The Schmitts

Noah :: 5 Month Update

Dear Noah,

Today you are 5 months old. Before I forget, Happy New Year, buddy! You've accomplished quite a lot already in these first 25 days of 2013! This month was filled with lots of "firsts", which included your very first bite of rice cereal, your first ride in the "big boy" stroller, your first playgroup, and perhaps the biggest milestone you've reached thus far, your first time sitting up on your own.

It is so fun watching you learn. Lately, it seems like you are learning something new every day. Shortly before you learned to sit up, you discovered your feet, and you are absolutely infatuated with them :) One of your favorite activities now is to pull your socks off and just play with your feet (you like to "eat" them too). Sometimes you are perfectly content playing with your feet as opposed to your toys. Don't get me wrong though, you still LOVE your toys. Since you've learned to sit up, we've been introducing more and more "big boy" toys and you are really taking to them well. You love pretty much anything that plays music, but you are also a big fan of just good ole' stack-able cups.

This month was also Daddy's first trip to China since you've been born. You see, Daddy travels a lot for work and has been to some pretty amazing places...China, India, Singapore, Japan, and Germany just to name a few. Some day Daddy will tell you all about his travels. During this trip to China he visited The Great Wall and brought you back a postcard with your name written in Chinese. Pretty neat since he had it made just for you at The Great Wall! Both Mommy and Daddy love to travel, and we hope to instill that love for travel in you someday as well.

Last month we thought you might be teething, but alas, still no teeth. You went through a mini sleep regression right as you turned 4 months (which was part of the reason why we thought you might be teething), but that was luckily followed by 9-10 straight hours of sleeping at night. Your naps are slowly but surely getting better and more consistent as well. Yay for sleep! Sleep helps you grow big and strong! With your sleep/feeding schedule becoming more consistent, we've evolved into a pretty solid routine over the last month or so. I'm sure our routine will change again quicker than I can blink, but here is a look at your "schedule" right now:

6am - Wake up; bottle; go back to sleep (usually for about 1.5 - 2 hours)
8am - Wake up for the day!
10am - Bottle + breakfast (rice cereal); begin nap routine
10:30am - Nap (this nap can vary from 30 min to 1 hour...usually 30 min)
1:30pm - Bottle; begin nap routine
1:45pm - Nap (this nap can vary from 30 min to 1.5 hours)
5:00pm - Bottle + dinner (rice cereal)
7:30pm - Bath; begin bedtime routine; bottle
8:30pm - Bedtime

Can't wait to see what this next month brings as you approach your 6 month birthday!

Until next time, here are some of my favorite snapshots from your 5th month.

You & Daddy on New Years Day watching the Michigan bowl game

1st taste of rice cereal

Attempting to "eat" your rubber ducky

A photo of you not napping during nap time ;)

Saturday morning piano lessons ;)

Playing with your ball popping Dino toy

(here you were just sitting up for a few seconds at a time)

You are my heart :)

You found your feet!

One of my absolute favorite photos of you (@ 20 weeks old)

Sitting up is fun!

You are an official "sitter"!

You love your stack-able cups!

No height/weight stats this month, but you are still in 6 month clothes and size 2 diapers...for now :)

I love you,

Mommy

Noah :: 4 Month Update

Dear Noah,

You turned 4 months old on Christmas Day this year, so I am writing this letter a few days later this month. We just got home from our trip to NY, where we celebrated Christmas with Daddy's side of the family. You got to meet so many new family members, including all of your cousins. You are such a loved little boy. You received so many wonderful gifts from family and friends. You are very blessed, Noah. Some day Mommy and Daddy will teach you the true meaning of Christmas, and how to give to others who may not be as fortunate as you are.

This month you showed a lot of developmental progress with your motor skills. You are now a pro at tummy time, picking up your head, chest, and shoulders off of the ground in the form of a baby push-up :) You have also become quite the little rolling machine...you love rolling from your back to belly while playing with toys. We are now practicing sitting up, and you are slowly but surely getting the hang of it (still with support, for now, but getting stronger every day). We even put you in your exersaucer this month, and it has become your new favorite toy!

Your favorite time of day is morning. You are always so smiley in the morning. You love to be sung to, and it is almost always a surefire way to get you to smile :) You are laughing more and more, and you are also beginning to "find" your voice now too. We love to make you laugh and are still waiting for that first big belly laugh.

