Motoring in a Mini

This is Zach's first car:


He got it to match his Pops' car (we do need to make sure that Zach's future driving outfits match his car, apparently that's how you dress when you drive a Mini):
Zach just told me this morning that his favorite color is blue and that he would like to trade with Pops . . . I'm just repeating what the boy tells me =)

2 Months!

Wow . . . I can't believe that it's already been 2 months. It really doesn't feel like it's been long enough for 2 whole months to go by. And at the same time, if I wasn't staring at a tiny baby, I would think that Zach's been here closer to 10 years. I have a pretty good idea that it will always feel this way!

We just got back from his 2 month well check. He's weighing in at 11lbs 4oz and measuring 23 1/4", which puts him in the 50th percentile for height and between the 10th and 25th for weight. Tall and skinny . . . shocker =)

He also got 3 immunizations, poor little guy. =( Thankfully the actual giving of the shot went better than last month when he received part 2 of the HepB vaccine. Last time I held him during the shot and it was heartbreaking. I cried only marginally less than he did. I was surprised at my reaction because needles don't bother me in the slightest. I even let my friend practice starting IVs on me when she was a nursing student. But when Zach screamed and grabbed onto my shirt with a death grip, I lost it.

This time, the nurse had me lay him on the table and stand behind him so that he couldn't see me (and I admitt that I turned away and didn't watch). That way he didn't associate me with the pain nor was he mad at me for letting something like that happen to him while in my arms. I was able to sweep him up as soon as it was all over and comfort him. The calming down process didn't take nearly as long. I cuddled him and walked around the outside of the medical building for a few minutes and he was sound asleep within moments of putting him the car. So far he's doing really well; he's been his usual smiley self and hasn't shown any signs of a fever.

As you saw earlier, he's rolling over now (just from tummy to back). He's also smiling, making great eye contact, tracking certain toys and people with his eyes, reaching, batting, and grabbing at toys and my hair (I have a feeling that ponytails are going to become more and more standard!), and as our pediatrician pointed out today, starting to work on getting his butt up in the air . . . it looks like he's trying his hardest to be an early crawler. He and Spartacus will be great friends once he's moving around!

I hesitate to announce this on the blog as I have a tendency to jinx myself, but last night marked 7 days in a row of Zach sleeping through the night! The sleepless haze has been lifted and what a difference that makes! It really is like having a cold where you can't imagine life without a sniffle and a sore throat and then as soon as it's over you can barely remember the sickness. I'm so glad that God allows us to have such short term memories about things like that. It gives Zach a much better chance of not being an only child =)

**For reference, here's Zach with the Bear when he was only 4 days old.

Rolling Stones Gather No Moss

Last Friday when Zach and I were playing on the floor, he rolled over 5 times in a row! It was so fun to watch him because he really had no idea what had just happened. I had my still camera, but not the video camera. Of course by the time I ran and got the other one, he had decided that his arms were too tired to push himself up anymore. And I couldn't get him to repeat it that night for Greg or my dad either. Oh well . . .

Now for the last day or 2, we'll hear him playing in his crib and by the time we get to him, he'll be crying because he's rolled himself into the side of the crib. Then this afternoon he decided that rolling over continuously would be so much more fun than sleeping . . . speaking of which, I hear the little man now . . . =)

Could you love this face any more?

"Old" videos

I took some video of Zach on my cell phone several weeks ago and just remembered it this morning =) It's not going to win any awards, but I thought that our out of town family would like to see Zach in action.

Zach waking up (aka "The one where Spartacus is an alarm clock"), 5 days old



Tummy Time 8/17, 3 weeks old



I'll try to take something a little more up to date one of these days and show you some more of his tricks!

A post with words

The last 6 weeks have been quite a whirlwind! It seems like as soon as we adjust to a "new normal" everything is up in the air and changing again!

Sleep is returning slowly but surely. Zach is getting very consistent with his daytime naps, sleeping 1 hour 30 minutes to 1 hour 45 minutes between each feeding (which are now about 3 hours apart) which gives me plenty of time to get stuff done around the house or catch up on a little sleep myself. At night he's been sleeping for longer and longer stretches to where now he's only getting up once in the dead of night. Last night he slept for 6 hours straight! That makes for a very happy me =) (Isn't this a cute picture of him sleeping? I swaddle him nice and tight before bed, but one night we heard a bunch of grunts coming from the crib and he had worked the swaddle loose to get a hand on his glow worm!)

We were getting out of the house quite frequently, almost everyday, to run errands, visit people or just get a change of scenery and some fresh air. He did a great job sleeping in his car seat. But as his naps at home have gotten more consistent his naps in the car have waned into nothingness. It could be that he is now more aware of how hot my car is (the a/c in my trusty '98 Cavalier is a little slow getting to the backseat) and if that's the case, hopefully as the weather cools we'll be able to get out again without major meltdowns. For now though I'm seeing the simple joys in being at home more.

Zach was a big fan of his pacifier from early on, so were Greg and I! It's been great to have such a portable trick up our sleeve for nearly any fussy situation! We both decided early on that we wanted to use music and white noise sparingly as calming techniques before bed so as not to put ourselves in a position where we need to pack a suitcase for Zach just to go over to someone's house to hang out. Obviously those are wonderful tools and we're learning to "never say never", but for us right now Zach being easily portable and adaptable is important. That being said, this past week Zach has begun to ditch his pacifier in favor of his fist. He goes at that thing with a vengeance. Unfortunately, he hasn't quite mastered it yet and gets a little frustrated that his hand won't stay still or completely fit in his mouth. Or that he can't have both his hand and his pacifier in his mouth at the same time (that's the best).

Greg and I have also been enjoying our evenings more and more over the past few weeks. I'd imagine it is in large part due to the fact that we're getting more sleep at night and I'm getting a short nap in the afternoon and not falling asleep at 8. Yes, I bet that's it. We weren't really spontaneous people before, but now that we're often tied to the house when we put him down (we still get out to meetings and over to friends and family's houses a few evenings a week) we realize how often we'd finish up dinner and go run an errand together. So we were spontaneous, just boring spontaneous. =) But, like everything else, we're learning to adjust and it's been great. We've been working a puzzle for the last 2 nights, playing games, and snuggling up on the couch to watch movies (and not falling asleep!!). I know that life won't be like this forever and I'm so enjoying these nights together. Someday, hopefully, our evenings will be full of attending sporting events, homework, chores, delayed bedtimes, etc and we'll love that, too; but we'll look back on these more quiet times and remember them with fondness.

Plus, if you think you love your husband now, wait until you see him hold your baby in his arms . . . nothing melts my heart more!

Favorites from August

Mom with Zach at Uncle Dave and Pat's wedding

Mawmaw and Zach also at the wedding

Who needs a pillow when you have a paci?

First real bath!