Levi Lately

I've been struggling just to keep up with Cole's monthly updates, but Levi's been up to lots lately too!

Dinner, Face Painting, & Balloon Aliens with Dad

 Coffee and some light reading before church on Easter Sunday

 Building houses with his president blocks

Typing lots of messages to friends and family

 Reading maps- just like Daddy

 Playing with his legos and train set

 Lining up all of his cars in a race

 Taking blurry iphone pictures with Mommy

Five Months

Dear Cole,

You are such a sweet, low-key little guy.   After just a few short weeks on this high calorie formula, you've gained almost two pounds and are finally fitting into your 0-3 month clothes and size 1 diapers (size 2 at night!).

Likes: You like to people watch.  You want to be sitting up so you can see what's going on around you.  If we lay you down in our arms, you try with all your might to sit up.  You still love watching your brother, and you get the biggest smile when you see him nearby or hear a silly voice coming from his direction.  You are an expert roller and will even roll to find the rug at Misty's house.  You love seeing us come in when you wake up.  You get the biggest smile on your sweet face and kick your little legs.  You also love your hands and feet!  You're always reaching for them and trying to get them in your mouth.


Dislikes: The carseat is still probably the thing you hate most!  Now that your little tummy is used to feeling FULL you will absolutely protest if you don't feel like you've had enough.  We've had to use the nasal aspirator a lot this month :( and you don't like that!  (I can't say that I blame you!)

Eating: You have dropped another feeding this month, but you're making up for it!  You are now eating 5 or 6 ounces at each feeding.  During the day you eat about every 3 or 4 hours.  After many feedings you burp this horrible cough/burp that sounds like you're throwing everything you just ate up.  Thankfully, that has only happened a handful of times, but it makes me hurt every time I hear it!  Your last feeding of the day is usually between 8 and 8:30.

Sleeping: This has been a month of ups and downs of sleeping.  You dropped your late night feeding this month, which means you are sleeping from about 8:30 until about 5:30 the next morning!  It's been wonderful, but I'm afraid it may have been short lived.  We went on a little trip and you got sick, and now you're waking up multiple times throughout the night.  I'm hoping that once we get back into our normal routine and you're feeling better you'll go back to sleeping 9 hours again!  You are still napping between feedings with the exception of your evening feeding (around 5:00).

Playing: You love exploring your little world, and I love seeing how much you are learning.  You've learned to make the little animals on your bouncer and car seat toys sing.  As much as I hate those songs, I love seeing the smile on your face when you hear that music.  Most of the time, as soon as we lay you down on your back, you roll over onto your tummy.  The other day I laid you on your playmat while I switched out some laundry.  When I came back, you had rolled off the playmat and had knocked it down.  You were giggling and having so much fun!  When you are on your tummy, you like to look around and start kicking your little legs when you see something that interests you.  Your big brother is in for a rude awakening when you are able to start crawling for those toys that you see!

You are sucking on your own lips, drooling on everything and chewing on your hands and feet, so I keep expecting to see a little tooth poke through sometime soon!  We love you little guy and love watching you grow and change!

Four Months

                                                                   Dear Cole,

This month has been a fun one because you are almost always smiley and interacting so much with us.  

Likes- You like to be around people and enjoy watching whats going on around you.  You are no longer content to lay in our arms.  You want to be sitting up and taking in all that's going on around you!  You especially love to watch your brother (from a distance).  As he moves closer, you always end up with a furrowed brow or a worried look.  

Dislikes- There isn't much for me to write here!  You obviously dislike things like the nasal aspirator and getting your nails clipped, but you don't even protest TOO much for those things!  Your brother seemed more upset about your shots than you did!  When the nurse came in with the shots, Levi looked at her and said, "I'm outta here!"  Even when she tried to explain that they weren't for him, he headed for the door and said, "I'm leaving"  You cried for 30 seconds- Levi cried/pouted longer!  

Eating- Not much has changed in this department since last month.  During the day, you're still eating about 4 or 5 ounces every three hours.    At night, I wake you once before I go to bed for a dream feed, and you'll usually sleep 6 or 7 hours until your next feeding.  You still haven't gained much weight, so the doctor has us supplementing with some high calorie formula.  We'll go back in to the doctor in a few weeks to check your weight, so we're hoping to see a growth spurt this next month!

