Say Uncle

Uncle Jason is on his way!

He gets in today so he can meet his newest nephew Wylder .. and gets lots of time hanging out with River.


Jason & River at 2 months


almost exactly a year ago .. River was 6 months old


in Arkansas at Andrews wedding when River was just a year old. 

Clearly River enjoys his time with Jason! Cant wait. And so looking forward to Wylder getting to know him too.

Also, definitely looking forward to watching The World Series game tonight. All us Texans in one place cheering on the Rangers!

big shoes to fill

the other day we searched everywhere trying to find Rivers shoes.

and couldnt find them anywhere

Finally on Sunday Freeland spotted them. They were on our shoe rack. Where shoes belong. Of course. But we didnt put them there.

River did.

Which is adorable that he put them away without us asking. I was actually shocked he knew that. We've never asked him to. Just goes to show once again he's watching more than we realize.

The thing I thought was adorable was seeing his shoes next to Freelands. Thinking about how one day he will have shoes just as big.. or bigger. And then of course I start thinking about the man he will become. And then of course I start crying. the end.

washing my own mouth out with soap

First of all .. FREELAND IS HOME! 



Second of all, he surprised us and came home a day early. Just walked through the back door. (with the help of Sarah & Drew picking him up at the airport) It was the best surprise ever. I was completely shocked and for once finally had a good response! (jumping up and down .. hugging .. instead of just standing there in shock)

Third, River now says "oh my gosh"

Whoops.

Id love to say he heard it from both of us but seeing as only one of us has been here the last month .. I think we all know who to point the finger at.

To be honest, Im thankful thats the worst of what he has picked up. I have a feeling this child is going to help us out a lot. 

the difference a month makes

with Freeland gone for a month I feel like Im able to measure all that changes in 4 weeks so much better because I can see what has changed since he was last here. And let me tell you, SO much has changed.

River sings now.
He says 'sentences' now: "I get it" "ready, set, go" "1, 2, 3, go" "I get baby" "whats that/this?"
He now runs instead of walks
He has fully switched to one nap.. without needing to rest mid morning.
He has two more teeth
and his hair has thankfully started growing back out after I gave it a horrible cut the day Freeland left. Whoops.

those are just a few things that have changed in his little 18 month world.


Mr. cool .. so handsome if I do say so myself.

BUT the biggest change has come from our little man Wylder

Holy Moly. First of all he is officially 3 MONTHS OLD! What what!

He is doing all the normal things a 3 month old does: laughing, smiling, cooing, staring at his older brother, hating tummy time (ironic because he sleeps on his tummy!), kicking, squirming, inching his way around things, not even the slightest interest in rolling over yet, starting to be okay with the bath, growing out of all his clothes, sitting up so much better, chewing his hands all day long, discovering his feet, and getting more and more adorable daily.

(note: my mom & step dad were the first ones to hear him giggle right before he turned 12 weeks old. I didnt get to hear it until last night when he laughed in the bath tub. And its the funniest thing Ive ever heard .. I couldnt tell if he was about to start crying or if he was laughing. It cracks me up!)

But, the biggest change has been his temperament and how much better his reflux is and especially how much better he is sleeping!

THANK YOU JESUS!


love these big ol eyes! 

In just the last month (probably started at 2.5 months) Wylder has gone from never napping on his own (if I wasnt holding him or patting his back) to taking 3 to 4 good naps in his crib everyday. And he went from going to bed around 9:00 or 10:00 at night and then waking up every 1.5-2 hours at night ... to now falling asleep around 6:30 or 7:30 at night and then sleeping 7-9 hours.. waking up once to eat .. then going back to sleep until 6 or 7:30.

Holy Moly. Can we get another Amen!?

I mean seriously. He's like a different baby. Of course there are still hard days and times where he doesnt nap well but nothing (n.o.t.h.i.n.g) compared to what it was like. He is still a momma's boy and he still spits up but doesnt cry out in pain anymore. Oh and did I mention he is finally sleeping? Yes.. that too!

I have learned SO much from this little guy. It will have to be a separate post!

But we are celebrating that he is 3 months old and what a joy he has added to our family. Its especially fun seeing his personality starting to grow and dreaming about who he is going to become & what God has in store for him!

PS: here is River at 3 months for those of you who want to compare.

the best gift we ever gave our son

besides being such awesome parents ..

the best gift we ever gave our son was this box:













he was entertained for hours.

climbing. climbing. climbing.

and because we are such awesome parents .. there were even more boxes insides!!

CHELLO!

 



and its a blurry picture.. but this was his expression the entire time he looked at us while climbing in and out of the box! pretty sure he loves us

on separation anxiety

1 year Photo by Rachel Lusky 

River is having some major separation anxiety going on lately. 

When I used to drop him off at the Y or the church nursery he would wave bye to me (and basically shoo me away) even though it broke my heart I was so thankful .. possibly even prideful.. at how social he was.. and then he'd just go play. Now he kicks, screams, hyperventilates, and cries. (thats a slight exaggeration) But he wont stop crying. Im always paged and have to go pick him up.

