Seven Months

Brody is now seven months old. I'm not sure why, but in case you haven't noticed I've been neglecting this blog for quite some time. I just seem to lack the motivation to update it, especially as my sweet boy seems to need more and more of my constant attention as he is now on the move.

Brody is growing up SO fast, and a has bunch of new tricks up his sleeve. At his six month check-up, he weighed in at 15lbs,5oz, and was 27.5" long. He has more than doubled in weight since birth, and has grown more than half a foot! He is now able to sit up on his own, pull himself up to a standing position in places like his crib, the pack n' play, and on our couches. He always prefers to be in an upright position to the sitting one. Brody mastered the "army crawl" right at six months, but now has learned to crawl up on both hands and knees. No matter how many toys he has in front of him on the floor he always seems to go for everything he is not suppose to have. Brody's favorite are the electronics.. he is always headed for the DVR/DVD players, and the remote control! From the side he looks just like his Daddy, but from the front I think he looks a lot like my Dad did when he was a baby. He has a lot of hair, and his eyes are still changing. He recently discovered solid food, and dines on oatmeal and rice cereal and his favorite purees are carrots, peas, and bananas. He also likes the "yo baby" yogurts! He is learning to self feed with Cheerios, and does a great job of gumming them up before trying to swallow. He also has one tooth, on the bottom left of the two middle teeth... I think the second tooth is on its way in soon. This age is crazy full of new milestones on an almost daily basis. I'm excited for him that he pretty much fully mobile, but its a lot more work as if I turn my head for even a moment it seems he is off down the hall. As a result he is spending a little more time each day in the pack n' play or in his walker, until we get everything baby-proofed. Brody is also very "talkative", most of it is babbling, but he does say "Dadda" and "Mama", although I'm not sure if he knows what they mean yet. He just loves the sound of his own voice! I'm so blessed to be his Mommy, and I'm still loving every moment of it.

Sean and I are doing well! We are excited to announce that we are relocating down to the San Diego area in the beginning of April. Sean is attending the University of Phoenix, working towards his Masters in Accountancy, and just accepted a new job on the naval base at Point Loma to gain experience while in school. For now, I will continue to stay at home with Brody. I am also pursuing a degree in Nursing and my RN license, and I will continue taking pre-reqs for the program at Grossmont starting in the fall. We have enjoyed the year we spent here on the central coast, and it is bittersweet that we are leaving. We are looking forward to the opportunities that we have down south, and to spending more time with friends, and Sean's family!

In other news, I started taking Brody to a Gymnastics class last week called "BabyRoo's" that is designed specifically for babies starting at his age. It is structured playtime with focus on movement and motor development, and it's a great opportunity for him to get out of the house. I've included pictures here... enjoy!

Our Little Boy

Brody is looking more and more like a little boy to me than an "infant". I still can't believe how quickly time has passed since his birth. Everyday has been filled with such precious moments, I am truly blessed. I am SO in love with this little boy, he brings such joy to my heart. He is almost five months old now! At his last check-up (4 months), he was 13 lbs, 6 oz, and 25 inches long. That puts him back in the 25th percentile for weight, and the 90th for length... I was excited to see that his growth had slowed some in terms of length- he was pretty much off the charts for his 2 month visit. But the doctor would like to see him gaining a little more weight. The boy loves to eat, so I'm not sure why he's not chunk enough yet. The doctor gave the okay for us to start him out on some baby food, first cereal then slowly adding in veggies and fruits depending on how he did. We found some Rice Rusks, which have been fantastic for him. They dissolve in his mouth so he won't choke, he enjoys holding them while eating, and they aren't really all that messy- so that's been a good little snack. As far as the cereal goes, well he doesn't seem to like it much yet. He kind of spits it back out after he eats it. So we are going to try that again after the new year. It's so much fun to watch the new development that happens with him on a daily basis. His newest game is Peek-A-Boo! He loves to play this, usually laying on my chest. When I say "Peek-A-Boo" he puts his little head down to hide, and then lifts it back up with a huge grin on his face. He is now rolling over both front to back, and back to front on a pretty regular basis as well. He is starting to enjoy being on his tummy more as he is learning to scoot- and I'm sure will soon be crawling. He has also become very talkative over the recent few weeks, and that always puts a smile on my face to hear his sweet voice as he tries so hard to communicate with us. He is such a happy, sweet little boy... and I am thankful for him everyday. We are so looking forward to his first Christmas, and sharing with him all the wonderful holiday traditions that we grew up with!

