If Jesus was my son, we'd be in trouble...

Tomorrow will be my first Easter as a mother. Oh yes, the little man's basket is ready; we've dyed and hunted the eggs; and you better believe his Easter outfit is ready to go (and color-coordinated with his mommy and daddy's outfits...naturally). I have always loved holidays - and they are all the more fun with Wells. I know he won't remember his first Christmas tree or having green pancakes on his first St. Patrick's Day...but I don't care one bit. It's fun for me, and I know he will appreciate all the festivity when he is older :)

But anyway, back to Easter. I was reflecting earlier while in the shower (let's be honest, as a mother that is one of the only times that you are alone to actually get any thinking done!) about tomorrow's holiday. Easter is a time of celebration most definitely. A time to reflect on the greatest victory in history. The Lord of the universe rose from the dead! The very truth that makes Christianity different than other religions - we serve a LIVING God. But in order for Jesus to rise from the dead, he had to be...well, dead. And it was that death that I was reflecting on earlier.

A gruesome, painful way to die, absolutely. But Jesus was willing to take it all for us. However, it wasn't really Jesus that I was thinking about it. It was his Father. The very One who sent his son to die. The very One who sent his son to die for us. And it was that thought that I couldn't quite wrap my mind around. Only a lunatic would do that.

Let me start off by saying this: in the last 9.5 months, I have become a new person. Having a baby changed my life more than I ever thought possible. It's one of those things that you cannot fully prepare for. The love that you are suddenly overwhelmed with is unreal. I can remember one evening when Wells was only a week or two old. I was home alone with him while Eric was on a short trip to the store. He was asleep in his swing, and I was sitting in front of him singing, "You are my Sunshine." On the surface, you might think that that is sweet and totally normal. Not so much, I couldn't even get through one verse due to the sobbing (my sobbing, not Wells'). I would try over and over to get through it but couldn't. It's laughable now, but I was a serious mess - filled with so much stinking love that I couldn't even sing a song with a hypothetical situation of someone taking my baby (my sunshine away). Y'all, it was not pretty. Sure, I could blame it on the hormones (because goodness gracious at the hormones that invade your body after birthing a little human!), but the truth is, I was in love in a way that I had never known. I had been given a precious gift - one that I could never imagine letting go.

The hormones have died down now (although my husband may beg to differ at times), but the underlying feeling is the same. I'll admit it, I put the "mother" in "smother." And yes, I know I will need to back off a little so that I don't raise a wimp, But I am straight-up obsessed with that little guy. And as a mother of an infant, I kind of think that is the way it is supposed to be. He relies on me (and Eric, of course) for everything. I am there for him always and will do anything to protect him...anything. I mean, I have to fight the urge to do physical harm to the nurse who gives Wells his shots. I have turned into quite the mama bear.

If you're still with me, the topic at hand really is Easter, I promise! I just had to give you some back story! Like I said, only a lunatic would send their son off to die. God not only endured watching Jesus go through the worst pain (physically, spiritually, emotionally) ever, but He orchestrated the whole thing. What?! How could a father do that to his own son? I would bet that this is something that a lot of nonbelievers can't get past - heck, I can hardly get past it. But the reason is: he really was a lunatic - truly crazy...but the thing is, He was crazy about us. He loved us so much that he allowed his beloved Son to do what no one else could - save us from a life without Him. When I think about the love I have for my son, my sweet Wells, it's hard to imagine a love much greater. But God's love for us is an infinite amount greater - it has to be when you think about the sacrifice he made. Yes, Jesus paid the price (his life) for us, but God, his Father, paid a price even higher (am I even allowed to say that?). This is something I never thought about before today. Something that hits so close to home now that I have my own son. But it is something I really needed to think about. As a new mom, I am busy, busy, busy. I am lucky if I get a few minutes of down time a day - and as I said earlier, that might only be a shower! I needed a reminder of the love God has for me. I needed a reminder that no matter how busy I am, I need to take time to reflect on Him, talk to Him, listen to His Word. It is the least I could do for someone who did the unthinkable for me.

