5 Months

A couple of weeks ago Dez went from occasionally rolling over to an out-of-control mover! Seriously, it's like overnight he just started rolling and scooting every which way. He's so close to crawling! It's awesome but now I can't just set him down somewhere and expect him to stay. We can't leave cords, plastic bags, knives and scissors hanging around or any normal stuff like that. What a nuisance.

He's started screaming a lot...but not in a crying way. Just because he can. It's actually pretty funny most of the time unless he does it at 3 am. Which also happens a lot.

I've also had to force him to eat before bed because most nights - and also sometimes during day feedings - he will arch his back and flail around not wanting to eat even though I know he's hungry. Once I finally "trick" him he goes to town. I usually stick my face right next to his and he will start sucking on my cheek...then I make the switch. Genius I know. I've also discovered that stroking/tickling his face and head makes him fall asleep which has been pretty helpful even though it doesn't work all the time.

We are going to try solids pretty soon and we really hope that will help him get on a more normal cycle. I wanted to wait until he was 6 months but he definitely seems ready for more.

He loves playing with his busy book from Grandma & Grandpa Jason & Teri, the song "Animal" by Maroon 5 (totes child appropriate), blowing spit bubbles, screaming, splashing in the bath and scooting himself to and digging in the diaper bag.

*Good Mom Moment of the Month*

I was changing his slightly dirty diaper the other day and put the wipe over him so he didn't go spraying me in the face. I put on the new diaper forgetting there used to be a wipe there. When I realize it's missing I look up to his face and don't worry...he just has it in his mouth. Needless to say I did my best to sanitize his face and mouth with a new, clean wipe. Oops.

Four Months

At Dez's four-month appointment he weighed 18 lbs 4 oz and was 28 inches long, which is the 95th percentile for both. I love that he's a big, healthy boy but I also want him to be little! He's a giant compared to other babies I see that are close to his age. He only gets heavier from here...oh no.

He got the four shots at his appointment and I was bracing myself for the crying to start but it never came! After the second shot he whined for about a second and was done and perfectly fine. I've never seen a baby that cries as little as Dez does! Colby says we're going to die with our next kids because Dez is so easy.

He rolls all over the place for me but has yet to roll from front to back for his dad. Basically as soon as Colby leaves the room or whenever he's gone is when he rolls. He's also getting a lot more mobile and will turn a complete 360 on his playmat when I look away for about 5 seconds.

He reaches for toys that are behind him and will move to get what he wants. The bad things about it is he moves while sleeping too and wakes up when he runs into the side of the crib with his face. Most nights he still sleeps at least 10 hours though.

He has started wanting to sit up on his own and is able to sit for 5-10 seconds all by himself. While he's lying down in the bath or against the side of the couch he just tries to sit up. Seriously he's getting too big!

He gets distracted while eating now very easily so I have to make sure nothing else is going on if I want him to eat well. Not that he's lacking in the chubs department. His hair seems to be getting a tiny bit thicker but it really hasn't changed much since he was born.

He loves playtime with daddy, grabbing our faces, baths, talking and shrieking VERY loudly, and playing with his toys.

He still doesn't understand how to suck on a binky but is getting a little bit better at sucking his thumb.

the Sanfords take LA

A couple of weeks ago Colby's parents came out to hang out with us for a week during fall break and we had the best time. They were planning on flying back to Utah that Monday morning but tornado warnings and connection flight trouble made it so they couldn't get another flight back until Wednesday. It was awesome to get those bonus days and we loved showing them around!

They spoiled us and we ate like kings! Food is the best way to my heart.

I should have taken more pictures but I usually don't think about it until the moment has passed. Typical.

 We toured the Tabasco factory and sampled way too much. (Ok that was just me. But it's so good!)

Colby gave us all the tour of UL and I just love that swamp.

Checking out Baton Rouge and LSU's campus. This stadium is just dreamy. 

Taking pictures in front of gumbo fridges always provides the best lighting.

WE LOVE THEM!!!

Less than two months until we go to Utah for Christmas break! I feel bad that Dez's grandparents don't get to be around him all the time and the next time my parents see him he'll already be almost 6 months! We miss our family but love being on our own experiencing a different state and culture.

I really do wish I could live in every single state for at least a little while to get a sense of what each one is really like. Even though I've spent that great majority of my life in Utah, I'd fill very unfulfilled if I stayed there forever. I wouldn't rule out moving back at some point because I'll always consider it home, but the country is just too big and awesome to stay in one state.

I remember the DC trip I took with my parents when I was 16 and as I was driving around Virginia with my mom I kept thinking in my head, "I'm in Virginia. Virginia!" I thought it was the coolest thing in the world. It was my first time back east and even knowing I was there was the best feeling. I feel the same way with every new place I visit and I love it all!

