5 Month Update

Age: 

                   

Weekly Updates:

              

               

                 

                     

Weight/Height: ??? We go to the DR in a month so we'll update then. You are certainly growing though! 

Diaper Size: Size 2 for sure! Mommy had an "Amazon Mom" oops and we ended up with TONS of size 1 diapers that we were trying to get through...after a few unfortunate blow outs I bit the bullet and ordered size 2. Anyone need a box of 1s?

Clothes Size: You still fit quite comfortably in your 3M clothes and I have put you into a few of your 6M fall outfits on cooler days. Those outfits a a little big though. I also bought you your first part of skinny jeans which are 3M but they swallow you whole. You're such a little thing!

Shoe Size: Your summer toes are still out though I have stuck a pair of socks on you a few times when it's been cool.

Schedule: You are getting more and more on a schedule and thank heavens are finally back to sleeping through the night! You usually wake up between 6-6:30 nurse and play until it's time for school. On the weekends you are quite content to nurse and go back to sleep in Mommy and Daddy's bed. You are usually awake for 1-2 hours between each feeding which is every 3 hours. Susana has told me that you fight your naps and that during those times are the only times during the day that you fuss. This is clearly because I have spoiled you by holding you through the majority of your naps and therefore require her to do the same thing. Haha. Mommy had been hoping that Susana would be the one to break this bad habit but she likes to cuddle with you too. She started letting you sleep (supervised) on your tummy and you've been sleeping longer in your pack n play. We try to give you your bath around 730-8 and have you start winding down.  You go to bed around 9.

Fun Facts and Milestones:

-You attended your first Chicago Air and Water show and had a blast! Some friends suggested that we get headphones to protect your ears so Daddy rode his bike all around town the morning of trying to buy you a pair. We would have of course preferred pink but Daddy says that the purple will at least go with your Northwestern attire.

Bikinis, boats, and the Chicago skyline...doesn't get much better.

You received so many complements from folks around us! 

You are such your Momma's daughter...we can sleep through just about anything. 

We traveled down to Memphis to visit Aunt MA, Uncle Timmy and Aunt J-Ellis. SuSu joined us and we did LOTS of planning for Baby Wilkes! Thank you Lord for our growing family! 

Mommy went back to work and you started school with Ms. Susana and your friends Liam (1.5 years) and B (nearly 2). They are both such happy babies and together y'all smile and play ALL day log. Susana has been teaching y'all Spanish and takes you and Liam on adventures in the double stroller. You even come pick up Andres at Mommy's school in the afternoons!

You weren't used to getting up early on the first day and feel asleep on the car ride over...you have continued to do this most mornings. Bless you.

4 Months (and a week...or two) with Suzanna Grace

Age:  Oh. My. Word. This precious baby is 4 months old.  Where did my newborn go? This month brought on so many "first" and fun changes.

Weekly Updates:

Weight: 13 pounds 5 ounces 

Height: 24 inches  Girlie, you grew a little over 2 inches since our last doctors appointment!  Go girl!

Diaper Size: Size 1 but only until we finish the box and then we are going to move up to Size 2.  

Clothes Size: Within the past 2 weeks your 3 month clothes seem to really fit.  You are long enough for them and your sweet little thighs fill out the leg holes so much better than before.  Mommy has been known to be a pro at shirking clothes in the wash...but I think it's really just because you are growing!

Shoe Size: Summer Toes only...babies don't wear shoes.  Aunt MA did order you some fall mocosains though!

Schedule: Let's be honest here...it's summer time and who needs a strict schedule.  We basically do the 3 hour routine of eat, play, sleep beginning whenever you wake up (usually between 6-7:30) and sometimes cluster feed at night because you're tired.  You will typically go to sleep as early as 8:30 but as late as 10 depending what's going on.  You sleep really well at night though and are such a happy baby that I think that what we have going for us is working.  Maybe, when I go back to work, we will have something a little more routine but for now our loosey-goosey schedule works and still allows us to go-go-go and enjoy our summer!

