20 weeks

New things this week...sticking his tongue out!

He was also able to get one foot in his mouth. These are important skills, people. How else is he going to trim his toenails? I kid. I did clip them for the first time this week. Much easier than clipping fingernails, which is a task I loathe every week! The other new developments are rolling on to his side and he is a little more intentional about putting things in his mouth. Instead of just throwing objects in the general direction of his face, he can sort of place things in there with more ease.

I take so many pictures! Mostly on my phone, but I have a Shutterfly app and I am pretty vigilant about uploading them and getting pictures printed every month. Maybe I should slow down, because by his first year, we may have several albums full!

We were also finally able to make it to Lisamarie's this week! We had to cancel twice because of snow. And it still flurried a tiny bit on the way there. I was pretty nervous about the trek with a baby and a dog, but it was pretty easy, as long as I didn't stress about time constraints. We had to stop two times on the way there and only once on the way back. A lesson learned: do not give Will toys in the car because they will end up on the floor and he will want them back. But it was so nice to spend time with them and to see the two baby boys together. They are not quite old enough to interact, but they sort of seemed to acknowledge each other.

Cloth diaper update: pocket diapers have moved to the back of the drawer and I now prefer prefolds and fitteds. The covers just don't leak! I was under the assumption that these would be harder to manage with the folding, but not so! And they are easier to launder, because nothing needs to be line dried. Since billy rebuilt our basement stairs this weekend, he had to do a load. I was not going to climb a ladder to do laundry! So you know it's easy! And they are so much less expensive. I bought each one for only $1.75!

We had a great weekend, with awesome weather! This winter has seemed never ending! While Billy was tearing out the stairs, Will and I walked 4 miles around the city park. Each lap is a mile and its a great park. I learned that you can also loop around the cemetery for an additional mile and hills, but I wasn't about to make that trek alone! On Sunday, we all walked a trail near our house, took Patton to the dog park, grilled steaks, and tried out the swing set in the back yard. I can't wait for it to stay warm - c'mon spring!

Lastly, a funny video of Will enjoying some Dr. Suess:

19 Weeks

Another fun week. Will rolled over and I wasn't expecting it at all. I was watching him during tummy time and all of the sudden he started to use his leg to push himself over. A very exciting time for this mom! I was so proud of him all day! I don't think he knew what he did though and I have only been able to get him to do it a couple more times. He found his feet this week too!  I have not been able to capture it though, because he moves around so much and the pictures are all fuzzy.  So here is Will in his hand-me-down chair from his cousin.  I have since taken the orange insert out to more comfortably accommodate his large self.

 Seen a Subaru commercial lately? Such tearjerkers. There is one with a little girl getting on a bus for the first day of school and I decided right then that I will homeschool Will so I never have to watch him leave me. He is also never allowed to get married and leave me. Ha- I know the goal is to have them grow up and lead happy lives. So I mostly am joking here. But I just love rocking him to sleep at night. Maybe I'll just have lots of kids like the Duggars to always have a little one around. I write this after a good day.  After a fussy day, I may have a different perspective.  Funny that I've never really been a kid person, but I really love being a mom to Will!  Thanks for the lovely face, Will.

Sleeping through the night was so wonderful. I haven't seen a full night in over a week. It's some sort of regression and I don't know why.  Some nights, he'll wake up 3 or 4 times, and other nights he'll only wake up once.  The books say it can have to learning so many new things, that he practices them in his sleep.  I haven't noticed anything on the monitor, but that would be pretty funny if it were true.

What has been 2 parts cute, and 1 part annoying is when I'm feeding Will, and he hears Billy enter the room, he'll stop, turn around and give Billy the biggest grin. He'll usually start squealing too, because that is sort of their thing. So then when it's over, he have to readjust from play mode, to eating and be calm mode.

Billy's parents came to visit us and they just loved their little grandson! He smiled and squealed for them so much! It was nice to have Grandma play with Will while I showered and blow dried my hair without feeling the need to hurry.

18 Weeks

It was a milestone week.  We heard some giggles, took Will to church for the first time, and I left Billy with Will for more than 30 minutes.  The last one was an awful experience for everyone.  I attempted to go to "Moms Night Out" with the Moms Club, but was called home within 45 minutes.

