Naked Baby!

John sporting his APU gear from Grandpa Rick

It has been 3 weeks since I went back to work part time and we are settling into the new schedule. John is doing great with his sitters and I am hanging in there being away from him in the mornings. It seems like he grows every night and when we get him up in the mornings he is longer, chubbier and stronger than the day before.

John has been working on sitting up on his own, doesn't work well on a full belly though!

John was getting a little heat rash on his lower belly and diaper area from the cloth diapers+100 degree heat. Great-Grandma Pat recommended lots of air time and it worked wonders. The little guy spends hours a day naked on a blanket or towel and the rash has mostly cleared up without having to use medicines or creams. The result is that most of his pictures this month are of him naked so I hope you don't mind naked baby bum and weenie :)

Having fun with his toys!

John gets to practice standing, reaching and grabbing on this cool ExerSaucer, a great hand-me-down from the Olsen family. He can fully roll over whenever he wants now too which is fun but worrisome at night in the crib. I keep waking up and finding his face in the mattress or crib bumper so I roll him back over just to find him in the same position the next time I check on him! He is becoming more vocal (check out the clip below...screaming and laughing) and discovering all his new movements and sounds. It is so fun to watch him learn and play. He likes to watch Elmo, Barney, Kipper, Baby Einstein also though only about 15 minutes at a time. We may need to start solids sooner than I thought because John is super interested in what Steve and I eat and drink...we now have to be careful when we hold him at the table because he can reach and grab so quickly. I can't believe he's already 4 1/2 months old!

4 months old

John was 4 months old yesterday and is becoming quite an animated baby. He sleeps through the night most of the time now, which is great for us all. He has a pretty established routine too. I was offered a part-time teaching job August 6 (with school starting August 10, ahhh!) It was a bittersweet opportunity. I am so sad to leave John at all but to be able to work only 4 hours a day with good pay and great benefits can't be beaten. John spends his mornings with my cousin Ellie, Aunt Jean or his Grandma Debbie. It is wonderful to be able to leave him and feel comfortable that he is still getting all the love and attention I would give him if I were home.

John had his 4month check up today and is still topping the charts. He weighs 18 pounds 10 oz and is 26 inches long, his head is 17 1/4 inches around. He received another round of vaccinations as well and did a great job. He cried, of course, but for only a minute or so before being distracted by me making faces and cooing noises. With the doctor's advise we are sticking to breastfeeding only as long as he continues growing so well.

We still get visitors which John loves...he is so social and smiles and plays with whoever is willing to make faces at him! Clifton just moved back to Orange County from Arkansas so John gets to see much more of him and Steve has a surfing buddy back :) Our good friend Michelle visited last weekend from San Francisco and got to meet John for the first time (but I don't have any pictures...sorry Michelle!)

John's developing skills include reaching and grabbing any objects around him, pushing up with his arms and hands during tummytime, lots of laughs and squeals, and babbling gallore. He is working on rolling from his back to his belly and will probably have that down in the next week. We are preparing for baby-proofing the house because once he is mobile I think he will be all over the place. Now that I am working the updates will probably not be as frequent but I will try to keep up!

Visit with Friends

Getting ready for his evening shower.

Steve can really make John laugh! It's amazing to me how babies realize so young that dad is playtime and mom is business (and playtime too but not like dad!). John already shows different reactions to me and Steve and loves when dad gets home with his fresh energy to play. We have pretty much ditched the baby tub and shower John together every night as part of his bedtime routine. He really loves the water and the sound it makes too. Once he can sit on his own it's bath time fun but for now he gets a thorough cleaning in the running water.
This last weekend was spent with one of my best friends who lives in Idaho. Megan and Travis flew out for 3 days with their 14 month old Oliver to meet John. Oliver was a great preview into what to expect in the future and how much energy it takes to keep up with a mobile little guy!
We spent an afternoon at the beach...it was Oliver's first time at the ocean. He didn't seem to care much for the chilly water but had a blast playing in the sand while John watched and learned.
Megan, Travis, Steve and I look forward to watching our little guys grow up from afar and taking summer vacations together. Having a baby and 14 month old in the same house was a great chance for some family planning! It was so fun but I was exhausted by the end of the visit and that was with 4 adults watching and caring for 2 kids :)

