FOUR MONTHS!

Dear Colin,

You are now 4 months old.  I had a very hard time figuring out when to take your picture because this year there were only 28 days in February and since you were born on the 31st it didn't seem right to do it earlier so I waited until March started and we had a day with some sun in the morning to get good pictures.

Onesies were made by our friend Sharon! 

Of course, I also did photos in an outfit that your brother wore for his 4 month photos.  The shirt must have been discarded because I couldn't find it so I found something similar for you to wear.

And this Colin, is what it looks like when you don't want to get dressed or get your diaper change, or are cold, or mad that you are being put down so I can tend to your brother, Hunter or some other matter.  I still love you but no more ugly face!

SLEEP:
I have started having you sleep in your bedroom at night and you seem to be doing ok with this but you still wake up every 2-3 hours (sometimes less).  You are still swaddled but if I unswaddle you then you are awake even more.  I have a week off of work coming up so I might start unswaddling you then since I won't be so busy and we don't get a lot of sleep it will be ok.  You go to sleep around 7pm.  Are up at least once before 9 (if not twice), then up again around 11pm.  Last month I used to then bring you into my room but now I leave you in your room until your 1:30am wake-up.  Once in bed with me you tend to wake at 3 or 4, 6am and then if I am able to get you back down at 6am you are awake for the day at 7am.  Napping is hit or miss.  Sometimes you will nap at home up in your room if I am able to swaddle you and set you down almost asleep.  Sometimes I will nurse you to sleep and bring you upstairs to your swing to sleep.  During these times you will sleep for about an hour.  If you and I are home alone and I am wearing you - you will sleep for an hour or a little bit more.  You are not a great car sleeper but sometimes you will nap in the car too.  Overall, I would say you are getting 2-3 hours of sleep during the day when Mommy is home.

Sleeping in Mommy's bed - 2.20.2014

FOOD:
You are still a piglet and you are eating every 2-3 hours during the day and night.  You are on strictly breastmilk for now but you love to sit on the table at dinner and breakfast and be apart of the meal (unless you are napping).  Only two more months before I let you have food in your little hands!

CLOTHES:
You are currently in 6 month clothes from major "name brand" retailers and size 6-9month in most others "store brands or specially made for box stores".  It appears that despite seemingly to be growing at the same rate as your brother we will be buying you a lot of clothes because the seasons just aren't lining up correctly.  It seems the 1.5 months difference in birthdates is making a HUGE difference in clothing.

PERSONALITY:
You are such a happy baby when you are happy.  You smile from the tips of your very toes.  Your whole body is used to make the smile and it is infectious.  You smile at old people, young people, babies, toddlers, your Daddy, Me - just about anyone (but it doesn't make it any less special).  You are hysterical with Conor.  He can make you laugh at the drop of a hat and he loves to do it.  You have an adorable belly laugh and its fun to see you enjoy life so much. 

Your not all smiles though Mister.  You are also very demanding!  You do not like to be put down.  You require entertainment (you are not self-soothing just yet and you still get overstimulated too easily) from Daddy Conor or I unless its really short bursts of time.

 

DEVELOPMENT:
You are such a strong little boy!  You have been able to stand since shortly after birth but now you have some core strength and can sit (though you are bent at the waist quite a bit).  You are able to use those muscles to pull yourself into a standing position when holding my hands.  You hold your head up really high when on your tummy and you are starting to do so when sitting.  You do not love reclining anymore and are always trying to pull yourself into a sitting position if leaned against a pillow or blanket while on your back.  You are able to hold toys now and guide them into your mouth fairly nicely (though you do get very upset when you can't figure out how to let go of said toy)!  You also reach for things if they are placed just outside your reach span. 

You track people as they walk about a room and you turn your head when your name is called.  You also recognize voices and faces and produce smiles without prompting for certain people (Conor being #1). 

EXPERIENCES:
This past month you enjoyed your first true fun in the snow.  It was finally warm enough to play outside in the snow.  You watched the neighborhood kids sled and it was fun seeing Conor try to keep up with them.  You went for a ride in the sled and sat up on the big snowpile with Mommy and Conor (2.20.14).

We also went to a play place in Dover NH with Auntie Ana and this was your first time there.  You had a lot of fun watching the kids play but you were a bit too little for everything there so its a good thing you were content just to watch!  We also went out to lunch at a restaurant.  You did okay but it had been a long day and you were tired by the end of it (so were the boys!).

