July summer fun

Fun at the library

Ryder and Harper are participating in our library's summer reading program. In addition to keeping track of the books they read for prizes, there is an activity every Friday afternoon. The theme for the program is "A Universe of Stories", so one week they made galactic slime and another time they made constellation nightlights. The program runs a few more weeks, so I'm interested to see what else they will get to do.

Off to see the Wizard!

Through the summer camp program, Ryder, Harper and I received free tickets to attend a production of The Wizard of Oz at a local playhouse. I was excited to go but a little nervous about how Shepherd would do since we would be sitting still for over an hour. I fed him right before we left, and then wore him in the Baby Bjorn when we got there. As we waited in line for the doors to open, he dozed off. It wasn't until the lights dimmed and the play began that his little eyes popped open and he watched the entire show like the rest of us! We were seated in the second row, so there were times I was afraid he would get startled or scared when the wicked witch cackled loudly or the actors came down off the stage and through the audience. Nope! He just stared intently until the end when he started getting sleepy and dozed back off. I was so proud of him! And I'm so thankful Ryder and Harper were able to enjoy the show. :) 

In our seats, waiting for the show to begin.

Harper wanted "Dorothy braids" for the occasion, and the closest thing she had to a blue and white dress was her turquoise and white tie-dye dress.

Harper was excited to meet Dorothy and hold Toto after the show. She got Dorothy's autograph, and Ryder got the Lion's.

While Shepherd played on his mat, Ryder wanted to read to him. I cracked up at the books he picked out: one was about the Bermuda Triangle and the other Albert Einstein. Shepherd is going to be one smart little guy!

Harper lost her 3rd tooth!

Catching up with friends
One of my good friends/coworkers from FL is originally from NY and just moved back up here in June to be closer to family. We live about 2.5 hours from each other, so we found a halfway point and got together one day last week. Rebecca has 2 kiddos: a daughter who is right between Ryder and Harper, and a son who is almost 3. We went to the same children's museum where Harper had her field trip, ate at a cute restaurant along the Hudson River, and stopped at a playground before heading our separate ways again. She is my only friend I've seen since we moved up here, and it was so nice to catch up with her and visit like old times. We're going to try to get together once a month, so I'm looking forward to our next visit already!

lunch by the river

We followed the sidewalk from the restaurant to the playground, and Rebecca snapped this cute picture of the kids together.

Ryder, Makaela, and Harper pretended they were being eaten by this rock formation!

A day at the lake

Andrew's boss Scott has a pontoon boat, and on Saturday he invited us to join him and his daughter Nicole for a day on the water. The weather couldn't have been better, and it was a great day for swimming or just sitting in the shade (like Shepherd and I did). After the boat ride we hung out by the dock and grilled some burgers, watching the kids run around and play. It was a perfect summer day!

Ryder was happy to get a turn driving the boat!  

Shepherd: 3 months

7/19/19

Shepherd has changed so much over the past few weeks that it is hard to believe! I feel like he went from being my tiny baby to a chubby 3-month-old overnight. It didn't seem to be a gradual process at all! He is such a sweet, happy little guy, and it feels like he has always been part of the family. We love him to pieces!

I have been trying hard to follow Shepherd's lead when it comes to his eating/sleeping schedule. During the day he likes to eat every 2.5-3 hours, and after each feeding he is usually awake and happy for about 30 minutes before he's ready for a nap. He mostly naps in his swing or on my lap, but a few times I've gotten him to nap in his crib for 30-40 minute stretches. On any given day he tends to take one long 2 hour nap and the rest are short cat naps. It's hard to put him on a set nap schedule right now because depending on the day, we aren't always home when it would be time to lay him down. Luckily he's an easy-going baby who will sleep anywhere! I figure once the big kids are back in school, Shepherd and I will get into a more predictable daytime routine. 

As far as bedtime goes, a couple of weeks ago Shepherd started getting really fussy around 6:30pm. This made dinner time really difficult because I was hurrying to get dinner on the table early or Andrew and I would end up eating in shifts because one of us had to hold the baby. I figured it was just Shepherd's witching hour, but after a few nights in a row it dawned on me that he might be tired and trying to tell me he was ready for bed! Now we try our hardest to be finished with dinner before his fussy time begins.

I'll list the schedule he set for us to follow, but I'm not even going to list times because they change from day to day. Shepherd is all about the order of events! Most nights we begin the process around 6:30 with a feeding, and then it goes something like this:

-a quick bath- Sometimes he sits happily and kicks his little feet, other times he cries because he's tired and just wants to be done.

-clean diaper, onesie, sleep sack, sound machine- As soon as I start putting his sleep sack on him, he calms down if he's been crying. It's like he's thinking, "Finally, I get to go to bed!"

-nurse, rock, and sing with Mama- Even though he eats right before his bath, he likes one more little "snack" before calling it a night. I rock him and sing to him, and then I always read "Goodnight, Moon" even though he's usually asleep already. 

-lights off- Typically he's in bed by 7:45 or 8, and over the past week he has almost consistently slept through the night, not waking until 6:45 or 7am!!! If he does wake up, it is only once around 2 or 3am, so I feed him, change him, and put him back in his crib. Those nights aren't my favorite, but I'm not going to complain because he is such a good baby! (Of course two nights ago he woke up at 1 and 5 for some reason...go figure!)

Sizes:

diapers--size 2

clothes--3/6 or 6 months. Sadly, I have already packed up all of his 0-3 and 3 month outfits. :(

Likes: being held, being talked to, diaper changes, looking in the mirror, bedtime!

