4 Month Check Up Report

Wow, 4 months is already passed and we have been so blessed to have James in our lives! He is growing SOOOO fast! Here is the information we got from the doctor.

Length: 27.5 inches (97%+ percentile)
Weight: 15 lbs 10 oz (50-75% percentile)
Head Circumference: 44cm (90 - 95th percentile)
In other words we have one cute string bean with a big noggin! :-)

Since the last post, James has tried more veggies and also a fruit.
James is a fan of peas, but we are not very suprised to report that James does NOT like cauliflower! Maybe we can try it again in a while when he can eat it with cheese. On the other hand, James cannot get enough avocado! Do we have a guacamole fan on our hands???

Roly Poly!

So our little guy is finally out of the swaddler at night, and boy oh boy has it been an adjustment for all three of us! James LOVES to be swaddled and for the first 4 months he needed it like he needed air. Nothing else would do at bedtime but to be wrapped up like a tiny baby burrito! We started out wrapping him in receiving blankets and when he outgrew those we started using the Boppy Swaddler. Well this baby boy has some loooooong legs so we had soon had to order a Miracle Blanket (and it really is a miracle, let me tell you!). Well about 2am the other night we hear James fussing over the monitor. I waited a minute to see if he would go back to sleep but soon the fussing turned to panicked crying. I ran to his room to find him in his Miracle Blanket on his belly! Poor little guy! There was no way James could roll himself back over. It scared me to death! So that was the last night being swaddled and ever since we have a real roly poly on our hands. He ROLLS ALL OVER the crib, running headfirst into the sides of the crib. James is basically a miniature version of me flailing all about. Daniel wakes up with mysterious bruises from where I have whacked him during the night and I think James will be the same way. He seems to really like sleeping on his side. Thank goodness he is finally getting used to it. At first he would wake up and panic because he would be in a different spot in his crib and not know where he was. It really threw James for a loop if he woke up and his crib mobile was not directly over his head! So funny! We get such a kick out of this special baby! :-)
This is a really hectic and stressful week for me at work: TAKS TESTING!!! AAGHHHH! Keep your fingers crossed that my kiddos pass tomorrow!

This active little guy is HUNGRY!

Eating some homemade organic baby food! Can you say yummy?



Hanging out in the new jogging stroller...



Taking pictures in wildflowers....A Texas springtime tradition


James in the new duck tub. Bath time is fun again!

Since our last post things have been super busy at the Duffy house! I returned to work on March 27th. I will not go into detail here about my return except to say that leaving James that first day was the single hardest thing I have ever done. It has been about three weeks now and I have made the adjustment and feel positive about it. James started at a small home daycare and seems to love it! He always gets great daily reports and is very happy and smiley when I pick him up in the afternoon. We spend all evening hanging out with James and go on walks, play with toys, read books and just cuddle. Our bedtime routine which involves reading, singing, rocking in the glider and saying our prayers is my favorite part of the whole day!

James has also rolled over for the first time! He rolled over from stomach to back on April 9th and from back to stomach on April 18th. It is so cute, although James seems shy about rolling over in front of Daddy and he has yet to see it so far. I am sure it will be any day now.

We decided to start James on veggies this weekend. He has become very interested in table food and seemed ready, so we tried out butternut squash and he loved it! Because of his reflux we have had to include rice cereal in his bottles for the last month. We tried a little rice cereal off a spoon in the last few weeks but it was not met with rave reviews. We could not believe how well James did with the squash. Our friend Kelli and I made some homemade organic baby food purees. It was so much fun and we are excited about feeding our babies healthy food that actually looks and tastes good. We got together and made squash, sweet potatoes and zucchini and then you just freeze it in ice cube trays. When baby is ready to eat you just get a cube from the freezer and warm it up. Very cool!

Last but not least, James attended a birthday party for the first time last night. My friend's son turned 8 years old and James had a good time watching all the kids and adults at the party. He even wore a party hat! We had a good time and can't wait to have James' first birthday party!

That's all for now! We will post more soon!

Happy Spring!

It sure is warming up! It is so nice to get out of the house. We all went to Houston a couple of weeks ago and James did great on the drive down there. We stopped a few times and I rode in the back seat with him. We had a good time visiting my parents and even got to meet Dane, my cousins' new baby. Steven and Asha are proud parents of a cutie-pie! James looks so big compared to Dane, who was born at the beginning of March. Our little man is just growing up so fast. Wish I could memorize how he feels in my arms at this size. Amy and Terry found out that they are having a baby boy, so it will be little boys for all of us within an eight month span. I see lots of playdates in the future!

This past weekend we celebrated Easter and James was baptized. James seemed to enjoy having the water poured over his head. The water in the baptismal font was actually from the Jordan River, which we thought was pretty cool. Imagine, having your baby baptized in water from the same river where Jesus was baptized. It was amazing and a really special time for us. We are committed to bringing James up in the church and teaching him about God. We already read him Bible stories and pray with him each night. Jessica, my best friend from Il., came down for the baptism. My parents and my godparents Tommy and Becky came up from Alvin. Donna and Jamie came over from Longview. The Merrills, the Collazos and Shawn all came to the church too to witness the baptism. We had such a big crowd! James received beautiful gifts to commemorate the occasion. We can't wait until his First Communion!

We had an amazing Easter dinner at our house and we loved hosting it. Central Market played a big role in making it so tasty. We think their catering will be an Easter tradition. We did make some side dishes and a bunny cake though and that was lots of fun. Looking forward to doing it again next year. The Easter Bunny came to visit James and brought him books, a Baby Einstein video and bath toys. Nana and Granddaddy also brought James a basket with a beautiful bunny and lots of new clothes. We hope next year he is old enough to hunt for eggs.

Tomorrow I return to work after 15 weeks at home. It will be hard to go back, but I am staying upbeat. I will miss James so much during the day! Only nine weeks and one day until summer, but who's counting! :-)

Snow in Fort Worth!

On Thursday March 6 we had 7 inches of snow! It was crazy! I saw a weather advisory on TV warning about possible inclement weather and snow. I was thinking "blah, blah, blah". Then I looked out the window and saw snow everywhere! What a surprise! It was really coming down. It went on for hours. Kids and adults alike were building snowmen and playing outside. I was able to get a lot of great pictures. James spent the day cuddling with me. It was great cuddling weather.

On Friday Kelli and I went to a crop and scrapbooked from about 7pm until midnight. James stayed home with Daddy. I got a couple of pages done for his baby album. Then our friend Nell from Cowtown Camera Girl came to take James' pictures this past Saturday. Today we went to church and shopping. It was a good weekend and we're looking forward to a great week together. We will be heading to Houston to visit my parents on Thursday. We will post again after our trip.