Seconds

Aaron and I had our second wedding shower with his family during the last weekend of June. It was hosted by Aaron's Aunt Gin at their home in Lainsburg. My parents were able to make it over for the weekend and thus were able to meet a large portion of the Bollwahn and Schnepp families. It was a nice and laid back get together, fortunately, filled with plenty of nice gifts off of our registries! We got a lot of kitchen goods -- I'm most excited for all of our new Tupperware!!-- and gardening gifts, which we didn't have any of beforehand. Aunt Gin and Uncle Lin live on a lake, so after the party we were able to relax in the backyard and enjoy a boat ride. Bryce and Lin prepared supper for us using their cast iron cookware. My parents were quite impressed. Thank you so much to Lin and Gin for hosting such a nice shower for us. Thank you to the Bollwahns for opening up their home to us and my parents. And thank you to my parents for coming over to help the Bollwahns prepare the yard for the wedding. It is all so greatly appreciated!

And on to more seconds, our baby boy turned two months old! He is changing grossly and rapidly. His attention and awareness to the world has noticeably heightened. First, it started with his hands, holding his little fists and examining them with crossed eyes. Then he began to focus on faces. He recognizes voices and faces and gives intentional smiles. He has a beautiful, heart-melting smile. He is also tracking items. Our other favorite thing is Avett's cooing. He is definitely a morning person so we see lots of smiles and hear lots of baby noises at this time of day. He talks A LOT to Daddy! Avett is also grabbing and grasping. He can grab onto small things: hair, necklaces, blankets, fingers... And when placed in his hands, he can hold onto larger items like his rattles. He has improved significantly with his feeding skills with much less spillage, and sadly, fewer noises. He still has a full head of hair (despite everyone saying he would lose it) with his hairline getting noticeably thicker. He got his first freckle on his left knee. And he used to be a great sleeper until we told this to our pediatrician, which is when we seemingly appeared to jinx ourselves. Over the past couple of nights he has been waking up 2-4 times a night, when we were previously lucky enough to have that number between 0 and 2. This could be due to the fact that the poor little bean got four vaccination shots on Tuesday -at least that's what I'm hoping, especially as I head into my return to work. Speaking of vaccines, Avett's two month appointment went well. As painful as his shots were, they were over in no time. He continues to be off the charts for length, measuring 24 3/4" and in the eightieth percentile for weight, measuring 13# 7.5 oz. We expected big growth as he is now mostly wearing 3-6 month clothes due to that long torso. He can now wear sunscreen and mosquito repellent which will make his time at the cottage so much more enjoyable as we will no longer be trapped in the pockets of shade. Avy still loves to be outside. He loves to be on his belly, whether that's on the floor, on someone else's belly or in someone's arms, he has no preference. He still enjoys bath time very much. He likes sleeping in your arms and naps much longer in this place than anywhere else. He is not so into his car seat or car rides anymore because they make him hot, and just like his mom, he HATES to be hot....this kid thus spends a lot of time being nearly naked (I promise that's not an inherited trait). The same goes for his stroller. The ocean sounds have a minimal effect on him anymore.  Fortunately for me, he is still easily soothed by "Hush Little Baby".  He is better at napping and at "alone time". He has changed so much, but he is still so beautiful, sweet and lovable. I am excited to watch him continue to grow and change! Love this little peanut so much!!!