Life with Three (Part 2)

I typed this beauty up a LONG time ago. Not sure why I never published it. Oh well. Hope you enjoy the pics of the boys anyway :)


Will's first day back to work I took all three boys to Toys R Us and bought a baby pool in the hopes that I'd be able to relax in the backyard while the older boys wore themselves out. They seemed to enjoy the pool well enough, but weren't quite as tired as I had hoped.
Joseph was a bit timid about getting in - he doesn't like getting messy.

Will indulged my request to go to Fuddrucker's a few many weekends age. The boys, of course, love the fact that they get to "play" with the arcade games after dinner.

John likes to wear Will's hat when Joseph and Will are wearing theirs. It's a little big, so I finally got him his own hat (picture will come eventually).

Joseph and John showing off.

We went to story time at the train station/museum a few weeks ago with some friends and a train went by right in the middle of story time. Naturally, all the kids had to go out to watch it go by.

While eating his ice cream from Chick-fil-a:
Me: Is it yummy?
Joseph: Mmhmm. And dewicious, too.

I look over at Joseph who is sitting in his Elmo chair on the couch (his usual perch for TV watching) - it's still only 10am. I ask what he's doing and he responds "I'm waiting for Mickey Mouse." Too bad for him I had already told him there would be no Mickey Mouse until the afternoon before his nap (when he typically gets his one show per day).

Life with Three (Part 1)

Will has been back to work for a week now. I knew I would need to keep us busy this week for my own sanity, and luckily the week has gone fairly smoothly.
I also recently got a new phone that a) takes reasonably good pictures and b) connects to the internet so I can upload them to Picasa. So, here are some recent pictures and a little rambling from me :)

I love this picture of John. A friend brought over chili for dinner one night and John loved it. This is him after dinner as happy as a clam.

Will took Joseph to a Frederick Keys baseball game for his birthday...without John. John was not pleased. I took this picture shortly after Will and Joseph left. Notice he's holding his shoes and a baseball hat indicating that he's ready to go to the game, too. Poor boy cried for a good 5 minutes before I gave him (diluted) apple juice to calm him down (worked like a charm).

Will's sister, Tiffany, came for a visit last week. We all really enjoyed visiting with her, and the boys loved having someone new to play with! Here's John with Aunt Tiffany at the National Air and Space Museum Annex (Joseph refused to be pictured for some reason).

Shortly after Joseph's birthday party John took a shorter than normal nap. So he was wandering around/playing downstairs trying to figure out what to do with himself while Joseph was sleeping. I had gotten the ice cream cake (from Joseph's birthday party) out to have a piece and left it on the counter. John found his way to the cake and drove the "noisy truck" right through it knocking it off the counter. Fun times in the Rayel household.

Joseph is absolutely in love with Michael. He frequently asks to hold Michael, and loves to tend to his needs or let me know what it is that (he perceives that) Michael needs. He's such a great big brother! :)

I was finally able to catch a picture of all three boys. Of course, none of them are looking at the camera, but I still love this picture.

I'll break here and end with a Joseph-ism (part 2 coming soon!).

I asked Joseph to go to the basement and clean up the mess he made earlier in the day. After returning from cleaning up the toys he declares "The job is done!"

Caught Off Guard

We've been having a trying time with Joseph lately. He's begun to "actively assert his will" - that's what we'll call it. It's been fairly exhausting emotionally for all involved. It's also been hard to find ways to go above and beyond to love him which he, of course, needs because he's been seeing a fair amount of discipline lately. But sometimes it's hard to love someone who's getting under your skin so much.

And then - then! - he comes out of nowhere and blows me away with his sweetness. This afternoon on my way from the van to our house (approximately 15 feet) I managed to trip - as in I skinned my foot, leg and knee. And it hurt. Joseph saw me trip. He asked what happened then asked in a very concerned voice "are you ok?" I told him I was fine and that I just got a boo, boo. He wanted to see it, so I showed him and he said "It's ok. I'll kiss it for you." Oh the sweetness! He was so concerned and so sure he could help me feel better. I let him kiss my leg when we got inside, and would you know it did start to feel better!

It was the perfect reminder of what a great kid he really is, and how important it is for me to remain patient with him.


And for those who are interested - the bump at 26 weeks (I'm 27 weeks now, but who's counting?).

