Rolling Over

So Hatch has a new trick...Rolling over!!
Last Friday morning our (then) 10 week old rolled over twice!
Unfortunately I was too enthralled with him to catch it on video...and then when I tried that little boy was too tuckered out from all his hard work to do it again. Of course it has not happened since then, but he has gotten VERY VERY close.
He is a strong little monkey and when your holding him against your chest, be careful you might end up getting a head butt from him as he loves to lift his head and hold it up for as long as he can...then bonk-it'll hit your chin, cheek, etc.

Before

After

Lately he's LOVING bath time...which is awesome because it's still our favorite night. We may sound crazy but there is something so fun about getting that little guy nakey and tag-teaming his bath time. He just lays there while we "ooh" and "awe" over him...and then he pees. Yep, duh! That warm water is bound to get a pee out of him during some point of the bath. Blake and I have a great routine down so it makes it so much fun and we can typically guess the moment he is about to pee and cover up! Plus, we are loving family dance "parties" right now and will often dance around the kitchen before the bath-or any other time for that matter. :) Who doesn't love to dance to some good tunes? Surely not us!

Last week he started sleeping about 6 hour stretches through the night. What a special treat that is for mommy! He eats his last around 10-10:30 goes down after that and then wakes up around 5. I'm still loving our 5am feeds when the world around us is still sleeping. That feeding is such sweet time with him when I can pray over him and just soak in the peacefully silence with our precious angel. Really any feeding time is so sweet, he is eating every 2.5-3hrs during the day, a great eater and I know I am beyond blessed (after talking to other moms and him being a preemie) that breastfeeding has been such a breeze. We also know that it is the BEST medicine for him during this cold and flu season. He is building up any immunity I can pass to him, decreasing his risk for allergies and asthma (or the severity of them-which is good since severe asthma and allergies run on my side of the family).

He loves his play mat and I call all the animals his "friends," they have all been named and have different voices to talk to him in too ;) yep, you'd love to be a fly on the wall in this house during the day...this mama is VERY goofy, making up voices, songs, singing my prayers, etc. We have lots of fun...let's be serious, you have to incorporate some sort of fun in the day when your days seem to be like groundhogs day-feed, play, sleep (for him), change a diaper, feed, play, sleep(for him), change a diaper, feed...well you get the point.

He is officially in size 1 diapers. Wearing some newborn clothes still...most 0-3 month clothes are still too big but work (that just means he'll be able to wear them longer right? ;))

I believe this little guy is going to have the sweetest personality. He isn't a talker like his mom...he is sweet, tender, and ALL boy--more like his dad. He is only loud when it comes to that boy stuff-grunting, pooping, and tooting. But he is just a snuggle bug with the sweetest demeanor. Still VERY rarely crying or fussy. Anyone can hold him and he doesn't fuss. Kenzie can bump into his swing and he doesn't cry. She can also lick his face and it doesn't phase him. He LOOOOOVVVVEEEESSSS music, thus why we started the dance parties. He's already two-stepped, waltzed, junior high sway danced and tango'd with his mama. If he gets fussy during a diaper change-just make up a tune and wa-la, it's magic, he just stops and focuses on your voice. Often I can't think of any tune so we still sing Christmas carols quite often or I rely on Pandora to play him some good ole Texas country (which he really likes...really).

He also does really good with and without his passy. During the day I sometimes use it for naps and car rides but we don't put him to bed with it. When he does have it it's really quite funny how he seems to "hold" onto it. Here is a precious picture of a homemade passy plug-it was a night I was trying to get dinner ready and play with him...he tuckered himself out and every time the passy came out of his mouth he'd wake up...so I decided to use Sophie, the giraffe, to keep his "plug" in.

At our last community group some of our best friends daughter, Annie, saw me burping Hatch and she decided to pick up her baby doll and burp her doll. She is SO smart and even more precious (too bad you can't see her face in this pic). So we decided to have her help me burp Hatch. She is one EXCELLENT burper! Hatch let out a BIG one :) It was one of the most precious moments and will be so fun to show them the picture of it as they get older (they are only 15 months apart)

Here he is in his farm shirt-we did lots of animal sounds that day! His first words will be animal sounds we did them so much! But hey, gotta get him ready for his trip to the ranch in March! Can't wait!!!

Snuggle bug

Getting ready for Valentine's day in his red!
We have lots of red things he was given for Christmas that didn't fit him then & are still a bit big...but we are making them work!

Seriously thinking while sleeping...

On another note...Blake is building a shed in our backyard. Yes HE is building it. Super impressive Hubs that I have! He is about halfway done already (he did have a couple of work friends help him out this past weekend) so I'll post some pics next time!
xoxo

Happy 2 Months Baby Boy!

Last Friday we officially became parents of a 2 month old!

Happy 2 months to our precious baby boy. Your daddy and I can truly say we have never been in such awe of God's great work. You are the greatest blessing and adventure we have been given as a couple. There literally isn't a day that goes by that you are not smothered in kisses and prayers. The other day I asked your dad how many kisses he thinks you get a day and we both thought it would be a fun experiment to find out...so who knows we might be starting a "smooch count" sometime soon.
This last month has been a HUGE month for you.

You celebrated your first Christmas.

