Louie - 6 months

And just like that, we have made it halfway through the first year!

I remember feeling like Noelle's first year took forever but when I looked back it felt fast. Louie's first year is just zooming by. June 5, 2016 sounds like a long way off in theory (especially since we haven't even turned the new year) but it really feels like I will sneeze and he won't be a baby anymore.

Month 6 has brought lots of interesting fun to our house! Louie is just a rolling fool. The boy loves to wiggle and worm his way all over the place. I'll set him down on the floor and I come back and am so surprised at how far he has gotten.  I also have to be careful because that little buddy loves to put stuff in his mouth. And boy is he good at finding stuff that you had no idea was nearby.

Louie is also still trying to figure out his sleep. We toss and turn between two good naps and three mediocre naps...on a really bad day sometimes it is 4 crappy naps. I say that and I am also mindful that right now we should be hitting his 6 month growth spurt. He still needs to be swaddled to sleep which is surprising for such a big guy, but the dude cannot keep himself together when he needs to sleep if he isn't wrapped up in some way. He really and truly has fully refused the pacifier (I had such high hopes) and just hasn't figured out how to self-soothe just yet. Overall he isn't a horrible sleeper, and honestly...this being my second kid and I know that eventually they figure out how to sleep - I'm just not too concerned. It's a season, it's a phase, this too shall pass, yada yada, etc.

He IS starting to hit his stride with eating though! I truly started him on some solids the week before he turned 6 months. I wanted him nice and used to it by the time we hit Christmas. So far he isn't a fan of cereal, but he is getting the hang of fruits and veggies. So far sweet potatoes are the favorite, pears are second, and apples & bananas are tied for the bottom. But that's all we've tried so far, and I have to say it's going pretty good. Noelle is desperate to feed him all the time, but after a slightly terrifying spoon gagging incident she isn't allowed to without lots of help from Mama.

Noelle still loves having Louie around as far as we can tell...she actually makes a big deal of playing with him at least a few times a day, and is always saying how much she loves him. There is still some underlying jealousy though, because she desperately wants to sit in her high chair that her little brother is now using. Josh and I have made it a dinner eating negotiating tool though. You gotta do what you gotta do as a parent #theparentalstruggleisreal.

Louie has also been a big fan of "jumping" on us for a while now. Josh had been saying we should get him a jumper because he loves it so much. Well this thanksgiving we were at Josh's Aunt's house and they had a "jumperoo" - which is like a jumper but safer I think. And it has more toys involved. Anywho, we put little Lou in that thing and he was in baby wonderland. He couldn't get enough! Josh's parents saw the infinite joy of the jumperoo and got Louie an early Christmas present - his very own jumperoo. So this week we have enjoyed an extra activity for Louie. It is hilarious and when he really gets going in it he looks like a dancer in Riverdance.

I'm excited to see him experience Christmas, especially with how much he loves toys. And I think that Noelle will lose her mind over her christmas presents and probably Louie's too. She likes to use a high pitch voice when she talks to him and he just smiles from ear to ear. I can already hear her saying, "Look at your new toys Louie!! Do you like them? Yeah they are fun!"

We also have a few names we call him...usually "Louie Boy" and "Loubacca Lou". Noelle loves to use both of these names, and I am not sure why we call him Louie Boy but we do, and then the Loubacca is b/c when he is tired he makes a gurgling chewbacca like noise (I think I wrote about it a couple months ago). Anyway, Chewbacca Louie turned into Loubacca Lou. Noelle has a little chant she made up with Josh, "Loubacca Lou, Loubacca Lou, Lou-a-bacca, Lou-a-bacca, Lou-a-bacca LO!" It's hard to explain and I probably need to get a video of it someday, but it is cute!

So a very happy half-birthday to the Lou man - we all love you and can't believe you haven't always been around!!

Louie - 5 Months

This past month has brought lots of changes for Louie boy!

We don't have a formal 5 month doctor appointment, so I don't have all the usual stats - but I do know that he is now a hearty 18 pounds.