For My (Not So) Newly Pregnant Friends

I started this post about six months ago when I first found out that one of my best friends was having her first baby. Fast forward six months and here I am realizing that she's due in one week!!! I needed to finish it ASAP so all my sage wisdom ramble-y thoughts wouldn't go to waste. The post got long, so I've split it up into two posts. This is my "opinions and thoughts about everything but sleep" post. I hope it's helpful to my first-time mom friends!

If you plan on using disposables, Target diapers are the way to go. I love them because they're cute, inexpensive and work as well or better than every other disposable diaper I've tried. The only caveat to this is I prefer Pampers diapers for the newborn stage simply because they're "green line indicator" works much better than the Target "disappearing blue dots indicator." But once they're into size 1 diapers you don't need the indicator anymore - you're going to know when they peed.

Joseph is all smiles while sporting his
adorable cloth diaper :)

I have a love/hate relationship with my cloth diapers. I love them because they save me money and contain blowouts infinitely better than disposables. And did I mention they're adorable on baby bottoms? They are. BUT! They do require more work. You have to change them more frequently (those disposables can hold a lot) and you have extra loads of laundry. The laundry really isn't a big deal to me - I don't mind doing laundry. The extra changes were a big deal to me...until I recently discovered hemp liners. My hemp liners have helped me fall back in love with my cloth diapers. Before I discovered the hemp liners I had to change each cloth diaper ever 1-2 hours (basically every time one of the boys peed which meant changing 2 diapers every 1-2 hours....that's a lot of diaper changes in one day!). Now they can go 3-4 hours without being changed. This makes a huge difference when you're trying to diaper a toddler who doesn't want to sit/lay still for any diaper changes. I didn't use our cloth diapers for many moons because I got tired of fighting Joseph to change his diaper. Now I'm back into it, and since I discovered the hemp liners I haven't looked back.
Note: I do still use disposable diapers at night and when we're on vacation and sometimes when we're going to be out all day simply because they're so easy to use. But I'm trying more and more these days to use our cloth diapers as much as possible - especially if we'll just be out for the day.

If you have a boy make it a habit to put a wipe over his "master of surprises" as soon as you take his diaper off. You may still end up with a puddle under baby to clean up, but that's a heck of a lot better than trying to find the pee that spewed across the room and/or in their (or your!) face. You will probably only need to do this for the first few weeks, but until then....beware!

A fussy baby isn't necessarily a hungry baby. There are so many reasons babies cry. Many of these reasons are obvious (dirty diaper, hunger, tiredness), but others aren't quite as obvious (gas, over stimulation, too hot or too cold).
An easy way to deal with gas is by pumping baby's legs in a bicycle-type motion to help the gas move through their system. Burping baby during and after each feeding will also help with gas.

It's ok, John. Joseph won't hurt you :)

Feeling baby's ears is a good way to check baby's temperature (or so I've been told).
Knowing whether your baby is too hot or too cold can be hard to figure out. I will often feel my boys' ears and hands (and sometimes feet) when I'm trying to determine if they're too hot/cold. Either extreme can make baby quite fussy or interrupt their sleep (the worst!).
Over stimulation can be a big cause of fussiness in babies. I didn't learn this lesson very well until we had John. Sometimes John would be fussy and I would go through a mental checklist as to why he could be fussy and then I'd think - "hmm, he slept recently and is fed and changed, but Joseph has been running around like crazy and making a lot of noise. Maybe he's just over stimulated." Sure enough as soon as I took John upstairs for some quiet time with mommy he would settle down. It was nearly instantaneous. So, especially during those first weeks/months be aware of baby's stimulation. Less is more in their world.

If you plan to breastfeed...
        1) Don't let baby fall asleep at the breast. This is one of those things that is easier said than done, but it is so important - especially in those first few weeks when baby is developing their sleep associations. It's probably going to happen now and again, but do your best to make sure baby doesn't fall asleep at the breast otherwise you'll have to break the habit later on (which can be a painful habit to break!).
        2) Nursing is going to hurt (for a while), but don't let that dissuade you from breastfeeding. I know lots of lactation consultants say it isn't supposed to hurt, but I have yet to meet a mom who breastfed who said they had no pain in the beginning. Give yourself a few weeks to adjust and the pain should start to alleviate after a few weeks. Until then, you just have to grin and bear it :( I recommend using Lanolin to help protect the nipple and once the pain subsides you can also express a drop of your breast milk and coat the nipple with that - it has similar protection as the Lanolin (and is so much easier and more convenient). I've also heard great things about cold compresses (like this or this), but have never used them myself.
        3) Pacifiers are not the devil - use them if you want. From my experience (and that of my friends) it won't affect your breastfeeding success.

