Judah Four Month Check-Up

Yesterday morning was Judah's four month check-up (and Eli's three year check-up). He is, like his brothers, big. They have all pretty much stayed in the 75th-90th percentile their whole lives.

He was 15 lbs. 15 oz and 26 inches. He had grown over two inches in two months! I checked back at Eli's book, and he was a little lighter and a little longer at four months. Luke was even longer and lighter. Needless to say, carrying the car seat around is pretty much out.

Judah is healthy and strong. He does have a funny thing going on with his foot. It turns in slightly. It has been that way since birth, but we always assumed it was just from being squished into my belly. When I mentioned it, the pediatrician said she wanted me to get it checked at a pediatric orthopedist's office, so that is in the works. Other than that, he is perfect.

He is laughing now, which absolutely delights all of us. Eli has started paying more attention to him and is constantly saying, "He's so cuuuuute!" I need to get it on video one of these days. It's really sweet. Luke makes Judah smile just by getting in his line of vision. He already adores Luke like Eli does. We all look forward to when he wakes up, he is just that sweet of a baby.

My Eli

My sweet Eli,

You absolutely light up my life. You come out of your room in the mornings glowing, full of kisses, hugs, funny jokes and silly dances. When I think of what our lives would be without you, the word "quiet" comes to mind. You can't be awake without adding energy to our household. You add so much fun to us.

Let me tell you some of the things I love about you. I love:

*Your smile
*Your kisses
*Your hugs
*The way you say, "I love you so much, Mama!"
*The way you adore Luke
*How you sweetly pet on Judah and say, "He's so cuuuuute!"
*The fact that you "get" jokes and humor, many times even quicker than Mama and Daddy
*How good you are at entertaining yourself
*How sweetly you share your food with your Mama
*The way you help yourself to my food
*Your charming smile
*The games you play when you know you're being cute

I get glimpses every now and then of what you will be like as a man. I see a man who is passionate. Passionate for those less fortunate. Passionate for his family. Passionate for his bride. Passionate for his chidren. Passionate for the Father. Like David, a man after God's heart. Everywhere you go you will add life. You will be a life giver to everyone you come in contact with. You will never stop dancing and bringing joy to those around you because your passion will be God given and God directed.

I treaure you, Eli. I am remembering every hug, every kiss, every sweet snuggle. Even though you are "in the middle", you are never forgotten. You are appreciated. We need you in our family, and we thank God for giving you to us three years ago. Happy Birthday!

Eli's 3rd Birthday Party

We had Eli's birthday party Sunday. When I asked him what he wanted on his birthday cake he began making a list of various types of food. I believe Cheerios made the list twice. After pressing him further, we decided on dinosaurs. Thankfully, he isn't yet a connoisseur of birthday decorations, so he was impressed with my simple offerings.

He did much better with opening presents than he did at Christmas. At Christmas he opened one and refused to open the rest. Sunday he shredded the paper on every present before even checking any of them out. At least it made the present opening time a little quicker.

Dinosaurs and their "eggs"

Our little ham
He sang "Happy birsday to meeee!"

What a fun night celebrating our sweet Eli!

It Just Makes Us Laugh

Maybe this is only funny to me and Kris, but we can't help but laugh every time Eli puts his undies on by himself.

Chatting with Daddy on the phone

This HAS to be uncomfortable.
He, apparently, doesn't think it's funny. He's started trying to run away when we try to take his picture.

Bedtime Woes

In spite of this title, I do want to start with this exciting (and somewhat pitiful) announcement:

For the first time since I got pregnant with Judah, I got in my bed last night at 10:30 p.m. and didn't get out of it until 6:00 a.m. I had forgotten how good that felt. I've fantasized about it for almost a year, and it was amazing.

The bedtime woes extend beyond having a newborn, unfortunately. When we went to Georgia for spring break, Eli started climbing out of the pack n' play. The sad part is that he neglected to leave this new trick at Grandma's, and now he is climbing out of his crib. (Yes, my almost three year old is still in a crib, and I am totally happy with that. It has saved my sanity in so many ways. You have no idea.) At midnight, 1:00 a.m., 5:00 a.m., 6:30 a.m., I have been awakened to two big, blinking blue eyeballs and the heavy breathing of a two year old who just trucked it across the house in the dark. This is, of course, in addition to the 4:00 a.m. booby call from Judah. Sigh.

We've been just putting him back in his bed while explaining to him so sweetly (which I have to say is a great accomplishment for me in the middle of the night because that is the worst period of time in my 24 hour day to ask me to demonstrate the fruit of the Spirit) that he absolutely MUST stay in his bed. The frequency of awakenings has decreased every night, thankfully, so imagine my surprise two nights ago when I got up to go to the bathroom at 1:30 and tripped over Eli, sleeping on the floor at the foot of our bed. He knew if he woke us up we would just put him back in his bed, so he decided the next best thing would be to curl up on the carpet and sleep at our feet like a dog. Pitiful.

So, last night was wonderful. Judah slept until 6:00 and Eli stayed in his bed until 6:40. Next goal: teaching both of them to read when the clock says 7:00 a.m.

March In Photos

The month came and went in too much of a hurry for me to keep up with, so here is the quick version of our month.

Judah has been roped into the silliness.

Kris was in his undies, too, but he didn't want to be in the picture. Probably knew it would go on my blog.

Lovin' the great weather!

Luke likes to pretend our big bathtub is a swimming pool.

Cousins spent the night.

Rainy day entertainment

Before the clothes came off.

Judah At Three Months

Judah turned three months a couple of weeks ago, but since we were away last week for spring break (more to come) I'm just now getting to it.

What a sweet fella'! We are so loving this little boy. And he is huge. I don't know what he weighs because he won't have another appointment until next month, but he is wearing a lot of 6-9 month clothes. He smiles all the time. Even when he's fussing, if you talk to him, he will smile while he fusses. He has worked out his fussy time at nights, and now he's happy until he goes to bed at the same time as the big boys. We've moved him into his own room (well, the guest room). We're happy to have our room back, but I am not loving having to walk across the house to tend to him when he wakes up. He is still getting up once at night, but we're (read: I'm) getting tired of that, so change is coming.

Judah's hands are starting to cooperate a little, and he's able to grab things now, even though he can't always control what happens after he grabs hold of it. He likes to be talked to and to be a part of the action. It's easy to tell he's the third child because he does NOT like to be left alone. He loves snuggling, which I love, and he is just an all around great baby.

He's seriously half my length already!