3 months old

Today my little man is 3 months old! It is also my first day back to work after being off for 12 weeks :( Honestly I'm quite sad about both things. 1) My little guy is getting too big, too fast & 2) I am sad to be leaving him after spending 24/7 with him for the last 84 days.

I have decided that with these monthly milestones, I am going to be more so documenting on Mason's stats & accomplishments so I have them in writing & won't forget all the amazing things this little boy is doing. After his 1st birthday, I am going to print each month's post & put it in his baby book so forgive me if these posts seem more "personal". I just don't want to forget anything.

So here goes....
 

Mason you are now 3 months old! How did that happen so fast? You are getting so big, so fast & continue to be the love of our lives. 

The last month you have been quite the fussy baby dealing with reflux, spitting up & a bit of projectile vomit after you eat but since we have switched you from Zantac to Prilosec, I am relieved to say that you have become a happy little guy. It truly melts my heart to see you so happy. You have also really started to interact with mommy & daddy when we talk to you & will follow us with your eyes & look for us when you hear our voice. Mornings are when you are at your happiest, are all smiles & love to "talk" to us! It is truly one of the best sounds in the world & we just love hearing your little voice.

Weight: I'm guessing you weigh around 14lbs & you have really started to fill out. Your chunky cheeks are the best & I love to plant kisses on them! Your furry brother Bubba also likes to sneak a smooch to those cheeks ;) Your legs are quite chunky also with lots of  "rolls" & you have the cutest little "buddha belly".  You are still wearing a size 1 diaper which I forsee an upsize to a size 2 in the very near future! You are still fitting into most of your 3 month clothes but because you are so long we have had to upsize most of your sleepers to 6 mos. If I had to guess, I think you are going to be tall like your daddy!? 

Sleep: This past week you fell into a nice routine of consistently taking a good morning & afternoon nap. Of course this occurred right before I am to return to work - lol! You will go down around 9am & 1pm & nap for about 2-3 hours each time. You like to take a little 5pm "cat-nap" & then go to bed around 8:30pm. You are sleeping until 2am, up for a feeding then back down from 2:30-5am, up for another feeding - usually in the bed with mommy & daddy & will sleep until around 7:30am. Hoping you don't miss the early morning snuggles as much as mommy will when I go back to work!?

Eating: You nurse like a champ & dare I say - you love the boobies! Since mommy goes back to work next week, I have started to transition you to bottles only during the day & nursing in the evening, night & early morning. So far the transition has gone well so that is a relief - especially for your daddy who will be taking care of you my first week back. I don't know who is more scared - him or me!! You seem to eat every 2-3 hours & take in about 4 oz with a bottle.

Milestones: A couple of weeks ago you discovered your hands. You like to stick them in your mouth - usually both at the same time - & will suck & slurp on them. I have also caught you sucking a thumb or a finger! You also like to hold your hands while you sleep or have your little fists up by your face which makes swaddling you difficult. You look like a little angel when you are asleep - so peaceful. 

You love to lay on your play-mat & watch the lights & you recently discovered that when you kick the rattles they make noise so your legs are constantly moving & kicking & you get so excited. It is so cute to watch! I'm sure it's just a matter of time before you find your feet & start grabbing them too!

You love your pacifier & it has been a lifesaver for us when you are fussy. This past week I got out your links & you love to grab them & will play with them until you wear yourself out:

Your head/neck control is excellent & you rock at "tummy time"! Even your Pediatrician commented on how impressed he was on your head control! 

You especially love to walk with your daddy (which he refers to as "riding-high") while holding your head up, looking around, checking things out & he can usually calm you down by doing this when mommy can't. 

You love to sit & watch your bulldog puppies when they are sitting next to us & you will look for them when we enter into a room. We can't wait until you are more mobile & can interact with the bullies without fear that they will accidentally hurt you because they are so big & you are so small.

And this week you went on your very first ride in the stroller & you loved it! Can't wait for the weather to get warmer so we can enjoy many more walks outside!

You continue to amaze us little man each & everyday & we can't wait to see what you accomplish next! Happy 3 Monthday :)

A Night Out

Today my dear friend Samantha married the man of her dreams. You may remember from previous posts that she is Mama to Maggie & Miles whom we often "bully-sit" for:

The man she married is also one of the Cardiologist's I work with. It was a beautiful reception held at The Carriage Club on the Plaza & the bride of course looked absolutely stunning! 

The food was dee-lish & the best part of any wedding - the cake - was amazing! Unfortunately, I didn't get a picture of it since I had my hands full with Mason :( However, I was very happy to see that the servings of cake were huge AND there was plenty of it to go around so yes, I did have a piece of vanilla & also ate a piece of chocolate cake as well :) I got no shame! Besides, with breastfeeding they say to consume an additional 500 calories daily so I just considered it my extra calories!!

Since the whole family got dressed up for the occasion, thought we best get a family photo! Too bad little stinker's hands were in his mouth :(

Oh & I have decided that I am going to go into business in the future making dressy apparel for a 0-3 mos old. I searched for 2 weeks, went to 7 different children's stores & do you know that I could not find an affordable, seasonal pair of dressy pants or even a little suit in a size 3 mos for Mason to wear to this wedding? I barely was able to find a dressy shirt for him to wear! Needless to say it was quite frustrating. So, as you can see, we opted for a pair of jeans & a button-down shirt - yeah, we are classy like that but hey, that is all we had to work with. We have a wedding at the end of June to attend also & he will be 6 mos old by then. You can bet I have already started to shop for his outfit!

