Getting close to a smile....

Vic and I are chomping at the bit for Atticus to start smiling. We get lots of sweet smiles when he is sleeping, but we have just recently gotten split-second half smiles when he is awake with his eyes open. I just cannot wait until he finally shows that little grin all the time!!!

This picture is so fuzzy, but that tells you how quickly my camera has to act just to get that split second smile!

Shelves & Pacifiers

The most fun part of Atticus is that we learn more about him every single day. Something is always changing and he is getting more alert and more fun all the time. Our 2 most recent Atticus learning events:

1. Pacifier or no pacifier? We are not sure. He didn't take one in the hospital and until the last couple of weeks, he has not really needed one. Well, recently when he is fussy and nothing seems to be the matter with him, we have tried to give him a pacifier. He typically spits it out a couple of times and then takes it and seems to be happy. He stays awake and looks around and just nurses it. So, I am on the fence as to whether I want to give it to him permanently and go through taking it away from him in the future when he is older; or to not give it to him at all. Since we cannot decide right now and see no problems with either decision, I think we'll just take it day by day and probably hand it over during those "I don't know what to do" times. Works for us!
2. Who needs toys when we have shelves? So, we are learning about the things that entertain Atticus as he grows; he likes to go outside, he likes to look out the windows (or anywhere there is light I guess?), and he likes the mirror sometimes. I also prop him up and hold him on the counter in the evenings when Vic is in the kitchen and while Vic and I visit, he just talks and moves around and checks everything out. But, would you like to know what Atticus seems to like MOST OF ALL?? He likes the built-in shelves in our living room. If he is just a little bored with whatever we are doing and getting fussy, 90% of the time he becomes calm and enthralled with us just standing by the shelves as he looks up at them. It is pretty funny! Plus, he is getting so good at holding up his head for longer periods of time, so looking up at those shelves gets easier and easier!

Happy Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day to my Daddy! And, Happy 1st Father's Day to Vic! Atticus and I love you both very much!

Busy Week

This past week we had a very busy schedule! We shopped for 2 days in a row, visited Vic at work, went to my 6 week post-postpartum appointment, were invited to our first play date with Megan and Cole, went to our first restaurant as a family, had our first blow-out diaper, and even sat in our bumbo for the first time to try it out. We had good moments and rougher moments and then Atticus must have been exhausted by Friday because we had a very clingy, non-soothing day all day long! As much as I love my little man, I was ready for Vic to get home to take him for awhile. Poor little guy--I don't think either he nor I knew what was wrong with him! We also slept in our crib for the first time on Saturday night. I have managed to keep him in the bassinet right by my side since he was born, but as good as he is, he does get noisy sometimes with his constant grunting and talking and even though he is just fine, he keeps us awake. So, we tried it out last night. It will take some getting used to on my end to make sure I hear him on the monitor and not just stare at it for hours on end when he is in his room. But, so far so good. We'll see how tonight goes.

Otherwise, he is just changing so much! And getting more fun every day.

The bumbo.

Seidel Grandparents in Town

Atticus is so lucky to have lots of visitors. This past weekend, Steve & Janice, Vic's parents came in to see their grandson again. Atticus has grown and is more alert than when they saw him at 1 week old, so they really enjoyed their stay. Also, this week at church, Atticus slept the entire time on his Granny Janny's shoulder; much different from last week when he was so displeased with the temperature of the church...just plain warm and stuffy! Needless to say, we were all sweating by the time we left after holding and trying to pacify a warm, fussy baby! Here are some pics from the weekend...

Grandpa & Atticus

Granny & Atticus

It's so hard to catch those little grins on camera; I zoomed in super quick and barely caught it!

Baby Feet and Toes

Adorable.

Atticus is 6 weeks old!

Thank you to my friend, Lane, for sharing his clothes!

Atticus turned 6 weeks old this past Saturday. We cannot believe it! Here are some things happening in his life right now:

