James: 3 months

James is 3 months old!

James changed a lot from 2-3 months. I feel like once babies hit the 3 month mark they seem more like little people instead of little blobs :) You start to see tiny glimpses of their personalities which is really fun. At 3 months old James was smiling all the time and he had just started cooing. 

We took a little road trip to San Louis Obispo for one of Paul's football games. The kids and I rode down there with Paul's parents (Mimi and Grandpa) and met Paul there. It was about a 4.5 hour drive and James did great! He slept most of the way and we stopped to feed him a few times when he was hungry. Doesn't he look happy??

James is constantly making this face where he scrunches his eyebrows together. People are always stopping me in the grocery store and saying, "He looks so serious!" The funny thing is, June used to make the exact same face. 

On the way home from San Louis Obispo we drove to Kernville to visit with Paul's aunt and cousins and then we stopped at the Trail of 100 Giants in the Sequoia National Forest. It was pretty amazing.

I found a pine cone bigger than James' head!

During this month we also took a little trip up to Tahoe for Thanksgiving. 

James' first Thanksgiving! 

Mimi and Grandpa rented a cabin for all of us. It was very cozy. It even snowed one day. We pretty much hung out by the fire in our jammies for 4 days. 

Unfortunately, James had entered a phase where he was having a hard time sleeping. The whole time we were there, he would fall asleep in my arms, but wake up and cry the second I tried to put him down. It was exhausting. It's a good thing he's so cute!  When we got back from Tahoe, I implemented a 7:00pm bedtime and tried to transition him from the rock n play to the pack n play bassinet. It didn't go so well. James HATED the pack n play. So we settled on the swing in our room and he was back to     sleeping pretty well.

And then at the end of the month, one day shy of 12 weeks, James rolled over from his tummy to his back. Yay Jamesy! 

3 MONTH STATS:

weight: 14 lbs

height: ?

diapers: ?? I don't remember!

clothes: some 3 month and some 6 month

eyes: blue

hair: brown, but getting lighter?

nicknames: Jamesy, Jame Jame, Buddy

likes: the swing, the car seat, tummy time, sucking on anything/everything

dislikes: diaper changes 

James: 2 months

James is 2 months old!

I actually can’t believe it’s only been two months. It feels like he has always been here!

James is such a sweet little guy. His tummy troubles seem to be getting better, which I am so thankful for (his digestive system is growing up! :) He’s pretty good at just going with the flow and actually seems to prefer being out and about than being at home.

James smiled for the first time this month (6 weeks). His smiles are so darn cute. They kind of creep up on him and then turn into full-blown, open mouth smiles. I haven’t been able to capture it on camera yet, but hopefully I will soon.

June told James he could hold Cinderella and then put the figurine on his hand :)

James also found his hands this month. He likes to suck on them when he can coordinate it. I wonder if he’ll be a thumb sucker?  We are still trying the pacifier with him too, but only Paul and Mimi (Paul’s mom) have been successful at giving it to him. When he finally takes it, he likes it, but he has a hard time keeping it in his mouth. And if I try to give it to him, he freaks out!

James has been a sleeping champ lately! He takes naps in his swing or car seat (when we’re out) and often takes 3-4 hour naps. Sometimes I even have to wake him up to feed him. At night he sleeps in the Rock n Play. He usually goes down around 9pm, wakes up around 3am and 6am, then is up for the day at 9am. Sometimes in the morning I nurse him lying down in the bed with me. When he's done eating he puts his head on my chest and kind of hugs me with his arms and falls asleep like that. It's my favorite thing in the world! 

This month's firsts:

*First Halloween

June was a cowgirl and James was a horse. He HATED his hat and screamed every time I put it on his head, but once he fell asleep, I was able to sneak it on. 

