The Great Kid Catch-Up

Wrapping up a spectacular year, I cannot believe how much my kids grew and changed in 2013. They have blossomed into little people and I am so blessed to be their mommy. I love learning who they are, knowing their quirks and their tickle spots, their loves and their fears. They bring me immeasurable joy.

Charlotte Grace - 3 years 2 months
I am completely blindsided by how much I love 3. Being such a baby person, I did not expect to enjoy having a little person in my house as much as I do, but this girl seriously makes me laugh every single day. She had some huge accomplishments this year, namely: potty training, sleeping in a big girl bed, and finally getting to ride forward in the car.  Her language and vocabulary are unbelievable. She NEVER stops talking, singing, asking questions, telling jokes, and interacting. Recently she has started asking me difficult questions like, "Mom, did God put the moon in the sky? It is so high…how did He reach?" Last night's prayer was, "Dear Jesus, thank you for baby Jesus; she is sooooo cute. In Jesus name, Amen." (We're working on it.) Her life revolves around babies. Even the rocks at the park are pretend babies. She rocks, and feeds, and puts in bed, and buckles in the carseat, and pushes in the stroller… Every day she reminds me that Ryder is not a baby anymore and we need another baby in the house. She loves when we tell her stories about when she was a baby and she asks questions like, "Did I sleep in a crib? Did I drink mama milk? Was I sooooo cute?" She knows all the letters by sight and quite a few of their corresponding sounds. She counts to 20 and backwards from 10. She says things like, "Mom, remember when I mentioned I need to get a new book from Barnes and Noble?" She can independently operate an iPhone, unlock it, navigate to her games, send daddy text messages, etc. She knows Auntie Jenn has a baby in her tummy and we get to go visit her when she comes out, we talk about it daily. At the end of summer, she started gymnastics lessons and she absolutely loves them. She is doing really well, even though she is younger than the other girls by a year, she keeps up no problem. She is amazing at following directions and staying focused on the teacher.  She loves her brother despite the fact that all he wants to do is hit her with his bat and throw things at her. She is generally pretty patient with him and it is so fun to see them really starting to play together well. She is sweet and tender, smart and determined, stubborn and strong willed and we just couldn't be more blessed by her.

Ryder Michael - 16 months, 3 weeks 
To say Ryder has grown and changed over the past year is a gross understatement. It seems like the first 2 years are such blur of growth and development. At the beginning of the year Ryder wasn't even crawling yet; now, he is wrapping up the year running, jumping, climbing, dancing and talking. If I had to describe Ryder in one word it would be: BOY. This kid is a stereotypical boy. He loves is completely obsessed with balls, bats, dirt, and anything remotely dangerous. Honestly, I am proud of the fact I have kept him out of the ER this long. He has zero fear and minimal pain perception. Consequences are no deterrent for his behavior. He slides down the tallest slides, willingly jumps off tall platforms, runs almost as fast as his sister, and jumps on the trampoline with 5 year olds getting bounced around like a ping pong ball, all the while smiling and laughing. The past month has been a verbal explosion for him. I am starting to lose count of all his words, but here's an attempt:
Mama
Dadda
Charlotte
Abbey
Ball
Side (outside)
All done
Dirt
Slide
Uh-oh
Cheeee (cheese)
More
Nut
Cookie
Bye
Go
Out
Dance
Shoe
Nigh-nigh
Duck
Please
I'm sorry

It seems like everyday he has 2 or 3 new words.  He is enthralled with his daddy and sticks to him like glue whenever he is around. Despite all the boyish antics, at the end of the day he is such a sweet, gently cuddle-bug. He loves to rock and snuggle and will sit on my lap way longer than Charlotte ever would. He does enjoy whacking her in the head with anything he can find, but it's almost worth it to hear him say, "I'm sorry" and give her a hug, complete with "awwww". Sooooo cute! It's so hard to remember our family without this crazy boy. He keeps us on our toes and brings so much excitement to our day.

God graciously blessed our family in 2013. Jeremy started his new job, we made major strides on our house, and enjoyed the health and love of two beautiful children. Looking forward to an exciting 2014!

