4 months

I can't believe Win is closer to five months than four. I had every intention of blogging about his fourth month, but somehow between helping plan my mom's 75th surprise party, trying to run and starting work again, the intention got lost. How could I let my documentation slide? It's important. Better late than never I guess.

First off, I have loved Win's fourth month of life. I didn't know I could love my baby more, but I do. He is a joy. Waking up every three or so hours at night to feed him isn't even that bad because he reaches out for my neck now and nuzzles in. It's like a mini hug. We feed and he goes right back to sleep. One of these days I'll try sleep training, but we're not quite there yet.

He does sleep in his crib in the other room now though. I was worried the first couple of nights because he had a cold and I'm always worried about him breathing okay (are all moms and dads freaks about that?), but not only was his bassinet crowding our bedroom, it was crowding poor Win as well. He would reach out his arms and hit the sides. He enjoyed playing with the sides, brushing the fabric with his fingers, but I think it kept him awake. So yes, he is in another room which is one step towards sleep independence. Weaning the night feedings is the next step.

Win is an active boy, his legs are in perpetual motion. Kent and I always say that when he learns how to move around, he is literally going to be everywhere. He has been able to roll from tummy to back since the day before his 12 week mark, but he doesn't roll frequently. I'm not sure why that is. We do tummy time and sometimes he rolls, sometimes he doesn't. He hasn't rolled from back to tummy yet, but he's getting close. He is amazingly content staring up at the ceiling or the bright flashing start atop his play gym, kicking his legs and moving his arms. My mom pointed out to me that he's probably just a content boy, and he is.

Here are some other 4 month snippets:

STATS
Weight: 14 lbs. 5 oz.
Height: 24 1/2 inches
Shots went much better. Only a brief episode of crying and he was fine the rest of the day.

Things he does and some of my favorites:

-Uses his legs and feet like a monkey; he grabs onto my arm with them every time I change him, he uses them to maneuver around the arcs of his play gym and he encircles my water bottle with them when I give it to him for a toy.
-Likes to gnaw on pretty much everything, my chin included.
-Still likes my hair (and dad's); likes to look at it and pull it, thus it is almost always back in a ponytail or bun. Plus, I'm losing tons of it so I don't like wearing it down.
-Still spits up frequently. Not sure when that will end, but we're getting used to it.
-Talks and smiles a lot. I had to take him out of Relief Society the other day because he was talking so loud. Not crying, talking. He's a very social boy.
-He squeals and screams now which makes me laugh.
-He likes to cuddle; when he wakes up in the morning we bring him into our bed and he snuggles right up and sleeps for another 30 minutes or so.
-He outgrew sink baths and now enjoys baths in the "bigger" boy tub (it's a normal baby bathtub). Thank you, Grandma, for finding that for us. -He likes to sit up now and standing is really fun (assisted, of course). I think he sees that the view of the world is more interesting from those vantage points.
-While nursing, he will pause and sit up to see what's going on or merely to complain. Sometimes, he'll just look up at me a smile. Melts me. He also moves his lips when it's time to eat and will play little on again, off again games that he thinks are funny, and they are, most of the time.
-Every time Win laughs a lot he gets hiccups. Funny/sad.
-We introduced him to watermelon and he liked it. Sucked on it for a bit and went in for a second, third, fourth, etc. lick.
-We also introduced him to ocean water at the beach and he acted as if nothing touched his feet. No reaction. Nada. Zilch.
-Favorite animal noises: Monkey and doggie
-The mullet remains, but will be gone in the next week or two. His fluffy, blond hair will be all that is left.
-He has peaches and cream skin with deep blue eyes and rosy lips. His little cheeks get flushed too. Such pretty coloring.

I've said it before and I will say it again, Win is a joy. We love him so much and are so grateful to have this fun, patient, content little boy in our lives.

point break buddies

Clippers vs. Lakers at the Staples Center
(Our only picture with the Petersons...I think I'm about 8 months pregnant here)

Our dear Seal Beach friends moved today, and I would be lying if I said I didn’t shed a tear or two. Ben and Alex are both fantastic people and we feel so blessed to have met them. They are off to Boston where Ben will be attending business school. I'm sure Alex will find an awesome job there as well. We plan on visiting them, but nothing compares to having good friends a few blocks away. We will miss our Sunday waffle nights and our last minute dinner plans. More than anything, we’ll miss their friendship. They are just all-around great people and we have loved getting to know them over the last year.

So, bon voyage to the Petersons. We will miss you, but are so happy for you and excited for your upcoming adventures (especially in the Maldives).

blowout city

This type of explosion doesn't happen to Win every time he poops, but almost, and the boy has a good system. We change at least two poopy diapers a day. Needless to say, OxiClean and bleach are becoming my best friends.

mullet man

To cut, or not to cut, that is the question.

