3 months

smiley boy... surprise face...
look! stripes!

and feet!

and sister!

our gus is a happy lil fella most of the time. unlike his big sis, who used to focus on activity until it was conquered, our boy just wants to be included. when he starts to fuss all he needs is a lil chat with mama or sister & he's good to go. he LOVES to be talked to.

he just started drooling, and loves to blow little raspberries. he also likes make the wet razz noise. we also just broke out the jumperoo and he's a big fan.

here is our handsome lil man on his way to church yesterday...too bad those 6M jeans look more like capri pants...

and a few funny faces...

another one

not sure why all of the sudden i feel the need to document these little luci moments...oh yes, wait, i do. i find myself often going back to check & see what we were up to when luci was gus' age...and i'm so glad i documented the seemingly little, insignificant details...cause i can't remember them for the life of me.

this morning, while i was rocking gus for his second nap of the day at 10a (our day started too early to mention), she came upstairs using her newly perfected quiet voice, and asked if she could eat a smashed cereal bar (a big treat in our world) she had found in the diaper bag. i told her yes, opened it, and upon realizing just how smashed it was, asked her to go down & eat it at the table. and i told her i'd be right there.

3-5 minutes later i head downstairs to find her sitting happily at the table, eating said cereal bar. i commended her on her excellent listening skills & told her i was very proud of her for sitting at the table like i had asked. she replied with, "sure mom. what is this called again?"

and i had one of those, she's only 2...how can she be so big already? moments. slow down a bit lu...there is no hurry.

luci quote

scene: changing her diaper on the ottoman. i accidentally hit her head with her feet trying to keep her tights & ballet dress on while changing her.

me: oops! did i bonk you on the head with your feet? that is kind of silly!
luci: no, that is not kinda silly. that is kinda very frustrating...

my girl

you can still see her little baby profile in her big girl profile...i hadn't noticed until these photos!

i talked her into getting her hair trimmed a few weeks ago (did i already blog about that? can't remember & too lazy to go back & check)...the lollipop got her in the chair...and at the end they put glitter in her hair...and it is STILL THERE. like 3+ weeks later. anyone know how to get glitter out? washing & combing isn't working...

see the bruise on her forehead? she fell face first onto some huge rocks at the 'mountain park' a few weeks ago...yes, i said a few weeks ago....

and in case anyone doubted that she still needs a nap...this is how i found her after putting gus down for his afternoon nap, before putting her down for hers...

gus @ 12 weeks

we made it! 12 weeks has long been my 'you can do it' goal...with luci everything seemed to get much easier at about 12 weeks...and here we are already with gus (as of tomorrow) and sure enough, many things seem easier.

notes at 12 weeks...

-within the last week he has found his hands. it started last week - he was bringing them together on his own a lot...and just within the last few days his hands have found his mouth! he can't get enough of this hand eating...

-he will often grab my hands or arms when i'm changing his diaper or feeding him a bottle (which i do every night before bed...i call it my relief feeding)

-nursing is getting easier, but i'd say the feeding business is still harder at this point than it was with luci because of his reflux. he is a serious spitter...drenching entire burp cloths with one spit up...and often one feeding has 3 or more spit-ups. luckily the prevacid is helping & for the most part his pain seems fairly well managed.

-because of the reflux he doesn't get much time flat on his back. he could do without luci's beloved star, and doesn't seem entertained by objects floating above him. the exception to this is the mobile in his crib. his crib has an elevated head so maybe that is what makes the difference.

-if you catch him at the right time (over 90 minutes since a feeding & just up from a nap) he enjoys tummy time & does a pretty good job pushing himself up.

-he's pushed himself over a few times from tummy to back, but i'm still not convinced it is a voluntary movement.

-he's in 6-9 mo pjs

-his 1-2 diapers are much too small but i'm still squishin his lil booty in them cause we bought too many of them

-not many of the 3-6mo clothes fit anymore...we are mostly in 6mo or even some 6-9mo/9mo

-he's just starting to get some new hair growth in on the top of his head & it is blond. he still has quite a bit of his birth hair though, and it is very dark.

-his eyes are an amazing shade of blue. they are darker and more intense than luci's, although shaped differently. his eyelashes are long & curled and his eye brows are very light...just like his daddy's.

-he has rosonke ears, and a halvorson mouth. he has my mom's smile all the way....and it is ADORABLE.

-he loves to be spoken to...and usually he'll talk back.

-he's thinking about giggling...he gets close, but no full on chuckle yet.

-he usually takes four naps...two 30-45 minute ones in the AM and then a longer one starting between 1p and 2p and last for 90-120 minutes. he usually takes another cat nap before going down to bed between 7p and 8p. he usually gets up between 7a and 8a.

-he's usually up between 2a and 4a for a feeding. he had a great few nights of 5a, 5:30a and even 6:30a wakings, but he hasn't repeated since then. about 50% of the time he goes right back down and the other half of the time he's awake for up to 90 minutes. ugh.