First Holidays: Valentine's Day and you attended your first Valentine's Day Party Playdate a few days later at Carter's house.  There you hung out with the Mommies and played with your friend Link.

Such a size difference in boys born 2 weeks or so apart!

GODPARENTS:
In the last month we also asked two very special people to be your Godparents.  Who?  We asked Chris and Auntie Cathlin.  They are also Conor's godparents but they are very special people in our lives and we felt they were the perfect choice the first time and therefore when it came time to pick again it only made sense that you deserved the best as well!  We were elated when they each said "YES" again.  Now, to make plans!

Colin, you are a wonderful little baby and I can't wait to keep watching you grow.  Until next month little man.

xoxo
Mommy

PS.  4 month comparison photo - Conor Above and Colin Below.

Your First Jersey!

Thank you Godfather Chris and Amanda!!!

Family Fun Time

Saturday May 12, 2012 - A little bit of Family Fun in the yard!

Where's Waldo - uuhhh...I mean Conor?

There he is!

First time with barefeet & fingers in the grass!

We tried so hard to get a nice picture of me and my two little men but it is very difficult to get Hunter and Conor to both look at the camera at the same time.  These were the best two that we got.  Thanks Daddy for trying so hard!

While Conor and I played hung out in the grass Daddy and Hunter played chase in the yard.

Fun time with my family are what weekends are all about!

xoxo
Erin

First Date

On Thursday, May 10, 2012 Conor had his first date.  We invited his friend Adelle and her mommy over for the day.  This was the third little friend that Conor has invited over but the first young lady he has brought home.

I'm having a girl-friend over today but first I have to change into my 'date' clothes.

Conor's friend arrived and they got down to some serious playing.  Adelle is 2.5 months older than Conor and he enjoys trying to keep up with her.   Adelle has been sitting up for about a month now and so Conor wanted to show her how good he was getting at sitting up while they played with toys.

Adelle was worried about Conor so she held onto the back of his shirt so he wouldn't fall over.

The kids played for a few hours then they each napped while the moms talked and ate lunch and then they played some more before we took pictures to remember their first date!

Sweet Baby Love - Hands holding and everything!

Conor truly loves spending his time with Adelle and we hope that she will come to play again soon!

xoxo
Erin

PROM?

Dear Conor,

You are so smitten when your Auntie Danielle and when you heard that her prom was happening you told me you wanted to be her date.  So, the morning of her prom we sent her this picture.



Unfortunatly, you are a bit too young to go to such a big dance that lasts into the night (well, you are!) and so your Auntie had to go with someone else.

SHS Prom 2012

You weren't happy that she picked T over you but she had no choice since I said you were too little to go.  Doesn't your Auntie look beautiful??? 

Someday when you are old enough to go to prom I am quite certain that you will look just as handsome as T and your date, though she will try, will never be as beautiful as your Auntie!

xoxo
Mom

A Movie & A Baby

Dear Conor,

On April 29, 2012 you went to your first movie.  We took you to see the Disney Nature movie "Chimpanzee".  It was a movie about a family of chimps and what happens to one particular little chimp during his first year.

SPOILER ALERT

The chimp's mother is separated from the group during an attack by another family of chimps and because of her injury she is left vulnerable at night and is attacked by a cat (not the nice kind that live in people's homes but a wild cat) and she is killed.  The little chimp is left an orphan and none of the other lady chimps will take care of him because they already have chimps of their own.  So, the little chimp followed around the big male leader of the group and eventually this leader adopts the little orphan chimp and because of this the baby chimp survives.  Its a story of survival and what a little bit of hope, perseverance and love can do for a family and a baby.

It was a beautiful story and the filming was amazing!  You loved watching the screen and seeing the Chimps running through the jungle and playing with each other.  We watched the Mom chimps teaching their baby chimps how to get food and we also watched them nurse just like you and I do.

You did grow fussy at times.  Once because you needed a diaper change and another time because you were getting tired and you tend to fuss before falling asleep.  But overall you did very well at your first movie!

To commemorate the event we took picture of you in front of the movie poster.  We had to wake you up to do so and the sun was in our eyes so they aren't great pictures but just a little reminder of a wonderful day your Daddy and I got to spend with you!

This is Mommy's ticket because techinically you didn't need one but since I wore you into the movie we decided it was your ticket too!

Looking down to avoid the sun.

I promise you weren't mad - you were just unhappy about the sun in your eyes!

xoxo
Mom

Family Time

Conor is just 4 days shy of being 5 months old.  I seem to say it a lot but I truly can't believe how quickly time is flying by.  While I intend to continue to supply most of Conor's nutrition it is time to start introducing him to the wonderful world of food.  In order to do that I had to do some thinking about how we would go about this. 

