Solids!

Right after Will's 4 month checkup on February 10th we attempted to introduce him to solids ie. rice cereal and oatmeal. These pictures pretty much say it all...he was NOT ready! But now, just 2 weeks later he is eating like a champ and I couldn't be prouder! In another week we'll try some veggies! Quite the adventure!

It started off curious....


Then it was if he was saying "Mom, what are you doing to me?!?"...

Please do not be fooled by my face, I think 99% ended up on his face rather than in his tummy...

Daddy gives it a shot!

...and then we had a little fun!

That face just melts my heart!

Yikes!

Looks like our gradual attempt to stop swaddling has been hijaked! This morning at 5am, Will woke up crying because while in the straight jacket (swaddle) he had managed to roll himself on his tummy for the first time! While exciting, it's kind of scary because he was stuck! Looks like today, like it or not, BOTH arms will be out followed by our first night without swaddling. Should be an interesting 24 hours!

Daisy Daisy Daisy

She really does lead a tough life....

Say Goodbye to the Swaddle...

Our current predicament is that we only have ONE swaddle that our little escape artist can't get out of...being 4 1/2 months old it's time for our sweet baby to adjust to the world outside of the swaddle. The plan is to tackle one arm out at a time and make the transition gradual. Today was our first day and I must say I was shocked at how well Will did!

Will: 4 Months Old...

First, I can't believe I'm almost two weeks late on finally finishing this post! Unfortunately the last two weeks were filled with a Kidney infection for me and a cold for my little man! But better late than never!

Yikes! How did this happen?!?! My sweet little peanut is 4 months old!

The Skinny on Mr. Will:

Age: 4 months
Weight: 14 pounds and 15 ounces (50%)
He is getting to be soo BIG! I love it! But he is also super heavy to lug around now in our carseat!Height: 25.5 inches (75% ...are we sure this is our kid??)
Head: 42cm (50%)

Eating: We just transitioned to a 4 Hour schedule this week and Will is adjusting great! He continues to need to eat in his room with the lights off as he seems to have inherited his momma's ADD! If we try to eat with any distractions such as TV or people you can just forget it, my social butterfly would much rather engage his audience than waste time eating. (side note- this frustrates the mess out of Zak and I) He is eating 5-7 oz per feeding on a good day. We also started solids this week which has been an adventure to say the least! A huge mess but he seems to be getting the hang of it. Just a few more weeks and we will dive into the world of veggies!

Sleeping: Praise the Lord in heaven this is the area we have seen the most improvement! Most nights our little man is sleeping at least until 5 or 5:30 only to need his paci replaced and then we start the day between 6:30 and 7:00. Zak and I continue to take shifts though because there are still plenty of random nights where Will will wake up at 3:00 or 4:00 unable to put himself back to sleep. But our greatest achievement in the last month was concurring naps! A month ago Will would only take 45 minute naps and then have to finish out his naps in the swing. We ditched the swing and did an intense week of sleep training with great success! Will now takes 2 hour naps twice a day with NO problem! Yay!

Milestones: Will continues to roll over but has recently found his feet! He loves to lay on his back and hold his feet up in the air. He is extremely alert and aware and has recently seemed to recognize when Zak or I are no longer in the room. I think separation anxiety is coming soon! Will is almost sitting up on his own and absolutely LOVES to stand up. He has a blast in his exersaucer and bumbo and is fascinated with Daisy and Tucker. He continues to be extremely happy and talkative and just like his momma, he loves people! The pediatrician says he is tracking ahead of the gang on development and my Dad is convinced he is a genius (If he is, he gets that from his daddy, not me!)

Dislikes: Currently, my little man is going through a funny little phase where he is absolutely scared to death of men... my Dad and Mr. Shipman have turned into the boogy man. His little lip starts quivering and then he loses it. We're hoping that little phase is short lived!

Ok...so it was so difficult to narrow down from our little photo shoot ...so here are just a few:

My sweet little Valentine....

...and I am completely in Love!

A Glimpse of this Morning...

This morning we had Will's 4 month well visit/checkup and needless to say, it was eventful.

We started out like this ....

then moved to this...

And we finished up right about here...

