Four Months Old

Jensen at 4 Months Old

Hey there, Jensen! You are four months old today last week. Oh the problems of being the second child. At least you aren't forgotten! You are officially no longer a "premie" or a "newborn", to say the least....

Weight: 17lbs (87th percentile)
Height: 25 inches (62nd percentile)
Clothing Size: 6-9 Months
Diaper Size: 3

Favorite Food: Oatmeal! At your four month check your doctor recommended that we start you on some easy solids to help with your reflux issues. We've also introduced avocado to you but you aren't as big of a fan of that.
Favorite Toy: The birds that dangle down off your baby play mat. You are also a big fan of some soft baby blocks that make a great crinkling sound.
What Makes You Cry: Being buckled in your car seat, although you calm down once we start driving. You also cry when you have to wait an extra second to eat another bite of oatmeal because I'm taking my turn to eat. And you do not like playing on your tummy, which we make you do anyway. In the photo below it looks like you have two teeth. You don't have teeth yet, but you are teething a lot which makes your way fussier than usual. Overall though you are such a relaxed, happy baby.

Best Accomplishment: Sleeping 12 hour stretches at night!!!! Usually 8pm-8am. You are also good with 3 solid naps each day, which has made getting your on a routine much easier. I also like seeing your respond to your name and our voices now.
Best Sound This Month: Baby chuckles! I LOVE making you laugh. You also make so many baby sounds - one of them sounds exactly like you are saying "hi" but I know you don't mean it intentionally. Does that count as your first word?
Big Moment: Dropping you off in the church nursery. Not every week, it depends on if you will be napping. You nap so well in the sling that I keep you on those weeks.We also left you with your first real babysitter, Malin, this past month. She said you did great!

Best Friend: Eva? Hahaha, you really do love her, just not so much in this photo. The other morning she stood on a step stool to talk to you in your crib when you first woke up and you were all smiles and coos for her. You also like it when she plays with you when you are in your "jumpity jump" (our name for your exersaucer). We played with our friend Ruby yesterday who is 8 months old and you were quite interested in her. It's okay if you want to be good friends with her.

Staycation {Part 3: Play Museum, Stonebriar, and a Date}

Let me first say, that I am in love with the photo of Jensen above. My son is handsome. I love that baby so much! Okay on with the vacation blog....
On Friday of our staycation week we went to the Frisco Play Museum. It was not so much of a museum, more like a really interactive play town. My comedian husband cleaverly posed Jensen with a wooden carton of milk in the restaraunt play shop. 

One of the first things Eva wanted to do was to dress up like a firefighter and put out the pretend flame burning from a building. She was even patient enough to eventually get to wear a firefighter helmet...those were in high demand.

Such a clever idea! When I was in elementary school our district had a pretend village set up where we could learn about economics and such {anybody remember Enterprise City????}. This was similar except kids could do whatever they wanted. Aside from the creative play village they also had an art table, magnetic blocks, kinetic sand {which of course Eva had to do even though we play with the same thing for about an hour a day at home...}, a table with floam-like material, and a few other actitivities. You even get a wooden coin with your admission that your child gets to use to "purchase" a healthy real snack. 

Beep beep! Firefighter Eva coming through...on her school bus.

They had a science area where you could change how the tubs and connector pieces were set up to see how it affected the battern of the balls. The real highlight of this photo is the kid on the right. One of my favorite things about Eva is her boldness in approaching kids to play with. We've taught her how to walk up to another kid, introduce herself, ask them their name and then ask if they want to play with her. We've also taught her that if she walks up to kids already playing something she needs to be okay with joining in on what they are doing...like if they are playing baby dolls she needs to go get a baby doll to join in. It is seriously so sweet to see her walk up and want to play with somebody. Well, Eva and I were playing together in the home living area because the crowd had died down a bit, and in walks this kid Cameron with a cart full of wooden groceries from the pretend Kroger store. Eva introduced herself and asked Cameron to play and from that moment until we left they were buds. He was a very funny kid. 

After the museum we headed to Stonebriar mall. Then we made her dreams come true...we let her ride on one of the silly rides that are in the play area. You know, the ones you always say, "Umm, not today..." when your kid begs to ride. We had some quarters so we let her go for it. 

