Goodbye Aunt Stacey and Bon Voyage!

This week was Connor's last week with Aunt Stacey before she set sail on a Royal Caribbean cruise ship for 6 months. She left today, but luckily we got to see her twice this week before she left.

Monday, she came over in the afternoon and Connor was a good boy and let her hold him and he even gave her quite a few smiles. Once Connor went to bed, we had a nice dinner with Stacey and got to hear all about the preparations she was making for her new job at sea. It's all pretty fascinating. I love cruising, so once she's on board, it'll be interesting to hear what goes on behind the scenes from a crew member.

Later in the week on Thursday, Jeff's parents, Grandma Robbyn and Grandpa Don, flew into Houston and came to spend the night with us so they could go to College Station on Friday to help Stacey pack up her room and do the final preps before she left. There was a lot to do and with only 2 weeks notice, she was pressed for time, but I believe they got everything handled.

Although Connor was asleep when they arrived Thursday evening, on Friday morning, Grandpa and Grandma got plenty of snuggle time with Connor. After his morning nap, we drove into Houston and met Jeff and Stacey for lunch. She came to pick Grandpa Don and Grandma Robbyn up and drive them back to College Station. We went to a Mexican restaurant for Stacey, since her boss told her Mexican food is the one cuisine they don't serve that much on the ship.

It was sad to say goodbye, especially with the Holidays coming up, but this is such a unique experience and she can't pass it up. Good luck Aunt Stacey. Connor will miss you and so will we.

"I'm going to miss you Aunt Stacey. The next time you see me, I'll be lots bigger and maybe even crawling around and getting into trouble. My Mom promises to keep this blog updated for you though. You'll still be able to watch me grow."

Aww, Stacey admiring her chunky nephew.

Stacey feeding Connor a bottle. The next time she sees him, she'll get to help feed him pureed fruits and veggies. Oh and as you can see on her shoulder, Connor just had to spit up on her one last time. Hopefully that issue will be more resolved in 6 months as well.

Big brother Jeff is proud of his little sister Stacey. Good luck.

Connor and Daddy at lunch on Friday with Grandma, Grandpa, me, and Stacey.

Is there a baby sitting on the table? Wow, seriously check out those cheeks. He is looking slick though in his polo shirt and khakis.

One last chance to hang out. Connor was clearly fascinated by the activity in the restaurant. We couldn't get his attention for a picture.

Ok, this time is really goodbye. Bon Voyage!

Back at home, Connor shows off his awesome feet.

This is him in the middle of "talking." He definitely talks a lot. Oh and check out his rolly-polly thighs.

He gets more and more stable on his tummy.

He's been scooting his legs and butt. I wonder if he's thinking about crawling. I'm in no rush though. I love my immobile baby.

This week we busted out Connor's leather jacket that he's using for Halloween. He looked super cool with his guitar romper and his slick leather jacket.

Hello ladies.

Jeff took some cute photos of me and Connor playing on the floor.

I like how he sort of looks like he's puffing his cheeks. He's not. That's just how big they are. Oh and check out the drool. Teething is not cool when it comes to the amount of drool he creates. He also likes blowing bubbles and basically just spitting out saliva. Cool Connor, real cool.

Having fun with Mommy.

Oh, hi Dad.

Connor has been getting stronger and stronger every day and he's really starting to hold himself up while sitting. Some sitting sessions are longer than others, but he does seem to be getting the hang of it. See the video below of him giving it his best shot at sitting.

4 Month Check-Up

Today, Connor went in for his 4 month check-up and again, his prognosis is...perfect!

Allow me to brag a bit, but apparently holding Connor all day has allowed me to very accurately guess his weight, because both Jeff and I guessed and I guessed 16 pounds 4 ounces and Jeff guessed 16 pounds 8 ounces and it turns out Connor was 16 pounds 3 1/2 ounces. I think only being a half an ounce off is pretty impressive. Ha!

