October Updates

General Conference.

This time around went wwwaaayyy too fast!  We just stayed home, because, seriously… wrestling my baby anywhere else sounded like soooo much FUN!  We may try going to temple square for April, but that’s, like, 6 months away, so I’m not really planning it yet.

I really enjoyed the talks.  I also joined twitter on Saturday.  I’m still trying to decide if that was a mistake or not… anyway, I really liked reading the tweets during the sessions.  Someone said it was like conference cliff notes.  I thought that was clever. I think I might dedicate another post entirely to General Conference once they have them so I can read them (or maybe just after I listen to the talks again… which in all honesty will probably be after they’re available in print…)

A favorite quote from conference.

My FOUR month old!

I swear, the time is just flying.  He’s actually like 4 ½ months old now…

-He STILL hasn’t rolled over again.  Maybe he thought I was disapproving when I asked what he was doing that first time… I’m ok with him not rolling over yet, but I know it is close, so basically I turn on a video camera every time I put him on his tummy (I really want to catch it!) (Maybe that’s the problem?! He’s camera-shy?)

-He sits.  Sort of.  If I put him on the floor and position his feet good, he can balance for about 10 seconds.  (I really thought rolling came before sitting?)  Anyway, he loves to be upright so he can see everything going on (which is SO much at our house during the day… not).  I put him in his Bumbo seat, but I can’t put him there right after he eats, or else… well, basically I have to feed him again.  Something about the way he leans over the side (silly kid) puts pressure on his belly just the right way, and, well he turns into a volcano.  Super fun, I know.

-He loves being outside.  Seriously, he can be screaming, inconsolable, and teary eyed, and I will take him outside and it’s like… magic.  I took him for a walk in the stroller the other day… he made not one peep.  Just content to look around.  Same thing today when we went to temple square.  Silent.  I can’t even get him to crack a smile (which I think is weird… if he likes it so much, why won’t he smile when we’re there??)

-WE HAVE A BEDTIME ROUTINE!  Now, this may not seem like a big deal, but it is.  We have a routine and he knows it.  When we get to the end, his eyes droop.  I’m a believer.  ALSO, I don’t get screamed at (like I’m slitting his throat) when it’s time for a nap (most of the time).  It seems the ease of sleep has evened out: you see, a few weeks ago, bedtime was like a cake walk, but naps were walking on hot coals.  Now, bedtime isn’t quite as easy, but naptime is SO much easier.  Our current problem is waking during the night (not usually to eat, just to… cry?) and he cannot self soothe.  *deep breath* we’re working on teaching all of these sleep things, but it takes time and patience (especially since I cannot just let him “cry it out” that’s just not for me)… And the ability to take it one day at a time.

-We finally bought size 2 diapers yesterday.  Begrudgingly.  At his 4 month checkup (which went WAY better than the 2 month, by the way) he was 13 lbs 14 oz.  Size one supposedly goes up to 14 lbs.  I was like, “One more box of 1’s?  Please?”  But we got on the scale and weighed him (you know, weigh yourself, and then weigh yourself with the kid…) before we went to the store… Little stinker gained a whole pound.  I relented and bought 2’s.  Here’s my beef: I pay the same amount, yet I get like 30 less diapers.  I wanted to keep his little bottom… well, little, for a while.  It’s cheaper.  I have to say though, every time I change his diaper now (still finishing off the 1’s) I feel like we made the right choice… they might be getting a little tight…

-My kid dances.  It’s hilarious.  He’ll lay on his back and kick his legs and move his hips and arms.  Sometimes to a beat (if there is one… mostly he’s dancing to the silence).  And with a big smile on his face.  He also sometimes dances if I’m holding him in a standing position.  It’s a great bicep workout. ;)

-The strap of the binky was made for chewing.  Duh.  As was every part of the binky that is not the silicone nipple…

-He greets me with the most adorable grins in the mornings.  Seriously, if I ever woke up grumpy (which I don’t… guess I just like mornings), I would not be grumpy anymore when I saw his sweet face.  It would be impossible.

-I don’t have to feed him at church (most weeks) anymore!  Hallelujah!

-Pediatrician says I can start solids.  I say I can wait to add the stress to my life.  He doesn’t need them yet, and I’m not ready to give them yet.  Period.

-Some of my favorite clothes are getting too small.  And by too small, I mean too short.  My child is in the 83rd percentile for height, but only the 16^th for weight.  He is tall and skinny.  Everything still fits great around him.  It’s just that up and down him is getting a little stretched thin…  *sigh* he’s going to be one of *those* kids… you know the ones that can’t find anything tall enough that is also small enough around…  I guess I better get practicing on my sewing machine.

I just love him.  I feel so incredibly blessed that I get to be his mom, and that I get to stay home with him.  I know some are not blessed with that luxury.

At the park, first time on the swing.

"Mom, give me that phone! I want to eat it!"

Omnomom...

Primary

I'm still struggling a little with this.  But I do love our kids.  Maybe there's something in conference for me about this...

Postpartum

That word has always had a gross annotation for me, not sure why… anyway, I just want to say that I thought that my super sniffer would, you know, go away, once I wasn’t pregnant anymore… NOPE!  I can definitely still smell incredibly well.  Awesome, right?  Yeah, except for when the neighbor kids decided it would be fun to play… in the dumpster??? They must have stirred it up good cause when we got home from Temple Square today, it smelled like… garbage.  What really is awesome is that I can tell if my son has a poopy diaper without being very close to him.  (Strange, the things we find awesome when we become parents, no?)  Also, my hair has gone completely wacko.  First, it *almost* all fell out (ok, ok, I exaggerate... slightly), now it's growing back in... my hair line looks like I shaved it, and now it's growing back in...  Good thing I got bangs to cover it up.  And then, something I wished for actually came true!  It's growing blonde again!  But I have this weird stripe of dark between when I dyed it last, and when I had Bennett.  It's so odd...

You can kind of see it here.

Christmas

I know it might be a bit early to be saying that word… but I do an ornament exchange with my Sisters/Mother-in-Law around Thanksgiving.  Any ideas for homemade, inexpensive Christmas tree ornaments would be welcome.  I have a pinterest board with ideas, but if you have a stellar one (or even just a good one) let me know! 

I also need to start thinking about making Bennett's stocking...

Halloween

Seems like the more appropriate topic.  But I don’t have much to say except I’M SUPER EXCITED FOR IT!  I’m working on our costumes, and don’t even worry about it, there will be an entire post on them… be excited with me, it’s ok.   (Remember 2 years ago?  It’ll be almost this awesome… since I have no idea how I’d beat actually being mistaken for the thing I dressed up as…and almost not winning the costume contest because of it)

Hmm… I think that’s enough updates for now.  I was recently made aware of an extraordinary idea to make a time machine to do things you want but still get the sleep you need… and since that hasn’t been invented yet, I should probably go to bed so I’m not tempted to ignore the baby’s cries when he wakes up in the night morning…