Clint and the 'Rents

Thursday, October 1, 2009

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Clint is sad that baseball season is wraping up.

Clint took a solid 25 minute nap in Wal-Mart this morning, and woke up happy. When we got home, Clint played on the playmat in the living room while I unloaded the groceries. Shortly thereafter, I fed him and got him ready for his nap. I am happy to report that I was able to put him in his bed drowsy, but awake, and he went to sleep! He had been sleeping for a good hour when my paranoia kicked in. Surely, Clint couldn't be resting peacefully, so I decided to check on him. Sure enough, he was asleep and happy (I suppose). By the time I made it back downstairs, he was awake and fussing a little bit. Now, the book I am reading about child/baby sleep says a well rested child will wake up happy. Clint was not a well rested child. He scowled at me when I went back in his room. I knew he needed - and really wanted - to go back to sleep, but he was having trouble. After putting the pacifier back in his mouth a few times, I finally picked him up. He fell back asleep, so I put him in his carseat right beside me so I could monitor his waking up. He was in and out for about half an hour, and then he woke up happy.

The moral to this story: If it sounds like he is sleeping soundly, trust God that he is, and let him sleep!!!

Saturday, September 26, 2009

Bragging

Oh yeah, and Clint sleeps all night, and has since he turned six weeks old. He goes to bed between 9pm and 9:30pm, and generally wakes up around 8am! We have our occasional mishaps, but for the most part, we follow this schedule. Napping...now that's a different story, but at least we get to sleep at night!

Busy Clint

Sorry for the delay, folks. Clint has been super busy!!! So busy, in fact, that he didn't even get a two month post. So today Clint is 12 weeks old. He will be three months on October 4th. He is smiling all the time, and it sounds like he is laughing, too! Clint has started doing ab crunches - gotta stay in shape! He tries to sit up when we hold him in a cradle-like position, or when he is strapped into his carseat. He holds his up up very proudly, and he can sit in his bumbo seat. He also likes to sit on the couch with Momma and watch TV. I like to watch Family Fued while I eat lunch, and I have to be mindful to change the channel when its over because that's when Maury comes on. Smut...pure smut.

At his two month check-up, which was at about nine and a half weeks, Clint weighed 12 lbs, 6 oz, and he was 25 1/4 inches long. Because he is so long, he is already wearing 9 month clothes! He doesn't fill them out much width-wise, but he needs every bit of the length in his torso and legs. It is still hard for me to believe, considering his parents' heights. It has been challenging to dress him in this warm weather, since most of his clothes that fit now are long sleeves and sweat pants. Fortunately, he has a few outfits that are September-in-Texas-appropriate that were likely intended to be worn next Spring. I was excited about our not-as-hot-front this past week!!!

Here are some of the events of the last two months:

Clint's first Astros game (we won't discuss the score). He did really well. He slept in the front carrier on the short walk to the park - Craig found us some close free parking! Then, he was awake for most of the game.

He fell asleep after the 7th inning stretch, and we stayed for the whole game. He slept through the walk back and the drive home, too! It was a great first game experience for all three of us.

Clint's first Kolache Festival in Caldwell, TX. For the last several years, we've tried to go to this event with Trent and Rachel. I think I had only been once, and the guys had gone one year, and last year, Ike didn't allow the trip. This year, there was no hurricane, but it sure did rain!!! Clint was nice and dry (for the most part) in his stroller, with his Daddy carrying the umbrella over it.

When we got home, we relaxed and watched some college football. Yes, that is Aggie maroon, the outfit Craig got for him for me in my stocking last Christmas!!

Clint also got to meet his Great Grandpa Clinton Rutherford, after whom he is named, and Mamaw, too, but we didn't get pictures of her on this card. We'll have to update later!!

You can really see the resemblance in this picture. :-)

Clint has stayed by himself at both of his grandparents' houses so Momma could do things like exchange some of his clothes for bigger sizes, get the car looked at, and get a haircut.

