Jumperoo!

As always, the weekends go by far too quickly.  Four more weeks of work, then it's summertime!  I can't wait.  We've had a relaxing day at home.  No work, no errands, just quality time with my baby.  We played for awhile this morning, then Will supervised as I did laundry and straightened up around the house.  Later, we took a stroll to my neighbors where Will watched the big boys play on a water slide.  The warm weather made Will drowsy, so he napped while I chatted.  Brian had a final (yes, on a Saturday), but he thought it went well.  He was home just in time to play with Will a little before bath time.  One downer is that our poor baby can't seem to get rid of his sinus issues and skin troubles.  His cradle cap has been gone for about a month, but he still breaks out in a rash on his little tummy and chest.  He's been scratching at it lately, and his eyes seem extra red.  I'm wondering if it's some sort of allergy.  We've started solids, but it's highly unlikely that one of the foods is upsetting him.  Still, I'm going to monitor it closely and call our pediatrician Monday to ask if we should come in.  

On another note, here is Will enjoying the Rainforest Jumperoo that Brian's Aunt Karen gave to us.  He isn't jumping in it yet, but he likes being upright and looking at the flashing lights.  Thanks Aunt Karen for thinking ahead and getting us such a cool toy!  

Looking big - almost 5 months old!

Testing it out before his bedtime bottle

Growing Boy

Our baby is growing up.  As Will was eating his nightly meal in his highchair, we couldn’t help but talk about how big he looked.  I’m truly amazed at human life and how fast babies grow in such a short amount of time.   Just looking back at this blog makes me sentimental.  Where is time going?

There really hasn’t been any major milestones this week, just more of the cute stuff.  Will loves smiling and giggling at mommy, but he prefers talking with his daddy.  As soon as he sees Brian, he starts jabbering away.  For whatever reason, he doesn’t do this with me.  Brian says it’s “their thing.”  It’s so cute, and I know it sure makes his daddy proud.  Yes, I’ve already said the word cute three times in one paragraph.  We joke that Will might think his name is “Cute” if we keep this up.  I need to find some more synonyms I suppose!   Will also loves to stand up. He needs our support of course, but he does most of the work on his own.  It's as if he wants to skip the whole crawling thing and just start walking.  When on his tummy, he shows signs that he wants to crawl.  He'll make these crawling motions that almost look like he's swimming, but he can't go anywhere.  When he can push against something, he'll creep up a little.  It seems like yesterday, he was this little thing that couldn't even support his own head.  Like I said, I'm amazed.  

Brian has finals approaching, and we’re wondering how he’ll do without some medical situation stressing him out.  It seems like we’re always at the doctor during finals – my emergency appendectomy, my pregnancy appointments, and then having Will plus the NICU visit days afterward.  During all of this, Brian always had to study.  Hopefully this time we’ll all be healthy! 

It’s late and I’m sleepy, so I’ll cut to the chase and add a picture and a special treat, a short video!  I haven’t utilized my camera’s ability to take short video clips in ages.  I rediscovered the feature and wha-la, a video of Will giggling.  Please forgive my ridiculous high-pitched mommy voice.  I cringe when I hear it played back.  I’d like to think I sound nothing like that in real life, or at least, when speaking to adults!  

Saturday Night Pajama Time with Will

We don't condone Will watching television, but he watched Alabama football on t.v. for a minute.  His daddy highly approved.  Look at how long he's getting!

  

Easter weekend

Well, it just keeps happening. Although I think I can’t love Will anymore than I already do, he always comes up with something new to keep me falling in love all over again. He has been giving little laughs for about two or three weeks now, but this weekend, he finally erupted in giggles. Maybe he wanted to show off for Grandmonty, who was visiting. Whatever the reason, the boy is laughing up a storm. It just warms my heart to hear it.

