My baby boy is getting so big. At his doctor appointment this time, he laughed for the doctor and rolled over. He expressed amazing amounts of personality and was awake, happy and alert the whole time. His doctor was once again impressed by how well he is developing, and says that not only does he look like a 6 month old, his motor skills are that of a 5-6 month old. She said "I would not be surprised if he is crawling by the end of May." AH!!!!
Here are his stats for 3 months:
Height/length: 25.5 inches
Weight: 14 lbs, 13 ounces
Here are some pictures of our sweet boy. He is just so happy and smiley, like his daddy. :)
Just hanging out with mom and making cute faces
Daddy (Corry) put these purple and pink socks on little Broc. He thought it was the most interesting and cool thing ever. He grabbed onto the socks and pulled them up higher. They were like little stockings on him. SO CUTE!
Our sweet boy is 3 months old today - April 12th 2016. Growing so much so fast. I am constantly so happy that I get to see him grow and learn every day.
Milestones/ firsts
-3/15/16: He started babbling this morning while playing with his toys. He also makes even cuter happy sounds when he plays. Last night he also scooched around on his playmat. He is mobile now, even if it is just in circles :)
-3/15/12: He got his first fever today. As of 10:14 PM, the highest it has been is 100. First time being sick
-3/19/16: He is teething! Very fussy because he doesn't feel good, but oddly he always seems to be happy. Even when he's fussy. I know it doesn't make much sense. He's also really cuddly. It seems like he wants Mama for cuddles, kisses, and food; and Daddy for playtime, diaper changes, naps, and sometimes cuddles.
-He has two tiny little white bumps where his left lower canine will be and where his right lower front tooth will be.
-He did his first real laughs on April 5th! I was changing his diaper, and trying to get him to stop crying so I started making weird and goofy sounds. I closed his diaper and loudly said "WA-BAM!" And he started cracking up. It was the cutest thing ever.
-I learned that he doesn't like the sunshine in his face, and he hates the heat. It was 85 degrees on April 7th, and we don't have AC in our new apartment. He was grumpy the whole day.
-He is getting SO MUCH personality. He laughs, and loves to kick his legs. He babbles to us sometimes.
-We went to Idaho on a road trip and he was so amazing. He slept most of the time, met his cousins, and was so well behaved. We learned that he is a very social baby. He loves other babies. Especially his cousin, Landon.
-He actually plays with and grabs most of his toys. His current favorite toys are the little dangly toys on the hanging part of his bouncer, and mama's phone. He has called daddy twice from mommy's phone.
-Since he's teething, I've learned a technique that works AMAZINGLY on him. He loves cold pacifiers. I take his little soothie brand pacifiers (not the one with the beanie baby on it, just some regular soothies) and run them under warm water for 5 seconds, then stick them in the freezer until he starts crying or fussing because his teeth hurt or he's too warm. Calms him down. Like mommy, he loves ice/cold stuff!
-He now does this adorable thing where he holds his arms up when he wants to be held. He only does this for Corry, sometimes for me, and for my dad. It's adorable.
-Not necessarily news about him, but my milk started coming back in! I was producing about an eighth of an ounce of milk the whole day, and now I can pump an ounce in 20 minutes. Slowly, but surely it's coming back!
-He now can roll over multiple times from his belly to his back with no problem. He's also started getting up on his hands and knees on occasion. He even rocked back and forth once on his hands and knees. He scooches around. Sort of mobile!
-He can sit unsupported in his Bumbo chair, and it's the cutest.
-He babbles constantly now, and does the biggest laugh. While changing his diaper, I was making goofy noises and said "WA-BAM!" loudly. He laughed hysterically. It was the most precious thing. Here's the video :)
-He loves to play with his toys, and his favorite as of April 12th is a Mickey Mouse plush that his grandma and grandpa (My dad and stepmom) got for him while my family was in Disneyland. He hugs it close and cuddles with it. He also for some reason always chews/sucks on Mickey's nose. Silly boy <3
He didn't have his doctors appointment this week, because his pediatrician was booked solid. So his 12 week appointment is actually happening on 14 weeks. I'll post his measurements and more pictures when that happens next week :)
Pictures!
