Beckett: one year old

Wow what a crazy couple of months. I feel bad I haven't blogged because this is kind of like my journal and now I'm super behind. Between orienting at 2 jobs and visits from Ronnie's mom and my parents we have been busy! But I really wanted to write a post about Beckett turning one. What a sweet little boy he is. We are so lucky to have him in our family.

I have been reflecting a lot about this last year. It had a lot of highs and lows, I can now say I understand people who say their kids are terrible sleepers. Wow the difference between Ruby and Beckett was crazy. And it wasn't me, because I approached them pretty much the same, they just had their own temperaments when it came to sleep. Even that very first night in the hospital after Beckett was born I was alone with him because Ronnie was at home with Ruby. I was exhausted because I had barely slept the night before because I was in labor. But every time I would try to put him down in the bassinet he would immediately wake up. And I didn't want to fall asleep holding him in the hospital bed with all the nooks and crannies. And I was like what the heck? You're a newborn you're supposed to sleep all the time! And that's pretty much how it continued for the first 8 months of his life... He just really wanted to sleep in my arms... or nurse all. night. long. While I was struggling with Beckett I would have friends posting about how their 2 month old was sleeping 12 hours at night and I was like why are they bragging like that?!? I don't really think that, but that's what it seemed like at the time... and I was jealous. Haha! Things are much better now. He sleeps through the night (Thanks to Ronnie!). But now that we got him sleeping through the night, my wonderful sleeper, Ruby stopped doing it. She crawls in our bed every single night ever since we put her in a toddler bed. I guess that is just being a parent!

Anyways, Beckett at one. Taking a few steps but still prefers crawling. He loves to climb on everything, especially the kitchen table. Says uh oh, go, stop, and a few others! But not mama... But I know he loves me. He always wants to cuddle and give me hugs and cries when I go into another room. There is just something extra sweet about little boys. Don't get me wrong I LOVE having a little girl too, but there is just some kind of special bond. I'd heard people say that before, but I didn't really believe it till I had one of my own. He has 4 teeth. Getting lots of golden blonde hair that curls at the ends. He has the brightest blue eyes, I don't know where he gets them! Got a check up! Nice and healthy. 30 3/4 inches (84th percentile) Down from 100th percentile at 6 months! 25 lbs 6 oz (94th percentile). Wears 18-24 month clothes and some 2T. He loves cars and anything with wheels. He only nurses once a day, at night before bed. I thought this kid would be nursing long after one especially with how frequent he nursed his first 9 months of life... but no, he kind of cut back naturally as he ate more solids and going back to work probably helped the matter as well. I'm not sure how much longer we will keep up nursing. He loves protein! Chicken, turkey, hot dogs, etc! Also grapes, they are a favorite! He doesn't even like bread and carb-y things. I guess he needs to build those muscles?! He takes 1-2 naps a day, still not very long probably an hour, two if I'm lucky. Just like when he was a baby, he loves having your complete undivided attention. It cracks me up, he just really likes to know you are right there and paying attention to him. And I don't mind. He is just a charming little guy! He still likes to be held a lot, but not as much as when he was a baby. He loves to bother his sister. They are pretty cute together. Ruby likes to "make bubby happy!" We pretty much call him bubby right now, because Ruby does.

I feel like I'm writing too much on this post. So here are too many pictures! I took these for his first birthday! We had a super fun little party for him with a few friends. We did have a cake smash but he wasn't too interested. He got lots of cars! Ruby was so excited about the "bubby party".

A day at the shore

On Saturday of our 4th of July weekend we went down to the Jersey shore. Probably not the greatest idea because it was really crowded and bad traffic to get there but we still had a lot of fun. Ruby really loves the beach. She cried pretty hard when we had to leave saying "beach" in the saddest voice ever. Ruby pretty much hung out with daddy and Beckett hung out with me. Beckett was being super fussy and teething. So I had to nurse him a lot and then put him in the baby carrier. So he didn't quite enjoy the sand like I thought he would. But we will try again next time! We were meaning to go down to Island Beach state park but I called on the way there and they said something about being closed. People in Jersey are not the nicest on the phone so I didn't press for details and I was like lets just take the next turn off and head towards the beach. So we did and we ended up in Asbury Park. And it turned out really great. I feel silly calling it the Jersey shore because I just think of that dumb tv show, but I guess that's really what people call it here!

 ^A little scared of the waves at first

 ^She picked out this pink swimsuit at Target and was so excited about it. She even insisted on wearing it to bed one night after we bought it. Little girls are the best.

