Michael is 4 months!

Hey there little Mikey! Happy 4 months!

Your stats are:

27" long 95+%

16 lbs 75%

You are growing, growing, growing! You continue to be such a happy baby boy. In fact, that is usually the first thing people notice about you. And then they move quickly to how big you are. 

You love to giggle and your brother and you love to giggle back and forth. I have to say that one of my favorite parts of watching you grow is seeing your relationship with your brother develop. Most of time you boys like to giggle at each other while you are in the car. You two love each other and have the best time playing. I can tell you can't wait till you can get up and run around with him.

You are defiantly teething and you always have your hands in your mouth. No teeth yet but I'm sure they are coming soon.You also have found your feet and love to chew on those too.

 

This month you have started fussing at night. It starts at 9pm to be exact and I'm not kidding about that. I don't even need to look at a clock to know it is 9pm anymore. You will even wake up from a peaceful sleep to cry at 9pm. It's kind of crazy. It lasts about 2 hrs and then you will fall asleep for the night (well, at least for about 3 hrs). Since our pool is heated and it has been very warm out I will take you swimming during that time and you quiet right down. You love going in the pool.

You are getting to be very wiggly. In fact, it was pretty hard to take your 4 month picture. You always want to be standing and moving around. You have such strong legs!

You like to stick your tongue out and do it a lot.  Especially when you smile. I just think it is the cutest thing ever.

 

Your eyes seem to be staying dark and your hair is coming in a dark blond.  Lots of people are saying you look a lot like me now. I spend a lot of time day dreaming about what you will look when you are all grown up. But no matter what or who you look like I just pray that you grow up to be a man that knows how to work hard, have integrity, and have a strong testimony of your heavenly Father and the gospel. Your dad and I talk all the time about what we can do to help you grow up and be happy. We love you so much little monkey.

We took a  mini day vacation to Arrowhead on Labor day. This was your first time up to the mountains and we loved showing you and your brother around. You mostly just stayed snuggled up with me while Daddy and brother went exploring. Going to the mountains is my favorite thing to do. I find peace there and re-charge for going back to every day life.

While up there you got to meet your 2nd cousin Jack Ward. You two are very close in age and it was fun seeing you two meet each other.

 I can't wait to see what this next month will bring! Love you little Mikey.

 

Mikey is 3 months!

Three months went by pretty fast, little monkey. I'm learning that the first three months are just hard. Hard for mommies and daddies, and hard for babies. There is a lot of adjusting, growing, crying, and experimenting going on in those first three months. So remember that when you are all grown up and becoming a father. Just go into survival mode for those months because once the babies hit 3 months life gets better. That being said, you have been such an easy baby so far. You will fuss and cry every once in a while but you are usually just a happy little boy.  You cry more when I eat dairy and you get a rash around your mouth so I'm reeealy trying hard not to eat any. Its hard because I love ice cream :-)

 

 Your Stats are:

26.25'' 95+%

14lbs 3.5oz 60%

16" 50%

You have had some nights where you just want to cry and whine between the hours of 9-11pm. I'm not sure why babies always want to cry around that time. But after that you will fall asleep around 11:30pm and sleep for a good 4-5 hrs. Then you will wake up again two hours after that and then again two hours after that. At that point Dane is also awake so we all get dressed and ready for the day and play for a little while. Then you go down for a nap for about an hour. You take several short naps though out the day and usually take one long one. Some times you will even take your long nap when our brother Dane does!

You love to smile and you pretty much always have your mouth open.

 You insist on standing up! It is sooo funny. We keep trying to lay you down but you just want to be up. You have started sitting in the bumbo chair and you seem to like it enough. Your head control is coming along really well. You are a lot less wobbly. You are doing really well with tummy time and don't seem to mind it too much. You now roll over from your tummy to your back regularly and you will roll from your back to your side almost every time I lay you down. You seem to hate laying on your back.

Mikey 3 months Dane 18 months

Speaking about laying on your back you just will not sleep on your back. You have to be on your side with your face snuggled into something soft like a blanket, the couch, or me.

