Week 22: Happy 5 months, baby boy

Well this family has made it 5 months with lil Rollie Paul in the world. People, I have fallen farther in love with my son this week more than any other week. Bold statement, but he could give me that smirk of his and I would give him anything I could. For real! 

5 Month Photoshoot!

We have a roller. I may need a new chair.
He is getting SO big!

 What did we do this week? Well we went on our first bike ride as a family, had dinner sitting outside, and just hung as a family. I know, boring. It was boring but oh so good for this family of three. 

Rollie is just getting used to having acid reflux as of two weeks now. He eats like a champ again and his cheeks are really filling out a lot more than they have already. He sleeps like a champ too. Naps still last from 45 minutes to 2 hours but usually on the 45 minute side. He does sleep 10-13 hours a night, every night so there is no lack of sleep in this household for anyone. We are incredibly blessed to have our lil boy. 

He is SO close to rolling from back to belly. He loves to chew on his crinkly blue elephant and Sofie. He has just recently started babbling to himself and making farting noises with his mouth when we do it to him. I feel like sitting up is within the month and scooting is too. He loves to move around and is certain he is already doing it (it is precious to see him feel success when he hasn't moved a morsel!). 

He really loves to hold anything he can get his hand on, as long as it is cotton. He is a cloth face stuffer, he will take anything cloth and stuff it as hard as he can into his face. His cousin, Cypress, did this around this age so either it is super common or a weird Klinge baby thing. Regardless, it is very comical to watch. 

This giraffe is still unnamed but not unloved.

Saturday morning snuggles with momma.

Reading by the front door. Wait, thats not
normal? Hmmf.

draft night with the boys.

He is very entertaining to watch sleep, just a lounger.

What a lil trooper.

New fave shot of him. Just so innocent.

Rollie still loves to walk...naked...every night. Yes, it is apart of his bedtime routine. 

Week 21: Rollie is getting so big!

Well this was the week of growth for Rollie Paul. I am a happy momma but he sure grew this week.

We have the birth of the comb-back. This is to help with Rollie's bald spot in the back of his head. The hair from the top of his head is now long enough to make it all the way to the middle of the back of his head. Isn't this just the funniest thing to see? I feel like yes.

Sofie has made her debut into his world and Rollie is humoring his mother by liking her okay. She isn't cotton so he doesn't LOVE to lick her as much but he is getting used to my obsession with Sofie.

Rollie is SO close to rolling from his back to his front. He wants to so bad but he cannot convince himself to let his shoulder come fully over. 

Biggest Milestone: Rollie sleeps with no wings. He now fully self-soothes himself to sleep and is champing it. I now obsess over checking in on him so that I can see this sweet sight. I feel like he could have done this like 2 months ago, literally, but momma wasn't ready to let this go yet. 

Other than milestones, Rollie had a great week with others watching him as Marta is gone with family. My mom came on Monday to be with him so he got new prizes and lots of walks with her. He was with my friend on Wednesday and they really hit it off with long walks and special adventures around her house. Lastly, Rollie had his funnest day to record with a WHOLE day in the care of daddy. People, I think Caleb really needed it more than Rollie. They sent me lots of videos and pictures which was so fun to receive. Rollie even had his first lick of ice cream, that cute lil rat!

Week 20: Grandma's Birthday

This past weekend we went to Milwaukee to visit with G-Ma Vlach for the weekend to celebrate her birthday. It was so much fun touring the Milwaukee Third Ward District and just hanging out. My mom and I went to a play together and had a really fun time. The show was "Once" and it is a traveling Broadway production so the actors were legit. I must mention that the language is a little brash so if you are offended my a steady use of the F-word, I would steer a different direction, as my mom and I were a little unsettled in our seats.

There is the public market in the third ward that was very fun to look through. It had a bakery, seafood market, Mexican and Lebanese food, as well as plenty of specialty cheese and coffee to go around. I would really recommend it to you if you enjoy the one in Seattle. Not the same but similar.

We spoiled mom the whole day and even ate some very delicious Italian restaurant close to their new home.  '

All in all, always a treat to visit my mom.

Dad entertaining Rollie during Momma's
yoga session.

Our middle eastern jem

True Life, Real Emotions.
Side Note:
(I wasn't mad, just ruining the photo)

Week 19: 4-Month Wellness Check-up

We had a free weekend! Can you believe we didn't go anywhere?!?! It has been crazy being away each weekend but to be honest, I do not mind. I love family so much and to be able to see them, brings a lot of life to me. 

Being that we didn't go anywhere, we just went for a walk and hung out in the sun. 

Our Stroller Junkie

Caleb was SO pumped that Rollie's A's hat fits him now. Aren't they just two peas in a pod?!? My boys.

Rollie is very into chewing on all things cotton. Rubber, eh no thanks. Cotton in his mouth al'day. It is very cute and gross for this new stage. Our work, lounge, and day clothes are saturated at the shoulders but his toys are getting some good loving. 

