Christmas 2014

This was the first year I haven't been with either one of my parents for Christmas. Mom was in Kansas with her family, and dad and Micah-Ray went to New Mexico with his family. Every year for as long as I can remember we've always gone somewhere for Thanksgiving and Christmas. One holiday in Kansas with mom's side, the next with dad's in New Mexico. Then we'd alternate the next year. The older I get, the more I realize how special it was that we got to do that year after year.

This year, us Byrds had to stay for a few reasons, and Jordan decided to stay since Tricia is a few weeks away from her due date.

Christmas Eve we had Sammy over for dinner and cookie decorating. He made a pineapple ham and the cookies, and we made bread, a potato bake dish, and sauteed and seasoned green beans with almonds. It was all delicious!

Christmas morning we let Sophia open her stocking and Santa gifts as soon as she woke.

We tried to hold off as long as we could before opening our other gifts while we waited for Jordan, but Sophia's anticipation was growing as she was "arranging" them. We decided to go ahead and open ours before they came.

When they got here we had a big breakfast of homemade biscuits and gravy, sausage, scrambled eggs, fruit, and yogurt. Then they opened gifts, and we let Sophia see her last gift from us. A playhouse!

Little side note. We recently made a few lists of short and long term goals for things we needed and wanted to buy. We put a play house or swing set for Sophia on the list, but it was towards the bottom. A few days before Christmas, a friend asked if we wanted their new play house because they were gifted a newer, bigger one for their kids. How cool is that? How cool is God? My mama heart was overflowing with excitement for Sophie.

It was a different Christmas. Not bad, just different. And very sweet.

Silas 6 months.... er, 7 months.

Having a second child is really so much different than having your first.

With Sophia everything was super clean all the time. With Silas... It's a a wonder if I remember to grab the beads Sophia dropped or pick up the shoes so he's not chewing on those.

I couldn't wait to start offering Sophia table food and made all her foods with my handy dandy Baby Bullet. Poor Silas... I'm putting it off as long as I can. He usually just gets whatever we're eating mashed up.

Sophia had baths all the time. And Silas... I have no idea how long he went between his last two baths. I won't even say how long I think it was.

I knew Sophia's age from the week down to the hour. Silas? I think he may be in his 20's weeks? I always thought it was weird when I asked other mom's their baby's age and they said "five months." I'd be thinking... Aren't we supposed to count by weeks until they're like one? Then I had baby #2. Speaking of Silas' age... I wanted to do a six month post but this month has been crazy. I mean, he turns seven months tomorrow. So technically, this is a six month post. ;)

Anyway, you get the idea.

Even though everything is more chaotic, it is so much sweeter. Having two is the best.

So Silas.

• LOVES his sister and laughs at everything she does.
• Goes crazy in the bath. Loves splashing and kicking his legs.
• Acts likes he hates all food and has been very slow learning to swallow.
• Can keep a paci in his mouth for a little while!
• Rolls and rolls and rolls on the floor.
• As of yesterday, he is starting to army crawl. 
• Doesn't sit up for too long, but can until he turns his head.
• Wakes every 2-3 hours to eat at night.
• Loves being tickled and playing Peek-a-boo.
• Grabs any and everything in front of him. And it goes straight into his mouth.
• First tooth at 5.5 months, second tooth two weeks later.
• Likes to take drinks of water.
• Claps his hands.
• Cat naps while at home. Takes the best naps while we're out and he's in the carrier.
• Not usually fussy.
• Babbles and yells a lot.
• 19.? lbs. and 23.75"
• Wears size 12 month clothes.
• We think he says "mamama" when he cries and is immediately soothed when I come to him.
•  Likes animals and feel their fur. He even lets them lick inside his mouth! ....yeah.. Oops!
• Also makes the squishiest, scrunched up, upset face. I love it.

I don't know what else to say other than how much we love him. We all are obsessed with this little bubs. Such a sweet, easy going babe.

The last 24 hours. House sitting. JBF Sale. Fender bender. Home. Ruined load of laundry.

I've officially, OFFICIALLY, earned my mama badge.

And I want to give it back.