-he's soothing himself to sleep now. our routine is upstairs, close the curtains, change a diaper, wrap in the miracle blanket, sing a song while rocking, and then rock for 2-3 more minutes. he does a combo of talking/fussing/crying usually. i often go in just once to soothe (paci) after 5 minutes of crying and then he usually falls asleep after that.

-he started the wet razz & blowing raspberries last week.

-his mama thinks he's the sweetest lil guy around ;)

Gus is sooooo

teeny...or so she used to say. Yesterday she said, "Gus is getting sooooooo BIG and HEAVY...off, off, take him OFF!"

not happy...

Luci wanted Gus to hold SallyBea (as she's now called - she was originally Bea, then Sally a year later, and now SallyBea) during dinner. Doesn't he look pleased?

Um, the more people you add to a family photo the harder it is to get a good one, right?

home improvement

most functional award goes to our new guest quarters...

look! a built-in cabinet in the playroom!

no, wait! surprise! it's a bed!

most fun award goes to our new bigger screen TV & blu-ray player that streams netflix & pandora!! yaaaay for free kids music (that mom likes, too) all day!

and tied for most painful to project to complete, some new wall words....

gus' room (someday we'll center the crib under the words)

and the master bath...just a friendly lil reminder for two type-a parents (pardon the glare from the shower door)....

tummy time

our boy is getting the hang of tummy time!! i'd been wondering when he'd figure out it is more comfortable when you use your hands to help push up...

his motivation seemed to be our new bigger screen tv (we upgraded from a 32 inch to a 47 inch)...he was REALLY into divine design on hgtv...a sign of good taste in my book!

he also rolled over from his tummy to his back...but he's done this once before (we had been home from the hospital just a day or two) and i'm pretty sure it is accidental & won't be repeated for another few months. i actually think it is just a result of his fairly severe reflux...he's got the back arching thing down!

my girl the climber

"I go to the backyard? I go in the backyard?" Luci is all about our backyard these days...she's pretty much conquered everything within reach at the two parks that are a short walk away so I guess climbing trees is the next step?

This morning she watched Milo (our cat) jump from our cube climber to the ledge on the fence seen above...and she said, "I try it? Can I try?" - I think she really would have if Clay & I hadn't been there to explain to her that only cats can fit on that ledge...

two months

this is on his way to a smile...he's got kind of a lopsided grin :)

our sweet boy celebrated his two month birthday on sunday the 28th! he's a handsome fella, if you ask his mom...or his grandmas...or his sister.

stats @ 2 months:

weight: 13lbs, 12.8oz, 90%

height: 26inches, 75 - 90%

head: 15inches, 50-75%

he's sweet. i don't know how else to describe him. unless his belly hurts, he's hungry or he's sleepy, the boy doesn't really cry. if you talk to him, he'll smile & talk back. he loves to coo and say something that sounds like "ahgoooo". within the last week he's started to be ready for bed around 7p which has made my life MUCH easier. he's also trying hard to develop a longer morning nap, but sometimes he wakes up after 45 minutes to hang for another 20 minutes before realizing, oh yeah, i still want to sleep. i'm hoping that within the next week he'll have it down. then in the afternoon some days he has a long nap and others he takes 2-3 45 minute naps. he was eating every 2 hours up until the last week when we started stretching it a bit more, and for the most part we are up to every 3 hours now.

he loves his new bouncy seat & his little woodland friends. he likes the play mat star, but after 3 or 4 minutes he gets a bit overstimulated.

i think he's already outgrowing his size 1-2 swaddlers that i bought. anybody need a sams club size box of 1-2s? As for clothes, the 3 month outfits are LONG gone, and the 3-6month ones are on their way out. he's in 6-9 month pjs...for the next few weeks anyway.

night time has been mostly two feedings a night, although last night i stretched him and fed just once. his pedi says once should definitely be sufficient for a nearly 14 pounder. i'm just worried it was a one night thing given he was a bit more sleepy from his vaccinations (just two, we are on a modified schedule).

and, starting last night, he's largely soothing himself to sleep. i wait until he's drowsy, wrap him in his blanket and then put him in his bed. the plan is to let him cry for 5 minutes, then soothe, then let him cry again, and so on until he's asleep. so far we've had one 5 minute crying period. other than that, he's just drifted off into sweet slumber by himself. i'm happy to teach him self soothing skills, but must admit i sort of miss our rocking sessions...

cousins

we missed baby austyn, but it was fun for 3 out of the 4 rosonke cousins to play for a few days this week! well...at least, brooke & i thought it was fun...

to say that luce had a hard time with a little tot in the house would be a massive understatement. she definitely had lots of 2 year old moments. complete with a line from the cat in the hat..."you get out of this house!" - nothing like making family feel welcome! and then the incredibly dramatic, "i never get to play with my toys"...but not in a loud bratty way, in a sullen, sad, woe is me kind of way. yet not more than 10 minutes after we dropped him off at the airport she said to me, "i miss asher". and tonight when it was back to just the three of us at home she said, "member when asher was here? that was fun."

photos

I have lots of thoughts I'd like to post, but I don't have lots of time. Even WITH my mom & and MIL visiting over the last few weeks. So in lieu of my usual cathartic brain dump, here are a few photos to enjoy...

my helpful big girl...
my adorable lil boy...

my annoying bandage...

after I took the thumbs up photo, I decided I really felt more thumbs down about it...



but I'm not really complaining. The surgery went well. Other than the fact that they somehow sprained my entire hand during the procedure, the pain is less than expected. I have to keep this same bandage on until 3/1. Um, yeah. So my hand just isn't as useful as it needs to be (diapers, dishes, etc). Thank goodness for loving, selfless grandmas!!!

can I ride it?

