Mothers Day...

I am a little late on updating this blog but I wanted to make sure I posted a picture from Mothers Day!  I had a wonderful first year celebrating being Watson's mommy.  We spent Mothers Day weekend in Oklahoma so we were able to celebrate Graham's mom and stepmom as well...we were happy to spend the day with them!

For as long as I can remember I have wanted nothing more than to be a mom.  Though told by doctors that I would have a difficult time getting pregnant due to some health issues, the Lord was beyond gracious in blessing us with the precious gift of pregnancy and our beautiful baby boy.  The past 10 months with him have been the best 10 months of my life.  It is amazing to me how much I learn every single day just from being a mom and spending time with Watson.  I think more than anything, being a mom has given me an even deeper glance and understanding of the love that Christ has for His children.  To think that the love that I feel for Watson does not even begin to compare to the love that Christ has for me, truly blows my mind.  Oh how I pray that I parent Watson with Godly wisdom and that more than anything else he will see in his mommy a love for the Lord above all else!

10 Months...

Words cannot express the JOY that Watson brings to our family.  He is such a sweet, funny, cuddly, ACTIVE, curious little boy that keeps me and Graham on our toes every single day :)  I feel like this month has been a turning point in his personality where we are really beginning to see him bloom in so many different areas.  I cannot wait to see what the future holds for this sweet boy. 

Weight: 22lbs
Size diaper: 3
Eating: Watson officially hates his formula.  Hate is a strong word, but it accurately describes the way he feels about his bottles these days.  He is supposed to be getting a minimum of 24oz a day....but it is a struggle to get him to take more than 12-15oz a day...on a good day.  Not really sure what to do about this - we've tried just about everything I can think of!  We typically do 4 bottles a day to try and get as much in him as possible, but sometimes we have to squeeze an extra bottle in before nap times.  He LOVES food though - that's for sure.  He is done with baby food...I still try to give it to him occasionally, but he definitely prefers table food.  He does do well with the Sprout baby food pouches, though.  He has also figured out how to use his sippy cups so he loves drinking water out of those. 
Sleeping: Two naps a day (1-2 hours each) and 12-13 hours at night.  He loves his sleep :)

This month Watson has been going through some pretty strong separation anxiety.  He does not like to be left alone...especially without his mommy.  He has started crying when left in the nursery at church, but his teachers say he is fine after a few minutes so that is good. 

Towards the end of this month Watson started crawling more consistently on all fours.  He does still prefer the army crawl, though, especially when trying to get somewhere quickly.

His favorite thing to do...alllll day...is play with doors, drawers, and cabinet doors...anything that he can open and close is his favorite.  We can place him in front of our dvd cabinet and he will play for forever...kind of nice when trying to get some things done around the house!

The only toys he consistently plays with are stacking cups, his walker, and books.  He still enjoys his exersaucer as well...but only for short periods of time :) 

We had our first trip to the pool. The water was still pretty cold so he couldn't get in but he enjoyed sitting on the first step and splashing in the water and playing with some toys.  I think he will like it much more when he can actually get in.  

Watson is VERY attentive to everything going on around him at all times.  He is very curious and wants to figure everything out.  I love this about him and hope this continues into his school years as well! 

Bath time is always fun - he loves splashing and playing with the faucet.  He has figured out how to stand next to the tub and turn the water on and off which always makes him laugh :)

He is definitely a squealer - a LOUD squealer!!

Watson still loves playing with his cousin Abby.  No one can make him laugh quite like she can - they are precious together.  They laugh, play, wrestle...and then fight when they want to play with the same toy.  It took him a while, but he has finally discovered Hampton and is very curious about him.  He always wants to pull up on to his bouncy seat or rock and play and check in on him.  It's so sweet though because it almost always makes Hampton smile.

Watson is still incredibly active.  He pulls up on absolutely everything and plays pretty rough with anything he can get his hands on.  He falls about 10 times a day...usually 2 or 3 of those resulting in a minute or two of screaming and cuddles with mommy...then back to playing.  He is most definitely all boy!!!

9 months...

