Tis the Season!

"Chestnuts roasting on an open fire, Jack Frost nipping at yo...GRANDMA GOT RUN OVER BY A REINDEER!" These are the jumbled Christmas songs that have been floating around our house lately. I love singing The Christmas Song to Sutton because it's so soothing and pretty; Rusty loves to jump in with Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer because it's fun to sing and makes Sutton laugh.
The holiday season is here! Cold weather, Christmas lights, trees and decorations, pictures with Santa and plans to visit family far and wide.
Sutton is 7 months old now and I couldn't think of a better age to experience a first Christmas. He's sitting up, scootching around (not quite crawling,) laughing and smiling at so many things and responding to us in so many new exciting ways. He makes the funnies faces when responding to certain words. He makes his guppy face when we say Paw Paw (which is what we call my stepdad, Jeff) and this completely cheesy grin when we're playing with him and being silly. Oh, and our baby doesn't giggle sweetly. He guffaws. His laugh goes something like this, "Huuuuuuuhhhhhhhhh, ah huuuuh, huuuuuuuhhhhhhhh, uhhhhh!" It's so funny! He's also becoming more accustomed to his Gerber Puffs snacks that we've been feeding him for about a month or so, now. He still makes some pretty funny faces while eating them, but he'll no longer just spit them out. I think his new tooth is helping the chewing process. We've known that one of his top teeth is close to coming in, but last night, I actually heard him grinding his top tooth and lower teeth together. So apparently, it's broken through the gum. We are now a three-toothed baby boy! I'm thinking about moving him onto Stage 3 food now, and seeing how he does with a few soft pieces to chew on.
Since it's Christmas -time, we of course had to take Sutton to have his picture made with Santa. We went last Saturday and it was a great experience! I can totally understand all the fun of taking children to do children stuff in a setting where there is absolutely nothing to do for adults other than watch their kiddos have fun. Sutton was a bit fussy (it was about his nap time) when we first got to the mall so I was a bit worried about him just being a toot when his turn came. We didn't have long to wait as we got there early (of course) and were third in line. However, once Santa showed up I think Sutton could feel all the excitement because he just went totally goofy and started cheesing and laughing like crazy. He was flirting with a mom behind us and I kept telling him that she was married and her husband was going to get mad. The couple had their little boy with them to take pictures and the dad was like, "Don't worry, kid, I'm not the jealous type!" Cute cute cute. So Sutton's turn came and we plopped him down on Santa's lap and went to stand by the camera. Sutton just kinda sat there. He wasn't smiling, but he wasn't freaking out (I didn't think he would throw a fit, he's still pretty good about going to total strangers at this point.) So I started making faces and saying, "I'm going to get you!" which always makes him laugh. And he smiled! Not a full-fledged Sutton smile, but a smile nonetheless. We'll take it where we can get it!

Sutton's first  picture with Santa Claus!

That whole afternoon was a whirlwind of tinsel, trees and lights. We picked out our tree (I'm pretty sure Rusty would have bought the 12 foot Noble Fir if I wasn't with him. He joking pointed at it and we laughed, but  I'm pretty sure I saw a little longing in his eyes. We ended up with the 6-7 footer.) bought some ornaments and lights and headed home to decorate the house. We had only about an  hour to put up lights outside and get the tree in the stand before we had to start getting ready for Rusty's office Christmas party, so we brought Sutton's pack n play outside and went to work. Rusty and I took turns working on the lights, but he did most of the work and we got them all up and looking just lovely!

Goofing around with some reindeer antlers we bought him.

Since Rusty's company Christmas party is a pretty serious affair, we opted to get a babysitter for Sutton rather than bring him, although he would have been perfectly welcome at the party. Mommy and Daddy needed a night out, too! Our sitter was actually the granddaughter of Sutton's everyday sitter, Phyllis. AND her name is Kali! I'm sure Sutton was so confused, hearing someone else called by my name PLUS she looked so much like my sister, Brooke. He did great with Kali and Rusty and I had a great time!
We have lots of plans for the holidays: We're flying to DFW Christmas Eve to be with Rusty's family and I have off a whole week between Christmas and New Years, so we have lots of time to spend with our sweet boy!
Till my next blog! And I PROMISE it won't be a whole month from now!

