Best of 2017

2017 has been an amazing year!  Addie turned 3 in February and continues to keep us on our toes.  She is obsessed with all things princesses, going to Busch Gardens, and hanging out with her buddies.  We grew from a family of 4 to a family of 5 when we welcomed Noah into our crazy crew in May.  We spent our summer loving on our new little guy and soaking up as much sun and sand as possible.  Bella turned 2 in August and though she may be tiny, she is fierce!  She is Addie's little shadow who has also started giving her a run for her money! Bella loves choo-choo trains, dancing, and her baby "brother" as she calls him.  Both girls started their first year of preschool in the fall and they absolutely love it!  Noah turned 6 months old in November and it's been so much fun to watch his little personality shine through and crazy to even imagine our lives without him in it.  This year's Christmas was my favorite one so far, nothing beats watching the Christmas magic through the eyes of your little ones.  Life with 3 kids 3 and under keeps things pretty chaotic for Eric and I, but we wouldn't have it any other way! 

BEST OF 2017, month by month...

JANUARY

2017 was off to a great start when Eric won "Salesman of the Year."  Although we weren't able to make it to the conference this year, the girls and I had fun celebrating with him when he got home.

FEBRUARY

Our Addie girl turned 3 and we celebrated with a fun Pizza & Movie Night birthday party.  Eric and I also spent the most amazing week in Maui on a rewards trip from Jostens turned Babymoon!  We even got to hang out with Brian & Carla while we were there because they were in Hawaii for a wedding.  Towards the end of the month, we took the girls to Great Wolf Lodge for the very first time and it was a blast!

MARCH

We started the month celebrating Eric's 35th birthday.  Addie played soccer for the very first time and was potty trained!  We ended March with a trip to DC to see Pap, Grandma, T, Uncle Brian, & Carla.

APRIL

April was baby prep month!  We had a fun maternity photo shoot with my good friend Sarah, my friends and family through Noah and I an amazing baseball themed baby sprinkle, and the girls took a big siblings class at the hospital.  We had our family in town for Easter and had lots of family adventures including trips to Busch Garden. the zoo, the beach, botanical gardens, and the pool.  

MAY

My absolute favorite memory of the entire year was in May when we welcomed Noah into our family, being a boy mom never felt so right.  From anxiously walking into the hospital with my big ol' belly to laying eyes on our sweet boy for the very first time to having my heart literally beat out of my chest when the girls met him for the very first time, it was by far the best day of the entire year. 

JUNE

June was a time of lots of newborn snuggles, fun in the sun, and adjusting to life as a family of FIVE.  Kristen came to hang out with us for 2 weeks while Eric was busy with graduation season and it definitely was nice to have the extra help.  We started our weekly dinners with our neighbors and it's quickly become something we all looked forward to every week. 

JULY

We kicked off July with a road trip to Pittsburgh to celebrate the 4th, my cousin's graduation, and introduce Noah to his Pittsburgh family.  We also went on our annual family vacation to the Outer Banks, which was another highlight in 2017.

AUGUST

We flamingled our way through August as our Bella bean turned 2.  The Hazelwoods came into town for it and the kids had so much fun hanging out with Uncle Jay.  We also had lots of beach days and evenings, went to Busch Gardens about 100 times, and lots of other fun times with our friends and family as we soaked up every last bit of summer time.

SEPTEMBER

We started September with a little family getaway to the Outer Banks, just the five of us  Addie had her first day of preschool in the Owls class and also started ballet classes. 

OCTOBER

In October, Bella had her first day of preschool in the Bees class.  Eric, Noah, and I escaped for a long weekend in Chicago to visit Kristen, while the girls stayed behind with the sitter.  Then we turned around and we took the whole crew to Pittsburgh for a long weekend.  In between trips, we did all things Halloween - pumpkin patches, pumpkin painting play dates, and parties.  Eric and I ran the Wicked 10K with some friends.  We trick-or-treated as "Lions and tigers and bears..oh my!"

NOVEMBER

November was full of celebrations - Noah was baptized, we held our annual Friendsgiving, had a quiet Thanksgiving at home, and decided that we were going to build our dream home in 2018!

