Bye-Bye Ceci

So, as many of you may have heard, our original nanny plan fell through.  She had last-minute surgery and did not let us know so we were scrambling for childcare since Jill needed to return to work.  We are blessed that Jill's job is so flexible and she is only working 2 days/week now instead of her previous 5 days/week.  That's why it's a great idea to be a nurse! :)

To solve our immediate predicament, we were able to ask Ceci to come and stay with us for 2 weeks to keep little Jordan....and of course, she couldn't say no as she was dying to come and get her hands on him again!  Ceci came from December 1st to December 15th and was able to watch Jordan on the days that Jill went to work.  Jordan loved having someone new to "show-off" for!  He just wants to be a big boy so bad!  Forget about laying him down on the floor for long, unless he's practicing rolling over or having some tummy time.  Jordan is all about trying to sit up on his own (don't worry, this only happens while in our laps!).



Jordan did enjoy watching Mommy decorate his first Christmas tree...all of the lights just totally entranced him. He didn't even mind when Mommy and Ceci sat him inside a Christmas box and took some pictures.  He is such a great, patient baby!  We just can't wait to see how much he takes it all in next Christmas!



Jordan also had his first "professional" photo shoot.  (Although he has had so much practice, as his Mommy is camera-happy!)  He did great, but did not last too long...he's not such a fan of going out and about yet.  He's more of a home-body right now...hopefully he'll do well on our 2 week trip to Indiana and South Carolina for Christmas break!

Jordan also celebrated his 3rd month birthday during these last weeks as well....we can't believe how big he is getting!  Check out the pictures to see how much he's grown....

Thanksgiving in SC! Jordan's first big road trip....

So, as most everyone knows, we travel to Cheraw, SC for our family's Thanksgiving celebration.  John particularly loves it because he gets to play outside on my cousin's dirt bike and four wheeler....he can't wait for the day when Jordan can "come on ride off" with him!  We drove up, and boy were we nervous about a 10 hour car trip with the little guy, but Jordan did great!  As long as someone sat in the backseat with him and didn't mind the continuous music from his light-up mirror, he was a peach!  Mommy and Daddy were beat, though, once we actually got there....good thing there were so many family members who wanted to hold and play with Jordan.  Jordan met his Uncle Jeff for the first time, too.  Of course, we had to dress him in his camouflage in order to fit in in 'the country'.

on the way to SC

With my Uncle Jeff

After a great time in Cheraw, we drove to Camden to spend some time with Papa and Mimi, Jill's dad and stepmom Roseanna.  It was the weekend of the big Carolina-Clemson game so Papa had a Carolina balloon there that Jordan just laughed and laughed over.  We were worried that he might cheer for the wrong team, so the next day we had to dress him in his Clemson colors (too bad it didn't work!).

Sleeping on my Mimi's lap

Uh-oh, happy about Carolina?

Rivals!

Yay for Sleep!

It's amazing how time changes things....gone are the colic days and here are the happy, smiling, sweet baby days!  I can't believe that I even used to wonder whether Jordan would ever be a happy baby.  After hours and days of crying and grumpiness, it is so wonderful to be with our happy happy baby boy!

Another exciting milestone happened last night....Daddy happened to be gone for the night for his cross country team's state meet, so Mommy was on her own for the second time.  Jordan was, once again, a perfect angel while Daddy was away.  It's like he knows!  He went down for bed easily last night at 7:00pm, woke up once at 1:00am to feed, and didn't wake up again until 7:00am the next morning!  That is the longest and best he's ever slept!  In fact, I woke up at 5:30am and couldn't get back to sleep....I had to make sure he was okay!  I hope he keeps this trend going!

I'm a big boy!

Watching football....I love to sit up on my own!

Jordan is getting so strong, too!  He can hold his head up for longer periods of time and has started sitting up in his Bumbo chair.  He seems to enjoy tummy time (for a little bit!) and "talks" the entire time!

First time in my Bumbo...again watching sports on tv!

Happy 2 Month Birthday Jordan!

I can't believe how fast the time has gone!  Jordan is already 2 months old and has gotten so much bigger.  In fact, he had his 2 month check-up today and weighs in at 12 lbs 6 oz and measures 24 inches long!  He's going to be a tall guy, I'm guessing....you should see how long his feet are already!  Otherwise, he did wonderfully at his appointment, once again flirting with his pretty doctor and only crying for a short time after his (first) shots.  He did so great that I didn't even have a chance to tear up, which is what I had been worried about.

There have been a few developmental changes for Jordan:  for one, he now notices his mobile and just lights up whenever we turn it on.  Also, he can now grasp his rattle or his favorite duck and lift them up to his face.  He can hold his head up for extended periods of time on his own, and we're getting pretty close to him rolling onto his side.  We are so proud of him!  He seems to enjoy us too, as we get lots of sweet smiles and laughs from him.

As for sleeping, there hasn't been a whole lot of it going on at our house....Jordan had been sleeping from his 11pm feeding until his 5am feeding but last week he started waking every 2-3 hours again.  I feel like I'm back to the newborn stage!  Hopefully it's just a growth spurt because Mommy is missing her sleep!  Thankfully, he is napping better during the day.  I can bank on one short morning nap, one hour long or so nap at lunchtime, and then some kind of afternoon nap (usually in my arms, as he really wants to be snuggled during that time of day!).  Let's just hope this growth spurt doesn't make him too much bigger, we're already packing up his 0-3 month clothes and have moved on to the 3-6 month clothes!

Such a cutie!

On Aunt Debbie and Uncle Lloyd's blanket

Finally getting some cool weather down here....

Hanging with Uncle Josh

My rattle!

Happy Halloween!

Today is Halloween and although we did not dress little Jordan up this year, he definitely got in some good quality photography sessions.  It's my version of a pumpkin patch, as you can see!

