12 weeks already!

I can't believe how fast time has gone and how much our little boy has grown.  We took him to the doctor on the 21st.  He weighed in at 13 lbs 12 oz and is 22 3/4 inches!  He's on the low end for both height and weight, between the 28th and 50th %tile, but too us, he's getting SO big!  He has been given quite a few nicknames, but one is pretty regular...squishy.  We are always calling him squishy, because his cheeks are so full as is his diaper all the time...LOL.  As soon as we change his diaper, he's wet again...so he earned this name from his daddy pretty early on.
I have such an amazing husband!  He's awesome at changing diapers, giving bottles, putting him to sleep, and playing with him.  Lately, he's calmed down on the crying, only cries when he was hungry...except for yesterday and today.  We decided to try to put him back down to 5 ounces of formula because his stomach was SO full after eating 6 ounces we thought it was hurting him.  But yesterday and today he's been a terror!  I'm thinking because he went from 30 ounces of milk...which is what he needs...to 25 ounces...so he's been hungry?  Well I just decided that he needs this extra milk and he's back to 6 ounces.  I have had such a struggle determining how much to feed him.  I try to take his ques he gives, but that didn't work, so now, I'm going off mommy instinct and leaving him at 30 ounces. If he wakes up in the middle of the night before 5, then he will get 6, 5 ounces bottles, otherwise, he will get his first bottle at 6, that was been working well last week, so we'll just get back on that schedule.
This coming week is pretty exciting for us.  Nick returns to work on Monday...not so excited about that, but it's time.  We will be visiting with our friends that just had twin girls and on the 2nd, which he will be 3 months that day...we will be celebrating our Independence Day.  There's an event here called, Rockin' 2nd, where they have a carnival type of event and then fireworks at dusk.  What better way to celebrate his 3rd month of life!  We're also hoping for warmer weather, not much warmer, just sunny perhaps?, so we can go on our regular walks.  I asked for cool weather a few weeks back and that's all we've had since!  It's been raining EVERY day!  We're also going to try to get on a schedule that coincides with Nick and his work schedule.  That way he'll be able to enjoy spending time with us and Xander won't already be in bed or being a terror because he's tired.

His schedule recently:
Wake up at 0555
Eat 6 ounces at 0600, plays one hour and goes back to sleep
Wakes up between 0900-0930, play and talk with mommy in bouncy while mom makes breakfast,
Eat 6 ounces at 1000, watch baby. ein.stein
Nap at 1100-1230, not continuous sleep yet
(When the weather is nice, we go on a long walk, between an hour and half to two hours)
Eat 6 ounces at 1400, tummy time and mat time
Nap at 1530-1730, this one he sleeps the whole time, 95% of the time
Eat 6 ounces at 1800, talk with mom and dad while they eat their dinner, play in bouncy while mom cleans up the kitchen
Bath at 2015 every other night (thinking of switching to mornings), massage after bath, story time, bible time, get him swaddled for the night
Eat 6 ounces at 2100
Bedtime at 2120 and sleeps usually until right before 0600.

His stats so far:
*He's starting to pay attention more. 
*He loves to follow his toys...oh and me too :). 
*He can grab onto the toys as long as I put it in front of him first and encourage him. 
*When he laughs, he make a loud shrieking noise...I love it! 
*He still has a huge obsession with ceiling fans
*Has a steady hold of his head (still bobbles from side to side, but can hold it still for awhile)
*Learning to sit up
*Loves rolling over instead of being on tummy
*Loves being cradled by mommy and raspberry kisses from daddy
*Just starting to wear 3-6 months clothing...still fits 0-3 pajamas though
*Loves to smile and chuckle
*Loves to scream for MAAAAMMM when you are ready to get up
*Finally discovered peek-a-boo is a fun game
*startles easily

And now...some pictures

helping daddy put the block letters together 

GIVE. ME. MY. FOOD.!!!!

zonked out

oh man...she caught me...LOL

bandaged up from getting 4 shots

Nick loves to startle him...then cackling like a female hyena...LOL

Have a great day!

