Eleven Weeks

Ryder has become quite an expressive little guy in the last week.  It is a lot of fun to sit and have conversations with him and watch how he lights up and even starts to giggle a little.  He has started to notice Brody and Addisen a lot more this week, and they love to try to get him to smile.

I have a few pictures that I forgot to post from our trip to Pennsylvania last week.  I think one of the highlights of the trip was getting to eat pizza in bed while we were at the hotel!  We got adjoining rooms so the kids wouldn't wake up when Ryder was crying, it was crazy to see how small Brody and Addisen looked sleeping in Queen size beds!

Addisen had an eventful week at daycare this week...which meant I had an eventful week too.  On Tuesday Jim picked her up to find out that she had been hit in the head by another kid with a wooden block.  Of course the center doesn't share names, but we knew before Addisen told us who had hit her.  About the time Ryder was born a child started at the center that left me with a worried feeling every time I had to leave Addisen in the room with him.  He is 3 years old, but about the size of a 4 or 5 year old and has an aggressive attitude.  Jim and I both witnessed him pushing Addisen and other kids down without a reason.  And now my fears had come true -he took his unprovoked aggression out on my sweet little girl - leaving a large bump and bruise in the center of her forehead (you can see it in the pictures below).  Before Jim and Addisen even got home, I knew I had to do something...I suddenly felt that  my child wasn't save at her daycare.  So after a few emotional days and discussions with the teachers and daycare director - it was decided that we would be staying there, but the child that hurt Addisen would be asked to leave.  What an awful situation, I really don't like to be a complainer (or confrontation)....but you have to do what is best for your kids!

It was so funny to watch Addisen as she was "watching" Ryder.  It started out well and she continued to watch TV but quickly evolved into Ryder screaming.  I love her facial expressions (probably pretty similar to what mommy looks like when he won't calm down).

Ryder finally started to take a Pacifier more frequently this week - which is good and bad.  Good because he tends to be able to soothe himself during the times he is upset...but bad because now we have to hover over his crib at night while he falls asleep to make sure he doesn't lose the pacifier!

Some more pictures from the trip...he was all smiles in the hotel!

Addisen showing off her new shades

Happy boy (one of the few moments while we were there!)

Wow - look at that outfit!

This weekend we will be busy.  Uncle Marty and Jordan are coming on Friday afternoon for the weekend.  We are so excited to have them come and visit us and for Uncle Marty to be Ryder's Godfather.  On Sunday I will be celebrating my birthday by witnessing Ryder's baptism - it should be a great day!

Ten Weeks - Pennsylvania Trip

This post is a bit late because of all the excitement we have had for the last couple weeks.  It all started on March 27th when we headed out for our trip to Pennsylvania!  We headed to my parents to spend the night on Wednesday and then left first thing in the morning on our road trip.  The kids did excellent!  There was very little complaining and Ryder slept for the majority of the trip.  We drove halfway on Thursday and stayed in a hotel and then got up on Friday to finish up the trip.

The best moments of the trip were seeing the kids with all of our family!  For Addisen it was the first trip where she was really old enough to play with the "big" kids and show off her personality.  She loved her Aunt Ellen, Uncle Steve, Aunt Krista, Aunt Chrissy, Amber, Nanny, Aunt Sue, Aunt Genni, Sydney, Dylan and Poppy - but she wasn't too sure about Uncle Dave, Uncle Ben, Uncle Marty, Jordyn and Nathan (most be a guy thing!).  Brody was so excited for his cousins to show up on Friday night, but unfortunately they were fast asleep by the time they got to Nanny's - Brody still had a good time staying up WAY past his bedtime and hanging out with Aunt Krista.  For Ryder it was his first time meeting most of the family - including Poppy!  While Ryder cried a lot of the time we were there...Poppy seemed to have the magic touch.

The kids had a lot of fun on Easter morning! I am so glad we were there to experience it with so many Aunts, Uncles and cousins.

 

Addisen with her Aunt Krista!

Aunt Krista and Aunt Chrissy put together a scavenger hunt for the kids.  They had so much fun running around to find clues and LOTS of presents!  Addisen was pretty clueless to what was going on...but would say "take me to my next surprise".

