Declan - 5 Months Old

My Sweet Baby Declan,

You are 5 months old now.  We had quite a fun and eventful month.  After all the preparations we made for Christmas, it was finally time to celebrate.  We started off by having a Birthday Party for Jesus at our house.  We had a lot of kids there and everyone sang to Jesus and ate cupcakes.  I know you had no idea what was going on, but it was fun to have you there to celebrate the reason for the season with us.



A few days later we celebrated your very first Christmas Day!  We started the celebration out on Christmas Eve with mass at DeSmet with Aunt E, Chris, Gram and Poppy.  Then we went to Gram and Poppy's house where Will, Harrison, Louise, Uncle James, and Aunt Ann met up with us.  Christmas Day we did breakfast with Gram and Poppy and then went to Grandma Gerry's and Paw Paw Rick's house.  You did quite well with the Christmas craziness letting everyone hold you.  You were not too terribly interested in the gifts, but you sure did like to chew on the paper!

After Christmas was over we decided to go to the Zoo to see the Wild Lights.  It was really busy as we maneuvered through the crowded Zoo, but your eyes were all wide looking at all the lights.  It was a very fun, but very exhausting night for everyone!

After Wild Lights at the Zoo, we headed out to Ted Drewes for some frozen custard.  You are still too young to eat it yourself, but I did give you your first little taste of it on my finger.  You weren't so sure at first, but ended up being okay with it!

On these cold winter days we are always looking for ways to get your crazy brother out of the house, so we took you guys to America's Incredible Pizza.  You had so much fun watching your brother go round and round on the go-carts!  You were wide eyed at the glow in the dark mini golf too.  Your silly dad thought this would be funny, and I can't lie, I thought so too . . .

On those cold winter days we also do many things like going to the Magic House or the Train Store.  We also go out to breakfast a lot (your bro LOVES the bacon!)

We had a very low key New Year's Eve this year.  You went to Our Lady of the Snows with Grandma Gerry and Paw Paw Rick and then they dropped you off at Anna and Matt's house where dad and I were.  Your brother fell asleep early, so he just stayed with Grandma and Paw Paw, but you were raring to go until the new year!  You met a new friend, Jordan Scofield.  I think you liked having someone around so close to your size!

After the new year, we said good-bye to all the hustle and bustle of the season and went back to life as usual.  You are doing so many awesome things right now.  You still love to sit in your Bumbo Seat:

And you are still just an overall happy little guy:

We had a pretty big snow storm this year (REALLY big for St. Louis).  We were stuck inside for a few days because of it.  Although we were going crazy towards the end, it was so nice for mom to get some good snuggle time with you and your brother.

You are still drooling like mad, but so far still no teeth!  Also, as I mentioned last month, you are rolling over from your back to your tummy now.  I didn't get a video of it last month, but here you are rolling over.  I believe this was on Christmas Morning:


You are a lot quicker at that now and much smoother.  It's awesome!  Speaking of rolling over, you have started sleeping in your own bed this month.  Grandma Gerry bought you a pack and play for Christmas so we have stopped the co-sleeping (for a variety of reasons, including rolling over!) and now you sleep on your own in mom and dad's closet.  It's going great!  You prefer to sleep on your tummy, so when I put you down on your back you almost always roll right over to your tummy.  So far you have been a great sleeper!  You sleep through the night most of the time.  If you do wake up, it is usually just one time.  Let's hope this keeps up for mom's sake!

You have also been playing with your feet a lot lately.  Aunt E is very proud of you and says you have perfect "Happy Baby" form:

You are loving playing with your new toys you got for Christmas!  You are so close to sitting up by yourself.  As soon as you can do that you will be able to play with the toys more easily.  It won't be long!

You also just love your bath time!  We used to use the little blue baby tub for you, but we found that you seem to like just being placed right in the tub and kicking around.  Your brother loves to "help" mom with bath time too.  It's so fun to see you splash around and have so much fun!



In early January, we had to have your head molded for a helmet.  As it turns out, you were positioned very low in my pelvis toward the end of my pregnancy with you (hence coming out just 12 minutes after my water broke) and so your head molded a little bit low on the left side.  Because of this, your ear was a bit out of place too and we had to get a helmet to mold your head back into the proper shape.  We got the helmet right at the end of this month of your life, so I will talk more about it in the next post.  But for now, here is an adorable picture of you getting molded for the helmet.

You were so good through the whole molding, even smiling some of the time.  The technician said that was definitely a first.

We went for a well baby check up on 12/27 and here were your stats:

Weight: 14 lbs 9oz (33rd percentile)

Length: 25.5" (62nd Percentile)

Head Circumference: 16" (8th percentile)

I'm so lucky to have such a wonderfully happy baby who smiles all the time.  You are truly my little Ray of Sunshine!  Here are your 5 month pictures:

I love you my Little Ray of Sunshine!

Love,

Mom

Declan - 4 Months Old

Sweet Declan,

You are 4 months old now.  I can't believe how fast time is going with you in my life.  As I mentioned last time, mom had to go back to work :(.  It has been so hard being away from you during the day, but it just makes our time together even more special.  You are doing great with your new babysitter, Becky.  She says you smile and laugh all the time with her.  When I pick you up and get you home you are so happy.  You latch on like you have never eaten before.  It's so nice that we are able to have that time together and I'm doing my best to keep up my milk supply while at work so we can continue it as long as possible.

