James Turns 7 Months

Dear James,

You are such a big boy! This month's "milestone" has been all about sitting. Since your doctor appointment, we started practicing A LOT! By the time you hit 7 months, you could sit 2-3 minutes at a time without falling over! It was neat to see the strength that you gained. You are becoming a sittin' fool!

We are STILL trying to get you to eat food. You're still not a fan but seem to like bananas and applesauce more than anything else we try. But, mostly, you purse your lips and do anything you can to keep me from putting food in your mouth. It's become pure entertainment.

You had a few firsts this month including your first festival, first trip to Lake Erie, and first time to see Grandpa Davis perform his music.

I've been convinced the last two weeks that you are teething. I'm just waiting for a tooth to pop through. If you do have one, I probably can't see it anyway because you won't let me look inside your mouth!

You have been such a trooper with mommy and her running. I think you might like it! I did one run without you this month and it was so weird! Honestly, I missed you like crazy!!! I just hope that you can tolerate it when I get into the 10+ mile range.

Besides you moving all over the place in a matter of seconds, the coolest thing about this month has been the fact that your personality traits are starting to show. So far, daddy and I think you are stubborn. You make this apparent with the whole "I'm not going to open my mouth" phase. You are also becoming very vocal. It's fun to hear new little noises coming from your mouth. Finally, you are such a chill baby. You have this attitude and look like everything is all good. You mostly go with the flow. You definitely didn't get that from your momma!

I love you, son, and have so much fun hanging out with you! I only wish I didn't have to work so I could spend even more time with you!

Love,
Mommy

James Turns 6 months

This is 3 weeks late, I know, BUT I wanted to include these pictures that Amy took of James the day of his half birthday. 

Dear James,

You are becoming such a big boy (6 MONTHS OLD!!!). I probably say this every month! Seeing you grow is such a cool thing. You've experienced a lot of neat things this month. You went on your first long trip in the car (long=5 1/2-6 hours for mommy and daddy). You got to meet your cousins Brooklyn, Drew, Quinten, and Brennan. They think you are the coolest...and they are right! Now that your personality is becoming more apparent, it's neat to see you interact with aunts, uncles, grandparents, cousins, etc. Speaking of cousins, Molly LOVES you! You, Molly, and Cooper are going to have a blast running around and driving us crazy! 

After having trouble getting you to sleep the last couple of months, you FINALLY started sleeping 8-9 hours at night. You have occasional hiccups but do well for the most part. 

You became very interested in mommy's food this month so I decided to start feeding you solids. Son, you are NOT a fan of pureed food so far. Mommy is still trying to make things happen. If you don't like it, we'll just wait until you're old enough for finger food!

Besides food, you've had some other first experiences this month. You tried swinging at the park, you played with grass, and you went into the pool. You didn't get overly excited about any of them but seemed really chill about it. You mostly people watched as you were doing these things (just like mommy and daddy...we love people watching)!

You are starting to move around more and mommy and daddy really have to keep an eye on you. You can roll across the floor in about 5 seconds! You are trying SO HARD to crawl but you really should consider slowing down this progression. Mommy's not ready for you to move that much. I think it will be a while before you crawl, though. You have to get a little better at sitting without us holding onto you. 

You are such a sweet, good boy and so much fun to play with...I can't wait to see what you have in store for mommy and daddy! We love you, Jamesy!

Love, 

Mommy

James Turns 5 Months

Dear Jamesy,

The older you get, the busier your mommy gets (which is why this is two days late). Along with the craziness comes the awesomeness :) You get cooler as you age! Your life right now is all about phases. When mommy and daddy finally get used to your current phase, you decide to change things up. Trying to keep us on our toes?!

We have bonded this month through running. It's been awesome because mommy loves to run and you love to come with me! When I tell you we are going to a jog, you get so excited. You love to check out the scenery then eventually fall asleep. When we finish and I wake you up, you look so happy :)

Speaking of happy, you love to smile! It melts my heart! Mommy can be having the craziest moment but, if you smile, the craziness doesn't matter. You giggle every once in a while and it's always over the weirdest things.

I think your absolute favorite thing lately has been bath time. You LOVE to kick in the water. I always sing the "splish splash" song when you kick. I think you recognize the song because when I say "James, do you want to splish splash?," you get really excited and start kicking!

You are so alert and aware of everything. You turn when we say your name and when we enter the room. You love Izzie and Angel and try to grab their hair. They have been really patient with you.

