5 Months!

Sweet Baby Grayson is 5 months old!  I can't believe how much he is growing and how quickly time seems to be passing!  Our big events over the past month were celebrating G's first Halloween and taking a trip to Vegas to celebrate the Marine Corps' 238th birthday.  It was so fun to dress Grayson up and celebrate his first fun holiday!

I ended up going a little overboard with Halloween outfits for G so we ended up celebrating Halloween for a few weeks around here.  I decided to have Grayson dress up as Robin as in Batman's sidekick this year.  I am a bit of a nerd and in the comics Dick Grayson is Robin so it seemed fitting to have our little Grayson dress up as him.  He was the cutest little sidekick ever!  We celebrated Halloween by visiting J at work and taking him lunch.  J is lucky enough to work right next to the ocean so it was a beautiful lunch.  We didn't try to take G trick or treating as he is way too small to have any clue what is happening so we stayed home and handed out candy.  I love seeing all of the little trick or treaters in their cute costumes!

Even superheroes need their sleep!

Our other big adventure during G's 4th month was a road trip to Vegas for J's Marine Corps Ball.  We hit a few long pockets of traffic on our way out so a drive that should have taken around four hours took us over six but G tolerated it pretty well.  My mom was kind enough to meet us in Vegas so that she could babysit G while we went out.  It was great to see her and it was really nice to have two nights of adult time where I didn't have to worry since I knew my mom would be great with G!  I am so grateful to have an awesome supportive family that is more than willing to help us out!  Our first night in Vegas we went out with some friends and saw Love which is the Beatles themed Cirque du Soleil show.  It was a little crazy but I really enjoyed the show!  The acrobatics are so much fun to watch.  J didn't really appreciate the lack of a linear storyline so he didn't enjoy it as much as I did. 

 

G had so much fun with Grandma!

Our second night in Vegas was the night of the Marine Corps Ball.  I got G a little tuxedo onesie so that he could celebrate with us. :)  We took a few pictures with him and then J and I went downstairs so that we could enjoy the ball without worrying about our little one.  This year I decided to rent my dress from Rent the Runway instead of buying another dress to add to the pile in my closet.  I was nervous because the dress didn't arrive until the day before we left for Vegas.  I ended up loving it and would definitely recommend Rent the Runway to anyone who has a formal event!

We had a good time but J and I are definitely not Vegas people.  I think it will be quite a while before we go back.  We left with our wallets a little lighter but we grateful for the time with my mom.  She is totally in love with our little man and she had a great time seeing him.  Thanks mom!

At 5 months G:
- weighs about 14.5 lbs.  Last month at the doctors office they told us he weighed over 16 lbs but I think their scale must not have been calibrated because he definitely hasn't lost any weight and this month he is only 14.5 lbs.
- is about 25.5 inches long
- wears size 3-6 months.  He is still on the skinny side but he is starting to fill out his 3-6 stuff better.  He looks like quite a little chunk because of his cheeks but he is actually pretty skinny.
-sleeps mostly through the night.  normally he wakes up around 6 but after eating we both go back to sleep until 9ish.  He had a few rough nights this month where he was up every two hours but most of the time he is a great sleeper.
- laughs at us when we "get him" with kisses, sing songs with actions, play peek a boo or whenever else the mood strikes him to laugh.  It is the most adorable sound ever!
- is starting to work on sitting up but for now he still just rolls.
- His favorite toy is still Mortimer the Moose.  He reaches up and grabs toys above his head a lot more than he used to so he enjoys his play mat more.  He likes toys that make noise and also anything he can chew on.
- can pass toys from hand to hand and use them in more coordinated movements. 
- is still exclusively breastfed but he is a very hungry little man who can't get enough so I think we are going to supplement with formula to keep our little guy growing!

Family Beach Day

Really focusing on locking his hands together

 

4 Months Old!

Sweet Baby Grayson is now 4 months old!  Our little man is growing like a weed.  We were grateful to have a pretty quiet month around here with no traveling after our busy month the month before.  It was so nice to be able to have our family together  after missing J for half of last month!  J and I celebrated our 5th wedding anniversary and we left G with a babysitter for the first time (he has only stayed with my parents and I don't count the gym daycare since I am in the building)  so that we could go out to a nice dinner at Ruth's Chris.  We really enjoyed having a night out with just the two of us but we were also very happy to come home to our sweet little guy. :)  I am so incredibly grateful to be married to my best friend and I am so glad that G gets such an awesome dad for a role model.  Over the last year J and I bought and moved into a new house, found out that we were expecting, experienced my first pregnancy, had our sweet baby boy join our family, and watched him start to grow and develop.  I don't think I could be happier with how our lives are going!