I know this is normal for kids. And it seems to happen at different ages for some. I feel like especially with all the change he had at once and Freeland being gone (which he cant control, obviously!) it may have made it worse?


photo by Rachel Lusky

We've tried sitting with him and playing until he is comfortable. We've talked it up.. explained what we're doing.. encouraged him .. told him that we will be right back to get him.. we even tried turning and just walking away in hopes he would calm down. Gave him his binkie and his blanket to hold.. snacks (his love language) all the tricks have been used and none have helped so far.

It seems we'll just have to let him work it out himself and give him the time to do it???

But my question and what I would love to know is how any of you handled it. And how long did it last for? Thanks in advance! Hopefully hearing every one's response helps some of you too!!

already his biggest admirer

these were all taken before Freeland left.

Wylder just staring at River









all 3 boys cuddling. priceless.

(if only we had flannel on Wylder too!)

this guy

largest picture ever. but one of my favorite pictures! Freeland back when we were dating fishing with our family on mothers day.

we are officially (almost) at the 2 week mark.

only 2 more weeks to go.

we miss him.

i miss him.

he will be embarrassed that I wrote this (he'd prefer I just tell him these things)

But its okay for everyone else to know that he is missed also.

and he isnt just missed because of all the ways he helps and supports us at home. (I have plenty of help currently) he is missed because I love him. love his goofy sense of humor. love his willingness to play. love spending time with him. love sleeping next to him. and love watching him with our boys. 

just 2 more weeks.

1.5 years of awesomeness

This little guy is 1.5 years old. Im pretty sure he wants to know where his half birthday cake is (like last year) ... or that could be me wanting it. We'll have to celebrate when Freelands home. (that way Im not the only one eating the cake!)



We went to the doctor this morning. Unfortunately (for me) Freeland wasnt here to hold him down for his shots so I had to! But we made it. He now weighs 26lbs7oz (79%) and is 33.5" (84%) So funny to see him grow since he was always just barely on the charts as a baby.

We also discovered that he officially has his first ear infection. Poor guy. Im just thankful we made it this long without one before.



At 18 months River is ah-mahz-ing. I find myself daily wanting to tackle him to the ground and cover him in kisses. (and I do this multiple times a day & will continue to until he can drive. just kidding) He has a precious personality. He is attentive. He is curious. He is on the go. He is a helper. And he is showing us more and more the little man he is going to become daily.

As far as being a big brother, most the time he is still great. If Wylder cries he runs over to him. Or if River comes down stairs and doesnt see him he ask for him. Dont get me wrong, there are still moments if I put Wylder next to River he scoots away and doesnt want to be touched. But overall at this stage he is tender hearted and sweet to him. 



Im starting to see "the toddler" come out in him. He's wanting to bang all his toys on the walls, furniture, and windows. Im just waiting for him to figure out he can bang them on the baby too. He has an opinion and we are working to figure out how to help him express it.  He wants to climb, get rough, throw himself, talk/scream loud, and play hard. He's all boy. My favorite is how he follows his dad around all the time. And when he takes tools and pretends he is fixing things in the house.





We are finally in the home stretch of switching to 1 nap. Its taken forever. Until about a week ago he still needed to lay down in his crib and "rest" at 9:00 in order to make it to his nap without melting down. But I think we are finally making it.

His vocabulary is growing daily. Thanks to Adam & Camille we taught River to say "help please" (its what they did with Henry) and its been a life saver to keep him from getting frustrated. Id write down all the things he says but there are new words he tries to say everyday so that would be impossible.

His favorite is "oh no" though! (said like: "oooooooooh nooooooooo") Adorbs.



This month he became crazy attached to his binkie and his blanket. He is also having some separation anxiety when he is apart from us. He no longer will go to the Y or the church nursery. He screams the entire time. Its heart breaking. I know its normal and especially on top of all the change he has had going on. Hopefully its short lived.



Look at that face. I could die.

Love this little guy. Love learning new things about him everyday. Im proud of who he is becoming .. even during the tantrums where I have no idea what to do. Our biggest prayer is that he grows to know his Fathers heart for him.

Guess I need to start planning his 2nd birthday! Yeah right, I could never be that organized to start now! ;)

belly laughs

2 things River would do all day if I let him:

Eat



and sit in the bumbo watching movies.



and as it turns out there are days that I do let him do it all day because its one of those days



then there are other days the TV miraculously hasn't even been turned on (key word = miraculously)

its probably only happened twice in the last month. Something about having a 2 month old in the house too?! ;) 




His favorites are Despicable Me, Toy Story, and apparently now Rio. (if you were curious)



Love that little guy.

and here is a video of him cracking up during Handy Manny yesterday. I just sat and replayed the scene (of a bookshelf falling) over and over for maybe 30 minutes .. he laughed every time! I have no idea why. But it was too funny not to share.



He laughed so much he pooted at the end!

caught in the act

finally got him smiling on camera.

not a full smile.. but you can imagine.

its pretty darn cute! ;)




dont worry he is smiling at the ceiling .. I mean I work hours on end all day long to make sure this kid is happy .. and then he smiles at the ceiling! of course (although thankfully he does smile at us too!)