Too Cute

Footed PJ's on a baby has got to be one of life's cutest sights.  This isn't the greatest picture nor are these his cutest pajamas, but it's still awfully sweet.

In other cute news, check this out:

Being sick, seemingly, is not cute.  Just ask Dada who got vomited on three times before 9am yesterday morning (a little even got in his mouth).  Or ask Gramma and Grampa who got to change 6 diarrhea diapers today.  For us, though, a sick baby is a snuggly baby which is awfully cute.  Typically, Rhys is a man on the move.  He loves being held if you're up and moving around, but sitting and/or laying down with him to read, snuggle, etc. just doesn't happen.  So, while we certainly hate seeing Rhys sick and unhappy, we've definitely enjoyed the sweet snuggles.  No picture(s) to share...he wasn't sick enough to quickly stop cuddling and demand the phone when it came out for a photo opp.  (Our nanny took the video above...not really sure how...she has magic powers).   

Brrrr

You may have noticed that it's been awhile since we've posted a picture of Rhys wearing a cute hat.  That's because he now REFUSES to keep a hat on head.  In a store one day I tried to put one on him and he screamed bloody murder.  When I tried again (why did I try again?  I don't know) he screamed even louder.  Fortunately, if he's sufficiently distracted by a fun activity like walking around the block with his walker, he'll allow a hood to stay on his head.

Mittens do not seem to piss him off as much as hats. He simply removes them, hands them back and goes about his business, cold hands be damned.

One!

I should be working right now, but this proud Mama would much rather tell you all about her sweet one-year-old! 

Stats
Height:  31.25" (92nd percentile)
Weight:  23lbs, 9.5oz (82nd percentile)
Head circumference:  49.4cm (100th percentile)

We really like our pediatrician.  By the point in my pregnancy that it came time to choose someone, I was just done with making decisions so we went a friend's recommendation and nothing more.  We didn't interview the doc.  We didn't even meet her.  And, frankly, I'm really glad because the type of parent I *thought* I was going to be would not have meshed with her.  But for the type of parent I've turned out to be, she's a great fit.  

But about our little man...my favorite things about Rhys are...

...his hugs first thing upon waking.  Mornings come far too early for my taste (5am anyone?) but the reward for getting out of bed is a pair of sweet little arms around my neck.  It makes getting up worth it.  (Usually.  You all know how much I love my sleep).

...watching Rhys dance.  He does this cute little booty shake and it's awesome.

...his smiles and laughs.  Rhys is a happy little guy.  We work hard to keep him well-rested and well-fed and it shows in his demeanor.

...watching him walk.  He's quickly mastering this skill and it's great fun watching the progress every day.

...his expressions.  Rhys has always had an expressive face and it gets more so each and every day.  Happy, sad, frustrated, whatever, it shows on his face.

In the interest of journalistic integrity, I must admit that Rhys is not perfect.  Unless he is sleeping, he hates the car and is not afraid to make it known, which makes riding him with him quite unpleasant.  His current method for letting us know that he's done with his meal is to throw his food on the floor.  Kinda annoying.  And, finally, he tells us that he is frustrated with a sound that is a little bit like nails on a chalkboard.  Other than these three things, though, he is perfect.  :)

We had a little family birthday party for Rhys and it was great (many thanks to Auntie Megan for several of these pics):

You can't tell it from this picture, but this boy loves to eat.  He packs away A LOT of food.  It's pretty amazing.

See note above re: expressive face.

Hangin' with sweet cousin Norah.

One of many generous gifts.

A homemade cake made with love by Dada.

Rhys wasn't a huge fan of his happy birthday serenade.

He had a few bites of cake and then proceeded to throw it on the floor.  All done, Mama!

A happy family.

I love this picture because you can see Rhys' 3-month portrait in the background.

No, that is not a meth dealer.  That is Uncle Carl.

Rhys got a kick out of Grandma Ann.  She elicited many laughs from him.

The party was on Saturday, the day before Rhys' actual birthday.  Here are a few shots from the actual day.

Dada, when is it my turn to play with the camera?

I love how it looks like he was calming sitting on my lap - not the case at all!

Jacques making a rare appearance.  Usually he hides out until the kid is sleeping.

Giddy up, Dada!

We love you, Rhys.  Happy first birthday sweet boy.

Skills

It's been far too long since I posted.  All the usual excuses apply...busy, tired, work, etc.  However, a new excuse is this...Rhys loves tech so every time Brian pulls out his phone to take a picture or video Rhys turns all of his attention to it, stops doing whatever cute thing he was doing and starts whining that we won't give him the phone.  Tonight, though, we had no choice but to just make it work because our boy is WALKING!  He has taken a tentative step or two over the last week and now he is stringing 4 or 5 steps together.  Yes, it usually ends with him falling into something, but it's still walking.

