April 18, 2011: Springtime!

Bryn is 5 months old! And even though she looks so girly to me, she still looks like baby Liam...Bryn's rolling easily from her tummy to back and 9/10ths of the way from her back to tummy. She's sitting up unassisted (for just a few seconds) and...drum roll please...no longer being swaddled!! That to me is the last newborn thing to go :( She's still sleeping like a champ but now in her sleep sack. Bryn also started school this month! It's been a big transition for both of us, but she has a wonderful teacher who has her playing, sleeping and eating very well at school. She def has her moments there but I think they have already figured out her demands and most of the time when we come to pick her up, she's being held. She still loves wubbanub although they have a no-paci rule at school...which she actually seems to do fine with. I'm okay with that because hopefully it will make it that much easier to take away in about 7 mo. She's still nursing well and now that she's taking 4-5 oz bottles, I'm pumping like crazy to keep up with her appetite :) I'd love to not use any formula with her, but I'm trying to be realistic and know that it's there if we need it. Speaking of her appetite, it's also contributing to a rather full-rolly figure which is too cute! She went through her size 6 mo clothes in about 2 weeks and pretty much skipped straight to 9-12 months which is what she's wearing now. I feel like I bathes Liam forever in the little blue tub, but as you can see Bryn is quickly outgrowing that as well!

We did figure out that our tub was big enough for Liam and Bryn (in her tub) which has made for some special sibling bath times...

Bryn's also started playing her Jumperoo! She just barely reaches the ground with her toes, but she is much happier here than in the bouncer on the floor now. This is her go to place while I get dinner ready...

Liam lately has become a little chef. When he's not entertaining Bryn while I'm cooking (which he does sooo well), he's helping me from his stool...

Bryn loves when her daddy gets home and he usually scoops her up after changing out of work clothes. Then he totes Bryn around while they chase Liam or play with him outside. It's so sweet to see Nick with her, he's def got a special bond with his little girl :)

Liam also is just the best big brother. He still loves to get in her "jungle" and now tells me that he is a baby T-Rex too. When I tickle or sing to Bryn he wants me to do it for him too. Nick was worried that he was regressing but I think he's just playing pretend which is pretty advanced for age 2 :) While they are squeezed the in the jungle, their space is pretty compressed. Now that Bryn can reach and grab things she will unintentionally grab Liam or his toys. When this happens Liam tells her "Don't pinch me Bryn, that's not nice" or "Share your toys Bryn, it's Liam's turn with this". He (so far) has never acted aggressively to her and I hope this continues. Here are my two baby T-Rexes...

Liam is really into puzzles now and has a few 24 piece ones that he does all by himself. He also has a couple of 48 piece ones (like below) that he can do with a little assistance. I can already see he's got his daddy's math/science brain and know that it's only a matter of years before he passes me up :) Liam loves our neighborhood playground. He loves to climb and slide...but he also loves to run. He will do laps and laps around the edge telling me he is either Lightening McQueen or T-Rex. Either way Bryn and I cheer him on and time his playground dashes :) Liam's also been getting better at riding his tricycle and he now rides up and down the sidewalk...Liam also won a new bike (which I'll post about next) that is just a little bit bigger. This picture of him on it makes him look so old! (or maybe it's the backwards cap or converse without socks...where is my little boy?!)We have had so many fun events this Spring. First we went to a family carnival with a petting zoo, cupcakes, and our buddy Davey! Nick won the bike raffle too, which was an unexpected but very fun surprise as well. We also went to our first Rough Riders game of the season with the whole family! (Well not with the Smiths :( But Liam and Pres skype all the time so they are still very much a part of each other's lives!) We are looking forward to another summer of baseball... Bryn also brought Sophie to the game, her #2 lovie after wubbanub. Sophie is a squeaky giraffe that Bryn loves to chomp on...and it was (coincidentally) given to her by her BFF Sophie... Speaking of Sophie here she is on a playdate we did with her and her brother James. It's so fun that our boys and girls are the same ages and play really well...One of our biggest events this year I can sum up in three words: Thomas.the.Train! (But if I was going to use more words I would also say bounce house, tattoo, corn dogs, a real train ride, and lots and lots of fun!) Liam and Bryn had an Easter Egg hunt at their school. I took off one morning to volunteer to hide eggs and got to watch both of them "hunt"! I also got to meet the little girl in the green jacket..aka Angelina who I have been hearing about for weeks...or to Liam "Angeliiiiiiina" because he likes to sing her name. I would say it's probably his first crush :)I didn't think Bryn would really do much during that babies egg hunt...but Bryn (the youngest in the class) was def trying to get her little arms around as many eggs as possible :)This month our roomie Linds moved out :( But she's just down the street in a super cute apartment. We also celebrated Linds' 25 th birthday this past weekend as well! With all the events that meant Grandma came to stay with us 2 weekends in a row and got some good bonding with Bryn...We didn't take our camera out, but here is the birthday girl before dinner. We had a fun night out with Linds and a yummy brunch the next day at Babe's...In preparation for Easter we have lots of our decorations out. Including the jumbo Easter eggs in the back yard which Liam loves...We also got together this morning with James, Sophie and Davey to dye Easter eggs! Liam and I miss getting to see our playgroup every Friday, so it's fun for us to see friends on my days off. My work is still going great and now that Bryn and Liam are doing so well in school, it's that much more enjoyable. I still can't wait to have my Fridays off though and I am counting down the weeks! We are also counting down the days till Rachel and Presley's visit!! They will be here next month which means lots of pictures and stories, I'm sure. Hope everyone has a great Easter weekend!