Squealer

Man. I love this boy. I know I say that in every post, but it's true. He's 4 months tomorrow. I can't believe how fast this little guy is growing. Here are just some updates.

Talmage likes to blow bubbles with his spit.

Sometimes, if we are lucky, he'll let us read him a book before he falls asleep...but most of the time he just wants to be rocked to sleep and gets too impatient to read a story.

This, is Talmage's death grip.

He uses this death grip on my hair, face, and clothing. But I think it's cute when he falls asleep grabbing  a hold of our shirts and then we have to pry him off to put him in his crib.

I think this picture just proves that he looks like his Dad. It's a mini Daniel! All he needs is some glasses.

He is our little squealer. As soon as we put him down to change his diaper he gets VERY excited. He'll squeal and talk and kick like never before. I guess he just likes taking his clothes off...this could be problematic in the future...

Talmage has discovered his tongue this month. He'll stick it out for no reason and lick anything that comes in front of his face.

Our little guy is also sitting up (but not quite on his own). He sleeps in his own room. He loves hanging out with his cousins Emri and Gracie. He gets whiny when he's in the house all day with just me. We just don't get out enough...poor guy. Daniel says he needs a little brother to whoop on him so he'll get tougher. Ha ha...yeah. Maybe in a few years. Talmage is also starting to laugh! We've only heard it a few times, but boy, is it cute. Anyways, that's it for now. I've got to get some sleep before he wakes up to feed.

Family Photos

Thanks Anna for taking the time to take these in St. George! As you can see, Talmage wasn't very happy. We had to take them during his nap time. After viewing these and some older photos of myself, I think I want bangs back.

Being a Mom

You'd think after three months, I'd get the hang of being a Mom. I'd like to think I had a schedule down, or knew when my baby was hungry, or tired, or just needed a change of scenery, but...I don't. I'm constantly worrying when he cries if he is hungry (I've had some milk supply problems recently...) or if he's in pain (sometimes he's gassy). Ugh. I had this whole plan down - graduate, baby, work. But so far, I haven't been working as much as I would like to. Talmage is a hand full. And I only have one child. I don't know what this means for me when I have more than one.

I told Daniel that I didn't want to be a stay-at-home Mom today. He said, "Then you can go to work and I'll stay home. I'd much rather do that." Oh boy, wouldn't he! I think he'd last a day before he realized that being a stay at home mom is kinda harder than it seems. Maybe if I had a car it wouldn't be so tough to be home all day so I could run some errands, or if it wasn't so cold outside so I could take Talmage for walks. I don't know what it is, but lately I just don't want to be at home all day. I almost want a job that will take me out of the house for a while. Just something to get dressed for, something to get me motivated again. I spend pretty much everyday in sweat pants and t-shirts. If anything, I should at least get dressed for my husband. I'm pretty sure he's sick of coming home to a wife who hasn't showered, dressed in pj's, and covered in whatever food I'm cooking for dinner. Don't get me wrong - I love being a mom. There is nothing like it. I thank my Heavenly Father everyday for sending me such a healthy baby boy and I'm grateful that he brings a smile to my face hundreds of times a day. But some days it's a little bit harder to be home all day and wake up to a pile of dishes waiting to be put in the dishwasher. Sometimes I feel like it's all I do...

I read a bunch of "Mormon mommy blogs" today. Where do they get the time to do all those things? How are they such super moms? (After reading this post, I even felt like a wuss...I would have loved to have this kind of birth story). They make their living off of writing (oh boy, how I wish I could do that!) and they have a large gathering of followers. I can't tell you how many times I wish I could make a small living from blogging about my life. I don't think mine is interesting enough to garner a large following though. Most of these women have stories to tell - either they have fought with infertility and have inspirational stories to share, or they are crafters and share their knowledge about everything crafty, or they just have exciting personalities that get people addicted. As exciting as it is to do the dishes everyday, change poopy diapers, and cook dinner, I'm pretty sure I don't have anything else to write about that people would want to read. Sure, I could talk about Talmage and all his developments and cute moments, but I'm sure that would get boring after awhile too. Being a mother has made me appreciate every little thing he does, but that doesn't mean the rest of the world wants to know too.

Anyways, these are the rantings of a stay-at-home Mom. Mothers out there, how did you get back into the swing of life? What made you want to get ready everyday? What did you do to make your days not seem so drab sometimes?

