16 weeks (and a milestone)

We've been doing this for sixteen weeks and he's still afraid of the big camera.  No smiles.  

Monkey overalls (from Matt's Aunt Diane) and monkey blanket.  Is that too much?

What about the matching hat?  Is that too much? 

I think not. :)

Yesterday was pretty exciting in Bo's world.  Besides wishing Mommy a happy birthday multiple times  through mental telepathy, he pushed himself physically to reach a new goal.    

Mom and Dad are a bit excited, huh?  He'd rolled from back to tummy once a couple weeks ago, but I think it was an accident (and it made him really mad).  This was three in a row, so it seems more legit.  Great job, Bo bear!   

Baby Bo

I feel like once I've finally figured things out around here in baby world, everything suddenly changes.  Bo had been slowly stretching his night sleep and slept ten hours straight for six nights in a row.  That was a great time in my life, and I went to bed at night crowing with joy about the uninterrupted sleep I was about to get.  Until, on the seventh day, Bo woke up at 11:30.  AND 3:45.  And proceeded to wake up twice a night for the next week.  I was in shock.  My mind could not compute what was happening to me in the middle of the night as I stumbled over baby toys in an effort to find the baby and make the crying stop.   At 4:30 in the morning, this is a very traumatic moment. 

What?  Me, trouble?

 While I fed him, I searched the internet for ways to end this vicious cycle.  I finally read that waking up at random times (which he was doing) probably indicated a growth spurt, and in the morning I'd repeat my mantra, "it's a growth spurt, it's a growth spurt, it's a growth spurt."  But at night, I became convinced that he was getting into a habitual routine and seeking my company in the middle of the night and IT WOULD NEVER STOP.  And then, unable to fall asleep, tossed and turned until it was time to get up.  At 6 am.  Because this was VBS week and I had to remind 14 kindergartners to sit still 18million times a day.  I got really really tired after a few days of that routine. Somehow my body forgot that I'd been getting up in the night for three months.  It just seemed so much worse after a week of sleeping till morning.

a boy's just gotta eat.

So, after positive self-talk and really trying to relax about the whole getting up in the night thing, it did get a little easier again.  Last night Matt and I went out to dinner and our friends watched Bo.  They put him down at 8:30 . . . and he slept ten hours again!  I'm trying not to get my hopes up for tonight.  Maybe I can get my friend Meghan to come back and work her magic . . . 

So that covers my worry about Bo's night sleep, and then there's worrying about Bo's day sleep.  I started reading "The Baby Whisperer Solves Everything," even though at the time I didn't really have any problems to solve . . . until her charts and formulas indicated that Bo should be sleeping and hour and half for each nap.  Bo only slept about 45 minutes for most naps . . . and an hour and half sounded magical.  I set out to achieve these long naps.  At first it was just frustrating, but one day I finally succeeded in getting Bo to go back to sleep after the 45 minute intruder woke him up.  Seriously, I feel so powerful when I get him to sleep for another hour, or he falls asleep by himself in his crib without a fuss.  Maybe it was the Baby Whisperer's tips and my perseverance, or maybe he just got big enough to accomplish these goals, but we're having much better nap times now.  Translation - Mommy has more time to think of crazy projects.

This week while I taught Kindergarten at VBS, Bo was in the nursery.  He was the only baby, the rest of the kids were 2-4 years old, so he got a lot of attention.  My friend told me she heard her 2-year-old calling her baby doll "Baby Bo" and putting him to bed with a blankey.  I tried to be an easy mom when I dropped him off. . . I explained his routine but ended with, "But I just want this to be a good experience for you, so do what you need to do."  However, turns out I didn't really mean that . . . I really meant, "Please refer to the typed list of instructions I left in his diaper bag."  Yikes, yes, it's true, I typed out some helpful tips.  I like to think I'm fairly flexible with him . . . but in reality, he sticks to his routine and I've found that following that actually brings us more freedom and I can better understand what he needs.  After a couple days in the nursery we all got the hang of it and it turned out to be a positive experience for everybody.

