Beckett at 5 Months

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.

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

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!

Photos & Facts: Beckett at 4 Months

Beckett celebrated 4 months of life yesterday! We have had the most incredible four months with this little man. He is such a huge blessing! Yesterday we did an at home photo shoot to commemorate the mini-milestone, and I wanted to make sure to remember the little things that we love about this big guy!

A Day in the Life of Beckett: 3 Months

I imagine to most people who read this, A Day in the Life of Beckett will be fairly boring. However, the main purpose of this here blog is to chronicle our little story and one day have a chance to look back at it. I imagine if Brian gets his way and we have FIVE children, one day I will look back and roll my eyes at the simplicity of life with 3 month old Beckett. But for now, here's what a day looks like in the life of Beckett (and a new Stay at Home Mommy).

2am - Wakes Up to eat. Mom is way too tired to deal with trying to sit in the nursery while feeding so Beckett gets to come into Mommy & Daddy's room for the rest of the night. On my good days, Beckett stays in his room til morning.
6am - Wakes up to eat again. We play for a little while and doze back off around 6:30
8am - Wakes to eat again, then laze around in bed. Mommy dozes in and out while Beckett chats to and entertains himself. At this point, we're not in any hurry to get out of bed in the mornings. As you can see, he wakes up A LOT to eat sometimes. Other days he only wakes up ONCE in the middle of the night. We're still figuring out how to combat that situation.
9am - Mommy & Beckett Playtime! Right now, mornings are my favorite time with Beckett. He is just all smiles and chatting. We talk back and forth, have tummy time, and just enjoy his smiles!

This morning seems to have discovered his sleeves. He played like this for quite a while. This outfit is a 9 month outfit so the sleeves are a little long, but we just HAD to make sure we got the most of these adorable pajamas! :) 

9:25am - Make a pot if Coffee for mommy, then start Beckett's morning get ready routine: New diaper, lotioned down, and getting dressed. Yesterday I read an article about the importance of infant massages so I decided to YouTube them and see about implementing that. Beckett looked at me like I was crazy and I looked at massage lady like she was crazy. This will be our last time pretending to implement daily infant massages. 

The blue gloves are my signature household necessity. I don't like my hands feeling gross and right now the doctor has us lubing him up with Vaseline or Hydrocortisone every day, so I use gloves. Don't judge. :) 

Beckett's "Mom, Stop Reading things on the Internet" look.

9:44 - As soon as I start dressing him, Beckett enters meltdown mode. I laugh because he's wearing his "little DJ" shirt… just like his uncle. :) 

It's almost nap time… 

9:48 - Full blown meltdown. I give up on applying hydrocortisone and feed him to stop the chaos. This is also a good opportunity for me to relax in my awesome glider chair (BEST. INVESTMENT. EVER) and finish my coffee that is now on it's way to cold.

10:00am - Beckett falls asleep eating. This is not ideal. I consider this a Mommy fail. I've been trying NOT to nurse him to sleep but... nap time anyway. 

I take a few minutes to log on Tweakaboo, my new favorite app, and then start cleaning the nursery.

10:18 Nursery is clean, Beckett is still sleeping... Grab baby monitor (given to us by Uncle devon & Aunt Katie!) & head downstairs. Time to clean! Kitchen… laundry... figure out what's for dinner.

10:26 I see Beckett stirring in the monitor and pray he doesn't wake up. I should have another hour at least. 

10:38 He wakes and cries. I give him a couple minutes and pray he soothes himself but it becomes obvious that's not going to happen. 10:40 head upstairs. Try everything.

The blankie snuggle maneuver

The binky press

The tooshie pat (his favorite)

The back rub

10:46 He's still figiting but I try and sneak out anyway. Back down to start laundry.
10:52 Upstairs to make the bed and hit the shower.
10:56 He's stirring again. But I'm determined I'm getting in the shower anyway.
11:00 As soon as I'm undressed he goes into full on meltdown. Of course. I try to calm him but he's not having it so I pick him up and realize he's covered in pee. Oops. Poor guy. Of course I don't have a picture of this full outfit yet so I subjected him to a few more minutes of horror so I have time to snap a quick pic before I proceed to change him. 

"It's ALL OVER ME!"

Even after he's changed, he continues to insist that's the worst experience he's ever had. How dramatic. I'm not sure where he gets that from…

"It was horrible!"

"I could have diiiiiiied…"

"You just don't understaaand"

11:09 If I'm holding him he's okay, but as soon as I put him down he melts down. (Luckily, this is not a regular occurrence in our house). Then he insists he's hungry again. Dad is going to be home in 21 minutes for lunch so I give up  on showering and get dressed again.

"Hold me, Moooom!"

"Mom, I think we're having a rough day."