How you felt about tummy time at first

How you feel now

You are outgoing, little Mikey. You love to smile and "talk" with people. I think it is so fun to see your distinct personality already shinning through. And shinning is the only way to describe it, everyone can see it. You know that song "Every Star is Different" I think of you when it says "some are bright and happy". I hope you always shine brightly little one.

Snuggles with our dog Luke

This month was a really special one because you were blessed on July 7th by your daddy in the Anaheim 4th ward. Lots of family and friends were there to celebrate you. Something extra special was that your Mimi (my mama) and Papa (Michael) came all the way from South Carolina to be there for your special day! They really do love you and had so much fun snuggling you and trying to spoil you. After the blessing everyone came back to our home and had lunch. You were perfect that day and looked perfect in your little white outfit. Your blessing was really special.

Nana, Grampa, Great Aunt Janice, Kristy, Darrel,Debi,Brett,Mama,Daddy,Auntie Sandra,Uncle Paul,Papa Michael, Mimi,Piper,Catherine,Soni,Dane,Katie,Jake.

Mama's side of the Family

Everyone that was in your circle (minus bishop Mulroney). Brett Danley, Grampa, Daddy,Cody Walk,Darrel,Devin Weir.

The Christensens and Walks

Our little family

 

You are a drool monster! You drench everything that you wear, I wear, and daddy wears. It's because you are teething and I expect to see some teeth push through soon. I let you chew on my wrist, knuckle, and cheek bone all day long.

Exhibit A

Exhibit B

Your hair is still mostly dark and your eyes seem to be going to the hazel/light brown side. Your skin is starting to lighten up too. Looks like you have more of my coloring.

Mimi, Papa, and Dane building your crib.

You have been spending time with your Aunt Sandra Manneck lately and she just adores you. You guys like to just sit and cuddle. You are lucky to have so much family that loves you.

Dane likes to get real close to you and stomp his feet. It makes me a little nervous but you love it.

Truth.

We are so grateful that we (mama and daddy) were sealed in the temple so that our family can be together for time and all eternity. Knowing this brings us so much peace and joy. There are so many wonderful blessing that you get  when you go to the Temple. Daddy and I know this to be true.

Love you my little Mikey



 

Dane is 18 months!

Life is so exciting with you my little Dane. You are 18 months old now and you are changing and growing and learning at such a fast rate it is hard to keep up. I find my self watching you and thinking to my self "I don't ever want to forget how you look/sound/smell/feel at this very moment". I know that is probably not possible so I'm doing my best to right as much down as I can remember. I wish I could be taking pictures of you all day long doing all the silly, exciting, naughty things that you do but I also don't want to be messing with a camera. (not that I don't take a ton of pictures of you:-). Your dad and I are cherishing our time with you and love every second of it.

Daddy and Dane at 18 months

 Your stats are:
34.5" long 95+%
28.4 lbs 75%
19" head circumference 50% 

Your vocabulary is growing by leaps and bounds! You are officially fluent in English however a lot of words are still in your baby accent so only Daddy and I can understand it. Our favorite thing is when you say things just a little wrong. For a while you would say "Tuh-raatt" for truck. We loved how you turned it into a three syllable word. That only lasted for about a week though and you started saying it correctly. Now it is one of your favorite words to say. At bedtime one night Daddy and I were singing you a song and you started to sing along but since you didn't know the words to the song you just said "truck, truck,trrrruck, truuuuuck". We thought it was the cutest thing ever. Daddy started laughing so hard that he fell over and then you cried. You don't like it when we pretend to fall over. Some of your other favorite words right now are; buss, daddy, anana (banana), peese (please), no (I hear this one a lot. Even when you mean 'yes'), Yes, dar (for car. I'm loving this one right now but you already started to figure out that it is pronounced car), rice, baby, book, shoes, up (another one of my favorites. especially when said because you want me to hold you), more, bicycle, moon, clock (you struggle with the 'L' in this one...it makes us giggle), mimi (this is what you call your blanket made by your mimi), Lala (for Auntie Laura), its trash, apple, water and bottle (both of these words are said without the 't' sound...super cute) sip, sit, stick, Jesus. One of your favorite sentences is "What is this" and you mostly say that about food. There are so many that I'm sure I am forgetting some. It seems like everyday you are saying a new word.