Fun Facts and Milestones:

• You had your first day/few hours at "school" with Susana this month and Mommy was sad.  I sat in my car for 10 minutes thinking about whether I should leave you since I didn't really have anything to do.  It was a good trial run and you took a bottle from Susana!  She said that you talked and talked and had a great time.  You were even napping when I came to pick you up. You wore a beautiful smocked gown, fancy panties, and a bow in your hair but when I picked you up, Susana told me that you were too cold and needed pants.  It is my personal opinion that you should wear your fancy clothes everyday...not just on special occasions.  And, let's be honest, you don't really have "play clothes" just yet.  I'll get you some skinny jeans this fall.  

 

• Girlie, your life is amazing!  To celebrate your first day at school and Mommy being brave enough to leave you, we met Daddy downtown at Millennium Park for a picnic and concert.

 

 

• We celebrated the 4th of July out on Toes' boat with the whole crew and then on the docks with the Nappers.  We had quite the weekend! 

• Our good buddy Epstein is moving to Denver so we spent the month helping him check things off of his "Chicago Bucket List."  Downtown concerts, outdoor adventures, and eating out at fun restaurants was not a bad way to see him off. 

 

• Well...this speaks for itself.

 

• We lunched and dined with friends a lot this month as it was our first full month of Chicago summer where we weren't traveling back to MS.  

• Mommy and Daddy had a night out...the first since you've been born.  Susana came over to our house to keep you and you did great! We celebrated the Fallon and "Val-tad"'s engagements but never stopped to take a picture of just the two of us.  Surely we will get better at documenting ourselves as time goes on. 

 

• That same weekend, we celebrated our 5 year anniversary with lunch and a full day of activities! Selfies sure are silly.  

• We also said good-bye to the Nappers with a fun day at Parson's Chicken.  Friend Aunt Leslie and Brad sure are going to miss their girlie.

  

• We had your Sip and See and Baby Dedication back in Mississippi this month.  Oh what fun we had visiting with Aunt MA and Jessica in Memphis, swinging at JJ and J-Pops house, and playing with Elsie Lee at SuSu and Daddy B's.  You got to meet LOTS of JJ and SuSu's friends at the Sip and See.  Once I get all of our pictures back, I'll write more about the Baby Dedication but the highlights include you wearing the most gorgeous gown ever made. 

 

• We have also found a great "New Moms and Babies" group through our hospital and meet up with our new friends several times a week.  You love "playing" with your new friends and are learning so much from them.    

 

• You really started belly laughing this month.  You have always yelled and made noises that we thought were you getting tickled but these laughs are for sure belly laughs.  I now spend my whole day trying to get you to laugh.  It melts my heart. 

• We bought you a Johnny Jump Up and you love it.  You are still a little too small for it so you can really only bounce with one foot.  You are growing in to it though. 

• You are so strong.  You love to stand up whenever someone is playing with you.  You look around and search out new things.  I could not get over how, with help, you could move from sitting to standing in early July.  Slow down girlie!

• You are so inquisitive and are always searching the world around you.  Even when you play by yourself you smile and giggle.  I often wonder what you think about and because you are always so happy, I know that your thoughts include all things beautiful.  (Daddy says that you're probably thinking about breastmilk...)   

We love you sweet girl and cannot wait to see what month 5 holds!

Three Months with Suzanna Grace

Age: 3 months

Check out how much I have grown!!

Weekly Updates:

I know that you are MINE but I have honestly never seen a more beautiful baby. :)  

Weight: At our last appointment you were 10.5 pounds and you had gained around 2 pounds per month since you were born...if that remained true then I bet you are at least 12-13 pounds.  Mommy is growing that baby!

Height:  ??? I bet you're an inch or so taller...maybe....You like to stand up tall and though old wives tales say that standing too soon will cause you to be bow legged, your Daddy just adds the skill to his list of ways that you are so advanced.

     

We were walking to meet our friends on Toes' boat this week and you got your feet under you and push up in your stroller.  You rode like this the whole way while Mommy snapped pictures and repeatedly told you, "Sit down, you're too liiiitle to stand!"

Diaper Size: Size 1

Clothes Size:  3M! You are officially too big for your NB footies.  I know because I squeezed you into one of my favorite pairs last week and I am surprised that you didn't burst through the seams overnight (I had already committed to putting you in them at bedtime and figured one last night wouldn't hurt...)