There's no way I could have made the sacrifice that our God made, and I wouldn't want to. If Jesus were my son, we'd all be in a whole lot of trouble. There is no way in this world that I would send my son to pay a debt that wasn't his (let's be real,  I'd probably even put up a fight if he had to pay a debt that was his!). But thanks be to God for the unimaginable, immeasurable, unconditional love that he has for us, the very ones who were the reason his son had to die. Wow...love doesn't get any stronger than that.

Happy Easter, everyone!

Wells is NINE Months!

I am well over a week late on this post since I could not find my camera charger to take pictures. Obviously, the charger was found, and the pictures were taken. You know, the pictures of my NINE MONTH and 10 days old baby!

Weighs: In this month alone, we were weighed twice at the doctor's office...because we have our 3rd double ear infection in 3 months! What the heck? The doctor said that this should be the last hoorah since Spring is coming. Fingers crossed, because this is getting insane. Anyway, at the doctor's appointment for the ears, Wells weighed 21 lbs (plus some oz that I can't remember :)). And at his 9-month well-check appointment, he dipped to right under 21 lbs...probably due to his loss of appetite from being sick.

Sleeps: Well, well, well. We were doing awesome with only waking once a night. And then ear infection #3 came along (plus what I am pretty sure was a growth spurt). We are hovering between one and two wake-ups a night. He has slept through the night exactly 3 times. And it. was. awesome. If we could make this an every night kinda thing, I'd be so appreciative (I'm talking to you, my sweet little child).

Eats: Everything :) Wells is eating three meals a day (and many days, an afternoon snack). He has recently started doing the cutest thing ever - whenever he sees you eating/drinking or sees that you are getting his food/drink ready, he starts to smack his lips. He wants you to know that he is ready to grub! We tried the sippy cup thing a while back, but he was not crazy about the nipple on it. I kind of forgot about it and reintroduced it to him recently, and he is doing great with it. He still loves to drink from a regular cup, too.

Wears: He can still squeeze into some 6-month onesies. He mostly wears 9-month and 12-month clothes. He is still in a size 3 diaper.

Plays: Loves to bang on his xylophone (or anything else). We might have a future drummer on our hands :) He still does great sitting and playing with his toys. Loves cruising around the kitchen & dining room in his walker. And as far as crawling - he STILL shows no real interest in it. He scoots himself to get to what he wants and apparently is completely content to just do that. When we went to our 9-month check-up, the doctor said that the way he stood when she examined him that he will probably be walking in the next month or two. This pretty much confirms what I have been thinking for a while - boy just wants to walk! He is always trying to pull up on things. He still loves being outside - we walk around the neighborhood on most afternoons/evenings. And bath time is still a favorite of his, but lately he is more interested in pulling up on the side of the tub to stand instead of playing with his bath toys.

Milestones: We have our SECOND WORD! A very unconventional second word :) "Moo" ...yes, as in the sound a cow makes. He has a stuffed cow that I hold up while I "moo" at him. Whenever I hold it up and "moo" now, he always repeats after me and "moos" over and over again. And on at least one occasion, I put the cow in front of him and he "moo"ed without me saying it first. We have heard "ma" and "da" on occasion but only from him babbling (and he LOVES to babble). So, yeah, his first real words that he understands how to use were not for his beloved parents who gave him the gift of life...nope, "uh oh" and "moo." Go figure.

Wells is seriously the light of our lives. These past nine months have been so awesome. We love that guy more than life itself and can't even remember what life was like without him...seriously, what did we do? :)

Wells is EIGHT Months!

How can it even be possible that another month has gone by?

Weighs: We had to go to the Dr. last week, and he weighed 19lbs and 10oz. He has been in the 19lb range for about 1.5 months or so now - he is not gaining at the rapid pace he used to! Still, we always get comments on what a big boy we have when we go out.

