Felix is 5 months!

Felix turned 5 months old on August 18th. Time is flying by with this sweet and cuddly little guy.

• We are rolling over all of  the time. Last weekend he started rolling over a lot from his back to his tummy. The first time he rolled from Tummy to back was July 12th. From back to tummy was August 15th that we know of. 
• He still eats cereal usually twice a day at lunch time and at supper.
• Felix is getting better at sleeping at night. We let him cry one night where we had been in his room multiple times and every time he would wake up within 15 minutes after we had left so we just let him cry. Since then his nights have been so much better and he's typically sleeping until 5am or later.
• His favorite toy is his crinkly book. He loves to crunch it in his hands and eat it. He also loves playing in his jumperoo. He likes his jumperoo a little too much and is always happy there.
• Felix does great at daycare. He's been there 5 days a week for 4 weeks now. At first he was a little cranky in the evenings but he seems to have adjusted now and is better. I usually feed him around 6pm and then again before bed (typically around 8). 
• He's grown a lot since his 4 month doctor visit so I am guessing he weighs over 20 pounds at this point. He is still in 9 month clothing (although they are getting tight!) and size 3 diapers (getting tight as well). I'm thinking once the cooler weather hits I'll switch him over to his 12 month clothes. Thank the Lord for hand me downs from his big brother! It has been really nice to have those old clothes saved along with some new clothes as well.
• Felix normally just takes 2 naps a day although sometimes he takes a short snooze in the evening before actually going down to bed.
• He is still generally an easy going baby who tends to go with the flow (he pretty much has to while we round up #1 and #2 around here). He is patient and able to wait his turn for attention typically. 
• Felix is still entertained by his big brother and beginning to take more interest in what his big sister has to tell him as well. We're looking forward to being able to play with him more as he gets older but for now we're enjoying having a baby around the house. :) Emmett has been very helpful in entertaining him in a pinch and putting his binky in his mouth for us when needed. 
• He can pretty much sit up at this point as well. It seems strange to say that he can do this but he can. I haven't left him unattended to sit (even with a pillow or anything) but I'm pretty sure he could do it. I've noticed if I have him sitting between my legs on the floor he holds his own for quite a while. And there's a lot of him to hold so it's pretty amazing that he can do this. He'll be sitting unattended sometime in his very near future. 

We love you little five month old Felix. Life is definitely sweeter with you in it! <3

Felix is 4 months!

Felix turned 4 months old on July 18th. 

• He finally slept through the night for the first time on July 20th! He woke up at 5:45am. I can't remember exactly what time he went to sleep though! It must have been around 7:30/8:00pm. Life is crazy. :)  Since then we have had 3 nights of sleeping through which is perfect timing because I was going to start sleep training him (not feeding him in the night with the possibility of letting him cry if needed).
• He rolled over for the first time on July 12th. He went from tummy to back immediately after I laid him down. At first I thought it was just a fluke but then I put him back on his tummy and he did it again. He also did the same thing for my dad a few times this past weekend. So, I'm going to call it official. Still not much progress on rolling from back to tummy.
• He starting to scoot on his back a little bit. I'll lay him down with his head in a certain part of his blanket and come back to his head still being where I left him but his feet are the other direction completely.
• He is talking a lot more. He still uses his favorite word "ah-goo" all of the time but has introduced many more sounds that go along with that. We are looking forward to the words "mama and dada" but haven't heard them quite yet!
• He seriously loves any attention anyone will give him! My mom said - well, he's the third child - he's happy with what he gets! I think she's right. His face lights up with a big smile if anyone talks to him. He'll also let anyone hold him happily (as long as he's not hungry or tired).
• His eye color keeps changing. I still don't think it's the final color that he'll have for the rest of his life but it certainly appears to be more brown than anything else. It's pretty much hazel I'd say for now. 
• Today is Mom's last day of maternity leave. Felix will be going to daycare full time next week. He loves it there and does well, but I'll certainly miss my extra time with him!
• He's wearing 9 month clothing and size 3 diapers.
• He's started to eat cereal in the evening. He typically takes a couple spoons full. He sucks on the spoon hoping it's a nipple of any sort and then when he realizes he isn't after a few bites he gets mad until Mommy picks him up. I think he is eating some of it though! 
• He goes about 3 hours in between feedings now. He can go up to four hours at times depending on his nap schedule and what we're doing.
• His hair is still curly! I'm obsessed with the cuteness of it. 
• We found a birthmark under Felix's full head of hair. The doctor said it is a "stork bite" and will go away with time.
• At his 4 month doctor visit he weighed in at 17lbs 10oz. (88%). He is 26.3 inches long (90%). His head is 44.5cm (>99%). The doctor said he looked nice and healthy. He certainly is. So grateful for this little (big) guy!

