It's Bumbo Time!!

Today I decided to get the Bumbo out to give Miles a new place to hang out and work on strengthening his neck muscles.  He loved it (at least for the first few minutes)!

 Then he realized he was stuck at the mercy of his older brothers...

 

 

I think it's safe to say he wasn't as amused as they were.  ;)

Miles is 3 Months

Happy 3 month birthday Miles!!

Weight - 12 lb. 13 oz. (20th Percentile)

Height - 23.5 in. (18th Percentile)

Clearly the way they measure height for infants is not very accurate.  Apparently he didn't

grow at all in the past month and dropped from the 65th percentile in height to the 18th.

Judging by how fast he is growing out of his clothes due entirely to his legs being so long,

I think it is safe to say this month's measurement is off.  I feel like I just changed him over

from his newborn clothes to 0-3 months, and now he's already in the 3-6 months size.  He

didn't even get to wear half of the 0-3 month clothes he had.  There were some new outfits

we received as gifts that he wore once and then grew right out of.

He's growing fast and his personality is growing right along with him.  He is so happy and

content, and there are few things I love more than one of his big toothless grins.  He loves

laying on his back, kicking his arms and legs and having conversations.  From the beginning

people always told us how alert he is, and it is definitely true.  He'll lay there, focus on you,

 smile and lets out little squeals in response to your talking.  He's so close to laughing and

I have a feeling it won't be much longer.

One of his favorite things to do when he is awake is to lay on his play mat.  He gets so

excited and grabs and holds onto the toys hanging above him.  He is perfectly content

laying there while I get meals ready or do other housework, which is super helpful.

As long as he is not hungry or tired he is pretty content no matter where he is.  He's proven

to be an excellent dinner date.  Ryan and I have gone on two date nights in the past couple

of weeks and he comes along with us to make it easier on the babysitter.  If we're lucky he

sleeps right through the entire dinner.  Even when he wakes up he normally just needs to

eat quick and then quietly hangs out with us for awhile before falling back asleep.  I'm sure

there will be a time when he is not so portable, but for now it's great!  And no date is

complete without a little hand holding.  This kid loves holding hands!  Whether he's in the

car seat, nursing, or I'm holding him in the bjorn, he loves having a grip on my finger.

It calms him and a lot of times helps him fall asleep.  It's really sweet.

One thing we're working on is transitioning him to the crib.  Right now he sleeps in our room in the rock n' play, but I feel like he'd be more comfortable if he could stretch his legs out more.  I put a fleece blanket down in the crib so it feels cozy like the rock n' play.  Then I rolled up two receiving blankets to put at his sides to give him the similar snuggled feeling he's used to.  We've tried a few naps here and there and one of two things happen.  First, and most frequently, he'll wake up the minute I set him down, open his eyes, and give me a huge smile.  It's hard to be mad at him with that cute face smiling up at me.  If I can manage

to lay him down and keep him sleeping, he'll stay asleep for maybe 30 minutes before

realizing where he is and waking himself up.  It's a work in progress,

but I'm sure he'll figure it out.  

He's not on any real schedule yet.  He eats every 3-4 hours during the day, and wakes up 1

to 2 times per night to eat.  It all depends on when he eats for the last time before bed.  His

first stretch of the night is typically 6 hours, then he's back to 3 hour stretches after that.  If I

can time it to where he eats right before I go to bed, I get a nice long stretch of sleep in.  But

sometimes he eats earlier and falls asleep for the night. Those nights are a little more

difficult because he ends up waking a few times and my sleep is more fragmented.

But little by little we're building up to longer stretches.

Things will eventually be more on a schedule, but for now he and I are both happy going

with the flow.  With two busy older brothers, there's a lot going on every day and it's helpful

that Miles falls asleep whenever and wherever he needs to.  He adapts to what we have

going on and that is huge. We have so many fun milestones coming up and I'm looking

forward to what the next three months will bring us.

Wausau Weekend

This weekend we drove to Wausau to visit.  As luck would have it the Oscar Mayer

Weinermobile was parked at County Market as we pulled into town.  What better way to

start the weekend than with a couple of weiner pictures?

Then we stopped to see my mom at school before heading out to meet my dad for dinner.

Since the kids had been cooped up in the car for 5 hours, we decided to go to Sam's Pizza

so they could run around and play some games.  I can't say they ate a whole lot, but they

had a great time which is sometimes just as satisfying.

