Christmas in Northern California

Four Months!

On Monday August had his first encounter with St. Nicklaus!  August was supposed to meet him at the Stadthaus in our village.  Apparently, the village puts on a show and then St. Nicklaus asks all the children if they have behaved or not before giving them a gift!  Unfortunately August had a terrible cold and was unable to attend.  BUT St. Nicklaus came to our door to deliver his present!!

August continues to grow in all directions and is even more alert and engaged than before.  He continues to prefer the Monkey with the light-up belly over all his other toys.  That said, August likes to remove toys from his activity mat, use Mommy as his personal play yard, and will giggle whenever Kodjo passes him.  August also is talking a lot more and loves it when Mommy tries to repeat what he says.

At his three/four month checkup the doctor expressed concern about how high August can lift his head and how August enjoys arching his back.  Two physical therapy appointments later and Mommy is improving how she lifts August, carries him and puts him down.  Basically, August has to do a few tummy crunches each time to improve his abdominal muscles.  If only Mommy could work on her abs at the same time!!

We still have not been successful at getting August to nap on his own and probably won't be able to work on it again until August comes back home in January.  Unsurprisingly, August prefers to nap on Mommy.  August will have a lot to learn in January including drinking from a bottle, napping on his own and more physical therapy exercises!

I Love You Daddy!

More Pictures

3 Months and 21 Days

Yesterday marked August's first Thanksgiving and first day of snow!!   While August did not like snowflakes falling on his face, we both had a nice night of Turkey-induced sleep!!  August continues to sleep through the night, regardless of the time zone, as long as his Mother is cuddled up next to him.  Also, August is rolling from his tummy to his back and can almost roll from his back to his tummy!

August had his 3-4 mos checkup today and weighs 15lbs and is 26 inches long!!  August also received his first immunization (DTaP, HIB and Polio) and barely whimpered!!  The doctor had me hold him while she gave him the shot...I was definitely more upset about the whole thing than August!

August's new likes include "swimming" in the bathtub, playing with other kids, morning cuddling with Mommy, and being tickled.  Recently we discovered that August will go to sleep within seven minutes if I play the live version of Bob Marley's No Woman, No Cry.  I saw this YouTube video of children screaming and then immediately calming down upon hearing Bob Marley.

He's Milking It! Three Months and Growing...

     After 20 hours of traveling, August and I made it across the Atlantic last week!  August apparently loves to travel by plane, probably because he is guaranteed undivided attention from his Mommy and adoring looks from strangers!  On this particular flight, August was traveling with about 200 soldiers returning from Afghanistan and squealed when everyone cheered as the plane landed on U.S. soil.  August's favorite part of the flight was definitely the landing.  He giggled and stuck his tongue out, in Mommy's arms, as the plane safely touched down.  August also received a wonderful welcome from local USO volunteers as we exited the airport!

     August also had his biggest gastric explosion ever on this trip, with an unspeakable amount of baby #2 reaching up to his neck!  I wish this was the only costume change for my little angel, but no, August had an eruption of pee mid-flight!!  I can now say that August and I know how to change a diaper and both of our clothes in one of the smallest bathrooms on Earth!  That said, August had no trouble getting over jet lag and continues to mostly sleep through the night.

Yesterday, August celebrated his first Halloween as an adorably plump Pumpkin!  After parading August and his new friend around the neighborhood, August helped his Mommy and friends pass out candy to the trick-or-treaters! 

2 months 17 days old

August now weighs 13lbs 7oz!!  This week I went through all of August's clothes to pull out what doesn't fit him and what he now can fit into!  He is mostly wearing 6 mos outfits!!  Today I introduced Mortimer the Moose to August and he loved to pull the moose in towards his body with the rings hanging from Mortimer's tail. 

His teething pains have subsided with the homeopathic treatment and we are focusing on getting August to nap longer.  I am currently working with the Elizabeth Pantley No-Cry Sleep Solution book in an effort to get August to sleep better.  After monitoring our activities over the past three days we have developed the following sleep plan:

--Maintain a flexible schedule to encourage longer naps.
--Encourage August to nap on his own in the bassinet, crib or car seat so he doesn't have to sleep right next to his Mommy.
--Be prepared to soothe August during initial wake-up signs to encourage longer naps.
--Put August down when he shows signs of tiredness versus limp limbs so he can learn how to fall asleep on his own.
--Move the bedtime to an earlier time (we are going to try 2000).
--Start the bedtime routine 30minutes to one hour before bedtime.
--Learn to read August better so I can distinguish between his sleep talk and him expressing a need for his Mommy before crying.

We are going to try the new sleep plan for about ten days to see how it goes.  One day one, August successfully woke up in the bassinet (after I put him down from the ergo carrier) and went back to sleep in the bassinet on his own!! 

I will add more pictures soon!