Run, Kitties, Run!

April 26th Wyatt turned two years old. What a sweet helper he is, too. But while I have tons of pictures (that's why it's delayed), that's not what this post is all about.

First a little naked baby heinie. Isn't he cute!?!

And now a little love. Randy's aunt and uncle are so good to us, and we appreciate them so very much!! They're a wonderful example of a godly family, and they're one more reason we love where we live. Sunday for Mother's Day we went to their farm for lunch. Wyatt got to see pigs and cows and...
Baby kitties! Run, kitties, run!

Chores

At 10 months, Wyatt was terrified of the vacuum cleaner. At 11 months, he lllooovvvedd the vacuum cleaner. A year ago we were living with my parents for two weeks between the closings on our houses, and he discovered Mom's vacuum in a closet. He would go to that closet door and beg for it to be opened.

Now vacuuming is his favorite chore. He can whine through me washing dishes, folding clothes, making dinner, and feeding Ryder: Pay (play), Mommy, pease pay." But when I turn on the vacuum cleaner he's the happiest boy! Every time I turn it off he says, "Macuum? More macuum?" Maybe it is that he is a boy and boys like noise. He loves the lawn mower, too.

A friend asked how she could instill this love of vacuuming in her son, who is a precious two week old. My question is how can I keep this instilled through his teenage years?

This week I let him keep vacuuming after I was done. He was in heaven!

Giving Thanks

Last night Wyatt threw up for the first time, an occasion I've been dreading. But since I'm on Day 26 of becoming more grateful, I need to publicly share this list.

I'm thankful for:

-a husband who can totally "sell" food to a 2-year-old. Wyatt has a sweet tooth, so Saltine crackers aren't on his list of favorite foods. Randy brought home Keebler-brand crackers last night and made a HUGE deal about elf crackers. Wyatt loves them.

- a husband who helps clean up the mess

- that the two times Wyatt threw up in the evening, he threw up at the table on hardwood floors. No soft furniture, no carpet.

- that the two times he threw up in bed, it was mostly water, he stayed calm and went right back to bed.

- that I had just enough sheets to change his bed twice

- no fever

- that God protected Hobbes and Silky from getting nasty. He got Giraffey, but Hobbes and Silky stayed dry. Whew!

- that he hasn't thrown up today!

This stomach bug must be going around. Randy felt awful on Sunday night. And I've heard of two other kids and one other person who were in the 1 year old nursery on Sunday who have had the same thing in the past 24 hours.

Here's to being "thankful in all things!"

Growing

For some reason I have been so convinced that Ryder is so much bigger than Wyatt was at this age. Maybe he's a heavier wetter, so he wears thicker cloth dipes. Maybe his torso really is longer, but in all reality he's proved me wrong.

Last Friday we went to visit our favorite pediatrician. Wyatt saw him and immediately said, "Sticker!" He got four.

Ryder's length: 25.5", 50th percentile and a whole 1/4" longer than Wyatt was

Weight: 14 lbs. 3 oz, 25th percentile and exactly the same weight as Wyatt

Head circumference: 16 1/4", didn't pay attention to the rest.

4 Whole Months!

Our sweet Ryder turned four months old last Thursday. Everyone told me, "Just wait till your second!" when Wyatt was such a good baby. Joyfully, I have an even better second baby than the first!

He sleeps like a CHAMP! He goes down at 8 pm and sleeps till 7 am. He's not a great napper, but who can complain when he lets me get such great sleep at night? He's a happy happy boy. This grin is a typical sight at our house. I wouldn't say he's quite as laid back as his brother though. Few things seemed to phase Wyatt, but Wyatt didn't smile as easily either. Ryder startles far easier than Wyatt. He tires of activities quicker and lets you know when he needs a change.

He also looks very much like his daddy! Check out this one of Randy at 3 months...

It's the eyes. They melt my heart every time. Ryder's have been described as puppy dog eyes.

As of today Ryder is halfway weaned. His first feeding is the only one that isn't supplemented. I forced myself to make it to six months with Wyatt, but I just couldn't do it with Ryder. Besides, he's also become the world's second most distracted nurser, right behind his brother. Except his brother didn't have an almost 2 year old sibling to distract him! Mercy.

As for his brother...

Wyatt is getting better and better with his brother. Ever since he drew blood after scratching Ryder's face in Walmart, he's been much more gentle. I think the incident helped him grasp the consequences of what he does to Ryder.

And he constantly surprises us with what he remembers and knows. Last week we were going to women's Bible study at church and I had a casserole on the passenger seat. It was heavy enough that it set off the seatbelt alarm. In the backseat Wyatt says, "Ding ding ding! Gwamma!" remember a time several months ago when my mom didn't get her seatbelt buckled in time and the alarm went off. How on earth he remembers such things I don't know!

He has learned to count to ten, but I'm pretty sure he doesn't understand the actual concept. He knows how to say the words in order, but he'll tell me I have two toes or tell me the numbers in a very mixed up order.

He also spells his name, "Y-A-T-T!" The W gets lost somewhere. We started singing "Twinkle, Twinkle," and his version goes like this...

Twinkle star (looking up at the sky and "sparkling" his fingers)

How Y-A-T-T ("How I wonder" morphed into this)

Up above world

Like a diaper

And that's it! Makes me laugh every time!

He digs everywhere. We put a fence around our garden, so now he digs anywhere he can, which is actually a lot of places right now since we are reconstructing our backyard. A sandbox is part of the hardscape plans.

I'm blessed with how well he listens and obeys. Not to say he doesn't have his share of discipline, but he's learning. This learning is going to be interrupted by the twos. I'm not calling them terrible, but I can see it coming already! It's so hard to believe that in 2 weeks from today, my baby boy will be two. This time has gone way way way too fast.

And we've loved every minute of it!

Big Words

I'm always impressed with Wyatt's willingness to try new, big words. So in honor of my new niece Nora (Our Lives in a Nutshell)...

Happy 200th

This is my 200th post. So I thought it was fitting to share some really precious pictures Randy took today while I was at work.

Wyatt really loves his brother. And so does Ryder. It melts my heart to watch them interact. Ryder is so accommodating to his brother, too. He smiles and laughs so easily and encourages Wyatt to make him laugh more.

We talk a lot about making Ryder laugh instead of making him cry. "Ryder cry. No no!" Wyatt says. Wyatt also likes to do tummy time with Ryder on his play gym. We just have to remind him that we put Ryder on his tummy, not Wyatt. Believe me, he has tried. Speaking of trying, Ryder is trying to turn himself over! He started last week and keeps working hard at it.

I hear Wyatt was full of kisses today. Thank you, fever, for finally going away, so the kisses don't spread you!

A couple weeks ago, I picked up a bag of big, funky buttons at a junk shop. Now my button jars have turned into great (and educational) fun for Wyatt. We sit at the table and sort them, looking for matches and learning our colors. Ryder sits (carefully supervised) in his bumbo while Wyatt sorts buttons (also very very carefully supervised). Ryder learns to sit up straight and Wyatt teaches him, "Look, Ryder! Fower!" (Flower). "Look, Ryder! Boo button!" (Blue). Love, love, love it! Please pardon the laundry basket.

And last but not least, this extremely contagious grin is often gracing Ryder's chubby chubby cheeks.

Isn't that the best?!?