You are dedicated to the Lord

North, on November 28th, 2010 mommy and daddy dedicated you to the Lord at Flood church. You were dedicated alongside your friends, Beckett and Malea, you only had eyes for Malea the entire time. This was a very special time for us to proclaim that you are the Lord's child in front of the community of believers that are our family. Your grandparents really wish that they could have been there and that is another reason why I am writing this on your blog and posting pictures. :)
You are precious to us son, but even more precious and dear to our Father and Savior. We will continue to pray that you will grow up knowing the Lord and choosing for yourself to walk with Him. We love you!

7 and half months

Well North, guess what - your first tooth came in today, Nov. 9th, 2010. It broke through your gums and your daddy and I went crazy. :) You have been extremely fussy and difficult, but with your very adorable moments. The tooth is the bottom front right tooth and it is super sharp.
You are so adorable to watch as you explore the world. Your eyes are so wide as you soak everything in. You were an adorable line for Halloween, absolutely precious. On Nov. 1st, Daddy's birthday, he took you out to Target on a daddy and son date where he bought you some new toys using money Grams gave you to use. You chose a ball that rolls around on its' own and flashes lights while playing songs and the other toy was a box with different shapes in it that you have to place through the right shaped holes. You prefer the box with the shapes.
We are getting you dedicated to the Lord on Nov. 28th at the Flood church and are very excited for that.
You still don't have any interest in crawling, in fact whenever you are placed on your belly or somehow turn onto your belly you immediately turn over onto your back as you hate being on your belly. However, you love to stand which makes us think that you will just skip the crawling and go straight to walking. :)
You are very vocal now and have discovered that you can scream which you do very often much to mommy's dislike. I am really hoping we pass that stage quickly.
You are still a very good eater. Mommy bought some mango to introduce to you, so we shall see what you think of that. I am really loving going into the Holiday season with you at this age. I think it will be really fun to watch you take in all of the lights and shiny paper and things to see.
I love you so much North, every day more and more even though you keep me up at night and I get no rest, I love you and I can't help but smile when I see you. You are so precious and so dear to my heart.

One more of you jumping...

Your new toy at 7 months

The video says it all, but you love this thing and I thank God for it. :)

Still swinging...

North's first swing

Catch up-6 months old!

Mommy is not doing very well keeping up on documenting all of your growth and changes. I am so sorry, though I am sure right now you could care less, but I know the grandma's love hearing everything. :)
Well, here is an update:
You are sitting up very well now, but you are REALLY wanting to move. You still don't crawl, but you can stand awfully well, not by yourself, but you have very strong legs.
You now eat the following: Bananas, avocado, yogurt, rice cereal, sweet potatoes and today we ate applesauce for the first time. You totally loved it. It took you a while to like the sweet potato. I love feeding you. It is always so fun. You make so many great faces and you are a pretty noisy eater as well. You are just like your mama. You thoroughly enjoy your food. :) I will introduce you to squash and peaches soon. I already have them made. I am making all of your baby food, which has definitely been an experience, but I know it is what is best for you and it is the most cost effective as well. :) Well, you LOVE squash and peaches will come tomorrow. You are turning into a VERY good eater and definitely filling in your thighs and cheeks. :) But that is good. At your 6 month appointment on Wednesday you measured 2'3.75" in height which put you in the 85th percentile. North you are going to be tall just like your daddy. :) You weighed 16lbs. 14oz. and your head measured 43.2cm.
Your legs are so strong because all you want to do is stand despite the fact that you haven't even started crawling yet. You sit up very well and today I sat you in the grass for the first time. You hardly moved, you just watched it and wiggled your toes and fingers taking it all in.
I love watching your face as you admire the world around you. You always have a look of amazement with everything you see. Today I watched you for a few minutes while you closely studied one of your toys. Your little fingers wrapped around it so carefully trying to take in every inch of the toy and understand it and it's purpose. You are so smart North and I am so proud of you and so in love with you.
Your light up when you daddy comes home though. As soon as you see his face you get a HUGE smile and it warms my heart so much. Your daddy loves you and LOVES to hear about everything you learn every day. He told me yesterday to not let you walk until he is home to see it. :)
Oh, you love the camera so much. Anytime you hear it beep or you see me pull out the phone you know it is picture time and you flash me the most adorable and happy grin ever. You are a very happy baby and that is what others have told me as well. I am so grateful for that. :)
Your hair is getting so long too. There are some stray hairs that I think I need to trim just so your hair looks like it belongs together, but other than that I really hope to not have to cut your hair for a while. The waves in you hair and the color is just beautiful and so perfect.
Oh, and your laugh, oh my gosh you laugh is so unique - well, you actually sound like you are holding your breath and sometimes choking when you are actually laughing, but is completely adorable. :)
I love you sweetheart. You are covered in His love and peace.
Love, Mommy

