16 Weeks

Ryan must be going through some kind of growth spurt because he's back to eating twice at night! He's such a sweet baby and has a smile that melts my hearts, so who needs sleep when you have that? How grateful I am that I get to be at home with him and get to know his personality and schedule. That also makes the sleepless nights much more bearable. I've noticed so many more little day-to-day things with Ryan than I did with Kyle because I'm home with him 24-7 instead of being a working mom. (It makes me a little sad for the things I may have missed in Kyle's first year, but thankfully I'll remember that more than he will.)

It's been a wonderful 16 weeks, and I am grateful for every moment--even the tired ones. Kyle is such a big helper, too. The way he interacts with Ryan is so sweet and makes me look forward to what the future will hold. "Oh, the places [we'll] go!".......

Mommy Moment

Last week in Sunday School we were studying 1 Kings 17, about Elijah and the miracles of the Lord sustaining him in the wilderness and allowing him to work miracles of faith for the widow. After reading 1 Kings 17: 4, 6 (which explain how Elijah survived in the wilderness) we were asked to apply this reference to our own lives: "What experiences have you had when the Lord has sustained you physically or spiritually?"

The first thing that came to my mind was how the Lord truly performs miracles for mothers. It's amazing how women are able to do what they do for their children. The most specific reference to this in my life at this moment is how miraculous it is that I'm not a zombie with the lack of sleep I've had these last few weeks, thanks to a certain someone:

I am in awe that I'm able to function at all, let alone actually thrive and be a good mom for both boys, keep the house clean, get errands run, find time to workout, cook well-balanced meals, read books, give baths, go do fun things like swimming, and do things for myself--like showering/updating this blog.

The mothering miracles continue beyond my functioning on a lack of sleep. It's amazing that women are able to juggle whatever they have to when it comes to being good mothers--no one can teach you how to do it or tell you step-by-step what's going to work or not for your situation. It's truly on-the-job training, but the Lord performs daily miracles in the lives of women. He's there to give us what we need--whether it's for a working mom (which I have had to do) or every time another child is added to her care. He's there for mothers, whether they add children one at a time or in multiples, gives birth to each or adopt. It's truly miraculous how the Lord sustains us physically, emotionally, and spiritually each day, allowing mothers to do much more than they could ever do alone.

Dad's Day Off

Stephen hasn't had much free time in the last few months, so we really try to make what time we do get with him count. Last night we had pizza and a movie since Dad didn't have to get up at 4;00. (Notice I mentioned DAD didn't have to get up....) This morning we ran errands and then had the afternoon to swim and relax. We all can't wait for the next month to end so there will be more days like this!

Kyle LOVES the pool. Other parents can't believe how "brave" he is.

Ryan was just happy as a clam. He even took a little nap!

P.S. I just realized I have 1,000 posts!!!!! Crazy.

Brothers

"A brother is a friend given by Nature."
~Jean Baptiste Legouve

Stephen and his brothers are definitely BFFs, and he also wants Kyle and Ryan to be to be great friends as they grow up. I see signs of a budding friendship already.

Now that Ryan is starting to have a more interactive personality, Kyle is warming up to him more and more. He wants to hold Ryan, help him roll over, get out toys, play peek-a-boo, and hug and squeeze him. I have to monitor their play time to make sure Kyle isn't too rough, but it's great seeing these two brothers laugh together.


I love this picture! The boys are both laughing, looking right at each other--bonding. Kyle was talking to Ryan, and Ryan seemed to talk right back. I'm so glad the camera was close by.

Of course, this happiness and harmony was fleeting.

About 5 seconds after taking that first picture, the moment was over.

Ryan drooled right onto Kyle face, and when Kyle used one hand to wipe the slobber from his own cheek, he noticed more spit dripping from his brother's mouth. In self-defense and to prevent another full-on spit bomb, Kyle immediately let go of his brother, rolling this miniature attacker to the ground.


You win this round, Ryan, but watch your back. I'm sure Kyle is already planning his revenge....

A Pretty Good Day

It took every ounce of willpower to force myself to go to church today. Between days/weeks of sleepless nights, not feeling motivated to get us all ready by myself since Stephen was at early meetings, and dealing with what I think is a stye in my "good" eye, I wanted to just roll over and try to take a nap on the couch while Kyle watched a movie. As fate would have it, Ryan woke up again at this point, so I shoved some cereal down my throat, fed the baby, jumped in the shower, bathed/dressed both boys and still had enough time to actually do my hair....at least until Ryan decided to have a MAJOR blowout all over his new outfit AND our sheets!!! This mishap only made us 5 minutes late to church, so I still got Kyle to nursery and myself to Sunday School before the opening prayer.

