My BOUNCING Baby Boy!!

Quick Little Update

Aaaahhhh!!! I feel like I have been so busy the past few weeks since returning to work. I've been glad to get back to work, don't get me wrong. I haven't had to work late at the office, but have just been consistently busy all day long with no downtime. And since I have to leave a little early on my days to pick up Austin from daycare, I've been taking work home to do at night after he goes to bed. So far everyone at work has been really understanding of my need to leave early to pick up Austin, or for me to come in a little later so that I can drop him off in the morning.

Anyways, enough about me. I can't even believe that my baby boy will be 6 months old in the next two weeks. It makes me so sad how fast the time has been flying by. But I have been enjoying every minute of it! He is so funny these days. He loves, loves, loves his Einstein activity jumper. He gets in that thing and just jumps, laughs, and talks up a storm. Being at daycare, he has become very independent and is perfectly content playing by himself for a good amount of time. All the ladies up there still love him to pieces and think he is hilarious. Last week they had a fire drill at the daycare. Austin's crib is on the corner and is one that they're supposed to wheel outside with babies in it. Well, my little man was asleep during the drill. He managed to sleep through the sirens and being wheeled outside with 3 other babies in his crib. He never even moved! He definitely gets his sleeping habits from his momma. :) He is weighing in right at 18lbs. these days, and has been eating his baby food very well. We've fed him sweet potatoes, squash, and green beans so far, and he always seems hungry for more.

We take Austin to the doc on the 13th for a checkup and shots. And I'm also getting pics made of him for his 6-month birthday, so look for those in a couple weeks!

What a big boy!!!!!!!

Okay, short post, but I just had to share the news. Austin was able to stay sitting up all by himself tonight!!!! I know it's only a matter of time before he gets really mobile now. This kiddo is growing up way too fast! :(

And he has been such a great eater lately, I decided to go ahead and give him some baby food. He's been eating cereal for a little over a month now, but the doc said I should wait until he's 6 months before giving him veggies/fruits. Well, I did it anyways. :) Austin had sweet potatoes tonight and absolutely loved them!!

HAPPY EASTER!!!!

Happy Easter!!! Whew! What a busy weekend! All I really wanted to do after my first week back to work, was just stay at home all weekend relaxing with my boy. But of course, it was Easter weekend, which means splitting time between the two families. And you know me, I can't ever show up empty handed. :) So, Saturday while Jordan was at work, I cooked, alot! I made a hearty baked bean dish and a gooey chocolate cake to take to Jordan's parent's. And to take to my mom's, I made a pan of chicken enchiladas and beef enchiladas. Yeah, I know Jesus wasn't Hispanic, but we wanted to change up the meal a little. :)

We went out to stay at Jordan's parent's Saturday night, so that we wouldn't have to get up so early and rush out there on Sunday morning. Austin did well and slept like he was at home, thank goodness. After hanging out with the Houghams all afternoon, we headed back to Rockwall to my mom's for our Mexican dinner feast. We decided Austin needed to do a little Easter photo shoot so we threw him in a basket with some eggs. The pics turned out pretty good. And he enjoyed sitting outside on the swing and trying to walk through the grass.

And thank goodness for daycare; they saved me a trip to the mall! The Easter Bunny came to visit the daycare and they took pics with all the kids for free. I think Austin's turned out pretty well. :)

A Great First Week Back!!

We made it through our first week back to 'reality'! Austin has adjusted very well to daycare, and I am kinda glad to be back at work. Don't get me wrong, Monday was one of the toughest days ever. Okay, so I had a little bit of a breakdown at the daycare when it was time to leave him on Monday morning. But I'm sure I'm not the only mom up there who has cried her eyes out. After continuing to cry for the first 10 minutes of my drive to work, I managed to pull myself together. I put on my big girl pants and went to work. Of course, all I could think about all day was my Austin and wondered what he was doing. I managed to hold out until lunch to call to check on him, but he was doing fabulous. And each day has gotten a little easier to leave him. He is exhausted in the evenings and is still adjusting to all the stimulation up there. But I treasure each moment I have him home and focus on him 100% of the time when he is awake. And the daycare ladies absolutely love him and always tell me what a happy baby he is. And he is still eating and napping well, and is just falling right into their schedule, which makes this transition so much easier. When I picked him up on Monday afternoon, he started kicking his little legs and smiling at me when he saw me. It just melted my heart and brought tears to my eyes. :)

