been so nice to have friends that are going through this new stage of life at the same time we are.

On Wednesday we had a full day and had lots of fun!  First Reid and I went to baby yoga, then we went over to Little Raquel’s house for a play date.    Ava and her Momma were there, too!

The babies have grown so much in the past four weeks!  Ava and Reid are about the same age, Raquel is a month younger.  Reid got upset when we laid them down for a photo, but for the rest of the visit, he was so happy.  Maybe he doesn’t like the “mr. meatball” jokes!Later that evening we met up again with more friends at one of our favorite local pubs for dinner.  Gretel, Miguel & Cabo joined us, along with Susan’s hubby Chris and Amie’s hubby Scott. We were quite a scene with eight adults and four baby carriers crammed into a corner booth! 

Good times!

First Date Night

We now know that the best gift you can give new parents is a night out. Our dear friends the Martini’s gave us this coupon a few weeks ago. Our schedules finally lined up to take them up on their kind offer.Kellie kept telling me that I don’t need to call every fifteen minutes, they’ll be fine. (Is it bad that it didn’t occur to me to call and check in?!) So we left her with Reid’s general evening routine, his pediatrician’s emergency number, some frozen milk for Reid and some wine for Kellie. I mean, what more does a babysitter need, right? Before we were down the street, she called to tell us that everything was going well, “Don’t worry!” :)

We went to McCormick & Schmick’s for a fantastic meal: mussels & oysters for apps, steak & salmon for dinner. Yum!

Afterwards we walked down to a wine bar, Cru. We sat outside and listened to live music and watched a bunch of kiddos play on a giant, painted armadillo statue. Only in Austin… :)

When we got home, he was sleeping peacefully. Kellie let us know he was sweet and smiley for her – thank goodness! (We invited her to “guest blog” here about jumping back in the saddle with an infant. Sounds like it really is like riding a bike! It all comes back… :)

It was a wonderful night out, but even more special because someone who loves us so much made it so easy to do and so easy to enjoy.

Thank you, Kellie! We love you!!

He’s Close!

Reid has rolled from his tummy to his back once.   He hasn’t shown interest in doing it again.  Until today…well, kinda…

He was on his back…and then would kick his feet up and roll to the side…    Action shot!! Then he’d stop to suck his thumb...  Then he’d pull on his sock… Then he was on his back again and would smile! Sadie was NOT impressed.  (She’s been rolling over for years!)He played like this for almost an hour!  He hasn’t rolled yet, but he’s close!

Reid’s First Postcard

We aren’t really a family of collectors, unless you count dirt bike gear and books!  One thing that I have been saving for years is my ever-growing pile of postcards.  Even though I don’t know what to do with them, I can’t bring myself to get rid of them!  Looking through this stash, there are postcards from throughout N0rth and South America, Europe,  Asia and Australia but none from Africa or Antarctica (shocker!).  Friends and family have sent them from honeymoons in Hawaii, weekends at castles in the South of France, vacations in Central America…the list goes on and on! 

Our very good friends David and Beverly just finished their whirlwind tour circumnavigating the world, literally.  If you want to read about their amazing journey, check out their blog here.  The stories and photos are fantastic!   Bev and I have been friends for nearly 13 years and she knows how much I love getting a postcard.

So imagine my delight when Reid and I went to the mail and found this: This was sent to Reid from Essaouira, Moracco.  Pretty cool, huh?!  His FIRST postcard!!  :)

Thank you Auntie Bev and Uncle David!  We can’t wait to see you again and hear all about your adventure!  Reid had changed a lot since you left, and I’m sure your amazing journey has changed you both, too!