After all of that, it ended up being a good day. The boys both did very well at church, and it was nice to have Dad there today, too. The Sunday School lesson was great, and I got to catch up with a friend while feeding Ryan in the mother's lounge! Also, three different people told Kyle how "spiffy" he looked today, and his nursery teachers couldn't help but smile (and comment) at his attractiveness when he walked in the door. I guess it's good when Kyle looks cute and makes a good first impression because that helps to distract people from his unruly behavior! He quickly got to playing, telling me to "go bye-bye." And when I picked him up at the end of the day, his teachers told me that he did very well.

It's funny how things have a way of working out. I wasn't even going to attempt going to church today, and we would have missed out on what ended up being a pleasant experience after all! I'm really glad my willpower decided to kick in this morning.

Los Bravos

Stephen has been an Atlanta Braves fan for as long as he can remember, and he's bringing up the boys to follow in his love of the game. Since we live so close to a stadium where the Braves play so often, we've tried to go to at least one Braves game every season since moving to Miami. This year, the schedule of the Braves playing the Marlins landed so close to Kyle's birthday that we decided going to a Braves game would be a nice closing ceremony to what has been a great 2010 birthday season! We loaded up the fam for the quick 3 mile drive to the stadium, so excited to root on our team. So excited, in fact, that this is what happened on the drive to the game:


After a quick power nap, the boys were ready and excited. Actually, Ryan is STILL sleeping in this picture, but ended up having a great time!


Stephen's "peep" from school, Greg, was able to get us a screamin' deal on tickets and met us there, happy to watch a game with fellow baseball fans--there aren't too many of those in these parts. That being said, more fans attended this Marlins game than any other we've been to. The reason--(and the answer as to why all announcements were being made in both English and Spanish)--it was Puerto Rican Heritage Game Day!!!


Kyle enjoyed the mariachi band, big tvs, nachos, corn dogs, and pizza. He was also fascinated with Billy, the Marlin's mascot--from a distance. Billy came right up to us, trying to shake Kyle's hand, and Kyle was scared-afraid. I was trying to capture a picture of the interaction, but ended up with a blurred action shot that looked more like something from a horror film.

Speaking of trying to capture pictures, Kyle wasn't in the mood for a nice family shot, either. This is the best of the bunch of Stephen and his boys.


After fighting that battle and not really winning, we just gave Kyle a lollipop and let him enjoy the game. ("Stillwell, angel, have another chocolate bar!")


He didn't even know his Dad was trying to take a picture of just Ryan and me, but ended up actually looking at the camera!


It was a good game--several home runs, lots of action, great (unhealthy) food, plenty to keep Kyle's attention, and not too hot. Los Bravos ended up losing, but the important thing is that we had fun watching the game!

Tropical Storm Bonnie

2010 marks our last hurricane season in South Florida. So far, we've had it pretty easy, only experiencing remnants of hurricanes and the occasional tropical storm or depression. I should be more on top of the advisories and news stories of upcoming storms because of where we live, but I honestly had no idea that a storm was headed our way until yesterday afternoon. One of my friends called me to see if I was prepared or if we needed her to pick us up any supplies so that I didn't have to get out in the weather with the two boys. After her call of concern, I started to wonder if I really was prepared for the storm that was headed our way.

I turned on the local news to check the status of the storm. Yesterday evening the storm was only being referred to as "Tropical Depression #3," but (of course) the local weather people were all predicting the worse. "Get out your sandbags and make sure you have plenty of water and other supplies on-hand. The storm will gain strength and affect our area for the next few days. You will see massive rainfall and high wind speeds." I checked the 5 o'clock morning news, and it was more of the same, only by that time the storm had been upgraded to "Bonnie." I shouldn't be so cynical about the whole hurricane season thing, but all of my experiences shows extreme hype before the storm. However, I was cautiously optimistic that the only major way Bonnie was going to affect me was to probably rain-out the baseball game we've been looking forward to attending tonight.

It rained all morning, and there was a slight amount of wind. I was starting to think that the meteorologists' predictions were going to come true, and was thankful that I went shopping last night to make sure we had plenty of diapers and toilet paper and that there was gas in the cars. We went about our regular morning routine, minus leaving the house. There's plenty to do around here, anyway. I finally jumped in the shower, and noticed that the lights flickered. Once. When I came downstairs, the rain had stopped. That was Bonnie: a few hours of steady, light rain and one power flicker. We had a worse rain storm last week and have experienced stronger winds on a regular day in West Texas. Once again, the local media blew things WAY out of proportion.

