Kyndall’s 1st Bottle

Kyndall had her first bottle earlier this month, and she had quite the cheering section!  The kids had anxiously awaited this moment and had trouble giving Kyndall and Murray any space to figure it out!  She did great though, and everyone was able to have a turn helping!

Sweet Daddy has given the first bottle to all four of our babies, and he has become an expert bottle feeder. 

 

You know little momma couldn’t wait to get her hands on the bottle!

Cole waited patiently, but he wasn’t going to miss out on the action either!

 

Even Hayes really wanted to help.  So sweet!

Bragging on our big girl for how good she did! 

She won’t get bottles too often, but I am really glad that she did as well as she did.  It’s nice to know I can be away for more than a couple hours at a time if I need to be!  ;)

2 Months Old

Sweet, happy girl!  You are precious, and we could just kiss your chubby cheeks all day long… Jordan pretty much does until I tell her she HAS to leave you alone. You are 2 months old and changing all the time. 

You went for a 6 week check-up instead of a 2 month one.  Dr. Catherine wanted you to have your shots a little early since you have so many big siblings who love to love on you.  ;)  You weren’t so much a fan of that visit, but they were proud of how well you are holding your head up and were very impressed with your eating and growing skills!  Despite having yucky reflux, you were already 10 lbs and 13 oz (75%) and 20.75 in (75%)!  I’m most impressed (and jealous) of how much your eyelashes have grown!  Long and lovely like your big sister’s!

Here are a couple random pictures of your cuteness!  You are beautiful and so fun to dress up! 

 

Jordan loves to help pick out your clothes and REALLY loves when you match.  Right now your sizes make it tough to find matching clothes, but we have been lucky to coordinate a few times!  Of course a photo shoot follows…

Jordan could sit and talk to you forever.  She is also quick to tell me my turn holding you is up!  She is your little momma, for sure, and hopefully that won’t bother you too much as you get bigger!

You have become quite the bathing beauty this month!  You love to snooze by the pool and look quite stylish doing it!

 

One of the best things about this month has been your expressions.  You have “found” us and your smile.  You love attention and being talked to.  Watching you work to smile is so fun, and we have caught some pretty great faces!

  

You also have mastered the pout (uh-oh!) and a couple different silly faces!

    

You had your first bath in the big tub this month, and you have also had your first sibling bath!  And survived!

Here you are on your first wagon ride…

You are a major Daddy’s girl already!  You LOVE this man, and I’m pretty sure the feeling is mutual!  Y’all are definitely snuggle buddies!

When it comes to playtime, you have lots of help and attention!

You are getting really great at kicking this toy!  Too little to be so intentional, if you ask me!  I love your excitement when your feet work like you want them too!

And it was a MAJOR big deal when you had your first bottle.  A whole separate post’s worth of cuteness, but here is a sneak peek!

  

These months are passing by too quickly.  I am trying to savor the baby you are, while you still are.  Having older babies, I know just how quickly this sweet, snuggly, baby phase ends.  There’s no better feeling than you sleeping in my arms or nuzzled into the crook of my neck.  I love you more than words can say… we all do!

19 Months (plus a few days)

Hayes, you are 19 months! Have been for 10 days now, but I am behind! In my defense, my external hard drive that I put all my pictures and videos on has messed up so I was trying to figure out a way to access all of your cuteness before writing this. And it is a good thing you are such a cutie! 

I’ll be honest... You are at a tough stage. You are big enough to want to do everything Cole and Jordan do, by yourself, with no help AT ALL! Unfortunately you just are not big enough to be really capable of doing a lot of that. This leads to big messes, lots of frustration, and screaming at whoever dares try to help you. Especially a certain little momma in our house... And I'm not talking about me- although I get my fair share. You also know exactly what you want/don't want, but you aren't always able to clearly express it. I understand a whole lot of what you say these days, but it's those times I don't that really upset you. 

I spend a lot of my time these days saying "talk sweetly," "use your words," "we don't hit/bite/pull hair," "say- no please," etc. You can throw quite a fit. I also am trying to break your food throwing habit. You dump that plate so fast when you decide you're done! 

