4 Months Old

November brought some unseasonably warm weather, Will's first Thanksgiving, and lots of fun days at home and out around town. The weeks seem to be passing a lot faster now that we're able to get out of the house with a bit more ease, and hopefully that will continue even though a Chicago winter might not always make that a possibility.

Unfortunately, Will was diagnosed with GERD (gastroesophageal reflux disease) two weeks ago and has to take a prescription twice daily. He seems to be a happier baby with the new meds, spitting up less often and sleeping a bit better.

Our 4 month appointment was great- Will has gained weight, now 13lbs 2oz, and is 24.5" tall. The little peanut is still in clothes for 0-3 months, but he's catching up :) He was very brave for his shots and in a good mood the rest of the night.

A few highlights from Will's 4th month:

** Will almost always has either his feet in his hands or his hands in his mouth. Since figuring out that these fun little "toys" are all attached to him, he loves to spend time on his changing table grabbing his feet, pulling on his toes and smiling. His hands are in his mouth more often than a pacifier (which he can pull out of his mouth now when he no longer wants it). **

** Will has always had really great head control, and we've found that he loves sitting in his Bumbo and looking all around. **

** Cooing and babbling have evolved into full on screeching- sometimes in anger, but more often in delight at something. He sound like a baby raptor, and it cracks us up. I had to keep myself from laughing when he decided to do this in our music class! **

** He enjoys being on his tummy more now and can push himself up well. We've been putting new toys in front of him, and he seems to enjoy the challenge of reaching for them. It's a race to see if he can get them before Lucy does. **

** The mirror is Will's newest obsession. If we put his Bumbo in front of a full length mirror he'll stare at himself in fascination for quite some time. He also loves looking at Mommy and Daddy holding him in the mirror. **

** He still enjoys books (Waikiki Lullaby & On the Night You Were Born are two of our favorites to read him) and songs (You Are My Sunshine makes him smile lately).

**Will went to a Cubs game this summer, but just about a week ago he was actually ON the field at Wrigley! **

Check me out rockin' tummy time...

Yay! My first Thanksgiving!

"Hi, Lucy. Wanna be in my pictures?"

"Yeah, I know, aren't my feet fun?!"

"Ok, enough with the camera, Mommy!"

Just kickin back in my Bumbo.

Kicking Off Holiday Season #1

Will's first Thanksgiving was a wonderful day for the whole family! We gathered at Grama and Grampa's house for a delicious meal that Grama prepared and a birthday celebration for Mom, Aunt Colleen, and Uncle Pat. We're so lucky to have our family right here so that we can spend these special days together.

Among the many things to be thankful for this year, one is that Will took a 2 hour nap at Grama's house which allowed for Mommy and Daddy to eat a hot meal, uninterrupted and with two hands -a very rare occurence since the little guy came into our lives. He was such a good boy all day (after spitting up twice before leaving the house and requiring multiple outfit changes), and we're all looking forward to his first Christmas with the Serafins, Dannhauers, and Ryans.

Check out my little man in his holiday duds:

Houston, We Have a Thumb Sucker.

Will found his hands weeks ago, and slowly they found their way to his mouth. It started out with a bit of gnawing on his hand (we swear he must be teething already), then progressed to what I can only describe as trying to jam his whole fist in there. Well, over the course of the last few days he has figured out that it's fun to suck his thumb. And he won't stop.

I've tried giving him his pacifier over and over, but he really prefers the thumb. How am I going to take that away one day?!

Will Rocks!

I'm not sure whether it has anything to do with all the music I listened to while pregnant (and piped into Will via Belly Buds), but one thing is for certain: Will LOVES his music!

In the last few weeks, we noticed how much he enjoys being sung to, and now pretty much everything is a song "This is the way we take a bath, take a bath, take a bath. This is the way we take a bath every other daaaaaay. This is the way we scrub our toes, scrub our toes...." You get the idea. He listens intently to all the traditional songs, and any time we incorporate hand motions we earn bonus points by way of huge smiles.

Even more than the traditional songs, Will loves hip hop. Yep. Pretty much any song that tells the listener to "throw your hands up" is a big hit with baby boy. So, we've started dancing to hip hop every day around the house, I sing it to him in the car, play it while we roll around on his activity mat...and he never tires of it. What cracks me up is how much he loves Justin Bieber's "Baby Baby Baby". This is where I have to confess that I listened to that ALL. THE. TIME. when I was pregnant. I'm sure I'm the only 35 year old woman who loves this song, but I can't deny it. Will also used to listen to it on his Belly Buds, and he'd always start kicking. Bieber Fever! Hahaha.

Now I just need Dave Matthews to make a Lullaby CD.

Sunshine on a Fall Day

With temperatures reaching over the 70 degree mark (in November!!) there's no way we were staying inside all day, so we joined Aunt Traci and cousins Jack, Ben, Sam, and June at Lincoln Park Zoo. So much has changed since the last time I was there, and I think we'll have to get a membership so that Will and I can enjoy it next summer when he's able to run around a little more. For today, he enjoyed it from the comfort of his stroller and my arms, but it was fun to see how much his big boy cousins loved the exhibits and play areas- so much to look forward to as Will grows!

3 Months Old

Hmmm, so I'm a week late on posting (I will get better with this. I will get better with this. I will get better with this.), but better late than never, right?

I can't believe that Will is already 3 months old! While I should have been returning work this week, we decided about a month ago that I'd stay home with Will instead. I think it's going to be an adjustment, but I'm really blessed to be able to have this time with him. I looked at his sweet little face a couple days ago and got choked up thinking about all I'd have missed, this past week alone, if I'd been at the office instead of with him.

Here are a few highlights of what the little Mr. is up to these days:

** He reaches for things that catch his interest: hanging toys on his activity mat, the Oball that hangs from his carrier, my hair. I can no longer wear necklaces! **

** About a month ago, Will started cooing. That has increased and also progressed into babbling. **

** Tummy time is still one of his least favorite activities. He will occasionally push his whole chest up, but he usually gives up and thinks it’s more fun to show off how he can roll from tummy to back now. **

** He no longer wakes up screaming for food and attention (well, except in the middle of the night). Now he talks to himself for a few minutes and then smiles when he sees us coming to rescue him from his crib. **

** Will LOVES being sung to, and I turn pretty much everything into a song. His favorites are ABCs, Itsy Bitsy Spider, and The Wheels on the Bus (especially the wipers going “swish”). **

** We read books to him before bed each night and he’s becoming more interested in looking at colorful pictures. *

** Will doesn’t have any issues going down for a nap or at night. We don’t need to rock him to sleep anymore, as long as we watch for his sleepy cues and get him down before he’s overtired, he goes right to sleep. Though he starts out with a pacifier in his mouth, he generally spits it out within 2 minutes of being in his crib. **

I love my giraffe, CeeCee.

Wait, where'd CeeCee go?

And in honor of CeeCee and his Great Grama, Will was a giraffe for Halloween! We had a great day trick or treating with friends, but it was chilly enough that Will was pretty red-nosed and ready to head home after about an hour.