Wyatt: 5 months

This is one sweet little man we've got here.

Wyatt likes:
*his big sister
*his mama
*his daddy
*anything he can chew on (his first tooth--bottom right--just popped through...finally)
*jumping in the jumperoo
*going for walks
*riding in the ergo
*the beach and the gulf
*grabbing everything in front of him
*rolling rolling rolling
*chatting
*people watching (most favorite to watch is Millie, by far)
*being talked to
*smacking my face and pulling my nose while nursing
*quick nursing sessions
*being tickled
*berserks on his belly
*standing
*playing in the bath

He is a pretty content little man and will chill  for a while on the floor but he let's me know when he is ready for some new action. He continues to be fascinated by all that is Millie. Who can blame him?

We are still working on the night sleep, but it's improving. I think. Who can really tell? I'm still up more than I'd like, but I'm just trying to roll with it. He is now sleeping completely unswaddled (just a lightweight sleepsack) and after a month of sleeping on his tummy, I've recently started putting him down on his back again so that's another adjustment to conquer. Transitions, transitions, and more transitions.

He went on his first long road trip to Asheville, NC this past week. He was a super trooper in the car--we were so thankful. He even took a whopping 4 naps on the way home. It helps that Millie's back there to entertain him when he's awake too. And he is growing more and more interested in all the toys we have. Anything we give him goes immediately into the mouth. The night sleep in Asheville was pretty horrendo as he was sleeping in the Phil&Ted's and didn't seem to love it. We are hoping he starts to get used to it on our next big adventure to Scotland in two weeks. Oh dear God please. His naps are getting longer and are still pretty consistent at 8:45, 12:30, and 4. I am usually walking out of his room at 7pm on the dot. He wakes up between 6-6:45am most days and will often play in his crib for a while. Thankfully Brad usually gets up with him and lets me sleep a bit more. I like this routine. He is also learning to self-soothe and often puts himself to sleep--yay!

He is super interested in all that we put in our mouths, so I am getting excited to start solids next month. We are considering baby-led-feeding this time around instead of making tons of purees, but we'll see. I can't believe he has been here for almost 6 months. He is such a wonderful addition to our family. I've started re-introducing some dairy into my diet and it seems to be going smoothly. I'm thrilled about this. I've missed pizza SO much. But it's so worth it to keep his tummy happy.

He is my little love bug. Super snugly and just the sweetest little soul. It is such a joy to watch him grow. We love our Wyatt James!

Millie's 3rd Birthday Party {and some 3 year life updates}

I really wanted to make Millie's birthday special, especially since so much attention has been focused on Wyatt lately. I think she had a great time, especially playing with her "best friend" Hunter Claire from school , running around, blowing bubbles, and eating cake. The girl probably had more sugar that day than all the other days of her 3 years combined. Parenting win. It was a little chillier than we would've liked, but the sun was shining brightly and Millie didn't seem to care. 

 

 

 

 

 

At three years old, Millie Bean is quite the character. There are so many different facets to her, just like a regular grown-up person. She can be sweet and soft and gentle one minute and then wild and rough and tough the next. She speaks so well and can often identify her feelings with only a little guidance or questioning. She loves music and dancing. She carries her music machine all around the house and always requests/demands that we watch her dance. She is 100% Daddy's Girl. I know she loves me (she tells me!), but she by far prefers to be by his side. They are the best of buds. He sure is sweet on her. She is a great big sister too. She really delights in all that Wyatt does and likes to be with him and soothe him and give him toys and laugh at all the noises he makes. He adores her too.

Millie loves to learn and play and do her work. She loves to read, play with her dolls, and care for her animals. Usually, instead of taking naps, she has "quiet times" each afternoon. There are definitely days where she sleeps, but it is no longer guaranteed. She's even fallen asleep on the floor a couple of times listening to music like a real teenager. Bedtime can be pretty late on the days she actually sleeps, but she is still in her room at her regular bedtime. When she turned three, she started waking up at night again. Oh joy. She now sleeps with her light on, door open, and two night lights. She has been keeping her pull-up dry during nap and at night more and more so YAY for those improvements. She has started to go to the bathroom all on her own (in the morning and at night) too.

