To my three month old...

Dear Conrad Cross,
You are three months old! In the short little time you've been a part of our family, you've brought more joy and smiles than you can imagine. Having you as our son has strengthened and made us closer as a family. I just told daddy the other day that we made it through what some would say is the hardest time in having a new baby. Those first days and weeks were somewhat overwhelming because we were just meeting and getting to know you and adjust to a new normal; however it didn't take long to settle in and figure things out. We've added you into our routine and activities with little effort, and I'm so thankful that you're relaxed and such a calm baby. I know that all babies are different, but I was just shocked when we hit 3 and then 4 weeks and you never got fussy in the evenings like your sister did at that age. I just kept waiting for it to happen and it never did! You're so easy to love with your dimpled grin, squishy cheeks, bright eyes, and soft skin. You have an infectious personality that is so fun to observe. I'm amazed with what you put up with around here...and always with a smile on your face. You don't seem to mind the hundreds of kisses you get every day, being "held" by sissy, having to sometimes wait to be fed, or even wearing the same outfit two days in a row. (That's how we roll around here!)

 

I love our mornings together. Usually Gwendolyn is still sleeping so we tip toe downstairs and you put on a smile and coo show like no other. You love attention and being talked to and your face will just light up with joy. I'm not exaggerating when I say that you smile with your entire face...eyebrow raised, nose wrinkled, with the biggest grin. Every once in awhile you slow blink at me like you know how cute you are. I can't get enough of it. Sometimes you get so into it you even shrug your little baby shoulders. Your sister and I love making you smile and she always adds "and Sissy too!" when I say, "can you give me a smiiiiile?!"

You have pretty consistent awake and sleeping times. If it's been an hour or hour and a half since you last slept then you usually start rubbing your eyes or getting a little fussy. If we're out and about, then I'll just put you in your car seat and with a few minutes of jiggling or walking around with you in the stroller, you'll be out. If we're at home, I typically put you down in your rock-n-play swaddled as tight as I can get you with a sound machine on. Sometime you put yourself down just fine while other times you require a few minutes of rocking (while you're in the rock-n-play.) If that doesn't work but I know you're tired, I'll pick you up and with some good bouncing and patting, you almost always have a burp. Once that is fixed, you're good to go and fall asleep quickly. You go to bed around 9 or 9:30 most nights and are usually up for the day anywhere between 7 and 8. Our nights are still a bit random. Some nights you'll go a good 5 or 6 hours before waking up the first time, but I'd say the majority of nights you are going about 4 hours. And then every 2 hours after that. I'm suspecting it'd be longer if I reswaddled and put you back in your rock-n-play, but who knows. I know our "days" of middle of the night snuggling are soon coming to an end because you're just getting too big. I'll missed the wrapped burrito. No plans of moving you out of our room anytime soon. It's worked out quite nicely really.

Some nights I will nurse you, pat you to sleep on my chest, and hold you for an hour or so. It's just so relaxing and a good excuse not to work before bed. You love to nestle your face into my neck and -  in some incredible baby/mother way - will relax when I put my cheek on your forehead. I'd say we're pretty tight.

Question for you...where did my 16 lb three month old come from?! You have the best thighs I have ever seen, and if rolly polly thighs were desirable at age 30, I would be completely envious of yours. You are one sturdy little baby boy, and seem to fit perfectly in my arms no matter the direction. I love that there is more of you to love, and I'd like to thank you for helping tone my arms without having spent an hour at the gym! (My back is a different story...)

One would think you nursed constantly, but you really don't. You still only nurse for about 10 minutes, if that, and usually only on one side. Then you're good to go for another couple of hours! You have great self control too and won't eat if you're not hungry. You definitely take after your daddy in that area because you certainly didn't get that trait from your mama! And the bottle is improving...you took 5 oz on Tuesday!

You're just starting to get into your play mat and looking and batting at toys. You're also pretty content to hang out in your pink (sorry!) Bumpo and look around. This comes in very handy while I'm getting myself and sissy ready in the mornings. You love a good change of scenery too so sometimes it's enough to just move you from our bed to sissy's crib and you'll kick and be happy for awhile. And by "awhile" I mean like (maybe) 5 minutes. I've learned to get a lot done in 5 minutes! You're definitely getting more active!

Gwendolyn adores you. She hasn't really shown any signs of jealousy since you came home, which has been such a blessing. She'll be playing and then randomly come over and give you a hug and a kiss and then go off again. I hope and pray the two of you are good friends as you grow up together. So far, so good and my heart melts every single time.

You. Sucking your thumb. Ador.able.

Your eyes are turning dark. The pediatrician confirmed it. Brown?! Time will tell...

