Weekend Reminders

Stephen, Wriston and I had a great weekend.  Except for Saturday evening, the weather was perfect!  Wriston and I were able to buy some flowers on Friday afternoon to plant over the weekend.  We are very excited for the warm weather to stay and I look forward to Wriston's first time at the beach, in the pool, in a bathing suit... all the other summer firsts!!

Friday evening, we met our friends Hope and Charlie out for dinner.  Hope and Charlie were in town for the night as they were flying out of Charlotte to visit Charlie's relatives in California.  Hope and I met in the Fall of 1999 at Columbia College.  She was my suitemate our freshman year.  We became instant friends and remained close over the past years!  It was nice to see the Cole family!

Spending time with Hope made me realize how nice it is to have such wonderful friends in our lives.  It is great being able to not talk to a friend for a while and act as if you were never apart.  I am lucky to surround myself with people who make our friendship so easy!  Life is busy with a baby and sometimes sending a text message can seem to hard to fit into my day so it is nice to be able to get together with my besties and not feel like I missed out on anything.  I think back to my middle school days -- friendships were so complicated!   I remember ending friendships and starting them back up within minutes ... how hard we made them seem!  And now, as I get older, my friends become my family.  We can talk about anything - the good and bad - and still remain the best of friends.

So, to all my friends out there -- THANK YOU for your patience, understand, love and support!  I love all of you so very much.  And thank you for playing such an important role in my family's life.

9 weeks!

WRISTON CAN WEAR PANTS!!!

I am SO extremely happy!!  With Wriston's harness, we were told he could only wear pants over the legs, but would likely need pants a size up.  I was a little skeptical.  Then, this morning after his bath, I decided to put him in his cute "I love Mommy" shirt (sized 3-6 mths) and saw it was a little big so I was curious whether the pants would fit -- and look, they do!!!  I do feel better knowing he doesn't have to show his legs when it's freezing outside.  If the weather decides to stay warm then my lil guy can wear some shorts and all will be dandy!  Until then... I at least have a few pairs of pants that will fit over his brace!!!!

We hit the 9 weeks mark today!  Unreal!  I am so lucky to be able to stay home a few more weeks and continue to watch him grow.  I think we almost have his neck in full working capacity!!  YAY!  I am not so nervous with holding him with one hand and having to reach with another --- although, I still have to be careful as his neck has a mind of its own sometimes.  Once the head is 100%, it will be time to learn to crawl and sit!  I need to talk to the Orthopedist about how we can do some tummy time on the floor... I think he can do it but I'm a little nervous to try in the harness.  Luckily, we go back to the Ortho tomorrow morning.

He is quite the ham!  He loves to talk and play and starting last week, he began sticking out his tongue at me first!  What a smart guy!  He must take after his momma parents - ha!

Going back to work in a few weeks is going to be horrible... what will I miss?  Let's hope none of his "firsts!"

As I said, tomorrow we go back to the pediatric orthopedist to have his straps tightened or redone.  I think my 24 incher may need us to cut out the toes on the little socklets attached to the brace as his feet are bigger!  I'll let you all know how the appointment goes tomorrow...

Future's so Bright I gotta wear Shades!

Well, our little (or not so little) guy is over TWO MONTHS old!  I cannot believe it!  He really has developed a lot over the past few weeks.  Here are a few of his latest developments:

• Talks a LOT -- I think he's taking after his mommy
• Wriston can hold his head up a lot more.  He looks from side to side and responds to voices
• Laughed out loud for the first time today!  I mean Laughed - chuckled - more than once.  
• Squeals and Screeches more and more
• More importantly - he LOVES being asked what sound an Owl makes!!  And even though he says more of what sounds like an "Ooowwww" noise, I am determined to put a "L" at the end for it to sound like Owl.
• He's sleeping a little longer after his nighttime feeding.  Goal for this month is to have him in bed by 7ish so he can forgo his 10-11 pm feeding and finally, FINALLY, sleep all night (Hooray!)
• He likes to face outwards so he can watch and communicate with others.  He's VERY observant (or nosey --- like his momma?)

We took him to his two month appointment on Friday.  Wriston ended up weighing a big 12 lbs, 12 oz and was 24 inches long.  His weight and head measurements put him in the 75th percentile and his length/height put him in the 90th percentile.  WHAT A BIG BOY!   Our Pediatrician was pleased with his growth.  After his exam, Wriston received three shots.  I turned my head and faced the door while Stephen held his hand.  He did not cry at the first shot but CRIED CRIED CRIED with the 2nd and 3rd ones -- which... made me cry.  Poor guy.  We had to wait 15 mins after his shots to check for reactions to the meds so I held him and he fell asleep.  We had to give him a little Tylenol later in the day but otherwise, he handled things quite well.

After finding out how big Wriston measured, I could not help but find myself looking at Stephen's baby book.  Stephen measured 12 lbs (or 12 lbs 6 oz.. depending what page of his baby book you check out) and was 23 7/8 inches long.  It will be interesting to follow Wriston's growth and compare it with Stephen.  Will Wriston end up being tall like his 6'6" daddy or short like his 5'4" mommy??  Stay tuned....

Our other weekend plans included spending time with friends of ours on Saturday evening.  We watched the Butler/VCU basketball game (Wriston raised his hand saying he was rooting for VCU -- we haven't told him they lost yet) and ordered pizza.    Today, we took Wriston to visit with his Nana and Papa Bailey then had Sunday dinner with the Todd family. 

Next weekend plans include meeting Hope and Charlie for dinner on Friday night and then playing in the yard should the weather cooperate!  We also plan to have Wriston's pictures taken as well -- again, assuming the weather cooperates!

Until next time...