We had quite an eventful month with the holiday season upon us.  You had your first Thanksgiving Day this month.  We had a great day filled with lots of food and family.  We went to Aunt Elizabeth and Uncle JMac's house first.  You just loved getting passed around to all the different family members.  Everyone is so in love with you!  After that we went over to Gram and Poppy's house.  You had a great time being passed around again and everyone kept talking about what a good baby you are!  You loved being around all your cousins and second cousins too.  We got a picture of your generation of kids (plus Nathaniel).

(L to R - Harrison, Louise, Declan, Brooke, Alex, Will, Grace, Brady, Nathaniel)

After Thanksgiving, we started getting ready for Christmas.  We headed out to Eckert's Farm to cut down your very first Christmas Tree.  You really seemed to like the fresh air and enjoyed hanging out with mom in the Moby Wrap.  I think we just pushed it a bit too far cause you started crying at the very end of tree cutting.  Soon after we went inside and I fed you and you were happy again.  We got some really great pictures of you and your brother that we ended up using on our Christmas Card this year too.

Searching for the tree:

Here we are right after we cut the tree down:

As I said, you calmed down shortly after that and took a good nap that afternoon.

We did many more Christmas type activities.  You had your first visit from St. Nicholas who brought you an ornament to put on the tree.  We played Christmas music and decorated the tree.  And we went to Cor Jesu's Breakfast with Santa.  Everyone there just loved seeing you and they all loved the cute little "brrr" on your bottom:

You also got your first picture with Santa there which you did quite well with:

We also went to visit Santa Claus at the Museum of Transportation.  You got to sit with Santa in the Caboose!

We also saw the Macy's Train, rode in the mini train, and walked around to see all the old trains.  You again really liked hanging out with mom in the Moby wrap and even fell asleep in it for a little while.

Walking through the tanker car, you were sound asleep:


We also took your picture for your First Christmas Ornaments.  You did a great job wearing your cute little Santa Hat:

And we got a few family pictures for the Christmas Card:

Although we did a lot in preparation for Christmas during this time, we also had some really normal days.  Your brother continues to just dote on you.  He just loves having you around - although sometimes he tries to take back the attention!  You are a very chill baby and you smile all the time.  It's so awesome!

It is basketball season, so you of course have been cheering on Marquette.  Your brother is working on the Go Marquette Cheer and I'm sure you will be singing it with him in no time:

You are starting to drool quite a bit, so I'm thinking some teeth will be coming in soon.  Also, at the very end of this month you started rolling from your back to your tummy!  I'll get that on video soon.

You are such a wonderful baby, Declan.  I'm so happy that I get to be your mommy!

Here are your 4 month pictures:

I love you my Little Ray of Sunshine!

Love,

Mom

Declan - 3 Months Old

Declan,

You are three months old now!  It has been so much fun having you around.  You are constantly smiling and bring so much joy to our family.  We had a great month!

We continued cheering on the Cardinals in the post season.  They DID go to the World Series, but unfortunately they did not win this year.  It was still a really fun season and even though we did not win this time, we are still batting 1000 on having kids and going to the World Series.

We also really enjoyed the end of mom's maternity leave.  One day we went to Purina Farms with your brother and Grandma Gerry.  It was a little bit chilly that day, but you stayed all snugglie in your car seat and in the Moby Wrap right next to mom.  It was a great day watching the dog show and hanging out with Alex while he explored and played.

We also went to the pumpkin patch!  You were such a trooper letting mom put you on all the pumpkins and propping you up for some cute photos.  You are such a good baby!  You only got upset one time.  The rest of the time was just awesome!

Halloween was really fun this year too!  Your brother is really into Curious George, so we dressed him up as the Man in the Yellow Hat and since you were a Monkey, we called you George.  You and your brother looked so cute in your costumes!  Alex just loved showing you off to all his friends and the family.  We started the day at story hour at the library.  Everyone oohed and ahhed over your costumes there.  Then, that evening we went to Will and Harrison's house and then to Grandma Gerry and Paw Paw Rick's house to hang out with Alyssa.  I took Alex out Trick or Treating, but you were the smart one staying inside that night since it was so cold and rainy!

As I mentioned before, your big brother just loves you so much.  He loves showing you off to whoever he can.  He loves to play with you too.  I am so excited for you guys that you have a built in best buddy.  I know you guys are going to love growing up together!

You are such a smiley little guy!  You love to just smile and giggle all the time.  Alex and I love to dance around the house and you just sit there and laugh like crazy!  It's so much fun to have such a happy guy around all the time!

You are such a good sleeper too!  You take great naps and you like to sleep right next to me at night.  It's hard for me to place you in the bassinet, but sometimes I have to so I can get some sleep myself.

You continue to roll over from your tummy to your back all the time.  You are also very strong and like me to pull you from laying on your back to a standing position.  We went to the doctor for your 10 week check up and your stats were as follows:

Weight: 11 lbs 14 oz (40th percentile)

Length: 22" (10th Percentile)

 (we think they messed up last time, you def. grew!)

Head Circumference: 15,2" (14th percentile)

Unfortunately mom had to go back to work at the end of your 3rd month.  It has been a hard adjustment, but we are working though it.  You seem to really like your babysitter, Becky.  I miss you terribly when I am working,but I know this is what is the best for us.  We will be making up for that time on the weekends!

 

Here are your 3 month pictures:

I love you so much my sweet Declan!  

Love,

Mom