6 mos Check Up

This morning was Sutton's 6 month check-up and it could not have gone better! Well, maybe if he didn't have to get his shots, but we know those are for his own good! Sutton is right where he should be developmentally. Our regular pedi, Dr Jones, was out, so we saw one of his associates, Dr Austin. She was great! She asked about any new things he has been doing (pulling up on all fours and 'rocking', eating stage 2 baby food, getting better at his hand-eye coordination when reaching for and picking up objects,) his sleep habits (about 12 hours at night, hardly any naps during the day,) how often and how much he eats (5 times a day, nursing, breastmilk and formula and baby food,) and whether he's sitting up on his own (almost, but not quite.) Sutton is 19 lbs even, in the 75th percentile in weight, 27 3/4 inches long, 75th percentile in height and has a 17 inch head, which is in the 50th percentile. He got his 6 mos immunizations and also the first of his two flu shots. So he's truckin' along just as he should be!
Here is our happy baby boy showing off his new skillz at the Dr's office:

1/2 a year gone already!

Happy 6 month birthday to our sweet little man! We love you so much! We prayed for you for so long and felt more blessed than we ever could have imagined when we met you. You have shown us that our love for each other could grow even stronger each day and that we would still have enough love left over to love you to the moon and back. You are our sunshine, our tootie-pie, our stink-pot, our booger-butt, our baby boy, our son. And that means more than we could ever express.

Six months old!

Weekend trip to the coast.

Rusty spent this past weekend fishing in Port O'Connor with some friends and since I hate staying by myself (even with the alarms and shotgun. Seriously, just try to break  into our house.) I decided to head down to Port Aransas to join my mom, Jeff and Leigh Ann and Lyn (good friends.)
Sutton did GREAT on the way down. He really didn't start fussing until we got into Corpus. Of course, that was about 6:30 and he hadn't anything to eat since about 3:30. We stopped and surprised my grandparents in Portland (you don't know joy until you are standing on a porch and watching the face of a great-grandmother as she opens the door to a surprise visit from her favorite great-grandson!) and had a nice visit and got something to eat. Of course, we left right about Sutton's bedtime, so he totally konked out on the trip over to Port A. I got really excited about taking his picture on his first ferry ride:

So much for an exciting picture!

So much for that. He slept right through his first ride.

Saturday Sutton and I spent some time at the pool. It was a bit chilly, so we just enjoyed the sunshine and gorgeous weather! It was his first time at (if not in) the pool, so I had to snap a couple of photos of him in his cute get-up!


One cool dude in his swimmin' duds!




Look at that blue sky! Gorgeous!

 Once everyone got back from fishing, we met them at Woody's. Sutton spent some quality time with Jeff learning who all the locals were at Woody's, who's boat was whose and who he could go fishing with and who not to go fishing with. It was adorable.

O'Rear and Sutton at Woody's

Sunday we just hung out for a few hours since Rusty was still fishing in POC and we were going to try to leave at the same time he did. Rusty sent us some pics of the big reds he caught that day and Sutton loved looking at them!

Wonderful, relaxing, beautiful weekend! We have an extended vacation coming up. Our annual San Angelo Hunting Trip is this weekend and part of next week. Five days of rest, relaxation and big deer!

Sign of the times!

It's time for signs! We're starting to work on signing with Sutton. We have NO expectations of him picking these up any time soon and are sticking with the simplest of signs:

Tap fingertips to lips several times.

Tap the 'C' shape to chin

Tap fingertips together several times

PLEASE

THANK YOU

ALL FINISHED (with food)

 We would LOVE it if everyone in his life were to learn these simple signs to help Sutton get the idea. So far, the only consistent reaction we get is the fishy-face when we ask if he's hungry or wants some ninny (to nurse.) And of course, the screams and grunts when we flash a bottle in front of his face! I really want to find a sign for nursing. I'd use 'milk' (tap fist to chest) but I don't want to confuse him in a few months when he starts drinking regular milk and I sure as hell don't want to rub my boobies as a sign asking him if he wants some milk! Kinda defeats the purpose of a discreet sign for nursing! 

