Mommy's Thanskgiving Prayer

 

This was Mommy's prayer when she and Daddy tucked (a very sleepy) me into bed tonight:

  

Thank you, Father, for making Katie Bug our little girl.  Thank you for giving us clothes for her to wear and food for her to eat.  Thank you that you have healed her every time she's been sick.  Thank you that she is so smart, a good friend, and a wonderful big sister to Elliot.  Thank you so, so much.  Amen.

 

 

I'm not positive, but I think I heard a little bit of Mommy's "happy cry" in her voice.

 

 

(By the way, she feels every bit as thankful for Mr. E...he just went to bed two hours too early to get in on this tucking-in session.)

 

4 Months

I turned 4 months old on Monday!

 

Here are some things you should know about me at 4 months:

 

I am (still) just about the happiest baby in the world.  It doesn't take much to get a wide mouthed smile from me.

 

I had my first offical photo shoot with a family friend.

 

 

I still go to sleep super easy at night.  I usually start getting tired around 6:30 and am in bed by 7:00 or a little before.  However, in the last two weeks I've started waking up twice at night to eat instead of just once.  Mommy is not too thrilled with this development.

 

 

 

My nap times have gotten a little sketchy.  It probably has something to do with the fact that I don't have a really set nap schedule at "school".  I used to go to sleep really easily for naps, but now it's quite the production to get me to nap at home.  Sometimes I'll take a really short nap in my crib or sleep in the swing, but the days of glorious 3 hour naps seem to be a thing of the past.  Mommy's got this coming week off of school, so she's hoping to get me back into a better nap routine.

 

 

I am now eating 5.5 ounces in my bottles during the day.  I still nurse in the morning and at night when I'm with Mommy.  Most days I eat 7 times: 3 bottles at school and 4 nursing sessions with Mommy.

 

I've entered into the "easily distracted" stage when I'm nursing.  Mommy used to be able to feed me just about anywhere, but recently we've been confined to the chair in my room (when we're at home) or the car (when we're out and about).  Otherwise, I turn my head at any noise or movement and end up with a nice spray of milk in my face.

 

I attended my first wedding (Auntie and Uncle Dan's) and got to meet most of my Canadian cousins.

 

 

(I'm the baby on the top left.)

 

Swaddling is a thing of the past as I'm now an official roller.  I can roll from back to tummy and tummy to back, although I don't do either very often.  This picture was taken right after I rolled from belly to back for the first time. 

 

 

As you can see, I was not too impressed with the experience.

 

I discovered my hands earlier in the month and am getting pretty good at using them to reach for toys.  I'm also (still) good at using my finger nails to scratch up the back of my head.  Mommy just can't keep my fingernails short enough to prevent that.

 

I'm still a big fan of my monkey bouncer seat and jungle playmat.  I got to sit in the Bumbo for the first time last week since my head control is getting good.  I didn't last too long in there, though.

 

 

 My sissy just may be my best friend.  She looks out for me, makes me smile, sings to me, and reads books to me.

 

  

I wear size 3 diapers and 3-6 month clothes.  Tomorrow I go to the doctor for my 4 month well baby visit, so I'll know then just how much I weigh.  I think it's pretty safe to assume, though, that I'm on the hefty side of the growth curve!

Trunk or Treaters

Here are the looks Elliot and I were sporting at our church's Trunk or Treat last Wednesday.  Mommy was a little sad when she realized that there was no way she'd have the time to create homemade costumes this year...but she ended up being really happy with our Amazon-purchased getups.

 

I got to rock the SuperGirl look.  When Mommy got me dressed for school (we wore our costumes on Wednesday...which was just the pick-me-up I needed because I'd been out sick on Monday and Tuesday), I informed her that SuperGirl does not wear a bow in her hair.

 

But by the time we headed out ot ToT in the evening I'd decided that SG could really use a tiara.  And a wand...but you can't see that in this picture.

 

Mr. E was one cute little pilot!  This picture really does a great job of showing just how happy he is in the mornings before school.

 

And this one shows how tired and chillaxed he is in the evenings!



Happy Monthday to Me!

Guess who turned 3 months a week and a half ago? 

 

Me!

(Mommy claims that the outfit in the above picture looked much more masculine on the hanger at the store.  And, yes, it was in the boy's section.  She's promised that I'll never have to wear it again.)

 

Here's what you should know about me at 3 months:

 

I have become quite the talker.  My vocabulary consists of mostly vowel sounds, but occassionally I'll throw in a quick consonant.

 

I can lift my head up sooooo high when I'm playing on my belly.

