4 Months!

Ridiculously Happy Baby is 4 months old!

He weighs 18 pounds - just 10 more to go before he catches up to big brother!

Baby J smiles at everyone and is (yes) ridiculously happy.  He is starting to put his fingers in his mouth and pull toys towards him.  He was strong-arming his way out of his swaddle, so now he sleeps un-swaddled.  Sniff, sniff, this sweet baby is growing up!

He has nearly rolled over from back to front a couple of times, but not completely yet.  He likes to bear weight on his feet, and he loves to sit up and watch his big brother play.  He is a riot in the bath tub - kicking his feet like crazy and squealing when he splashes himself!

He sleeps through the night (7 pm - 5 am) maybe once a week.  Other nights he might wake up at 2 am, 3 am or 4 am.  I can never predict it!  Anyone else up in the middle of the night with me?

He is adored by every member of this family!

Manito Park - Spokane, WA

When my parents were here a few weeks ago, we stopped at Manito Park in Spokane after taking my sister to the airport.  While most of the flowers weren't blooming yet, it is obviously a lovely park!

We stopped at a cute stone bench for a photo op of M with his grandparents.  He thought the bench made the perfect stage, and recruited Granddad to be the "electric bass man" for his band.

 

The greenhouse had beautiful blooms and was a nice warm retreat on the gray day!  I think it was baby J's favorite spot - he loved the warmth.  There were also a couple of men who found a nice bench on which to sit and play a game of chess.  A pretty good spot to enjoy the blooms!

 

 

I'd never seen a climbing onion before!  Anyone know how they taste?

We really only explored a small portion of the park.  On our way out, we stopped by this pond, where M made friends with Mr. and Mrs. Mallard.  We've been reading a lot of Robert McCloskey these days, so he was thrilled to meet the stars of one of his favorite books.

You're lovely, Manito.  We'll be back to keep exploring!

Baby J's Baptism

We were so blessed to have our Ridiculously Happy Baby baptized on Divine Mercy Sunday.  He slept through the entire service, including his actual baptism and even though Father Roger gave him quite a bath!

We were blessed to have my sister (his Godmother) and my parents present.  M was completely intrigued by the whole process, and he had to get a closer look at the font during the service.  Deacon Gary let him carry the chrism oil, and thankfully his guardian angel also had two hands on it to help keep him from dropping it!

Taking a peek at the font

We are blessed by our parish and our kind and faithful Father Roger and Deacons Gary and Eric.  The 8th graders at the local Catholic school also made a blanket for baby J and we will treasure it always.

May God continue to bless and guide our sweet baby J!  He is such a gift to our family!

Easter 2015

Easter 2015 - otherwise known as "Sick Mom Edition"

I finally succumbed to the family sore throat/respiratory infection bug during Holy Week.  We made a little "Lamb of God" craft early in the week, but mostly laid low.

Lake City Easter Egg Hunt

On Holy Saturday, we walked over to an Easter Egg Hunt sponsored by a local non-denominational church and held at the high school.  The kiddos didn't have to look too hard to find the eggs, right?  M was very methodical about putting the eggs in his basket - he stopped before he filled it up - I think it started to feel too much like "clean up time". ;)  But he was pretty happy to eat all of the candy before we even made it back to the house!

Easter finest - 2015

On Easter Sunday, our prayer chain was complete and draped above the kitchen table.  And our beans turned into Easter M&Ms (to M's complete amazement!).  Both boys received new books for Easter.  No one sang the Gloria with more gusto than our little M and we rejoiced in the greatest miracle of our faith.  I hope you had a beautiful Easter!  I'm so thankful we get 50 days to celebrate it!