DECEMBER

The most magical time of the year sure was just that this year.  Christmas town became our second home and we loved every second!  We checked off all things Christmas on our to-do list including seeing the big man in red more times than I can count.  The girls put on the sweetest performance at their Holiday show and I surprised Addie with her first Mommy-Daughter date to the Nutcracker.  We spent Christmas Eve and Christmas day continuing our traditions, both old and new, followed by an extra long trip to the Burgh.  We ended the year with some exciting news because my brother finally popped the question and Carla said yes!  She will officially be part of the family, let the wedding planning begin!  2017 was the most perfect year and I can't wait to see what 2018 has in store for us!

Noah Ryan - Month 8

No update on your stats, your well check is next month!

AT EIGHT MONTHS YOU ARE:
-Still sporting the toothless smile!
-Saying "mama" on repeat!
-Giving Dad the best high-fives
-Clapping, smiling, and laughing all day long with your crazy sisters
-Practicing your pincer grasp
-Happily sitting still vs. crawling
-Very curious - you grab for everything you can get your hands on.
-Officially a tummy sleeper

HEALTH
No update here - other than a few runny noses you've been pretty healthy this month.

EAT

You love to eat!  Right now your typical schedule looks like this:

5-6am - wake up for a 6oz bottle, but you easily fall right back to sleep

8am - wake up and eat breakfast - usually a jar of purees and some table food.  Blueberry waffles, bananas, peanut butter toast, and pineapple are some of your favorites.  I usually feed you a bottle with breakfast before we leave for the day, it just depends on when/if you woke up to eat during the night.

12pm - Lunch, 1-2 jars of purees

1pm - 6 oz bottle before nap time

4ish - 4-6 oz bottle and snack

6pm - dinner, 2 jars of purees and a taste test of whatever we are eating for dinner

7pm - 6 oz bottle before bed

SLEEP
It's been so nice to be able to get back into a routine after the chaos of the holidays.  You are down to just waking up once around 5-6am for a night time feed and I'm okay if that feeding hangs on for a while because it means you usually sleep until 8-8:30am.  You are usually ready for a nap around 10 and if we are home you will sleep for an hour or so, if we are on the go a quick 20-30 min cat nap usually helps you make it through lunch.  You usually nap every day from 1-4ish and then are ready for bed around 7.  You are such an easy baby when it comes to sleep (and pretty much everything else) I lay you down completely awake and you just roll over and put yourself to sleep.  You are following your sisters' footsteps in the sense that you love your pacifier.  You usually have one in your mouth and like to hold one in your hand as a back up to help you fall asleep.

LIKES & DISLIKES

You love attention, looking at yourself in the mirror, playing with toys, your sisters, eating and chewing on anything you can get your hands on, bath time, and swinging at the park.  You aren't a fan of snow balls to the face, getting tackled by your sisters or dog, falling over, having a poopy diaper when you are supposed to be sleeping, or when the Steelers lose - but frankly, I don't blame you :)

PERSONALITY

I've said it 100 times but I'll say it again, you are THE BEST baby.  You are by far the easiest right now, so content, flexible, and always so happy.  I love this stage that we are in where you are so curious, so playful, and so easily entertained.  It never fails that you make a friend every where we go.  I am always getting stopped by the youngest and oldest of strangers, that's right you get most of your attention from young kids and grandparents that stop to tell me how cute you are.  Then, you put the icing on the cake by showing them that toothless grin of yours.  I can't believe in a few short months we will start planning your first birthday party, time please slow down!   

FAVORITE MOMENTS
-We celebrated your first Christmas and it was so much fun!  You got a new high chair, some clothes, a baby walker, toy cars, and a "My Family" board book.  You also loved Bella's pink Mercedes, even more than she does I think!

-We got 11 inches of snow (which is a crazy amount for us!) and you got to play in it for the first time.  You seemed to really like it until you got smacked in the face with a snow ball.  You were not a fan of that, but who is?!?
-We took your first trip to DC for Brian and Carla's surprise engagement dinner.  Your sisters stayed behind with the sitter, but you came along and spent the evening partying with your Godmother Leah while we went to dinner.  It was a quick trip, but so much fun celebrating Uncle Brian and Carla!

Christmas 2017

Merry Christmas in July January, better late than never though right?!?  Christmas this year was absolutely magical.  The girls are at such fun ages, especially Addie.  She woke up every morning and before she even hoped out of bed she was asking where Sparkle (our Elf on the shelf) was hiding and she ended every night asking if tonight was the night when Santa was coming to her house.  Bella is at an age where she mimics everything Addie is doing so she happily mimicked Addie's Christmas spirit.  We are still singing Christmas carols every night at bed time with Bella.  Rudolph, Wish you a Merry Christmas, and Jingle Bells are her jams!  This was Noah's first Christmas which was also very special and those couple of reasons right there are why I think Christmas 2017 was my favorite yet!

