just say no?

Since little man has started the very early stages of teething, we've been introducing different things to try to soothe his poor little gums. Thankfully, we've had only a few really hard days, but i'm still working on finding toys/products that will help our little guy because I know that more is coming! This little guy is his current fave...
I've come across quite a few necklaces and bracelets for mama that are safe for baby to use to suck/bite on while they're teething (something like this). At first I thought that it was brilliant...babies love to grab on anything that comes within arms reach for them and then everything goes in the mouth so why not buy something that looks cute AND is functional?! But the more I think about it, I wonder if that's a brilliant idea or if it will just make things harder down the road...is it better to know that your baby is going to try to eat your jewelery so you buy a specific piece that they are allowed to teethe on, or to teach them not to grab onto mom's necklace and take it away from them when they do? hmm....food for thought...

so happy!

around this house, we watch a lot of TV and are so happy that the summer hiatus of new shows is over! i'm generally a homebody and when you add in a job that brings alex home close to 6:30/7pm each night and a baby with a bedtime into the mix, we're pretty much home by 8 every night and that's prime time to catch up on shows in our DVR. Alex and I watch a lot of the same shows, but I definitely have a few reality shows that he's not super excited to watch :) Here's the tops on our list this fall ::


and there are a few i enjoy on my own....Brothers and Sisters, Law and Order: SVU, Sister Wives, Raising Sextuplets...what can I say, I watch a lot of television :)

my friend Etsy

I figured after my last post about my sweet etsy finds that i would share some of my current favorites.

Etsy angelinarene Three things you can tell from this... 1. i am looking for an awesome tie for micah 2. i'm obsessed with baby boy accessories....who says girl mamas get to have all the fun?! 3. i am very into headbands right now. with micah pulling my hair all.the.time. i am trying to find some cute ways to accesorize a ponytail/bun!

favorite

Micah's favorite toy is his crinkle square...he plays with it constantly. I was determined to find one and there were so many on etsy to choose from that I just had to get two! I am SO glad that I did because this is the first one I bought...
While I love the fabric, the actual "crinkly" sound is pretty weak. and it's a little small for my little guy to actual hold on to for any amount of time. He actually flings it up by his face and then either forgets that it's covering half of his face or doesn't remember how to hold it to get it down so he does what anyone would do and plays it off like he doesn't care that it's just hanging on his head. :)

The second one I bought is my favorite (and his)...it's larger, has quite the crinkle sound, and has minky fabric on the back side!

Love it.

four months.

I'm a little late on his four month post...partially because of my internet fast, and partially because I haven't been feeling 100% this week. bummer.

so on to the good stuff....

micah,
once again, I can't believe that another month has passed! this month you started rolling over which was a very big deal for us! you actually started rolling over from tummy to back on the 7th which was just before you reached four months, and today you mastered back to tummy! we love your laugh which you are doing more and more often. you also started being ticklish this month with the sweet spots being under your right arm, and right under your neck. you are crazy strong (and you should be since you weigh in at a whopping 17 lbs!) and along with rolling over, you scoot yourself off the blanket multiple times a day! You prefer "standing" and pull yourself to a standing position whenever someone holds your hands. I have a feeling that you'll be crawling early.

you are becoming more and more interested in toys. right now your favorite is your crinkle square (a big thanks to gina and ryder for recommending that one!), and your teething ring that you so often wear as a bracelet :) you also went in your jumper for the first time and loved standing up but get tired of it pretty quickly. you also got a new jumperoo that you are learning to love.

you continually bring us more joy and while it makes your mama a little sad that you're growing up SO fast, I am loving each new stage with you. I love the way you light up when we smile at you, and I actually love the way you are a little shy with new people (or people you don't see all that often)because it reminds me of...well...me! Sometimes it makes us laugh at how quickly you change from laughing to crying. That's why we call you "light switch." You love when we sing to you, even though neither mommy nor daddy has a good singing voice. I am trying to bust out all of my little kid songs for you and your favorite is Skidamarink...we sing it often, and usually a little bit of singing will calm you down when you're fussy.