Sleeping- You're sleeping for good long stretches at night.  Last night you even slept from 10 until 6 this morning!  During the day you're still in a good routine of napping before each feeding.  I've been laying you down when you're still wide awake, and so far, you've been really good about talking to yourself for just a bit and then faling asleep.  Hopefully it stays that easy!  :)

Playing- You've found your hands and your feet!  You love to suck on your hands and work really hard trying to get your entire fist in your mouth.  You are enjoying your play mat and bouncer and seem interested in your toys.  You've started reaching for them and every once in a while you get lucky and grab one!

We have moved into size 1 diapers but really only because we were out of newborns.  You'd probably still fit in them!  Your 0-3 month clothes are still really big (especially your pants!)  At your 4 month well check, you weighed 11 pounds and 1 oz and were 24 inches long.

You're a tiny little guy, but you're full of smiles, sweet coos and giggles.  We are so thankful God blessed our family with you!  We love you sweet boy!

Three Months

Dear Cole,

This month brought a new routine and new challenges for our little family of four.  Mommy went back to work, and you started spending the day with Levi at Misty's house.  Levi was so excited for you to go with him.  I was a little bit worried he might try to boss Misty around, but it seems to have been a smooth transition.  Mommy hates being away from you and your brother all day, but slowly we are all getting adjusted.

Sorry for these pictures kiddo.  You aren't wearing any pants, but this was the best we could get this month!  I had good intentions of taking some better pictures of you but time got away from me.  We're getting dangerously close to your four month post, so I decided I'd go ahead and use what we had!

You've acquired quite a list of nick names.  Daddy's favorites are Coltrain and Coley Moly.  Pops came up with Colar Bear, and Mommy usually calls you Buster and Mister.  

Likes: You are noticing your toys on your bouncer and play mat more this month.  You lay and talk to them and sometimes look like you might be reaching towards them.  You like to be on your tummy or sitting up.  This month you've also become really interested in your hands.  If you don't have a paci in your mouth, you probably have your hands in there!  You still love loud noises like the hair dryer and vaccuum!  You also love to be outside or be near open windows.  

Dislikes: You do not like to be laid down on your back (unless you're sleeping).  You still aren't a big fan of your carseat unless it's moving.  As soon as you get to Misty's house, she says you're ready to get out!  You especially hate it on Wednesday nights.  I guess it's just a long day, but you always scream when we're on our way to Summit Group.

Eating: You have been taking bottles like a champ during the day.  Most of the time you eat about 4 ounces every three hours.  At night, I've been getting you up right before I go to bed to do a dream feed, and then I'm usually able to sleep until my alarm goes off.  When I get up, I do another dream feed before I get ready for school.

Playing: Like I said earlier, you are starting to "play" more with your toys.  I love listening to you talk to them and watch your little feet kick and kick.  Today you were watching your brother play.  You started talking to him, and he got so excited!

Sleeping:  Most of the time you are still taking good naps after your "playtime" and before your next feeding.  At night you sleep 6-7 hour stretches.  You are starting to move around in your crib more.  I think it's mostly from trying to wiggle out of your swaddle.  We've stopped swaddling you in blankets and only use the saddlers.  You somehow still manage to get out of those.  We'll find you with your legs out but your arms still swaddled.  This morning when I went to get you, you only had one arm that was still in the swaddler!  

We love you sweet Cole and are so thankful God has blessed our family with you!

Two Months

Dear Cole,

This month has been a busy one!  You took your first few car trips and did great- even when we were stuck in Thanksgiving traffic.  You are still a mellow little guy and seem to go with the flow most of the time.

Likes: You are still a cuddler and love to sleep in someones arms.  This month you've enjoyed looking at the Christmas lights.  When we're sitting on the couch, you'll stretch your neck so you can see the lights.  You also love loud noises (which is good considering the loud big brother you have!) especially the vacuum, bath water, hair dryer and even the blender!

Dislikes: You are beginning to have a strong hatred for your car seat when it is sitting still.  As long as we're moving, you're ok, but as soon as we stop, we start to hear grunts that are typically followed by screaming!  This is great for longer car trips but terrible for our trips around town.

Eating/Sleeping: Not much has changed in this department since last month.  You are in a pretty good schedule during the day.  You eat just about every three hours.  Then you have some "play" time and then you sleep for an hour or so before it's time to eat again.  At night, you've had a few longer stretches of sleep, but for the most part, you're still waking up about every 4 hours.

