Love him.

Who knew such a dimply butt could be so darn cute? Now when I squeeze the sides of his butt, he laughs. Ticklish bum :) Since he was born, his backside is very sensitive and it makes him squirm all over.

Bryce loves every part of his bath besides the part that comes after. He screams when we have to dress him again. He doesn't mind getting dressed in the morning, it is only a night time thing.

We feel like he has really sprouted a personality and he has been so much fun to interact with. He will recognize David and I with a smile on his face when either of us come around and talking with him is quite fun! Last week, just before bedtime, Bryce found his voice and started to coo like crazy! Later in the wee hours of the night he decided it was better idea to wake up and tell us ghost stories instead of sleep. Needless to say, it was a very hard day at work the next day when you hear ghost stories all night :) We just stayed in bed with smiles on our faces listening to Bryce. Here is his face when he coo's. He loves figuring out how to make his lips curl like this:
And now I'll leave you with a smile :)

Majority votes Bryce looks like David

Bryce is full on smiles these days. I don't feel like we are getting lucky if we catch a smile, we know how to make him smile and I love it. He also gets his tongue going like a little lizard.
He is getting pretty strong with his head. Being on his tummy doesn't make him mad anymore and he seems to enjoy it for short periods. He will lay on his back much longer. I usually set up his floor toy behind the couch while I make dinner and he entertains himself the whole time. I don't let him stay on his tummy while I cook though, I get too worried still. Once he is rolling over on his own, I think I'll feel more at ease.
Lilly is pretty funny with him being on the floor so much these days. She will bring all her toys and continuously drop them right by him. She doesn't like all the attention he gets but she also wants him to play with her. She'll figure it out eventually. I'm sure one day she'll miss it when he didn't bother her. She is going to start hiding from him soon :)
This is a picture of the face I stare at lots when I am rocking him to sleep. He just stares at me until he can't hold open his eyes any longer. I think it is such a sweet little face.

On another note, I've started back to work. It is hard to leave him every morning. I cry but I have managed not to cry at work. I think it is partly because I have split my lunch break to be able to pump every day to continue breastfeeding. I think this keeps my emotions in check at work to my surprise. I feel like I am still able to provide for him even while I am away and it makes me feel really good. It also gives me time to check in on him and think about him, work aside. I do think breastfeeding is the hardest thing I have ever done. It is a monsterous commitment but I know it is worth it and I have kept at it but look forward to the end. It is much easier than it was the first several weeks. The hardest part about going back to work is the guilt I feel for only seeing bryce a few hours a day and on weekends. I know lots of mamas out there do it, I try and remind myself of that.

Ocean Trip #1

My mom took Bryce and I to Seaside, OR for a couple nights during the week. This was back in August but I am just now getting around to posting it :)

We went for 2 nights and had a great time! It was great for my mom to get to spend so much time with him and get to know him even more. My mom had a great plan, she told me she would get up with Bryce during the night so I could sleep. Ahh, the thought of sleeping a whole night again. When Bryce woke, he was not happy that he wasn't in my arms and he let Grandma know! She didn't give in though and worked hard to calm him down. It was a long night. The next day we were in our hotel room and out of one my mom's many bags she tossed out an Us Weekly magazine. I told her I didn't realize she bought those. She said she doesn't usually but she bought it because she thought she could read it while she was up in the night with Bryce. Ya right! She must have thought I was making up the stories of how awful of a sleeper he is.

As I write this, I realize there has been so much progress in his sleep these past few weeks. I have to think now to remember how bad of a sleeper he was. He is still not a great sleeper at almost 14 weeks old, he is much better though. I am thankful.

The weather for Bryce's first trip was great because it didn't rain once. In my opinion, that makes for great weather at a WA or OR beach, no rain. If you get sun or warmth, it is a bonus. We spent our time walking around shops, eating, and basically letting Bryce be our boss for what he felt up to next. When we first arrived to Seaside, the power was out. I mean OUT. No traffic lights, hotel was completely black, every shop, every restaurant. We thought it would be a good idea to go hurry for some discount ice cream :) Several hours past and the electricity finally came on. It didn't stop us when it was off, we continued doing things as if it were on.

It was a nice trip and Bryce seemed to enjoy himself. I always love visiting down there and can't wait to go again.One more for the memories!