What's for dinner?

Tonight I am going to be trying a new recipe, Quattro Formaggi, it's pretty much a mozzarella pizza.  However, I'm not making it the way I normally do.  I'm adding fresh mozzarella and other cheeses, homemade sauce, homemade dough.  We had the best pizza while we were in Italy back in November so we wanted to make a fresh pizza.  I actually found San Marzano tomatoes, so we will use those as well.  I'm excited, and hope that this will turn out as much as my mouth is watering for it.
I'm also excited for the day Alexander will be eating the foods we eat.  To see the faces he makes now, to add food into the mix, that makes me excited to see how many more faces I will see from this little man.  He adores his mama...that's for sure.  He still loves ceiling fans and his hands.  He turned 11 weeks on Saturday and I received milestones in my inbox for him during this week and in it, it mentioned that he would be clingy...and wow...are they ever right!  Hopefully they will also be right and it will only last at the most 2 weeks.  I love hanging out and holding little man, but, this mama has stuff to do and can't always be cradling him.  Tomorrow morning we have his 2 month appointment...finally...I'm excited to see his stats.  He's a little porker.  We will also finally be able to register him under our insurance after this appointment.  Tomorrow's going to be a busy day getting all that done.  Good thing Nick is off and can help out.  He'll return to work on Thursday.  And now...picture overload:

sitting like a big boy in his big boy carseat in daddy's car

in his crab outfit

1st family picture

so happy

loves being outside...even when it's raining

Just playing

loving his faces

Have a great day!

Trisha...I've been trying to comment on your posts, but it's not letting me :(  I just wanted to say that your little man is getting so big and is looking like he's having such a great time.  He looks so happy and fits perfectly into your family.  Enjoy your summer spending every waking moment with your little doodlebug, you guys will have a blast I'm sure!

Sad tonight

Tonight was rather emotional for me.  As I was feeding and rocking Xander to sleep, I thought of my cousin and began sobbing.  I'm so heartbroken for her loss.  She's tried so long to bring a bundle of joy into their lives and for their son to be taken from them so abruptly, is sad!  I know all to well how hard it is to lose a child.  I didn't carry a baby to full-term like her, but I did lose our baby at 10 weeks.  I can't imagine or begin to know how it feels to carry a baby to term and lose him.  It was hard at 10 weeks.  Going through the pregnancy, feeling the baby kick, turn, move all around, probably even hiccup, would all be so real.  Having daily conversations multiple times a day with your unborn baby.  This would make it all that much harder to have to say goodbye.  I like how she said it wasn't a goodbye, it was a farewell until later.  Her son has our great-grandparents watching over him, as well as his daddies mom.  They are spoiling him with lots of love and telling so many stories of his parents.  Baby boy...you will be missed, but loved so very much, look after your mommy and daddy and let them know you are happy being with your grandparents.
Being in the military, I went 8 years without shedding tears...I became a strong person.  Now I am just heartbroken for my cousin and her husband and have been shedding tears for 2 hours now.
They are doing a private funeral service, which I think is best because it will give them all the time they need with just their son.  Not having to worry about putting on a "happy" face for the crowd of people.  My cousin is a strong person, but she needs this time to grieve and mourn the loss of her baby boy. 
Continued prayers for healing and strength for my cousin and her husband as they get through this devastating loss.

Have a great day!

Prayer needed

My cousin just gave birth to her first child and he didn't make it. Please pray for her and her husband as they have struggled with getting pregnant and now struggle with the loss of their son. She was full term.

Thanks everyone!

