Today was a beautiful day. The weather is finally spring-like and we're making the most of it by strolling in the neighborhood. We are fortunate to have really great neighbors. Afternoons during the spring and summer are marked by kids playing in the cul-de-sacs and adults gathered around driveways, chatting in lawn chairs. Next year, Will will be running around with the little ones, but this year, I'm still trying to get him out and about. Our stroller is SO heavy with the infant seat in it, and it finally occurred to me that maybe he's big enough to be in the main stroller without the carseat attachment. Well after looking in the manual and consulting the message board I frequent, I determined that if I still left him in a somewhat reclined position, he would be fine since it has a 5-point harness. We gave it a shot and our stroll was GREAT! He liked it so much better since he could actually see the world. He kicked his feet and looked all around. Here are some pictures of Will. How cute is he in his little hat?






Today we also had Will's first official photo shoot. A friend of mine recommended a photographer, so I decided to have some 3 month pictures done. I'll share the link when they're ready. Jessica, the photographer, was so sweet. She was very patient with Will, even as he grew tired and cranky. I can't wait to see how they turn out! Will conked out for a nap after she left. I guess it's a busy day for a 3 month old!

Happy 3 month birthday!

Here is my little man on his three month birthday. As you can see, he's wearing St. Patty's Day PJs. He actually has a little Scotch-Irish in him from my side of the family, but the real reason I love St. Patrick's Day has more to do with the other holiday we celebrate on the same day - our anniversary. I love that our wedding anniversary falls on such a fun holiday. What's odd is that Will's due date was Dec. 17th, and St. Patty's is March 17th. Luck of the Irish? I think so!

Will still loves bath time and enjoys being under the warm water. I love comparing pictures to see how much he's changed. Before I sign off for the day, here's a photo of Will's bath last night vs. his first real bath at almost 6 weeks old. He's in his 12th week now.  That uncertain look from week 6 is long gone.  

4/3/08


Will's first bath about 6 weeks ago.

That's all for today.  Until next week ... 

Snow day

For the first time since we've had Will, we're having a snow day. Talk about weird Alabama weather!  We woke up to a blanket of white snow, and it came down for several hours this morning. Everything was coated, but now it's melting away.  Thankfully, we took a few pictures to document Will's first snow.  It was still coming down pretty hard when we took these, so we tried to capture it from inside the house.  I hid my face since I had just woken up, but you can see how short my hair is.  I went to get it colored and cut yesterday while Will and Brian had some father-son bonding time.  Apparently Will had a good time while I was gone, napping on his daddy's chest, smiling at silly conversations, and learning the lyrics to some new rock songs.  

I can't believe it's March already.  The end of maternity leave is rapidly approaching.  Although I dread leaving my little man during the day, I know that it won't be long until summer break. Also this month is our 5th wedding anniversary.  Maybe we'll find a babysitter and have "parents' night out."  Those are rare these days, so we'll truly enjoy it if we're able to make it happen.  

I hear little sounds over the monitor hinting that Will is waking up from his nap and will want to be fed soon, so duty calls.  As usual, here are a few pictures of Will's latest activities. 

This picture shows my clever combination of two really popular baby products - the Bumbo and the Boppy.  He is still a little wobbly in the Bumbo, so I added the Boppy for more added support.  He likes it for very short periods of time, and it helps him strengthen his muscles.  

 

No, he's not really napping on the daybed.  He fell asleep on me while I was rocking him, so I put him here for a quick photo op. before placing him in the crib.  You can see the snow in the background.

I love watching him sleep.

Looking at the snow in the cul-de-sac

Someone recently told me after seeing the blog that it seemed like Will was always smiling.  Well, not exactly.  I usually only post the best pictures, and he definitely is showing his range of facial expressions these days.  This one shows his "mad" look.  He pouts out his lower lip and gives me this glare.  He gets even more mad when I laugh, but I can't help it; it's so cute!  