Ryder Michael- 14 Months

And, in stereotypical fashion, I make it through the first year keeping up with my blogging and then give myself a congratulatory 2 month break. But, I'm back now, prepared to trudge on.

Ryder is 14 months old today. Is that still a baby? What defines baby? He's the youngest person in our house, so still my baby. But man, he feels like such a big boy lately.

I'm sure he has passed the 20 lb mark by now, but don't know that 100%. On our scale, with clothes on, he was 21 lbs. No idea on the height, but suffice it to say he is still little. Though he doesn't look little.

The weather changed this week and I slapped his first pair of jeans on, ever, and immediately started crying. His big boy jeans, his striped shirt, his little sneakers. So. stinkin. cute. I died. Boys are not as fun to dress as little babies, but these toddler clothes are killing me. I'm having so much fun with him.

His personality is starting to explode. He is becoming very communicative. He signs: please, more, all done, eat. He is starting to follow directions (Ryder, go put this in the trash. Ryder, go get your shoes. Ryder,  where is Charlotte?)

He is definitely trying to talk, and has some very clear words, and some not-so-clear words. Very clear: mama, dada, "Sha" (Charlotte). Not-so-clear: Ca-ca (cookie), gog (dog), ha-ha (hot) si (outside).  He jibber jabbers all the time and tries to sing. Have I mentioned how cute he is?

He is 1000% boy. Conqueror of the slide, master of the trampoline, defeater of all heights. There is no tower too tall, no slide too fast, no feat too dangerous. He seems to feel little pain, and is not easily deterred from risky behavior. Always covered in cuts and bruises, I have a feeling we will be burning through lots of jeans and sneakers.

In juxtaposition, he is the sweetest most snugglie little thing. He loves to sit on your lap and read a book, he likes to be held, loves to be rocked to sleep, will hang out on my back for hours. He is giving intentional kisses, complete with a "mmwwaahhh."

He absolutely adores Charlotte. Follows her everywhere, constantly laughs at her and tries to be just like her. They get along so well and have so much fun playing together. Nothing sweeter.

His first molar just popped through, with the second right behind. That puts him up to 10 teeth.

Shortly after his birthday he had his first haircut. Sealing the coffin of his babyhood. He looks like such a big boy, and so incredibly handsome.

He sleeps from 7:15 to about 6ish, nurses and usually goes back to sleep until 7 or 8. Charlotte and he both take a nap from 1-4ish.

He seems like a picky eater, but we'll see how that develops. He likes yogurt, PB&J sometimes, fruit all the time, and some meats. He nurses 4-5 times a day and despises cow's milk.

He is a joy and a blessing to us all. Between the 2 wild children, we are constantly laughing. Our hearts are full.

We love you sweet Ryderman, thank you for joining our family!

Orange and Turquoise Elephant Party

Few things bring me more joy and satisfaction than throwing a party. I love the details, and any excuse to eat cake is good in my book. To battle the depression that comes along with my babies turning one, I drown my sorrows in extravagant party planning. For Ryder's first, I went with an orange and turquoise elephant theme. These colors are HOT this summer, so it was easy to find accessories in the right color. I borrowed my dear friend's Cricut to make a lot of the paper crafts and my life has been changed for good. Like, I can't breathe another day if I don't own a Cricut. After all the planning, crafting, baking, it was so fun to celebrate his precious life with our family and friends. I love seeing my kids so loved by our community. We are blessed beyond measure. And now this boy finally has some trucks and balls and hammers so he can be a real man! 

 

Happy birthday little man! 

Ryder Michael- 11 Months

This is it, the last post before his birthday. Excuse me while I cry in the corner for an hour.


Ok, I'm back.

Our sweet little Ryderman is almost a year old. As much as I love watching my kids grow and blossom into these beautiful, individual, expressive, funny little people, it is so heartbreaking how fast it goes. Yesterday I was announcing I was pregnant, today he is almost a year old. I just want 2 more minutes of baby...

