That baby is crazy!

Soren has suddenly figured out that he can grab things with his hands in order to put said things in his mouth. He's been doing this for a while with anything cloth, but now he has moved on to the toys hanging above his activity mat. Even more impressive, today (perhaps inadvertently) he overtly opted to hang on to the couch while standing next to it--I guess the instinct NOT to fall over is pretty strong, even in a three-month-old. He stood completely self-sufficiently for a few seconds. He will definitely be walking within the next six months, no doubt. Crawling is another matter--he never hangs out on the floor long enough to get the chance.

He also now lunges his body in the direction that he'd like to go--Tommy was holding him yesterday and I was standing next to them, and Soren made it clear by using his arms and body that he preferred to go with the milk lady. He's smart! He's also in all 6-month-sized clothing! We think he is about 25 inches long, from what we can tell by laying him down on my cloth-cutting template marked with inches. He's tall AND squirmy...

No longer undocumented...

The bottom third is folded up--don't worry, there's a dad on there at the bottom! And it's Tommy!

16.6

Soren has officially doubled his birth weight (it's like carrying around TWO babies)! Last night he weighed 16 pounds, 9ish ounces. I tried to catch him when he weighed 16 pounds, 6 ounces (truly double) but I missed that, uh, window. Tommy said I could probably wait him out and he'd spit up 3 or 4 ounces so I could weigh him again.

And he laughs!

Soren laughed for real last night for the first time while his Dad played Tickle Monster! He did it for me this morning again when I gave him raspberries on his belly. It's very VERY funny because he has a very deep voice.

Soren loves the nanny!

Well Soren stayed with Miss Kathleen today, and he seemed to like it quite a bit. When I picked him up at the end of the day he actually didn't seem all that interested in leaving Miss Kathleen's arms. Then he cried when I held him. While that might sound bad to some, it makes me feel a ton better about leaving him three times a week.
Kathleen's son Julian, however, was not happy about the new baby in the house. He won't be wanting a little brother or sister anytime soon, it seems.
And little man loves the swing! We'll be checking out Amazon.com after this post. By the way, check out Soren's latest trick, blowing bubbles.

Big Week

Soren had a big week, vacationing at the beach and meeting lots of people (and dogs). The adventure began with a seven-hour trip in the car to Myrtle Beach, where grandma rented a house.Soren got all sunblocked up, covered in clothes from head to toe, and hung out under an SPF 50 cabana. Fun!Then his mom and dad shocked him with the cold beach water, and he was MAD. More fun!Soren met Aunt Alex for the first time, and threw up on her lots, and peed on her at least three times. They are really good buds now.
Grandma's puppy Belle came to the beach house, too, although she wasn't allowed to play with the baby since her legs are about 4 feet long and she doesn't quite have control over them yet. And she eats weird things.Soren visited his first tiki lounge while at the beach:
Then we came home via Summerville so Soren could meet Papi Gregand Mamie Vero.

So had several other visitors, including Marlene. She likes to smell babies, so she zoomed right over.

We had a great week!

PS--Happy two-month birthday, little monster.

it's official...

Soren HATES the car. I thought babies were supposed to love the car and fall asleep immediately, but Soren decidedly does neither. We went to visit our friend Elaine and Baby Nathan yesterday, and I had to stop at two different gas stations on the way simply to try to calm down the little man and keep him from having an apoplectic fit. I am really nervous about our long drive this weekend--at least the dad will be driving so the mom can sit in the back and try to console Car Hater. If I ever considered going farther than 10 miles on my own with Soren stuck in the backseat, I have become disabused of that whim.

On a happier note, Elaine and Nathan looked great...he is such a little peanut. He was born exactly four weeks to the day after Soren; he was a week late and his mom had to be induced. He is so tiny! I don't remember Soren ever being that small. He is a pacifier junkie, too--I am jealous.



Speaking of Soren not being small, he was up to 13 pounds, six ounces in his seventh week. He has outgrown ALL his newborn and small diapers...we have had to order a whole new round of the next size up. We're going to put all the old ones on a diaper consignment site. Until we find a diaper that we absolutely love, we don't want to pawn the outgrown ones off on our friends.