"Don't even think about taking my paci." - John

With Joseph we had to greatly encourage the pacifier. He was nursing something like 8-10 hours a day and not sleeping and super fussy. So, after about 2 (or 3 or 4??) weeks of being a human pacifier and me reaching pretty close to my breaking point (because Joseph almost never slept more than 2 hours at a time - even sleeping 2 hours straight was rare for him) my dad suggested we try giving him a pacifier. Oh - we had tried to give him one before, but he wanted nothing to do with it. But, we kept offering it...over and over again we would offer it. And he did eventually take the pacifier. He gave it up around 5 months, but by that point he was at least consistently sleeping in 2 hours chunks - sometimes even giving me 4-6 hours of (broken) sleep each night! Woohoo!
John was the complete opposite. From the moment we offered the pacifier he loved it. If he felt it near his mouth he would reach for it/your hand and pull it to his mouth.
Both boys have been great nursers and neither have had "nipple confusion." Needless to say, I'm a fan of pacifiers.

Beauty in Motherhood

It's amazing to me that each day can bring out so many different feelings and emotions. These days that are filled with love and laughter, exhaustion and exasperation. I sometimes find myself wondering how I got to this wonderful place in life, but I'm quickly reminded that it has nothing to do with me and everything to do with God's grace.
I love my boys very much, but there are times (sometimes minutes, sometimes hours, sometimes entire days) where I wonder how I'm going to get through. Times when I know I should be laying on the floor playing with them, but the selfish side of me takes over and all I want to do is putter around on the internet and read about how to be a great mom (or wife or whatever). But reading about these things doesn't make me a good mom. Slowing down and spending time with my boys - reading to them, building "big, tall towers" over and over again, wrestling with them, changing their diapers, feeding them - this is what makes me a good mom. But I struggle. Daily I struggle to be the mother they need me to be.
I feel like I've been struck over and over again this week with how much my boys need me to be present to them and how much I need them to help me to heaven. All the seemingly small things I do for them help me die to myself and serve Him more perfectly.
I've read several posts this week that have really made me think about my life, and about my role as a wife and mother in particular. Jenny at Mama Needs Coffee articulates so well this season of life. I could really relate to everything she said. And Msgr. Charles Pope sure gave me a lot to think about with this recent post. And, finally, Dwija over at House Unseen introduced me to this beautiful depiction of Jesus with his mother. I can't get over the beauty of that picture. It's such a beautiful reminder of how important this work of motherhood really is.

The Baby Stuffs

A couple of my dear friends from back in the day (one from high school/college and the other from college) are pregnant with their first babies. They've both asked me lots of questions about baby stuff, so I told both of them I'd do a (few) blog post(s) with all my thoughts on the baby stuffs. For this post I'll focus on baby stuff.

Baby products I actually find useful
If you're going to breastfeed (and even if you're not) get a Boppy or some other pillow for support. You will use it. A lot. I actually got a second Boppy (used) before John came so I could have one upstairs and one downstairs. It's been nice not to have to carry it up and down the stairs all the time, but realistically you only need one, and you can definitely get this used - just make sure it isn't too flat otherwise it won't be very helpful.

Load up on burp cloths. I use them for so many many things. Nursing, burping, wiping slobber, cleaning faces...you name the mess and I can pretty much guarantee that I've used a burp cloth to clean it up.

I love my diaper bag. I know plenty of people who say you don't need a diaper bag, but I find ours really helpful. It has lots of pockets and cleans easily. I think whatever bag you choose to tote all your baby paraphernalia needs to have those two characteristics.

Baby contraptions - swings, bouncy seats, jumpers, high chairs etc. I think I'll do a whole post on these.... I have so many thoughts on the subject. As Will commented when I told him about this post "Oh, baby stuff. You certainly know a lot about that."

A good nursing chair (rocker/glider, etc). My father-in-law was super generous and bought us a glider (that also swivels! and reclines!) for our nursery. I LOVE it. And I've been asked if it "actually gets used" to which I reply, "Ummm, yes. A lot. I've spent many, many hours in that chair." My recommendation would be to get something comfortable for you - something you can take a nap or four hundred(thousand) in.

These swaddle blankets. They're awesome. Seriously - if no one buys them for you go out and get some for yourself. Also - make sure you know how to swaddle baby before you leave the hospital.

A snack catcher. You won't need this until baby starts to self feed, but it's one of the best inventions ever. Note: Do not attempt to put Cheerios in it - they're too small and will fly out and make a mess. The best snacks I've found to put in so far are goldfish, raisins and grapes (I've also seen people put animal crackers inside). The snack just needs to be either large-ish (goldfish) or sticky (raisins).

