Three Months Old!

Dear Colin,

In January 31, 2014 you turned three months old.  Our 4th trimester is nearing completion and I have been back at work for a month.  You are a beautiful BIG baby!  You only look 3 months old when you are tucked up against me in one of our wraps.  If you are on the floor or in the swing you look much older.  Your physical attributes aren't the only thing that contribute to the general public thinking you are older than you are - your muscle tone is amazing!  You are holding your head up, you can stand on your legs, your abdominal muscles are hard at work as you try to pull your shoulders off the floor or hold yourself in a sitting position.  You are also incredibly alert and will track people and things around the house with both your ears and your eyes.  Such a smart boy!

You are wearing size 3-6 month clothes and, just like Conor, your feet are such that socks are a huge issue because they are all too tight!  You are in cloth diapers the majority of the time now, including at night, but because I cannot change your diaper during the evening you have many inserts stuffed in!  Despite this we are still dealing with a leaking issue but I am hoping that this may resolve itself when you are nursing a bit less at night.  So, for now you sleep on a blanket with a towel underneath so I don't have to worry about mattresses and sheets.

You still have reflux and you spit up quite a bit.  Because of this you really don't like to lay on your back and while you seem to like your play mat a lot - you do not like being there for more than a few minutes.  You are also very easily overstimulated (likely a product of Conor being around all the time and being a crazy 2 year old!) so Daddy and I work hard to ensure you don't get too worked up when things are a bit hectic around here.

You smile so much - you are a very happy baby (when you are not crying).  You do tend to cry more than I remember Conor crying but this is also a much busier house than the one he came home to.  But, you hold your own little man and your BIG personality is starting to emerge.

You are able to roll over!  If I place you on your tummy you will roll to your back.  You are also working on rolling from back to tummy but I think that will be a while still.  Your hair is starting to grow in and your favorite thing to do is munch on your hands so I can only imagine what's going on in that mouth of yours.

Sleep.  Colin you are a terrible sleeper.  I'm really sorry to have to say that but its 100% true!  You don't sleep well because you are always wanting to eat.  Right now you are eating every 2 hours around the clock.  CRAZY!  I have decided that for my own sanity and yours that you will only be fed at night every other wake-up.  I am determined to have you only eating every 4 hours at night by the time you are 5 months old because your Mom needs sleep!  Right now you are sleeping in your co-sleeper for the first part of the evening and then after 11pm you are moving into the bed with us.  Its not ideal but its how we are all managing the 2 hour feeds.

 

You and your brother are still a wonderful pair and it has been a lot of fun watching you respond to him.  I can only imagine how much trouble to two of you are going to get into in the future!  In this series of photos I was giving you a massage and he wanted one too.  He loves to be helpful and get diapers and wipes, put dirty diapers in the trash or the wetbag.  He also likes to try to hand you toys and is very good at helping you with tummy time.

The month has been a slow one.  You haven't had any visitors other than Grandma and Grandpa Jakan and the playgroup ladies.  But you did go bowling with Mommy and the Moms for Mother's Night Out.  It was fun to have you there and we did pretty good too!

You love the bath and while I don't give them to you too often because they really dry out your skin (which is already dry and seemingly sensitive), when you do get one you go to town splashing and kicking and trying to drink the water as I let it run down your face.  After each bath you get a full coconut oil massage to help rehydrate your skin.  You LOVE it!

 

Overall, we couldn't ask for a better baby!

xoxo
Mommy

PS.  Here is the comparison photo of you and Conor

Conor on top, Colin below

Summer Lovin'

Dear Conor,

One of the greatest things about living at Grandpa Tom's is that your friend Olivia lives just down the street.  Because of this we have been able to spend some of our late afternoons with her at the local playground or at her house.  Here are some of the pictures from the first time we met them at the playground (8.5.13).  You guys enjoyed holding hands and you ALWAYS walk her to her car at the end of our play.

First time on a big kid swing - you made Mommy so nervous as you kept wanting to do it one handed!

Leading your lady to the playground

Ladies first up the stairs!

It will be wonderful when we are in our new house but I will miss our little play dates with Olivia and her mom and I know you will too!

xoxo
Mommy

Saying Goodbye & a Nice Ride

Dear Conor,

The time has come for you to say goodbye to a friend for the first time.  Your friend Addilyn has to move away with her Mommy and Daddy because her Daddy got a new job.  She had a big early birthday celebration but I wasn't able to bring you because of work so on December 21, 2012 we went over to their house for a special visit!

A's mom set up an adorable space for A to get pictures with all her friends - you certainly hammed it up for the camera!

It was very hard to say goodbye but we were promised that Addilyn and her family would come back for a visit and when they do we are all going to get together!  Plus, we can keep in touch via FaceBook so it's not like we will never get to chat or watch A grow up!

When we got home from Addilyn's house I put together your Police Car.  It went together pretty easily and you couldn't WAIT for it to be done.  You stood at the gate to the bathroom the entire time I was putting it together.

Driving with Daddy

Stop - your under arrest!

Oh no!  Santa's in trouble!