He was a good boy for Grandmonty, who babysat for almost an entire day while I worked then joined Brian at his law review banquet. It was fun to get out, but I enjoyed lounging around the house Friday with mom and Will (Brian was here too, but he was diligent in studying in his office most of the day). Saturday, we got out for awhile, but the dreary weather and my sinuses made us head home early. We ate great all weekend, of course. Mom brought crawfish Wed., then Friday she cooked steak while I made the sides. Saturday night I cooked chicken picatta with pasta and asparagus, and Sunday mom made a great Easter lunch of ham, dressing, butterbeans, and rolls. Now I’m stuffed and am contemplating an afternoon nap while Will is down. He’s napped great today in his pack n’ play, and I’m thinking he must be tired from the extra excitement of mom’s visit, me being home, and all the laughing and silliness.

I have Monday off of work also (inclement weather day never used), so I look forward to having yet another day at home with Brian and Will. Mom left today to beat the bad weather that is headed our way tomorrow, so I’ll probably catch up on housework and get lots of playtime with Willie- Bug (our new nickname for him). We might even watch another movie. Lately, we’ve seen some good ones: Marley & Me, Grand Torino, Seven Pounds, and Slum Dog Millionaire to name a few. I’ll also continue our new late afternoon routine of feeding Will in his highchair. I am laying off the veggies until Will gets good at eating rice cereal. He is starting to understand that he opens his mouth with the spoon comes near, but he doesn’t understand that he’s supposed to swallow it. I know it’ll come with time, so we’ll keep trying until he gets the hang of it.
Here are some pictures from the weekend. Enjoy!

Doctor's Visit

Will went to the doctor today. All is well! Our little man is a little over 14 pounds and just under 26 inches long. Those stats. put him about 75% in height and 50% in weight. He's over double his birth weight and almost half a foot taller. In other exciting news, we can try solid foods now. This week, we'll introduce a few veggies (one at a time) and rice cereal first. I gave Will carrots tonight. It was pretty funny! He looked at me like I was crazy. It was like he was thinking, "What in the world are you putting by my mouth, and whoa, this doesn't taste anything like my bottle!" I'm sure in no time, he'll get the hang of opening his mouth for the spoon, but until then, it may be extra EXTRA messy. Here are a few pictures from the big milestone.

3 month pictures - proofs are up!

http://www.jessicaparrisphotography.com/Clients/Pages/Noble.html
Will's 3 month old picture proofs are up. We'll be ordering the ones where he is in the cream blanket for framing, plus some others just to have. Our favorite is the last one where he is smiling. That's the one we'll put on the wall somewhere in the house. Hope you like them!

4 months old!

Will is now 4 months old (4 months at 4:40 on 4/4/09). Since it fell on a Saturday, we had a nice day at home, filled with lots of chatter and cuddles. We celebrated getting through another work week without any trouble, although it is still really hard. Some days are ok, but some are still just as hard as the first day. One day he was so smiley and cute when I woke him up (ok, so he’s always smiley and cute to me, but he was especially so this morning, really hamming it up). I hated to drop him off. Don’t get me wrong – I don’t want him to be upset when I leave him. But it’s hard knowing he’s in such a great mood that I won’t get to see all day. Anyhow, we survived and talked about how we only have seven weeks left now. It was a tough week of state testing, and I was formally observed (an unannounced visit by my principal) on Friday. Everything went extremely well, but I was so glad when Friday afternoon rolled around. Will is growing so fast. We just switched to size 9 month pajamas! He's so long that he seems to wear a size larger in pjs vs. onesies in pants. He can still wear 6 month pjs, but the leg room is getting a little cramped. His 3 month onesies are getting a little snug, so I washed his 6 month ones over the weekend. I pulled out some of his newborn stuff yesterday, and I couldn't get over how tiny it was. And to think, it was HUGE on him at first. He wore premie diapers in the hospital and would have fit in premie clothing if I had bought any. Time flies. I can't believe a third of his first year has already past.

Back to Saturday – Will supervised while Brian and I cleaned the house. Together we covered most everything, so it’s nice to have a relatively clean house again. After hanging out with Will and straightening all day, we got ready for our first night out together since we had Will. Our wonderful friends Krislyn and Scott, who are both in law school with Brian, came over to keep our little man. They are truly awesome people, and we are so thankful for their help. We never really went out to celebrate our anniversary back in March, so Brian had arranged for us to go to our favorite special-occasion restaurant, Ruth Chris, and see the musical, Wicked. It was amazing! The music, the costumes, the set, the message … it was all wonderful. It’s my favorite musical out of all of the ones I’ve seen (which is only about five, but still … this one blew me away). Brian had read the book last summer, so he was excited to see how it compared to the novel.  Krislyn and Scott reported that Will was fun and that they pretty much held him the entire time until they put him to bed.


