Drake is going to be 4 months old next week! wow how time flies. This picture was taken last weekend- look at the difference from when Drake was born to now! My good little eater has almost tripled in size:-)

1st parenting battle won!... for now at least....

Drake's personality has really started to come out lately. It has been so much fun seeing him transform from this little tiny newborn, to this active, alert, happy and funny 3 month old! Along with all these great personality traits he has also shown that he is a stubborn little guy! (who could he have gotten that from?!?! hehe.)

While Drake is at childcare during the week he is fed a bottle, since I obviously can't nurse on demand. By the end of last week Drake started pitching a fit any time I tried to nurse him, because it doesn't come out as fast as the bottle. Ugh! He got angry and would arch his back, cry and pull off every time I tried to feed him on Friday. By Saturday I was worried that he was going to self wean himself way to early (and I am already having trouble keeping up with his milk requirements while pumping.) So, I called Susan, my trusty lactation consultant friend. She told me that Drake is a smart baby for knowing the difference, and she told me that from now on I am not allowed to give him a bottle myself, and if anyone else gives him a bottle, I am not allowed to be in the room, or anywhere in the house where he can hear me! I was also instructed, to Jason's delight, to walk around my house topless all day Saturday holding and nursing Drake as much as possible. To my surprise it worked! Drake is back to nursing like a champ:-) Thanks Susan! 1st parenting battle won! whohoo! Now to break the swaddle habit, and get Drake to fall asleep on his own without being rocked into a deep sleep. Baby steps!

Family Picture

Our first family pictures.... Professional that is... While we were up in Darrington for Grandpa's funeral a photographer took a bunch of pictures of the family:-)

Week 2 of Work

Today was day 1 of my 2nd week back at work. It was so hard to leave Drake again today, after being with him for the past 3 days!!! I was told by a coworker that Monday's would always be hard, but still- ugh. He looked so adorable cuddled up on Jason's chest when I left this morning, all I wanted to do was crawl back into my PJ's and cuddle up with them! I'm so lucky that Drake and Jason get to spend Monday's together, and that I get to work from home on Friday's. As great as the Montessori school is, having him there only 3 days a week is much better than 5!

On another note, I was looking at the pictures that were taken of Drake at the hospital, and it's hard for me to imagine that he was ever that small!!! He still seems little to me, but at 12.5 lbs, he is almost 3x as big as he was when he was born 3 months ago! Wow!!!

3 Months Old!

Drake turned 3 months old yesterday! I can't believe how fast the time goes by! Drake is doing wonderful at school- He seems to be enjoying himself, and whenever I show up he seems really happy, which makes the transition back to work MUCH easier for me! I think I will always feel that I should be staying home with him, but since I have to work, I am very happy with our childcare situation.

Yesterday evening Drake was sitting in my lap, and we were throwing the ball for Kona. All of a sudden Drake started letting out these big belly laughs at Kona! It was sooo funny! Every time Kona would come drop the ball at Drake's feet, he would laugh, and every time I would throw the ball he would laugh! I have heard him laugh before, but never so much at once, and never directed at the dog! Drake and Kona are going to be best buddies in no time!

Vacation

Jason and I thought we would take Drake to go visit grandma and grandpa in Hawaii for the last week of my maternity leave. Man it turned into an eventful trip! We got out there on Friday, and the next morning we had to evacuate early in the morning because of a tsunami that was supposed to hit Hawaii. We didn't have any diapers, so we had to rush over to Safeway and stand in a 50 person long line to buy them. Then, we sat up on top of a hill for about 6 hours, waiting to see if anything would happen. Nothing did. Frustrated and tired we headed back to the house and passed out.

The next morning we were out running errands and got a phone call that Jason's grandfather had been in a tragic accident. Jason's parents then flew up to Washington state to go see him, and unfortunately grandpa passed away the next day. That left us in Hawaii, needing to fly to Washington for the funeral. Because we were on vacation, we only had warm weather clothes, so we had to go buy a bunch of stuff for a funeral and cold weather. We then flew up to Washingtion, lugging all our scuba gear, warm weather clothes, tons of baby stuff etc. Not fun!!! All the family flew in for the funeral, so Drake got to meet a bunch of family for the first time. The funeral was on Saturday, and it was really sad for the family to have to say goodbye to grandpa. He will truly be missed! We flew home on Sunday, and I started work on Monday. Because of all this, I have been sooooooo exhausted the past two days!!!! Ugh!!!

So, next time you have a bad vacation, just think that it can't be worse than the one we had!!!

While in Hawaii, we didn't get into our bathing suits even once, but we did take a couple of cute pictures of Drake in his swim trunks. Enjoy!

Update

Once again it has been forever since I have blogged! Sorry about that. I promise I will get better! So much has happened since I last blogged. Drake is smiling and laughing up a storm! It is the cutest thing ever! It makes me so happy to see him so happy:-) His gas problems are pretty much gone since I have changed my diet, which has made him a MUCH happier kiddo! He is holding his head up pretty well, but is still a "bobblehead baby" sometimes. Drake has discovered his hands, and loves putting his hands in his mouth. He also has started to clasp his hands in front of him, and it looks like he is plotting something. So funny!!

I just really can't believe how fast he is growing, and how much he is changing each week. It is amazing to see each new thing that he is discovering!