3 months old already

We watched the World Cup at Grandma Joan's last weekend and worn our orange to support the Netherlands. We don't have TV at home but it seems that John likes to watch the TV with all it's colors and movements, he was mesmerized by it.
Grandma Joan discovered that she and John owned matching shorts so we had to capture the moment before he grew out of them...which is about to happen.
We have spent our third day at the pool and John is loving it now. Naked is the way to go for him and it is so nice to have a not freezing salt water pool to swim in...thanks Trautwiens and GG Kershaw! John almost fell asleep in my arms in the water last weekend, it was so nice to escape the heat for both of us.
John enjoys hanging out at GG Kershaws just like me. We go over at least once a week as a way to get out of the house and get used to other places. John seems to know that Grandpa John is special to him and loves to laugh with him and lay on his belly to sleep.
Aunt Jenn is a frequent visitor since she is so close by and comes over after work a couple times a week to dance and sing with her nephew. She is great at entertaining and it gives me a chance to garden and get dinner together.
John was 3 months old yesterday and man is he growing fast. He is in all 6 month clothes and I have adjusted his car seat twice now...I only have one setting left. Besides the length of John increasing I can see his thighs bulking up daily! He is much more animated and makes all kids of noises when he is awake and playing. He can fully laugh now too which makes play time tons of fun for Steve and I as we make fools of ourselves trying to get him to laugh more. He grasps better and we work on sitting and holding objects everyday so he can be strong and ready to sit on his own. Steve and I are having so much fun interacting with John and watching him grow and develop.

This clip is from yesterday, John is such a noise maker already!

Beach Bum...kind of

It has been a busy time since the last blog for John. He has spent lots of his days hanging out with friends and family who come over to visit. I think we have a guest every week day...John is so lucky to have so many people who love him and want to be around him!! Aunt Makenna and Uncle Connor are so good at playing with John and making him smile. Grandma Joan is off for the summer and comes over regularly to help out. It's nice to get things done around the house and know that John is safe and happy playing.

We celebrated Steve's first Father's Day at Doug and Debbie's house with some family. This is John's Bremer scowl face, one he wears most of the time. His little eyebrows furrow like he's thinking really hard or pooping :).
We just returned from a Kershaw family vacation in Newport Beach. John had his very first boat ride (above) and his first day on the beach (below). It was a cold and breezy week so John did not spend much time on the sand or in shorts at all but he did spend lots of time with aunts, cousins, grandparents and greats. It was a nice week for Steve to surf and for me to relax. We spent most of our time on the porch of the timeshare and walking the boardwalk and we both look forward to next summer when John will be running around in the sand and water!

John is growing so fast and learning so much. He can control his hands more these days and looks at them a lot. He has started to find his voice too and screams and laughs when we play. His first scream was when we were driving in the car and it scared the crap out of me, I thought something was wrong, but he was smiling and laughing when I checked on him! He can sit with help for minutes at a time now and turns his head to look all around and learn about his environment. He is starting to like looking at faces more than objects which his grandmas love :) I will get a video posted next week when I do his 3 month old blog...almost 3 months?!

John had his first trip into the pool at Great Grandma Pat's last week. He cried the whole time, then I took off his clothes and he was the happiest baby. Next time he goes in with just the diaper because he loves the water and the shower so he must love the pool and being naked and hate the swim clothes :)
John had his 2 month appointment today and got his first round of vaccines. It was tough, more for me than him I think, but Steve was there to hold him so I didn't have to look :). John is now 14 lbs 13 oz and 24 1/2 inches long...still topping the charts for growth and size. He is super alert and lively too. He now wears his hats on walks so he can look around from his carrier instead of being trapped under a blanket.
I know he is gaining weight and getting chubby but he just looks so long to me! He is wearing 6 month clothes these days. Good thing we got a huge variety of sizes at the baby showers :) Getting ready to celebrate Steve's first Father's Day this Sunday. I think we will go to the beach in the morning so he can surf then BBQ at Grandma and Grandpa Bremer's house.

John spends lots of time on his activity mat that my Aunt Gina and family gave us at John's baby shower. He was too little to appreciate it at first but now you can see that he absolutely loves it! He stares and smiles and laughs and moves the whole time then cries if I take him off of it too soon...so so cute.

7 weeks old

John in one of his favorite places, the SWING!

John is 7 weeks old today and we are having a great time together. He has fallen into a pretty consistent schedule though there are those days of course where he wants to eat constantly or not at all and will only sleep when held. He is up once in the middle of the night to eat then on a 3 hour eating starting around 6am. He swings, sleeps, walks with me, eats and entertains throughout the day so I have included pics of each activity from his daily routine (except eating because you probably know where that takes place :).

I try to nap occasionally when he does but mostly I do chores, go online and organize around the house.

After his second feeding of the day I strap John Mason in and we walk the dogs. I always took the dogs for a walk before John was born and I wanted to keep to the routine so they know I still love them too. He really enjoys the bobbing and bouncing and is asleep by the time we get back home.

Oh and I graduated with my Masters in Education, Counseling last week. Classes finished April 1st but we didn't walk until May 27th. I wasn't going to go but I had already bought the gown and cap! John was there to support me and cheer when I was hooded on stage.

This video is similar to the last one but you can see that in a few short weeks John has more control of his facial expressions and is making lots more noises. He is full of smiles and coos in the mornings and evenings and recognizes Steve and I with extra big smiles too!

John and I try to get out everyday so we don't feel cooped up in the house. He does great running errands as long as he is fed and has a clean diaper. He made some friends at Moms group that meets Tuesdays and I did too! I don't have any measurements for him anymore but once we get back to the doctors office for his 2 month I will post...all I know is that he's BIG!! Love to all.