Sunshine, Rainbows and Bananas: Cael

My sweet "Cael-bo," as your mommy calls you as a inside nod to the middle name chosen for you eight years before you existed, you are growing so fast, and changing everyday. Most days, I wish time would slow down just a bit so I could take in each moment and savor it to the last drop. But the fact is, you are evolving, learning new things, showing us your personality, and flirting with the world. Mommy and Daddy truly think you are the best thing, and we have no idea or recollection of our life before you arrived. This month was filled with more fun firsts...mommy and daddy going back to work, learning your new normal with our nanny (the wonderful Miss Millie), rolling over, finally enjoying tummy time, and my personal favorite...your first giggle, which was the most amazing sound I've ever heard. You absolutely LOVE to be with mommy and daddy, but luckily, you also light up when you see Miss Millie, which eases our worries about being away from you to be back at work. We really enjoy to face-time with family in Ohio. Every Sunday, we go to church together, and you are literally an angel for the hour we are there...either sleeping, or smiling at everyone in the pew behind us. Then we go to brunch, just like mommy and daddy used to before you joined our family, and you love to laugh and play. You got two snow days with Daddy this month, which he loved!

Height: Not sure, we don't go back to the doctor until you are 4 months

Weight: We are guessing around 16 pounds...BIG boy!

Size: You are a moose, wearing almost exclusively size 6 month clothing. It was very sad to pack up all of your baby clothes that you didn't get to wear. We'll just have to save it for the next one daddy says. ;) You are in size two diapers, but likely moving into 3's soon.

Sleeping: You are still sleeping through the night, thank goodness. Generally you fall asleep at 9:30-10, but you have been trying to push back your bedtime to about 8:45. You still sleep until 7 or 8 in the morning, which is amazing. It makes daddy sad sometimes that you sleep so late because he doesn't get to see your sweet smile before he leaves for work! There was a few days this month, close to the three-month birthday, that you decided to wake up at 2:00 a.m. and fuss the rest of the morning. NOT FUN! You spoiled mommy and daddy since week six, so waking up with you in the middle of the night was a new experience, and not one we hope to revisit anytime soon. We'll chalk it up as a growth spurt. We did try when you turned 12 weeks to move you into your room, in the crib. You slept well for a few hours, then just stared at the ceiling for a few hours. So, you are back in the bassinet in our room for now. Mommy is ready to have our room back at night, but daddy missed your snoring. :) So for now, you are bunking next to our bed until we get a feeling it's time to get crib-exclusive.

Eating: You love to eat! We thought you would be taking bigger bottles less frequently at this point, but you only do that some days. You are still basically at 5-6 ounces, every 3-4 hours during the day. Mommy got very sick this past month with the flu that lasted one weekend. I couldn't feed you, so daddy had to come home from a wrestling tournament to take care of you and prepare bottles from our milk storage. Luckily, I was able to pump about three times, but from getting sick so many times, the dehydration caused my milk to disappear for about a week. This was very stressful and hard on both you and I. Luckily, I was able to get things back to normal, and back on track. You are a very good breastfeeder. One weekend this month, we were out shopping after church, and you were ready to eat. I didn't want to find a place to sit because we were in the middle of our grocery list, so I threw the "hooter hider" on, and you latched right on while we walked around the rest of the store. You amaze me how flexible and easy going you can be!

Playing: You much prefer to be sitting up on our lap, or standing on your feet rather than laying on your back anymore. You kick like crazy on your play mat and give the hanging octopus a good talking to. Everyday when we pick you up from the nanny, she tells us "he played HARD." Luckily, it usually wears you out so you can have a good nap during the day.

Milestones: Folding your hands together like you are praying, then promptly putting both hands in your mouth to make cheeks like a chipmunk! Rolling over...which you've decide to only do for Millie. Enjoying tummy time a bit more and holding our chest up so high now. Laughing...and it's such a beautiful sound, especially when you get to squealing about something that is hilarious to you! Grabbing things with your hands (left-handed so far, which makes daddy really happy! haha) and putting that in your mouth. We were so happy we didn't have to hold your teether for you anymore. You understand peek-a-boo now, and giggle when we play it! You sit in your high chair almost everynight at the dinner table with mommy and daddy, and just laugh at us eating. You laugh when you put your feet up on the table and mommy tells you we aren't going to do that!! I think the ornery has set in, STRONG. haha

"Caelisms": You are very interested in watching mommy eat and sort of get a serious study face trying to figure out what I'm doing. Pulling at mommy's hair every chance you get, which is not fun since you are so strong! Let's convince daddy to let me chop it off! ;) You still LOVE to be on your changing pad looking in the mirror and we are just waiting for you to realize the baby you are smiling at is YOU. Singing to the radio when you are awake in the car. Drooling like it's nobody's business! You also talk to avoid sleeping, just like your cousin Waylon did. Even through the binkey sometimes, you will make a ton of noise, eyes closed, just to avoid falling all the way to sleep. As soon as Daddy heard it, he knew what you were doing because he remembered Waylon doing the exact same thing! And, whenever we pull the camera or video camera out, you immediately stop doing whatever cute thing you were doing, and give the camera a serious stare...and there is no hiding it from you at all (an example is posted below!)! You now have a serious attachment to "Mr. Bear, the lovie" that Auntie Cindy gave us at our baby shower. You love to give him kisses, eat his arms, and rub the satin to fall asleep.