We have had a wonderful month with Watson - I cannot believe he is 9 months old!  To think that he is only 3 months away from his first birthday is unbelievable....time truly does fly by! 

Weight: 20lbs 13oz
Height: 29 1/2" - he has grown like a weed since his 6 month appointment! 
Size diaper: 3
Eating: We are transitioning from 4 to 3 bottles a day (8oz each).  We are also in the process of introducing finger foods...slowly :)  I am hypersensitive to him choking on anything so it is a slow process, but he is loving absolutely everything he has tried!  Avocado, sweet potato, mango, carrots, banana, etc.  He was a little iffy on peas at first, but he is getting the hang of them now :)  For breakfast he has a baby food fruit.  For lunch he has a veggie and a fruit...one or both of which are finger foods.  For dinner he has a baby food veggie (sometimes with a meat) and finger food veggies. 
Sleeping: 1-2 naps a day around 1-2 hours each....sometimes 2 1/2 hours or so if he only takes one nap.  12-13 hours at night...this boy loves his night time sleep!

We unfortunately spent way too much time at the doctor this month.  Well really just last week...but it seemed to have lasted forever... Watson came down with a double ear infection, stomach virus, and fever virus...All.  At.  The.  Same.  Time.  This had us at the doctor, after hours, and ER...twice.  One of those ER visits was for a 104.6 fever and the other was for W to get fluids for dehydration.  If any of you have ever had a dehydrated baby you know how scary that is - oh how I hope we never walk down that road again!  Praise God he is feeling MUCH better and back to his normal self again!! 


W is loving his toys still - especially books and plastic Easter eggs...who knew?!  He also really, really loves playing in this large box...

He has officially perfected the army crawl and is FAST!  I read that some babies never crawl with their tummy off the ground if they prefer the army crawl.  We shall see!

Lately he has started pulling up - on everything!  He gets so proud of himself when he pulls up and stares at us with this sly grin until we look over at him and acknowledge that he pulled up.  His curiosity gets the best of him all the time...but especially now that he is pulling up.  He wants everything on the ottoman, side tables, couch, chair...everything :)  Needless to say our house seems to be becoming more and more bare every day!  

This past week he started clapping and is so excited every time he does it.  Kind of like with pulling up...he keeps clapping until we say "Yay!" and clap with him...which is always followed by a big grin. 

 

Speaking of grin...we still have no teeth!  I love his little gummy grin, but I am ready for some teeth to pop through because poor baby is definitely in the process of getting them.  This is made very evident by the amount of drool and fussiness that we have experienced over the past week :)

As far as dislikes...really the only thing this boy dislikes is being alone.  We can always count on a good cry when he is put down for a nap or if we walk out of the room for even a second.  Lately at night he has fallen asleep with his bottle, but he will wake up an hour or so later and realize he is alone and start screaming....which often results in one of us going back upstairs to put him back to sleep... We are trying to let him cry it out some...but I'm just not always the best at that...

We are loving the warmer weather - Watson really enjoys being outside, so I can't wait to get him down to the lake and beach soon!  Graham and I have been spending a lot of time working on the outside of our home lately.  I'll do a post about that once it's complete - but we look forward to spending more time out there now that it is warm and pretty! 

Easter...

Watson's first Easter was not exactly the way I had envisioned...  Saturday night I got his outfit all pressed and ready to go, Graham and I had planned to get up early enough to look at W's Easter basket with him, get ready for church, and get there early as we knew the particular service we were going to would be packed.  W went to bed and I got his (and Graham's) basket all put together and set out on the table...and went to bed excited to spend the next day celebrating the resurrection of Christ and spending time with our family.