Bananas

North, yesterday, Sept. 14,2010, I gave you bananas for the first time yesterday and you loved them. Finally you started willing eating from a spoon once I gave you something sweet. Oh boy. :) You did have a very funny face at first, but then you opened your mouth for more. You did so well and I can't wait to feed you them again today.
You are getting so squirmy. You want to touch everything and you are really good at reaching now. You sit up, but get frustrated that you can't move. I think you will be crawling as soon as you can.
I posted pictures of you on our photography blog and everyone thinks you are such an adorable little boy, which you are. Mommy loves to show you off because I KNOW that you are the most adorable boy. :)

You're sitting up!

I remembered today that I needed to let you know that on September 3rd you sat up for the first time all by yourself. I have video and pictures of this of course, but wanted to let you know before I forgot.
Also, today you went grocery shopping with mommy at Costco. It was the first time that it was just you and me AND you sat in the grocery cart like a big boy. You were so good. You didn't fuss, you just sat there being your adorable self. Your eyes were so wide gazing at all of the lights and people.
You also had your first cold this past week. It is either that or you have a runny nose from teething.
I celebrated my 29th birthday on September 6th. You were my best gift.
Tonight I laid you down to sleep after giving you a bath. Within a minute you were fast asleep. You didn't even move after I laid you down, which tells me how tired you were. I love looking at you while you lie there so peacefully.
I love you my son, so much.

16 lbs. and 4.5 oz.

North, this is now how much way at 5 and half months. You have doubled your birthweight. I can't believe it. Daddy came home yesterday after being gone for a week and he was so impressed with how much you had grown in just a week. Your coordination with your hands has definitely developed as you are now reaching for items in front of you and grabbing them with a very strong grip. You have now started pulling mommies hair so I can no longer have my hair down. :)
The other day the vacuum cleaner scared you for the first time. You cried so mommy picked you up and vacuumed the entire apartment while holding you. It was quite a workout, but I didn't mind because you held tightly to me and cuddled your head into my shoulder.
You are wearing 6 months clothes right now because you are so long. You have also discovered your blue teddy bear from Great Grandpa Mac and you love him so much. Every time you see him you light up and reach your hands to him. When mommy lets you have him you pull him close, give him a big squeeze and rub your nose into his soft fur.
Another thing your daddy and I have started doing to make you laugh is hold you and make you chase after the dog around the living room. You love this so much. Your mouth goes wide open with a smile and you giggle and giggle as we make your feet touch the floor and jump onto the dog's back. You love grabbing the doggie's fur too much to Teryx's dislike, but he lets you because he is a good doggie who will learn to love you. I think secretly he already does. :)
Also, mommy thinks that as you grow your eyes are looking more like mine in shape. Your hair is growing lighter and lighter every day and definitely has a beautiful wave.
You love to swim. Mommy has taken you at least three times this past week and you have loved it. You smile and laugh and kick your feet like crazy.
You definitely have a very fussy time in the late afternoon. It seems that you are trying to wean yourself off of your afternoon nap. You only sleep for a half hour. Right now your schedule is:
7AM Wake up and feed (7 oz.)
9AM nap
11AM Wake up and feed
1:30PM sleep
3PM Wake up and feed
5PM sleep
5:30PM wake up and play
7PM Last feed and bathtime
7:30PM bedtime

Yesterday I watched the video of your birth my son and then looked at you sleeping. You are a gift my son, a beautiful and precious gift. I am so thankful to God for you and your health. You were such a strong and healthy baby coming out and you have continued to be strong and healthy. We love you so very much!!