*First time meeting Aunt Sara, Uncle Jeff, and cousin Helen

*First time meeting Great Grammy & G-Daddy

2 MONTH STATS:

weight: 12 lbs 6 oz

height: 24"

diapers: size 1 

clothes: 3 month 

eyes: blue

hair: brown

nicknames: Jamesy, Jame Jame, Buddy

likes: the swing, the car seat, the belle baby carrier (most of the time), and big sister (she gets the biggest smiles from him)

dislikes: baths (he's actually starting to like them more, but he still doesn't love them) and hats

James: 1 month

James is one month old!

Just look at this little sack of sugar :)

For the first three weeks of his life, all he did was sleep and eat. I had to wake him up every three hours to eat.   

(hat on head courtesy of big sister)

And then right at 3 weeks (basically the day after my parents left to go back home) he flipped the switch on me! All of a sudden he was screaming and crying after feedings and even crying during some feedings. He was spitting up (sometimes 2 hours after he ate), choking, gurgling, screaming, kicking his legs, etc. He just seemed like he was in a lot of pain after eating. It was heart-breaking to watch, and not gonna lie, frustrating because I felt like there was nothing I could do to make him feel better. I talked to the pediatrician and she diagnosed James with reflux and wrote him a prescription for Zantac. She also recommended that we keep him upright for 30 minutes after he eats and elevate one end of his crib to a 30 degree angle. 

So far, it seems like keeping him upright and elevating the crib are helping a little. The jury is still out on the Zantac. 

Luckily, he likes being worn in the baby k'tan. Some days it's the only thing that gets him to stop crying/fall asleep and it allows me to have my hands free for June. 

When he's not having tummy troubles, he really is a pretty mellow guy. And the good thing is, when he falls asleep, he stays asleep-sometimes for a good 3-4 hour chunk (thank you God). He is currently sleeping swaddled (although I can't tell if he likes it) in the pack n play in our room at night and in the swing or rock n play during the day. He also likes to sleep on the his tummy. There have a been a few times that I put him on his play mat for tummy time and the next thing I know, he's asleep! 

James had a few firsts this month:

*First Bath

He never got a bath in the hospital, so this was the very first one. He HATED it! 

*First Football Game 

2.5 weeks old at his first football game. He basically slept in the k'tan the whole time :)

This month has been kind of a blur, but James just seems to fit right into our little family. It's easy to start thinking about how I can't wait for him to be older and be able to do certain things, but I'm trying to remember to really enjoy all of these sweet newborn moments because they are fleeting!

We love you James!

1 MONTH STATS:

weight: 9lbs 7oz at 2.5 weeks

height: he hasn't been measured since his birth

diapers: size 1 

clothes: 3 month (at 2.5 weeks)

eyes: blue

hair: brown

nicknames: Jamesy, Jame Jame (June came up with this one and it kind of stuck :)

likes: nursing, sleeping, being worn in the k'tan, and riding in the stroller and the car (most of the time)

dislikes: baths, being naked/diaper changes

It's A….

BOY!

James William Creighton

Born September 10th 2014 at 8:27am

8lbs. 4oz. 21 3/4 inches

We are all so in love!

An Update

I realized that I haven't updated the blog lately and we've actually had a lot going on over at Casa de Creighton in the last few months, so I thought I would share what we've been up to…

1. I'm pregnant! 28 weeks to be exact. Baby #2 is due September 14th. We are so excited and a little terrified to have 2 babies under the age of 2 (June and this baby will be 20 months apart). In general, this pregnancy has been great other than some morning sickness in the first trimester (nothing compared to my morning sickness with June) and feeling extra tired from running after a toddler all day. In fact, there are times that I kind of forget I'm pregnant until I catch a glimpse of myself in the mirror or feel the baby give me a little kick :) Just like we did with June, we are waiting to find out the sex of this baby. Only 3 more months!

2. Paul got a new job! About 2 weeks after I found out I was pregnant, Paul was offered a new job as the Tight Ends Coach and Recruiting Coordinator for the UC Davis football team. GO AGGIES! I am SO proud of him. He is always working so hard and he really deserves this.

