Four Months Old

Sunday was Collier's four-month birthday. He's still growing like a weed, though he's been in a fussy stage for the last month or so. He's also been spitting up WAY more than he was when he was first born. However, the last three days have been great! Since Mr. Morgan's been preparing for his cleanse and we've been eating lighter and better, I think my milk has been a better nourishment for Collier. He's much less fussy, and his spitting up has subsided immensely. In this past month Collier had still been really happy and smiley at times, and then he'd erupt into ear-piercing screams and squeals without any warning. I will continue with this new diet--little dairy, sugar, meat, and grains--definitely until he's no longer breastfeeding.

Hamilton loves to hold Collier; he'll say, "I hold baby" over and over again until I put Collier into his lap. Collier takes Hamilton's holding well especially the death grip around his neck; however, I have to be ready for when Hamilton says "all done baby" and pushes Collier away from his lap--usually at the same time.

Collier's rolling over all the time now onto his belly, and sometimes he can roll back. He's still sleeping so well and going to sleep easily, which took Hamilton much longer to accomplish. I've started him on rice cereal; and after the first try when he gagged and wretched, he's eating heartily and loving it now.

Many times during dinner we also feed Collier his bottle, so we're all sitting at the table together. On Sunday night Mr. Morgan and I fed the boys together first, and we ate later in peace (hence no plates for us). Collier got so tickled at Hamilton's eating and talking that Mr. Morgan got the camera out to record Collier's unprovoked, adorable laugh. Hamilton also does lots of talking in this video which I usually interpret, if you can hear my voice.

Hamilton Hears a Horn

Hamilton loves to go out into the garage with Mr. Morgan. Sometimes he "helps" Mr. Morgan fix the car or work in the yard.

Hamilton in a Box

Often Hamilton wants to play on the back porch, but he usually won't stay out there long unless I go with him. After dinner one night, he was playing out there much longer than usual, so Mr. Morgan investigated and found him sitting in the ottoman/storage box.

The toys stored inside may have enticed him to join them.

More Edisto

Once Travis and Claire arrived, we got out the big toys.

Hamilton and I accompanied the "big kids" to the boat ramp to see them shove off. 

 

Mr. Morgan and Claire took the canoe, and Dad and Travis each paddled a kayak.

Edisto

The views off the back porch of our house in Edisto were so lowcountry and beautiful. The 900-foot-long-but-four-foot-wide dock with no railings made us a bit nervous with Hamilton's bounding about from side to side pointing at fiddler crabs.

The great house was plenty big for all five of us Morgans and our puppies plus the three Taylors.

At the end of the dock, Mimi fed Hamilton his first fig that she'd picked straight off the fig tree. He loved it.

We went to the beach most days. After a few minutes of warming up to the idea of sand being on his hands and body, Hamilton began to enjoy playing in the sand and surf.

We enjoyed the beach mostly in the late afternoons because it was so much cooler.

We saw dolphins swimming so close to the shore.

Collier spent most of his beach time in this nifty baby tent that was lent to us for the trip.

Oh Vacation

Why do I feel three steps behind the week after a vacation? I mean, I had lots of good help with the boys and some time to relax and "be myself" (as Claire would say), but this week has been so packed that I've felt behind on most everything. Some events that contributed to the crazyness and busyness of the week:

1. We returned on Monday afternoon from the beach, so I felt thrown into the week without proper preparation before it was already nearly Tuesday.
2. Claire's starting middle school meant an afternoon trip to Mt. Pleasant with both boys and the homework-completing/instrument-practicing rush in the afternoon and evening.
3. Mr. Morgan is preparing for a juice cleanse next week, so we've been eating new, lighter recipes including little meat, dairy, and grains. I've spent more time in the kitchen to make these different recipes for lunches and suppers. (I would also be participating in this cleanse, but I can't since I'm still breastfeeding. So I'm being supportive by fixing appropriate meals in preparation for the cleanse.) 

Three Months Old

Collier has been three months old for about two weeks now, so it's high time I post an update on our precious boy. In this last month he's had several firsts. He has rolled over from his back to his belly--only once though. He has not done it again, though he didn't seem to like it the first time. He cried, which is how we discovered he'd rolled over. He has also laughed once in this last month, though I haven't heard a second time what I deemed a laugh before. Perhaps it was just a fluke, but Hamilton was laughing at this age.

