Five Months!

Loves to snuggle

Yummy fingers

Laughing at me singing to him

Cute smiles

Hey Mom

Lookin like Daddy!

We are almost at the 6 month mark, half a year, I can't believe it!!! Feeling blessed everyday! Not too much to update on since I filled everyone in after his appointment last week. I looked over his calendar for March and some of the highlights for this months were: he swang in the swing at the playground for the first time, sat up in the bumbo seat, sat in the exersaucer, started blowing bubbles with his mouth, tried rice cereal, and started reaching for toys!! I can't believe how fast they turn from a helpless little baby into a "real" little person, it is so fun to watch him grow and learn new things everyday! Oh, a little update on the bottle front. Liam was to the point where he was refusing a bottle so much that last weekend when I left him with my mom so I could go consignment shopping with a friend she had to actually feed him with a medicine dropper! Ridiculous, I know! Well, after trying MANY different bottles my friend Ali came to the rescue with a NUK bottle. He actually drank almost 4oz. out of the bottle for me yesterday with minimal screaming! Yay!! Baby steps. I am going to try at least one feeding a day with the bottle just to get him used to it again. I refuse to have a child who nurses until he is a toddler. It is funny the parenting ideals you have in your mind before your child is actually born. I think the first lesson every parent learns is to never say my child will never... fill in the blank... because the moment you say that, you will forever be eating your words! So, maybe Liam will nurse until he is three... wouldn't that be wonderful! **please note the sarcasm** Ahhh, the joys of motherhood!

4 Month Check-Up, Cereal and "Good Music"

Singing and dancing to the Beatles

"Good Music"

Liam is singing too!

He loves his Daddy!!

Cereal

Ok, Mom... I'll try it

Hmmmm....

I don't think so....

Seriously, Mom...

So, we went to the doctor for Liam's 4 month check-up. Dr. Evans is thrilled with how well he is doing, and AMAZED at his growth, especially for a "Preemie". He weighed in at 18lbs and 14.5 oz. and 25 1/2 inches long!! He is in the 92% for his weight! She said he looks wonderful! Nick was a little concerned because he is "so fat" but Dr. Evans informed me that it is very common especially for breast fed babies to be heavy the first 6mo. and said that they tend to thin out the following six months when they become more active. She also said he is not "fat" he is "healthy" I think I will use that line... "I'm not "fat", I'm "healthy", I am not so sure it works when you are 28... oh well. He is still battling reflux and they increased his medication again to see if that will help keep him more comfortable. I can not wait until he doesn't have to deal with that anymore.

Dr. Evans said we could start solid food now if we wanted to. Starting with cereal and then slowly introducing vegetables, then fruits. I went ahead and tried the cereal yesterday because I was told that it can also help control the reflux. Well, Liam pretty much hated it and cried until I would nurse him. He has become quite the "booby baby". He used to take a bottle when I was away, and now he has gotten to where he is refusing to drink from a bottle at all! He will drink an ounce maybe. Dr. Evans said it is not "nipple confusion" it is just that he wants me and not the bottle. She said if he can nurse then he can drink from a bottle. So, for now I am going to hold off on the solids and wait until 6 months to try again. I figure compensating for his prematurity it will really be like 4 months.

So, I went Wal-Mart after Liam's doctor's appointment to get him a new toy because he did so well at his appointment. I decided on a 4 disc cd set of children's songs and a pair of little socks with rattles on them. Liam LOVES to kick his feet, it is so cute! Well, Nick came home from work the other day and heard the music, and informed me that Liam doesn't need to listen to music like that. He needs to listen the "good music" like the Beach Boys, and the Beatles. So he quickly changed the music and proceeded to sing and "dance" with Liam to the Beatles. I must say that Liam did seem to like that better. Anyway, I think it is funny that Nick is so concerned with the music choices. I guess that what you get when you are married to a musician ;-)! He is such a wonderful Daddy!!

Keeping Busy!

Swinging!

Getting ready to go for a walk!

Hanging out!

Hand painted birth announcement block

Some of the hats I made recently

Modeling mommy's hats

So Cute!

Well, as if my life wasn't busy enough with one baby... now there are two! No, I'm not pregnant! What do you think I am, CRAZY! Since before Liam was born, I prayed that God would provide for a way for me to be able to stay home with him, I did not know at the time what that provision would look like, but God has a way of opening our eyes to his plan. One day out of the blue (to me, not God) my friend I used to work with called me and asked me if I would be willing to watch her little boy during the week. My first reaction was.... well, uh.., um..., wow, I don't know. After a couple of "trial" days to see if it would work, without me going crazy, I accepted. It has been two weeks now, and we are really having a great time! He is a precious little boy, just four months older than Liam. We are getting our schedules down and I usually even get a couple hours of quite each day! Amazing I know! We have yet to venture far from the house, just walks in the neighborhood and playing at the playground, but I am sure I will eventually work up to trips to the mall, and some fun little outings, we shall see.