 He's such a big kid and eats so much! I went grocery shopping last night and went ahead and picked up stage 2 baby food instead of the stage 1 he's been on. We tried mixed vegetables last night, so we'll wait on the poop report from Nanny (his sitter) to see how that went! So funny that we're so dependent on his poop to tell us how he's doing. Oh well, I hear it's the topic of choice for the very young and the very old.

We also tried some fruit-flavored puffed snacks last night. Those Gerber Graduate puffy-star things? I had to try one to see just how quickly they dissolved, because I was pretty nervous about him putting something so small in his mouth. Faster than TP in a tsunami. Satisfied my curiosity! He ate one, but made a pretty funny face and gagged alot. He wasn't choking as we could see the puff on the end of his tongue, so we're thinking it was either the sensation of solid food on his tongue or the tartness of the Strawberry-Apple flavor. Maybe he'll like the Tomato ones better... No matter the flavor, he spent quite a bit of time working on his hand/eye coordination, so that was a plus! He's getting really good at gripping things and both Rusty and I were pleasantly surprised at his dexterity when handling the food. At one point, he was struggling to pick up a star-puff with his right hand so he reached over with his left hand and grabbed it right away! Lefties run in both sides of our family so we may have a south-paw on our hands!

Sutton's First Halloween Party!

We had a crazy busy couple of days this past weekend! I completed my Hunter's Education Safety Course on Saturday (from 9am to 3pm. EXHAUSTING.) got my herrrr did after that and then we loaded up Sutton to head over to Marli's brother Vince's house for a Halloween party. Rusty and I dressed up in our regular, day-to-day clothes as 'the parents of the cutest baby EVER.' (We were a big hit.) Sutton wore his ADORABLE dragon costume. Here are a few pictures we snapped of Sutton.

So many changes in so little time!

I really can't remember life without Sutton, but when I sit down and ponder on it, he's only been here 5 months and that is just a drop in the bucket of time. I am truly amazed at all the changes we've seen in him in just that short period. I'm amazed at how Rusty and I have grown as parents and how our love for each other has grown since Sutton came into our lives. I really can't imagine a life without my two guys. I am so blessed to have a sweet, even-tempered baby boy and a supportive, caring, funny, and straight-shooting husband.
There are so many things that Sutton is doing now that I really haven't mentioned on Facebook or on here.

• He's rolling over, both from his back to his belly and from his belly to his back.
• He sleeps on his tummy, even if you lay him down on his back and it's so simply sweet to see his little cheek pressed against the sheets of his crib, squishing his lips up as he slumbers away.
• He loves to chew on his feet and fingers and (luckily) has not shown any tendencies to suck his thumb.
• He now has TWO teeth! His bottom middle teeth hav both come in and they are so cute! I will say it's a bit disconcerting to look at a five month old who has teeth. It's like a weird baby/toddler look.  His first one came in on October 1, just three days before the 5 month milestone and the other came through this past weekend while Rusty and I were in Lubbock.
• He reaches for everything! You have to hide his bottle from him until you're ready to give it to him or he'll go nuts reaching for it, leaning towards to and making a fishy-face and noises. Not going to lie, sometimes we tease him because it's so cute!
• He likes all fruit, squash and green beans, but not peas! I guess I'll still be the only one in the house who eats them.
• He is very ticklish, just like me! Tickling his ribs, thighs and neck will make him laugh so hard he gets hiccups.

I'm so excited about Halloween this year. We have an early Halloween party to go to this weekend and Sutton (finally) gets to wear the costume I ordered him months ago. Can't wait to see him in his dragon costume! I'm going to go ahead and dress up for the party, too. It's going to be a suprise, and I sure hope it turns out ok.
Sutton and I are going to spend some quality Mommy/Son time together this week. Rusty is in Kansas for EM training. I know Sutton and I both are going to  miss him so much!

