How could you not love this face?

8 Weeks Today!

8 weeks ago today marks the best day of my life. You entered the world and changed me forever. I am a sappy, lovey, sentimental mush of emotions and I have you to thank for it. You have taught me lessons in compassion, understanding, unconditional love, and most importantly for me: patience, a skill I have always lacked.

I cannot believe you're already 2 months old. This scares the bajesus outta me. It means so many things, mostly it reminds me to be thankful for every precious moment I have with you while you are my tiny infant, but it also means that you are getting older every day and before I know it, you'll be walking and talking. I am beyond terrified to return to work and leave you, I just can't imagine not spending every single day with you, but I've also had an incredible 8 weeks and I get 6 more!
Today I give thanks for you, my sweet baby boy. Here's to each and every day with you.

Don't wanna miss a thing

When I ask my friends for advice, 99% of the time, one of their tips (if not their #1 tip) is to enjoy my baby while he's little. Time flies and they grow so fast. I've taken this advice to my deepest heart. Every breathe you take, every moment, every wiggle and coo, I am trying to mark it in stone in this memory. I wish I had a vault that would keep these memories and all that are contained in them - the scent, the sound, the emotion. Many of these moments will never be replicated, even with baby #2 (if we are so lucky) I know that baby #1 comes only once.

I snapped this photo the other night as I thought this was one of those moments never want to forget.
Just you and I cuddled up in our favorite rocking chair at 5am.
Loving.

Happy Birthday to ME!

Best lil bday present ever!

Shark Attack!!

Seriously ridiculously you.

Layman Family Baby Shower

On March 12th you were lucky enough to meet your other Grandma and almost the entire Layman family! Your Grandma Jeanne and Great-Aunt Louise were kind enough to throw a baby shower for us at Louise's home in Portland. It was so much fun, you were able to meet many of your Daddy's Aunts and cousins, and fun games, fabulous gifts, and yummy food!

Here are pics from your day:

You, your daddy, your Grandma, and Great-Grandma!!

7 Weeks!

Remember that time I said we'd be writing weekly updates? Yeahhh, that was before I realized how challenging it would be to sit in and think for longer than 10 minutes. Props to all you mommies you have 2+ children, I can't imagine having time for anything except looking after you (and watching you sleep, and making sure you're breathing, and cleaning up your pristine nursery).

But here we are, at 7 weeks (almost 8 weeks!). I cannot believe you've grown up so quickly. To think that it's already been that long since I gave birth to you is unbelievable. It feels like just last week that we brought you home from the hospital. What's more insane is how much more I love you each day. I am a walking cliche, and it's the best thing ever. Every tiny thing you do makes me smile (even when you cry), and with every coo and grin you win me over and over again. We are so blessed to have you in our lives and I am enjoying every single minute of our new life. You gave us your first smile at 5 weeks and this milestone has me seriously conflicted. Part of me wants you to stay this size and this age forever: you are so tiny and cute and cuddly, you LOVE your mama (it's true), and it's relatively easy to tend to your needs (AND you can't talk back, major bonus!). But at the same time, seeing this first smile of yours makes me want to fast forward. I can't wait to see what kind of little person you're going to be - shy, sweet, and emotional? Or social, outgoing, and talkative? I'm doing my best to savor every minute with you while I appreciate the past and look forward to the future and watching you grow into your own person.

For now, here's a few updates and photos:

+ SMILES (YAAAAAY!!) ~started smiling at 5 weeks

+ Cooing/making noises ~started this at 6 weeks, and now you're definitely responding to our prompts

+ at 6 weeks you started reaching for toys/objects

+ at 6 weeks, after following the Baby Whisperer program for about 10 days, you started sleeping approx 5 hrs each night. More recently we've been able to get 6 hour stretches of sleep and it's a DREAM!

+ You hold your head up like a pro, it's ridiculous how strong you are

+ You recognize your Grandpa's face (and you love him so, so much)

+ You are chewing on things like you're teething; I know you're not but you do love to have things in your mouth; you will chew on my finger for an hour, or you'll chew on your binkie, it's quite hilarious

+ You love your tongue, always sticking it out and moving it around in your mouth during playtime

+ You are playing more and more, and sleeping less and less (during the day)

+ You still LOVE bathtime!

You've had many visitors. I'm sure I'm forgetting a few, but here's all I can remember for now:

- Liz Thoenes

- Dustin Wolfe

- Stacy Hartzler

- Holly Newton

- Liz Walden

- Sally

- Eric Wilmarth

And just a few pics:

Your daddy and Uncle playing pretty music for you...

That crazy tongue of yours

Your chewing habit

Those adorable shoes!!!

