Well, I'm back to work. Lucky for us, we have amazing family supporting us. Grandma Cherie has graciously agreed to stay with us for a month to help watch Arjen and help me get settled back into the working mom routine. I don't know what I'd be doing without her here right now! (Thank you, Thank you, Thank you Cherie!)
Aside from deciding to wake up during the night again, Arjen has adjusted so well to having Mom gone, that he basically didn't adjust...he continues to be the same ol' super happy, lovey, awesome little guy he's always been!
Last night, Grandma Eileen and Aunt Casey came over to join us for dinner. While Gma Ei was getting some grandbaby time, Arjen all of a sudden decided to start giving her big, sloppy, wet kisses! The rest of us nearly peed our pants watching this all go down. Perhaps, next on my list is teaching him how to pucker up rather than open wide!
Some photos from last weekend
Enjoying some warm spring weather in the yard
"how did you catch me in a photo on my belly?!"
cruising the farmer's market in style
looks like a full tractor!
the walk home from the market (there's still a little munch in there, but his head is slightly lower cause he konked out!)
Gma Cherie, Dad, and a sleeping Arjen in front of the Osterbaum
Five years ago (wow, 5! really?!), Andrew and I were travelling through Germany. It was the week before Easter, and we kept noticing beautiful colored eggs hanging from trees in the front yards. The next year, we decided to bring this German tradition home, and every year since, we've been hanging eggs in the tree. We haven't noticed the trend catching on in our neighborhood yet, but we sure have fun with it every year, especially this year, as we get to share our "very own" family tradition with our son. Frohe Ostern! (Happy Easter!)
For those not in the area, we've been hit with days and weeks of rain, seemingly never-ending! No better excuse however to stay indoors and play on the floor! Arjen still seems intent on bypassing the tummy-time play, but he did stay posed just long enough for me to snap this shot (sorry for the quality...phone picture)
surf's up dude! (it's a surfboard shaped mat)
He's more than happy however to work on sitting!
This kid most definitely has some stories to tell as well...he's recently figured out he can make new sounds by chewing/sucking in his bottom lip, utilizing some of those handy spit bubbles...
Gone are the days of this kiddo crying when he gets shots. He is a rockstar! He didn't make a peep, and hardly noticed the first one, then he barely cried after the second. He was back to smiling and laughing within minutes. Man! am I a lucky, lucky mom!
Length for age
Weight for Age
Shock of all shocks...he's getting taller by the month...last month was only 25th percentile and now he's 53rd! Still hanging around 20-25th for weight. Not bad for a premie, eh?
Proof that he does eat:
He hasn't quite mastered the self-feeding yet, but he's definitely trying! We're practing bottle-feeding to make sure he'll still eat when Mom goes back to work in a couple weeks. :( Leaves me hands free to update the blog though! :)
It delights me to have the ability to share these little blips of my days spent with Arjen. Every day now it seems like he is suprising me with new skills or insights into his personality. Among some favorites...
"Arjen the monster munch" (One of his many nicknames has been "munch" which started as an abbreviation of munchkin, but has coincidentally been very appropriate as he now attempts to put any and everything in his mouth):
"Arjen the dog lover" (He just recently started really noticing the dogs and laughing or smiling at them. In this video, it's the first time I've seen him actually reach for one!):
"As yet, untitled" And finally...drumroll puh-leez.....
YES! HE IS STARTING TO SIT! That was a solid 3 second long video people. Sweet Holy Moly!
Hard to believe that 5 months have passed us by! It just amazes me that kids don't learn to speak until they've already been around for a couple of years. I feel like he communicates so well already! He has definitely found his voice, sometimes gibbering about whatever it is that excites him for minutes at a time. Arjen is starting to sit unsupported for a few seconds at a time, although gravity still wins that one hands down (well, no hands down really - that's how gravity wins!). Today however, marked a new milestone!!! I can officially say that Arjen has learned to roll over. He repeated it enough times, that I was actually able to catch it on camera - on the first take even! For your viewing pleasure (oh, you may want to make sure the volume is down...he was slightly less than thrilled with this one):
Earlier today, our friends Nandita and Frits came over to play. The 2 month age difference between these two is definitely becoming less obvious already!
simon says "lift your legs!"
simon says "wave your left arm!"
"dude, so like, uh, your sister is really hot"
When we were in Wisconsin, I used my camera phone to take pictures of a bunch of Andrew's baby photos. This probably won't show up too well, but worth a shot (but how impressive is it, that a picture of a circa 1975 photo, taken with a camera phone can be posted online??)...anyhow...I wanted to show the history of the winter suit...
