3 Months...

You guys...I can't even deal with this. I feel like the months are flyyyying by and it seems like I just wrote my 2 months post! The transformation in Grayson over the last few weeks has been insane. He is becoming his own little person with this cute little personality and every day I feel like I see a little bit more of who he will be. I'm love love loving every minute of watching him grow and change, but goodness, can it slow down just a little? I know I do this every month but it seriously is going so super fast...break my heart!

Baby boy,

Man oh man, get ready for some mushiness. I feel like my heart is just about to burst with love for you these days. Every day when I wake up and see your sweet little face I fall in love all over again. You are just absolutely the cutest little baby I have ever seen and I honestly believe you get cuter every single day.

This month has been my favorite so far, hands down. I loved you as a brand new baby, but now that you are starting to become a real little human that interacts with us you are so fun! Mornings are still by far my favorite time of day with you. When you wake up, whether it's on your own or from me unwrapping you from your swaddle and giving you a kiss, you are just the happiest little guy around. You wake up slowly and blink real slow for awhile, and then when you realize it's time to get up you always give me the sweetest little grin and start our morning chat. You are so talkative in the mornings it cracks me up. You coo and gurgle and squeal and make the sweetest little baby sounds. We lay in bed and chat for at least ten minutes every morning before we start our day. Sometimes I turn on the Baby Einstein Pandora station and we listen to that and hang out for quite awhile if we feel like being lazy ;)

You're getting into a pretty consistent routine, and it's definitely making life easier for Mama. I am a big believer in not enforcing a schedule on you at this point since I feel like that would just add stress to both of our lives, but you have done a great job of creating your own little schedule. After we get up, usually around 8-8:30, you eat and then we go for a walk most weekdays. After our walk you nap for a bit, and then are ready to eat again around 10:30 or 11. You're pretty consistent in eating and then wanting to play and have some alert time, but you don't last long. Usually about 15-30 minutes of fun and then you're ready for another nap. You start getting pretty fussy and I will just lay you in my arms and you're usually out in about two minutes.

Your naps are definitely shorter now than they used to be...Mama is not getting near as much done these days! Your meal times are getting shorter, and you're spacing them out more. Now we go about three to four hours between feedings for the most part, although some days it's still every two hours. I figure you're a growing boy and you know when your tummy needs something in it, so no rigid schedules for you. I usually get one good, long nap out of you each day. If you get in your swing and chill out for awhile, I will look over and after about 15 minutes or so you are passed out. Sometimes you nap in your swing for two hours or more. Mama has learned to take full advantage of that time :)

Your looks are changing all the time. You are starting to look more and more like you actually belong to me every day. In the beginning you were a mini clone of your dad. Even though I didn't think you looked as much like him as everyone else said you did, you definitely were way more Arsen than Celeste. Now, your hair is lightening way up and you are getting more of my traits...like my ears. I'm so sorry about that one, but that came from your Great, Great Grandpa so I can't take the blame. But your eyes are getting darker, like your Daddy, and you have his mouth and eyebrows for sure. I think you're probably the perfect combo of the two of us.

A few of the fun new things you're doing this month are:
* Giving us open mouth kisses...if we aren't careful we get a tongue in the month too!
* Interacting A LOT. You are one chatty little baby these days! Mama, Daddy and Nana get to hear lots of stories from you every day. One of your chattiest times, other than mornings, is during diaper changes. You are SO mad in the beginning, and then by the end of them you are chatting up a storm.
* Noticing your toys. Your Aunt Rachel came to visit this past weekend and brought you a little stuffed penguin with great big eyes, and you think that thing is your new best friend. You stare into his eyes and talk your little head off. It's hilarious.
* Smiling at us all the time. For the most part I can almost always get a smile out of you. Every once in awhile you just refuse and give me that serious stare, but I can usually at least get your little sideways Elvis grin. My favorite is when you get super excited and smile so big all your cute little gums show.
* You rolled over from your back to your tummy on 7/19, but I'm thinking it may have been a fluke. Once you got on your tummy you were NOT pleased. You still hate tummy time so much it's crazy.
* Crying so much less...oh, life is so much better these days! Even when you do cry we can usually get you calmed down in just a couple minutes. I can't even express how much better this has made things.
* Pulling yourself up to sitting. Now that you've figured out you can sit up by grabbing our fingers and pulling up, you want to be sitting up All The Time. No matter where you are, if you are laying down you stick your neck out and lean up like you're trying to do crunches. You get so mad that you can't just do it yourself. Impatient little baby...just like your Mama and Daddy.
*Standing up...obviously with our help. But we just have to be there to keep you steady. You have the strongest little legs, and you love to stand.
*Chewing on everything. People's hands and fingers are your favorite, but you also enjoy chewing on your blankets, stuffed animals, my hair, etc. And man, there is baby slobber everywhere, all the time.

Your least favorite things are:
* Having your clothes changed...every day this is a sob-fest.
* Tummy time. Oh, the agony. You literally can't tolerate it for more than 10 seconds.
* The beginning of a diaper change. By the time you get wiped off you are happy as can be.
* Laying down, unless you are asleep. You want to be up and looking around all the time these days.

I am having the BEST time with you these days. Being your Mama is absolutely the most fun, most rewarding, best thing I have ever done. I hate how fast time is going, but I love watching you change and grow. I love you oh-so-much little guy.

Mama