I expected it might happen, because Will tends to be more needy and cranky in the evening hours.  But what I walked into when I came home was the saddest face I've ever seen.  I can't get it out of my head!  I left a bottle, pacifier, and he was sleeping when I left. Too bad.  Nothing worked.  I don't know what the problem was specifically, but he is probably just not used to being with Billy alone.  So we're going to work on that!  More one on one daddy time is in order!

We had our 4 month well visit, with our new doctor.  His weight, at 21lbs is off the charts.  They said it's fine because he's tall, too.  Height is in the 90 percentile.  The doc said he's a healthy little person, so that's all we can ask for!

Remember that toy, My Buddy?  I sing the words to the song to Will all the time, because that is what it's like!  My buddy, my buddy.  Wherever I go, he goes!  My buddy and me!  Especially since we don't know anyone around here, or have family near, I am the face he sees all day, every day.

I am expanding my social circle already, though!  The mall walkers are not losers, as one may think!  And there are a few potential friends in the moms club, too.  This Tuesday is the book club meeting.  So our social calendar is slowly filling up!

Another awesome part of the week is that I sold our old couch, and we had new furniture delivered for our now, finished basement!  Billy has spent 90% of his time at home down there, so I'm excited to now see him above ground!  Also, it is the only carpeted area of the house, so I know we'll spend a lot of time down there, and it will be where Will learns to walk and crawl.

Mmmm...Billy came home with 50 boxes of girl scout cookies for his customers.  But of course we had to test them to make sure they were ok.  He did not like the new ones, Savannah Smiles, but I did!  Lemon-ey goodness!

Grandparents are visiting this week!  Will has lots of new tricks and noises to show off!

17 weeks/4 months

Little buddy will be 4 months old this week! We have his well visit scheduled for next week, but my guess is he'll still be tipping the scales in the weight department. The home scale reads 20.5lbs and he is in almost all 12 month clothes. I think it's sort of a sham put on by the baby clothing industry, to make clothes smaller than the standard, so you will need to buy more.

Some redneck in the furniture store this weekend called him a fat baby. Rude. Only I can refer to him in that way!

 Billy was watching him for a bit the other day and asked me what I do all day with him. I laughed, because it takes a lot of patience and energy to be with him all day. He doesn't exactly entertain himself! We have a nice little circuit of the playmat, jumper, excersaucer, tummy time, the occasional book, then milk and a short nap. A lot of times, he does chores with me too. One of the ones he rarely gets fussy for is emptying the dishwasher because I think it's loud, and I tell him what every piece is.

He is just a happy guy the majority of the time though! His favorite place to be is the changing table. He squeals and kicks and we both think its the funniest thing! We have "conversations" too. I'll say something, and he'll reply back in his baby language. Sometimes, I think he's just going to start talking with words!

I took him on a big grocery shopping trip last week.  I had to get so much, I knew there would be no room in the cart for his infant car seat.  So I strapped him up in the moby wrap and he was a happy baby, almost the whole time.  I get nervous about him screaming, so I still hurried through the trip faster than I normally would and forgot quite a few things.  Every 3rd person wanted to how I had him wrapped in there though - the Mid Ohio Valley has never seen such a contraption!

 Talking to my brother this weekend about his brand new baby, I assured him that it gets easier, and more fun! Will has started paying more attention to, and interacting with Billy more. In the first couple months, he basically did not exist as far as Will was concerned! In a book I use for reference, it says that after month 3, you will have earned your your parenting badge and you get your sense of humor back. I don't think I lost mine, but it was overwhelming at times! I remember thinking he was never going to sleep through the night. But here we are-soundly sleeping for 8ish hours most nights!

I'm taking my first big trip with Patton AND Will this week to see Lisamarie and Baby Anders. We should only need to stop once to feed/change, so hopefully it will be a quiet trip - with lots of napping from the pup and babe!

16 Weeks

 A big congrats to my SIL and brother on their new bundle of joy! He is adorable and brought back a flood of wonderful memories from - only 16 weeks ago? It seems like we have had Will for much longer than nearly 4 months. But I'm just so happy for them! It's funny how you notice different things about babies once you have your own. I remember thinking the same thing about weddings. Before I was engaged, I would send RSVP cards late or not at all. After my wedding, they would be in the mail ASAP bc I knew what the brides were going through. So before when I would see a baby and just think something general, like, oh, cute baby. But now I notice things like how much hair the have, if their eyes are open, if they have the little piggy nose...but I digress. Such a life change, but so awesome!