^My favorite. She was having so much fun but she gets so serious when she is having fun too. I just love her. 

^And here's me and Bubby for a lot of the time at the beach. Under the nursing cover and then in the carrier. He was being the clingiest baby that day. We did a lot of people watching haha. 

 ^Then, a little bit of fun with the funnest dad ever

^Tried to get all of us in a family selfie! Not super successful..

Until the next time Jersey Shore!

Lehigh Valley Scenic Railway

We had a super fun fourth of July weekend. On Friday, Ronnie took a vacation day because he's been working super hard with some long days lately... so hello 4 day weekend! We actually didn't really have a plan on what we were going to do that day. But we started out in Pottsville so Ronnie could get a dirt bike pass. After that, since we were already up North, we went to Jim Thorpe, which I had been wanting to check out for awhile. It's an old coal mining town on the Lehigh River and it's really cute. Our plan was to tour this historic mansion but as soon as we got out of the car, it started to down pour and we were not prepared at all. But we saw this train going by and thought it looked super fun so we did that instead. We still got soaked but it was okay! Ruby does love her "chee chees" and I love seeing the pretty scenery so it was a no brainer. Here are some photos from our trip!

^I really want to come back in the fall and see all the pretty colors

^Yup, they are cute. 

^This one cracks me up. The gave each of them an American flag which was of course really exciting for Ruby, and Beckett too.

^I just love her little pigtails. She has nap hair so it's a little crazy.

^Little buddies... and still having fun with those flags

^The most cuddly photogenic baby. Love him!

^I love them so much. Daddy was making us laugh. 

So I'm definitely excited to come back to Jim Thorpe and do a little more exploring of this cute town! I have been getting really into the history of where we live lately. The weekend before we went to the National Canal Museum in Easton and that's what inspired us to go up to Jim Thorpe. I could talk more about the history stuff but I think it would get a little boring for this blog post hah! Next I'm going to make a blog about our day at the Jersey Shore!

Ruby & Beckett: 2 1/2 and 9 months

The last few days have had a lot of landmarks. I kinda feel like a crazy mom that I keep track of these things but whatevs! Ronnie and I had our 5 year anniversary on June 24th, also the same day that Beckett turned 9 months (9 months in, 9 months out!) and then June 25th was Ruby's half birthday. And that means half way to Christmas, people! Wow. Anyways I wanted to write a little about these little people mostly for myself to remember these things. I love these kids so much.

So Ruby at 2 1/2. She is so much fun. She is finally starting to talk more. She's putting 2 and 3 words together, and sometimes even little sentences. I get so excited when she's able to tell me something! She has such a sense of humor. Like when I want her to say something she will say something completely different. So kind of stubborn too! She is only going to talk when she feels like it! And that's okay, whatever your timetable is sweet Ruby! She loves her little brother (she calls him Bubby). It was a little rough when he got really mobile and wanted to follow her around everywhere. She started playing with her toys in the bathroom with the door shut! But lately she has been a little better at sharing! Her favorite things are The Octonauts (which she calls Octis) and My Little Pony. She loves helping daddy. As you can see from the photo below! She also loves daddy to sing her to sleep. It's the sweetest thing ever, and I kinda love it.

Beckett at 9 months. We call him Bubs, Bub Bub, Bubby. I think it's just something about chubby babies. He has changed so much in the last month! It makes me feel all sentimental! Like where did my baby go? He is 24 pounds and didn't grow out of any clothes this month (a first!). I think it's because of all the exercise he's been getting. He is seriously always on the move... climbing the stairs, crawling, and pulling up on everything. He is starting to get some hair. But it's so blonde you can't really see it. Still no teeth but I can see the two on the bottom trying to come up, I feel like he's been teething for ages! But the biggest change is that he's been sleeping through the night! It's amazing especially since he would wake up every 1-2 hours his first 8 months of life/ wanted to nurse constantly so I kinda feel like I deserve this. So very thankful and hoping it keeps up!  I have been feeling so much better and like a better mom too. But a little part of me misses that he doesn't need me as much anymore. 

^I had to take a couple photos to commemorate his chubbiness! I don't know how long it will last! 

 ^Always, always on the move! 

Does anyone else feel guilty when they post more pictures of one kid versus another? Haha! It's just hard to take pictures of toddlers and it's becoming hard to take them of the Bubs too. I promise I love them equally! Plus I probably have like 300 more pictures of Ruby when she was a baby. Yeah, crazy mom over here haha.