My formerly super easy sleeper is now much more aware of the world and his surroundings. That means that he doesn't drift off quite as easily as he once did and wakes more easily as well. All to be expected, but it made for one really tricky week of sleep at one point. He's a bit back and forth at the moment, but still overall a pretty good sleeper for the night time.

Louie has also mastered rolling over both ways. He loves to wiggle around and see different things. At first he would get annoyed with staying on his tummy for too long, but that is passing and he just rolls back to the other side if he gets bored. And he is SO GREAT at playing with toys. He is truly interested and engaged with his little baby toys...I swear we could only get Noelle to play with trash. She did not care much for toys, but Louie just loves them!

He also loves watching us eat, and I am so exited to start giving him food at the end of this month. As much as I am ready to watch him chow down on the baby food, I want to wait as long as I can (but let's be honest - I'll probably only make it until Thanksgiving before I give him something!) It is hard to believe it is already time to start giving him some solids...this baby thing goes by so much faster the second time around!

Noelle and Louie are also getting more and more fun to watch together. Noelle genuinely loves Louie and is happy to have him around. And of course Louie thinks Noelle has hung the moon. He is always happy to see her and always extremely interested in what she is doing. I look forward to the days when they can truly entertain each other and play together. I know it will bring on way more sibling squabbles than I can imagine at this point, but I also think there will be plenty of fun and sweet moments in between.

Father Christmas & Noelle

It's been a while since I've felt compelled to share a Noelle story, even though they seem to be endless, but this one I just wanted to stop in time and remember. She is so funny the way she thinks and reasons and talks to us these days. There really does seem to be something funny and interesting that comes out of her mouth all the time.

Within the last month this particular phenomenon has made me laugh so many times and really has just been a joy to experience.  Probably 3-4 weeks ago Noelle and I were chatting about something. She mentioned something she wanted but didn't have and she looked me in the eye and said, "We could ask Father Christmas for it!"

I was happily stunned. Father Christmas? How did my child turn British??!!

"Noelle, who is Father Christmas?"

"He comes down the chimney, and he leaves PRESENTS!"

"How did you hear about Father Christmas?"

"I don't know."

Me thinking...where could she have learned about him?....YOU TUBE.

"Noelle, did you learn about Father Christmas from Peppa Pig?"

"Yeah. And I want him to bring a red car and a blue train. He'll come down the chimney."

If you don't know, Peppa Pig is a super cute british cartoon of a little pig and her family. It might play on cable channels, but we don't have that, but leave it to You Tube to somehow connect my child to Peppa Pig. I am not complaining - I think it is a cute show and I love the british accents, and have secretly always wanted a child with a British accent.

Anyway - once I realized that she knew who Santa, aka Father Christmas was, I knew I had a new level of parental power. We weren't 100% sure how much we were going to push Santa in our household. We weren't against it, but it just felt like alot of effort, so we thought we might just wait it out until the kids realized who he was and what he did. So, it took 3+ years...but even better - we get Father Christmas!!! I have not corrected her because (1) how cute and (2) I LOVE IT!

Now, back to the power...it's the Christmas bargaining tool that all of our parents used on us. Either you say "you can't have that now...but you can ask Father Christmas for it!" - or of course as it gets even closer to Christmas time you use the nice list/naughty list to get good behavior. Noelle totally responds to the asking Father Christmas for stuff, and I'm pretty sure the good list/bad list gig is gonna work on her too. I completely avoided a complete meltdown in Target with her this week when I lovingly convinced her that we can just ask Father Christmas for something - we don't have to buy it now! #winning

So then today was another magical Father Christmas moment...Louie was asleep and it has been raining here, so I was trying to come up with anything fun to occupy her. She dressed up in her Halloween costume for school (Minnie Mouse) and one of her classmates dressed up as Elsa. Naturally when she came home from school she had to put on HER Elsa costume...but the problem was she didn't have a crown. Her friend had a crown.

