9 Months

Overall...

We've done a complete 180 in the past month, Praise Jesus! Last month, I was ready to throw in the towel with life. The boys were so naughty and crazy, Ryan was waking 3-5 times a night to eat, my milk supply was plummeting like crazy, and Mark was in the field a LOT helping with harvest, and I was just so weary after busy days at work and insane nights at home.

Mark got a taste of what it was like for me during harvest when I had to take an unexpected trip to Juarez, Mexico at our sister plant for work for three days, and I think we can both appreciate each others' stances a little more: I couldn't wait to be home, and he couldn't wait for me to be home. As a result of this trip, we took the opportunity to finally wean Ryan from nursing, which went VERY smoothly. I pumped a few times while I was gone, and Ryan learned to wake up only once a night! Sleep after that has been SIGNIFICANTLY better!

This past month has been busy, but full of fun family activities busy, which is significantly better than busy with things we aren't that excited about doing. We celebrated Thanksgiving, put up the Christmas tree and decorated, Ryan went to his first movie with all of us as a family (Angry Birds), and he got to meet Santa twice. (We joke that he asked for his two front teeth).

How Baby is Doing

Oh my goodness is Ryan a sweet little guy. That being said, this has been a rough month for him. He has spent the last three weeks in the throws of teething, with a measly one tooth to show for it (so far). I was hoping that with as sleepless as our nights have been, the small amounts he eats, and his general disposition being so sad that we'd have more to show than that. We're going to try the chiropractor on Tuesday to see if he can help with something, anyways. I've got a bit of an inkling that it might be an ear infection.

Aside from that, however, this kid is thriving like crazy! He's pushing stuff around with a lot more gusto, standing on his own for between 1-5 seconds at a time, and loves to babble on and on about all sorts of things. He says Mama and Dada (although it's more like "Mama mama mama mama" and "Dadadadada") and otherwise the rest isn't really recognizable right now.

Whether our scale is accurate or not, I can't vouch (I'd like to believe it weighs very heavy haha), but for what it's worth, Mark put him on the scale today and he weighs 22.8lbs now. He's really really good at picking up even the smallest of small scraps off the floor, and you'd be shocked at how quickly things can get in his mouth.

When he is snuggling, he has to be holding onto (and sometimes tugging at) my hair, and he's still as obsessed with those two fingers as ever.

He is a BIG fan of food these days, and while I sometimes can stick a spoonful of food in his mouth if he's REALLY hungry, he much prefers to feed himself finger food, so I cut up food for him a lot, and we just hope that some of it makes it in his mouth. A lot of it he just chews up and spits back out. He gags a lot, but by baby #3, we're used to that. We're always watching him closely, and keep the food chopped small. He LOVES it, though! His favorites are peas, green beans, carrots and corn. He will eat mashed potatoes occasionally, and if he's really hungry and having a hard time eating whatever we're eating, and if I hold his hands back and shove that first spoonful in so he gets a taste, he'll eat a pouch of sweet potatoes or peas like a champ. We also have to use the hold his hands back maneuver if he needs some Tylenol to sleep on account of the teething, but the kid has a gag reflex like no other, and we've been very unsuccessful at getting him to keep it down.

He's doing pretty good with the Christmas tree as of right now, which is great! He occasionally will go over and pat on the presents, but for the most part just leaves them alone.

We get this look a lot, which cracks me up :)

He got to meet Santa twice this month, and both times he did just great!

We're really hoping for a little better regular sleep this month, and we're excited to finally let him rip into some presents (although I highly doubt his big brothers will allow much of that haha). Fun times to come, we're sure! I just hope he can hold off at least another month or two before he starts venturing into walking territory.

How Mama is Doing

This has been one heck of a whirlwind month for me! We started the month coming off harvest, which was great, but it's always an adjustment getting back into the swing of things once Mark is around more. We love having him with us, but our schedule gets a little wonky, and bedtime seems to go later, which we're just now getting under control, thankfully!

We hosted our annual Friends-giving the Saturday before Thanksgiving, and then hosted Thanksgiving with Mark's Mom on the day, so it was a lot of "clean the house a lot and cook a lot", which was followed immediately by an unexpected 3-day trip to El Paso, Texas for work, in which I spent 2 full days at our plant in Juarez, Mexico. This was the longest I have ever been away from my boys, and to say it was hard was an understatement. I slept horrible the whole time, and couldn't wait to get back home.

