Tuesday, October 16, 2012

Rainy Tuesday

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It’s been a lovely, rainy, cozy morning.  We were in the nursery when the rain started.  M Bug kept looking at the ceiling trying to figure out what that noise was.  So we moved to the living room to look at the window. 

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M was FASCINATED.  I have rarely seen him so enthralled.

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Lizzy soon joined him.  M was sitting in her favorite perch, after all.  The two of them sat side by side for a long while.  Just admiring the beauty of raindrops falling.  I think it will be a day for cuddling in blankets, reading stories, and sipping hot chocolate. 

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Thursday, October 11, 2012

Falling

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Today, we loaded everyone in the car and drove to the park to enjoy the sunshine and fall leaves. 

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We’ve had a tough couple of days. Nothing major. Just adjusting nap schedules and a minor illness. Nevertheless, a family outing was just what we needed. M was absolutely BEAMING when we got out of the car.

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This adorable munchkin kept us hopping trying to keep him from eating the fall foliage whilst he was sitting on the grass for a photo op. 

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If I’m being honest, we got way more photos like this…

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than we did of him smiling.  Actually, even those above two aren’t entirely representative because about 50% of the pictures of him sitting on the grass have daddy’s hand reaching through the frame to retrieve the leaves on their way to M’s mouth. 

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I love watching my little boy explore the world.  EVERYTHING is amazing to him.  He makes me pause and really recognize what a beautiful place this earth is. 

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I really wanted a photo of all of us, so I set the camera to self timer and then propped it on a nearby BBQ grill.

The results were kind of funny.  M’s face made me laugh out loud when I saw what I had captured.  But I love them.  They are very true to what our life is like right now.   

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How I love spending time with my boys.  These days are truly golden. 

Monday, October 8, 2012

Those Dang Paparazzi

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What you are seeing in the above photo is actually a pretty common sight at our house. M Bug being cute and Mommy and Daddy tripping over each other to capture it on camera. We sometimes joke that M knows what it feels like to be hounded by the paparazzi because he constantly has a camera pointed in his direction. Poor guy just can’t get any privacy. He’s got a camera trained on him every move he makes and often even while he’s in the bath (though he is always tastefully covered with a washcloth or rubber duckie haha)!

We were snapping away last night as M Bug and Liz were sitting side by side on the bed. This one cracks me up:

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It’s like Liz is saying, “Who is this bald puppy who rivals even me in cuteness? How dare he steal my thunder!”

Don’t be fooled though, these two really are good pals. Liz still is very protective of M. She is constantly creeping into the nursery after I have put him in bed for the night. I’ll find her laying at the foot of the crib, faithfully guarding the baby. And she still often howls at us if M is crying like, “Guys, aren’t you going to help him?!” M loves to watch Lizzy chase her hedgehog. And he is always trying to pet her if she is sitting nearby.

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Sunday, October 7, 2012

Punkin’ Patch

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On Friday we took M Bug to the punkin’ patch!  It was a really nice October afternoon.  Such a pleasant day to go for an outing.  We went on a very bumpy hay ride and showed M the pigs, goats, and bunnies in the petting zoo.  Of course we took pictures.  Lots and lots of pictures. 

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I love the picture of Spencie kissing M Bug.  That’s one of his tickle spots.   

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Oh baby, those sweet cheeks of yours just melt my heart.  He is just so deliciously rotund! 

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We didn’t get to do the corn maze.  Maybe we’ll have to go back! 

Friday, October 5, 2012

M at Six Months

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As you know, Baby Boy turned SIX months old!  Crazy!  I was actually super emotional on his actual half-birthday.  I still can’t believe he’s here.  That he’s ours.  We feel so grateful both to our Heavenly Father and our sweet Natalie Girl.  What I wanted more than anything was to have Nat here with us.  But though she was busy being a student and a working woman miles away, we thought of her all day long.    

(If you like Mason’s ADORABLE little gnome hat, you can order one for yourself (or your little one as the case may be)!  Spencer’s co-anchor, Natalee made two little hats for M Bug and we LOOOOOOOOOOVE them.  He will be wearing them a lot in the near future, I do believe.  He wore them today in fact :).  Natalee is opening up an etsy shop, but she also does customized colors and can add a flower to the girly hats.  Like to order one?  Visit Natalee’s website HERE.) 

These days, Baby is getting so good at sitting up on his own!  Every time we go the doctor, he comments on M’s muscles.  He definitely does have some definition under that cute chub, as well as super broad shoulders for a wee one.  And he is STRONG.  Like when he’s getting burped, he will throw all of his weight backwards and arch his back with all his might.  It's sometimes all I can do to keep him upright.  He can seriously kick those little legs too.  Tonight his bouncer was sitting next to the table and he put his foot on the table leg and pushed the table so hard he moved it.       