You are grabbing at everything nowadays...hair, necklaces, my clothes, etc. You even try to grab mommy's food. I'm making you wait 1 more month until I feed you real food!

I'm looking forward to the next month. The cold weather is over with, summer is in the near future...I already bought you swimming gear! We will probably go to the zoo for the first time AND you get to meet new family members who already love you.

I love that you let me give you lots of kisses and hugs. I'm gonna keep doing it while I can because, one day, you will think it's gross!

You are doing a great job, son. Keep doin' what you do and I'll try my best to lead you the right direction.

Love,
Mommy

James Turns 4 Months

Dear Baby James,

You are the sweetest boy EVER! You only fuss when you deserve to be fussy (i.e. diaper needs to be changed, you're hungry, etc.). This has been your best month so far! You recognize your mommy and daddy and smile when you see us. You have been going to Ms. Jane's for over a month and you have lots of fun there while mommy and daddy are at work. Mommy still wishes she didn't have to work all day but working allows us to do things like baby yoga, swimming lessons, etc. (P.S. We get to start baby yoga in a few days!!!).

You've had A LOT of firsts this month. At the beginning of the month, you started rolling to your side; a couple weeks later, you were able to roll towards your right onto your stomach! It became your favorite thing to do...you even sleep in that position. Today, mommy got to see you roll from your stomach to back for the first time (I think daddy saw you do it a couple days ago). You are also a champ at tummy time. You can hold that big ole head up like it's nothing. Now we just need to get you strong enough to sit up in your Bumbo chair.

You also had your first giggles (which are so cute!) and started enjoying family walks in your carrier. You LOVE to check out your surroundings! You are learning and taking in all of the cool things of this world. In addition to your jungle gym, you have become quite fond of "Mr. Monkey" and "planet." I think you like them because you can put them in your mouth.

When mommy went back to work, you started sleeping horribly! The last week or so, we put a sound machine in your room and now you sleep 5-6 hours then 3 more hours! Now mommy has a little more energy :) You also became a big boy a couple of weeks ago when you started sleeping in your own room and your own crib. It was hard for mommy to let go!

Son, you are the best kiddo in the whole world. I know the next month will be even more awesome because you'll keep getting stronger and more active. The weather is also getting nicer so we can enjoy outdoor activities! I love all of your milestones and love being your mommy.

Love,
Mommy

James Turns 3 Months...



Dear James,

My precious baby. You are so awesome! This has been a rough month for mommy. Not because of anything you've done. Mommy had to go back to work three weeks ago and it was the hardest thing I've EVER had to do. I was having so much fun being with you all day long but mommy understands that she has to work and, hopefully, one day, you will appreciate it :) Plus, you get to hang out with Ms. Jane all day long so that's not a bad deal.

You have grown so much this month. I don't know what your current weight is but I can just tell you are getting bigger. You still look so tiny. You are a LONG baby! Maybe you'll be tall and skinny like your mommy. Maybe a basketball player (unlike your mommy). Most people say you look more like daddy...but that's ok with me.

You are so loved! You have lots of family and friends that want to play with you and see you. You even have two furry sisters who have grown to love you. Angel always sniffs you first when we get home and Izzie tries to get you to play with her (she thinks you can throw her toys).

You've been doing a lot of cool new things this month. You chew/suck on your hands, drool, make new funny noises; you love to have conversations with me in the morning and you smile ALL THE TIME; you are still obsessed with your jungle gym and could play with it for hours.

Mommy spazzed out about your head control and called you doctor. The doctor didn't seem worried and said to do more tummy time. You hate tummy time but will tolerate it sometimes. You are a rock star so I know you will be able to lift and hold your head when the time is right.

You love to be outside. We've had a couple of nice days lately and, when I would take you outside,  you had the biggest smile on your face. I promise we'll spend so much time outside when the winter is officially over.

Son, I have so much fun with you...seriously. I could talk to you all day long and that would be the best day ever. You seem to be crazy about me and that just makes all of the craziness worth it. I don't sleep well and I'm always tired in the morning, during the day, etc. but you make me forget about it.

I love  you Jamesy. I know that every month that passes just brings new fun adventures.

Love,

Mommy



James Turns 2 Months!

Dear Baby James:

You are two months old now! Oh my goodness. YOU ARE AWESOME! You have grown so much the last month, physically and skillfully (I have no idea if skillfully is actually a word, James. Your mommy doesn't have the best grammar but I know lots of big anatomical words).