We used this opportunity to finally wean Ryan off whatever milk I was producing still (which hadn't been much), and that transition has gone pretty flawlessly. It was really hard for me to embrace the super quick cutoff there, but he doesn't seem to have skipped a beat.

Weight-wise, I'm struggling horribly this month. The stress from harvest coupled with the stress from the beginning of this past month coupled with the stress of another situation I can't even delve into here, and I tell ya what: Comfort eating has become a huge crutch. I've got to get it together, and I know it, and I'm working on it. I don't enjoy feeling so thick in the middle, nor does Mark, and so we're really wanting to kick it into gear here. We're just kinda waiting for that wave of motivation that hasn't been kicking us in the butt just yet. I'm at about 6lbs above pre-pregnancy weight, which is a good 14lbs above my lowest weight postpartum. So yeah...not feeling great about that.

How Daddy is Doing

Daddy is really enjoying the age that Ryan is at right now. He loves to snuggle and watch TV with him, but also loves to nuzzle his head into Ryan's belly and get some huge squawks out of him :)

We're both feeling the effects of perhaps a little too much home cooking lately - especially with the drastic decrease in physical activity with the winter weather moving in. We keep talking about re-joining our gym, but haven't done anything about that just yet.

He was pretty worried about being on his own with all three boys for three entire nights, and having to get them all ready for three mornings before work. He did a GREAT job, however, and was fortunate to be able to tackle the weaning process with Ryan, which left him up only once in the night to feed him. I think he'd still say he has no desire to repeat that again haha :)

I don't have nearly as many pictures of the boys with Daddy this month, which I hope to remedy in the coming month! There are most certainly photo-worthy moments around here, I just haven't been grabbing the camera.

He has been B-U-S-Y this month at work, and that isn't going to be settling down in the near future. He has two BIG projects coming up in the new year, so we're just hanging on until hopefully February, and then we're toying with a trip to San Diego with the boys once things have calmed a bit.

How Big Brothers are Doing

We're having a big time problem with his big brothers always picking him up. I'm at the point where I can trust Cashel to do it if he's just carrying him across the room, but definitely not Kendrick, and we had one instance where Cashel actually carried Ryan DOWN THE STAIRS and I about lost it!

These guys are just coming alive together with the realization that Ryan can actually be pretty fun at this age. Their minds will be blown when he starts walking and getting into ALLLLLL of their things at rapid pace. That's when the fun will surely begin haha

One thing is for sure: Christmas is going to be LOUD this year: I just have a feeling haha :)

8 Months

Overall...

This has been the roughest month so far with three kiddos, if I'm being honest. It has been tough. I've been utterly exhausted and emotional, and just plain weary. Mark has been gone a significant chunk of the month between farming and hunting, and there have been exactly two days of the past four weekends where he has been home with us. We miss him, and I need him, and it's REALLY hard on all of us when he's not there. We go out to visit him at the farm so the boys can have tractor or combine rides, but it's not the same.

As you can see by the lengthy list of highlights from the past month, I've been working hard to come up with activities to enjoy these past few weeks of beautiful weather before winter sets in. However, with all that busy-ness comes the sheer exhaustion of keeping up with 3 busy little boys while doing all the things. Add in some moderately awful sleep deprivation due to a 3 year old with eczema and nightmare issues and a teething baby, and this Mama needs more Jesus than I take the time for on the average day. Jesus and coffee.

But the weather has been SOOOOO very kind to us, so it has been wonderful (pre daylight savings time, anyway) to be able to get outside in the evenings for 2-3 hours and just enjoy the gorgeous temps and fall colors before the inevitable winter sets in. It's what keeps me going and keeps us outside right now.

Highlights of this past month include (not many recaps here, sorry - this month has been too busy):

1. Lots and lots of playing in the leaves
2. A Day Trip to Humboldt (October 15) (recap here)
3. Celebrating Grandpa's 68th Birthday (October 18)
4. Pumpkin Carving (October 27)
5. Celebrating Mama's 35th Birthday (October 28) (recap here)
6. Schwalbach Fun Festival (October 29) (recap here)
7. Halloween Trail at Pioneer Village (October 29)
8. Trick or Treating (October 31) (recap here)
9. FINALLY getting Kendrick potty trained!!
10. So many visits to the farm for Harvest
11. Lots of time at different parks.
12. Numerous walks around Wolf Lake
13. A fun day trip to Sioux Falls with the boys to the Zoo
14. Two weekends full of hunting for Daddy

How Baby is Doing

It's sad that babies don't have pause buttons :( This kid is growing faster than this reminiscent Mama can handle right now. I remember my first harvest with just Cashel and how tired I was, and right now that just makes me want to laugh so hard I cry. These are rough days, these up at 5am and go-go-go all day with busy, non-napping boys.

