X at Four Months

Xavier was pretty excited to go to George's Ice Cream shop.

More fun shots of Xavier on Anthony's Flickr page

Here are his stats at the four month mark:
Weight - 15 pounds (in the 40%)
Height - 26 inches (in the 85%)

He's long and (sorta) lean and happy.  He's sleeping well at night and still doesn't always like the daytime naps.

Time-Lapse Photography

Below is my first attempt at time-lapse photography.  Time-Lapse is the process of taking many photos, at set intervals, of the same fixed view so you can show movement or change over a long period of time quickly.  For example, I took a photo every second for about 5 minutes that resulted in 270 photos.  When made into a video the 5 minutes turns into 18 seconds.  I've noticed that TNT and ESPN use time-lapse when they go to commercial during NBA basketball games.  It can be a really cool effect.

This is looking out the back window on the Brown Line from Southport to Irving Park (thanks to Sara for the idea).  The music is my own creation using GarageBand on my Mac.  I think I might try this again sometime, only I want to take photos over a longer period of time and maybe at a different time of day so there are more people on the platforms and better light.

Busy Weekend

The Doudt family made a quick (overnight) trip to Indiana this past weekend and got to see quite a few family and friends.  We first saw Grandpa Marc, who got some quality snuggle time with Xavier.  We then hung out with Grammy and Papa Doudt where Xavier also got to meet Kadee Howard.  I should also mention that he slept through the night without waking up (8pm-6:45am)!!  We are so proud of our little man!

On Sunday we continued our busy trip with a breakfast stop for donuts and coffee at the amazing and awesome Concannon's Bakery.   Our next stop was Neil and Gina Behrman's house to introduce Xavier and for Sara to get a tour of their cool home (used to be the Morgan's house).  Up next was a visit with David and Megan Haynes so we could meet their new baby boy, Hart, who is so adorable.  As you can see in the photo below, Hart and Xavier seemed to be sizing each other up and ready to square off in their first competition (one of many I'm sure).  :)

On our way back home to Chicago, we made our final stop of the weekend to visit Great Grandma Doudt.  She was so excited to see Xavier again and hold and love-on him.  Xavier chatted up Great Grandma and loved being held by her.

Xavier did great the entire weekend with all the driving and meeting everyone...He is such a happy boy and great traveler! You can see more photos from our weekend on Anthony's Flickr account.

First Nikon D7000 Test Shots

First Nikon D7000 Test Shots, a set on Flickr.I recently upgraded my camera equipment (I made the big switch from Canon to Nikon). Here are a few of the first photos as I learn the new gear.

Likes and Dislikes at 12 Weeks

After 12 weeks (tomorrow) of living, Xavier has grown to like and dislike quite a few things.  Here are just a few of those things:

- LIKES looking left and sucking on his left hand
- DISLIKES looking right
- LIKES riding in his Baby Bjorn as Mom and Dad walk around Chicago neighborhoods
- LIKES riding in his Baby Bjorn as Mom does squats and lunges
- DISLIKES tummy time for longer than 5 minutes
- LIKES to be swaddled
- DISLIKES to be swaddled
- LIKES eating
- DISLIKES anything that gets in the way of him eating
- LIKES looking at the bathroom faucet and toothbrushes
- LIKES Mom and Dad's (questionable) singing even though we rarely remember all the lyrics
- DISLIKES wearing hats
- LIKES Mom's dancing
- LIKES Dad's funny faces and noises
- LIKES bath time
- DISLIKES garbage trucks waking him up
- LIKES looking at the drapes and lights
- DISLIKES napping for longer than 30 minutes
- LIKES the movie La Bamba
- LIKES playing with Eric the spider, Leo the lion and Crabby the crab
- LIKES watching basketball with his Dad

- LIKES watching the Muppets with his Mom (on the TV or the laptop)

- LIKES the Muppet's Mahna-Mahna song

Another One Sold!

Another print sold on Fine Art America!  It's exciting every time!

Xavier's Stats, Photos, and Old Videos

Xavier's stats at his two month check up -
Weight: 11-3 lbs (in the 25th%)
Height:  24 1/4 inches (in the 85th%)

Photos -
Sara took some photos of Xavier (not) enjoying tummy time.

Xavier made his first trip to Iowa where his cousins Elise and Mady loved holding him and even helping with bath time.  They are going to be great babysitters!!  Grandma Wally also got some good snuggle time in.

A couple photos of Xavier riding in his Baby Bjorn as we walked around Andersonville.

Videos -
Sara found this video on her phone of Xavier snorting and cooing.  Xavier was two days old and we were still in the hospital at this point:

And to show just how awesome Xavier is, at five weeks old he rolled over from his tummy to his back.  Sara got video starting half way through this historic moment:

Our Little Man is Two Months Old!

Keeping with tradition, we're posting this a day late.  Yesterday, Xavier turned two months old.  He celebrated by going on two adventures with his mom and dad.  In the morning we walked around Andersonville.  We got some coffee (none for Xavier) and some donuts (he would "eat" that later).  In the afternoon, Xavier went on his first L ride as well as his first bus ride.  He slept through both.

Here are a few photos (a few taken by Grammy Annie):