November 7th, 2011

Not even sure where to start this week. This will probably be a long post. Fasten your seatbelts!

To start off, William is rolling over!!! On Wednesday we were having our tummy time, and I had William propped up on the Boppy so that he could see everything around him. I noticed he was holding his head up for a long time, so I started to time it. At the five minute mark, William had not dropped his head. It made me wonder what he would do flat on the ground. So I removed the pillow and William remained on his stomach with his head up and looking around. It was amazing. Only the day before, he would hold his head up for less than 45 seconds. About three more minutes passed and with no warning, William flung his head to one side, bobbled and then flung it to his right and ROLLED OVER! I could not believe my eyes. Sure William rolled over when he was a newborn, but it didn't look like that. Before it was a haphazard back arch and cacophony movement to reach the desired results. This time (after weeks of not rolling over due to growth in size) the movement was more streamlined and much more controlled. I was so proud that I cried. I put him back up to try it again and sure enough after a couple of minutes on his stomach, over he went! I grabbed the camera to make him do it again. Needless to say, this was my entertainment for the day. I couldn't get a hold of Francis at the time, so when he got home, he didn't know about my day. I told him, "William is getting really strong. He is holding up his head like a champ!" I put William down and sure enough, over he rolled. Francis's eyes nearly came out of his head. It was a fun family moment. The day of excitement did not end there. When we went to give William his bath, he held himself up in the reclined tub without any support. Just a few days prior, William as little more than a jello man. He grew up all in one day!

Our Thursday night Bible Study really throws William off his routine. He falls asleep on the way home and then wakes up and does not want to go down for the night. This week William did not go down until 12:30am. Not cool. I was so exhausted by the time he fell asleep that I put him in the bassinet (in which he really does not fit) instead of his crib because I knew I would be up again with him soon. Friday night he was up until 11 so I was equally exhausted. The good news is that he is pretty pleasant about the whole thing. I think he might have been just too stopped up to lay on his  back because placing him thus evoked a painful scream until he was picked up. Turning on the humidifier and letting it run for a while certainly helped.  

As William will be three months old on Friday, Francis and I decided to buy William some new toys for him. I chose some activity balls and a toy bar for his carrier. Francis chose a piano that counts in French, Spanish and English. William likes them all so far. We all went to the dog park that afternoon. William is like his mommy in that he enjoys the outdoors. The weather was perfect. It was a fun family outing. Saturday night, we again struggled to put William to sleep.  At 9:30, I had had enough. I told Francis I had an idea. I got out the vacuum cleaner and turned it on. Almost instantly, William became calm. I vacuumed his room and then eventually, I picked him up and rocked him with the vacuum cleaner on in his room. He fell asleep. I put him in the crib and he stayed asleep. Then came the task of trying to get the vacuum cleaner out of the room and turn it off without waking William up. Francis somehow managed it and with much relief and joy, William slept 8 hours straight. That meant I got a continuous night's sleep. Something I really needed. God is good. Yay for vacuum cleaners!

 Yesterday after church, we attended a surprise party for a friend of ours. There were three other babies there. One was about 4 1/2 months old (a girl) and two were four months old (twin boys). William was heavier and longer than all of them. He was also the only one who could roll over. It was nice to see William around other kids, although the comparison made me realize I am really going to have to rely on my Heavenly father to do right by this special little boy. He is still around 16 lbs. and when I measured him this morning, he was between 25 1/2 and 26 inches long. He has already outgrown a couple of his 6 month outfits. Since each brand does sizing a little differently, he still fits in most 6 months clothing, but it will be all too soon before they don't fit either.

Well, William is up from his nap (nap! what an awesome word) so I am wrapping this up. It was a good week and a trying week. One of many, I hope!
Sunday: party with other kids smaller and shorter but older, none roll over yet. Out grown 6 month clothes, 16lbs. 26ish inches long