Four Months

 

Our little boy is getting bigger and bigger each day. He had his four month check up today and he did great. He got 2 shots and was such a brave lil guy, let out one cry and was back to smiling in a second, though it may have something to do with the face that Daddy was at todays appointment :) I was a little anxious for this appointment as at his 2 month checkup the doctor noticed his head was starting to get a little flat spot. As soon as I heard that I thought of the helmet he would have to wear if it got worse. I did some research on preventing the 'flat head syndrome' and besdies LOTS of tummy time I found this thing called a baby moon, which looks like a donught and is a pillow like consistency. You use it whenver they are lying with their head on a heard surface. Well after using it for 2 months it seems to have done its job, (all for $18) as the doctor said his head shape looked great. Also his torticollis is improving and it won't be a concern for too much longer...phew! Who knew such a little being could create such worry :) We wouldn't change it for the world though.

 

 

Christmas Season 2012

It's hard to believe the Christmas season has come and gone and we are already a few days into 2013! With a family as large as ours we are usually pretty busy throughout this time of year, throw in changing plenty of diapers and feeding a baby and it's all done with in a flash.

We celebrated Christmas with the Berry's a little early this year as Mom and Bill were heading to Florida for 3 weeks to see Bill's son and family. The four of us wernt to one of our favorite Italian restaurants for dinner and came home to open presents and dig into some yummy desserts.

Grandma Smith of course came over from England and with not working this year I have been trying to spend as much time with her as possible, though really she just wants to see Chase ;) We got to spend time with James sister Anita, and her family which was great. It's always fun to see the kids and it's so cute to see them talking and playing with Chase.

This Christmas was the first Christmas morning James and I spent on our own without my family. Though it was a little sad not having my sisters waking us up at the crack of dawn with their excitement, it was really nice to start our own Christmas traditions as a family of 3. We did head up to my Dad's house for dinner and to exchange presents with them. Jen, as always cooked up a feast for us, a traditional English Christmas dinner..yum!

My birthday shortly follows Christmas, just adding more chaos to an already busy time :) This year was the big 30!!! James treated me to a day at the spa, which was just was this new Mum needed. A full body massage, facial and a spa mani/pedi. It was excellent. We ended the day with chinese food. It couldn't have been a better day. A few days later we managed to squeeze in a family birthday dinner at Olive Garden.

We got to see many of our good friends this Christmas season. The Holdens were in from Texas, unfortunately though we didn't get to see Magan and David..next time! Rich and Sarah were up from VA and we had a little get together. Shawn and Leona stopped in on their drive back to TN. It was so great to see my bestie and treasure any minute I get to spend with her as they are far and few between. Of course I couldn't wait to show off Chase to her :) We had a few friends over for New Years eve, Rif, Suzanne, Sal & Diane. We had a great time hanging out and ringing in 2013.

Of course, we miss getting to see the family in England at this time, as well as anytime throughout the year. We did get to skype though, thanks to James and the new laptop he bought me for Christmas.

I'm very excited to see what 2013 has in store for the 3 of us; a new house? new job? We shall see. One thing I do know though is our little boy will continue to amaze us everyday as he has done for the past 3 1/2 months already.

Here are some photos from around Christmas time:

An Update on The Lil Man

It's been a while since I've given you all an update on our lil man, so lets see.... he  is growing at a crazy rate, and is starting to wear his 3 -6 months clothing now, which I'm not going to lie makes me a little sad. But with that comes more interaction with us every day. Waking up and seeing him beam a huge smile at me is priceless, and makes my heart melt every single time. That will never get old. He certainly recognizes James and I's voices and his head turns in our direction as soon as he hears us. He has put himself on a great sleeping schedule, down at 7pm, feeds at 11pm and sleeps until 6am, eats and back to bed until 8-9am. We are very lucky!

At his 2 month checkup I bought up a concern to his doctor. I had noticed that during tummy time Chase would always turn his head in the same direction, the same goes for when he was being held and sleeping. The doctor told me he had torticollis. It is where one side of the neck is tight and stops the baby from turning the head all the way in one direction. It is very common in breech babies, which he was. Thankfully we caught it very early on, so all that is needed is some physical therapy sessions and it will correct itself. We will be starting that after Christmas.

On December 16th we had Chase dedicated at our church, Calvary Chapel of Delaware County. It is important to us that Chase is raised knowing God and being involved in our church. Our family (minus those in England unfortunately) all came and we went out to lunch afterwards.

Here is a pic of the lil guy

3 Months

Two Months Check In

Meeting Grandma & Grandad

On Nov 2nd Chase got to meet his Grandma and Grandad Redfern for the first time and spend an entire week with them. With Hurricane Sandy hitting a few days prior we were a little nervous about them being able to arrive on time, but thankfully they made it here with no issues.
We had a wonderful week together and despite it being unseasonably cold, got out to do some fun things. Of course, Mum and Paul would have been perfectly happy sitting at home holding and loving on Chase their entire trip :) Even with doing some sightseeing there was plenty of cuddle time, and Chase loved every minute of it. He started smiling the week before they arrived and while they were here, they both got smiles from him.
Unfortunately they did have to go home, and we miss them a lot. Even Cisco,  as he got a lot of attention too! We can't wait until they come back next year for Chase's first birthday.
Here are some pics from throughout the week.

 Hanging with Grandma

 At the aquarium

 Enjoying a shake at Nifty Fifty's

 Cuddle time with Grandma &Grandad

 Family dinner at Duffers

 Mum made me her delicious cheese scones

 Dinner at Texas Roadhouse

 Visit to Longwood Gardens

Bath time with Grandma

One Month Old