More Peas, Please!

Sutton had peas for the first time last night. This was his first vegetable or even non-sweet baby food (we started with fruits, so he was in for quite the suprise on veggies!) I walked in the door from work and Rusty was veeeerrrrryyyy ssssllllowwwwllllyyyy getting Sutton to eat the peas. He would make some very funny faces, but he ate them all!

This isn't pears...

I don't know about this, Daddy!

Might take me awhile to get used to this!

5 Months Old and So Much Fun!

I love this age! Sutton is so much fun. So sweet and cuddly, but starting to really show some independence and amazing us every day with new things. Just this morning, he started blowing 'raspberries' and it was the cutest thing! Add to that the SUPER cute hat Rusty put on him and it was just an overload of adorable-ness.

Sutton and I made our first Mommy/Son roadtrip together this weekend to go visit our family in Victoria. I was so proud of myself. I even stopped to use the restroom at Buc-ee's, took Sutton in with me and made it out alive and with no crying (from either of us!) KK, O'Rear and Tia Brooke and Tio Tyler were so happy to see Sutton! We just hung out at the house, watched some football and then made a quick trip to Target Sunday morning before Sutton and I headed back home to meet Rusty (who spent the weekend hunting with the guys.) Here are some pics of Sutton hanging out with O'Rear:



Jeff was obviously more interested in the book than Sutton was.

Saturday night, my Mom gave Sutton a bath in the kitchen sink, which I think is just the cutest thing ever! I walked away to get the soap while she was undressing him and when I got back, he was facing away from me. Mom turned him around and I had to snap a few shots of what I saw:

Who bathes a baby with a tootie in their mouth?

"Mama, I've never had a bath with my tootie before!"

"My tootie is nice and clean, too!"

Sunday morning, Tyler was playing with Sutton on the couch and started blowing in his face, just one little puff at a time, and every time he would blow, Sutton would do this little gasp thing and laugh so hard! It was so sweet to watch them playing together!

Sunday before we left, my Mom and Brooke tag-teamed lunch. Have to make sure that baby is nice and full before we get on the road!

Tia Brooke's lap is way better than a Bumbo!

Sutton is just growing and changing so fast! I'm sure everyone saw on my blog that Sutton got his first tooth a few days ago. It was October 1, so just 3 days shy of his official 5 month birthday. Very early to be cutting teeth, I'm told! I haven't been able to snap any pics of that little bitty tooth, but I'm still working on it! Maybe once  he falls asleep it will be easier to get!
In Nanny News (Sutton's sitter, Phyllis, is called Nanny by all her kids! How cute is that?) Sutton might be kind of a bully. He's her youngest right now and the next youngest is a 9 month old bruiser of a kid named JJ. Sutton is so loud with his squeals and laughs that all the noise scares JJ! Phyllis laughs about it and has a story for me every morning when I drop off Sutton. She just adores all her kids and is always quick to grab Sutton for a hug in the mornings and is always holding him when we pick him up in the evenings! She's one of those people who hide their wings very well!
Phyllis took her semi-annual vacation back to New Jersey (Good Night, I can't wait to see what Sutton will sound like when he starts talking between our Texas twang and Phyllis' Jersey accent!) last week and we were lucky enough to have Rusty's mom come and stay with Sutton. She got a whole week of Sutton/Grammy time and loved every minute of it! She was a God-send. Came home to supper cooked every night, house picked up, stocked us up on groceries and took Sutton on all kinds of adventures! Botanical Gardens, swinging at the park, lots of walks and they read lots of books, too! I know you enjoyed it, Debbie, but we REALLY appreciate everything!
Whew! That's a lot of updating! Maybe I should try to make this a weekly thing...

This weekend was BANANAS! B-A-N-A-N-A-S!