Some of her favorite things: tutus, bubbles, juice (recently introduced), playing games, doing the days of the week board, looking at pictures on my phone, wearing "fancy dresses," going to the beach, going to restaurants, playing with dolls, asking questions, being bossy and persistent, eating cereal and blueberries, climbing on top of us, playing hide and seek, going to Izzy's house, going to school, dancing, reading before bed (she's been sleeping with a book), just hanging out, going to Target, going to the park, doing crafts, and creating little worlds with her people.

Her imagination continues to evolve. She tells wild stories and we can have full on conversations with her these days. She has a lot of BIG feelings that are sometimes difficult to handle and express. But we're working with her to get through them in a peaceful way, even when that is hard for all of us. That's our goal, at least. She demands a lot of attention, but is also so good at playing independently for long stretches of time. She tries to be quiet and have "soft feet" when Wyatt is sleeping. She doesn't like getting her hands dirty. She likes to blow her own nose. She is generous with hugs and kisses. She has started saying thank you to strangers. She is still quiet and hesitant around people she doesn't know, but she is easy to warm up. She really is a darling. A wild darling, but a darling just the same.

Wyatt James: 4 months old

 

Sweet little man

Besties

Those teeth

Cubs opening day

Going BLUE! (So close...)

Beach bub.

Sibs.

Easter 2013

Rider buddy

 First bath with sissie

This guy is growing and changing so quickly; it is terribly bittersweet. I'm not fighting against time, well, because clearly there is no point to that. But also because I am looking forward to getting more sleep one of these nights. And hopefully time will help with that. He is such a sweetheart, but sleeping long stretches is not his top skill. We still have at least two wake-ups each night and it is really wearing us out. His naps are improving and are becoming more consistent (1hr-1.5hrs in the morning and afternoon and then a short one in the late afternoon). But now we're dropping the swaddle, so I'm sure we'll have a (hopefully) short regression there.

He's become quite the Grabby McGrabberson in the past couple of weeks. Hard to get much done holding or carrying him. He is awake and most definitely an active participant in this world. He is so close to rolling from back to belly and easily gets to both sides. Belly to back has been going on for over a month. Dude is teething. Like, whoa. He doesn't get crazy upset about it too often, but everything goes in the mouth. Everything. And he's drooling up a river. So we're hoping these toothers pop soon and give him some relief. And maybe, just maybe, help him sleep better??

As these pictures attest, Wyatt and Millie are besties. He is obsessed. She is my magic bullet when he is being a grouch. He will just follow her (with his eyes) wherever she goes. She gets a little rough now and again and sometimes gets too much up in his business, but usually she is a dream with him. One of the videos above I captured spying on them from the video camera (it records!). It makes my stone cold heart melt. Millie can make him laugh like no other.

We haven't had his 4 month appointment yet (it's this week), but I'm guessing he's around 15 lbs. Much bigger than his itty bitty sissy was at this age. He is such a smiley little guy and chatty too. He went on his first trip this past week--back to Chicago. He was shockingly amazing on all four flights, sleeping almost the whole time.When he wasn't sleeping he was looking around, smiling at fellow passengers, and being a squirmy worm. He loved meeting all of our friends and seems to be happy when someone/anyone is paying him some attention. Although, I have to say that sometimes it seems that he just needs his mama. I don't hate this. Like, at all.

He likes to try to stand and wobble. And he's a pincher. I have to cut his nails regularly or it's major ouchie.  He is one strong guy. We've been taking a baby yoga class once a week and he really seems to love it. He likes to lie on the activity mat and it can keep him occupied for a while. He's discovered his toes. And he wants them in his mouth, like everything else. He gets frustrated when he can't rub his gums with his toys as he'd like to. But he'll learn.

