Woodland Park Picnic

Today we went to Woodland park so that Beckett could meet his second cousins Max and Becca. It was Beckett's first picnic and he had a blast! Here are some picture highlights!

A Brown coming through???

Matt took these pictures (sorry for the picture quality, the kid kept moving!) the other night and said he really sees the Brown coming through in Beckett. He still looks quite asian to me, but I suppose aside from his lilly white skin, his father is somewhere in there. What do you think? :)

How does your garden grow?

It's amazing! So far I have been quite successful at keeping the plants alive in my box garden! As you can see here my jalapenos are doing quite well, I have lots of lettuce growing and a few cucumbers coming in. My herbs are also doing quite well and I'm just starting to get creative on how to best utilize them for summer eating! Today I made fresh pico de gallo for a picnic using one of my jalapenos. Since I didn't get to grow tomatoes or onions this year, and my cilantro turned into corriander, the jalapeno was really the only fresh garden ingredient I got to use. Oh well, perhaps next year! :)

4 Month Check-up

Beckett had his four month check-up on July 20th, and all went well! He is 18lbs 11oz, (97th percentile), measured at 27" in length (95-97 percentile) and has a head circumference of 42.9 (50-75 percentile). As you can see, he's still a big guy! The doctor was very impressed with his ability to see her in the mirror, and then turn around to look at her in person. He was also extremely social and carried on quite a "conversation" with her. As for shots, he also did well and only cried for a half second before he was laughing while still trying to cry at the same time. Laughing won out in the end. What a brave little guy! As for feeding, we did get the okay to start him on rice cereal and first foods since he had great head control, and does seem to show interest in what we are doing when we eat, however I think I'll wait until he's 5 months old because really what's the hurry? He does sleep through the night (it probably helps that we "dream feed" him at 11pm) and then he wakes anywhere around 6:30am-7:30am. So far I can't complain (unless he starts waking again 3 times a night like he used to). He also wakes up pretty happy and gives the best smiles when you go in to get him up. His new thing is that he seems to enjoy flipping around in his sleep. Every morning when I go in to get him, he's turned around and upside down in his crib! What a little acrobat! :) It is amazing at how fast these guys grow up! I can't even imagine what he'll be doing at his 6 month check up! I'll keep you posted! :)

More Father/Son Bonding...

I feel so blessed that Matt has been such an amazing husband and father. Last week he worked 65+ hours and still made time to take care of Beckett so I could have time to adjust to my transition of going back to work and dealing with the already high demand of my job. I caught the two of them in this moment and couldn't help but smile. They were bonding over one of Matt's favorite TV shows.

Part-time Play!

How can I go back to work and leave this little face?! The countdown begins and I am only weeks away from returning to work full-time. Currently I have been working part-time and Beckett has been going to Grandma and Grandpa's house on Tuesday and Thursdays. I won't lie. I had extreme anxiety leaving him since I had just gotten him on a routine at home and he was sleeping great during the day and at night. The swaddle issues were behind us and Beckett was a sleeping champ! As it turned out his first day at my parents house was a HUGE success! He adapted so well and my parents were so great about keeping the consistency we had at home and incorporating his routine at their house. Now it has been a few weeks and Beckett does just as well with them as he does with us! He loves going over there and enjoys sitting out on the cool deck with Grandpa, gets his feet cleaned by their dog Macie (yuk!), enjoys sunny walks, reads books with Grandma and chit chats with all of the Cherry Crest neighbors who enjoy his long conversations and outgoing personality. As they say, it takes a village to raise a child! Needless to say, I am so happy and going back part-time has been a good transition for the both of us. Next... figuring out full-time frustrations! Wish us luck!

Beckett gets his weekly kisses from Grandma!

Father Son Bonding???

Matt has Beckett duty right now and being the smart guy that he is, figured out how to multi-task watching Beckett while getting a little Wii play in. You think Beckett enjoys it as much as his daddy?

Back to Work!!

This week I officially start back to work on a part-time basis (Tues and Thurs) until August when I will go back full-time. I can't believe it has been almost 4 months since Beckett was born. At the time I started maternity leave, it felt like I had forever until I would have to go back to work. Now, only a few short months later, the time has come. I decided to go back early part-time in order to help ease the tough transition. Beckett is getting so big and his cute, silly, fun, easy going, laid back personality has emerged. We have overcome a lot together in the first few months: feeding issues, tongue clippings, physical therapy, figuring out his needs, weaning from the swaddle and establishing a consistent schedule. Now, just when we are starting to read each other like clockwork, I have to go back to work. It will be a tough transition for me, harder than I thought it would be. A few months ago, I thought it would be good for me to get back to work but now reality has hit and I'm not ready for reality! I want to stay with my baby! I want to play with him and love watching him talk to his toys and explore new things around him. I love hearing him squeal and laugh. I love the smile he gives me when I talk to him. I love how he just found his little thumb and soothes himself to sleep. I love how he won't stop jibber jabbering even when you're trying to watch TV. I love the time we spend together reading books and how when I read to him, he examines each page and talks to the characters in each of the stories. I love how when Maggie or Lucy walk towards us, he tracks them with his little eyes and laughs as they pass by. At the time I didn't like it, but now I love how he could wriggle out of any swaddle regardless of how tight or how many different kinds of swaddles we used (I bought 6 different types of swaddles). I love how determined he is! There is a lot to love in this guy! I am blessed to know that he will be in good hands while I am at work! My generous parents have offered to watch him a few days a week and my boss is being so supportive and letting me work from home one day a week! In August he will be going to daycare two days a week as well and our hope is that once he's a little older, he will go full time at daycare in order to keep better consistency in his routine. For now, I will keep these moments close by when I'm at work stressed over trying to hire a slew of new staff, or dealing with difficult people. I will remember that work is work and each hour that passes will bring me closer to the one little person who with just a small little smile can make all the stress in the world disappear in an instant!

Beckett being silly!

Having fun at Grandma and Grandpa's house

where he will be while I'm at work!

A Day To Celebrate!

Before I share the great news, let me give you a little background on why it is so exciting! Since the day Beckett was born, he has been a pretty good sleeper. Our doctor told us that it isn't uncommon for newborn babies to confuse night from day. Well, we got lucky and our little bambino had absolutely no issues waking up fully in the middle of the night thinking it was morning. The bummer thing is however, when he does wake up in the morning, he's always VERY unhappy (not a morning guy!). Since the day he was born he has awaken every morning fussing, crying, cranky, grumpy, etc... Well today of all days we celebrate! Not only is it the Fourth of July, but Beckett woke up this morning in good spirits and happy as a little rested clam! Matt let me sleep in (as he always does on weekends God bless him) and when I woke up at 8:15am, Beckett was not downstairs. Matt came in to tell me he checked the baby monitor and instead of seeing a fussy, grumpy gus in the little screen, he saw a little curious and content, wide eyed face staring back at him. When he showed me I couldn't help but just love this little guy even more! It was the cutest thing I have ever seen! Hopefully this will be a start to a new trend! Crossing my fingers!