Ryder is such a fun addition to this family. He has really spiced up our lives. He is busy, busy, busy. Into EVERYTHING! He can open drawers, and cabinets, and the sliding glass door (to do outside and help himself to dog food). He is a whirlwind of destruction and leaves a wake of disaster everywhere he goes. He makes 4 times the mess Charlotte ever did. He falls and doesn't stop moving. He is covered in cuts and bruises and dirt and couldn't be happier.

His personality is exploding. He is incredibly social, no stranger anxiety whatsoever. He still loves to snuggle and rock and will often crawl over to me and put his head down on my lap. Swoon.

He is so annoying to his sister. Anything she has in her hand, he crawls over and tries to swipe it. Regardless of what it is. If she has it, he wants it. She has been so sweet and patient with him, but it is definitely getting old. She has been putting things up high, "so Ryder will not reach them."

He still does not eat a ton of food. Never any breakfast, some snacky things during the day and sometimes dinner. He loves meat and fruit the best.

The most predictable thing about his sleep is its unpredictability. One night he sleeps through the night, the next he wakes up twice. His routine in incredibly consistent, so he really has me scratching my head. He takes 2 naps and is a champ at putting himself to sleep.

He is thisclose to walking, often letting go of what is supporting him, but not making any forward progress. He seems too impatient to practice a new skill when he know crawling will get him there quickly.  He will be a happy boy when he figures out walking, and I will be one exhausted mama.

He has 5 teeth, soon to be 6. 3 on top, 2 on bottom. He fits comfortably in 9-12 month clothing. He just graduated to a big-boy car seat.

We love this sweet boy more than we ever knew possible. He is the perfect fit. We are thankful he keeps us on our toes!

Charlotte Grace- 2.5 years

I feel incredibly overwhelmed by this post. How could I ever fully, accurately describe my incredibly dynamic, intelligent, hilarious, sensitive little girl with a blog post? But, here's my best shot. I'll start with the easy stuff:

27 lbs
35 inches

Charlotte has changed so much over the past 6 months. Her growth both physically and intellectually are astonishing.  She continues to amaze me daily with her verbal skills and intelligence. She is sweet, and loving and STUBBORN, and sassy, and funny, and timid, way too smart, energetic, polite, enthusiastic, and just about my favorite person on the planet.

Her favorite things:
BABIES. (Is that genetic?) Sweet girl LOVES her babies. She spends the majority of her day rocking, feeding, changing, putting to sleep and loving on her babies. We never leave the house without a baby and she usually wears her baby in her little carrier, just like mommy wears brother, when we go shopping. Every time we go to Target she begs me to get a new baby, we must have 50 dolls in this house. It is so sweet to hear her talking to her baby so tenderly. She is the best little mommy.

Ryder. She loves her baby brother. It is amazing to see her be so patient with him, even though he is constantly crawling on her and taking her toys. She is always thinking of him, reminding me to not forget him when we leave the house. She is the best big sister.

Dancing. Sometimes a girl's just gotta dance. Almost every afternoon she says to me, "Mom, can you turn on the music, I need to dance!" Her skills leave much to be desired (sorry, Charlotte you can blame me for that) but her heart is in it 110%.  She will dance for an hour to the same song and be in heaven the entire time.

Sleeping. She sleeps every day from 7:30-9:00 and a 3 hour nap. She loves her crib, has never attempted to climb out, will hang out her crib for and hour playing with her babies and talking to herself. Most days, her crib is the only time she gets to play by herself.

Charlie- Those two are quite a pair. When they are together the volume in this house quadruples.  Charlie spends the entire time hamming it up, and Charlotte indulges him by laughing hysterically at everything he does. It is so sweet to see their friendship really blossoming. She is happiest when Charlie is around.

Family- We are so incredibly blessed to have so much family in town. The biggest reason we moved back to Redding was so our kids would know their grandparents, and she is reaping the benefits of this! She absolutely adores all of her grandparents, loves spending time at their houses, going out to eat with them, playing with them. Jeremy and I could not be happier to know our kids are building such strong relationships with their grandparents. It's what we always hoped for.