 

 

The vast majority of the time, you'll only catch me crying if I'm tired or hungry.  I'll also cry if I feel like no one is paying attention to me.

 

My bedtime is 7:00.  I usually wake around 2 or 4 to eat, then go back to sleep until around 6:30.  I did sleep completely through the night twice this month...but then I decided it was more fun to see Mommy in the middle of the night.

 

 

I take a paci quite a bit at school, but next to never at home.

 

I'm still a little spitmeister if Mommy attempts to eat dairy.  She was bummed when she realized that her favorite granola cereal and English muffins both contain milk derivatives.

 

I like to put my hands on my head when I'm nursing or sleeping.  This also means that Mommy has to be super vigilant about clipping my nails. Because if she's not, I end up looking like a cat got to my head.

 

I visited my fist pumpkin patch and had my first trip to the State Fair of Texas (pre Big Tex flame up).

 

I've started laughing!  And my parents love it.

 

 Mommy and Daddy say that I am the most chillaxed baby they've ever seen!

They're Married!

Just thought I'd let you know that Auntie and Dan tied the knot this weekend! 

 

 

 

I plan to share more pictures later, but wanted to get this one to you right away! It was taken at the beginning of the reception by our friend Tiff.

 

It was a beautiful day (in more ways than one) and I contributed to it by throwing flower petals, throwing a fit during the ceremony, and throwing my moves down on the dance floor.

 

 

Sweet Sorrow (a backtrack post)

This is a post Mommy drafted back in April.  She was wanting to get a few more pictures before posting, but that never happened.  So this info is a little (or a lot) outdated, but I wanted to share it now because it will give clarity to a post I'm planning for later in the week.

We have been dealing with a lot of parting-is-such-sweet sorrow in our home over the last month or so.  That's because our best friends, the Ortiz clan, are moving to Oklahoma. 

"Uncle" Oscar took a position as a full time worship pastor there.  It's exactly the job he was created to do: lots of song writing, training multiple worship teams, recording worship albums...so from that perspective we are super over-the-top excited for the whole family.

On the other hand, we are going to miss our friends so much.  Truely, everyone in our family is "losing" a best friend.  We sure are comforted by the fact that they aren't going too terribly far!

We got to celebrate Ian and Preston's birthdays with them last month (as in March), which was a ton of fun.  The boys just went crazy for the Cowboys helmets and jerseys they got. 

See?  They're even wearing them during the pinata fun.  I think they both went to bed with them that night, and I know at least one of them wore the helmet on the car ride to church the next morning.

A week or so later, we had a formal farewell service for them at church.  We ate lots of great food, heard funny/silly/sweet/encouraging words about Oscar's 18 and Tara's 14 years at our church, and spent some time praying for them as they embark on this new chapter in their lives.

We also had a more personal get together with their family at Mimi and Poppy's house one night. 

Ortiz Fam- You will forever be part of our family.  Mommy likes the way another member of our church worded this transition: You're not leaving...you're just moving further up the street than we would like.

My 2nd Monthday...19 Days Late

I've been two months old for 19 days now!

(Mommy went back to work 21 days ago, so things have been a little crazy around here.) 

 

 

Here's what you should know about me at 2 months:

 

I eat every 3 hours during the day, but once Mommy and I reconnect in the evening I like to squeeze two feedings into a two hour block.

 

My bedtime is 7:00.  Most nights I wake up to eat around 2:00, then go back to sleep until Mommy wakes me for the day at 6:45.

 

 

I love bath time!

 

I'm getting pretty good at holding my head up during tummy time.

 

A month ago my family was really worried about my head and neck.  I had a very strong preference for looking to the left, and my skull was becoming a little asymmetrical because of it.  Auntie was also concerned that I may develop torticollis.  After lots of intervention from my parents, Auntie, and my daycare teacher, though, it looks like I'm on my way to a healthy range of motion!

 

Speaking of daycare, I am doing a great job at my "school".  Currently, I am the youngest baby in my class.  All the other kiddos are mobile, so my teacher has to run interference all day long to make sure no one is attacking me with curiosity.  Here's a picture of my on my first day of school:

 

 "Pat-a-Cake" and "Itsy Bitsy Spider" are two of my favorite songs.

 

I like to track people as they move across the room.

 

My nicknames are LL, Buddy, Little Man, and ElMo.

 

My sissy is still the most entertaining person I know!

 

 

I still have a strong dislike for clothing being pulled over my head.

 

I constantly hear my parents refer to me as the best, easiest, most content baby in the world.

 

 

 

My 3rd monthday is in 11 days, so I'll see ya again then...maybe!