Mommy Movie Day

So today James & I went to the movies with our mommy & baby friends. The theater in Ramsey was having Mommy Movie Monday (hopefully the first of many). The film was "Atonement," although none of us really cared-- it was just so fun to go to a theater without worrying about whether/when your baby would cry, etc. As is turns out, James never cried. He ate and slept through the movie, and I quite enjoyed his snuggles. The flick was fine-- I most enjoyed the score.

This was the fourth exciting day in a row for James. On Friday we went to school. On Saturday he spent the morning with Daddy-- going to the grocery store & mall to get birthday goodies for Mommy-- and the afternoon hiking and dining with our friends. Sunday included not only church, but also a party given in his honor at the rectory where he received all kinds of great clothes and books! He continued to be agreeable and delightful for all his social events!

We are so lucky. We realize it. He is wonderful.

Visiting School

After making arrangements with my replacement, I took James to visit my school and my fourth graders today. It was awesome! First, two of my dearies were in the lobby en route to make an office delivery when we arrived. They were so excited and surprised to see me and doted over James. The two of them literally pulled me through the halls to our classroom, running ahead at the end to announce my presence. The kids went nuts. They all oohed and ahhed over James and pretty much mobbed the two of us. We received many pieces of origami and such. My favorite "gift" was the name placard that I'd made for student James's desk back in the fall. He signed the back of it and put it in James's stroller. Amazingly, Baby James was extremely tolerant of all the attention and noise. After promising to return before dismissal. James and I went to visit some of the faculty. Sadly I didn't get to see everyone that I wanted to, but James was probably overstimulated as it was! He really was a love, being held and admired by so many different people. It was a blast for me to be there and see everyone. We made it back to my class in time to walk them out to dismissal (during our procession, they all announced James's presence to all). I had a lovely chat with my principal, and concluded my visit relaxing and walking out with my good (pregnant) pal who teaches second grade. I'm dying to go back again soon!

Happy April!

I love April. It contains my birthday and our wedding anniversary, for starters. It's usually home to Easter. It's when we found out we were expecting our cute lil' James. There's the Masters. Spring Break. Often it is when I head south for a 10K and a jolt o' goodness in the form of family and azaleas. And sometime during this month is when spring usually arrives in NJ. Right now we just have buds on some trees-- not many-- and there are some daffodils poking around.

OK, I have to tell you that right now the cutest baby in the world (aka James) is talking away whilst lying beneath his mobile. I mean, the kid is just going on and on. I really wish I knew what he was saying. Also, he looks really cute right now in a little Winnie the Pooh hoodie.

The Easter Miracle-- New Life

At the risk of blasphemy, let me share with you our Easter miracle. When James went to sleep on Saturday night, he didn't wake up to eat until 4:40! Last night he (and Dan & I) went down at 9:00ish and didn't get up until 4:00. Let me tell you, getting a big chunk o' sleep instead of feeding him every 3-4 hours is incredible! I'm really hoping it continues!

James did look very cute yesterday for Easter. He wore his salmon colored Polo suit (it is like a long-sleeved golf shirt with legs) and his socks that have loafers on them. People thought he had on little shoes! He also wore his penguin hat without complaint. (The salmon color of the beak and feet matched his outfit.) He was good for the service at Grandpa & Grandma's church, and met many of his grandparents' friends during the day in Ramsey.

Meanwhile, I finally got a haircut on Saturday. It was my first cut since November! Oh, it was lovely. I am really happy with my cut, and I enjoy my salon. For fun, my stylist blew my hair out straight. We both agree it looks better curly, and, in fact, she cut it for curls, but it was fun to look different for a day. I think it really threw James off, however. He seemed annoyed with me all day. Perhaps the funniest instance was when we were out running errands and stopped at Houlihan's for lunch. I ordered fish tacos. When they were set before me, James took one look at the plate and started screaming. It was like they scared him or something. Dan & I cracked up.

Big Baby Bed

I know it is a big deal when toddlers leave their crib and sleep in a "big boy/girl bed." Obviously, we're nowhere near that stage of the game yet. However, James has moved to his "big baby bed."

Until recently he'd slept in the cradle in our bedroom (and occasionally in his papasan chair, still in our room). He was getting way too big for the cradle: his arms stuck out between the slats when extended fully, and he could move/rock it on his own quite easily. This meant that he (and we) were waking up a lot. While it was quite nice to literally be able to reach in and comfort him without moving from where I slept, I also felt that I might actually get more sleep if he was a room away. . .

On Saturday night , James's three-month birthday, I put him down in the crib rather than the cradle. Then we turned the volume way up on the monitor and tucked ourselves in next to the empty cradle. All went just fine. He's even taken some naps there!

This sucks

So, my son likes to suck to sooth himself to sleep. The problem is that we didn't give him a pacifier much in his first month o' life. It was in an effort to 1) establish breastfeeding and 2) avoid having one of "those kids" who always has a plug in their otherwise cute face. Well, we were successful on both counts because he loves to eat (note sizable weight gain), and he won't be one of "those kids" as he cannot keep a pacifier in his mouth. Literally. It flies right out. Instead he sucks Mom or Dad's pinky or the aforementioned boob. He has located his hands for sucking/slobbering, but they don't seem to do the trick. Oh well!

Blog much?

Whoa! It has been a while! I have one big excuse: our computer is dying a slow, painful death. The operative word there is SLOW.

Anyway, as you might imagine, James has enjoyed many milestones:

• He protests much less about tummy time and lifts his head very high (see photo) most of the time.
• He often lifts his arms and legs while on his belly, as though he's flying.
• HE ROLLED OVER TWICE YESTERDAY!
• He can sit up when propped (thanks, Bumbo).
• He's developed somewhat of a routine: eating every three hours during the day, eating is usually followed by play then sleep. Of course, the past few days, he's been out of routine... could it be another growth spurt!?
• He has found his hands and enjoys chewing/sucking/slobbering on them (see photo).
• He's been taking all sorts of adventures out in the world which has even included breastfeeding (yea for the Bebe Au Lait) at Road Runner Sports and in the children's section of Barnes & Noble (I hear that Nordsrom's has a great lounge for this as well!)
• He's gotten diaper rash; we're still waiting for it to completely clear...
  
• He's "slept through the night" twice: last Friday & Saturday. Both nights he went 6.5-7 hours before waking up for a feeding! We're back to every 3-4 hours now, though (and last night he wanted to party at 3:00).
• He laughs a lot-- he especially enjoys having his hands slapped and hearing & seeing someone buzz their lips.
• He weighed in (while fully dressed and diapered) today at 13 pounds 12 ounces!!!

In other fun news, James has been to church for the first time, and we enjoyed a baby gathering (with moms & dads) from our weekly breastfeeding group a few weeks ago. Also, I'm taking next year off from school (because of my tenure. I can return the following year) to stay with James (however, I'm still looking forward to returning this May & June). Additionally, we enjoyed a MARVELOUS visit from Aunt Maggie last week.