Onto bigger news: Ryan is 15 weeks old today! He loves to laugh, is very alert and easy-going, and had decided to quit ever sleeping for more than 3 hours straight. The crazy thing is that my body has started to adapt to the idea that it will never sleep for more than 2 hours at a time, too. Other than being Sleepless in South Florida, Ryan is still practically perfect.


P.S. Hopefully, we will all get to go to that baseball game tonight, after all!

Red, TAN, and Blue

My little patriotic, swimmin' dude, taking a break and soakin' up some rays.

Don't forget to tan both sides!

Ryan can't quite match his brother's tan, but he sure will join him in the wearing of patriotic attire.

The Bear Skin

Ryan's old swing didn't really allow for swaddling before he was loaded in, so I always used to tuck a soft blanket around his face to prop up his head and help comfort him while he snoozed. It got to the point that Ryan wouldn't fall asleep without a blanket (especially his soft and silky brown one) touching his face.

While Uncle Bando was visiting after Ryan's blessing, he picked up on this little quirk and started reminding me not to forget the "bear skin" when it was time for Ryan to take his naps in his swing. Sleep would come in under a minute once the soft, furry, brown blanket was in place.

Even though we now have a new swing, one that would easily allow me to wrap him up tightly before laying him down to sleep, Ryan still prefers to hibernate in his "bear skin."


I tested this sleeping method last night in the crib by not swaddling Ryan--just wrapping him loosely in one blanket and putting the "bear skin" by his face. Apparently, it only works for nap time in the swing. I won't be trying that again unless I plan on only wanting 5 hours of interrupted sleep a night.

Kyle's Birthday 2010: Take THREE!

Kyle's Amazingly Awesome
Third Birthday
2010 World (Florida) Tour Extravaganza

The (possible) final show of Kyle's 2010 birthday (month) was held this evening in Miramar, Florida, at Kyle's very own home. Only 3 lucky fans (immediate family) received backstage passes as well as personal invitations to the exclusive event, which included a private dinner, gift opening, and banana royales--Kyle's with 3 candles and Ryan's to be eaten after further processing. The small, final (?) celebration was a super way to commemorate the birth of our Little Buddy. Three years ago, Kyle and I had our first photos together taken. My, how things have changed in such a short time!


Kyle was SOOOO excited to open more presents. It's all he talked about all day long, especially since his mean parents made him wait all the way until AFTER DINNER to open them!


Thanks so much for all the wonderful gifts and cards! Kyle loves everything!


We are all "caked-out," thanks to the month of pre-birthday celebrations, so ice cream was much more simple and to our liking. We still needed to sing to the birthday boy on his ACTUAL birthday and have him blow out candles, though. (By "we" singing, I actually mean "ME." Just me. Stephen left me hanging ON VIDEO, doing a solo. And anyone who knows me knows how much I just LOVE performing, let alone BY MYSELF. In his defense, Stephen said, "No one needs to hear me singing. It's much better with just you." I'm not sure I agree, but for posterity's sake, I'm posting it anyway.)

To Kyle on His Third Birthday:
Little Buddy,
You are an amazing, energetic, happy, head-strong, determined, intelligent, frustrating, handsome, creative, humorous, curious, inventive, loving, talented, athletic, lovable boy. You make us laugh everyday, which easily bridges the gaps between wanting to strangle you out of frustration. You love to paint, build towers and bridges, play with cars, and shadow us in whatever we are doing. You've recently started saying, "hey, that's mine!" to claim something as yours and let us know we can't touch it. Maybe this has to do with Ryan coming along and your need to mark your territory. You are learning to share and will do so when asked, though. You help put your own clothes away, take out the trash, and pick up your toys. You hate having your picture taken, but will spontaneously come up and give hugs and say, "I love you." You are potty trained (except at night) and I am so proud of you! You say wonderful prayers and love to read books. You enjoy watching Wipeout! and your favorite movies at this time are Toy Story and Lilo & Stitch. You are becoming more and more independent, especially enjoying picking out your own clothes. You are a handful and very stubborn, but also very polite and considerate. You are a wonderful brother and love to watch and play with Ryan to make him laugh. I see how your determination, strong will, and all your talents are going to help you grow into a wonderful young man!
Love you, Buddies.

The Baby Bumbo

It cracks me up to see this little guy hanging out in his very own chair. He's strong, but so tiny! Kyle is actually quite jealous and will try to sit in the Bumbo whenever it's not occupied by his brother. How interesting it's going to be as Kyle starts to actually remember and recognize things that once belonged to him that are now being passed down to Ryan....