Reading- We read at least 3 books every night, and she is always asking for more. She will sit and listen to stories for hours. We recently started checking books out from the library and she is so excited. She has her own book bag, helps put the books back and pick out the new ones.  Hopefully it is the start of a lifelong love of reading.

Dress-up: A few weeks ago, completely out of the blue, she decided she has a favorite dress. It is a cute brown dress from last fall, that is too small and not summery at all. She wears it everyday. First thing she says in the morning, "where is my cute dress, with the flowers and the buttons?" She puts it on and cries every time I take it off. I got so tired of the dress I hid it, she spent 20 minutes looking for it, came out of her room crying, "I can't find my cute dress anywhere!" I caved and gave it back to her. I have to negotiate with her to get her out of it. It comes with us everywhere and the second we get back in the car from our activity, she asks to change into it.  She sleeps in it. She often pairs it with high heals or red cowboy boots. Fashionista.

The absolute best part of having a 2.5 year old is listening to her talk. And I really am not exaggerating when I say she NEVER stops talking. If she is awake, she it talking. I wish there was a way to record everything she says, because she is the funniest little person I have ever met. Her vocabulary is unbelievable. She said to me the other day, "Mom, you look stunning in that pretty dress." I have had more than one person ask me if she is 4 or 5 after they listen to her talk.  She says, "Mom, I have to tell you something, can you hear me? Ok...let me think..."  She tells Ryder, "Ryder! Don't touch that, it's so breakable! It's very fragile, we have to be careful with our things." I could fill a book with all the funny things she says. She keeps me laughing constantly.

She know her alphabet, can recognize most letters, and is starting to associate the sounds with the letters. Uncle Tay asked her, what letters says "duh"?  She says, "Duh, Duh..... D!!! I remembered that!"

She knows all her shapes. She is not super consistent with colors, but I'm pretty sure she knows them.  She can work an iPhone better than most adults. She has at least 10 books memorized. She know the lyrics to more than 30 songs. She loves to make up her own verses to the songs.

She can be painfully timid in new situations. She is very cautious. Still won't go down the slide at the park. Clams up in big crowds, never talks to strangers. We go to story time and she spends most of the time in my lap just observing everything.

She can tell where Jeremy is going based on what he is wearing.  She knows where we both work. She recognizes places as we drive around town. "Look mom! There's Chipotle! I love their rice and milk."

She is fully potty trained, except at night. She never had a single pee accident from day one. The poo took her a little longer to get the hang of, but once she did, she never looked back.

She is the one of the biggest blessings in our lives. She gave me the job I have coveted my entire life; and it has exceeded my expectations. She has taught me more about love, patience, joy and grace than I have ever known in my entire life. She makes me strive to be a better mom and a better person. She made us a family.  The past 2.5 years have been the best years of my life and I can't wait for the 50 with her.

Charlotte Grace, we love you beyond measure.

Ryder Michael- 10 Months

Aahhh.. only one more post before his birthday! Stop it!

I just reread his 9 month post, and I'd say it is still a pretty accurate description of our sweet little guy. Busy, constantly trying to kill himself, eats anything he's not supposed to, won't eat the things we want him to, loves to nurse, sleeps pretty well, happy and easy going.

He had quite a few set backs, or interruptions, this month. A new tooth that absolutely tortured him as it popped through, an almost 2 week trip to Arkansas (blog on the trip to follow), his first airplane ride, and sharing a room with the whole family. Things have settled back into normal now and he is readjusting well, but we have an incredibly busy summer ahead of us!

This month he learned how to wave and clap (almost). He doesn't have many words, mostly "dada" and sometimes "nana". He might have said "mama" once or twice, but never on command. He also loves to say "agh" and kind of shake his arms. Hard to describe, but really cute.

I can't even remember our family without Ryder. He is such an incredible blessing and brings constant joy to this house. We love you, sweet little Ryderman, thank you for joining us!