Ha! Not really. I may be exaggerating... I guess we'll see if I want to give it back or not after this load of laundry is done.

Let's start at the beginning.

Last week a friend asked if we would like to house sit for them while they're gone for the week. All we had to do was feed some chicks, enjoy the perks of a great big yard with lots of outdoor toys, and we even got to use their car. Which was awesome, because for a few days, we didn't have to worry about planning around Aaron's work and school schedule if I needed to use the car. It was a great deal! A stay-cation. 

Notice the tall violet socks, with jean shorts, a fall colored dress, hair in her face because she likes it "long" and knight armor. I love this age. :)

Last weekend, I also decided 1 to be a consignor at the Just Between Friends Sale. Here are some pictures from last years' sale if you wanna check it out. Over 100,000 items sold at that sale and you bet ours were going to be some of them. Sell Sophia's clothes from last fall/winter and have them pay for the next sizes up for this year. Plus buy all of Silas' fall/winter clothes since he's growing like a weed and we hadn't expected our four month old to be wearing 12 month clothing already. Mama frugality at it's finest. Sign me up.

So hard at work I went, organizing, uploading, hanging, bagging, taping, and tagging. 

(Insert nicely organized tagged items ready to go. Heh.)

Fast forward a few days. I fell asleep the night before the last drop off day. The night I was supposed to finish everything.

I let myself sleep that night thinking I'd get up early. When I got up, I realized had Aaron left some of the tagging supplies at our house. And locked our house key inside... So he had to go get a spare key from my mom before I could start. I mean I could have started.. BUT I tried to finish one day while Sophia was in the room and it was horrible. Horrible. A major crisis. I was packing up Sophia's old things. Toys she hadn't touched in forever. Shoes she couldn't cram her feet in anymore. She couldn't handle it. And neither could I.

Oh yeah, so I made it with five minutes to spare before they locked the drop off doors. Got my stuff inspected and put it all out. And I was ready for the presale the next day.

Aaron had to work late Thursday evening, so I asked my dad if Sophia could hang with him and he said "of course!"

We were running behind, then dad was running behind, and by the time I got to the JBF sale, it was 6:50.

(Hmm. This is turning out to be much longer than I planned on.)

Anyway, I spent two hours searching for the things on my list and fed Silas in the middle of that in the breastfeeding tent. He's entered the distracted stage, so I'm reeeeally glad they had an actual tent to close us in. But even then, he took forever to eat. He looked around with wide eyes off and on the whole time. It was much too loud in there. Plus, we were right next to a bunch of battery operated toys = majorly distracted baby.

Then spent 45 minutes waiting in line to check out.

Checked out, and was told to go around to the side of the coliseum to pick up my "large" item.

Loaded up, drove around, unloaded, walked down to get our Go-Pod.

I was looking for an exersaucer type seat for Silas, but wanted to avoid the bright, bulky, plastic ones. I found portable one and thought it was perfect. Our house is pretty small, so it'd be easy to put away when not in use, and it has a bunch of loops to hook toys from. This is the "large item" I could have easily packed up and carried with me while shopping. Why I didn't think of that, I don't know. Wish I would have!

While I was walking back to the car, I notice another car parked at an angle behind me, and a lady looking at the back of my car. I thought maybe she noticed I had a flat tire or something. Nope. She says "Is this your car? We just backed into it."

Excuse me while I throw up.

You what?!

It's not my car...

I've never been in any wreck (well, unless you count my freshman year of college when my jerk of a boyfriend ran into my car. With his car. ...Out of anger. But let's not go there.).

I was nervous enough to drive someone else's car.
I was careful.
I didn't text (never do that anyway) or talk on my phone and drive.
I used my blinkers religiously.
I didn't speed.
I went slow.

I looked both ways even when the my light was green.
I did everything right!

Why? Why, the one time I borrow someone else's car, do I have to get backed into. When that's never happened before!?!

Since it was on private property we weren't able to file a police report, but could fill out a form and swap it with the other person involved. It was an official piece of paper with both insurances.

The lady who hit the car was really sweet and understanding. Even though that piece of paper wasn't necessary she gladly waited for the police to come.

