Clarke, 3 Months.

At the moment, I have no other desire in life but to look into my 3-month-old baby's smiling eyes all day. Or to touch his velvet soft cheeks. Or to hold him close as I rock him to sleep in my arms. Or to sing to him just to hear him "sing" a duet with me. It's heaven, being Clarke's mother. And I'm very blessed to be able to be home with him pretty much all day, every day.

He still has thick, dark hair, which has only grown longer and thicker as the days have passed--no baby baldness here. He stays within his three-hour feeding routine really well, and sleeps six to seven hours at night. Though he's gotten into the habit the past few nights of waking mama up at 4 am, thinking it's time to eat already. But I can't say no, so he eats and we go back to sleep for a few more hours.

Since we moved last weekend, we took the opportunity to switch his bassinet out for a proper crib, which he loves! Clarke takes longer naps and loves to spread out, getting out of his swaddled cocoon as fast as I can wrap him in it. He found his hand a few weeks ago and gnaws on it any chance he gets, so I bought him a giraffe teething toy yesterday. When I gave it to him and encouraged him to chew it, though, he just looked up at me with a very confused expression...he'll catch on in time.

I can usually count on him being happy for about an hour after nursing, during which we play, sing, read books, or he lays on his back while I do some things around the house. Sometimes we'll go out and run errands or take a walk around the block. Then he starts whining quietly which is the signal that he's ready to nap. After putting him down, he sleeps for an hour, hour and a half, and wakes up promptly when it's time for his next meal. And he lets me know he's hungry--loudly, until he's latched on. But other than that, he's a very joyful, low-key baby, and we love him very very much. I can't believe three months have gone by--it actually seems longer than that since he's been in our family. Happy 3 months, baby Clarke!

(his little whines and sad expressions, like the one above, tell me he's done posing for pictures and ready for a nap.)