Nixon: Four Months

It's hard to believe another month has gone by already, but somehow Nixon is four months old.  Seriously little one, you're growing up way too fast!  It's been so fun to start seeing his personality really start developing over the last few weeks.  He loves to "talk," and sometimes makes himself laugh when he makes a funny sound.  He's grabbing onto toys and is so close to rolling from his tummy to his back.  As far as his sleep schedule, he's still waking up around twice a night to eat, but he never has problems going right back to sleep so I can't complain too much.

We celebrated his four month birthday yesterday by getting another round of shots.  Poor baby screamed through them again, but he doesn't seem nearly as uncomfortable this time.  He's in the 68th percentile for weight at 15.5 lbs and the 64th percentile for length at 25 inches.  His head, however, is in the 83rd percentile for size, which could explain why he doesn't like tummy time very much anymore.  That's a lot of head to hold up.

What Nixon has been loving this month:

• Bathtime is still a favorite, even more now that the fun of splashing has been discovered.  He'll kick his little legs, look at me to see my reaction, and then smile really big.  It's adorable.
• Talking - Nixon has definitely discovered his voice.  His sounds range from soft little coos to incredibly high-pitched baby dinosaur shrieks.  I like to joke that he holds contests with himself on how weird of a sound he can make.
• Riding in the car.  The exceptions to this one include when he's hungry, too hot, or when the car stops.  As long as he's comfortable and the car's moving, he just hangs out in his carseat, looking around and talking to himself.
• Looking at everything.  He is turning into quite the curious baby, and he's usually happiest being walked around so he can take it all in.  Happy baby, arm workout for mom.  Win win.

Nixon: Three Months

How is our little baby three months old already?  Seriously, time is flying.  Nixon grows and changes every day, and we are loving every second.  Just in the last couple days he's started laughing (which is the cutest sound ever) and hitting at the toys on his play gym.  He hasn't tried grabbing yet, but I don't think it's too far away.  Sleeping has been getting better, he's usually up only twice during the night now, although we've had a couple seven hour stretches.  I'm really hoping that becomes the norm soon.

Things Nixon has been loving lately:

• His play mat/gym.  Especially now that Mommy finally got batteries for it.  He loves the colored lights and music.
• "Standing" on our laps.  We're still supporting him, obviously, but he loves practicing.
• Looking at anything and everything.  This little guy is so curious.  

Nixon also got his first Easter basket.  The Easter bunny brought him a new outfit for summer, a few toys, and some chocolate (which mom and dad will eat, since this is probably the only year we'll be able to get away with it).  

And lastly, because they're so adorable, a couple outtakes from his three month photo shoot of Daddy trying to get him to smile.

Springtime in Italy

Spring has officially arrived to our corner of Italy.  The other day, we stopped by the Rotunda (also known as Villa Capri, one of the villas in Vicenza designed by Palladio) to take some photos.  The fields around the villa are in bloom with gorgeous yellow flowers, making the villa even more picturesque.  There has been some debate over what the flowers actually are, but the consensus is the canola plant.  All I know is they're pretty.

And of course no blog post would be complete without adorable baby pictures.

A Weekend in Umbria

Last weekend, we headed south to the region of Umbria to spend a few days with Donovan's cousin and his family.  In our three years of living in Italy, we somehow haven't made it much south of Bologna.  Now, we're wondering how it took us so long to venture south, because the Tuscany/Umbria area is beautiful.  We spent the weekend touring a couple hill towns, eating amazing food, and enjoying time with family.  Nixon did great on his first road trip and he loved meeting his second cousins.

Rooftops in Amelia

Nixon stayed happy in his carrier while we walked around town

The Duomo in Orvieto

An eagle on the Orvieto Duomo

Nixon snoozing in Orvieto

At a Leonardo da Vinci exhibit in Assisi

In Assisi - Nixon is hiding from the sun

Assisi and the Basilica of St. Francis in the background

Baby sunglasses are the cutest

Keeping it real - diaper change in the car

Coolest baby in the world

double digits

Our little man has hit double digits...10 weeks old!  He's currently sleeping on me after being traumatized by his two month shots this morning.  Poor baby screamed his lungs out, but he made it through.  His legs seem to be pretty sore now, but so far lots of snuggles are keeping him fairly happy.  The exciting part of his appointment was finding out his height and weight.  He's still our tall baby at almost 24 inches and has chunked up to a nice 13 pounds.  He gets complimented on his adorably chubby cheeks quite often, and yes, they are as kissable as they look.

Hopefully the effects of his shots don't last for too long and he's back to his happy self.  Until that happens, I'll take advantage of the extra cuddle time.  We're spending this weekend in Umbria (baby's first trip!), so I'll be back next week with more photos!

This kid's expressions are hilarious

The one eye open is a classic Nixon look

After Donovan being gone for two weeks, someone was really happy to see Daddy

No Daddy, this is not how we nap...

...this is how we nap.

Nixon: Two Months

Our little monkey is two months old already!  We have been soaking up every second with our precious little guy and we love watching him grow and change.  The  most exciting achievement this month? We have smiles!  They're still a bit elusive, and I can't tell you how much time I've spent trying to get a picture of one, but every time that little face looks at me and breaks out into an adorable smile my heart just melts.

His two month check-up isn't for a few more days, so we're not sure what his exact weight is right now, but he's been busy getting nice and chunky.  Seriously, I feel like every day we wake up and he's bigger.  Newborn size clothing is long gone and even some of his 0-3 pieces are getting a bit short.  Sleeping is still the same, he wakes up every three hours or so to eat, but sleeps great in between.  It takes a lot of milk to grow so fast.  I'll be back with an update on all his stats after his check-up.

Some of Nixon's favorite things this month:
-Taking naps in Mommy's arms.  This baby takes the best naps when I'm holding him, and even though naptimes are my only chance to get anything done, I have to admit that most of the time I can't bear to put him down (he's actually snoozing as I type this, so I'm multi-tasking with snuggling and one-handed blog post writing).
-Still loving baths.  Still hating getting out of the tub.
-Looking around at everything.  It's so fun watching him take in his surroundings.