Merry Christmas!

Just in time for Christmas, Jack has strep throat and Ryan has croup. Lovely. Actually it's not too bad since Jack felt better as soon as he started antibiotics and Ryan is pretty good during the day and just has a harder time at night. Luckily its been a few days and JP and I feel good so hopefully the worst has passed. On Monday Jack fell asleep on the couch while I was fixing his lunch--which he never does. Later that evening he was complaining his neck hurt and we finally figured out it was his throat and took him to the doctor's once he really started complaining. The next morning he walked into the living room and said, "What the heck? I'm me again!" He was so happy to be feeling better and I'm happy he'll have a fun Christmas still.

Here's our card this year:

You better watch out

It's that time of year

Last year we didn't have good luck with our family pictures so I was happy to find someone new who did a very good job and didn't cost a small fortune. It's not easy to get both boys looking at the camera AND smiling, but we did the best we could and here are some of the pictures that didn't make it on our Christmas card.

(Jack fell asleep on the car ride over so he's not fully awake in this first one!)

The Boys

To all family and friends: if you didn't receive a Christmas card from me last year or you moved during the last year, email me with your address (shellydewitt(at)gmail(dot)com) so I can send you one if you like!

These two...

are keeping me busy as usual. We're having fun decorating for the holidays and getting ready for all the festivities. Jack is loving listening to Christmas music and pretty much demands it whenever we're in the car. If it's not a song he can sing along to, he asks me to switch it to one he knows. His favorites are Santa Claus is Coming to Town and The Chipmunk Song! Today he made a list to get ready for Christmas and when he came to show me he explained that it was Santa's Naughty List. The unlucky few who made the list were monsters and his cousin Dewy because "he bitted me." I don't know when this alleged bite took place, but good thing for Dewy that Jack isn't really in charge of who gets a visit from Santa.

Ryan is busy walking all over the place now--it's kind of funny to see him wandering from room to room trying to keep up with his brother. He's got a total of three teeth coming through which should only help his healthy appetite. He loves to eat and it's so nice in contrast to Jack's picky eating habits. He's added another word to his vocabulary, "ball", and he loves trying to play catch with whoever is willing. Other than that, we only hear yelling and plenty of "MOMMA!"

I started my shopping early this year and feel more organized, but the month is still going by too fast. Hopefully I figure out our Christmas cards soon and get something in the mail in time!

Priorities

It’s been a while since I posted anything and that’s probably because it has been a while since I’ve taken any pictures. Life is good though. We’re getting ready for the holidays and Jack made this Thanksgiving turkey in preschool. If you can’t read it very clearly it says, “I am thankful for…Cartoons.” When I asked him what else he was thankful for, something more important than cartoons, he said, "My mom [long pause] getting me a snack after school." TV and snacks--that is important to this three-year-old!

leftovers

Just cleaning off my camera and wanted to share a few more things from Halloween before moving on.

Jack's preschool class did a little program that I have video of, but he didn't say a single word the entire time! I asked him afterward why he didn't sing and he said he was in his head. He has this shy streak every now and then, but he performed for us at home out loud. (I'm pretty sure the girl to Jack's left is taller than your average 3-4 year old, but can you get over how teeny he is!?)

SpoOky

Grandpa and Grandma DeWitt (or Count and Countess Floyd) came to visit over the weekend and made a surprise stop at the girls' school. We took Jack over to see and when he met up with Dewy, or should I say the evil Venom, they had to battle right there in the hall.




Jack was so excited to be Spiderman; he wore his costume constantly over the two months since I bought it. Here the super hero is scaling a wall to go rescue someone...

Then we have our little bat who was thrilled to tag along with the trick-or-treaters and ride in his wagon. He insists on holding that flag and dragging it every time we go in the wagon. As long as he had that, he didn't care at all that everyone else was enjoying endless candy. When we got home, he was a huge fan of the homemade donuts Aunt Jenny made and is still enjoying the leftovers for breakfast.

Jack is already talking about next year and what he wants to be. I'm sure he'll change his mind hundreds of times, but for now he's planning on Scooby-Doo.

Lately...

Jack occassionally calls us by our first names instead of mom and dad. Except my name sounds more like "Shawly." I asked him since when did he stop calling us mom and dad and his reply was "yesterday." Noted. He's very excited for Halloween and we recently took a trip to the pumpkin patch at Staheli farm with the cousins. I'm looking forward to Jack's little preschool party this week to hear the fun songs he's learned but is too cool to share with me when I ask!

***

And at nearly 13 months, Ryan is getting his first tooth! He had one rough day and night, but seems to be feeling fine now. I'm sure more teeth are close behind--I just hope this doesn't mean he's about to become a picky eater like happened with Jack.

Costume pics coming soon...

On the move...

Ryan's closer to walking, but in the meantime he has his own way of getting around whenever the ground is hard!