Nanny had an Easter Egg Hunt for the kids on Sunday morning.  Brody was the star finding 18 out of the 50 eggs.  Addisen and Brody were excited to find the money inside the eggs!

Nanny spending some time with the kids before we left on Tuesday  morning.

Ryder was still in his colicky stage while we were there.  It was nice to hear from my Sister-In-Law Genni that she went through it with her kids too.  You start to feel crazy after awhile...wondering why he just won't stop crying.  The doctor had said it should calm down at 10 weeks...well on the Wednesday we were heading home...I thought she had told us a lie...but I have to say - it is amazing what a difference a week can make!  While he still has his fussy times, he is no longer screaming at us during those times.  I am so excited to say that he has finally decided that he likes a pacifier too! 

Even though he gave me a run for my money...I could never trade him in - how can you resist those eyes and cheeks!

 

 On Tuesday night we stopped at a hotel and the kids enjoyed the pool with Jim.  On the way to Pennsylvania they swam in the hotel pool but Addisen was too scared to get in and Brody wouldn't jump in off the side.  For some reason on the way back everything was different - Addisen loved swimming with Daddy and Brody was jumping in and going underwater without crying!  It was a lot of fun to watch them become so brave.

I had made the decision before we left for Pennsylvania that no matter what, Ryder was going to start sleeping in his room when we got back.  So although we got back a little later in the day than expected, I got his room all ready and we did it.  I was sad getting everything set up, but by the end of the night it was kind of a relief to have made the jump and have moved him out of our room.  It kind of helped that he had outgrown the bassinet part of the pack n play - so it would have been difficult to have him in our room still.  To our amazement he has slept so much better in his room.  The same thing happened with Addisen - I'm not sure if it is the move or just the age.  He pretty much goes to bed between 8-9pm and wakes up about 1 time in the middle of the night.  The second wake up ranges from 5-8am.  He always goes back to sleep until about 8:30 though - he won't get that luxury for too much longer...we are down to just 10 days before I return to work!

 

Nine Weeks

Wow!  I'm two months old! 

Ryder had his 2 month appointment on Monday.  Not to our surprise his weight was off the charts!  The MA that weighed him said that an alert came up on her computer because he was 3lbs over the "normal" weight (suggesting maybe she made a typo)...nope that is our big boy!  He weighed in at 14lbs 2.5oz (75th percentile), 23 1/4" (50th percentile) and he continues of tradition of big heads (98th percentile).  I can't believe that he has doubled his weight in 8 weeks!  He is right on track with Uncle Neal, except he started out at 10lbs!

I had a chance to take a few 2 month pictures earlier this week.  Ryder continues to have his fussy times...so most of these pictures were while he was in and out of the sleep.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I think Ryder looks a lot like Addisen - we'll have to see if he has the blond hair like hers and if he thins out as he grows :)

On Saturday we celebrated Uncle Neal's birthday.  The kids were excited to help him blow out his candles!  Addisen looks like she already started eating the cookie cake...but that is evidence of the M

&M's Aunt Jenny brought!
 

On Saturday we also had our 2nd annual Easter Egg Hunt for the neighborhood kids.  We didn't have as great of a turnout this year (only 7 kids), maybe because of the weather - it was only about 30 and snow was still on the ground!  The kids here still had a great time - and honestly I would do it just for Brody and Addisen because it is so fun to see their excitement!

Addisen loves her Uncle Neal!

This was Ryder yesterday - almost brought tears to my eyes...he looks so old already!

 

We are starting our big week today - we will be leaving for Pennsylvania tomorrow morning following an overnight trip to Grandma and Bobo's tonight.  I am just praying that Ryder doesn't keep the whole hotel awake on Thursday night!  I will have lots of pictures (and I'm sure a few stories) in my next post!