I can see you enjoying this car for many years to come - we are going to let you keep it inside until spring and then it will become an outside toy :).

xoxo
Mommy

My Little Artist

Dear Conor,

Sensory play is very important in development.  Unfortunately, you like to put lots of things in your mouth so a lot of the sensory play ideas that I have must be put on hold for a few months while you learn to not taste everything :).  So, mom likes to have you paint.  You get to feel the cold paint, how oozy it feels between your fingers, and you get to see the colors change shape and blend together. 

As Christmas was coming we decided to spend the day (12.11.12) making a Christmas gift for Miss Denise.

First we had to select the paint colors....and then you dictated when you needed more based on how you felt your painting was progressing!  You seem to love touching the paint bottles as much as you love the actual painting!

xoxo
Mommy

Peek-a-Boo

Dear Conor,

On December 1, 2012 we really saw you blossom in the way of communication.  I don't exactly mean verbal communication but through gestures you started showing us what you wanted to do and truly emulating activities. 

For example:

That morning as we were getting ready for the day (we were going to go to Christmas Prelude and meet up with some friends) you clearly didn't want to be in our bedroom and kept banging on the door.  When I opened the door you crawled down the hall to your room and took a book from the shelf and began looking through it.  So, I brought you and the book to Mommy and Daddy's room and you were content to read while I finished getting ready.

After our busy day and your long nap (Christmas Prelude wore you out!) we were playing in the living room and you spontaneously started hiding your face behind the curtain and when you showed your face you would make a vocalization and smile real big.  It took Mommy a second but I realized you were trying to initiate a game of peek-a-boo!

Getting ready to hide

 

Can't see me now!

 

Peek-a-Boo

Mommy and Daddy were so proud of you and once we started saying Peek-a-Boo when you would show your face you got all silly and it was clear that you were very happy we knew what you wanted! 

Because of this development I decided it was time to start working with you on some basic sign language to increase your ability to communicate.  We are going to start with waving, the sign for milk, and more.  These are signs your older friends seem to use often and so we will start there!

xoxo
Mommy

Halloween Party!!!!!

Dear Conor,

You went to your first Halloween Party on October 24, 2012.  It was thrown by your friend Charlie and his parents!

Mommy had to work in the morning so Daddy drove you to the party and I met you guys there!  I was so glad that Daddy was also able to come because he loves to see you visit and play with all your friends!  So - what were you for Halloween this year? 

A BEE

 And not just any Bee but the most adorable Bee that you ever did see!  Initially you were going to be a pumpkin but I couldn't find a pumpkin costume that looked cute.  While shopping one day we found this Bee costume and we (you and I) knew that this one was a keeper.  We brought it home and Daddy agreed!

Mommy is a Bee too!

 Your friend O was dressed as a Candy Corn - her costume was so sweet!

Your friend M was a Cow - Mommy's camera wasn't working well so she doesn't have a ton of photos but he was a really cute cow and his Mommy was dressed as a farmer!

Your friend A was dressed as a pretty fairy - you loved her wings!

Your friend N was dressed as the Very Hungry Catepillar - the two of you were adorable bugs!

Your friend A was a puppy - she was so sweet so you were careful not to sting her!

Babies in Costume - L as the Rooster, R as an Owl, Conor as a Bee, A as a puppy and C as a Mummy (missing his costume)

Mommy and Baby Bee

Towards the end of the party you were getting tired so you snuggled with both Mommy and Daddy!

I hope you enjoyed your first Halloween Party my little Bumble Bee!

xoxo
Mommy

Playdates and Laundry

Dear Conor,

On October 15th we had a lot of housework to do before we could leave for your playdate at Carter's house.  We had to wash the dishes, clean the kitchen, and do the laundry.  Usually I strap you to my back and "sing a merry little tune" as I scowl under my breath at how much I hate housework.  But, you are more mobile now and I am trying to let you explore and venture so today we tried something different.

While I cleaned the kitchen you worked on fine motor skills by way of pincher gripping puffs and delivering them to your mouth on your own.  Milestone!!!!

Then it was time to help with the laundry.  While I went downstairs to get it I locked you in Hunter's pen (yup - shinning Mom moment there but honestly, you love that pen) and when I came up you helped me get the laundry basket to the living room so that I could fold the clothes.

You did such a good job moving the hamper that I couldn't wait for you to help me fold the clothes and pack the diaper bag - but you had other ideas.

unpacking the diaper bag seemed to be high on your priority list so it took us longer than usual to get out of the house (perhaps some foreshadowing of what life with a toddler will be like?).

But, as always Super Mom came to the rescue and I managed to get us both dressed and out of the house and off to your Scarecrow Playdate!

Sarah and Carter put together a great playdate for everyone with so many fun Scarecrow details!

There were fun cookies for the moms

And Scarecrow Painting for the Babies

Loving the painting

Still painting

And witch hats to try on

There were also strings of straw to touch and feel as well as the regular toys to play with.  You had so much fun and fell asleep as soon as we got in the car.  We had picked up our friends so you got an extra nap because we had to drive them home too.....

What a great playdate!

xoxo
Mom