Playing:  We've seen lots of smiles this month, and you've started talking to us lately too.  Baby coos are one of the sweetest sounds.  We all love listening to you talk- especially your big brother!  He tries to translate for us sometimes.  I've also noticed you focusing more on the toys that hang on your bouncer and swing.

Stats: You were a trooper at your 2 month appointment.  Of course, you screamed when you got your shots, but it wasn't long before you were mellow little self again.  You are a tiny little guy.  You weigh 9 lb, 10 oz (4%), and you are 22 inches long (12%).  You are still growing right along your own little growth curve, so the doctor isn't concerned.  You're still wearing newborn diapers and clothes.  We have a closet full of 0-3 month clothes that I'm ready for you to grow in to!  

This next month brings some big changes for our family as I head back to work and you start spending the days with Misty.  Levi is excited to have you at "school" with him, and I know you'll do great.  We love you so much Cole!

Santa, Trains, and Gingerbread Houses

This Christmas season has already been so much fun with Levi!  Levi is totally into all of the excitement of the season.  In fact one night (actually early one morning!) he woke up and seemed to be upset.  When I went into his room and asked him what was wrong he said, "I just wanted to talk to you about Christmas cheer!"

Levi got to see Santa (from afar) and ride a train through Aunt Blair and Uncle Kyle's neighborhood.  His obsession with trains has intensified over the last few months.  When he's playing with his trains or sees one somewhere, he'll look at me and say, "I just love trains so much!"

We pulled out Polar Express one weekend and with a 3 year old boy you can't get much better than the combination of trains and Santa! We've already watched this movie more times than I can count.  We even had a family pj party with popcorn and hot chocolate.

We have done a couple of crafty Christmas activities (which I much say I'm pretty proud of considering we have a newborn in the house!)  We decorated a foam Christmas tree and gingerbread house from Target.  They were perfect for us this year.  They came already constructed and with a variety of stickers to decorate with.  Levi loved it!

We also decorated a real gingerbread house.  Levi was very particular about where things went and loved getting to play with the icing and candy!

We also made a trip to see Santa.  We went at 10:00 one Monday morning with Sarah and Miles.  We were the only people there and were able to walk right up without waiting at all!  Cole was crying which concerned Levi.  He was worried Cole might be put on the naughty list!  Santa was great and even called Levi and Cole by name (which Levi loved!)  

We had talked about going to visit Santa, but I wasn't sure how Levi would do.  I was pleasantly surprised with his reaction.  He walked right up and started talking to Santa.  He climbed up in his lap and smiled for the picture.  Then he told him he needed some new trains- a new engine and a few passenger cars to be exact- and some new cars too.

We have had a busy December so far and are looking forward to more fun with family and friends!

Brooks Thomas Griffith

Little did we know that when we left Dallas after Thanksgiving we'd be back in less than a week!  Blair called me on Wednesday morning and told me she thought she was having contractions.  They were strong enough that she cancelled all of her clients that day but seemed inconsistent.  According to Kyle she had a very productive day at home and even had a productive shopping trip to Target- lots of nesting!  Right before we left for church, she called me back and told me they were headed to the hospital!

Wednesday was my dad's birthday, and I think we were all hoping Brooks would make his appearance in time for him to share a birthday with Pops!  Things did progress very quickly, and my mom, Aunt Amy, and I enjoyed texting back and forth all night long.  We had so much fun waiting to hear that Brooks was here, and I was glad to have some "company" up with me for Cole's 12 am feeding.  

I guess Brooks decided that he wanted his own special day, and he was born at 1 in the morning on Thursday, November 29th.  He was almost 9 pounds and had a beautiful head of hair!  I wanted so badly to be there with Blair, so Cole and I headed up first thing Thursday morning.  We spent a lot of time hanging out at the hospital holding sweet baby boys.  We enjoyed the confused looks and comments we got when nurses and doctors came in and saw Cole and Brooks!  They were almost the same size- and Cole was 5 weeks old!  

It has been so fun to be pregnant and due so close to my sister.  We have compared notes and complained to each other throughout our entire pregnancies (and now life with newborns!)   We're so happy for Blair and Kyle and so excited to welcome sweet Brooks into the family!