c's 20th week

We've had a big week this week.  One that has been super trying and also full of awesome firsts for our family of three.  I'd like to just moan about all of the horrible things, but really, the good SO out weighs the rough parts...which I'm learning is a big part of parenting.  Things are tough and uncertain, but the beautiful moments that come through make everything oh so worthwhile.

One of the big moments this week was Matt's birthday.  We celebrated Matt in many ways including eating some delicious coconut cream pie from Love at First Bite, going to watch IronMan 3 (while Apo babysat C), and finally all 4 of us going out to a very late dinner at Chez Marco.  It was a wonderful day and I'm so glad we were able to make it all about Matt as he is just the best husband and dad this little family could ever want.  He doesn't usually put himself first, so it was nice to spoil him and treat him for a change.

As for C, he had a couple of fantastic moments this week.   C rolled over from his back to his stomach one night which made this momma super happy! He's only done it once, but at least he's done it.  Since then he's always on the verge of rolling over as he lays on his side, but he hasn't repeated the move yet.  Gotta keep us guessing, right? As if that wasn't enough, C also got to try out solids for the first time this weekend! C had some rice cereal and LOVED it.  He didn't spit it out (although it did manage to get all over the place) and actually fussed at us for being so slow in getting it to his mouth.  For now, we are feeding him at breakfast and at dinner and will slowly up the portions as time goes on.  Yet another thing to start researching...it just never ends! :) 

Now for the part that has made life ridiculously HARD this week is C's continued regression.  Remember when I said here and here that C's sleep couldn't get any worse? Well apparently I was wrong.  This past week has been ROUGH around here as C has not been napping well, going to bed late, and waking up every.single.hour to nurse in the night.  Yes.  You read that absolutely right.  I was already sleep deprived as he had been waking up every couple of hours, but once this started, I totally hit rock bottom as I'm the one that gets up with C in the night because Matt goes to work.  I tried to keep C in his crib, but it just got to be too much as every time he'd nurse and fall asleep, I'd go to put him down only to have him startle himself awake and cry.  Since we are all in the same room, this meant that I had to get him back up and try to comfort him and get him asleep again....only to have the whole thing repeat itself.  In order to help myself not become any crazier, we started co-sleeping again (I know, super controversial but I'm a fan) and it has helped me to survive this...for now.  I know C needs to get back into his crib soon so that he doesn't get used to sleeping with us, but the thought of it all makes my head spin.  Right now, my thought is to target one thing at a time and the biggest problem is the constant waking up.  Hopefully this is just a phase (I've been told that this happens around 4 months) and will pass soon so that we can move on and be a happy, well-rested family again.

Day 133
Enjoying milk from his bottle so that mommy and daddy could go out for a couple of hours!

Day 134

Happy Birthday Matt! :) 

Day 135

C with his Apo checking out the property that we will be building on in the next month!

Day 136

Chilling in our bed...happy as can be!

Day 137

We've been shaving from day one! :) 

Day 138

C's first time eating solids! He enjoyed some rice cereal for his first meal! It was delicious!

Day 139

Look at those eyes...melt.your.heart.

...Things to Remember...

- C rolled over...once.  Yes!

- C ate solids! He is on rice cereal for the time being and can't get enough of it!

- C's been on a regression lately and this week has been the worse with no naps and C waking up every hour to nurse at night.

- On a personal note, this is the most sleep deprived I've been and I really want C to start sleeping! 

(Linking up with P52 Sweet Shot Tuesday, Our World Tuesday, Tuesdays Around The World, Little Things Thursday, Che and Fidel, Photo Story Friday, Favorite Photo Friday, Sunday Snapshot, Simple Things Sunday, and Give Me Your Best Shot.)

c's 19th week

Phew...what a week! This has been quite a busy week for this tired momma, but the show must go on! This week we celebrated C's Apo's (Grandma) birthday and my very first Mother's Day! Both days were fabulous and C did great at the restaurants...letting us adults enjoy our meals.  :) 

My first Mother's Day was just lovely.  It was a busy day, so we only had a short time to celebrate it as our small family of three.  Matt took me to have high tea (which is a great tradition to start and continue...hint!).  C's gift was taking a nap on a bench while we were eating giving us a chance to chat and just enjoy each other's company.  Then Matt gifted me with a beautiful necklace containing C's birth stone (garnet).  I don't think I'll be wearing it all of the time though because C is currently grabbing at everything these days!

A highlight this week has been watching C becoming more involved in his bath time and starting to splash about like a maniac.  It is so cute to watch as he just goes to town and doesn't care that he is splashing everyone around him and getting water all over his face.  We even gave him some bath toys to play with and he is totally into them.  Bath time went from being good, to being awesome!  

So, remember when I mentioned on week 17 that C was sleeping through the night and then on week 18 how C went back to waking up every three hours for a feed? Well as of this week, C has gotten even worse and has been waking up every 2 hours to nurse in the night! It will get better someday soon, right?? It can't get any worse than this though (fingers crossed).  Needless to say, I am TIRED, especially since C also hasn't been napping well for a while now.  Oh well....this too shall pass! 

