sweet laughter

Here's a video of Cody laughing...I try for hours to get a little giggle out of the boy, and Bentley walks in the room wanting to play, and Cody thinks he's hilarious...figures!!  Enjoy! :)

this is what happens when...

....Douglas gets Cody ready in the morning.

Enough Said!!

**I will explain though...Doug thought I had gotten a shirt out for Cody, not a onesie.  So once he had the pants on and discovered it was a onesie, he just decided to snap it over the pants instead of pulling them down and snappin the onesie under...gotta love him!!

Cody's 5 Month Birthday! and Valentine's Day!

How fast time flies!  Yesterday was Cody's 5 month birthday and it was also Valentine's day.

Doug and I decided not to get each other gifts this year.  Gifts are always nice, but to me, gifts are so much better when unexpected.  Valentine's day was fun this year because we both had our favorite little Valentine to share it with - so no gift other than Cody was needed!  We have a tradition that was started by my mom, and it's one that I can remember doing every single Valentine's day when I was growing up...A candlelit dinner of spaghetti, salad and sparkling grape juice (for the kids) (wine for the adults :)).

I have kept that tradition going since Doug and I have been married.  It's something special for us to do on that day of love, and hopefully our kids will enjoy it in the future, as much as my brother and I did growing up!

Doug:  Thank you for being my Valentine...the Valentine that I will have for the rest of my life.  I love you more today than the day we were married, which I wasn't sure was even possible!  Thank you for being the amazing father that you are to our son.  Thank you for making me laugh every.single.day!  Thank you for being you!!

Now, on to Cody's 5 month Birthday...

Cody is growing like a weed, and doing and learning new things every day.  Right now, he is trying his darndest to sit up!  Every time he is in his bouncy seat, he has to be strapped in because he sits forward to sit up.  I can't believe how big he is getting, and how much changes in 5 short months! 

Mommy Cries
by Ashley R. Smiley

The waters will still ebb and flow,
The moon still pulls the tide.
But nothing could be more naturally so,
Than the tears from a mothers eyes.
It starts the day your child is born when he's first laid upon your breast,
In spite of pain from muscles worn,
Heartstrings tug at your chest.
Tear drops fall from sleepy eyes and trickle down your cheeks,
You listen as your child first cries for your breast which he seeks.
Time has passed the pain is gone; a bonding has taken place,
You look at your little one; the tears still on your face.
Just once more you look at him before you lay him down to sleep,
You reach out for a kiss on a whim; knowing your heart is his to keep.

I love you to the moon and back a million times and more, Cody Douglas...Thank you for being my little Valentine!

**I'll be posting a picture of Cody in his Valentine onesie...we're having a few problems with our internet at the moment**

Thankful

Cody, I am so thankful that you have such awesome grandparents!  Grandpa (Blackford) watches you for momma at the drop of a hat and I know he enjoys every minute of it!  I guarantee that Grandma (Blackford) would be right there with him if she didn't have to work!  And your Grandma and Grandpa (Stefan) love to babysit you as well!  I know that both sets of grandparents adore you, as well as great-grandparents which you are blessed to know! 

Thank you all so much for your willingness to help - you have no idea how much it means to us!

New Routine

After a month of Cody no longer sleeping through the night, I've decided to try a new routine.  After our little (or not so little) choking incident, I decided that crying it out is not for Cody.  I'm not against it, but it just doesn't work for Cody - he doesn't stop crying.  I've been doing some research, and I have made up my mind that I'm going to get serious on giving him a bedtime routine. 

Code has always been on a schedule...ok, more like just an eating schedule since he refuses to nap (we're gonna get serious about that once we get this bedtime nightmare worked out!).  He eats about 5-6 ounces every three hours, six times a day.  He was on a 6, 9, 12, 3, 6, 9 schedule but was giving me cues that he needed to go to bed before 9 p.m., so I moved his schedule to have his last feeding at 8 p.m.

When he was a newborn, I was very good about going into his room to read to him, rock him and then put him to sleep.  But in the past few months, I will admit that I've been a bit slack on that.  I read to him every day, but not at bedtime anymore.  It's become more of 'Cody hangs out in the living room with mom and dad until he's almost asleep and then put him to bed' kind of thing.  I know, that's not good.  He needs to be able to have some calming down time before bed...but to be honest, I just love hanging out with my husband and my son, so it was hard to 'break up' that family time.  Silly me! 

After doing my research, I decided to get serious about having a bedtime routine that we can take well into Cody's future. 

Bathtime, book, boob :), one more book if he's not quite ready and then once he is drowsy but not asleep, put him in his crib and walk out.  If he starts to cry, I will wait one minute and then go in to put his paci back in, and try to soothe him without talking or looking him in the eye.  I will stay in there for no longer than a minute, and leave (even if he is still crying).  Then I will go in after three minutes have passed and do the same.  This will continue on if he is not asleep to 5 min. then 7 min. and finally 10 min.  If by this time he has not fallen asleep, I will start over at one.

I have high hopes for this and look forward to posting on whether or not it is working for us! 

pictures

Once again, I've been very bad about posting pictures...so here are a few pics from December, January and the beginning of February!!