Dominick-2 Months

Dominick will be 3 months in just 3 days so I figured I might as well get this up. It's been wrote since he turned 2 months, but I haven't had a chance to get to the pictures. 

Weight

Birth: 7 lbs 13 oz

1 month: 12 lbs 10 oz
2 months: 14 lbs 6 oz

Length

Birth: 22 in

1 month: 22.5 in
2 months: 23 in

Diapers

You are in size 2 diapers this month.

Clothes

You wear 3 months clothes

Eating

You are still exclusively breastfed and still the messiest eater I know. You eat every 3-4 hours

Sleep

You are starting to be a better napper. We've figured out a good schedule and you're ok with that. You also only wake up once a night.

 Dominick,

This month has been such a fun one! You have grown so much and I just wish I could bottle you up and open when I need something to make me smile or in your crazy teenage years. You are such a special little guy and as much as I love that you are growing and changing EVERY single day, I wish time would slow down just a little bit. You are SO much fun right now. You coo and your smile and are just a little butter ball. I LOVE every thing about this stage. Even the frustrating moments where I don't know why you're crying your little heart out and can't get you to settle down; I really do love those moments too. I know they won't be forever and sometimes it makes me happy, but so often it just makes me a little sad. I look at you all the time and my heart feels like it is going to explode. I am so proud of you, sweet boy! You really do rock my world!

You are such a little lover and you just love to be kissed and loved on. You have started smiling when we talk to you and that is seriously just the BEST! You are such a sweet, sweet baby and multiple times a day you just melt my heart. When we kiss you, you open your mouth and just smile and smile.

With that said you are a strong willed little guy. You are stubborn and I say opinionated. You definitely let us know if you are unhappy because you just get mad. You've figured out a way to get attention by doing a little fake cry. When we show you some attention you will be happy again for some time, unless you are hungry.

Speaking of hungry, you eat a LOT. I've given you a few bottles to prepare you for when I go back to work. You don't seem to have any confusion. You took a 5 oz bottle and then a 3 oz bottle (which did NOT satisfy you at all). You are definitely growing and becoming quite a big guy. We've had some trouble with constipation this month. I've cut out most dairy and that seems to have done the trick. 

You absolutely LOVE bath times. You can be so fussy, but as soon as you get in the bath it's like all your "worries" just disappear and you become so relaxed. You love them.

You are such a good baby and we just love you. We thank God every single day that He picked us to be your parents. You are such a special little boy and I can't wait to see what's in store for you. I pray that I am able to be the mom that you need to mold you into a strong, smart, successful, respectful, God loving man. We are so excited to see what this next month has in store for our little family of 3.
 Love you to the moon and back,
Momma
Highlights From The Month

 

Pregnancy Recap

I saw this on another blog and thought it would be fun to do.

Worst Parts of Pregnancy: The first trimester was definitely not a fun one. I was pretty much a vegetarian the entire 1st trimester. I couldn't eat nearly anything and I was exhausted all the time. I was glad it was only for 1 trimester.

Best Parts of Pregnancy: I LOVED being able to feel him move and he would often get the hiccups so that was a lot of fun too. I also always loved seeing him on the ultrasound. Other fun things were the shopping and things like that. Also, eating yummy food and rarely feeling guilty about it, that was definitely one of the best parts of pregnancy.

Weight Gain: I gained around 30-35 lbs during my pregnancy. My next pregnancy I am definitely going to try to say no a little more, but I don't regret it because while it is taking a while, the weight is coming off.

How I Knew I Was In Labor: On the Saturday before I delivered I started having a lot of cramping and was really uncomfortable. By Sunday I was spotting and in a LOT of pain from the cramping. I told Ryan we should go into the hospital just to make sure (I was schedule to be induced that Thursday). When we got there they told me my bleeding wasn't enough and my contractions weren't close enough, basically I wasn't in active labor and they sent me home. Monday morning around 1 AM I woke up to go to the bathroom and the bleeding was really heavy and I was in a LOT of pain. I started timing my contractions and woke Ryan up. We went to the hospital after getting around and they gave me a room...it was time to meet our baby Dominick!

Total Length of Pregnancy: I delivered at 40 weeks 5 days

My last picture: 40 wks 2 days

Color Run San Diego 2012

Before Dominick was even born our friends asked if he wanted to run in the Color Run in San Diego. He jumped at the idea, because it was just a fun run and it was in San Diego meaning we could stay for a night and get to enjoy Southern California for a day or two.

This past weekend November 3rd was the actual race and it turned out to be a really nice day and a fun race for him. We got up quite early, packed the bags, packed the car and out the door we went. We got there right on time as we ended up running into a bunch of traffic on the 405 (we were actually afraid we may not even make it). I think we pulled into the parking lot around 1:00 and the race started at 1:30. Ryan changed, I got the baby fed, diaper changed and into the stroller and we were there right before it started. Our friends were already there waiting for us and they too didn't think we'd make it.

Ryan said there were SO many people that he spent a lot of the run dodging people. I think he enjoyed it overall.

Dominick with his Daddy after the run

Waiting for everyone to finish!

Dominick and his Daddy after the run

After the run we went to the hotel and everyone got cleaned up. For dinner we went to an amazing Japanese Steakhouse and stuffed ourselves to the max. On Sunday we got up and went to Stone Brewery where we all enjoyed a tour and the guys were able to get some samples and pick some beer up to bring home. After the brewery, we made the 3-3.5 hour trip back home.

