Things to Remember: Bathtime

Mike loves to help with anything related to Ryan.  Throwing away diapers - check.  Getting him dressed in the morning - Check.  Bringing his binky - Check.  Sharing his toys - Check.  It should come as no surprise that Mike is ridiculously willing to help with Ryan's bath time as it involves two of his favorite things: Ryan and Water.  He carefully pours water on Ryan's belly (only mommy and daddy can pour it on his head and face) and gently cleans him with a wash cloth.  If Ryan gets startled by the water or makes any noise at all Mike uses his sweetest voice to tell Ryan "OK Ryan" (it's ok Ryan).  Seriously can these kids be any cuter? 

Disney on Ice

It all started with a flier in the mail.  Rapunzel was prominently centered with Flynn Rider and Maximum behind her.  Cinderella and Tiana were also present, but it was Rapunzel that caught Mike's attention.  He insisted on carrying the flier around and taking it to daycare to show his teachers and friends.  After watching Tangled for the 117th time I busted out the credit card and bought tickets to Disney on Ice: Dare to Dream.  A few days before the big event Brad was asked to do a bit of moonlighting (translation $$$$$ for doing his normal job) so he was out.  I knew it would be really hard to juggled two little boys during a two hour show so I invited my friend Rachel to join us.  She happily agreed and we were back in business.  The show did not disappoint.  Mike got his (ridiculously expensive) popcorn (in a commemorative Disney on Ice bucket of course) and a cute little plush Mickey.  He say politely through The Princess and the Frog (hasn't seen that movie yet) and Cinderella (hasn't seen it yet either) and got so So SO excited when Tangled started.  He told me it was like watching it "on the big TV, only better."  Ryan wasn't sure about the whole thing.  He stayed calm through the whole show but started at me with wide eyes as if asking "what the hell is going on and why are all these little girls screaming?!?!?"

Must have been some sketchy princesses sitting behind us.

Thank you so much Rachel!

Monday Picture

Interesting

It would appear that Ryan finds articles about spondylolisthesis way more interesting than Brad does.

Farms, fishing and sunburns

Not far from our house there is a park with a farm incorporated into it.  It is nothing big but houses a variety of horses, cows, pigs, chickens, goats, sheep, turkeys, ducks and geese.  Understandably, kids love the place.  We ventured out on Tuesday morning and Mike was in pig heaven (ha ha ha).

Such a cute milk maid

 After the farm we grabbed lunch and then met Brad at a nearby lake to let Mike experience fishing for the first time.  He was well equipped with his "Cars" fishing pole (no Snoopy poles could be found).  He thoroughly enjoyed throwing his bobber and lure into the water.  His big catch of the day was Ryan, when a rogue cast cash the leg of Ryan's pants (luckily it only got his pants).  Shockingly no fish were captured.

I also learned a new trick while we were "fishing" - how to nurse a baby in a pouch carrier.  Seems like a good skill to have finally tried and conquered.  On and the sunburn part of the title is all me.  Mike is already becoming tan from all of his time outside, I protected Ryan like crazy due to years of my own terrible sunburns and stories of sunburns I got as a baby, but apparently I forgot about my self and came home with a nice "burn" line (I don't get tan lines).  It was bad enough that a number of people in my step aerobics class commented on it.  And so it begins for 2012.

What we've been up to

The weather has been beautiful and we have been taking full advantage of it by spending as much time outside as possible.  Mike quickly added the word "popsicle" to his vocabulary and now uses it frequently.  He happily wanders around the back yard exploring and becoming ridiculously filthy.  Last night he wanted to swing, and swing and swing and swing.  I had to drag him inside when it got dark.  Here are some pictures of what we have been up to lately:

Mending fences...literally.

Coaxing smiles out of a certain cutie pie.

Hanging out as brothers.

Visiting friends and snoozing in the sun.

Getting our hair cut. 



Monday Picture

Goofballs

All About Ryan - 6 weeks

He sleeps for about 10 hours per night.  His first stretch has recently been 7-8.5 hours (don't be hating) followed by another 2-3 hour stretch.  It is amazingly.  Since Mike didn't really sleep through the night until he was 8 months old I did not expect this at all.

Has the CUTEST eyebrow dimple.  It makes him look like he is thinking really hard about things.

