2013 in a Nutshell

2013 in a nutshell...one of the best years of my life. :)

Ring Around the Rosy

Nolan and Abigail having fun!! They did this over and over again. I love Nolan's giggles!

Dreaded Sleep Regression

I'll start with the good news: William started rolling over yesterday!!! He rolled back to front. He was playing under his activity gym and was rolling from side to side. All of a sudden I had this need to watch him, a weird instinct that he was going to roll. And sure enough, he swung his leg over and threw his shoulders over and rolled over! I was so excited, because rolling back to front is the harder of the two rolls and he hasn't done front to back yet. I thought that maybe it was a fluke, but this morning he rolled and rolled and rolled! I kept putting him on his back and he kept rolling over. It's kind of funny because he still hates being on his tummy and hasn't rolled front to back yet, so as soon as he rolls and realizes he's on his tummy he gets mad. Time to learn to like it or to roll the other way, buddy! haha :)

Now the bad news (for Jason's and my sleep): the 3/4 month sleep regression has hit. HARD. Just like it did with Nolan, at the same age (3.5 months). Liam went from being an awesome sleeper to waking up way earlier than normal at night, usually midnight. We try to get him to go back to sleep with the pacifier, but it only works for 10 minutes or so and then he needs it again. He just can't get into a deep enough sleep. That pattern is repeated until I give in and nurse. I don't think he's going through a growth spurt, and I don't want to make a habit of adding an extra nursing session every night, which is what I've given in to and what I gave in to with Nolan. With Nolan I thought it was a growth spurt, so I nursed him, but it just created a habit of nursing 2-3 times per night when he had been down to once per night as well. The sleep books say that this is the age when the babies transition from baby REM cycles to adult REM cycles (every 3-4 hours) and if they don't know how to go back to sleep on their own, they'll need our help to put them to sleep in-between each REM cycle. So it sounds like we might have to do a little sleep training soon. Our pediatrician gives the go ahead for sleep training at 4 months, so sometime in January we'll probably have to do that. Unless for some miraculous reason William goes back to being an awesome sleeper (but I'm not keeping my fingers crossed).

Here are William's 3 month pictures (finally!!) They're pretty amateur (Jay and I took them), so don't judge them too much. We had a wild Nolan running around trying to get in the picture or take the backdrop down.

Tis the season

Not a whole lot is new since last week, just another crazy week that flew by. I'm pretty excited that I teach one more week, then have two weeks off with my boys. I definitely prefer to be home with them than teaching. William still is not really taking to the bottle too well, only taking 2-3 oz. I had been scared that he would start reverse cycling, and make up for his lost calories by waking up and eating more at night. But I am squeezing in a short nursing session both before and after work, and that has helped make up for what he misses out on while I'm at work. So that has deterred the reverse cycling, which is good news for my sleep. :)

Nolan is still adjusting to the change, but is doing pretty well. He is starting to bond with Claire (my sister's friend who comes and helps when I go to work...don't worry, we pay her) and her son, Max (4 years old). He is having a bit of a hard time sharing with Max and Anika though. He was used to sharing with Abigail, but having to share with Max and now Anika, who is crawling and standing, is new to him. It's good for him to learn to share, of course, but it's tough. 

We took William's 3 month pictures today, so I'll have to edit and post those soon. He's accidentally rolled over a couple times from tummy to back. He was pretty surprised when it happened! He still won't push up on his arms on his own, but does really well when we prop him on his arms. He's a strong boy and can hold his head up really well and also LOVES to stand, but is just so stubborn about tummy time. 

Our Christmas decorations are finally all up and Nolan couldn't be happier. He loves having all the Christmas lights on in the house. I'm going to be scared to take them down. I think he'll be devastated!! 

Look for Liam's 3 month pictures in the next post. 

Nolan perfected "Tommy"

trying out more family members' names

my sweet boy

happy!

Nolan getting the toilet ready for Abigail to use. I think he is ready to potty train soon!!!

Pretty happy with the bracelets he found in Mamie and Papa's bathroom

Papa's hat is just a little bit big..

Nolan called Dada on Mamie's old phone. Looks like it was a pretty serious conversation!

