Thursday, October 23, 2008

Ryan Update...

I'm sorry it's been so long since I posted...I am actually doing work right now - so for the next week and a half I am taking care of three kids while working full-time from home. To say I'm stressed and at the end of my rope would be an understatement :)

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Yesterday was Ryan's one month check-up (yep, he's one month now and it's KILLING me!). Here are the stats:

Weight: 10 lbs. 7 oz. (75%) (he gained 2 lbs. since his last visit!!!)
Height: 21 1/2 inches long (50%)

He's doing fantastic! He's so adorable and sleeps really well (except for last night when he had me up for two hours)...he usually eats every four or five hours, so I get nice chunks of sleep which is very appreciated.

He smiled at us for real for the first time yesterday!! Kylie and I were playing with him and he was smiling at us, and then John didn't believe us so he tried and Ryan smiled at him too! Isn't it amazing how kids can get even cuter just by smiling?

Kylie and Josh are doing well...getting a little better with the noise level and just getting used to Ryan being here.

When I have a free second I will write about the fantastic weekend we had down at John's parents house. John's whole family was down there for his brother's 25th birthday.

Monday, October 13, 2008

A Fun Wedding Weekend!

I’m doing much, much better…thank you to all of you and your kind words.

This past weekend we headed to Rochester, NY for the 8th of my 9 cousins’ weddings. What was supposed to be a six hour trip took us 7 ½ hours to get there and about 10 to come home :) But we “enjoyed the journey,” which is all that matters!

The kids had a blast staying in the hotel and I really enjoyed seeing all of my family. The wedding was Saturday afternoon, and then we all headed over to my aunt’s house for a few hours until the reception started. She had wonderful snacks, football, and great family…it was the perfect afternoon!

For the reception, my aunt had gotten us a babysitter for Kylie and Josh (we took Ryan to the reception with us). We had a great time…it was very relaxed and we got to spend a lot of time with my aunts, uncles and cousins.

Afterwards we went to pick up Kylie and Josh. My aunt had already gone back home and the babysitter was getting ready to leave. I paid her and she went on her way. My aunt came up to me and asked if I had paid her and when I told her I had she was horrified because she had paid her too! This girl, who had done nothing but talk about church and her missionary work earlier, took money from both of us! I tried giving her the benefit of the doubt…thinking she would come back the next day and give one of us our money back, but she didn’t. I felt really bad for my aunt because she shouldn’t have paid her to begin with!

The next morning we went back over to my aunt’s house and hung out some more. My uncle took the kids down to the farm to see the animals and the rest of us just relaxed. We headed out around 1:30 PM and pulled into our driveway around 11:30 :) It sure is annoying traveling with a newborn that cries every couple of hours! But like I said, we did it without killing each other and John and I actually had a good time.

Hopefully the fun and good times of the weekend last me throughout the week as I get back into trying to find a routine…and a place for Ryan to sleep where the other kids won’t wake him up!

Wednesday, October 08, 2008

Gasping For Air...

I’m completely and totally exhausted. Not from lack of sleep or from my new little guy, but from my other two kids. I love my kids, of course, but I have never been so worn out as I am right now.

They are loud. They are demanding and apparently they don’t need much sleep. I spend my entire day running around after them and cooking and taking care of them. I think they’ve gotten worse since Ryan has been born…spending days with them has never, ever worn me out.

I feel so guilty for feeling like this. I feel like I’m constantly yelling at them and telling them to be quiet, or careful or to stop fighting. I want to have fun with them. I want to enjoy my time off. But I also want to enjoy Ryan.

Even my laid-back, easy-going little Joshie is completely wearing me down. He doesn’t stop talking, which normally is perfectly fine, but when I don’t get a moment of peace and quiet, it really starts to wear me down.

I’m hoping things will get better in the next week or so. I wish John wasn’t so busy and was able to take time off work to be with us. I wish I had family closer that could give me a little break.

I will be fine…I know that. I just wish I knew when I will start feeling better and more like myself.

Saturday, October 04, 2008

Ryan's First Bath...

Today we gave Ryan his first bath. I was dying to know if he would be like Josh and like baths, or like Kylie and hate baths. Boys are winning so far...Ryan did not cry once while in the tub and seemed to enjoy himself.


Thursday, October 02, 2008

Heading Out...

I had a major accomplishment the other night…I took the three kids to the grocery store…by myself. I was nervous, but John had poker and we were quickly running out of diapers and wipes, so I had to go.

I loaded the kids up and headed out. When we got there, they wanted to go in the TV carts (the kids sit in a car and get to watch shows such as Dora and Barney). Luckily for me there were two sections up top…one where I could put the carrier with Ryan, and another for a small amount of groceries. Thankfully I wasn’t planning on buying much!

We slowly made our way around the store. The kids were fantastic and Ryan slept the whole time. The only issue we ran into was at the end Joshie said he had to go potty and the check-out lines were so long…so I pulled the cart over to the side and told them we would go potty and then check out. Kylie was so cute when she very seriously looked at me and asked “what if someone steals our baby?” I of course informed her that Ryan would be accompanying us to the bathroom :)

The whole trip took us about two hours, but I can honestly say it was fun. We have put Josh in a booster car seat, so getting in and out of the car is pretty easy and everyone was in a good mood. Ryan saved his screaming for once I got him in the car and for the whole ride home :)