Here's a video.  It's weird and chaotic and sideways because we had to hide the phone from Rhys while convincing him to walk.  And, yes, it's a beer bottle that we're using to entice him to walk to us.  No, we're not parents of the year.

This next video we were able to capture right-side up and in focus because Rhys was focused on Elliott.  The cats are his second favorite thing after any Apple product.  I think Brian and I rank a distant third. 

Random Thoughts

We've been really busy lately so blogging has fallen to the bottom of the to-do list.  Here's a random smattering of thoughts/topics that I've wanted to write about, but haven't had time (or when I did have the time, didn't have the energy).  I anticipate Rhys waking from his nap in about 15 minutes, so this will be more stream of consciousness writing than my typical posts...bear with me.

Since the day we brought Rhys home from the hospital, I've struggled with knowing how warm or cold to dress him, especially for sleep.  I personally find the right temperature to be very important in sleeping well so I'm always very anxious to make sure he's the right temp...and therein lies the problem - who the heck knows what the right temp is for him?!  The whole problem is exacerbated (in my mind) by the fact that we still don't put a blanket in the crib.  So whatever we dress him in has to be just right, because there's no blanket to help regulate our missteps.  The old man on the bus who scolded me the other day for not dressing Rhys warmly enough did not help my confidence in this arena.

I used to have a pretty impeccable memory at work.  Now if I don't write things down, they're gone.  It really stinks.  I blame it on the fact that my brain is full of things like worrying about how warmly to dress Rhys.  Only so much can fit in there.

On the topic of worrying...it kind if cracks me up how little I worry about germs.  I am an extreme worrier on most other topics (the kid must get enough sleep!  he must poop enough!  he must eat spinach!)  But when it comes to germs, I am about as laid back as they come.  It's good to know that I do have it in me to be easygoing.  I'll need that skill as Rhys gets older and parenting gets a lot more complicated than deciding between short or long-sleeved PJ's.     

Our weekends are much "longer" now that Rhys is around.  On a good day (like today) we get to sleep in until 6:20.  I used to sleep in until at least 8 and wouldn't really get going until 10 or so.  Nowadays I am likely to have done the dishes, folded some laundry, fed Rhys breakfast and gone for a walk by 9am.  You really can fit a lot in the day when it starts at 6am.

A friend's mom told me towards the end of my pregnancy that children had "ruined her sleep forever."  I was aghast at the thought and was sure it wouldn't happen to me.  Now, I am pretty convinced that it has.  Thanks to the lasting physical effects of childbirth, I cannot make it through the night without having to pee and once I get up to go, I have a terrible time falling back asleep.  So while Rhys is sleeping away, I am laying there frustrated.  Even when I am sleeping, it's so light.  It used to be nearly impossible to wake me from slumber.  Not so now.  In addition, napping, once a favorite pasttime, is just not relaxing because it has to be on Rhys' schedule, not mine.         

Ok, the sweet boy is awake.  Time to sign off and enjoy some playtime.

Opinions

Our baby is turning into a little boy.  A little boy that has opinions.  A little boy who isn't afraid to express those opinions, loudly.  On Friday Rhys had a playdate. (Our nanny's sister is also a nanny so the two meet up now and again).  Apparently Rhys had a grand old time and was none too pleased to leave.  Same thing happened later that day when they were playing with the nanny's dogs.  Brian and I experienced the fun on Saturday when Rhys was seriously ticked off that we were carrying him through REI instead of letting him down so he could play with all the little kids running around.

Even a quick photo shoot led to drama. We attempted to capture a few photos of Rhys in a cute outfit.  One minute all was well...

Next minute he's ticked because Brian won't let him grab the camera...

 

Oh, well, at least we finally got some photographic evidence of his teeth!

I think part of Rhys' general frustration stems from his desire to be more mobile.  He is very interested in exploring his world and crawling just ain't cutting it anymore.  He's using his walker more and more and gets frustrated when it gets stuck somewhere.  Unfortunately, because our house is about 12' X 6', that happens a lot.  Just when he gets some steam going, he runs into a wall!

As such, we decided it was time to take the fun outside.  We don't have a big 'ol yard to enjoy, but we've got plenty of sidewalks.  Rhys got a good workout; he walked the length of the block a couple of times:

Ahhh, freedom!  See ya Mom and Dad.

I wish Mama would stop slowing me down, but I'm a happy camper anyway.

Always gotta make time to stop and smell the roses.

Cuteness

Today the nanny put our boy in some shoes.  (Brian and I rarely put him in socks, nevermind shoes).  Between those and the awesome outfit from Gramma Wynne, he looked awfully cute.  

 

The shoes didn't seem to slow him down at all:

Yes, that is duct tape that you saw on our ottoman.  We are not as classy as we once were.