Mommy and Daddy think you may even be teething, as you are drooling a ton and are constantly chewing on your hands and putting all of your toys in your mouth. Only time will tell, but we think you may be cutting your 1st tooth very soon.

You are growing so fast, buddy. Every month brings more and more change. We can't wait to see your personality emerge over these next few months. You are truly the biggest blessing in our lives.

Here are some of my favorite snapshots from your 4th month.

This is your "tummy time" face - so curious of the world around you

Baby push-ups :)

Just hangin' with Sophie

Gymbo the Clown (our Gymboree class mascot) is your new favorite toy

Practicing sitting up!

Daddy & son looking quite handsome :)

Nap? Who needs a nap when you can roll over instead?!

Just hanging out at home on a Friday night...simple pleasures & big smiles!

Doing a little reading (Mommy used to read this book when she was a little girl)

Big smiles playing with Daddy

You love "talking" to the alligator on your hanging comforter

Playing in your exersaucer

Christmas photo shoot

Christmas photo shoot #2

Looking very dapper on Christmas Day :)

Here are your 4 month stats:

Weight: 15 lbs., 7 oz.
Height: 26"
Clothing Size: 3-6 months; 6 months

I love you,

Mommy

Noah :: 3 Month Update

Dear Noah,

Today you are three months old, which means you've officially graduated from newborn status! Today was one of my favorite days since you've been born...we woke up to the 1st snowfall of the year and spent the day putting up the tree and decorating the house for Christmas.

Last night we made the long drive home from NC, where we spent Thanksgiving visiting with Mommy's side of the family. You did unbelievably well for your 1st road trip! When we got home yesterday afternoon, we spent lots of time playing with you, and you surprised us by rolling over 2x! Not only did you roll from your tummy to your back last night, you also gave us your 1st little laugh while playing "horsey" with Daddy!

We've had a busy month since I last wrote to you on your 2 month birthday! For Halloween, we dressed you up as a baby cow. It was a bit too chilly to take you out trick-or-treating, so we stayed inside while Daddy handed out candy to the neighborhood trick-or-treaters. Grandma Schmitt also came to visit us the week of Halloween. You had so much fun playing with her!

After Halloween, we started Play & Learn classes at Gymboree where we've had tons of fun learning new songs and playing games together. The class is full of little ones all around the same age as you, and right now, it's all boys too, which makes it even better! Boys rule! ;) You LOVE the colorful parachute we get to play with at each class. Everytime you see it, you kick your arms and legs like crazy!! It makes me smile so much seeing you get so excited during class.

This month also brought the unfortunate sickies to our house, and you ended up catching your 1st cold :( You were still as playful and smiley as ever though! Let's hope we don't have to go through another sickness for quite awhile!

Perhaps your biggest new change this month is your interest in playing with toys. It was almost overnight it seemed that you went from just simply holding a rattle for a few seconds when placed in your hand, to now actually reaching for toys and shaking them. Your new favorite thing is putting any and everything in your mouth. In fact, you've gotten so good with your hands, that you've actually taken your pacifier in/out of your mouth completely on your own several times now. Your Daddy and I are so amazed by your growth. You've come such a long way with tummy time, and your head control continues to get better with each day. We even put you in your Bumbo seat this month to help you practice sitting up.

Oh, and I can't forget to tell you your other big news this month...you started sleeping through the night right around 11 weeks. It's not quite every night yet...you still have a few nights here and there where you'll get up once a night (usually around 4am), but you've come so far since those early newborn days. Mommy and Daddy are very grateful for the extra sleep :)

We don't have any height/weight stats for you this month (your next well-visit with the pediatrician is at 4 months), but I have a feeling you're getting close to 14lbs. You are still wearing 3 month sized clothes, but we're slowly starting to transition you into your 3-6 month clothes, along with size 2 diapers.

Here are some of my favorite snapshots from your 3rd month.

Cuddles with Mr. Bear

Happy Halloween (your face here cracks me up)!

Such a sweet face :)

Going to vote with Mommy

Trying to fit your ball in your mouth (your new favorite toy!)

1st time in your Bumbo

Typical afternoon of playtime (you love your ball)!

Still smiling despite having your 1st cold

Happy Thanksgiving!

Our 1st Thanksgiving as a family of 3 :)

Playing peak-a-boo with Grandma

Someone stole Mommy's milkshake!

Too cool ;)

Headed out for some Black Friday shopping in our shades

All tuckered out from a busy Thanksgiving week (and still trying to fit as many things as possible into your mouth)!