Naptime

So I watched you fall asleep this morning to see how you do it. I gave you a bath, swaddled you up, gave you your Nuk and your Lovey. You proceeded to get your hands out of your swaddle and grab the Lovey and hit your head with the lovey as your eyes closed. Sometimes you will cover your face with the Lovey or blanket too. You are so adorable North and I love the little things that you do that make you... you.
On Sunday your dad and I bought you a new play mat and a new baby saucer. Your love both of them but only for about 15 minutes each at a time. :) Your legs are getting so strong and your grabbing skills are improving every day. Your eyes are wide open at all times and now you have definitely found your voice more than ever. You are constantly talking and letting us know what you think though we have no idea what you are saying. You have almost grown out of the Baby bjorn. You love reaching out for Teryx. I can't say that he returns your feelings, but he loves liking up your spit up.
In the bath I have switched you to the toddler side. You aren't a toddler but you want to sit up so badly, so you seem to like that side better.
You are so fun to watch North. I am always wondering what you will do next. I love you!

Now

Son, you are becoming very fussy and clingy. You really prefer to be held all the time which I am really loving, but at the same time it is becoming more difficult to get work done. :) But oh how much I love you. I want to buy you more toys as you seem to be getting bored with toys that do not move. You are still suffering with some acid reflux but I have started adding rice cereal to your formula and that seems to be helping a lot. We bought you some teething toys that you seem to enjoy as well. We took you to the beach today with Uncle Jeremy, Auntie Megan and Ami and you really didn't like it. I think the cold water scared you when you felt it on your feet. But you definitely liked watching it come in and go out. You are chewing on your toes now and you are sleeping through the night without a dream feed. Yay! I just can't believe how fast you are growing. You are so adorable. You have such big blue eyes that are always so wide looking at everything around you. You still love the Indiana Jones theme song. Whenever I sing it you get a huge grin on your face. You also like it when I sing "I said a Boom-Chika-Boom" Well, I should go to bed before you get up soon. I love you sweet boy.

4 month appointment

North, today you had your 4 month appointment and it was a success. You are such a healthy, strong boy. They did say that you have Acid Reflex and gave us a new formula to feed you to see if that helps. Hopefully it will because I was up with you all night last night because you couldn't sleep and you were congested, as you have been for a long time now. Who would have thought that that was due to acid reflux? :) So, we shall see if this helps.

Teething?

So, we think that you might be teething. You have been really fussy today and you have started drooling. You aren't eating well and you have a little rash. All of these are symptoms of teething. I can't believe it because you are only 4 months old. My little boy, you are growing so fast.
Also, you grab your toes now and it is so cute. I love you son!

Roll over

Today you mastered yet another skill - rolling over! We are so proud of you! You keep touching your toes and they seem to keep you occupied for long periods of time as well. Today, we will take you swimming as it is finally sunny outside. I can't wait to see you splash around in the pool again! :)

