4 months

Dear Ethan,

4 months feels a lot older than 3 months.  I don't know why, but the bottom line is that you are growing up too fast. 

At least you've slowed down a bit in your physical growth. This month, you only gained one pound (up to nearly 17 lbs now), but you wouldn't know it from looking at those cheeks!

 

Your wheezing has continued, on and off, and a follow-up visit to your regular pediatrician gave us a name for it: tracheomalacia.  The good news is that it doesn't seem to be dangerous at all for you at this point, and you should just eventually grow out of it.  Now I can sleep better at night :)

 

Your schedule is pretty much the same as last month.  Napping continues to be troublesome, but it's no wonder why.  We're on the go so much that there are days when you couldn't get more than a 20-30 minute nap in if you wanted to.  Poor third child!  You're pretty resilient, though, and you're good at making up for it at night, so I think you'll be okay.  I do wonder if you'll ever get to have a normal nap schedule.  I'm sure once you start sleeping on your stomach, you'll be able to get some better rest during the day.  One change this month is that you started to break out of the swaddle, so you had to re-learn how to go to sleep without it.  Overall, I think it's been a positive change, but you do still have a hard time falling asleep sometimes... especially if you get over-tired.  

You are grasping toys more and more, and you've gotten pretty good at putting whatever is in your hand in your mouth.  That's helpful, since you seem to be teething already.  I keep trying to deny it, since both of your brothers were late getting their first teeth, but you are constantly putting things in your mouth, and you've had a couple of fussy days recently that have made it clear that something is going on in there.  We'll see how long they take to actually surface.  Cloth is your favorite thing to hold on to - in fact, if you don't have a toy or blanket to hold onto, you tend to just grab onto your own clothes! (Sorry for the not-so-great phone photo)

 

You spend a lot of time on your side now.  If I put you on your tummy, you either superman for a minute or two and then start fussing, or you immediately roll over onto your side or back.  So, you still have very little interest in hanging out on your stomach.  That's okay... I'm in no hurry for you to start crawling!  You also roll on to your side from your back all the time.  In fact, that's often how you fall asleep.  Sometimes, you end up traveling quite a bit across the floor, just by rolling back and forth from back to side.  You tried out the bumbo this month, and you tolerate it okay, but it's not your favorite. 

 

You also still enjoy the bouncy seat and you continue to love riding around in the sling (awake or asleep) - you're my little koala baby :)

This month, you had your first trip to Connecticut for Easter, and we've been enjoying the warmer weather outside at home.  We also left you with a real babysitter (not family) for the first time, and you attended your third baby shower!

 

Ryan continues to be one of your very favorite people.  Nobody can make you laugh like he can.  I think it's because he gets himself cracking up and his laugh makes you laugh :)  But the two of you are so very sweet together.  I hope you always have a special relationship.  Kaeden is learning to be more gentle with you, and as a result, you seem more at ease around him now too.  It's cute to see his face light up when you look at him and grin.  You're getting old enough to participate in some of the older boys' shenanigans, and it's nice to imagine all of the fun you three will have together over the years.

  

Here are your obligatory cousin photos for the month :)

 

  ...and your four month portraits, which I absolutely adore!

 

You are so special, littlest one.  Thanks for being my love bug :)

Three Boys, One Outfit

Planting

When Mason was little, he got to help plant a magnolia tree and has watched it grow throughout his life.  He also just loves magnolia trees, so he has dreamed of having one of his own.  When we moved, I didn't really think that there was a great place for a full-size magnolia in our yard, so we planted a couple of dwarf varieties instead, but Mason has never really been able to let go of the idea of having a true, full-size, Southern magnolia. 

So, for his birthday this year, that's what he asked for.  And it was hard to find one. But, he finally did, and he was excited to include the boys in the planting this weekend.  

The scene :)

Kaeden found a comfy spot to watch

Ryan helping to prep the dirt

Kaeden doing his part (and nearly falling into a large, muddy hole!)

Dumping

Fertilizing

 

Leveling

Supervising

 

Little man on a mission

Project complete!

 Spring has sprung, and we are enjoying it to the fullest (minus the pollen, which I am very much NOT enjoying!)

We are so blessed to be surrounded by beautiful redbud trees.  They will forever be to me a sign of God's comfort and grace.  When we moved in last spring, I was completely overwhelmed and exhausted from the move (not to mention being very newly pregnant).  It was an exciting time, but not a particularly happy one for me.  The redbuds brought me daily joy and comfort, and I remember thanking God every day for that small gift.  

 

We also finally got our front porch swing this weekend.  Mason & the boys were very excited to try it out!  Of course, now it's covered in half an inch (okay... small exaggeration) of yellow powder, so it's kind of a pain to use, but that will pass :)

 

 Happy Spring!

Brotherly love

Easter in Connecticut

 I survived!  My first airplane trip by myself with 3 children under the age of 5... check! :)

Thankfully, everything was on time, and with the exception of both younger boys pooping on the airplane (leading to a rather adventurous 10 minutes in the tiny airplane bathroom), it all went quite smoothly.

It's always great to be at my parents' house - which I still call "my house" on occasion... I did live there for most of my life, after all.  Being away from the to-dos of home, but still feeling comfortable as though I'm at home, is a wonderful break for me.  The more kids I have, the less of a break it is, but they're worth it!

Of course, the main event this trip was Easter.  We started out the weekend dying some Easter eggs.  The boys were very excited, and Ryan was overly obsessive about Kaeden not breaking the eggs.  The adults ended up doing most of the work, but at least they enjoyed watching (and telling us what to do!)  

The finished eggs

Pretending to fly

For Easter Sunday, the boys all wore their matching outfits in preparation for church.  They were moderately cooperative for photos. 

It occured to me after I took that last photo that all 3 of my boys have spent their first Easter at my parents' house, and I happen to have photographed each of them on the same chair.  Here are the other two :)

Ryan - 11 months old

Kaeden - 5 months old

We had a yummy second breakfast at church, followed by an Easter egg hunt, and then the service.  

Happily finding eggs at church

Ryan enjoyed helping his cousin, Gwen, find some eggs too!

And, that afternoon, we had another hunt at Nana & Papa's house.

These two pictures crack me up.  Kaeden is clearly trying to go for the egg that Ryan basically already has.  And then he looks confused and disgruntled that he didn't end up with it.

Yes, there was still a small pile of snow :)

Watching the action

And, that night was the Duke game, which meant the kids were exiled to the dining room to watch Mickey Mouse Clubhouse on the iPad.  Hey, March Madness only comes once a year :)

Besides Easter day, we had plenty of time for more fun!

We got to see my best friends from high school, two of whom are pregnant and one who is getting married in September.  Lots of excitement in the group this year!

I had to trick Ryan into taking this group photo.  He was in a foul mood and didn't want to take it, so I asked Kaeden to do it instead.  Within about one minute, Ryan had taken over, and we got our picture.  Sigh.

We got to spend lots of time with cousin Gwen.  She is still terrified of my boys for the most part.  If they're playing quietly from a distance, they're okay, but how often do little boys do that?  Still, I got some good smiles after the big kids went to bed :)

 

Peek-a-boo!

 We also went to the children's museum nearby.  Their favorite part was the water room, but they really loved building with these boards too.

 

 

Hundreds of balls + water = hours of fun

Kaeden was completely soaked (and freezing) by the end

And, of course, there was plenty of play time at Nana & Papa's house.

Puzzles for the big boys

 

"This is the way the lady rides" with Nana

 And giggles with Papa:

 

Happy Easter, everyone!