Two of the volunteers from the JBF sale waited around some with us. One was actually someone that used to go to church with me that I haven't seen in at least seven six or seven years, and the other was the children's director of the church Sophia went to for a Mother's Day Out program. They helped distract and keep me company during it all. Which was nice. Glad God put them there... otherwise I'm pretty sure I would have cried.

All while this is going on, Aaron and Sophia are waiting for me. Aaron locked our house key in the house, again, and I had the extra key from my mom. I'm only two hours behind schedule at this point. Only.

Finally, I head home to our house since Sophia missed home and wanted to stay the night there instead of our friends'.

I get home, and the key doesn't work. Actually, mom gave me two. Neither of them are ours.

Text my dad asking if he still has our house key. His reply: "Did I ever have your house key?" (He did. Both of my parents got one when we bought our house two years ago.) Great... Mom lives twenty-five minutes away and there's no way I can stay awake another hour to go get it.

Aaron pulls up with Sophia. I'm bawling in the car. Silas is crying.

He goes around back and breaks a small window pain that had a crack in the glass, reaches in, unlocks the window, crawls in, and walks through the front door. My knight in shining armor. He starts to tell me he broke the already broken one, but I stopped him mid sentence and said "thanks. I don't even care. I just want to be home."

A few hours later I'm laying in bed with the most monstrous headache. The kind where you have to have your husband put pressure right between your eyebrows. The kind that comes from extreme stress and exhaustion. The kind that, even though you can usually fall asleep on command (not everyone can do that? Oh. Well, I sure can, and do!) it takes an hour to fall asleep. The kind of headache that wakes you up a few hours later and makes you take a Tylenol.

I woke up this morning with major knots in my stomach knowing that I had to call my friend and tell her someone backed into their nice, new car. Luckily, she is awesome. And completely understanding. Always. And has even had that happen to her. Twice! *sigh* She told me to untie the knots in my stomach and let it go. Cue Aaron singing Frozen's "Let it gooo, let it gooooo."

So I did. And was feeling better.

And somehow our house was a total disaster. Even though we were hardly here this week? Hm?

I start cleaning and throw some laundry into the wash. All Silas' new fall/winter wardrobe, a few new-to-me, expensive cloth diapers from the sale, and some of our other favorite clothes we wore this week.

And then I opened the dryer.

....

And everything is red and brown.

Despite me checking pockets, like I always do, two crayons sneaked themselves into the wash. And when I say sneaked, I mean in a secret pocket in Aaron's shorts. Ok, maybe not so secret. Just the side pocket on cargo shorts. ...that he never uses. Note to self: check the side pockets. ALWAYS.

And I thought I was baling last night.

$60 worth of JBF items. All of Silas' cold season wardrobe and some of our other favorite clothes. My new cloth diapers and fabric for more diapers. The chaos of the night before. The reason why someone else's car got backed into on my watch! The reason for my monster headache. All for nothing! All covered in red and brown wax.

And so I cried. And cried.

And cried.

Aaron started looking up ways to get crayon out and bought some miracle cleaner called Awesome.

All day I've been soaking, prewashing, washing, and extra rinsing that load of clothes. I've used 3/4 bottle of Awesome, homemade detergent (Washing Soda, Borax, Baking Soda, Fels Naptha soap, and OxiClean), and Seventh Generation Free&Clear laundry detergent.

I just checked the washer and about 90% of the crayon is gone. I'd show picture, but they're in another wash and extra rinse cycle of the free and clean detergent. Aaron's also busy using Magic Erasers to get the red wax out of the entire dryer! Arg.

So, back to that load of laundry.
I guess I don't want to give my mama badge back after all. It was hard earned.

I keep waiting for God to show me something through all of this. Now that I look back on it all, it wasn't so bad. I was probably due for a good cry anyway. Should I even post this? It's a bunch of nothing. A bunch of whining. Yes. Yes, I'll post it. For a few reasons.

1.) Check every pocket before putting clothes in the washer.

2.) Awesome works. And apparently it works on everything. I don't even want to know what chemicals are in that bottle. I'm just glad that in my desperate situation this Dollar Store miracle worked. And you better believe I will have it on hand for future emergencies.