11:11 He eats. AGAIN. He usually only eat every two and half hours but he hasn't been eating as long so he eats more often. We need to fix that.
11:27 Despite my best efforts to shake him awake, he has fallen asleep eating again. Of course as soon as I try and put him down he wakes up.

11:30 Apparently all he needed was that snack and a quick nap because he's suddenly awake and happy. As we head downstairs to make lunch, we hear dad walk in. So much for having lunch ready. Wife Fail.

11:55 Quick lunch & Daddy Time

"She's fibbing, Dad. Does this face look like
 I've been grumpy all morning?"

12:09 Daddy leaves. Time to try the shower thing again. I plop Beckett in his walker outside my bathroom door and hop in. I leave Douggie on baby duty.

12:28 I'm finished in the shower. I peek out and he's still happy go lucky. And Doug is still keeping watch. :) 

12:34 Time's up! Half way thru my dressing & lotioning process, Beckett calls for a diaper change and change of scenery. Then he agrees to hang in the boppy while I finish getting dressed and do my hair.

"Moose and me, we're best friends."

12:49 Instead of using my time wisely, I've spent the last 5 minutes cooing with Beckett and taking pics of him and moose. 

Instagram is my favorite app.

Of course, My hair is still not done and Beckett has decided he needs a nap STAT. We head for the nursery

12:56 He's still fighting sleep. I take this opportunity to entertain myself with some selfies.

12:59. I give up, throw my hair in a bun and feed him again. This has got to stop. At least now hopefully he'll sleep for two and a half hours. This is also when I have time to update my notes on today and snap another selfie. :)

1:01 Beckett is already falling asleep again. I fight to keep him awake for full feeding.
1:04. I surrender to defeat.

1:37 Re-binky. I wonder to myself when I need to start the weaning process for this thing… It's just SO CONVENIENT.
1:41 Blankie and butt pat
1:50. Screaming. I try everything, including taking a temperature. Surely you're not hungry again. 

1:56. Eats again. I google growth spurts. One is expected at three months. Right on track. No wonder he won't stop eating.
2:23. Done eating & back to sleep
2:24 Just kidding. He cries as soon as I put him down. I throw in the binkie and bolt out. But you're awake. Here's to hoping you fall back asleep. Doubt it.

During the nap I manage to put together this little ditty to try and get my weeks organized. To this I'll add social stuff & play dates, goals for getting to the gym, and my daily dinner plans. It goes on the fridge.

2:40 I finish up my work on the computer. And he's wide awake. 

We grab Moose and head downstairs to start on the kitchen. Again. For a while I get my normal content baby. He's happy just chill in in his pumpkin seat, chewing on Moose! :) 

3:10 We move to the living room to fold laundry & worked on menu/schedule. {I know. Thrilling, right?}

He'll usually lay here for 45 minutes at a time just as happy as can be.

This age is fun because he's finally starting
to notice & enjoy his toys!

I'm still adjusting to life At Home, but for the most part I love it!

3:54 And WHAM. Smell that? It's time to break for stinky diaper. Of course he's managed to get it up his back. It's his signature move. We head upstairs for wardrobe change number three. Then we play for a little bit! 

Selfie Fun!

Sitting up is difficult for this "top heavy" baby!

4:10 He says he's hungry again. This is a good time for me to sit back and catch up on the latest episode of Beauty and the Beast. This is definitely one of the perks of breast feeding! A valid excuse to watch cheesy chicky flicky shows!
4:55 My show is over & he's sleeping. Time to start dinner!
5:30 Dad is home just in time for dinner. Beckett keeps sleeping.
5:50 He's awake and SCREAMING. BLOODY. MURDER. Dad tries changing, bouncing, etc. He's hungry again.

"I'm STAAARVING!"

"Mom hasn't fed you ALL DAY? I'm sorry buddy!"

6:17 He's snoring.
6:22 Awake. Daddy play time!
6:26 It's right about time for another explosive diaper. But this time, he blows up on daddy. People: This is my source of entertainment. HILARIOUS! 

Insert explosive sounds.

7p Dad heads upstairs to give a bath while I clean the kitchen and finish laundry.
7:20 I head upstairs and find this tired little man waiting patiently for his bath while dad talks shop about work on the phone.

The sink is our favorite place to store our kid.

7:30 Bath! Daddy is really good at bath time. And it's nice for mommy to have a baby free minute and daddy to get some bonding time before bed. Plus, Beckett LOVES the water. He cries when it's time to come out. 

7:59. He's out. Way to go, Daddy!

10:30p I wake Beckett up for a feeding before I go to bed. I work really hard to keep him awake and pray for a full night sleep!
10:51p Mommy's bed time.
10:56p re-binky
11:15p re-binky

And the next day, we start all over! Of course, I didn't realize when I decided to chronicle today that he would be so grumpy. He really isn't usually like that. Luckily, from here on out the growth spurts get further apart!