12 Months

We've made it to one year and in some ways its gone by too fast and in others, not so much (one year is a long time not to have a good night's sleep)! You would think the second time around would be easier with everything we experienced with Jack at this age, but it's pretty different this time around. The dynamic with two boys in general makes it different, but Ryan is also a lot more stubborn when it comes to sleep and now our latest challenge, weaning him. But we'll manage just fine since in addition to Ryan's strong personality, he's also very sweet. Lately he gives huge, toothless grins all the time and knows how to make us laugh. When they're not fighting over the same toy, he loves playing with his big brother and looks around for both Jack and Lola the minute he gets out of his crib in the morning. He thinks he's pretty cool now that he sits in a car seat facing forward and enjoys going for rides. He's usually in the back seat babbling out the window and just happy to see what's going on. He doesn't say much besides "mom" but has his own language of grunting and clenching his fists to let you know when he wants something. He's getter braver when it comes to standing without holding onto furniture, but he doesn't seem quite ready to start taking steps on his own. That's fine with me for now since he manages to get into all kinds of trouble as is!

Party Time

Last week we had a combined birthday party for Ryan, JP and Zaya. We had dinner at the new Brick Oven Pizza in town then came home for presents and cupcakes. All in all--it was a good time and everyone had fun. Ryan was down with his cupcake and checking out his new toys. JP was also happy with the toys he scored and Zaya was thrilled with all her Dora loot. Thanks to everyone for a good time!

"He likes it!"

My baby is now one year old! I have party pics to share soon but in the meantime, here he is loving his new swing. He gets so excited if you even get near the back door because he knows it's out there waiting. It's nice we can actually go out any time of day now since the weather is cooler. Love this time of year.

Jack gets a litte crazy with his pushing, even twisting him up before letting him go, but he always tells me, "he likes it!" when I say to be careful. And it's true--he loves it.

Preschool!

Jack started preschool last week and is having fun with his new teacher and friends. I went to an open house with him the week before he actually started and I think he thought I would always be going with him, but so far so good on being dropped off and picked up a couple hours later. It's always fun to hear about what he learned and see how excited he gets about telling me.

Lately he's into getting dressed himself and he does of good job of making sure his outfit matches...some times it matches a little too well.

The other day Jack came in and told me he was "hungry, thristy and watchy." I asked him what that meant and he said he needed a snack, a drink and a show to watch! Here are some more fun pictures of our fun little boy...

The Other Sister

All my sisters celebrate their birthdays right in a row. They also live by each other in towns right in a row and get to see each other often. Since I'm miles away I miss out on lots of get-togethers, but I wanted to wish them a Happy Birthday. So ladies, have fun going out to eat together, shopping, crafting, holding each other's cute babies and all that fun stuff...without me. I'm not jealous. No, seriously--Happy Birthday!

11 Months

Look at my big boy--it's absolutely crazy that he's almost one year old! He's at a very fun stage where he discovers something new he can do almost daily. That also means he's a lot of trouble and we have to remember to close certain doors and keep a lot of things out of his reach. He pulls himself up to everything and walks along furniture, but isn't to the point where he's taking any steps on his own. He's one speedy crawler though and just started using his knees instead of scooting on his tummy. He loves the outdoors and doesn't mind crawling on grass, dirt, or even rocks! When you put him in a swing, he gets so excited he starts kicking and no matter how long you let him swing, there are always tears when I get him down. Same with wagon rides...if he sees the wagon in the garage when we're passing by, you better be prepared to take him for a walk or he's not happy about it. He's an excellent eater and loves trying new things--his current favorite is corn on the cob. Like Jack at this age, he still has no teeth but manages gumming his food just fine. Ryan is a little sensitive some times; you tell him "no-no" and he'll burst into tears if he thinks he's in trouble. His favorite "toys" to play with are daddy's cell phone or mom's wallet--which was fine until he figured out how to open it. And of course he loves his brother but prefers when Jack keeps a little distance since lately he can't keep out of Ryan's face. He just gets a little too excited when playing with him. But we keep telling Jack that Ryan is going to be bigger than him before long since he's such a good eater and Jack is not. We'll see I guess.

so long, summer

we had fun...

The Happy Couple

Congratulations to JP's younger brother Daniel and his new bride, Fiti. They were married last week and we enjoyed all the festivities over the weekend. It was so nice to see family and friends from out of town who came to celebrate.

JP posing in his slick tux...he said this was the only way to make a picture with his Dad look good.

At the reception on Saturday we were entertained with dancing--Fiti obviously a little more graceful than Daniel!

Jack was in awe while watching the dancing and it was so cute to watch him on the sidelines with his arms trying to copy some moves.

Meanwhile Ryan was busy under the table playing in the grass. He was very good for being so tired after a long day without a nap. It helped that he got his hands on Jack's sucker and by the time we left that night, both boys were filthy and exhausted. It was fun to celebrate though and support Daniel and Fiti at this exciting time in their life. Jack has since asked me when we get to go to another wedding party.

