Monthly Upd8..

Today, Kyle is 8 months old.  Our little guy has really started to show his personality.  He is quite a mix between wanting to be independent and wanting to be the baby brother that everyone dotes on.  For example...

About two weeks ago, he decided he had had enough of twirling around on his belly and really started becoming determined on crawling.  We worked with him quite a bit, helping him get his legs up underneath him and then showing him that if he "fell" forward, he would get somewhere.  I found him in his crib several times rocking on all fours and this past week he put it all together with moving his arms and legs in synchrony.  The boy done figured it out...he's a crawler!!  He will now see a toy and get up on all fours and go get it...unless...he is a tad sleepy or someone is sitting right there, then he whimpers to see who might come help him out.  And, someone usually does.  Little brother...

He now loves to feed himself.  He only wants us to break up food for him so he can stuff it in.  I have to sneak in bites of baby food.  Kyle will let you know if he doesn't like the taste of something too.  The other night, he was not enjoying his food and he was getting so mad and bearing down to grunt at me so hard, his face was literally purple.  Justin thought this was hilarious but I was seriously concerned he was going to bust a blood vessel!  The little guy was just trying to communicate with us!  After that I broke up some bread and cheese and put it on his tray and he was as sweet as could be.  Of course, the whimpering began when he got full and didn't want to have his face wiped off.

Kyle is so funny, he makes this sniffing noise and scrunches up his nose while he's eating.  Brice used to do this when he was a little bit older than Kyle is now.  Kyle will play peek-a-boo with his bib, burp cloth or anything he can hide his face with.  His new trick is holding his right wrist with his left hand and then waving at you.  It's so funny to watch because he is so proud of himself!  I also took a video of him twirling his wrists and ankles while he eats.  I have never seen a baby do this and I don't know how he does it because after a few twirls myself, my wrists get sore.

He is
-sleeping 11-12 hours at night
-taking two naps a day, usually 1.5-2 hours each, sometimes he will sleep for 3 hours and I have to wake him up
-sleeping in the lowered crib, sniff, sniff
-eating four bottles a day, our goal is to get 20 oz. in him but I usually can only get about 16 or 17.
-eating breakfast, lunch and dinner ( loves his fruits and veggies, bread, cheese, black beans, puffs, Cheerios)
-drinking from a sippy cup but I wouldn't say has perfectly mastered it yet.  Again, this is something he WANTS to do independently but is happy to let me hold the cup for him.
-will shake and jump in the exersaucer to the point that I think it's going to tip over!
-going through MAJOR separation anxiety.  I cannot walk across the room to get something without him crying.  At first, very cute, now, not so much.
-the snuggliest little thing and will literally hug your neck with his cheek up to yours.
-my only baby that will fall asleep in my arms while I give him his night time bottle.  He doesn't do it every night, only if he is super tired.  It's so sweet.
-wearing 12 and 18 month clothes!

Okay, I could go on and on with this Monthly Upd8.  But, I won't.  You get it.  We love him.  I don't want him to get bigger.  He adores Brice and Anna.  We all adore him.

Can Your Hair Do This??

Kyle's hair is a constant topic around here.  Justin's hair did the same thing when he was a baby.  We are wondering when it is going to start laying down, if ever!  After he gets a bath and as soon as it's dry, it's like a little chick, soft and fluffy.  It's hard to keep your hands out of it.  And, when we wet it down and brush it nice, the child looks totally different.  So, here's my question, Can Your Hair Do This??

Brice says it's like grass, you can touch the top of the "blades" without touching the "ground"!

Pefect Little Combo

Even though Kyle is almost 6.5 years younger than Brice, their bond is stronger than ever.  They just adore each other and I've found them numerous times playing together while Brice is teaching Kyle about something such as shapes or colors.  They are the Perfect Little Combo...perfect baby with a perfect role model.  Before we found out that Kyle was a boy, Brice confided in me, "Mom, I've been praying that this baby is a boy, is that okay?".  I responded that of course it was okay but if he could just ask God as well to make sure that it was a healthy baby boy too, that would be great.  Now that Kyle is attempting to crawl, much to his frustration, Brice loves getting down on the floor to play with him and Kyle loves it!