Shoe Size: No shoes quite yet.  With the warm weather you have been barefoot a lot! Renee likes to say that you have your "summer toes" out!

Schedule: You are still on a 3 hour eat, play, sleep schedule that plays through at 9 am, 12, 3, 6, and 9 pm. Some nights/mornings you wake up between 3:30-4:30 and a few times you have slept all the way til 7!  When you wake up for that first time in the morning, I usually bring you into Mommy and Daddy's bed where you have been known to sleep soundly cuddled up with either of us until 9 or 9:30!  I hope that you are ALWAYS a cuddle/snuggle lover!
I have read the Mom's on Call books and have their app and they both say that I should be weening you from that middle of the night feeding AND putting you to bed earlier.  However, while Mommy is home and Daddy has class late we have created a schedule that works for our family.  So far, we have done a pretty excellent job of creating a schedule that works for us all.

Fun Facts and Milestones:

• You went downtown to help Mommy present her action research to members of the Chicago Foundation for Educators.  Renee came to watch you during the presentation and snapped some shots of us taking in the view!  And, yes, our outfits color coordinate...you'll be embarrassed about this in about 13 years but come to appreciate in it 30...

• We celebrated Baby Alvarez in the burbs with all of our friends!  You even attended your first sleep over.  Daddy and the boys had their annual "City of Lights" golf tournament so we rode down with Leslie, Meg, and Liz G.  Every time Mommy looked in the rearview mirror to check on you, all I could see was one of the girls heads giving you kisses! 

We love our friends!

You were super excited to see that Daddy after a day away from him!

• You had your first trip to the beach too (separate post to come!).  The Moore/Ray/Ellis family vaca began for the two of us in Memphis before we traveled to Madison and then on to Orange Beach.  This trip included many firsts for you and for us as a family: 
• traveling without Daddy
• Southwest misplacing all of our luggage
• celebrating Uncle Rob and Aunt Angela's engagement
• meeting Uncle Bryson
• getting your toes in the water and sand at the beach
• floating in the lazy river
• Father's Day
• Mommy's 25th Birthday (again)
• hair being long enough to wear a bow

We had such a fun time at the beach and cannot wait for the tradition to continue each year as our families grow and grow!  

• Daddy graduated from Northwestern's Kellogg School of Business with his MBA when we returned from our vacation.  He has worked so hard for us and we are so proud.  We took several selfies and luckily kind strangers also offered to take pictures.  Mother after mother approached us to comment on how beautiful you were and how much they loved your smocked dress.  Many told me about how they had hand smocked similar styles for their son or daughter who was graduating that day.  You stole the show.

• It is World Cup time and you LOVE all the colors and sounds coming from the games you watch with Daddy on TV.  You got a little fussy one day when daddy put you on his chest so that he could watch the game...all he had to do was turn around so that you could watch and you were happy again.  USA, USA, USA!

• You love music and "dancing".  You kick your legs and pump your arms.  You think Daddy and his friends are funny too...

• Rob, Angela, and Elsie Lee drove up from MS and stopped in Chicago to spend the night and hang out for a day before they headed up to WI.  We enjoyed walking around Southport and showing them our city!  You and Elsie Lee enjoyed ignoring each other.

• On June 9 you rolled over for the first time from your tummy to your back!  You do not do it consistently but you do lift your chest up high and talk in your outside voice whenever we lay you on your stomach. You also kick, kick, kick, which sometimes takes you clear off the play mat!

•  You no longer sleep in the PODster.  It was great while it lasted but one night when we put you in it you just looked huge so we decided that it was time to let you sleep without it.  We still swaddle you and you sleep really well in it.  The other night I heard you stirring and when I went it you had turned yourself all the way around and had your feet sticking out the side of the crib. 

•  You have a pretty fabulous life girlfriend.  Though we didn't venture out onto the water for a ride on Toes' boat, you did enjoy an afternoon on the docks.  All of our dock friends commented on how beautiful your eyes and , of course, bikini were.  Toes' boat, The SlumpBuster, sure has changed its demographic over the years...