We kicked off our Christmas celebrations with a neighborhood Christmas get together.  We ate dinner, loaded up on some of our favorite Christmas cookies, and the kids exchanged their grab bag gifts.  It was the perfect start to our extra long week of celebrations.

On Christmas Eve day we went to an early mass followed by a day of Christmas prep.  Santa's elves were busy wrapping and putting together some last minute things and I spent some of the day packing for our Pittsburgh trip.  We continued our tradition of Chinese take out for dinner, which has become one of my favorite traditions because that means less time in the kitchen for me and more time enjoying the nights' festivities.  After dinner, the kids opened up their new Christmas pajamas, movie, and snack.  We also decided that the kids would exchange their gifts on Christmas Eve.  This year Addie picked out and even wrapped a Doc McStuffins book bag for Bella and an animal pop up toy for Noah.  Bella picked out a Belle stationary set and Princess Poppy notebook, two of Addie's favorite characters and a doggy toy for Noah.  Noah (with my help) picked out an activity book and scissors for Addie to practice her cutting and a Poke-a-dot book for Bella since she loved the one that her buddy Hudson got for his birthday.  After they opened their gifts it was time to prepare for the big guy's arrival.  We put out a tray of cookies, milk, and carrots for Santa and Rudolph, sprinkled our reindeer food in the front lawn, and checked our Santa tracker a few more times before we realized he was getting close and it was time for bed.  The excitement kept Addie awake for another hour or two up in her room, but the little ones passed right out.  Santa's elves got right to work and once they were done they even had time for a Christmas movie and some wine before bed!

Addie was the first to wake up, with Noah waking up right behind her.  We all stayed upstairs until Addie's light turned green at 8:30.  We had them sit at the top of the steps and wait for Eric to say it was time to come down, just like Eric and I both remember doing as kids.  Addie and Bella's eyes lit up as soon as they turned the corner and saw they cars, then they quickly dove in.  This was the first year that the girls flew through opening gifts, so much so that I'm not even sure they were paying attention as to what they were actually getting.   They had a blast opening their gifts and Bella even made a game out of cleaning up the wrapping paper, all while Noah just sat back and watched.  We strategically saved their new ipads for last, which they were super excited to play around on (spoiled kids I know!) while Eric and I worked on breakfast.  Eric made a Christmas tree out of cinnamon buns, which are always a hit in our house.  We ate and enjoyed our coffee as the girls played with all of their new toys.  After breakfast and about 127 outfit changes for Addie, she loved all of her new princess dresses and just couldn't make up her mind, it was time to take their new cars for a spin.  Then, it was nap time and a much needed break for Eric and I.  Once everyone woke up we spent more time playing and eating, then more playing and eating, until it was time for bed.  The whole day was so magical and nothing beats watching the Christmas magic through the eyes of your little ones.  I wish I could freeze time and recreate this Christmas year after year, it was that perfect.

The next morning we had another surprise.  We decided to take one more trip to Christmas town on our way to Pittsburgh and it just worked out that some of our neighbors decided to go too, which made it extra fun! We rode rides, watched a show, and ran off every last little bit of energy before getting in the car around 5 for our road trip to the Burgh.  Our plan paid off and we had 3 tired kiddos in the car, which made for a (mostly) quiet and peaceful drive. 

We spent the next 5 days in Pittsburgh continuing our Christmas celebration.  The kids, Eric, and I were spoiled with lots of gifts and made lots of fun memories with family and friends.  We had family dinners, family lunches, and family outings.  We took outings to the trampoline park and the bowling alley, both were huge hits with the kids (and adults I think.)  Addie and I went for mani/pedis with Grandma and T while the boys (and Bella) hung out at my parents' house.  We even got to enjoy a "White Christmas" because we got a few inches of snow the last day we were there and Addie had a blast sled riding.  We got to spend time with Great Grandma and Great Grandpa when they drove in from Ohio and spent lots of time with cousin Bryan when he also stayed at Pap's for a sleepover.  We literally went non-stop from the second we walked through the door until the second we left, but I wouldn't have it any other way.  It was the perfect way to end my favorite Christmas yet.  We came home to an un-decorated house and it's safe to say the kids were a little upset to see Christmas come to an end, as our we.  Merry (very belated) Christmas to you all!  I hope yours was as memorable as ours was, until next year...