You just love hanging with your daddy. And he loooooves hanging with you!

Physically you are still growing like a weed. And you are so strong! Your hair is the color of golden wheat and your eyes are a clear blue green. You only have one freckle and its on your right hand and your dimples on your cheeks are just so kissable (for some reason I feel like in 16 years some girl is going to be saying the same thing;-). You are a master of the stairs going up and down and you really enjoy climbing on things now. We took you to a trampoline park once and ever since then you try to jump all the time. You try jumping down the stairs, over things, off of things, on baby brothers, on rocks, on beds and couches. Really you are just bending your knees and straitening them fast and haven't figured out how to get into the air but you are so proud of yourself when you do it and we love watching you try so hard. I hope you always find such joy and pride in trying hard to do something. It will pay off. You are also experimenting with new speeds in running. This is causing you to fall a lot more but your little legs are sure getting fast! Especially when you are running away from me (that is another story.) You love walking up and down hills and across rocks. You love to flop around on our bed when you come in in the morning. You think it is hilarious. You have figured out how to trow a ball up in the air and catch it. You don't hit as much as you used to and you will show us "soft hands" when we ask you too. You love to take your truck outside and push it around the courtyard. You do this for a long time. While at the playground once you slipped off of a ledge and caught your self with one hand on a bar. You held your entire weight one handed dangling for a good 5 seconds (one one thousand, two one thousand...) until I was able to get to you. You kept saying "oh wow, oh wow, oh wow!" a little frantically while hanging there. You are just a hunk of muscles.

  

You still love everything that has to do with a ball. You throw left handed exclusively (except when you are throwing with both hands).

You are definitely an internal processor (I am too). Your nursery leader (Samantha Smoot) told me that you are getting better and better and socializing and playing with the other kids in class. You have always been good at saying hi and going up to people but now you are learning how to really play with other kids. She also said that you are paying attention during lesson time and even participating! Your dad and I like to "check" on you and peek in the window while you are in nursery. Not because you really need to be checked on but just because we love seeing you having so much fun. You are sensitive and don't like play hurting. You are getting silly! You like to make all kinds of silly sounds and faces at your brother to make him smile. You like to be independent. Sometimes I will watch and see how far you will go before looking back for me and I've decided that you just keep going. I think it shows how secure you feel and you should because your family will always be here for you. When you get nervous you twiddle your fingers and when you get excited you stretch out your arms and shake. You tend to be a little on the nervous side so we are working to show you how to work through it.

 

 You love finding sticks and pushing them on the ground or hitting/poking thing with it. You will find one and say "Its a stick"

You are very affectionate.  You love grabbing my and your daddy's head and giving group hugs/kisses. You love snuggling your brother and giving him kisses and hugs. And you love giving Chloe hugs. You will also go up to other babies (even if you don't know them) and giving them kisses. Maybe you'll run for office when you grow up:-)

 

First time climbing a tree

 Your best friends right now are Chloe and Preslie Walk. When ever they see you they shout "Hi Daneeee!" and you get really excited and run to them. You three are adorable playing together. You love them so much. Especially Chloe. We catch you trying to give her hugs and kisses a lot now. I think you like how gentle, patient, kind and soft spoken she is. Being the child of the property manager has some perks and one of them is that you are loved by a lot of residents. You like to go up and say hi to them when they pass by. They all look out for you and I think it is adorable. Your best friend is still your daddy. You guys are best buddies.

Here you are helping Mimi build Mikey's crib.

Dane 10 months and Mikey 3 month.

You have started to experiment with your will and saying 'no'. You mostly do this at home and with me. I think of it as great learning opportunities for each of us. Some times I will get frustrated but then when we go out and I see you say please and thank you and put things back after you use them I know we are making progress. Our big challenge right now is getting you to come when you are called. When I ask you if you are poopy you will now say yes or no and you are 95% of the time right. Uh oh, is potty training time coming already?!

First time playing volleyball. You loved watching daddy and mama play.

