We'll Be In Touch

We had such a great time in New Orleans last weekend. This trip was in place of our disaster attempt to get there in October for our friends Kim & Matt's wedding. We're so glad we got to spend lots of time with them while we were there and we also got to celebrate 3 years since our first date, which was MLK day 2010. We flew in and immediately went to St. Paul, where Aaron taught. Canon got to meet one of his Godparents, Chuck, who is the Principal of St. Paul.   Chuck was quickly headed out to a conference and we were lucky to even see him for a second, which explains why we didn't get a "real" picture. We had a great time catching up with teachers, students and friends while we there!  We made it to Kim and Matt's house Uptown and settled in for the night. I also have to say, Canon did a great job. Throughout the whole trip, his naps were off, he didn't nap in his pack n' play more than once each day, but he slept great through the ni...

  Oh man, how things are changing! Canon is growing up! He has found his feet quite a few times and his getting much better at grabbing for things. He wants to put everything in his mouth! We finally got an exersaucer and he seems to love it so far, with the exception that it makes him spit up since he leans forward and it presses against his stomach. Actually, he doesn't even seem to mind the spit up, ha! He is becoming more and more interactive, laughing and smiling and making noises. This past weekend we were in New Orleans and with 4 days of having Aaron continuously there, they did a lot of bonding! Aaron has figured out exactly what he can do to make Canon laugh and it is wonderful. I'll have way more on our trip later this week! We went back to the doctor last Thursday for a weight check-up. He was 12 lbs 13 oz, which is an increase of 7 ounces in 10 days! The big worry was that from 2 months to 4 months, he stopped following any curve on the percentile chart at...

You'll have to excuse the bad iPhone pic, Aaron had my camera and I knew today was the only daylight we were going to get a chance to take it this week. Also, the blanket is to celebrate 1 year of working for Denver K-Life ! Thanks for a great job y'all!! 19 weeks! Amazing. This week a lot has gone on. We've been adjusting his food, trying to help him gain weight with pumping and formula. I'm not going to lie, it has been hard. I kind of thought pumping was going to be really liberating since I could do it while he was sleeping and then give him a bottle in less time. Well, honestly, pumping is much more exhausting than nursing! It's 20 minutes while he sleeps and then 15ish to feed him so it ends up taking just as much time as nursing! And, the reality is, I'm having to supplement with formula at each feeding, so it seems kind of pointless. As the day goes on he gets less and less of my milk and more and more formula. We go back to the doctor tomorrow ...

Here are a few things I would really like to remember when it comes to baby #2. Not that we are planning that any time soon, but I don't want to forget these thoughts that have been swirling in my mind the past few days. #1 -  as Amanda reminds me often, we've made it. At 4 months, Canon's routine is predictable (for the most part) and we are all getting adequate amounts of sleep. It took a little longer than I had anticipated, but it came and I couldn't be happier. So for the next time around, just remember, if the baby isn't sleeping from 9pm - 7am at week 12, it is not the end of the world.  #2 - enjoy those first 4-6 weeks more. Honestly, I feel that I was too strict about his sleep in the beginning and that I didn't enjoy his newborn-ness enough. So, self, up until baby #2 is 6 weeks, let him/her sleep in your arms more, sleep without being swaddled, sleep wherever! No need to be crazy about it from day 1.* #3 - seriously, sleep when he sleeps. I...

Canon turned 4 months this past Sunday! He has been such a joy recently! He is laughing and talking a lot, especially in the evenings. I think he likes when Aaron gets home and there is a little more commotion than when its just the two of us. He loves playing on his mat, reaching for and grabbing the hanging animals. His hands are always in his mouth and we are now dealing with all that drool! When laying on his back, if I grab both his hands he'll begin to pull himself up and he can sit up and hang out in the bumbo chair. He doesn't love tummy time still, but he'll do it, and no signs of rolling over yet. Especially since we returned from Christmas he has put himself on a really great schedule. We're up around 7:30am, naps around 9am, 1pm and 4pm, and he's back down between 6:30 and 7. He also is only waking up once to eat and he's recently pushed that back to around 4am (hallelujah!). Last night I got close to 7 hours of continuous sleep for the fi...

1. read some amount of scripture every day 2. keep up with Canon's weekly photos 3. get outside every day 4. stop asking Aaron (or others) to get up and get things I can get myself 5. no eating out until our hospital bills are paid off 6. gym 3x/week 7. pre-pregnancy jeans by Canon's 9 month birthday (9 months up, 9 months down)

We spent Christmas with Aaron's family in Terra Bella, CA. We made the 17 hour drive there and back and were able to spend 9 full days with his family. We had a great time introducing Canon to his grandparents, cousins and uncles - or those we are calling his uncles. We got to play Mary, Joseph and Jesus in the Christmas Eve production at church and even though Canon had no idea what was going on, it was so fun for me to open his Christmas presents! He slept in his great-grandfather's crib that was made in the early 1920's which was so special to Aaron's mom and grandpa. We ate lots of beef jerky and candies from our favorite, Plano Jerky , as well as cookies from Grandma. Aaron and I even got to go out on a date! His mom watched Canon as he slept and we saw Les Mis. Aaron's quote from the night - "I would look over and Katie was either singing along or sobbing." Yep, pretty much sums that one up. Go see it. We are so grateful to have such wonder...