Lets train

Lucky number seven today and baby boy is recovering from a fabulous weekend with some STL friends. On Friday night, Hannah, Michael, Tilly, Kim and Mark drove up here and stayed until Sunday night. It's the first time any of them met Truman and it's the first time we've seen Kim and Mark since December 2008 since they've lived in South Korea this whole time. I was so sad to think that we weren't going to see them while they are back in the states for just two months before they return to Korea for a little longer, but they hitched a ride with Hannah and Michael and made it a group trip! SO good to see our traveling friends. And Hannah and I decided that Tilly and Truman would likely fall madly in love with each other upon first glance and truly, they did like each other a lot:) We had a blast with our guests and enjoyed the decent but chilly weather outside quite a bit and we ate our way through Milwaukee, too.



After our escapades around the city with friends (probably our most social and most eventful weekend since T was born!) Truman decided to take a THREE HOUR NAP on Sunday. It was divine because I got to snooze, too. Not only that but he also slept wonderfully during the night on Saturday night just from pure exhaustion, I'm sure. I never really thought babies were affected by being out on the town all day especially when they still manage to sleep and eat just like normal, but apparently he was a tired boy. I've come to realize that the more he sleeps during the day, the more rested he is overall and the nights tend to go better than if he's up all day long. Go figure!



His grunting has been a lot better since I posted my concerns on Friday, which makes no sense to me because I didn't change a thing with diet or anything. Basically, I'm leaning towards assuming this is a normal baby thing he'll just grow out of someday. But when we have our 2 month appointment I'll still ask about gas drops, diet change, etc to be sure. I think I can last until then as long as he isn't having his insanely loud grunting sessions every day now:)



Truman is smiling a lot more lately and I just can't get enough of it. We still have to work very hard to catch a smile and it's now my life's mission to get a smile in a photo and on video. It's hard work being a sneaky baby smile catcher, though, and I haven't had much luck besides these two pictures that somewhat show his grin. Also, note his right dimple:)




T and I have been enjoying the outdoors a lot more since I was released to exercise again last week. I've taken him on many more walks and two runs in the BOB, plus I've run twice more on my own, as well. Truman seems to enjoy the BOB because he'll usually pass right out with the jostling around and the fresh air....just another way to encourage baby boy to sleep, I guess! He still despises his car seat in general which is a bummer since he has to ride in the BOB with his seat for now but he gets over it quickly. I'm not freaking out as much when he starts to cry because he's still so content overall that his cries are few and far between and usually serve a purpose, like: 'Mom, feed me!' or 'I'm so tired, put me to sleep!' It's amazing how much my confidence has grown in the past 7 weeks with my parenting skills. It really does get easier, just like they say, even though we still have our bad days or moments when I have no freaking clue what to do. Overall I think that we are settling into a more comfortable pattern of 'Truman and Mommy time' and I just love it.



I had another weepy moment yesterday when I put baby boy into the Moby wrap, turned off all the lights in his nursery, and started playing music for him while we danced around together. The Fray's 'Look After You' came on which has always been one of my favorite songs but Truman was just tucked right under my chin, staring up at me in contentment, listening to his Mommy sing and watching her dance like a fool and I swear he just looked so peaceful and happy I couldn't contain myself. I breathe in the scent of his little head and touch his sweet skin and immediately feel at peace with everything, happiness doesn't begin to describe it. And when I am successful at getting him to nap? Even better! Score one more for mommy-confidence.


I'm not going to jinx it but they always say that right around 6 weeks, all babies reach their peak of fussiness and since we are at 7 weeks now I think I can say that Truman's fussiness really isn't too awful. I was always worried that he'd have an official case of colic since I had it as a child but again, I'm pretty sure we've passed the common start time for that, too (around 3-4 weeks, I've read). His temperament is just so calm and content and most of the time I find myself wondering how I got so lucky with this baby boy. His laid back attitude reflects to me and makes me more calm as a mom and I'm so thankful for that. I have no idea how moms do it when their baby DOES have colic or cries inconsolably through the day and night. Kudos to you ladies out there, because I think that would be incredibly difficult.

