14 months - CJM

Our little man turned 14 months this past week. If it weren't for the fact that he is still not walking, I would say he is turning into such a little boy, but we still have a ways to go in that department. This kid just loves life and loves to laugh (unless he wants to be picked up to be held). Whenever you go to get him out of his crib, he just jumps around and flops all over the place with such excitement. He has developed quite a few nicknames these days, mostly brought on by his brothers. They include Charlie Bear or Char bear as B calls him, Agent Baby (when Ryan and B play superheroes), Baby Fefa (some random name B came up with), and I think the best one of all - Macaroni Man (also another random name from B).

 My little yogi perfecting downward dog

 His little personality is really coming through these days. He is into biting me, and sometimes others, when we are sitting on the couch. He'll walk over to me and try to bite my leg. He thinks he is hilarious and every time I pull my leg away, he busts out laughing and then launches his body closer to try and bite again! He also thinks spitting is pretty funny, especially if his brothers are doing it. He has learned to mimic them pretty well. Bradley is really into clicking his tongue right now, well guess who else had learned to click his tongue, too?! He clearly already idolizes his big brothers.

I finally captured him in action!

The boy is loud. He only knows one volume when trying to communicate, which is screaming. He loves to climb on just about anything. He is not affected by bobos in he slightest. He is wild. He is ALL boy.

He's gotten pretty good at pointing at what he wants or where he wants to go. Sometimes it sounds like he says "that" when he wants something.

We went to our good friends, the Correa's, lake house the first weekend after school started and the kids had a blast. We swam in the lake all day and then did fireworks at night.

 The kids thought the sparklers were just about the coolest thing ever.

Love how these two have grown up together. It's the sweetest (although I think Lucia is still more into Ryan than B)!

 These little sweeties are 3 months apart to the day.

B was going through his 3 week phase of not wanting to go to bed at night and screaming for hours on end during this weekend (thank goodness we seem to be over that), so he was completely wiped by the time we left Sunday morning. I think by 10 am, not 10 minutes after being on the road, this is what I looked back on.

Charlie loves to chew on the tags of his lovies. They are disgusting. He's gotten into this crazy routine of when he gets in his crib to sleep, he will throw everything out in protest and just lean over his crib screaming at what he has done. He's even pulled his laundry hamper through the crib slats to get it closer to him. He then, will pull out dirty clothes and I will find them in his crib later. His favorite thing to do right now is to climb the stairs. If I ask him if he wants to go upstairs, he races over to the stairs and is ready to go. He also loves chewing on Crocs. He is such a ham. And extremely independent (when dad's not around of course or else he must be in his arms. Have I mentioned he is a complete daddy's boy?!?!?). I will find him just wandering around the house, playing by himself, completely content. Guess it's in the third child genes.

He wants to completely take over feeding himself. It has become quite problematic because he doesn't want us to feed him, but he can't feed himself very much either. So although he will try most foods, he gets pretty particular about what he wants to eat these days. A lot of times I feel like he doesn't have that much of an appetite. That is probably why he only weighs 22 lbs. He likes peanut butter, so Wes gave him a huge spoonful of it to go to town on and this is how that ended.

 He ultimately ended up in the bathtub after lunch!

The boys put this on his head one day and he became obsessed. He loves trying to put the hat on his head himself and running around in it.

 You can see him smirking if you look close enough!

Charlie is still sleeping really well with two naps a day about 2 hours each and about 11 hours at night. He's wearing 18 month clothes. Still sports the fratty hairdo and his two adorable dimples. He says Mama, Dada, Go, Bah (bye) and Baba (for bottle). In honor of the first Aggie football game this year, I insisted on a few pics of the boys!

 Ryan and B were fully cooperating, but someone else wasn't having it!

If Charlie were smiling, this would be a good pic. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that Ryan is yanking on the back of his outfit trying to keep him from escaping!

 Obligatory family pic

Last week, he came down with a horrible fever virus. He was running 103-104 pretty consistently for almost two days. We've never seen him like this before, it was so sad. He would wake up just completely drenched in sweat. Luckily, he bounced back pretty quickly.

 Wes put up the swing on our pergola and the boys love it. We are definitely ready for fall around here, so we can spend more time outside! We love you lil guy!