Sleeps: Wells has continued to do great in his crib. He had been waking up two times a night to eat. Since I am once again posting this monthly update a few days late, I can report that this past week, he only woke up ONCE throughout the night. And man, am I loving it! Because he has been so stuffy this month (he had RSV at the beginning of the month with a double ear infection, and just last week was diagnosed with another double ear infection!), he now sleeps with a cool mist humidifier in his room. Maybe that is why he is sleeping so well at night...I have been scared to let him sleep without it for fear that I will break the awesome sleeping streak!

Eats: I can't imagine a day ever coming with this guy won't be in love with eating. He still eats at least two "meals" a day (breakfast and dinner), but many times he will also eat lunch (a smaller portion than breakfast and dinner, though). This month he has officially tried seafood. As has been the case with literally every food we have ever fed him, he approved. No surprise there. The little man has given a thumb's up to shrimp, salmon, and tuna.

Wears: While he can still squeeze into some 6-month clothes like onesies, the pants are highwaters. He rocks the 9-month and 12-month clothes for the most part. He is still in a size 3 diaper.

Plays: Gosh, he seriously gets more fun every month. He does great at sitting and playing with his toys. He is a crazy man in his walker and goes all over the kitchen and dining room when we put him in it. It is really fun to watch him examine and explore his toys now, figuring out what they do and how they work. This boy still shows no real interest in crawling but he scoots himself to get to what he wants. But not in a way that you can watch him scoot from one spot to another right away...it's a slow scoot that happens over time. As in, over a space of a few minutes he is suddenly a few feet away from where he was, but you could never pinpoint a time when he scooted. It's cute though :) He lunges forward sometimes and will end up on his tummy, but then quickly lets you know that he is not happy being on his belly. He is trying to pull up on things, and I think he will have the hang of that in the next couple of days.

Milestones: Wells cut his second tooth this month! He is a good teething baby so far (knock on all the wood). He may be slightly fussy before one comes in, but nothing crazy or really even noteworthy. Even though he did it for a while around 3 months (as a fluke, apparently), I am considering him waking only once at night to be a milestone. I've gotta say how good I feel after a night's sleep now. I can't even imagine what it will be like on that first glorious night of not waking at all till through the night. Hallelujah choruses will be heard. And are you ready for this last milestone? His FIRST WORD!!!! Now, he has been babbling for a while, and you can occasionally hear "ma" or "da" (let the record show that "ma" was first :)). But he has now said his first word that he understands the meaning of and when to use it. So, what was the word? Drumroll please....."uh oh." I have been saying this to him for months now whenever he drops a toy. He now says it (not every time) when he drops a toy. I love it!

And there you have it. The eight month update. Blink, and the nine month update will be here. Crazy.

Wells is SEVEN Months!

I don't know how to say this without bursting into tears, but my sweet baby boy is officially closer to a 1-year-old than a newborn. What.in.the.world?

Weighs: As of a few weeks ago, 19lbs (and 9oz I think). Like whoah.

Sleeps: Well, since I am reporting this a week late (again), starting the day after he turned 7 months, he slept in his crib for the first time! He handled it very well...as for me, I missed him being right next to me in the Pack-n-Play. The second I heard his sweet little voice on the baby monitor when he woke up for that first feeding, I threw the covers off and flew into his nursery. Eric woke up startled because of my swiftness :) What can I say, my baby needed me! Wells is still waking up twice a night to eat; although last night it was only once. Fingers crossed that we are back to the one-time night feedings that I enjoyed for those 2 short but glorious weeks when he was 3 months old.

