Two Months!

Little Semmes is two months old.  And no, time has not flown.  He weighs 14 pounds and is 23.5 inches long.  That is the 92nd pecentile for weight and the 69th for height.  His height-for-weight percentile is 88.  In comparison, at Cooper's two month visit he was just over 7 and a half pounds, 21 inches, and in the 5th percentile.  So Semmes is literally twice as big as Cooper was.

Cooper at two months:

He got his first set of shots today.  And that did not go well.  Semmes, surprisingly, is a screamer.  Considering how calm he normally is, I was not expecting this at all.  And it was horrible.  Cooper was much calmer about the whole shot thing.  And the screaming has continued.  Every time Semmes has woken up today he has screamed and cried until he has gone back to sleep.  Shots are not going to be fun.

He continues to be a ridiculously efficient eater. He ate for 11 minutes total at the nutrition visit and ate 7 ounces.  He's two months old; he should be eating more like 4.  But Dr. B says there isn't much we can do to change that since he doesn't eat for very long.

He is starting to smile more.  And he finds the weirdest things funny.  Like his tongue.  He'll stick it out then just grin really big.  Over and over again.  It's really funny to watch.  And when we were doing his two month photo shoot, I was trying to take pictures of him sitting next to the giraffe, but he just wouldn't smile.  As soon as he started falling over, he thought that was hilarious.  So that's why he is all angled weird in his picture.

Sitting up=not happy:

Falling down=hilarious:

Cooper is doing much better with Semmes.  He actually looks at him and smiles at him.  It's pretty nice, actually.  Hopefully this continues.  I included this picture again just because it's one of my favorites.

Toltec Mounds State Park

Since Brad didn't have to work today, we decided to take a short trip to see the Toltec Mounds.  It was a perfect day and with a nice breeze coming off the lake, we had perfect weather as well.  There were once 18 mounds on the site; now there are only three left.  The mounds were used for burial, to house ceremonial buildings and residences, feasts, and to measure the solstices and equinoxes.  Native Americans lived and worshipped in the area for about 400 years before they left for unknown reasons in 1050 AD.  Anyway, pictures!

Part of the walk included a boardwalk that went out over the oxbow lake. 

Cooper enjoyed this part (probably the shade).

Semmes and me

Someone was worn out!

These pictures speak for themselves...

Cooper: not so sure if he wants to be a doctor...

But he knows he loves his brother.

My favorite:

Baptism

On Sunday, May 19, Semmes was Baptized into the Christian faith.  It was on Pentecost and was a very festive and beautiful ceremony.  My parents and Semmes came into town.  We missed Madeline and Greg and McConnell.  Especially McConnell, since he is one of Semmes' Godparents!!

All of the Schneiders came for the big event!  Jessica and Austin are Semmes' other Godparents.

Godparents in church!!  This was the only picture I got in church.

It was also my parents' 35th wedding anniversary!!  So we got them a surprise cake to celebrate!

We got Semmes the exact same Christianing petit fours we got Cooper.  Though Cooper's initials were a little bit darker blue.

Semmes' gown was worn by my grandfather, Uncle Bill, cousin Oliver, McConnell, and now Semmes.  Four generations!!  Cooper wore the gown that Brad wore when he was Baptized.

The little booties were hand crocheted by my grandmother; aren't they pretty!?

Overall, it was a great weekend.  We had bbq and beer at the house afterwards and everyone had a great time.  My two children, of course, slept through the party.  But I don't really blame them.  It was a long, eventful weekend.  Austin, Jessica, Charlotte, and Ethan stayed at the house, so there were four adults and four children for the weekend.  I discovered my house is not big enough for that many people.  We went to the Greek Food Festival Saturday afternoon.  We had a babysitter so the adults could go to dinner Saturday evening (my parents had dinner on their own for their anniversay; so romantic!).  Then Sunday was just nonstop.  It was a fun weekend, but I'm kinda glad it's over and that Semmes is "marked as Christ's own forever!" 

Cooper Update

Cooper is doing awesome.  He's problem solving a little, mimicking the sounds we make, and finding the most random things funny.  For example, last night I was saying his name in this really high-pitched, annoying voice.  He was kinda laughing at me.  Then Brad started saying his name in a really low-pitched voice.  We were alternating back and forth and Cooper thought it was the funniest thing ever.  I mean he was deep belly laughing at us.

His therapies are going really well.  He PT says she has him figured out.  He HATES anything new for about the first 5-10 minutes.  He screams like someone is torturing him whenever he has to do anything new.  But then he gets over it.  And is fine from then on.  Also, he hates for you to take his hands and show him something; he hates for anyone to touch his hands, period.  But if you put something next to him that you want him to explore, he'll do it all by himself.  It may not be right when you want it to happen, but he will check it out.  Stubborn kid that likes to do things his way?  Sounds about right.  

Nights

Brad was on nights the first four days of the month.  And he will be on night shift in three more days.  For four more nights.  Over Mother's Day.  Whoever gave him this schedule is a horrible person.  I wish his night shifts had been more toward the end of the month.  Even a couple of weeks makes a big difference in the life of a five week old (6 weeks tomorrow!).  Because Semmes has decided that sleeping at night is lame.  So he screams for several hours (usually 9-midnight).  It's awesome (dripping sarcasm on that comment).  Brad got to experience it for the first time last night.  He was about as impressed as I am.  And nothing helps.  He doesn't want to be held, he doesn't want to be put down, he doesn't want to be swaddled, he doesn't want to be out of the swaddle, he doesn't want the pacifier, he doesn't want us to take the pacifier away...I'm sure you get the idea.  Ugh.  And the weird thing is he's pretty good at all other times.  Still not much of a smiler, but he seems to be a rather content baby.  He just hates 9-12.  Lord, I just pray I survive next Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday nights.