So being the resourceful mother that I am, we made Noelle a paper Elsa crown. But that wasn't enough. Then Mama had to have an Elsa crown. And then we both had to have Elsa hair. Well, duh.

As I was finishing my Elsa hair in Noelle's bathroom, she was completely thrilled at my transformation. But then it took a turn...

"Mama, I love your Elsa crown and your Elsa hair...but you don't have an Elsa DRESS!"

"That's ok Noelle, I don't have to have an Elsa dress."

She looked at me with her big blue eyes, put both her hands on my hips very tenderly and said,

"It's ok you don't have one now. We can ask Father Christmas for one, it will be ok."

I. Love. This. Kid.

So, Happy Christmas from the Watkins clan...we hope Father Christmas brings you all sorts of good gifts this year!!!

Elsa very pleased with her paper crown

crown buddies!

Rainy day Elsa's!

Louie - 4 Months

Little man is 4 months old! A whole 1/3 of a year, and we are loving every minute of it.

At the doctors office for this visit we discovered that Louie is...
17 lbs, 4oz - 89%
27.5 inches long - 98%
44.5cm head circumference - 94%

He is just the chillest and happiest little guy. He still is enthralled with his big sister. This month he started playing in his exer-saucer and for the most part enjoys it (as long or if not longer than the average baby does). He loves being sung to and he loves to "stand" with someone holding his hands. He is getting great head control and that is quite a feat given the large size of the kid.

He had that amazing roll over occurrence at the doctor's office for his 2 month appointment in August, but for the most part he either stays on his tummy or his back. And that means that he is still swaddled - which I am a fan of. I hate the learning to sleep unswaddled phase. I know it's coming. -sigh-

He still doesn't really take a pacifier...he will enjoy it for a hot minute and then he is done. I keep trying just to see - and even though he never keeps it for long, he will get distracted by it in his mouth and that sometimes is enough to calm him down and for him to forget whatever he might have been upset about in the first place.

One of our favorite things he started doing this month is what we call Chewbacca Louie - or sometimes "Loubacca" ... when he is tired and ready for a little snooze he sometimes will let us know by making these gurgling sounds. It's quite cute and funny. He also just recently decided he loves to stick his tongue out. I have a picture of Noelle doing the same thing at four months and they both look so cute and similar! I see how they really are quite different, but then I see a comparison and then they appear to look alike again!

He loves to breastfeed and is very fast at it (thankfully) - and sometimes he will take a bottle and sometimes he won't. I'm usually around all the time so it isn't an issue. Sometimes he won't take it and just decides to wait it out for me. But luckily he doesn't cry about being hungry. He just chills and waits. I guess he has plenty stored up for his body to eat on until I become available :)

He usually only wakes once a night to eat, if at all. He really is just a rockstar baby.

Louie boy, we love you!

First Day of School, First Day of School!

If you read the title of this post and had Nemo's voice in your head, you get bonus points!

I have been waiting for this day for months! Today was Noelle's first day of preschool. She has been longing to go to school since she figured out this past spring that her own personal hero (Meaghan Mahoney) went to school.

Here's what she knew about the day: she would have a teacher, make new friends, and that Mala (my mom) would cry.

Here's what she kept asking about school for the months leading up to it: could she ride the bus and would Meaghan be there.

Now I told her over and over again that Meaghan went to the big kid school and she would be going to the little kid school, but she still kept asking. On the bus thing we told her she just needed to pretend that Mama's car was a bus and she seemed to be able to deal with that.

We had her open house last week and it went pretty well. She was shy, but she was excited about her classroom and was mildly interested in some of the other kids there.

The night before her first morning it literally felt like Christmas Eve to me. I was so excited for her, for me, just all of it!  She's a great kid, but Mama needs a break from being the constant playmate. It's a little tricky with a 3 month old in tow and the constant rotating schedule of his needs. She also just seems to thrive with structure and learning and being around other kids...it's all going to be so good for her.

Today was day one and she did great! She had fun and even though she still seemed a bit shy about it all, she immediately asked if she could go back to school as we were driving out of the parking lot. That's a win in my book!

