One Month!

So our sweet Beau Elias turned one month old this past Saturday! It is so amazing to think a month has already gone by since our entire lives were changed. Parenthood has been quite an adventure, but one I continue to keep learning from each day. At one month, Beau is staying awake for longer stretches through day and is starting to lengthen his sleeping at night. He focuses on people or objects close to him and can follow them when they move slowly. He also has such a tight grip! When he has one of our fingers, we have to pry him off to get out! He's so strong. Beau's also trying so hard to keep his head up, and is getting closer and closer. Brandon and I have been cleaning his umbilical stub for what seems like forever, and then on Saturday when I went to change him, it had fallen out! We were so excited! Brandon has been ITCHING to give Beau his first real bath, so this was the moment he had been waiting for. That night we gave him his first bath and he did SO good! He started to cry at first because he wasn't sure what we were doing, but once he felt the warm water, he immediately chilled out and enjoyed being washed and doted on! I've included some pictures and a short video from that, although making sure as to keep him looking as modest as possible while taking a bath. :)

I'm starting to recover from a nasty bout of mastitis that ended up also giving me thrush. For about two days I felt like a semi had run me over, ran a 101 fever one minute and was sweating the next, and couldn't even muster up energy to hold Beau, but over the weekend started getting my strength back. I go back to the doctor Thursday to make sure everything's healing properly. Now I'm just praying I don't get that again!

So here are some pictures taken from Beau's one month milestone day. Enjoy!

Getting so big!

So Beau was playing on his mat yesterday and I just happened to take these quick videos of him. We had just practiced our "running" and he kept moving his legs the same way - what a sweet boy! Then, towards the end you can see him follow the toy frog - yes, our eye coordination is getting better!

Here we're enjoying tummy time. He's trying so hard to get back to his back! I'm truly cherishing these sweet moments I have with him. Enjoy!

Happy Father's Day!

Yesterday was Brandon's first Father's Day! Beau and I enjoyed giving him the breakfast he wanted (TOTALLY unhealthy...but it was his day!) , and sitting on our back "porch" reading Acts together and discussing God and his word. Brandon had wanted a mug for work for his coffee, so I created a mug with a picture of Beau looking at Brandon and written underneath the words "Some of the best things in life start under 6 lbs...Happy First Father's Day, Dad!"...needless to say, he was SO pleased! It was neat to get to share Brandon's first (of many, God willing) Father's Days. He's just the best daddy. He's always so anxious to come home and spend time with the boy, whether its watching Beau on his mat, snuggling up with him, or even changing a dirty diaper! He takes on the role of Dad with such spirit and everyday I am so grateful that God placed him to be the father of my child. So here are some pictures from Father's Day and a couple days before...mainly just the two buddies hanging out!

Three Weeks!

Today my sweet little buddy is three weeks old. I can hardly believe how time has flown by! Beau and I celebrated the occassion by taking an extra nap together! I LOVE my nap time with the boy - he's the snuggliest, sweetest thing to fall asleep with! He loves to lay on my chest and curl up right under my chin. It's the most presh thing ever. He's also gotten so good at turning towards me when he hears my voice and can slowly follow me when I move infront of him. He even turned to Brandon this week! Brandon was so excited, I think he was feeling a little left out with Beau already turning to my voice. This week I also purchased Brandon's FIRST Father's Day gift! It's so neat to be able to get things ready for him for that day. I've seen how much he absolutely adores being a dad and he's so good to our buddy.

In other news, this past Sunday we went to church for the first time with Beau. It went fairly well,although towards the end we had to leave early due to feeding time getting close and my child knowing that. :) Tonight Beau also made his debut in Bible class, although poor buddy was struggling to stay awake! He did so good though, and even had his hand traced for a gift to give to Brandon for Father's Day.

Yesterday Beau stayed up the longest stretch thus far. We went from 3:30 to 8:00 which was a HUGE accomplishment! I'm loving having him stay awake for greater stretches, he's so much fun to be with. This weekend we have lots of events planned and tomorrow is a busy day for the both of us as well, as I have a couple places I have to go sans Beau so he'll be hanging with Gran for a bit.

I'll try to get some pictures up as soon as I can so you can see him as he continues to grow! I think I'll end here though, as I have a snuggly buddy on me right now and am anxious to cuddle with him for just a bit. :)

Happy Two Weeks, Buddy!

Our sweet little Beau Elias is two weeks old today. This morning, Gran and I took our little guy to his two week check up where he weighed in at 6 lbs and half an ounce and was 19 inches long. His doctor said he just looked perfect and we couldn't agree more. Then he told us we had to get his PKU test done. Ha. Well, I wasn't planning on there being any tests done, especially not blood work, so his feeding time was going to run into the blood time. Bad situation #1. Then there was the fact that Mommy forgot to pack the pacifier to get us through until feeding time. Bad situation #2. Then I found out that instead of getting just 5 drops of blood from my baby's heel, they needed to fill 5 dime size spots with his blood. Bad situation #3. Needless to say, my child was NOT the happiest with his mother. Can't say I was too thrilled with her either.

But the appointment and the blood draw went on and Beau is growing so much everyday! It's so neat to see his facial expressions and see him slowly learn to follow my face when we talk together. He's been trying so hard to hold his head up too! We just know he's going to get there soon enough. Another thing Beau has become fond of is being sung to. Whether its just for fun or when he's getting sleepy, Beau just LOVES having Brandon or me sing to him. His favorite for sleepy time is Isaiah 43. As soon as he starts to hear it, his eyes get SO heavy - it's the most presh thing ever! We've also been able to snap quite a few pictures of our little man's first couple weeks, with lots of nap moments with Daddy.

This little boy has brought so much to our lives and it blows me away every time I realize how much we love him. I don't think anyone could've ever fully prepared us for all the challenges that would come with having a newborn (and there are challenges!), but I also think no one fully prepared us for the emotion that would overcome us as parents.

On a side note, I also went to the doctor for my two week check and can say that my incision is healing well and that this breastfeeding business is working for losing the baby weight! I'm so glad I get to feed him; it's again one of those things that I didn't realize would be so technical, but we're really enjoying the bonding and I know all the little kinks will work themselves out soon. So, finally, here are some pictures from our fam of the last couple weeks - Happy Two Weeks, my sweet Beau Elias! (Side note: I accidentally put the pictures in reverse; the first are the most recent and so on, whoops!)