first skate contest, rolling over, and sleep regression

These things are totally unrelated, but I realized that it's been a while since I've posted. We've had a busy and stressful few weeks. Since I last blogged, we put our house on the market, we found a house to buy, sold our house, and we are just waiting to close. It's been a whirlwind. So here's what's new:

Sleep regression. Of course, as soon as I posted about Neko being a pretty good sleeper, he started having some sleep regression. I read that this is fairly common around 4 months when babies' sleep cycles become more like adults. We also had to stop swaddling him because he can now roll over from his back to his tummy. He got so used to being swaddled that he doesn't know what to do now and it freaks him out a little. We've tried establishing new "sleep cues" and a bedtime routine. Aaron usually reads to him in the rocking chair, we dim the lights, put on the white noise and his Beatles lullabies. After a bit of crying, he usually passes out. But he's been waking a lot more to eat. We're all exhausted and thankful for the break.

*A picture of our beloved first home so that Neko remembers the house he lived in when he was born.

Aaron took Neko to his first skate contest yesterday. He got to meet lots of Aaron's friends, sit in Rob's VW van, and hang out with dudes. It was weird for me to be at home without them even if it was only an hour and a half. I didn't really know what to do with myself.

This little guy is so physical and active. All he wants to do is practice rolling over. He tries to crawl, but he can't seem to get it just yet. It makes him insanely frustrated, and he's so determined.

We love having him at home with us this week. It's been nice to sleep in a little and to play with him in the morning when he's happiest. We can't wait for summer. I don't think I've ever wanted it to be summer so early in the school year before.

random: nicknames and sleep habits

Nicknames for Neko: Bubba, Boo Boo, Little Mister, Sneako, Buddy

If our nicknames for our kid turn out to be anything like our nicknames for our dogs, they'll probably evolve over time.

Crib transition: We did it. It worked out fine. I like taking naps with him next to me, but I've never been a good sleeper, so co-sleeping's not really an option for me now that I'm working. Also, I was sick of having the Pack N' Play in the bedroom. It takes up a lot of space. I'm glad the transition was so smooth. He seems to like sleeping in the crib just fine, and we use the baby monitor Scott and Irena got us. The humidifier and white noise machine help. He sometimes wakes and needs to be shushed for a minute, but that's no big deal. We've also started putting him to bed much, much earlier because he seems exhausted, and I read that newborns generally go to bed later, but once babies get to be about 3 months they often need an earlier bed time. I usually wake him up and feed him right before I go to bed, and he goes right back to sleep. On a good night, he only wakes up once (usually between 1 and 3), which means we get a solid chunk of sleep before that. Sometimes he'll wake up twice. It's a little rough, considering my day starts at 5AM, but we can't complain. He's a pretty good sleeper.

neko's favorites: likes and dislikes at 3 months

3 months old! Can you believe it? Neko is definitely much more aware of his surroundings these days. He notices our voices when we pick him up from school. He giggles a lot. He likes to be tickled, especially under his neck. He likes to be lifted up in the air. He likes to practice standing up. Miss Hannah (one of his teachers- our favorite) says that he is very, very strong!

He love his feet. He likes to be kissed. He likes kissing noises and tries to make them.

Just recently, he's decided he hates to be in the car, which is an enormous bummer for us since our commute is ridiculously long. He hates it. We hate it. Everyone screams and cries. It's the most unfun thing about my life right now. I cannot wait until these days of commuting and being trapped in the car for two hours with a screaming baby are just a distant memory. We feel terribly guilty for making him sit in the car for so long. It's downright horrible for everyone involved.

We met with a realtor last week. We're getting the mortgage approved with our bank. I've spent the last few days decluttering the house, packing boxes, cleaning, and looking at houses online. We're having photos taken next week, and the house should be on the market soon! We're crossing our fingers that someone else loves this house as much as we do, that we can find something as good much closer to school, and that no one has a nervous breakdown in the process. In the meantime, we're enjoying our little guy when we're not all trapped in the car together. He's our favorite thing in the world, and there is nothing better than hearing him giggle.

Here are some random photos I like from the past few weeks. Sorry, Instagram users, most of them are repeats.

**So few photos of me with Neko since I'm usually the one behind the camera.