Klaas, you are a haas. I know this because every morning I wake up wondering how in the world I will find the strength to lift you out of your crib, and I go to sleep every night with a backache. I'm convinced that there has never been a baby as big as you, but know what? I love every single pound of you! It's a good thing you're so big because I'm not sure you'd survive in this house without having a little weight to push your brother and sister around with! :)
Of all the months since you were born, this is the month that you have amazed me the most. You remind me a lot of Maida when she was a baby. You have the same learning style as she did and you pick up things quickly, too. I love how I can talk to you and you look at me like you know exactly what I'm saying to you. You are so smart! In my opinion, one of the most intelligent things you have started to do this month is communicating with sign language. You can sign "more" and "all done"and you know exactly what they mean. In my experience, baby sign language saves a lot of temper tantrums and I'm so excited that you've picked up signs a little quicker than your brother or sister ever did. I absolutely LOVE that you are able to tell me when you are finished eating or if you want more. It's amazing how smart that makes me think you are! Here is a video I took of you the very first night you picked up on signing "more" (you haven't exactly perfected the sign, yet, and sometimes you clap your hands for "more," but we know what you mean and will work on perfecting this as we go).
Besides picking up on your signs, you have also picked up on your feelings and emotions! You love to be a little stinker! You enjoy picking on Skogen by taking his toys from him or picking on Maida by pulling her hair. You're not afraid to fight them for what you want and can beat Skogen in a fight every time by pulling his hair and sucking on his face. You are also quite stubborn and want your way. If mom says, "no," you throw yourself into a tantrum. I appreciate that you are showing your feelings and emotions in different ways, now, but trying to hold a 30 pound baby who is arching his back and tantrumming isn't easy. I hope this stage doesn't last long.
Speaking of stages, you certainly haven't hit the sleeping-through-the-night stage, yet! You like to wake up at least once (if we're lucky) and some nights you still wake up every hour! However, Daddy and Mommy finally figured out that if you sleep in a pack-and-play in the office next to our room, where you can hear us and feel close to us, you sleep much better. Hopefully soon we'll get your sleeping patterns figured out and more consistent. You nap at least once at day for three or four hours and sometimes you take two naps. I thought it was funny yesterday when I found you asleep in both your high chair and jumper! Maybe you're going through a growth spurt!
Regardless of what everyone thinks, you really don't eat very much. You nurse every five or six hours and it takes you 5-10 minutes total to nurse on both sides. You have solids about three times a day and drink lots of water! I'm hoping to cut the nursing back to twice a day soon since I'm planning to leave you in a month to go to a wedding in Texas. We have just three weeks to get you to like the bottle or else Daddy's going to have a really hard time taking care of you while I'm gone!
This month you got sick with your very first fever. When it hit 103, you were so miserable! All you wanted was for me to hold you, so I ended up sleeping with you on the couch. It lasted three days and then you felt much better. Look at how sick you were, you wouldn't even smile:
You are EVERYWHERE! You have learned how to pull yourself up to standing on anything, including the wall in the hallway or sliding glass door, and you get into everything! You have even figured out how to turn the radio on! I am amazed at what I find in your mouth and have to constantly watch what you are doing. Your favorite thing to do is to follow your brother and sister around and can keep up with them pretty well. According to Bumpa and Aunt Nancy, you let go of the stool at Grandma's house and stood for a few minutes by yourself! You also have started to learn how to go up the stairs and I'm sure that it won't be long until going up and down, up and down, up and down will be your favorite game!
You are such a mama's boy and don't let me get too far away from you. I don't mind at all, though. When Maida was a baby, she was the same way and I couldn't stand it because I thought you'd be clingy forever if I let you be as a baby. However, now I enjoy this bond because I know you won't always be a mama's boy! I love that by just holding and kissing you, I can take away all of your hurts and fears. Makes me feel pretty special!
We love you little stinker,
Mommy
His rolls crack me up! He's so cute!
ReplyDeleteAnd in the picture in your header, Skogen looks so much like Erik!
To answer your questions, Noah's shoes are hand-me-down Pedipeds from Caleb. I'm not sure what style, but they are really nice and hold up well (to be passed down from one kid to the next). :)
And I use hot rollers in my hair. But not just any hot rollers, some hot rollers from the 70s that my mom gave me (because they get really hot). I've tried using "new" hot rollers and my hair won't stay curled because they don't get hot enough (nevermind that the old ones are probably a fire hazard). :) I just let my hair dry naturally and then put it in a pony tail and put in the rollers while my hair is in the pony tail.
I hope you guys are doing well! Tell Erik congrats on med school graduation!!!