Noah Ryan - Month 7

Your next well check isn't until 9 months but I think you are about 20 pounds already! 

AT SEVEN MONTHS YOU ARE:
-Sitting up all by yourself
-Reaching for and picking up toys, you love playtime!
-Mimicking us at times, if we shake our head "no" you do the same and you think it is hilarious.
-Exploring new foods! 
-Turning your head when we call you by name.
-Babbling "mama" and "dadada" although I'm not sure you relate your words to actual people yet
-So VERY ticklish and those baby giggles are my favorite sound on the planet :)

HEALTH 

This month you've had a cold here and there, but other than that you've been pretty healthy.  We are still waiting on your first tooth to pop through and fingers are crossed you handle it like a champ. 

EAT
This is where your biggest changes have been this past month.  First, you're back to eating purees usually 2-3 times a day.  I've also let you explore a lot of actual foods.  Some of your favorites are peanut butter toast, green peppers, and pineapple.  We are still working on developing you pincer grasp, but once we do the table food possibilities are endless!  I'm all about less purees and more independent eating!  We've, let me rephrase that "you've" decided that it's time to wean from breastfeeding.  I've tried to hold on as long as possible but we went from only nursing from the right side, to only nursing at night time (bottles during the day), to 100% refusing to nurse altogether.  I try to tell myself it will all be okay, but knowing that you may very well be my last baby it's very bittersweet, especially since it ended a lot sooner than I thought it would.  I'm happy we made it a solid 7 months and that you are a happy, healthy growing little boy!


SLEEP
You've been a rockstar with the chaos of the holidays this past month, especially since we've been out of your routine a lot.  You've still been happy with your morning nap on the go and usually give me a nice long afternoon nap if/when we were home.  You love to be in bed by 7pm most nights, but again, between the holidays and our trip to Pittsburgh that didn't always happen.  I'm looking forward to getting back into our routine in the new year.

LIKES & DISLIKES
You start kicking and squealing in excitement when you see us make a bottle and officially dislike breastfeeding :(  You love to chew on anything you can get your hands on, baby toys, my hair, the remote control or my cell phone, you name it.  You love attention and happily give out a huge grin to anyone who gives it to you.   You love bath time, your pacifier, Christmas lights, food, and your excersaucer.  You dislike have your nose suctioned and sitting still to get your nails cut.  

PERSONALITY

Every month keeps getting better and better.  I love this new playful stage that you are in right now.  You are such a happy guy when I put you on the floor with a few toys.  You love peek-a-boo and continue to think your sisters are hilarious, even when they are all up in your business.  You have no idea what personal space is because you never have any!  I love how much they love you though and I know by the look on your face the feeling is mutual!  

FAVORITE MOMENTS

-We celebrated your first Thanksgiving, it was just the 5 of us at home and it was perfect!
-We were in 100% Christmas mode starting the day after Thanksgiving.  Some of your favorite Christmas activities this year were looking at the Christmas lights (especially at Christmas Town!), sitting with the big guy (I think you were very curious about his white beard), watching the train we have to go around the tree, twinning with your sisters in all the Christmas pajamas (you didn't express a dislike so I'm going to tell myself you liked joining in on the fun!) and all of the fun Christmas play dates and activities in between.  

Noah Ryan - Month 6

Here are your numbers:

WEIGHT: 18 pounds 2 ounces ( 53rd percentile)

LENGTH:  26 inches (52nd percentile)

HEAD:  45 1/2 centimeters (87th percentile)

AT SIX MONTHS YOU ARE:
-1/2 of a year old!!!  How is that even possible?!?
-Super ticklish, especially under your arms and up by your neck
-Eating solids for breakfast and dinner
-The chunkiest little baby that I ever did see - and I'm obsessed!  Keep the baby rolls coming!
-Sitting with some help - you still topple over but you are lasting longer each day
-Putting your pacifier in all by yourself (one of my favorite milestones!)
-Wearing 6-9 months and 6-12 months clothes

HEALTH

You've been pretty healthy this month with only a few minor hiccups.  You had your first temperature, it was only 99 point something and I thought for sure you were cutting your first tooth.  I kept waiting and checking your mouth and it never came.  And it still hasn't, maybe soon?  Speaking of teething - you are always soaking wet from drooling.  Every thing goes in our mouth!  Everything!  It makes keeping your neck dry a challenge and resulted in a quick visit to the doctor this past month.  A little cream, constant change of clothes, and an extra bath here and there (which you love!) and it clears right up.  We had your 6 month well check and Dr. Fink is very pleased with your progress.   You are growing and developing right on schedule.  We also had your follow up visit with urology.  The swelling cleared up on one of your kidneys and you still have a little swelling on the other, the doctor thinks with time it will heal too without any interventions.  We follow up again in 6 months.

