The Richardsons: 2015

Theo is three months old already! Surely Paul did not grow up this fast. I just can't believe how big Theo is getting. We often say he just gets cuter every day. His personality is starting to shine through a little more and he is becoming more and more alert (meaning he is sleeping less and less!). He is generally still a very mellow, calm baby. Our family and friends seem to comment often that they've never heard him cry. Well, he does cry, but it is usually for a specific reason that is pretty easy to figure out. We are lucky there. I can't say enough what a good baby we have. Now I totally get why some people say they love this age. He's wonderful!

Checking out that cute baby in the mirror. Please forgive me if I already posted this one. It's just too cute! I can't help it!

He already has my habit of posing with pictures with mouth wide open. Why do I do this? Why? (Also, just realized this is why Paul also now poses like this. It's hereditary.)

Sweet boy snoozing with his lovey. I don't know the ladies personally who gave this to him (they work with Michael) but we don't go anywhere with out! He loves having it to hold onto.

I love this sweet smile.

He still has zero interest in rolling over. He loves to be held but can hang out in his swing for a while, usually drifting off to sleep. We just introduced a pacifier (the Wubbanub kind) since he's been trying so hard to find his thumb and never seemed to get it. He often wants to nurse for a minute right before he falls asleep but gets very upset with all the milk he gets, so he's loving the pacifier.

Wubbanub success!

Last night he slept from 9:30 to 5:15 without waking. He had a dry diaper when he woke up. He's a dream! He usually wakes more often than this, but it doesn't really bother me so I don't keep track. Some nights he has a few wet diapers and I have a hard time changing those with my eyes half shut with sleep, but we manage just fine.

Matching jammies. Sadly, he grew out of this onesie a week later.

He weighs around 15lb and measures about 26 inches. We didn't have a checkup this month so those are just my own measurements. He wears 6 month clothes very comfortably and size 3 diapers. He will probably move up to 9 month clothes in 6 weeks or so.

Theo is adorably ticklish! I LOVE it. His ribs are so sensitive. Just changing his clothes makes him squirmy, but he seems to like it. He laughs and squirms away from the tickle. He likes to talk lately and we love to listen. He hardly cries (like I mentioned before) but he is sensitive to pain -- a pinch from the nail clippers or a self-inflicted scratch will set him wailing. He does start at loud noises but unless he was drifting off to sleep, he does not get upset. Usually, he laughs a few seconds after the initial startle -- maybe because I make a point to reassure him with a smile and laugh myself. He is so adored by everyone who knows him, especially mom, dad, Paul and his grandparents.

Crazy bathtub hair! We do baths every other night. I find this keeps his skin from getting too dry. He loves the water. He smiles when I pour the water over his belly. He calmly checks himself out in the mirror while I bathe him. Finally I put the wash cloth down and say, "Alright, now you can kick!" And he usually starts kicking then! I feel like this kid is way more into a routine than Paul was. He likes to have a schedule.

When I took the picture above I felt like it was a familiar sight -- I remembered taking a picture of Paul like that too. I looked through my photos and found the picture of Paul below at 9 months.

Sleeping through Thanksgiving -- a Richardson baby tradition. Fun fact: Paul wore this outfit on his first Thanksgiving, although back then, it was of course embroidered with "Paul".

Cutest double chin I've ever seen.

Cheeks for days.

Matching Christmas jammies!

Checking out the lights on the tree.

First stroller experience. Didn't hate it.

Michael and I had our first night out since Theo's arrival. We went to a dinner party for his work. According to Mimi, Theo was a happy boy all night! And Paul was happy too, of course! We were only gone 3 1/2 hours but he greeted us with some big smiles and laughs when we got back!

Such a beautiful, precious face. I can't get enough of it.

I tried my hand at taking some Christmas lights pictures. It was mostly a fail but some pictures were worth keeping.

I love this one of Paul! So much attitude.

Such sweet little lips!

A few extra pictures from our 3 month shoot.

This face cracks me up!

I can't imagine a more perfect addition to our family!

Theo is now two months old! This sweet little guy has grown so much in the past month. He rolled over for the first and second time (obviously he's not into it) and started to really smile this month! He has definitely mastered the smile. He is happiest in the morning and so quick to show it. I love it. Here's a small collection of early morning smiles:

Speaking of the morning, I love watching him wake up. It feels very familiar. ;) He will start to squirm and then his arms get involved and he tries to cover his face with his little hands. Sometimes once his eyes do open, he merely grimaces a bit looks vaguely around and goes back to sleep. He sleeps from about 8:30 pm to 8:30 am, give or take an hour either way. I always think it's funny when people ask if he sleeps through the night yet. Uh, no, my three year old still doesn't! So I don't expect my two month old to. But when I'm asked if he's a good sleeper, I always say yes! He really is a great little sleeper. We've had two nights where I couldn't get him to sleep until 11. I'm not typically asleep until then anyways. And of course he wakes up to nurse, but since he's right next to me (yup, we co-sleep and it's wonderful) I sometimes check the time and almost always forget what it was because we fall back asleep so fast. He never wakes up crying and always goes back to sleep without a fuss. So yeah, I get some good sleep! He tends to sleep one 5-6 hour chunk, then wake up every 3, 2 and 1 hours after that. He's usually ready to nap 1-11/2 hours after he wakes up. During the day he's a bit inconsistent but he does like to take at least one long nap (3-4 hours) and then three or four shorter ones. His favorite place to nap is the swing (of course!). He will nap in the ergo, the car seat, in your arms or propped up on the couch. A lot of times he will fuss at me to put him down so he can sleep. This is a lot different from Paul, who wanted to be held constantly.

