6 month stats...more to come later

I'm so behind! James is now 7 months but here are his 6 month stats and pictures:

6 month stats:
length: 28.5" (96th percentile)
weight: 18.1 lbs. (68th percentile)


more updates to come in the next few days!

The many faces of King James at 5.5 months

4 months old!

So this post is a bit late, but James turned 4 months old on May 11th! He continues to delight and amaze us. We took him to his 4 month appointment and all is well!

4 month stats:
length: 26 1/4" (88%)
weight: 16 lbs (63%)

James has discovered his lips and is constantly making bilabial babbling sounds. He squeals in delight and is completely and utterly gorgeous! Life is crazy but we're managing to enjoy baby James during this stage in our lives. James is very alert and has many, many expressions that cross his face daily. We try to capture them as frequently as possible! Here are some of James favourites (and not so favourites):

Likes:
nappy changing
sitting upright (with help from either myself or Nathan)
eating
sleeping
books
smiling/cooing/laughing/squealing
having his clothes changes (he loves this!)
my hair
his fists
sucking his finger and occasionally his thumb
splashing during bath time

dislikes:
not liking his binkie so much these days but will still take it once in a while
the teething process
being immobile
startling sounds
boredom

I have officially finished work until the autumn! Hooray! I am now gearing up for my crazy summer semester at Utah State. Last year during my crazy summer semester I was in my first trimester of pregnancy feeling very ill. I wonder if this summer will be better (not being ill) or worse (having an almost 5 month old)? Hmmm. I'll let you know. ;)

In sad news, my best friend moved back to Southern California a few weeks ago. :( I am still mourning. I can't even talk about it. Feel bad for me.

I had another best friend get married to a brilliant man. I am so thrilled for their new life together. They make me happy. :)


Jessica and Joel, May 6, 2011



James is my little Slytherin. He can usually be found smiling with his tongue out. He may even speak Parseltongue, we don't know yet. ;)


In VERY GREAT NEWS, my most excellent and brilliant mother graduated with her Doctorate in Educational Leadership! She is now officially Dr. Taylor. This is a tremendous accomplishment. She is a mother to seven children, a grandmother to 26 children, works full time as an Education Specialist for USOE (specializing in Autism and Communication Disorders), is a full-time professor in the University of Phoenix (UOP) special education department, and is also a lead faculty for UOP... all this whilst working on her Ed.D. Amazing.

Being announced.



Receiving her diploma. :)

Week 12

Baby James is 12 weeks old today! He is very active, alert, and a bit fussy at night time. He fights his sleep. We're working on this! Although, once he does settle, he gives us 6 - 9 hours of sleep before waking to eat again. Thank you, son!

Likes:
books
his nappy being changed (this is new!)
mum and dad face time
cooing
eating
sleeping (when he's not fighting it!)
bath time
being massaged with Dr. Christopher's Bone & Tissue ointment
going on walks
his carseat
his mobile
quiet cousins

dislikes
20 minutes before bedtime
20 minutes before naptime
loud cousins


James with dried milk next to his lip - I must not have wiped him very well the previous night after feeding him. Oops!



James smiles and coos constantly. We love having conversations together. :)




Not much else is going on here. Nathan's brother Simon and his wife Lisa are visiting us for a week. We're looking forward to seeing them on Saturday. I've not seen them for almost 2 years! We're sending them off to Arches and Canyonlands to get a flavor of Utah. :) James is getting blessed this Sunday - will post pictures. I'm nearly finished with this semester of school - thank goodness!

Big Baby Boy

James is getting huge! He is just over 2.5 months old and is nearly grown out of his 6 month clothing...he's just so long! He is giving us 6, 7 and 8 hour sleep nights for which I am grateful! My maternity leave is over. I'm adjusting okay with having to go back to work - it's nice being able to leave James at home with dad rather than having to take him to a sitter. Still exhausted though.

We (me, Nathan and mum) had a good time shooting our commercial a few weeks back. It's nice to make some quick money when you need it most! I did another maternity catalogue the other day. Although this time, I wore a fake belly which was far worse than a real belly.

So I'm typing one-handed and I'll finish this post later when James is asleep.


james at 2 months. he is smiling and cooing consistently!

Stats at two months:
weight: 13 lbs




Mum getting her make-up on for the shoot


mum and me rehearsing with a stuffed animal. fun!


Lilac Clothing Fall/Winter 2011 Maternity shoot

Week 7: Lots of poo, more smiles, and... we got the job!

James is 7 weeks old today. I still can't believe how lucky I am to be his mum. He is such a gorgeous baby! This week, James has pooed and peed MANY times outside of his nappy. Hmmm. He peed on his face yesterday and had a little "taste" (i.e. licked his lips when he felt the pee sprinkling his face.) Oh, dear. I guess we still haven't figured out that certain grunts mean "I'm about to poo and pee all over you." :)

James has been smiling more and more! He continues to be sweet and happy. As I mentioned in an earlier post, we (me, Nathan, Nana Jocelyn and James) auditioned for a commercial a few weeks ago. Well, we heard yesterday that we all, with the exception of James, booked the job! They wanted a brand new baby and James is just too big and tall to look like a newborn. :( So, I'll be working with someone else's 10 day old baby instead of my adorable 7 week old baby. Nevertheless, it's still exciting to be working with my mum and husband on a commercial.

:)
This is James being cute. :)



James having had his face and body cleaned of pee; a very tired mum.


James with his great grandmother Lula Anderson.


Working on smiling. :)

Week 6: Cooing, Smiling, Eating (loads!), etc. etc.

James turned 6 weeks old this past Tuesday. He is working on smiling and cooing - not quite mastered but getting there! He is also demanding a lot of mummy and daddy face time (what a clever lad) which is an indication of his little brain developing normally! James eats...and eats...and eats. He is now weighing 12.5 lbs. and is long, lean, and lovely! When he was 4 weeks, we FINALLY moved him into his own room. Wow. What a difference. We also have a video baby monitor that is completely brilliant! What a time we live in to have such amazing baby paraphernalia! James had his first commercial audition this past week. He did a fine job sleeping whilst I pretended to bathe him. No word yet as to whether or not we did a fine job auditioning. Nathan and Nana Jocelyn also auditioned with us - the client wanted to see a real family. :)

Likes:
Mum
Dad
Nana Jocelyn
Papa Reed
Skyping with his English family
Being held
The piano (I need a resident pianist to play...James wants to be held when I play thus rendering any attempts at proper playing useless)
His Tournee du Chat Noir art poster above his crib
Dr. Quinn (mostly through classical conditioning...I watch this whilst he eats. :) I can’t watch any other programs because they are not relaxing enough. I find that “Quinny”, as Nathan has named it, is easy to watch whilst nursing.)
Light from outside
bath time
pooing
sucking his pacifier

Dislikes:
nappy changing

Well, I only have 3 weeks of maternity leave left. Then, life will become more challenging! Up all night (mostly to feed - James really is a great sleeper), work all day! Ahhh!! In addition, I am preparing for a few modeling gigs coming up which requires me to start exercising again (it has been nearly a full year!) Ah, well. This current semester of my master’s program has been a blessing in that my professor is allowing all of our exams to be open book...*sigh*...God certainly has been merciful!

We absolutely adore James more and more everyday. Parenthood is amazing.


This is James at 1 month. He looks like Max from Where The Wild Things Are. :)


We took James to my dear friend Regina's wedding a few weeks ago. He was a champ - slept the whole time! James and I did, however, do one session of breast feeding in the corner of the 9th floor lobby at the Joseph Smith Memorial Building... THAT was exciting.