Leo, version 4.0

Well, it is official- our little Leo is 4 months old! (Or as some others say, "You kept him alive 4 whole months!") We celebrated with a trip to the doctor to get shots- yipee. He did great! The oral vaccine was not nearly as hard for him to swallow this time and the shots (one in each leg) were over quickly and so was his crying. We had to wake him from his nap to get weighed and so it was no surprise that by the time we got to the car he was sound asleep again.

Here are his stats:

4 months old

18 lbs 3 oz

26 inches long

So yes he is big, but at least he is proportionate and as healthy as can be. The doctor even gave us the go-ahead to introduce Leo to baby foods, but I am in no hurry on that. He was as good as can be the rest of the day and you would hardly have known he had gotten shots in the morning. We are grateful for our happy little guy!

Here are some interesting facts about Leo at age 4 months:

- He has recently found his toes! He looks at them when he is in the bath and likes to get a hold of them when he is getting his diaper changed. We haven't resorted to sucking on them yet- whew!

- He loves stuffed animals! My mom brought him a stuffed Simba from DisneyWorld which he adores and can't wait to get his diaper changed so he can talk to him. He holds him by the ears and loves him or sometimes slobbers on his ear. He has a few other animals which he loves too.

- He has recently had his first cases of "stranger danger" where he looks at someone new (or just someone he hasn't seen in a little while) and puts that bottom lip far enough you could step on it and then just wails. Please don't feel bad if he does it to you because he has done it to Grammie and Grandpa too!

- He can't stand enough! He loves to stand and definitely prefers it to sitting. It should be no mystery then that he loves the jumper...and he is actually getting quite good at jumping instead of just stomping and standing and twisting.

- While he has rolled over a few times so far, I would not call it a regular trick. And that is okay...he will get it eventually. Everyone else seems more worried about him reaching this mile stone than I am...

- The words "banana bread" couldn't be funnier to him! It is the source of many giggles.

- He loves being outside and walks are a go-to activity when all else fails...which I am really happy about! :)

- He is very close to sitting. I mean really close. He refuses to sit back in the bath and sometimes in his car seat.

- Clapping is one of his favorite pastimes...either when we make him do it or when we do it ourselves.

- Leo loves his daddy. He loves to play and the rougher the better!

- He is a Christensen! Even though he was born with brown hair, it is getting blonder by the moment! I am betting he will be a little toe-head for sure!

- Much to my dismay, he is a serious finger sucker! At first I thought it was just him figuring them out and I let him suck...then he started to gravitate to the thumb. Oh. No. I am not into thumb sucking and vowed my children would never do it. After much help by me he is losing interest in the thumb but still is stuck on his pointer and middle finger on both hands. I try not be too crazy about pulling his hands out of his mouth- he has to use it to figure things out after all- but it is definitely not my favorite quality of his (even though somehow it doesn't offend me near as much now that it isn't the thumb). Anyway, we are still working on this one.

There are tons of little tidbits I could share, but that will have to suffice for now! Happy 4 months Leo!

The mom chop...and other random thoughts

I realize I mostly blog about Leo...and as it should be because he is by far the cutest and most exciting thing happening in our home. But occasionally I do have a thought or two that isn't all about him (gasp) so here it goes.

I really don't want to get the mom chop. What is the mom chop you might ask. Well, it is the haircut lots of moms get a few months after they have a baby...you know when they realize that their hair ends up in a ponytail 95% of the time anyway and baby is starting to actually grab (and hold on to) things. There is nothing wrong with the mom chop. There is nothing wrong with short hair. I have had short hair and I liked it. However I have also had long(er) hair and I liked it too...and it has been awhile and I really want to let my hair grow right now.

