Growing... Growing... GONE!

I haven't written in a while because someone hacked into our email account and I didn't have the password for my blogger account. BOO! So much has happened since the last time I wrote. I won't waste time with random chatting... let's get right down to the good stuff.

Brooks has been getting so big and mature over the past few weeks. He learned to roll over, started laughing, and even began eating solid foods (which Stephen doesn't get why they call "solids" since they are actually just a more chunky version of formula that we feed with a spoon). He now wears a size 2 diaper (which is a big deal because he was in Newborn diapers until he was almost 2 months old).

Stephen and I have been adjusting to parenthood... and just like I anticipated, there isn't as much "we" time as we might need. It's just difficult to find that time to spend together when there's so much going on with Brooks. I think we both feel like if we blink, we might miss something. Brooks' laughter brings so much joy into our home. When we tickle him, he laughs so hard he starts to cry because he can't breathe. He loves being tossed up in the air, he loves bath time and it makes him laugh when he splashes water all over the place, and he has recently started to love playing peek-a-boo and "Where's Brooks?"

Last week he had to go to his pediatrician for his 4 month check-up. He weighed 13 pounds, 12 ounces and was 25 1/4 inches long. He got shots and he only cried for about thirty seconds. The nurses laughed at him because his cry was so pathetic. He always has had such a tiny little cry... it's more of a whimper really. Another big change for me is that I have gone from a milk machine to slow drips. It has been so rough on me that my breastmilk is drying up because I wanted to feed him only breastmilk for at least a year, but sometimes God has other plans. We have started doing formula and breastmilk (against my wishes) but hey, we can't starve the boy!

Next topic- Mother's Day! It was wonderful. When you become a mother, sometimes you lose your identity. People stop hugging YOU when you show up at church, but want to grab your adorable baby instead. But the wonderful thing about Mother's Day is that people all the sudden remember you exist... and that lasts about fifteen seconds and THEN they want to grab your adorable baby. But hey, fifteen seconds is better than nothing.

Speaking of Mother's Day... I know when I first began this blog I was rather upset that I was unexpectedly going to be a mother. But I have to say, there is nothing better in this world (other than Christ's love for me, and then Stephen's love for me) than being a mother. The way Brooks' face lights up when he hears my voice makes my heart melt every time I look at him. I absolutely HATE being away from him overnight (mostly because I am scared when I get home he will be six feet tall like his daddy and have braces) but at the same time I love coming home to him after being away because somehow, he knows I'm home.

It's unreal to me how big Brooks already has gotten. He is such a big boy now, eating solids and sleeping through the night, that it breaks my heart to think that he is just going to KEEP growing. I know parents are supposed to raise a child and then let them go out into the world and be an adult... but he's only four months old and I am sitting here in tears thinking that one day he is going to leave me.

Growing (from newborn to solid foods)... Growing (from pre-school to high school)... Gone (graduating college and getting married)... he's always going to be my precious little baby boy. And I refuse to ever stop calling him Brooksie.