Scotland {June 2013}

Last month we traveled across the Atlantic to visit my parents in St. Andrews, Scotland. And we took the kids. Both of them. It was an exciting, rewarding, and challenging experience. It was wonderful to see my parents and where they've been living for almost a year. The days were long and the nights were too (the sun only goes down for about 3-4 hours each night). The kids were rock stars and I'm proud of all of us. It looked a little something like this:

Thanks for hosting us, Bebe + Pop! 

Wyatt is 7 months old. {I am older.}

This guy. This 7 month old guy. Apparently he rarely has his mouth closed, as these pictures seem to show. I guess that's true! He is quite chatty these days, making all sorts of {loud} noises. He's also been learning to say his first words: Bubba, mama, and dada. He actually whines mama quite a bit when he wants me to pick him up, get him out of his crib, etc. And he stops when I get him, so I'm pretty sure he's using it correctly! He's still scooting around/army crawling and even getting up on his knees pretty frequently so I bet he'll be proper crawling in no time. He's also starting to pull up on things and stand. Holy mobile. SLOW DOWN, boy!

He has two bottom teeth fully out and his two top teeth have broken through but are still working their way down. Poor guy seems to have a hard time cutting teeth...our sleep has been a bit disturbed this past week or so. Last night we were back to just one wake-up, so hopefully we'll all be getting some better rest again soon. He's been taking two naps: around 2 hours in the morning and 2 hours in the afternoon. I am liking this schedule. If we go to the beach in the morning (which we are prone to do), he will take a shorter nap either in the car or on the beach and then a longer one once we're home. He is proving to just go with the flow. Thanks Bub!

Our beach trips are definitely different these days. Still worth it but I think I spend most of my time trying to stop him from eating sand and/or getting completely sandy. 90% of the time I fail. But he loves to be in the water and tries to jump out of my arms and into it. He is a brave one, this Wyatt James.

He loves to be out and about and studies the world around him. He is generally a pretty happy guy and we are so thankful. He does seem to get into EVERYTHING already. But I guess he's just a curious guy.

I'm trying to get into a real food feeding routine for him but I think I'm just lazier this time around. So far he's tried: avocado, banana, and squash. Banana is his favorite, I'd say.

Things he loves:
-jumping
-the beach (slash eating sand)
-playing in the water
-chewing on cords
-licking the floor
-sneaking Millie's toys
-the jumperoo
-being looked at/talked to/paid attention
-taking a bath
-talking/yelling/squealing
-going for walks
-riding in the car
-watching his sissy
-chewing on tires
-getting into things
-army crawling at top speeds
-gnawing on things
-standing and smacking things

You are loved Bubba.

Wyatt 6 months old

One whole half a year old. It's simultaneously hard to believe that it's only been six months and that it's already been six months. He is such a happy little guy. Especially since those two bottom teeth finally popped through in the past week. He is also just starting to sit on his own AND scoot around to get what he wants. Eh shit. Guess we missed the stage where we can just plop them down on the floor and be comfortable knowing they're not going anywhere. 

We also just started giving him some solids--avocado and banana so far. He seems into it, but not crazy crazy about it. Which is fine by me since I seem to have a hard time remembering to feed him anyway. He IS crazy about the spoon though. Or anything that he can put in his mouth. Which is basically everything, or at least he thinks so. I think we're going to have to start baby-proofing sooner than later. I'm not really sure where to even begin...

He continues to be an early riser (yawwwn) but he also likes to be asleep by 7pm, so we're just going with it. He is happy as a clam when he wakes up and just babbles and squeals (and kicks his right leg over and over again) so it's hard to be too upset with him as a wake-up call. 

He is still obsessed with his big sister and she can make him laugh just by looking at him. It is so rewarding to see them play together and interact. Just the other day I overheard her say to him, "Oh Wyatt, you're my best friend." DIE. She does get a little frustrated when he tries to take her toys, but she is learning to offer him something of his own instead of screaming and grabbing it back. Baby steps. She can also be quite smothering in her show of affection, but we're working on it. He is quite easy to make smile and laugh and even charms strangers everywhere we go. A little flirt, I'd say. 

He is mostly waking once a night to eat and napping three times a day. We are heading to Scotland (today!) so we'll see how that goes for the sleeping routine. They're 6 hours ahead of us so it should be interesting. 

He is still a pretty mellow, easy-to-please, content little man and we are so thankful to have him on our team.

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.