Sleep is still really tough. I'm really tired all the time, even if I do seem to get a better-than-average night of sleep. Average, however, is in 90 minute chunks (if I'm lucky). Bedtime is a crapshoot these days as well. I used to be able to put him down between 7:30 and 8pm and know he'd be good until his "dream feed". However, now it's more like 8:30, and we have to take him down with us to put his big brothers to bed or else he just sits in his crib and screams. He always wakes up between 10 and 10:30 to eat, then I usually see him at 12:30am, 2:30am, 4:30am and 5:30am. Again.

Soooo...we're doing more supplementing. On top of the 1-2 bottles of formula he gets at daycare each day, which we started last month, depending on how much I was able to pump the prior day, as of last night, we're also having to do one 6oz bottle of formula before bed.

Ryan is definitely growing, up to 27.5 inches tall and 21lbs 13oz (approximately), but he's still in the same size everything from last month: size 3 diapers, 12 month pants, and 18 month pjs and tops. The 18 month stuff still is a little big on him, but he's definitely much too long in the torso for 12 month pjs and tops - at least the ones with snaps at the crotch.

As you can see from the above picture, EVERYTHING goes in this kid's mouth. This is my first baby who flat out refused a binky, so I know it's going to be a bigger challenge than we've dealt with in the past.

Ryan is not a big fan of baby food at ALL, but LOVES people food. He gobbles up veggies really well, and has an excellent pincer grasp. He doesn't mind getting messy, but without me feeding him on a spoon, he doesn't get much in his mouth, really.

Ryan loves to be right in the middle of things, and he loves to make lots of noise. He is SOOOOO on the verge of taking off walking, and loves to hobble along behind the walker on the carpet downstairs (he can't do it upstairs on the hard wood floors because it's too slippery and moves too quickly). He's SO proud of himself and it's adorable! Since we don't use the walker upstairs, he will push around this little play thing to get where he wants to go, and he just squawks super loud when he does it, as he's so excited. It's adorable :)

We've been in the thick of teething the past week or so, which has been rough. You can see his two teeth that he has right now the best in this picture right here. The one on his left actually is chipped on top, which is strange, as it was like that when it popped through already. It also seems like those two teeth are a little off centered to me, but maybe I'm just seeing things.

Apparently (at least so far) he hasn't had the bad diapers, but he does get a low-grade fever, so I ended up staying home from him on Monday for lots of snuggles, which were super necessary. It's so hard to see him in pain when they are on the verge of coming through, so we're hoping we have at least one more coming through early this next month.

How Mama is Doing

It seems the more I feel the need for a break from parenting, the clingier my kids get to me, so it's this crazy cycle, and sometimes I just need a seriously deep breath. And a break. But I don't really get much of a break these days, so sometimes I'll take a half day of vacation at work (or even a full day) just so I can have some "me" time. I'm in the thick of the hardest times of this physically demanding stage, and I'm SO very ready for Mark to be finished with harvest and hunting so he can be around more.

I swear I don't try to be super Mom, but getting out of the house in our own yard with all 3 kids seems a lot more exhausting than actually going somewhere these days. I mean, at least then I can strap them in the van and not have to worry about them So...we are away from the house a lot on the weekends, which is tough too. And I think we're all tired of it, but I also know that winters in Minnesota are VERY long, so we're trying to do things outside right now.

I feel like I'm just hanging on by a thread most of the time. And there are most certainly times when I'm cleaning up poopy underpants or cleaning up the fiftieth spill of the week where I say (out loud, nonetheless) that I don't feel like being Mommy anymore, and I want to be somewhere else. I love my kids dearly, but being needed all day and all night long leaves me utterly exhausted. And this month, it has been extremely hard to stay positive.

My eating has been ridiculous this past month with harvest going on coupled with some of the worst sleep patterns I've experienced in my almost five years as a parent. Exasperated eating has made a major comeback, and with my feet being ridiculously sore and having no space inside to do any sort of workout DVDs, I just have given up on making it a focus right now. I'm back up just under my pre-pregnancy weight again, which is a hard pill to swallow when I was about 10lbs lower than I am right now just a few weeks after Ryan was born. BUT...we've mostly made it through harvest, so I'm not getting myself too far down.

