Coghills in Florida : 4 months

Leo's 4th month was a big month for us. We finally made the move to Florida!
After months of planning and anticipation we are finally Florida residents!

Leo spent the month going here, there, and everywhere.

It started in Hawaii, pit stop in Arizona, landed in Columbus, OH and drove the 2 hours down to my mom and dad's house for Memorial Day.
He had a great first parade, spending the majority of it in the shade snoozing away.

The next day we along with my mom, packed up and headed north to Michigan. Yes, very whirlwind trip to Pedro!
Along the way to MI we made yet another stop in St. Mary's, OH for all of Leo's great-aunts and uncles to meet him. He met great-aunts Kathy, Judy, and Gloria, and great-uncles Charlie and Chris. We all met up at a restaurant in town for lunch. Then it was on the road again to MI.

Once we got back we collected our fish Neff from our neighbor Carol who had been fish-sitting for us while we were in Hawaii and Ohio and prepared for the movers to come!
The next day, the movers came and packed everything we owned (including some stuff we didn't intend to get packed). The next morning the truck was loaded up and we said goodbye to our home of 2 years on Neff Road.
As you probably know, I was anxious to get out of Michigan, but that doesn't mean we didn't make a lot of great memories and meet a lot of wonderful friends there. It was a bittersweet goodbye to our little home, neighbors, and friends. I can't imagine that we'll ever go back to Michigan again really.
But it is Leo's birthplace, where we first found out that he'd be coming into our lives, and where we made our first home as a family of 3, so we may go back someday just to relive those memories....

That night mom, Leo, and I spent the night an airport hotel and flew down to Ft. Myers the next morning. Again, Leo did excellent on the plane. He's an old pro by now. Lee made the looooooooooooong 20ish hour drive down in our van solo. Whew!

Mom spent a week with us helping us get settled once our furniture arrived. We spent 2 nights in hotel and 1 night sleeping on the floor because we were told the furniture would be here. Leo had his packnplay and didn't seem to mind much.
We explored the area going to the beach, restaurants, and thrift stores :)

Then we had a week to settle and unpack before my brother and his family arrived for their vacation!
It was all my idea for them to come so soon! haha so can't complain about visitors! They already had their vacation days scheduled so I offered our house and they came!
We had a really great time, and I should do a post about that (I should do a lot more posts...) later because this is supposed to be about Leo right?!

Leo Leo Leo.
Leo is so laid back. Thank the Lord. We've drug that poor baby across the country way too much.
I'm afraid now that we're settled he's going to be bored staying at home with mom all day.

This month he put his feet in the ocean for the first time. I was too nervous for him to do that in Hawaii - the waves were huge there! I think he's going to like being a beach baby, especially once he can sit up!

He's laughing so much now too.
His smiles make me feel all mushy inside, but the laughing... man it's so amazing.
This is the first one we ever caught on camera...

He's getting really good with his hands grabbing things (usually putting them in his mouth) and figuring out how they work. My favorite is when he touches my face. I love those tiny hands!
And for a while now he's been holding onto my shirt for dear life when he's eating or napping with me, but I still think it's precious.

He perfected the roll from back to tummy and now refuses to stay on his back for very long unless I'm actively entertaining him with my dance moves or hair flipping - two things he finds hilarious!

And he's become so vocal! He had been cooing and making sweet sounds before, but now it's like he actually wants to talk to me. Especially in the mornings. I think he's trying to make sure I'm really awake. I love the tone and sweetness of his voice.
I know I'm biased, every mom is, but I just can't get over how incredibly sweet this baby is. That's the best word I can use to describe him.

I probably take like 10 videos of this boy a day. He loves this jumpy thing! And I love that it helps him get some exercise and strengthening for his legs and gives my back a break from bending over holding him up ;)

He is also growing so much!! Growing out of control! I swear his skipped a lot of his 3-6 clothes! He has a ton of stuff he never got to wear! Note to future moms, if you like it put it on the baby fast because you'll forget and they'll grow overnight!! He isn't going the pediatrician until he's about 4mo and 1wk old so I don't know exactly how much he weighs and stuff, but I'm guessing over 17lbs!

This month he slept so well! One night when my brother was here he slept 8 HOURS! It was crazy!! I woke up feeling like my boobs were going to explode and pumped over 4oz from each side - something that never happens with the frequency this kids eats! I'd say he's averaging atleast a 5.5-6hr stretch per night. We're getting there...

We're still going strong with the cloth diapers (once we found them after the move!) and I plan on doing a post about my experience with that thus far... at some point. As you can see I'm playing catch up with all these posts!

Oh and before the pictures I thought I'd share this status from facebook about my experience at the DMV...

Had an interesting experience at the DMV this morning registering our car and getting a Florida driver's license. Got there at 8:30 when they opened and still had to wait an hour and half before we were seen. During that time Leo had the first blow out diaper he's had since he was probably 3 weeks old. - so bad that it not only leaked through the diaper and his clothes, but leaked out of his carrier onto the floor... Lee took him to that bathroom to clean him up because we were sure my number would be next. 10 minutes later Lee returns with a naked baby because I forgot to pack an extra outfit. Of course then Leo is hungry and I start feeding him and 5 minutes later my number is called. I walk to the counter and do the paper work and eye exam - while nursing Leo, but he hates the nursing cover and after he gets over the initial -I'm starving just feed me mode- he begins to pull and fight with me over the cover. After several uncomfortable minutes of baby wrestling I pass off a screaming baby to Lee and finish the process.
No wonder my new drivers license photo is the worst one yet. On the way home Lee says "don't worry, you can get a new one in 2023"

eeeesh.