As far as Sean and I go, life has thrown us a few curve balls. Sean recently got laid off, and is now looking for work again. I am so proud of him as he has also decided to go back to school to earn his Master's degree in Accountancy. The program he is doing is through the University of Phoenix online, so it will give him time to still hold a full time job as soon as he can find something. I am staying home with Brody during the days, and have taken on a few babysitting jobs. I have a 10 month old little girl that comes over every afternoon to play with Brody, and now that he is getting a little older it is fun to watch them interact. I also will be babysitting at a local church, during one of their weekly morning bible studies. There is about 4-5 kids on a regular basis, and Brody will also be coming along- so I'm excited for him to have the chance to make a few new friends. Starting in late January I will also be going back to school in the evenings at Cuesta to tackle my pre-requisites for the Nursing program. Depending on Sean's job situation, it's possible we will be relocating to the San Diego area after the spring semester. We know that God is in control, and that he will provide for our needs. We are trusting in him during the difficult times to lead us, and open and close doors according to his will. We are blessed to have such wonderful family support during this time, and we continue to count our blessings daily! We wish you a very Merry Christmas, and the happiest New Year!

Catching Up ...

Seems we have a bit of catching up to do... I will probably do this over a few posts so as not to write an entire book at once. Hmmmmm, where did we last leave off? I think it was the 2 month update! That's pretty bad being that Brody is now almost 4 months old. His 2 month appointment was a rough one for Mom. He got his shots... 4 of them at once. I cried, after hearing him scream, it was SO hard. I am dreading his next appointment at the 4 month mark, where he has to get 4 more shots. He started sleeping through the night completely right at 2 months also, that has been SO nice. Now if he would just learn to do it in his own bed, we'd be good... he currently prefers my arms as his sleeping place of choice. At his appointment we found out that he is in the 95th percentile for length at 24 inches long, and the 50th percentile for weight at 11 pounds, 11 ounces. He didn't have an appointment at the three month mark, so I know he's grown a lot.. but I'm curious to see by how much. In clothing he pretty much skipped the 0-3 month size. I would try clothes on him from that size range when he was still wearing newborn, and everything was so wide. Then all of the sudden none of the newborn onesies would snap anymore and neither would the 0-3... pretty much the same day. Luckily for us, 3-6 month is pretty much the same in width as the 0-3, just a few inches longer which helps. So for now he's in mostly 3-6 month clothes, although we have a few 0-3 outfits which fit him okay thankfully. I was really bummed we blew right through that size, because he had a lot of really cute stuff that he only got to wear once! We are enjoying every moment with him, but I already think he's growing up too fast.

Extreme Makeover: Blog Edition

Yes, thats right! There are some changes around here. We got ourselves a colorful new layout, now we just need a new blog name. That's where you come in, because "Sean & Sarah Griffin" is kind of boring! While this blog started as a way to update all my friends and family throughout my pregnancy, I realized things are more and more exciting on day to day basis now that Brody is here! I promise more frequent updates, but I do need help with a name. I lack creativity... so if you have any idea's, please post them here as a comment! Thanks in advance. I'm also considering making this blog private, just for safety reasons. According to my sitemeter this blog gets about 100 hits per week, and while I'm pretty sure thats mostly family and friends I'd still be more comfortable knowing who's reading. SO if you do read this blog, and you'd like to continue reading this blog... do one of two things. The first option, is to "follow" this blog. That lets me know your reading, and I can send you an invitation to keep reading. It is also a great new feature that Blogger rolled out that I love. I am able to "follow" all the blogs that I read, and rather than having to go through my blog list one by one, I get a list of all new updates in order of recent posts from all the different blogs I enjoy reading... and then I don't waste time checking blogs that haven't been updated. So that's my plug on the following feature! The other option is to just send me an email (sarahgriffin1@gmail.com), or leave me a comment with your email address and I will make sure to add you to the list of readers to invite when I do make this private. Thank you, and "Stay Tuned"... there will be more updates, more frequently very very soon!