Four Months Old!!

It's happening again. Just like it did with Parker. Andrew isn't listening...no matter how many time I tell him to stop growing and no matter how many times I ask time to stand still, no one listens! Once again, we're celebrating another month with Andrew in our lives and I sit here wondering where the time has gone?! It seems like just yesterday that we brought him home from the hospital (and, yes, I re-read my post about his birth and it brought back a flood of roller coaster memories), but yet, we feel like he's been a part of our family forever. Today is Andrew's four month birthday, so I had to mark this milestone with some pictures and some updates on our little (but big) Andrew.

Here are four updates for four month old Andrew!

1. Smiles, smiles, smiles! This must be the happiest baby I've ever met! He smiles at Parker (every time he sees him), he smiles at me, but mostly, he LOVES his dad and he smiles and smiles just sitting there watching Brandon! He smiles at Bella, he smiles at his ceiling fan, he smiles at the TV, and he smiles at stuffed animals. Andrew one social little guy and he shows it through his happy, toothless smile!

2. Rolling over- not yet! Andrew has absolutely no interest in rolling over. And that is fine with me!! I want my baby to stay baby longer and I don't need him reaching all of these milestones too early! If he is happy just laying in one spot, even if all of his toys are a roll away, then that is fine with me!! He'll get it one of these days! Meanwhile....

3. Tonight Andrew sat all by himself for about 10 seconds before toppling over to the side! We've been working on baby pilates (as we call them in our house) to help Andrew strengthen his chubby little core body. He is so good at holding his head up and wants so badly to sit up and see what everyone else sees, that we are often holding him in that position, putting him in his bumbo, or in the baby exersaucer. Well, tonight we tried just sitting him there and he did it!

4. Snuggles! Andrew has gotten to the point where he is big enough to snuggle us in bed with Parker!! Often, Brandon and I find ourselves with Parker, Andrew and Bella in our bed in the middle of the night ready for some super snuggling! This is exactly what we've been waiting for and we LOVE to snuggle! When this happens and Parker wakes up in the morning, he usually says, "Mom, the WHOLE family in is your bed!" It melts my heart because Parker is probably just as excited about our family as I am and he loves his brother!!

And....I know what you're all thinking (and I've been asked it a million times), "Does Andrew look like Parker?" My answer is, "Absolutely not!" Andrew is MUCH bigger than Parker was at this age, has almost no hair, is super chubby, and looks just like Brandon! While Parker has always taken after my side of the family, was always a skinny little guy, and had a huge comb over at birth! So, although these boys don't look very much alike, there are some similarities....they are both so smart (of course!), they both love to smile, they're both stubborn, and they LOVE each other so much, it makes my heart melt!!

Here are some pictures of the boys on Andrew's four month birthday (and it just happens to be Parker's 42 month birthday)!

Rub a Dub Dub, Two Boys in a Tub!

This may sound funny...but, ever since Andrew was born, I've been waiting for the day that my boys could be silly in the bathtub together!! Little did I know, but this is something that Parker's been waiting for too! So, as Andrew has quickly outgrown the hammock baby bathtub, where we could put the tub on the counter and I could give him a bath while Parker splished and splashed in the big tub, I decided that it was time to try something new!! As soon as I saw this chair at Target, I knew that it would be perfect for the boys to take a bath together, easily and flawlessly! So, finally, I can sing to myself (and to the boys to make them crack up), "Rub a dub dub, two (stinky) boys in the tub!" I love this two-boy club! ;)

Some of my Faves!!

Here are some of my favorites from our family photos we had taken!! Thank you Courtney for doing such a fabulous job of capturing Andrew's sweet baby personality and Parker's sweet, but also spunkey, personality! I love them all!!

The "Mean" Words

I just had to update the blog today- it seems like it's been way too long since I've written anything!! I have a couple posts in the works, with pictures, good stories, etc., but I just had to share this before it leaves my mind forever (like so many things are these days)!

This week is Spring Break. Sherry is closed this week, and I'm back at work (without any vacation or sick time left for a couple more weeks), so Brandon and my mom are splitting time watching the boys. I am jealous, I miss the boys, and I am very unproductive at work because I want to be outside with my boys enjoying the sunshine and beautiful weather. So, today, I needed to see them and I took an early lunch and headed home to check in on the boys.

As I was making lunch, Parker was watching A Bug's Life and at some point in the movie they said the word "stupid." Parker looked up at me and said, "Mom, they just said the word S-S-S....well, I don't say that word, but they do and it isn't very nice. Mom, that is a mean word."

Proof- that all of our preaching to Parker about "mean words" and being "nice" to people has paid off! Yeah! Good job, Parkey!

(Meanwhile, Andrew was talking to Brandon about all sorts of things....and then fell asleep having a bottle!) Just another day in the Riffel house!