We have gotten into the full swing of reading books right before we go to bed so our living room now is covered in books as the night ends. It is a fun thing to pick up knowing that Rollie is really starting to watch the pages and recognize some of them.

Rollie went to his 4 month check-in and is a true peanut. 29th percentile in height and weight (25 inches tall and 15.4 #) but 89th percentile still in head circumference. That is totally why he can fit into no baby hat and into any toddler hat. What a champ we got!

On the flip side, Rollie got his shots this week which literally knocked him out for a good two days. If I am being honest, it was quite nice to have a boy who was snuggly and (best of all) sleeping in my arms endlessly. Isn't he just the cutest?!?!

This is how Rollie snuggles mom...

...this is how he snuggles dad.
He LOVES Caleb's beard.

We just had a chill weekend and we are recharged for this week to come!

Week 18 in Review: Jesus & New Beginnings

Happy Easter a lil late, folks. I hope you were able to see family and spend some time listening to what Jesus has done for you and your dirty lil sins. They gotta leave your life, so work on that. 

Caleb loves holidays to one, see family and two, make pies for those who are in said family. This year: Mixed Berry Pie. Okay, it was so delicious. It was truly so yummy. The berries chosen were blueberries, raspberries, and strawberries. We have a secret ingredient that I will not be sharing with you but oh goodness, it was totally utilized and oh so scrumptious. Doesn't it look like you need a piece?

Rollie had a new round of firsts again last weekend: Easter basket, egg hunt, and grandma even got him an outfit to wear. Isn't he so cute?!?! Sometimes dad literally eats him up and that is essentially what I wanted to do when I saw him like this:

 My mom is selling her condo currently so this could very well be the last holiday in the condo. This being said, Rollie and I went on Wednesday night to help mom on Thursday and Friday clean out the cupboards and do final decorations before the showings start. It felt right but I will be so bummed when it sells, I just know it.

Great Grandma got him a book and a
rubber ducky.

Finally, a nice picture of all of us three
in one picture.

 When we returned from being away for 5 days, it took a whole day for Rollie and I to get back to a routine of sleep, feeding, and getting unstimulated. The things I am learning as a new mom will never end but add this to the list: Rollie Paul does great away from home but sometimes it is too long to be away in order for Rollie to be happy. I am sorry, lil buddy, being gone every weekemd is just too much isn't it? We have no plans for this weekend and I think Rollie is the most excited about this news.

On Monday and Tuesday, we went for walks around the neighborhood and it was so great to get out. Mom made some questionable clothing decisions but without a spring coat, what is a momma to do?

Rollie questioning mom's decision to put
his socks on where they do not belong.

Rollie's new carseat toy. He LOVES to hold
it while we drive or walk. Presh!

 And then we get to Wednesday and Thursday of this week. This lil momma started her new job and that lil boy started time at his second home, my friend Marta's. This was the hardest thing I did in parenting yet, I have no idea how mommas do it everyday. I cried and cried and cried on Wednesday. I had no reason to other than I missed my baby so much and I was coming to terms that this is reality. Rollie had a great first two days and momma is way tired and overwhelmed with new information. My orientation was in Green Bay (2 hours away) so I stayed over night and had my first night away from my boys. To be honest, it was so great sleeping through the night and not having one ear open to hear for Rollie and for me to have the entire bed to myself. They had a jacuzzi that I sat in for awhile but to sit in a hot tub by yourself wasn't as fun as I thought it would be.

Rollie's first day of daycare. 3.30.16

 Each morning I received a woke-up call from my boy via photo and these were the two I received. It made my day.

While I was in the area, my dad was buried in Oshkosh at his family plot so I paid him a visit. I do not believe in my faith that my dad is lying there but is with Jesus so it didn't sadden me that it had been a year since I was last there but I had a heck of a time trying to find his stone. Woof, that Riverside Cemetery is super huge. I need to remember there is a tree with an "8" nailed onto it and his street is St. Vincent. Okay, now that I wrote it down, I hope to remember next time. 

I got weepy when I was there due to not seeing my dad's name really anywhere any longer. I miss him so much and I am going to bring Rollie to this place when he is old enough to understand that his first grandpa isn't here anymore. Weird thought but it is all well. 

49 years young

 When I arrived home last night, my son was not overly excited to see me but was very willing to snuggle with me all night so I embraced all that had to offer. Yes, my son is in his diaper. Something about that feeling for this boy and he feels most comfortable. I have a feeling I will have naked baby syndrome in this house for a long while as he grows. Embrace them for how they represent themselves and be proud of that kid.

 While I was gone, Caleb finished up on this project below. It is a mold of Rollie's foot and fist when he was a month old. I think it is so cool that Caleb's co-workers had this idea to do this for us so we will remember Rollie when he was little and how much he has grown. It is something we will cherish forever. They are sitting in Caleb's old baseball case that used to house two signed baseballs. How times have changed, now Caleb cherishes his son over those two balls. What a symbol of life changes.