Baby Boom

Reed was the first child born into our local group of friends. The next closest kids, age wise, are about a year younger. Our friends were great about being okay with Reed joining us at different events and parties when he was the only kid and it has been wonderful seeing the group's collective brood grow over the last two years. In the last nine months alone, eight babies have been born, with two more due in the next month, and two other's expected in the fall - quite the baby boom! While we love all of these kiddos, the newest edition is the most dear as it is Miss Lyla Jane, our niece (Tio and C's first child). She put her family through the ringer with her dramatic entrance into the world but immediately mended our hearts and has us all already wrapped around her littlest of fingers.

Meeting Lyla a few hours after she was born

Kieran getting his first glimpse of Lyla

Reed visiting C and Lyla

Uncle Jon showing off his baby holding skills

Included in the new baby count is Jeffrey, who was actually born in Virginia to our local friends Mikael and Erin. Mikael is getting ready to be deployed until December which means Erin and Jeffrey are going to be in the Valley for the rest of the year. Mikael got some time off to bring everyone West and so last week we had a few get togethers to maximize our time with him and his growing family. On Thursday Russell and Laurie hosted a pizza party for the gang. It was great looking around the room and seeing all of the young kids that are (or will be) so close in age.

Jeffrey and Kieran

Clara and Reed

Eden and Kieran

 

On Friday we had Mikael and family along with C, Tio, and Lyla over for dinner. Being less than a week old they weren't ready for Lyla to be around the big group that was at the party the night before so lucky us we got to have another night of fun and babies!

Jeffrey and Lyla meeting

Cousins!!!

Mikael, Jeffrey, Jon, and Kieran - boy how things have changed!

The rest of this post doesn't really have much to do with the Baby Boom, but are things I want to share about the boys:

Reed's adjustment to baby Lyla has been a bit interesting. For the past ten days he has been constantly asking if he's a baby or to be treated like a baby. He also has declared all of his stuffed animals babies and spends a lot of time nursing them, giving them bottles, burping them, swaddling them, and putting them to sleep. It is very endearing and for the most part fairly positive so we are just going with it right now.

Reed and a swaddled "Skeeter Baby"

Kieran is now sitting up completely independently and it seems like the boys are interacting a lot more and there are quite a few moments during the day that they "play" together.

Teething - uggghhh. For the last three months Kieran has had bouts of fussiness every couple of weeks that we attributed to teeth coming in, but then there would be no teeth. On Friday night he started screaming non-stop after I put him down for the night. He was content if Jon or I were holding him, but if we laid him back down it immediately turned into another meltdown. We finally put him in bed with us for a bit and even though we were exhausted his cuteness softened us especially when he started inspecting Jon's mouth (I think he was trying to figure out why teeth are such a big deal). The good news is that as of this morning one of his bottom front teeth is poking through so maybe we will have a break from the teething crankies for a bit!

Kieran inspecting Dad's chompers

Seven Months

I've been really thinking a lot lately about how much I appreciate Kieran for the baby he is. For the most part he is predictable, even tempered, content, and a pleasure of a Kiddo. The only time he normally gets fussy is if he's tired and a pacifier, lovey, and a crib (or car seat, or carrier, or sometimes even Mom's arms) take care of that rather quickly. I honestly lay Kieran down when he is acting tired and only rarely have to go back into his room. His naps are usually over an hour long and after a few weeks of very early wake-ups we are back to him getting up between 6:30 and 7:00 am (thank you blackout curtains). He still normally wakes twice at night and he is definitely hungry. Although I would love for that to drop to one or zero wake-ups I understand that it is a lot easier to get a good feeding in when it is dark and quiet in the house versus with a fun big brother running around distracting you, so I'm not to the point of trying to change anything just yet.

Kieran loves being in the car and will play with a toy or sleep pretty happily. He has really enjoyed starting to eat solids and I now let him feed himself most of his own food. He still is only just eating at dinnertime, but it is a lot of fun to have a family dinner every night that includes him. K also has made the transition to sitting to play a lot of the time and it is so nice to be able to plop him down on the kitchen or laundry room floor without worrying about him teetering over. At least once or twice a month there is a day or two that he is a nightmare though and we think that his first tooth must be coming in - yet he still has no teeth. So no, he is not perfect, but we really do expect a lot from him and are usually pleasantly surprised with how well he lives up to those expectations.

