25 Weeks

A Paw Patrol Paw-ty!

We were so excited to be able to get settled enough to host your 3rd birthday at the new house. It was a busy day filled with lots of love and laughter surrounded by your family and our closet friends. It just blows my mind that four years ago we were in our darkest days and now here we are, our Novembers filled with complete joy and thankfulness for you boys, our precious little miracles!

 

 

 

Three Years Old

I'm not quite sure how it is I'm writing this post already, but here it goes...

Wiley

• Curious George, the name lives on! You still have such a natural curiosity that just seems to continue to grow. You are so intrigued as to how things work. There isn't a baby lock that can keep you contained anymore because you study how they work! You also have such a natural curiosity with letters and numbers. You love to find "your letter" and others' letters in the store or while driving. It's a constant search for Ws, R, Ds, and Ms. (You are also convinced that baby sister's letter is C. Putting some pressure on Mommy and Daddy to find a C name!) More than your love for letters, is your love for numbers. We catch you counting all day long: cars lined up, grapes on your plate, people in line, there's nothing you can't count...and high too! You can successfully count 14 objects (you tend to skip 15, 16, and pick back up at 17, 18, 19!).
• We adore your imagination and love watching you play. Minnie is never far from your side - she likes to eat with you, go to the grocery store, and anywhere else you may go. You give her her own voice when she needs to talk. In a high-pitched voice you'll ask at dinner, "More food please?" and then in your regular voice say, "Sure Minnie!" and "feed her" a bite of your meal.
• Along with your imagination, you like to build and create things to play in as well. If I turn my back for just a few seconds, our kitchen will be transformed into a giant train - chairs pushed away from the table and all lined up. Up you'll hop in the front seat, proclaiming, "I conductor! Choo! Choo!"
• Oh my and your vocabulary! The things you say, on a daily basis, stop your daddy and I in our tracks and cause us to say, "Where did he learn that?" You are a little sponge soaking in more than we even realize.
• Not only is your vocabulary exploding, but you are quite the chatter box. As much as you never stop moving, that's how much you love to talk too! It's constant narration of everything you are doing.
• Recently, you have really wanted to test your boundaries. "Wiley, please don't touch that," was instantly followed by you touching it. Late October / early November was especially challenging, as your daddy and I tried to figure out what works best for you and how to handle this new stage. The last few weeks we've seen such an amazing difference. You have really responded to positive reinforcement (both of your own behavior and when we point out something great your brother is doing - you quickly want to join in to receive the praise!). Instead of just saying, "Please don't..." we also have found that your curious little brain needs to know why you shouldn't do something. You like to be a big boy and you know big boys have listening ears.
• Our marathon sleepers are long gone, and have been ever since we transitioned to toddler beds. Once we finally started getting into a decent routine, we moved! This seemed to effect your sleep habits too, as you adjusted to a new home and room. We still start bedtime routine around 7, lights up by 7:30. However, we can no longer leave you alone to fall asleep at bedtime. If we do, it turns into playtime and running over to your brother. Instead, Daddy crawls into bed with you, laying in there until you fall asleep (most nights this takes 30 minutes or so, but there have been some doozies that have taken much longer!) Naptime has actually gotten somewhat easier to achieve. You take pride in falling asleep like a "big boy: laying down, eyes closed, not talking." If you happen to sit up, open your eyes, or start to talk, I just have to ask, "Do you need help falling asleep buddy?" (which you know means - do you want me to lay with you). You'll immediately respond, "No!" and go back to doing what a big boy does! And while the naptime process has gotten easier, the length of naptime has drastically decreased. We now average about an hour each day. 
• You have really embraced using "helping hands" recently and love to help around the house. I remember writing when you were just an infant, that you seemed to be a sensitive, old soul. You definitely still have that sweet and cuddly personality. Your sweet smile through squinty eyes, your want to hold our hands, or when you kiss us just because and say, "I love you so much," just absolutely melts us. We love you so much too, little big boy! We are blessed to be your parents.