We had a great time, enjoyed great food & I even got to see my dear friend Stephanie! She worked with me at the hospital & I actually trained her - then a year later she up & left me :( Her husband accepted a job in Dallas that he couldn't refuse so she had to move & was not real happy about it. I was so glad to get to see her & spend some time catching up! Steph is also a K-State fan so I had to tease her about our matching belt's - they are KU colors :)

It was so nice to be able to get dressed up with the hubby & have a night out - as a family of three :)

Sip-n-See

Last night we gathered with our wonderful neighbors here in the cul-de-sac for a post-baby shower. Or as the southerner's like to call it after the baby has arrived - a "Sip-n-See". You gather together, "sip" on beverages of your choice & everyone gets to "see" the new baby :)

Since we have all kind of hibernated this winter we really haven't seen our neighbor's much so it was nice to come out of hiding & all get together so they could meet & see Mason!

Here is Mason & Daddy before we changed & got ready to leave:

Dave & Gael hosted the shower & provided brisket & dessert for the meal while everyone else brought a side dish to share. The food was all so very good - especially the cupcakes:

The house was decorated with the cutest baby shower decor & the saying was perfect as we consider Mason our "little miracle baby":

After we all stuffed ourselves on yummy food & dessert, it was gift opening time. Shane & I opened gifts together as Mason was passed around the group for cuddles & snuggles! Our neighbors were so very generous as we got LOTS of great gifts along with several gift cards & a few last things off our registry:

One of my favorite gifts would have to be the KU sock monkey & these personalized burp cloths! I just love seeing stuff with Mason's name on it :)

One for me & one for Shane :) I find it especially funny that Shane now has his own burp cloth as it never fails - whenever Shane goes to hold Mason he always spits-up all over him & Shane never has a burp cloth handy. Now he has no excuse - lol :)

I had wanted to get a family picture of all three of us along with pictures of some of the neighbors holding Mason but unfortunately the night got away from us & between eating & socializing with everyone it just didn't happen :( Oh well - next time as there are sure to be lots more cul-de-sac gatherings this summer!

Thanks to Gael for hosting a lovely baby shower & to all our wonderful neighbors for the generous gifts. So lucky to be surrounded by such kind & supportive people!

SPIN!

It had been several days since I have been out of the house - which has been really good for my budget :) so I had sent out a text message to my "Destin" girlfriends to see if anyone could meet up for dinner sometime this week. Luckily all of them could but one so we all met at SPIN! this evening for pizza, salad & lots of catching up.

Being on maternity leave I feel so isolated from the outside world & my friends - not that I would change it for anything because I love being at home & spending all this time with Mason - but it is good for this mommy to put some make-up on, get out of the house & mingle with girlfriends every now & then! And with my leave coming to an end on April 22nd :( I need to take advantage of the time while I can!

As usual I had good intentions of getting pics of all of us but it just didn't happen! I did however manage to get a pic of the two mommies & their babies :) Always enjoy spending time with these two sweet girls - Jen & Miss Ava!!

Thanks ladies for giving me a reason to shower & get out of the house for a fun evening out!!

Happy Hoppy Easter

This past weekend I put on my "big-girl pants", packed up the car & Mason & I headed to South Dakota for the weekend - just me & an 8 week old. Crazy? YES

I had debated about going by myself for a few days but figured why not?! I am on maternity leave with nothing better to do, my dad, grandparents & brother haven't seen Mason yet & why not? 

To my surprise, he actually traveled better than I had hoped. We left around 730am - right after feeding him & he slept the entire 7 hour drive other than waking up to eat - such a trooper!

On Saturday, my brother & his family made their way to my parents farm for the weekend. It was so nice having them there & seeing how big my nieces & nephew are getting. They definitely aren't little babies anymore :(

Here is my nephew Lane & niece Joslyn dying eggs for Easter morning:

 

We had a couple of visitors throughout the weekend to see Mason. First my mom's friend Betty came by:

 

Then on Sunday, our dear friend Mary Ellen stopped by for some snuggles:

 

Easter Day was spent with my relatives (grandparents, aunt, uncle, cousins) eating a good Easter Buffet at Minerva's restaurant & afterwards we headed over to my cousin Lexy's house to hang out for the rest of the afternoon. It was good getting to see my grandparents & the rest of the family - even if it was for a short time.

Mason in his "Easter outfit" which had a cute little bunny on the butt :)

 

 

When we got back to my parents place we dined on leftovers & some yummy Easter cake. One good thing about my mom's kitchen - you can be sure that there is always some kind of dessert waiting to be eaten :)

On Monday we packed up once again to make our way back to Kansas. But first we made sure to get in one last snuggle with Grandpa:

And with Grandma:

The trip back home was about as uneventful as the trip to SD & I am SO glad I made the trip! Mason again slept the whole way back other than to eat & I was so relieved. I am hoping our trip back to SD in June for his baptism will be just as uneventful but Mason will be 6 month's old then so I am seriously doubting it!?

When we got back home, I found that these little beauties had bloomed in my absence:

Looks like spring has finally sprung!

Hope you all had a wonderful Easter & enjoyed the time spent with your families!