EAT
You started eating solids this month!  You loved them at first, then boycotted them for a week straight, but now you love them again and you are eating more than ever!  We've tried bananas, pears, apples, peaches, squash, sweet potatoes, green beans, peas, carrots and have even offered you little samples of our food (hello 3rd child!)  You make a face at pretty much every food initially, but really are disgusted by the green veggies.  I would say bananas and carrots are your current favorites.  And bread.  Give you all the bread!  You also love Mum-Mums, I don't know how I didn't know about these with your sisters!  They are basically puffs in a cracker form that you can hold easier until you master your pincer grasp and always guarantee about 20 minutes of entertainment, yes please!  I'm trying to alternate solids/nursing right now and get more into a routine.  I also just bought some formula to supplement with if I need to because I am down to just one freezer bag and that makes me a little nervous!  I don't plan on using it regularly, but would like to have it as a back up in case I'm away from you and you are hungry.

SLEEP
We are on a pretty solid sleep schedule.  You wake up every morning between 7-8am and are happy napping on the go mid-morning.  Every afternoon you take a long nap, anywhere from 2-4 hours.  Occasionally, you sneak in a quick cat nap before dinner and are ready for bed by 7pm every night.  You are still waking up 1-2 times every night to nurse, although I would be happy if you cut those out sometime soon too!  I don't even remember the last time I've had a full night's sleep.   You love finally having your room all to yourself and are a pro at putting yourself to sleep.  Most of the time if you wake up you can find your pacifier all by yourself and you quiet back down within a few minutes, which is a huge mom win in my book!

LIKES & DISLIKES
You are so curious these days and love hanging out in your excersaucer or bumbo right in the middle of the action.  You love to watch your sisters, Cooper, or even just look out the window.  You love your toys that make a crinkle sound and your O-ball is another favorite.  Playing patty-cake, peek-a-boo, and sooo big always guarantee a smile, as well as looking in a mirror.  You love to blow bubbles and babble constantly, the girls love to listen to your "stories."  You are a momma's boy at heart (I finally got one of you on my side!) but also get very excited when Daddy gets home from work.  I think you are part water baby because you would hang out in the bath tub for hours if I let you.  Right now getting your nose suctioned out and getting your face wiped off after you eat are your least favorite activities, but other than that you are a pretty happy little guy!

PERSONALITY
This past month has been so much fun, I love this baby stage where everything is new and exciting.  I love how you kick and squeal in excitement when a familiar face just enters the room and I love watching your facial expressions as you observe what is going on around you.  I love how playful you are right now and my heart explodes watching you and your sisters interact.  You think they are hilarious and they are completely obsessed with you, even when you sneak in a hair pull here and there!  I can't believe you are already 6 months old!  I feel like just yesterday we were anxiously awaiting the arrival of our little guy and we've blinked and here you are already half of a year old, I'm not sure where the time goes but it sure needs to figure out a way to SLOW DOWN!

FAVORITE MOMENTS
-We celebrated your first halloween and did all the fun activities that came along with it.  We carved your first pumpkin...and stuffed you in it (and you didn't even hate it!)  We dressed you up as a football for our neighborhood halloween party, the perfect Mickey Mouse prop for our trunk or treat at Addie and Bella's preschool, and the cutest baby bear for "Lions and tigers and bears OH MY!" for trick or treating.  It's crazy to think that by this time next year you will be running from house to house as well, hopefully in the same direction as at least one of your sisters :)
-On Saturday, November 11th you were baptized at Prince of Peace Church.  It was the same church where both of your sisters were baptized which made it extra special.  Grandma, Pap, Aunt Kristen, Uncle Brian, Carla, Leah, and Mr. & Mrs. Feola all made the trip to help us celebrate and our good friends Sarah, Marshall, Hudson, Molly, Kathy, and Rick joined in the festivities as well.  It was the perfect celebration of YOU, Noah Ryan.