We've tried Kissaluvs contour and fitted diapers with a variety of covers (Stacinator wool covers and Sugar Peas fleece and wool flannel covers), Happy Heineys and Happy Heineys one-size-fits-all pocket diapers, Happy Hempys with covers, Mommy's Touch pocket and all-in-ones (AIOs), and most recently Tommy bought several Bum Genius 3.0 pocket diapers. My favorite combo is the Kissaluv cotton contour diaper with a Sugar Peas fleece cover, although the cotton feels wet the the baby unlike some of the other diapers that have a dry-touch feel when wet, so they do require hourly changes. We are about to try out Fuzzi Bunz pocket diapers, which are described on several diaper sites as the "workhorse" of cloth diapers. Yes, in case you are wondering, having an embarrassing name is requisite of cloth diaper lines. Lame!

More narrative to come

Now that Soren is seven weeks old (today!), he is a lot more interactive. We'll have a lot more to discuss on his blog from now on.

Last week, Auntie Kim and her fiancé Matt (we'll make it easy by calling him Uncle Matt) came to visit! Soren hopes they get a baby for him to play with soon. Well, after they get married in December, at least.

Soren also is eating lots and lots...he weighed in at 13 pounds, 6 ounces at the end of last week. He is now wearing all his 3 - 6 month clothes, and even some 6 - 12 month items, like this very cool hoody sweatshirt. He looks fierce!

We got a Baby Björn this weekend so that Soren can help us around the house with chores. He learned how to do laundry yesterday. Good thing, since he makes multiple loads a day! He especially likes to pee in the new diaper we are putting on him, and maybe even do a poo in the second new one. At least we have full loads in the washer and don't waste any water...

Thank you for my presents, everyone!

I have gotten lots of nice presents and cards since I was born. Thank you to Aunt Kim and Uncle Matt for my Year of the Rat outfit! Thank you to Great-Grandmother Marjorie for my cute big-boy outfits! Thanks, Grannie, for my PINK hydrangea (my parents are working on turning it blue!), my silver rattle, my book, and my octopus swim trunks.

I also received some nice presents from my grandma's friends from school and church--Mrs. Love and Tracie gave my parents a beautiful picture frame with a photo of all of us in it, Mrs. Riley and Mrs. Blackmun sent me cool socks and a book, and Mrs. Luellan gave me a onesie that says Ask Grandma!, an Old MacDonald's Farm finger puppet book, and a cool dump truck. A student from grandma's class named Cree West sent me a bathrobe with puppies on it! My grandma's friend Ms. Anna (she lives across the street) sent my parents a gift card so they can buy me all the stuff I need, like new clothes because I grow so fast!

My friends from Chicago, Sam and Rafi, sent me a TON of awesome books, including Charlie Parker Played Be Bop, Knuffle Bunny, Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus, Sheep in a Jeep, Philadelphia Chickens, and We're Going on a Bear Hunt. My great aunt Ginnie sent me a check (my mom is making me put it in my 529 fund!), and Aunt Alex and Uncle Rich sent me a funny outfit that says "One Day I will Egg a House," and a cool wine cooler, I mean bottle cooler. It matches my diaper bag exactly! Aunt Alex is fancy.

Dave and Gail Anson sent me a beautiful white blankie that Gail made herself. My mom loves it! I also got a super cool Beaba baby food steamer/grinder/maker from Great Aunt Cindy and Great Uncle Micky, along with a baby food cook book. Just a couple more months until I can try it out, I can't WAIT. My mom might practice tonight, though.

Miss Turner sent me a picture frame set for my hand and foot prints, and a matching frame (it has an elephant on it) for my photo. Mom says I'm super handsome in all my photos.

Uncle Rich's parents, Penny and Al, sent me a navy blue striped organic layette set with a blanket, pajamas, and a hat, AND a book (it's a Goodnight Moon counting book). I LOVE the blanket because it is super soft, but I haven't worn the outfit yet. My mom will post photos when it fits me (it's sized 6 month, but she thinks I'll probably fit into really soon!).

Last week and this weekend I got more presents! Auntie Kim's mom, Lib, sent me EIGHT new onesies and two pairs of pants. I am going to wear them at the beach next week! I also got two very cool beach outfits from my French girlfriend Lisa and her parents, Laurent and Christine. She's one year old now, so she's an older lady. They also sent a suave polo shirt and a crinkly French book with animals in it. I am learning my first French words! Also, mom's great aunt Claudia and her husband Mel from Florida sent me three cute outfits. I will be fitting into them VERY shortly. I am trying to gain all the weight I can so that when I start walking I don't shrivel up and blow away, in case you are wondering.

Notice any resemblance?

This is my Papi Greg and his older brother. I am not sure where I get my looks, what do you think?