3. We moved to California! Paul went out to California to start work in February and left June and I in Colorado to tie up the loose ends. Not gonna lie, this move was the hardest yet. Being pregnant and taking care of a 13 month old while trying to coordinate an out-of-state move was not easy. Thank goodness for our parents. We could not have done it without their help. They came and packed up our condo in Pueblo and helped with June. We put everything in storage and then June and I went to stay with my parents in Boulder until we could find a place to live in California. Finding a place to live proved to be more difficult than we ever anticipated. After putting offers on three different houses (only to be out-bid each time) and being away from Paul for a month, I decided that I needed to be in Davis where I could continue the house search in person. So, Paul flew to Colorado, we loaded up the car with June and Oscar, and we drove to California where we shacked up with our friends. We are
SO lucky to have such wonderful friends! I really don't know what we would have done without them. After a MONTH of living with them (2 months for Paul-seriously, best friends ever) we finally found a short-term rental to move into.

4. We are buying a house! In April we moved out of our friends' house and into a duplex, but we knew it was just temporary. We sublet from someone whose lease expires at the end of August so we have to be out by the 31st (exactly 2 weeks before my due date..yikes). We continued to look for a place to live and after putting offers on 6 different houses, it was looking like buying a house just wasn't meant to be, but the 7th time must be the charm because our offer was finally accepted! If all goes according to plan, we should be closing mid-July which gives us a little less than two months to move in and get settled before baby #2 makes his/her debut. Whew.

We survived...so far :) The past six months have been a roller-coaster. We have been stressed, excited, exhausted, thankful, worried, happy, homeless, and everything in between, but we're still standing :) We are just so thankful for family and friends who have helped us and supported us along the way. We are loving living in California and we can't wait to see what the next few months have in store for us. I'm sure it will only get crazier from here!

June: 16 months

June is 16 months old! I meant to do a 15 month update, but 15 months came and went before I knew it. She turned 16 months on the 2nd, so I figured I better get this down before my baby is 2 and I've forgotten everything!

The difference between 12 and 16 months is huge! I feel like June went from being a baby to a full-blown toddler over night! And although its exhausting because she's always on the go, I am absolutely loving this stage. She is just so fun!

I've been keeping notes on my phone month by month, so here we go..

June at 13 months…
*Says "quack" when she sees a duck
*Says the sounds for cow, sheep, horse, and dog when prompted, "What does a __ say?"
*Points to body parts when prompted, "June where is your ___?"
*Does the sign for milk and all done
*Completely weaned from breastfeeding!

June at 14 months…
*Says dog, dada, cracker, snack, please (p/p/p)
*Got 4 molars (now has 12 teeth total)
*Had her first haircut
*Dropped her morning nap
*Loves to scream/shriek at the top of her lungs when she wants something or doesn't get her way (seriously, ear-piercing)

June at 15 months…
*Says hi, bye bye, up, go, book, hush (with finger to lips), mama, yes, no, coat, shoe, sock, Nemo, bath, vroom vroom (for car) and baby
*Took her first steps
*Stood up on her own without pulling up on anything

June at 16 months…
*Walking! Although she took her first steps at 15 months, she didn't really start walking until right before she turned 16 months. Little lady took her sweet time!
*Sleeps 12-13 hours at night and takes one 1-2 hour nap in the afternoons. She says "nigh nigh" when she's tired and ready for bed.
*Loves to give hugs, kisses and Eskimo kisses
*Loves to play dress-up
*So social! Loves interacting with people, loves being around other kids of all ages, and is always talking.
*Talking a ton! She's just saying single words, not stringing them together yet, but I can't even keep track of how many words she knows. She also mimics everything (my goodness, we really have to watch what we say around her!)
*She's still a fabulous eater and eats everything we eat.

Never a dull moment with this little girl! She can be challenging, but she is SO MUCH FUN!

Love you June Bug!

16 MONTH STATS:

weight: 22 lbs. 10 oz. at 15 months (70th %)

height: 31.5 inches at 15 months (75th %)

diapers: we just moved up to size 4

clothes:  12-18, and 18 month

eyes: blue

hair: blond

nicknames: June Bug, Buggy, Stink Bug, Miss June, JLC,