Speaking of the swing, we can tell his field of vision has improved in the past two weeks because suddenly he noticed a little toy on his activity gym! He would not stop staring at it in wonder. It was adorable. The next time I put him in his swing he saw the mobile and he just loves it. He will go from fussing in my arms to quiet and smiley in his swing looking up at the mobile. It's so cute.

Like I said earlier, he totally mastered smiling this month, and it's a smile that always warms my heart. He gives us the most smiles in the morning! I've managed to capture as many of these sweet smiles as I can.

Once he had that smile down, we started to hear just a hint of a chuckle. He would smile hugely and make a little noise in his throat and you could just tell he wanted to laugh. We were giving him a bath one night, and he was getting his big goofy grin, watching himself in the mirror when his laugh just popped out! It was so adorable! Michael and I were right there and we called Paul in to hear it. He was thrilled. We got a video of it (I love modern technology, I will replay this video forever!) and you can hear Paul laughing in between Theo's laughs. This was just a day shy of two months, and now a couple days later, we haven't heard that sweet laugh again! We can tell he wants to, he just can't quite remember how to do it. Good thing we have this to hold us over!

I admit he rarely gets baths -- babies don't get all that dirty and he has pretty sensitive skin -- but he loves it when he does. He also loves his changing table. Maybe he just really likes to be naked. Ha! On that note, he has only peed on us one time. ONCE. That seems like a miracle as a mother of boys. Paul peed on us and at least one cat multiple times. He even peed on the doctor during his circumcision. Back to Theo. The only time he peed on us was in the hospital -- we were changing his hundredth meconium diaper (seriously, the kid was full of it) and were fretting about how he hadn't peed in 8 hours (or some long time) and how he only had another hour or two to pee before they got worried about it. And all of a suddenly, he just peed all over the bed. We were so grateful! So that was it, the only time (so far) that he's peed on us.

On to the boring stuff-- he's now wearing size 2 diapers and some 3 month and 6 month clothes. Yep, 6 months already. I don't think he's got any big fat rolls but to me he just seems big all over. He's long, especially his torso. I remember in my late third trimester ultrasound they were getting an estimate of his weight, and the ultrasound tech said his stomach was off the charts big. That seems about right to me! :) At his 2-month check up he weighed 13 lb 11 oz, and measured 24 1/4 in. So between 75th-90th percentile for weight and right at 90th percentile for height.

He loves his big brother, of course, but he also likes his personal space! I have to tell Paul to get out of his face 10 times a day. Paul wants to hold him a lot but Theo, I think, is rightfully hesitant about Paul's ability to be calm. He doesn't last long in his arms, although Paul does a great job when he's holding him. It's just that Paul has to be moving all the time -- unless he is watching a movie or playing a game. Then he is great at sitting still. But he just constantly bounces around and I have to remind him all day long to tone it down around Theo so he doesn't accidentally trip and fall on him!

Paul asked me to take a picture of their feet to see if they matched. Yep, he said, we match!

Before Theo's arrival, Paul often talked about how he wanted to give Theo a bottle! We just introduced the bottle late this month, but Theo took to it right away.

When I took Theo's 2 month pictures, Paul was eager to join in! He even took a few solo pictures, which will be in a separate post.

Cutest video of Paul singing to Theo!

When Paul was an older baby, I remember going to restaurants and seeing moms with tiny newborn looking babies out. And I thought I probably missed an opportunity with Paul -- little babies sleep so much, making them pretty nice dinner companions. I think with Paul I was so happy being in that cozy little homebound newborn bubble. I got sick of it, but couldn't justify taking him out and was worried about all the what-ifs -- especially worried about nursing in public. Well not this time. In Theo's first month we did all those things -- eat out, attend soccer games and practices, went to a pumpkin patch, the park, Target and of course picked Paul up from school. Now in his second month, we can add church, Publix (thank you Ergo! car seats don't fit in those buggies), Joann's (discreet nursing included, thanks again Ergo!), Paul's "wee ball" practice and games, and a birthday party. Oh and let's not forget, trick or treating, Halloween party extravaganza included! He slept through the ENTIRE Halloween festivities though, so maybe that one doesn't count.

Out late one night for the Roger Scott Halloween party.

All dressed up and ready to trick-or-treat!

Theo slept through all of the excitement!

And kept sleeping when we got home. He was a seriously sleepy skeleton!

Finally, I just have to add this. Since Theo came into our family I have just felt more content and at peace as a mom. I feel more confident in the decisions I've made and feel more focused on my kids than ever, and I love it. In the months leading up to Theo's arrival I was so anxious about what life with two would be like. I think we have all stepped up to the plate, not just Michael and I as parents, but Paul as a more responsible and mature older brother. I could not be more proud of my first born! And we really are so lucky to have family here. I can't say that enough! I am so glad Theo will never have to say goodbye to his grandparents and cousins like Paul did. It broke my heart every time and I'm so glad we made the decision to move back to Pensacola.