Blogger problems

In the past week, I've tried commenting on a few different blogs and it won't let me.  When i hit the publish comment, it takes me to a sign in page, then takes me back to the publish page, then back to the sign in page and keeps going back and forth.  It's very annoying.  The only way I can post on a blog right now is if the person has the word verificiation on the page right away...it does not make sense and is frustrating because I want to post comments.  Everyone's kids are growing so fast and developing such personalities it seems.  Your families are adorable and I'll keep trying to post comments :)

Have a great day!

New Blog Name

Today I decided it was time to make my blog more family friendly rather than just something I enjoyed.  Some I'm overpowered with boys in my life, I decided to use some blue rather than pink.  I found this super cute blog layout so I decided to make the official switch.  Hubby was even nice and played with Xander while I took care of this, as you all know, this takes forever!

It's been really humid here lately and it's making ALL of us cranky and miserable.  I'd ordered 3 large floor fans from Bed.Bath.and.Beyond, but haven't received them yet.  I hope they get here soon.  If only they would think about putting AC's in homes around here...it would make sense, even if they'd only be used for 4 months of the year.  I'm hoping for COLD weather until the fans come in, but it's not looking like my wishes will be granted this time. 

Xander really loved meeting daddy, he smiled instantly when Nick held him...it was precious!  Nick was so tired from the long trip, it was 9 hours driving and he drove the whole thing, so he took a nap while Xander napped and I cooked dinner.

We're also trying to get Xander on a more scheduled feeding.  He pretty much was, but some days would differ, so now we are trying to get more strict.  He's eating 4 ounces every 3-3.5 hours right now (he hasn't thrown up?...spit up? since I went back down to 4 ounces!).  He's getting 30 ounces a day, meaning he gets a 2 ounce snack somewhere in the day.  He's also getting a bath most nights, putting lullaby music on and in bed by 9:30.  It's going good so far, but of course if he's "tellling" us somethign different, we'll go with what he needs.  So tonight was a night where he told us he needed his bottle 45 minutes before the feeding was due.  After all checks and balances, the bottle is next and that's exactly what this little man wanted tonight.  He's now in bed, 45 minutes earlier.

watching baby Beethoven (2 months)

2 months

1st time meeting daddy

Have a great day!

2 Months

Today marks my babies second month of life!  He's growing so fast.  I took a bunch of pictures today so I'll post them this weekend after hubby is home (tomorrow afternoon!) and I can find the spare time to just do whatever I want.  He continues to amaze me.  He loves bath time more at every bath...tonight he learned that when he kicks, the water splashes.  I'm trying to get him to swat his arms at the water, but not yet.  When he's not throwing his fits, he loves to smile, giggle and play with his play mat entertainer.  He's still not loving his swing, but he is getting more comfortable with the bouncy seat...he can stay in for about 20 minutes compared to the less than 5 last week. 
I went up to 5 ounces on his formula on Monday, but am beginning to wonder if it's too much.  He's been spitting up a lot lately and he used to spit up maybe twice a week, now it's two to three times a day.  Not too sure if i should be concerned, but I am.  I'm thinking of putting him back down to 4 ounces and feed him every 2.5-3 hours rather than 3-3.5 hours.  He likes to eat more often than not, so if i cut him back down and continue to feed as often, I think he will be fine.  If he's not fed by 3.5 hours, he's screaming, like he's starving...even at 5 ounces.  Babies make you think a lot.
My friend, Marina, had her twin girls yesterday.  I went up and visited today and while I visited, Marina's husband took Xander for 2 hours.  Xander wasn't allowed in the mother/baby unit because he's not in their family and he's an infant.  The girls are precious, I told one that her and Xander can be girlfriend/boyfriend...LOL.  We're going to have fun for the next two years being stationed here with friends in close age.
I'm continually amazed at how often we get stopped to say how adorable our baby is.  I mean, I know he's a handsome young boy, but we got stopped 6 times in the grocery store tonight.  Although one lady did try to give me some advice on colic...Xander was screaming throughout the entire store :(. 
I'll get pictures up this weekend...some with Xander and daddy as well :)

Have a great day!