34 Weeks Old

My Baby Bear is 34 weeks now! I can't believe how fast we're approaching 40 weeks! The second 40 weeks goes by twice as fast or more as the first 40 weeks.  If only we could reverse that...

 Me and my family facetiming in the morning while I pumped.  He still doesn't acquaint my photo on his Dad's phone with me.  I think he hears my voice and gets confused, but then he just wants to eat the phone.  Or the ipad or whatever.

 I introduced him to Buddy--a non-fragile friend his size who can be poked, prodded, and explored without any frustrations on Buddy's part.  I love that about dolls. Babies can really dig in and discover them because they don't have nerve endings like little sisters or mommies and daddies. 

 I introduced him to avocados.  He wasn't a big fan at first but after that, he liked them.  I think he doesn't really care too much about flavor or texture.  Food is food. 

 He likes to suck on the wet washcloth just like his big sister did.  It's my best mom discovery ever--let the baby clean up himself and no tears or frustrations on either side. 

 After the longest most oppressive winter ever, we finally got a break and we were able to go on our first walk since last autumn. 

 He's a happy boy who loves to laugh and to interact.  And chew.  Always chew. 

 And he likes eating my pant legs when he's on the floor and they're within his reach.  He does it to his Daddy too. 

 Laundry is more fun when he gets the freedom to discover the baskets on his own. 

 We brush our teeth together every night now.  He loves it and squeals both when I do the brushing and when I take the brush away from him.  It helps his sister, too, to have this routine with us. 

 He loves giving me things when I make an excited reaction in response to it.

 The two of them area always on the floor exploring this cabinet. 

 He was 6 or 7 weeks old in the top and nearly 8 months old on the bottom.

 Who are you up there?  Is that really Mommy, cause I'm not sure. 

 I think he thinks he can stand up. 

 With Bill and Nina.

 Enjoying his food as always. 

 My cute little nugget in the Mexican restaurant enjoying the feel of my leather wristlet on his gums.

 What a dear.  I love how he sleeps with his hands to the side.

 There are so many fun things to discover in his big sister's room!

 He usually doesn't mind when his big sister holds him.  He minds it much less than we do, actually.

A fourth tooth has made it's arrival!!!  Top right (his right) is here, but you can't really see it like you can see the top left one.  That one's currently longer which makes it look like he has a snaggle tooth.  He looks dear and strange all at the same time, because getting teeth really changes the shape of a baby's face. 

33 Weeks

 
His sister likes to move him around on the floor when he's playing


 He likes to eat!!! He was begging me for more green beans and mashed potatoes Saturday night.


Dave's dad said he looks skinnier after he watched him and Noelle one afternoon. That made me just want to feed him more.  I love how he's so fat!



He likes frozen yogurt. He tried some at Sweet Frog on my birthday. I only gave him a couple of tastes and then I nursed him. He was begging for more, though.

 
He made a face when he tried it only because it was cold. 


He can grasp things with his finger and thumb now.

 He still gags and vomits when solid little things enter his mouth but at least he's voracious and excited about purees now.

He pulls at the collar of my shirt--when he's nursing, when he wants to be nursing, and sometimes just because.


He has a new tooth on the top left.

 He's definitely allergic to zucchini and gets rashes from the pee and the poop he produces after eating this vegetable.

 He really moves around but still isn't officially crawling.


 His sister discovered she loves to pick him up and though she shouldn't do so and gets in trouble for it, he loves it too most of the time.
 
He's inhaling purees. He eats them frantically and then shrieks for more as he opens his mouth wide.

One of his Valentine's Day presents from us.  We also got him "Heaven is for Real" for kids, and Bunny got him an Elmo valentine book.

 Here's our second annual family Valentine's Day picture.

 We did all sorts of errands and fun things on my birthday, including walking through the mall.

 I love his sweet, squishy face!

 A handsome shot of my two handsome men.

 Fast asleep with his chapped cheeks and chin--this happens more when he's cutting a new tooth.

 Morning snuggles with Daddy!

 I love dressing him for church on Sunday.  Little boys are just as much fun to dress as little girls.

 A Valentine's Day gift from Grandma.

 He likes it when his sister gets into his crib with him.

 I was trying to copy his cute little faces.

 Playing with the plasticware again.  He just loves it!

Most afternoons right after I get home from work, this is the scene--Baby Bear nursing and falling to sleep in my bed with me and Bunny is usually in her own bed, but occasionally in bed with her brother and I. 

I've introduced him to our plastic containers cabinet.  I remember how his sister loved playing with these at his age.  He loves them as well.

He's really into curtains.  He grabs all sorts of curtains.  These, and the ones on his changing table, and the shower curtains, mainly.

Playing with his sister with the plastic containers.  Anything he plays with that she used to enjoy but has long forgotten, is now suddenly high on her interests.  It's good, though because it's good that they play together.  Bad that

FaceTiming Grandma B and Grandpa together. 

He likes to wiggle down from Daddy's (and occasionally my) lap and stand on the floor--but he can't actually stand.  All the same, it's fun to see him try to get down.