4 Months!

Lot's to catch up on!  Let's start with last week.  I turned 30!!  I've never been to afraid of turning 30.  I'm not sure why, but I've been through a lot the past few years and it caused me to feel more "grown up" and that 30 is just a number.  All I can worry about is right now and whether I'm 30 or 29 who cares!

For my birthday I invited family out for sushi and drinks and boy did we have fun.  I had to do my first "pump and dump".  I'm not extremely proud of that, but you only turn 30 once right!?

Only problem was that my tolerance is completely gone so I totally paid the price for overindulging.  Oops!  Next exciting even was the birth of who I will call Richards BFF

My friend Beka and I got to enjoy being pregnant at the same time and we were excitedly awaiting the arrival of Matthew!  I am so excited to have a Mommy friend to go out and do cool things like shopping together like we did today!

In other news we have begun CIO.  For those of you who have no idea what that mean it is "cry it out".  He had been waking up so much at night and I was really struggling with being so over tired and around 4 months is really the time it is okay to begin this.  It is hard, I mean REALLY HARD.  I have an easier time with it at night, but during the day and naps it is difficult.  We've reduced from 3-4 wake ups down to 1-2 so it is worth it!!  I just turn up music or the TV to keep myself sane and know that he's safe, he's fed and this will help in the long run.  We are surviving.  My heart hurts, but it is for the best.

Tomorrow is officially 4 MONTHS!  His Ped check up is this Thursday so we can get all his updated stats.  I checked him at the last bfeeding support group and he was over 14 pounds!  I can't wait to see how tall he is.  Other things he is working on is rolling over and entertaining himself.  

The job search is still coming along.  I'm thinking it shouldn't be too long, but don't hold me too it!  I will leave you with an adorable Richard squared picture :)

Julie

Interviews have begun!

Things are starting to roll with the interview process and I realized...I NEED TO GET OUT OF MATERNITY!  So I went shopping :) (since nothing fits post baby body)

Putting on a suit really made me feel like a person again!  I had one phone interview and one in person interview last week.  I got a second interview this week Tuesday and another in person next Tuesday (first interview)!  Keep your fingers crossed I find something soon!

In the meantime I have been keeping myself busy.  This week we visited Great Grandma Ruth:

Visited with Family

and went out to visit Dad

This week Richard has seemed extra alert!  He has always been an alert baby, but now he is really focusing on things and it is fun to watch him watch things!  I played guitar for him and he watched my fingers the whole time.  Unfortunately he also found his SCREECHER!  He is getting so big!  Here are some photos from this week:

Julie

Milestones!

What a fun week this has been.  There has been more than once that I thought...wait!!! he's never done this before.  One day I was sitting at my computer and I heard this...

He is definitely been warming up his vocal chords this week.  I hear him cooing and gurgling all the time and we will chat back and forth.  The next thing I noticed this week was I had him in the swing and he was fussing and then stopped.  I walked over and saw this:

 He found his thumb!  I'm not sure if I should be excited about this, but I think it is so cute.  Maybe not when he is 5 and still sucking his thumb...oh well!  He seems to be soothing himself in this way.  When I got up this morning he was sucking away and the extra sleep for me didn't hurt either.

I couldn't help crack up I was doing some exercises at home and he decided to join in on some leg lifts.  His form is much better than mine.  LOL!

This weekend we went to visit the in-laws and Dick and I actually got to go out for a couple hours together.  We stopped at Dick's favorite pizza place and were surrounded by screaming kids!  I guess we should have known better, but we still had fun.

I also couldn't help but capture a photo of 3 generations of Richards - Grandpa - Baby & Daddy!

These past couple weeks his grip and hanging on to his toys has really improved.  He even picks them up on his own.  My little boy...so advanced !  Ha Ha!

Over the weekend I took him outside for a couple minutes, but mainly I just wanted to get some use out of his little outside suit because it is so cute!  Because he has a liner in his car seat we don't really dress him up when we take him out because he gets too hot.

Finally, today we got to go on a stroller walk.  I've been waiting for this day since he was born!!  The temps reached upper 50's and with the single digit days we've had it felt like a heat wave.  Unfortunately we had to walk through so many puddles.  Lady and my shoes both got soaked!!

Hope you enjoyed the pictures this week!!  Tomorrow I have 2 phone interviews so my "time off" may be fairly short lived.  I'm trying to make the most of it!

Julie

3 Months

My baby is 3 months old!  This past weekend was so much fun we had a surprise birthday party for my little brother who turned 27 on the 27th.  It was interesting figuring out how we were going to be able to go and not keep the baby out too late!  So Daddy and Baby came for a little bit and then went to my Mom's house while I stayed out a little later.

As always I had fun with my Cousin Sarah and My Mom.  Look at us in our cute scarves! :)

Still on the job hunt right now.  I have an interview set up though for Tuesday so hopefully it goes well or at least I get some good interview practice!  I'm going a bit stir crazy since the weather is still so miserable.  We are still in the single digits if not below zero.  It may be 30's by the end of the week which will probably feel like a heat wave.  I'm so over winter!

I'm starting to try and go through clothing as I transition back out of maternity but it is difficult because I don't even come close to fitting in my old clothes and with my "new boobs" I'm not sure I will for a long time.  To put it in perspective I was a B pre-baby and now I am a D!  Unfortunately being unemployed it is probably not the time to get a new wardrobe so it is a work in progress.

This week we worked on rolling over and he shocked me today by lifting his head while on his stomach almost to 90 degrees!  He is doing so much talking and kicking.  When we weighed him this week he was 13.4 pounds.  Not much else to report this week.  Here is my favorite picture of the week:

Julie