"Welcome Letter!" From President Obama

The White House
Washington

Welcome to the world! Your arrival is a cause for great celebration for your proud family. We wish you a long and happy life filled with chances to learn, ideas to explore, people to love, and dreams to fulfill

Sincerely,
(hand signed by the Obamas)

This is by far the coolest keepsake for Baby Declan.

Old video & new milestones

This was only 3 weeks ago and Declan has changed so much!

He is now a champ a tsitting and he rarely falls over.

He reaches, lunges and tries to figure out how to get toys that are out of reach

He has mastered grabbing the blocks and other objects and he passes them from hand to hand.

He did the most amazing thing today. A block was out of reach so, he lunged a few times swiping at it. When he still couldn’t reach it he grabbed another toy, a teething ring, and tried to use that toy to drag the block towards him. It worked! After a few attempts the teething ring caught the block and he pulled it back to himself.

I was so amazed, our little guy is so smart!!

Oh, and earlier a binky was way out of reach when I left the room to use the bathroom and when I cam back the paci was in his mouth.

I was all like "What the deuce!! How did you get that??"

BTW Declan is 7 months old today!

Little Dudes

Is thier anything cuter than baby butts?

"I didn't do it! Nobody saw me do it! You cant prove anything!"

Baby Legs

Pardon my dorky, naptime outfit but momma wanted to show off my new babylegs that just came in the mail.
Babylegs are the best winter accessory ever made! When he is in our arms or in the carrier his little pant legs always bunch way up into pseudo-shorts. This awesome little invention has eliminated that problem, keeping little Declan’s legs warm and snug in the winter chill.

Paci

Declan discovered the joys pf a binky today.

I have been trying to get him to take a pacifier ever since he decided he didn’t like his 3 months ago. I have probably spent $50 on all different types and for some reason I never listened to my sisters suggestion to get a Nam paci. I finally broke down and spent another $6 just in case he would like this one. Voila! He instantly started sucking. He loves the darn thing already. I REALLY this helps make car rides a bit smoother.

I don’t believe in the cry-it-out method so getting him to take a paci is my first step in getting him to go to sleep without breast in mouth. I want him to start sleeping in his crib so Shane and I can have our bed back. I miss spooning :)

We are going to start a bedtime routine, after the holidays, that we will strictly follow each night to help with the transition.

I think the routine will go like this:

Bath

Nurse

Swing

Story

Rock to sleep

Haircut

30 minutes of driving - $5.00

Shampoo & a haircut - $40.00

2 hours of adult conversation - priceless

I was so spoiled yesterday. I know getting a haircut might not seem like a big deal to some, but for a stay at home mom who's life revolves around the little one for 24 hours a day, it was heaven.

I think the best part was the fact that we didn't talk babies for more than 5 minutes. The rest of the time we just b.s'ed about pretty much everything. It has been a long time since I joked and laughed as much as did yesterday.

Dude, I think I need more/new friends.

My new do