Christian at 3 Months

It's been awhile since we did a post, so here are some pictures of Christian over the last month and a half. He's had his 3 month birthday, and his 4th is almost here. Some of his favorite things are chewing on his hands, being lifted up and down in the air, smiling at himself in the mirror with his hooded towel on, talking up a storm, and dancing with his parents.

He's had some big developments. He was propped up on a pillow, but he rolled over from his tummy to his back at Maria's this week. He's been trying to roll from his back to his tummy. He's halfway there. His biggest breakthrough is sleeping in his crib! Up until three nights ago, he's slept exclusively in his swing. We would try his crib, but he would wake up screaming and be very hard to calm down, so on Thursday night, Javier and decided it was time. We had him cry himself to sleep in his crib. It was awful, but I know from hearing other mother's stories that he'll be a much better sleeper afterward. He only cried for 35 minutes (an hour is average), so we are very thankful for that. Ever since that time, the most he's cried is 5 minutes. Now, he let's out a small cry and falls right to sleep. One thing we've learned so far being Christian's parents, is that things change, so I hope he keeps going to sleep well!

Javier's good friend Russell got married in June. Here's Christian in his Sunday best headed to the wedding.

The three of us at the wedding:

Christian and Uncle Travis on July 4th:

Christian met his cousin, Sofia. While Sofia wanted to be friends, Christian wasn't a big fan of her scream. She shrieked a couple of times, and he would cry in return. I guess he's not quite ready for girls yet.

We got Christian a Bumbo chair, but his poor little thighs are a little too chunky. We have a hard time getting him in and out.

Christian smiling at daddy during bath time.

Daddy and Me

Happy Father's Day! It's Javier's first and while we can't get out and celebrate too much with Christian so young, I want him to know how much Christian and I love him. He's a great dad! Here are some photos of the adventures Daddy and Christian have had so far.

Javier was one proud Dad the day Christian was born.

Christian gets swaddled in this crazy blanket at night, and I think he looks so silly. Here's he and Javier hanging out.

Chillin' on the couch. Much more of that to come, I'm sure.

When Christian was only three weeks old, we took him to Fredericksburg and "tried" to take him hiking at Enchanted Rock, Javier's favorite hiking spot. We only made it a part of the way up, but it was fun while it lasted.

Javier and Christian love to play on his play gym. Sometimes they dance, sometimes Jonah, the whale, or Myrtle, the turtle, talk and hang out with Christian.

Here's Christian visiting Daddy's work at 4 weeks old.

Happy Father's Day, Javier! There are many more adventures to come!

Back to Work

I had to leave our little nest and get back to work! I've been working now for two weeks, and it's been two weeks of highs and lows. At times, I miss him more than I can handle and at others I'm happy to be on my own and in the adult world again. One thing is certain, our little family is blessed. Christian is our little blessing, and God has helped us so much along the way to his arrival. Every time a worry would come up in relation to our finances and having Christian, God would take it away. It really was amazing. The final worry we had was about daycare, not just the expenses, but also about trusting a stranger with our little baby. Christian is lucky to have three grandmas who have re-arranged their schedules to watch him while I'm at work. My mom and stepmom alternate coming down from Fredericksburg on Mondays, and Maria has changed her work schedule around, so she can watch him on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays. Christian is a lucky guy. He's got lots of people who love him, and he's healthy and happy. We had his two month appointment at the doctor this week, and he is now 14 lbs and 23.5" tall. His weight is in the 92 percentile for his age! Here he is at 2 months old.

Beach Bum

While we had the chance, we bravely went where parents of 6 week olds rarely go (and maybe shouldn't go), on a road trip. We decided to take advantage of the long weekend and the time before I go back to work to visit Javi's grandma in McAllen. While Christian used to fall asleep easily in his car seat, we learned that that is no longer the case. He and, thus, Javier and I had a long day, so for our visit with Great Abuela, Christian wasn't a happy camper. Like most Grandma's, she saw the positive in her great grandson and complemented his strong vocal cords.