Going back to work has felt good, for now anyways. It was great to see my co-workers and catch up. But mainly all I heard was how exhausted and over-worked they were from the worst busy season in a while. Man, did I pick the right time to go on maternity leave! But so much has happened in the market and with the economy which affects my job, so I have a ton of reading to catch up on all of the technical issues which I need to be aware of. About Wednesday, I managed to actually get really focused on work and get back into the swing of things. It actually feels kinda nice to be using my brain again and feel like an adult during the day. Now I just need to train myself to be really focused all day long so that I can get my stuff done to be able to get out of there on-time.

I can't believe Austin will be 5 months old tomorrow! I know I say this each month as the 13th rolls around, but it's true. Time has honestly been flying by. He looks so grown up now and has an awesome little personality. Last night I was looking at some pics from when he was born and our first few weeks at home. It seems like it was yesterday, but he has grown so much! I weighed him this week and he was 17lbs. 13oz.!!!!!! I didn't measure his length, but he seems to have grown a little longer too. During bath time last week, Austin found a new toy, between his legs. :) He was just yanking on it and didn't want to let go. I wasn't sure what to do, if I should stop him or what. So, I did the only thing I knew, and that was grab the camera. :) Don't worry I won't be posting a pic of that; what kind of mother would I be!? He is eating his cereal twice a day now, and gobbles it all up in less than 5 minutes. No force-feeding here; he opens his mouth and is always ready for more! He seems pretty comfy in his highchair, and gets his lean on and props his foot up like a little pimp. And he is almost able to sit up on his own; I'm sure it will happen soon.

Well, that's all the updates for now. I'm off to bed for another week at work. We're still trying to get into a morning routine which allows us all to get out door on-time. :)

Letter to My Sweet Lil' Boy

Dear My Sweet Little Austin,

Monday is the big day. :( I will return to the workforce and you will venture to a whole different world at daycare. It makes me so sad that my time with you each day will be so limited now. But I have cherished every moment with you over the past 4 1/2 months. I feel so blessed to even had that much time at home with you. I know that daycare will be a bigger adjustment for me than it is for you. When we stopped by to drop off all your things yesterday, you already seemed very interested in the other kids and all the toys you're going to play with. I know that I will be thinking of you constantly all day at work, wondering what you're doing, missing that sweet little smile of yours, and just missing our funny conversations. I can't wait to get home in the evenings and spend every last moment with you before you drift off to sleep in preparation of another day with your new little friends. Just know that I think this is the best decision we could have made for the both of us. I honestly feel that going back to work (whether full-time or part-time) will make me a better mother to you in the long run. But I miss you terribly already and have tears rolling down my face as I type this. I love you more than you will ever know, and I truly believe that God made us wait a while to have a child so that he could bring us the most special baby boy of all. 'All things will happen in God's time.'-I repeated that saying many times over the past couple of years. Your Daddy and I are so lucky to have you in our lives.

I can't wait to hold you in my arms when I get off work everyday. When I pick you up and you give me the biggest smile, it will make my heart melt. I love you Chunky Monkey!

Love you always,
Mommy

He's Quite a Character!!

Our boy has become quite a little character these days. When he gets going, he talks like crazy and will make the funniest sounds. And he loves to reach out and grab anything, especially your face, too. Bath time is always a new adventure, and he really likes to play with his toys. See below where he managed to wrangle a stingray! :) And a friend from work bought him a 'Johnny Jump Up' that hangs from the doorway, and he loves to hang out on it. He does a little bouncing here and there, but really just enjoys chewing/sucking on the side of it. We started giving Austin cereal two weeks ago and he absolutely loves it!! Here are a few pics and videos of Austin lately. I go back to work in less than a week, so I'm sure I will have a really good post for you soon!!! Enjoy
!