James at 4 Months {JT Update}

Hip, Hip Horay for this little guy being 4 months old! 

We definitely turned a corner on his fussiness around 3.5 months... he still doesn't like his carseat all the time, and I'm pretty sure we've hit the 4 month sleep regression... but he is so much happier than he used to be! Praises!!

We celebrated his baptism. Doing so had us serving lunch to around 50 family members and friends at our house. It was our first big hosting event and it really went well! It was so wonderful celebrating James' special day surrounded by so many family and friends! I figure we won't have to worry about hosting that many people again until high school graduations (just a few years away, ha!), as hosting holidays or even birthdays will never be to such a large group. A big thanks to my mom for helping clean the house and to everyone who helped in the kitchen on that day. I appreciate all of you!

This outfit was one that Dan wore, so I had to to make sure to take pictures in it before James outgrew it! Future baseball player? We'll just have to wait and see...

The many faces of James :) 

The top two are during breaks from the carseat going to and from family camp.

Then we have a smile of stealing Sister's chair after she had gone to bed... and then I was trying to teach him how to play with his toes.

What?! He's not crying in his carseat? Yay James! And, special daddy-son bonding time.

Cute toes during a nap :)

Time with cousin Lolo and with Grandpa Tim.

Sister time!!

More special people... 2nd cousins, first cousins and mommy's running friends!

Stats:

• Size 2 diapers
• Slowly transitioning from 3-6 month clothing to 6-9 month clothing
• Lots of drool and finger chewing, but his doctor doesn't think his teeth are even close to coming in
• He can finally keep the pacifier in by himself, although we try to only use it if he really needs it - like in the car, hanging out with anyone other than me, and if he's just being super fussy
• He loves his crinkly book and softie
• He has a very strong grip!
• He loves to stand and smile and chuckle
• Rocking is still the quickest way to get him to sleep
• For most of the past month, he had been waking about once a night to eat
• He still doesn't like bath time
• He loves his sister (except when his sister pokes him in the face, ha!) and his sister loves him!

One Month {JT Update}

Let's see if I can keep on top of these monthly update posts... I did pretty well with E's first year, so hopefully I can do the same for JT.

We chose tractors for his growth comparison pictures. The frame takes the place of the rope used for E, and the chalkboard tray is the same (although I did have to give it another coat of paint!).

One month old! He gained a pound in a week from his 5 day appointment to his 2 week appointment, but I have no guesses as to how much he weighs now. He definitely goes through plenty of diapers, so it is nice not having to worry about if he's gaining weight or not! He is out of his newborn sleepers and into the 0-3 month clothes; he's also out of newborn sized diapers and into size 1 already. 

His little eyes stay open longer now, although he still sleeps quite a bit. When he is awake, he's pretty fussy - nothing we aren't used to though, as E was a pretty fussy newborn as well. We just have to survive the first several months and I'm sure he'll be a happy baby then! He usually takes a decent nap in the afternoon, right around the time  E takes hers as well. Mommy likes the downtime this gives her! Nighttimes are still a bit of a struggle, but that too will pass eventually...

E still does very well with the new addition, although she does get tired of how often we have to change and feed him! We both look forward to when Daddy gets off work so she can burn off some energy! I also look forward to when the mornings are warmer, so we can spend even more time outside!

I also suspect as JT gets older and doesn't need me so much, things will get easier. E has shown more interest in touching, hugging and holding her brother this past week; as JT becomes more interactive, I'm sure her interest will also increase (or perhaps she'll be bored of him by then, ha!)

A little comparison picture. Dan is the pro at the colic hold! JT in the top picture and E in the bottom picture... calm as can be with some pressure on their tummies!

Last but not least, we've been busy in the garden and in the front flower beds, and we're hoping that our little plants are tough - the thermometer hit 32 degrees last night! If they don't survive, at least it's still early in the season so we can replant if needed. (JT lasted maybe 5 minutes in his rock-in-play outside. I'll just stick to wearing him in a carrier while outside for a few more weeks...)

Welcome Gus-Gus {DIY Wall-Art}

Welcome Gus-Gus! Well, you're not Gus-Gus anymore... so...

Welcome James Thomas :)

He came three weeks early, but things are going well so far. He's a sleepy little thing during the day, but his nights are getting better. His latch is slowly getting better, too, so hopefully nursing continues to improve as well. 

I'll post more about him as the weeks and month go on, but as for now, here is the DIY Wall Art that I made for his nursery.

We have had this covered with a blanket for the last month or so... that way no one could see the name until he arrived!

Just a quick rundown of how we made this wall-hanging...

• Dan joined two reclaimed wood boards with a brace and drilled a hole in the back where we can hang it on a nail (that's been pounded into a stud in the wall). 

• I used my go-to charcoal transfer method to transfer the image of an elk silhouette (found after a quick internet search, enlarged in photoshop, and taped together after printing). 

• This transfer method is a little more challenging on this type of wood. I was painting more by looking for the indentation made by the tracing step rather than the charcoal. I also had to eye-ball quite a few places where I couldn't see any indication of where I should be painting. 

• I also learned that a paint marker doesn't work as well on this wood, so after finding the outline with the paint marker, I used craft paint and a small paintbrush instead. 

And, there it is! It looks a lot better out in the open than covered in a blanket!

PS: I'll post about his quilt soon :)