Christmas Eve

TJ holding you before we went to your first church service...Christmas Eve service

Christmas morning & Daddy reading the Christmas story from your story book bible

All your loot

Aunt Brooke and Cousin Sam


The Mertz side of the family came down and you got to meet your great nanny. She was beyond thrilled to meet you and hold you. You absolutely loved her as anytime she held you, you didn't fuss once-you just stared right at her as if you were really studing and taking all of her in. I will NEVER forget the words she said as we stood over you on your changing table, "Now I understand what the people who saw Jesus felt. I am complete, I've seen the glory of the Lord in this child, I can leave here now if he were to call me home." She is one of the most incredible ladies you will ever meet and I pray I inherit all of her mothering, nurturing, Christ centered living qualities. You have no idea how many prayers she has prayed over you-from the moment she found out we may not be able to get pregnant to this very second, she is our angel here on earth.

Nanny

Cousin Elizabeth

Auntie Marilyn

Cousin Hattie

As you can tell you are VERY well loved and snuggled.

Papa Charlie came back down too because he can't get enough of you. He is always texting, calling and emailing to see how you are doing. He might be your biggest cheer leader-in the most manly, cowboy kind of way possible. You'll soon understand all of the "ata boy" he gives you. He has quite the confidence and faith in what a little warrior and fighter you are-he will push you hard, trust me I know first hand, but you will learn some of the greatest, most invaluable lessons from this man. You'll have TONS of fun with him on the ranch, you'll probably end up with a stitch or two from some sort of fun-turned-accident with him too ;) Yep, I know that one from personal experience as well. BUT, I swear to you, you have no idea how blessed you are to call him family. Your daddy and I think he is one of the neatest guys we know and can't wait for you to be old enough to play with him.

Oh! Least I forget, he finished the cradle that he was making me when I was in my mommy's tummy. He brought it down and it is one of the most beautiful and meaningful gifts we have ever received. One day I will read you the story he wrote about it. Each part of the cradle has a specific meaning or purpose of why he chose that material, design, etc. The story brings tears to my eyes every time I read it. Even your daddy was quite taken back with how special this cradle is and how intentional Charlie is. He's one cool dude that you are SURE to have fun with.

You saw your first snow...I mean how stinking cute are you?! That's the other thing we need to start a count for...how many times a day do your daddy and I call you "cute?"

You watched your first OSU and aTm bowl games...Both teams won too, you must be their good luck charm!

We called this your "game day" face.

You had a slumber party at BoBo and Sanny's. And since you are having so much more awake time we all had so much fun gathering around and playing with you.

KK babysat...you LOVE your playtime on your play mat

You are getting close to rolling over. Look how strong you are! Oh ya! that funny haircut reminds me that your ear wells are completely off! Look how good they look...hopefully your hair will grow back in soon.

Here are your milestones...

You can track with your eyes. You started doing this on Dec. 22 to be exact! We were so excited we filmed it.
You make good eye contact with whoever is holding you. You roll from side to side when you are on your back. You are VERY strong when he lifts his head and legs during tummy time. You LOVE tummy time and most times you end up falling asleep when your done...you don't get fussy on your tummy at all.

You haven't found your hands yet but we know you are close to that because you seem to hit your hanging toys on your play mat-sometimes it seems intentional. The other day you also grabbed a big bunch of your hair so I'm thinking the whole "cause and effect" will soon lead to you realizing those ARE your hands. You smirk but not in response to anything intentional yet. We LOVE seeing your smile and are on pins and needles for when you start smiling in response to us :D. you LOOOOOVEEEE music! Mommy & Daddy sing to you ALL day long. Mostly I make up songs or say my prayers in song. Ha! So glad we don't have hidden camera's around, I sure would look pretty darn silly. I guess it must be pretty entertaining to you though, even if your laughing at me silently.

We have developed a pretty good schedule. You go to bed around 10-11, sleep til about 3 for a feed and then wake back up around 7-8. You stay awake for about 30-40 mins after each feed then nap. You eat every 2.5-3 hrs so all together you get 7-8 feeds a day. You are still in newborn clothes and diapers. I think we will be in newborn clothes for a little while longer but bet that in the next week or two we'll advance you to size 1 diapers.

We really have no idea how lucky we are because you are not a fussy baby at all. The only time we hear any fuss is when your tired-then we lay you down and go go right to sleep and when you need you diaper changed-and once your changed your fine. You also LOVE to be held, you would MUCH rather be held than in your crib, swing, or cradle...It is SO hard not to stop snuggling you and put you down. Which makes for many "unproductive" days...but I don't think that snuggling you is at all unproductive. I can't tell you how sweet it is to have you lay on chest and snuggle, to have your little head nuzzle my neck and to just stare at you while you sleep and play. Today I just stood over your crib while you slept and prayed over you. I'd lie to you if I said I didn't shed a tear out of shear joy. My heart overflows with joy and pride.

You had your two month appointment last Friday and at two months you have finally made it to a "normal" growth chart, although they still chart you based on your gestational age too.
weight 10.25lbs 8%
height 21.5in 3%
foc 12in <1% Dr. Straughn said you could stop your formula fortification and that you are doing so very well. He kept saying what a VERY good baby you are and we couldn't agree more! You got 3 shots and one oral vaccine on Friday. You were such a CHAMP! You just slept them off and weren't fussy one bit. It didn't even seem to affect your feeding either. We prayed so much over these vaccines and will continue to pray this is how you handle every round of shots.

You have developed an umbilical hernia that the Dr says he is 99% positive will close on it's own, likely before you turn 2 years old...we pray for it often that it will close by a year old. It's funny we can hear your stomach gurgle through it. It doesn't cause you any pain though.

Here is what Daddy and I call your "Elvis" face. It's not the best pic of it, but it's so hard to get a good shot of it when you are making it! But it sure makes us laugh.

** P.S I promise next time not to go so long between blogging so it won't be such a long read...like I said, not sure if this blogging is for me, but I sure do love that it will be something I can read to him one day (that is as long as the internet stays around ;)