3.) Make more copies of our house key and plant them all over the outside of the house.

4.) Start tagging the items I'll be selling at the spring JBF sale now. ;)

5.) 1 Thessalonians 5:18 Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. It doesn't say give thanks "for" but give thanks "in" all circumstances. After these last 24 hours, I'm just starting to grasp this.

Oh, and I just checked my JBF profile. So far, I've already made back double the total that I spent at the sale. Definitely worth it.
Minus the friend's car getting backed into. 

Something's brewing... and it's exciting.

Where do I even start?

I have so many thoughts, it would take forever to put them in any order so I'll just... start talking!

I like blogging. It's a fun hobby for me. Not as time consuming, messy, or expensive as scrapbooking (do people still even do that anyway?) but still like an online scrapbook. I like that.

I love memories and I love reading about other's memories.
I like to share what we're going through. I like hearing about what other's are going through and how they're handling it.
I like to talk. Especially about things I'm into. And I like learning how to do things or different ways to do things.
I love being a parent and being married. I like learning tools to strengthen myself in those areas. Or even just knowing that other people are going through the same things, too.

Sometimes being a stay at home mom is a lonely life. I honestly thought it would all come naturally. That I'd just figure it out as I go. Parenting. Motherhood. Wifehood. Along with being my own person and still having my own goals and dreams.
But this last year, it hasn't come so naturally. If fact, it seems to be getting harder. And I think it feels harder partly because I don't have something that I do for myself.

So that book I mentioned before, Desperate. Hope for the mom who needs to breathe. By Sarah Mae & Sally Clarkson. It's good. Real good. I'm only three chapters in and I'm already seeing my perspective changing.

Sally says "Motherhood was meant to be experienced with other mothers, aunts, grandmothers, and a community of women sharing the load."
We need other mom friends. And we all know how hard that is.
That's probably why mommy blogging is so popular.
(Which I am, by the way, stepping out of my comfort zone and working towards getting more mama friends. And no, not just online. Heh. It's easy to find like minded moms online. Real life=not so much. But yes, I'm working on it!)

Then Sally says "And remember, a wise woman is one who copies wise women."
I used to feel bad, weird, even creepy... ha ha, doing things the way someone else did. But there's a reason I did/do those things. Because they're wise. And thanks to Sally Clarkson, I feel like I have permission to keep on copying and learning what works for us in all aspects of our lives.

I was listening to this podcast the other day. I think it was from The Art of Simple, or maybe How They Blog, but they were talking about taking action. You've got to start somewhere. Just do it. Something will come.

I've been sewing for years and used to make good money selling totes and purses and even planned on going to the Art Institute of Dallas for it right before I found out I was pregnant with Sophia. I thought I was over my sewing days, until I attempted a cloth diaper the other day. And hey, I'm not over it at all! I've made little things here and there. People always say I should sell stuff. I knew I could, but what? What do I make and sell?

Then cloth diapers happened.

And that got my wheels turning.

I would love to start my own ByrdHouse business. Different product lines. Things for the baby byrd, mama byrd, and maybe for the sister byrd. Things for your byrd nest. Work on baby first, then add to it over time.

So I'll be working on that. And hoping in six months to a year I can launch a little online business. I guess I'm still considering an Etsy shop, too, but who knows.

Right now I'm just trying to learn more about blogging. What style of blog I want to write. Finding a balance between being too wordy or not wordy enough. Being consistent. Maybe a new domain name and leaving blogger and moving somewhere else.

I'm a little worried my lack of knowledge in the English department will hinder me though. Although, according to some, it might help since I'm not worried so much about format, being grammatically correct, and some other stuff that kinda went over my head. Ha! A friend gave me a book about creative nonfiction to read and I'm excited to dive into that.

I've decided to start Vlogging too. I learned that term yesterday. Vlog. Cool. Where have I been? I've had several people and friends ask how we cloth diaper, so I thought I'd do my first video on our cloth diapering system.

I plan on posting more than "keeping up" with us. All subjects. Family, parenting, motherhood, wifehood, marriage, finances, minimizing, organizing, food, natural alternatives, DIY crafts, babies. Everything. Not picking a certain category quite yet so I can see where it takes me.

