girls night.

A few nights ago, I invited Erica and Emily over for a much needed Girls' Night, since we haven't been together since last Spring! After reminiscing about our high school days for a while, we went over to Rubio's and got some burritos and nachos for dinner, and had some froyo for dessert at Yogurtland, where I tried those little pop things (pictured above). I think I'll get just those on my frozen yogurt from now on. I loved them! And I loved the company! REAL LIVE ADULTS, GUYS!!!

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13/52.

That tongue. :)

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12/52.

Franz tried solid food for the first time last night! Homemade brown rice cereal! He loved it, and would cry when I took the spoon away to get more.

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happy st. patty's day!

Love, Franz the leprechaun 

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where we spend most of the days.

Even though I was really excited to have a baby right in time for the holidays, one thing that isn't so fun is that I've had to stay inside with him for his first few months of life because of the cold. So we spend most of our days inside the apartment, taking naps, reading books, playing with toys, and eating snacks (breast milk snacks for him).

And not to mention that Franz has been going through the 4-month wakeful period, as well as the 4th wonder week. So not only do I have a baby who wakes up more often at night (say, every 1.5 - 2.5 hours), I also have a baby who is fussy and clingy in the daytime. So the last few weeks have been rough. I've stayed in my pajamas all day with unbrushed teeth more often that I'd like to admit. But my goodness, when this boy does something as simple as smiling at his mama, all that doesn't even matter to me anymore.

And sometimes when papa gets home from work and school, and we have a little bit of energy left, we play together in the living room and make silly videos of the three of us and try our hardest to make Franz smile before going to bed, and those are some of the funnest times, when that papa comes home, and make the winter weather worth it (most of the time).

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four months.

Franz turned 4 months old on Thursday! I can't believe how much more alert and aware he is of his surroundings lately. Just in the last few weeks, he's started looking at you when you call him by name, and he reacts when you talk to him or sing to him from across the room. 

This stage is definitely the funnest so far. He's still such a smily baby (even though most of his pictures don't agree), and still has hair that sticks straight up and a tongue that's always sticking out. 

At four months, Franz...

• can blow raspberries whenever he wants to (as opposed to doing them by accident), and he does quite often, which results in a spit bubble beard.
• has mastered rolling from his back to his belly, and does it every time we lay him down. Then gets mad because he hates tummy time and can't roll back over yet.
• is still in size 3 diapers.
• still fits in his 3-6 month clothes, but is slowly starting to fit in 6-12 month clothes and shoes.
• loves being sung to. His favorite song right now is "My Heavenly Father Loves Me."
• got a taste of his first real food: an piece of apple that mama let him lick. He liked it, and then hated it, and then liked it again.
• has become so vocal, and his baby vocabulary is growing more and more every day. It's nice to hear different sounds instead of just the screaming he did when he was younger.
• has started sucking on his fingers and thumb, instead of his entire fist.
• is 17 pounds and 14 ounces, and 26 inches long.
• does fake coughs that often end in sneezes.
• wants to be held about 95% of the time, and will cry if you put him down.
• loves grabbing/resting his hands on things, especially other peoples' hands.
• is still so good at nursing, and will eat anytime I offer him the boob, even if he's not hungry. Also, nursing is the only thing guaranteed to cheer him up when he's crying.
• has started waking up more often at night (about every 2 hours... thanks, 4-month wakeful period), and has been refusing morning naps the last few days.
• did his first belly laugh while papa was talking to him on the changing table.
• laughs more for papa than mama (but does laugh for mama!).
• is getting really good at grabbing things and putting them straight into his mouth (or eye).
• has recently started refusing his binky.
• loves the outside.

I know this is so cliche, but I really can't believe how big he's growing! It's going by so fast; it makes me sad. But seeing him learn and grow and watching how much more fun he is is sooo worth it! I'm so excited to introduce him to the outside world (we've been staying inside most days because of the cold). The trees and grass and animals. We're also getting ready to start him on solids in the next few weeks, and I'm so excited to see his reaction to real food!

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11/52.

This guy loves to blow spit bubbles lately. And look! A smile! 

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10/52.

I've been trying to transition Franz from the swing to his crib for daytime naps. It's been hard, to say the least. About an hour past his nap time, and after lots of tears, this is how he fell asleep: on his side, back arched, and binky in hand.

Also, as of today, he can officially roll over from back to tummy! Go Franz!

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9/52.

I feel like Franz's 4-month update is so far away, and he's changed so much lately, so here's a little update on him.

This little guy has developed so much personality over the last week! He's found his voice, and loves to coo, ahh, ohh, squeal, and even rawr (we've been rawring at him for a few weeks now). He's also started doing fake coughs, and sometimes those make him sneeze! He's obsessed with his binky lately, and has started trying to fit the whole thing in his mouth. Still hates tummy time, but can tolerate it for longer periods of time than before, and loves to roll over onto his side when he's lying on his back (but hasn't rolled completely over to his tummy... I think he realizes that if he does, he'll have to be on his tummy). He smiles all day long, and even gave us his first real cracked-up laugh the other night while Zac was changing his diaper.

He makes me laugh so much! He's getting more and more fun the older he gets, which is a good trade off, because I was (am) really missing that cuddly newborn stage. 

And that's Franz at 3 1/2 months.

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