Oops!

I guess I am getting kind of bad at posting updates! It just seems that every time there is a minute to sit down and write, there is always something else I should be doing instead, like laundry, dishes, etc. : ) Oh well! So, in the past few weeks, these are the things our lil' guy has begun to do: he has started giggling when we tickle him, which is the best sound in the entire world!! He has also started keeping his legs bent to his stomach when we change his diaper...such a little and insignificant thing, but something I definitely notice, hehe. He also learned how to shriek/scream...he doesn't do it all the time, but it is really funny...for now! : ) I know later on when he does it all the time, we won't view it that way, but for now, it's something to laugh at. He also started giggling at random times- he seems to really enjoy sitting in my lap while I play on the computer...I usually have music on, and I think he likes to look at the screen as I scroll down the web pages. Pretty cute! Also, my parents bought us a baby scale last week, so we can know how much he weighs at any time. Pretty great! We are going to start weighing him every Sunday. Today he weighs 15 lbs 11 oz. Big boy!! He is going to be 17 weeks old (4 months) this week! Wow!! This past Monday he started a 4 hour schedule where he is awake for 2 hours and sleeps 2 hours...the big change is he is taking an official morning nap and official afternoon nap. He has done pretty well on it! And then just a few days ago he moved from taking baths in his baby bathtub that sits on our bathroom counter to taking baths in our spa tub! For right now, I get in with him because it is much easier to bathe him that way than sitting bending over on my knees...he had to change tubs because he had gotten too long for his baby bathtub! He is going to be tall like his daddy, I think. :) When he can sit up on his own without any help, he can start taking baths in the kitchen sink...we are looking forward to that! He is still constantly sucking his thumb...he mostly does it while he is putting himself to sleep and sometimes while he is sleeping. He has an official first "blankie", which is a cloth diaper we use as a burp cloth, haha! He loves to hold it in one hand and suck his thumb with the other. It is really cute!

That's about all of his updates lately! Anytime he starts doing something new or something changes, I write it on my wall calendar. I think that is easier than writing it in his baby book, and it is more precise because then I know exactly what day it happened on as well. This Thursday, May 28, is mine and Cody's 4 year anniversary!! Also, this Wednesday is one year exactly to the day we found out we were going to have a baby! That was such an exciting moment. :) It is amazing to think one year has passed since then. We are very grateful for God's blessings!

Quality time at home!

We have spent a lot of quality time at home lately, due to this yucky swine flu outbreak. I am a HUGE hypochondriac and do not want to take any chances at all at exposing River...which also means I am not going anywhere, too...because if I caught it, there would be no way for River not to, also! I even called the doctor this past Monday and cancelled River's appointment to get some of his shots (we split up the shots he was supposed to get at 2 months into two different appointments- this was the second of those appt's. I didn't want to take him into a place where sick kids gather!) Soooo.........lots of time to hang out at the house and play!! I don't really get too (terribly much) tired of being at home because we are still taking walks every night, and that way we get to get out and see the neighborhood and get some fresh air and exercise. I love taking walks in the evenings with Cody, River and Mattie! River is now riding in his stroller without sitting in the car seat. We just lie him down and he rides around the neighborhood comfy and gets a great view of the sky...he loves it! He has also started really expressing himself through more and more cooing. When he is on his back on his Baby Einstein playmat, he does these really loud "gorilla coos" (we call them) that are a bunch of "Oh's" and "Oooo's" that last a long time and are loud....sooo cute! Let's see...he also started blowing bubbles with his spit and he is drooling a lot, too, haha. He is putting more things in his mouth, and sucking his thumb A LOT!! He has really begun to suck his thumb to help put himself to sleep, which we love. He also scoots around on his playmat some...he started doing this a few days ago, to where he will start out facing one way, and by the time I pick him up, he has turned around 180 degrees! He doesn't do this a lot, but I am excited about it being a sign of him becoming more mobile! Yesterday we got a Baby Einstein "exersaucer" from my sister and put River in it...he likes it, I think. He still doesn't fit in it too well, but can sit up in it and likes to look at the different things on it.

Cody and I have gotten so much better at eating at home since we had River....we love eating at home now! Before River, we usually ate out or picked up food and brought it home six if not all seven nights of the week....and now, we hardly ever eat out or pick up food! Cody has gotten really good at making chicken alfredo and steaks. Those are two of my fav meals right now. Last night he made home-made lasagna and on Friday he made taco's with guacamole and cheese dip...yummmm!!!! We also usually eat either hot dogs, chili cheese dogs, or brawts or sausages on the grill once a week : ) Oh and we also are fans of pop-in-the-oven fish sticks, chicken strips or steak fingers, haha! River will definitely get to enjoy eating like a kid in our house, considering his parents still do!! ; ) I would say I am getting better at cooking, but in reality Cody is still the one who is doing most of it. He gets home at 5:00, which is the beginning of River's wake time (after eating at 4:30), so he starts dinner when he gets home while River and I hang out in the kitchen and watch/play.

I can't believe it is already May, River is going to be 14 weeks old this week, and summer is fast approaching! Time is flying! I keep thinking "I can't wait until River is crawling" or "I can't wait until he is sleeping for 12 hours at night", etc, but I am trying really hard to just stop and enjoy each day and each stage he is in. He honestly is a very easy baby and very laid back, which I am so thankful for. He is such a blessing and I am so in love with that little guy...and I really love this time right now, where we have a routine down and can just breathe and enjoy this time together. I know once he starts crawling, pretty soon he will be walking and it gets hectic! Life is great and things are wonderful with us...I couldn't ask for anything more right now! = - )