I LOVE HALLOWEEN!!!!!!!!!!

Best day of the year. I was almost starting to think the magic of Halloween had passed me by as an adult now, but I've gotten all of that joy back being able to share it with our little man. I love that having a baby renews all the love and fun of childhood holidays.

I am in love with Fall. The crisp fresh air, the beautiful colors of the changing leaves, pumpkins on everyone's porches. It all makes my heart skip a beat. We celebrated Fall today by getting our pumpkins and going for a drive up Sundance. The only thing that could make this season better is getting to share it with our sweet little boy for the first time.

Sleepless in Utah

It's been a rough couple of weeks on the sleep front here in the Keaton home. Mason has just not been feeling well at all, and started having food allergy symptoms again even though I've been meticulous about not eating dairy. He won't nap for longer than a 45 minute stretch and has been waking up anywhere from 3-7 times a night. Yes, 7 times in one night. Not crying, just awake cause he's uncomfortable and then decides he wants to talk and play.
So we took him to an allergist and they did some skin testing. The skin tests aren't really accurate this young, but they ruled out more serious allergies like peanuts or tree nuts. The allergist said it's most likely a sensitivity to soy in addition to the dairy. He was really sweet and commended me for nursing him because his reactions would be way worse if he was on formula. We can't even switch him to formula unless we pay $40 a container for Neocate. I wouldn't want to stop nursing anyway, but that cost is just out of the question! And he said to nurse for at least a year to make sure he grows out of the sensitivities, maybe longer if needed.
I've been off soy since Monday now and it is rough. Pretty much anything packaged has soy because it's a preservative. Canned tuna, refried beans, Mountain Dew, chicken broth, nonstick cooking spray, canned soups, all cookies, graham crackers, Wheat thins, and a lot of chips.
I guess I can see this as a really good opportunity for me to get uber healthy. No preservatives, all raw foods. I've been surviving on smoothies with rice milk, fruit, spinach, and agave. And oatmeal with honey and almond milk is a huge treat. My sweet sister is going to find a good recipe for homemade vegetable broth and make some for me to freeze so that I can make soups.
I asked Austin if he was going to give up dairy and soy with me to be supportive.
His answer was "I would die of starvation".
I kind of feel like I am.
But Mason only woke up once during the night last night and took a 2 1/2 hour nap this afternoon.
The sleep is worth it.
This little monster is worth it too.

4 Months Old!

Yes, it's already time for the 4 month post. Is time going this fast for everyone else in the world??
Our little dude had his 4 month check up last week and was 16 lbs 1/2 oz (75%) and 26 inches long (95%).
We have successfully alleviated the flat spot on his head with lots of tummy time and the fact that he likes to be held 24/7. =) I don't mind that, I love that we have a cuddly baby.
He is still going strong on the thumb and pointer finger sucking. It puts him to sleep and helps him go back to sleep if he wakes up at night and he's not hungry. He's been sleeping in his crib for over two weeks now, a huge feat for us! And last night he even slept a 9 hour stretch!!!! I couldn't believe it. It was heavenly. He woke up to eat and went back to sleep for 2 more.
He is just entering the phase where everything goes straight into his mouth. We'll put out his toys around him on the floor and as soon as he gets a grip on something he just has to get a taste.
He loves to be held up on his legs, and likes to stand leaning on the coffee table.
He laughs out loud a lot now, at least a few times a day. And sometimes in the middle of the night, which is still adorable. We can't catch it on video cause he's still so camera shy. He just looks all wide eyed and quiet when he sees it.
He has started to actually enjoy playing with toys, he'll get kind of upset if one goes out of his reach or if we pick him up before he's done exploring.
He loves to "talk". All day long, he just babbles away. And when he wakes up in the morning I hear him on the monitor just chatting with himself. I love it.
He is officially wearing 6 month clothes, and 12-24 month socks. He has huge feet! We were told we could start him on solids soon if we want, but because of his allergy I'm going to wait until six months. He can't have any dairy until he's a year old, and even then it's only if he doesn't have a reaction. I know it's going to be hard to keep people from feeding him, so I'll just go ahead and delay the solids as long as possible so we don't have to worry about it! Why is it that people love to feed babies treats so much??

And now here's a billion pictures for everyone! We are obsessed with our baby.

He's getting so good with his hands. Sometimes he gets such a grip on those toys it looks like he's gonna pull the whole bar down on himself!



















Still loooooves the thumb sucking.




























The nights are getting pretty cold and his little sleep sacks are the best ever.






































We wanted him to wear this outfit for Halloween, but there is now way he'll still fit into it by then!















The hat will definitely still fit though...















































We took Mason down to the Big Red Barn for the pumpkin patch hay ride, a dream of mine since before we even knew we were going to have him. And as you may recall, the Big Red Barn is the first outing we took our new little babe on back in June!
It almost makes me cry seeing how tiny this little guy is.













He was actually awake for this trip though.