Baby Blessing

Today Dutch had his baby blessing. He looked so handsome in his little outfit (borrowed from his cousins Marcus and Caspian Luke) and was so well-behaved through the whole day of church. His Daddy blessed him and in the circle was his Grandpa Greg, Uncle Joshy, and PopPop. It was a really beautiful day and I will post pictures as soon as we have some.

Silly Heather

You think you can win, but you can't.

Favorite Picture Friday

I read a book recently that said happiness comes in threes. In honor of my little family of three here are some of my favorite pictures with three people in them.

This is me, Jake Kilts, and Heather


Heidi, Anneke, and me at Heidi's graduation



Heidi, me, and Carianne


Carianne, me, and Carlye at Heather's wedding

A General Update

So I love to talk about Dutchie, but I know that some of you are wondering what's going on with Chris and me, so here goes:

Chris went back to school on Monday for his 3rd semester of Physician's Assistant school. It's been really busy for him this week and he is looking forward to getting a schedule set up once everyone has come and gone from their visits. He's been trying to eat better and exercise a lot more too. Now that the weather is getting cold he's glad that my mom and dad gave us their elliptical so he won't have to run in the cold or the wet.

I am still adjusting to life as a mom. It's been hard for me to buy clothes because I keep trying to buy business clothes that I've always worn when I need to be getting comfy clothes that can get spit-up on. My writing is going...okay. I spend as much time on it as I can, but sometimes that's only a few minutes every day--I make sure to work on it every day though! It's just a far cry from the hours I used to be able to spend whenever I wanted. My semester at school is going well and I'm really loving my new mentor. I miss Chris when he's at school, but mostly because it's just another pair of hands around the house!

In more immediate news we are having a great time with my mom and dad here. Bo is loving all the attention (my dad is his favorite person right now because he throws the ball for him) and Dutch likes it because he is constantly being held--his favorite thing! We are really enjoying having them here and are excited that Chris's parents are coming in tomorrow. It will be a fun, full house!

A List for Tuesday

Five Nick-Names Dutch Has Been Given By Various People in His Life

1. Peanut
2. Rubber Dutchie
3. Pee-Pants
4. Funny Guy
5. Pup/Puppy

Ga-Ga and PopPop

My Mama and Daddy are coming to visit today from Rhode Island. In fact they should be here in the next couple of hours. It will be their first time meeting Dutchie and he's been so excited for them to come that he's already peed through 2 outfits! Okay, so it might not be excitement but that's what I keep telling myself so that I don't get mad at him for ruining his meet-PopPop clothes.

For those of you who don't know my niece Isabella gave my mom the nick-name Ga-Ga (you say it guh-guh) and I've decided that Dutch will call her that too. My Daddy, however, has been and always will be Grandpa Bailey to his grandkids. Not so with my son - he will call him PopPop whether Daddy likes it or not! The origin of that nick-name go back to Sam Kilts who lived next door to us when he was little. He would call my mom Grandma and my dad PopPop. Dad always hated it.

All I can say to him is, well Daddy at least it's not Boom-Pa!

Big Paws = Big Dog

Dutch is, overall, a pretty small baby. The biggest exception to this are his hands and feet. They are pretty big, bigger than you would expect a little guy's hands and feet to be. Apparently this is another way that he is like his daddy. My mom-in-law told me about how Chris's feet were too big for his baby blessing shoes. She gave me those shoes and if Dutch's feet grow at all in the next week or so it will become a family tradition!

Chris's favorite thing to say is, "You know what they say: big paws, big dog." If our pup's paws are any indication he is going to be a big dog.

Favorite Picture Friday

Since my Tuesday lists have been such a big hit I thought I would come up with another "theme" day with Favorite Picture Friday. Just like it sounds I will post a favorite picture every Friday starting today. Enjoy!

This is my sister Heather about 9 years ago. She's a freak!

Perfect Baby

I haven't really written a lot about life with Dutch lately, so here goes. I know that this might jinx everything, but I just have to share. He is perfect. No, I'm really not kidding. I think that he is the most perfect baby that ever lived. Yes of course he has his Bad Baby moments, but I am convinced that they are fewer and farther between than any other baby's have ever been.

First of all he sleeps perfectly. He goes to sleep between 9 and 10pm, wakes up between 2 and 3am to eat and immediately falls back to sleep until 6 or 7am. Then he eats again and sleeps until 9 or 10am and he's awake for the day. It helps that we have his bedtime routine down to a science, but I really don't feel like I can take any credit for his perfect sleep schedule.

Secondly he is happy as can be. Chris and I will be watching a movie together on the couch and we'll put Dutch in his Boppy between us and he will be happy as a clam for the entire movie. He just sits there in his makeshift chair looking around and smiling.

Lastly he doesn't mind Bo at all. Bo loves to lick his little brother all the time anywhere that his tongue can reach. This could be Dutch's face, foot, hand, back - you get the idea. At worst Dutch squirms and makes a face, at best he thinks it's a game and "plays" with Bo by kicking or hitting him in the face to encourage the licking. In addition to Bo's slobbery affection our pup has also taken to barking at every little noise, even if it is one of us making it. He doesn't do this all the time, just when Chris (the Alpha dog) is not here. When Chris is gone Bo takes his guard-dog duties very seriously and will bark ferociously when I sneeze or Dutch sighs happily in his sleep. Because heaven knows we would not want to miss the fact that a noise was made. Through all this Dutch continues doing what he is doing, whether it is sleeping or smiling, he doesn't mind the barking.