People continue to comment on and ask where your "dark" skin comes from. (I'm shocked they assume it's not from me. Ha.) Your daddy was brown as a berry when he was little so it's no surprise. You were definitely "tan" when you were first born, but I feel like it's lightened up a bit.

You are one ticklish boy! Daddy caught the first glimpses of laughing last weekend. He must have the special touch, because I've tried the same tickling technique and your just stare at me.

Speaking of staring....you make the best eye contact.

Bath time is so much fun! You kick and splash and find it quite relaxing.

Conrad...I love you so much. We all do. You are a perfect fit for this family, and have done nothing but bless us with your presence. I still look at you in awe and can't get over the fact that I have a daughter and a son. We think you're so great that daddy said he wants 10 of you! And there are few things in life that bring me greater joy than seeing you with your sister. There are so many things I'm looking forward to in being your mommy. The best has yet to come, if that's even possible...

Praying for you continually and loving you unconditionally. Always.

Love,
Mommy

Then...

and three months later...

Conrad - 12 Weeks

Hey guys! Can you believe I'm 3 months old today?! (And technically 13 weeks since I'm a week behind deadline.) It's pretty hard to imagine that not that long ago I couldn't even hold my head up or see very far. Mommy says she doesn't know what she ever did without my smiles! Now here I am growing like a weed and changing every single day, just like I'm supposed to. I think life is really fun and I'm just happy to be here.

• Somehow - someway - my mom is still squeezing me into a few 0-3 month outfits. Take for instance the outfit I'm wearing in the pictures above. (Although she did finally admit it was the last time for it.) At the same time, it seems even some of my 3-6 months clothes are getting to be a bit snug as well. Someone recently told mommy that I may just skip 6-9 month stuff and go straight to 9-12. I wouldn't recommend telling my mom these things. We don't want to make my rapid growth harder on her than it already is.

• They were also still squeezing me into size 1 diapers, but after enough leaks they came to their senses and I'm in size 2's now. (Not for long though!)

• I am one happy boy. I smile and coo and tell stories and think most everyone and everything is funny. Especially my big sissy. The only times I'm not in the best moods are when I'm hot and want out of my car seat or when I'm hungry. The combination of those things is never a good one, but thankfully I'm also pretty forgetful and once cooled off and fed am happy as a clam again.

• I haven't done any more rock star 7 hour sleep stretches, but I'm staying pretty consistent and typically sleeping 4-5 hours at first and then every 2 hours after that. Mommy doesn't seems to mind, but I overheard daddy suggesting a "routine" once I hit 3 months and even going as far to say that I don't "need" to eat. Needless to say, I'm getting a bit nervous about what this could mean for my middle of the night snacks.

• After weeks of trying, I finally found my thumb! This keeps me pretty entertained and relaxed.

• And just like that, I enjoy spending some alone time on my play mat looking at the really cute baby in the mirror.

•  Mommy took me and sissy down to Grandma and Grandpa Sinclair's house for a few days, and I got to go to my very first county fair. I was only awake for a little bit here and there, but I thought it was pretty fun and I like to be outside. I even got to hang out with my cousins Nathan and Jacob too! I can't wait to be big enough to play trucks and trains and ride on the gator with them.

• I'm still only taking about 3 oz of milk at daycare. They say I just gotta keep practicing and I'll eventually get the hang of it. I'm certainly not at risk of being underweight.

• I went to the doctor this past Wednesday for a quick check-up and weighed 16 lbs. 16 lbs!! Compared to my sissy at the same age, I'm rather large.

I'm actually at my Mimi and Papa's house right now having enjoyed a few days where my daddy grew up. I will never pass up extra snuggles, and I can't wait to share more about all we've done during our little vacation here. I will tell you this...I love my family and have lots of people who love me back. Here's to being 3 months old! I think it's pretty great.

Until next time,
Conrad Cross

June in Pictures!

I'm going to do my monthly picture posts a bit different b/c it took me forever last month to correctly chronologically get all my pictures in order just due to the way I file them (three separate folders.) So....first are "family" pictures and then a photo update of our sweet daughter and lastly, a photo update of our little man. 

June is a bit of a blur. I had nine shoots throughout the month and was still adjusting to life with two kiddos and figuring out a schedule (ha!) and our new normal. It was a bit overwhelming due to how much work I took on, but the Lord sustained us (He always does!) and we made it and even managed to get in a few BBQ's, evenings on the patio, walks around the pond, and lots and lots of snuggle time. 

All in pink! Conrad a bit unsure how he feels about this...

Encouraging baby brother during tummy time!

I often use lunch time to run around like crazy and get a few things done while Gwendolyn is strapped in (perhaps I should also be eating...) One particular afternoon I turned around from dropping something off at the computer and took in this scene. My two children - both content and peaceful and happy - and just basked in how grateful I am for them and our home and the life God has blessed us with. We may not live here forever (or we may) and I don't want to forget where it all began and what it used to look like when they were little. So I captured this moment...