I very much look forward to the days where she can actually tell me about what she learned in school. Right now her answers are pretty much "I don't know" to most questions. She retains lots of knowledge and picks up on stuff pretty well, so I'm not quite sure why she isn't able to tell me what she did...I'll just chalk it up to her being a threenager.

Here's some pictures from this morning of our big girl!!

I told her to show how excited she was to start school :)

Another excited face. I will show her these one day when she doesn't want to go to school, in like 5th grade.

Posing before we left! Louie wasn't so sure about all this school business.

Louie - 3 Months

On September 5 this little guy turned 3 months!

And OH what a joy this little boy is and becomes with each passing day. I officially no longer have a newborn baby boy, I now have an infant baby boy!  I remember from Noelle that babies start to get more and more fun at the 3 month stage and Louie is no exception (a whopping 3 days in, ha!)

We did a weight test at our friends the Mahoney's and Louie is weighing in at a hefty 16 pounds even. Now, at his 2 month doctor's appointment (which was a week after he turned 2 months) he was 14 lbs and 14 ounces. Just 3 weeks later...THREE WEEKS...he is now 16 lbs. Man that kid can grow.

He is thoroughly filling out his 6 month clothing and there are quite a few items that will need to be retired very soon.

He loves to just stare you down with those deep deep brown eyes and he loves to chuckle. It's not the full belly laughs we got from Noelle, but Louie is definitely laughing. He is just more of a short chuckler than a giggler. He gives tons of smiles to his big sis, but he gets most excited when we eat his ribs, chin, or feet.

I can take Louie just about anywhere and he is pretty happy. He still gets slightly cranky right at the end of the day, but overall is not much of a fussy boy.

Here's the fun photos of our little boy who is now 1/4 of a year old!

Small Changes, Big Difference

I'm embarking on a new project...I call it the "Great Kitchen Spruce Up of 2015!"

Let's just hope I actually get it all done before 2015 is over :)

Basically, I'm home more now...but I'm still a do-er. I like to get stuff done. We've lived in our home for over 5 years now and one of the first rooms I painted was the kitchen. Not much else needed sprucing up in there at the time, although over the years we have changed a few things (new sink, new faucet, added a garbage disposal...)

But over time the painted kitchen cabinets have not held up. They are in desperate need of repainting. On top of that, I accidentally painted with flat paint on the walls, which you should never do in a kitchen. I just asked for flat instead of eggshell and just lost my mind.

So being around this kitchen much more often, it is officially driving me crazy. I had to do something.

After some research I've decided, I'm going to go for it! I love DIY projects, and oddly enough I think I can do this. It will just happen SLOWLY. But that's ok with me! Of course I would love instant transformation, but let's face it, we don't all have the budget to pay the pro's for this stuff.

I decided to start small this week...with the refrigerator.

Ever since we moved into the house it has had these stained patches on it. Not sure what from, don't really care. But I just decided one day, enough is enough. I got on pinterest and read about other people painting their appliances. I decided I could totally do that one evening. And I did. Small change, big difference!

You can buy the appliance paint at Home Depot (it's rustoleum appliance paint). I got myself some white, and went to town. It was very very smelly, but I only had to do one simple coat on the front. The rest of the fridge was just fine. So if anyone wants to try this, I have LOTS of extra paint.

Next I will slowly repaint the cabinets myself. Then I will paint the ceiling, trim and update the wall color. I still want a yellow kitchen I just want it a little lighter than it currently is. I'm excited for all these small changes to add up to a refreshed kitchen!

I'm hoping to even replace a couple light fixtures maybe! Exciting times in the Watkins household - let me tell ya!!

Louie - 2 months

Louie turned 2 months old on August 5th - and he is doing awesome! I don't have his 2 month "stats" just yet since we don't have his 2 month check up until next week. But this kid seems to grow overnight every night!

Here are some highlights from Louie being the big 2 months...