Here's his 3 month picture. His hands are all blurry because he was wiggling like crazy the whole time. All he wanted to do was play! Maybe I can get some good ones when he's asleep tonight...
Here's the side by side comparison of all his monthly pictures so far. Newborn, 1 month, 2 months, 3 months. He has grown so much! Just look at that squishy newborn boy and the 3 month happy boy. Such growth!
In this picture, Corry was eating dinner with Broc on his lap. Broc grabbed onto the bowl and would not let go. He kept trying to pull himself up and opened his mouth. We haven't fed him anything but formula and breastmilk and won't be feeding solid food to him until 7 months, but he wants it SO BAD haha.
falling asleep in his carseat.
Modeling the new blanket from my Aunt Lynde.
We stayed at a place we found on Airbnb while we were in Idaho. This is little Broc at 4 AM. Wide awake and wanting to play.
While in Idaho, he met his Aunt Morgan and Uncle Rikki, and his cousins Elise and Landon. He had so much fun and LOVED his cousins.
He put his arm around Elise and smiled so big.
You can't see in this picture, but Broc is patting Elise's head and grinning from ear to ear. Landon and Broc were such good little buddies. Broc loves Landon and vice versa. It was so fun.
Sitting independently in his bumbo chair!
Just looking precious one night when we put him to bed.
Looking cute on Grandpa's couch
At Grandpa's house again. SUPER BABY! :)
It got up to about 85 degrees, so of course we went for lots of walks. He looked so cute in his little bear hat and his green polo.
Can I just say... I love my little family!
Broc turns 12 weeks old this week. Where has the time gone?! Seriously! He's becoming so independent. Learning to grab and hold things, sitting in his bumbo chair without support, rolling over multiple times when he's on his belly... the list goes on. He's even teething!
I measured him last week and he measured at 25 inches. And I know he's bigger than 13 pounds now. At the moment he's having tummy time. He's been on his belly for almost 10 minutes and holding his head up and looking around with excellent control the whole time. This kid is amazing. It is so incredibly awesome to watch this little human learn and grow. I am so grateful to be his mom.
We went to Idaho this week, where he met his cousins Landon and Elise. Landon is about 18 months, and Elise is about 1 month. They are both cuties, and I love them to pieces. I love being an Aunt and a Mommy!
I haven't blogged much - mostly because time has run away from me. My sweet boy is keeping me on my toes as he becomes more and more mobile and aware of his surroundings. Things are going to get crazy again as I start school on April 18th (online), and Broc - I guarantee - will be walking by 8 months. His Uncle Casin rolled over at 2 weeks and started walking at 5 months. Broc rolled over at 2 weeks. We'll see if he is as quick as Casin to walking!
Here are a couple pictures.
Broc (left) and his cousin Landon. These two had so much fun together. I am so glad they bonded! Broc watched Landon constantly and Landon snuggled and hugged Broc and patted his head. Even gave him a couple kisses. So sweet.
My beautiful boy in his bumbo chair. Yes that is a pink diaper.
Elise, Broc, and Landon. Broc put his arm around Elise when Corry brought her down for a cousins picture. He even patted her head. Soooo cute!
I am so glad I have Pinterest in my life. I have learned how to cook, and I've found a plethora of wonderful recipes that my husband and I love. Our latest favorites include Gluten free Blackberry Cobbler, General Tso's Chickpeas (vegetarian version of General Tso's chicken), Teriyaki Salmon, and Taco Salad. The taco salad is a simple recipe that I came up with on my own. But the other two are from Pinterest.