Eats: Still eating like a champ. I wonder how his little belly can hold anything else sometimes. He eats two "meals" a day now - breakfast and dinner. If it is a weekend and we are with him, he may have a little snack at lunch time. He does NOT like to see you eating and not sharing! Other than those "meals" and a small amount of juice, he is still exclusively breastfed. He still LOVES drinking from a cup. He is not a sippy cup kinda guy (yet). I think the nipple throws him off - he bites it and doesn't really understand that he is supposed to suck it like a bottle. We are working on it, though.

Wears: He can still wear his 6-month clothes, but the 9-month and 12-month items are a good fit right now. He is still in a size 3 diaper.

Plays: Now that he has been sitting up unassisted for a while and is more stable, he loves to sit and play with his toys. It is so fun to watch him learning and playing - we like to sit with him and play, but it is also nice to know that he can sit for a few minutes and entertain himself while we get some things done around the house. The other day, Eric was showing Wells how to play his new xylophone that he got for Christmas. Eric gave him the stick, and he hit the xylophone just like Eric had shown him. It was the cutest thing ever and so neat to watch him learn a task literally right before our eyes. Proud parent moment :) He still shows no interest in crawling (I've said it before, but I wouldn't be surprised if he skips crawling and goes straight to walking). I will put him on his tummy and press my hands against his feet so he can push against them and scoot forward. He's cool with it for a minute or two before he lets me know he's done. Note to self: make the next Hankin baby do more tummy time at an early age than we made Wells do.

Milestones: I am adding a new category this week - milestones. In the previous months, I have kind of mentioned his milestones (eating solids, sitting up, etc.) in the other categories. But I think they need their own category :) And to kick off this category: On his 7-month birthday, Wells cut his very first tooth! I cannot even handle the cuteness of that little nub. He didn't really cry and was a real trooper. Another milestone - Wells' first Christmas! He had no clue what was going on, but he was a fan of the tissue and wrapping paper...and the holiday food (surprise, surprise). And as I said before, another milestone this month was little mister sleeping in his crib.

Why must he grow up????????????????????????????????????????

Wells is SIX Months!

 You just sit here and catch up on Wells' 6-month activities while I ponder just where in the world exactly did half a year just go!

Weighs: Since I am doing this a week late, I can report his official 6-month appointment weight. Drumroll please...18lbs 5oz. He is in the 70th percentile for weight and 90th for height. What a little giant I have birthed!

Sleeps: I think that Wells finds it amusing to just switch up his sleeping patterns - you know, just for funsies :) Some nights he only wakes up 1-2 times, and then sometimes he throws a curveball into the mix and wakes up every or almost every hour. Rude. I just read the other day that babies his age are mostly sleeping through the night. My baby, however, just cannot fathom the thought of missing a meal while he sleeps, I guess.

Eats: This kid can put some food away. He is still eating his purees, but we have started a few other things as well. He now eats Puffs and loves them. He can eat tablefood, as well, if it is mushed up or small enough. I will let him bite off bits of banana and avocado, and he does very well. We let him gnaw on a pizza crust the other day, too. He wants to eat big people food SO BAD. But he is so eager that he will bite off more than he can chew (literally) and gag. So, I watch him like a hawk and don't leave his side when he is eating solids. He still loves drinking from a cup if you have one. So, I have started giving him sips of water while he eats his meals so he can get in the habit of doing so and also work on his sipping skills :)

Wears: A wide variety of sizes! He can wear his 6-month clothes, but he can also wear 9-month and 12-month items. He is still in a size 3 diaper.

Plays: Wells is officially sitting up on his own! He had been doing the tripod sit for a couple of weeks. But one day while he was tripod sitting in the nursery playing, he just arched his back and sat up straight like he had been doing it for years. He still loves to bounce. He is laughing up a storm too, which of course we love. Eric acts like a crazy person just to get a laugh out of him - it is the cutest. I am starting to see that Wells has preferences of toys now - there are a few favorites that he prefers over others. He is really at such a fun age right now, and we LOVE playing with him all the time.

Wells is FIVE Months!

