Potty Training The Boy

So I started potty training the boy because he kept taking off his diaper and going pee and poop on the floor.  So I decided I am home anyways let's just see how it goes.  He took to it right away which was a big surprise because everyone has told me how much harder boys are and he is only 2 1/2.  Ryan was having hardly any accidents and was even running from downstairs to come up to the potty.  So we said the fateful words..."He is almost completely potty trained after only one week. He was easier than the girls."  We bought him underwear and everything, and then of course he reverts back. This week he doesn't really care at all about going in the potty or getting treats.  Well, I guess it wasn't so easy after all.  Good thing we forgot to cancel our last order of diapers.

Boy!

So many people asked us if we were sad to not give Ryan a brother and we replied by saying it works out because we call him "boy" all the time and we would have to stop if we had another boy in the family.  While I was taking a shower today Ryan was struggling to get the door open to come in.
I called out, "Who's there?"
"Me!"
"Me who?"
"Boy! Boy! Boy!"
"Oh.  Is that my boy?"
"Yes!"
Even he knows he is THE boy.

Sad Turn of Events

So there I am cleaning like mad, folding laundry, and being the all around super-mom (I know you can all imagine). I leave the laundry room with a stack of clothes to put away in Abby's room, when I am met in the hallway by a boy drenched up to his elbows leaving the bathroom. This is not the first time this has happened so I quickly discard the clothes to the floor and grab him to really assess the damage. Right before I grab him he pulls some toilet paper out of his mouth...not the best sign. I quickly look in the toilet to see to my dismay that one of my beautiful, ladylike daughters has pooped in the toilet and not flushed as she left without closing the door (ask if I'm really surprised?). No more super mom, now I have to give my girls a good raking over the coals to let them know my displeasure. Since none of them are very good at flushing the toilet or closing the door they all got equally poor treatment as well as equal yelling (can't play favorites now can I?). And here we were having such a good day. What a sad turn of events!

The Boy Is 1!

My baby turned one on the 2nd of April. Brent's parents came for conference weekend and we had a little party for him. He is such a sweet boy and fun to have around. He has a lot of differences from my girls and I find my self sometimes asking Brent..."Do you think it is because he is a boy?" I'm not sure if he does things because he is male or because of his personality...probably both. Ryan got some books, cars, Tonka truck, and Mini Tonka trucks for church...all boy! He plays a lot with his sisters toys and we didn't bother buying him boy toys until now. We didn't think he minded so much until a few weeks ago at church he was biting on the head of a doll standing on the pew watching the family of boys behind us when all of a sudden he chucked the doll and started crying and reaching for the cars the boys were playing with. Hmmm...makes you wonder about nature vs. nurture.
He is quite the walker now and loves to follow his sisters all around the house. It is fun to watch how all the kids love to play with each other. Ryan is also a big eater. He eats as much as his sisters (although sometimes not as much as Lillie) and is almost 24 lbs. He is talking jibberish quite a bit and the only real word he says is "Da" but when he says it he means it. Dad and Ryan are already buds. Ryan gets so excited when Brent gets home and is always walking or crawling over to Brent and cuddling and giving him kisses. Dad gets more kisses than even me.

Ryan's favorite present was balloons.

#1 made out of cupcakes

Ryan's favorite thing to do is play with Dad!

Taking it in Stride

My baby boy started walking on Saturday. He has been cruising for a few weeks but has finally gotten up the nerve to start doing it all on his own. It is so fun to watch him thinking about taking those steps; you can see the wheels turning in his head. He is on average taking about 5 steps before he plops back down so he is on his way. He will be 12 months next Saturday so he couldn't beat Lillie at 10 months but he surpassed his other two sisters who didn't walk until closer to 15 months. We will post some of his steps when we can get him to cooperate.

18 Step Record!

Winner Declared!

Sorry, we really declared the winner of the tooth race months ago, but to those who didn't know...Ryan got his 4 front teeth in first and is in fact working on several more while Lillie is still waiting for those same teeth to come in.

Daddy Licker

This morning I got Ryan out of bed and put him in with Brent so I could get something done really quickly. Ryan was giving his Dad big sloppy kisses, leaving big slobber marks from his open mouth "kisses". I am not sure if it was the texture of Brent's unshaven face or maybe he had some left over food on his face, but Ryan changed from sloppy kisses to downright licking Brent's cheek. We tried to get a recording but of course as soon as I brought the camera, he stopped. Apparently he already knows that if I get embarrassing footage of him now every girl he brings home later will see it. Good call son!

The race is on!

The race began a few short weeks ago to see which of these two children will get all 4 of their front teeth first. We will keep you posted.

Ryan's 2 month checkup

I took Ryan in for his 2 month appointment. He weighs 13 lbs 13 oz. (91st % ile). He is a growing boy! That is 2 lbs. more than he weighed at his one month apointment (11lbs. 11 oz.). Length is 23 1/4 inches (62 % ile). He is a sweet boy and we all adore him. An update on his sleeping...depends on the night. Two nights ago I put him to bed at 11 and he slept until 6, but then last night he went to bed about 11 and was up at 12:30 and 3 and then wouldn't go back to sleep. Even after we brought him to our bed he kicked and hit Brent in the head for a bit before finally going to sleep and then feeding at 7. I'm not sure if it is a boy thing or what but all my girls had more consistent sleeping habits. We will be continuing to work on this problem.

It's a Boy!

We had our ultrasound on the 17th of November and we are having a boy! Although we would have been happy with a girl we are excited to get a boy in the mix.

Baby wanted to make sure we knew he was a boy...no mistaking this picture. The technician was surprised by this angle as he was passing by on the way to check "The Boy's" heart.