I think he's pretty sweet.  I love his new tricks, how he's found his feet and rolled over (once).  I love reading books with him before he falls asleep.  Yesterday Matt and I crept into his room and watched him talking to the lion in his crib when he woke up.  They're pals.  I think I'm settling into this mom thing.  

 

back in oklahoma

Here are some belated pictures from our time in OK.  I've been a little busy with VBS and Bo-watching, but I like these pictures of Bo with my family!

Mr. Bo is quite the traveler now.  Traveling with baby is much easier with another adult (which is how I've done most of the flights) but not too bad alone (I flew back to Long Island by myself with him.  It went ok!).  Bo is a pro at pooping when the 'fasten seat belt' light is on, but not once did a flight attendant tell me to sit down.  The sight of a diaper and wipes sent them scurrying for a garbage bag . . . and once even prepping the changing table for me.  Do not love taking care of baby business in those tiny (gross) restrooms, but it must be done!

 (zonked on the way to OK)

A four-hour layover in Denver gave me the opportunity to see my sweet friend Amy Jo and meet her husband for the first time, since a certain life-changing even prevented me from going to their wedding in April.  Jon escorted us straight to Bass Pro Shop, the perfect spot for us to giggle and chat about girly things.  

Bo spent some time with our dog, Tucker!

He learned to share.

He learned to ride bareback.

Riding in the stroller for the first time sans car seat.

 (melting in the oppressive heat!)

My mom borrowed a bunch of baby stuff from people and this Baby Bjorn chair was a winner.  It was perfect for Bo right now.  He tore it up on those wooden toys.   

Coco thinks of everything.

We stopped by to visit the family I used to babysit for . . . I used to put these kids in zippy footy pajamas and now they are huge.  :(  But so sweet to see them rocking Bo in the same chair I would rock baby Sarah in!

babybobooty

Edmond had something around 30 straight days of 100+ temps . . .

. . . leading to naked Bo in his car seat. 

Monogramming. 

Bo's first successful trip to the pool!

He's been to the pool before but he normally doesn't like the cold water.  107*F = warm water.

 

With Aunt Elyse...

And Coco and GG.

15 weeks (and a baby dinosaur)

Still a little afraid of the big camera . . . 

It's not just his cute new blanket from Ms Joanna that makes me think Bo looks like a baby dinosaur in these pictures . . . it's something about his large white head and the furrowed brow that remind me of a freshly hatched baby dino.

rarrr.  

oh, no . . . baby dino has a giraffe!

run, giraffe!

looks like the dino is a carnivore after all.  chomp chomp.

sip & see

Last week my mom had a little party to show off her grandson.  She learned from her Southern friends that these are called sip n' sees, and while I doubted that at first, a google search proved that to be true.  So.  If you are not from The South, she had a little come-and-go.  

I was glad to see my favorite little cupcake pedestals from our wedding make a reappearance . . . one of these days I'll reclaim them, they are so sweet.  Thank you TJ Maxx. 

Homemade German chocolate truffles (cake pops without the sticks).  These were delectable and I had more than my fair share!  My mom sent a little package of goodies home to Matt and I snagged one . . . and Matt told on me and I got in trouble with my mom.  Narc.

My Grandma Lowery flew down from Cincinnati to meet Bo.  I was so glad to see her!  And she was a great help with party details.

Our oldest guest was my mom's 93-year-old friend, Miss Genella.  She had called ahead to inform us that she must hold that baby, and that with a name like Bo, she expected him to play football.  I talked with her awhile and asked her where she was from. When she said, "Da-yuke," I was a little confused.  "Da-yuke?  Where is that?"

"Western Oklahoma," she said.  "You here about Da-yuke all the time because of sports, but we're not that one, we're just a small town near Altus."  After a little Google map research, I confirmed there is an East Duke, Oklahoma.  Just another case of adding the extra syllable.

I was a little worried about how Bo would do with all of those strangers, but he was great.  He was passed around for two hours without complaint.  

And then he finally passed out in the arms of a willing guest.