We have an exciting week ahead. Mom is coming Wednesday, and she is babysitting Will Thursday while I’m at work, and again Thursday night while we’re at a law review banquet. Friday, I’m taking off work so we can visit and get out and about. I also have Monday off of work since we never used the day for bad weather. I’m so excited to have a super long weekend and for mom to get to see how much Will has grown since she last saw him in early February.
Speaking of Will growing up, here are a few pictures taken this weekend. You can see that he’s liking tummy time better, and he can stand up with my help. He loves standing and can do it pretty well as long as we help him keep his balance. Also, I included a picture for comparison purposes that is almost the same scale as earlier pictures in the bouncy seat. Enjoy!

Will, several days old vs. two months vs. four months!

Notice the paci size - since it's the same paci, you can see how the face has grown.  

One down, eight to go!

We survived the first week of separation.  Yay!  Now only eight more to go before summer break. Just seeing the calendar change from March to April should help my spirits.   Monday, I wrote about how hard it was to be away from my sweet boy.  By Wednesday, I thought it would be easier.  It wasn't.  I still had a lump in my throat when I put Will in his carseat in the morning.  My eyes still welled up with tears when a coworker would ask how I was doing.  I still counted down the minutes until the end of the day so that I could dash to my car and try to beat the after-school traffic.  I can't say that Thursday or Friday were different in that respect, but at least I knew we had the weekend around the corner.  

It's been a great weekend so far.  Friday afternoon, I spent quality time with Will.  Then around 6:00, I turned him over to his daddy for his bath and bedtime routine.  A coworker and dear friend invited me to a girl's night murder mystery dinner, called "Death by Chocolate."  I had to go in character, which was fun since I was a Latin dance instructor.  It was a hoot, and we all had a blast.  When I came home, Brian told me that he was surprised I didn't hear Will crying the second I closed the door.  Apparently, Will thinks it's ok if his daddy bathes him, but only if mommy is nearby.  Our little guy is a creature of habit.  Change his routine, and you'll hear about it!  Although I want Will to be equally comfortable with both of his parents, I cannot help but feel a little special that he wanted his mommy ... especially after this week of separation.  Today, we've been lazy.  I haven't done the housework I'd like to have behind me, but it's worth it to be immersed in Will-time.  I've worked on his baby book a bit during his nap, adding pictures and a few more details.  I plan on making a separate book out of his blog after his first birthday.  Hopefully, he'll enjoy reading it one day! 

Will's sitter reports that things are going well.  He seems content when we drop him off and pick him up, so that makes it a little easier on me.  Some days I call during my lunch to check on him, and he's usually taking his mid-day nap.  I am so thankful that he's receiving one-on-one attention right now.  Sure, he may be getting a bit spoiled, but I can try to undo that later.  

As far as milestones, Will is growing stronger and more coordinated every day it seems.  He is getting much better at tummy time, both in his ability to lift his head higher/longer and his willingness to simply tolerate it longer.  He rolled over again this week for the sitter (from tummy to back, the easier way).  She thought that it might have been his first time, and I could tell she felt bad for me, thinking that I had missed a "first."  She looked relieved when I told her that he had done it before and I wasn't missing something totally new.  Will is also talking up a storm!  If we get close and make sounds, he tries to replicate them (and does a pretty good job too).  We love having these little "conversations" with Will.  He also enjoys talking to the little fish on the Aquarium bouncer that Mandy gave us.  For whatever reason, those little bubbling fish really get him chattering away.  

We go to the pediatrician in a week and a half, and I'm eager to see how much Will has grown.  I can't believe he'll be four months old on the 4th!  Time is flying.  It seems like yesterday he was a little "curly" newborn.  Other exciting things: our friends are babysitting next Saturday night so Brian and I can have a belated anniversary celebration dinner and see the musical Wicked. Brian bought tickets ages ago, long before we had Will.  It'll be nice having a night out, and since Will goes to bed so early, we don't feel like we're missing out on a lot of quality time with him.  

