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Overall...

How in the world are we here? Today we're celebrating our littlest baby turning a whole year old. I'm going to be honest: I wasn't so sure we'd make it through this first year, but we're just beginning to not just survive, but thrive these days.

How Baby is Doing

Ryan is sugar and spice and everything nice most of the time...unless he's hungry, overly tired, or feeling overwhelmed. In that case, he's clingy, whiny and sucks his two fingers a LOT. We're still dealing with separation anxiety, although mostly just on the weekends.

Speaking of sucking on those two fingers: I'm growing more and more concerned about how this transition is going to go eventually when he has to stop doing this. He has grown more and more attached to them than ever before.

Ryan is walking a good 95% of the time now, and oh my goodness is he ever getting faster! I still blink in disbelief when I look across the room and he's toddling over to look at something, or from one piece of furniture to another one. He looks so much bigger when he's standing up.

We're finally down to just the two naps, and hoping that before long we can turn that into one long one and call it good! The kid likes to sleep a lot on the weekends if we're not busy and he can. However, I wasn't expecting the nap he would cut would be his MORNING one first, but that seems to be the trend. We catch him on the weekends like this a LOT haha

I'm afraid to even say it, but he's sleeping through the night without waking for a bottle finally! It has been about two weeks now, and I'm loving it! He does still wake and fidget occasionally, and I'm hoping that doesn't transition into trouble when we switch him to his big boy bed this coming month. He hasn't allowed us to put him in the crib for longer than a 45 minute nap since he was about 4 months old, and we figure that we can either fight that and let him cry it out (which I have never done well with) or just let him nap and sleep in our bed, in which case he sleeps through the night and naps for 2 hours or more at a time.

Ryan is extremely opinionated right now, and he wants to do what he wants to do when he wants to do it. If not, we see this face a LOT! This particular incident was due to him wanting my vanilla chai latte right before his nap time haha

He's really just the perfect addition to our family, and I'm excited to see how he adjusts to being a big brother in the last half of 2017. Nervous, yes, but excited :) He just adds a dimension to our family that we didn't know we needed! Man are little boys so fun!

How Mama is Doing

I told Mark a couple weeks ago that I suppose the waking in the night to feed a baby phase has collided pretty well with the need to wake in the night to pee thing while pregnant, so at least I get to kill 2 birds with 1 stone, right? This year has been one of the best and one of the worst, if that makes any sense. It has been emotionally a really hard year for me in many ways, but I just adore my little family. I'm glad we're past the worst part of the sleepless nights with Ryan, because I know they'll be here before I know it with the newest little one.

I'm certainly weary by the end of the day most of the time. I regularly will doze off while finishing up bedtime with the big boys, and end up soaking in an epsom salt bath before bed a good chunk of the week days. Sleep at night has been REALLY tough with being pregnant again. I don't regularly wake to use the bathroom, but I just randomly wake up and it takes me a bit to go back to sleep. I'm always grateful for the few nights a week when that first wakeup isn't until 4am or later, because then at least I just

I love Ryan's little quirks, like how when he gets tired, he has to suck on his fingers while tugging on my hair. And it has to be MY hair or else he gets all whiny.

If he hears my voice at all, he's not satisfied being with anyone else. Even at daycare drop off just recently he has been struggling BIG time and fusses when we drop him off. I haven't been to church beyond the nursery in months now due to his severe separation anxiety. It's heartwarming at times, but other times I'm just so ready for him to get over it. I'm beginning to worry that people must think Mark and I are having troubles, because he's usually in church and Sunday School by himself while I am in the nursery.

I know the separation anxiety has been a thing with all of my kids at this age, but I forget how exhausting it can be for a while.

How Daddy is Doing

We're all enjoying having Mark home, as we know just a handful of weeks from now we'll likely be in the midst of planting season again, and that's always a tinge more challenging for the rest of us. We just can't wait for the weather to get nicer so we can get outside and enjoy more time DOING things beyond sitting around at home all the time.

Daddy and Ryan love to snuggle together on the weekends and evenings when I need to make supper or go to the gym or the like. He tends to nap the longest and best when it's with Daddy. I suppose that's because Daddy never puts him down to get things done like I do haha :) (In fairness, he never complains when I ask him to do something around the house)

Ryan's little face just lights up when he sees Daddy, and when Daddy is gone, he has started to ask for him, even if he only says a couple words. Mark likes to say, "Boo" and Ryan just laughs and laughs and laughs.

Mark is getting really bored of watching cartoons lately, so he tends to not join us as much anymore for snuggles and show times, but the rest of the day he still enjoys interacting with the kiddos a lot. We're all so ready for spring to come and STAY so we can get outside more and enjoy the weather.

How Big Brothers are Doing

Cashel and Kendrick just absolutely adore their little brother, even if the two of them don't get along that great a lot of the time. I have a feeling our kiddos are all going to end up being REALLY close, which is really sweet. They always like to include Ryan in whatever they're doing (even if Ryan has no desire to do what they're doing). It's adorable to watch their little dance parties, and to watch their excitement when Ryan learns to do something new, like crawl, stand up by himself, and now walk.

They have all been SO EXCITED for Ryan's birthday party, and have been so eager to help out. I mean, decorating cupcakes have been at the VERY top of their list for a few days now haha We can only hope they all are just as in love with their new baby sibling when he or she arrives in late July or early August!