.:Andrus Family:.

Thursday, January 8, 2015

.:Jabren - Three Months:.

Three months! How can it be?

Our sweet little Jabey man turned three months. I'm not really sure who gave him permission to keep growing, but I really wish he would slow it down a bit.

Jabes is still a pretty happy guy most of the time. He for sure has his baby moments where he just needs to let it out, or just wants to be held, but overall he is pretty good. He loves to smile, and I catch him so often just looking at me with a huge grin on his face. He was sick a couple of times during this month, and he turned into a very not happy baby during those times. It really made me appreciate how he normally is!

Jabren started a new trick: laughing! He first did it when we were in Oregon for Christmas. Josh had him in on the bed, and I was in the bathroom getting ready. I heard him laugh, and went into the bedroom to make sure that's what I had really heard! He doesn't do it super often, and he does it best for Josh, but he definitely has a little laugh going on. He is very ticklish, so this is the best way to bring out those delightful little sounds in him.

Jabren coos and talks some, but isn't an overly chatty baby so far. He is more likely to do it when I have him on the changing table. I imagine this will change as he realizes that you've gotta have a voice to be heard in this family of sisters. I do love to get those sweet little sounds out of him; our baby conversations are my favorite.

Jabes is still sleeping about the same. It got a bit worse while he wasn't feeling well; he was waking up at 1:30! I have really been trying not to pull him into bed until that last feeding before I get up, but for those few nites he was waking up way earlier than normal, I would just snuggle him back to sleep until it was really time to eat again. I never thought I would enjoy having a baby in my bed as much as I do. Now that he is feeling better, we've had some great nites where he doesn't even wake up until right when it's time to eat. I'm hoping he keeps this up! It's about time to move him into his room, and that will be much easier to do if he is only waking at the right eating times. I tried putting him in his room one nite, which went pretty well, but then I got really sick, and the thought of having to get up and walk down to his room during the nite while not feeling well was more than I could bear, so he is back in his crib in our room. Maybe this week we'll give it another go.

Jabes is a horrible napper. Which is about par for the course with our babies at this age. None of our babies have been great nappers until about four months old. I am still trying to work on it with him; I need him to so that I can get back to teaching piano again. He often wakes after 30-45 minutes. Sometimes I can get him back to sleep if I go rock him, and then he might stay asleep for awhile longer, or he might not. He has had a few afternoons lately where he has taken a decent nap on his own from the start, so maybe we are making some progress.

Jabren still loves to suck on his hands. He is great at working them out of his swaddle so that he can get to them. He will take the binky, but I often have to work hard to get him to take it. He just really loves his hands!

The playmat and some movie watching in his bouncer are still the only two activities that keep Jabren content for very long. And even then, still not a super long time. But it is nice that he has things that will hold his attention for a bit so that I can do other things that need to get done. We may have to start working on assisted sitting here soon, and give him another view to take in.

This little boy is SO loved by his sisters. Still. I'm really glad they love him, but sometimes I feel like I spend my day reminding them to get out of his face a little bit! He does like to watch them and smiles at them, but also gets overwhelmed when they are too much in his face.

We love Jabren so much and are so glad he is a part of our family!

At three months old, Jabren likes:

- mom
- eating
- nuzzling
- baths
- being changed
- laying on the changing table
- smiling lots!
- laughing some
- sucking on his hands
- binky sometimes
- playmat (he loves the flashing light!)
- baby movies
- talking/cooing
- being held

At three months old, Jabren does not like:

- being left alone for too long
- being in his car seat for too long
- waiting for his food
- getting swaddled
- people in his face too much (usually his sisters!)

Tuesday, January 6, 2015

.:December Fun:.

December really snuck up on me this year. With having Jabren, and then having his blessing on the last day of November, I feel like we didn't get to enjoy the season quite as much as we normally do. But we still managed to have some fun!

The girls have their own pink Christmas tree that we put in their room. They loved decorating it.

Jabes got his first Christmas ornament, and he was less than impressed.

We went to our ward Christmas party. The girls had fun sampling all of the cookies at the cookie bar, as well as making gum drop ornaments to hang on the little trees on the tables.

And Santa came to visit our party! Reece was all about telling him what she wanted for Christmas.

Rem and Harper were not so sure about Santa, but did the bare minimum in order to get a candy cane.

We were also able to go out to Grantsville to celebrate Christmas before we went up to Oregon. We did a fun white elephant exchange, and traded gifts with cousins. I didn't get many pictures that day, but we had a nice day with our Utah family.

Monday, January 5, 2015

.:Jabren's Blessing Day:.