Well...in the middle of the night, Watson woke up crying, coughing, runny nose, fever...never a good combo with a little boy that has gotten croup and ear infections often lately.  We knew that we would not be making it to church in the morning but hoped to make it to mom and dad's for lunch with the family.  Poor baby grew progressively worse throughout the morning and day...landing us in the after hours that afternoon, ER that night, dr's office Monday morning, and ER Monday night.  A double ear infection, fever virus, and stomach virus got the best of our baby and he in turn became dehydrated (which is why we were in the ER Monday night).  It was the scariest thing...oh how I pray that we will NEVER be in that situation again!  Praise God that after getting his fluids, some zofran, and his antibiotic, he was doing better and after several days, he was finally back to his normal, happy, smiling self!  So...not how I planned on Easter going, but silly me for thinking I could plan something out :)

Graham was so sweet to let me go to lunch at my parents that afternoon (this was before Watson got really bad) so I was able to get some pictures with my family which I am always thankful for.  I was also able to spend some time with both of my grandfathers which is always special time for me.

My uncle Mike, Dabado, and Mom

 

About as typical as it gets...

I love my mom for many reasons,but this is one of those...

   









This is probably my favorite picture of the whole day.  How beautiful is she?!

 The day before Easter our neighborhood had an Easter party for all of the kids - Mel and her family joined us for it, and there was even a surprise visit from the Easter Bunny!

8 months...

Well...we officially have a little boy on our hands who loves to get in to EVERYTHING and is extremely ACTIVE!! For instance, typically his monthly pictures go so smoothly...he just sits there and smiles and wha-la! Cute Pictures! Well...just take a look at how our photo session went this month...

My days consist of chasing Watson all over the house, pulling him away from cords, blinds, bar stools, the trash can, the fireplace...everything! Don't get me wrong, he loves his toys, but not as much as he loves everything that he can't play with :) I am typically extremely tired by the end of the day, but I would not trade it for anything in the world. I love our little active boy so much...he is a pure JOY to Graham and myself!

Included in him being so active...one of his most active spots is the changing table! Makes changing a clothes or diaper pretty interesting.

Size diaper: 3...have had to start using the overnight diapers for nighttime due to his waking up soaked every morning. If anyone has any tips or ideas that work for wetting through a diaper at night, please let me know!
Size clothes: 9 months, some 12 months
Eating: W has decided he is not into his bottles as much any more for some reason. We offer 8oz three times a day (breakfast, lunch, bedtime) with a 4-6 oz bottle in the late afternoon, but he rarely finishes a bottle any more. He has gotten much better with his sippy (though still definitely not perfected..) but at least he is getting some more water through that. He eats baby food (stage 2) for breakfast (1 fruit) and dinner (2 veggies). Still loves everything he has been offered!
Sleeping: 12-13 hours at night, 2 naps a day that are around 2 hours each

This month W is...
-Waving hello and bye bye
-Army crawling
-Going from crawling, to sitting, and back to crawling
-Getting up on hands and knees and rocking back and forth
-All about his books and his toys (especially this bumpy ball we got him)

-Very social...has no problem going from person to person, but has to keep his eye on mommy and daddy

-Loving this beautiful weather and time outside...especially when that includes bubbles or the park!

-Saying "da-da-da-da" all day with an occasional "ma" thrown in
-Would rather crawl through the bottom of his exersaucer than sit in it...but still a favorite toy :)

-Absolutely loves riding in the buggy (or as Graham corrects me...the "cart") at the store. He smiles and waves the entire time...so precious!



Words cannot explain how much love fills our hearts for this little boy. I am almost daily blown away by the fact that Christ loves Watson..and me..and Graham..infinitely more than my heart can even begin to understand. Wow. Wow!

Loving time with Papa...they even dress alike :)

The day that Watson turned 8 months, my little nephew, Hampton, had to have emergency surgery for a condition called pyloric stenosis. We are so thankful that they found it when they did, but continue to pray for his recovery. He is doing much better, all things considered, but poor little buddy has had a rough go so far in his short 6 weeks of life! My sister has been super-mom, though, and shown so much strength and peace during everything...we are so thankful to God for granting her and Reynolds exactly what they need when they needed it most!

I know I went a little picture crazy with this post, but I had to include this one. I kept Abby while Hampton was in surgery and during lunchtime she was insistent on two things:
1. Having all three bunnies sit with her. 2. Wearing my necklace. She is a wonderful big sister and cousin - love her so much!