Spirit Week For Jack

Jack got to dress up for school last week!  Each day of mother's day out was a theme (he obviously only did the Tuesday and Thursday themes since those are the days he goes).

 

Tuesday was Patriotic Day!  I sure love that shirt he has on.  Glad we remembered and got another chance to wear it!  One day Ryan will be big enough to wear it - that is certainly hard to believe!

 And then Thursday was Twisted Day!  I feel like options are more limited with a boy, but we made the best of it.  Shirt and shorts that don't match.  Two different socks.  A ponytail on top of his head.  And sunglasses (though they didn't last long).  He was so proud of his hair...it was hilarious!  His note home from his teachers said that he kept telling them about his hair all day!

Wednesday was Team Day.  That would have been a fun one too!  Oh well - we had fun with the days that he did do!  We love any chance to dress up and act silly!

 

 

Frozen On Ice

Weekend before last, Brad and I took Katie to see Frozen on Ice!  I bought us tickets when they first went on sale in March or April knowing that she would really like time with just us after having those crazy brothers and being in school.  And I sure was right!  We didn't tell her the details until we were in the car on the way there.  And she squealed.  A lot!

 

Here she is once we walked inside.  She was so so excited! 

 She even posed for a picture with me without any complaints!  I like it!

 And a cute {of Brad and Katie - not of me} picture of us!

 This one is a little better!  Our seats were great!  I think we were about 7 rows away from the ice!

 And a Daddy-Katie picture too, of course!

 At intermission, we went to the bathroom and Katie picked out this Elsa doll.  And we got an Olaf toy to take home for Jack!

 You should have heard the singing during "Let It Go"...it was pretty neat to hear all the kiddos singing.  I tried singing along with other parts but Katie told me to stop because I was embarrassing her - ha!

 And a shot of Anna and Elsa :)  Katie's face was in awe the whole time!

 And of course Olaf too :)

 And an after the show picture with Daddy - so adorable!!

 And I really love this one! Love my girl!

And I was so excited to learn that Katie can skip!  She has been galloping and thinking that she was skipping for a long time but we realized walking back to the car that Katie can skip!  That is one of those things we probably wouldn't have caught on to for a while if we didn't have this special time with just Katie!  Love that we can do that.

We had such a fun time with Katie.  And I loved looking over and seeing her expression of awe and wonder the whole time.  And hearing her sing along with the songs.  And get excited about all of the other princesses and characters making an appearance at the beginning and end.  It is so fun to experience things through the eyes of a child - especially when it is your own :)

Ryan: 4 Months

Sleep

We have a good sleeper on our hands for sure!  Ryan is still sleeping next to our bed (which will be changing in the next couple of weeks) which makes it easier if he wakes up needing his pacifier in the middle of the night.  I dread walking across the house just to pop the pacifier back into his mouth!  Anyway, he eats around 9 or 9:15 and then sleeps until 6:30.  Once I feed him, he goes back to sleep until I get him up (which is about 7:30 during the week and varies on the weekend).  I am so thankful for that!  The part I'm struggling with is how he will get on any type of nap schedule!  He definitely takes a nap around 10 and then again around 1, so I guess that is what I will work with when I can.  It is just hard having Jack's schedule and Katie's schedule with drop offs, pickups, bus stop, soccer practice, soccer game, etc.  Oh, and running errands and actually getting things done!  So it appears that Ryan may have to perfect the art of carseat naps :)  As he gets a little bit older, I am sure getting onto a little routine will be easier.  He is still napping in the swing, so I need to work on getting him to nap in his bed which will likely help as well!

Eating

We are on a great schedule right now!  He eats 6 times a day and it ends up being 6:30, 9:30, 12:30, 3:30, 6:30, 9:30 - give or take, of course.  Obviously that means he is eating about every 3 hours - sometimes it is a little less, sometimes a little more.  When he has a bottle, he has about 4.75 ounces.  And we will be starting cereal in the next couple of weeks - I can't believe it is already time to start thinking of that!

Weight

He weighs 14 pounds, 13 ounces - in the 50th percentile!

Length

He is 24.5 inches long - in the 25-50th percentile!

Size Clothes

We are definitely in 3-6 month/6 month things!  I can still get him in a few 3 month things, but I think it is about time to put those in the consignment pile!  It is really weird that we won't have bins of little baby clothes anymore!

Size Diapers

He is very solidly wearing size 2 Pampers Swaddlers!

Hair color

It seems like maybe his fuzz has grown a teeny bit?  And it appears to have a brown/blonde tint!

Eye color

Oh those baby blues...it looks like his eyes will stay the light blue like mine and Katie's.

Looking Like

Ryan is looking a lot like jack - except with Katie's eyes.  In fact, when our pediatrician walked into the room at his appointment, the first thing she said was, "Whoa!  He definitely has sister's eyes!"

Nicknames

Baby, Bud Bud, Dude, The Roc, The Mayor

Favorite toy

He loves the swing still - even thought he looks huge in it!  He is also liking the playmat a little more.  When we read books, he definitely is paying attention to and studying the pictures more!  He LOVES his taggy blanket!  And he likes this soft fleecy square I have - everytime I put that with him in the swing, he falls asleep.  I am thinking he may be our has-to-have-a-lovey-all-the-time child :)

Firsts

The only one I can think of is his first time swinging by himself in a big boy swing...

...and then he shared with his girlfriend, Carter! 

 I know that will change this next month with going to the pumpkin patch, Halloween, etc! :)  Oh and we need to get the Exersaucer out too!  It's shaping up to be a big month for Mr. Ryan!

