Jay's 5 Month Update

Can I just start by saying this is such an awesome stage for babies!?

 Hands down, this month has been the most fun for me to watch Jay

 learn and grow. He is so interested in everything and loves

 to take everything in. I can almost see his little 

brain growing as the days go on.

 He loves to grab at everything. Cups and bottles are some of his

 favorites to get his hands (and mouth) on. He's been eying our

 remote for a few weeks now like its a piece of steak, but i've

 watched too many news stories about how the remote is like a

 toilet seat when it comes to germs, so we try to keep that at a distance.

 He's also become a lot more vocal. Lots of grunts and this weird

 high pitched squeal that almost sounds like a baby dinosaur.

 We think its hilarious!

 He can roll over from his stomach to his back, but its

 only when he's feeling like it... most of the time he would rather

 just stay on his tummy and look around. He is a little

 jumper and bouncer and loves to stand up and sit up to play now.

 He *almost* can sit by himself which is awesome and a little

 sad for me at the same time. Where is my little baby going!!??!?

Jay is starting to recognize familiar faces and just ADORES his daddy.

 It's the sweetest thing I've ever seen. He lights up when Scottie

 gets home from work. It's hard to say who is happier

 to see the other.

 I just love watching the two of them interact. Jay already has so many

 of Scottie's traits, I know they will be such great buddies when he gets older.

Speaking of buddies- Jay and Hagen are starting to grow quite the bromance.

 Jay loves to pet his head and pat Hagen.

 I cannot wait to watch the two of them together in a few months. 

Remember when I said how blessed we feel to have a healthy baby?

 Ahhhh, life.

 Jay was not sleeping well about a week ago and started to get a hoarse voice.

 At first I figured he was going through the "4 Month Sleep Regression"

 where babies commonly go through a few weeks of bad sleep,

 but his hoarse voice wasn't going away.

 I took him into the doctor even though he was still acting just

 as happy as normal and he didn't have a fever.

 Sure enough, he had an ear infection. Poor guy. 

He's on amoxicillin for 10 days and hopefully that will clear it up.

 Nevertheless, I still feel blessed that this is all we have 

been dealt (knock on wood, life).

Jay's naps have started to become more predictable and lasting longer.

 We're down to three naps a day that last a little over an hour each. 

That's all great and a huge improvement from last month,

 but we're still in the stroller and I still have to work

 to keep him asleep for that long.

 I've decided to wait until 6 months and then we will have

 a rough  week of sleep training in his crib and 

**hopefully** 

things will get much better after that. We will see though.

 This baby likes to keep me on my toes.

Bath time is one of Jay's favorites and we are getting 

real close to moving him to the bathtub because he is 

starting to get to be too big for that infant tub. 

What a life... bath and some football. What more could
a guy want??

Jay took his longest trip to date this month all the way up to 

Savannah, GA (5.5 Hours). I was so nervous that after

 about 3 hours he was just going to cry the rest of the way, but he

 did remarkably well! I wish I could say we went all

 that way for another reason, but my grandmother passed away so

 off to Georgia we went. She was very sick and bedridden for a 

long time, so I was happy that the Lord took her and she was able

 to be with my grandfather again. Ever since he died six years ago she

 hasn't been the same. I must say, there is something terribly sad,

 but terribly beautiful about losing such a long and true love.

 She walked around like a lost soul because half of her was gone.

 I'm so happy to know they are both complete again.

 I could go on and on about how in love they were

 with each other and how inspiring their love was to 

me, but I'll just leave it at that =). I have so many amazing

 memories as a kid coming up to Savannah to visit my

 grandparents and this trip also forced me to say good-bye 

to their neighborhood that I loved visiting so much.

 It was a sad, but necessary trip.

 Having Jay there definitely helped everyone deal with the loss, though.

 One life ends and another begins. God knew what he was doing when he created us.

This was the only pic I took of Jay all dressed up.. the days
were a little hectic, but how CUTE is he!?

Speaking of... Jay also had a really important day this month when he was Baptized.

 It was a really special day for the whole family

 and we were so happy to have everyone with us to witness his sacrament of Baptism.

What a blessing Jay has been to our lives. I always thought my life was happy and full,

 and it was but not to this extent. Daily, I wake up feeling 

like my heart is so full. 

It's the best feeling in the world!

Happy 5 months to our sweet, smart, easy-going little buddy. We love you!

Uhh, side note- these pics are getting difficult
in his chair. ha ha

Jay's 4 Month Update

My oh my. This sweet little chunker is now 4 months old!
 It seems like the more active he gets, the faster my days go.
 I want to take a second to say how blessed we feel to have such
 a healthy little boy. So many parents have scares with their little
 ones and I feel so thankful that we haven't had to deal with that yet. 