Then we took her to ride the carousel! Okay, so I totally get that this is just a silly carousel in the middle of a mall food court. But she was so excited! As we were riding I thought about how one day she will be like, "Mom. I do NOT want to ride that lame carousel," and my heart will be a bit sad. So in that moment I fully embraced the ride and laughed my way around and around, being so thankful for that moment with my three year old who looks at a pretend horse like it has magical powers. 

We ended Friday night with dinner and a few games at Dave and Busters. This was mostly for Ryan who has mentioned going to Dave and Busters since we started dating and we never have gone before.

For our very last relaxing day we booked our favorite baby sitter for some date time. We started with board games at Starbucks. Then we went to the Foot Palace and got reflexology. This is kind of like a massage except less expensive and easier to book last moment. That's the best way to explain it.

Finally we enjoyed some On the Border to end our wonderful week. And that's a wrap for our 2015 staycation!

Staycation Part 2 {Mountasia, Main Event, and the Pool}

Here we are on Wednesday morning of our staycation week. I found an awesome Groupon for Mountasia in North Richland Hills. We made a fun morning out of it starting with some arcade games. Eva really enjoyed playing ski ball although I'm glad nobody was standing next to us because some of her ski balls went way far out of her lane. Then we found the "Deal or No Deal" game....this is seriously one of my new favorite games! We have it on the iPad at home but I've never really played it before. I like it! And then Eva won the huge ticket jackpot! I think she had like 300 tickets from that. Ironically she won the jackpot when we played games somewhere else on our vacation last year. Next trip: Las Vegas. 

After games it was time for some mini-golf. We played last summer at Sandy Lake and Eva has been asking to play again one day. Plus mini-golf is some sort of Bradley family vacation tradition from when Ryan was a kid. Look at that handsome man wearing his baby while he putts. Hubba-hubba :) 

Wednesday night was our one fancy dinner and we picked Kobeya in Southlake. It is a hibachi restaurant and it was soooo good.  I could eat hibachi every week if it wasn't so darn expensive.

Thursday morning we all went bowling. I don't think I've mentioned it but we planned the whole week out ahead of time and then would surprise Eva either the night before or the morning of with what we had planned for the day.  She was precious bowling. Most of the time she would go throw the ball as hard as she could, come back and wait with her hands on her hips and then jump up and down when her ball knocked down some pins. The Bradleys are very enthusiastic bowlers and we did crazy dances and cheered for everything!

Thursday afternoon we got to go swimming for the first time this summer. I may have possibly bought my kids coordinating swimsuits at Target a week ago. I love that summer time patriotic wear is one of the areas I can actually make them match. Going to the pool was honestly one of my favorite things we did all week. I know we will go often this summer but it was so fun!

This summer Eva just jumped right in! No tears for this veteran swimmer. 

Little man's first time to put his toes in the pool. The water was much warmer than I expected but I wasn't prepared for him to actually swim so this was as much as he did. I got a waterproof ring sling so I can wear him in the pool since he's not big enough for our baby raft yet. I hope he loves the water as much as the rest of us.

Staycation {Part 1: East Texas, the Dallas Aquarium, and Reunion Tower}

This past week our family enjoyed a nice staycation week. We had originally thought about either getting a cabin in Oklahoma or renting a town home in Austin for a few nights and now I am so glad we didn't end up going with those choices since both of those areas had terrible flooding the past few days. Instead we got to do so many awesome local activities. 

We did, however, want to spend a few nights out of the house so we started our week by visiting a family friend in East Texas on Sunday afternoon. We like to visit Miss Joyce, a family friend who is like a grandmother to Ryan. I had visions of Eva laughing and running all around the land where Joyce lives. My city girl didn't quite appreciate the plan - too many mosquitoes! - but we did take her out onto the old dock.

Happy Memorial Day! I took a ton of beautiful outdoor photos of Eva and Jensen but for the sake of the blog I will limit myself to a few. But seriously, sweet children in a scenic outdoor area was the perfect setup for some favorite shots. 

Swinging outside with Joyce. This is our favorite swing ever because you can go really fast and high.