Stay tuned for the following:
Arkansas 2013
Charlotte 2.5

Ryder Michael- 9 Months

Boy, oh boy...this kid is a BOY! Ryder is crazy. Someone flipped his mobility switch and he is in overdrive. He is crawling, fast...and he is into EVERYTHING! One second he is inside the dishwasher, the next he is on top of a chair about to go head-first over the edge. Changing his diaper is like being in the 10th round of a WWF match, and he always wins. He never stops moving, has absolutely zero regard for personal safety, and is completely unfazed by injury. And yet he maintains his sweet, easy going demeanor. He is showing no signs of stranger anxiety and lights up a room with his smile.

4 teeth
9-12 month clothing
18 lbs (21%)
27 in (6%)

He takes a morning nap (about an hour) and an afternoon nap (about 2-3 hours) and sleeps from 7pm-7am. He is pretty consistently sleeping through the night, with the occasional 5 AM snack.

He spends the majority of his day chasing his sister around or trying to kill himself. He loves the Beco and will happily hang out on my back for hours while Charlotte plays at the park or Turtle Bay.

He doesn't have much in the way of words, but he does say "dada" fairly consistently. We've been slacking in the baby sign language department, sorry second kid....

Next week kicks off our crazy summer schedule. Starting with an almost 2 week trip to Arkansas. We are so excited to be there when our brother graduates from Medical School. We run a pretty tight, predictable routine around here so it will be interesting to see how the kids do with all the traveling.

I love everything about summer. Hot weather, swimming, the smell of sunscreen, flip flops and painted toenails.

Potty Training

Remember I posted a while ago that it felt like Charlotte would be in diapers forever? Well, overnight, she proved me wrong! One morning we woke up, I told her that all the diapers were gone, and she hasn't looked back since! Now, 5 days in, she hasn't had a single accident. She is definitely not "regular" yet, and I'm still concerned she might hold it too long and give herself a stomach ache, but other than that, this has been the easiest process ever. She tells me when she needs to go, and runs off to the potty. She has even used a public bathroom and friends' bathrooms. Once we get the pooping thing down, we should be in the clear. Excited to be only washing diapers for one little bottom!

Ryder Michael 8 Months

A few days late, but let me tell you about the week we've had! Out of town family visiting, devastating news, sick baby, work, and Easter.  It's been a bit chaotic around here!

In the midst of it all, Ryder turned 8 months old. He celebrated with a 104 fever, a 7 AM trip to the doctor, and 10 days of antibiotics. And by antibiotics and I mean magic. 2 doses in his fever was gone and his smile was back. I love modern medicine.

The plus side of the visit was, I know how much he weighs! 18 lbs even. Big boy :) (Well, only bigger than 25% of the other 8 month olds, but...)

We had the pleasure this week of visiting with our brother, sis-in-law and sweet Nephew David. One night at dinner Uncle Jon asked, "Tell me more about Ryder; who is Ryder?" Here's my answer:

Ryder is the sweetest, most content little baby you have ever met. He is a the ultimate second child. Perfectly content to play by himself with toys, never complains about anything, and I'm not exaggerating when I say he never cries. One morning this week he slept in, but we had plans around 10:30, so he wasn't going to get his morning nap in. I threw him in the backpack and he contently watched the big kids play all morning without so much as a squeak. Jeremy and I frequently comment on what an incredible baby he is.

And oh what a love. He is so incredibly cuddly! The best 10 minutes of my day are putting him to bed at night, rocking him and memorizing his sweet soft body nuzzled into my neck. And ticklish! I have never met a more ticklish baby. I can't change his diaper without him crying from laughter.

He is incredibly mobile, but does not get on his hands and knees. He does this really cute kick-inchworm, snake concoction that gets him from point A to point B, albeit rather inefficiently.

My priority with him right now is to make sure he gets enough love and attention during the day. It is so true, "the squeaky wheel gets the grease." The poor boy never speaks up. But honestly, he spends about 90% of his day in my arms, so I think he's probably doing okay :)  It will be interesting to see as he gets older how this personality will develop. We are thinking he might be the push-over of the group (and by group I mean "my" 4 kiddos, Charlie and Ella included), because the other 3 are so loud!