1. He is sleeping through the night from approx. 10pm to 4am and sometimes even until 6 am!
2. He is becoming VERY alert; he loves to stare at windows, lights, the wall and anything bright.
3. He is beginning to smile. Vic and I would consider his first smile with his eyes open on 6-12-11. We are waiting for the 2nd smile! (in the meantime, we enjoy all the smiles that he has when he is sound asleep)
4. He has outgrown newborn clothes and even the Gerber onesies for 0-3 months; that brand must run small.
5. He is starting to grasp your finger between his little hand - tight!
6. He is still in the bassinet in our room...I just cannot send him to his own bedroom just yet!
7. He moans, groans, grunts, and talks CONSTANTLY! We love to hear his noises. He also moans and groans and makes noises while he sleeps. If he is in a deep sleep, he is silent. Otherwise, while he sleeps, he has intervals of dozing and then making noise, dozing and then making noise. This occurs over and over. Just when you think he might be ready to get up or eat or unhappy for some reason, he dozes again. Vic and I have gotten used to this now and can sleep through it. I guess my sleepy brain can tell when it's just talking and cooing and when he is actually upset, because I always wake up when he needs me!
8. He outgrew the newborn size diapers after about 4 weeks.
9. He lost all of the hair on top of his head at 4 weeks also. He is just now getting some very blonde teeny tiny hair coming back on top. The rest of his newborn hair surrounding his head is still there.
10. I mentioned he is staring and is more alert. But, he is ALSO looking into our eyes a lot. Instead of just looking around, he locks stares with you and will just listen away while you talk to him. I don't know if there is anything sweeter.

We attempted a photo shoot today with the monkey. It's harder as he gets bigger. The monkey isn't very supportive and Atticus doesn't quite sit up yet. Oh well; you get the idea when you compare to his size at 2 weeks!
We'll let you know his 2 month stats very soon!

Thank you Lord.

Thank you, Lord....

... for our beautiful and precious gift.

What Grandpa's are for...

So, this week because I had a hectic work schedule and really needed to be in some meetings in person, instead of conference call, my daddy came to stay for a visit and to babysit Atticus. It was such a nice week and I know Atticus loved having his Pop there to take care of him! Atticus has also been so good this week and for 3 nights in a row had the following schedule: go to bed about 11:00 pm, wake up about 4:00 to eat, go back to sleep and not wake again until 9 or 10 am! woohoo! That is the first approx. 5 hour stretch of sleep I've gotten since Atticus was born! Anyways, so I was glad that Atticus was on that schedule and was a pretty well behaved grandkid for his pop.

So do you want to know what grandpas are for? They are there to talk to, to stare at, to watch tv with, to feed bottles, to change stinky diapers and most importantly, to nap on. These are the highlights of Atticus' 6 week old life and I'm so glad he had his Pop to rely on.

This melts my heart.

My 3 favorite boys!

It was also Daddy's 58th birthday today! Happy Birthday Daddy! We love you so much!

Napping News

Good news! Well, maybe. We get excited about things pretty easily around here! But, Atticus ate at 12:30 and then started napping about 1:15; he napped until 6:30 when we woke him up (he was napping on top of Vic and Vic had to get up). Then, I figured he was hungry and while he did eat, he fell right back asleep afterwards and is still napping now. This is great news! We think this means he will eventually nap for long periods of time...preferably at night.

As I write this, it is important that you know that I will probably be up all night long with him because he will be wide awake. But, what is maternity leave for other than to take advantage of days to sleep and take the time to figure your sweet baby out!?

So, while this has been a one-time thing so far, we are hoping for the best and that Atticus will sleep through the night by the time I go back to work!!

Our FIRST outing!

TODAY I took my first official outing with Atticus by myself! We went to the office to visit the TWRI folks and then went to Target to buy a couple of items. I should not get excited because I'm sure these same types of outings will sometimes involve crying and fussiness and frustrations, but today was glorious. He was good and slept practically the entire time at both places. He was just such a good boy! AND I was successful with packing my diaper bag correctly, getting the stroller in and out, getting Atticus' carseat in and out, etc. It is pretty funny to think of the order I have to do things to go somewhere:

Pack diaper back, purse, misc. items into the car.
Fold stroller down and pack into the back.
Turn everything off inside and do one last diaper check / spit up check.
Load Atticus into carseat.
Put keys into my pocket so I don't leave them in the house and have to go back after Atticus is already in the car.
Load the carseat into the car.
Reach through the front door and start the car to already get it cooling (garage door open).
Roll down the window before I shut the door JUST in case something crazy happened and the doors locked and my keys and sweet baby are inside without me.
Get into the drivers seat; make sure air in the back is set correctly, roll up window and go.

Whew! That is just to get out of the house; It all has to be done again every time you get in and out of the car!

It has just been a really good day and guess what! I have been so nervous to take my first trip by myself out into the public. And since my maternity leave is a good time to take advantage of outings during the hours of 8-5 and to do things like SHOP, I have really been wanting to go. So, good news for my husband: I can still go shopping!!! I'm sure he is thrilled. He just THOUGHT we would spend less money when I was at home for 3 months!

Here are 2 pictures of Atticus after we arrived home from our outing:

Happy Atticus!Mad Atticus!

Such is the life of a newborn. Thank you Auntie Lauren for our outfit!!

We love our daddy.

No words necessary.