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.