I'm having a really difficult time with nursing right now. I don't want to give up on it, but I'm just so weary of not being able to pump enough to make a decent bottle, but nursing Ryan all night long every 2 hours or less (which has been going on since the beginning of JULY), and this Mama needs her sleep. So, after today, I'm going to start giving myself a break and letting him have a bottle of either pumped milk from earlier that day or formula before bed.

It's really bittersweet, but I know I really need it. My mental health is starting to concern me on account of getting such abysmal amounts of sleep. I know I need to make a change with what I can change, and right now, I can change the whole having to support an entire other person's life with my own body part.

I know that with pictures of me smiling and looking fine, it's not something anyone would probably guess as far as me struggling. However, it's definitely something that sleep deprivation brings on, and I start just not being able to think straight, which is just not okay when I'm solely responsible for three little boys during harvest. Thankfully, I'm still more or less just talking everything out with Mark and trying to figure out what changes I can make to take the load off my shoulders, and that seems to be all I need to keep on going without a mental breakdown. But quite honestly, adding any more stress right now could very well topple the house of cards, so I'm trying to give myself a rest and a break. I know my limits, and I've reached them, so it's time for a change.

I've been taking Wednesday afternoons off just to take some time for myself, which has been VERY helpful. I may take even more time off if need be, as I can with work projects and such. But this year, I'm giving myself a break.

How Daddy is Doing

I hate to say it, but most of the time I have no clue right now, with as little as we've seen him the past month. I know he's sick to death of me being so negative most of the time, but he knows that isn't my normal.

I see him much more than the boys see him, as he and I get to still have lunch together most days, but between him being very busy at work and very busy with harvest and then hunting, and now basketball starts up, and NASCAR and football on Sunday and/or Monday afternoons, and well...it's a very busy time of year for him. He doesn't take much time for himself the rest of the year, so I try not to complain much when he's gone a lot in October and November.

As I said at the top of this post, we miss him a LOT this time of year. He has been busy hauling loads of beans or corn to the elevator, so we've been trying to make it out to the field for the boys to ride along with him as much as possible this month. The first half of the month, we did that a LOT, but after a while, we got bored of it, so we found other things to keep us busy.

The boys LOVE going to visit Daddy and Grandpa at the farm, so that has been a treat this year. Most of the time, though, with Ryan being so little, we just hang out in the field either in the van or wandering around. Next year he'll get that first tractor and combine ride for sure ;)

One thing is for sure: The farm is really where Mark just lights up. It really is fun to see him in his element, but whoa doggies are we ever ready for this busy season to pass! Mark is a fantastic Daddy when he's around, but man is it hard when he's not around to help keep these busy boys in check at home!

How Big Brothers are Doing

The boys are SO full of energy right now, and it's leaves me completely wiped out most days. Most days I have to wonder if our daycare provider pumps them full of Mountain Dew or something before sending them home, but I think it's just a typical 3 and 4 year old boy energy, which...oh man.

Both boys just ADORE Ryan, although we are on constant alert whenever Ryan is anywhere near them. Both of them just flip out when I snatch Ryan out of their arms when they're trying to carry him all over the house. I feel like I need a little cage to stick him in so they can't get at him sometimes. Even the crib is fair game for these guys.

It's really fun to begin to see all three of the boys interacting more together, and I just melt seeing the big kids encouraging Ryan so much. They're not always super nice to each other, but I know they love each other in spite of it.

We're approaching the winter season pretty fearful, to be honest. Fresh air seems to be about the only thing that really knocks the boys out at bedtime, so when it gets so cold here that they can't really be outside much, I'm hoping we can keep them busy!

7 Months

Overall...

So the sleep is getting moderately better, I suppose. This month has been a busy one, once again, and we're elbow deep into harvest. Can I just say: Hallelujah for deadbolt locks on all our doors right about now? It's nice to know that when I'm feeding Ryan (or making lunch), the boys aren't halfway down the street, and I don't have to drag them kicking and screaming back home. Oh.My.Goodness. Those were a long time in the coming :)

This month has been overall REALLY a quiet one. After the excitement of King Turkey Day weekend, we pretty much just all took a collective deep sigh and relaxed a bit. We're GIDDY about this season, and I like to un-plan a lot so we can enjoy the cooler temps, colorful leaves, lots of park time, and cooler weather. This is my absolute favorite season, and relaxing with a hot cup of coffee while the boys play in the leaves is one of my favorite things ever. However, there weren't many leaves just yet in the month, so I'm looking forward to the coming month as well. Granted, we all miss Daddy when he can't be with us.

