Family Pictures

Here are our family pictures that made the photographer's blog: www.jcotaphotography.com/blog. It's the December 7th entry. I emailed out the full session to friends and family, but didnt want to post it on the blog.....if I missed you (sorry - I run on no sleep these days), please let me know and I will send you the info.
Jennifer did a wonderful job capturing our family, even with our uncooperative toddler!

For the perfect Family pictures....by Mommy

For the perfect family pictures, you need.....
1. The perfect photographer - CHECK! I booked this MONTHS ago - when I was not even sure of when RDH would arrive
2. The perfect weather -CHECK! It was beautiful in Austin on Saturday. perfect light, perfect temperature.
3. A one month old that stays awake and alert. CHECK! - RDH was perfect!! he was awake the entire time, only had to eat once, and never cried.
4. The perfect outfits. CHECK! We lucked out on some gifts that were given to us and with only one trip to the mall by Daddy we all 4 had the perfect outfits.
5. Haircuts scheduled - CHECK! August's hair grows so fast. so making sure he didn't look shaggy was necessary.
6. Having help to coordinate outfit changes with a newborn and a toddler. CHECK! Thank God for Grandma!
7. Working around naptime and feeding for a toddler - CHECK! Timing could not have been better!
8. Having your toddler cooperate.....FAIL! August was in NO mood for these family pictures! Even though they were at our house, he did NOT want to have his picture taken...which is so strange for him because he usually poses for pictures!!
Oh well - we had a great photographer, so I am sure she will work her magic and get us some good family shots :-)

Grow Baby Grow. RDH's 1 month stats

RDH had his 1 month appointment today....about a week late because the 26th fell over the holidays (this will happen at his 2 month appt too). Dr H proclaimed RDH very healthy and was super excited about his weight gain.....he even hopped percentiles! Looks like Mommy's milk is the perfect diet for RDH! Here are his stats:
Weight: 9 pounds 4 ounces - 50th percentile
Height: 21.5 inches - 50th percentile
Head Circumference - 37 cm - 25th percentile (we were surprised about this one, because RDH has a big head....but apparently it is big - just not wide....which is what the measurement measures)
As a side note, RDH is about the same at one month as his brother was when he was 2 months old!

RANDOMNESS....by Mommy

RDH - rolling over again! This child is determined to sleep on his tummy - even though I put him on his back to sleep.


Random things Mommy does not want to forget as time passes...

1. Augie has ALL 4 molars coming in at once and one of his cuspids.....so poor thing... he has been FUSSY!
2. Augie's new words include: Ho Ho (Santa), Panting (to refer to dogs), hot, wow, down, owl, banana, and knee. He knows all his body parts and loves point them all out.
3. I started running again on RDH's 1 month birthday. I took August in his running stroller and we had a blast.....running seems easier this time around than last....which surprises me since I walked so much more when I was pregnant with August and my activity was much more restricted while pregnant with RDH. So far, I can do 3 miles :-) with hills and August :-)
4, I love the way RDH hums when he nurses....it is the sweetest thing and I hope it doesn't stop.
5. I am considering donating milk to the mother's milk bank of Austin. Has anyone reading this blog ever done this? I was going to do it with August and then never got around to it....so this time I am more motivated to look into it...since I tend to make more milk than my babies need. With August, I had milk for over 2 months after I stopped nursing.....I figure, I can just nurse longer and donate the extra this time around. The minimum donation is 150 ounces....that doesnt seem too bad.
6. Despite the fussiness with the teeth....August still is SUPER helpful. When the baby cries, he runs and brings me a nursing pillow. He loves to turn on music for RDH and stands there and sways to the music while singing....so adorable!

Thanksgiving and RDH is 1 MONTH old!

RDH - 1 MONTH OLD! RDH's hair is coming in blonde.....just like his brother's did! And it appears his eyes are lightening up to light blue - just like August. Too early to tell, but Mommy thinks the two boys will look a lot alike.

Mommy found this in August's jean pockets after playing outside all day with the boys.
We are thankful for our family!

Mommy and me!
Thanksgiving outfits

Everyone has to have a football!
Daddy made the Turkey
THE FOOD!!! YUMMY!
Twice baked sweet potatoes!

THE PIES! Apple and Cherry! Thanks Cathy!