First day of Twos - BLM

Now it was Bradley's turn to start school. He's back at Grace Preschool with 6 of his buddies from last year. We had Meet the Teacher a few weeks ago and he was pretty excited. Ever since Ryan started school, he has been talking about how he was ready. He's said how he wants to go to Ryan's school and wants to learn how to do the monkey bars. He insisted that we stop by to say hi to his old teachers first which was definitely bittersweet. He has learned to talk so much more over the summer, so that fact that he could finally say their names made be a little sad (knowing that he would never get to have them again). They were all so excited to see each other, it was pretty sweet. As soon as we walked in to meet his new teachers Mrs. A and Mrs. K, he immediately started crying. He was all talk for sure. Luckily, within a few minutes of playing with his friends, the tears dried up. He ran over to the writing center and started showing off his new found letters skills. It was pretty cute; I think he was trying to impress his teachers :)

He started getting a little anxiety the day leading up to school, as he seems to do with a lot of things these days. He seemed to forget about it for a minute when I went to get the camera out. Charlie wanted to get in on the action as well.

This has the potential of being a very handsome photo of B, but he chose to crawl around like an animal with his lovey in his mouth, which he does often and usually accompanied by sounds.

When I asked him what he wanted to be when he grew up, he immediately said a MaMa, but then when asked 5 minutes later by Ryan, he said puppy. Clearly, he has no understanding of the question.

I swear he seems like he is 5 right here. He posed for this all by himself, no prompting!

And here is his mug shot, haha!

Love this precious boy so much!

typical Buzz

Of course, as soon as we pulled in the school parking lot, he flipped out and did not want to go inside. He assumed I would be staying with him, so he just lost it. We made a stop by his teachers from last year, as was required by B, then headed into the classroom. He cried pretty hard, but when I went to pick him up they said he had a great day. He usually handles new situations this way - cries the first 5 min, then happy the remainder of the time.

He has been so cute after-school the past couple of days. He has gotten used to me asking Ryan all about his day, so now he loves to chime in with events from his day. Yesterday, as soon as I picked him up, he told me which kid wasn't listening, which one threw a toy at the toy box, which one started eating their lunch before saying God our Father, and which ones were good. What a saint! It's hilarious being able to hear him recount events because for so long he really couldn't communicate the way he wanted to. Even at the dinner table, Ryan and B will just hold their own conversations about their days. Love watching these boys grow up together!

First week of Kindergarten - WRM

The moment Ryan has been waiting for since last September is finally here. Big school. He has been asking about when he gets to start Kindergarten ever since we moved out to Katy. The elementary school is just across the street from our neighborhood entrance, so we pass it multiple times a day. It has served as a constant daily reminder for him and what he has to look forward to. So for the weeks leading up until the first day, he has been counting down the days. We had Meet the Teacher the week before school started, and he was pretty pumped. We walked over Thursday evening and had to wait outside in a line to enter the gym. He had held my hand to cross the street and once we got in line, I let go (to try and not embarrass my child too much!). He quickly grabbed my hand and asked me if I would hold it a little bit longer (cue the tears welling up in my eyes). I then asked if he was nervous at all and he looked up and nodded and said "just a little bit." He quickly became comfortable in his classroom and took to his teacher pretty fast. The kids were pretty cute just exploring the room and all showing off what they already knew (days of the week, how to count, etc.).

He wanted to understand what everything said, how his schedule was going to be, and where he would sit. It was so cute. He definitely was not ready to leave when it was time. Luckily, we were in Pointe West all weekend, because I think there would have been a few sleepless nights had we been at home. It helped pass the time for him and come Sunday evening, he was worn out. I was afraid he wouldn't sleep the night before, but he willingly went straight to bed. He was, however, up and dressed in my bedroom by 6:45 Monday morning. For the first time ever, he was cooperative for pictures. It was pretty cute because it was so muggy outside, my camera was acting up. So, he said to me "Mom, should we try more pictures after school?" Pretty sure that will never happen again. Here's Ryan on his very first day of school back in Aug 2011.......

....fast forward 4 years....

Time truly does fly!

He was seriously working the camera this morning

Even though I was looking a little rough, I wanted to get a pic with my first born on his very first day!

For the first 3 days of school, we were allowed to walk them into the school. He actually seemed less nervous on the first day than the did at Meet the Teacher. He did ask me to walk into the classroom first once we got closer.

He found his seat pretty fast and got started coloring. I asked if he wanted to go over and talk to his teacher, but he was being pretty shy and said no. Just as I was about to leave, he just stood up and ran over to her and gave her a big hug. I think he maybe got a little nervous that I was leaving and wanted some assurance from someone else. Shortly thereafter, he told me I could leave! He tells me that everyday he gives Mrs. W a big hug before he leaves to go home.

The days have definitely been long, but he seems to be adjusting really well. Better than I would have thought, actually. It's cute because I hear him talking to B and telling him how he is like dad and has to go to school for 5 days and then it is the weekend and he gets to stay home with them. I am waiting for the day when he asks, "do I have to go to school today?!?!" I am sure it's coming soon.