Wow, we sure had a busy month, didn't we?! I'm pretty sure this next month will be just as busy, as we prepare for the holiday season and your very 1st Christmas!

I love you,

Mommy

Real Life > Facebook

I've had an iPhone for many years now. I love my iPhone, and all the wonderful and convenient things it does for my daily life, but lately I can't help but think how much my phone takes me away from real life. If you stop and think about it, we're on our phones quite a bit during the day. I can't speak for everyone, but I'd be afraid to actually count the number of minutes or even hours I'm on my phone each day...it's so easy to pick up your phone and browse Facebook while watching TV or waiting in line at the grocery store or while feeding the baby, etc... Name pretty much any "downtime" activity, and the first thing many of us do is reach for our phones to scroll through the Facebook timeline or read through the Twitter feed. And for what, really?! Sure, we all want to keep in touch with our friends and see the latest happenings with their lives, but how much do we REALLY need to see every photo and every status update from our 350+ friends? We don't! If we stop and think about it, the people that matter most to us in life are very likely only a phone call (or text/email) away. 9/10 times I communicate with my friends and family via phone or email anyways...I don't need Facebook to keep up with their lives, other than the occasional photo or two that I do very much enjoy seeing.

As a new mom, I'm constantly learning (and looking for) new ways to be more efficient with my time during the day. One thing I could stand to cut back on is the use of my iPhone...especially social media.

I recently read a blog post about a challenge to give up social media on the weekends. For what, you ask? To take the time to make what MATTERS happen. For family time. For picnics in the park. For dinner with good friends. For trying new recipes. For exploring new places. Whatever matters to you. Sorry for the buzz kill, but Facebook does NOT matter in the grand scheme of life.

Am I going to give up Facebook and social media completely? No. I am, however, going to make a conscious effort to use it less to make time for what really matters in life. More quality time with my son. More quality time with my husband. More time for play dates and lunches with friends. More time for REAL LIFE. I recently signed Noah and I up for a weekly infant play class in the hopes we'd get to learn new things together and meet some new friends along the way. Our first class was so.much.fun, and I'm already looking forward to going again! There's nothing new and exciting my son is going to learn from looking at the phone all day, so it's important to me to adopt new habits in my own daily life before he's old enough to ask "why is Mommy on her phone again?".

On a final note, I do get that sometimes we all need a little "mindless" free time to unwind from the day, and for many of us, that means playing around with the various social media apps on our smartphones. We're only human and no one is perfect. What I am challenging myself to do is to use it less as a whole, not cut it out entirely.

Here's to making what matters happen!

Noah :: 2 Month Update

Dear Noah,

Today you are two months old! Your Daddy and I have seen so many amazing changes in you since your one month birthday. One of the biggest milestones you've achieved this past month is SMILING! :) Your smile makes my heart happier than you will ever know, little guy. You are smiling more and more every day and you continue to learn new things on a daily basis. Your new favorite things are rolling on to your side, making fun noises (other than crying...yay!), learning to hold your rattle (and sticking it in your mouth!), and just this morning Mommy found you turned all the way around in your crib!

You still love your activity mat and are batting at your toys like crazy! It is so fun to watch you look at your toys, think about it, then take a big swing at them :) In fact, as I type this, you are happily playing on your activity mat.

We are still working on getting a nap schedule going, but in the mean time, you've made fantastic progress sleeping at night. At the end of month 1, you were just transitioning from getting up 3x a night down to 2x. Now, just last week, you made the jump from two nightly feedings down to ONE! Good job, bud! We've got our bedtime routine established, which now includes a 30 minute Baby Einstein movie before we change into our jammies. You LOVE watching it. In fact, you are pretty much mesmerized by it. We have no idea if you can make out the shapes/pictures on the screen, or if you just like the flashing lights, but either way, it keeps you calm and happy before bed.

Today we had your two month check up with the pediatrician, and you weigh 12 lbs., 2 oz.! You got a great report today and are growing right on track! Your two month check up also meant it was time for your first round of shots and you were such a brave little man. You did much better than I had anticipated. In fact, I think you were braver than Mommy ;) Daddy came with us and held your hand while Mommy stayed back and turned her head (Mommy is a wimp!).

Next week is Halloween, and this weekend Grandma Schmitt is coming to visit us from NY. With the holidays coming up, we've got lots of fun activities to look forward to, including your first road trip next month for Thanksgiving.

Here are some of my favorite snapshots of your 2nd month.