The next day/night we went to stay with Ryan's parents in Royse City. We had planned a little family picnic but a big thunderstorm along with a power outage rerouted our plans to Cracker Barrel. 

These sweet cousins didn't mind, they can be silly anywhere!

Tuesday we planned a day in downtown Dallas. Our original plan had been to visit the Arboretum and eat an a cool outdoor area but the rain again changed our plan. Instead we took the kids to the Dallas World Aquarium.

Watching the tiny eels move up and down. 

Little man was very interested in looking at everything. He was really enchanted watching everything and a very happy baby riding in his stroller. 

Sharks! Y'all, this photo wasn't even staged. We were standing there waiting for a big one when I caught this candid moment. 

After the aquarium we stopped over at Reunion Tower. I had looked up info online and thought the the Cloud 9 Cafe sounded like fun. The "cafe" part was a bit disappointing...it is a Wolfgang Puck "restaurant" but they only served boxed sandwiches and a few snacks. But we still enjoyed looking out on Dallas and made the most of it. And now every time we drive past the big ball we can remember going there all together! Also this is one of the only family photos we squeezed in for the whole week. How is that possible? We need a personal photographer to track us next time.

More staycation to come...

Friday Thoughts

Hello, and happy Friday! One of my goals for the summer is to try to blog at least once a week because I really do love writing and blogging, I just need to find time to If my computer will cooperate....
1. Last night I made an amazing Nutella fruit dip for our small group. I've had the recipe open on my phone browser for a few weeks and finally had the occasion to make it! It's really healthy if you overlook the Nutella, cream cheese, marshmallow cream, and cocoa powder....oh wait, that's the whole recipe. But seriously, my family could eat a whole jar of Nutella at once! That's why I could only make this recipe when I knew I could share it with others.
2. Thursday was our last moms group of the year. I've been with this group for two years now, first as an official MOPS group and this year it was called Moms Connect. I really love having a place to go and fellowship and learn from others moms every week while Eva has fun going to her class. We will  miss it so much over the summer! For the last day we all wrote encouraging notes to each other. Eva and I stopped by Starbucks afterwards and it made me so happy to sit and read all the notes people wrote to me. Thanks, ladies!
3. This week Eva and I also officially finished her three year old school curriculum. I used the ABCJesusLovesMe curriculum this year and I liked it. I will probably use it for next year but I'm not for sure. Over the summer I want to make a plan to work with her a certain amount each week on certain skills so she doesn't forget what we've worked on all year now. And I am MOST excited to do a weekly science activity with her! The curriculum we used didn't have much science and although I had intended to add more in it didn't quite happen. I've already pinned and planned out 12 fun science things to do with her over the summer and I'm really looking forward to it!!!!
4. Spiders. Eww. Our house has a lot of them. It's not like we are filthy people, we just have lots of tall grassy areas all around our home so they come inside somehow. I know for a fact they sneak in because I recently did an extremely thorough vacuuming of all the nooks and crannies and found no spiders, yet there seems to be another one in our house each day. They are mostly some sort of non poisonous grass spider but I still despise them. I feel like they are just waiting somewhere watching me. Get out of my home, creeepers!
5. Like most people we've gotten tons of rain for the past few months. Honestly, I'm kind of still liking it. I used to be a summer lover but now I get too hot. Yeah, I'm that old person now complaining about the heat in Texas. I will take cooler, cloudy days even if it means delaying pool fun.
6. Speaking of pool fun, our neighborhood one opened the first weekend in May but it's been too chilly to venture out there. We did visit the splash pad nearby this week and had fun playing with friends there.
7. Do you notice my blog has no photos? It's because I've become terrible at remembering to take them. I usually snap one a day of Jensen on my phone. Eva doesn't usually want to take a picture so I've decided to let it go with hopes that if I don't make a big deal out of it she will decide to pose again.
8. You know how they tell you to let the house work go and embrace your kids during the years they are little and at home? I'm trying to really embrace that because I know it is true that usually house work can wait. Except then it has a way of creeping back up on you....and eventually there is tons to do. Like I should be mopping right now, but I'm not. Maybe later....
9.  I really want a good summer project, like something crafty. I'm thinking about making one of those wooden boards that look like a ruler and you can record your kids' measurements. I have a good place for it and think I could figure it out. I also want to keep decluttering my home because clutter and stuff makes me feel antsy. If only I had more time...maybe if I keep putting off mopping the floors....
10. And finally, we are officially on STAY-CATION!!! Ryan is off all the next week, except for Sundays, so we plan to live it up! Originally we wanted to go somewhere, but then we remembered that we purchased a home, a minivan, and a NICU baby all in the past year and therefor our vacation fund was at about zero. So instead we are going to take some family time to local fun and relaxation.

