Casen's 6 month Update

Where has the time gone? I blinked and my baby turned 6 months! 6 months is kind of a big deal! It's the age where babies are no longer tiny. They sit up, roll over, start eating solids, and bits of their personality starts to appear. It's a milestone age, one that is so fun to document.


 I can't wait to get Casen's 6 month pictures taken in the next week or two.  He is getting so big and I has changed so much since he was a tiny newborn. So for now all that will be on the blog are some pictures I've taken.

Casen is so smiley! He smiles all day long and it's pretty much the sweetest thing you've ever seen! He is starting to laugh a lot and loves watching Lydia run around the house. He loves company and whines whenever I leave the room. Daddy is second favorite to Mommy still. Casen smiles and giggles when Brian comes home from work and picks him up. It's so sweet.

So, did I mention that Casen is now 21.5 lbs! Yeah, he is a big boy. The the first reaction I usually get from people is, "Wow look at that chunk!" He is wearing 12-18 month clothes, and I feel like I'm constantly buying him new pajamas. But having a cuddly, cubby baby is the best! I just love his cubby thighs, and big belly!

He still isn't too impressed with solids. I've tried cereal, but he hates it. I decided to try vegetables and that seems to be working a little better. He still doesn't love it, but today he ate almost a tablespoon of baby food, so I'm hoping he starts liking it.

He was sleeping awesome for like a week. He even slept for 8 hours one night. Then I don't know what happened. This past week he has been sleeping terrible!! He is never up screaming, and I've never once walked the halls, but he wants to eat constantly, and be held! I'm crossing my fingers that tonight will be better.

He rolls over from back to front and front to back, sits on his own, staring solids, and grabs everything he can! He loves toys and growls the whole time he is playing with something. He is just getting so big and I'm kinda sad about it! With Lydia I was excited for each stage, but with him it's just going by way fast and I want to savor every minute!

Lydia of course wanted her picture taken too. I can say that I have a whole new respect for photographers. This was seriously the best picture I could get. Lydia would not look at me and smile, and she wiggled all over! I don't have the patience for photography so kudos to all of you who do!

Here's another one :)

Another failed attempt....

Another one.....

And my favorite one :)

Well, we love our Casen boy so much! He is the Best Baby Ever! I don't know what we ever did without this sweet little guy. 

I'll be updating the blog again shortly with his official 6 month pictures once me and Kami have a spare minute to get them done. :)

Casen's 5 Month Update....

So my cute boy is tipping the scales at 20lbs these days! He is as chubby and happy as ever. He wears 9 month clothing, and even 9 month sizes are starting to get too tight. He grows out of everything so fast I have such a hard time keeping up with him! He thighs are seriously, so big that I put him in some 18 month pants and just roll up the bottoms!

So big milestones have been happening this month. Casen is now sitting up by himself! And we've started solids! However, Casen is not impressed with solid food at all. He makes faces, arches his back, and refuses to open his mouth for the spoon. I thought my chubster would be all over baby food! But, this guy couldn't dislike it more. Maybe by the time we get to six months he'll like it.

First time eating solids. Daddy helped :)

He is starting to roll over more from his back to his belly, but he his pretty slow. Hahaha, it takes a few minutes, but he can do it!


He no longer really fits in the bumbo. Which is fine, he doesn't like the bumbo seat for too long, but he'll stand in the exersaucer forever! He loves that thing. Just one other thing my babies have differed with; Lydia loved the bumbo as a baby, it was her favorite thing, and she didn't care for the exersaucer as much.

Here is a picture of Casen not fitting in his Easter outfit. I thought it was so funny, but I was kinda bummed about it too. I bought it in a 9 month size at target and I was sure it was going to fit him, but his thighs are just too chubby!

So on Easter the Easter Bunny brought Lydia a Trike. It is one that grows with the kids, and you can actually put a 9month old on it. There is a seat with straps and a tray. It also has a shade canopy. We thought it would be fun to put Casen in it when Lydia outgrows it.  So, Casen woke up earlier than Lydia on Easter, so it was only fair that he got to ride the bike first.