Three Months

Desmond is now 16 lbs 5 oz and 26 inches according to our own very scientific measurements. I feel like that's big. Is it also weird that I feel like he was born WAY longer than three months ago? But at the same time that eternal push fest was just yesterday...

Dez did his first real projectile spit up yesterday. Luckily I was sitting between it and the couch. It all happened so fast.

He's also grabbing at a lot more and has discovered that his hands can touch each other. He clasps them together over and over and lies there staring at his hands. He's also grabbed his feet a couple times but he's still figuring that out.

He really only naps while I'm holding him or he's in the car or swing. He sleeps great at night once he falls asleep. But for the past couple weeks he only acts tired at his bed time and after being asleep in his crib for about 10 minutes he's wide awake until 2 or 3 am. He's such a little weirdo. When he wakes up he doesn't cry or anything but I don't have it in me to leave him in there drowning in his own drool while I know he's awake. Drooliest child ever. He only sucks his thumb sometimes while on his stomach, and other times he'll either try and shove his fist in his mouth, just his middle finger, the first two fingers, or any other combo possible. Nothing has stuck though. We haven't even tried a binky for a long time cause I know he wouldn't keep it in his mouth. He also chokes himself with his fingers pretty regularly. So there's that.

He's also been coughing a lot but about 99% percent of those sound extremely fake and it's hilarious. The other 1% is from choking himself with his fingers.

He's wearing a lot of 6 month clothes and I'm in denial he's too big for the 3 month stuff. Sometimes I still dress him in 3 month clothes so he can get one last wear in before I have to say goodbye. It's not weird.

So obsessed with my little buddy!

On failing at being football fans and being fat

We've been in Louisiana for a little over a month now! We haven't done/seen as much yet as I'd like to because it seems like we're always stopped by rain! I never thought Utah was that dry, but rain is actually pretty rare and it's a lot easier to see when I feel like we're going to flood almost every day here! I'm sure it will chill out once hurricane season but man, Utah is definitely a desert.

We have attempted to go to 2 UL football games, but on top of the rain there is some kind of parking conspiracy and we finally just gave up after driving around forever trying to find somewhere to park that wasn't miles away. There a HUGE lot that says online it's the football parking lot, but on game day it's closed. Awesome. Hopefully at some point during the season we'll learn some tricks and be able to park to go to the game.

Last week after we gave up we ended up going downtown to explore a little. You can tell everyone really does go to the football game because it was DEAD. Downtown is pretty cool though and there are a couple parks and a splash pad that will be fun to go to when Dez is older. After that we went to a different park by the school that is huge with a couple different playgrounds. So I had to take my man down a couple slides and swing with him. It was the highlight of his day probably.

I've had decent luck timing the storms so we can go to the pool sometimes. The pool at our complex has the prettiest flowers and palm trees and it feels great in the heat! I love that I live somewhere with palm trees!!

So it's not the most flattering angle. Killing me right now.

Who doesn't love some sweet rolls and moobs?!

Also, the food!! If we were rich we'd be the fattest people in the world. So far we've tried some amazingly delicious shrimp and crawfish poboys along with the BEST onion rings that have ever happened.

You've also got to love those Southern fast food chains...Raising Cane's and Checkers. We ate at Checkers last year in Orlando and I haven't gotten it off my mind and I couldn't be happier to live among so many of them. I'm not even ashamed to say that. Their fries are right up there with Freddy's in Kansas for my favorite. And we tried Cane's for the first time and it's heavenly as well. Their "Cane's Sauce" is basically fry sauce with pepper in it. Other states have fry sauce, they just don't know it yet. (Freddy's has fry sauce as well...they have little things on each table explaining what it is.)

And one for the road...that face.

Two Months

 14.5 pounds. Eyes getting bluer. Thighs getting chunkier.

Dez has started to talk a whole lot more and sometimes he'll even repeat the noises we make and will keep a nice conversation going. It's so much fun.

Another thing. SLEEP. All of the sudden he knows how to do it! For about the past week he's slept around 9 hours straight every night. I think it also has to do with the fact that he's finally getting better at finding where his thumb is. He's never been able to keep a binky in his mouth. Most the time when we try he acts like it's making him choke to death...he's a little dramatic. So I'm glad he's at least somewhat sucking his thumb because it helps him sleep longer!

I'm still adjusting from the old schedule and have a super hard time sleeping before 3 am, but I'm getting slightly more sleep than I'm used to and it's still nice. I always think it's too good to be true and he'll go back to his old ways any day, so I don't want to fall asleep because I'm scared I won't hear him if he wakes up. He's been in his own room across the apartment, but I can surprisingly still hear him pretty well when he wakes up. Which never includes full-on crying though. He's seriously the best.