Last week Luci pensively asked if she could ride the balloon she got from Chick-fil-a. Like she knew the answer would be no. When we responded, sure, you can try (we wanted to see what her plan was) she promptly stood on the string of the balloon and really thought she was going to be hoisted into the air. She was VERY upset when nothing happened. Luckily, Dad came to the rescue and one of her little zoo monkeys was promptly lifted into the air after being secured to the string.

The phrase "can I" is heard about 100x a day lately - for example...can I...

go with you? Doesn't matter if we are going to the store, to shower, to Gus's room, to the backyard, to get the mail, with Dad to work...she wants to come along.

feed it? Dad got us a dozen roses for Valentines Day...well, 11 for me and 1 for Luci. And the flowers came with a packet of food. She asked what the packet was, and upon learning it was flower food she asked, "can I feed it?"

have some? Usually meaning some food or drink item.

wear it? Referring to a dress up outfit, a tutu, or new clothes for Valentine's Day from Grandma & Grandpa.

step on it? Usually on something she knows she isn't supposed to step on (toys, Gus blankets, etc).

play with it? Usually referring to an instrument she knows she can't play until Gus is awake.

and finally, in a bit of tmi...
touch it? Looking at Gus's little boy part during his bath or mama's milk makers (that's what we call them these days) during nursing sessions. I take these particular requests as a 'teaching moments' to talk about private parts...

my mother

more and more, i remind myself of my mom. and i adore my mom, so that must be a good thing then, right? i swore i'd never do this, but here i am...

i've started buying random stuff on sale & hoarding it in the closet. then i bring it out whenever i need (clay hates when i use that word in this context. but right now, it really does feel pretty close to a need) to. said 'surprise' is totally all about helping me get through the day. when we need something to mix it up, boom, there we go. i'm running on 3.5 hours of sleep...literally...i wish it was an exaggeration...and it is 6p. it has been a LONG.DAY. i'm almost there. my girl trina is coming over in 30 minutes to help out with bedtimes & keep me sane. so what do we do until then?

my sweet girl just opened her first ever box of 64 crayons (thank you kroger for $2.99)...the kind with the sharpener. and the inner office supply geek in me realizes i've been this way since childhood. there is just something AWESOME about opening a new box of 64 crayons. i opened it VERY carefully...i don't want a crinkly box top for the remainder of its life. er, i mean, luci doesn't want that ;) watching her pull 20 of them out at a time is giving me angst.

come to think of it, i bet that wouldn't bother my mother in the least. that part must be from my father...

ah, and it is 6:10 and she's all done coloring. that didn't work so well, uh.

it's not a tumor....

ugh...i have a benign tumor on the tip of my thumb!! i thought it was just a blood blister that wouldn't heal (for 10+ weeks). it bled all the time all over everything...so finally at my 6 week postpartum check up (all is well, btw) i asked dr. j about it (due to clay's prompting)...and she said, hmm, you need to see a hand doctor.

and per the hand doctor, nope...not a blood blister, turns out it is a pyogenic granuloma...it happens in up to 5% of pregnancies per this random website (so it must be true ;). so a week from tomorrow i'm having it surgically removed. FUN TIMES. i'm opting for 'twilight' anesthesia instead of the full blown or just the local (all three were options). full blown anesthesia really knocks me for a loop, but i'm a total wimp and hearing/seeing/smelling the coring of it (core it like an apple...to use the doctors words) and the cauterizing of it would probably make me throw up. so twilight it is.

the most annoying part (at least, pre-surgery most annoying)? i can't nurse gus for 24 hours after the anesthesia...so i'm pumping like it is my job to get enough milk stored up for him. more fun times. especially when i've been trying to regulate my supply a little better to his needs.

i'm sure the most annoying part after surgery will be the intense pain & the inability to use THE TIP OF MY THUMB!!!

and, in better, more fun news...my boy is smiling...amanda managed to get some proof for me!

to see more click here. thank you talented miss amanda. don't i have talented girlfriends? i'm such a lucky girl. even if i do have a tumor on my thumb!

family photo

the entire texan contingent of the pierse family decked out in their colts gear...courtesy of the indiana contingent...with the lovely addition of our home away from home family (the lawrences...minus one very important 4 year old)!

we are sorry for your loss grandma pierse...we supported the colts with all our hearts at a party FULL of saints fans just for you!! you can see that luci was pretty upset about the loss too...

PS - that is a 6/9 month onsie that lil booty is filling out!! 12lbs, 8oz at 6 weeks!

PPS - oh, and the faux pearls that go so well with my t-shirt? they remind me which side to start feeding on next...classy, no? ;)