So while I might complain about Bad Baby days, I am convinced that not only did I get a Good Baby, but a Perfect Baby!

A List for Tuesday

Five Ways That Dutch is Like His Dad

1. He's going to be a red-head (his hair is turning auburn)
2. He has really long eyelashes (the kind that are wasted on a boy)
3. He has no butt (it is defying physics that his diapers stay on)
4. He can't sit still (for someone who can't walk, he sure moves a lot)
5. He's a Mama's boy (that's one thing that Chris is very proud of - he's a total Mama's boy)

Happy Birthday Bo!

Today Bo the Wonder Dog turns 6! Even with his whiskers getting gray he still acts like a little pup. For his birthday he got extra cuddles this morning, a breakfast of Purina dog chow (which was given to us by our neighbor), and will receive a new toy that has still not been chosen. In honor of our oldest baby please enjoy this video (although it might make you dizzy).

Up For A Vote

Although it is only August I am already looking forward to Dutchie's first Halloween. But what should he be?

Tell me what you think!

A List for Tuesday

Five Things We Saw Today

1. Punxatawney Phil
2. Gobbler's Knob
3. Jimmy Stewart's hometown
4. The Jimmy Stewart Museum
5. A town called Home

Helpful Tips

Hiccups

Golden Slumbers

Chris worked a miracle last night. I was so tired of my baby that I just couldn't do it anymore so I left Chris to try to get him to bed on his own. Boy did he ever. Dutch slept from 11 to 3! Then slept from 4 to 6! It's the most sleep we've gotten in a long time and it was wonderful!

Anyway, that was the marvelous news of the day!

Must...Have...Sleep

Okay, Bad Baby seems to have replaced Good Baby forever! Last night was another sleepless night, but I stayed up with him through it all. At about 6, however, I nearly dropped him because I was so tired and I realized it was time to call in the reinforcements. So I tagged Chris in to take over for a while. Dutch didn't sleep very much on Chris's watch and so we took him for a nice long ride in the car. Now he's asleep. He keeps crying out in his sleep, like he's having bad dreams or something, but he hasn't woken up yet. I'm just glad he's getting some rest.

Now if only Chris and I could...

So Blue

Bad Baby is back. Chris and I took turns sitting up with him. He hasn't slept for more than an hour or so together for the last day and night and day. Hopefully tonight we can get him back on his schedule. It makes it a lot easier to have someone to share the burden with. We didn't get much sleep, but we did get some.

We went to IKEA and Target today to get a few things. We bought a nice new side-table for next to the black chair and a little 3-drawer table for next to the futon. It will make it a lot easier for me to have things nearby when I'm feeding Dutchie. While we were at Target I came to notice something that annoys me more than I can say. First of all girls clothes are a lot cuter than boys clothes. This we know. But did you know that you can't find more than one or two outfits that aren't blue for a little boy? It's true. I am frankly annoyed by this. Why can't a little boy where green or red or brown or yellow or orange? Hmmm?

This has led me to want to someday start a store for little boys clothes that are super cute and none of which are blue. I will call it No Blue Boys. It will be a huge success, I'm sure.

A List for Tuesday

Five Things (of the millions) That I Love About Dutch

1. After he's finished eating he smacks his lips.
2. Sometimes when he cries he snorts like a little piggy.
3. When he smiles in his sleep.
4. The way he growls before he starts to cry, as if to warn you what's coming.
5. That he looks so much like his Daddy.

One Month Old

Happy One-Month Birthday to Dutch!

Church Today

Today was Dutch's first time going to church! He looked very handsome in his little outfit that his Aunt Cari gave him (the striped one with the collar), but peed through it when we got home before we could take his picture. Oh well. Everyone loved him, of course, and they made a big fuss over him. They were also all very careful not to touch him because I guess there's been strep going around the ward. I thought that was very thoughtful of them all.

At church today I got another calling. I was asked to start teaching Relief Society, which has been one of my favorite callings. I'm very excited and that pleased the Bishop.

I also wanted to let everyone know that we are blessing Dutch on August 31st, Labor Day weekend. Anyone who can come is welcome, but I understand if you won't be able to make it.

This is a video of Dutch that we took just the other night. Enjoy!

Smiling

We took this picture last night and caught Dutch smiling!

Doctor Visit

We went to the Pediatrician today (who I always accidentally call the vet) for Dutchie's one month appointment. He is now 7 lbs 8 oz and almost 22 inches long! Dr. Shaver said that he's "gaining weight like a champ" and said that everything looks really good (although he was not nearly impressed enough that Dutch had rolled over).

As for the feeding thing - he doesn't have reflux, but he is probably going through a growth spurt. I'm allowed to give him an ounce or two of formula to help top him off every day. Last night and today he's been really good and is content with just being held instead of nursing all the time. I'm beginning to wonder if that's all it was all along, that he wants to be close to someone.

I will take some pictures of him today (and maybe a video) and post them tomorrow. Chris had his last final of the summer today and is now off from school for the next 3 weeks! Hooray! It will be nice to have someone else around during the day to help with things. We don't have any plans yet, but I'm sure we'll do some fun stuff.

Thanks for all the support, advice and help everyone - it's really nice to have!