We sure love our little man. He is the best baby. I can already tell when he becomes a toddler I'm going to bawl my eyes out because he's been such a fun baby. I'm going to keep this boy little as long as I can!

Casen's 4 month Update...

So my sweet, cuddly, smiley boy's 4 moth stats are this: 18 lbs 4 oz and is 27.8 inches long. He is in the 97% for weight and 99.82 in height.

He rolls over now, but not often. He usually gets about half way over from his back to his belly and then gives up; ha ha. I think it's just too much work for my little, chubby guy.

Look at that cute chubby boy! I took these pictures so I can remember those cute chubby thighs. :)

He loves the water! We took the kids swimming for our niece's birthday and Casen just loved it! It was so cute, he just lounged back in his little raft thing and kicked, grinned, and looked around. He was in the water for hours and didn't fuss once! It was so much fun!

He loves bath time, and still wants to be held all day long. He is super snugly, and actually sleeps best snuggled up to me or Brian.

Speaking of Brian, Casen loves his Daddy. Lydia has always been a Mama's girl, and when she was a baby often times only me or my Mom were the only ones who could really console her when she was upset. But Casen is just as happy to have Brian pick him up when he is sad as me. Sure, when he's hungry of course he wants me, but when he is tired he'll snuggle up to Brian and go right to sleep. Brian just loves it.

He is getting pretty good at belly laughs now and still Lydia is one who can really get him laughing.

I love these cute siblings! Lydia just likes to lounge in her swimsuit, even though it's the middle of March. :)

As far as sleeping goes, once this past month he broke his record and slept for 5 hours straight, but for the most part he is still up every 3 hours eating!! I'm ready to start solids, but sadly I don't think Casen is :). I hope that soon he'll start to go longer between feedings, or start liking solids so I can get some sleep!

Even though he is up a lot at night, we still love our chubster. He is never up at night crying, so I really can't complain much. He is always smiling and happy to see me in the middle of the night, and even though I'm exhausted and frustrated when I hear him fussing through the baby monitor, as soon as I see him smile up at me I smile back feeling like my heart will burst with love for this sweet baby. Then I think, it's OK he won't be my baby forever, I'll enjoy these nighttime cuddles when it's just me and my baby.

Casen the Chunkster 3 Months...

First off, let me apologize for the picture quality. I'm no photographer, and I usually take pictures with my IPad or phone, both of which have poor cameras. Time to invest in a camera or better yet a new smartphone!  I will tell Brian I'm investing in a new smartphone for our children. They are the reason I need a high quality cell phone, it's not for me at all. :) I need it to capture their childhood, because they grow up so fast, ;) Yep, that will convince him.

Anyway, look at that adorable chunkster sitting so cute in daddy's chair! He is just so squishy! I can't get enough of this sweet chubby boy of mine. 

If you have been reading Casen's updates you'll know that we had to put off his 2 month check up for 3 weeks until he was fully recovered from a nasty cold. So, his 2 month stats are more like 3 months. So this kid weighs 15.8 lbs and is 26 inches long! He is almost off the charts in height in the 99.71 percentile. 

If you follow me on instagram or facebook you may have already seen that Casen laughed for he first time yesterday! Is that not the best sound in the world? 

He also has found his hands and his thumb! I keep taking his thumb out of his mouth when he starts sucking on it and I try to get him to take his binki instead, hoping he will grow to prefer the binki. However, I've been told that thumb suckers are great sleepers, and this week both me and Brian have been up a lot with both of our children. So as of right now, I'll take the thumb sucking.

He is a great eater, obviously, and typically is a pretty good sleeper. This week he hasn't slept as well. He's been eating more too, so maybe a growth spurt is coming?? He is already in some 6 month clothing so I really don't need another growth spurt!