The Moose is Loose

This week has been strange. Stephen has been working way too much. (By "working," I actually mean slaving away for hours/days on end, without getting paid, while only being allowed 10 minutes for a 9:00 dinner of 1/2 a bagel and a bottle of water, after already being at the hospital for 16 hours, all because a "routine" heart surgery on a drug-addict turned out to not be so routine after-all. It's like he's in anesthesia concentration camp.) I feel like I've lost track of time and a schedule since I haven't seen my husband much this week, even though he's in the same town. Between his schedule at the hospital and my schedule with Ryan, we went almost 2 days without even crossing paths! It felt like we just skipped over an entire day, and I'm having trouble remembering the date or day of the week. I'm even starting to feel a little Déjà vu about simple things like pajamas!

Mommy Moment

"We women have a lot to learn about simplifying our lives. We have to decide what is important and then move along at a pace that is comfortable for us. We have to develop the maturity to stop trying to prove something. We have to learn to be content with what we are." ---Marjorie Pay Hinckley

This is one of those quotes that seems to have been written just for me. I tend to get easily wrapped up in my to-do lists and in trying to "do it all." Being able to be home with my boys has helped me learn to realize what is really important (being a good wife and mom) and start to let the rest fall into place where it may. If I have time to check something off my list, great. If not, I'm learning to be comfortable with that. Having Ryan around helps me step back and learn to simplify, too. His schedule forces me to slow down and really plan out what's important to accomplish between feeding, changing diapers, play time, swinging/sleeping, and repeating. It's becoming more and more comfortable.

Wipeout Zone

While I was taking a shower this morning, Kyle was busy constructing his at-home version of a Wipeout course. I know this because the minute I walked down the stairs and saw his handiwork, he said, "Like Wipeout, Mom!"

His qualifying course didn't have the Sucker Punch, but he turned the couch into a Tramp-o-mean. After jumping across the couch, Kyle bounced over the coffee table and


crashed right into his version of the Big Balls, a tower of couch cushions and pillows.


The best part of Kyle's course? After a major Wipeout, just stack again and repeat!

Kyle's Birthday 2010: Take Two

Kyle's

Third Birthday Party
2010 World Tour Extravaganza....

...continued today with his 2nd Third Birthday Party. (He's going to have a bitter taste of reality when he realizes that his birthday doesn't really occur over the entire month of July every year....)

The Johnsons and Tylers joined us for a Toy Story 3-themed party.

The party started with fun in the pool. We swam a little, played a balloon game and had a bottle race, and just thoroughly enjoyed the perfect pool weather. (We've been praying that it wouldn't rain, and our prayers were answered!!!) Swimming is not at all part of the Toy Story theme, but there were plenty of Toy Story snacks!


After we soaked up some sun, the party continued at our home. Kyle opened up a few presents:

Another Buzz and Woody;

Toy Story stuff:
sticker book, coloring book, Memory Game, beach towel;
(Can you tell he's had a little practice with opening presents???)

a fish toy for the pool;
and a driving RC car.

Then we all sang "Happy Birthday, dear Kyle," and he blew out his candles---all by himself!



The party came to an end and we walked all of Kyle's friends to the door. After saying goodbye and thank you, Kyle turned to me and asked, "have more happy birthday please, mom???" I guess he'll get his wish as the Birthday Tour continues; Kyle officially turns three on Sunday.

As I'm finishing this post, Kyle is in birthday heaven. We just finished a game of Toy Story Memory. He completed an entire page in his Toy Story sticker book. Several pages of the Toy Story coloring book have been colored. There's a pile of Buzz and Woody toys on the couch, and I keep hearing the RC car being revved up. He had a 2nd helping of his Toy Story cake. And, he has a huge smile on his face as he's watching......Wipeout. (He's keeping it real, y'all--gotta shake things up every now and then!)

Sunday Report

Stephen is right in the thick of his hell month of school: hearts rotation, a ridiculously pointless culture class with all sorts of weekly required online postings and a 10-page paper due, all while trying to finish writing a thesis. Needless to say, he's a little busy.

With all these "oxen in the mire," he had to miss church today, so it was just me and the two boys again. Amazingly, I have (almost) nothing negative to report! Kyle stayed in nursery the entire time--accident-free. I was able to attend all of Sunday School before needing to feed Ryan. The only gray cloud in an otherwise sunny sky was when I had to take Kyle out in the hall for climbing on the arm rest of our pew and jumping off--cannon-ball style--onto the seat when I turned for one second to release Ryan from his carrier. He regrouped and behaved for the nearly the rest of the meeting, though. I think we are starting to get the hang of things!!!