And we're on to baby food! Sutton has been one hungry hippo lately, nursing for very long periods of time, eating more and more cereal more and more often and is STILL hungry. Last week, our pedi, Dr Jones, suggested to start him on fruits when he hits 20 weeks. Meh, what's a week and a half? Especially since Sutton hasn't been sleeping more than about 4-5 hours at a time without wanting to nurse or take a bottle. We have been VERY sleepy parents for about two weeks!
Sutton got his first taste of baby food ('naners! YUM!) on Saturday afternoon. From what I've heard and seen, most babys have SOME kind of reaction to trying 'real' food for the first time. Shock. Disgust. Excitement. SOMETHING. Sutton? Nothing. No reaction. You wouldn't even know we were feeding him anything different! I mean, he liked it, I guess, since he didn't spit it out or make an awful face, but he didn't go crazy over it either. Just ate. And ate. And then ate some more.

Blank face on his first bite!

What do you mean I've never had this food before?

So now, we're nursing/taking a bottle 5-6 times a day, eating cereal twice a day and bananas twice a day. We can only introduce one new fruit a week, I'm assuming to make sure he handles it ok or maybe to make sure there aren't any allergic reactions. Next week, I think we're going to try pears.
Saturday, we had some people over to hang out, bbq and watch the Tech game. Kolby and Marli hadn't seen Sutton in  a while and were so suprised how big he was! My very good friend, Kaela, came over as well for some snuggles.
Sutton is still chewing on everything and slobbering everywhere. No teeth have made an appearance, but we check daily to see when those pearly white chompers will show up!

Chewing on his exersaucer toys.

I can't get over how much Sutton is growing up. He constantly amazes us with new things. It seems like every weekend, I discover something new about him. I know that makes it sound like I only see him on the weekends, but it's the only time we can spend all day, every day together and I notice all his new tricks! This weekend, I noticed three big things:

1. Sutton will now reach his arms out to you when he wants to be picked up. It's an amazing thing to have a child reach for you for comfort. When you've tried every toy and gadget you have and the only thing that will soothe them is your arms, you know love.
2. He is picking up on things that indicate it's time to eat. I'm trying to use the same words for different types of food so he will make the association. Nummies for nursing, bottle for bottle feeding, cereal for cereal. He understands 'hungry' and knows he's about to eat when we put his bib on him. While he's eating , he actually will grab the hand that's holding his spoon and direct it towards his mouth! That blows my mind! And you can't feed him fast enough. Meal times go something like this: Put bib on Sutton, "SQUEAL!" pop a bite in his mouth, swallow. Then he'll scream because there isn't more food in his mouth so we'll use that opportunity to shove another bite in, swallow. You get the picture!
3. He likes to make out. If you put your face close to his, he'll grab your head on either side of your face and pull you towards him so he can slobber all over you. I think they're pretty sweet kisses. Love them!

We have a wedding coming up in two weeks that Rusty and I are both in the wedding party. We'll be traveling to Granbury to see two very close friends of ours tie the knot and recite their vows in front of God, family and friends. Sutton will be there for part of the celebration, but will spend most of the time with Rusty's mom. We're so excited to take him on yet another roadtrip!
         

Labor Day Weekend and 4 mo checkup

Whew! What a busy past few days it's been! We've been half-way across Texas and back, to the Dr's office in a hurricane and let me tell you, I'll take the 5 hour trip and back over driving in nasty weather anytime!
Saturday morning we loaded up the truck with huntin' gear, game trail cameras, baby stuff, our little family and my dad and headed to Arden, TX, just outside of San Angelo.
The property we stayed on belongs to the Thorp family, some good friends of Rusty's family. We stayed in an amazingly historical ranch house. It was beautiful, with the original screened porch that was perfect for catching the breeze. Here are some pics of the house from this weekend (screened in porch on the right side) and of the original house, built in 1907.