It gaining most of his weight in his cheeks and thighs...I love it.  At his six week appointment yesterday he weighed 12 pounds 4.5 ounces (he gained 3 pounds in 4 weeks).

He loves starting at paintings, particularly the one over our couch that my sister did and a starry night print over our bed.  I think he can focus on the colors.

He still needs to be swaddled to sleep at night (Mike only tolerated swaddling for week so this is new territory for us) during the day he can go either way.

He still doesn't cry much, but will give a warning yell if we aren't giving him enough attention.  He will scream bloody murder if he gets too hungry or cold.  For the most part he is a sweet, calm baby.

He has just started cooing and smiling.  Mike elicits the most smiles (no big surprise there) but he is sure to give everyone a little love.

Brothers

I know I've said it before and I'll probably say it again but Mike absolutely adores Ryan.  Every morning he runs into our room to see him and frequently wants to hold him, kiss him, hug him and lay by him.  I guess I need to keep stating how cute there are together so someday if they fight a lot I can look back at when they were babies and in love with each other.  I realize I always talk about how much Mike loves Ryan, but it becomes more obvious everyday that Ryan feels the same way.  He will crane his neck as far as he can to watch Mike and nothing will break his concentration.

Mike covering Ryan up with a blanket before and outing.  He is amazingly helpful when it comes to Ryan.

Mike was laying next to Ryan and said "Mommy take a picture of me and baby Ryan" so I did.

Monday Picture

I took the boys to the zoo last Friday.  We were playing around while waiting for the train to arrive.

Something I meant to remember, then forgot then remembered again...

This is a story I want to remember to embarrass Mike with when he is a teenager.  It happened during the first day or so that Ryan was home with us so I must have forgotten it in the new baby haze.  Luckily I remembered it recently and can share it with all of you.

I was sitting on the couch in the playroom nursing Ryan while Mike was playing with his toys.  After a few minutes, Mike came over to me and asked what I was doing.  I explained that I was feeding Ryan.  He looked confused and skeptical so I explained that Ryan gets milk from mommy and that is what he eats.  Mike thought about it for a minute then told me he wanted some milk.  I told him to go into the kitchen and ask daddy for some milk.  He looked upset and said "No mommy, I want mommy milk."  I told him that the mommy milk was just for Ryan.  He thought about it some more and then pointed to the breast I was nursing Ryan on and said "Ryan Milk" then pointed to the other one and said "Michael milk."  I chuckled and told him no, but at the same time I was pretty impressed by his deduction skills.  Two boobs - two boys, made perfect sense to him.

Morning

This morning I was putting some clothes away.  Ryan was happily watching from the boppy pillow and Mike was wandering around.  After a few minutes Mike climbed up on the bed next to Ryan, leaned over to give him a kiss and hug and said in his sweetest voice "hi little guy" about 5 times in a row.  It may have been one of their cutest interactions to date.  

Monday Picture

Friday Randomness

This is what happens when a sweet sweet baby sleeps on you - he leaves a cute little ear imprint on your arm :)

This is me as of yesterday.  I gained just under 40 pounds with Ryan.  I'm down about 30 pounds. 

Mike is constantly taking EVERYTHING off of his bed (6 stuff animals and 4 blankets) and piling them all up somewhere random.  Yesterday Sammy was his target.  I have said it before and I'll say it again, our dog is quite amazing to put up with all the crap our kid throws at her.  Vicious pit bull my butt.

It would appear I spend a lot of time playing the role of a baby mattress.  Honestly I don't mind one tiny bit.  Look at that red hair...let's all say it together now..."Awwwwwww"

Mike loves riding tricycles at school (or as he calls it "bicycles" - I don't think he would understand the conversation about "bi" meaning two and "tri" meaning three, but anyway, and this picture is obviously not at daycare, it is his tricylce in our driveway).  Anyway, when he rides he likes to drag his left foot, which has resulted in him burning through shoes at an alarming rate.  I think we are going to start plastering shoe goo onto the toes of his shoes to (hopefully) make his shoes last longer than a few days or weeks.

You may remember baby Landon.  He is now an adorable nine-month old baby.  Unfortunately he is having surgery today, so please throw whatever thoughts and prayers you can in the direction of him and his family and hope for a successful surgery and speedy recovery.