Bumbo Blowouts

Andrew and I are beginning to believe that Ryder will have no problems when it eventually comes time to potty training. Why? Because for about a week now, each time we put him in his bumbo chair he uses it as a toilet! And of course we're not talking about a wet diaper--what would be the fun in that? When Ryder sits in his bumbo, his chubby little thighs fill the space so well that the "path of least resistance" for any diaper-related matter is up his back. This of course leads to an entire outfit change and a full bumbo wipe-down. He has pulled this stunt at home a couple of times, and I shared the story with the babysitter. I found it pretty funny when I picked him up yesterday afternoon and he was in a different outfit than what he was wearing in the morning.  I said, "Ryder, what did you do?" And the babysitter just smiled and said, "I put him in the bumbo chair." So today when I picked him up he was wearing this:

his shirt, bib, diaper, and socks. No pants. I asked Ryder what happened to his pants, and all the babysitter had to say was, "Guess." So if my poor baby ever gets constipated, I think I know the cure! :)

Ryder meets rice cereal!

We've decided to wait until Ryder is 6 months old before introducing a variety of foods, but today we thought we'd give rice cereal a whirl. We want him to start getting used to the texture and eating off a spoon. Andrew, being the creative cook that he is, got out the food processor and ground up some brown rice so that we could make our own cereal instead of buying individual jars of it. With the camera and a damp cloth in hand, we headed to the kitchen table with our shirtless little man. Ryder did really well eating off a spoon and seemed to like the bland rice concoction! Here are some pictures and a video of his first food experience. 

"Please, no more plastic keys for dinner!"

      

"I can do it myself!"

"Mmmmmm, finger-licking good!"

My 1st Mother's Day

It's still hard for me to believe that I'm a mom! It was fun to receive cards from both Andrew and Ryder, and they also surprised me with a blue lapis stone ring. Sunday morning Andrew got up with Ryder and dressed him in his "Mommy's Wild Child" outfit and headed to the kitchen to make me some blueberry pancakes. Ryder was the sous chef for about 5 minutes before he decided he would rather eat (drink) his breakfast than help Daddy cook. :) I had a wonderful weekend with my two favorite guys, and they made me feel very loved. With Andrew's work schedule it's not always easy for the three of us to spend a whole weekend together, so we make the most of it when we can. It was a perfect Mother's Day weekend! Here are some pictures from the past couple of days.

"Oh, pleeease let me eat some real food!"

He intently watched every bite I took!

onesie or thong????

This is a 9-month onesie, but it sure is cut oddly in the rear-end region! Poor baby's diaper was bulging out the sides! Andrew and I got a kick out of it and had to take a picture. :)

Mr. Adorable

Here are some pictures from today. Enjoy!

sitting in his bumbo on the kitchen counter--he's our little sous chef!

gotta love that big bottom lip!

10 hours

This is how many hours Ryder slept last night. In a row. Which means Mommy also got some uninterrupted sleep. :) It was glorious! I put him down at his normal bedtime (7:30), and I had to wake him up at 5:30 to begin his morning routine. Wow! The night before he slept from 7:30-4:30. Could two nights in a row be a fluke? Or perhaps he's settling into a non-newborn sleep pattern? My fingers are crossed for another good night tonight!

Family Dinner

I hate to admit it, but Andrew and I have never gotten a lot of use out of our kitchen table. Since it's been just the two of us for the past 8 years, we have gotten into the habit of eating dinner in the family room so we can sit on the couch and watch TV. We agreed that once we had kids we would have family dinners at the kitchen table like we both grew up doing. Well, I believe that day has finally arrived! Ryder's cranky time tends to begin around 5:00, which makes dinner time very interesting in our house. It usually consists of Andrew doing the cooking while I try to entertain Ryder--no small feat when he's both hungry and tired at the end of the day! The two of us then take turns eating so that one of us is available to hold a fussy baby. It's not exactly the most relaxing way for me to end my day and for Andrew to begin his. Last night Andrew suggested we put Ryder in his high chair while we ate since he likes to sit up and look around. It was heavenly! It's like he forgot to be fussy because it was a new experience and there were too many things to look at. It will only get more entertaining when he gets to eat "real food" with us! :)

"Daddy, what's for dinner?"

"Plastic keys? Are these even edible???"

"If I smile sweetly at Mommy, maybe she will share her food with me."

See Ashley's head right next to Ryder's high chair? She's not dumb!

Ryder: 4 months

Here are some facts about our favorite 4-month old!

Ryder likes...

• "watching" T.V. (he is mesmerized by the colors and shapes)
• chewing on his fingers or anyone else's that happen to be nearby
• trying to slurp water during bath time (when he's not being a jack-in-the-box!)
• continuing to nap in his swing even though he is almost too long for it
• playing in his jumperoo or hanging in his bouncer for short intervals of time
• naked time!
• "talking" to anyone who will make funny faces at him and speak in baby gibberish
• strolling through busy stores like Costco, Walmart, or Target
• being outside

Ryder dislikes...

• playing in or with any of his toys for more than 10 minutes at a time
• having clothes put on him--he'd much rather hang out in only his diaper!

practicing his beach chair "lounge"