Leaping Lizards!

What do you get when you have a 3 1/2 year old little boy who is always snuggled to sleep at night? The answer is....a sweet, loving, snuggly little boy who tosses and turns until his Mom rubs his back and he falls asleep and then mid-way through the night he is in our bed laying horizontal with his super long legs in my face! Needless to say, it was time for Parker to get into a more independent bedtime routine!

You see...Brandon and I have always justified our "snuggle time" with Parker as being our most favorite time of the day. Because we're both working parents, we want to make the most of all of our time with Parker and this was one way for us to get some last minute hugs, kisses and snuggles with him. But, little did we know that by doing this we were creating a little boy who had no control over his sleeping habits!! So....last week I made up my mind. It was time for my little boy to become a big boy! I really believe that this is something Brandon and I were hanging onto as being the last thing that made Parker our baby boy. Parker is independent in so many ways, except for this one thing, and deep down I don't think we want to let go of that!!

Starting last Sunday, we told Parker that if he slept like a big boy ALL week, we would take him to Leaping Lizards the following weekend!! He was so excited and everyday he would ask me if it was Leaping Lizards day...and everyday, I would remind him that he had (insert number of days) nights of sleeping like a big boy and then we would go to Leaping Lizards.

What a great week Parker had!! We all got some great sleep (except for Brandon who was out of town for two nights and didn't sleep very well those two nights) and Parker went to bed "like a big boy" every night and stayed in his bed every night! My trick was to sit right outside his door with my book, leave the bathroom light on (at Parker's request) and wait, wait, wait, wait for the tossing and turning, and giggling to stop. He did it every night and every night he slept in his own bed until at least 6:30 am.

Today we went to Leaping Lizards!! Parker, his cousins, and even some of the neighbor boys went to Leaping Lizards and had the time of their lives running, jumping, sliding, laughing, climbing, and just being silly! What a fun evening we had!!

And...tonight when we got home and it was time for bed, Parker said to me (with the most sleepy eyes I've ever seen), "Mom, can tonight be a snuggle night?" How can a Mom say no to that??!! So, we're probably starting over again tomorrow, but we'll see. My sweet Parker proved he could do it and that he really is a big boy!!

Here are some pictures from Leaping Lizards!!

Polite Parker

In the past week, I've had a handful of different people tell me how polite my son is. I see it everyday, so I guess I take it for granted, but Parker sure is good at saying, "Please," "Thank You," "You're Welcome," etc. I've even had some compliments from other moms and from Sherry about how nice he is to his friends and how well he gets along with everyone. My little Parker is such a sweet boy. I am so thankful for a little boy that doesn't throw tantrums, knows how to express his thoughts and feelings without getting (too) upset, is sweet to his friends, as well as, polite to adults and other children.

I've even noticed an increase in "pleases" and "thank yous" coming from Parker at home. When I bring him a snack, he now says, "thank you." When we are eating dinner he says "please" when he wants more of something. I absolutely love it!!

Finishing up the story...

Okay....so I started this post a few days ago....and last night we had our first "argument" and "big tantrum" with my sweet Parkey-Poo! What happened?!! Well...Parker was playing "Blues Clues" with his notebook and blue crayon. He accidently drew a blue line on the wall with his crayon and I said..."Ohhh...Parker, be careful with your crayon. We don't want to get it on anything but paper!!" Parker looked right at me and drew another line on the wall!!! What a stinker! So, needless to say, Parker's crayons were put away and will not be seen for a while and Parker went to time out (hitting me along the way....when did he learn how to hit?) and he was there until bed time!

And, again today, on his daily report from Sherry, he had such wonderful praises about how helpful, sweet and nice he is to his friends and with Andrew. I know my Parkey is a sweet boy and very polite and I am so thankful that he is sweet to others. I know last night was a fluke and that my 3 year old is not going to start the "terrible threes!" (Right......I can hope!)

Daily Report

We have one of THE BEST daycare providers! Since day one, everyday (unless her computer is broken), we've received a "Daily Report" about Parker's day at daycare...and now we are getting updates on Andrew too! I have kept every report she's sent me about Parker and there are hundreds of them! The reason I love these so much is because Sherry sends them around 1:00 pm everyday- you can count on it! And...they are full of information that make my afternoon lighten up! I love hearing about the games they are playing, what they had for lunch, if Andrew has pooped, if Parker took a nap, how much Andrew is eating, if they read books, played puzzles, etc. It makes me feel like I know just what they are doing all day with their friends at daycare. Here are the updates I got today...I love it that my boys are having so much fun at daycare! (They are also good for planning what we will eat for dinner...I don't want Parker to be stuck eating Tuna Casserole for lunch and for dinner!)