Hoping I can tie all of this together, and eventually make something of it. It's been fun to think about. Part of me is thinking "who would even care?" Who cares what I have to say about what? But if there is anyone else like me, I think they'd like to visit my page.

I've been talking about this stuff for years to Aaron, and last night I went off on a long spill about it all. He said I should go for it. So I am.

And this even half of what the Lord is stirring up in my heart! Ah!

More to come later.
Sorry for the long post.
Lots of rambling.
Had to get it out some way!

And for your enjoyment... Some random pictures from last night. Aaron got a new phone. Trying out his camera.

To anyone who stuck with me through my babbling... What do you think? 

Thoughts? Tips? Advice? I'd love some feedback. :)

Silas- 4 Months

I had originally planned on doing posts for Silas every three months, but I forgot how much babies change in such short amounts of time.

All of these changes have happened in the last two weeks. Right at four months.

The day before Silas turned four months (two weeks and one day ago), he started fussing some when I set him down. I kept thinking "what is going on?" all day, but now I realize he's starting to understand more and not liking being separated from me.

I mean, he's not fussing all the time. He's really just starting to.

I've been waiting for it.

My sweet, easy going babe.

How long would that really last?

Along with some fussing, he's also started protesting the car seat. I didn't even realize he was old enough to know he didn't want to be in the car seat!? He has officially started arching his back and giving a little fuss about half of the time we load up to go somewhere.

He had his first big screaming cry in the car the other night. If Sophia hadn't been crying herself I know he wouldn't have gotten so upset, but she was, and he did. And it was a LONG 20 minutes home from my mom's house. I even pulled over once to calm them down. I was heart broken and drained by the time we pulled in the driveway. I think theirs were, too...

He also started rolling to his belly as soon as I put him on the floor. Then rolling and rolling more.

Laughs at the sound of our laughter.

Likes Peek-a-boo. But mostly when it's mama playing with him. ;)

Has a few ticklish spots. Ribs and inside of thighs.

Beginning to get distracted while nursing. Coming unlatched to look at me when I talk. Smiling or laughing mid feed. Startles and unlatches at loud or sudden noises.

Still loves his activity mat and starting to grab and hold toys.

Also weirdly attracted to screens. TV, phone, computer. Maybe all babies are? Sophia wasn't until about two years old. So it's weird to me.

Loves sister. Sophia always makes him smile and laugh.

Ready for bed between 6:30-7:30.

Eating every two to three hours during the night the last week. Growth spurt!

Wears 9-12 clothes.

A few weeks ago at his four month appointment, he was 17.13lbs and 26.5"

That put him in the 90% for weight and 97% for height.

Not that I care about that, BUT it is fun for me to see that he's in the 97% while Sophia was always in the 3%. Silas is about the size Sophia was on her first birthday. Whoa!

He is SUCH a mama's baby. 

So special knowing that my touch, voice, or snuggles can calm him in an instant. And I am eating that up!

He's still very easy going and a little bit "serious" 

Just like his daddy. ;)

Aaron- Back to School

Oh, Aaron.
My sweet husband.

Aaron started back at school this fall semester pursuing a degree in computer science and I couldn't be more excited for him. After watching him read books about computers and certifications just for the sake of knowing, listening to him talk about "computer things" WAY over my head, and watching him build our computer along with helping a few friends and family build their computers, I know this is exactly what he should be doing. He's talented in this stuff. He understands it all. He should make this his career!

I can't tell you how impressed I've been by him. Between work and school, he's been averaging 10-12 hour days away from home Monday-Thursday, then coming home to work on homework. Friday he doesn't have any school so he's able to hang around in the morning a little before going to work. Then it's back to work Saturday mornings for lessons and/or to teach CPR classes.

Needless to say, he seems to be balancing home, work, and school with ease and the coolness that he is. ;)

I, on the other hand, feel like I'm just trying to keep my head above water. As a friend said, I am single-momming it. And yes, it definitely feels like I am.

Should I even be complaining about this?

I love staying at home with my babies!

I love it. I love it. I LOVE it.