This boy is still a cuddler, and honestly I hope he doesn't outgrow it ever! Sometimes I admit it is hard to get things done when he just wants me to hold him all day. But now that I have a busy toddler who would rather play then cuddle most days, it's a good reminder that they grow up fast, and these days won't last that long. So it's ok if laundry doesn't get put away right this second, I'll hold my baby a bit longer. :) In fact I'm typing this while holding Casen on my lap. Multitasking is a mother's greatest talent right? 

A sibling shot is totally necessary since Lydia LOVES baby Casen. She asks to hold him all the time, however, now she doesn't like to hold him as long. She holds him for just long enough to get a picture and then says, "Mommy, he heavy! All done!" That's my cue to step in a grab Casen before she drops him.

Casen is the sweetest boy. He brings so much happiness to our home. I just want to keep him little as long as I can. We all just love him. Brian takes him as soon as he gets home and rocks him in the chair, then Lydia will want to hold him, and when Lydia is in bed Mommy gets to rock Casen some more. I'm doing my best to make him a Mama's boy (honestly what Mom doesn't want a mama's boy). I'm probably spoiling him too much, but I'm not worried. My plan is to love him so much that no other woman will be good enough for him. :)

The Dark Side of Christmas...

Christmas is a time of year that is filled with traditions. As families we watch What a Wonderful Life, decorate our trees, go to temple square, and read the Christmas story from the Bible. For our family this year we of course participated in all the traditional Christmas activities; however this Christmas was not going to be all traditional. December of 2015 was a much awaited month for the Rose family not only for Christmas but for the long awaited Episode 7 of STAR WARS.

I consider myself a true Star Wars Fan. I'm proud to say that I grew up watching the original trilogy on VHS (remember those?) NOT the remastered versions.

www.fowllanguage.com/comic/star-wars-denial

 I remember my siblings and I would pick our favorite movie out of the trilogy and take turns watching them over and over. My favorite was The Empire Strikes Back, I thought Luke's training with Master Yoda was awesome, and I would find myself day dreaming about my own Jedi training.   However, since marrying a Star Wars super fan,  I've been informed that my knowledge about the Force is incomplete. I've recently been exposed to what Brian likes to call, "The Dark Side of Christmas."

In honor of The Force Awakens we each got a Star Wars ornament in our stockings this year. Brian got the Darth Vader ornament, I got Chewbaca, Casen 3CP0, and Lydia scored on the Yoda ornament.

During the Christmas season like most mothers, I thought it was important to try and teach my children about the true meaning of Christmas. Since Casen is 2 months old, he was the perfect pupil. He sat still, didn't talk out of turn and smiled whenever I talked to him about baby Jesus. Lydia was also a good pupil. By the end of our Christmas Story she was able to identify baby Jesus, Mary, Joseph, and the Shepard with our family Nativity we had on display. Brian, however, felt that this year more teaching was needed. He began to teach Lydia the ways of the Force and made sure that she was proficient with identifying the major Star Wars Characters. I had to film it cause it's just too funny.

We've established that Brian is on the side of the Empire and I think that he has successfully turned my toddler to the Dark Side. As you are about to see, Lydia prefers Darth Vader over any other character in the franchise.

A Few Minutes Later...

The Rose Family has experience the Dark Side of Christmas. "There has been an Awakening," in the Rose Family household. New Christmas traditions are about to come forth. I have a feeling that Star Wars will be a part of our Christmas for years to come.

Casen is 2 months...

 The month of December has been filled with snow, cookies, Christmas fun, and colds. Everyone in our little family has been sick this month, and my poor, little, baby boy is no exception. Luckily, it was just a cold and he was feeling better just in time for Christmas! We've not been to the doctor for his two month check-up and vaccinations since he's been home with a cold. So, we've pushed back his appointment and I'm not sure of his stats. He has gotten so chubby, and has grown so much I'm anxious to get his measurements. He is 2 months old and he has already outgrown his Christmas jammies which are a 3 month size! So, next week we'll find out when we go to his well child exam.

