Brooks: Week 19-20

Time is flying by! Brooks is now almost 5 months old and growing and changing daily! He is getting SO big and strong. According to the Publix scales he now weighs over 19 pounds!!! Can you believe that??? He is getting really long too. Mark was carrying him around in the Baby Bjorn yesterday and I had to take a picture because it really showed his length…amazing!

He now is officially a “big boy”! For the last two weeks the poor guy had to wear clothes that were too small. It was like all of a sudden his onesies and long pants didn’t fit anymore. He has even outgrown his pj’s! Most of his things were around the 3-6 month or 6 month size. So needless to say we had to do a little shopping this weekend. I ended up finding the best deals at the Carter’s store…really cute stuff…and amazingly enough we had to buy Brooks 12month things! YIKES!!! That sounds huge!!! I actually bought all 9 month clothes for him but I had to take them back because they were an exact fit and I didn’t want him growing out of everything next week! Really and truly he needs bigger things for the length…he is not that big around but his body is so long that it makes everything pull down and look too small…but we won’t lie…he does have some chunky thighs!

So the last two weeks have been very busy for the Batia’s. Brooks has been such a wonderful baby and he is so great about all of our crazy schedules. We try not to be too busy during the week but you all know that our weekends are slammed! The week before last I embarked on a new mommy adventure…I am learning to sew!!! I know…as crazy as that may sound for me it is true! My mom is the most talented seamstress that I know so I thought that I might as well take advantage of the free lessons! We worked all week and so far I’ve completed a few cute projects. My first undertaking was a really cool wrap carrier for Brooks. All it really is a really long piece of fabric that you can tie into all sorts of different positions to hold Brooks.

My next project were some decorative burp cloths…they turned out really cute too.

This week I am going to learn how to make bibs…Brooks will get a lot of use out of those with as much as he is drooling these days!

My mom is such a great teacher that a friend of mine, Natalie, came over with her little guy Tyson and my mom taught her how to use her sewing machine too! What fun memories!

Last weekend Brooks, my mom and I drove up to Perry for Heather’s baby shower. We stayed with Sandra and Heather and we all had such a great time together. Brooks even got to use the new Quicke/Michelini nursery…thanks Sandra! Heather had an amazing shower and she and Jon received so many nice things for Baby M. I think they are set for their little one now…well are we ever really ready???? Brooks loved all the attention he got over the weekend...I think Aunt Heather snuggled with him the most but she was just getting some good practice in before her baby gets here in a few short weeks!

Brooks and I had a sweet little Valentine’s Party for all of our friends (big and small) here in Orlando this week. We ended up having 10 moms and 8 babies join us on Wednesday at our house. It was so much fun hanging out with everyone and sharing fun baby stories. We all ate yummy Valentine’s treats and made sweet Valentine’s cards for our hubbies. My mom even joined us and she made the perfect party favors…Valentine burp cloths with monogrammed initials! It was so much fun and a great first Valentine’s day for Brooks.

One of Brooks’ biggest milestones has been his teething…still no visible teeth yet but don’t worry at the rate we are going he is bound to have at least one break though soon! He is drooling up a storm and crewing on everything in reach. He even got to gnaw on his first teething biscuit the other day…he loved it!

His hand-eye coordination is improving everyday and his fine motor skills are amazing me! He is so good at grasping toys and taking them straight to where he wants them (i.e. this MOUTH)! Brooks love to reach for you too…it is so cute especially when you hang over him and he just reaches up and grabs your face. So sweet!

He is still rolling over like a champ and he is even barrel rolling (back to front, front to back). He has also found his vocal cords…he makes the funniest sounds and then acts all surprised that they actually came out of his mouth! It is so cute!

Poor Brooks woke up on Valentine’s Day with a cold. He had a TERRIBLE night seeing that he woke up every hour or half hour just crying out but not ever really waking up. It was so strange and not like him. At first I just thought it was a tummy ache or his teeth bothering him but as the night progressed his nose became more stopped up…poor little guy. He had a super runny nose on Saturday so we just took it easy most of the day. It was a nice change for ALL of us! We are just keeping on top of his symptoms with Tylenol which he LOVES the taste of and never complains about taking! Mark and I decided to have a quiet Valentine’s and so we just ordered pizza and watch a romantic movie on TV…not too glamorous but nice just the same! Mark surprised me with a gift certificate to our favorite steak house here in Orlando, Del Frisco’s….YUMMY! He also bought us a new devotional book for couples…sooo sweet! I sure do love both of my Valentines!

Mark and I have been doing well too. We are both busy with work and all. I know that Mark would never share but he got a great promotion at work this week! He has reached this achievement in less than 7 years…go Mark! I am so proud of him and all of his accomplishments! I’m still very busy driving all over the Orlando area visiting my interns…it is a great gig so no complaints here! Brooks and I decided to take our very first mommy and me yoga class this past week. We were invited by our new friend Nyrla and her little girl Ella…we all had a great time learning all the new poses and moves…Brooks and Ella even got to do some stretches of their own! Brooks and I are still visiting the YMCA a few times a week too. He always likes to go and see the girls that work in the child development center…they love it when we come and they even argue over who gets to hold him first! It must be nice to have girls fighting over you at such a young age…with a smile and dimples like he has it is no wonder!!!!