New Friends

I got to visit Jesper at school a couple weeks ago and I took a video of him while I was there. He's playing with Beau, another little boy in his class. I think Jesper is starting to show more of his personality - and he's a little camera shy! Beau, on the other hand, is talking up a storm. :)

(Sorry about the wild camera action in the middle of it...)

Just Another Sunday Night

Jesper "discovered" Sabi on Sunday night! And we think it's the cutest thing ever. :)

In other news, last weekend (August 20) was Mark and Marie's wedding. What a fun weekend! Lucas and Lindsay and Sergio and Lacy drove up from Kansas and hung out with us and Kristin and Dillon on Friday night. Then we got to spend some time with Lucas and Lindsay on Saturday morning before the wedding as well.

Nissa, Grace, and Walker arrived in early afternoon because they were flying out to Atlanta the next day and had offered to babysit while Josh and I were at the wedding. At about 2:00, I realized that I hadn't tried on any dresses since I had had Jesper so I went to check out my closet. My pants fit, so I was sure that one of my dresses would as well. I was so wrong! I had forgotten that other parts of your body (namely, boobs) also get bigger during pregnancy. Nothing fit and I went shopping with Nissa and Grace in a panic. Thankfully, they helped me find a dress. Disaster averted!

Mark and Marie's wedding was gorgeous! What a beautiful and fun night!They got married at the James J. Hill library in St. Paul. Here are some pictures from the evening.

4 Months Old!

I can't believe my little boy is 4 months old already!! Tonight I just rocked and held him for a little while after he fell asleep. He is so precious and is already losing some of those "new baby" mannerisms, like the little back arch and stretch that he used to do after every feeding. But, that makes room for new and exciting things that he's learning.

 Here are some of my current favorites from his four-month phase:

•  When he touches and grabs my face during a feeding (the hair, not so much. That's a little more painful.)
•  When he smiles so wide that his eyes get squinty
•  Picking him up at school and watching him smile so wide when he sees me that the pacifier drops out of his mouth.
•  Watching him concentrate REALLY hard on something like the sound his toy makes when he kicks it

We had his four-month appointment on Friday, August 5. Jesper is a big, healthy, happy boy. He weighed in at 17lbs 1oz (90th percentile) and is 26 3/4 inches long (95th percentile). Our pediatrician was also very pleased with his smiles and eye contact.

We asked the doctor if we could start solids now at four months and he said yes. I'm struggling slightly with my milk supply, so starting solids now will help alleviate a little of the pressure to produce so much every day. Jesper is drinking solid 6 oz. bottles at nearly every feeding. Josh and I went to Babies R Us immediately after the appointment to pick up rice cereal, oatmeal, bibs and spoons.
 

We gave Jesper his first cereal on Sunday night (we went to La Crosse from Saturday - Sunday). He did so well! He really seemed to like it, although I'm not sure how much he actually ate versus how much ended up on his bib. :) Now he gets about 1-2 Tbsp. of cereal every night after his 6pm bottle (I'm still not sure how many calories he actually gets from it, but he's getting better every meal).

That weekend, we got to spend some time in La Crosse. It was Jesper's first longer road trip and our first night away from home with him. It's always so fun to hang out with Brian, Nissa, Grace, and Walker. On Saturday, we went downtown La Crosse and walked around the town for a while. Later that night, we had a campfire.

This last weekend, my best friend from college, Lara Sanders, came up to visit and meet Jesper for the first time. Every time I hang out with her, I'm reminded why she's such an amazing girl. :) We had a great time catching up! It was a beautiful day, so we drove down to the U on Saturday and took a walk around campus. So much has changed already since we went to school there!
 

Crazy Wonderful Life

Josh and I ate dinner with a couple from our birth and parenting class on Saturday night. Nick and Amanda have a little boy who is one week younger than Jesper. It was fun to get to know another family with a baby the same age. It's amazing how many of the same things that we experience at the same time. We also (unintentionally) kept Jesper up much later and longer than usual that evening. But it turned out to be the magic bullet that we had been hoping for. After a week of no sleep, Jesper slept for 10 hours that night (10pm-8am). Yay!


Happy in his new high chair



Smiling at Mom

This last weekend, we also purchased Jesper a new high chair. His four-month appointment is on Friday and we're hoping that the pediatrician gives us the green light to start rice cereal. I can't wait to start introducing Jesper to solid foods. The expressions on his face are going to be great! In the meantime, it's been a perfect new place for Jesper to play in the kitchen. He really starts to get bored quickly with his bouncer and bumbo  these days.

Josh and Jesper hanging out this weekend

Weekday evenings are crazy, and Monday was no exception. Picture this: Josh is giving Sabi a bath while I'm manning the stove with spaghetti sauce and noodles, Jesper is starting to fuss because he's tired, and the house is a disaster. That's kind of what our evenings look like these days. I keep wondering how in the world people manage with two. And this is the easy age!!

Jesper's First Art Project (it's hanging proudly on our fridge) :)