Louie has dropped to just one night feeding usually...it happens anywhere from 2am-4am and then his next feed is usually between 6am-8am (and I consider that into the next day...even though we usually go back to sleep afterwards). He did have one magical night where he went to bed around 9 and didn't wake up to eat until 6am, fingers crossed more of those start happening!  I had tried doing a dream feed with him a couple weeks ago and it didn't eliminate any of the night feeds...and since it took work to drop Noelle's dream feed, I have decided to just not try to dream feed this kiddo. Especially since I don't have to get up early for work or anything.

Louie loves looking out the window and sitting outside. He still is very tolerant of his car seat and most car rides unless he is a little hungry. He happily sits on his playmat and loves to kick a ton. He naps about 4 times a day, two of which are usually cat naps on me while in the baby k'tan carrier. He loves to eat and is very fast at it. The only long feeds are usually the last one of the day when he is tired and not as alert.

Noelle adores her little brother still and can't wait for him to get bigger so she can play more with him. Louie loves his big sis too - and usually gives Noelle at least a smile or two each day. He gives great smiles (especially after eating) and that is when he also likes to "talk" to us with the sweetest little baby coos. We are watching him get closer to laughing but he isn't quite there yet...but probably will be in a couple weeks.

It's getting alot easier each day and we feel we have mostly adjusted to having 2 kids...the evenings are the hardest at this point, but they seem to get easier with each passing week. I am very much looking forward to the 3 month mark when Louie starts getting even more expressive and transitions to the "infant" stage and out of "newborn" days.

We are so grateful to have this little chunk of hunk in our family!!

National Whatever Day

Ok, so all these "National ______ Day" things are a little out of hand. Every week seems to be some kind of day....sibling day, donut day, pizza day, hug day, etc...

Most of the time I don't participate at all, but today I decided to participate. It is "National Lipstick Day" - silly I know.  But it was an opportunity to talk about my favorite lipsticks!! And I love finding favorites and then trying to make everyone else agree that it is their favorite too. I'm not sure what to call that, but I'm sure it is some type of disorder.

This particular favorite is rather an "obscure" item - which makes me want to talk about it more. Where to begin... ok so, I try to use more natural products whenever I can. I know in general it is a good thing to do. About three years ago I went through a phase where I tried the "no-poo" shampoo craze (look it up, it is a thing) and I tried to eliminate as much unknown ingredients for use on my skin as I could. Then I decided I didn't have enough time or energy to devote to that movement, so I just tried to buy safer products in general.

A little after that my sister discovered the brand BeautyCounter and loved their products. She loved them so much she decided to sell them (mostly so she could get easy access to the products themselves, and not as much for extra income of any sort.)  She got us all to try their stuff and I have been extremely pleased with almost everything that I have tried. You can read more about their products on their website here.

Just this past Christmas my sister gave me one of their lipsticks though (called a Lip Sheer)...and I put it on and I was blown away. I am very picky about lip products...I have dry lips and I don't like anything too bold, but I put on my first swipe of lip sheer and was very impressed. So soft and smooth, wears away nice and evenly, no funky tastes, and is safe for my skin?! WINNER!

If you like super long lasting stuff or super pigmented this isn't for you, but I find those two things difficult to wear and rather uncomfortable. If you are like me and spent most of your life just wearing chapstick and then woke up in your 30's one day and realized your lips don't naturally have enough color for "just chapstick" then this product is for you my friend!

I have 4 beautiful colors now, and I enjoy all of them and look forward to more colors that may arrive in the future! Oh, and the packaging is so very luxurious, which if you didn't know can make you love a product even more!

Look at these beauties...

Oooo, pretty gold packaging! And they feel nice and heavy too :)

Like pretty little maids all in a row.... (anyone get that movie reference?!)

Colors from Left to Right: Twig (like lipstick that looks like you're not wearing lipstick beautifulness); Currant (a bit tawny and perfect for fall/winter weather looks); Coral (pinky spring/summer fanciness); and Rose (classic understated pink)

If you ever get the chance to try one of these babies I highly recommend it. I think you can find a consultant on their website if you want to try any of their stuff (I also swear by the Jasmine Face Oil and the Countertime Cleansing Balm).