Daddy helping me eat!
Aunt Marci and Grandma
Me stealing the whip cream off Aunt Marci's pie
Aunt Marci and RDH
Mommy and her sister, Me and my brother!

Thanksgiving was great! It was the first one we hosted at our house and everything turned out great!
I am thankful for my family, my friends Hayden and Arturo that I get to play with all week long, and Ms Gina, who takes care of me during the week and loves me like her own son. After lunch, Daddy headed to the game to watch Texas A&M and UT play. We wont talk about the game - let just say only half the house is happy ....at least Daddy got to have fun at his tailgate - which for this game featured LIVE music by Matt Deaton.
On November 26th, my Baby Brother turned 1 month old! His unofficial weight (using our baby scale at home) is: 8 pounds 9 ounces!!! His newest accomplishments include - lifting his head better and rolling from back to tummy (I am not lying....it scares mommy so much!) RDH is not on ANY type of sleep schedule and prefers to eat all night and day - with at most taking a 2 hour break (yes - day and night). Mommy's lactation specialist says this is perfectly normal for a growing breastfed baby and should calm down a bit when he is 6 wks old. Lets hope so - so Mommy can get more sleep!

Who wore it better II and Daddy's Helper?

Helping Daddy! I idolize my Daddy and EVERYTHING he does. I worked SOOOO hard keeping up with him on Saturday! I was genuinely trying to do exactly what he did....it was hilarious!



At one point - we uncovered an ant mound...and Mommy had to keep me away.....I was NOT happy about this and worked even harder when I was allowed to return to Daddy!

On to - WHO WORE IT BETTER...Me or my brother? In going through the pictures, Mommy forgot how TINY I was.....Both me and my brother are exclusively breastfed, so it is just because my brother stayed in and cooked a week and a half longer that he is bigger. What a difference a week and a half makes!!! Mommy can't even imagine what a baby that stayed in another 3 wks would be like!
Richard Dean in the Truck outfit
August in the Truck Outfit
Richard Dean in the Puppy outfit
August in the Puppy outfit. Mommy was shocked to see the pacifier in the picture....since I hardly ever even took one.
Richard Dean in the Frog outfit
August in the Frog Outfit

Playing....

Swinging with Mommy! Have I mentioned, I am ALL BOY!!!
RDH rolled from back to tummy while napping! OMG, Mommy is not ready for this, he is way too young to be on his tummy, hopefully it was a one time thing!
Out of the swaddle! Neither me, nor my brother like swaddles. Just like me, here is my brother having completely worked himself out of the swaddle during a nap.
Daddy with his boys! I have some major bed-head in this picture!

RDH: 3 weeks old on his due date! AMH: vocabulary

RDH -3 weeks old!



Mommy loves the look of the milk coma :-)
They say to rest when the baby rests....but what if you have 2 babies? Then you become a jungle gym!

RDH is 3 weeks today, on his due date! He is becoming much more active and is awake for much longer periods of time! He is even trying to hold his head up! He is putting on weight - YAY! - up to 7 pounds 9- 10 ounces today and nurses non-stop. Now if he would only stop "snacking" so much at night and sleep some :-)
AMH has a huge vocabulary now....here are some of his words:
Bye, Ball, Basketball, Momma, Daddy, Cheese, Outside, Socks, Shoes, Grandma (sounds like Ba), Up, Cup, Hayden (sounds like DD), No No, What's that?, Gina (sounds lika Nana), Dumptruck, Fish, Nose, Eyes, Duck, Baby. He also signs: please, more, milk, and thank you.

A walk, party, visitor, and football!

Family picture!
Mommy's friend Kim came to visit us!
Just try and get this football away from me!
Mommy's first walk with RDH! He loved it!
More football!!!!

Headed to Grayson's birthday! Happy Birthday Grayson!!!
Playing at Grayson's. I had so much fun playing with all Grayson's toys....even his new toys! ooops...it wasn't my birthday??? ;-)
Grayson and his Mommy and Daddy.
This weekend I got lots of Mommy time! On Saturday, we walked over to my friend Grayson's house for his first birthday! It was so much fun, I wish we could have stayed longer, but Mommy had to get back to feed Richard Dean. Then on Sunday, Mommy and Daddy's friends Kim, Brett, and their adorable son Davin came to visit. Davin and I played out in the backyard with the Daddys while Mommy, Kim, and Richard Dean hung out inside and got caught up. It was so much fun! I wish Davin lived closer!