When I go get him to feed him after the long night of sleep, he stares at me for about a minute just smiling and laughing. Absolutely no one should be that happy in the morning! The best was when he slept until 10...but I woke up at 8 and couldn't go back to sleep so that was weird waiting 2 hours for him to wake up.

Loves: Playing on his floor gym and looking at himself in the mirror. I'll catch him staring up at himself with a huge smile on his face. It's hilarious. I also love that he'll move around and hit the animals hanging down. He's getting better at the whole hand-eye thing. He also scoots himself from one side of the mat the other with his feet (he does the same thing in his crib).

Getting his face poked by his annoying mom. It always makes him laugh when I poke around his mouth making dumb sounds. Whatever works.

Scratching/clawing his face. I try my best to keep the nails under control and I can't believe he hasn't scratched his face more. It always seems like he's trying to claw his eye out!

Being on his tummy. "Tummy time" quickly turns into nap time. He can't stay awake in that position for long and it rocks. Pretty sure he won't be rolling over for a while. He likes where he's at.

Hates: Longish car rides. That kid LOVES being in the car and usually falls asleep in minutes, but once it gets to around an hour or so, he's not happy. The only time he's really ever cried hard was when we were driving home from Baton Rouge (about an hour away) and driving home from the Houston airport (a few hours). It's usually just because he's getting hungry or too tired to fall asleep.

That's really the only thing I can think of that he isn't too fond of--he's the best baby ever.

Louisiana 4Lyfe

So we're living in Louisiana now. That's weird. But also cool. I've always been fascinated/obsessed with the South and now I'm getting my first taste of it! Dez was such a champ on the plane ride and made the travel pretty easy for me. My dad and Colby are rockstars for driving our crap 24 hours.

I love the "y'alls", smell of the humid air (glorious), and what I've had of Cajun food so far!

It's HOT here for sure, but it's good knowing it will only get cooler from here. Until next summer of course. I can't wait for a warm (or at least non-cold/snowy) winter. The past few days have had the biggest, craziest thunderstorms!

I also got to put my years of jr. high French to use when a guy at the grocery store asked if we had a little boy or little girl in French. At first I didn't think he was talking to us and if I was I was just caught so off guard because he said it like he assumed everyone just spoke/understood French (maybe everybody does?). Colby was looking really confused and it was cool that I was able to answer back and I knew what he said! Not that it was the most complicated question, but it was awesome that my language skill came in handy for once! It's also cool that so many street names and restaurants are French. Such a different culture! I love it.

Saying goodbye to Grandma Teri at the airport. Our families rock.

Freddys' in Houston! I haven't had this taste of heaven in two years and it's so good I want to cry.

THE CUSTARD OH MY GOSH IT'S SO GOOD.

First taste of Cajun food! It's a good thing we aren't rich. We'd be so fat.

Sunday nap with Grandpa.

He's too yummy.

Exploring the university! Just your everyday campus swamp.

We love Grandpa Jason!

We got spoiled rotten while my dad was out here hanging out with us for a few days and we hated to see him go!

One Month

Tonight Dez went to sleep at a decent human hour (2 am), so naturally here it is almost 4 in the morning and I'm still wide awake. I don't know. At this point I'm just waiting for him to wake up again soon unless this is the time he decides to sleep for a long stretch. It's like he knows! I might as well do something besides lie in bed...

A few days ago marked a month for Dez! It's gone by fast and slow at the same time. I'm trying to enjoy every moment I have and just can't believe how much he's already changed and grown. *Lighting is on point and his diaper is bigger than he is.*

Loves: EATING. It's crazy to me to think about how much time out of each day is spent feeding this bottomless pit.

Laughing/smiling in his sleep. I love when I catch him in the act! He's also smiling a lot more while awake, especially when he first wakes up "for the day" around noon or 1.

Pulling his hair. Well, he actually should hate it but he won't stop doing it! Every time I hear the scream I know exactly what he's doing and have to run and pry his death grip off that hair.

Being on his tummy, hanging out in his swing, and getting bounced up and down.

Hates: I really can't think of much he hates. He used to hate baths but now he's indifferent to them. He just didn't like being cold but we've gotten better at keeping him warm and getting him in a towel quick.

All in all he's such a happy baby and rarely cries. His normal cry is more of a whimper, even when he's hungry! It's pretty awesome.

Mostly I feel like he's too big to only be a month old! What is happening?! But we're loving being parents and can't wait for what's to come!