  

A few new pictures

I wanted to do a quick picture update.  Everything is good here in Will-ville.  We are just enjoying our last month before I return back to work to wrap up the school year.  Will is growing so fast.  Tonight, he is wearing 3-6th month sized pajamas.  I can hardly believe it.  We've had a busy day.  At 3:30, we visited the nice lady who will be keeping Will while I'm at work.  Then, he was in such a great mood that Brian and I decided to try taking him to one of our favorite restaurants, Jim N' Nicks.  We hadn't been there since November, so it was nice to enjoy their yummy BBQ.  Will was awake the whole time but just sat quietly in his car seat next to me and smiled while I chewed my food (he recently started finding entertainment in watching me eat).  This weekend he also attended a birthday party for a coworker's little girl.  Will actually slept through it as I "wore" him in the sling, but it was nice to show him off to my coworkers.  I'm getting more comfortable getting him out and about, but it's still nice to hang around the house most of the time.  I'm trying to soak it in while I can.  It's bedtime, so I'll sign off with these pictures from the last week.  Love to all! 

nap time!

A rare pic. where I'm actually in front of the camera

Sleeping in his momma's arms

Hanging out in his robe post-bath

 

Trying to engage him in a little "tummy time" to strengthen his muscles; he looks thrilled, doesn't he?

Smiling at mommy - ah, melts my heart every time!

Helping daddy proofread a law review paper

New experiences

Time is going too fast! I can’t believe it’s already February. Will just went on his first road trip. We decided to go visit Grandmonty, but first we stopped by Monticello to visit Mark, Kim, Sarina, Alyssa, and Levi. We also got to see Aunt Jane, Uncle Jimmy, and Betsy and Cody. In Hammond, Aunt Maury and cousins Raylee and Darby were there to greet us, along with many other cousins and Aunt Elizabeth and Uncle Jules. On our way home, we stopped by Lora’s house for a quick visit. We didn’t get to see everyone, but we tried to see as many people as possible. Overall, it went really well. I packed everything we might possibly need, so my car was fully loaded with baby gear! Traveling with an infant is very challenging, but I’m glad to took the plunge. Will enjoyed the attention he received from everyone, but I think he was happy to be home and see his daddy. He also missed his baby bathtub, as the travel one just wasn’t the same!

We’ve been spending the last few days just recuperating from our trip and playing around the house. Will just discovered that he likes his play mat/gym. He smiles at the flashing star, looks at himself in the mirror, and bats at the chime toys that hang down. It’s amazing to watch. I can almost see his little mind churning. Last night during “tummy time,” we watched in amazement as he rolled from his belly to his back. Unless you’ve been a parent, you probably can’t understand why this would be exciting. We were cheering and smiling as if he hit a home run or brought home a great report card.

Will is changing so much. He finally has the tiniest little rolls of fat on his legs. It’s such a welcome sight, as he was so fragile and thin at first. He’s probably in the 10 pound range, which is still small for his age. His 3 month clothing is going to be tight soon due to his length, and I can’t believe we’ll have to go up the next size before I know it. We haven’t heard him laugh yet, but he smiles all the time now. He has pretty good head and neck control, but he still bobbles just a bit. It’s really fascinating how much they change in such a short amount of time. I’m just trying to savor each stage while I can.

So enough of the update. Here’s what you really want to see - a few recent pictures of our trip and from around the house. Enjoy!

Will on his play mat

He's smiling at one of the little toys

I never get tired of seeing that sweet smile!

Swinging while mommy cooks supper

Will and his favorite toy, his seahorse

Will loved to smile at Grandmonty

Will with cousins Alyssa, Sarina, and Levi. Will is smiling because Alyssa is being silly.

Will with his future buddy, Cody (Betsy's little boy).

Cody looks confused as to why Will wouldn't play and just wanted to sleep. Give him some time Cody, and I'm sure he'll be a great play mate soon!

Pictures

Bright-eyed in the morning

Swaddled tight and settled down for a nap in his crib

Will and Curious George have a very serious conversation. 

He likes to smile at his stuffed sheltie.

Here's a cute one of him smiling!  

Finally, I thought I'd do a comparison of Will now vs. a few days after his birth.  Oh the difference 8 weeks can make!  

