"Moo I'm a Cow"

Who would have thought I would be calling Peter at work, not to talk but to Moo in his hear so that Lucas would Moo back! It was pretty exciting I have been copying what he has been saying for a few weeks now but Today I was reading his story about the farm and in the farm there are some cows and they say "Moo" of course. This time Lucas Moo'd back or at least made an OOO sound. So the rest of our play time was me trying to get him to repeat it again, and he did - lots of fun for us. So we spent the rest of play time looking around at all the cows he has in his room Mooing!





He still loves the toy that Opa bought him though. He enjoys being on his change table and sometimes if he just wont stop crying. I pop him on the change table and he talks to his friend "Big Bug" until he has calmed himself down. I wish I could take "Big Bug" everywhere we go!





We have had a couple of really good days, lots of sleeping and some good play times. Yesterday I started to move him from the carry cot into his crib - so not such a good day, today I didn't bother. But I really need to do something he is going to out grow the carry cot soon so I thought we might transition to the big crib slowly. We will see, cold turkey might just be the best way to do it, I haven't decided yet.


Lucas is trying to stay warm in our very cold house!!




Tonight is Sandra's birthday dinner and Peter has said he will stay home with Lucas and I can go! Pretty exciting - we will see if Lucas cooperates or not though, he should sleep the whole time but Lucas often has his own ideas of how he thinks things should go, oh well it is worth a try.





It's a long weekend here this weekend - Queen's Birthday! No huge plans but it will be nice to have Peter around to play with Lucas again, I think Peter misses seeing him all day. They will have to have some quailty boy time doing boy things - who knows what he will teach him next.

New Things

Video finally uploaded - Lucas learning how to Karate Chop!!

Lucas has had a few unusual days, some bad and some good. Yesterday was a fantastic day he slept when he was supposed to for as long as he was supposed to and fed at the right times. Saturday was a horrible day he was up all day and grumpy all day. Today has been a good day he has been up most of the day but happy so we have had lots of little converstations and smiles so I cant really complain. Hopefully these days stay around.

He is doing excellent at holding his head up and can look around on both sides (at least today he did) not just to the left! If I pull him up by his arms he can pull his head up and put it back down all under control. He is cooing a lot more and likes it when we repeat what he has said. He loves the toy that hangs above his change table that Opa bought him and continues to talk to it and smile away - we are still waiting for a real laugh, he seems so close. He likes to pull his feet up to his face and often touches his face with his hands - he seems to be figuring out that they are attached to him and that he has some control over what they do.

Our swing has proven successful although not every time but he does nap in it which has been a help since it has started to rain a little more often now which makes walking outside a pain for me.

He is doing new things everyday and growing so fast it is hard to believe he is going to be 3 months old in a week - shocking!!!

Peter started back to work today which was sad had to get back into the swing of doing things on my own again, happy Lucas helped to make this feel not too hard. Before he left he made sure to read a story to the little guy - lots of smiles and talking from Lucas for Daddy. Peter has had some good cuddles with Lucas tonight to make up for the fact that he missed him during the day.

Last night Elissa and Sean came over and cooked dinner for us so that was a nice end to Peter's holiday.

All in all today things are looking up and I have less to complain about although I am sure I could find some things if I were pressed!

Some cute pictures I thought you might like! chubby little feet!!

Mr Muscle Man. Eat your heart out girls!

Getting bigger

Lots of fun in the jolly jumper lately - he is doing really well, I am not sure he knows what is going on but really seems to like it (at least that is what we think). He is getting more used to being on his tummy as well.

We still continue to struggle with sleeping and as I type this he is starting to cry.

.....Just got back from a few laps around the driveway.....

We bought a swing today to see if he will sleep in that some during the day. He has gotten so much better but it would be nice if he slept a little bit longer at each sleep.

He has started putting together more sounds and seems like he might laugh any day.

He is still a little guy and is still fitting into some of his newborn clothes, although we had to go up to the next size in diapers. He is getting a little big for the front pack, soon he will have to turn around to look out instead of facing in for a sleep.

Hard to believe he will be 11 weeks this saturday - time is just flying by.

