Bro Code

These two. They are so cute together. Ryder LOVES TJ. I mean, he LOVESSSSS him. And I think TJ is ok with all the love. ☺ TJ is a great big brother to Ryder. Always has been. He plays with him and takes care of him and I love watching their brotherly love grow. They are so cute together! Watching them become big brothers to a little sister has been so wonderful. TJ fell in LOVE with Blakely the second he saw her. He’s always coming home from school and asking how she’s doing. Asking to hold her and cuddle her on the couch. The cutest. I’m so grateful for this family of mine. I love watching the relationships between all three kids and can’t wait to watch Blakely’s big brothers take care of her. They’ve got her back already! I hope the bond between all of them just gets better and deeper with age.

Here is a random selection of pictures of my boys. I love watching their brotherly bond grow. And watching them become big brothers to a little girl... The sweetest!

 These two. I mean, have you ever seen such cute dudes!? I sure do love them.
This photo was taken at Ryder's 1st Birthday shoot. Photo by Laura Murray Photography. I love this picture. This perfectly captures their love for each other!

This photo is by Kathleen Peachey Photography.
These photos were taken for our Christmas card last fall. Ryder is just over 1 year and as usual, he's cracking us up!

Ryder is always telling us "walk!" and that means "come with me... we're gonna go play together". LOL Watching TJ in his big brother roll is the cutest. He has the best heart and is so caring and loving towards Ryder. Even when Ryder is annoying! Ha!

I just LOVE this picture. STUDS!

This was the day Blakely was born. TJ fell in love with her the second he laid eyes on her. He's always saying "she's so cute!!" and "oh my gosh I don't want her to grow up! She can't get any cuter than this!" and it just puts a smile on my face to watch him love her. 

This was day two of Blakely's life. Day 1 Ryder wasn't too into her. LOL He didn't want to sit by her or take pictures with her. He didn't even have much interest in checking her out, either. But he did go in for one quick kiss. And that was that. He was over it after that one kiss for the day. Haha.

TJ's always asking to hold Blakely and loves to cuddle her. This is his favorite position. He wants her to be "cozy" and loves how her cheeks squish up. 

I just love these kids of mine and can't believe I have three kids. What?! How'd that happen? Being their mom is the best gift and I thank God for it every day. Please don't grow up too quickly, little babies! I want to capture all these moments and put them in my pocket! To say I feel blessed is 1. kinda cheesy and 2. an understatement (to say the least). I can never find the words to describe the love I feel for these babies. I just hope they know how loved they are!

              

Blakely - 1 month old

Blakely turned one month old a couple days ago. I can’t believe how fast the time has gone! She is the sweetest little thing there ever was. She’s sleeping well and I don’t feel too run down most days. This is much different from when Ryder was a newborn and I was so exhausted I felt nauseous most of the time!! I was a walking zombie! She’s been great at nursing from the very beginning. She loves bath time and is very alert! She loves when you sit and chat with her and also loves being sung to. Oh my heart! I just love her so much. She loves to lay on the couch, spread out and look around. Her black hair just keeps getting longer and I love it! She’s a little cuddle bug right after she eats and I swear I could sit and stare at her squishy little face ALL. DAY. LONG.

We decided to get some pics of our one month old. I knew Ryder wouldn’t cooperate, because he never does. But I just told Tooth to put him next to me and snap away. Even if Ryder was screaming and crying (like he usually does. Which I actually don't mind. I love capturing his real emotion. Even if it isn't pretty or "perfect". Sometimes the imperfect moments are the best.) But instead of crying and running away, he sat next to me and asked to hold Blakely. OMG. I think my heart melted into a puddle right there. He must know that my love language is photography. I was so excited, you guys. He hasn’t held Blakely yet!! He’ll kiss her sometimes. He’ll check on her and give her the binki. But he has had no interest in touching her. LOL So this moment literally melted me and I’m thrilled it happened while we had the camera out! Best moment ever.

Ryder's already better at soccer than me. At least when I hold a baby I can blame my lack of skill on the fact that I have an infant in my arms. LOL

This face. Ha! She's always making this face at me like I've done her wrong! ;)

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Oh my gosh! These little smiles! Is this real life?! How is she so cute? :) :)

Ryder isn't screaming or crying. And he isn't running away. I'm obviously thrilled!

Then he asked to hold her (he said, "hold you") and I thought my heart was going to explode right then and there. This is his first time holding Blake. You guys, I really thought my heart was going to burst from so much love!

