Dear Jude: 4 Months

Dear Baby Jude,

First of all, I hope you realize that, regardless of how old you get, we will always call you "baby Jude." It just rolls off the tongue. You are four months old and, once again, I'm amazed at how quickly another month has passed.


You had your four month check-up at the pediatrician yesterday and we found out that you weigh 14 pounds, 7 ounces (40th%) and are 24 inches long (20th%)! You are growing so well and we are so thankful!


Buddy, you're doing great developmentally as well and don't seem to be delayed from being a preemie at all! You are holding your head up and have great neck control and have rolled over from tummy to back a few times!


You have dropped a few feedings and are nursing 6 times a day. You are taking between 5 and 6 ounces of breast milk while I'm at work and always do really well with your bottles, yay! We got the okay to start solids, so you will be trying cereal in the next week!


Sleep wise, you're still pretty unpredictable but have been doing well. Sometimes you will have a 9 hour stretch of sleep at night, but it's usually between 6 & 7. I'm not complaining, I have faith you'll stretch it out longer soon! I think we are rapidly approaching the end of your swaddling sleep which will be an adjustment for sure!


Sweet boy, we are having so much fun watching you learn and grow! You continue to be a little snuggle bug and you looooove any attention you are given. I have to be careful not to make eye contact with you when I feed you in the middle of the night because once I do you stop eating and smile and laugh and coo. It's absolutely precious, but we need our sleep! For every minute that you scream, you also smile...we appreciate that trade off. You're starting to notice and pay attention to Liam. The other day the two of you smiled and laughed at each other for ten minutes straight--it completed my life. Being your mommy has already been so much fun, I can't wait to see what you do next!

Love you forever, and ever,
Momma

We have a roller!

Today is Jude's 4 month birthday and to celebrate he decided to roll over for the very first time...twice! Mommy missed them both, but I got a picture of him once he was worn out!




I will be back on Thursday with his 4 month update. I want to wait until after his pediatrician appointment so we have his measurements. Love, love, love this little boy!

My best friend's wedding

If you follow me on Facebook, twitter, or instagram you may have noticed that my best friend got married yesterday!

I was so thrilled to be able to stand up with her as she married her prince charming, what an honor! I was also thrilled to be reunited with "my Garton family." Mary and I were so inseparable growing up that I know and love all of her extended family as well.

Along with being an all-around amazing person, Mary is also the craftiest and most creatively artsy person I know. She planned, created, and concocted every detail of her wedding. It was stunningly beautiful and so much fun!

Here are a few shots I took with my phone, I cannot wait to see the professional images!






(these "trees" were lovingly "rescued" from random stranger's yards after and ice storm, spray painted, and bedecked with mirrored ornaments and candles...gorgeous)






(burlap, candles, and tree trunks, can't go wrong)






(sister Sarah pinning on Brett's boutineer)



(Gorgeous hydrangea bouquet, made by friend Kaylee, adorned with a cameo from Mae's late Nonna)



(the grounds of the camp she got married at had a CAROUSEL, that we got to use for pictures! So. Much. Fun.)



(this is Jen, Mae's step-sister, she made the wedding gown. Yup.)






(The most laid back bride in the history of forever, putting my screw-on earrings on for me.)



(breathtaking)




Mae, you have always been "my most beautiful friend," and I've always meant that about your physical beauty and your character, but you outdid even yourself yesterday! Thanks for letting me share in your joy and for always making me laugh. I'm so thankful we got to chose each other as sisters so many years ago that it's just who we are now. Love you forever, Sarah

Dear Jude: 3 months

Dear Baby Jude,

You are already a quarter of a year old!? You are growing and learning so quickly, it's almost scary! We are loving your emergence into babyhood as you leave those sleepy newborn days.




Buddy, you are all about being your own person, and I love that! You will never be the same as your brother, but it would be okay if you wanted to pick up his sleeping habits. :) That being said, you are not an awesome sleeper. You are very unpredictable. You nap anywhere from 30 minutes-2 hours and your night stretches vary between 3-6 hours. Hopefully, this month you get a little more consistent.




I don't know your exact growth stats, but at your 2 month appointment two weeks ago, you weighed 11.1 pounds and were 22.25 inches long! That puts you in the 15th percentile for both length and weight! You are wearing mostly 0-3 month clothes and size 1 diapers when you aren't in a cloth diaper. You are getting really good at holding your head up and can almost roll over! You are smiling, cooing, laughing, and kicking. We are so pleased with your growth and development!




You love to eat, baby Jude! During the day you eat every three hours and get up once or twice at night to eat. You've been nursing almost exclusively to this point. You usually have a 5 ounce bottle of breast milk before bed. You do great at taking bottles which is great, starting tomorrow you will be 50% bottle fed while mommy is at work.




Jude, you have two moods: happy and furious! Things that make you happy: mommy, ceiling fans, playing in the floor, milk, funny sounds/faces, white noise, bath time, having your face/head tickled, mornings, kicking your legs, and playing in your bouncy seat. Things that make you furious: having to wait for milk, wet/dirty diapers, burping, afternoons/evenings, and being swaddled when you don't want to be.




Darling boy, you are loved so very much! Your mommy and daddy are so proud of you and your big brother is completely enchanted by you. We are so thankful that you have made us a family of four!

Love you forever, and ever,
Mommy

A snow story:

Last Thursday night it started snowing big, fluffy flakes. As they started sticking to the patio we decided that we really wanted to wake Liam up to let him experience the snow falling. He had seen snow a few times but had been too little to play in it until this time.

It was about 11pm when we woke him up, he was so snuggly and confused. We put some boots, a coat, and a hat on him and quickly rushed him outside to make, what we thought would be, awesome memories!

Apparently, Liam does not appreciate being woken up regardless of the reason! He basically screamed and cried the whole three minutes we were outside! In this picture, I was trying to give him a snowball but he was so mad he had his back turned on me!




I'm sure when he is a bit bigger he might enjoy being woken up to play in the snow, but not his time!

Fortunately, we woke up to half an inch of snow on Saturday morning and he was much more excited to play! He and Ryan went sledding (on a trash can lid) in our backyard and played until they were practically icicles!









I bundled Jude into his snowsuit and put him in the ergo carrier to take these pictures. He was so snuggly, and kept me warm!