Dislikes: having a wet or dirty diaper, not being held

Developments:

• Shepherd makes lots of adorable "ohhhh" and "gggg" noises when we talk to him. He definitely participates in the conversation!
• He has discovered his hands and will hold them together like he is scheming something, or suck on his fist and thumb. When he is tired, his right hand usually rubs the back of his head while his left hand goes up to his face.
• He apparently knows how to pivot himself because when I get him out of his crib in the morning, his head is sometimes at the opposite end from how I laid him down!
• While on his back, he will pull his legs up so he can gently roll to his side. He always looks happy with himself when he does this little "trick".
• When any of us come into his line of sight and say hi to him, he will give us the biggest grin. Ryder and Harper especially love this and will say, "Mom, Shepherd is smiling at me! Did you see that?"

Shepherd gave Harper a big grin when she said, "I love you SOOOOO much!"

Andrew and Ryder were watching a car show one evening before dinner, and Shepherd was happy to hang out like one of the guys. :)

Not the most flattering of poses, but look at those delicious chubby thighs!

posing for the camera 😂

He still loves to nap on my lap! 😍

While playing on his mat, he managed to pivot enough that his face was right by the arch. I laughed out loud when I realized he was just lying there licking it. Silly boy!

Chatting with Shepherd

Shepherd loves when we talk to him or just make "oooh" and "ahhh" noises. Here's one of our chats from this morning. :)

Fun on the 4th

One perk of the kids attending our town's summer camp program is that they got to be part of the 4th of July parade. We dropped them off at the fire station with their group and then found a parking spot near the end of the parade route (about 1/2 a mile away) and waited in the shade for the parade to go by. It was short and sweet...Andrew's favorite kind! :) When the kids walked by, we saw they had been given red, white, and blue leis, a headband (Harper), a hat (Ryder), and other things to wave around. Once the parade finished we decided to head down the mountain to go to the brewery for lunch, followed by ice cream at the Creamery! It was a fun way to spend the day as a family, and despite a super long wait at the restaurant--the waiter apparently lost our order and had to redo it--all 3 kiddos were happy and agreeable.

looking so patriotic!

Harper read The Lorax to Shepherd once we got home, and he listened happily.

I love you when...

Oh, how Harper loves Shepherd! 😍

As I usually do on the weekends, I brought Shepherd into my room today for his first morning feeding. It gives me the chance to lounge in bed a little longer (a rare luxury these days!) and enjoy his morning coos and babbles when he's finished eating. He is such a happy little guy in the morning, and I love to soak up those moments. Harper is my sidekick when it comes to all things Shepherd related, so she was sitting next to me in bed, gently stroking his head and talking to him. Within a minute or two, she went into a full monologue that I want to remember forever!

Shepherd, I love that you are my baby brother.
I love you when you smile at me when I talk to you.
I love how you stretch when you are getting your diaper changed.
I love you when your blue eyes are wide open.
I love you when you are happy in your swing.
I love you when you are in your "sleepy bag" (sleep sack) at bedtime.
I love you when you have the hiccups and make squeaking sounds.
I love you when I feed you a bottle.
I love you when I get to hold you.

If that doesn't bring tears to your eyes, I don't know what will! I'm probably leaving some out, but those are the ones I can remember. It was the sweetest thing, and I felt like such a proud Momma that I thought my heart would burst. I couldn't have said it better myself, my sweet girl!

Summer is finally here!

The kids finally got out of school last week for the summer! They didn't seem to notice or mind that their school year was extra long--they started in mid-August in FL and didn't finish here until June 24th. I'm happy to have them home with me so we can enjoy some laid back days and not stress so much about getting them to bed on time every night. That being said, this is a totally different kind of summer because we have baby Shepherd with us now. I can't take them to tons of outdoor things because I don't want Shepherd out in the heat and sun. We definitely have to time our outings a little more carefully now so that we don't end up with a fussy baby on our hands. And while I'm busy tending to Shepherd's needs during the day, I don't want Ryder and Harper parked in front of the TV or playing on the iPad just because Momma is distracted. So I brought back the "I'm Bored" jar from last year as well as introducing a new "Chore Chart" and "Screen Time Rules" for both of them. We are on week 2, and so far so good! The kids know that there are certain responsibilities they have around the house and certain activities I want them to do (read, draw, play) before they can even ask to get on a screen. I feel better that I'm not saying "no" or "not right now" all the time!

This week Ryder and Harper started a summer program that is held at their elementary school. For the month of July, they have camp every T/W/Th morning from 9-12. The best part? It's completely free! And they get to go on two different field trips, one of which parents can also attend for free. Yes, I have to drop them off and pick them up each day, but we live so close to their school that it literally takes me about 4 minutes to get there. I get to enjoy some quiet time with Shepherd for those 3 hours, and I know the older two are having fun playing outside, doing science activities, making crafts, and just having fun being kids. Ryder wasn't even sure he wanted to go, but when I picked them up yesterday he told me how fun it was and that he wished it was every day all summer long...not just July. :) Happy kids, happy mom!

Shepherd fits into the Captain Crabby outfit that I saved from when Ryder was a baby.

a game of shuffleboard at the park

Shepherd snoozed in the shade while the big kids ran off some energy.

Last week I took the kids to the library to check out some books and sign them up for the summer reading program. They each received a reading log and a chain; for every book they read, they will get to add a bead to their chain. And for every 5 books, they get to choose a prize. Talk about motivation! Part of their daily checklist is to read for at least 20 minutes, and they have both done a great job. They're anxious to go back and check out some new books and show the librarian how many books they have already read!

my little chubby bubby, just hanging out with his daddy

happy boy!!