Day 126
What a big boy in his basketball gear!

Day 127

Relaxing in the bath...

Day 128

Looking towards the night light and choosing NOT to sleep!

Day 129

Hanging with his buddy! Apparently C wants to be the center of attention! :) 

Day 130 (5/11)

Happy Birthday Apo!

We had fun celebrating Apo's birthday at the Rachamankha Hotel.  

It is a beautiful hotel and we enjoyed some yummy food!

Day 131 (5/12)

Happy Mother's Day!

Matt (and C) spoiled me rotten and took me to tea at the Ping Nakara Hotel & Spa!

Day 132 (5/13)

Today C splashed in the tub for the first time and played with some tub toys! 

It was adorable to see him enjoy his bath and really play.

...Things to Remember...

- There has been a regression in C's sleep over the last couple of weeks and I've heard that this happens in a babies fourth month.  Hopefully it will change real soon and he'll start sleeping better as I could definitely use more sleep!

- C actively splashed in the bath this week and even played with some fun bath toys!

- C continues to smile and talk more and more every day.  He is really happy most of the time, which we are so thankful for!

(Linking up with P52 Sweet Shot Tuesday, Our World Tuesday, Tuesdays Around The World, Little Things Thursday, Che and Fidel, Photo Story Friday, Favorite Photo Friday, Sunday Snapshot, Simple Things Sunday, and Give Me Your Best Shot.)

c's 18th week

This week C turned 4 months old! We've had a pretty low key week as C's sleep has been off this past week.  Instead of sleeping through the night like last week, he has been getting up every 2-3 hours in the night this week making us both a bit more tired throughout the day.  I can't believe I used to complain about waking up once a night to feed him before! Hopefully this is just a short phase and things will go back to "normal" soon...

We also went to see the doctor for C's 4 month check up this week.  He is growing and progressing well and the doc seemed pleased.  He did great at the visit and had to get a shot on each thigh.  C cried some, but calmed down really quickly afterwards thankfully.  What a trooper! 

Day 119

Chilling out while mommy got her nails done!

Day 120

Oh the tears...shots are just no fun!

Day 121

Putting a crushed up herb (tumeric) onto C's ant bites.  It worked! 

Day 122

Hanging out in the BECO at the store.

Day 123

Chillin'!

LOVE SKYPE! Talking to C's Uncle & Aunt.

Day 124

Tummy time & hanging with Apo!

Day 125

In PJs ready for bed.

...Things to Remember...

- C turned 4 months old this week! Life got way too hectic and we didn't do his monthly photo shoot for a couple of days.  I now understand why people schedule it as it is way easy to just continue to put it off.  Next month we'll do better!

- I need to remember to use C's BECO carrier more often as my arms are getting sore! That or start going out for some massages! :) 

(Linking up with P52 Sweet Shot Tuesday, Our World Tuesday, Tuesdays Around The World, Little Things Thursday, Che and Fidel, Photo Story Friday, Favorite Photo Friday, Sunday Snapshot, Simple Things Sunday, and Give Me Your Best Shot.)

c's 4 months old

C is 4 months old now and continues to overwhelm us with all of his changes.  This month C continues to thrive and weighs in at 7.3 kg and is 64 cm tall.  He has a fabulous appetite and now fits into his 6 month old clothes! C learned how to drink from a bottle (although we've only done this twice) this month giving us a chance to get out of the house without him, which was super exciting and sad all at the same time.  

C has a big gummy smile that makes an appearance more often now.  In fact, his adorable smiles are what we get to wake up to every morning.  When he's super excited, C makes a crazy high pitch shriek and shakes all over making me laugh every time.  C is also getting stronger and has a fantastic grip.  He has managed to grab our glasses and my hair, so we have got to be more careful now.  He loves grabbing at  his toys still and is now able to get a hold of the different parts on his play-mat.  

Highlights for this month include: C getting his first ant bites (so sad!), being held by waitresses at restaurants giving me a chance to eat my meal, going swimming twice, and finally getting what tummy time is all about! 

Happy 4 months C!  

Thrilled to be 4 months old!

Standing tall!

Loves playing with his tongue!

ADORABLE!!

I love you C!

...Things to Remember...

been swimming

talks more

enjoys tummy time

shrieks with excitement

used a bottle

(Linking up with P52 Sweet Shot Tuesday, Our World Tuesday, Tuesdays Around The World, Little Things Thursday, Che and Fidel, Photo Story Friday, Favorite Photo Friday, Sunday Snapshot, Simple Things Sunday, and Give Me Your Best Shot.)

c's 17th week

This week C slept through the night for 3 nights! WOHOO! It was awesome while it lasted, but C has since quit and gone back to waking up once a night for a feed.  Hopefully sleeping through the night will become the norm soon (fingers crossed!) as I'm a totally different woman after a night of uninterrupted sleep.  Who knew it could make such a difference? :)

So little man is really not so little anymore.  On a whim this week, Matt put C into some of his 6 month onesies...and they fit! In fact, some of them fit so well we might only get a couple of weeks use out of them, which is super sad as there are some pretty cute ones in the pile.  Be prepared for lots of repeat clothes in the weeks to come as we get as much wear out of them as possible as I don't want to be wasteful and not wear the lovely clothes we've been given.