Our little man has a full ring of dark newborn hair that basically brushes his shoulders. The top of his head is covered with light, feathery fluff, but the back constitutes a true mullet. I'm not going to touch it and I haven't been tempted, yet. The day will come, but I'm just not ready.

in brief

How do people blog with an infant? I feel like I hardly have time to eat lunch and straighten the house. I want to blog more. I need to blog more. I've always enjoyed writing and blogging is a great outlet. Plus, it's a journal of sorts. We'll see if I can't squeeze in a post a week.

This post is going to be random and unstructured, but that's how my mind functions as of late. Here are a few likes, goals, happenings, etc. of mine.

First off, things I currently really like (in no particular order):

1. Almonds. That includes almond milk, almond butter and plain old almonds.

Milk: I could drink almond milk at every meal, including snack time. I love it. The Reids' introduced it to us a while back and I'm hooked. Regular cow's milk still plays a role in my diet, but almond milk (vanilla is my favorite) is carving out a spot in my daily food consumption.

Butter: I don't own any almond butter yet, but I had it at my sister's house the other week and I want some. Any good brands you would like to recommend?

Nuts: And plain almonds, they are my go to snack. With skins, without skins, salted, seasoned, whatever. They are all good.

2. After the Baby's Birth...A Woman's Way to Wellness. Yes, it's a book. A book that I picked up at the local library a few weeks ago and I love it. The author lives on Maui on a farm with her man named Stevo and they have four kids. Sound kind of dreamy? I think so. Anyway, if you haven't guessed, she is very natural/earthy, but it's not overbearing. I wish I would have found the book before I had Winston because it explains postpartum "stuff" much better than other books I read. Plus, it has great after baby recipes (we've made a few...I'll have to post some), exercises and advice. I read it while I'm nursing and I'm going to purchase a used copy on Amazon. $3 is about right.

3. My baby. I love having a 3 month old baby. Win is a pleasure to be with all day. I loved the first couple of months, but this month has just been enjoyable. He is such a social boy. He laughs and makes high pitched squeals these days, especially when he is excited. It cracks me up. He is also getting big. The 0-3 month onesies are getting tight. I sorted out most of the newborn clothes the other day to make room for the 3-6 month sizes. I thought I would be sad, but most of me is excited. What is this little guy going to be like? I think strong, intelligent, kind, fun, insightful and incredibly good looking. Nothing like a mother's love.

4. Grape-Nuts. Think they're for old people? Think again. Dr. Oz seems to like them, so I eat them. If you go to his site, you can find all sorts of Grape-Nut recipes. I combine mine with granola, berries, almond and cow's milk for breakfast and it is delicious. I think one bowl satisfies my daily fiber requirement.

Secondly, a few goals:

1. Run the St. George Marathon. I submitted my name into the lottery and lo and behold, I made the cut. It might be too much too soon, but I want to do it. I have 4 1/2 months to train and we just purchased a jogging stroller so I should be able to manage. We'll see though. I ran it in 2007 and enjoyed it. Hopefully, I feel the same way this time around.

2. Eat fish once a week. Not much to this one other than I've read it's good for you. Kent and I rarely eat fish, so it's time to incorporate it into our diets. Any fish recipes you would like to recommend?

3. Become a minimalist. I know I'm not a minimalist by nature, but I'd like to become more that way. I read something about becoming a minimalist and it says to throw, sell or give one thing away each day. I tried to eBay a dress that has been sitting in my closet, tags still attached, for the past 3 years, but I ended up selling it to a buyer named "kentonkent" (aka: my husband) who tried to increase the bid for me. Ha. I'll try again. Minimalist inspiration: Watch "Hoarding: Buried Alive" to get inspired to clean house and "Human Planet" to realize you only need so much to live happily.

4. Go here for enlightenment (and to relive my college devotional days). One benefit to receiving the BYU Magazine is finding out about things like this. The quote in the magazine that moved me to check out the site: "You are good. But it is not enough just to be good. You must be good for something. You must contribute good to the world." That was said by President Gordon B. Hinckley in a 1996 devotional. Don't you want to be a better person now? I do. Here's the entire talk.

And finally, the happenings. Actually, not much here. Just learning how to be a mom and staying busy doing so. I'm trying to decide what to do about work. Should I go back part-time? I don't know. I'm also looking forward to the summer. We have a mud run coming up, my sisters from Arizona will be in town for a couple of weeks and then we have a family reunion to look forward to. Fun times ahead.

That's about it for now. Hopefully, I'll get a little more consistent.

bubbles and bumbos

I guess it's okay to blow bubbles in the house now and then. Win and Daddy were having so much fun and I couldn't take that away.

i still like music

I'm kind of out of the music loop lately, but I heard this song on the radio yesterday and loved it. The chorus is catchy and there's whistling. Who doesn't like a song with whistling? Remember this one? Loved it as well. Anyway, the song below got me doing a little dance in the front seat at a stop light. It's probably a top 20 or something by now, but I wouldn't know. Either way, please enjoy Pumped Up Kicks by Foster the People.