Raleigh - 3 months

Cripes this is late, Raleigh is almost 4 months old at this point but he has been so gosh darn cute this month how could we skip?!'

Raleigh laughs! Raleigh rolls! Raleigh sleep regresses! 

So much growth this month. I'd have to go back into Hayes and Cal's monthly updates to be sure, but I am preeeetty sure I didn't say this for them so hopefully some credibility is intact when I announce -- Raleigh is a genius. Yes, Hayes and Cal are both highly intelligent in their own respective ways, but Raleigh is advanced in a way I haven't experienced at this age. I sound INSUFFERABLE and I am laughing at myself, but this is for memory's sake so I gotta.

He mimics sounds. He says Hi. No joke. I say Hi he says Hi back. I wave at him and he watches my hand like a hawk then sticks his hand out and moves his fingers a bit. He is the most studious baby, he just watches you and examines you and bores into your soul sometimes. It's disarming in a way that no baby has disarmed me before. I am still laughing but I'm dead serious.

He is super vocal. You know those videos of dogs who howl with their owners, like back and forth they just howl together? He does this. And he'll switch back and forth between sounds and I copy his sound and he copies mine and we go back and forth for a good minute or so and it's the cutest.

He rolls from his stomach to his back and he travels quite a bit when he sleeps so guessing he's got some sort of army crawl down.

First flight // last flight

I took him on his first flight to Santa Barbara for a work thing and I hired a sitter basically blindly from an acquaintance but everything went well. I got my work done the first day and then basically cuddled in a hotel bed with him for the second day. I made and have since made the mistake again of sleeping on my stomach at night. Both times I think I clog a milk duct or something and I feel terrible the next day or so. Like flu-ish, achey, and tired. Maybe it's mastitis but I can usually get it to go away after a day. Gotta learn my lesson! I am working again to get my milk supply up but he pretty consistently gets and needs a few ounces of formula a night. He sleeps so much better and even thought I feel bad about it I am grateful for the option since flipping sides back and forth ten times gets frustrating.

Facetiming // Trying so hard to get a pic of him at the beach. Ha! He hated the sun in his eyes but loved the sound of the waves and slept most of the time.

The last few days he was up every hour or two and it rocked my world. I remember my other boys doing this and everyone says it takes forever to grow out of and eventually is the reason they all sleep train their babies, and I foresee another struggle with this. I am terrible at sleep training and hate it and don't want to do it. Russ usually ends up doing it and then I am so grateful because they sleep so much better but I just can't - at least not yet. Hoping I can help him get a better routine in place without crying it out. It breaks my heart!

I just can't stress enough how sweet this baby is. His whole face smiles, his whole face cries, his whole body gets startled when he hears a new or loud sound. It's the funniest thing. His arms shoot out like he's reaching for the walls and his eyes get wide. Every time I blow a raspberry into the air he gets startled. He's really sensitive to sound and loudness like Hayes was!

 He lights up a room, he flirts. He is everything to me I just can't complain or even wish away a single second. We're so blessed and grateful for him! All of us. Cal says "I yuv you soo0OO0ooo much Ra-wee." Hayes takes the best care of him and when I had to bring him to a thing at Hayes' school Hayes literally paraded him around. Russ looks pained when he doesn't get enough time with him.

We also blessed him this last month which is always so great. Russ friends come in droves and I love seeing the strength my boys have to look up to and turn to and grow up with! I can't remember hardly  anything about the blessing except that his body would be healthy for serving others and maybe something about kindness and getting married to a worthy woman and having a family of his own.

Raleigh as a Jedi at a birthday party