Beckett at 5 Months

Wednesday, April 16, 2014

Happy five months to my little man! And to Brian and me. That means we've survived this long too, ya know. I can't believe I've been a mommy for 5 months! And today I caught my self realizing that I love this little baby SO MUCH MORE than the day he was born! How is that even possible?



Well, as I think about this amazing little man, I wanted to jot down & share a few of the fun facts we love about him at five months, and some of my favorite recent pictures.

He's Sitting Up!
He's not stable yet, and some days are better than others, but this little man is on his way to playing independently in the upright position!

Sitting up definitely makes bath time easier, and more fun!

He's so proud!
Rolls Over
Again, not consistently or confidently, but he's working on it! He still doesn't love tummy time, but is getting better. His official favorite time to roll over is diaper change time. Awesome.


Holds his bottle
He only gets one bottle a day - at bed time so I can fill it with "sleep longer" goodness. :) But it's sweet to see him holding it on his own! Is this usually an earlier skill? No clue. All I can think is "yaaay, gross motor skills!" That's the teacher in me.


Loves to smile & laugh
He can definitely brighten anyone's day.


Is working on a sleep schedule
To this day, this has been our biggest struggle, hands down. MOM IS LOSING HER MIND! We've been working really hard the last couple of weeks and are FINALLY making some progress! Unfortunately, we're having to go with a little "cry it out." This little man has gotten in the horrible habit of nursing to sleep, and all through the night. YEESH! Won't make that mistake again!



Bounces like a mad man!
He's a pro in this little fun gadget.


Wears 9 & 12 month clothes
BEAST! I don't even know how much he weighs right now. About 20 pounds. YIKES.



He's an Independent Baby!
This child will sit and play by himself ALL DAY if I let him. It's quite nice for getting things done around the house! It's sweet to hear him sit and talk to himself. LOVE IT.


Reaching for everything
It's officially hard to eat or do paperwork with this baby in your hands. He's a reacher! He also loves reaching for hair, necklaces, and FACES!



Rubs his eyes (like his momma) and messes with his ears when he's tired.
The first time I saw him tugging on his ears and fussing I was scared it was an ear infection. Turns out it's just a thing he does when he's tired! Darn cute.


Thumb Sucking?
He's toying with the idea of sucking on his thumb. Jury is still out on this one.


SUPER CHILL
He is really the chillest baby ever. Every time I pick him up from child care at the gym or church, the ladies tell me how surprised they are with his chill demeanor. I'm kind of terrified for baby #2 (and following) because I've been SPOILED with Beckett!


Laughs the most with Daddy
Daddy is the king of tickling. He's discovered that Beckett laughs the hardest when you tickle his collarbone! LOVE his laugh!


Love being tossed
He gets a huge kick out of being tossed around. I'm gonna be the nervous mommy that can't look.


Hand Holder
He's still not a snuggler, which is hard for mommy. But he loves to hold hands when he's tired. He often even holds his own hands as he falls asleep.



Loves being outside!
There have been several times when taking him outside has helped calm a tantrum.



And he had several firsts this month!

First time actually paying attention to an animal at the zoo
This silly sea lion came up and gave us a little show, making silly faces through the window. SO FUN!



First time on a slide.
Weee! Good job daddy. And I love that Eli & Avaya copied Brian & Beckett. SWEET!
And… This weather was AMAZING… for about a day.


First time playing in the grass
The sitting up thing is coming in handy!

Oh, You Just Wait.

Saturday, April 5, 2014

People WITHOUT kids have a lot to say about people WITH kids. I swear, they're the judgiest (now a word). I know because I was the leader of the judgy crew. There are just some things that, before you're a parent, you "know" you will never do. And of course there are things you "know" your kids will absolutely not do.

"Oh, You just wait…" That famous line from parents everywhere used to make my SKIN CRAWL. How condescending! "You just wait" (I'm saying this in my nasally, annoying, mocky voice). I hated it SO. MUCH. And I know friends of mine that are probably reading this right now that hate it just as much. I would think right back, "no, YOU just wait! I'll show you!" Ha.

You just wait.

Well, friends. My brand new mommy self is realizing QUICKLY that those horrible, condescending words were parents' way of being nice. They were biting their tongues and doing the Jesus thing. Because in their brains they weren't just thinking, "You just wait."

In their brains, they were thinking…

You BLASTED. IDIOT. You THINK you "know" what parenting is going to be like. You have no. flipping. clue. YOU JUST WAIT until you've gone five months straight without sleep. Wait until you're eyes just BURN all the time from lack of sleep, but now it's just become the norm. Wait until you smell poop everywhere you go, even if there is none. YOU JUST WAIT until you literally can't remember the last time you took a shower without being interrupted several times by imaginary crying. Wait until you are responsible for keeping a HUMAN. BEING. ALIVE. You have no clue. And I don't care if you have a dog. Or a niece. Or you're a flipping teacher. IT'S NOT THE SAME. It's not the same if you babysit a lot. It's not the same if you have younger siblings. Unless you have a HUMAN CHILD in your house TWENTY FOUR HOURS a DAY, SEVEN DAYS a WEEK that you are solely responsible for. It's not. the. same. You just wait until you're pleeeaaading with that screaming child to just tell you what in the world he needs. Wait. For that hopeless feeling like you have NO CLUE what you're doing and you're just gonna screw up this perfect little human. Wait until the WHOLE WORLD is giving you different advice, and you can't decide which way is up and which way will work and you try it all and it DOESN'T WORK.

Wait until you're at your wits end and all the mommies in all the world can only tell you "it gets better" and your grasping at straws to feel like you're gonna make it and then some blasted childless idiot looks at you, in all of their sweet blissful ignorance, with that condescending face you just want to laugh in and tries to tell you what you should be doing or what THEY would do.