He still smiles a lot, and he smiles for anyone who speaks sweetly to him. Claire and Hamilton both are really good at getting him to smile.

Collier still spends most of his playtime lying on his back on his playmat with toys dangling above his head. I've recently introduced him to his exersaucer which he seems to like at least for a little while.

He loves playing with his pacifier, though he sometimes gets irritated when he pulls it out of his mouth but can't get it back in. This action also irritates Claire who can't seem to understand why he keeps pulling it out when he clearly wants the pacifier in.

The Week with Kids

1. I've been setting the alarm to wake me up this week earlier than the children, so I can get my pumping out of the way before Collier wakes needing to be fed. Since I'm freed up to feed him when he does wake, Mr. Morgan is able to get ready for work without much delay making his morning easier (I hope). I've used the quiet, alone hour of the morning to read my Bible and journal. I've enjoyed this time to myself as I start my day, though juggling the pump while reading and writing is a bit cumbersome.

2. Caring for two small children has proved more work than I thought it would be--if that's possible. I'm just not sure I was really prepared for how precious little time I'd have to do anything else not involving their welfare. Surely all parents are not this clueless.

3. Since Claire's 11 now, I've been relying on her to help this summer in many new ways. She gives Hamilton baths many nights, and sometimes she'll put him to bed all by herself. Today while I sat in the car with the boys, she ran in to buy diapers. She told me she'd never been into a grocery store all by herself before. Tuesday night Mr. Morgan and I finally saw the final Harry Potter movie, and I was so comfortable with leaving the babysitter only a few instructions because I knew Claire would help her and show her where things were when necessary.

4. I'm so ready for our upcoming beach trip with Mom and Dad. Having help during the day with the boys and staying put during the mornings will be a welcome treat after our busiest week of the summer. Monday we met Claire's new piano teacher. Tuesday Hamilton's friend West came over for camp. Wednesday I had a hair appointment. And, today, we played at the Shealys' awesome, neighborhood pool. Tomorrow is Claire's middle-school orientation, so we'll all be out and about early again.

Old Pictures

For some reason I haven't taken many pictures lately even though I've felt much better for a week now. As I looked back through some old pictures, I found some that I hadn't gotten around to posting when they were new.

Hamilton helped Mr. Morgan wash the Explorer back in April before the baby's arrival. Hamilton loves helping and being given a job, especially if it's a job he hasn't done before.

All winter and spring Hamilton loved playing in the kitchen cabinets when I was busy cooking in the kitchen. He'd pull all the stuff out then sit himself in the cabinet. He even got good at putting all the dishes back in the cabinet where they belonged.

In May we went to the farmers' market downtown at Marion Square with Mimi and Pops one Saturday. Pops paid the exorbitant rate for Hamilton to play in the jump castle, and Hamilton loved it. I wish my pictures had turned out better, but chasing a moving target through black netting is not easy. I was pleased that Hamilton wasn't afraid to play inside the jump castle, since he wasn't too sure about this activity at our last opportunity. He loved to jump and fall on his bottom; he'd do it over and over again and laugh every time.

Also back in May, I captured Hamilton eating his first corn on the cob. His actual eating of the corn was much cuter, but by the time I got up from the dinner table to get my camera, he wasn't doing his intense and happy eating anymore.

New Art

I finally uploaded Claire's latest artwork to her website. She has several new pieces from this summer including this mosaic, and there are pieces from her fifth-grade year in the slideshow as well. Feel free to leave comments here or on her website; she loves the blue ribbons she earns for having lots of visitors to her website.

Housekeeping

Though not literal housekeeping, the readability of my blog is important to me. Since Mr. Morgan's my go-to tech guy, I trust him to tell me "enough already"--and then fix the crazy fonts that I'd rather use on my blog. He said he wasn't enjoying going to the blog and reading it because of how long the fonts took to load. He's my biggest blog fan, so I couldn't abide his not reading it. So we're back to default fonts. Has anyone else had issues viewing the page?