 As soon as Kyle sees Brice when he gets home from school, he starts laughing at him and here he decided Brice needed a hug too.

 Brice faking his pain!

 Kyle pinning Brice...go little brother!

I can only hope that these two will always be close and that Brice will always be willing to lead Kyle and be his friend even though there is a big age gap.  And, hopefully, Kyle will be able to teach Brice a few things along the way as well, but also have a feeling we are going to hear our fair share of "Wait for me!".

Crazy Dynamic

When we found out that Kyle was on the way people would often comment how "crazy" our life was going to be.  I knew it would be busy but I already felt that we had the crazy.  A good crazy.  Anna.  The girl is crazy and when I say crazy, I mean fun.  She adds such a spark in this house and family.  Our days are filled with comments like, "Look at this face, mom." or "Isn't this silly?" while doing something ridiculous to her dolls.  While I know part of this is her age, I can't help but think that she will always be adding an element of fun to those who are around her. 

After Kyle came along and still to this day, every day is busy, without a doubt.  There is always something to be doing as far a chores or taking care of someone's needs.  But right now, Anna is down for a rare nap and Brice is reading.  Kyle is playing in his crib and yet the house seems so calm.  So, yes, having three kids is busy but without Anna there is no Crazy Dynamic.  Kind of hoping she wakes up soon...

See what I mean??  Two boys looking at the camera, and Anna looking at her next crazy move!

In Comparison-First Grade Style

Thoughts?  Opinions?  Brice just looked at the picture of me and said, "How old were you there?" and then, "That looks like...me."

More Words

Here are some other things Anna says that I don't want to forget how she says them.

Bluild -Build
Splill-Spill
Gabana or bana-Banana
Shuppleup-Shuffle them up
Buh-er jelly-Peanut butter and jelly
Supercalladocious-Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious (which I'm sure you figured out)
Nuffin-Nothing
Sumpin-Something

Her cute little voice will soon disappear and I've said it before but I wish I could bottle it up.  The other day Justin overheard her singing Lady Gaga's "I'm On the Edge" taught to her by her Grandma.  He couldn't conceal a smile and chuckle.  She is a constant source of entertainment around here and even Brice finds her funny most of the time!

Reasons to Celebrate

February is a month of birthdays in our family on both sides.  And, this year was a big year for my parents because they celebrated 40 years on the 4th!!! 

Blaire and I knew that a party would not be their speed so we chose to put together a video and book full of cards, pictures and messages from family and friends who have been a part of their life for the last 40 years if not more.  My parents have known each other since junior high so there were quite a few people that we wanted to get in touch with.  Blaire and I, with the help of many others pulled off a surprise at brunch last weekend when took my parents out "for mom's birthday".  Thank you to all those who helped put together the slide show, sent cards and letters and acknowledged what an awesome accomplishment this is.

Last weekend was also Brice's birthday party with his friends as well as my mom's birthday on Sunday.  Come Sunday night, I was feeling pretty good that I had pulled everything off and now that I look back on the past week I am glad all the sicknesses waited!  Here are the pictures that recap the weekend!

 Brice wanted a Harry Potter themed party so I had the boys draw names out of a hat of a character from Harry Potter.  Brice was Harry of course but also bowling with us was Dumbledore, Ron, Neville, and Hagrid.

 Brice and his friend Stephen.

 He designed the cake himself!

 "Who wants ice cream?"

 My dad put a personal touch on Harry Potter.

 Kyle did so well despite the super noisy bowling alley!

After drinks were served at brunch, we presented Mom and Dad with the book of cards and letters.  The best part though was that my mom's sister was able to find their wedding invitation!  They were both surprised to see that after all these years!  I only have one picture from the restaurant because they don't like to be the center of attention.  After brunch, we went back to their house where we all watched the slide show (Blaire did an awesome job despite some major hiccups along the way, read computer crash!).  I am glad that we were able to surprise them as much as we did with me snooping around their house, stealing pictures.

We have had some awesome Reasons to Celebrate and are so thankful for all of them!!