Seeing them together never gets old.

(June 16th)

Oh shoot...this picture definitely speaks 1000 words. I wrote about it here, but it's worth reviewing again.

Conrad is such a happy baby and gives a whole new meaning to being full of life. He smiles with his entire face (literally) and just yesterday (July 22nd) was really wanting to cry b/c he was hungry but also really wanting to smile at me b/c...well...b/c he loves his mama. So it was a combo of smiling with lip out and then smiling again and then lip out. It was hilarious.

And then there's sissy sleeping beside our smiling boy. She hasn't been sleeping well since the beginning of June (it's better now, but still not what it was) and the girl was running.on.empty. Thankfully she functions remarkably well on little sleep for her age, but I know she needs it to be healthy. We've since figured out some tricks ("I need to go check on baby brother, ok? Mommy will be right back.") to get her to fall asleep (leaving the door open and promising a cookie if she doesn't cry have both helped as well.) This particular morning was perhaps when she was at her tiredest. 

Actually, maybe it was this day...

or this day...

And this is what most mornings around 5:30 or 6:00 still look like around here...Tom bringing Gwendolyn into our bed, her taking hold of my hand, and Conrad Cross sleeping away in my arms. Another moment I love that Tom captured before he ran off for the bus. These are tiring times, but also some of the sweetest times. I know this. 

(June 16th)

Together again!

(June 28th)

And again...

(June 30th)

Happy Father's Day to the perfect daddy for these kiddos!

Now it's time for Gwendolyn!

On a random morning adventure, checking out the marsh near our house.

Love this photo of her and Elmo in her coupe. 

Another day, another adventure! Snakes alive at the Maplewood Nature Center. She actually touched it!

Cookin' up a storm...with a little side of "pose." 

Monday morning puppet wagon near our house... 

Wearing her new shades at the park b/c "it's bright, Mama."

She was falling asleep on our short little drive home from somewhere (Lord knows even a 5 minute snooze can completely mess up nap time!) so I was reaching back and tickling her and this was the face she was making. So tired, but still smiling. I just think she looks so darn sweet.

At drop-in play time. The girl loves to read. Anytime. Anywhere. First thing she asks for in the morning - "read books, Mama?"

The Schwagers so graciously hosted a little Sunday evening BBQ. The girls are getting so big and I love seeing them together. Louie and Conrad were off busy being boys I'm guessing.

BIG DEAL...daddy took Gwendolyn on their first daddy/daughter date. My oh my....how sweet it was. 

First stop: McDonald's for some chicken nugs.

Second stop: movie theater where she sat in awe through the entire showing of Monster's University.

I'm hopin' and prayin' we have a dancer on our hands. A little girl in a leotard and ballet shoes? Yes, please! Gwendolyn loved her first 5-week ballet and creative movement class. There was more creative moment than ballet, but I still think she learned some valuable things that look little to adults but are good for her age...like following someone in line, taking turns and instruction, doing something she's never done before, and meeting new friends.  I'm not ready to sign her up for a year long class quite yet, but this was a great first introduction.

With her teachers...so sweet and patient!

We have a busy little bee! Swimming lessons started at the end of June as well so we have those every Thursday evening. She's always enjoyed the water, but isn't a huge fan of getting her face wet, so we're working on that.

This is what Conrad thinks of swimming lessons...

And this is what Conrad thinks of ballet class...

Surprised face!

Mad face!

Conrad Cross

Conrad stays busy being cute and smiling a lot. And sleeping.

He can definitely pull off pink...

(Yes, taken during at church. Ahem.)

I remember finding it so crazy how quickly Gwendolyn outgrew her car seat. He already fills it out so much more than when this was taken!

(June 6th)

He looks calm and peaceful right?

(June 6th)

That's b/c he was put to sleep by the noise of the vacuum while I prepared for guests...I put him in the middle of the bed while I got everything up off the floor to vacuum. Came back and he was asleep!

Cuddles with Grammy Sinclair never get old.

He accompanied me to a Thursday morning shoot...

Gooooooo Cyclones!

Just happy to be here...love all of his expressions.

First bottle at 7 weeks old on June 19th went really well! He had no issues at all.  (Which is why it's been so surprising that he's struggled with it so often since then.)

That just can't be comfortable.

#anythingforsleep

Smiling b/c he's TWO MONTHS OLD!

Who doesn't love a naked baby?!

Bath time comparison of Conrad (left) and Gwendolyn (right.)

Thanks to Conrad's great-aunt Lois for this adorable towel. Squish!!

(June 30th)

 Wowzers...are we not blessed?! So thankful for all the joy that abounds in this home.