May-festivities

Here is a bit of a May catch up blog. I think my children's faces above perfectly capture the craziness that has been our life this month :) Oh, I love these two little people so much.

A couple of weekends ago Ryan had to be out of town on a Saturday so I planned a fun morning to mix it up. We went and got Starbucks snacks, folded down the back seat of the mini-van and then spent over an hour playing games back there. Eva is really into the Disney Guess Who game right now.

Little buddy was there too! How could you not fall in love with that smile?

The next day was Mother's Day and we started our morning off at church. Then we came home and I got the best gift....a 2 hour long nap! When was the last time I got that luxury?

That night we kept it casual and went to a small cafe in Keller. We got some dinner and frozen yogurt then hung out and played games together. 

Monday night Young Life had their country club so we got dressed up and joined the fun. 

I love my crazy farmer!

Saturday was a busy day, starting with our neices birthday. Sweet Mallory will be 4 years old this week! She had a bouncy-fun party at Urban Air Trampoline Park.

Between parties we headed back to Nana and Papa's house for some rest time.

Finally, we wrapped our weekend with our other nieces' party. Kiersi just turned 9 and Kayden will soon be 8. Lots of birthday love for all these beautiful girls!

Three Months Old

Jensen at THREE Months

Weight: 14 lbs (according to my scientific way of standing on the scale holding you, no checkup this month)
Height: not sure, but you are definitely more ROUND than you are tall...my little bowling ball :)

Clothing Size: 6-9 months (Yes, you read that right. All that round belly has to go somewhere. I packed away your 3 month clothes this week. Break your mama's heart...)
Diaper: Size 2
Shoe Size: 1 (I don't put you in shoes often but you have a cute pair of blue "Sperry" type baby shoes that fit you well)

Accomplishments: rolling from your tummy to your back (only 4 times so far), pushing down on your feet to stand up when we hold you, sleeping in your crib (instead of your swing), holding your head up like a champ, having sweet baby conversations with Mama, Daddy, and Eva.

Sleep Schedule: you are finally settling into 4-5 actual naps a day (instead of just dozing off whenever) - it kind of depends on whether you wake up on your own or are woken up to go somewhere or because Eva is a loud person.... I put you to bed around 8PM, you usually wake up after an hour or so, then go back to bed around 10:30 PM, you wake up some time between 5 AM and 7 AM to eat then go back to sleep again until about 8:30AM.

Feeding Schedule: you are FINALLY going longer stretches. Usually 2-2 1/2 hours between feedings, sometimes more like 3 hours. For you that is a big improvement and has helped you take better naps.

 This month you have discovered your hands and love to chew on them. You still don't care for a pacifier, you prefer to chew on your hand. You like to be worn in my sling carrier and will usually fall asleep on me. You also love to kick and wiggle your hands. You like to sit up in your Bumbo or to wiggle around your playmat. You haven't intentionally reached for toys yet but I think you are getting closer to that. You will do tummy time for short periods of time and then you get grumpy. Your personality seems so even natured...you are okay having your sister be crazy in your face or okay being on your own playing for a few minutes while I take care of things. You spit up a lot, maybe you need to regulate how much milk you think you need :) You cry like an old man when you are hungry but other than that are pretty relaxed. You were sick with a cold for the first time last week. It was so sad to see your little face looking sick and pitiful. You are still the best napping buddy and I love to snuggle in bed with you, especially early in the mornings. I wish I could just be still and hold you all day long, I already miss you being my tiny newborn.

And just for fun - a comparison of Jensen and Eva, both at 3 months. I see some similarities but they also have their own features and for sure their own personalities!