Photo Courtesy of http://www.gosanangelo.com/news/2006/dec/24/range-land-management-saved-historic-ranch/

While we were there, we did some dove hunting and lots of scouting for the upcoming deer season. Yummy food, great family times and, TECH FOOTBALL! This weekend kicked off the Tech football season and marked a HUGE milestone in Sutton's life: FIRST TECH GAME! He rocked his little Tech onesie and was simply CAPTIVATED by the game on TV.

Best seat in the house!

Get your guns up!

Marking the occasion with a family photo.

Monday afternoon, we headed back home and back to the real world. Turns out, the real world was preparing for Tropical Storm Hermine! We've had more rain in the last two days than we've had in September in the last 30 years! That's a whole lotta wet!

Since we thought it was just going to be rain, I went ahead and headed to the Dr on Tuesday morning to take Sutton in for his 4 month check up. This kid. He's chubby. I don't know where he gets it! He's now weighing in at 16 lbs, 6 oz and is 26 inches long. Everything is great, growing as he should, development and motor skills exactly where they should be and most exciting of all (at least for Sutton): we get start fruits as soon as he hits the 20 week mark! Pears and bananas and applesauce, oh, my! Can't wait to see what those are going to smell like. I've started letting him hold a spoon when feeding him cereal. Hopefully, he'll make the association. He picks up on things so quickly! It blows my mind that he starts opening his mouth like a little guppy as soon as he hears the word 'cereal' and we put his bib on! How does he already know that?

Sutton is now laughing like CRAZY at so many different things. He loves when you bark like a puppy at him. He loves to be held up over your head and when you bend him over backwards like you're going to 'drop' him. He is also VERY ticklish, just like his Mommy! He cracks up when you nuzzle his neck or tickle his toes. Just this morning, I started squeezing his upper thigh and he laughed so hard he almost choked! (Maybe no more tickles while nursing...) Tuesday night, he was just staring at Rusty and would just start to chuckle every time Rusty would look at him. We all three of us were laughing hysterically! He loves to grab his feet and anything else you put near him (including long hair, hence my recent loss of locks!) and still will just squeal for minutes while playing. Some of his favorite songs are Frere Jacques, Old McDonald and, still, You Are My Sunshine.

In all, we're just bouncing along; work, play, sleep, eat, poop. That's our life!

Our First "Sick" Dr Appt, Cutting Teeth and Just Growing Up in General

Do all mothers have to try so hard not to bawl when they discover their little baby boy is cutting his first tooth? I can hardly think about it without tearing up! My sweet little angel baby is growing up too fast and I just want to stop time! For the past few weeks, Rusty and I have been thinking that Sutton has been teething as he's constantly chewing on his hands, fists, bib, towel, our hands, my boobs and anything else he can get into his mouth. Add in that he has personified 'drool bucket' lately and we figured teeth were going to be popping up pretty soon. And sure enough, last night, I felt a little bump on his bottom gumline. After we had been expecting it for so long, I thought I would be excited! But I wasn't. I was so sad and overwhelmed! I don't want him to grow up! He's so sweet and fun and amazing right now, I just don't want anything to change! I guess we getter get used to it, because he has a long way to go, a lot of growing up to do and there are going to be LOTS of changes along the way!
One of the changes we've noticed lately is that Sutton is so congested! He snorts and wheezes and blows boogers everywhere! After researching online, asking the grandmas and polling friends with babies, we pretty much decided it was normal. So we brought out the saline drops and just tried to keep Sutton from looking like a snot-face.
Then, last week, he had a couple little throw up incidents that kinda scared me, so I called the WONDERFUL Methodist Hospital Call a Nurse line Friday evening. Katie, an RN, informed me that it might be a stomach bug but as long as he wasn't dehydrated and was acting normal, not to be concerned but to make an appointment with our pediatrician anyways. Thankfully, our pediatricians practice offers Saturday appointments and we were able to get Sutton in at 9:30am. 

OUR LITTLE PORKER WEIGHS 15 LBS, 9 OZ!