Anyway, that weight put him at the 75th percentile. His length was 26 inches, which put him in the 90th percentile and his head size is still 50th percentile. He's still a tall boy and gaining weight, right on track.

She asked about his developmental milestones and he seems to be hitting all those right on track. She said he seemed very strong and stable and she showed us how to practice his sitting skills for optimal balance. She also thought he seemed strong when he put weight on his legs in a standing position.

One of the biggest surprises was when she was poking and prodding him, she shined a light on his lower gums and showed us that he is about to cut his first tooth. You can see a tiny little white fleck. She said it could happen pretty soon and "we'd know it" when it was coming. Oh great :( She said that cutting teeth at this age is a little early, so he's pretty advanced. (Her words not mine, I swear).

As far as shots and things, he had quite a few, but did wonderfully again. He had to give a urine sample, a finger prick for blood count and iron levels, and he got 4 shot vaccines and one oral vaccine. Poor boy. He did great though. He cried during the administration of the shots, but stopped soon after.

We only talked briefly about starting rice cereal and she said she did not have a preference, as long as we started by 6 months at the latest, since Connor's iron level seemed a little low and those cereals are iron fortified.

We also bumped up his amount of reflux medication Prevacid, because although it seems like his temperament is getting better, he still has days where he spits up a lot and those days he is also a lot more fussy, so it seems like they go hand in hand. Connor doesn't mind taking it, so that's fine with me.

All in all, it was a great appointment and I am just so happy to know that he is developing on track and of course gaining weight, since I'm the only one feeding him. I guess it's working. Good job buddy. Thanks for being such a good patient for Mommy and Daddy.

I'm a big boy. Shots don't bother me.

4 Month Birthday

Just real quickly, I wanted to give a little shout out in honor of Connor's 4 Month Birthday. He's really growing. We'll know just how much tomorrow at his 4 month check-up. He gets another round of shots, so wish us luck. I always like to see how much he weighs and how long he is, so I'll be anxious for our appointment tomorrow, despite the shots. I'll keep you all posted.

In the last month, Connor has learned to roll over. He also grabs at more toys with intent, instead of just batting them by accident. He likes sucking on his hands and has started to prefer his right hand sucking on his pointer finger and his thumb together. He gets stronger every day and holds himself up very well if you are holding him or propping him up on the couch. He can't sit on his own yet, but we are practicing. He likes to be held so he can bear weight on his legs, but obviously we aren't even thinking about walking yet. He still likes moving around and starts to fuss if he's sitting still too long. He also started giggling, which totally melts your heart.

He is exclusively breastfeed and we'll probably keep that up for a little while longer, unless our pediatrician tomorrow recommends starting rice cereal. I'm in no big rush and it doesn't seem like Connor is either. It'd be fun, but they say they don't need anything other than breast milk for the first 6 months, so we shall see.

His sleeping has been really sporadic lately, which is difficult for Mommy, because I can't really predict his timing during the day or night. We have a pretty good feeding schedule, but sometimes he sleeps through when he should eat or wakes up early, hungry and we get all messed up again. Oh well.

Connor is still taking Prevacid for his reflux and Mommy is still off dairy. Both seem to be helping both his spitting up and his temperament. I do think as he gets older some of his colicky behavior just goes away with or without the reflux meds. Every day his brain develops a little more and he can handle the world outside of the womb that much better. I know, you'd think 4 months is a long time to adapt, but he's just a little baby after all.

As you can see in the pictures, his eyes are still blue, but they say eye color can change as late as a year, so they have a chance to change yet. Both Jeff and I have light eyes, and they are more hazel, not as blue as Connor's so there is a chance they may turn more green or gray like our eyes. Also, from the pictures you can see that he is losing the hair on the top of his head at a fast clip. What's underneath looks like blond peach fuzz.

Since the smiles and the giggles keep coming as the days go by, I am certainly looking forward to what we have in store for Month 5; perhaps rice cereal, or maybe even sitting up. Only time will tell. I just can't wait to spend more time with my little dude.

