Ryan - 4 Months

Dear Ryan,

You are now 4 months old. Definitely no longer a newborn, and you don't feel like an infant either. You are a baby, and a cute one at that! I'm now starting to carry you on my hip, and we are both getting used to that. You are getting pretty heavy and it is easier for me to carry you that way while I do other things. Since I am carrying you like that now, that means your head/neck is very strong now, which is great! You like to do a lot of exercise on your tummy, and have rolled over from your tummy to your back twice now, the first on January 21st, and the second time on the 28th. The first time you looked extremely surprised and weren't sure what had happened! It was pretty funny. Pretty soon you will be a pro at rolling over. You are also working on your sitting skills -- you can sit very well when propped up, and enjoy the view it gives you.

You have really gotten the idea of toys this month. Your favorite right now is Sophie the giraffe. The legs are just perfect for chewing on. I love seeing you get excited when you are in the mood for Sophie! Wooden rings are another favorite as those are easy to hold.
Sweet Ryan, you love being a part of this family. Nothing makes you happier than having all 4 of us in the room together, especially if we are all playing and being silly.

But your most favorite thing is Jake. You love your older brother and you watch him all the time. Often after Jake has left for school and it is just mommy and you, you get bored and whiny. Then Jake comes home and you are happy and excited again. You have so much fun watching Jake run around playing. You also love sitting with us while we read Jake's books.
Jake loves you, too. He loves to carry you and hug you and hold you. When you smile for him he is delighted. Mommy loves it, too. It is so wonderful to see the 2 of you interacting (so much more than before) and helps me while I get things done around the house.
It's so much fun having 2 boys and also seeing how different you two are! Ryan, you are already in size 9 month clothes, which is crazy (Jake wore the right clothes for his age). You are much more comfortable napping alone than Jake was, but you don't want to be left alone while sleeping at night.
You are growing so fast. Slow down, please? Either way we are enjoying you so much every day.

Love, your family

Bibs

Before I had Jake, and when he was still a baby, people would give me bibs. The bibs came in all sorts of sizes, and some came with a matching outfit. I thought this was crazy -- my baby wasn't even eating food yet!! He didn't become an eater until he was 9 months old, and by that time some of the teeny tiny bibs that he had received would barely cover even half of his shirt, so what was the point? I thought it was so silly to make small bibs. Some of those bibs never even got used.

Fast forward to baby #2. Ryan is a baby who drools. He doesn't drool a particularly excessive amount, but enough to where I found myself changing his clothes 2-3 times a day because of a big wet spot under his chin. After just a few days of this, it dawned on me -- the bibs! So this is what the bibs are for. Now he is often sporting one of those teeny tiny bibs.

Hold Me

Sorry for the blurry photo but this is one of those moments that happened spontaneously and I grabbed my iPhone camera and quickly took a picture and then rescued my non-feather light baby from his brother's tiring muscles!This was 2 days ago and since then Jake has been asking, multiple times a day, to hold/carry Ryan. Very endearing but also slightly nerve-racking. And Jake knows he can only do this with Daddy or me right there with them.

Hi!

This one is from Christmas. Too cute.
Smiles!
Brothers.

At Ryan's 3 month well-baby visit he weighed 13lbs, 11oz and measured 24.5 inches long. That put him in the 90th percentile for breastfed babies!!!

We are all doing well around here. Weather has been alternating between freezing/dry and raining/warm which means it is either very cold or very wet but no snow. Hard to get outside -- thank goodness for fun indoor activities!

Fun Photos

Jake, Ryan, and I went to a wedding on 1/1/11. They had a fun "photo booth" set up, with props. I love these!!

Jake and his friend Eleanor.
Us!

End of 2010

Random pictures taken at the end of 2010...

First, the only "picture" we have of Jake taking ski lessons. (Don't you hate it when you take a picture, only to realize your iPhone is on video mode? That's what happened here. Pause in the middle to see a "picture.") Jake had two morning ski lessons at Mt. Bachelor over Christmas break and loved it!

Jake with his new booster seat. He is very excited about the cup holders. Ryan got Jake's carseat.
Ryan practicing holding a toy.
Jake with his new spider-man sleeping bag.
Eating a chocolate-chocolate cookie that I made.
They were really, really good (Mama LOVES chocolate).
Jake and friend Max painting faces at the Children's Museum.

Painting clay pots with Otis, Max, Eleanor, and Xander at the Children's Museum.

Being cute and holding a chew toy.
Reading. Smiley baby.
Sleeping baby.

Ryan - 3 Months

Dear Ryan,

Today you are 3 months old. I have to say, 3-4 months is my favorite baby age, so cute and so much fun. Not to say I don't love all the other ages and times, just this one is particularly awesome. So I'm really looking forward to the next month.

So much has happened in the last month. You've definitely grown in all sorts of ways. Yes, you are a bit bigger. You've started to stand when we hold you up! And you are 90% past the wobbly-head stage, just still need help when you are just waking up or when really tired. It makes it so much easier to hold you and carry you around when you can support your own head. Very soon I'll be able to carry you on my hip, and that will be easier for both of us.

You charm the pants off everyone who meets you the way you smile using your entire body. I'm so lucky to have gotten such a smiley baby. You have also started to laugh, which is so adorable!

This month you really found your fist and your fingers and you really seem to love them. You've also started enjoying sucking on other people's fingers, particularly Daddy's thumb. I wonder if you will suck your fingers or thumb (or both, like Mama did). I was actually surprised that your brother was never interested in sucking anything except the thing that gave him milk, but you may be different!

Toys are also now starting to interest you. You've done a bit of work learning to hold on to toys, but need more practice before you become a pro. People interest you very much -- you have been tracking people with your eyes. I especially love it when you watch what Jake is doing.

People often ask me if you are sleeping through the night. I think this is such a weird question because at your age, you are not supposed to sleep through the night. Yet you do sleep really well most nights and I feel very well rested, lucky me. Some nights you need a lot of milk and/or a lot of diaper changes. Other nights it is 5am before we wake up for the first milk/diaper change.

My sweet son, I am loving you more each day. I am so glad you are here with all of us.