He is a charmer and offers his gummy smile to friends, new and old. He seems thoughtful and determined. And not nearly as intense as his big sister was/is. But I guess there's still time for that.

He is our special guy. Happy four months, little man. We are so glad that you're here. One of us. On our team.

Wyatt: 3 months

Wyatt likes: being talked to, being held, watching his big sister, being tickled, having his arms put in/taken out of his sleeves (?), taking a bath, "running" his legs, drooling, watching his mobile, laying on his changing mat, watching lights, talking, being snuggled, eating at night, getting his picture taken with my phone, being swaddled, getting kisses, moving around

Wyatt dislikes: gas (HATES), when his sister cries, being left alone for too long (or what he considers to be too long), being offered milk when he's not hungry, getting out of the tub

He is one sweet dude.

Millie is Three

 

 

 

I'm 100% certain her favorite part of turning three was cake.

Happy THREE Amelia Lee!

Wyatt: Two Months

Amelia Lee, Almost Three

This little girl is one cheeky monkey. She cracks me up. She drives me crazy. She repeats EV-ER-RY-THING. She knows what she wants. And what she likes. She is affectionate. And thoughtful. Sweet and naughty. A ball of energy and spunk. She is sometimes a grouch and sometimes a peach--and you never really know who you're going to get.

 She's in the process of dropping her afternoon nap and has only been taking a couple naps a week for months now. I don't love this, but I'm growing to accept the inevitable. She can mostly handle no naps but oh man not always. She stays in her room and even on her bed throughout, so I can't complain too much. When we come to get her she used to say, "I woke up!" Even when she didn't sleep. But now she says, "I didn't sleep!" We're like, yeah, we know. We WATCH you. It's actually quite entertaining watching her play during nap. She seems to be orchestrating something major; she walks about her bed and talks to her friends. Peeks out the window and kicks the wall. Sings songs and puts her babies to bed. She needs the downtime though and so do I, so I'm thankful she at least stays in there.

 She loves her daddy, and I mean LOVES. She thinks it's punishment when I put her to bed. I try not to take it personally but sometimes that's hard (for me). When I wake up with Wyatt and come out into the kitchen she often exclaims NO!, with that much emphasis. So that's a nice way to wake up (especially after waking up with a newborn throughout the night)! I guess I don't blame her...he is much more patient than I am. Thankfully he's half of this parenting thing we got going on.

She also loves her brother. Like, a lot. I am so incredibly thankful for the way she has accepted and welcomed him into our family. She likes to see him and hold him and squeeze him and she is for the most part super gentle. I'm impressed, to say the least. You never know how the sibling thing is going to pan out, but 7 weeks in and things are looking good on that front. WOO. Also, PHEW.

Art and painting are big right now, which I love. She is always up for crafting with mama and I can't help myself and buy her new art supplies whenever I get the chance. I just bought her some scissors, so watch out.

She still likes to get herself dressed and pick her undies and jammies. And she really likes for things to match. She tries real hard and I can usually convince her to wear what I want her to wear if it matches something else she's wearing...undies, socks, etc.

She seems to have become heavier and sturdier in the last few months. I'm not entirely sure, but I think she weighs around 28lbs. Maybe more. Either way, she's heavy. But maybe that's because I've gotten used to carrying around an 11lb newborn now. She is definitely strong. She is opinionated. And sensitive. Cheerful and silly. She loves to sing. And read. And hug and kiss. And take care of her babies. And pretend to sleep on the couch. And make her animals talk. And look at pictures of herself. And she likes to take off her socks. Her hands and feet are often cold. She likes to be funny. She likes to pick out which fork she uses. And plate and glass and spoon. She likes to be in control.

She loves to go to the park. And to eat at restaurants. She's a good eater, thankfully. I mean, not all the time. She is almost there, afterall. She is so into imaginary play. It's so fun to watch. I find her in her own little world so often and try not to disturb her too much by capturing the moment. She loves to dress and undress (herself and her animals). She thinks it's fun to wear pajamas during the day. Her hair is coming in thick and dark and beautiful. She's our delight.