Wednesday, September 14, 2016

just a quick sec

can i just take a quick second to say how much i love Ryker. I mean I love all my kids, but it has really come out in the last few weeks how much of a good big brother and a great helper he is. He always loves to help when i am out of hands. He helps me grab things and he is quick to remind me that rex needs help when he hears him crying. He is so good to rylie even when she is being naughty. he is really into locking doors. we try so hard to tell him that he is not allowed to lock his bedroom door, but we still haven't found the right incentive to make him listen. but if we calmly knock and ask him to come unlock it he will. he says "okay im coming" and he will come unlock the door. its cute even though he shouldnt have locked it in the first place.

due to all the craziness of having ryker and rylie share a room, we bought a video baby monitor. one morning i walked in to find rylies pants and diaper off, poop all over the floor, the bed, and her. i quickly got her in the bath and the bedding into the wash. then picked up the chunks from the floor. i was able to scrub it clean later, but my priority at the time was the toddlers running through it.

anyways, we have been having an issue of finding rylie with her pants off for about a week. whenever we ask ryker he says he is the one taking them off. obviously thats not okay and we were doing all we could to make it stop. but without being in the room we couldnt be sure who was really doing what. the poop day was the last straw and we got the monitor. over the next few nights we could see what was really happening in that room.

turns out he has been taking the fall for rylie. she is taking off her own pants (and diaper) and running around. i know her speech isnt the same as rykers, but still! not only that but ryker just lets her literally walk all over him while they are in their room winding down before they sleep.

i love rylie so much. she is my sweet little girl. she is beautiful and smart and i wouldnt trade her for anything. but she is naughty! she is always the first one out of bed wanting to play after we put them down. she deliberately tries to stand on rykers head to look out the window, and she is the first to lay down with her pillow to kick the closet doors. she will learn. ryker tries to tell her to stay in bed, lay down, and not to bang on the walls. but she does whatever she likes. she is a sweetheart, but she tests my patience sometimes.

but all this is back to ryker and how good he is to his siblings. he loves to help rex with his pacifier. he loves to play with rylie and includes her and always tells her to come join him. he just laughs as she tries to stand on him to look out the window. and most nights he is willing to play with her till we come in and say it really is night time. im so grateful for my happy boy. i am so happy that he is growing up to be polite and smart. im so glad he says please and thank you. im glad he wants to include his siblings.

I am so happy to be his momma and all the cuddles and kisses he gives me. i truely am blessed to have him in my family!


Thursday, September 8, 2016

one month down

How is it already september? august went by so fast. but looking back it was filled with lack of sleep, and praying to get through the days that no wonder it is all a blur. the rest of august was mostly just getting used to routine. learning how to live with 3 kids who all want attention. and trying to feel like i am a real person between finding a time to shower and get enough sleep through the night. The first month is the hardest. so it only gets better from here right?

I really cant complain. its not that bad. i mean im tired all the time, but thats normal. its been a normal first month i guess is a good way to describe it. minimal melt downs. and only occasionally by me. ryker and rylie are learning how to be more independant. I am learning how to multitask using more hands than i actually have. the other day i changed a diaper while feeding rex a bottle, holding it with my chin so i had a hand free to change. one leg over the wiggly little girl who needed the change. if i had a 5th free hand i would have taken a picture.

Rex is sleeping great. he mostly has good nights. every couple of days he will decide to be awake in the middle of the night. but justin is always so good to get up and rock him if he doesnt need to eat. he is so good to help me sleep. I am so grateful. Rex is getting into a routine of waking between 2 and 3 and then again between 5 and 6 to eat. then we all get up for the morning between 8 and 9. so its a pretty solid schedule. i feel less like a zombie when we consistantly get up between these times. if we break schedule then i feel super tired. i have been lucky to have all 3 kids take naps at the same time in the afternoon. so i get an hour or 2 to close my eyes or get things done around the house. its been nice. Rex is filling out, finally getting some chub on those cheeks. he is such a sweet heart and loves to cuddle. I do love the newborn snuggles. he already likes to be up and looking around. I have scheduled his poop times to avoid blowouts. week 2 we were having one everyday, but now as long as he gets a clean diaper when we get up around 9, again at noon, (followed by one 20 min later when he fills it up) and again around dinner time. we are good to catch it all on the inside. i change him more often dont worry. but those times are necessary to be empty because a load is coming. I know, you really wanted to know.

Rylie is doing good. she is still a little attention deprived. but we let her sit on my lap while changing rex. she sits next to me when he eats, and i try to cuddle her when my arms are free. we still make sure to hold her when we first get them up for the day so she knows we are here for her. she has recently gotten into taking her pants off at night. she ahsnt ventured to the diaper yet but im terrified that that is what comes next. we go in to check on them or scold them while they are "winding down" for the night and her pants are thrown into a corner. we have put everything in the closet so they have nothing to get into, yet they still play till 9pm when we re put them to bed. she loves to turn on the lights so that is probably what keeps them up. she isnt tall enough to turn them off. Rylie loves to mimick words. she is getting pretty good, but still very toddler ish. she loves to put on shoes. she would love to wear them all day. a girl after my own heart.