Casen is starting to smile a lot, and I just LOVE it! He's such a good baby, and really cries when he gets hungry. With his first cold he was still not very fussy.

This baby boy of mine loves to be held and cuddled. I try to hold him as much as I can during the day, but having a busy toddler makes it difficult. So, when Lydia goes to bed we make sure to get lots of one on one snuggle time before mommy goes to bed. Since Casen was sick with a pretty bad cold he got lots of cuddling, and slept with us holding him most of the time. Since then, he has not wanted to put down! He is feeling better, but just wants to be held all day long, and all night! These past two days I've been trying to get him used to being put back down again, it's been difficult. Especially since we are potty training Lydia. But that is another story for another blog post. :)

Casen loves to be talked to, as soon as you make eye contact with him start talking he smiles and coos right back. He especially loves his mama. He listens for me when someone else is holding him, and turns his head in my direction all the time. His Daddy just adores him, which melts my heart. Brian holds him all the time, and  Casen loves his Daddy too. He recognizes Brian's voice and is all smiles when Brian comes home from work and talks to him.  Casen is such a sweetie, and the most fun, easygoing baby. These two months have just flown by, but at the same time I feel like Casen has always been with us. We love this boy of ours, he has just completely stolen our hearts.




Here are some more pictures of sweet baby Casen...

This was taken right before Casen got sick. I love this picture, his belly is just too cute.

Lydia and Casen Christmas morning. While Lydia was holding Casen she said, "He heavy." We had a good laugh at that comment. 

Casen sleeping Christmas morning.

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I'm not kidding, he always gives me the bird when he is sleeping. My Dad is holding him in this picture and he thinks its the funniest thing ever. 

Lydia and Casen watching Tangled.

Casen looking adorable as always.

A picture I took today cause he is always so smiley and happy.

Casen's 4 Week Update

My sweet baby is 4 weeks old! It's like I blinked and his first month of life was gone! These pictures were taken by my sister Kami when he was 2 weeks old.

 At two weeks old Casen weighed 10 lbs. 5 oz. and was 22 inches long. He gained two pounds in two weeks! He is a snuggler, which mom and dad LOVE!  He is a very good eater, and sleeps pretty good most nights. He tends to get gassy sometimes around 3:00 a.m. which is not the most fun for any of us. Usually it means both mom and dad are awake trying to help Casen, and if he is particularly uncomfortable, and crying a lot, it means Lydia will wake up as well. Luckily, this has only happened maybe 3 or 4 times, so we are hoping Casen's little body starts figuring out how everything works and he grows out of this quickly!

Over all Casen is a mellow baby. He doesn't cry very much unless he gets gassy, and if he is upset he just wants to be held by Mom and he calms right down. We feel pretty lucky to have such a good baby, especially since we have a busy toddler to chase after.

Speaking of my busy toddler, during Casen's newborn shoot I wanted to get some sibling pictures, and Lydia just would not cooperate. This girl will not look at the camera for anything, and she is just too busy doing her own thing, so pictures and danged near impossible. Luckily we got a few cute ones, but none of her smiling and looking at the camera.

Hahaha, this picture pretty much sums up my day. Lydia loves her brother, a little too much most of the time. :)

And this is all Lydia wanted to do during the photoshoot. :)

I love this picture, I just wish she was looking at the camera.

Eventually we did get some pictures of Lydia looking at the camera. so she decided not to smile at all.

It totally reminded me of those old black and white photos taken of children during the early 1900's; you know the ones where they don't smile? Well, Kami got a kick out of it as well so she did one in black and white. :)

Hahahaha....oh toddlers they are so funny.

Anyway, we are so glad that Casen is here. He is so much fun, and we just love having a little newborn in the house again. I feel like with baby number two the newborn stage is going by so much faster! So I decidedI need to soak it up while I can, even if those times I need to soak it up fall around 3:00 a.m.