Tomorrow Peter and I are going back to the place that we took our pre-natal classes to demonstrate how to bath a baby. Should be pretty good as Lucas usually screams when he gets out of the bath maybe it will give the soon to be parents a bit of an eye opener.

Sleep, sleep and more sleep

Lucas and I had our first night alone this weekend. Peter went to Rotorua to go sledging and rafting so Saturday night Lucas and I stayed on our own. It went really well, he had a bath and a massage as normal and went down to sleep around 8pm. I went to sleep right after. He slept until 1am and then woke again at 5am so not too bad overall. It was nice to be able to feed him in the bedroom and not worry about waking up Peter. But it was nice to have Peter home again on Sunday night.



Lucas has been doing a really good job of sleeping getting at least an hour in between feeds - we are trying to stretch it out closer to two hours but he doesn't seem to be going for that. Since he has been sleeping so much he has developed a flat spot on the back of his head. Today we went to the doctor to check it out. We were also concerned that he doesn't really like to look to the right. The doctor seems to think his neck is fine but she has referred us to the hospital clinic to check out his flat head - it may just be a case of making sure to change his sleeping position each time but better safe than sorry.



Lucas had a really good tummy time today, he is getting better and liking being on his tummy better as well. He is starting to talk (make noises) more often and his cries are changing as well. We haven't figured out what the different cries mean yet but we are getting there.



He is 10 weeks old now, getting closer to that 3 month mark which is pretty exciting - I hear that is when lots of things change by then - especially the sleeping through the night thing. Although being a rule breaker as he has been all along I am not expecting it to happen too soon.





We continue to walk around the neighbourhood to keep Lucas asleep. Sometimes he will fall back asleep by just pushing the buggy back and forth in his room but most of the time that is not quite good enough for him.



Lucas got his passport this morning so we are now able to travel! It is a really cute picture, funny thing is it is valid for 5 years! I am sure he will change a little over the five years.



Peter has been making good use of his time off and has almost finished painting the house and has redone all the front gardens. He has planted lots of native trees to make it look a little more "kiwi" The house is looking pretty good. I think he has enjoyed being outside and doing some work with his hands. The weather has been beautiful so that has made it much easier as well to get outside. It has been really nice having him at home I like being able to hand Lucas off to him for a little while and I can take a break. It is also nice to have him around the make dinner. I am really going to miss it when he goes back to work.



Hopefully those trees will grow and cover the ugly fence!

Wakie Wakie Lucas

On Top of the World

What a cutie!

This is my solution to not enjoying tummy time. We roll around on a beach ball. He still has to hold up his head and I feel better that he might have less of a flat spot. We still do a bit of tummy time but not much as it makes him cry.

We continue to walk Lucas around the block to get him to sleep more. Good news is he is settling quicker - 10 mins and we are generally only walking him around when he wakes up to early, which tends to be an hour after he goes to sleep. Making a huge difference in how much time he has as a happy guy and I get more done.

It has been great having Peter home, he is getting lots done around the house and I don't always have to take Lucas for the walk although I think Lucas just wants to make sure that I loose all my pregnancy weight so that I dont have to buy new pants - he must have some dutch in him - making me save money already!

Mothers Day

My first mothers day! Lucas got me a book "Growing Great Boys" by Ian Grant, We have heard him speak a couple of times at our church, he is really good. I think Lucas wants to be a great boy, although I already think he is. I also got a card from my Mom and flowers and a card from Peter's parents.

So the day started at 2:30 this morning with a feed for Lucas and then back to sleep until 7am with another feed. Then back to sleep but the little guy only slept until 8am. We have been reading about ways to settle him back to sleep so that he gets the full amount and one of the ways is to put him in his buggy and take him for a walk so at 8am I jumped out of bed and took him for a swift walk around the block, Peter tagged in and I got ready for the day, Lucas went to sleep until it was time to feed again - it appears the walking around works and is pretty good for my figure as well. Same thing for the rest of the day. Put Lucas down to sleep and if he doesnt settle or wakes himself up and cant resettle take him for a walk. Needless to say Peter and I have been doing a lot of walking today.