And then this. He looks at the camera. And again, he isn't crying. He's actually happy to look at the camera and take a decent picture. VICTORY! LOL

Oh my! Then to top it off he leans in for a kiss!!!!

He's pretty proud of himself for loving on her! :)

He gave her a couple more kisses before deciding he was done. I swear I'll never forget this moment. My sweet boy and my bitty baby girl. Oh how I love them. I will cherish this memory and these pictures forever. Shout out to my patient hubby who took these pictures and captured the moments perfectly. I had a perma smile the rest of the day (and it's possible that I'm still smiling about this cute moment right now!).

               

Fears of Having Two

Becoming a new mom changes everything. You have no idea what you’re in for. It just happens. When I had Ryder I was amazed at how much I loved him... Instantly! It’s a love that I cannot explain. But I also had no idea that I would ever struggle as much as I did with anxiety after Ryder was born. It was pretty bad for about 5 months. There are so many pressures to being a new mom. So many fears. I was so worried every decision I made wasn’t going to be PERFECT. I had a lot to learn as a new mom! We were trying to figure out what our family of four meant and that was a struggle for all of us. Trying to find a balance with our new baby was difficult.

And now I’m having a daughter at the end of July. So, I will have a toddler AND a newborn to love and care for and worry about! I want this to be a good experience for Ryder, so I’ve been reading up on how to make this a smooth transition (well, as smooth as possible!).

I read on a parenting site that it’s a good idea to let your oldest (toddler) come visit in the hospital. Let him visit, get hugs, chat, etc., before even seeing or holding the baby. The author suggested that you put the newborn in the nursery at hospital right before your toddler comes to visit. This way, the focus is on the toddler. Once you chat and get some time alone with the toddler, then the dad and the toddler go together to the nursery to get the new baby. Let the toddler see the baby and help push the baby’s bassinet to the room. If the toddler walks into a room where the mom or dad is already holding the infant, it makes the toddler feel overwhelmed and concerned like, “why is that baby in my mommy’s arms?! She’s mine!” It makes sense that it could be scary and confusing for a toddler. LOL

We are planning to do this. We’ll let Ryder sit on the bed with me and he can hold the baby before he even sees Tim and me snuggled up with our new baby girl. The author said this gives the toddler an idea of how to be helpful, ownership in their new sibling and a sense of, “I’m ok. I’m not replaced.” I’m sure there is no way around having some feelings about not being the center of the universe. I know it won’t always be smooth and perfect. We’ll have to take one day at a time. And I would SO love any advice you have about how to help create a close bond between your babies from the beginning?

I’m sad I won’t get as much alone time with Ryder and I’m also sad I won’t get anywhere NEAR as much alone time with our baby girl as I did with Ryder. Duh. The thought of not being able to just lay on the couch in pj’s snuggling her all day (like I was able to do with Ryder for the first month or so) sometimes breaks my heart. I’m hoping I can learn to balance how to squeeze in a LOT of snuggles with both my babies.

I am wondering how I am going to feel the second time around. I do feel better about the fact that I’ll have more confidence. I think I’ll worry a little less. You have to, right?! I am concerned about being able to balance Ryder and a newborn. I know it will take a while for him to adjust. He doesn’t get what’s going on and BAM his world will be rocked. I want him to always feel loved and cared for. I still want to have the energy and time to play with him. And I’ve gotta say, I’m so worried that I won’t!

Nursing the baby is one area where I’m just wondering how I’ll have time to do that and take care of Ryder. Newborns eat around the clock and I really want to breast feed again. It was a great experience with Ryder (once I got the hang of it!) and I’m so glad I was able to nurse him. I don’t know how I’m going to be able to feed almost 24-7 while also taking care of a demanding toddler? Anyone out there have any tips?! I don’t know why, but this is my biggest fear!

 This kid is such a goofball and gets so upset the second the fun is over. He loves rough housing and being thrown across the room onto the bed or couch. He's getting harder and harder for me to carry these days... Let alone wrestle with! How am I going to explain to my barely 2-year-old that Mommy can't play rough after my c-section?!

Baby girl is coming, and SOON! I’m hoping to make the transition (for everyone!) as smooth as possible. I’d love your advice on what worked for your growing families! As nervous as I am about the changes ahead... We can't wait to meet this little girl!! 4 more weeks! Eek! :)