Holt's 1st Fourth of July and Routines

The 4th of July was busy, busy, busy. We headed to my parents for a lunchtime cookout. It was good to catch up with family. I was also able to get some cute pics of Jonathan and Holt together. Jonathan is so sweet and loving towards Holt. Every time we would pick Holt up, Jonathan would reach for him as if he wanted him back. I really hope they will become close friends. There is no better bond than that of a family bond. We will also be adding a third musketeer to the pack in December as my oldest brother, Jarod, and his wife, Liz, will be welcoming a baby. Boy or Girl? We don't know yet but will find out in 3 weeks.

Morning of July 4, 2012

Holt's 1st 4th of July outfit 

Holt and Jonathan

Sweet Cousins!

Next, we headed over to Ryan and Alex's house for a pool party. Chad and I were very prepared for this party. You should have seen our deep cherry red van...it was packed as if we were going away for a month. We had a fan, extension cord, baby hut, bouncy seat, diaper bag, a bag for Chad and I with our swimsuit gear, my pump bag, and a cooler with bottles (not beer). We were prepared to spend the afternoon among friends but also keep Holt as comfortable as possible in the sun. Well, when we got there we decided it was best to just visit inside. It was too hot for our little one to be outside. Needless to say, we didn't need anything that we packed but better safe than sorry. We stayed for about an hour and caught up with some close friends and then headed to Laura, Andrew, and Mac's house. We put Holt in his bouncy seat in the shade and sat on the patio while Mac played in the backyard. It was nice to relax and catch up with friends.

Holt is ready for a pool party

Chillin on The Willoughby's patio

Mac and Chad playing in the sprinkler

We headed home around 6 and started our nighttime routine. Holt was exhausted and went straight to sleep at 7. For the past 2 weeks, I have been trying to get Holt on a routine. I start our day at 7 and put him to bed at 7. I have to say that Holt has naturally adapted well and the schedule has helped make our day a little easier. If he gets fussy, I know he is either tired or hungry based on the time so it is easy for me to address his needs better than just guessing as to what could be wrong. I try to feed and put him down for naps at the same time everyday but give him a 30 minute grace period. If he seems sleepy at 8:30 instead of 9, I go ahead and put him down for a nap. If he seems hungry at 10:30 when I normally feed at 11, I go ahead and feed him.  At night, we are letting him sleep for as long as he can once we put him down at 7. He sleeps anywhere from 7 to 3-4 when we feed him about 3 ounces and then back down until 7. There has been some times when I just gave him his pacifier and he went right back to sleep until 7 but most times we are still feeding him.  I am a person who believes that most people thrive on some sort of routine but I am also realistic enough to know that a routine can't be followed to a tee everyday. You have to be somewhat flexible too. The routine seems to be working so we will stick with it for now. My goal is to have him sleeping through the night by the time I go back to work on September 19th. He will 4 months old by then so I think this is a realistic goal. Holt will be 2 months in 8 days! I will update on my growing boy then.