Monthly Statistics

Weight: 16lbs 12oz

Height: 27 inches (per the Pediatrician at the end of May)

Clothing Size: He fits in 6 and 9 month clothing. He's so thin and lanky not much is tight on him, but 6 month stuff tends to be short while 9 month stuff is super baggy around the waist.

Kieran likes: Eating, taking walks, bath time, riding in his car seat, watching Reed do anything, the jumperoo, being sung to, watching people make funny faces, being tossed in the air, his lovey Max, and Perrito his stuffed animal pacifier.

Kieran dislikes: Having his clothes changed/taken off, waking up hungry, being distracted while nursing, having something taken out of his hands, and being overtired.

Food: So far he has had Avocado, Apples, Banana, Apricots, Peaches, Carrots, Yams, Butternut Squash, and Zucchini.

 

Nicknames: Kier, K, K Dawg, K-Man, Kierito, Goldilocks, Lovebug, Buddy, Buddy Bear, Sweetheart, and Sneezy.

How Kieran is sleeping:  Kieran still sleeps in a sleep sack with a pacifier and two loveys, with the sound machine going. He goes to bed around 7:30 and usually wakes twice during the night to nurse. The past few days he was been waking around 6:45 (after 10 days of 5:15 wakeups and the wonderful discovery of blackout shades). He usually takes three naps. One in the morning that is usually 1.5-2 hours long, the second in the early afternoon of the same length, and then a short one in the late afternoon lasting only 30-45 minutes. Some days there are only two naps.

Favorite Moment: A few times Kieran has burst out in laughter just watching or hearing something he thought was funny. Once he started laughing uncontrollably just because I was laughing. Another time Kieran and I were sitting in a giant cardboard box with Reed pretending to drive it as a car, Kieran couldn't catch his breath he was laughing so hard. Jon also got to experience the laughter when K was sitting in his lap while he played a video game - he started laughing out each time there was a fart noise.
Milestones:
05/23/14 Kieran's first time sitting up unassisted for over one minute
05/26/14 The Kiddo's first time in the pool
05/26/14 K's first time sitting in a booster seat for dinner
05/30/14 Although he doesn't get to meet Lyla until a few days later, he gets to be in the hospital for his cousin's birth

Favorite Photo Shoot Outtake:

Reed Says . . . May 2014 Edition

Reed's newest thing is that he has been making up songs. One of his favorites goes "your daddy's home, go outside, guitar." He performs it in this sing-song voice and sways side to side, it's adorable!!! Less adorable is that he's skipped his nap a few times this month. He only sleeps for about 9.5 hours at night so for a kid his age he needs to be getting in a good nap in the daytime, but sometimes he just can't fall asleep. He sits in his bed reading books or talking to himself, not acting out at all, but just can't sleep. On those days I usually let him come out of his room after about an hour and a half. Those evenings are especially hard/emotional/tantrum filled but he usually is fine with an early bedtime. I'm really not ready for him not to have a nap, and I don't think he is either, so hopefully we figure this out soon.

Lately Reed has been trying out new words, throwing them into a conversation here or there and testing to see if he's using them correctly. It is pretty cute and definitely fun to watch his vocabulary grow even more. A few things he still doesn't grasp include him using "mines" instead of "mine" and when he wants to say nobody or no one he usually says "anyone." Here are a few things the Monkey has said lately that I want to remember forever:

I was driving one day and Reed started pleading with me to fix his travel Etch-a-Sketch. I said "what happened? Is it broken?" He replied "the Etch-a-Sketchs not broken, it's just limitated, it is just not as good."

The Kiddo was hanging out in the bathroom one morning when I was getting ready for work. I had an odd bump in my ponytail and said out loud "I can't figure out this bump in the back of my hair!" He quickly asked me "where are the instructions to it?" "To what?" I asked. "Where are the instructions to your hair?" he replied.

A few weeks ago, out of nowhere, Reed walked up to me and told me that "Mother Goose is a respectable bird and a girl bird."