In my "free" time if you would like to call it that I have been working on some new crochet projects and crafty things too! I think having a hobby keeps me sane. I love making things with my hands. I always feel so accomplished when I finish a project. Enjoy some of the pictures of the boys and a few of my projects!

Four Months Old!

My Hand, Yummy!

Big smiles for Mommy!

My first Snow!!

I like this stuff!

Big blue bear at Grandmothers

Mommy, your so funny!

So cute and chubby!

Well, four months have gone by. Liam is fatter than ever and getting more and more fun everyday. One of my friends had told me that when you have a child, weather it be your first or your 10th that it will take around four months to get your routine down to where you feel "normal" again. I can honestly say that things are getting back to "normal" around our house. I actually feel like I can do this "Mom" thing. God is so good, he teaches us so much and has so much grace for new parents. Such a blessing!

Liam is growing and doing fun new things all the time. He loves to "talk" to us in the mornings. When he wakes up we will prop him up on our bed and he will just babble up a storm. It is so cute!! He imitates sounds really well, and Nick and I swear that he said "I love you" the other day. He is holding his head up a lot better now, not quite ready for the exersauser yet but that is right around the corner. We took the newborn sling part out of his bathtub this month and he is loving kicking his legs in the water. He started realizing that he could splash with his arms too, much to his surprise. He "found" his hands this month. He seems to like the left one the best, always trying to stick it in his mouth. The cutest thing is when he sleeps sometimes he will hold his hands together across his chest, just precious. Tummy time is getting less traumatizing for him which is good. He is holding his head and chest up and trying to look at toys and things I place in front of him. A couple of his favorite toys right now are definitely his swing, which I consider a God send, and his kick and play. He can kick his feet and make the music play, he loves that.

As for the sleeping, he is not sleeping through the night yet but doing much better. He will sleep for four to four and a half hours at a time. I can do that! I think we are both ok with that schedule for now. I am not too sure how much he weighs right now. The last time we went to the doctor was at the end of January and he was 13 and 1/2 lbs. We go back in three weeks, I am sure he is probably between 16 and 17 lbs. He is wearing 3-6 month clothes already! I almost cried packing up all of his newborn stuff a couple days ago. He was Sooooo tiny!! It is hard to believe he is the same child! I think that having a child really makes you see how fast time really does pass. They are constantly growing and changing and doing new things. I think that once we become adults (yes, I have come to that realization that I am actually an adult) time kind of stands still because we quit really having those tangible milestones to measure time against. But once a child comes along it is like we hit a fast forward button and we can't slow it down. It is kinda crazy!

As much as Liam loves books and I love to read fun books to him, as a parent weather you are a "reader" or not, you feel a certain responsibility to read parenting books. I am currently reading two books by Dr. James Dobson. "Dare to Discipline" and "Parenting isn't for Cowards". Hopefully I will be able to implement some of the things I learn. Well, Enjoy some of the pictures from this month!

Finally!!

So, I decided that it was high time to finish Liam's room. I mean he has only been home for three months!! I figured that if I didn't do it now he would be in our room forever! I am pretty happy with it, there are a few little things that I still would like to get, but for the most part it is livable now. Here are a few pictures for those who may be interested. 

My Chunky Valentine!

Yeah, another photo shoot. I discovered that red is really not his color, but it's Valentine's Day, and it only comes once a year, so we made an exception. What a perfect little Valentine!!

Liam is Three Months Old!!

It is hard to believe that it has already been three months!! We are having so much fun being parents and feel so blessed each and everyday!! Liam is doing really well, and as you can see, one of his biggest accomplishments this month is that he has started smiling. Talk about melt your heart!! I will spend hours a day (literally) sitting in front of him oohing and awing just to get him to smile. Nick will ask me some days when he gets home from work and finds me still in my pj's sitting in front of Liam acting silly if this is what I did all day... and I just smile and say... well, yep! And those are great days!! 

At his check up this month he was diagnosed with reflux and put on Zantac which seems to be helping. We had to go and get chest x rays in the ER after his appointment b/c the pediatrician was afraid he had aspirated from the reflux, but thankfully the x-ray showed that his lungs were all clear. Liam also beat his first cold this week as well. Thankfully he never got a fever, just sneezing, a little cough, and snotty nose. He is feeling much better, and I am happy to have that behind us! He weighed in this month at a whopping 13lbs. and 4.5oz. and measured 23 and 1/2in. He is a big boy! 

His favorite book right now is Dr. Seuss's "Mr. Brown Can Moo! Can You?" It is soooo cute to watch him as you read it to him. He smiles and coos and kicks his legs in excitement. I read it several times a day. I am sure I will have it memorized soon. Well, I think those are the highlights this month. Ta Ta for now!