Those are the difficult things, but, despite those, we still want to keep you because there are even more precious things! And we know from having 2 before you that you will eventually outgrow those habits. :) 

You love to be a helper. You are great at cleaning up and love to help me throw things away, put clothes in your hamper or drawer, and empty the dishwasher. You know where your toys and books are supposed to go and want them just right.  Here you were so determined to have the mommy and daddy holding the kids in their laps and got so excited when it finally worked!

You are in your happy place outside! You love to find sticks, bugs, rocks, and puddles! You could play ball all day, and you have driven countless miles on your 4 wheeler! I can't wait to get you a big playset one day because you love to swing, climb, and slide. Turn on the sprinklers and fill up the baby pools, and you are in cloud 9!

Speaking of pools, this is your first summer to really get in the pool somewhat independently. You liked being in the water last year, but were too little to do anything but be held really. This year, you love to have on your puddle jumper and kick around and have even gone off the diving board! You are already starting to want to swim without a float and without help though... Again- just like Cole and Jordan do it! My eyes are glued on you, baby boy!

Your language skills are growing by leaps and bounds! You are such a little parrot and copy everything we say. My favorite little words you have added lately are "whoa" when you lose your balance or almost fall, "yuck" when I change your stinky diapers, and "ow" when you get a little boo-boo. I also love the way you say "yes." You don't actually say the word. You nod your head so big that it looks like you will topple over! Cutest ever. You have started saying phrases like "I wanna rock," "Here Cole," “one more song,” or "____ fell down." Some of my not so favorite new words are "mine" and "my turn!" Oh- but listening to you say "Hello dada. Bye-bye." on the phone is so sweet, and your "wuv wu" (love you) melts my heart! 

You enjoy sitting and watching tv for short periods of time… especially if there is popcorn involved! We introduced you this month to a couple new shows.  We thought you would love Thomas the Train because you LOVE trains, but it’s not that exciting to you.  However, you are OBSESSED with the Muppets clips on youtube that Daddy showed you.  Your favorites are Manamana, Witch Doctor, and Bohemian Rhapsody (you call it Mama), but you will watch any of them and just giggle!  Your favorite regular tv shows are still Elmo, Mickey Mouse, and Kate & MinMin.  You get so excited when Mickey’s “Hot Dog Dance” song starts playing, and boy do you have some moves!

You are so silly! You love to play and make people laugh. One of your favorite games right now is pretending you are a dinosaur coming to get me. You sneak down the hallway, growling, and then jump around the corner, roar, and run to bury yourself in my legs. I'll act scared, and you belly laugh before saying "more!" and running back to the hallway. You also have found that fake burping and saying "excuse me" at the table really gets your brother and sister laughing! You also think it's so funny to climb into Kyndall's swing, bouncy seat, etc.

You enjoy being sung to- especially if there are motions.  You have been working hard on “Itsy Bitsy Spider,” “This Little Christian Light of Mine,” and “The Wise Man.”  You do them the best if Cole will do them with you.  You will do just about anything Cole will do… even workout!

You are all boy and are rough and tough. You love to fight and wrestle! Anyone laying on the ground better watch out because that is an open invitation for you to run and jump on top of them! You are a pretty stocky little dude too so your presence is felt!  Guess those workouts with Cole must be working!

You love animals!  You are so excited on zoo trips when you spot the animals.  Your reaction is by far my favorite part of the zoo!  You also love to point out squirrels, birds, dogs, and cats on our walks.  You say Lexi is your dog, and you love to hold her leash!  And you even kiss the lion statues outside Nonny and Poppy’s house.  Haha!

You are still a good sleeper! You like 2 naps a day, but, if we are out and busy, you can miss that morning one and take a long afternoon one ok too. You liked to be rocked for a while, but you usually don't fall asleep until we put you in bed and leave the room. You are a great eater. You eat about anything, but peanut butter is your newfound love You are constantly bringing me the peanut butter jar from the pantry and wanting a lick (or two or three).

One of the best things about you is that you are really affectionate. You give the best kisses and snuggle so sweetly. You give them when asked, but those times when you lean over on your own for a big smooch or climb up into Cole's lap or lay your head over onto Jordan are beyond precious. And you LOVE to hug and kiss on Kyndall! 

So... We will keep correcting and teaching to weed out those less pleasant habits and keep encouraging the sweet boy inside there! We love you so much Hayes! You are pretty terrific!