Shockingly, he is still not a good eater. He likes pears, bananas, and strawberries. Sometimes he will tolerate yogurt or puffs. Most things he won't even put in his mouth. I'm thankful for baby-led-weaning because I am able to not stress over this and just let him eat at his own pace.

He takes 2 naps a day. A shorter 1-1.5 hour nap in the morning and a longer 2-3 hour nap in the afternoon. He nurses at 7-10-1-4-and 6:30 (give or take) and usually once in the early morning between 3 and 5.

He is in 6-9 months clothing, but most pants are still really long on him.

He has one lone tooth.

I can't imagine my life without this sweet little love. He brightens every room and warms every heart. He is so incredibly beautiful inside and out and we are blessed to have him.

Mobility

Ryder is officially mobile. Beyond mobile. My life is over.

I honestly believe there are little leprechauns that come in the middle of the night and teach babies how to do things their mothers don't want them doing. Despite my best efforts at prevention, Ryder has figured out the art of the scoot. And he is fast! And can get up the stair already! What?!?!

This is a whole new world of parenting 2. Two mobile children, capable of going in different directions at the same time. Is this the part where my magical full-time helper comes in?

His new found world is bringing him extreme joy. He is all over the house and constantly smiling about it. Charlotte, on the other hand, would much prefer he return to his stationary ways. He is in her territory now.

Sentimental

A wave of sentiment hit me hard today.

My baby boy, my newborn squish turned 7 months old and started eating food. This was a difficult milestone for me with Charlotte, and seems almost more difficult this time around. Though he has only eaten mere bites, this is the first step toward weaning. And not just from breastmilk, but from me. Food symbolizes his very first step toward independence. For the past 16 months, from those tiny 2 cells to the 16 pound boy he is today, Ryder has been completely dependent on me. In no way do I want to hinder or impede his journey toward independence, or any of my kids for that matter, I just wish I could slow the clock down. I want to taste and smell and memorize every moment. Savor the blessing of babies.

As my heart wrestled these sappy feelings of overwhelming love for my babies, Jeremy decided to cap off the evening by serenading Charlotte with this:

And the tears wouldn't stop flowing. 

Blessed. 

Ryder Michael 7 Months

We are officially closer to 1 year than we are to newborn :'(

Ryder is such a joy and light in this house. My dear friend said it best this weekend, "It's like he feels obligated to smile. Even if he's sad, when you look at him he has to smile at you." I have next to no pictures of him not smiling, because anytime I point the camera at him, he flashes that huge gummy grin.

He is a sitting pro now and will sit and play with his basket of toys for up to 30 minutes. He is incredibly content to dig through the toys, chew on them, examine them, watch his sister run around like a crazy woman. He can roll well, but has yet to use rolling as a mode of transportation. Generally speaking, he is still stationary.

This week was a big milestone week, he finally started eating a little bit of food! Never in a million years would I have guessed my baby girl would be the food lover and my boy would be the bird eater! At 7 months old, he has maybe eaten 5 bites of food. But, he tried yogurt yesterday and was over the moon! I think over the next 2 months he will realize the magic behind food!

He nurses every 2-3 hours and 1-2 times at night. He slept through the night a handful of times, then decided that was for the birds. He is finally starting to nap better, and I think I can safely say he is down to 2 naps a day. Every once in a while he sneaks that 3rd cat nap in, but for the most part, he takes a morning and afternoon nap, anywhere from 1.5-2.5 hours each.

He continues to be my snuggle bug and I continue to exploit every opportunity to snuggle him. After having a non-snuggly baby, I am taking full advantage! He loves to nuzzle his face into the crook of my neck and drape his arms around my shoulders. The best 5 minutes of my day are spent rocking him before bed. Clean jammies and freshly washed hair, I rock and memorize his sweet baby smell, his warm breath on my neck, his heavy arms around me.

Cute beyond words. I am always telling Jeremy, "It hurts me to look at him because he is so cute!"

Ryder, you have blessed this family immeasurably with your presence. We love you and are thankful daily that you are part of us. Please stop growing...

Sleep Status

I mentioned in Ryder's 6 month update that he is not the best sleeper. Not bad, but not good. He's no Charlotte...