I introduced G to my favorite football team.  Go Pats!

J is trying to turn the poor boy into a Cardinals fan :)

Eating Daddy's Nose

Love snuggling with him :)

G is developing very rapidly and seems to do new little things every day!  He continued to roll over both from his back to his tummy and also his tummy to his back.  He seems to do tummy to back on purpose but generally seems surprised when he gets himself from his back to his stomach.  He has very good head control which seems to make him more happy during tummy time.  He has started to play more intentionally than he used to and with more coordination.  He laughs a lot in response to things that we do which is so adorable!  There are few things I love more than his adorable giggle!

G laughing at his Daddy

We took G to a pumpkin patch with some friends and to be honest it was more for me than for the little dude :)  G was fine with being there but he was definitely too young to appreciate what the pumpkin patch had to offer.  At least we all got some nice fresh air!  I am a big fan of photo ops :)

Yes I put a pumpkin hat on the poor little dude

Love our family!

At 4 months old G:
- weighs 16.2 lbs which puts him in the 77th percentile.  He jumped up significantly from his last doctor's appointment when he was only in the 47th percentile.  He is getting to be a quite an adorable chunk!
- is 25.25 inches long which puts him in the 68th percentile for height.  The first time the nurse measured him she said 24 inches which would have been the 25th percentile.  When she remeasured because the doctor asked her to since that number didn't make sense she said he was 25.25 inches but looking at the same measurement I'm pretty sure it was 25.5 inches which means he should be in about the 75th percentile so his height and weight pretty much match up.
- wears some size 0-3 clothes and some 3-6 month clothes.  It really just depends on if I can stretch the 0-3 clothes long enough to cover him.  He is still fairly thin but he is also very long.
- is sleeping for about 6 hour stretches at night! I am SO grateful to have a good sleeper!  He still sleeps in until 9ish most mornings which is awesome :)
- laughs more in response to things that we do.  He really likes it when Julian says Boo!  to him or when I sing the Itsy Bitsy Spider or the Wheels on the Bus.
- his favorite toy is Mortimer the Moose which is a Lamaze toy that has lots of different textures on it for him to play with.  Mostly he just likes to chew on Mort :)  He also likes his teething giraffe, cloth books, and Adan + Anais swaddle blankets which he shoves into his mouth and knots around his hands.
- uses his hands in a much more coordinated manner than he used to.  He will stare at a toy that he wants like he is really concentrating on it and then very deliberately use his hands to reach out and get it.
- everything goes straight to his mouth at this point.  This boy wants to chew on and slobber all over everything!

Discovering his hands

Roar!

Using his feet to play with his favorite rattle

Very focused on Mort the Moose

Such a sweet face!

Nom, nom, nom!

Such a strong neck!

3 Months

Sweet Baby Grayson is now 3 months old!  The last month has been a very busy one for the Little Dude.  We went on our first road trip to Arizona, J went to the field for over two weeks for the first time since G's arrival, and G and I flew together for the first time to Sacramento and then on to Salt Lake.  We had so much fun visiting family and introducing our Little Guy to friends and extended family!

I was very worried about how G would handle a six hour road trip.  He is a very good sleeper but since we didn't go in the middle of the night I figured there was no way he would sleep for the whole ride.  I was prepared with a few rattles, pumped milk to go in bottles as needed and about six binks to make sure that we would never be without one. G ended up falling asleep about five minutes into our drive and then slept for about three and a half hours.  He woke up, took a bottle, got changed (he woke up right in time for our pit stop) and fell back to sleep until we hit Phoenix.  While in Phoenix we were able to introduce G to my best friend J, his Uncle J and J's girlfriend B, a bunch of our friends whom J has known since high school and my Aunt B and Uncle R.  We were so glad that we were able to introduce our Little Man to so many people that are important to us!  It was a quick trip for Labor Day weekend but G handled it well and slept just as well for the return trip to California.

So glad my best friend J got to meet G!

My cousin E was a flower girl at our wedding and now she is holding our baby :)

My Aunt B and a few of my cousins

G and L got to meet each other!

His little swimsuit cracks me up!

We were so glad that G finally got to meet his Uncle J and B

We had one day together as a family after we got back from Arizona and then J had to go out to the desert for a field exercise for just over two weeks.  We enjoyed the day together but it was very hard to say goodbye for the first time since G joined our family.  I am so incredibly grateful that J has moved into a position where he rarely has to leave.  He used to be "in the field" on a very regular basis but fortunately he only has to go out for a few weeks a year for now.  I think it's hard on both of them to be apart from each other.  Plus I miss watching their bonding moments when they are together.