Wow, I am getting pretty bad at posting these on time, as Wells has been five months for almost a week and a half now. But hey, better late than never! I know I say it every month, but time is flying! When I took his 5-month picture, it literally felt like I had JUST taken his 4-month one a few days earlier. I cannot handle it - time has got to go a little slower!

And here are the 5-month pictures (PS - I love the last one...where Wells is clearly saying, "Who are you, and why are you in my chair?"):

Weighs: A whopping 17lbs 5oz! Yes, friends, he has gained a pound a half in a month. What a chunk.

Sleeps: Hmmm....I think that we are officially out of the sleep regression phase. However, little mister is not quite  back to his formerly awesome sleeping ways. We are still getting up about 3 times a night. Not ideal. But also not as bad as it was last month. So, here's hoping it continues to get better! As far as naps go, he is pretty much finally on a set schedule. During the week, he wakes up when we load him into the car to head to work. He usually stays awake during the ride. Once my mom picks him up from me at work, he may fall asleep on the way to her house. He will typically take a short morning nap, ranging anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour. His next nap is his longer one of the day that lasts around 1.5 to 2 hours (sometimes longer). This usually happens around noonish until 2pm. He has started to also take a little cat nap on our way home in the afternoon as well. This nap is only about 20-30 minutes. Our weekends are so varied, this schedule doesn't stick as well on Saturdays and Sundays. He follows the same short nap, long nap, short nap again pattern, but the times are different, as we may be out running errands on Saturday and are at church and small groups Sunday morning and night. One sleep habit that Wells has is that he likes to have a blanket touching his face. He doesn't HAVE to have it in order to go to sleep, but he likes to have one. He will either rub it on his face or just let it rest on his face. It is super cute.

Eats: A champion eater, my boy is! Breastmilk is still his main source of nutrition, but the boy loves to eat food, too! Wells eats a "meal" in the morning around 9:00 of cereal mixed with breastmilk (and sometimes pureed fruit as well). In the evenings, he eats another "meal" of cereal with breastmilk and pureed veggies. He has eaten apple and banana through a handheld mesh strainer as well - but it is kind of hard for him to maneuver since it flops over if not filled to the brim. Wells has recently been reaching for EVERYTHING that we eat or drink. He took a pretzel stick right out of Eric's hand the other day. If you are holding him and eating or drinking, he wants to eat and drink, too!

Wears: Wells can still wear some of his smaller items, but I'd say we are in 6-month clothes for the most part. He can wear some 6-9mo sized stuff as well. The pants he wore for Halloween were a size 12mo because that was the only size left...let's put it this way, they were a little long, but the waist was pretty accurate :) This month, we have moved into size 3 diapers.

Plays: I love playing with this little guy. He is so much fun these days. He LOVES to jump. If you are holding him while you are sitting down, he will most likely want to stand on your lap and bounce. Obviously, his jumparoo sees a lot of action these days. He is still not a fan of tummy time, but I'd say he is getting a little bit better at it. He will at least do it for a minute or so (if we are lucky!). Ha! He has gotten better at rolling over - he rolls from his tummy to his back pretty well but has not rolled from his back to tummy yet. He still likes to grab his feet (they made it into his mouth for the first time the other day). He likes to talk, especially early in the morning on our way to work. He is not so crabby when in the Bumbo seat anymore - as long as you give him a toy to play with.  Sometimes I put him in the walker when I am in the kitchen, and he can get around a little bit while in it. When I put the walker in the living room, though, he feels with his feet that he is on the carpet and tries to jump (I guess because his jumparoo that hangs in the doorway of his nursery is on carpet. He feels the carpet and starts bouncing!). So, the walker stays in the kitchen, where apparently he knows not to jump on the hard floor :) Wells still loves bath time and being outside. He officially can choose one toy over the other now, too. The other day he was playing with a toy, and it fell. When I handed him another one, he got upset and looked for the other toy. He was fine once I gave him the first one back :)

Welp, another month is over. Next month, my little Wellsie Man will be HALF A YEAR. If anyone needs me, I'll just be crying in the corner.