Day 112

Wide awake and not ready for sleep at all!

Day 113

Playing with Mr. Monkey!

Day 114

Look at those baby blues...

Day 115

Filling out his 6 month old onesies!

Day 116

Beautiful boy...

Day 117

In some lights, he is a red head.  Crazy!

Day 118 (4/29)

C got 4 ant bites...so sad!

The yellow is from an herb that we crushed and put on it to make it better...

not so pretty, but totally effective.

Happy family!

...Things to Remember...

- C got some ant bites this week, his first real booboo ever.  They welted up real big and looked terrible! Luckily C didn't seem too bothered by it.  Thankfully Apo knew of an herb to help reduce the swelling and now it is almost all gone.  Yay!

- We've been on a few outings this week including a late dinner that involved a total meltdown from C. He was so tired, but just wouldn't fall asleep until he'd screamed it out for a while.  It was not so fun.

(Linking up with P52 Sweet Shot Tuesday, Our World Tuesday, Tuesdays Around The World, Little Things Thursday, Che and Fidel, Photo Story Friday, Favorite Photo Friday, Sunday Snapshot, Simple Things Sunday, and Give Me Your Best Shot.)

c's 16th week

This week was quite the adventure as we dog-sat for my aunt.  Luckily for me, the dog became my sidekick for the week as she just wouldn't leave my side.  She followed me everywhere, would only go outside if I was taking her, slept next to my side of the bed, and enjoyed waking me up in the mornings.  Fun times! After this experience, who knows if I'm going to want to have a dog any time soon as it is hard enough having a baby attached to my hip all day, every day! Ha!

We didn't let the dog stop us and still left the house a fair bit.  Most of our outings involved going out to eat as C's Apo was out of town.  We usually eat at my mom's house (we are neighbors and we don't have a kitchen in our space which is a whole separate blog post) a lot, so it was nice to get out and eat at some of our favorite places around town.  That said, we do need to get out more as we only know of a handful of places to eat at even though Chiang Mai has so many restaurants.  

C has been a lot fussier this week and cries way more than usual.  Both Matt and I think that he is in the beginning stages of teething, which is crazy since he shouldn't be old enough to have teeth, right?? He is also super vocal these days and does this crazy high pitched thing that makes me laugh when we are home and makes me cringe when we are out in public.  Oh man....I think life is going to get way more interesting as he gets older! 

Day 105

C hanging out with his Apo before she left on her week long holiday to Korea.

Day 106

One chill baby...

Day 107

YAYAYAYAY!

Day 108

Finally! The staff members at this tea house took C and gave me a chance 

to eat and hang out with a friend.  It was wonderful! :) 

Day 109

Naked time!

Day 110

C is 3.5 months and his friend is over 5 months old.

Our baby is a MONSTER! 

Day 111

Shower time! C still loves his bath...

Smiles!

...Things to Remember...

- C is seriously a drooling machine! He drools, blow bubbles, and sprays the spit.  Makes you just want to get real close to him, doesn't it?? :) Due to this, we are now occasional bib users in hopes of keeping ourselves and his clothes moderately dry. 

- C seems to have turned a corner and is now willing to smile at the camera...sometimes.  I'll take it!

- On a personal note, since delivering C, I CANNOT get enough sweets.  It is a serious addiction...and I'd even go so far as to call it a sickness.  Help!

(Linking up with P52 Sweet Shot Tuesday, Our World Tuesday, Tuesdays Around The World, Little Things Thursday, Che and Fidel, Photo Story Friday, Favorite Photo Friday, Sunday Snapshot, Simple Things Sunday, and Give Me Your Best Shot.)

songkran 2013 part 3

Just a few more pictures from Songkran to share with y'all!

Little boys having fun...one with his bucket ready and the other hiding in the barrel!

The guns are ready to go!

Smart ladies choosing to slow down rather than trying to speed past...

The older gentleman is enjoying every moment! 

His weapon of choice is a type of water gun made from PVC pipes and works really well.

So many things for sale along the streets...hats, water-guns, and food!

ICE...to make the water being thrown cold...BRR!

He's got on a long sleeve shirt and a full face mask and sunglasses...WHAT?!?

Oh tourists...you will never stay dry!!

Please check out Part 1 and Part 2 for more Songkran pictures.

(Linking up with P52 Sweet Shot Tuesday, Our World Tuesday, Tuesdays Around The World, Little Things Thursday, Che and Fidel, Photo Story Friday, Favorite Photo Friday, Sunday Snapshot, Simple Things Sunday, and Give Me Your Best Shot.)