Happy Halloween!

She's a "good" witch.

He's doing his Garth mouth in this one, in case you were wondering. "Excuse me, I'd like to get by now."

This video makes me laugh. Just seeing Andrew in a wig makes me laugh. This was sent out to Andrew's whole company -- hehehehe. So I figure it's okay to post, too. :) In case you didn't know, Garth is one of Andrew's all-time favorite characters.

I've decided I will buy a Wayne's World hat and be Wayne next year. They can be our go-to Halloween costumes -- for the rest of our lives probably. I feel kind of lame being the only one not dressed up -- Kate keeps asking me what I'm going to be. She had a super fun Halloween carnival today at preschool. Ahhh, to be a kid again. I still eat the treats like one... :)

Garth quote for fun:

Benjamin Kane: So, Garth, what do you think of the new set?

Garth Algar: It's kinda like a new pair of underwear. At first it's constrictive, but after a while it becomes a part of you.

FOUR Months! (and a ton of pics)

Let's not kid ourselves -- I see a lot of this lately (above pic) and not enough of that (below pic).

It turns out I haven't been the best about taking pictures of Christian on a consistent basis. I'll realize I haven't taken pics in a while, then have a little photo shoot. But hey, he's still gonna have a million pics of himself.

He had his four month check up today, and I was right. He's pretty huge. Almost 16 pounds and 26 inches long. He's in the 75 percentile for weight (thought he was bigger), 90th for height, and
get this-- ABOVE the 100th percentile for HEAD. Ha ha ha. We grow those noggins big over here. With a head that size I think it will be a Herculean feat if he's able to sit up and balance before he's fifteen. Reminds me of that Seinfeld when Elaine dates that guy who tells her she has a big head. Then she's walking through the park and a bird flies into her head. An old man on a park bench says, "That bird flew right into your head. It's like he couldn't avoid it." Hehehe.

I just fed him his first "solid" -- oatmeal. He seemed to enjoy it. It was more like I fed him his hands with oatmeal all over them.

Last month I said he was a mellow baby. This month I take that back. He's been extremely fussy and irritable. I thought maybe he had teeth coming in, but I don't see anything yet. The doctor said his top gums did feel firm, so they are probably forming up there and bugging him.

He can turn over both ways, but the times he turns from his tummy to his back seem to be an accident. He also went through a phase where he was ONLY happy in transition -- meaning in the process of turning over. Not satisfied with either side. Very frustrating for both of us.

He is still not sleeping in his crib...working on that.

He giggles for two things these days. First, when you bounce him -- sometimes you can get a good giggle that way. What he loves most, though, is when you take his shirt off. It's not that he likes being naked necessarily, but he loves the act of pulling his arms out of sleeves. Don't ask me why -- but it's a surefire way to get a laugh (if he's in an okay mood to begin with, of course).

Loves his big sister, which is good because she LOVES him, too. He always has a big smile for her when he first sees her in the morning. She speaks for Christian all the time. I'm so used to it now, it's kind of like I actually believe he's answering me. No matter where she is in the house, if I ask Christian a question, I'll hear a little high-pitched response (Kate's "Christian" voice), "No, I don't want to" or whatever the response is. Her replies often make me laugh really hard, but perhaps I'll save that for her next update. :)

He makes weird noises. It's like a weird groaning/grunting that Kate calls a growl. It's loud and can go on for quite a while. Got some more stares at church yesterday.

Sorry--this write up feels more disjointed than usual. I'm typing one-handed with a fussy four month old on lap. :) Albeit a very cute, fussy four month old.

Starting anew

We have had lots of changes around here -- mostly a new place to live, and this morning Andrew headed off to his first day at a new job! We are finally getting a little bit settled in our new home, and I hope it doesn't take long for Andrew to feel comfortable in a new work environment, too. I don't generally use the blog to brag about Andrew (and when I do it's usually about his photography), but I have to say something -- because I think it is amazing -- especially given the "economic climate" we are in and the vast amount of resumes companies receive.

He asked me to keep my eye out for jobs that he could apply to. So I sent his resume out to five local companies, and he got interviews with every company except one. Then, out of the four interviews he had, he was offered jobs at THREE of the places -- all in one day (he was able to get better offers as a result). (The one job that didn't offer him a position wasn't really in his field of expertise, but I wasn't sure and sent his resume/cover letter out anyway.) He has got mad skills, and I am so proud of him. We feel very fortunate.

There's a lot of stress involved in starting a new job, and this is his first real "corporate" gig -- not a start-up. It was great for him to be able to choose the job that would be best for him, but very stressful as it all happened the week we signed the lease for our new home (which, by the way, is just SIX minutes from his new job -- how perfect is that??). It feels good for me (and I'm sure way more for him) that the interviews are finally over, he picked one, and we decided to take the condo so our lives feel stable instead of all up in the air as they did a couple weeks ago.

Anyway, here's to Andrew! He's a jolly good fellow. :)

Christian at 3 months

The most frequent comment that Christian receives when out and about isn't the obvious -- that he's the cutest baby alive -- but this -- "That is a BIG baby!" He doesn't have his check-up until next month so I don't have the exact stats to back it up, but yes, he is big. And adorable!

I don't know if he really looks like me or Andrew -- I can't really tell. But sometimes he reminds me exactly of what Kate looked like at his age. So since everyone thinks she looks just like Andrew, maybe he does, too?

The hair on the sides of his head has rubbed off, so it looks like he has a perfect little crew cut.


I still can't really tell what color his eyes are going to be, though they look like they'll probably be hazel or brown. He is officially sleeping through the night -- hallelujah! -- and sometimes will take a LONG nap during the day. When he wakes up from these long naps, I swear he has gained two pounds. He usually goes to bed between 9-10pm and wakes up around 5 or 6 am, then will go back to sleep for a couple hours.

He has major reflux problems, and so is still not sleeping in his crib. He sleeps in a little chair. If he is laid down flat, he will almost always throw up and wake himself up. But if he's upright, then he sleeps just fine. It's just that he's getting too big for his little chair, and he is really close to turning over. He sleeps on his side in the chair. It's cute.

Christian has also learned how to suck his thumb --yay! (until he gets older...) -- and is pretty good at self-soothing.

He is a LOUD eater. It is somewhat embarrassing when in quiet settings (church), and he and I often get quizzical/accusing stares. Nothing I can do about it, people! He enjoys his food, what can I say? One lady next to me turned to me multiple times, amazed at how loud he was. She said, "It's like he's starving!" One look at the kid will let you know -- he is not starving. :)

He's also very "talkative." He loves to coo and guhh.

He's generally a very mellow baby -- a lot like Kate was. He isn't overly smiley, but he will light up with smiles if the mood strikes him. He loves playing patty-cake with Kate (and me), and loves Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. He also enjoys being bounced in the air and will really smile/laugh and make the cutest scrunched up smiley face ever. I have to get video or something of that.

I've decided that I like babies. The three months+ kind. He rarely cries unless he's hungry or tired, but mostly he's just a happy little guy. As Kate is getting older and discovering how to push Mommy's buttons, I have a greater appreciation for the baby stage. :)