Eight Weeks

Oh what a week. Jim traveled for work again this week and due to my dad's surgery and the snow we got this week, I was at it alone. The anxiety set in full force on Tuesday afternoon - I really doubted that I could do this. As I posted last week Ryder is not like Brody or Addisen as a baby...he has what I have found on the Internet called 'The Witching Hour", although his is hours! If you looked at my search history on the IPad you would find A LOT of searches on crying babies. I had a lot of tears on Tuesday imagining my evening with a baby that wouldn't stop crying and no one to save me. My parents are the best, even though they had their own schedules and obstacles, they arrived at my house at 10:45pm on Tuesday night, just to let me know I wasn't alone. They stayed until Wednesday night and got to witness the witching hour! I'm happy to say that I am now sitting here in the final hours and we made it. A few meltdowns by all of us, but overall a success. I have now seen the sacrifices that our whole family has to make as we work to make sure everyone gets some time. Addisen and Brody had to have shorter bedtime routines and books read at a level that could be heard over Ryder's crying...and Ryder had to wait a few more minutes before someone could console him...but we all learned that we would survive.

This brings me back to my New Years resolution....I thought about it a lot this week. Be thankful. I'm thankful for the unconditional love of my kids. How Brody tells me that he loves me when I am feeling like I'm not so good at this motherhood thing, how Addisen shows me that she is nursing her baby just like me when I feel like crying and how Ryder surprises me by peeing on his head while I am changing him...proving that I can juggle one more thing.

I love my kids...in the end I hope that they can look back at their childhood and remember the fun moments and not so much of the "losing it" moments! In my moments of thankfulness I took a moment to look at each of the kids, their smiles, their sleeping faces, their personalities that just compliment our family. I am truly blessed with this family and I'm doing the best I can....I love these babies!

Jim and I went into this little shop in Rockford last weekend and found this outfit for Addisen (extremely marked down!).  Gosh, I wish I could dress her up like this every day!

Happy St. Patrick's Day from my cheeks to yours!

Ryder had an eventful week. I forgot to write last week that he rolled from his stomach to back 3 times last Sunday! I don't think he knew what he was doing...but he did it! Then on St. Patricks Day he smiled at me for the first time (outside of the gas smiles). It was great! I have been working hard each day to see them more and more!

We went to the Cottage and Lake House show last weekend in Grand Rapids.  There were a few good things to see there - the most impressive was the inside sandbox for the kids!  They played in there for atleast a half hour before I had to drag them off (even pretending to leave so Addisen would come!).

Seven Weeks

Brody and Addisen were home last Friday for the day.  It has been amazing to watch how the kids are growing and changing...and how they LOVE each other!

Addisen decided to join Ryder on his play mat and it was only a matter of minutes before Brody wanted to be there too.

On Friday afternoon we headed to my parents house for the night.  It was a good break to get out of the house and have some new scenery.  Ryder has continued to give us a "ride" with his sleeping habits and fussiness.  At least on Friday and Saturday we had a few extra hands to help entertain all of the kids.  On Saturday morning we headed over to the local Gym.  While my mom and I walked the kids played in the kid area.  It is so funny to see the different personalities of Brody and Addisen - Brody was apprehensive of going into the play area until Addisen just took off.  I am so thankful that Brody has Addisen to encourage him to take new adventures.

I don't have too many pictures this week...mainly because of sleep deprivation! Ryder has been fussy at night (starting at around 7pm) and lasting until about midnight.  When all Jim or I want to do is fall asleep, all he wants to do is cry!  For a few nights he slept in his bouncy seat because that is the only thing that would make him happy.  Of course all of this took a toll on us and I was beginning to wonder if it would ever end.  I headed out to Babies R Us on Tuesday and bought a new sleep rocker for him - part of me thought I was crazy for buying a new baby item for the last of our kids, but the other part of me just wanted sleep so badly!  It didn't work the first night, but I am happy to report that he fell asleep in it at 9:30pm last night and slept in it until 2:30am and then back to sleep from 3 - 6am!  It was a good night!  Now I just have to keep my fingers crossed that by typing those words it didn't curse the rest of our week!

Ryder snoozed away yesterday as they announced the new Pope.

