Monday, March 31, 2014

8 Months!

Our little dude is a whopping 8 months old today! I'm feeling all the feelings (happy and sad). 8 months just sounds so old! He's going to be a year before I know it.

This month has been a big one for Josh hitting lots of exciting milestones and developing quite the personality. This month he has really grown in his gross and fine motor skills and now his language and social skills are picking up as well. We absolutely adore our boy and can't get enough of him! Here's an update on what Josh has been up to lately!




New skills: Crawling on all 4's (!!!), going from crawling to sitting position (he's been doing this for a while now but is super quick at it now), pulling up (still trial and error with this one), 4 new teeth (oh my!), self-feeding, giving hugs and kisses, and babbling dadadada and bababababa.

Measurements: Josh is 17 lbs and 28.5 inches long! He is in size 2 diapers still and mostly 6-9 month clothes although he can still wear some 3-6 onesies. We recently graduated to 9-12 month pj's because he's so long!

Favorite Food: He loves trying new food and will pretty much eat anything. He's not super interested in pureed food anymore...he'd rather pick up pieces and feed himself. His pincer grasp is getting really strong! He's eating breakfast and dinner (we will probably add lunch this month) and so far he's enjoyed: avocado, blueberries, bananas, gluten-free waffles, yogurt, peas, broccoli, cantaloupe, sweet potatoes, green beans and of course the puffs! He's also tried bites of broccoli cheese soup and chicken noodle soup which he loved!

Favorite Activities: Crawling! He's getting into anything and everything these days and makes a beeline for any open door in the house! He also has an eye for spotting cords (especially phone chargers!) and gets mad when we take them away. He also really loves being outside and swinging in the park. We are looking forward to warmer days and making outside time more of a regular thing! He also LOVES to read (mama's boy!) and his best friend (other than his Wubba) is his stuffed squirrel, Gerald.

Best Moments: Watching him figure out crawling, and saying dada for the first time! It's also fun watching him laugh and giggle with his daddy...no one can make him laugh like his dada can! My favorite moments this month have happened every night when I put him to sleep. As I rock or bounce him he will put his arm up around my neck and pull my face down close to his. If I try to move he will pull my face down again...it's so sweet and I treasure the cuddles and snuggles!

My (usually) always happy boy!

Oh, hi mom!

Lazy Saturday morning playing with Daddy in our pj's!

Always on the move!

This jumper is how mommy gets dinner made!
Mmmm breakfast!

Look at that little belly!
Family walk on a gloriously warm day



Monday, March 24, 2014

Fighting the Comparison Trap...




I'm going to be completely honest with you guys...lately I've had some major fear issues arise. It almost seems like out of nowhere they began (although judging from how deep the fear roots are they began a long time ago). Probably about a year ago - when it really started to hit me that I was pregnant and we would be parents soon.

Parents.

A mom and dad.

Responsible for raising a tiny, helpless person.

This would (or should) spark a bit of fear in anyone becoming a first-time parent. I don't care how "ready" you may feel or how many books you've read on the subject. Nothing can prepare you for being handed that tiny little human and feeling utterly overwhelmed. Nothing compares to it - it is the best and scariest experience I've ever gone through.

And then you move beyond that. You move beyond the "experience" and get into the nitty gritty of real life with a baby. A wonderful thing happens as you sort through your post-partum emotions, your sleep deprived thoughts and your complete lack of confidence in yourself. You become a parent. You learn more and more about your child and what they need. Sure, every baby needs the same things right off the bat...they need to be fed, clothed, nurtured, etc...but HOW that happens is entirely unique to your baby. It's a HUGE learning curve and as soon as you've got it sorta kinda "figured out" something new happens like a growth spurt or their first fever and suddenly the learning begins all over again. You start asking "am I doing this right?" and "what if I totally screw this up and my kid is ruined forever?"

It's beautiful. It's scary (how many times have I said that already?) It's a wonderful journey. And every baby and set of parents has a unique journey and story. One that God has written especially for them for His glory.

I'd like to say I knew know all of this already. But lately I've struggled with keeping this perspective.

Our little guy will be 8 months old next week.

*Insert all the emotional "he's getting so big" and "where is the time going?" sentiments here*

This has been a big month for him. He's doing so well at so many things. There are things he's doing now that he wasn't even close to doing 2 weeks ago. It really is amazing to watch him learn new things. He's reaching lots of milestones and is such a joy to us.

