September 15, 2013:

Well Football season has commenced and RJ had his first Sunday watching football on the couch with daddy last week. It was adorable. He seemed real into it as well. :) Turns out it was the best entertainment for cutting his fingernails as well. Who knew!!

Last week was eventful for RJ. He was playing on his activity mat one morning batting at the animals and mirror attached to the arch like crazy. It was funny, so I decided to video it. All of a sudden he got hold of one of the sides of the arch and ever so slowly pulled the whole arch on top of himself! It startled him at first and then he gave me smiles. I was laughing so hard. He hasn't done it since though. :) Always something new with him. Keeps us on our toes.

This past week he also found his toes. He likes to grab them with is left hand. We are trying to figure out whether he's going to be a left or right-handed baby. :) He tends to bat all the toys on his arch with his left hand too. We shall see. I'm left-handed and Robert is mostly right-handed, but does a few things with is left.

I'm happy to say that RJ is sleeping through the night on a pretty regular basis!! He has been waking up around 7am which is perfect for my morning routine. Seems that RJ has gotten really into his home routine and being in his familiar surroundings. We've been down at my moms this weekend so RJ could meet my cousin John and he's been a lot more fussy and waking up an hr earlier. Ugh... I tried leaving earlier in the day on Thursday to drive down and it took me an extra hr b/c we had to stop twice to change his diaper and feed him. It didn't help that we had to take a detour due to the on ramp being closed without my knowing and a torrential downpour in Knoxville. Oh bother... Oh well maybe going home tomorrow morning will be a lil easier. :) It sure makes it easier to have a 2nd person in the vehicle on these long trips. :)

Friday night after giving RJ a bath I was letting him play while we FaceTimed daddy. When Robert got to the point of saying goodnight and that he loved RJ, RJ all of a sudden broke out in loud talking. He was talking up a storm telling daddy something. It was so adorable. Robert tried saying goodnight a couple times and RJ would start up again talking. He's finding his voice for sure!!!

Well on a sadder note, I believe RJ has officially weaned himself from breastfeeding... It's slowly been happening over the past couple months. :( I'm blessed to have been able to give him my milk for so long. He's growing big and strong and that's all that matters now. :) I'm blessed to of even been able to experience the precious time of breastfeeding. I'm lucky RJ even latched on and enjoyed it. So many preemies get nipple confusion and end up just liking the bottles. He still loves to snuggle and fall asleep on my chest, so I will cherish every moment I get.

RJ is up to the 12 pound mark!! He's growing by leaps and bounds. It's so fun to see all the changes. He's really into holding onto our hands and standing up. He gets the biggest smile on his face. :) I wish he would roll more. He does it randomly. He's getting pretty good at scooting on his back though in combination with his hip thrusts. Last night he ended up turing 180 degrees in the bed. I laid him down horizontal in the pack n play and he woke up vertical. I guess he's just moving and progressing on his own schedule. I'm still totally in love with the lil guy.

We go to the NICU Grad clinic on Wednesday this week. We shall see how impressed they are with his weight gain. I'm hoping that he blows them away and gets closer to the normal weight curve on the growth chart. Keeping our fingers crossed!!

Thanks again for all your love, prayers, and support!! Keep 'em coming!!