My most favorite time of the year ...

I'm so excited now that Fall is here! I love everything about the season ... especially in the beautiful Pacific Northwest. Corbin and I have been embracing the great fall days and going for lots of walks down on the river walk in Orting. I have also been taking advantage of the flavors of the season and baking all things pumpkin and drinking my fair share of Pumpkin Spice Lattes.

I've decided to make a new pumpkin recipe every week until Thanksgiving. So far we have enjoyed Pumpkin Scones, Pumpkin Butterscotch Cookies and Pumpkin Spice Pancakes. I'm still deciding what my next recipes will be so if anyone has any suggestions send them my way. I might have to remake a few recipes from last year to see if I can do them better this time around ... especially the Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins.

(If you want to try out some of these recipes, you should visit annies-eats.com. It's my go-to place for the best recipes.)

I'm looking forward to Corbin experiencing all of the upcoming holidays and celebrating them with our families ... which we haven't been able to do for a few years now.

Lesson learned

When your baby wakes during the night after sleeping for 6 hours, DO NOT try to change his diaper before feeding him. He will yell at the top of his lungs until you put food in his starving belly. Lesson learned!

Why didn't you warn me?

While I was pregnant, I had this idea of how life was going to be once Corbin was born. He was going to sleep through the night from the beginning and take long naps during the day ... I was going to shower, shave and apply make-up on a regular basis, always looking my best ... We were going to go for walks, or the mall, or restaurants while he smiled or slept the whole time.

Okay so I might be exaggerating a little, but to some extent, I thought things would be a little easier. Now after 3 months, I can look back and say things were not as easy as I had imagined. There were times when I was lucky to shower once in a 7 day span, when he would only sleep for 30 minutes the whole day and wake up 6 times a night, when any time we left the house it was guaranteed that he would cry 90 percent of the time.

I know he wasn't your typical baby and was a little fussier than most, but I realize now why no one filled me in on how tough things could be. I realize it because while those times were mere weeks ago for me and I thought we would never survive it, they have already become blurry. The days of crying have been replaced with smiles and "baby talk", the sleepless nights have been replaced with a baby in his crib, asleep by 8 p.m. every night, and outings that used to scare me, now excite me that I can show Corbin the world ... narrating our adventures the whole way.

I write this post now because I realize that life changes by the day when you have a baby and you have to roll with it. I know there are still tough times ahead, but we survived the first 3 months when there were times I didn't think I could survive another 3 seconds. And I write it to let those of you who have yet to enjoy the adventure of parenting that when you are up in the middle of the night crying more than your little one because you are exhausted and neither of you have slept in 24 hours, you are not alone and it will get better!

And if you don't believe me you need to go pick up the book "The Second Nine Months". It's a great memoir about a first time mom who has quite the tough time adjusting to parenthood.

Happy 3 months Corbin!

Age: 3 months

Weight: Approx. 18 pounds

Height: Approx. 25 1/2 inches

The months are just starting to fly by! Corbin is 3 months now and with the holidays approaching, I have a feeling I will blink and it will be time to start planning his first birthday. He is really growing up so fast and is developing quite the personality. It's so nice to now feel like he understands me and will laugh and "talk" with me. He even sings along with me in the car. He is smiling all the time and is just the happiest little thing that I can't get enough of! And he is starting to take a liking to toys that he can hold on to and shake to make noise.

Corbin is able to hold his head up steady when being held, but is still a little wobbly when he is sitting in his Bumbo seat, which he has just started doing. He is starting the initial movements of figuring out how to roll himself over. And if you prop him up on pillows, like he is in his picture, he always flexes his little ab muscles and flings himself forward, trying to sit up on his own.

Also, as of his 3 month birthday, we are putting him down in his crib in his nursery to sleep at night. (this is HUGE considering he wouldn't sleep without being held for the longest time and has always slept in our room at night.) He has yet to sleep through the night, but I am not expecting him to just yet and am grateful that he is only up 2 or 3 times at night (over a 11 hour span) to eat and then falls right back to sleep.

We are such proud parents and it's hard to picture life without him now. I have a feeling the fun is only beginning with him too, and look forward to all his big milestones that are to come!

(When I take his month pictures, I probably end up with about two dozen, just trying to get the perfect shot. During the process I tend to capture some of the many faces of Corbin. I've decided these "blooper" shots need to make the post as well so I will be including a few of my favorites from now on.)

Hamming it up for the camera ...

And this is a face I see all too often ... I think he's saying "Enough with the pictures already!"

Bad mommy blogger!

So I have really dropped the ball on this blogging thing lately. But now that life is getting into a loose routine and Corbin is enjoying the world a little more, I will have more time to update you on our life. Not to mention, now that Corbin is growing up and developing quite the personality, there is a lot more to talk about. So check back soon for more updates and pictures. I might even attempt a video if I get super ambitious!

2 months old!

Age: 2 months

Weight: 16 1/2 pounds (off the charts)

Height: 24 1/2 inches (95th percentile)

Corbin has been growing so fast! It's hard to think that just a couple months ago he was a mere 8 pounds. He is developing into such a little man and is getting to be a happier baby by the day. We don't have any type of schedule right now, but I see him starting to work in that direction. The one thing I can't quite figure out though, why he will only nap for 30 minutes at a time. Seriously ... it will be 30 minutes on the dot, whether he is in his crib, the car or his swing. I can usually get him to sleep longer in my arms, but then I can't get anything done. Especially now that I am working part-time from home, I need to be as productive as possible! He is sleeping much longer most nights, but we are still getting up a few times to feed ... but I'm not complaining!

Corbin is starting to be able to hold his head up really well, both while being held and while on his tummy. I have a feeling we are going to see lots of development from this little man very soon.

Corbin is 1 month old!

Where did the days go? I feel like our little man is growing up so fast and it's only been a month. While he might not be growing up fast, he is definitely growing fast. We had his one month check up and he is in the 95th percentile for height and OFF.THE.CHARTS for weight! We have a tank in the making! He weighed in at 13 1/2 pounds ... which means he is gaining more than a pound a week. While I would much rather him be a chunkster than not gaining enough, this kid eats more often than I ever expected.

Everything else looked great at his appointment. I talked with the pediatrician about his fussiness (okay, total purple-faced screaming) again to make sure he looked him over real good to rule out anything else. He says everything looks good and that its either a reflux thing or just a high maintenance baby. I'm also working on cuting out dairy to see if that helps at all ... but its SO hard to do.

I have faith that things will just keep getting better as we have good days more and more often. And I'm finally starting to understand his cues better so that helps.

So we have one month in the record books. It feels like just yesterday we were checking into the hospital, anticipating his arrival. We couldn't love him more and look forward to all the things he has in store for the future.

And here is one more picture of our chunkster ... he is the silliest little man.