At around 3:00 this afternoon Elissa and Sean came over, Lucas was having some happy time and then he needed to go down for his nap, again didnt settle so this time Aunt Elissa and Sean took him around the block for his walk - good timing for Peter and I as in typical Auckland weather it was a beautiful sunny day when they left and about 5 mins later complete down pour they got soaked!! Thanks Aunt Elissa - that is dedication to your nephew for sure

I also took some time to wash the diapers that we are planning to use and hung them out in the sun to dry, although they got caught in the rain so Peter and I were running around the crazy people trying to get them in - they are now in the garage still trying to dry (it has been a whole day event!). Before bed we tried one on Lucas to see if he could wear them yet. They reached to his armpits - I think we will wait a little while longer.

I got a nap this afternoon which was really nice - I havent been taking them the last little while but really felt like I needed it today. When Peter woke me up I could have sworn it had been 5 mins but it was a 1/2 hour, I was right out - must have been tired.

Yesterday we had Lucas in the Jolly Jumper for the first time and he loved it. We didnt take any pictures so today when he was in it we were prepared with the camera. He didnt like it as much today. He still did really well in it lots of jumping and holding up his head which should help with his flat spot because he isnt such a big fan of tummy time

Bought another soother today in hopes that he would take it to help calm him down - 4 for 4 on "no way mom"

A Great Visit

We have had a few busy weeks touring a bit of Auckland and the Coromandel with Opa and Grandma (Luke and Hennie Matter). Lots of fun and lots of sights to see. Lucas has learned how to travel in the car - he did really well sleeping most of the time. He still doesn't like to get into his car seat but seems to be able to fall asleep once he is in it. Peter's parents left on Wednesday and we are slowly getting back to normal around here - if there is any such thing as normal with Lucas he sort of dictates what we do and when we do it. I had a good sleep last night, I went to bed at 7:30 though.

Lucas was weighed yesterday and is now 4.76 kg 10.5 lbs, he hasn't grown in length still 58 cm so maybe he will take after the Oakley side of the family and be a little on the short side. He does have a chubby belly though!

He is starting to talk (make noises) and respond to us a little more every day which is nice, we are working on giving him more time on his tummy as he now has a flat spot on the back of his head - oops! He has also started to grab onto things and shake them around although he still seems a bit confused as to how he got ahold of the toy and how to let it go but all will come. He likes to suck on his fist, apparently that is a developmental stage and not the desire for more food (who knew!)

Still having problems with sleep, just doesn't like to go to sleep unless it is night time, we are getting there though - leaps and bounds better than the first couple of weeks. I'm not sold on the cry it out method. It only works if you are less stubborn than the child I think and he definetly takes after his Dad in that department. I think he would cry all day if I could let him do it just to spite me. We are still trying though. Looking for some good books on how to get babies to sleep. Tried reading to him as well, sometimes that works other times he just laughs at me.

We went to a bach in Hahei for a couple of days it was really nice to get out of the city and get out for some walks. Lucas did really well on a hike to Cathedral Cove he slept all the way there and back which was perfect for the rest of us. Took him for a walk around the town and only slept for about 30mins of that walk though so as Grandma says "there is no normal with a baby" it is just whatever goes that day.

Went yesterday to get pictures done for Lucas' passport and it was mailed away yesterday, hopefully in a few weeks he will be able to travel. Once that is done we can start working on getting Canadian Citizenship for him. Funny that his passport and photo will be valid for 5 years - I think he might change a little over those 5 years.

Uncle Andy graduated from Boot Camp on May 1st. Another Canadian Dragoon in the Oakley family. I thought he looked pretty good in his uniform so wanted to share it with all of you. He is now going on course in Petawawa so maybe him and Colin will be able to spend some time together and Andy will get to meet our niece Hayden.

Uncle Colin and Hayden (born March 18th 2008) are spending some time together. He sure looks like a proud Dad. Apparently she is a chubby little lady just like her daddy was when he was a baby. She is heavier than Lucas although that isn't too tough of a challenge, I think that Lucas is going to be petite for a little while longer.