Leap Day

Here is a little video of Mitchell swinging in his swing on Leap Day. (sorry it's sideways!)
Anyone else having spring fever as bad as I am?!?!? Although I'm happy that March is finally here, the ONLY bad thing about it is that I have to return to work on 3/24. It's going to be a rough transition, but I'm sure we can handle it.

Two Months Old!

Mitchell is TWO MONTHS old today! Here is a picture of him chillin' in his rocking chair. My grandma and grandpa bought for Kelli and I when we were little. I'm working on teaching him to rock himself to sleep - only kidding - I'd never give that up, that's my favorite time (if he's not crying!)

Aunt Katy - he's wearing your booties...but not for long! He's just about outgrown them, along with his other 0-3 month clothes. Yes, he's a big boy!

We had our two month pediatrician appt this morning and Mitchell weighs 15 pounds and 8 ounces and is 24.5 inches long. He's huge! He's in the 92nd percentile for height and 97th percentile for weight. He had to get his first round of shots :( He bawled for a few mintues, but seems to be doing okay now. Sure hope he continues. I was warned that it might be a long night for me tonight - yeah :)

Jacob is sick as a dog. He has barely left our bed since Sunday. Mitchell and I have been avoiding him like the plague (come to think of it...I hope it's not the plague). In fact, Mitchell has actually slept the past two nights in his crib for the first time - and I have been sacking out on the futon in his room. I'm not sure who's been tougher to take care of the past three days - Mitchell or his daddy. :)

First Big Car Trip

Well....we did it. We made our first big car trip. Mitchell, Tex and I drove to Minneapolis. It was quite an adventure! It was sooo cold that I didn't want to leave Tex in the car alone while Mitchell and I went inside anywhere, so Mitchell got his feedings in the backseat of the car at various reststops along I-35. He did so well! He slept nearly all of the way. Both times, he would start to get a little restless with about an hour left. I'm not sure how many times I told Mitchell "I promise, buddy, we're almost there". Guess I might as well start practicing now since I'll probably be saying that for years to come! I promised him that I wouldn't make him get into his carseat at all today!

We even took the little guy on his first trip to the Mall of America. I would imagine this will likely be the only time we'll be able to get out of the mall without spending a dime on him. I can hear it now..."come on, grandma, please buy this for me..."

I have given into my addiction to Starbucks coffee again There was a sign for a Starbucks drive-through along I-35 somewhere in Iowa. Mitchell was sleeping soundly in the back, so I thought I should treat myself. I kept one eye on the mirror so that I could see Mitchell and the other on the road while I crept off the highway toward Starbucks. I ordered my Venti "skinny" vanilla latte, paid my $4 (what a rip off) and was merrily on my way back onto I-35 - feeling like a million bucks...until I realized that I had forgotten to order DECAF. Our hospital nursing class told us that any caffeine that I drink stays in Mitchell's system for up to 96 hours! I just pictured myself pumping Mitchell full of caffeine and then strapping him into the carseat for 5 more hours and somehow hoping that he would sleep....yeah, right! So as HARD as it was....I had to let my full Latte just miserably sit there, slowing grow cold until I dumped it at the next gas station fill-up. Ugh :(

Leisurely Sunday morning reading in bed

You won't believe what we caught Mitchell doing this weekend. We left the room for a few mintues and when we returned, he was doing some leisurely Sunday morning reading in bed. Obviously he was a little shocked and had a tough time explaining himself : ) Just kidding...and no he can't sit up on his own. He does pretty good when he's propped up against something though (like our headboard). It was a cold and snowy weekend, so we stayed in much of the time despite our trip to church. He slept through much of it and seemed to like the loud music.

When we're out and about and people ask how old Mitchell is - they look at me like I must be mistaken, when I respond. My follow-up comment is "Yes, he's a big guy!" Jacob weighed himself and then stepped on the scale with Mitchell in his arms and we're guessing he's around 15 pounds now! No wonder my back kills after a day of carrying him around!

Bathtime Video

Here's a little picture and bathtime video of Mitchell on V-day. He still loves his baths....until I get him out. I don't like stepping out of my hot shower either, so I can sypathize with him!

Mitchell even performs his own stunts in this video. He's a "Jackie Chan" in training.

P.S. The length and frequency of Mitchell's baths are inversely related to my hot showers :)

Happy Valentine's Day!!!

Mitchell is seven weeks old today! We're looking forward to Daddy getting home early enough to have dinner with us tonight (Jacob's been working a ton lately - gotta love busy season). He said he'd try to be home by 8pm. I said "That's not early!" Wow -it's strange out my point of view has changed in a year. Last year at this time, we made dinner reservations at 9pm. :) Of course, last year at this time, I didn't have a newborn waking me up at 3:15am to eat and then wanting to play for two hours! Kind of funny that for some reason, when I was pregnant, my body naturally woke up at 4am every morning. I guess my body was preparing itself for 4am play sessions!!

Mommy & Mitchell

Here is a picture of Mitchell and I before my first big night out! One of my girlfriends celebrated her 30th birthday with a pubcrawl. I joined for the first two bars and even had one beer at each. It was nice to be out....but after two hours I was ready to return to my boys at home! Of course they were both sound asleep when I got home - I think I missed them more than they missed me! :)

Chunky Monkey

Look at our little chunky monkey at bathtime!!! We used to take baths every three days, but now that Mitchell has become a spit-up king (I like to call him Dairy King), we're now bathing daily. He has so much fun kicking around in the water! I can't wait to take him swimming!

Six Weeks Old

Mitchell is SIX weeks old today! I can't believe how fast it goes! I finally got a video of him showing off his newest and most endearing (oh, and only!) trick - his smile. It melts my heart :) He seems to be the happiest in the morning, unlike his daddy!
He is also LOVING bath time. Everytime I splash the water up on him, he opens his mouth to try to catch some! Before anyone reports me to social services for allowing my child to drink dirty bath water, I should tell you that I don't splash it up quite high enough for him to actually catch it....that doesn't keep him from trying though. I'll try to get a video of that this weekend when Jacob's here. I have to keep my hands on him at all times in his little tub - squirmy and slippery are a dangerous combination.
It was 70 degrees out on Monday, so we took advantage of the weather and Tex and I took Mitchell on his first walk outdoors. He seemed to really like it and was fast asleep by the time we reached Pflumm. Tex was in doggy heaven too - it's been too long since the poor guy was taken on a walk. I, on the other hand, was probably the worse off of the three of us...it was quite a struggle to man the stroller and the dog at the same time. We might have to talk Jacob into joining us next time. From the looks of things outside (we have 3 inches of snow on the ground right now), it'll be a while until our next outdoor walking adventure. :(

Mitchell's First Superbowl

Today was Mitchell's first super bowl...and Jacob thought what better way to introduce him to the sport than carrying him like a football. I know that his size as a baby is not necessarily indicitive of his size as a full grown adult, but if he stays in the 90% percentile, he may become more familiar with the sport! Look at his chubby little arms and legs!!!!