When we finally made it to South Padre, though, Christian enjoyed the beach.

Here is Christian and Daddy enjoying the ocean breeze. Daddy could have used a cool hat like Christian.

We weren't too sure if the water would be too cold, but we decided to let Christian dip his toes into ocean. To our surprise he loved the water...we have a future beach bum on our hands!

Like any true beach bum, Christian enjoyed morning walks on the beach. The strong wind and crashing waves put him to sleep.

Abuelo and Abuela also came to South Padre to hangout with their future beach bum grandson

Getting to Know Christian

Christian is already going to be 6 weeks today! Time flies. We've learned a lot about each other over the last 6 weeks. He are ten things we know about Christian.

1. We've discovered that patience isn't one of Christian's greatest virtues. When he's hungry, he lets the world know, and he will not stop till he gets fed.

2. Our most important lesson so far, if nothing else works, turn on the vacuum cleaner! It will instantly quiet him and put him to sleep.

3. If you saw the video, he's learned to smile over the last 6 weeks. Just now, he was sitting by himself in his swing, and woke up. When I came over to him and talked to him, he gave me a big smile. He was happy to see me!!

4. We've also seen traces of laughter. Twice, while he's sleeping, I've noticed him let out a little giggle. What he's dreaming about we will never know.

5. He can makes "ewwww" and "awwww" noises and big tired sighs when he yawns.

6. Christian does not like waking up in strange places, which makes getting out with him a little difficult. If he goes to sleep in the car in his car seat but wakes up, say, eating breakfast in a bakery with his parents (this happened yesterday morning) he will scream bloody murder and take quite a while to be soothed back to sleep. The same thing happened when he woke up during worship at church. Here he is asleep, but it didn't last long.

7. Apparently, the pouty face comes innately in babies. Here's Christian's best:

8. Christian takes a bottle like a champ. He might have missed mommy a little, but he definitely likes daddy a lot more now.

9. Javier and I both like being outside. We go hiking and try to go camping alot. Luckily, Christian is also a fan of the outdoors. He's usually much happier when he's outside.

10. And last but not least, Christian really enjoys bathtime. He just sits in the tub real relaxed and kicks his legs around. He isn't quite laughing and playing, but it's fun to give him a bath. We won't embarrass him too bad with the naked picture, but here he is after.

Good Morning Christian!

Christian has a wide variety of moods and faces that can change in a second. In this video Christian has just woken up and he goes from a frown to a smile instantly. Enjoy!

Family

Christian has great grandparents. They've been a HUGE help to us as we're getting used to taking care of the little guy. When we took him home from the hospital, Javier and I were exhausted from our stay and also a little shell shocked as to how to take care of Christian. My mom came and stayed with us for several days when we got back from the hospital, and she did so much. She made us big dinners everyday and froze the leftovers. She made me breakfast and lunch and snacks while I was feeding Christian. She even cleaned the oven and the kitty litter boxes! My stepdad, Fred, swept the patio, put up a shelf that we had been meaning to put up, and rinsed out our trash can! Here's mom with Christian:
Christian's abuela (Javi's mom), comes by when she has a few hours here and there to give me a break or even to let Javier and I get out of the house and have some time to ourselves. She's been a big help and always does the dishes or cleans the house. Here she is given Christian a bath:

Here is Christian meeting his Oma and Opa (my stepmom and dad).

Christian was a little fussy at first when he met his great Oma, but soon calmed down and gave her a smile. Grandma's all have the touch!

Four generations of the Arlitt family.

Christian enjoys making a bed out of anyone who is willing. Here he is with his Uncle Travis. He stopped by and was Christian's bed for a couple of hours.

My other brother Daniel stopped by this morning with Brook, Troy, Mattie, and Mayson. They were excited to meet their new nephew and cousin.