Dane our love for you is so great that I know I can't express it in writing. But even more importantly I want you to know that your Heavenly Father loves you even more. You are his child and he will always be there for you. You just need to turn to him in prayer. Your father and I know that to be true.

Love you little Munch!

Mikey is 2 months!

Mikey you are two months old! You are getting so big already and your personality is shining through. You are a very happy baby. It seems like pure joy is coming out of your eyes. I call you "baby bright eyes" a lot when you look at me with your happy eyes. You had a break through when you were 38 days old and started smiling. Really smiling. Ever since then you will smile at me and daddy and really anyone that will make eye contact with you. You also have already started giggling. It is sooo cute. You are ticklish on your chest and when I tickle you there you will giggle and smile.

You are getting better and better at holding your head up and holding it kind of still. You are still wobbly but are getting stronger by the day. You don't seem to be in a rush to sit, or roll, or stand...YET. I know it is coming soon. Take your time little one.

You have lost a lot of you dark thick hair on the front of your head but still have a lot in the back so it looks like you have a receding hair line. I can see the glisten of blonde hair starting to come in under all of your black hair. Your eye color is still a mystery. Some days they look gray, some days they look olive green, some days they look like they have blue, green, and gray. We will just wait and see. Speaking of waiting and seeing, some times I try to imagine what you will look like when you are all grown up. I know you will be so handsome. Secretly though, I want you to stay my baby with your chubby cheeks and skinny legs. You have a few dimples. A deep one on your right cheek and then two small ones above your top lip by your nose. You have big ears that are just the cutest ever. They are your daddy's ears and you will grow into them.

 

Your brother still adores you. When we are out side playing he will be off running around and then about every 10 minutes he will come back to give you a kiss and rub your head. You don't seem to notice it too much yet but I know you two will have a special bond as you grow older. He still calls you "Doodeee" and it has kind of caught on with your dada and Auntie Lala. I still like to call you Mikey or my little monkey.

 

Speaking of your Auntie Laura "Lala", she just loves you sooo much. You like to give her big smiles and you two snuggle when ever she gets a break from playing with your brother.



As far as what people notice about you they always comment on how you look a lot like your brother (its true) and how you look like me. I think that is funny because you look soooo much like your daddy it is like we just cloned you. They probably say that because your skin is still tan looking and you have dark hair and eyes like me. But, give it a few months and that will change I bet.

You are still sleeping in a bassinet next to our bed. It is the same one that Dane slept in too. You gave me a couple night of sleeping 5-6 hrs strait! I of course still woke up every 2-3 to make sure nothing was wrong. But normally you are up every 3 hrs to eat. You are kind of a loud sleeper and make lots of little grunting noises. I like it because I know you are okay with out looking but it also wakes me up some times. We have gotten into a good routine during the day of "Sleep, eat, play,sleep, eat, play" and it keeps both of us calm and happy.I carry you around in my sling or baby carrier a lot and you also like to sit in your swing. I have had to put your swing in the pack-and-play though, because your brother also likes to sit in your swing....when you are in it. Yikes!

Nursing is going really well. You are a noisy little eater and make all kinds of squeaks and grunts when you nurse. If the milk doesn't come down right away you will cry and wiggle like crazy until it does. I no longer eat dairy because it was making you really uncomfortable. I noticed when I would eat dairy you would get a red bumpy rash around your mouth and be really fussy with lots of burbs and passing gas. I miss ice cream but I will eat it again some day:-)

 As far as my recovery is going I seem to have stopped loosing a lot of weight now. I also seem to have a little post pardon depression this time around. I don't have any bad feelings towards you or your brother or my self. I just seem to get over whelmed really easily and feel like crying a lot. It will get better when I get a little bit more sleep. I know it will. It has taken a long time for me to stop hurting from delivery this time and I still hurt when I try to walk a lot. I'm still bleeding but it is slowing down to almost nothing now. My feet have grown! When I got pregnant with you I wore an 8.5 and now I think I wear a 9.

I am so in love with you little monkey! I can't wait to see you grow and develop. You are already bring so much joy into our family.

Your stats are:

25" long  97%

12lbs 13oz 75%

size 1 diaper

Size 3 months clothing

PS- You went to your first Dodger game and they won!