Catch up

North,
I first need to apologize for just now getting around to creating this blog. It has been a rough first 3 months, but in those three months you have been the most amazing baby. I want to use this blog to document your "firsts" in life. I am not a great writer so the entries will not be long, but they will be informative.
You were born on March 19th, 2010 at 1:03pm. You were 8lbs. and 13oz. You were bigger than we anticipated as you were 2 weeks overdue. You were sunnyside up and your head was too big, so after much trying on my part to push you out, you were born via c-section. The moment I heard you cry, I burst into tears of joy, tears that I had been saving for that very moment. When I heard you cry it was the prettiest music to my ears. At that moment I felt like I took a breath of air for the first time in a long time. And you came out perfect in every way, just as I prayed for. Every single way my love.
So, let's start with who you are right now. You are now 4 months old and the most adorable and precious little boy. Anyone who meets you says that you are adorable and the one thing they always say the same is that you are so aware of your surroundings. You really are. You are constantly looking around you with wide blue eyes. Yes, your eyes are blue and I really do not know how since your daddy and I have green eyes. :) But they are a beautiful blue, a pristine blue, a piercing blue. Your hair gets longer and longer and more wavy. The dark auburn color you were born with is growing out as blond hair grows in. I am going to claim that blond hair so that you at least have something from me. You still look just like your daddy and I love that because I love your daddy and think he is very handsome. :)
You love to smile. You started smiling in your third month. You can't smile without opening your mouth really wide. When you smile your entire face lights up. You are just starting to chuckle here and there and it is the cutest thing I have ever heard. It is music to my ears. I am obsessed with trying to find tickle spots and do ridiculous things with my face and hands and voice to get you to laugh.
You love bathtime. As soon as you get in that water you come a live with kicks and waving of your hands. I could watch you all day in there if it was possible. Your face lights up with joy.
You went swimming for the first time on July 3rd, 2010 and you loved it, but of course I knew you would because you like your baths so much. You aren't very fond of the bright sun, but sunglasses seem to help that.
You came out of me holding your head up and your neck muscles have been strong ever since. Your core strength is incredibly well developed. You can stand with us balancing you. You can sit upright in the bumbo.
You are a very rough sleeper and you move around all night long. I come into get you in the morning and you are usually laying on your side with your fist in your mouth cooing, waiting for me to get you up. When I find you in the morning you are in the corner of the bed with a trail of blankets behind you. :) Mornings are definitely your favorite and evenings are your fussy times. You are on a feeding schedule of every 4 hours and you currently sleep through the night. We put you down at 8pm and you sleep till 7 the next morning with a dream feed around 10:30pm.
You are now a pure formula fed baby. You have started to hold our hands as we hold the bottle for you to eat and you are beginning to get distracted during eating. For you there is just too much in the world to take in to waist time eating. :)
Your favorite toy is the Lamaze bug that Allison Swaggherty gave you. You love to be swaddled still even though you are getting too big for your blankets and you can't fall asleep without your pacifier. But as soon as you are swaddled and have the pacifier, you are out like a log with some exceptions here and there.
Your daddy thinks the world of you. He loves to put you to bed or feed you or talk to you any chance he gets. He loves to tell everyone how he never thought he could love someone as much as he loves you. North, he is a really, really good daddy. He plays with you, makes you laugh, he is really good at talking to you and telling you about the world. You make him laugh all the time and you bring so much joy to him. Well, and of course to me too!
You chew on your fists and it always looks like you are trying to cram the entire fist into your mouth. It is your way of self-soothing when the binky falls out. Now you have finally figured out that you don't have to cram the entire fist in so you put the two middle fingers in your mouth and suck on those.
Right now you are wearing clothes for 3 month and 3-6 month.
You love the camera. You always know where the camera is and when to look and you take great pictures and we have many to prove that.
Yesterday, you discovered your feet and that you can pull them up and hold them in your hands. you have enjoyed doing this very much every since. :)
That is all I can think of to write now. North, I love you so much. The love I have for you is like nothing I have ever felt before. I also have fear for you, new fears that again, have hit me so strongly that I have never experienced before. Everytime I leave you for a photo shoot or a date with your daddy, I am always thinking of you. I am always wondering what you are doing and what you are smiling at. I look forward to coming home to you at all times.
You have mesmerized us North. You have changed us and you are constantly changing us. And we would never EVER trade this for anything or anyone. You are a gift from God, truly a gift from God. I love you with all of my heart, my son.