Our Week in Pictures

Will and I had several more photoshoots this week. I think my kid is already developing PCS (Photographer's Child Syndrome)...he'll hardly look at me when I have that darn thing in my hands! I thought I'd get at least a year of him looking at the camera. Oh well!

Monday
I brought out trusty 'ol Mr. Bear for some comparison shots. Think the little stinker has grown at all? Geeze! What happened to my newborn?! (Sorry Mom, the Bear still doesn't have a name. I think he's doomed to be Mr. Bear forever...but he's definitely not a Bill! [or whatever it was that you guys named him for me ;)])

...must not look at the crazy Mama with the camera!




This face gets made a lot in our house :)


Finally got a little eye contact and a smile! Hooray!


Will thought Mr. Bear needed a little hug

Tuesday
Will and I went to a playgroup with a bunch of other babies his age. We both had a great time, but Mommy didn't take any pictures. It's so fun to watch him interact with babies his age...he loves them! He'll talk, smile, and stare at them for a loong time. It's so fun to watch!

Wednesday
God is blessing us SO much...and I am SO grateful for it! We had a two couples come over with their children to check out our place and meet us to see if they'd like me to watch their kids. The first couple has a five month old daughter and they're definitely going to have me watch her...she starts on July 13th! I'm incredibly excited - it's going to be so much fun to watch her and be able to be home with Will all day long. The second couple has a son who is just a few days younger than Will. They're still deciding on things, since his Mama doesn't have to go back to work until August...but I'm hopeful that they'll decide to let me watch their little guy too...I think the three babies would have a great time together and I would be in Heaven watching all of them! :) God is doing some great things over here and I'm so, so thankful that he's blessing us and letting me stay home with Will.

Thursday
I was looking through pictures and realized I hardly had any shots of Will and Greg together, especially not lately. So even though Will was being a fuss-budget, I got the camera and got some adorable pictures. They're not technically the best, but they'll always hold a special place in my heart. Sometimes it's hard being a photographer and looking past the "bad" parts of a picture and realizing that any picture that captures your family as they are is a good picture.

I love those blue eyes and those pouty lips!


Starting to fuss for Mommy


This one just makes me smile!

Friday
Today Will and I joined some ladies I met at the playgroup for Baby Day at the Alamo Drafthouse. We saw The Proposal (second time for me) and I loved it! It's definitely my kind of movie! Afterward, Will and stopped by Greg's office to say hi and then went over to a consignment shop and got him a swimming suit, a few pairs of shorts, and an Exersaucer. The Exersaucer is a HUGE hit! He's not quite big enough for it yet and has to be propped up with blankets, but he loves being able to sit on his own and loves being able to reach for the toys.

We are so, so richly blessed. Sometimes I'm blown away with how lucky I am...I have an amazing husband, a wonderful baby that I adore, a gorgeous house, and a job that I love. Life certainly couldn't get anymore blessed and amazing.

(Half of a) Day in Our House

Yesterday I set out with hopes of capturing our entire day from start to finish. I only managed to make it to his afternoon nap (a trip to Half-Price Books and an incredibly fussy baby prevented the rest of the day from being shot), but I'm in love with the pictures I got. They're so him and just looking at them makes me smile. Enjoy!

He sits in his swing every morning for awhile as I feed the dogs and make my breakfast. Sometimes he'll talk away while he's in there and other times he'll fall asleep.




There was no falling asleep this morning, though! He was all smiles.




We don't always go outside after breakfast, but it was nice outside, so I put a blanket down in the backyard and we had tummy time out there. He was much more tolerant of it outside!


Riley enjoyed tummy time too. (Sammy did as well - she was off killing cicadas in the corner of the yard and then bringing them to me. Insert disgusted look here.)


I love his feet. They're so kissable! He thinks it's absolutely hilarious when I sniff them and then say in a high pitched voice, "Peee-U! Stinky feet!" He giggles and smiles huge and it is absolutely adorable.


I've been wanting to get a shot of his legs for awhile...They're not so chubby, but oh-so-soft.


He's completely fascinated by his hands and feet lately. You can see the wheels turning in his head as he moves them and watches them.






He talks a lot. He loves saying "aaa goooo" and has even started repeating me when I say it to him. Every once in awhile you'll catch him saying "aaa gukkk" and if he's feeling incredibly excited, he'll let out a high pitched squeal or two.




He's started blowing bubbles all the time lately. And drooling. Combined with the spitting up that he's always done, we've started wearing lots of bibs, even though Mommy thinks they look kind of silly.


Afternoon naps happen in a variety of places. They usually start in the crib and migrate somewhere else when he wakes up crying after a few minutes of sleep. (Most of the time they end up being taken on Mommy...she doesn't mind too much ;))

And that's half a day with us :) Could life be any better?