The Generals Guards

Your royal canine guards protect you from evil. And squirrels.

SomeBunny Loves Me!

Your Hands

This is how you nap the majority of the time. You always need to have your hands by your face. Your daddy and I both sleep in a similar way.
You're cute, baby.

Just to see you smile

Holy Moly. It's incredible the lengths I will go to get you to smile. The most ridiculous noises come out of me in an attempt to trick you into thinking I'm the funniest lady on the block.

Mission Accomplished.
It warms my heart like I never could've imagined. You're pretty damn cute, kid.

Also, thanks to Apple, you are about to be a major movie star. Hollywood, here we come! Here you are in your film debut:

(You also have your own Youtube channel now, with just this one video; scope it: http://www.youtube.com/user/kimmakimou)

And of course, some stills (you had to know I was rocking the Flipcam/Canon/Crackberry trifecta)

xoxo!

Reminds me of this sweet song. Yeah, I'm sappy mcsapperson. Your fault.

He was a skater boy

Well fella, I'm embarrassed to admit that until this first outing, I was a bit terrified to take you out of the house. Yes, you and I have been sequestered in our cave for just short of 5 weeks (outside of doctor visits and one field trip to Target, of course). It's been quite lovely, but I had forgotten what the sky looks like. So, it was time to roll out (also a dope song back in the day...)

Daddy had the day off of work (YAY!!!) so we decided to take you on your very first stroller ride. We bundled you up and strolled over the river and through the woods to the skate park so Daddy could show you his skills. We were lucky enough to catch a rare sunny day in March, chilly but still Oregon beautiful. Daddy pushed the stroller while Mommy walked beside him - it was incredible. And also quite bizarre as we realized we were those people walking on the side of the road with a stroller - those people who make you turn to the passenger in your car and remark with disgust: "Don't those people have jobs?". Yes, we do have jobs, but truth be told people just don't take enough of these days to stop and smell the roses.

On this day, the air was fresh and roses were sure sweet.

scrub a dub dub!

Little one, you have LOVED bath time since you were born. You love the warm water and love to hear us oooh and awe over your adorable facial expressions and splashing around. You are just the cutest little water baby ever!

Here you are, 5 weeks of cuteness:

Not quite a morning fella

5 Weeks ASLEEP

Well, baby. It's time.

We're hunkering down and giving you the routine you seem to be craving. Already you're such a routine fella (just like your mama) who likes to know just what to expect with every feeding, playtime, and nap. Given that, we're taking a soft-core approach to starting to help us all sleep through the night. We know you're capable because you've already given us 5-6 hour stretches from time to time, and Daddy, in spite of his disdain to read even one article on babies, seems to have figured out, on his own, how to get you to sleep for a long night time stretch. Dad's routine isn't too far off from the program we're starting. We read a book (and by "we", I politely mean "me", but you know that already) called Secrets of The Baby Whisperer, as reco'd by 3 different lady friends who swear by this method.

Basic premise is we give you a routine (eat, activity, sleep) and gradually keep you awake longer during the day (within reason), and give you one extra feeding before bed so you don't wake up hungry mid-night. There are critics to this method, some who are in strict adherence to Dr Sears "Attachment parenting" but I believe in a common ground that incorporates both rules of thought (If you are hungry or tired or just want to cuddle, I'm certainly not going to deny you these pleasures, ever). What I do agree with is this crazy British nanny's philosophy to respect your baby as an individual and listen to his cues (even if she does throw in a very annoying ",Luv" at the end of every sentence; for being British, her teeth aren't half bad). See?

That's right, kiddo, I'm respecting you. And listening. And whispering.

Tonight: Night One. You normally sleep 3-4 hrs between 12a - 3aish feeding. Tonight you slept 4 hrs/45 mins (and slept two hours before the previous feeding). Digging it.
Keep it up, little man. Sweet Dreams.

4 Weeks Old = No Sleep till Play time

You decided to take this playchair for a spin today, giving it a try now that you're actually playing. Which is both entertaining and entirely exhausting because you DON'T SLEEP! Also, you're hitting a growth spurt, so all you want to do is eat, play, cry, and repeat; no more time for that pesky sleep. Which means we are trying everything to get you to sleep! And I mean everything short of baby tylenol PM...yeah, don't think it hasn't crossed my mind.

Here is the progression of your chair experience within 15 mins (hey, we got 10 mins of sleep out of this thing, I'll take it).
Also, please sleep.

*Not so sure about this whole jungle theme:

*Woah, Birds!

*Vibrating chair makes me zzzzzzzz......

*Psych! You totally thought I was sleeping, huh? Riiiight...