Ryker is doing good. he is more and more independant. he can get his own snacks, with minimal directions to close the fridge or pantry when he is done. he is so good to throw things away or put his dishes in the sink. he loves to help get all the supplies to help change rex or rylie. he is okay at helping bring me things when my hands are full of the other 2 kids. we try to cuddle him too. we know he still needs it. he has gotten back into facing us when he wants to cuddle because he is upset. put his head on our shoulder again. its sweet, but sad that he is upset for whatever reason. He loves to go to the park and asks to go everyday. he loves to play outside on his bike or to play with justins old RC car outside. he still loves his trains and cars. today rylie pulled out his building blocks and after she dumped them on the floor and lost interest, he went over to play and kept repeating "i love blocks, i love playing blocks." it was adorable. im glad he still loves them. he loves to race his cars around and get close to rex but then stop and say "careful rex!" and back up again. im glad he can be cautious of his little brother.

Justin is still doing good at work. they keep giving him other projects, so even though he just got someone to be here and help him with his crazy workload, he seems just as busy if not more so than before when it was just him. gah! he knows how to schedule his time and he keeps it reasonable to keep him sane and still be home at a decent time. he is good to still be here for us especially after a long day.

I am surviving. i definitely keep busy and long for the nap time when i get a little bit to myself. with ryker napping in our room its not easy to shower during this time even though it would be preferable, but thats okay. we make it work and justin is always willing to take the kids so i can shower and feel like a human being. i feel a lot more confident now than i did a few weeks ago. learning our schedule really helps me. now i know the good times of the day when i can venture out with all 3 kids. I know what they need for naps. kids are clean, and fed, and dressed and, most of the time happy. we can make it till dad comes come. haha. but i am loving watching all 3 of my children grow. its amazing how different they all are, and how they change so fast. best thing ever to stay at home with them. even on the hard days i wouldnt change it.

ryker is still potty training. we have gotten through the pants wetting. he is consistantly staying dry now again. in a few more days we are going to up the anti by keeping him in his underwear during nap time. so wish us luck. im a little nervous mostly because he sleeps on my side on the bed for nap time. whos idea was that?!?!?! well we will figure it out. but he is doing great! i will have to post a pic of the lock we stuck on their closet to keep it shut. its ingenious. thats why i married an engineer. oh my kids. they keep me guessing at every turn!

both playing in their old crib. remembering the good times i guess?

first day on our own without grandma. we survived and were all happy!

he decided to hide from us


rylie was so dirty after dinner we had to brush her off and rinse her down in the sink. silly girl

dad multicuddling. :)

love these sweet cuddles

kisses from sister

relaxing and keeping warm on a cold day

passed out cuddling with dad

rylie keeps trying to pick him up. she is getting close which makes me more nervous. one day she is going to get him but drop him on the floor. we will keep a close eye on them!

or she just wanted his seat


i took this mostly because i thought it was funny that he loves to cuddle in this position. this is the same angle he was in for most of my pregnancy. 

love these boys

justin squirted some whipped cream in her mouth and she had no idea what to do with it. 

dad multitasking again (do you see a theme here? ) changing one baby while one climbs all over him to get the most of playtime till we go upstairs for bed time. while i am stuck nursing the baby. eventually we get it all done!

canada pride! this is the onsie grandma deitrick bought this for ryker when he was this young. 

our little demon frog. so cute. love that mischievous smile. 


just hanging out with lil bro

our sleepy dinosaur

"driving" in the car waiting for mom and dad

she woke up one morning with a scratch and a black eye! this pic shows practically nothing, but it was more prominent and we were all very confused she seemed unphased like nothing happened. weird. 

auntie beez came to visit. she got lots of snuggles in

now wrangling all 3 kids. just moments before ryker was laying ontop of justin. 

grillin (and chillin) on labor day!

hugs for rex!

playing at the park with auntie beez


she is so scared to go through the tunnel. beez went with her and she is hanging onto her leg for  dear life. i dont know why she is so scared. 

the loot for aunt fae!

I sent an awesome package to fallyn on her mission. how that she is stateside i got her a great greenie package. 

playing with auntie beez

we love playing at the playground on a nearby school. unfortunately we can only play during non school hours. so weekends and holidays. 


he enjoyed time with her too. 

i love this face. he looks so stunned. just trying to take it all in!

taking pics asian style

miss diva rylie. she looks so sassy. i love it. 

my sweet sweet boy. 


playing with baby!


she is learning to mimick movies like ryker does. i love it!


shoo fly dont bother me! we are trying to teach him not to completely freak out when he sees a fly