Duncan turns 7 weeks old

Last Wednesday, Duncan turned seven weeks old...and now he is finally starting to smile a bit for his weekly photo!

My friend, Serena, stopped by for a visit while on a trip to Chicago from CA for work. We had a lot of fun catching up, and she enjoyed meeting Duncan. He actually slept during dinner, so we got to have a nice, peaceful dinner!

In his seventh week, Duncan discovered his hands! During tummy time, Duncan was no longer interested in picking up his head and strengthening his neck muscles. He was either chowing down on his hand or tasting the blanket.

Duncan is six weeks old

A couple Wednesdays ago, Duncan turned six weeks old. (A bit behind...I am blaming it on the 2-day power outage in Elmhurst last week).

Rereading the blog entries about Elsie, I remembered that Elsie used to be really pleasant on the changing table. So, this week, I gave Duncan some time to hang out with me on the changing table instead of rushing through the diaper change. It worked! He was really alert!

During his sixth week, Duncan also started smiling!! So adorable!

Brookfield Zoo

This year, we have a membership to the Brookfield Zoo. With our membership, we can go with guests for "free." We have gone twice so far, and the membership has certainly paid for itself!

The first visit to the zoo was with J-Ma and Papa Pete when Duncan was only 3.5 weeks old. We found a nice bench for us all to enjoy a snack - Elsie and Mom first, and then Duncan followed shortly after.

Elsie really enjoys the Children's Zoo, where she gets to pet the goats.

Wolf girls!

During both visits, the weather was cool and overcast. Great for two reasons: 1) there were no crowds at the zoo and 2) the animals were very active and available for us to see. In the Great Bear Wilderness, this huge grizzly bear was just taking a nap right next to the viewing window! The head and paws were huge!

The second time we went to the zoo, Uncle Aaron, Aunt Kris, John, and Leah joined us. The Little People were also there!

This buffalo was just right up next to the fence for us all to see. This animal is much bigger up close than had expected!

When Leah and John came to visit, they were on vacation. So, we turned it into a Phipps vacation...enjoying donuts for breakfast! You'll notice that Elsie's donut is upside down - she does this with all foods that you eat with two hands. Makes for some messy pizza-eating, too!

Duncan turns 5 weeks old

Last Wednesday, Duncan turned 5 weeks old. He also had his one-month checkup at the pediatrician. Everything looked great! Duncan now weighs 13 lbs (yes, this is large - he is in the 95th percentile) and measures 23in long. His head circumference is 39.5cm.

Duncan is more alert these days, and we have some good times hanging out on the floor. We like to practice following a toy (or mommy) with our eyes. Duncan has not yet learned that he can move his head to watch the toy go all the way around to the other side, but he can get his eyes to about a 75-degree angle.

We also like to exercise our arms and legs!

Duncan's preference is to look into the light - either the outdoors, the TV, or the overhead ceiling light.

He also likes watching Elsie. And Elsie likes doing whatever Duncan is doing. Its a good match!

Duncan dislikes tummy time, but he is definitely getting better! His head is getting higher for longer stretches of time.

We all enjoyed a visit from our friends, Jill and Scott, who swung by on a quick visit to Chicago.

Elsie has reached a few milestones herself. She can now put on and take off all of her clothing (mostly) by herself. The shirt is often the most difficult, requiring some guidance and some reassurance that she can do it. And the socks are often put back on inside out.

She has also figured out how to climb up onto the bar stool. This drives me crazy, because she just can't sit still. I can only imagine her chin hitting the counter as she plunges to the ground.

Elsie has also started replacing her beautiful smile with her "CHEESE" grin for the camera!

Duncan is 4 weeks old

Last Wednesday, Duncan turned 4 weeks old. I was sure to put him in all of his super cute 3-month outfits, since they are getting awfully small.

Still working on motor control!

The highlight of the week was certainly the visit from J-Ma and Papa Pete. The low point was Duncan's new routine of crying from 4pm - 10pm each night. At least we had extra hands to help keep us all sane!

Duncan is becoming more alert and can follow my face around. His eyes now open nice and wide - they are a gorgeous blue!

Elsie is still doing great as a big sister. She wants to see everything Duncan does - she wants to watch us change his diapers, see his spit-up, read books next to me when I am feeding him, and so on. It is really adorable!

Happy Memorial Day!

Memorial Day started with pancakes - Elsie and J-Ma made them from scratch!

We took a long walk and enjoyed the Elmhurst Memorial Day parade...in 90F weather! After lunch and a nap (for the kids and Mommy!), it was time for gardening with Papa Pete.

Elsie helped put the flowers in the right spots in our big flower beds out front.

After dinner, it was time for some sprinkler fun in the backyard. Elsie was so excited to put on her bathing suit, especially since it had been fleece weather just a couple days prior!

Elsie was all smiles!

Duncan skipped the sprinkler fun and opted for some fussing and a brief nap with Dad.

Then it was on to J-Ma for some more cuddling.

J-Ma and Papa Pete with their two grandchildren!

Duncan turns three weeks old

Last Wednesday, Duncan turned three weeks old. When Duncan was first born, I was excited to see that he had thin, long fingers with nice, long nail beds like his Daddy. In Duncan's third week, I noticed that this had changed - Duncan's fingers are now round and full, more similar to Mommy's. A good sign that Duncan is eating well. The eating has led to growing. His 3 months clothes are feeling pretty short - check out the arm length on this long-sleeve shirt!

We are also very fortunate that Duncan sleeps well at night. Once 10:00 hits, he seems to know that it is time for bed, sleeping for 2-4 hours between feedings. Most importantly, he typically falls asleep pretty quickly after the nighttime feedings.

When Duncan is awake during the day, we try to get in some good tummy time.

Lift up that head!

And turn it to the other side! So strong!