Ryder's day out

I've been taking Ryder to the sitter a few days a week for a couple of weeks now, giving me plenty of one-on-one time with Harper. Today I decided to switch things up a bit; Harper spent the day with the babysitter and I kept Ryder with me. This gave the sitter a chance to spend some time with Harper and get to know her feeding/sleeping schedule before I head back to work next week and have to do this for real! And I thought Ryder would enjoy doing something with me that wasn't interrupted by the baby's schedule. Since the weather was so mild, we headed to the state park that we visited back in September. Andrew was excited to go with us to do some hiking and get some fresh air. On our way back home we stopped and had lunch at a Mexican restaurant and then went by the grocery store where Ryder got to ride in his favorite race car shopping cart. I think he enjoyed his Mommy/Daddy time, but once we got back in the car he looked over at where Harper usually sits and said, "I miss baby. Where baby go?" What a sweet big brother!

chowing down!

Baby Blue Bird

A few weeks ago Andrew recorded the Disney movie Rio, thinking Ryder (and Mommy & Daddy!) would enjoy watching something other than Mickey Mouse. Ryder was immediately hooked and is now obsessed with this movie! He asks to watch "baby blue bird" every day, sometimes multiple times. And when we were all sick a couple of weeks ago, we did watch it at least twice a day because we didn't have the energy to do much else. I must admit, it's a very cute movie with a catchy soundtrack; the other night I had one of the songs stuck in my head during a 2am feeding. And it's fun to watch Ryder laugh at the funny parts and even sing along a bit with the music. I think Andrew is getting a little tired of watching it over and over again though; he recently bought a couple other Disney movies, hoping to broaden Ryder's movie repertoire. :)

Ryder's 1st favorite movie

Harper: 2 months

Harper is growing and changing every day! Just in the past week we've noticed a huge difference in how much more alert she is, and she stays awake for longer periods of time during the day. Her happiest moments tend to be when she's lying down during a diaper change; she will smile and make all sorts of "goo goo ga ga" sounds when you talk to her. I'm still trying to figure out her bedtime schedule though. She just doesn't want to go to bed as early as I want/need her to once I head back to work on the 6th. I start her bedtime routine at 7:00: a warm bath, some comfy pj's, and a nighttime feeding. I'll lay her down, leave the room, and she'll be either drowsy or asleep for about 5 minutes before she starts crying. I hesitate letting her truly cry it out because a) she's still so young, and b) I don't want her to wake up Ryder. It usually takes 2 or 3 trips into the bedroom to soothe her before she's actually asleep for the night--around 9 p.m. Not that this is super late, but when I have to wake up at 4:30a.m. to get ready for work, I like to be asleep by 9:30. And since she's sleeping in our room right now, it makes it a little more difficult. Maybe once I have to wake her up early to take her to the sitter, she'll be ready to go to bed a little earlier each night. I know somehow it will work out--we'll just have to wait and see!

Harper likes... being held, diaper changes, being smiled at and talked to, a warm bath, commotion, running errands

Harper dislikes... having the hiccups, not being held, getting out of the bath

Her actual 2-month doctor's appointment is on Feb. 4th, so I'll be able to update her height and weight then!

a little blurry, but too cute to leave out!

And you know Ryder had to have his turn in the chair!

Snow!

We woke up this morning to find that about 4 inches of snow had fallen overnight. Receiving the text that our county's schools would be closed wasn't quite as exciting as it would have been if I was already back at work and in need of a day off. :) Andrew and Ryder got bundled up and went outside long enough for Andrew to snap some pictures; with temperatures in the 20's, it's not the ideal weather for Ryder to truly play in the snow for any length of time. He didn't seem to mind the cold though because he had a small fit when it was time to come back inside.

"Hmmm...where did my feet go?"

When he came inside, he told me my car had been hiding in the snow. He helped Andrew clean it off and "find" it again. :)

tasting the snow

"Brrrr, that's cold!"

"This stuff is great!"

The tummy tub returns

I tried giving Harper a bath in the tummy tub a few weeks ago, but she was just too tiny and didn't have enough head control at the time to make it very successful. Instead I've been laying her on a bath sponge in our bathroom sink, but she is quickly outgrowing this method. Andrew decided to put her in the tummy tub again last night, and she did great! It's amazing how much more she fills the bucket this time! I looked back at pictures of Ryder, and he was about 5 weeks old when he first used it, but he was a much "stockier" baby. 

admiring her reflection in the mirror

Remember this picture of Ryder?

The new normal

To those of you who said I wouldn't have time to take as many pictures or update my blog once baby #2 arrived, I have one thing to say: you were exactly right! My hands are pretty full these days--usually with an adorable little girl who loves to be cuddled--so I either need a third arm or a resident photographer to capture day-to-day activities.
Here's what we've been up to this month:

• Ryder headed back to the babysitter's house the week of Jan. 7th. He slipped right back into his routine, and it gave Andrew and I a little one-on-one time with Harper. We also ran some errands, including a fun-filled trip to the social security office to get Harper's SS#. I had prepared myself for the worst (i.e. a trip to the DMV), but we were in and out in 15 minutes!
• On the 12th Ryder attended his first "Parent and Me" tumbling class that I signed him up for through our county's parks and rec program. Andrew and Harper sat in the bleachers while Ryder and I tried to follow the instructor's directions. It's a full class: eleven kids ranging from 18 months to 2 years, so needless to say Ryder was pretty overstimulated between the amount of kiddos and all the cool equipment just begging to be climbed on. He even had a head-on collision with another little boy and earned a nice shiner under his eye. He cried for a minute and then wanted to get back to the class!
• Last week our house became an infirmary. Ryder got sick first with a stomach bug and low-grade fever, so we ended up keeping him home all week because it lingered and turned into a cold. Andrew had some kind of head/chest cold, and I got the stomach bug and congestion that Ryder had. Being sick and taking care of a sick, whiny child is no fun! All Ryder wanted was "Daddy-o", so my main job was to feed and take care of Harper without getting her sick. She made it until yesterday before the sneezing and congestion kicked in, and I noticed her eyes were extra watery. Uh oh. Terrified that it could be pink eye and determined that we would all get it and be on lock-down for another week, I took her to the doctor first thing this morning. Thankfully her chest and ears are clear, and the doctor said it's not pink eye but blocked tear ducts, which apparently is quite common in infants. Whew! That means it's not contagious! I also got to put her on the scale and find out she weighs 12 pounds now; she's a good little eater!

Harper loves to smile and coo during diaper changes. She loves "naked time"!

Big brother showing his little sister how the play gym works

Candid shots from the holidays

Cousin Parker

sneaking a little snack?

Super Ryder!

Andrew used to have Superman pj's (complete with the cape!) that he wore constantly, so Grann bought some for Ryder this year.

play time for the cousins

watching Mickey Mouse with Grandpa

what a cycling wardrobe!

play-doh time!

"Nice hair, Daddy-o!"

proudly showing off the alligator he made

Hmmm...Andrew is still playing play-doh and Ryder is nowhere in sight. :)

bath time with Cousin Parker!

Grandpa and Harper