But sometimes it can be so lonely. Especially since we only have one car. Lots of planning goes into each and every outing.

And it's stressful.

But so, so sweet.

And tiring...

But fun!

See my problem here? Heh.

We recently talked about putting Sophia in preschool. Miss Social. I think we're leaning towards buying a swing set/playground for the backyard instead. 

Desperate

Hope for the mom who needs to breathe.

I started reading this book for a book group.

Not very far into it, but what I've read so far is leaving me feeling encouraged.

This and podcasts. They're my thing now. Yep. Podcasts. Where have I been?

Listening to it all.

Organizing, minimizing, homeschooling, disciplining, blogging, parenting. 

Keeps me company through meal making and dishes. 

I've also realized I've done us a disservice...

If only I would have known two years ago what I know now.

Stay at home moms need other mom friends. (Like more than two, in my case. Haha) And their children need play dates and activities outside of the house with other kids if they're not in preschool or daycare. I mean, we do play with other kids, go to the park, do fun things... But not enough.

So while Aaron is working hard with school and work, I've decided to work hard making more mom friends and Sophie friends, and make it a habit to plan fun outings to keep us busy. 

Anyway, I'm proud of Aaron.

And probably a little jealous.

Wait no, I love my job work mom life.

Sophia Rae- 3 Years

Time is flying by! Sweet Sophia turned three two weeks ago.

I've been putting off a three year post because honestly, three is turning out to be much more challenging than I anticipated. The closer Sophia got to her third birthday, the more I felt like things were spiraling out of control. I know half of it is due to Silas coming and Sophia learning to adjust to all the changes, and I'm sure the other half is well... just being three years old, but WOW.

Hard times in the Byrd house lately. Hello, Tantrums! Who knew such a little person could scream and cry that loud for that long?! And the tantrums have brought a friend, Whining. It's incredible. I've always heard of the "terrible twos" but honestly, twos have nothing on the threes. Sophia really only has one major tantrum or melt down a day. But between the tantrums, whining, constant chatter, and Sophia venturing out into disobeying and talking back, I'm feeling pretty worn by her. My world has been rocked. You mean, sweet little toddlers won't always want to do everything their parents tell them to? ;) Ha ha. Seriously though, I've never felt more exhausted than I do now. Aaron and I recently had a long talk about discipline, and discussed it some with Sammy, and we've made some changes that we're already seeing fruit from. So that's good!


Anyway. Aside from all of that, Sophia is a very happy little girl. I love watching her turn into her own little person.

Likes:
Favorite colors are pink, red, white
Frozen movie and soundtrack
Toy guitar
Dress up clothes and accessories
Back rubs at nap and bedtime
Baby Duck
Picking out her own clothes
Kiddie swimming pool
Dancing and gymnastics
Talking
Loving on Silas
Crafting
Using scissors
Park or play place in the mall
Art Thursdays at the museum
Switching out clothes, socks, and shoes all day long
Helping with all household task while mama does them
Favorite foods are cheese, crackers, bread, pretty much anything white or brown

Dislikes:
Getting her hair brushed
Naps/bedtime
Sitting in booster seat at the table
Putting her face under water

Mispronounces and uses words:
wusterday- yesterday, meaning any time before the present time. Last night, last week, this morning.
else- if, as in "Else I take a nap, we can go to the park!"
suhgot- forgot
do's- does
Of course she also says and uses other words wrong all the time (like Loggin' Legos= Lincoln Logs, or rodeo-radio), but these are the regulars. I love it all so much that I don't want to correct her. :)

Can write her name/letters with a little help and knows the sounds of almost all the letters in the alphabet.
Wants to go to school.
Questioning everything.
Getting more into pretend play.
Does front rolls and can walk across a balance beam that is off the floor.
Constantly making up songs about what shes doing. "And I was doing it. And I was _____ (dancing, drawing, etc.), And I did!"
Potty trained during the day and nap but still wears a pull up to bed.
Her love language is definitely physical touch. She loves to be snuggled, cuddled, hugged, kissed on, or touching. When she's upset, sitting on our laps with hugs will calm her down the fastest.