Yesterday, we went to meet Kakki and Trey and Aunt Jenn at Candy Cane Park in Conroe. Incidently, this is where Jenn and I used to have birthday parties when we were little. Of course, all of the play equipment is different (probably a good thing), but the little gazebo where we had cake is still there! It was fun to watch Trey play, and Kakki packed a picnic lunch for us. Clint enjoyed it for a little while, then took a nap. And since there were more adults than children at this outing, I got to play, too!

Tonight, Craig went to a concert with Ray, so he suggested that Clint and I go out on a date, so we did. Any guesses? That's right! We went to Freebirds!!! Once Clint woke up, I got lots of smiles!!! Good call, Craig!!

Rookie Mistake

I'm pretty sure I just woke Clint up watching a video of Clint. I didn't realize the volume was up so high. Oops.

Sunday, August 2, 2009

Happy Clint!!!

Clint has been giving us hints of smiles for the last couple of weeks, but we haven't really been sure whether they were on purpose or not. We still enjoyed them thouroughly, but tonight, he put on a really good show. It is the previous post. This was the most facial activity we have gotten yet. Usually, we just get the stare, and we have been so happy to have that stare. I was so happy that all of this cooing and smiling happened while we were both here and while I had my phone handy to capture the moment. I have only watched the video six or eight times, but I'll probably watch it another few times before I go to bed.

Clint was four weeks old yesterday, and he'll be one month officially on Tuesday, August 4th. It is hard to believe. Time kind of stood still for me after June 26th. Clint has a weight check on Tuesday, so hopefully he's gained the appropriate amount of weight. I know he is getting longer. He is going to be "longer" than his Momma before we can refer to this measurement as "height." He wasn't quite back up to his birth weight at his two week check, so the doctor just wants to make sure he is still gaining. He eats well, especially in the evenings. In fact, that is pretty much all he does in the evenings. He probably eats four times between 4pm and 9pm. We put him to bed between 9:30 and 10pm, and he only wakes up once during the night to eat - usually between 3 and 4am. Then, he sleeps again until around 7am.

One night last week, (Wednesday night, when we tried to go church) Clint ate almost constantly from the time we got back home (after attempting to go to church) at 6:45pm until almost 10pm. Then, something magical happened. He slept until 6am. He went to sleep at 10pm. That is eight hours, my friends!!! And even though we got up to check on him probably 5 or 6 times (between the two of us), it was nice to be able to go back to sleep right away. The two times I got up, I would hear him on the monitor, and by the time I got to his room, he was out again, so I didn't bother him. He certainly was hungry Thursday morning!!!

We have been blessed that Clint has allowed us to sleep for good stretches at a time. He is also fairly easy to get back to sleep after he eats in the middle of night. I know that I am spoiled, and if we have another little one someday, I hope Clint will teach him or her how it is supposed to work around here!

During the day, Clint has started playing with some of his toys. We have some on the sides of the changing table (Thanks Melissa!) and he bats at them and looks at them. It is really amazing to see him discover things like that. I bathe him in the baby bath tub on the counter in our bathroom, and Clint LOVES to look at the little baby next to him in the other baby bathtub on the adjacent bathroom counter. (That other baby is pretty cute, too.) He has a mirror that attaches to the side of the crib, and we put it in there with him sometimes when he is playing by himself, or we'll put it beside him on the changing table. He just loves that other baby!! I can't blame him. I tend to stare at him, too.

Clint does very well playing alone, which of course, means that he is pretty much just staring at his toys, or maybe reaching toward them. I try to put the parts the crackle under him so that when he moves, they make noise. This morning, after I got him ready for church, I put him in his crib with the mirror and some toys while we got ready, and he was perfectly content (and awake) for about 30-45 minutes. Everytime I went in there, he was just looking at something.

This month has gone by so fast!! We are enjoying Clint so much. He is so sweet to hold and cuddle and play with and stare at and listen to. His little show tonight made us so happy!!! Don't forget to check it out (below)!!!