His personality is shining through more and more each week and I love the little 'Truman' things he does each day. For instance, he is really cranky after he awakes from a nap, like 'Oh no, where am I? Why am I so hungry? FEED ME LADY!!' He loves to stretch his arms out in a dramatic way once I release him from his swaddle---I think he might be an actor someday:) His little coos and grunts and squeals make me think he's talking to us in his own little baby language. And in the past few days he's shown us that he can sometimes put himself to sleep without us helping him which makes his momma VERY happy. Plus he's taking his pacifier more often now which I really think helps him soothe himself to sleep at times.

Enough babble about my baby boy, let's look at some pictures from the weekend events, shall we?
Their first meeting:



And their photoshoot:









Mommies of our 6 weeker and 4.5 monther:) My how times have changed...


Kim and Mark as parents!


The ladies reunited with brewskis:



And it's dark but cute: the Daddies


What a great weekend and seventh week for baby boy.

Wednesday, July 20

I must have been getting burnt out on taking pictures this day, apparently I only have twenty three pictures from the whole day? What in the world??

I woke up early our seventh day in OR and went for a five mile run, a little nervous that I'd get lost in Florence alone but somehow how I managed just fine. When I returned we all ate breakfast and then packed up for our excursion of the day: kayaking, sand boarding, and being generally very Oregonian. ;)

Overlooking her shell collection from yesterday:


We went to Clewox Lake/Honeyman State Park for our experience this day. We rented three kayaks and two sand boards, then spent several hours on the lake and boogying down giant hills-o-sand. Have you ever seen such a thing? I took videos, of course, and the pictures don't do it justice. The lake was clear and beautiful, and Nate took the big kids and went with his brother down the river for a bit---wish he would have taken more pictures! Porter despised his life vest but otherwise all children were adequately happy. Truman rocked the sand boarding and Nate complained of a neck strain the next day from wiping out so much;) I remember being pretty hot this day but the weather was nearly perfect, and the state park was busy but not horrendous. It was a great morning!









And yet, I drove back to Jon and Brittany's house with Lois and Porter around 1:30pm because he was 100% over it. Nate, Tony, Jon, Brittany and the big kids stayed for a little while then stopped at BJ's Ice Cream Parlor and also picked up coffee from Suislaw River Coffee Roasters. Hell yes. They brought both back home so that is why I'm excited about this part.

This is when the afternoon forked for us: I made the executive decision to chill the heck out while uploading pictures on the deck and enjoying some quiet time of my own. It was MUCH needed at this point after a hectic and jam packed trip and I do not regret taking a chill pill here. Nate and Jon went golfing. Tony and Brittany took Truman and Cecelia to see Finding Dory. Lois and I relaxed while Porter napped, then when he woke all three of us went grocery shopping. This was one of the highlights of the day, somehow---it's rare that just Lois and Porter and I ever get to spend time together. And at a grocery store, none-the-less (Lois's favorite place, not so much mine).

We came back home and started making dinner: Costco veggie burgers were the main dish, can't remember the rest but I'm sure it was delish. We put our kids to bed at 9pm and then Jon, Brittany, Nate and I went out to the local dive bar--Beachcomber. Tony and Lois stayed back to 'watch' the sleeping kids. It was exactly what the doctor ordered to spend time with just the newlyweds, at a bar where they literally knew everyone because the town is super small. We talked about all kinds of topics with two drinks a piece, then walked home around midnight. Side note: did you know that Oregon has a zero tolerance policy for drinking and driving? As in, you cannot have a 0.01 or you get a gigantic ticket, and subsequent offenses mean you lose your license pretty quickly? This is amazing and I can only imagine how it would go over in Wisconsin, but it does make sense! Hence the walking for about a mile or so each way after drinking----fine by me!