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

Too much i dont want to forget!

This isnt really much of an update. though a little. granted doing 2 posts in 1 day is a big step for me. mostly i just wanted to post a bunch of pictures. I sure love my little family and we have changed a lot in the last week.

Ryker has grown so much as a big brother. but regressed a little as to be expected. He was doing so well potty training and now wets his pants at least once a day. we are trying to figure out what can motivate him to stay dry but its a work in progress. he loves to look at rex and hold him occasionally. mostly loves to play with us and wants us involved with him a little more often than before.

rylie. oh rylie. I love her so much but she is a feisty one. since rex has come she is a little more defiant and definitely testing boundaries. she is the instigator in most rambunctious behavior. since rex has come ryker and rylie spend 2-3 hrs playing in their room once we put them down for bed. we often walk in and rylie is on rykers bed. or racing from the wall and slamming into the door. she runs up to us with a big smile on her face. we try to be stern. let her know its bed time. but ryker doesnt do much to discourage her. he laughs and plays with her. they both look out the window and bang on the blinds. we have raised the blinds now. rylie loves to lay on the bed and kick her feet on the wall. thats a big no no. it is so loud in the other room. wakes up poor grandma and rex. we pulled rykers bed away from the wall so they would stop, but now they just do it on rylies bed. ugh. we are working on that. for now im sorry to any visitor that comes and stays in that room. its a work in progress to get them to stop.

anyways back to rylie. she is so sweet with rex. when she sits next to us she wants to hold him. we bring him over and she snatches him out of our arms practically. we still help holding his head, but she loves to wrap her arms around him and will even give him a little kiss. she laughs at him when he squeaks and loves to watch him in the car. she does want a lot more attention though. after a day or 2 of being very confused and frustrated we realized she just needs some extra love. so we have learned to hold her more. focus more on her in the mornings. let her sit with us and get down on her own terms. its still a juggle sometimes especially around dinner time or when rex is eating and justin needs to take care of both kids. but we are learning! still adjusting right? sometimes all 3 kids are crying and there is little we can do about it.

here are some pics from the first week with rex.

ryker and rylie first holding rex

we had a fun shopping date with just rylie. she loved it. it was good for both mom and dad to spend some one on one time with her. she got some cool new sunglasses!

first bath at home!

dad makes the coolest train tracks. this is more bland than most. but ryker always asks him to make one. 

our first attempt at tummy time. we spent most of it eating our arm

such a sweet boy

motorcycle pic. we have to have one with all our boys. 

sleeping with dad

justin at 2 days old on the left and rex on the right. i thought ryker and justin looked really similar. and they do. but rex maybe even more so!

rylie chillin in rex's bouncer

sweet kisses from big brother

he fits so well in rykers dump truck

the latch broke (too long ago) on our car seat so we decided we want our kids to be safe and got rex a new one. both kids had to try them out again. they dont fit as well as they used to. haha

she finally let me put a ponytail in her hair! it looks horrid but i was just impressed that she let me put it in and kept it there for 5 min! also her face is hysterical 

boys playing on the bed while dad cuts his hair

fun slide at the park

we went on a picnic on sat as a family. just a little outdoor time. 

staring lovingly at grandma. she has been so good to keep us happy all night long for the last week. 

sunday i tried again with the ponytail. it looked a lot better. with her sunglasses she just looks like such a diva

my sweet boy

justin broke out his old RC car and the kids loved it!

playing with dad

fun on the slide at the park.