Milestones

He is starting to reach for things.  He bats at the little bunny on the papasan chair.  And he reaches for the toys on the playmat.  He also rolled over from tummy to back!  He rolled to his left and his SO close to rolling to the right.  He also is getting up on his side when we put him on his back, so I know that is coming soon!  This was a picture I got right after he rolled over - trying to do it again!

Anything else?

If Ryan is fussy, all it takes is standing him up and he perks right up and laughs and has a big time.  He is such a happy, easy baby though - thank goodness!  He is really starting to notice more of what is going on around him - he loves watching Katie and Jack and all of their shenanigans!  Also, when I was taking his 4 month elephant picture, I was being silly and he was laughing so hard!  Like real belly laughs where he could hardly catch his breath.  So cute!  He also loves his Sissy - Katie likes to hold him each night before she goes to sleep and it is adorable.  She plays with him - does Little Horsey with him and sings to him - and he just talks and talks and laughs.  So sweet!

 

Here are some pictures from this past month!

 

 

  

 

 

 

4 Month Comparison: Look A Likes!

I've been meaning to do a comparison of each of the kids at the same age and finally got around to it today.  Holy moly.  I knew there was some resemblance, but didn't realize it would be this much! 

 

We've decided Ryan looks a lot like Jack but has Katie's eyes.  What do you think?  This is all three crazies at 4 months old...

They could even pass as triplets in these pictures!  Pretty wild.  When I showed Katie, she said, "Aw!  I was so cute then!  We were all so cute then!" :)  I have to agree!



 

Today's Fun

This morning I had to get my badge made since I made the cut and can volunteer :) I had to go get finger printed and all that.  And then it took a few weeks to run whatever checks they had to do.  And I was approved.  So it was badge day today!  I'm glad I remembered to do that so that I can volunteer in Katie's classroom and go on field trips (especially the one to the pumpkin patch later this month)!

 

However I did not realize that they put the camera literally about 3 inches from your face.  And holy cow.  It is like a picture of my nose.  And that's it.  Makeup and a cute shirt (don't worry - I still had workout pants on!) all for nothing.  So all my sweeties cooperated for a picture with me :)  Love all of them!

And a happy 4 months to this sweet boy - a separate post is coming soon :)

Oh, and the minute I got home, I changed into a tshirt and put my hair in a ponytail :) We went for a long walk this morning and the boys were great!  We love fall and fresh air!

Jack is quite the bruiser lately.  He can't seem to go a few hours without hitting his head on something.  Or falling.  Or both.  I guess that's the new normal!

 

 

Brad's Birthday

Better late than never, which is seeming to be a trend with my blogging these days.  I guess having three kids is a good excuse.  And the fact that Brad has been traveling SO MUCH lately.  Thank goodness there is not another trip in the works.  But we survived!  And somewhere in there, Brad got another year older!

 

His birthday was on a Friday and Katie insisted that he open his present before going to work!

 Here she is with the birthday boy.  It also happened to be the last day of spirit week at Katie's school so she was decked out in her school colors!

 Katie had worked hard on a birthday card for him, so she wanted to make sure he noticed every detail!  So cute.

 And here is Jack with the birthday boy.  One day we will let him sit in a real chair :) maybe when he won't fit in the highchair anymore - ha!  I do think we need to start scooting him up to the table and using it more as a booster.  Soon.  Add it to the list :)

 And Jack has been wanting to get in a picture with Katie before walking down to the bus stop - and he actually cooperates for the most part!

 And we celebrated with cake later in the day when we got home from the festival at Katie's school!  That cake.  Man is it good.

 That was the first thing Brad said he wanted for his birthday - a Darlene's cake!  When we have a family birthday, we always get a cake from her and they are SO good.

 And Katie helped blow out the candles!

 The next night, we went to eat at Chuy's with Brad's family - it was delicious!  They came over and we all had cake again!

 

And then the Sunday evening, Brad and I went on a date night.  He requested Burger Republic, so we headed there to watch football and have burgers and milkshakes!  And since we didn't know what else to do, where did we end up? Target, of course!  No date night is complete without a stop at Target!

Katie took this picture of us...I'm not a fan of the angle.  Or maybe it's just that I'm not a fan of my post-baby body here...but I'm working on it.  So it will just have to do for now!  I am back on the calorie counting bandwagon.  And I'm trying to get into a walking routine.  I think we are getting there!  I can't wait to start back to Tae Bo sometime soon!

 

 

Kindergarten School Pictures

Katie had her school pictures a couple of weeks ago and I think they turned out pretty darn cute!  They work with one pose and then have different backgrounds (as in they have WAY too many choices to pick from) to select and order.  I had no idea what to expect, so when I ordered, I picked different backgrounds for different sizes.  And I think I learned my lesson.  Green is good.  Blue is good.  Twinkly looking lights looks weird with her hair color.

Katie is looking so, so grown up.  And she needs to stop it :) It is so neat to see how much she is learning at school - and loving every minute of it!  I'm so glad she is enjoying school...I just hope it continues!

Katie's Spirit Week

 Rock Star Monday

 Cowgirl Tuesday

 Wacky Wednesday

 Team Thursday

 School Spirit Friday

 

Katie had such a fun time dressing up with the theme of each day!  And that Friday night, they had an event at the school with inflatables and food trucks and games - so much fun!  It was great to see Katie excited to see friends and her teacher :)  Here Katie is with Hannah Jo - so cute!

That day also happened to be Brad's birthday (what a fun way to ring in your birthday, right??) so we headed home to have cake too!  I will do another post on Brad's birthday soon :)

 

I'm so glad Katie's school does fun things like this with the kids!  And I'm even more glad that she loves school as much as she does :)