Rylie 3 Months Old

This was the first full month where Rylie was on Prevacid and I was dairy free (so she did not get any milk proteins in the breast milk). We want to make sure she was gaining weight so we went in for a 3 month weight check. Rylie now weighs 11 lbs 8 oz. I feel like I have finally been able to catch my breath this month. After some sleep training (which was so rough on Mommy) Rylie is sleeping longer stretches at night (5 - 7 hrs at first and even 9 hrs for the past week!) and napping longer and more consistently during the day (taking three 1.5 - 2 hour naps and sometimes a 30 min nap). When going down for a nap, she is swaddled and placed her in the crib, and she falls asleep with minimal crying. I am so grateful for this change. Now instead of napping myself, when Derek naps, I can actually get some work done around the house. I blogged about Derek weekly for a while and wanted to do the same for Rylie...but that is way to difficult to do with 2 kids, so I am blogging monthly instead.
* Rylie rolled onto her belly once this month, but I missed it. She is constantly rolling onto her side and is so close to rolling over onto her belly.
* She doesn't mind tummy time. When she is on her belly she picks up her legs and head and it looks like she is doing the superman stretch.
* She is constantly inspecting her hands.
* Rylie loves spending time in her "gym." She kicks, smiles, and coos at the lights. She has started grabbing the hanging objects.
* She is still being swaddled and moves so much in her sleep that sometimes ends up facing a different direction from the way I put her down.
* We LOVE Rylie's smile. One of my favorite things is getting her in the morning and seeing her face light up with a big smile when she sees me!! It melts my heart.
* She has started giggling too!! (so much fun to get her to giggle!)
* I love the sweet time I get to spend with her in the afternoon when Derek naps (generally I get an hour when both kids are napping and then an hour alone with just Rylie).
* Rylie has begun teething. She is drooling a ton and loves chewing on her thumb and fist.
* Rylie is very alert. She has beautiful BIG BLUE eyes.
* She LOVES to watch her brother play. Her eyes follow him around the train table.
* I have really LOVED dressing up Rylie including having her wear bows. I had no idea that girl clothes could be so fun (although everyone told me...).

there's nothing like a sweet snugly baby

 BIG stretch!

SMILE!!!

watching the sports balls go around on the mobile

working on holding up her head

Happy 2nd Birthday Derek!
Happy birthday sweet boy!! We love you! You are so happy, curious, smart, creative and bring so much joy to our lives. We love watching you grow and learn! We are grateful God chose us to be your parents and we thank Him for your life every day.

We had a Thomas the Train themed birthday party to celebrate Derek's 2nd birthday and invited several of his friends to help us celebrate. Its amazing how different this year's birthday was from his 1st birthday. This year, Derek couldn't wait to eat his birthday cake. (happy cake as he calls it) Last year he didn't even touch it. He opened several presents with focused attention and listened to me read the cards before ripping the paper off the present. Derek was SOOO excited to show his happy birthday sign to all his friends and to have a "happy cake" as he calls it.

Derek blew out his candle on his own!

 He LOVED eating the cake I made him

the kids eating cake

Julie and baby Max

Christina and Bella

                    

Derek and Bella

Derek's best bud Zack

Strider Bike
Matt and I gave Derek a Strider bike for his birthday. He is such an active boy and we thought this would be a great way for him to be active (especially in the hot summer months ahead) and learn how to ride a bike! Balance bikes are a great way for kids to learn balance and coordination before even pedaling. It is also a super way to transition kids to a 2-wheeler. To say Derek LOVED the bike was an understatement. He called it his "new bike" and rode it for 2 hours the first day he got it. He caught on right away and continues to get better. Matt took a video of Derek riding on day 1 and we can't wait to take another video later on to compare his riding. Thankfully, last night we got Derek to park the bike and say "night night" to go to bed. First thing this morning he woke up asking for his "new bike" and rode it again all morning. He even rode it while playing with his trains. Happy 2nd birthday buddy!

 

 Good thing for a 3-car garage!!

 Already getting tricky!

 Riding in his jammies

SMILE!
I finally got a picture of Rylie's smile.

Our sweet family of 4!!

Rylie (2.5 months) and Derek (23.5 months)

Visit from Lisa & David

This past weekend Lisa, David and baby Annika came to visit. They were attending a cousin's wedding in Tuscon and spent a few extra days with us. Lisa and I have been friends since my freshman year at Lexington Christian Academy (1993), when we met on the soccer field during preseason. We've been friends all these years - working together at Meadow Breeze Day Camp, going to Calvin College, being in each other's weddings and now raising families. She has been a true and loyal friend and its so fun to hang out and catch up.

Rylie (2.5 months) and Annika (5.5 months)

 

 Derek having a blast in the "flying car" ride

 Derek LOVED being thrown in the air by David