The problem is that I sweat when I run and thus I have to wash my hair daily. Fine, no big deal...I like to wash it daily. But then comes the problem...do I dry it just so I can pull it up? It seems so dumb and a huge waste of time, however pulling up wet hair just doesn't feel that great and makes me feel like I never really got ready for the day. Plus we live in a hot and humid environment that makes drying hair take forever and the possibility of a ponytail during the day really slim. I thought about bangs- then at least my ponytail would look a little more like a style instead of me just being hot and tired- but I am not really sure that is the answer. So for now I am sticking with what I have but looking for something different.

On an equally vain note, I am just a mere 10 pounds from my pre-pregnancy weight! I know they will be the hardest 10 pounds to loose, but I am feeling optimistic since it has only been about 4 months since Leo was born (4 months next Thursday...can you believe it?) Getting back to jogging right away has been great- and hard of course- and Leo loves his time outdoors in the mornings...he knows that morning stroller ride and always takes a little nap. My old shorts and capris still don't fit though, so I am not sure what I am going to be wearing this summer because I hate to buy shorts that I hope don't fit soon...but it is getting so hot that I might have to give in a buy a bigger size anyway. Woe is me.

I bought some capri leggings and even though I hate them, I love them. I am not a legging fan at all, however they are so comfortable that I can already tell I will be having a little love affair with them this summer. Don't worry, I am not getting a minivan or wearing crocs anytime soon.

And I just have to say that I really have a great husband. Nicholas is a fabulous dad and Leo loves him. And I love that Leo loves him and he loves Leo; Nick is great to rock him to sleep or change his diaper or get up in the night with him. He is a great helper with Leo :) He also never shys away from doing dishes or cleaning up Koshka's litter box or various other chores. And of course he is always funny and fun to be around- we love him so much! Leo and I can't wait for him to get home every day!

The moving bug has hit me and I am already itching to take the pictures off the walls and box up non essentials. Then I wonder if it would really be worth it to live in a land of boxes and no decorations and stuff for over a month...and by then Leo has woken up and my opportunity is gone anyway. But I want to...I could clean out a closet for fun any day of the week and moving is going to be one big party for me. I am sure I will hate it when it comes, but I love going through things and cleaning out and such. So save your moving boxes because we will be needing them soon!

I guess I should go do something more productive while Leo is actually sleeping without being held- he prefers to be held to nap and I prefer to hold him so nothing gets done around here! Oh well, they are only little once, right? He turns 4 months next Thursday and we have a doctor appointment that morning for shots and such. He has been having some diaper issues (anyone else's baby go from multiple dirty diapers a day to once a week? I am concerned but the doctor doesn't seem to be...) that I definitely want to chat about when we are there and I know they are going to talk to us about starting food. Can it be that time already? I am in no hurry to start food...he sleeps through the night (about 10-7, fairly regularly) and is happy and is definitely thriving so I am thinking we won't start until more like 6 months. I am already feeling sad about nursing him less! Sure it is inconvenient sometimes, but I love nursing Leo and dread the day that we are done.

Okay, for real now...adios!

Leo, Anyone?

I have been so bad about taking and posting pictures of Leo. Here are a few...

Leo loves to fold his arms...

And loves to laugh too...

He enjoys his "babysitter", cousin Belle

He is learning to blow spit bubbles (look super closely!)...

Leo likes to cheer for his Daddy's teams...

He is serious about bathing...

Cousin Livi is showing him the ropes...

He got to snuggle with Aunt Amy over Easter weekend...

Leo loves naps with Grandpa Elmo...

And Nick and Leo love to nap together too...

Leo has started to use the jumper and loves it...he always loves to stand!

Leo is getting very good at grabbing and holding on to things...especially in his car seat.

I love it when Leo cuddles with me the most :)

Happy Mother's Day!!!

Nicholas and Leo bought me beautiful flowers...tulips and irises you can see in the picture above.

Leo was a stud today with a cute hat from Aunt Tara and a sweet hand knit sweater vest from our life-long bff, Toni Perkins. He got more "oohs" and "ahhs" than even the baby girls at church today! (And can you blame him? That face is so sweet!!!)

It has been a great first mother's day! I love my little Leo!