you are adjusting well now to being with daddy and gongi while mama is at work. you'll take naps with them and even gave daddy a nice long 2 hour nap today! that's a big improvement from the past few weeks. you are such a big boy, and i am thrilled that you are not having as hard of a time when mama is gone. my favorite days are the ones i get to spend entirely with you...from the time you wake up until you go to bed. Thankfully, there's more of those than the days I'm away from you...i might be a basket case if those were reversed! i love you and am excited for what the next month holds!

love,
mama

family resemblance

When Micah was first born, it was hard to tell who he looked like. I think this is true for most babies. One thing we knew from the first moments he was in the outside world was that his mouth looks just like Alex's. When he smiles, he turns into his daddy! The older he gets, we are seeing a pretty significant resemblance to my dad. It's pretty cool to see the similarities. My parents have this set of four pictures of my dad from when he was a baby. He looks older than Micah in the pictures (we're guessing he's just around 1 year because he had already started to lose some baby chub), but baby Rene and baby Micah definitely look alike!

seek week.

Last week as a church body, we devoted the week to seeking God through fasting, prayer, and worship. We did this to, "pursue God together to declare to Him that He alone leads our community and that His presence sustains us in ways that power, clarity, and position never could."

Food was not an option for me to fast as what I eat directly relates to micah's food supply :) As I was thinking about the options, TV and internet were the two things that came to mind for me. TV would have been a great one for me, but that would also force alex to fast OR force us to be in separate rooms which I didn't want. For those reasons, I chose internet. Even with choosing internet, I was pretty specific...blogs, etsy, and facebook. I couldn't do the whole internet because I need various sites just to do my job. Even though it was less than a full week, I had a pretty great experience. My eyes were opened to some things that helped me to see myself through some different lenses...some good, and some not so good, but all helpful.

it is however nice to be back online :) i love me some blogs, etsy and facebook :)

stars.

This picture has nothing to do with this song...it's just crazy cute :)

this is a song that has always hit something deep for me. It really doesn't matter where I am or what I'm doing when this song comes on my iPod or computer, (like right now as I'm prepping for the weekend) I can't help but stop and take in the lyrics. i get emotional every single time. every.single.time. Here are the lyrics for you.

Stars
David Crowder Band

you should see the stars tonight
how they shimmer shine so bright
against the black they look so white
comin down from such a height
to reach me now, reach me now

you should see the moon in the flight
cuttin cross the misty night
softly dancin in sunshine
reflections of this light
reach me now, you reach me now

and how could such a thing
shine its light on me
and make everything beautiful again

and you should feel the sun in the spring
comin out after a rain
suddenly all is green
sunshine on everything
i can feel it now, i feel you now

and how could such a thing
shine its light on me
and make everything beautiful

and you should hear the angels sing
all gathered round their king
more beautiful than you could dream
i've been quietly listening
you can hear 'em now, i hear em now

and how could such a king
shine His light on me
and make everything beautiful
and i wanna shine
i wanna be light
i wanna tell you it'll be alright
and i wanna shine and i wanna fly
just to tell you now
it'll be alright, it'll be alright
it'll be alright.

cus i got nothing of my own to give to you
but this light that shines on me shines on you
and makes everything beautiful, again.
it'll be alright, it'll be alright.

mini vacay

Last week we were able to get away to La Quinta for a couple of days with our friends Matt and Stacy. Matt's dad has an amazing house that we are always happy to go to! We left on Wednesday night and came back in time for church on Sunday. Even in such a short time, we were able to unwind and enjoy the time together. Micah was a champ! He didn't love the pool, but he didn't hate it either. And my very picky baby loved the a/c that Matt had pumping the whole time :)

family time in the pool::

hanging with matt::

stacy, micah and i...the paci was a MUST to keep him happy in the pool!

first time in the pool!

Rogue and Stacy hanging in the pool ::

"i'm ready for the pool mom"

Hope you enjoyed the last bit of summer....today it was jeans, boots and a sweater for me...fall is our favorite season and we weren't sad to say goodbye to summer!

geting his roll on.

Micah just started rolling over!! So far he can go from tummy to back, and he's almost going from back to tummy, he's just not quite there yet. i can't believe how quickly my baby is growing!