Since the very first day, they have crossed over the crosswalk to come home. They seem to have gotten the hang of it right away.

Ryan and his two buds from our street cross everyday together. Here they are on the first day that we didn't walk them in, navigating their way into the school like old pros.

And then enjoying some sno-cones after school with each other. 

It's been fun watching him grow into a little boy and he seems to feel pretty confident and ready to take on school. I think it suits him very well as he has always enjoyed learning and structure. Looking forward to a fun year as a Hayes Hawk!

Summer Wrap-Up

The last few weeks of summer seemed to go by pretty quickly, as we were out of town every weekend in August. However, when we weren't out of town, our normal day to day life hasn't been documented. I can't remember if I have talked about this before, but this is B's famous "lady walk" as he calls it. He has started mimicking the way I walk and came up with the name all on his own.

The weekends we were here in July, usually wound up with one of the kids coaxing Wes into making pancakes.

"I will get my way!!"

My cousin, Alli, and her two girls came to visit and we all met up for lunch one afternoon. The boys had a blast with Izzy - wish they lived closer to us!!

We have spent some time with Ryan this summer on sight words to prepare him for school (hence, the board on the right), so now B has insisted on his own board. Wes made him a board with letters on it, and as of right now he has learned about 15-16 letters which is about 15-16 more than he knew 6 weeks ago. His eagerness to learn over the past month has skyrocketed which has really surprised us. He has taken a major interest in reading, letters, counting, etc. so we have definitely tried to capitalize on it and encourage him.

The boys attended a few birthday parties a couple of weeks ago. Jacob, his best bud from school last year had his party at Inflatable Katy, and both boys had a blast. You can see B in the background checking out his loot. I am sad they won't be together this year, as I know they will miss each other a lot! Luckily, B and Hannah will still be at school together, so I am sure we will see them often.

We headed to our good buddy, Grant's party straight after for some more off the wall fun. B remembered Westwood from Ryan's birthday party and had a blast.

The first week of August, Wes and I took our first real vacation in nearly two years! We were so excited for 5 nights away together. We stayed at the GoldenEye in Jamaica, and it was pure paradise.

The view from our villa

This trip was just what we needed to reset and take a break from parenting! We slept in every morning, laid by the beach and the pool, read books, ate a ton of good food, imbibed in delicious tropical drinks, and enjoyed each other's company (with no little ones asking for food or needing diaper changes!)!!

They had kayaks, stand-up paddleboards, and a snorkel boat available at all times for the guests. We definitely took advantage of the daily activities which was very peaceful. There was a lagoon on the backside of the property which was gorgeous. The water was like glass and had such a cool vibe to it.

 They served coconut water straight from the coconut. I wish we had a coconut tree in Katy!

 

Our villa from the front

We left the property twice for dinner and the suggested places did not disappoint. We had authentic Italian food one night (weird, I know, in Jamaica!) and delicious, fresh-caught Lobster the other night.

The sunsets were gorgeous - the iPhone did not do them justice

We were definitely excited to see the boys when we got home and came home to this awesome sign that Gigi and Nina helped them with! We were so thankful to them, as well as CoCo and Poppy and everyone else who helped take care of our brood while we were away. It definitely takes a village, but we enjoyed every minute of it.

Fast forward a few weeks after our two trips to Galveston, and it was time to start getting ready for the school year. First up, Ryan got a much needed haircut.

Can't believe he's old enough to be starting big school

B has started an insane bedtime process. It begins with needing his teeth brushed, then hands wiped down,  a sip of water, two hugs and two kisses, telling everyone goodnight, getting tucked away in his blanket and usually a few other random things that get added. Sometimes it's a song or a book, other times, he doesn't like the way a picture frame is arranged on his bookshelf or his closet door is slightly cracked when it shouldn't be. If anything is out of place, he will for sure notice it. Bedtime has resulted in a lot of tears as of late, as well as staying up for up to two hours past bedtime crying or just lying in bed. We are really hoping this is a phase and he'll outgrow it soon. He just seems to have a lot of anxiety around certain issues, bedtime being a major one.

He thinks he is happy to be going to bed, but this attitude will change on a dime

 Sweet brothers sharing a milkshake at CFA after swim practice.

 Our kids clearly tan a little differently from each other.

We finally got around to getting B's haircut last week. As you can see above, he had a total mop going. The kid loves getting his haircut (not that you can tell below). He's already asked twice in one week if we could go back.

And now he went from a 2.5 year old, to a five year old in about all of 20 minutes. Where did my chubby-cheeked toddler go?!!?

And now, we are all ready for school to start!