And yet comparison is always there. The need to "rank" his development against other babies his age and even the ones who are younger/older than him. Ugh. Something about typing it out in black and white makes me want to crawl into a hole of self-pity or to rise up indignantly and say "I do NOT do that!"

But there it is. I fight comparison. I worry. I stress. I overanalyze. I google things WAY too much. And the root of all of this is fear.

I'm not sure if it's because suddenly I'm more aware that he's closer to being a year old than being a newborn. Or if it's because I'm more aware of the developmental milestones he "should" be reaching by now. But regardless of the reason - I often get to the end of my day and realize that I spent more time "pushing" Josh to get to the "next" thing that I've missed a day of just enjoying where he is at right now. Or I spend so much time practicing something he's "behind" in or hasn't done yet that by the end of the day I am so exhausted and feel like a huge failure, and trust me that's NOT what your husband wants to come home to!

Can't any of you moms relate? Do you find yourself asking questions like "am I doing this right?" and "how come so-and-so's kid seems to be so much farther along than mine? What am I doing wrong?" I've asked all of these and more in just the past week.

I'm writing about this because I simply want to share what God  is teaching me in the midst of my super paranoid first-time mom syndrom-ness (that's a word right?)

God does NOT compare. It's a simple truth. But so often I lose sight of the "simple" that is God's character. I think at times as Christians we can focus so much on the deep theological mysteries (and believe me...those are GREAT!) that we tend to forget the simple things.

God isn't sitting up in heaven keeping tally marks on all of us. He's not looking at my development as a Christian and comparing it to someone else's. Why? Because the story he's written for me is unique, different and cannot be compared to anyone else's.

And my son has a story too. Part of that story includes me being his mama. And while his basic needs are similar to other kids (needing to be fed, clothes, nurtured, etc...) his story is SO much more than that. God has amazing plans for this little boy, and by being trapped by comparison I am robbing myself and him of the joy that these early days hold.

So today, as I've been fighting comparison yet again, I've tried to remind myself that nothing about Josh's life is random or by chance. God has been there to remind me that he doesn't compare me to anyone else when I am slow to learn the same lesson for the thousandth time.

When my son turns 8 months old next week I can only pray that my first reaction isn't to run to my books and check the milestones chart and see if he's doing all the "right" things. I hope instead my response is one of gratitude, awe and humility as I look at how far he has come and anticipate the rest of his unique story.


Monday, March 17, 2014

A Birthday, A Wedding and Anticipating Spring




So the title of this post basically tells you what we've been up to lately.

I'm not a very creative title maker...

I also started writing this at 7:30 am and my kid was about to wake up any minute...blame the kid for my title.

Lately we've been enjoying the beauty of the mundane...the normal...the every day. Jon's job is going well and I love every minute I get to spend at home with my Wubbanator. Josh is growing like a weed and is constantly learning and discovering new things. It's so fun to watch! Lately he's enjoying his "pre-crawling" positions and like to rock on all 4's and do push-ups and plank positions. He's taken a few "crawls" on his hands and knees but doesn't quite have the hang of it yet. He'll get there! Meanwhile we are finding his attempts to be hilariously entertaining.

He is also babbling a lot more now and is much more vocal than the past few weeks. He talks the most when he has his fingers or a toy in his mouth (we've heard mama and dada that way) but for the most part he's saying the "b" sound all day long. It's freaking adorable folks. He's also getting 2 teeth up top and is eating solid food like a champ. The favorites these days are avocado, pears, sweet potatoes, peas, green beans, cantaloupe, bananas and blueberries...and he has also tried some of mommy and daddy's dinners (broccoli cheese soup and noodles) with much enthusiasm. He can also devour those melt in your mouth puffs like nobody's business. I think we're gonna have a good eater on our hands!

We also celebrated my birthday this past week, went to a friend's wedding and are eagerly anticipating the arrival of spring (current temp here today is 34 degrees...sigh). Here's some pictures from our past week and some videos of our sweet boy being cute and adorable.


Birthday dinner at Mimosa Grill

Strengthening that core!

Blueberries in the new high chair

Josh and cousin Winnie at the wedding

Josh and daddy all dressed up!

These two are the sweetest!

Me and Steph

Josh really wanted to be out on the dance floor!