It's enough to break a momma's heart. Thankfully it only lasted about 5 minutes and then he was back to cooing in the backseat of the car all the way home! ...my sweet little boy.

In the blink of an eye...

Tommorow my sweet baby boy gets one month older and I am reminded of just how fast he is growing up. In some small way it makes my heart ache to think of how quickly his life is moving forward. I wish I could say that I was super excited to see what the future holds for my sweet little Will, but tonight all I can think is how much I wish I could stop time in it's tracks and hold him, my four month baby boy in my arms and stay this way forever.

I couldn't or rather wouldn't have said any of this just 3 months ago. Just three months ago life as I knew it seemed like sheer survival. A desperate attempt to make it through another day on only a few hours of sleep and still in shock that we had willingly chosen this new life. But now, all that has changed...we are in a rythm and while some nights seem to feel all too close to a glimpse of days gone by, my heart is so deeply satisfied. This little man has stolen my heart and I know I will never be the same...

Your momma can't believe just how big you're getting.

Pinterest- who would have thought?

So I must start off by giving credit where credit is due. And I might just pass out when I say this, "my Mother told me about pinterest!" Yep the same woman who just a few years ago wanted me to explain how email works and is generally not the most tech savvy. But yes, she introduced me to pinterest. I must confess, I still don't quite get it as I haven't had time to devote to it just yet. But that's certainly on the agenda for this week.

It seems like getting invited into the "cool kids" club. Nope- you can't just have an account, you have to be invited to join. What's that all about? still not sure. So, for now I'll just say thanks Mom for the introduction and I'll try to get going on my boards ( is that right?) this week. Especially since my inbox is now flooded with emails of people who are apparently following me on this thing. Yikes!

Just another day in paradise!

....need I say more.

Time to get in SHAPE!

Well... the reality is sinking in that these extra pregnancy pounds aren't going ANYWHERE until I get my rear into gear. So...I signed myself up for Stroller Strides of Raleigh's 5k training program!

The training started last week at Crabtree creek on Saturday morning and let me just say...I am the SLOWEST one out there. Aside from feeling like a 50 year old chain smoker I must say I was pretty proud of myself for completing the run. But let's be clear on what I mean by "run." We are doing run/walk interval training so we can build up to running longer, walking less and supposedly increasing in speed. Last week was 2 min run/ 3 min walk. Those were the longest 2 minutes of my life! After my earth shattering performance on Saturday we can only go up from here.

We do one group run a week and you are suppose to do 2 additional runs independently. I for one though will be running more like every day as I refused to be the slowest person out there next Saturday huffing and puffing.

So cheers to saying goodbye to all this blubber and hopefully getting into shape!

The Best Husband Ever

....where do I begin. Most of our friends and family know the challenges that have presented themselves in the past 4 months, but in the midst of it all, the greatest blessing has been my amazing husband, Zak. I know so many women think they have awesome husbands (and I KNOW they Do!) but I am confident I have the BEST!



Due to some extenuating circumstances early on, I had to throw in the towel with the breast feeding. And even though I was disappointed as it was not at all what I had planned, it has really opened the door for Zak and I to be a team when dealing with the nights! (necessary because Mr. Will has not been the best of sleepers). After about 6 weeks of what seemed like insanity, Zak and I devised a plan. I would take the middle of the night Sunday-Wednesday and he would take Thurs-Sat. Whoever was off duty would take the last feeding at 10:30 and whoever was on duty would go to bed around 8:30! This seemed to work well for us with me taking 90% of the workweek nights and Zak taking the weekends. It has made life seem bearable- when it's been two or three bad nights I know that relief is on the way! I know most husbands wouldn't dream of being on duty 3 nights a week but I am so thankful to the Lord to have Zak. A man who truly grasps taking up his cross and laying his life down for his family. He is an amazing Dad and an even better husband!

These past two nights have been rough. Will has been teething and was up most of the night. Needless to say, Zak is exhausted but continues to press on! So as I sit here waiting to do the last feeding of the night I am reminded how blessed I am that 4 years ago this month I said "yes!" to marrying the most wonderful husband in the world...

praying for a good night for my two sweet boys...