Melts my heart :)

Right before J left

After J left, G and I spent a few days by ourselves and then we drove up to L.A. to spend a little time with my Aunt C and her family.  Aunt C took us to the airport and G and I went on our first flight together up to Sacramento so that G could meet my Grandpa M.  I was really nervous to fly with him by myself.  I really didn't want to be the person on the plane with a screaming baby for the whole flight.  I decided to put G in the Ergo carrier (anyone looking in to a baby carrier should definitely go with the Ergo!) and I was hoping that would put him to sleep.  I had a bottle and rattles prepped and I was prepared to buy drinks for everyone in my area if he decided to scream.  Fortunately G fell asleep before take off and didn't wake up until we were off the plane!  We went to Sacramento so that I could introduce G to my Grandpa M.  G is the first great-grandchild for both of my grandparents so they have been very excited to meet him.  Several of my aunts and uncles and their families were also there because my cousin J had come home from a Mormon mission to Brazil.  I had a great time catching up with a lot of family that I don't get to see very often.  G met 22 of my cousins, 8 of my aunts and uncles and my grandpa.  My mom also flew to Sacramento for the occasion so she was able to meet us at the airport when we flew in and then the three of us flew to Salt Lake together so that G and I could spend a week with my family.

G meeting his Great Grandpa M

My cousins were loving little G!

My mom and my cousin J with G and me- yes we are the family shrimps :)

My sweet cousin B

I was so glad that we decided to go to Salt Lake!  We had a great time and G was able to meet my Grandma P which means that he has now met both of his Great Grandparents who are alive. My grandma absolutely adores Grayson and I was so glad that she was able to meet him at this stage.  He cooed and laughed and was generally adorable with her!  My parents are absolutely in love with G and being grandparents.  They were loving all of the time they got to spend with us (mostly him but they like me too :)  My mom kept a lot of baby stuff after my youngest brother was finished with it so she had rattles and blankets and a pack n play.  There was one particular rattle that my mom had that had a mirror on it that G was in love with.  He was spoiled by all of my siblings and my parents while we were visiting.  We nicknamed my dad the baby whisperer because G really seemed to calm down whenever he was with him.  G also seemed to find my dad hilarious and spent a lot of time laughing at him. I was really sad to leave Salt Lake but I was definitely ready to get back to J!  G was awesome again for the flight home and he slept the whole time.  I am so grateful that he was so nice to me in all of our travels but especially for the two flights that I didn't have any help.

G meeting his Great Grandma P!

G playing with his Uncles D and M

Grandma time!

Great Grandma P loves her boy!

G with the Baby Whisperer

G with Aunt C

Smiling with his other Aunt C :)

He loves his Uncle D

So glad we got to hang out with my family!

G loves his Uncle M!

We had a crazy month and we are looking forward to just hanging out and having a relaxing time for the next little while as a family of three!

At 3 months G:
-weighs about 12 1/2 lbs.  We didn't have a doctor's appointment so I don't have an exact number.
- is about 24 1/2 inches long
- wears mostly size 0-3 but he is starting to get too long for a lot of his clothes.  He is way too skinny for 3-6 but lengthwise he is ready to move up.
- is sleeping for 5-7 hours at night.  He has only been getting up once a night between 4-6 so I am very happy!  He also sleeps in until 9 or 10 in the morning which is awesome!
- started sleeping in his crib in his nursery instead of the pack-n-play next to our bed.  He had no problem at all with the transition and I love that his cute nursery is getting used more now :)
- smiles and giggles a lot more!  I have loved hearing his sweet little laugh over the past few weeks! 
- likes rattles and cloth books as well as his activity mat and pulling mommy's hair :) He has also started talking to himself in the mirror which is pretty adorable!
- rolled from his back to his tummy for the first time on 9/6.  He mostly does it in his sleep right now but he has also rolled several times in a row while awake.
- seems to like music a lot and even seems to enjoy mommy's singing
- likes to have "conversations" and is extremely chatty :)
- enjoys laying on the floor and just wiggling all of his limbs all over the place.  Mommy is loving this since it lets her get more stuff done!
- has continued to go to the daycare at the gym and never had a problem with it.  He also hung out with his Grandma and Grandpa so that I could go to a movie with my siblings.  It was the longest that we had been apart since G was born so I was a little nervous but he did awesome!  It definitely made me wish we lived closer!

Here are some random pictures of G from the last month:

*On a mommy note- I finally made it back to my pre-pregnancy weight and I fit in my jeans with no signs of muffin top!  I still have lots of toning and tightening but I'm excited with my current progress!