You just wait.

You wait until you hear that baby's first cry and you just think you've never heard a more beautiful sound. Wait until you hold that baby and realize you've just birthed the most beautiful human being ever made, ever. In the history of human beings. Until that baby looks at you every day with these eyes that just say, "Mommy, you're the best. You're the most perfectest Mommy ever." And you feel more love for that child than you ever thought possible. You wonder if you could ever love another baby as much as this one. And you realize that all the rest doesn't matter. This baby is perfect. Your whole world is made perfect just because of this baby.

You just wait.

Beckett & me after sleepless night #138 

A Quick(ish) Update

Wednesday, April 2, 2014

Hey Family! It's been a while since we've had a quick update on our little family, I thought I'd fill in on what's happening out here in St. Charles! Here are the highlights:

{Brian}
Brian has a new job at Coca Cola!! We are SO GRATEFUL for this job. As we've mentioned, the transition to STL and the job situation was not exactly what we had planned. Brian took a job at Traeger (and hated it) while he looked for something more permanent. He started at Coke a month ago, and LOVES it. He is working as an account manager relief position while he waits for a permanent position to open up. His position is full time, but he basically fills in for other account managers when they are out. He's next in line for a route of his own so we're crossing our fingers! In the meantime, he's learning a lot and we're grateful for a job with such a great company. Other than the fact that they sell sugar water (lol), we're pretty pleased with them! They've got a great benefit package, and he's enjoying his co-workers. He talks about {fill in work lingo here} ALL the time. While it's COMPLETELY BORING (don't tell him that), I am THRILLED to hear him love what he's doing so much. It's long hours, but Brian prefers that over standing around all day (like at Traeger)! It's such a blessing that he is such a hard working man. LOVE HIM!
On the home front, Brian is the best daddy ever. He's so great with this little boy and I love watching them together.

All the "kids" snuggled with Daddy, reading Chicka BOOM!
Getting ready to watch Kentucky play in the Elite 8!!
Beckett LOVES watching basketball.

{Denise}
I can't even tell you how much I love being at home. I stay incredibly busy (I am ALWAYS behind on my to-do list) and I get to spend so much time with my sweet, precious little boy! So that I'm doing a little bit of work, I've been working on my store on Teachers Pay Teachers, which has been a blast for me. Lesson planning & creating materials has ALWAYS been my favorite part of teaching. I'm a nerd like that. I also do a little bit of blogging. It's a fun way to get down some of my ideas, help my fellow teachers out, and get little shameless plugs in for my TPT store. ;)
I also spend time just doing mom & wife stuff. I love menu planning, and have been working on moving toward a more paleo diet again. I DON'T love cooking, but I feel like it comes with the whole "stay at home mom" territory, so I do it as much as I can muster. I'm learning to take over the budget (which is a BIG SCARY DEAL in our house) and I'm learning to sew & embroider!! How cliche is that?
I also get to have PLAYDATES!!! This is seriously the best part, although we're definitely ready for winter to be OVER so we can get out more! I love being near Brittany & the kiddos. That alone is totally worth picking up our entire lives and moving 600 miles to the middle of the stinkin country, where God seems to have forgotten the water & mountains. Not bitter or anything.

Hangin at home, making silly faces.
{January}
Babysitting & hangin with the cousins!

{Beckett}
Beckett is awesome. We are so in love with this little boy. He's completely chill all the time. He's really the most laid back baby I've ever met. It's a huge blessing and also a little terrifying. WILL THE NEXT BE THE EXACT OPPOSITE? Oh dear baby Jesus… LoL.
He's 4 and a half months right now, but wearing size 12 month clothes! He's a healthy beast, for sure. Apparently he takes after his daddy. Grandma says that she had the same experiences I am having (big baby, big eater, exhausted mommy!). Unfortunately, he's not on a sleep schedule yet. Mommy is going insane. This week we're working on getting that under control. Time to crack a whip before mommy just CRACKS. :)
In other news, Beckett is already asking for a little sibling. That may be happening soon(ish) so heads up! Brian is praying for twins. Ha. No.

4 months
Elite 8 Game Day
@ 4 months

{The Family Stuff}
In other news, we are still LOVING St. Charles. We've found a church, Matthias' Lot, that we really love, and a small group (which we call Lot Family) that we also love. We're so pleased to have found a church that is so intentional about meeting the needs and also challenging its people. Being there has really encouraged each of us in personal lives and also challenged us to be intentional how we'll raise Beckett. Our prayer is that God will teach us to model to this little boy (and his siblings) how to love and follow Jesus, and to love the people around us. We really believe being at Matthias will help with that journey!
We still haven't completely adjusted to having so much family nearby. It's AMAZING! We've been able to spend lots of time with the cousins and also able to see both sets of grandparents more in the last seven months than we probably did in the last seven years, combined. Beckett LOVES his grandparents and we're so grateful to have them be a part of his life!

Reading with PaPaw & Gradma!!
Silly Papa!! LOOOOVES his grandbabies!
Uncle DJ. Beckett's twin.
Meeting Granddad

Being entertained by Uncle Darrell
Snuggling with Nana! (Which makes Mommy jealous. He NEVER snuggles me!)
Aunt Brittany helping Migraine Mommy by babysitting! LOVE.

{Travel}
Most who know us know we have a reputation for being always on the go. Busy busy busy! We thought when we moved here and had a kid, life would slow down. Not so much. As of this weekend, we will be traveling or hosting guests every weekend for the next 7 weekends. We definitely plan to chronicle our adventures! :)

{The House}
Is a hot mess.

We hope to make some serious progress as the weather warms up. The playroom is ALMOST complete and we'll be posting an update on that soon!


And that's everything! We're happy and super blessed. This has been a fun and adventurous year!






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