The Best Part of My Day

Today I realized what my favorite part of the day is. Bed time. Not because I get to go to sleep, not because Conner goes to bed and I have time to myself (which I spend sleeping!). Bed time is my favorite part of the day because I get to spend it snuggling with my son.

Earlier today I was reading how important having a naptime and bedtime routine is. How you should lay your baby down in the crib when he's sleepy, but not asleep. This way, when your baby wakes up in the middle of the night, he can easily go back to sleep because he's use to being in his crib when he's awake but ready to fall asleep. It makes since. I believe it truly would help. But I love snuggling with Conner at bedtime. After reading the article I kind of felt like I was doing bedtime wrong (Conner doesn't really have scheduled naps yet, so no naptime routine).

Tonight I started getting everything ready for Conner to go to bed. Conner was crying, which doesn't bother me right before bed. It means he's awake and I feel it's good for him to be awake for a while before bed time. I typically try to keep him happy and awake, but by the time 9-9:30 rolls around, he just cries. When he can't be pacified, that is my cue that he's ready for bed. I turned off all the lights except the bathroom light which I use as a night light. And as I started changing him into his pajamas Conner stopped crying. That is when I realized for the first time that I DO have a bedtime routine, and Conner knows it too. I changed his diaper, put him in his jammies, and then fed him. At night I feed him until he falls asleep. Then we cuddle. His sweet head lays on my chest. I can't stop myself from kissing his sweet head multiple times and whispering to him how much I love him.

Some nights we'll cuddle for an hour or more before I swaddle him up and put him in his crib. He's very much asleep when I put him in his crib. Maybe that means when he wakes up in the night, he can't fall back to sleep without me, but for right now, for a 7 week old baby, I'm okay with that. I love my snuggle time! So for now, snuggling is our bedtime routine. And that makes me a happy momma!

Indiana Dunes

We went on our first camping trip since Conner was born! Conner did really well! He slept amazing the night before we left! We had a really hard time getting him to wake up to eat in the morning before we left. Then he slept the whole 3 hour drive! When we got to the Albanese Candy Factory, he woke up long enough to eat on one side, then fell back to sleep! The Albanese Candy Factory has windows so you can watch them make their gummy candy. While we were there they were making gummy frogs! We bought a little candy for Saturday night.

Then we drove to Zao Island Amusement Land. First we did a feeding. The Powell kids fed the alligators while I fed Conner. Conner was so hungry that after eating from me, he wanted a couple of bottles as well!

Then we went to the bumper cars.

Family Photo!

Next was the race track.

The Powells played laser tag and we hung out; it was nice weather out today! Conner is doing such a great job at holding up his head! He recently has been able to start seeing things farther away. Now he loves to stare at lights and bright colors - mostly anything above us.

Next we went for ice cream. This ice cream parlor was suppose to have the best ice cream. We thought it was good and over priced.

 

We headed to camp to get all set up. For dinner we made dutch oven chicken pot pie, fresh pineapple and for dessert, s'mores!

This is how Conner slept that night. It's really something you put in a car seat during the winter, but we used it as his sleeping bag!

Saturday morning we made dutch oven biscuits and gravy. We spent the day at the beach of Lake Michigan! We had such a fun time!

We even buried a few of the Powells!

That night we went out to eat at Red Robin, then went to the drive in movie theater! That's where we ate our candy from the Albanese Candy Shop! We watched Planes and Malefacent!

Sunday morning we made dutch oven breakfast burritos. We packed up and headed home. We had such a fun time!

Our Beach Bum

Do these pictures look a lot a like or what? Lol!

 In the hospital Conner developed jaundice. He was put under the Billi lights. The nurses laughed and told us that most babies hate the billi lights because they are stripped down to their diaper (no swaddle). But not Conner! He LOVED the billi lights. In fact, he'd cry when we would take him out to feed him.

Six and a half weeks later, here he is at the beach of Lake Michigan, soaking up the real sun! Don't worry, he was actually in the shade the whole time.

What a cute boy! I think maybe he was suppose to be born while we lived in San Diego because he sure looks like a California Beach Bum to me!

5 weeks

This ADORABLE little boy seems to have taken over our blog. But we really don't mind! He's stolen our hearts and taken over our lives as well, so why not the blog too?

Conner is "known" for striking a pose. Mostly it involves putting his hands by his face in a way that says, "I'm ready for my photo shoot!" Sometimes, though, he just likes to holds his arms out.

Our Superman!

 


Guys, I'm not ready for you to take my picture yet, I JUST woke up!

Who says boys clothes are cute? I think Conner has some pretty cute clothes...or maybe it's just that I have a super cute little boy!

Indianapolis

We had our first Weekend Getaway with Conner this past weekend! We went to Indianapolis and visited some of our college friends, Ian and Emma Clouse! It was a relaxing weekend! We drove there on Friday. When we got there we just hung out at the Clouse house for a while enjoying sitting around talking. Then we went on a walk in the Canal District, which was so much fun! Probably one of the highlights of the trip! That night for dinner we went to a good Thai restaurant!

Saturday morning we leisurely got up, then went to Anderson Orchard which is a you-pick orchard. The you-pick fruits available were baking apples and raspberries. We spent a very enjoyable hour picking raspberries!

We went back to the house for lunch, then went to the Indiana Medical History Museum. They had interesting information, but the tour guide wasn't the best presenter...

We went back tot he house for dinner and enjoyed chatting until it was time for us to make the drive back home.

We had such a great time! Thanks Ian and Emma for having us!

One Month Old!

Conner is one month old today! Ammon brought home a cake to celebrate :)

Beautiful Flowers

Last night was a rough one for Conner and I. Many tears were shed by both of us. From what I've heard from others, pretty much everyone has a night like this at some point. It's just part of parenthood. But knowing this does NOT make it any easier! I feel bad that I don't understand what is wrong with my little guy, and he's frustrated that he's not getting what he "needs." I say "needs" because he was fed and had a clean diaper, so he didn't really need anything. It's hard to have such a communication barrier!

This morning when I woke up, I found a beautiful bouquet of flowers and a very sweet note from Ammon and Conner telling me what a great wife and mom I am. It was exactly what I needed to hear. What an amazing husband (and son:) I have! I love them both so much!

I tried to get pictures of the bouquet of flowers but the nice camera wouldn't let me and I couldn't find the other one. Maybe tomorrow.

Baby Photos

Man! I have the cutest little boy ever! He is such a sweet little guy; although if his hunger now is any indication of what it will be when he's a teenager, I'm going to need to get a job just to pay for his food! Lol! He always seems to be hungry! But he's just so precious that most of the time I don't mind!

I'm quickly learning a few things:
It's takes a long time to get out of the house.
It takes a long time to run errands
It takes a long time to get things done (like this post...taking me days!)
Really, everything takes a long time
I have the cutest baby ever
Being a momma is hard work, but his smiles and sweet sleeping face makes it all worth it
Doing things one handed is becoming a new skill
I love my son more than I can describe in words

Enough talk...what you really want is to see this stinkin' cute boy!