cousins

Meet Win's cousin, Brigham.

(eye poke)

Brigs: "Here, let me show you how to spin this crazy thing."

Although Brigs stole Win's medicine dropper and poked him in the eye, I think they'll get along just great. 9 1/2 months between these two, but when they get older that won't seem very far. Brigham is all Win has on the West side (agewise) so let's hope they like each other.

sisters' week

Where is the time going? I wish I could freeze it for a few minutes and let things just be. Sisters' week is over-I'm already looking forward to next summer-and my little Win is growing like a weed (an adorable weed, if there is such a thing). Monday was my first day back to "real life" and it was productive, but I can't say it beat being at my mom and dad's house with my sisters. We have such a marvelous time together.

This year we baked whole wheat bread, cinnamon rolls, apple and berry pies, and peach crisp. We also made strawberry jam, apricot leather and homemade granola bars. Throw in a recipe exchange, swimming and water games with the kids, aerobics and running, strolls or "evening constitutionals" after dinner, games at night (I'm addicted to Ticket to Ride), shopping at the dollar store, Thrifty's ice cream and a lot of fun conversation and you have sisters' week. We wanted to do some sewing projects, but there wasn't time. Maybe next summer.

During those two weeks, Mr. Win became a new baby. New meaning he has turned a leaf and is acting like a grown up baby. He jabbers away and rolls around the floor. He is definitely developing into his own little person. He can put himself to sleep and is sleeping longer stretches at night which is heavenly, but sometimes he gets himself stuck (see photo below).

We're back at home loving the memories we made at Grandma's house, gearing up for the next reunion and looking forward to a fun-filled Fall.

romanticized farm life

Children of the 80s, do you remember this book?

We had it in my house growing up.

(I'm fairly certain it was a product of a Scholastic book order circa 1983.)

I haven't been to many farms, but I've always thought it would be fun to live on one. I wonder if this is the book that put that thought into my mind.

Anyway, I can't recall the storyline or if it even had one, but I do remember loving it. For that reason alone, I am determined to buy it for Win. Hopefully, my four or five year old self had good taste in books and it will be a worthwhile purchase.

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.