Jay is becoming very active and his wake times are getting
 longer and longer (a little over 2hrs at a time). He loves to
sit up on your lap and stand and stomp his feet (with help). He smiles
 and squeals all the time and is quite the flirt with the ladies ;).
 I've heard him giggle a few times now, but I can't wait until he starts doing
 that regularly too. He loves to look at books and grab at pictures.

As wonderful and happy as Jay is during the day, he does
 struggle with the naps. I've tried everythinggggggg
 (blackout curtains, white noise, swaddle, no swaddle, lights on, tv on... Etc)
 and I finally decided that it is what it is and he will get over
this stage soon (maybe?). We now have him napping in the
stroller and it is working better than anything else basically
 because when he does wake up after a few mins into his nap
 I can just rock the stroller a few times and he drifts back
 to sleep.. Most of the time. If any mommas out there have any
 other tips for me I am open to pretty much anything =).

We took Jay in the ocean for the first time this month
 and he loved it... He is such a little beach baby! 

We took him for his 4 month checkup and he is 15lbs and 24in.
Which evidently is quite short for a 4 month old.
 Shows what I know.. I was walking around talking
 about what a big baby he is!

After Jay was born I knew my daily life changed but I didn't realize
 how much it changed me as a person until last week.
 I was driving on the interstate stuck in traffic because of an accident.
When I finally was able to see the crash, there was a helicopter
 taking a motorcyclist who evidently was in an awful accident
 with another vehicle. Before I think my response would have
 been "danggggg, they had to bring a helicopter in.. That's crazy!
 Hope he's okay." And that would have been the end of it.
 Now, as I passed all I could think about what this man's family..
 Did he have kids? What about his wife? Or parents?
 I prayed and prayed for all of them. I was so selfish
before I had Jay... I still am, but I think that trait is
 slowly starting to fade away. I'm so thankful for my baby
 not only because he brings so much joy to my life
but because he is making me a better person.

Happy 4 month Birthday, Buddy!!

Jay's Three Month Update (Quarter of a year... Wuuuuut!?)

Yowza. Our baby boy is already Three months old!

 This month has been so much fun. Jay is really

 starting to become his own little person that is mesmerizing

 to be around. He is such a sweet little boy

 that is always happy (unless he's hungry or tired... 

The boy has his priorities in order, people).

 Sometimes it seems like overnight he grows and becomes like

 that Kanye West song.. Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger.

 We have set more of a schedule with him for his feeds

 and naps and his little body usually sticks to the same routine everyday. 

He is getting to like tummy time (finally!).

 I like to split it up so that he leans over his Boppy pillow

 and watches some cartoons for about 10 minutes at a time

 and then legit tummy time so that he can work on doing those baby

 push ups. He's getting RIPPED... J/k, but he is getting really good at it. 

This month he figured out his hands and feet

 and LOVES to grab at his toys with both his hands and

 his feet (he's got monkey toes that can grab items like his mom.

 It sounds weird, but comes in handy in random situations).

 Jay loves to observe.

 I can sit him in his high hair or his Rock & Play and

 he will just sit and watch me do dishes, get ready, clean up, etc.

 it's the greatest thing ever!!

 He still loves the outdoors. Weather permitting, I try to take

 him outside to lay under a tree in our backyard for about

 thirty minutes each day. He soaks up the sun and we chat

 about Obamacare.. Kidding, more like the colors of the grass and sky,

 but we will get to Obamacare and Global Warming issues later in life.

 I also switched him to a big boy stroller so that he can see

 out more and he really loves getting to see everything around

 our neighborhood My mom got the coolest raft for little

 babies (it says for ages 6-12 months but Jay mushed that requirement in the face)

 and we tried it out while at AMI. He was lounging and loving life.

 I also held him in the pool and he was kicking away.

 He is definitely a Florida boy!

 We went to the beach a few more times this month

 and he loved it as usual. Jay spent his first Fourth of July at Little Gasparilla Island.

 I am so happy he will be able to grow up vacationing there. 

He actually sleeps longer than normal when we are at the beach.

 He must just be extra relaxed =)

 Speaking of sleeping at night, he has gotten on a great sleep

 schedule going down at 9pm and not waking up until about 4-5am

 and then back down until about 7 or 8am. 

That makes me a happy mommy!

I have seen so much growth this month and I know that each month

 he will start to do more fun things and I can't wait to see them.

 However, I do find myself wanting to freeze time and have him

 stay this little forever... Alas, that is the struggle for all moms, I guess.

 This little girl knows my pain...

Nevertheless, I am having the best time watching him

 grow and learn every day =)

Happy three months to our little buddy. We love you!!!