Swinging on a warm (finally!) day

He adores the swing

Play date with Winnie - bug


Cantaloupe...the nectar of the gods


Here's a video of Josh playing his "trumpet"  - aka paper towel roll




And a new daily activity is crawling over to this wall and kicking it repeatedly. Those legs never stop!







Happy St. Patrick's Day everybody! 

Tuesday, March 11, 2014

Snow-pocalypse Recap

If I've learned one thing in the past few weeks it's that snow is overrated.

Highly overrated.

Sure it looks pretty in pictures and the Christmas songs that mention snow are all up beat and fun. But snow is cold. And wet. And prohibits you from leaving your front door for days.

No thanks.

Charlotte usually doesn't get much snow. Except for this year. Of course, the year we move up here they get the biggest snow and ice accumulation in 10 years. These Florida people were cold folks! Initially it was fun. We took Josh out in it and made our cute little snow man and watched the flakes fall. And then we were done. But the snow kept coming down. For days.

So, I ate chocolate. I watched movies. And I thanked God that my husband wasn't stuck downtown somewhere and was allowed to work from home. And when the sun finally came out again I decided to never complain about it being too hot ever again!

Snow…it's overrated. But it sure is pretty!



Heading out to look at the snow
Just starting to fall

Our street being blanketed...

Hubby building a snowman

He looks cold don't you think?

Cutie boy

The view out our front door

The sun is FINALLY peeking through!

Our street

Josh and Mommy...brrrrr

He wasn't too interested in this snow stuff

Fun for a while...then we all wanted to get warm!


Here's to spring showing up real soon!

Monday, March 10, 2014

Florida February Part 2


We've been back in Charlotte for a week now and it's nice to be back to our "normal" but boy do we miss the faces (and sunshine) that are in Florida! We had such a great time visiting! Here's some more pictures of our time there.

Playing with Aunt Katie - notice the barbie :)

Katie and Kristin watched him for me so I could go to the bathroom - and I came back to this!!

Spending some time with buddy Reuben!

Sitting up in the bath like the biggest boy EVER!

Celebrating mommy's birthday at Burger Fi with the family

Cousins :)

Just strolling down park ave

Napping on Uncle Jason

Human fountain

My and my best buddy

I love our little family
Josh and mommy forever!

The VanLue girls - and Josh's most loyal fan club

I love him!!
Last cuddles with Mimi - he adores her

We are planning on returning to Florida for Easter and are already counting down the days until our next visit! We definitely miss Florida and are grateful that Josh is such a good traveler so we can visit often!

Monday, March 3, 2014

7 Months!

Can it really be 7 months ago I was being wheeled off to an operating room - scared, anxious, excited, sick to my stomach…Crazy!

Time is FLYING!

Our sweet Wubba (aka Wubs, aka Wubbanator, aka the Wubster) is the best baby there ever was. It's true. He's the best. No contest. He has really grown up a lot this past month and seems like such a big boy to his mama. I know he's still "little" but to me he's HUGE! Especially since he's eating real food, scooting around on all fours, sitting up, babbling, laughing, drinking from a cup and wants to get into everything. We love him so!

Here's some "Wubba Stats" this month:

Height: 28.5 inches (90%)
Weight: 16 lbs (20%)

Favorite Activities: Playing with mommy and daddy, Being adored by aunties and Mimi & Gamps, Being thrown in the air, Swinging at the park, Doggies, Music, Listening to daddy play guitar, Eating anything and everything, Splashing in the bath, Reading books

Favorite Foods: Apples, Cantaloupe, Avocado, Bananas, Sweet Potatoes, Carrots. He will also eat green peas but isn't a huge fan of them. Also we love our organic sweet potato puffs! He also tried corn muffins, gluten free pizza crust and ice cream thanks to his Mimi giving him whatever he wanted these past 2 weeks :)

Clothes: He is currently in some 3m things (like onesies and shorts) but is in 6-9 month sleepers and anything long sleeved because he is looooong. Also still in size 2 diapers (the tabs are overlapping so we will be in them for a while yet).

New Milestones: Babbling and putting consonants together, Growling (the most hilarious thing ever), Scooting/Army crawling, Getting up on all 4's and rocking back and forth, Sitting up (this was a 6 month thing but he's a pro at it now), and getting his front teeth!






We are heading back to NC today after a wonderful 2 weeks in the sunshine state. More on our adventures in Florida later!