Growing up we always ate dinner as a family at the table.  It was a time to reflect on the day that had passed and talk about things that were coming up.  While there are certain memories of the dinner table that are not fond (like sitting at the table until bedtime because I refused to eat my meatloaf), most of my family dinner memories are good ones.  I specifically remember when Danielle was little and she would sit in her high chair eating while we ate and she just talked and talked as she tried to be apart of our conversations about math class, hockey practice, and reading circles.  Dinner was simply a time when the TV was turned off and we just focused on each other.

I very much want this same experience for Conor.  Currently Josh and I do not sit down at the table and eat together (we usually eat in the living room while working or watching a show).  But, in order to give Conor the best that we can, this habit must change.  But first, Conor needs a place to sit!

I had originally wanted a booster type high chair but after playing around with it a little a realized it is not what I wanted and therefore I returned it and now searching for just the right highchair to meet our needs.  I would like a chair that allows Conor to be apart of our dinner experience and one that will be easily cleaned (so many of the plastic ones have too many places for food to hide!).  I have been looking at wooden high chairs that will be able to grow with Conor as he gets older but is still too small to sit in a regular chair as it is important that Conor always feel apart of dinner time.  I have my eye on a few and can't wait to make the final decision.

Once I do then it will be time to reveal our new dinning room and prepare for Conor's FIRST family dinner!

xoxo
Erin

Portland Children's Museum

Conor,

Today we went to the Portland Children's Museum with some of your friends from Tuesday Group.  We had never been before and were a little nervous about whether it would be appropriate for you since your not walking or even crawling.  But - it was awesome!  Daddy came with us too and this was his first playdate!

The museum has a toddler section like the New Hampshire Museum.  It was located in the middle of the museum floor and you could see many of the other exhibits from this spot.  There were so many things for you to do.

There as a round padded circle that babies could sit in - you enjoyed it so much you invited your friends in to play.

First came H.  You guys are just learning to reach for each other and you ended up holding hands.

Hi Dad!  Did you get a picture of me and H?

I should have known you would :)

This is a great photo of part of the area - its set up like a tree house/club house and a fountain.  There is air keeping the beach ball in the air!

Playing in the circle with H and A

After playing in the circle you decided to play in the tube.  There was only standing room and you stood in the tube for a while and everyone was amazed at how long you were able to stand.

You stood in there for so long that your friend B came to try to help him out - but you weren't so sure you wanted help getting out.

Nope - I'm loving this thing - Daddy will you buy me one?

This special area was just for 'infants' or non-crawlers and Conor had fun hanging out in here for a bit.

You even invited Daddy into the treehouse to play!

After the treehouse we went to play with the air fountain.  You loved standing and holding onto the cone and watching the scarfs fly into the air.

Getting ready to let it go.....

WOW - look how high it went!

Conor's turn!  Just Kidding - you didn't fly in the air but you made some funny faces when I held you over the air tube.

Reaching for your friend Q and telling her a story.

Posing under the Rainbow for Daddy.

And peeking through the cloud in the rainbow!

Two leprechauns over the rainbow!

Where's Conor?  (You loved that tube!)

Baby Stew - playing with your friends just before it was time to go (Q, A & C).

We checked out the rest of the museum and there is so much to do that we will have lots of fun here for years to come!  This is the reading nook in the camping section - its a little log cabin.

Your Daddy and I had so much fun playing with you and your friends at the museum. Your Daddy was the only Daddy that was able to go and he wanted me to make sure that I wrote that he had an 'awesome' time. There is a whale exhibit and the whale was supposed to be lowered at 3pm - we waited around to see it happen but it didn't lower so we left and went to Whole Foods.

You were so tired after all that playtime that you were asleep before we even left the parking spot and when I took you out of your carseat at Whole Foods you didn't even wake up. I wondered why everyone was smiling at your Daddy and I while we were shopping and when I caught you in the mirror asleep on my shoulder I knew why.

When we got home we gave you some naked time - which you loved.  You enjoy naked time and Daddy even gave you a lotion massage to calm you after your very busy day.

And a little naked time when we got home to help unwind from such a busy afternoon!  You rolled over twice today but I wasn't able to catch it on camera.

I am so glad that we are able to take you on these little adventures and I hope that you love them as much as we love bringing you on them.

xoxo
Mom & Dad