Pumpkin in a "pumpkin patch"

Grandma Marcia left today...it was Jordan's first time to meet her and her visit was great!  They got lots of quality time getting to know each other.  It was beautiful, hot weather...in fact, it was in the 80's here and in the 40's up in Indiana where she is from.  We won't get to see her again until Christmas and Jordan will probably be so different by then!  

Right now, he's been babbling more and squirming all around.  In fact, his new trick is to scoot all the way across the crib at night.  I've had to move from swaddling with a blanket to using one of those sleep sacks with the swaddle attachment because I would look at the monitor and the little guy would have totally busted out of my very tight swaddle!  I'm telling you, he's Houdini!

With Grandma Marcia

Cute backside!

His shirt speaks the truth

Holding that head up high!

Jordan is 6 weeks today!!

I can't believe that little Jordan is 6 weeks old today!  Geesh, time really does fly!  Although, it does feel like he's been in our lives forever (in a good way, of course).  As I'm typing, Jordan is down for his morning nap.  We've been attempting nap training....I know, maybe a bit early, but he seems to be doing well with it (knock on wood!).

Yesterday was Day 1....I put him down in his crib at 10am, after he showed many signs of being sleepy:  fists to his ears, yawning, glassy eyes.  He was swaddled and he had eaten beforehand.  He squirmed around and babbled for the first 30 minutes, whimpered for the next 20 minutes, and cried for the last 5 minutes....before falling asleep!  I was all like, yay, it worked!  Well, it only worked for 20 minutes and he woke up crying, so up I went to pick him up.

We tried again in the afternoon at 2:30pm, only this time, he went down without a fight....but again, only slept for 20 minutes before Mommy had to come to the rescue!  Don't worry, the poor guy got plenty of naps in, but they were in his swing and we're trying to get him used to napping upstairs in his crib.  I mean, it's sad, but I'm halfway through with my maternity leave and I'd really like him to be used to napping in his crib while I'm at work.

So, today is Day 2 of nap training and so far it's going great!  I put him down in his crib at 9:30am, after our morning stroller ride.....he went down without a fight and he slept until 11am!  Yay!  Let's hope this afternoon goes as smoothly.  So far, he's been in his crib for 30 minutes after going down easily.

He's been such a treat today, check out the picture of him in his swing this morning.  He likes to swing for a bit while Mommy has her breakfast and gets ready for our stroller ride.  He also has started mimicking our noises...his favorite sound to copy right now sounds like "Hi!"  It sounds so sweet in his husky little voice.  He gets so tickled with himself, as you can see below, just grinning so cutely!

Hiiiii!!!!

I love my swing!

Visiting with KK

My cousin Katie, aka "KK", came to visit for a long weekend.  It was so nice to have her here....not only so she could meet and visit Jordan, but to give me some time to rest!  We took Jordan out for a few adventures while she was here:  to Babies R Us, where he decided to poop in his stroller and which then got on KK's shirt!  Whoops!  Needless to say, we had our first public restroom diaper change and then our first use of BRU's mother room to feed the little guy.  In the end, Jordan was all smiles and we definitely got him some cute holiday clothes!

The next day, Mom and Dad got to sneak away for their first date alone since Jordan was born: to an afternoon movie!  Thanks KK!  Jordan didn't even know we were gone, since KK is such an awesome babysitter.

Cousin KK

He was babbling on about something!

Enjoying the beautiful day

Watching Sunday morning ESPN with Daddy

So serious!

With Cousin KK again

Trying to get fussy!

He just needed some sugar!

We also went out for our first family breakfast on Sunday, down to Deerfield Beach.  Jordan did great and got to see the ocean for the first time!  Too bad we can't take him out on the boat yet, Daddy is dying to take him fishing!

He had his worst night of sleep on the eve of his 6 weeks-from-his-due-date.  Mommy must've been in his room every hour!  Geesh, that was a tough night!  If KK hadn't been here so I could nap, I would've been a total zombie.  Since that night, Jordan's been sleeping great: from 7:30pm to 7:30am, only to wake up 3 times a night for feedings.  Let's hope it stays that way!  Mommy and Jordan are much more rested and happy!

Sleepy time, looks so cozy!

Happy 1 Month Birthday Jordan!

Today is Jordan's 1 Month Birthday!  We can't believe how fast the time has gone...just 1 month ago, we were holding our newborn in the hospital after Mommy's C-section.  This week has been very exciting for Jordan: he is so much more alert and happy.  In fact, he doesn't stay still....always moving those arms and legs around like crazy!  We are so excited that we were able to capture one of his smiles on camera!  And yes, he has been smiling and even trying to laugh at us (who wouldn't want to laugh at us, really?) for the past week.  John especially loves coming home and playing with Jordan...he is usually in a great mood at that time and likes to babble and coo with his Daddy.  It's so cute to hear the sounds he makes!

Jordan loves to walk around the lake daily with Mommy and Daddy, sometimes in the stroller and sometimes in the baby carrier.  Daddy likes to bring his fishing rod and tries to catch a bass.  One day, Jordan will be right there fishing with him.  We just found out that there is an alligator that lives in our lake; it's only 3 feet long and we definitely see it from time to time!

The sweetest smile

Our future bodybuilder??

Trying out the baby carrier

Daddy was able to give Jordan his first bottle this week and he had no problem sucking all of the milk down.  In fact, we had to refill the bottle for him...he's a hungry little guy.  We can't wait for his 2 month check-up so we can see how much he's grown.  We are also happy to report that Jordan's right tear duct must be "unclogged" because he no longer has crusty eye whenever he wakes up.  Thank goodness, because he is way too cute to have that going on!

Daddy giving Jordan his first bottle!

He drank all of it with no problem