These Days...

Life these days...

Life with a 3 month old..

Felix now goes to bed early! He likes to be in bed by 7pm or he will start to get fussy. This is new within the last 3 weeks or so. I don't remember when we had to get a child in bed by 7! But I must admit I kind of like the freedom we have in the evenings. He is typically getting up once around 3am. He is just so smiley and lovable.. We can't get enough of Felix.

Life with a 29 month old... (almost 2 1/2!)

Hattie is a little fireball. I never know what she will say. One moment she's a kitty.. the next she's a baby... She has her Daddy (puppy) wrapped around her little finger. Each morning she has to have "two toasts". She loves watching Umi Zoomi. Hattie is very loving to Emmett and Felix. Although she did step on Felix the other day.. which might have been on purpose. She's happy happy happy almost all the time and literally does not stop talking unless she is watching Umi Zoomi! She goes to bed around 7:30pm and we are careful not to go too far past that or she will get over-tired and sometimes throw a tantrum. As she says "I threw a fit!". Luckily those are getting to be few and far between. We love our little chattie Hattie.. or Had! :)

Life with a 49 month old.. (Ha! just over 4!)

Emmett is sweet. He has finally learned that when we put him to bed he needs to stay there. He does a great job with that especially at night and goes to bed around 8:30. He's reading longer books. He's going to the bathroom all by himself (sometimes). He calls his sister "Had". If anyone else tried it I don't think I'd be too pleased, but coming from Emmett it might be the sweetest thing I've ever heard. He talks nonsense sometimes and thinks he's funny! He makes up words and then says - That's why. He's testing us each day by seeing what he can and cannot get away with but at the end of the day he just wants to be loved. And we do love him so much!

Felix is 3 months!

Felix turned 3 months old on June 18th 2015. 

• He is such a smiley and happy boy. Even if he is super tired or getting hungry he will still smile for us at times.
• He's a good baby. Very easy to take care of. He doesn't cry very often. One of our daycare providers told me this week how lucky we are that we have such a good baby. I, of course, agreed!
• Felix continues to keep most of his hair and it seems to be getting a little bit longer and curlier. I couldn't love it any more.
• He has gotten better with sleeping. There have been several nights where he's made it until 4am. 
• I'm finally trying to transition him into sleeping in his crib. I transitioned Emmett and Hattie both by 6 weeks. For some reason I was hanging onto this little snuggle bug a little bit longer.. So, I think that has impacted his sleep some as well. The crib isn't quite as cozy as the rock 'n play, apparently. 
• His head control seems to be getting a lot better. He can hold his head up a lot better when I am holding him on my hip. He has also endured sitting in the bumbo for a short period of time.
• He is a lot more interactive. He has quite the likable and sweet personality so far. He looks around a lot more enjoys short periods of time on his play mat or laying on a blanket on his back. 
• Felix still wears size 2 diapers and is wearing size 3-6 month clothing. 
• He seems to have plumped up quite a bit in the last month. We haven't weighed him since May 1st (the last time he was at the doctor) so I don't know how big he is exactly but i would guess him to be 14-15 lbs.
• He survived his first trip to Charles City on May 30th to visit Grandma and Grandpa Rottinghaus. Felix was pretty much a dream traveler. His brother and sister, however, were a different story.
• His favorite word continues to be "ah goo". 
• He loves taking baths and now kicks and splashes in the water. 
• He likes it when mommy does silly things like dances with him, pushes his feet up into his chest after diaper changes, and just when trying to make him laugh in general, it usually works unless you've caught him at a bad time (like dinner time or nap time).
• His naps are still pretty sporadic, taking at least 3 naps a day - morning, afternoon and evening.