Baby Blues

Catching Up with Pictures

This post is going to be short...sorry! Will is (finally) asleep and I've got lots of unpacking to do! I figured everyone would like to see some of the newest pictures of the little guy, though. In actuality, he's not all that little anymore! We had his 2 month Well-Baby visit at the doctor a couple weeks ago and he's:

- 13 pounds 4 ounces (75th percentile)
- 24 3/4 inches long (95th percentile)
- 41 cm head circumference (75th percentile)

I can't believe how fast he's growing and changing. He now smiles and babbles all the time and has the most adorable dimple on his left cheek. His eyes are as blue as ever and I'm pretty sure they'll stay that way. In some lights in our new house they almost look purple...very neat! He loves bath time, hates tummy time (but loves sleeping on his tummy), gets a kick out of looking at himself in the mirror, loves his activity gym, still hates his car seat, and loves to say "a-gooo" and "a-guuuk." He says both of those with a particular gusto and grins afterward. He definitely makes our world a bit more interesting :) Greg and I were wondering the other day what we ever filled up all our time with before him!


10 weeks - Getting a bath from Daddy (at the old house)


10 weeks - Loving his bath time!


10 weeks - First real smile caught on camera!


From today - playing in his activity gym while I unpack the office


I cannot get enough of that gummy little grin!


Caught this one after my run tonight...Watching a Texas baseball game with Daddy. (No, Mommy does not let him watch TV!)

Anyways, I promise I'll update with real stuff soon...including pictures of the house! It's coming together nicely!

Drive By Post

Just wanted to let all my readers know that I'm still here and will be updating with pictures and stories soon! Last week was the week of furiously packing, sanding, painting, and cleaning. We're all moved in now and (mostly) unpacked...and doing very well!

I promise to have a better update soon :)

Videos

I was able to grab these off my camera while the "No Battery" light flashed at me. They're not too exciting, but I love them and I know I'll love looking back on these when he's older :)






*watch the very end of this one...lots of smiles!

Sorta Crunchy

Before Will came along, I was not so concerned about things like all-natural cleaning products, organic food, and green living. But since he's been here I've gone a little crazy. Okay, not really crazy, but definitely a little crunchy. I'm all for exclusively breast-feeding, baby-wearing, baby-food making, and no-cry sleep solutions. I don't cloth diaper or co-sleep, but I'm supportive of those who do. Definitely leaning towards the little-bit-crunchy side and heading there more and more lately!

My most recent crunchy-ness comes in the form of vaccinations. Vaccines have been in the news for how long now? I know I was reading about them well before Greg and I got married...but I didn't really give a second thought to them. I mean, how did it effect me if the MMR caused Autism or not? But now that it's my baby who's about to get stuck, I definitely care. I've spent the last week studying and researching vaccines. Imagine my shock when I found out that at Will's 2 month appointment he'd be due for SIX vaccinations...SIX! In his tiny, two-month new little body. I was a little disgusted, to put it nicely. How could six vaccines at once invading his little body possibly be healthy? That started my obsession research with vaccinations.

I found Dr. Sears and after many late nights researching have decided to place Will on an alternate vaccination schedule. He will get no more than two vaccines at each appointment and I'm still considering opting out of some vaccines altogether, like the Chickenpox vaccine. (I found out tonight that you can do this and still have your child go to public school). Here's what his schedule looks like. I basically followed Dr. Sears' schedule with a few modifications. I'm still undecided on what to do with the MMR. Right now it's not being offered split into three different vaccines, but it should be again in 2011. As it gets closer to the time he'll need it I'll reevaluate. And I have even more love for our pediatrician now...he's totally on-board with Alternate Vaccination Schedules as long as the parents have done their research...Go Dr. Travis!

2 months - DTaP, RV
3 months - PCV, HIB
4 months - DTaP, RV
5 months - PCV, HIB
6 months - DTaP, RV
7 months - Flu (2 doses)
8 months - PCV, HIB
9 months - IPV
12 months - IPV
15 months - PCV, HIB
18 months - DTaP, Varicella (may opt out)
2 years - IPV
2 years, 6 months - Hep B, Hep A
3 years - MMR (may split)
3 years, 2 months - Hep B
3 years, 6 months - Hep B, Hep A
4 years - DTaP, IPV
5 years - MMR (may get blood test to determine immunity; if immune, will not get booster)
6 years - Varicella (may opt out)
12 years - Tdap
13 years - Meningococcal

I have a precious video of Will that I'm going to post later, but my camera battery is dead. I'll post it tomorrow :) The best news of the week? Tomorrow is the LAST day of school! I've gotta go on Thursday, but after that I'm officially a stay-at-home mama. How exciting and relieving is that? I get to stay at home with my baby! I get to raise him, teach him, watch him, praise him, discipline him, laugh with him, cuddle with him, kiss him, hug him, talk with him, grow with him, learn with him, and love him all day long. God is seriously too good to me :)