Weighs 28lbs, 36" tall, is in the 25% all around, and is also very much ahead in her speech, but we already knew that. ;)
Wears size 2-3T and size 7.5 shoes.

Mornings are my most favorite times with her. I've always loved those first few hugs and snuggles of the day. The smile on her sleepy face when I tell her good morning. Her messy bed head. Her warm skin from being under the covers. Her jammies. Even her stinky morning breath! Ha! Maybe I appreciate the mornings more because we're actually challenged in our parenting now, and by bed time we're wiped. Mornings with Sophia are so sweet and clam. I love it. I love starting my day with her. And I guess I love ending my day with her, too! ;)

She is bright, eager to learn, energetic, curious, sensitive, friendly, and beautiful!

Happy 3rd birthday to you, Sophia Rae!
You are the most precious little girl in the whole world!

Silas Grayson- 3 Months

I've been meaning to do monthly posts with Silas but wow, he's already three months old!

Let's see if I can remember some of the more important milestones.

5 weeks- Smiling
6 weeks- Smiling and cooing
7 weeks- First little cold/cough (not a milestone, but something to remember!)
10 weeks- Sleeping through the night 6-10 hours
12 weeks- Laughing and sitting up assisted or sitting in the Bumbo seat.
And somewhere in there he started rolling belly to back. Can't remember!

At his two month check up he was in the 88%, right under 15lbs, and 24''

-Silas LOVES to talk. He talks more than he cries.
-Speaking of cries... Silas is a dream baby! Occasionally, he'll cry out a little cry if he's hungry, needs a diaper change, or needs to burp, but other than that he's an extremely happy and content baby. I can probably count on hand how many times he's really gotten that upset this month. I think maybe in the car once or twice, and in the evening if I take too long in the shower and hes ready for bed or maybe when cooking dinner. I mean, he fusses some, mostly when we're not at home, but I usually catch whatever it is before he gets too upset. Yes, I've heard crying is "good" for the lungs, but I'm not going to intentionally let him cry. ;) Plus, I'm sure all the talking and yelling he does helps too. ;)
-No feeding schedule, but he's pretty consistent with wanting/needing to eat every three hours during the day.
-He goes to bed every night between 7:00-8:00pm and sleeps anywhere from 7-11 hours before waking to eat. He also has to be swaddled or he'll jerk startling and waking himself every hour.
-Wakes up ready to eat during the night by smacking his lips, still half asleep.
-Haven't quite figured out his napping yet... Pretty tricky with a toddler in the house! He usually takes three long naps or a morning nap, a few cat naps, and an evening nap.
-Loves bath time.
-Rarely spits up.
-Poops once every other day.
-Wears 6-12 month clothing, depending on the brand and style.
-Size three disposable diapers.
-I'm guessing he's about 18lbs.
-Loves his sister!
-Loves his swing and activity mat.
-Loves to be worn in the sling and carrier.
-LOVES mirrors. Talks and smiles at himself in the mirror every diaper change.
-Finally started enjoying tummy time. For the first few minutes, that is!
-Likes to be tickled.
-Starting to majorly drool.
I keep forgetting that he's only three months because he seems so big. Sophia wasn't this big until she was about 10 months old!!

There is one thing we're working on.
When he was about five weeks old I noticed his head always seemed to tilt in one direction. We started re-positioning him any time we noticed it, but a few weeks later we realized he started to get a flat spot on the back of his head. Then I noticed every single picture he was in, unless I purposefully moved his head, it was tilted the same way. Even when he was in the background of pictures it was always the same.

Lots of reading into it and a trip to the pediatrician, and he confirmed what we were thinking. Toticollis, which is the tight neck muscle on one side, that is causing Plagiocephaly, flat spot on the back/side of his head. We were referred to a Physical Therapist who showed us stretches and activities to do at home this month. The PT said Torticollis usually happens in utero and that he was probably in a comfy position for several weeks without moving much. After baby is born it's can cause a flat spot since their heads are so soft and they're not strong enough to move their head around yet. Between 2-4 months is the prime time to correct it. Since it's mild and caught early we can probably fix it at home with the stretches, re-positioning, and activities. We'll go back next month to see where we're at. I feel pretty good about it though. I was really just wanting to know from a PT what exactly to do at home since it involved his neck and head. Didn't want to try stuff on my own! ;) He never seems bothered by it isn't restricted to turning one direction, he just favors one side over the other. He is getting stronger and when sitting up it is starting to straighten out.