And the stockings were hung by the bar with care :)

Relaxing and snuggling my sweet boy on the weekend. Taking advantage of all the snuggles I can!

He's an angry elf.

You can't tell from this pic, but William was so happy I took the newborn insert off the carrier. He looked at me in the mirror and grinned!

This was a picture. How is snow falling?! Seriously. Do I live in Harry Potter's world now?

Nolan loves to kick the snow!

hands always in mouth

happy as always

oh hey, hands are in Liam's mouth. That's weird...

decorating his tree

Just a little bit excited about his Christmas lights :)

pointing out the colors

Smiling about the lights

I was so excited for Thanksgiving I peed my pants. Wait, no, that's spit up. 

tummy time, or torture time as William probably thinks of it as

smirk

William and Nolan, pretty much the same age

I love his facial expressions!

Nolan wanted to take a few selfies 

He was actually yelling as he took these

Nolan giggling at his own joke.."I see poop." silly guy :)

little Vikings fans :)

big smiles!

3 months old/Back to work :(

Well, the dreaded day came and went...I had to go back to work. Luckily, I am still job sharing, so I only work afternoons. Four hours isn't so bad compared to being gone a full work day. But oh my goodness are the days busy! The whole morning is mostly getting all three of us ready to go. Then we get to my mom's and I have about an hour to hang out (I'd rather get there and hang out than have to get there and immediately say goodbye). I go to work and basically try to make it through the crazy day (barely any prep, pumping on my lunch break), go back to my mom's and nurse/get Nolan up from his nap, fight INSANE traffic (Friday was the quickest we got home - half hour..not ok), make/eat dinner, a little play time, then bed. Forget housework. We're doing what we need to do to keep the house clean enough. I guess the bulk of cleaning will be on weekends again. Anyway, it was very hectic. And a big adjustment for everyone, including Keegan!
Hopefully we'll settle into a nice routine. In a few months when William is older and can sit and play, it will make things easier. I just feel bad having him sitting in his bouncy chair all morning while I shower and get ready and whatnot, knowing that he'll be stuck in his car seat for so long, so I try to hold him as much as I can, but that slows things down.

I took William to the doctor this week for a weight check, because he hadn't gained as much as we thought he would by 2 months. He has gained 1 lb 4 oz this last month, and has maintained his place on the charts, so the doctor was happy. I'm hoping now that he is on Prilosec and isn't feeling heartburn anymore, he'll start to go up on the charts. since he is nursing better He's only at the 16th percentile, and I don't think he should be that low. But who knows, maybe he's got my genes and just isn't meant to be that big. The doctor was pleased with how he's doing, so I guess I shouldn't be concerned.

New things the boys are doing: William constantly has his hands in his mouth. Maybe he'll be an early teether? He also is starting to giggle. I can't wait for his first real belly laugh! My mom witnessed him looking at and grabbing a toy while he was lying on his back under his activity gym. He also likes to roll over onto his side and watch what is going on around him. Tummy time still isn't a favorite, but we usually can get him to do five minute stints throughout the day (only on the Boppy though..stubborn guy).

Nolan is talking and talking and talking! He is saying new words every day, which is so fun. He also is always putting different words together to make sentences. The longest sentence he has said (to my knowledge): "I want to play that more." His current favorite word is "now."  A few examples - "I eat now." "I wave now." "Go home now." "I play now."

Here are camera photos. We're a little behind and still need to do William's 3 month photos with the board. Look for those to come!

handsome little guy :)

sweet smile

Team Santa

Liam loves his hands

Oh, hey, just having fun with my jungle friends!

Love him!

Team Santa!

Nolan decorating his felt tree

William is actually standing here

Smiley guy

2 months

So he CAN hold his head up! We prop him up on his arms though :)

We perhaps bribed Nolan with a fun size candy bar to take these pictures...

LOVE THIS! my sweet boy

Christmas booties and hat! Little elf

It looks like William is tipped upside down, but I swear he wasn't. Must be the angle I took this!

Nolan's reaction to the Christmas lights we put up in his room around his closet. I think he likes them?!

Pointing out all the colors