Ryan

• Our silly little monkey, the name lives on! You make us giggle all day long - whether it's from shouting, "Shake your booty!" and busting a dance move or talking to us in silly voices. You have a playful spirit and make us smile.
• You are still our little cuddle bug. There are days when Wiley is upstairs playing alone, and you'd rather snuggle up with us and just be still for a minute. You love to suck your thumb still while tickling our thumb too.
• When you're playing, you'd rather be playing with Wiley than playing alone. You are laid back and happy to follow your brother's lead, often (...but not always) giving in when a scuffle breaks out over toy.
• Your vocabulary has just taken off, but there is one word that is your absolute favorite. It was a word I knew was coming, but wasn't ready for this adorable, yet exhausting stage of...."Why?"
• You eating breakfast mommy? (Yes) Why? (I'm hungry) Why you hungry? (I just woke up and haven't eaten all night) Why you no eat all night? (I was sleeping and couldn't eat) Why?...and it just keeps going!
• Not only is your vocabulary exploding, but you are quite the chatter box. You like to narrate most of your day and talk in such great sentences. I love order of your phrasing, but one of my favorite sentences may be, "I no can do that."
• Our marathon sleepers are long gone, and have been ever since we transitioned to toddler beds. Once we finally started getting into a decent routine, we moved! This seemed to effect your sleep habits too, as you adjusted to a new home and room. We still start bedtime routine around 7, lights up by 7:30. However, we can no longer leave you alone to fall asleep at bedtime. If we do, it turns into playtime and running over to your brother. Instead, Daddy lays with your brother, which  keeps you in your bed, until you both fall asleep (most nights this takes 30 minutes or so, but there have been some doozies that have taken much longer!) Naptime has actually gotten somewhat easier to achieve. Wiley falls asleep on his own, while I sit at the side of your bed so you can tickle my thumb. If you want to be silly, talk, or keep your eyes open, I take my thumb away and that quickly gets you back to closing your eyes until you fall asleep. And while the naptime process has gotten easier, the length of naptime has drastically decreased. We now average about an hour each day. 
• You have really embraced using "helping hands" recently and love to help around the house. You are a sweet, caring little guy who is very affectionate. There are moments when you walk over to us, kiss us, and ask, "Guess what? I love you so much!" We love you so much too, little big boy! We are blessed to be your parents.

24 Weeks

23 Weeks

22 Weeks

Halloween Hoopla

What a whirlwind few days we've had!! Between moving, three doctor appointments in one week, Halloween, and many family birthdays, we have definitely been busy!

Friday, while your Daddy was still in between the old and new house, moving things, I had another appointment with the high risk doctor. I was anxious to go, to see if the contractions were having any impact on my cervix, and anticipating with certainty that I would be needing surgery (my measurements had been dropping consistently for three weeks now and I was just 1 millimeter away from needing surgery). As she began the ultrasound, I was shocked and simply baffled by the numbers I saw on the screen...my cervix was back to measuring 3.15 cm!! I had read this was a possibility, but still could not believe that this was true. Sure enough though, God has completely intervened and I am back into what they consider a more safe territory. It was such great news!

Knowing I still had to take it easier than I'm used to, due to the contractions, I still wanted to make the Halloween weekend special for you boys. While Daddy continued working hard to get us moved, we began our Saturday morning with breakfast and cupcake baking (you are champs at making the batter...putting the sprinkles on was a little more challenging! You just wanted to eat them and the icing!).

After more unpacking and attempting to get settled, it was off to General Butler for our annual trick-or-treat at the camp ground with family. You boys sure love your cousins and have a blast running around, playing, and trying to keep up with them. You were very excited to be Rocky and Zuma again to trick-or-treat. Daddy was sure to keep me off my feet though, so I stayed behind to help pass out candy, while you boys hit the camp ground for some candy!

Monday was Daddy's first day back to work after having a week off...and my first day alone with you two since contractions started a week earlier. Not to mention it was Halloween too. So, I had to try and take it easy, while keeping up with you boys in a new house, and still wanting to make Halloween special. Our day started out fabulous -- pumpkin shaped cinnamon rolls, lots of playing in your playroom while I finished unpacking / cleaning the kitchen, and then pumpkin shaped quesadillas for lunch. As wonderful as our morning was, that's how challenging our afternoon was! It took over an hour of fighting naptime to get you down and once down, you slept less than an hour. The two little boys that woke up from that nap, were not the same little boys I'm used to! You were both overly feisty with each other and flat-out defiant with me, doing the exact opposite of what you should be doing. Thank goodness Daddy has switched back to winter hours and was home an hour earlier than usual because we needed the extra help!

Once he got home though, it was off to say a quick, "Trick-or-treat," at Zsu Zsu and Paka's house and then off to Nan's house to celebrate her birthday and more trick-or-treating with your cousins.

 It was a full, fun, exhausting weekend. We are thankful for such positive reports from both doctors and continue to pray and trust that God is going to continue protecting you, Baby Peanut. We are thankful for all of the help and time spent with family this weekend. But for now, I think I need another nap!