And in case you were wondering, my other favorite "lipstick" brands are Fresh (their lip sugars are fantastic too) and Bite (I haven't tried too much from the brand, but what I have tried I really enjoy). Both are also of the sense that things should be natural and safe for use, and considering these items are on your lips and easily ingested, I say that is a pretty good standard to have!

Happy National Lipstick Day to you and yours!!

My "Vacation"

So, summer vacations are hard to fathom when you have a newborn. I love having warm weather babies, so many benefits of people not being sick, life being a little bit slower, and so on and so forth. But this year I have missed just enjoying summer as well. Noelle and I had so much fun at the pool last year, and it just isn't possible for me to do that this year with a 3 year old AND newborn.

But this week is my "vacation"! Noelle is with Mala and Pop-pop in Marietta. Josh, Louie and I are holding down the fort here in Lexington and it is glorious! Noelle isn't a difficult child at all, but toddlers in general like a lot of a attention and don't always want to go with the flow. I miss my little buddy, but am enjoying a little break.

That's right - I can watch whatever I want on tv...not having to watch Mickey Mouse Clubhouse every morning. I can easily get errands done with Louie in tow and don't have to manage wrangling a little girl into a shopping cart. I can even fly solo for a window of time and not feel guilty about leaving Josh with two crazy kids. He can totally handle one - which is awesome for me!

I had the thought before giving birth to Louie..."What was so hard about having an infant around?" I stand by that thought. The hardest thing is sleep deprivation of course, but I will say that Louie is not horrible at sleeping - and on top of that, once you have been sleep deprived as a parent once, it is like your body knows how to function more easily the second time it gets sleep deprived! Other than that, little babies are pretty awesome.

As much as I am tied down every 2-3 hours with this awesome chunk, he's a gem and thanks to him I get my little "vacation." I am still trying to enjoy these early days, because the other side of the coin is that I cannot wait for him to get big and see his personality. Kids just get so much fun just as they also become more "difficult"...

In the end, I love getting to love every stage of development. I'm sure I'll recant that statement in about 10 years when I have my first teenager in the home, but until then I will look forward to each and every precious age and stage.

First Stitch Fix!

First of all, I got my first stitch fix 2 days earlier than what I had "scheduled" for - so I was pretty pumped about that! It was a fun surprise to get it a bit early! My stylist's name is Chantal and she did a pretty good job on her first attempt. I had done some pinteresting to try and give her a better sense of my style taste, and I think she took what I posted and understood where I was coming from. She also made sure to make this first fix very versatile in terms of types of clothing. I think I was hoping for more tops only because that is what I am kind of lacking in right now. Don't get me wrong I have more than enough shirts to wear - but not many that make me feel cool and really awesome about myself. My favorite tops from last summer don't fit so great due to the breastfeeding that is happening this summer. Chances are they will fit better next summer - but that's a ways off! There aren't many days right now where I feel compelled to look super nice - but on the random day you want to, you want it to be pretty easy to pick something to wear. Anyway, let's get to what I got!

Here's what I'm keeping:

This chevron wrap shirt was the biggest surprise and biggest win of my fix. I'm not traditionally a huge wrap shirt kind of person...they tend to make me feel old and they also tend to be too revealing for my bust line. However, this shirt was the opposite...the length made it feel so much more comfortable and stylish, and the wrap was not at all revealing. HUGE BONUS - super easy breast feeding access. #WINNING

Although I will probably not wear this shirt frequently until September rolls around, I couldn't bear to pass it up. It is super soft, super wearable, and super cute! I can wear it in the fall, winter, and spring and it's length means I can wear it with leggings too! I'm very very excited about that leggings part. It's also very neutral so I can change it up with different bottoms and accessories easily.