We blessed Jabren back at the end of November. My parents were able to come a couple of days earlier, so we got to play! They treated us first to Big Hero 6, which the girls LOVED (it really is super cute)

Jabren's actual blessing day was November 30th. Doesn't he look handsome in his blessing outfit?

This is blessing outfit number two; he outgrew his first blessing outfit when he was about two weeks old! My parents were awesome and tracked down this darling one while they were on vacation. I love it!

Our family of six! I'm so grateful to have these people for eternity! They really are my favorite.

Josh gave an amazing blessing. I'm always in awe of hearing and feeling the priesthood at work. I'm truly grateful for his worthiness to hold the priesthood so that we are all able to take advantage of its many many blessings. I can't imagine our home without it!

Josh blessed Jabren with:

- the ability to understand the love of his heavenly and earthly parents

- know how important that love is

- blessed to be healthy and strong

- desire to learn both temporally and spiritually

- gain a testimony of his own

- to stand firm for what he believes in these last days

- have the light of the Savior as an example to him

- desire to serve a full time mission

- seek to find an eternal companion

- raise his family up unto the Lord

- be worthy of the Holy Ghost as his constant companion

- have the ability to discern good from evil

- desire to choose the good

In the circle was: Josh, Grandpa Paul, Grandpa Gary, Grandpa Ken, Ben, Sam, Mike, Ryan

Afterwards, we came back to our house with our family and friends for some food and fun. We did two different kinds of soups, rolls, fruit, and desserts.

Gramzee and Grandpa Paul with Jabes. So glad they always make it a priority to be at all of our events! It's certainly not easy to travel to us, and takes time, and we really appreciate it!

Getting some grandpa love from Grandpa Paul,

and Grandpa Gary.

Sam and Nikki came home a day early from their Thanksgiving travels to be here for the blessing; again, so appreciated! Ben and Sharon were also in town for Thanksgiving, so they were able to be here too. It was so great to have so many people from my family here! Only wish everyone could have been!

With my little brothers....

Grandma love.

Harper and Evie hanging out under the mat with Grandpa Paul. What a good grandpa!

It was a lovely weekend and day spent with our wonderful families and friends. We are so blessed, and Jabren is so loved!

Monday, December 29, 2014

.:Jabren - Two Months:.

Two Month Stats

Weight: 12.35 lb (73%)

Height: 23.62 in (80%)

This scrumptious boy turned two months at the beginning of December. How can it be?

He has really turned into such a content baby. He smiles often, and has this really flirty little expression on his face. It endears me to no end, and I feel like I've been rewarded for something every time he does it! I often catch him just looking at me and smiling, just waiting for me to notice. It's basically the cutest thing ever.

Jabes has gotten better at sleeping at nite. He usually wakes up somewhere around 2ish, but if I pull him into bed, I can pop his binky in and snuggle him back to sleep until somewhere between 3-4. I need to do that but return him to his bed so he can get used to that now! Then he doesn't usually eat again until 6-6:30, and I only top him off on one side so that he will stay asleep while I get up and get the girls ready for the day. Then he will eat again around 8 before we head out for school and exercise classes. It's a pretty good schedule; I just need to get him in his own bed now!

During the day, he goes anywhere from 2-4 hours between feedings. It usually depends if we are at home or out and about. If he is sleeping in his car seat, he can usually go longer. Sometimes I feel like all I do is nurse him!

Jabren has discovered his hands and LOVES to suck on them. I think he probably prefers them to a binky, though I am really trying to force the binky on him! He takes it okay, better some times than others.

Jabren's pediatrician checked his tongue and his heart murmur at his two month appointment. Murmur is gone (yay!) and he isn't really worried about his tongue. It's slight, and hasn't gotten in the way of him eating and gaining weight, so I don't think we'll be doing anything about it at this point. I do need to ask at his four month appointment if that is something that is more easily done as a baby, and if we should take any preventative measures with it or not.

Jabes is starting to find his little voice. And I love it! He is not super vocal yet, but you can tell that he is trying to get that sound out! I can't wait until he is doing it more. Baby coos are my favorite.

We have discovered that Jabren likes to lay underneath his play mat. The light at the top flashes colors, and he really loves it. Sometimes he can be entertained with a Baby Einstein movie for a short period of time as well. It's nice to have some activities for him to do when I need to get things done!

The girls continue to love on Jabes constantly. They love to rub his head, give him his binky, and make him smile. They are so enamored with him, it is really sweet!

We are about ready to graduate into size 3-6 month clothes. He is getting too long for 0-3 month stuff. Most pants and outfits turn into floods, and the sleeves are too short. He is a healthy guy! Every time we switch sizes, it makes me a little sad. I need to start getting rid of some of his old stuff but I can't bring myself to do it quite yet!