Picture Update

Cade and me at the 4th of July parade. I'm trying to keep the stick out of his mouth--don't want to give him splinters! Besides, who knows where that has been.

Cade and his bear on his 4-month birthday mark, July 6th.

Cade this morning playing on his blanket from his Grandparents. He really likes the soft feel of Snoopy.

Cade and his daddy both looking like they need a nap this morning.
If you look closely, you can see his bottom two teeth.

Four Month Checkup

Yesterday little man had his four month appointment with his doctor. His head is now up to the 25% from the 10% so we know that's growing. His height is down to the 50% from the 75% but that's ok. His weight is down to the 25% from the 50%. He's not losing weight but he's not following the curve for his weight gain. His doctor wasn't concerned--she is so laid back. It's very reassuring. But she could tell that it was concerning us. So she agreed we could go ahead and use supplemental formula. She told me not to be so hard on myself. I did make it 4 1/2 months of pure breastmilk so I should be proud of that. I'm not going to stop feeding him but I'm also going to be able to take some of the pressure off myself and him by knowing there's an alternative. Other than that, she said he looks great! If we hadn't told her we were concerned with his weight, she said she probably wouldn't have said anything about it. He's doing fantastic according to her. Which he is!

He has tooth number two now. It broke through on Wednesday. He's rolling from back to front and front to back and scooting himself along his face. That's funny to watch--he sticks his butt in the air, digs his feet in and then pushes himself forward. But he can't get the idea just yet of lifting up his chest so he doesn't smash his face along the floor. Everything goes into his mouth and that's not an exaggeration. He's babbling and laughing. Doing all the things a four month old should do and then some. We'll go back in a month to check his weight and see if the formula is helping. That will start this afternoon with daddy. Let's hope that goes well.

First Tooth

Little man's first tooth broke through today. It's the bottom front left one and it's so weird that he has a tooth already. He's not even four months old yet! I would try to post pictures but it was next to impossible to even show Ross the tooth let alone take a photo. He's also mastered the art of rolling from front to back and sometimes from back to front. Hasn't done a complete roll-over yet but he's close. He can push himself up with ease while on his tummy. And he sits up with much less support needed now than before. He's sleeping in his crib at night (wakes up for a feeding but goes right back down.) Things are going well.

Happy 4th of July!

More Photos

Because this seems to be the only thing I have time to do lately is post picture updates. These photos are pretty recent. The one's of Ross in a yellow shirt are from our weekend in Eugene last weekend. The other two are from a couple weeks or so ago--maybe not even that long. He's getting to be so much fun!

Three Months Old

I now understand why people say to enjoy every moment of your child. Our little guy is a few days past 3 months old and he is a lot more fun. He's learned to blow raspberries, grab onto things (hair and dog tails to name a couple), flirt, laugh, stand up (with help of course). He is just a happy baby and such a joy. He knows when you need a smile and is also very persistent until he gets a smile in return.

Almost 2 months

Cade is going to be two months old on Wednesday. It's hard to believe how fast the time has gone by. I think we've been too tired to keep track. This past week has by far been my favorite to this point. Tuesday Cade looked at me and intentionally smiled. Since then he's had regular sessions of looking at me and smiling. He's even learning how to laugh. Yesterday Ross was reading the prayers during church and Cade was in my arms. He kept staring at his daddy and every time Ross would say anything, Cade would get a huge cheesy grin on his face. It's a good thing he was just smiling and not trying to laugh though--Ross had the microphone. He was so adorable. It made it hard to focus on the prayers but it also made my heart overflow with gratitude to God. Cade is a very happy boy and I am so thankful!! We've yet to catch the smile completely on camera. We got close though:



In other news, Ross and I celebrated our 5th Anniversary on April 24th. The traditional gift is wood and the modern gift is silverware. I told Ross that since his truck is silver and the truck would wear it, that the topper he got was his anniversary gift. But I also got him a wood frame and took a picture of his little family while he wasn't home (me, Cade and Snix). Ross must have been thinking along the same lines because he also got a wood frame for me. He out-did me though and got it personalized. It has our names and a note laser engraved. Very cool. He also sent me flowers at work. We were going to go out that night since Ross's mom was in town and able to watch Cade. But I got home that night from work and was pretty wiped out. So Ross took his mom to get take-out sushi and ice cream and let me stay home to play with Cade. While they were gone, Cade and I sat on the couch and practiced his smile. Then they came home, we had a nice dinner and hung out. We tried to explain how Lingo works but man, that game is a little complicated. It was the perfect anniversary celebration and I'm so happy to be married for 5 years to such a great guy!

Personality Update

We weighed Cade this morning and he is 10 lbs! My little bowling ball. But he is still really lean because he is getting longer. I measured him a week or so ago and he was 22”—about two more than when he was born. Way to grow little boy!!

Cade is going to spend some time with Mrs. Jennifer today. I am going to take him over there at 11:00 am so we can get a feel for his soon-to-be schedule. I’ll hang out while Jen takes care of him so I can explain his little quirks and cries. He has very distinct cries. I didn’t believe it when they said he would but he does.

When he is hungry, he makes a grunting pig noise and he try to chew on any available skin: his hand, my arm, daddy’s chin, you name it. We shouldn’t laugh but it is so cute!

When he needs to be changed, he’ll get really squirmy and he makes a lot of squeaking noises before he starts to cry.

When he is tired, his cries get very intense and he changes octaves. It is the funniest thing when he changes pitch. His daddy plans on teasing him about that later.

When he is stressed out or over stimulated, he flails his arms out. The only way to console him is to pin down his arms and hold him in tight while giving him his pacifier and shushing.

When he is hot, he cries and turns bright red. If I take his blankets or pants off, he calm down instantly. I have to feel his thighs to see if he is burning up because his hands are usually cold. But he definitely runs hot—like his dad.

When he is cold, he shake his hands out and tenses up. He doesn’t cry as much as he does when he is hot though.

Next week his daddy will take Cade over for some more transition time before he starts going regularly the week after. It’s going to be an exciting week. Tomorrow his Grandma Sue and Grandpa Greg are coming for their first visit. We’ve been doing webcam calls with them but Grandma is anxious to hold him. And next week I’m going to go back to work. Yesterday we went out to the Running Y and we spent a little time with my boss. She says he is the cutest baby. I’d have to agree!

Cade is becoming more focused and more interactive. We can really tell when he is looking at faces now. I think I’m starting to see the makings of a smile. I’m not sure he does it on purpose yet but it is very adorable. He also seems to be learning how to laugh and how to give his mommy kisses. There is definitely a lot more sounds coming out of him that are not cries. I’ve started reading to Cade at night and his daddy likes to make up songs for him. There have been a couple times that he seems to be singing too. Mostly in the mornings after daddy goes to work. He is certainly a morning person and rarely do we get to go back to sleep after 5 am. Thanks buddy! I can’t wait for the days he can spend Saturday mornings with daddy and I can sleep in.