Here's the recipe for Blackberry cobbler:
https://glutenfreemakeover.wordpress.com/2014/01/28/gluten-free-blackberry-cobbler/
I think of it more as a Blackberry cake, and it is delicious. I use dairy free butter, and unsweetened almond milk. But I'm sure it's just as good with regular butter.
Here's the recipe for General Tso's chickpeas:
http://yupitsvegan.com/2015/04/25/general-tsos-chickpeas/
I adore this recipe. It's so good and so filling! We use Tamari soy sauce because it's gluten free. I also use apple cider vinegar instead of rice vinegar. I sometimes use different veggies than it calls for. Last night I used peppers, onions, mushrooms, and corn. Last time I used peppers, onions, and cauliflower. For the peanut butter, I use fresh ground natural sugar free peanut butter from the bulk food section at winco. It adds a tasty, Earthy side to the sauce. I also use beef broth instead of vegetable broth and it tastes much better. No sodium beef broth. Topped with green onions and sesame seeds. I've also been known to toss a small handful of green onions in with the onions and garlic before adding the other veggies.
Here's the recipe for my Taco Salad:
Ingredients:
Spring greens (baby spinach, arugula, or whatever you like. Make sure they're deep green. Iceburg lettuce is basically just crunchy water. Not much nutritional value.)
Black olives
Avocado
Tomato
Black beans, cooked and rinsed
Corn (frozen corn actually has more nutrients than fresh or canned.)
Ground beef or turkey
Taco seasoning
1 tsp coconut oil
bell peppers
1 tiny can chopped green chiles
sour cream/ shredded cheese, if desired.
Cook the meat by putting 1 tsp of coconut oil in a frying pan. Warm up the oil until melted, then add the thawed meat. Cook until halfway browned. Add taco seasoning and chopped green chiles. Brown the meat, drain any fat or juices. Let cool.
Combine all ingredients in a salad bowl.
That's literally it. Very healthy and tasty. A quick dinner for a night when you don't feel like actually cooking much.
Also, I thought I would address something I'm fairly passionate about. I am very into nutrition. I took Nutrition150 this past Fall, and learned a lot. For example, frozen vegetables often contain the most of the vegetable's nutrients. The nutrients keep even better than fresh produce.
Something I've learned too is that organic food, especially produce tastes so much better and is really actually better for you. I was raised believing that the label "organic" is just so that the company can make an extra dollar or too off of suckers who believe it means something. But since eating healthier the past couple years, and changing most of our produce to organic labels, I notice an actual difference in taste and in how I feel after eating it. The thing about organic food is that you should make sure it is USDA certified organic, otherwise you really are just a sucker paying an extra dollar for nothing but a word.
As I write this, little Broc is napping in his little swing. My little bear is 9 weeks old today. I love him so much, and even since last night he has grown. He's got some new tricks and things that he does.
Here are three pictures I took of him for his 2 month pictures. I would've used the white onesie to make the pictures more uniform, but he OUTGREW his 3 months sized white onesie. We don't have any 4 month+ size onesies.
I can see so much growth in these pictures. His hair has lightened up considerably, and his face has changed a lot.
He wouldn't do a full smile for the camera, but he sure looks cute with his little smirk!
He loves his teddy bear, and was (willingly) hugging it close to him. Made for some cute pictures, and a fun time :)
This is his scared/ surprised face. Mommy sneezed, and his eyes got real big and he pulled teddy bear closer to him. So funny! I love my little bear.
And here is the side by side comparison of his newborn, one month and two month pictures. He is growing so much!!!
Just wanted to post a cute little picture to remember because it makes me happy.
This silly boy makes the cutest and funniest faces when he laughs. He also thinks that farts are the funniest things in the world. In this picture, I was changing his diaper about ten minutes before I took it, and he farted. He laughed hysterically for a minute and then kept smiling and giggling for about 20 minutes. He was very proud of himself.
