The Cruz Man is Three Months!

This month marked lots of new changes for Cruz, as well as for us as a family.  With Cruz's two-month appointment beginning the month, and going back to work at the end of this month, I said hello and waved goodbye to his second month in tears!  Luckily, sandwiched between the tears were lots of happy moments and even more smiles from the Cruz Dude...he's grown from a frail, poker faced little infant, to a smiley, charming little baby boy.  It seems he gets happier every day, which definitely made it harder to go to work.

 
The Cruz Man at THREE Months...

My most favorite milestone this month is definitely the constant smiles.  A month ago, we had to really work to get a smile from our little man; now, he smiles at everything.  When I go to get him out of his crib in the morning, I am greeted by a smile.  When I change his diaper, fill his tub, or suck baby boogers out of his nose, I get smiles.  He loves when sweet voices talk to him and the more excited he gets, the faster his legs kick and the louder his squeals get.  I'm telling you...this child never stops moving his legs!

Another thing that makes Cruz smile A LOT are books.  He's proving to be a part of this family...with a mom as an English teacher, a grandma as a librarian, an uncle with a passion for children's literature, and a dad that reads faster than anyone I know, Cruz has acquired a love of books at a pretty early age.  Every morning, after his breakfast bottle, we will read two or three books to Cruz.  It's adorable.  He sits on our lap so contently, his eyes light up as soon as the pages turn, and he squeals in delight as the narrative is read.  It started with Dr. Seuss and Green Eggs and Ham; however, his love of books has already broadened to the likes of Eric Carle, Sandra Boynton, and Duck and Goose.  

Cruz has made a lot of discoveries this month, especially thanks to Christmas.  He loved the brightly colored packages, the twinkling lights on the Christmas tree, and the sounds of us tearing into his many gifts.  He received a lot of fun light-up sound machine toys, and didn't waste any time showing his excitement and enthusiasm.  His favorite toys include his laptop, music machine, and plastic camera.  If I have the patience to sit and push the buttons over and over AND OVER again, Cruz could sit enthralled for hours.  Usually I wear out before he does!

In addition to his toys, it seems Cruz really became interested in all of his cool baby contraptions.  He finally located the mirror hanging above his head on his farm mat, enjoys taking naps in his swing and lambie chair, and likes the little stuffed turtle hanging from his carseat.

Most of all, Cruz has really seemed to identify our faces, his fist, and even our cat.  He is absolutely fascinated with his fist and will stare at it for long periods of time, as if trying to figure out how he can control it.  It's a big score when he can get his fist in his mouth...this will occupy him for a long time, and the sound effects of the slurping and sucking is great.  We're starting to think he's showing some early signs of teething.  The last couple of nights, he's actually started reaching for our faces, touching our mouths, our noses, and scratching out our eyelids.  Gaining confidence in clipping his fingernails is a milestone I've yet to achieved this month!

Earlier this month, Beau and I poked fun at Cruz for his lack of motivation during tummy time.  Cruz used to be a stud when it came to lifting his head; however, this month, he digressed.  We think his head got too big to lift, so, while he attempted to pick his head up, but settled for digging his face in his blanket and chewing on his fist, we would laugh at him.  Well, he showed us.  He's been a champ at tummy time this week, just in time for his three month pictures.  He had to make sure to impress Darcy, his photographer, with his mad skills.  

Cruz decided to start 2011 off with a bang...On January 1, he slept all night WITHOUT his sleep sack!  I was seriously worried he'd be the only kid in his kindergarten class that needed to be swaddled during naptime!  He's been sleeping through the night so well that Beau nor I have wanted to even mess with a good thing.  Then, Saturday night, without telling me, Beau put him to bed without swaddling him first.  Sunday morning, when I went to check on him, I was shocked to see a sleeping baby with NO swaddle blanket.  My first thought was, 'how the heck did he work his way out of that thing?!'  I haven't been that proud of my baby (or my husband) since he started sleeping through the night at five weeks!  Cruz definitely takes after his mama in the fact that he loves (and needs) his sleep!  I just wonder how long this will last...

I've not only packed all of Cruz's newborn clothes away, but have started the transition from 0-3 sizes to 3-6.  Cruz wore his first 'big boy' clothes this month, which makes him look lots older.  Some nights, we'll hang out in his room and I'll just play with all his clothes.  Every outfit brings me back to the days he wore it...his clothes mark memories and milestones, making it extremely tough to pack them away.  Maybe Cruz will someday have a little brother to wear his hardly-hand-me-downs...  

Another new thing Cruz has recently developed is the 'pouty' face.  When something scares him or catches him off guard, his mouth turns into a perfect frown and he lets out an adorably pathetic cry.  It usually only lasts a second or two, and Beau and I feel bad that it often makes us laugh.  If he does this at day care, however, I might just quit my job!

Overall, Cruz is becoming quite the little charmer.  He loves being part of things, whether it's lying in between us while we watch TV, hanging out in the kitchen while we cook, or shopping at the mall.  He still likes his independent time on a blanket, and has found an interest in watching TV, especially sports.  He was a tropper running here and there for the holidays, and rang in the new year with his Grandma and Grandpa Jorgensen.