You smile now! I love seeing your cute toothless smile but I have the hardest time trying to get a picture of it! Every time you are in a playful mood and you start to smile, I'll grab the camera to take pictures but I can't catch that sweet smile. BUT I think I got lucky and caught part of one:

8 weeks old

You have also become grabby. When you're being held, you like to grab mommy's hair, shirt, etc. It's cute right now but I'm sure it will start to hurt eventually when you learn how to pull!

You and daddy were able to bond a little more this month when you learned to take your milk from a bottle. Daddy really loves these moments since mommy is able to be with you all day.

You and daddy around 5 weeks old.

You started "talking" this month...well, more like cooing and gooing. It is the most precious thing. I feel like you are trying to tell me how much you love me but you just don't know how to say it ;) hehehe.

This month, you started sleeping more at night to help mommy get more sleep and you have officially outgrown your newborn clothes (although the next size is too big!). You weighed 9 pounds and 14 ounces at your doctor appointment yesterday!

Just like your mommy and daddy, you LOVE music and dancing. We have had so much fun the last week listening to mommy's favorite Disney songs. I think your personal favorite may be "Bare Necessities" from The Jungle Book! Daddy said he was showing off his drum skills with you the other day and that you really liked the noises!

Rock and Roll!

I think you might be a morning person because we tend to have our best conversations during that time. I brag to people about how good you are but this month you have been just a little fussier (but that's normal, little man...you are still a really good baby!).

Mommy has been really sad lately because I have to go back to work soon and you will start going to Jane's during the day. I'm sure you will have a great time with her and your new friends but mommy will miss you so much during the day. Hopefully I will be able to use our situation to teach you some sort of life lesson when you get older. I'm trying to look at this in a positive way! Mommy's going to miss you but, for now, I'm still with you for another week so let's make the most of it!

You are awesome my little man and I will always love you more than anyone else will even think of loving you (besides the Lord, of course). I have a feeling that this next month is going to be so awesome and that you will have so much more to show mommy about yourself. I love you, son!

Here are some outtakes from your "photo session"...Angel wanted to get in on the action:

This is Angel's way of saying "James, please pet me!"

Two cute faces :)

My oldest and my youngest!

James Turns 1 Month!

Random:

We sing a song to our little man to the tune of "Baby" by the has-no-form-of-discipline-and-commits-crimes Beiber...we say "Jamesy, Jamesy, Jamesy, OHHH! Jamesy, Jamesy, Jamesy, OHHH!"....you get the idea.

The first month of his life has been so amazingly awesome! I love this little man SO MUCH and can't believe how much fun we are having together (despite the craziness)!  Since I give weekly updates to all of you about his progress and our adventures, I thought that for each month of his life I would write him a letter. I've seen other mothers do this and thought it was a really cute idea.

Dear James (a.k.a. Jamesy, little man, son, Baby Boo),

You have a very schedule oriented mother. I'm obsessed with planners...I buy them whenever I have a good enough reason to do so. Ever since December 14, 2013, my planner revolves around you (and this is not a complaint)! I love you so much, little man, and nothing brings me greater joy than to hang out with you, daddy, Izzie, and Angel.

I went from being clueless when you were born to feeling more confident about providing all of your needs. I used to think it was rubbish but it's so true what they say about motherly instincts. I've read a lot of books and articles on the internet but you are alive and that's what counts ;).

You made my transition into motherhood a lot easier than I could have ever imagined. You consistently eat every 2 to 2 1/2 hours during the day and you go a little longer at night so that mommy can get a little sleep. Bless you child. I remember the first time you slept 4 1/2 hours without waking me. I felt so guilty but quickly learned that it was ok.

After visiting Walmart today, we figured out that you probably weigh around 8 lbs which means you have gained 1 lb and 8 oz since birth! You still seem so tiny but I can tell you have grown. You have long arms and legs and big ole feet...you must be an athlete of some kind.

I love that you are more alert because I have so much fun talking to you. I read you books and passages from the Bible and I know you recognize my voice. I sing to you sometimes but I don't want you to think that's how singing is supposed to sound.

I know you're still too young for toys but I put your jungle gym together today and I could tell you were enjoying all of the new things to look at...I even have a video of you hitting one of the toys with your hand. I could have played with that all day long if you wanted to. I think my fingers are you favorite toy. You love to hold them (which is ok with me because it puts the biggest smile on my face).

This past week, you are making funny noises and you love to move your long arms and legs around. You're my little wiggle worm. When you grow up, I hope you love me as much as I love you. You are such a blessing and I've seriously enjoyed every single moment with you...whether it's been easy or challenging. You make me a better person.

I love you, James,

Mommy