Here's what I'm sending back:

The jeans I am wearing in these photos are amazing. I have never put on such a nice pair of jeans in my life. However - my bottom half is in the state of fluctuation right now. I didn't stop losing weight after having Noelle until about 7-8 months into the game. Louie is not yet 2 months old. At the same time, a few months after I stopped breastfeeding Noelle, I gained a few pounds back and pretty much adjusted to my body's "happy weight". Because I started smaller with Louie, and am already one pound under where I started with him, I don't really know how this is all going to pan out this time. I can fudge weight fluctuation with my shirts pretty easily, but that is harder to do with such PERFECT fitting jeans. Bottom line, if I wasn't in uncertain "fit" territory I would have kept these for sure! They were a great fit, great color and super comfortable.

This cardigan was also very nice. Great quality and color, and very stylish. I'm just not in the market for a cardigan right now, and it isn't anything that I feel I couldn't find somewhere else.


This dress I was very excited about when I saw it come out of the box. Very cute and different from most things I own and have seen these days. There was just something about the fit that didn't thrill me, it just seemed to hang a bit funny on me. It also felt really fancy (I know it doesn't look it, but the quality of the fabric was so great, it just FELT fancier). I don't have many fancy places to go to right now, especially since Josh and I haven't resumed normal date nights yet because of Louie. Even so, for the price of the dress I needed to love it and I didn't LOVE it.

So there you have it!  My first fix. I really enjoyed the whole process of it. I like being surprised, I like shopping in the comfort of my own home, and I like someone sending me stuff that I wouldn't normally never try on in a store. Overall I say "two thumbs up" and I hope to schedule another one to see how Chantal learns and adapts from my initial comments so that she can get even more skilled at suggesting some clothing for me!

If you are interested in trying out your first stitch fix, use my referral link: Sign up for Stitch Fix!
It's true, I get a credit if you sign up and order your first box - which is awesome!

Life with Louie: 1 Month

Louie Watkins is officially 1 month old!

Josh and I both talk about how it feels like it went so quickly and yet it has been forever all at the same time. I think that is the general sentiment most people have when reflecting on life with a newborn.

There is so much to treasure about these snuggly days, but we cannot wait to see more of his personality and who he will be in the days ahead.

Here's some fun facts about Louie at one month old:

Louie is most likely a whopping 12 lbs at one month old. He loves to eat...usually every 2-3 hours during the day, and on nights that I am lucky he goes 3-4 hours, but lately his trend has stayed in the 2-3.5 hours during the night. As you can tell by his amazing weight gain, the kid loves to eat.

He tolerates tummy time very well, loves to just lay on his back and look around, and has a tendency to give his sister a few smiles when she comes over to talk to him. He also love to look out our living room window whenever he gets the chance.

He likes car rides and baths (both of which his big sis hated at this age), and my newest discovery is that I think he likes to get out and see the world. I'm going to test that theory this week and see just how right I am, but he tends to do very well when we are out in the world.

He's very strong and loves to jerk his head around and is starting to kick his legs and wants to "stand" on me a lot.  He has not mastered the use of the pacifier but I am convinced we are a few weeks away from him loving it. He has a tendency to go for sucking on his hand, so I'm trying to keep him away from becoming a thumb sucker if I can help it.

Here are some photos of Lou at one month old...what a chunk of hunk! And fun fact...the grover is Josh's from his childhood. It was his favorite and his parents lovingly kept it safe all these years and during my pregnancy they took the time to lovingly and painstakingly clean and restore it just in time for Louie.

Newborn Days

As we round the corner to Louie's one month birthday, I am finally getting around to posting some of our newborn photos! We took some family shots and then just some of the little man when he was one week old. We didn't really do anything quite like this with Noelle, but we have some beautiful shots that Josh took and that my father in law took for her (so I don't feel like a photo failure).

It is quite challenging to get some good family photos with a one week old and a three year old, but we got a few good ones. I hope you all enjoy and as much as I treasure these snuggly newborn days, I am so excited to watch Louie grow and grow (and BOY is he growing...)