We have a "licker" that attaches to an outdoor faucet so Dodger can use his mouth to get fresh water in the backyard anytime he wants. Somehow the faucet had been turned off so I turned it back on and was trying to call Dodger over to show him it was working again. The dog wanted nothing to do with me so Reed chimed in to help by yelling "Dodger come hither! Come get your lick on!"

On the top of my list of adorable Big Brother moments is when Reed walked up to Kieran earlier in the month, put his hand on K's head, and said "you're the best present I ever got."

Reed grabbed a book from under the couch one day and in an astonished tone I said "how did you reach that?" He replied "Well, I stuck some of my body parts and my head in there and grabbed it."

I turned my back during lunch and when I turned back there was a big puddle of milk. I asked if it had been on purpose. He said "it is on my placemat!"

Kieran was taking longer to nurse than usual. I guess Reed got tired of waiting so he burst in Kieran's room and said "Kieran is just dilly-dallying today!"

On the rare occasions I actually do my hair Reed usually hangs out with me in the bathroom. One day he pulled my curling iron out of the drawer and said "where can I plug this in?" I told him that was only for Mom to plug in. Then he said "but the bad guys' (his Star Wars characters) hairs are crazy and I need to fix them!!!"

Earlier in the month when we visited his Allergist he received a Monsters Inc. sticker from the nurse. When we got home he informed me that the monster was "a silly Cookie Monster, he doesn't eat cookies, he eats graham crackers."

When we got back in the car after a trip to the grocery store it was quite warm. As soon as I buckled him into his car seat he started yelling at me "it's hot in here, turn on the irrigation!!!"

Pool Party

On Monday Jon was able to leave work a few hours early because of the Memorial Day Holiday, unfortunately our air conditioner decided it should stop working as well!!! Although the pool is still a little chilly for my taste, the four of us gladly took refuge outside to help cool off. Reed and Jon had a great time playing basketball and Reed kept saying over and over again how excited he was to be hanging out in the pool as a family. We got Kieran in up to his knees and he decided that was just about enough for him, he did love getting splashed by the boys while we sat on the edge of the pool though. Given how much he likes bath time I think he will love the pool once it gets a bit warmer.

Showering Auntie Amanda with Love

On Saturday my friend Lee and I had the privilege of co-hosting a baby shower thrown in the honor of Auntie Amanda. The three of us have been friends for almost twenty years. Even though we have  been close for the last two decades this past year has been extra special - Kieran was born in November, followed by Lee giving birth to twins (John and Alice) last month, and Amanda is due with her first child in July.  Being able to share pregnancy, gender reveals, child birth, and newborn sagas with them has and will continue to be so fun. Also the thought of us having kiddos the same age is so great.

Amanda is the Queen of creativity, so it is always daunting to throw a party in her honor as she is normally my go to person as far as themes, décor, special touches, and invitation ideas go. We ended up going with a "Twinkle, Twinkle" theme in a nod to some of the things she is doing for the nursery. Basically everything was done in navy blue and various shades of pink with lots of gold stars. It was a great day and so special to see Amanda surrounded by so many people that love and adore her and will feel the same way about her baby girl.

Lee and her Mom Lynda

Laurie, Auntie M, and Auntie Amanda

Laurie, Shannon, and Clara

Amanda and Vanessa

Auntie M and Grandma

Auntie Amanda and Me

Me, Amanda, and Lee

Biz, Vanessa, Amanda, and Lee

Opening gifts

Lee, Vanessa, Amanda, and Me

When Amanda co-hosted my baby shower three years ago she made a quilt for the baby. It was the first quilt she ever made and it has had a special place in Reed's room ever since. He sleeps with it in his bed every day and often reminds me that "Auntie Amanda made this quilt for me." Last year she gifted me with another lovely quilt that now resides in Kieran's room. It is also a beautiful piece of work and I can't wait for him to be a bit older and start to appreciate the treasure that it is.

I have taught myself to sew over the last few years, but am still very much a novice. However, I decided that I would try my best to return the favor and make Baby L a quilt of her own. It was a big undertaking since I didn't know what I was doing and I also have a toddler and an infant at home with me on the days I don't work. I learned a lot in the process and know if I ever undertake a project like this again it would take a lot less time and involve a lot less errors!!! The quilt is in no way perfect, but it was made with so much love, and isn't that the most important part of something like this anyway?