Family Photos - 2

We even got a little smile! 

 

Down side of having family photos with a 1 month old..... holding him can be awkward :) ha! 

She was so excited that he was sitting close to her and she could put her arm around him.

You would think this is it.... but it's not :) More to come....

Family Photos - 1

Addison loves this photo - she is one proud 4 year old! 

I love this photo! 

She's at that phase where she struggles to smile on demand. But the pictures still turned out pretty good! 

 She was so excited to lay on the blanket and cuddle with him! 

Back to school!

After 2 months at home with us, Addison was ready to go back to school. She loved being at home but really missed her friends! We decided to send her back in June. They were starting summer activities and we didn't want Addy to miss out. They have water day with sprinklers, wheels days (they brings bikes and scooters), and the picnic day where they bring their lunch and go for a walk. Addison loves all these activities. She particularly loves picnic day and she takes her Cubs lunchbox. Picnic day is a little hard for us though since it's a peanut-free facility. It amazing how many things we eat that have peanuts.....

Little guy! 

Believe it or not, this was the first time I had curled Addison's hair! I can't believe she was four years old before I curled her hair. Part of my delay is that her hair is so thin so I figured it wouldn't hold well. But we were getting ready for family pictures so I thought I would give it a shot. She was so excited because I let her watch her iPad. 

I thought it turned out pretty well! She now asks for me to curl her hair all the time, I think it's because she wants to watch her iPad more so than that she likes curls - ha! 

I have to laugh that the photographer has us take these photos..... I never use them. Why would I print a photo that doesn't have Ryan in it? I told her this year not to take any of just Ryan and I, we never use those either! 

One of many family photos! It was a perfect day, a little cloudy and not terribly warm. Glad we were able to have photos taken, it was our photographers first weekend working since COVID started! 

 

Sing me a song....

This was on a Friday in June, when Addison stayed home with me. It was a great morning, I was cuddling a sleeping baby and Addy was playing with her sand table. It was so peaceful and relaxing, I didn't want it to end! 

It sounds corny but days like this, I can't believe how lucky I am! 

Then later the same day..... ha! Oh he was so sad. I wanted to remember these times too :) Man, can this kid cry loud!! But his sister, she is one in a million. She is so patient with him and wants to help him. She sings to him to try to calm him down. And it does work! She sings 3 different songs - Baby Shark, The Weather Song (from Bloom) and The Days of the Week song (from Bloom). So we sing the same songs to him. Days of the Week is my go-to. You could sing it 100 times and not realize it :) 

He screams in the car a lot for me and only Addison's singing can calm him down. He must like high pitches because she sings in a very high pitch voice to him. And loud. But it works!! 

 

Our little outdoor set-up for Mason. It's a travel bassinet that Nolan had. We attach a fan and get an umbrella for shade. And then whatever Addison is playing, she periodically runs over to say Hi to him. 
 

The big girl bed

Our little Mason sleeping in the rock and play, with a rag-hat. Getting him to sleep in the rock and play wasn't always easy, so if he fell asleep with a rag-hat, it was going to stay there! 

Oh the big girl bed!! Addison loves her new room and her big bed. Aunt Kelly and Grandma Rita bought her new sheets and a bedspread for her birthday. She is so proud of it. I told her we needed to send a picture to Kelly and Grandma, she was pretty excited. She wanted to hold Mason for the picture. 

Then she wanted to take a picture with her beanie baby bunnies. And she wanted to make sure her "soft blanket" was in the picture. 

 Then she told me to take a picture of her holding the bunnies this way. Ha! There were about three more poses that I haven't included. Then she asked me which photos I was sending and if she could see them all. 

She does great in her big bed and new room. Sometimes she naps in her Paw Patrol sleeping bag on the floor as a "treat". She sometimes wants us to sleep with her for nap or overnight. We run a tight ship and don't want any bad habits formed, so we say no. Haha! BUT, I have allowed her to nap in our bed a few times and there has been a time or two that I nap with her :) 

Lift that head!

He looks so peaceful taking a little nap. He almost doesn't look like himself in this photo (to me)

This one looks more like him, with a puzzled look on his face - ha! 

His biggest cheerleader! Addison loves to do tummy time with him. If she missed it that day, he has to do it again so she can watch. He might be done with it, but she keeps pushing him to go longer! 

Addison chants "lift that head! Lift that head!" and then we all cheer when he does it. Addison is particularly excited. And says "did you see that Mom?! Did you see him Dad?!" It's pretty funny. 

 Way to go buddy! He does not like tummy time the way Addy did. It's a much harder struggle! 

1 month old!

Before I knew it, I was taking 1 month photos. I couldn't believe it! This was June 1, 2020. 

I can't believe I managed to get him sleeping, then lay him down, and take photos. Whew! 

What a sweet baby :) 

I was still getting up every couple hours with him at night. I don't know who ever said "sleep when the baby sleeps", well they were crazy. Apparently they can function on 45 min. sleep. During the day, neither of my kids slept very long at a time. They never slept for an hour or two at a time. And at night, I was getting up every 3 hours. There was more than once that by the time I got him to sleep again, I couldn't fall asleep before it was time to get up again! It was okay though, I really enjoyed my "alone time" watching TV. I hadn't really got to watch TV like that since Addy was born! I caught up on so many TV shows I like. TV (shows I want to watch) is definitely my retreat and guilty pleasure. 

With both kids, I never napped during the day on maternity leave. I really don't know how any mom could, but maybe there are some lucky ones out there! 

 Tried to catch a little smile! 

Mom & Mason

As a mom, there are significantly less pictures of me and the kids. But there is also good reason for that.... no mom wants a photo taken after just having a kid!! But I let Addy take my picture, knowing I wouldn't like how I looked, but that is our reality right now :) So here is me and my little buddy. 

He is 15 weeks as I write this, I can't believe how much he's grown! 

Addison wanted to take another one of us. I would try to wear him so we could go outside. Sometimes he likes being worn, sometimes he hates it. He likes it better now because I wear him facing out. We try really hard to still do everything together (like play outside, go to the park, etc.) We may make minor adjustments because of Mason but I really don't want one of us to have to stay inside with "the baby". Although sometimes I think Mason probably wishes one of us would stay inside with him..... we have made him put up with some ridiculous heat! Gotta make sure he likes the heat like the Julius family - ha! I'm lucky Ryan can handle the heat because the rest of his family cannot! 

 

More from Ames

Big cousin Conner. I think he's already making plans of all the things he's going to teach Mason!

Hanging out with his aunt Kelly again :) 

If everyone else is holding Mason, Addy needs a turn too! She loves her baby brother (he's 3.5 months now and her love has not worn off)

And his aunt Tracey too. Everyone loves to hold a sleeping baby :) 

We were packing up and my dad offered to hold Mason while we were getting ready. I was shocked! Maybe by the 7th grandkid, he's getting a little more comfortable with babies. Mason was even awake! 

 She was treating her baby like we treat Mason. She even climbed up in the recliner and rested her arm on the chair like we do when holding Mason. She was talking to her baby, trying to calm her down, etc. Her baby got some new clothes after our weekend in Ames..... Nolan's preemie clothes! Addy was pretty excited. 

It was a great weekend with family. Addy also got a kite for her birthday and so everyone went to the park to fly the kite. It went 200 feet up in the air, it was pretty impressive! Addison LOVED celebrating her birthday again and having everyone around to play with her.