10 Months

This past month has been a busy one for Ryan. He's quite independent now and likes to cruise all over the house doing his army crawl from room to room. He just started pulling himself up to things and has been getting into all kinds of trouble. He had a check-up a couple weeks ago and weighed 19 lbs. -- this puts him in the 20th percentile for weight, he was in the 60th percentile for height, and the 90th percentile for head size. (Don't worry Ryan, Jack was the same way and he grew into his head)! He loves eating new foods, especially if he can do it himself. Today he enjoyed a pickle and pretzel sticks for lunch and he's not really interested in the canned baby food I offer. The only word he says is still "mama" but he gets excited to see his daddy every day and always starts "dancing" by bouncing up and down, whether he's in my arms or playing on the floor. He's a good sleeper when he wants to be, but he'll throw it all out the window without any notice and go back to waking up a couple times a night. He went on a nursing strike this past month and didn't eat for 10 hours one day which of course stressed me out. He was perfectly fine though and ate again when he felt like it. He's getting too big and sometimes I do a double-take and wonder what happened to my tiny baby, but he's still so much fun every day.

Rough Week

Not the best week ever here at the DeWitt household, but luckily it's the weekend and things seem to be back on track. Jack had his first injury requiring a trip to the doctor...I guess we're lucky we've never had to deal with something like this sooner as crazy as he can be sometimes.

Just before dinner on Wednesday, he was playing with his cousins and came out of his room crying saying he was hurt. As he gets closer to me I see his hand is bloody and I grab it to see where he's cut when I realize the blood is from his head and it's dripping down. Long story short, the gash was deep enough to require three staples that the doctor put in while JP held him down. Gross. They don't seem to bother him at all even though I cringe every time I help him pull a shirt over his head. The headboard in the background is what he whacked, but I'm not sure if he was jumping on the bed or what happened exactly.


Luckily he's a tough kid. I'll remind him of that when we go to get the staples taken out on Monday!

About Time

It's about time I had a new post but time is hard to come by these days. We've been enjoying a busy summer, having fun and surviving the heat. Jack just started swim lessons and is already more confident in the water but struggles having the patience to participate through the whole class. He's always excited to go back the next day though so that's a good start.

We just got back from a couple quick trips including one to meet the boys' newest cousins, Luke and Wade. Such cute tiny babies...and they make my baby seem giant.

We've also been having fun every week with the cousins we live by. I told JP if I posted this picture, Katie wouldn't let us watch her kids anymore, but he insisted it was safe to send them all flying down the wet slide.

And Sage gave as good as she got in this water fight. JP happened to block the bucket she tried tossing on him right as I took this picture!

Ryan continues to keep me busy by insisting to stay within a one-foot radius of me. When I'm trying to get us all out the door on time and need to keep him occupied, I'll put him in his bouncy toy and the other morning he bounced himself right to sleep! It was sweet and sad--you can't tell in this picture, but his little legs were slowly going up and down even though his eyes were closed.

This summer we've also been enjoying our garden and the seemingly endless supply of zuchinni, tomatoes and squash. JP has been making salsa every week.

Until next time...

9 Months

Ryan is as busy as ever at nine months old. He scoots around on the floor and gets red knees after a long day of playing and trying to follow me everywhere I go. He's definitely attached to his mama--more than I remember Jack being. He was sleeping good at night until we went out of town and now we're working on getting back to a better routine...and then I'm sure we'll start all over again after the next trip! He's a good eater and especially loves feeding himself things like Cheerios and crackers. He still loves bath time, but it's trickier now that he's mobile and can't sit still. He likes going for walks and thinks he's pretty cool sitting in the wagon with Jack, but walks as far as the mailbox down the street will have to do for now since it's so HOT out. And it's probably just a coincidence, but I'm pretty sure he's close to saying "mama" since he starts whining "mmmmm" when he's upset. Jack is convinced too and always gets excited and says, "brother can talk!"

Page Trip

We spent last weekend in JP's hometown of Page, AZ. We got to spend some time at Lake Powell even though it was cloudy most of Saturday. The main reason for the trip was the annual Full Moon Classic softball tournament that JP plays in. I got to see one game that wasn't too late; it happened to be one they lost and were eliminated for, but it was still fun to see lots of friends and spend time with family.

Ryan wasn't loving the restrictions of a life jacket, but the boat ride put him right to sleep.

Jack got to play with his buddy Teni who towers over him at just one year older!

The team

You know you're in for a lot of laughs whenever JP gets around his friends. It was fun to see the ones we don't live near and catch up. We'll see how many all-nighter's these guys can pull out in the future (not like high school anymore)!

And here's a little face time for Lola on the blog. Our dog hates the camera so I never have pictures of her, but here she was plenty distracted to not even notice she was being filmed.