Photo Courtesy of Red Barn Photography

Highlights of this past month include:

1. King Turkey Day (September 17) (recap here)
2. Apple and Pumpkin' Picking (September 17) (recap here)
3. Mama and Daddy's 10 Year Anniversary (September 23)
4. Harvest Starts (September 25)
5. Grandpa's Fun Farm (October 1)
6. Church Fall Fest (October 2)
7. Lots of Mama time while Daddy helps Grandpa
8. The Discovery of Wolf Lake (Hallelujah!)
9. Ryan's Baby Dedication at church (October 8)

How Baby is Doing

I'll start this part with a really adorable couple videos :)



Last month was the crazy big one as far as development for Ryan, but this month has brought his first two teeth and pulling up on things, so we're still pushing onward and upward through the first year development stuff.

Sleep is still rough going, although I do get a 3 hour chunk every once in a great while here and there if I'm lucky, but most nights we're lucky to get a single 2 hour stretch before the 60-90 minute ones settle back in. He started the month with a nap boycott, but that is going better now. Ryan has also been trying to push back bedtime these days. While we were previously at around a 7pm bedtime, we're lucky if we get him down by 8pm these days. He always wakes up between 10 and 10:30 to eat, then I usually see him at 12:30am, 2:30am, 4:30am and 5:30am.

Ryan is still sporting the size 3 diapers, although the next time I order, it'll be size 4s. He's a tinge short for the 18 month pants, so we're sticking to 12 month pants, but requires 18 month pjs and tops with a long torso and chunky tummy :)

We started with cereal in the mornings towards the end of the second week of the month, and he took to it okay. We tried last month and he wasn't interested at all. We have so far tried peas, green beans, squash, carrots and peaches, and the only one he was even sort of okay with was the green beans, and I guess he didn't totally hate the carrots. He seems to be more happy to try foods if he can hold them in his hands, so we've tried things like pickles and cooked carrots and he enjoys them, although he gags a lot, so we have to watch him closely. He does alright eating at daycare in the mornings.

Ryan always seems to have a lightbulb churning in his little head. He's thrilled to be able to follow people around now, and doesn't stay in one place for very long. He seems to loathe his jumperoo now that he's mobile, so he doesn't go in there much these days. He wants to always be where the action is. His favorite thing to do is practice pulling up, and squawking in your face: Bonus points if you're squawking at him too. It's his favorite! He likes to babble, mostly just saying, "Bobbobbobbobbobbobbobbobbob", so I joke with him, "Who is this Bob guy, and why is he so popular?" haha :)

Ryan really is an absolute joy! I think it's a cruel joke that my babies haven't ever been great sleepers at this stage, because they're so much fun to interact with, and if I weren't such a zombie, I know I'd enjoy it even more!

How Mama is Doing

Overall, I really am doing alright. I have my days where I just feel defeated, but to have an entire day like that is an oddity, really. I can't say "good" right now, I'm just too dang tired for that. I'm weary. Life is exhausting much of the time right now, even if it is good overall. Thankfully since I've been maintaining my water intake most days, I don't probably seem as tired as I am, but whoa doggies am I wearing thin a lot.

The first half of the month was alright, however once Harvest started, that's when my Mama skills are put to the test. I'm trying to stay positive and not let myself have a pity party when the days don't go anwyhere remotely near what I was sort of envisioning. My goals have gone from, "Get up and dressed, then go to the library to swap out books and swing by the park and have a picnic" to "Maybe put a nicer top on with my yoga pants and hopefully get a few sips of coffee while keeping the floor clean of small items or dangerous things" on Saturday mornings. This is especially true during harvest.

I started attending a Beth Moore bible study at our church on Monday evenings, which has been excellent! It's nice to have a little time to myself for an hour or so once a week, and I just LOVE the study. It has been really encouraging to me in this season of life.

It feels like a circus around here a lot, but those quiet moments just before they drift off to sleep, or first thing on a Saturday or Sunday morning, when we've all slept in a bit more and can snuggle...those moments make me smile. Or on the days where I turn around and finally realize that in spite of the fact that they struggle with listening to US, they really are sweet little boys when they chose to be, and they're probably going to turn out alright in the end...those moments make my heart soar.