After we recovered from shock, we waited patiently for the pediatrician on call to see us. Sutton just started squealing and did NOT stop the entire time we were in the dr's office. It was so cute, but rediculous because here we are with our 'sick' baby, showing up for a Dr's appointment on a Saturday, and he's cooing and squealing and rolling around on the exam table like he doesn't have a care in the world!
The pediatrician on-call (who was amazing!) told us not to worry about the throw up, to try to keep him on breastmilk for the next couple of days (we've still be supplementing with formula) and just make sure he stays hydrated. And she wasn't at all concerned about the congestion.
He's doing much better now, no more throwing up, we have a cool-mist humidifier in his room and are regularly squirting saline solution up his nose to keep his little nasal passages moist. I even love his nasal passages. This kid is a miracle to me.
The biggest change lately has been... wait for it.... Sutton is rolling over! He will roll from his tummy to his back and is SO close to going back to tummy. Rusty sent me a video one day on my way home from work and said Sutton had rolled over three times in a row! Our sitter, Phyllis, said that he does it during the day, too! I watch the video all the time, but I STILL haven't seen him do it in person! I'll keep trying and watching and I'm sure my vigilance will be rewarded eventually!
Some other highlights:

• Rusty measured Sutton top to toes and he is about 26 inches long! That's only three inches away from growing out of his infant carrier!
• He now eats 2-3 tablespoons of rice cereal morning and night.
• He LOVES his exersaucer and to be standing up, sitting up laying on his tummy; pretty much anything other than laying on his back.
• He is gaining more and more control of his hands. He is contantly grabbing at things (his favorite is my hair. I'm chopping it all off. ASAP.)
• Sutton loves it when you bark like a puppy at him and stick your tongue out and pant like a dog. This cracks him up every time!
• He is still so cuddly and loves to be held and rocked and hugged and kissed on.
• He loves to be sung "You are My Sunshine"

                                 

Three Weeks In

It's the last day of my third week back at work. Oh. My. Word. I've hardly had a chance to breathe, let alone blog about everything that is going on!
Weekdays start at 5:30am when I wake up and get myself ready for work. Thankfully, Sutton would sleep until who-knows-what hour of the morning if I let him, so I don't have to worry about him while showering and getting dressed. I usually wake him up about 6:45 and he nurses and gets some cereal. Then it's into the carseat and off to Nannys!
Rusty and I finally have our morning routine down to where it's manageable and not just us flying around the house grabbing bottles, lunch, binkys and the baby, shoving it all in the car and trying to remember to open the garage before I back out! Turns out it's much easier to get everything ready the night before. Hm. Who'd have thunk it?
I still miss Sutton SO much while I'm at work. Instead of getting easier, it's getting harder to be away from him every day. Thankfully, it's our busy season at work and the days are flying by in a blur of students, paperwork and pumping.
Pumping at work. You think people would understand that my son has to eat and while I'm pumping, I might as well be walking around topless for everything you can see. Oh, no; they don't hesitate to knock and ask if I can help with something, even though I sent out a very polite, discreet email on my first day back about being unavailable while I make my son's lunch for the next day AND have a 'Privacy, Please!' sign on my door.
Sutton is growing like a weed. A cute, bubbly, talkative little weed! Every day after work when Rusty picks him up, before I get home, they have 'Daddy Boot Camp.' I quit asking what happens during this half hour, since the one time I asked, I was told Sutton is learning to walk, crawl and cuss. Ah, my boys! Exciting things do happen at Daddy Boot Camp, though. Yesterday, Rusty told me that Sutton had rolled over from his belly to his back! He's done this once when he was about 9 weeks old, but I'm convinced it was a fluke since he rolled into a crack on the couch. So this was his first 'true' roll over!
He's also using his exer-saucer and LOVES it. He bats at the toys and wiggles around and makes the whole exer-saucer rock back and forth. Just goes crazy!
This Saturday, I will spend my first night away from him without Rusty. I'm going to a very good friend of ours bachelorette party in New Braunfels. Very excited, but very anxious about being away from Sutton during one of the few times I have to spend all day and all night with him! There's no telling what he's going to learn at a full day of Daddy Boot Camp!

4 days shy of 3 months old