Blessing Day

We blessed Talmage on November 6th. It was such a wonderful day. Thank you to all who supported us! He was perfect in the circle and didn't even make a peep. Daniel gave him a beautiful blessing. I'm so grateful we got a picture of all of those in the circle. Thanks Amber!

Talmage and Grandpa Spear

 The Grandparents

This is one of my favorite photos. This just embodies everything my mom is. I can't even explain it, but it catches her sweet spirit perfectly.

Catch-up

Blogging has been the last thing on my mind lately. But it's time I updated this thing with cute pictures of our growing baby boy. Daniel and I can't get enough of him. Sure it gets tough when Talmage decides he doesn't want to go to sleep at night, or wakes up a few times in the middle of the night, but, man, we have an adorable little guy. His dimples are out-of-this-world cute.

This is as dressed up as he got for Halloween this year.

Talmage loves his swing...maybe even a little too much. Sometimes when I'm really lazy I'll put him in there every time he needs a nap...which is proving not to be a good thing as of now. I'm trying to wean him off of it.

Talmage has become an excellent sleeper. He'll have a 5-6 hour stretch at night and then another 3 or 4 after that. It's been extremely nice. He smiles a ton. He's also gotten into the habit of sticking out his tongue all the time. When we hold him over our shoulder he'll often just sit and lick our shirts. We get a good laugh out of him. He gets stronger and stronger everyday. I can tell he wants to sit up now a days. I need to get him a Bumbo for Christmas. 

As for the rest of our family, Daniel continues to study hard. I go crazy a lot being home all day with just the baby (stranded with no car) so when Daniel comes home it's hard for me to sit quietly while he studies. I get so people deprived! He's working so hard and I appreciate all he does for us. Pretty much we are extremely blessed. We love our little man and we couldn't be happier about where we are in life.

Lovable

My little bean...

He likes to read the newspaper with his Daddy.

 He has so many adorable cousins to play with.

He loves to sleep with his Daddy...

and Mommy.

 He loves to visit his Grandma Great in St. George...

and he hates when Grandma Purles dresses him up like a girl.

He love his bath time...

and sometimes his Daddy is the only one crazy enough to think that sucking on his baby's fingers will put him to sleep...oh, wait. It did.

Smiling

Well, things have been absolutely crazy lately. I'm still trying to get the hang of the "no sleep" plus the every 2 hour feedings and trying to cook dinner for my husband while failing at keeping the apartment clean. Man. Being a mom is a lot more work than I thought! I love every minute of it.

The past couple of days we've been sick here in the Spear household. It really is so much harder to take care of a newborn while you have a fever and sore throat. But, I'm pulling through. Talmage continues to be adorable despite his little outbursts here and there (which are usually caused by pooping or the want to eat more). He really is such a good baby. Daniel and I are very blessed. I've only gotten him to smile at us a few times (besides the smiles he makes in his sleep), but when we get him to do it, it's the best thing ever. I actually caught the first time he smiled at us on video (how lucky is that?!) and I thought I'd share it on the blog. So, here's my adorable boy and his beautiful smile.

I'm in love

and I can't get enough of my little man.

He's growing up too fast.

Moments that matter most

Things are pretty crazy around here lately. This baby has decided that he is the man of the house. Daniel and I are scurrying around trying to fulfill his every need. He's pretty cute, but when he has his days and nights mixed up, it can get a little frustrating. Needless to say, I don't have a lot of time to blog, or do anything else I need to do for that matter. Pictures are going to have to be enough. I came up with this title because of a Mormon Messages video about moments that matter the most. These are just some of the moments we've had since Talmage blessed our lives a little over two weeks ago.

Nap time

Talmage and cousin Emri

Cousin Nana and her amazing baby wrap job

First bath...

which wouldn't be complete without peeing on Dad right after getting out.

Studying with Daddy

Tummy time

Our first BYU Football game! We all got decked out as a family in our cougar colors. No question to who we cheer for in the Spear family.

Although sometimes I feel like the only thing I do is nurse all day, all I have to do is look into this little sweet face and it's all worth it. I love being a mom, despite the challenges and the dirty diapers. I feel so blessed to have such a healthy, happy baby boy. I also feel blessed to have such an amazing husband who is always there to help during the late night diaper changes, feedings, and crying tantrums.

Talmage Elliot Spear

Yesterday my brother and sister-in-law came to visit. I love having an apartment big enough to entertain at least part of my large family. While they were here, my sister-in-law took pictures of Talmage.








Thank you Kristin!

Daniel and Kellen had a jam session while Kristin and I were feeding our babies and taking pictures.