 

This week provided a glimpse into what it is like to juggle the responsibilities of your own kids/husband and your parents.  My dad had surgery on Monday and at first I wasn't planning on going because of my need to be with Ryder.  On Saturday as we headed home from their house, I just knew that I had to be there.  Jim was so kind - he dropped everything to help me out on Monday with Ryder (the surgery was in Lansing and I didn't want a 6 week old at the hospital).  Luckily Ryder was a great baby on Monday and allowed Jim to still get work done during his 4 hour naps!  Everything has turned out fine with my dad and it turns out that you can juggle your kids and your parents needs :)

 

Funny Story of the Week:  We have been having difficulty with Brody going #2 on the potty - it all started a few months ago when he was a little constipated and it ended with a BIG fear of going to the bathroom.  We have been fighting about it for months!  Jim came up with an idea on Sunday that has worked magic...but maybe a little too much!  Brody recently fell in LOVE with pokemon cards - he is obsessed!  Jim had bought him some after he returned from his business trip last week and all Brody does is look at them and take some of them to bed with him each night.  On Sunday Jim bought a pack of them at the store and told Brody if he went to the bathroom without complaining he had a surprise.  I was shocked when Brody went into the bathroom by himself and came out to say he had gone - Jim let him pick a new pokemon card.  Then about an hour later Brody asked if he could go to the bathroom again!  Needless to say we had to put a limit of 2 pokemon cards a day or the kid would be sitting on the potty all day long!  He had been using the potty before and after school but then it happened this morning...he couldn't go!  It broke my heart to see the disappointment on his face...I'm not sure I'm strong enough to deny him a pokemon card!

Six Weeks

This picture sums up the week - WE MADE IT!

Jim went on his first business trip this week - which left me with a lot of anxiety for caring for a 5 week old and two kids!  Luckily my mom was able to come and stay with us because she was on Spring Break.  I am so thankful that she was able to come because Ryder decided to give us a run for our money!  The week started out well with the first night that Ryder slept for 5 hours!  But then when Grandma came on Monday he just started screaming whenever he was awake (which was most of the day!).  I'm still not quite sure what was going on with him - maybe just stomach upset - but he still isn't back to normal yet.  It is better - but he still is mad a lot.  I'm not sure how I would have been able to keep Addisen and Brody's routines if my mom wasn't here (or my sanity!).

Grandma and Bobo had bought some special treats for Brody and Addisen while they were on their trip to Lexington last week.  Addisen tried her first Peep and she loved it!  Brody and Addisen would sit at the table eating the heads and booties off the Peeps - they definitely keep each other entertained!  My mom said that they were chickens and Brody asked if they were real - seriously?  That boy is silly!

 

Last week Brody had a snow day on Wednesday so I thought it would be best to keep all of the kids home with me.  I quickly figured out what it is like when a mom is nursing and she has a 2 and 5 year old running free!  It was wrestle-mania in our house!  Shortly after this picture Brody asked Addisen to try to stand on his back - they are sure silly!

I made this hat for Addisen last year and she refused to wear it - but then all of sudden she found it and decided to wear it all morning!

Ryder is still the love of every one's life - Addisen and Brody do not go a day without giving him lots of kisses, high fives, pounds and hugs.

 

I finally made it in to the office to weigh Ryder last week.  I was guessing that he was up to about 10lbs.  When I got there everyone was commenting on how much bigger he was from when they saw him a few weeks ago.  We put him on the scale and he weighed in at 12lbs!  He had gained 5lbs in 5 weeks!  I couldn't believe that this little baby that had me so worried because he was in the 14th percentile for weight at 35 weeks was now probably over the 100th percentile at 5 weeks!  Of course I am happy to know that he is healthy and doing well, but there is this part of me that just wanted to hold on to the "little" baby a little longer.  I know that this will be our last baby, but there are days that I just have a hard time letting go of that part of my life.  To me it feels like one of the first steps to getting "old", admitting you are past that stage of your life.

Ryder is all ready to start training for Marathons with Daddy!  Maybe when the weather warms up he will be able to go for some stroller rides while Daddy runs.

 

Last Friday I picked up some snow tubes for the kids and they were able to try them out on Sunday.  Brody had so much fun gliding over the snow!  Addisen tried it two times (of course I didn't get it on camera) but then she was done.

Funny Story of the Week:  I went to get Addisen from Daycare last week and her teacher, Ms. Bev, said that she had seen Addisen do something that no other child has done in her class.  Addisen was over in the corner with her baby and Ms. Bev noticed that Addisen's shirt was up - then it clicked...Addisen was feeding her baby!  Ms. Bev said she has had a lot of kids who had mom's that nursed their younger siblings...but none of them have ever acted it out!  I guess we have a very observant and smart little girl!