Our Summer in Snapshots

The other day I was letting myself get bummed out, because it felt like we hadn't done "anything fun" yet this summer.

We haven't taken a vacation in over a year & have nothing planned for the near future.

It wasn't until I uploaded photos from my camera & phone that I realized I was being ridiculous... we don't necessarily have to travel to have fun.  We've done plenty of fun things this summer.  And most importantly, we've made lots of new memories with Ellis!

Some of our memorable summer snapshots, below:

(sorry for the poor quality, most of these are phone pics)

First trip to the zoo!

Uncle Lance, Auntie Jacki, and cousin Caleb joined us, too!

 Giggles with Auntie Becky!

 Cooling off in the pool at Grandma Sue & Papa Poogie's house

 Father's Day gifts for Daddy

Snuggles with Dad

Poop blowouts!

Lots of playtime

Hangin' with cousin Owen!

Day trips to Door County

Ice cream evenings at Frosty Tip

Sunday family snuggles on the couch

Naps with Daddy

Trips to the greenhouse!

Reading letters from pen pal Grandma Bero

Story-time with Mom

Friday nights with Grandma Annoye

Cuddles with Grandma Sue

Summer-time family walks

Tummy-time on Dad

Mikki & Mitch's wedding!

Snapchat filters with Mom

Family hikes

Lots of time on the changing table 

Pumpkin patch weeding by Great Grandma Patsy & Great Papa Lloyd

Chocolate malt holding

First Uno game!

Trying to hold a bottle

Meeting Uncle Blane from Omaha!

Family campfires

Celebrating Great Uncle Tony's 104th Birthday!!

Meeting baby Nolan!

Cheering on Uncle Lance and Daddy at the Belgian Day's Run 

First parade

Reppin' the Brew Crew

Slow Saturday mornings 

Wishing it were Friday, always...

Lookin' at bucks with Dad

Visits with Uncle Tony

Watching the fair parade with friends!

Visits with Great Grandma Bero

Golf cart rides with Grammy Char & Papa Randy

and, 

Snuggles with Cousin Collin <3

We're looking forward to closing out summer with lots more memories!

Happy August!

Ellis: Five Months Old

Say hello to our 5 month old little bubs!!

Oh man, this little munchkin is so fun right now.  It's amazing how much he's developed both physically & mentally from just a month or two ago.  I was looking back at his newborn pictures, and I just can't believe how much he's changed.

And now I just realized that I never posted his newborn photos... oops!

It gets harder & harder to drop him off at daycare everyday because I just want to hang out with him!  Before I know it, he won't want to hang out with his mom so I feel like I need to take advantage of any time that I can get with him.  Honestly, he trumps all my previous hobbies.  I feel guilty if he's awake and I'm not paying attention to him since I barely see him during the week.  I'm still trying to find balance between being a mom and being my "old self".  It's tough to find any spare time for me these days -- but that's OK because I'd rather spend time with him anyways!

Although Ellis is growing, he's just a little peanut.  At his 4 month well-check he measured up in the 15th percentile for weight and 40th percentile for height.  It's kind of weird though.  When I hold him, I feel like he's still a tiny babe.  But when I see someone else holding him, he looks huge to me.

Ellis loves to be sang to (The Ants Go Marching is a favorite of his), and he's rather infatuated with his hands these days.  If they are not in his mouth, he holds them out in front of him and just stares at them like, "wow! look at these things!"   It's so cute.

He's "talking" up a storm, and his hand-eye coordination is really improving; he's grabbing at his toys (and my hair)!  He's still a spitty baby though -- that hasn't changed yet, unfortunately.  We always joke that he'd be twenty pounds if he didn't spit up so much.  He's eating 5 oz every 3 hours while at daycare, and at home he's still nursing every 3 hours or so.

His little personality is developing rapidly.  If he's tried or hangry... he will let you know!  He's usually still pretty chill but when it's time to eat, or he's overtired, he might throw a little temper tantrum -- which usually involves a whiny moan before a full out cry, and he pulls at his hair and ears.

Ellis prefers to sleep on his side vs. his back, and speaking of sleep... he was doing SO well sleeping through the night, but this last week he's waking up throughout the night.  Uhg... just when you think you're in he clear...nope!  Thankfully he usually just needs a diaper change and he nurses back to sleep.  Or, he got stuck on his stomach and needs to be turned.

He's gotta cut a tooth soon.  The drool is coming out puddles and he is gnawing at any and everything he can get his gums on, including his toes!

Things I love about Ellis this month:
- How neck & belly kisses make him giggle so hard
- The curly q his hair makes on the right side of his head
- How easy it is to make him smile
- The continued baby babbles
- How fun he is to play with
- That he loves to by mom :)

One Month | Two Months | Three Months | Four Months