We've enjoyed getting to know Felix these first 3 months. He fits into our family so well. The kids just love having a little brother although they are sometimes a little more rough than I'd like (Emmett mostly). But, overall I think it's just because they get so excited around him, so it could certainly be worse! We are just so grateful to be blessed with such a beautiful and healthy little boy. We couldn't ask for anything more. 

Felix is 2 months old!

Felix turned two months old on May 18th. He is really starting to get bigger and interact with us more.

• Felix's eyes are turning more towards the color brown as opposed to gray
• His hair still curls up on the ends but he has lost a little on the top
• He continues to make coos, ahhs and ah-goos. He also let out a first little laugh on March 19th.
• He seems to have a slight cough and congestion. His first cold! :( I took him to the doctor because he is so little but it turns out he just has to fight through it and will be fine.
• He is still getting up one or two times a night, which is starting to get tiring. 
• Felix still eats once every 2 1/2 hours. 
• He wears size 2 diapers and is still in his 0-3 month clothes although they are getting tight in length.
• He weighed 11 lbs 6 oz on May 1st and was 22 3/4" long.
• We are working on tummy time. He also enjoys spending some time on his back on the floor under his play mat. 
• He enjoys sitting in his highchair where he can see everyone at dinner time. He also likes his swing and will often nap there.
• He's not a huge fan of being in the baby carrier. He tends to lose his binky and spend a lot of time trying to find it and gets frustrated.
• Felix is still a pretty laid back baby. He tolerates all of our kisses and hugs quite well. 
• I look forward to him being on a more regular nap schedule in the future. His naps are starting to consolidate more with at least 3 snoozes a day in the morning afternoon and evening.

Emmett is Four!

• Emmett has really grown up a lot this last year. He has become so much more independent. He's learning to get himself dressed without our help, brush his own teeth, etc. When we get home now I am able to get him and Hattie out of the van and Emmett opens the door to the house and lets himself and Hattie in while I get Felix. Then, when I walk inside they are always hiding from me in the living room. Yesterday Emmett jumped out from under a blanket. 
• Emmett is awfully sweet these days. He really loves his new brother and kisses him all of the time. He is just so full of love for him. We are trying to teach him that sometimes it's not ok to kiss him though - like when he's sleeping. He and Hattie get a long pretty well most of the time too. They enjoy playing together. We often find them sitting right next to eachother on the couch while watching TV. I think the fact that they have a playmate has helped tremendously with our transition to a family of five. He is also full of love and kisses for Mom and Dad a lot of the time. 
• Mother's day this year seemed to really click with Emmett a little more this year. When I picked him up from daycare that Friday he had a rose for me and a present (they each made a bracelet and Emmett made a necklace for me!). He said "Happy Mother's Day" when I got there. Then on Sunday I was getting him ready for church and rolling up the sleeves of his button down shirt. He paused for a moment,, kissed me and said, "Thanks". I said, "You are so sweet Emmett." He then said "Happy Mother's Day" and gave me another kiss. It really warmed my heart.
• Emmett tells us a lot more stories these days. Some of them make some sense and some of them don't. He uses his imagination a lot. For his birthday he got a lot of "guys" to play with and it has been interesting observing his play so far. He is into Spider-Man right now. He still really enjoys books. We got several longer books that I hope he enjoys us reading aloud to him. We'll see how that goes. He is also very good with puzzles and is starting to enjoy building things with his Lego Duplos. He enjoys playing trains as well and is more into building the track with a little help than ever before. He also plays with his cars. He has a set of lacing cards and he really likes playing with the strings. 
• Emmett is a great eater. He tries a lot of things. He's not a big fan of many things with meat in them except he does like meatballs and sausage on pizza etc. I would say his favorite meal is pasta with alfredo sauce and shrimp. He loves vegetables, especially peas and corn but he also likes broccoli, carrots and cauliflower. He also eats most fruits including cantalope, apples, mandarin oranges, grapes, raspberries, and strawberries. He doesn't really like green beans or blueberries but we still have them sometimes anyway! He has also recently developed a lot of chocolate milk after trying it a few months ago. He likes candy too - in particular m&ms and starburst. He also enjoys popcorn.
• Emmett wears 4t clothes but his pants are getting short. His 4t shorts for the summer seem like they will fit fine until fall. 
• We are getting ready to send Emmett to preschool next year. It will be a big transition for him as he has been at Dragon Tots since he was 16 months old. He also will no longer be with Hattie or Felix. I don't think he even remembers spending a day apart from Hattie so I'll be interested to see how that impacts their relationship. He'll be going to the elementary school by our house and luckily they have wrap around care so we won't have to transport him at all during the day.
• Emmett will be playing his first organized sport this summer - soccer! He has actually been doing pretty well with kicking balls so I hope he has a great experience.
• He has started to outgrow his nap and no longer naps at home on the weekends. We try to enforce rest time but he continually gets out of his room so we typically end up allowing him to watch TV on the couch or in our bed to keep him from disturbing everyone else! He still naps at daycare for about an hour and then because of that he doesn't go to bed at night very easily either. I think we need to drop naps all together. So, that's on the horizon. It will probably be a grumpy transition.
• For his birthday this year we sent Spider-Man cupcakes to daycare on Friday the 15th. We went to the YMCA that evening as a family and went swimming because that is something that Emmett had asked to do. Then on Saturday we went to the zoo with Aunt Katrina and both sets of grandparents. I made Chocolate cake with peanut butter filling decorated like a monkey.