Joseph sleeping in the Moby.

A baby carrier (or 3). I have 3 - I LOVE two of them (my Moby and my Ergo) and am just eh about my Bjorn. I definitely don't wear my babies all the time, but a carrier is super useful.
I use my Moby wrap (which was given to me by a friend who couldn't figure out how to use it) for the first month-ish after baby is born. I like it for this stage because it snuggles baby right up to your skin and acts like a blanket around them - perfect for that early bonding while still allowing you to get things done - type, read, clean, cook, etc :) My only qualm with the Moby is it's a little hot and a bit of a hassle to put on/take off.
Once baby is bigger and not sleeping quite as much I use my Bjorn (which I got at a baby sale for $20). I use the Bjorn for as short a time as possible. I like that it has the option for head support so I use it when I'm going shopping or doing chores around the house where I'll be bending over or moving around a lot and need baby's head to be supported. The Bjorn I have is killer on the back (all of baby's weight is put on your shoulders with no waist support) which is one of the reasons I use it as little as possible. It's also known to cause hip dysplasia for baby later in life which worries me and is another reason I try not to use it too much.

Joseph hanging out in the Ergo.

As soon as baby hits 14ish pounds (I still can't figure out exactly when you can start using the Ergo without the infant insert) I switch to my Ergo. I love my Ergo. It was given to me as a gift before Joseph arrived - so awesome! I use the Ergo until baby refuses to be worn any more - for Joseph that was around a year, but I know some babies who love to be worn until you tell them they're too big :)
Note: You can use the Moby wrap until baby is quite big (I've seen people put toddlers in them), so if you like the Moby you can definitely get by with only buying this baby carrier or using it until baby is big enough for the Ergo...or you can just buy the infant insert for the Ergo.

Butt paste or something to treat diaper rash. I use this stuff. Some babies seem to have more diaper rashes than others, but I don't think I've ever met a baby who has never had a diaper rash. I've found that if you keep up with changing baby's diaper then you'll dramatically reduce the number of diaper rashes (don't let a poop diaper sit - change it immediately even if you just changed their diaper)!!!

A nursing cover (if you plan on nursing). This is immensely helpful when you're out in public - especially when you're a novice nurser. I still feel like a novice when it comes to being discreet, so this thing has been a life saver for me. For those of you gifted with sewing skills - you should be able to find a pattern online fairly easily and make your own :)


Stuff that ended up being a complete waste of space (or that I skipped out on because I thought it would be a complete waste of space/money)
Baby shoes - Baby does not need shoes until s/he starts to walk. Sure, they're cute. But good luck keeping up with them!
Wipe warmer - Get one if you'd like, but this is definitely not necessary.
Gas drops - I can't even think of anyone I know who has used these (or maybe they have and I just don't know). One of the best ways to help your baby avoid gas is to burp them during and after each feeding. If your baby still has some gas I've found a little leg pumping (moving baby's legs like they're riding a bike - this will help the gas move through their digestive system and help baby get it out) will usually take care of it.
Dreft - Totally not necessary. You can use whatever detergent you like. I think the main thing is to make sure whatever detergent you use is scent and dye free.
Hanging diaper holder - We have one that came with out nursery set and it has basically just been a waste of space.
Nursery sets - Just buy a couple sheets and whatever decorations you want for the room and skip buying a whole set. The set I bought (and paid a ridiculous amount for) came with bumpers (that we never used), a quilt (that I hung on the wall so it at least got some use) and a diaper hanger (which never got used). So, I ended up paying a ton of money for a sheet (it came with one sheet), a crib skirt and a valance.

Bath Time Perch

Here is what Joseph is doing:

And John is perched in the bouncy next to me enjoying the rarely-seen-or-heard sights and sounds of the bathroom. Both boys seem pretty happy right about now. Why didn't I come up with this form of entertainment sooner? Whatever. I'm hoping this means I'll be able to blog a little more often and maaaaaybe I'll even finish our 2012 family photo album before the end of this year.
And maybe I'll even figure out why our computer is being so finicky about me uploading pictures from iPhoto. You never know what this extra time will allow me to do. The sky is the limit (or something like that).

Brain Dump

Dear Blog World,
This here post is going to be a bit of a what's-left-of-my-brain dump. Sorry in advance.