It's tough to feel day in and day out like you have an extremely thankless job, but I suppose that's what parenting is. And although Mark and I are far from the opinion that our kids can do no wrong (FAAARRRRRRR from that opinion), I think one of the hardest things about parenting is that you feel like you give your 100000% to the job, and then you realize that it probably didn't really matter if you would have given 5% or 100000% at this point in time, and it just feels like a waste of time and energy. I mean, I know that's not the truth, but so many days it feels like it. I can only hope that they aren't totally nutso for everyone they encounter, and that eventually they will come around.

It has really been a joy to go back to having a tiny little guy again, knowing full well that it's going to get crazier down the road, so I have found myself most definitely focusing on enjoying little Ryan and all his sweet chubby snuggles and giggles and squawks and sloppy nose kisses this time around significantly more than any other baby. Not being near him physically pains me - especially at night. There are nights where I try drifting off to sleep, but can't until I've gone to snatch him out of his crib for snuggles. It's a crazy connection us Mamas have with our babies! I've been away from him two nights so far, and both times, I've randomly woken up at the exact same time (and for the same duration) as he was up. (It happened with Kendrick too when he was a baby). It's an incredible connection.

How Daddy is Doing

Mark has been busy this month with the start of harvest. He has been out a handful of times so far to help haul loads and clean out the bins and such, and we're anticipating he will start being busier as the days go on. The guys are solidly into soybeans now, and will hopefully be on corn within the next week or so.

He loves when I bring the boys out to come ride in the tractor or combine with him, which I've been doing more this year than prior years. It's a long way to go for a tractor ride, but seeing the kids' faces light up at the prospect, it somehow seems worth the trip.

Work has continued to be busy for him as he prepares for start up in another week, so I don't see him as much during the days.

He tends to do a better job at letting things roll off his back and relaxing a little more than I do as a Mama, which is a lesson I probably need to be gleaning from him. He has certainly hit his stride as a Daddy to these three little guys, and I think it's safe to say they all adore each other. He loves to encourage his boys to keep on moving forward with learning and skills, and is really good at teaching them to do things.

He likes to hang Ryan upside down just inches from his face, and they giggle and laugh together, which is adorable! He has stopped me numerous mornings while we're getting ready for work to just stare at the sweet little baby snuggled up in our bed. Mark has been really weary of being up frequently in the night as well, but for Kendrick as opposed to Ryan. Kendrick has been having bad dreams about wolves, so he sometimes wakes 2-3 times a night calling out for one of us. Since I'm busy 4-5 times a night with Ryan, Mark gets to answer Kendrick's calls, so he's a bit worn out.

How Big Brothers are Doing

This month has been kinda hot and cold. We have moments here and there where the boys are acting up, but overall, it feels a little less chaotic than last month. I'd say overall, Cashel is still significantly more "into" Ryan than Kendrick is. He always wants to be near him and plays with him better.

Kendrick definitely likes to play with him, but it's more of a "get right up in his face for 7 seconds and then leave" kind of thing. The video below is an example of the length of their interactions :)

Kendrick loves to climb in Ryan's crib with him (both boys do, really), so we're having to be a lot more diligent to keep an eye on them whenever they're near Ryan. We've had many a nap interrupted, so we have to lock Ryan in his room during naps a lot, and then open it up with the special tool when we start to hear him. Kendrick likes to call Ryan "Ryeeeeeee", and he talks to him in a sort of high-pitched voice. He also talks in a sort of gibberish talk to him sometimes, although mostly what we can hear him saying is, "yoshi goshi goshi yoshi". Who knows - maybe baby talk is a real thing, since Ryan seems to respond and jabbers at him sometimes too.

Cashel is definitely the lover of the two, though. He is always wanting to pick up Ryan and interact with him. Cashel gets the biggest giggles out of him, and he never seems to mind if Ryan wants to slobber all over him, or eat his nose. He has taken it upon himself to be in charge of bringing Ryan's milk cooler to daycare with him each day, which is cute. He wants to take care of Ryan, and he likes to interact with him in the same way Mama and Daddy do.

These boys are most definitely a handful these days, but I do feel like they are just slowly growing out of the craziest part, which comes just as Ryan is starting to grow into it (haha) :) They really do adore each other, even if Cashel and Kendrick aren't as fond of each other as they both are of Ryan.