We're getting quite excited for Kyle's 2nd Third Birthday Party of the 2010 Extravaganza, which will be held tomorrow. A few friends will be coming over to swim and have snacks and cake. Kyle helped get the cake baked today, and (can you believe it?) he had to sample a bit to make sure it was safe for his friends to eat tomorrow! It's a Toy Story 3 Party, and he's also been getting geared up for the big day by wearing all the appropriate attire--enough Toy Story t-shirts to last an entire week. I should know, since that's ALL he's wanted to wear for an entire week. Someone's exctied!

Monkeying Around

Ryan is starting to grow into some of his larger outfits. A few of them are even brand-new to him, not hand-me-downs! I was trying to get a few pictures of this little man in a new outfit that has monkeys on it and didn't realize until I looked through the pictures that Ryan kept pulling this toy over, covering the monkeys! Then, he spit up all over himself before I could take a few more photos.


Luckily, Ryan has another outfit with monkeys on it, but he kept getting distracted while I was taking pictures. Maybe it was the tags coming off the front of the shirt...or that he was much more interested in checking out his feet...

...or that Kyle kept jumping in the way! (Whenever I WANT to take a picture of Kyle, he's not so willing to smile for the camera. Imagine that...)

Life is like a barrel of monkeys around here!

3 Months Old....

.....and he barely looks a day past 3 weeks! I still have people asking me if Ryan is a preemie. Nope. We just make 'em small, I guess. It's amazing how much smaller he looks than his cousin, Claire, who is only a few weeks and a few days older! I think he just overtook her BIRTH weight a few weeks ago. It's okay that he's little--Kyle was the same way! Good babies come in small packages around here.

Ryan's Stats (as of a few seconds ago):

Weight: 11 lbs 4 oz
Height: 24 inches


Things I want to remember about Ryan at this age:

• He just outgrew his newborn diapers.
• He can roll from his tummy to his back.
• He loves to lift his head off the ground. It looks like he's trying to do crunches. (Kyle did this, too!)
• He's started trying to shove one or both hands in his mouth if he doesn't have a binky. (Kyle repeat.)
• The best way to get him to sleep is to put a soft blanket around his face and put him in his swing.
  
• He absolutely loves to take a bath and is very calm and comfortable in the pool.
  

Ryan is a wonderful baby. He's very easy-going and content most of the time. I can take him anywhere, and he remains calm, just taking in his surroundings with those big, alert eyes. I often wonder what he's thinking and if he knows how much we love him. I do know he recognizes us, searches for us when he hears our voices, and will laugh and "talk" to us after he's fed and happy. It's been a wonderful 3 months with this little guy, and I am grateful for every moment. Ryan really is practically perfect in every way--if only he would really start sleeping through the night!

Another One Bites the Dust

We haven't had good luck with important electronic items around our house this week.

On Monday, something went wrong with our only 23-month-old Samsung LCD TV. Of course the one-year, limited warranty had expired and we decided to roll the dice by not buying the extended service plan through Best Buy because it seemed WAY overpriced at the time. After calling Samsung and being told that THEY would have a service person contact US, we waited. And waited. Three days without a tv and not even a call is too long around here, so I decided to call around and see if I could find someone on my own. A few hours later someone was at the house and the problem was fixed! Plus, at only $245 for parts and labor, we actually made the right call on not buying the extended warranty.

Today, Ryan's swing finally decided to kick the bucket. It's been an on-again-off-again relationship with this one. About a month ago, "the nanny" quit working. When I threatened a replacement, I guess she decided to get back in gear, but wasn't super reliable. We had to learn just the right way to get her to work. Today, however, none of these tricks worked. I tried holding the swing just-so while pushing the button, standing on one foot, and speaking softly, but to no use. I even changed the batteries, and she still kept quitting on me. A swing that only works for 30 seconds at a time is no good swing at all, so I finally made the call to send the nanny packin.'



Luckily, we suspected something like this might happen, so we never returned the replacement swing. It's been sitting in the closet waiting for the right moment to enter the scene. It was getting to the point that we couldn't count on that old nanny, anyway. I now have a brand-new and improved extra set of arms to help rock the baby to sleep. Hallelujah! All is right again in my world. It's like Mary Poppins has swooped in with her spoonful of sugar to make everything supercalifragilisticexpialidocious again.



We've had two major malfunctions this week. These things tend to happen in three's, so I wonder what else is about to short circuit. (Please don't be the car, please don't be the car, please don't be the car.....)

Until Next Time

We had to take Grandma and Grandpa to the airport this morning. It's sad to see the last of our family head back home after a great visit from both sides. It won't be long, though, until our next great adventure.

Here's Ryan and Kyle, ready for bed and hanging out with Gam and Pa, and a close-up of Baby Ryan as Winnie the Pooh.