Wells is FOUR months!

Well, well, well, here we are again. Another  monthly update (about a week late. oops.). Is it just me or do these things come quicker with every month?! Four months...crazy. 

At the end of his fourth month,Wells...

Weighs:15 lbs and 14 oz as of his 4-month appointment. Yeah, let's just go ahead and round that up to 16lbs :) He is still my big boy, and I love each roll! He is actually only in the 50-60th percentile for weight, which was a shocker (especially when he gained half a pound in the span of 8 days last week!). And he is in the 80th percentile for length; maybe he'll be tall like his Daddy.
Sleeps: I do not even want to talk about it....but I will. Wells has always been SUCH a good sleeper, that is until about 3-4 weeks ago (I guess right after the last monthly update where I raved about him being down to one nightly feeding). All of a sudden, my little sleeping cherub turned into a little lunatic. A lunatic, I tell  you! There were some nights where he literally woke up EVERY. STINKING. HOUR. Apparently, many babies go through a sleep regression phase around 4ish months. That would have been nice to know. Wells has just now pretty much gotten over this little phase (Praise the Lord!). All in all, it lasted about 3 weeks. I am soooooo thankful that he is getting back in to his old routine. Each night he seems to be getting better, and I hope we get back to that once-a-night feed again soon. You truly know you're a mom when you have been up at all hours of the night (literally, ALL hours) and you still feel nothing but happiness when you wake up to that sweet baby in the morning.
Eats: Wells has continued happily eating his cereal, and as of about 2 weeks ago, we started solid foods with the go-ahead from our pediatrician. Let me just say, boy is loving his new foods! I am making all of his baby food right now, and it may just be my new obsession. I am adding spices to many of his foods per a really great website that I found. I want him to learn to like different foods, and so far, he is doing great! So far, Wells has had carrot puree with nutmeg, banana mash, sweet pea puree with parsley, apple puree with cinnamon, and avocado banana puree. We finished our 3-day stint of avocado banana puree today (waiting 3 days before introducing a new food in case of allergies) and will start sweet potatoes with curry tomorrow. Yum! (Side note: I know that we started foods on the earlier end of the spectrum, but we did so with our doctor's permission. I felt that Wells was ready to start foods, and I have learned that, as a mother, you know your child and his/her abilities and limitations best.)
Wears: Surprisingly enough Wells can still fit in many of his 3 month clothes. We have moved into the 3-6 month section of the closet, though :) And he has worn a couple of 6 month items. I am about to have to retire all of the adorable 3 month footie pajamas that I like to dress him in for bed because his feet look like they are about to pop through the fabric! Baby boy is still in a size 2 diaper.
Plays: Such a playful little fella these days! He has gotten very good at grabbing his toys now. When you put a toy in front of him, he immediately grabs it and puts it in his mouth, If you are playing with him, he is full of big smiles. He doesn't laugh all the time, but when you figure out what he finds funny on a certain day and keep doing whatever it is, he will laugh over and over and over again, which is just the best! He has recently discovered his feet, and loves to grab them, especially when he is laying on his back. Wells is still not a big fan of tummy time, but he did roll over (from tummy to back) for the first time while we were at his 4-month checkup. What a show off! He has tried out the Bumbo seat again (after a long boycott) and doesn't seem to mind it too much.  Bath time is still one of his favorite times, and he just cannot get enough of being outside. He loves to stand while someone holds his hands. Once he gets up on his feet, he smiles the biggest, proudest smile. It is the cutest. He is so happy just to stand and/or jump - in fact, he tried the jumparoo today and had a blast! I predict someone is going to be an early walker! :)

My Wells really is growing up so fast. I love watching him explore, learn, play, and grow with each new day. Happy 4 months, my little buddy!