This has been a source of frustration for me. I keep telling myself:
I am doing everything the exact same way I did with Charlotte (if not better, since I have more experience)
He has very healthy sleep habits: great schedule, predictable routine, puts himself to sleep, etc. etc.

So why is he not sleeping through the night?

And then, out of nowhere...he did!

Part of me feels vindicated. All my hard work finally paid off! I did this!  But then I got real.

Ryder has taught me a invaluable lesson: All babies are different. There is no cookie-cuter way formula to follow that will guarantee 12 hours of sleep by 12 weeks old. And that is great! Babies know what they need and they let you know. They will sleep through the night when they are ready.

Now, don't get me wrong. I still see a lot of value in teaching healthy sleep habits and maintaining a predictable routine. These are lessons that will last a lifetime. But, now when giving sleep advice, I will be sure to add the caveat, "not all babies sleep through the night at 8 weeks, no matter what you do."

This is just one example of how Ryder is teaching me that people are their own little people from day one. Charlotte and Ryder have been raised in the exact same way, by the exact same parents, and are already so incredibly different. And for this I am so thankful.

Thank you Ryder for showing me the beauty of individuality. We love you to death and can't wait to learn all of your little quirks!

Ryder Michael:6 Months

A very merry un-birthday to you, sweet boy! Unbelievable, 6 months old already! Why must these baby days fly by so quickly?

Ryder, you are the sweetest, happiest little man. You started smiling at 2 months, and haven't stopped since. You smile at any person that makes eye contact with you.  You eyes are bright blue like dad and sister, but your hair and eyebrows are dark, giving you the most striking smile. And how I love your fluffy hair! You have my square mouth and squinty smile. And the cheeks...oh the kissable cheeks! So far, you seem pretty laid back. You spend the majority of your day in the carrier, tagging along on mom's errands or sister's activities. You are content to watch and learn. It won't be long until you are down there running around with her!

Speaking of mobility: you are proficient at rolling both directions, but still haven't quite figured out how to string the rolls together to get from point A to point B. Just this week I noticed you spinning while on your tummy to try and reach a toy. You can't sit unassisted yet, but you're getting close!

Sleeping. Well, you aren't winning any sleeping awards, but I can't complain too much. You definitely had a hard act to follow. You go to bed around 6:30 PM and sleep until 6:30 or 7 AM. On a "good" night, you will get up to eat somewhere between 1 and 3 and then go right back to sleep. This week, you came down with your first cold/ear infection which led to multiple night wakings. You are starting to feel better, but still eating two times a night. Naps: I thought you were ready to move down to 2 naps a day, but I was WRONG! You do much better on 3, shorter naps. Not my favorite, but you are much happier this way. You usually take three 1-1.5 hour naps a day. Getting you to sleep is a total cinch, in fact, I have never fought with you a single time. But staying asleep, that's a different story. If you wake up too early from your nap, I usually try to pat/rock you back to sleep. Sometimes it works, sometimes no. I can usually tell by the amount of vigor you put behind your arm flapping when you see me come in the room. I finally accepted the fact that your sister won't be giving up her crib anytime soon (and actually read quite a few articles that suggest waiting until 3 anyway, which makes me feel better, of course) so we luckily were able to borrow a crib for you. No more Pack 'n Play!

Eating: I believe in exclusive breastfeeding for the first 6 months, so you haven't had any food yet. We also don't really do baby food, just soft whole food. This week I had you taste applesauce, banana, and avocado. You are completely unimpressed and uninterested. Anytime something is put in your mouth you gag and choke.  And the few attempts at bottle feeding have also been rejected. This is where being a second time mom is helpful for me. I'm not the least bit concerned. You will eat in your own time, and I'm in no rush for you to nurse less. You are pretty consistent with the nursing, every 3 hours. Though it will be nice when you poop less and sleep more :)

Stats:
16 lbs 13 oz (37%)
25.5 inches (10 %)

So you aren't the biggest baby... Hopefully that height will catch up to you :)

We love you more than we ever dreamed possible and can't imagine our little family without you.