This month was wonderful! Our sweet boy has grown so much. Here is the post for month 2. I will post his 2 month picture(s) on or before Friday this week, along with a comparison collage of newborn pictures, 1 month, and 2 months.
Milestones:
-Baby Blessing: He received a formal blessing from his daddy on February 21st. In our church, infants aren't baptized. They do receive formal blessings in front of the congregation usually from their father or another family member holding the Melchizedek priesthood when they are a month old. Pictures of this below! :)
-Dancing! He loves music and dances to happy songs. The first one he danced to (outside my belly :) was "I like to move it move it" from the movie "Madagascar". His favorite as of 6 weeks old is "What does the fox say?" by Ylvis. Mommy is a little tired of that song, but it's always cute and brings a giant smile and fuzzy feeling to my heart. <3
-He held his bottle for the first time by himself. It was only for a few seconds, but he loves to feel my hands when I feed him with a bottle. I can tell he is feeling them to learn how my hands hold the bottle. He often plays with and touches my hands and then tries to copy how my hands are by putting his hands on the bottle. I love watching him learn.
-He can hold his head off the ground for more than a minute and he holds it up so high that his chest comes off the floor. He has also started scooching/ army crawling a little bit.
-I FINALLY saw him roll over! It was precious and made me cry and laugh with joy. I love watching him reach these milestones (even though he rolled over at 2 weeks and a few more times since then while daddy was watching.)
-We can finally put him in his boppy so he can sit up a little on his own. He loves sitting up so he can look around more. It's so sweet to watch him explore and smile.
-He smiles when I wake him up. I say "good morning, Broc. How's my boy?" And he gives me the biggest happiest open-mouth smile.
-He now lifts his head so high that his torso is more than halfway off the ground. He's getting so close to crawling.
-He only fits a couple of little onesies and outfits that are 0-3 months. That's right, he's now size 3 months and above. At 2 months old. Oi!
-He has started to rub his eyes when he's sleepy, and it's so cute.
-He laughed so hard when we had friends over one night. What does he laugh at? Farts, of course. He is daddy's boy! And he thinks the fart gun my brother in law, Frank, bought us is the funniest thing ever.
6 Week Doctor Visit:
His doctor was so impressed and told me he's really far ahead of his age, developmentally. He's less than two months, but he's doing things that 3 and 4 month old babies do. The little bit of thrush that was on his tongue is also completely gone, which is nice.
Height: 23.5 inches
Weight: 11 pounds, 8 ounces**
Percentiles: same as last month.
**As of Tuesday, March 8th, he has grown almost a full pound to 12 pounds 5 ounces. No wonder he's been eating almost every hour during the day! Growing boy!
Baby Blessing pictures
After Broc's blessing outside the church. From left to right: Ema (Broc's Aunt/ my sister), Grandpa Frank, Daddy (Corry), Baby Broc, Mommy (Ashleigh/me), Papa (my dad), and Grandma Emily (my stepmom) I love this picture.
My beautiful boy in his blessing outfit and the blanket I arm knitted special for his blessing. Doesn't he look handsome? His little outfit was a tiny bit big on him. The vest makes it look huge, but really it wasn't that big. It was sized 3-6 months too. Big boy! Daddy is holding him in this picture.
A picture of the blanket I arm knitted for my boy's blessing. I am going to do this for all my kids, but next time I'm trying a different pattern. The one I found online was nice, but looks more like a basketball net haha.
This is just a close up of the first picture above of his blessing. I love this picture of us as a family. It makes me so happy. I love that we have a child, and that our little family has grown. I hope to print this picture and put it somewhere in our living room.
This picture makes me so happy. I love being a mother. I really do. I feel like I was absolutely meant to be a mommy. I adore my son, and I can't wait to have more children in the future. This little guy makes my heart soar, and gives me the greatest sense of worth. There's something amazing about being a mother to such a sweet and special little soul. Seeing him grow and learn brings me the greatest joy I could ever possibly imagine.