He really is a dream baby though. Sometimes, when I'm busy keeping up with the house or meals, I have to remind myself to pick him up, sit down and play with him, or move him. He's just always so content. It is really amazing. Just like Aaron. Cool, calm, and collected. ;)
Sophia on the other had, just like me. Extreme!

One night, like most nights, Sophia was protesting bedtime screaming and wailing in her room(mind you, this only lasts a few minutes. But a LONG few minutes they are!) and Silas was content laying on the floor about to be fed and put down for bed. Aaron and I looked at each other and he said "man, God really knows how to balance out a family." Ha ha! Isn't that the truth.

We love him.
So much.
Little bubba Si.

Bedtime

So glad July is over. July was the hardest month I've had in long time.

I just started to write out everything that went wrong in July. Mostly all related to me getting severe Mastitis twice and still don't feel back to myself.
On top of the mastitis, Sophia AND Aaron caught the common childhood illness, Hand Foot & Mouth disease. We were all sick with bad sore throats and the kids had coughs. Scary when your newborn has a cough... Sophia was doing several breathing treatments a day. Aaron also got in a wreck that gave him terrible whip lash with neck and back spasms.

But!! July did end on a few good notes!

A few months before Silas was born we started working on bedtime with Sophia. We've always taken the go-with-the-flow or "attachment parenting" approach when it comes to naps and bedtimes with her, but we knew with a new baby in the house we'd need more structure. Honestly, nap time and bed time were going OK but we still missed several naps a week, and when she did nap, her bed time got later and later, which lead to a later morning, then later nap, then later bedtime... And sometimes, she'd still be awake when we would go to bed! Oye! So during the month of July we dropped the nap and cracked down on bed time.

I've always read and heard that children thrive on routine.
But being the young, new parents that we were, we weren't very concerned with that and Sophia was always on our schedule. She's always been a great sleeper though. When she was about 18 months she dropped her second nap. Since then she's always gotten at least a two hour nap and slept 12-13 hours through the night.
Yeah, sure sometimes it was frustrating.
We'd all go to bed at the same time. ...In the same bed. Then I'd linger in bed with her in the mornings until she woke.
Sometimes it felt like Aaron and I never got a minute alone together. But we accepted it because we never tried or knew anything different. I always thought we just weren't one of "those" people who schedule their children.

But let me tell you.

WHERE HAVE I BEEN!?!?!?

As of two weeks ago, we're now in a place where Sophia and Silas are down for the night (in their own beds!!!!!), by 8:00 PM, never later than 8:30 PM, and they both wake up the next morning around 8:00 AM. Of course, Silas still has a feed or two a night, and if he misses one, I'm up to pump. But we have a little routine going and every night I want to high five Aaron because we've done it again. We have four hours alone. (I usually try to stay up at least 3-4 hours after Silas' last feed to pump before bed.)

I feel like this new time at night given us a whole new marriage.
I feel like we're dating again.
Except this time, it's better... because we're married.
We've started to play games and cards together.
We're learning to dance. Which led to real dance lessons once a week.
We watch movies or shows that I'm actually staying awake for.
Our "spots" on the couch and love seat have turned into one spot on the couch so we can sit with each other.
I realized I'm no longer showering in the evenings because it's the only time I can, but showering because Aaron's coming home! And I don't want him to see me quite so sloppy. :)
Everyday I anticipate Aaron coming home from work with excitement.
I mean, the cheesiness could go on and on... and on. ;)

We've really been enjoying each other the past few weeks.

I'll take this little bedtime epiphany as a "God wink" saying to remember that our marriage comes before our children.
;)

Cloud nine.

Someone pinch me.

Is this my life?

Is this really who I get to spend the rest of my life with?

We're definitely walking through a sweet season of marriage right now.

I sure do love you, Aaron.

Whoa! Dating days.

And now I'm realizing how badly we need to have pictures taken together!