I'll end this with a picture.  This was taken on Monday, just after getting home from our first official day of separation.  As you can see, he's smiling at me as to say, "Mom, I'm fine ... relax!" I love love LOVE that little boy!

I'm attached, what can I say?

Today was really hard.  Yesterday was fine since it was a teacher work day, but students came back today.  Somehow it makes it even harder to leave my sweet boy when I'm having to deal with hormonal, moody middle-schoolers.  I didn't boo-hoo, but I came pretty close two different times today when other teachers would ask me how I was doing.  I miss my love, our normal routine at home, and knowing I'll see every milestone.  Summer will be here soon though, so I hold on to that thought.  I'm sure once I survive the week, it'll be slightly better.  Here's hoping.  One thing that HAS made it easier is that Will has been a dream (at least around us).  He wakes up happy, eats quickly, then smiles and laughs during our brief morning playtime.  He doesn't fuss at getting in the carseat, and he doesn't cry when I leave him.  He looks content when I come to get him, and his face erupts in a smile when he sees me.  He gibber-gabbers away at me in the afternoon, still loves his bath and baby massage, and never protests his bedtime.  He makes it easy to love being a parent.  I'm not going to pretend it'll all be this easy, but I think he knows that his impressive behavior makes it just a little easier on his mommy right now.  Like I said, I'm attached.  I hate leaving him, but things are going great with the sitter and she takes wonderful care of him.  So it's a hard week, but I'm looking forward to Saturday when I have a whole day to devote to my sweet William James.  No pictures tonight - just the update.  Until next time ...

3 month photos sneak peak

I should be in bed as I have to wake up bright and early for work tomorrow (tear), but I just checked the photographer's website who took Will's 3 month old pictures.  She doesn't have the proofs up yet, but she did offer a "sneak peak" on her blog.  As you'll see, she's a very talented natural light photographer.  Will looks so sweet in the first picture especially!  Here's the link:  http://jessicaparrisphotography.blogspot.com/

Will, 3 1/2 months old

The week has flown by, and sadly, maternity leave is over.  I'm very lucky that I've had so much time at home with Will.  I can't imagine leaving him at 6 weeks like so many people have to do.  Although I know I'm blessed, it doesn't make it much easier knowing that I'll have to leave him to go to work.  What can I say, I love being at home with him.  I've been amazed at how busy I am just taking care of him, cooking several nights a week, and doing household chores.   Monday I'll start the countdown until summer, and I'm sure before I know it, I'll be writing a joyful blog at the end of May.  We also have some fun things to look forward to between now and then.  In a few weeks, we are going to have a belated anniversary dinner out alone and go see the traveling Broadway production of Wicked.  We also have a law review banquet to get dressed up for, and my mother is visiting during that long weekend to spend some time with us.  I'll just take things one week at a time.  Hopefully, this time next week, I will be feeling better about the separation and our new routine.  We've woken up early for the past four days to ease the shock of things, so that should help Will adjust.   I'll try to do an update at the end of the week on how we survived!  I'm sure Will will be fine.  It's me I'm worried about!

Here are some pictures from our last week at home together.  As you can see, he's growing up fast!  For the record, I'm not a fan of bibs, but the little guy is drooling like crazy.  Without them, Will would soak through multiple outfits a day.  

Will with his "Ellie Lovey" - a new naptime friend

First time in his high chair.  He sat slightly reclined and watched me do dishes.

I'm on a mission to rid him of the ugly aqua soothie pacis.  He spit the one in his mouth out immediately after this picture, but he likes the green one in the background.  

The bib is true - he's pretty crazy about his mommy if I do say so myself!  

Becoming more confident in his Bumbo seat.  His head and neck strength have improved significantly in the past two weeks.  

Spending a little quality time with Uncle Eric.

Will liked that he and Eric have the same hairstyle.  This was shortly before Will spit up all over Eric's jeans!  Opps!