The rest of the weekend we spent hanging out, watching Aiden play football, my dad and I

hiked up Rib Mountain and my mom and I even found time to sneak in a much needed and

long overdue TJ Maxx shopping spree.  

I never have much luck when I go shopping, but the skies parted and the stars aligned because I walked out of there with over 20 shirts for the fall!!  I am SO excited!!  After having Miles I haven't been feeling the greatest in my clothes, so it feels so good to have so many fun new things to wear.  As much as I love yoga pants and sports tops, I want to have more to my wardrobe than that...and now I do!!  Watch out Fall.  This girl is ready for you!!

Thanks for a great visit!!

Baby Smiles

Miles continues to be an amazing baby and do what he does best...smile and sleep.

Two things that make me really happy.  :)

Best Buds

There is something about a picture like this that warms my heart.

No it's not the greatest picture in the world...it's in our messy living room for starters.  But the fact that Owen and Joe could sit anywhere they want, yet they chose to sit right next to each other and play their games together makes me really happy.  My hope is they continue to love each other and Miles this much as they grow up.

My Little Loves

Bedtime Stories

Look who decided to join the party??

Bedtime stories just got a little more fun.

Bending the Rules

I think it is safe to say that I have relaxed a lot as a parent this third time around.  Things like

asking my sister to change her clothes when she first came to meet Owen because she had

been on a germ-filled airplane (something I will never live down) are in the past.

I've been a lot more lenient on the baby experts' "rules" with Miles.  I've learned doing what I

need to do to keep myself sane and rested is most important, and he will be fine.  Take his

sleeping arrangements for example.  He is totally different than my other two.  I used to

swaddle them like mummies with their arms tucked in tight.  He wants no part in that.  He

prefers his arms up by his face, so I haven't swaddled him since his first few days home.  

This made things difficult though because he didn't sleep very well at night if he was laying

flat.  He would flail his arms and wake himself up.  Yes, the startle reflex does in fact exist.

I decided to put him in a rock n' play to sleep, despite my fears of him having a hard time

transferring to the crib.  He loves it!  He's warm and cozy and sleeps on an incline.

Fast forward to him being almost 3 months and needing to move into the crib.  He wakes up

the second I lay him down.  Which brings me to my initial point.  Never in a million years

would I put a pillow in the crib with my other two.  I don't think Owen had a pillow until he

was almost 3!  And a loose blanket??  No way!!  Suffocation hazard for sure!  Yet here is

how I am debating letting Miles sleep in the crib.

A nice fluffy (yet still pretty flat) pillow to remind him of the rock and play, and a thick cozy

blanket.  I still think it is going to be an adjustment, but I'm willing to bend the rules

a little to make things easier on everyone.

First Day of School

This week was a very exciting week in the Kalita household....school started!!  The boys were starting to get restless, so it's safe to say we were all very ready for this week to come.

Owen started first on Tuesday.  He is in his 2nd year of preschool, which is the last before
he starts kindergarten next year.  Yikes!  He is in the Diamond room at Pilgrim with
Ms. Jayne and Ms. Aileen.  I've heard such great things about them so I'm excited 
to see how the year goes.  He was really excited about his first day and had
no problem saying goodbye as we dropped him off in his classroom.

Joe started Wednesday in the Star room at Pilgrim with Ms. Alissa and Ms. Karen (also
amazing teachers).  It is his first year of preschool and the first time we've left him at a class
on his own.  Leading up to today, anytime we mentioned school he quickly commented, "No,
don't leave me," so I knew the initial separation was going to be tough.  But I knew how
much fun he'd have once he got there, so I tried to remind him of all the fun things he would
be able to do.  He loves playing with Owen and being around other kids.  And he always
loved being in Owen's classroom last year, so I knew he would have a blast.

But this was different for him and it was no surprise that when we dropped him off on the
first day the tears began to flow (to put it lightly).  He clung to me and screamed and Ms.
Alissa had to pull him off of me so I could leave.  When we came to pick him up however, he
had no interest in leaving.  His teachers told me he calmed down as soon as we walked out
the door, and now he wanted nothing more than to keep playing on the playground.  It will
be interesting to see how next week goes.  Hopefully the goodbyes get a little easier.

Meanwhile, with the boys in school I'm back down to only one baby for 2 days a week.
YAY!!  I'm definitely going to enjoy my one on one time with this smiley little guy.