Sunday, July 22, 2012

Bath-time, Then and Now

Two Weeks
Three Months

Two Weeks (so unhappy!)
Three Months



Saturday, July 21, 2012

Nighttime Routine

Recently, we started Rhett on a routine to calm him down and get him ready for bed. We've only been doing it for three nights, but it does seem to work to get him calmed down and asleep for the night. Really though, this is just a special time for the three of us. We start by changing Rhett into some footie pajamas. We always pick two and ask him which ones he wants to wear before we put them on him. Next, it's storytime. We do two stories, but always end with a Nighttime book time "It's Time To Sleep". The rhythm and pictures seem to be good for soothing Rhett to sleep. After the story, we say our prayers, then put him down, pat his back, and sing to him until he falls asleep (Jesus Loves Me--Allelujah style!).

It's nice to get to set aside this time together as a family. Rhett sits in my lap while Josh reads and Rhett just watches him so intently. Usually he's yawning by the time we're into the second book. And it usually takes about three rounds of the song before he's fast asleep.

We've always meant to read to, pray with and sing to Rhett. This way makes it a really intentional part of our day. I don't know if it helps him sleep better or not, but I hope to continue the routine anyway. Josh and I are about to get a lot busier when school starts, and I hope that we can continue to have quiet time with one another as the night winds down.

Rhett shows off his nighttime book

Rhett in his Chair (outtakes)

Poor Rhett. There he was minding his own business, not hurting anyone, and his mean mommy decides to put him in a stupid outfit with a stupid bonnett and make him sit in a chair while she tried to snap a decent photo. What is this world coming to?


Make no mistake. I'm pretty sure he objected most to being put in this outfit: 
what's a boy mom supposed to do? 

3 Months!


Whoa! 3 months old! Rhett is out of the fourth trimester and is officially no longer an infant, but a full-out baby! How fast, the past three months have flown! Not be all gross (my grandparents read this blog!) But sometime in the next week or so, Rhett will have been alive for a full year. He was conceived around the end of July/beginning of August last year. To think that he went from nothing to what he is now in just a year is just mind-boggling to me. God is amazing!
Physically, Rhett seems to be a little bit ahead of the curve developmentally. Smaller babies can usually reach physical milestones quickly because they have less weight to be throwing around. Rhett's neck and head control are really good. He can roll over from belly to back whenever he wants and he loves to watch and bat at various toys. 

check out that head control 

Socially, he seems to be a little slower. He started smiling this month (though not at the camera!) He babbles and coos at us constantly. He's still on track with most babies his age for these milestones, but he does seem to hit all of them after he's already accomplished all of his physical tasks for the month. We love seeing our baby smile! Is there anything better than that? His happiest time is morning, after his bottle. He'll just stare up at us and coo and smile for hours. It's insanely cute and heartwarming. 

I'm going to start taking monthly pictures of Rhett in this new chair that Josh's mom bought for Rhett: 
3 months (and one day) Old!
I think it will be cute to watch how much he grows into his little chair in the next couple of months

Tuesday, July 17, 2012

Grandma Visits!


My mom had the chance to come up to St. Louis for a visit this week! Rhett loves visitors, especially family. He is getting really social, so being around new people is always totally thrilling for him (and exhausting!)
Getting to see my parents as grandparents is WEIRD. I've just never had any idea what they would be like in that role, and it's really new and cool for me. They are so in love with the baby, it's so amazing to watch them interact with Rhett. Rhett is so blessed to have so many people in his life who love him so much
Grandma always brings new outfits
With my mom here, Josh and I got to go on our first real date since Rhett has been born! It was fun, we went to a movie and just relaxed. Rhett was asleep for the night before the movie even started, so I didn't have to worry about him all night, which was great. It's nice to have family around to watch him, as I wouldn't trust a baby sitter just yet.

We also took our first trip to the zoo as a family! It was really, really hot. But Rhett actually enjoyed watching the monkeys swing from branch to branch. Josh held him up in front of a snake display. Rhett focused in on the snake, looked at it for about five seconds and then started wailing. So I guess he's afraid of snakes. Apparently these things start young.

Wednesday, July 11, 2012

Rolling Over!


this baby loves his daddy




Rhett is definitely in a phase where he is a complete and total Daddy's boy. He love babbling away at Josh and starts to whine as soon as he dad leaves the room. Josh also seems to have the magic touch that puts Rhett right to sleep (for the night! HAVE I MENTIONED THAT HE IS SLEEPING THROUGH THE NIGHT?! ZOMG IT IS AMAZING!)

My boys are so cute together, aren't they?

Saturday, July 7, 2012

Why Hello

Hello, neglected blog and blog readers.

We have been busy, busy, busy over the last couple of weeks with our move to the new and exciting city of St. Louis. There's a lot coming our way over the next two years in this city and we're thrilled to finally be here.

All of the boxes are unpacked, but not everything is put away. Rhett's room and the kitchen are completely done, but everything else looks like a tornado went through it. We really like our new apartment. The pessimist in me feels compelled to notice the lack of closet space and icebox, but really, the place is very, very nice and I think we'll be very happy here. I get teary thinking of Rhett taking his first steps in the living room.

And speaking of Rhett...GUESS WHO'S BEEN SLEEPING THROUGH THE NIGHT? I'm cautiously optimistic that this behavior will continue. I know babies will sometimes sleep for like, a week and then never again. But it has been really nice to get the extra hours of sleep this week, because we've been exhausted. Last night, he slept from about 10:00-7:00 (!!!!!!!)

St. Louis is like, insanely hot right now. I am not used to this weather at all, and neither is Rhett. He hasn't worn clothes in a few days and has developed a love of fans. We finally caved and have been keeping the a/c at a pretty low level. I'm not looking forward to the gas bill, but I don't think you can put a price on air conditioning when the temperature is in the triple digits.

I'll be updating soon with pictures of our new place, Rhett's nursery (spoiler alert: I'm not thrilled with it), and new pictures of the baby (he's huge!)