Nova at 4 Months Old

I can't believe that my baby is 4 months old.  It seems like I blinked and the last 4 months went by.  I still have a lot to blog about her, but wanted to do a 4 month update so I didn't forget specifics.  Everyone always says how each kid grows at their own pace and is different.  Not my kids.  At birth, they were all within 1/2 lb of each other.  At 2 months, they were all within 3 ounces.  At 4 months, Rowan and Nova are just once ounce apart.  I'm not sure what Chan was at 4 months, but I'm sure it was really similar.  Crazy, right?

We took Nova in for her 4 month checkup.
Stats:

Weight: 15 lbs 10 oz
Heights: 26"
Head: 16 1/2"


She is 90% for weight, 95% for height and 75% for head.  I know she will start to even out at 6 months, but I am totally loving the chunk on her.  She is wearing some 3-6 month clothes and some 6-12 month stuff.  Her 3-6 month stuff is really getting too small but I don't have the heart to pack it all up yet.


I remember holding my boys quite a bit as babies, but Nova is extra spoiled.  I've realized just how quickly time goes and hold her a LOT.  I will make any excuse I can to stop what I'm doing and hold her.  She really is an incredible baby.  She very rarely cries, will smile at anyone, almost never spits up, and is laughing and rolling.  She doesn't roll often, but has rolled over a few times starting a few days before she turned 4 months.  She is grabbing onto toys and figuring out how to use her little hands.

She's still exclusively breastfed except when I work.  Then it's breast milk in a bottle. :)  She does an amazing job transitioning from bottle to breast to paci.  I thought it would be really hard to go back to work and while I do miss her while I'm gone, I don't worry.  She's with Marshall and is so easy going so that gives me peace of mind.  I'm planning on breastfeeding her longer than a year.  I'm hoping to make it to 2, maybe a bit longer.  I used to care what others thought and stopped BF Rowan at 13 months because of how others viewed it.  Now I could care less what others think and will do what works for us.  It's a great bonding experience and I know we both enjoy it. :)  I wish that I had that attitude from the get go.

Nova is currently also working on some teeth.  Her bottom gums are so swollen and I'm expecting her to pop something through anytime, but who knows...maybe it will be a while?

She loves to watch her brothers and is quick to laugh at them.  For some reason, she just thinks they are so funny.

Right before Nova gets tired, she has this really funny giggly window.  She will coo and talk, laugh and is very social.  Once that window is over, she fusses just a little and is out in a matter of minutes.  It's so funny and cute.

She hasn't started solids yet, and I'm probably going to wait until 5-6 months depending on how much interest she shows.  If she shows interest at 5 months, we will start then.  If not, I'll hold off longer.  One thing that will be good with solids is that her poop will be more solid.  She is my super pooper and blows out of any diaper I put her in.  We've just come to terms that she will blow out of a diaper at least once a day.  I've tried going up a size, different brands - she blows out of them all.  Silly girl.

Her eyes are still blue and I'm thinking they will either stay blue or go hazel.  Marsh has brown eyes and mine are hazel so I guess my hazel gene is just that much more dominant.


Nova's fuzzy hair has really started to come in and she's very blonde.  It's so cute.

I think that's all I can think of for a random Nova update.  Love this girl!

Family Pictures 2013

We had Foto Fly take our family pictures again at Thanksgiving Point.  I'm always happy with what a good job they do.  It was pretty cold that day with snow flurries since it was right before Thanksgiving.  The kids all did really great, including Nova.  I love my little family!  PS - Yes, it is picture overload.

Chandler's 8th Birthday

Chan turned 8 on November 1st.  He woke up in the morning and I pinned his birthday boy pin to him.  I always remember how special I felt as a kid when people would know it was my birthday and make a big deal.  He loved wearing the pin and said lots of kids told him Happy Birthday at school.
This year we didn't do a friend party, we opted just to do a family party.  He told me he wanted a surprise party which basically means that we decorate before he gets home.  The boys had recently seen Monsters University and he wanted Monsters University decorations.  We obliged and he was so excited.

My parents were here for his birthday and they joined in on the fun.  Chandler got a Lego Chima set, a Lego Chima figure, Mario Tennis Wii and some clothes.  Normally I don't wrap up clothes for the kids besides Christmas pajamas.  I just buy them clothes when they need things or outgrow them.  When Rowan saw Chandler open a package that had some t-shirts in it, he exclaimed, "Clothes?!?  That's not good!"  It was pretty funny.  Chandler also got new scriptures from my parents with his name on the front.  They are a really nice set and will be great to use for years to come.  They also gave him some stickers to put in his scriptures and my mom gave him some neck ties for scouting.  My mom has been in scouting on and off for like 25 years so she had just a few.

Halloween

Halloween fell on a Thursday this year.  It was the first year that I've actually been able to go to the boy's Halloween parades since I wasn't in school, working, etc.  Rowan's parade was in the am, and Chan's was in the pm.  Rowan was Ironman 3.  Although I only got to see each of the boys for about 10 seconds in passing, they were both so happy that I came.  It totally made it worth it.

Chandler was originally supposed to be this monkey tour guide but he said his costume was itchy and didn't like it.  We dug this Bakugan Dragon costume out of the costume bin and that's what he ended up going as.  It was a pretty warm evening and the boys went Trick or Treating for about 45 minutes. 

Nova and I were bumblebees.  Nova's costume was 0-3 months and was actually too small.  She was way too long for it and was not very happy being in it.  She only stayed in it for about 10 minutes before she was fed up, but she sure was cute.

 

 

The boys loved handing out candy and little toys that we gave out.  Overall it was a fun day!