Will has started to be more involved, it seems. During a meal if he starts crying from his high chair or rocker, I'll put him on my lap and he'll put his hand toward my plate or hit the table. His hands are always grabbing at things, but not with much control. Most of the time, he doesn't even look at what he's going for. I guess eye-hand coordination comes later.

Billy made a new rule: no bonnets on Will. I won't share the picture, but I bought an Easter outfit that fits him now, so it certainly won't fit him at Easter. And it came with a darling bonnet hat. Billy thinks I was making fun of him by dressing him up and taking the picture, but I wasn't! He said little boys should be limited the baseball caps and train conductor hats. That last part is random, I know.

Oh, West Virginia. What I've noticed is that you're not cool unless you are wearing apparel from Cabela's. I even saw our local kids consignment store was advertising a baby girl's hunting camo outfit. No. No. No. Also, my hair in the back is growing in super wavy-I blame pregnancy. But Billy says its perfect for WV because perms are still cool here  I went to the local Moms Club meeting this morning and there were plenty of normal moms there - without perms!  So there is hope!

My Grandma called on Monday during the day and she said that she was surprised I was home. What? Seriously. My calendar is empty with the exception of Will's ped. appt and a Moms club gathering. Where did she think I would be in this new town?

I gave Will TWO bottles this week! Success! Both were while I was mall walking. Yes. I found a group of moms at Panera who do laps around the mall with their strollers. And the city park when it's warm...so not AS lame as it sounds! Plus, I'll do just about anything to meet some people! Through that, I learned about a baby wearing workshop and anther moms cafe once a month. So maybe my calendar is filling up...

Billy asks me often if I am getting tired of staying home with the babe. Right now it is winter and snowed for 6 consecutive days, so that was a little rough. But overall, I'll give it a resounding NO! Just not having to think about what I'm going to wear to work the next day is one of the best parts. Sometimes, I don't even get out of my pajamas until 3pm, and that is only so Billy doesn't think I'm a total slob.

Most nights, I hand Will off to Billy so I can take a shower. He always tells me to hurry up, but I do the opposite. Usually, by the time I get out, he is rocking Will in the chair with the pacifier and Kenny Chesney on iTunes. He looks like he had been consoling a screaming infant for hours and I find it hilarious! Sometimes, I bring Will into the bathroom when I shower, but it's just a long and confusing game of peek-a-boo for him and ends in crying.

I realized during the Super Bowl that during last year's game was the last time I had a beer. A year! With no end in sight...le sigh.

15 Weeks

Ahhhh life with the internet!  It is so much better!  Mostly, it means that I get the baby monitor back, allowing me to roam the house freely.  We have the Foscam monitor, and it runs on WiFi and the feed runs to my iPhone, so it is normally very convenient.  Now I can take care of business(laundry) without wondering, is that Will or the wind?

Also - no more swaddle!  Little buddy now has control of his limbs!


Not a whole lot of new things this week.  Will sort of figured out the Johnny Jump Up.  I had been just using it as a swing to push him, but this weekend I decided to lower it and let his feet touch the ground.  It took him a little bit, but he was entertained once he figured out how to move himself around.  You can ignore my commentary.

Last week, I thought he may be starting to teethe, but now I'm almost positive the process has begun.  Drool everywhere!  He bites his lower lip, wants to eat almost every hour and puts everything in his mouth.  He even grabs my fingers and tries to bite them.  I don't mind the frequent nursing, because it's a break for me.  And it means I can consume more calories!

Will looks like he's telling Patton what is up.

And now he's all, "What?  I was just telling him I'm the boss!"

I went ahead and bought a convertible car seat for him too.  I would like him to be able to sit up on his own before I start using it, but I don't know how much longer the infant seat is going to work for us.  Infant seats advertise that they go up to 35lbs, but what kind of 35 pounder would fit in there?  Before you have babies, I don't think you have a concept of how much babies weigh.  At least, I didn't.  The seat won't expire until 2015, so we can probably squeeze another babe into it.

So big!  This picture cracks me up!