He loves to pump his left leg while he is sitting in his bouncer and rock as fast as he can.  He still adores his car seat.  He likes his high chair and his Johnny Jump-up too.  Although, he still hasn’t figured out how to JUMP in the Johnny Jump-up.  He mostly walks in circles with a huge grin on his face.  He thinks it’s pretty cool to be upright like a big boy.  We got M one of those little mesh bag things (I can’t for the life of me remember what they’re called) that safely holds solid food for babies to chew on.  We put a banana in there today and yesterday and M was in heaven gumming that poor banana to death.  He got food everywhere.  It was all over his face and in his hair.  It’s nice because M can practice feeding himself and he feels like such a big boy when he can do that.  He always wants to hold the spoon when I’m trying to feed him, but of course isn’t coordinated enough to get the food to his mouth.  So he loved eating the banana all on his own.   

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One of my FAVORITE things that M has started doing is giving kisses.  When I say, “Can I have a kiss?” M will open his mouth as WIDE as he can and plant a big wet one on my cheek.  He doesn’t do it every time.  He can be stingy with those kisses!  Which, I guess makes it all the more special when you do get one.  I never thought I would love getting slobbered on so much, but M’s soggy kisses totally melt my heart.  He still blows raspberries from sunup to sundown.     

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Something kind of funny about M is that he never fusses when he wakes up in the morning or from a nap.  He lays quietly in his crib pulling off his socks and chewing on his toes (he won’t leave socks on for anything).  Some mornings I have no idea what time he woke up because when I peek in to check on him he is already wide awake.  He usually sleeps about 12 to even 13 hours a night and takes a couple of 20 minute naps.  He is a cat napper, which really isn’t all that surprising since he sleeps such a long stretch at night.  One of my favorite times of day is getting him out of his crib in the morning.  He gives me the biggest grin in the world like he’s saying, “Mom!  You’re here!  Thank you for rescuing me!”  He is such a content baby and can entertain himself for long periods of time. 

One of my favorite things about Baby is how affectionate he is.  He LOVES to cuddle.  His favorite place is in our arms, which we are more than okay with.  When he rests his little head on my chest, there’s just nothing better.  It’s those moments that most make we want to freeze time.  I try to memorize every single little detail of how he feels in my arms and the smell of his baby shampoo.  I never ever want to forget these most precious times of his childhood.  They are golden.

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If we’re really lucky, sometimes M will sing along to the radio or hum along as we sing primary songs.  He is most vocal when we are driving in the car.  He giggles the loudest when we tickle his collarbone or thighs.  He also thinks it’s pretty hilarious when we pretend to eat his fingers or tummy. 

Oh big boy, will you slow down a little already? 

Wednesday, October 3, 2012

Happy Half!

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Today the bug turned six months old!  Absurd!  I mean really, how the heck did that happen?  I can’t even wrap my mind around my baby being half a year old.  Those were the fastest six months of my entire life.

Today, we celebrated.  I don’t intend on celebrating every half birthday from now on.  I just was excited about this one.  I love a good excuse to eat cake.  Of course, Baby didn’t get any of his own half-birthday cake (sorry Bub, you can eat fistfuls of cake when you turn one).  But he enjoyed hearing us sing “Happy Half- Birthday” all day long.  And he loved donning his party hat for photos.  Really, what it came down to was I wanted to try my hand at cake decorating.    

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Well, I’ll never be a professional.  But it was lots of fun to make and even more fun to eat. 

Unfortunately, it wasn’t all fun and games all day.  M had his well check visit at the doctor and had to get three shots in the fat little thigh!  Poor baby!

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M is currently 27 inches long (75th percentile) and 18 pounds 6 ounces (75th percentile), which actually means he is slimming down.  NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!  Prior to getting his shots, M had a blast at the doctors office.  He had the time of his life ripping the paper on the exam table to shreds.  He really did go to town on that paper (as you can see).  It actually makes me even more excited for Christmas.  I bet he is going to love unwrapping his presents. 

Tuesday, October 2, 2012

Just a Slight Obsession

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I kind of have this thing for fall.  October especially.  Pumpkins in particular.  I LOVE them.  Nay, ADORE them.  I can’t stop myself from decorating my house with them and eating recipes containing them. 

And lately, I have been dressing my baby in pumpkin clothing.  This kiddo has more punkin’ outfits than is probably reasonable.

But they’re just so cute.  I mean can you blame me?!  Did you SEE that punkin’ beanie?  I try to put in on him everywhere we go, but Spencer always takes it off saying, “It’s not cold enough for beanies yet dearie.”  But it will be soon.  And when it is you can bet your bootie that M is going to be rockin’ that punkin’ beanie every. single. day. 

And what about this little beauty: 
p1I die!  It is just so cute!  We all know how I feel about details on the diaper bum. 

The other night, M stayed up waaaaaaaaay past his bedtime.  And we all know the consequences of staying up too late.  Yup, later on when I checked on M, I was amazed to see that he had turned INTO a punkin’!  See for yourself: 

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So for those of you who stay up way past your bedtime, let this be a lesson to you. 

Anyway, there you have it.  Evidence that I maybe have some kind of obsessive compulsive pumpkin disorder. 

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And I bet you’ll never in a million years guess what M is going to be for Halloween.