two months of colin

Here he is... two months old already!

This little boy is just the picture of contentment! He loves relaxing on his lounge pillow, napping in the swing, getting his hair washed, and throwing wild punches at the dangling toys in his baby gym. He loves wearing his wrist and foot rattles, and frequently naps in them after nodding off in the middle of playtime. He's calm, observant, and quiet most of the time, but he's a bit stingy with the smiles. However, he always has the biggest smiles and gets so chatty as soon as he's placed on the changing table! He loves to communicate with a mix of "oohs," "ahhs," and "englehs."

We've settled into a good naptime/bedtime routine. Colin has his last bottle around 10 p.m. (he's fully weaned to formula now), and wakes up once at night. He keeps us a bit on our toes since his overnight feed happens anywhere between 2 a.m. and 6 a.m. Dan started working (from home) after six weeks off, so it's been great that Colin has only one feed at night and usually takes a long afternoon nap which coincides with Mae's "quiet time." Colin gets better at finding his thumb every day, so he's able to settle himself back to sleep if he wakes up at night. Sometimes we wake up and find him wide awake and happily watching the ceiling fan.

This month Colin had his first real bath, and it was love at first splash. He's also made lots of progress lifting his head during tummy time! Tummy time is much more successful when I lay him on my chest so he can lift his head to look at my face. If I put him on his mat, he usually finds his thumb and puts himself to sleep.

Mae continues to be a fabulous big sister. She loves "conversing" with Colin, where she talks and we respond as Colin with a silly voice. She refuses to carry on the conversation if we respond in a normal voice and says, "No, I was talking to Colin!" He loves getting attention from her, and reserves many of his somewhat rare smiles for her!

Happy two months, little guy! We are excited to see what month three brings!

meet the family

With some careful planning and isolation, both sets of grandparents have now had a chance to meet Colin!

Mom, Dad, and Kevin came for a visit when Colin was 2 weeks old. They even came bearing a (very large!) gift: a hand-me-down playset tower for the backyard from Christopher and Emily. Mae was pretty excited when they pulled up in front of our house towing a U-Haul! When he wasn't helping set up the tower and slide, Dad got lots of snuggle time with Colin.

Kelsey was working the day Mom, Dad, and Kevin visited, so they all came back for a visit the following weekend. Kelsey even got to feed Colin a bottle! So cozy.

GranE and Batman came for a weekend visit when Colin was 6 weeks old. Colin is a little more awake and alert each week, so they got to see his playful, contented personality while also enjoying his long, snuggly naps.

Mae was THRILLED to have some company. Isolation is getting pretty tough for this very social kid. She moved a mile a minute all weekend and was so happy to have GranE and Batman as playmates. She spent hours coloring with GranE outside in the backyard and doing puzzles in the play room with Batman!

Since Mae went into GranE and Batman's room each day when she woke up, Dan and I enjoyed a few minutes of quiet in the morning. Can't say the same for Batman!

one month of colin

Happy one month, little guy!

I've been struggling with what to write about the last month, and I realized why: I'm afraid I'm going to jinx it!! Colin is such a relaxed baby! He's a good eater, a decent sleeper, and overall just a very calm kiddo. He only fusses when he's hungry, and even then it takes him quite a while to work up to a full cry. He tries to soothe himself by sucking his thumb, but rarely remembers to unclench his fist enough to actually get his fingers into his mouth. When he's tired, he puts his hand to the back of his head and pulls his fingers through his fuzzy hair. See, tired:

His favorite activity is staring. He stares up into the blue sky on our walks, and he stares forlornly in our direction if we walk away while he's awake in the baby swing. He sits in his little pillow chair and stares at us while we make dinner. But mostly he likes staring at our faces while we cradle him on the couch. He likes to stare at Dan for at least a half an hour after his midnight feed, and refuses to go back in his Pack 'N Play until he's stared himself back to sleep. His gaze bores deep into our eyes. (He captured our hearts the moment he was born, but I have a suspicion he's trying to capture our souls also.)

He's started to add some hesitant coos into his vocal repertoire of grunts and snores. I'm hoping to see some smiles soon! He tolerates tummy time (with much grunting and struggling), but seems much more focused on pushing with his legs than lifting his head. He also tolerates sponge bath time, but LOVES the part where we dip his head under the faucet to rinse his hair. He's only had sponge baths so far since his umbilical cord is still healing, so I hope his love of the faucet translates to a love of splashing in the plastic baby tub soon!

This infant lounger has been a godsend. We move it around the house with us: kitchen, dining room, and, yes, even the bathroom, so Colin can hang out while we go about our days. He does frequently nod off in his little baby nest, though we don't let him nap in it for extended periods of time.

We took our first family walk when Colin was about a week old. I think half the neighborhood was outside that evening, so lots of people got to meet him (from a distance). Since then, we've gone out for walks almost every morning before the summer heat gets too unbearable.

Mae is adjusting well to life with a sibling. She's a big helper and always eager to fetch things when asked (burp cloth, onesie, pacifier). She loves introducing Colin to people on our walks, saying, "This is my baby brother! He barfed on the couch twice and pooped on the wall twice!" (In her opinion, these are the most notable events of the past month.) Her chattiness has only increased since our attention has been split between kids, and there is rarely a moment of silence in our house now.

We are looking forward to month two!