Emmett - 

We love you beyond words. I can't wait to watch you learn and grow during this fourth year of life. It's so hard to believe that four years have already passed since I held you in my arms for the very first time. You will always be our baby! 

Love,

Mom & Dad

Felix is 1 month old

Our sweet little Felix is already 1 month old. Where has the time gone? I am very much enjoying this time getting to know our new little man. 

• Felix's personality is pretty easy going. He is not usually very fussy unless he needs to burp or has gas. He enjoys being held but is also content swaddled and laying in the rock 'n play or his bouncy seat. He tolerates kisses and hugs from his brother and sister very well.
• He still sleeps for a lot of the day. However we haven't experienced any significant night wake time (knock on wood!). 
• He has been a pretty good sleeper from the start. The first night home from the hospital he slept for 7 hours straight. Mom and Dad really needed that good sleep too! However that was an anamoly. He typically sleeps for 5 hours and then 3.5 each night. It is a good night if we get up just once at around 2-3am. 
• Felix has been smiling. I'm honestly not sure when his first smile occurred. It seems almost as if he was smiling from birth. It's been hard to differentiate where his "true" smiles began. I can get him to smile if he's in an alert state and I say "Where's your smile Felix?" with a lot of inflection in my voice. 
• As of four weeks old he has started to make some "coo" "ahh" and "ah-goo" sounds. They are pretty infrequent so far but he is really trying to talk to me at certain points in the day.
• Felix eats every 2 1/2 hours during the day.
• He is still in 0-3 month clothes and size 1 diapers.
• He likes his pacifier, which is MAM brand, which is what Hattie also preferred.
• His eyes are still not their true color yet. They seem to currently be a slate gray color. I assume they will be brown eventually but they are still changing.
• Felix has curly hair. This has been a bit of a shock. Once it dries it doesn't seem very curly. However, when it is wet and for a few hours after bath time it is curly all over.
• He also has the sweetest little dimples which I think he gets from his Daddy.
• At first I thought he looked like Emmett but now I am starting to think he resembles Hattie more.

We are having so much fun with Felix and couldn't possibly love him any more!