Two Months Old

Grant turned two months old on March 29th. As his doctor phrased it, "tell me what you're proud of lately.". :). So I'll tell you! Grant has been smiling a lot, cooing and "talking" to us (the doctor said he is a great communicator!), he is really good at holding his (big!) head up and has slept through the night several nights lately!

He still spits up after almost every feeding, but he doesn't seem to mind and since he's growing on track, the doctor isn't concerned. He loves to be bounced, loves to nap in the swing, loves his Sleep Sheep sound machine and loves to be upright over your shoulder watching everything go on (especially the lights and fans). We have our fussy moments when he lives up to his Daddy's favorite nickname for him, "Crankster," but the good, happy moments definitely out weigh the bad.

Grant got to meet a lot of his Abuelita Elga's family recently and he loved being held and doted on by all his abuelas, cousins and Great aunts. We still go on lots of walks with the dogs, a few play dates with new baby friends and more visitors at the house. But this past month we've mostly been hanging out at home, taking it easy until his recent vaccines.

He's such a sweet guy and we are loving every minute!

Two month stats
Weight: 13 pounds, 5 ounces (73%ile)
Height: 23.5 inches (72%ile)
Head Circumference: 16.54 inches (100%ile!)

Smile

"A child's smile is one of life's greatest blessings." -Unknown

The Luck of the Irish

GMG has slept through the night the past two nights! Both nights about 11-7. I know it's unlucky to even talk about it, but I'm loving it while it lasts!

"You have a baby... in a bar."

Grant went to his first bar tonight when we went to go watch Chris play volleyball. Don't worry, it's not a real bar. You just have to walk through a bar to get to the outdoor volleyball courts. There were other kids there too, so I wasn't the only one!

Anyway... we walk in and Grant is strapped to me in the Ergo. I knew they scan your ID here, so I had to stop and talk to the door guy. Keep in mind it's early and still light outside, not like we're going bar hopping late night or anything. :)

I jokingly said "Are kids under 18 allowed?" (pointing to Grant)
Door guy: "You're under 18?"
Me: "No, my baby."
Door guy: "Um, well... It's going to be $5."
Me: "For me or him?"
Door guy: "Anyone under 18."
Me: "We just came to watch my husband play volleyball for a minute."
Door guy: "Do you have your ID?"

I handed him my ID, he scans it and I sign the receipt.

Door guy: "It's all right , I won't charge you. But under 18 have to be out by 8."

Seriously?! That may be the first and last time we go watch volleyball. I know I sound like an entitled mom and I realize they are a bar so families aren't their target customers, but I couldn't believe he wanted to charge me a cover for a baby! We were out of there well before 8 pm.

No more bars for Grant for another 20 years and 10 1/2 months.

Cinnamon Sugar Butter

If you're The Pioneer Woman, you'd probably make your own, but if you're me, you buy this!  So delicious!  (Actually it'd be pretty easy to DIY in a mixer and you could use real butter not "butter spread.")

Land O Lakes Cinnamon Sugar Butter "Spread"

Peanut Butter Pretzel Bites

I'm a big fan of any kind of peanut butter-chocolate-pretzel combo. Ben and Jerry's Chubby Hubby is my #1 love! When I saw this recipe on pinterest (thanks, Nikki!) I had to make it. The ingredient list is short and may even be things in your pantry already.

I made a small adjustment to the original recipe after my chocolate wouldn't melt and coat like it was supposed to.

Peanut Butter Pretzel Bites
Source: Tasty Kitchen

1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
5 Tablespoons powdered sugar
1 Tablespoon softened butter
1 cup crushed pretzels
1 cup semi sweet chocolate chips
1 Tablespoon shortening

1. Combine peanut butter, powdered sugar, butter and pretzels.
2. Roll into a small ball (or drop with a spoon) and place on parchment paper.
3. Freeze peanut butter balls for 30 minutes.
4. Melt chocolate and shortening. Stir to combine.
5. Drop peanut butter balls into chocolate and coat with a fork.
6. Place back on the parchment paper and allow chocolate to set. (speed up the process by sticking back into the freezer).

Yield 12 peanut butter pretzel bites.

The only thing that didn't really work for me was the shaping of the chocolate salty balls ;). I had peanut butter all over my hands so ended up just spooning "drops" onto the parchment paper instead. They looked more like haystacks than balls but I didn't care. No picture of my beauties!

http://tastykitchen.com/recipes/desserts/peanut-butter-pretzel-bites-2/

Things we love lately

Pampers Swaddlers Diapers with the wetness stripe that turns blue when wet.  These are genius! The only thing that bothers me is they smell so bad when wet. And it's not a urine smell, it's an awful, weird almost sweet smell.  Gross.

Total Baby iPhone App
I'm not keeping track of everything as closely as I first was.  But I still love it for nursing.

Speaking of nursing, the My Breast Friend nursing pillow is so great.  The Boppy is worthless for nursing.  We still use it for holding g and I'm sure we'll use it as he learns to sit up.  But this is a must have for nursing moms.  Yes, you look like you work as a Sonic Car Hop, but the support is worth it.

Kiddopotamus SwaddleMe
This is what Grant sleeps in most nights.  It's so easy to swaddle and you can change his diaper without unswaddling him completely.  The velcro is great for keeping it tight, but it's also a pain in the butt when washing because no matter how careful I am to fasten all the velcro, it still manages to snag something.  And sometimes if Grant is half asleep, the velcro wakes him up when changing him.

Zippered Sleep N Play footies

These are perfect for hanging around the house.  No snaps!

Netflix and Redbox
I've been watching a LOT of tv and movies lately.  (If you rent from Redbox, always look at this website first for coupon codes.  You can use the codes more than once as long as you pay with a different card.)  Some favorites are:  The Walking Dead, Breaking Bad, Being Elmo, Midnight in Paris and not on DVD, the new show Smash on NBC (Loving Katharine McPhee!)

Things Grant loves:

Bouncing on the exercise ball.  When he's fussy 1. check the diaper 2.  bounce!  He loves it.

Sleep Machine Lite iPhone App

My friend Christie told me about this app and it's been great!  It doesn't work 100% of the time, but for the most part, it quiets Grant down and puts him to sleep if he's in that in between drowsy half sleep state.  It's great when you need a portable sound machine (in the car seat, stroller or swing).

Moby Wrap & Ergo Carrier 

He loves being close, warm and snuggly.  We use both of these around the house and on walks.  I like the Ergo (with newborn insert) better because it seems to have better back support.  But both are great!