8 Weeks Old!

Today, Will is 8 weeks old.  We had his check-up today, and everything was good.  He is now 9 pounds, 13 ounces!  We're quite pleased with this gain, as he was nearly four pounds lighter shortly after his birth.  It seems that he grows and reaches some new milestone every day.  He smiles regularly now, especially in the morning and after bath time.  His new trick is to stick his tongue out at me when I stick mine out at him.  Sometimes he doesn't want to play this game, but when he does, it's hilarious.  Last night, he slept in his room overnight for the first time!  Up until then, he had slept in the pack n' play next to my bedside.  I enjoyed having him so close, and I thought that I might have a hard time transitioning him into the crib.  We only have one night to go by, but so far, so good.  He slept soundly from 11 p.m. to 4 a.m. and then 4:45 to 7.  I actually slept a lot better too.  Thank goodness for baby monitors!  Well it's bath time so I must go tend to my little fellow.  I'll try to post some new pictures later tonight.  I finally captured some shots where he is grinning!  There's nothing like a big ole' gummy toothless grin!  

Time is flying, and our little boy seems to grow a little each day. Last week at his six-week check-up, he was 23 inches long and 8 pounds, 13 ounces. Although he’s still small in weight, he seems like a little chunk compared to his early days. I actually get a little sentimental when I see that he’s outgrown another newborn-sized outfit. The pediatrician said his growth was right on track. Will had some eczema and is having some other minor issues, but we’re giving him some prescriptions and using other remedies the doctor recommended to clear everything up. Will is losing the “newborn” look and looks more like an older baby. As you’ll see in the pictures, he’s a mini-version of his daddy. We think he’s pretty cute, but of course, we may be a bit partial!

I’m pleased to announce that Will’s cord stump FINALLY fell off after over 5 weeks! Usually they say it falls off by week two. We were joking that he would still have it when he graduated high school. It didn’t want to part ways, but finally (with a little coaxing from us), it fell off. We celebrated by giving Will his first “real” bath. He seems to like bath time more and more each night. It’s one of my favorite times with him since he’s so alert and relaxed.
One of the most exciting things about Will is that he has started smiling. It’s still unpredictable as to when he smiles, but when he does, it makes our day. We find ourselves doing ridiculous things just to catch a glimpse. Will sometimes looks at us like we’re crazy, but it’s interesting to see those range of facial expressions too.

Although it varies day to day, we have somewhat of a schedule. We usually “play” for a while in the morning after his bottle. All “play” really means right now is that Will stares at the ceiling lights and looks around while I talk to him. Sometimes I read to him or put him on his play mat so that he can stare at the toys on it. Late morning, he usually spends a little time in his swing. In the afternoon, he naps a good bit. On warm, sunny days (which are few and far between right now), we take a stroll around the neighborhood. When his daddy comes home from school, they spend some quality time together and give mommy a break. Nighttime is bath time and story time, followed by some rocking in the glider while listening to classical music. He still wakes up once or twice during the night, but it’s hard to mind when he looks so content and sweet while he drinks his bottle.

So that’s the day in the life of Will. We go back to the pediatrician next Thursday to check up on his skin and some tummy/spit-up issues. Until my next update, here are a few new pictures. Enjoy!

Will's first "real" bath

Will sleeping in his pack n' play; he can sleep with his arms propped up in weird positions.

Will and his puppies Rocky and Mick. Rocky hasn't really bonded with Will yet, but Mick likes to stay by Will's side.

He's probably thinking, "Why are you flashing that thing in my eyes, Mommy?"


This picture really shows how much he's changing.

Three recent pictures: Will about to take his first trip to the mall with Mommy, Will napping with Daddy, and Froggy Will post-bath.  Enjoy!  

4 weeks old!

Will's prepared to watch his first 'Bama game with his daddy.  Roll Tide!

4 weeks old

These next two pictures are taken during Will's first stroll around the neighborhood.  He immediately fell asleep when we left the driveway!

Will is 4 weeks old!  At his check-up, he weighed 8 pounds, one ounce!  That is a great leap from two weeks ago when he was 6 pounds, 14 ounces.  We're enjoying every day with him.  He's slowly getting more alert, and we love to talk to him when he stares at us.  When he's hungry, he opens his mouth and jerks his head around like a baby bird.  We call him "baby birdy" because of that.  I try to read to Will regularly ("Are You My Mother?" is my personal favorite, but we also love books we've received as gifts).  Brian's specialty is singing Army cadences to him, but reworded to be more "baby."  Parenthood is amazing, and we're just crazy about our little William James!