It was a great weekend to spend as a family and with friends.

Halloween 2012

This year was Dominick's first Halloween and we were so excited. We went back and forth on what he was going to be for nearly the entire month of October. The weekend before we finally decided he would be a Dinosaur and I ordered the costume on Sunday the 28th and it arrived Monday the 29th. Our friends' little girls asked quite a while back if we would go trick or treating with them so that was our plans. Then we were invited to a dinner with some other friends. It turned out to be a busy day.

The day of Halloween, Dominick was just having an off day. He wanted me to hold him the WHOLE day and if I wasn't holding him I needed to be touching him or he would FREAK out. I finally got a chance to shower and get ready. I put him in his costume and we went to our friends for dinner. After dinner we made a quick trip back home and were off to trick or treat with L and K. It was kind of a chilly night so we were only out for about an hour, but at least Dominick was able to go for a little bit. He slept through it and he didn't get any candy (we didn't actually go to the doors), but we can say he went. After we got back, I fed him and we went back to our friends to finish dinner. All the kids were going through their big stashes of candy, trading and were on quite the sugar high. It ended up being a really good day.

Thankfulness

Day 8: I'm thankful for my health, for Dominick's and for Ryans. I am a relatively healthy person and I just don't take that for granted. I know there are so many things that could potentially go wrong or that we could one day develop. I just pray that we continue to be healthy and stay healthy.

Day 9: Kind of going along with Day 8, I am thankful that I was able to carry a baby, to have a healthy pregnancy and that we didn't have to have "help" getting pregnant. This is one thing that I feel so blessed about.

Source: plussizebirth.com via Tanya on Pinterest

Day 10: I'm thankful for a roof over my head, food on the table, clothes to wear and a bed to sleep in. I know I said earlier that that AF has helped in providing so many of these, but I am thankful that we have all of these. With the winter months coming brings the cold and I just could not imagine having to be outside all day in the cold, wondering when we will eat again or wearing the same clothes every single day because I don't have any others.

Day 11: I'm thankful for my Lord and Savior. I know that He is someone who will ALWAYS be there, He stays true to his promises and loves and accepts me for me.

Source: heavenhears.tumblr.com via Lisa on Pinterest

Day 12: I'm thankful for veterans. Their sacrifice, dedication and loyalty is immeasurable. They are true heroes and I'm thankful for them.

Source: Uploaded by user via Allison on Pinterest

 Day 13: I'm thankful that we are able to go back to Michigan. It's always good for the soul to be back on our old stomping grounds, to be around our families, friends and everything familiar. We always dread traveling (especially now with a baby), but we LOVE being there.

Day 14: I'm thankful for my education.I'm blessed beyond belief to have had the opportunity to get my Bachelors degree and it's one thing that I will be so proud of and so thankful for for the rest of my life. Thank you, Mom and Dad!

Give Thanks

So I have been seeing EVERYWHERE people saying what they're thankful for, for the month of November. I thought I would join in. Since we're going to be gone for the weekend I thought I would do a few days together.

Day 1: I am thankful for my husband. He works so hard to take care of Dominick and I. He makes me laugh and is my biggest supporter. He has such a good heart and I am just so thankful I get to spend my days with him.

Day 2: I am thankful for the Air Force. Since today is the 2nd day in November I thought it would be fitting for this to be what I'm thankful for on this day. Two years ago Ryan left for basic training. It was nothing like a deployment, it was much shorter but it was our first real see ya later thanks to the Air Force and I'm sure it won't be our last. I still can't believe it's been two years. I'm thankful for the AF because it has been so good to us. It provides us a house over our head, insurance for our family, job security for my husband, a pay check every 15 days and I simply cannot imagine our life being any different. As much as we {NOW} want to move closer to home I just can't imagine Ryan NOT being in the military.

The day he left 2 years ago

Day 3: I am thankful for Dominick. And since the 3rd is going to mark his 2nd month of life it seemed fitting for this day, just like the 2nd. I am thankful that God chose us to be his parents. He is such a good baby and has such a sweet little heart. I am so thankful for him and wish I could put into words my love for him, but nothing seems to do it justice.

Day 4: I am thankful for Calli and Rocky. They were my first babies and they may be second best at this point, they will always be our first babies. They've brought so much joy to our lives and I am thankful for that. I think they allowed me to be a "mom" before I really became a mom.

Day 5: I am thankful for my new job. I don't know EVERYTHING that it entails, but I am excited to start and excited for what's to come. I am thankful that I will get 2 extra days with Dominick and that they're allowing me to go home for our scheduled trip. I am thankful that this came at the perfect time.

Day 6: I am thankful for my family. I love that no matter where we are in the world I can count on them. I am so thankful to be apart of a sometimes crazy, always fabulous family.

Day 7: I am thankful for my friends {near and far}. This isn't the first time I've said it, but our friends here at Edwards are kind of like our Air Force/Edwards family. We spend holidays together, we call each other when we need something, we celebrate the good happenings and support each other on our down days. I'm grateful that I have gotten to experience that. I am also thankful for the few friends we still have back at home. It is so rare to have friends who you can count on no matter what, but I am thankful that when we go home there is a couple people who we can pick right back up with...like we never left. Those are the best friends!