 

Chandler School Update

Looking back, I haven't blogged a ton about the boys in the last few months.  I think the combination of having a new baby and recovering plus looking for a house has made my blog suffer just a bit.  Chan has Mrs. Walker for 2nd grade and is excelling in every aspect.  Spelling and reading come really naturally to him and he reminds me a lot of myself at this age.  Sometimes we aren't great about getting homework every night and I worry that he will have to cram to learn his spelling words, but he usually always spells them right the first time.  We went to parent teacher conference and his teacher just gushed about him.  He's reading at a level 24 and is in the advanced reading group.  His teacher also said he reads with a lot of expression and he would do well in theater.  He is having a little bit of problems sitting still in the afternoon so we set a goal to help him remember to sit still in the afternoon.  He has a good friend right now that he plays with at recess and eats lunch with, her name is Victoria.  He said that he gave her a compliment on her cat shirt the first day of school and they have been friends ever since.  I'm glad that he has a good friend at school, even if it is a girl. :)

I think he's having a hard time with the fact that we will be moving.  I'm sure it's better to move now than when he's in middle school or Jr. High, but it makes me feel sad to know that he's sad about leaving his school and friends.  I know he will adjust but it will take time.  They will go to their old school through December.

After parent teacher conference, we went up to the book fair to get some new books.  I don't mind investing in a lot of books, especially if he shows interest.

1 Month, 2 Months

I swear I was so much more on top of blogging about the boys when they were babies.  I find myself taking pictures of Nova today and she's already 2 months.  Where does the time go?  I'm doing month by month shots and looking at her 1 month vs. 2 month I can't believe how much she's grown.  I think she's between 12 and 13 lbs but we will know for sure tomorrow at her well baby checkup.

1 Month

Weight: Around 10 lbs
Milestones:  Sleeping 4 hours at a time, neck is getting stronger.  She is also making eye contact and can tell if I'm holding her.

2 Months

Weight: 13 lbs 2 oz.  She is 23 3/4 in length, and head is 15 1/2.  She is 95% for weight and length and 75% for head. She has tons of fat rolls on her upper thighs, and is really starting to fill out.  At her 2 month appointment she was really cute with the dr.  Then she got her shots and cried and cried.  Made me feel SO sad!
Milestones:  She started smiling around 6 weeks.  She has these big goofy grins now and always smiles as soon as she wakes up.  Her head is getting stronger and she can hold it by herself for short periods of times.  She went on her first flight to Cincinnati when we went to Pampers last week and did awesome.  She slept almost the whole plane ride there and back.  She's focusing more on faces and will follow people around the room when she sees movement.  We are in a size 2 diaper and I have a feeling we will only be in those for a few more weeks.  She's an even tempered baby and doesn't really cry.  If she does cry, it is not for very long and after she is fed, changed or falls asleep that seems to fix it.  She loves her pacifier and I love that she takes it.  She also does great taking a bottle which is nice since I go back to work in 3 weeks.  She officially has more clothes than I do and I have so much fun dressing her up.  I love, LOVE this little girl!

Moving On

When we first bought our town home, we said we would be here 2-3 years.  We've been here almost 5.  We decided to get pre qualified and start looking for a home.  Ultimately, we wanted to be in Herriman or Riverton so that we were closer to both of our jobs.  We looked at quite a few homes and even new construction.  I think we were wanting something a lot newer but we had a certain floor plan in mind.  The problem with a lot of new construction anymore is that you don't get much of a yard.  Our realtor who also happens to be a good friend of my husband found a house in West Jordan that he thought we would like.  It was a little older but had a similar floor plan to what we were looking for.  As soon as we pulled up, we loved the outside.  Then we fell in love with the inside as well.  It needs some updating, but has 5 bedrooms, including a full mother in law apartment in the basement.  The yard is also big and will be great for the kids.  We decided to put in an offer and after a couple of counter offers, we are under contract!  We had an inspection yesterday and there's a lot of little maintenance things that need to be done.  There is also some updating that needs to be done so I will post before and after pictures later, but here's a pic of the outside.  We are set to close to first part of December and just need to get working on renting out our town home!  Here's to new adventures!

Rowan Loses a Tooth

About a week ago, I noticed that one of Rowan's bottom teeth was sticking out more and wondered if it was loose.  Sure enough it was and he was excited at the fact that he had a loose tooth.  He started wiggling it a bunch but didn't want me to pull it out.  The next day, he had a playdate at his friend Carson's house.  Carson is in his small group kingergarten class and in our ward.  He's a great friend.  I went to pick Rowan up and he was crying.  I guess he had bitten into an apple and was bleeding.  His tooth was a lot more loose now but he still didn't want to pull it out.

The next morning, he got up and was quite distraught.  He asked why the tooth fairy hadn't come and I thought he lost his tooth during the night.  His tooth was still there and I told him it had to come out of his mouth before the tooth fairy could come.  2 days ago while he was eating breakfast, I heard him laugh and yell.  I looked over to see his tiny little tooth that he had pulled out.  He was so so excited.  We put it in a little baggie but took a picture before he headed off to school.  The tooth fairy came that night and brought him a dollar which he was so excited about.  He's got another loose tooth on the bottom and I think it will only be a matter of time.  He's already got a permanent tooth coming through where he lost his tooth.  Although he's 5 1/2, he was my baby for a LONG time. It's hard to see him hitting milestones like this because they look so different when they start losing teeth.  My baby is growing up!

Newborn Pictures

Here are some of my favorite newborn pictures of Nova.  Also taken by Baby Bare Photography.  These were taken when she was 8 days old.