Beautiful weather, fun weekend

This weekend was great in so many ways. First of all, we finally got the type of fall Texas weather that I have grown to love. It was high of 75 and low of 55 at night. The sky was a gorgeous aqua blue and the only clouds were those small, fluffy ones. It was awesome and luckily we were home this weekend, without too many plans so we could be outside and enjoy it.

Saturday morning, we took a walk as a family and then spent much of the morning doing things around the house and cleaning up a bit. After Connor got up from his nap, we went over to a brand new dog park. Maizey seemed to enjoy it and Connor did just fine with Dad carrying him around in the Bjorn. He has started liking riding around in the Bjorn facing forward like a big boy. We had a very nice day.

After Connor went to bed, our friends Don and Jennifer, and Andrea and Eliud and their son Mateo came over. Jeff and I made some chili and we hung out and had a great time.

Sunday morning, Connor and I took a walk and got ready for a quick visit with Grandma and Grandpa Roach and family friends, Debbie and Mark Bonner. My parents were driving them to the airport in Houston so they made a detour to come and see us...well, mostly the small, chunky, baby we lovingly call Connor.

They stopped by our house for a bit and then we headed to brunch. Since the weather was so nice we sat outside and Connor did great. He only fussed when it was time for him to eat, but I had brought a bottle, so we fed him and he was fine after that.

After lunch, we took a nice stroll around the Sugar Land town center, since it was another nice day. The Bonners were visiting my parents from Buffalo, New York, so I know they were enjoying the lovely Texas weather and they seemed to like Sugar Land as well. Connor let everyone hold him as we walked and he seemed content as he could be. He liked watching the activity in the stores and restaurants that we passed.

After our walk, they headed off to the airport and me, Jeff and Connor headed home. Connor was pooped, so he took a good nap. After his nap, we all sat outside and hung out. Connor practiced some sitting in the grass. He also sat in the bouncer and batted at his toys while Jeff and I read and talked to him.

We grilled steaks for dinner and they were delicious. I apologize in advance to Aunt Julie, my vegetarian sister, but in my opinion, there is nothing like a good Texas steak.

Connor had another great weekend and he tends to love being outside, so it was the perfect weekend to let him enjoy the fresh air and the Texas sunshine. I am hoping this weather holds up, because it's simply perfect.

Stayed tuned tomorrow...it's Connor's 4 Month Birthday! Can you believe it?!! I know I can't.

Mommy with a happy Connor, Friday evening.

Saturday was a bit cool, so Connor got to wear his long sleeve onesie that says, "I love Daddy." Connor, Daddy loves you too.


Sweet baby boy.

As we prepared breakfast Saturday morning, we set Connor in his bouncer and let him look out the window. He seemed to really like it.


Evidence that Connor is really starting to like riding around facing front in the Bjorn.

Hanging out at the dog park.

Saturday night, we got to hang out with 7 week old Mateo and his Mom Andrea.

I took this picture Sunday morning after our walk. It was pretty chilly in the morning so I put him in this little beany hat. I thought he looked super cool, but you can be the judge.

Mark and Debbie Bonner and Grandma and Grandpa Roach with Connor in the Sugar Land town center.

Grandpa with Connor. Clearly Connor liked looking around at all the activities in the bustling Sugar Land town center.

Connor getting a chance to sit in the grass.

Daddy and Connor chilling on a lovely Sunday afternoon.

Jeff wanted to get a profile shot of Connor's big cheeks. Nice one.

One cute Rockstar.

HAPPY Columbus Day

Jeff had the day off so he got to spend time with me and Connor. It turned out to be a great day. It started off a little rough, because we went to the park and got stuck in the rain and Maizey got all muddy, but for the most part, it was a great day.

As evidenced by the photos and video below, Connor apparently really likes Columbus day.

Enjoying the cold weather

On Sunday, when we returned from College Station, it was still cold so we needed to keep little Connor and ourselves warm. Since we knew this cold weather was short lived we took some photos to preserve the memory. Enjoy!