one month old

look at this little girl holding up her head! she is so strong. i'm am amazed that she is already a month old. the past month has been wonderful. there are so many things i want to remember from the past four weeks:

• ryker shouting "bug" when he first saw kate. he now calls her "baby kate"


• all four of us spending saturday and sunday mornings cuddling in our bed, watching cartoons. the cuddle part only lasts 30 minutes, at which time, ryker begins his “butt bombs,” which are when ryker stands on the bed, jumps as high as he can, and lands on top of graham. the more graham groans, the more ryker laughs


• ryker, who refuses to say "i love you" anymore, increasing the number of times each day he randomly says "hi mama" or "hi papa" (we think this is his way of saying "i love you")


• kate's head fitting perfectly in the crook of my neck when we snuggle on the couch


• ryker shouting "kate cry" when she starts to cry. he will then run to kate and say "don't cry" while trying to shove her binky in her mouth.


• the sweet way ryker kisses kate and gives her gentle hugs


• watching graham hold and talk to kate. there is something so beautiful when they have these bonding moments


• when ryker says "baby swing," indicating he wants me to put kate in her swing so i can hold him


• watching graham balance work, healing from his surgery, helping around the house and yard, finding time to play with ryker and cuddle with kate, and still have enough time to give me massages. what an amazing man!


• and my favorite - the morning graham and i were getting ready for the day and kate and ryker were in our bed. when i checked on them, ryker had moved over to be next to kate. their faces were only a few inches apart and they were both looking at each other.

energies

our wonderful friends and family visited us this weekend and ryker was in heaven. he spent saturday and sunday running at full speed, and laughing and shouting at full volume. i'm glad the weather was cooperative so he had a chance to get all of 'energies' out. after playing and eating ice cream sandwiches with braxen on sunday, ryker came over to me at 8:00 pm and asked to go to bed. the kid was exhausted from his busy weekend! when i was putting ryker to bed, i told him we could read two books. as i finished the second book, ryker jumped out of bed, grabbed more books off the shelf, held up four fingers (his version of two), and said "two more books." i couldn't resist those negotiation skills!


(i promise graham and i try to do ryker's hair but whenever it gets even a little long, it becomes impossible to manage. it grows in so many directions and takes on a life of its own! after several attempts throughout the day, i usually give up.)

kate is doing great! she spends most of her time in people's arms. i love my cuddle time with her and am often surprised when a couple hours pass by as i sit on the couch cuddling her and doing brain teaser puzzle. this is such a wonderful time!

my favorite little girl

kate's first few weeks

little kate is three weeks old! she is doing so well and i am enjoying my time at home with her. when i was on maternity leave with ryker, i considered it a success if i was ready for the day before 2:00 pm. i am not sure if i am now used to working my schedule around kids, or if kate is such an easy going baby, but i am usually ready for the day by 7:30 am. i have kept busy by finally organizing rooms that were unceremoniously thrown together when we quickly moved in a few months ago. and i still get plenty of cuddle time with kate.

kate is doing so great! she is eating well and sleeps for most of the night. two days a week, ryker stays home from preschool with kate and me. those days are exhausting but i love being able to spend more time with ryker. plus, with the weather finally warming up, there are a lot more things we can do to keep ryker busy. here are some pictures from kate's first two weeks at home and from easter.


















here are some of ryker's dance moves. the kid has some great rhythm and energy!






ellie and ryker jumping like frogs. these kids are so funny when they are together!