First of all, why must all you fun bloggers have awesome giveaways and force me to comment to enter the giveaway. Don't you realize that takes too much brain power? Brain power which I do not have right now. I suppose all that means is I'll be missing out on giveaways for a while.

Second of all, Will goes back to work tomorrow. Since when did time pass so quickly? John will be 5 weeks old tomorrow. Five! Weeks! Old!

Third of all, Joseph is growing up so fast. Here's a little bit of his cuteness as of late.

- He just asked me (a couple weeks ago when I first drafted this sentence) for more green beans. I must be doing *something* right.

- He loves to sing his "C C's" (ABC's) whether he's singing on his own, with his puppy, with Sesame Street or with Will or me he loves it all the same and is starting to get the hang of it. But most of the letters are still unintelligible.

- He mimics everything we do and especially everything we say.

- He loves Sesame Street and repeats phrases he learns from it frequently. A recent favorite has been "up down." Elmo has a segment all about "up and down" and yesterday Joseph kept saying "updown" over and over and over.

- I'm obsessed with the way Joseph pronounces words. I find it particularly hilarious that many words come out sounding like curse words: fahk = fork, sit = sit (but is very nearly s*it), and there are more but please refer to the beginning of this post wherein I lament where my brain has gone.

Fourth of all, John is the cutest and an awesome sleeper. I hope me typing that doesn't jinx it. He's been sleeping at least 5 straight hours a night for me for nearly a week now, and I'm in love.

Fifth of all, we have a new Pope. I'm sure you didn't already know that. His name is Pope Francis. John's middle name is Francis. Coincidence? I think not.

Sixth of all, did I mention that Will goes back to work tomorrow? No me gusta. I just hope this house doesn't go to shambles.

Seventh of all, are you tired of this nonsense? I thought so. I'll go now.

A Different View of Pregnancy

I've wanted to document how this pregnancy has been different from my pregnancy with Joseph for a while now, but have had a hard time sorting through all my thoughts. This past Friday at mom's group we were discussing the differences between our first and second pregnancies. This helped me process my thoughts and realize that my experience is not unique.

I've been a little cautious about writing this post because I haven't been as ecstatic about this pregnancy as I was when I was pregnant with Joseph. It isn't that I don't want to be pregnant, or that I somehow don't appreciate and love this baby as much I love and appreciate Joseph. It's just that the newness of pregnancy has worn off and the reality of having a toddler in the house has set in. I'm much busier now than I was when I was pregnant with Joseph. I don't have time to stare at my stomach in awe when the little guy kicks around. Those precious kicks have - somehow - become commonplace. The size of my stomach isn't the wondrous gift that it was with Joseph. It's more of a hindrance to me when trying to pick up or wrangle Joseph.

So, while I've enjoyed being pregnant this go 'round well enough. It just isn't as exciting as it was with Joseph. One major difference, however, is my appreciation for being pregnant. When I found out we were pregnant with Joseph I had a bit of an entitled attitude. As in - "Yeesh. That took forever!" (it didn't actually take that long for us to get pregnant, but I wanted to be pregnant RIGHT. NOW. So, it felt like forever.). I somehow felt that I deserved to be able to get (and stay) pregnant right away.

37 weeks with #2

This time I was more in awe of the gift that God had given us. I understood that this was a gift - a gift that many people don't receive. I had a much better sense of just how precious life is. When I first saw the positive result on the pregnancy test I was shocked and elated and overwhelmed with gratitude. I immediately began to pray thanking God for this precious gift of new life. All that afternoon I kept looking at the cross and smiling and praying again. It was surreal. I really didn't think we'd get pregnant so soon. It was also a blessing that Will was working from home the day I found out, so I got to tell him right away. I didn't experience this kind of excitement when I found out we were pregnant with Joseph.

I wish I had been less selfish the first time around so I was able to take in the wonder of God's creation. And I'm grateful for the work God has done to my heart so that I was able to catch a glimpse of His Greatness with our second, precious son.

See? See?

We're in full nesting mode over here. There are lists. Lots and lots of lists. And there is organizing, purging, reorganizing, ideas and the rehashing of said ideas with the hubs.

It all started right around the new year when I realized that #2 would be here in less than 2 months and I didn't even have Joseph's new room ready yet. Actually, I hadn't even started working on his room. Oh, I had talked about what I would do - what I needed to do. I had talked a lot about that, but I hadn't actually done anything. Then we got home from Christmas vacation and I realized we needed a little more action and a little less talk.

I ordered the crib and started searching for dressers online. Once those two items were taken care of I moved on to organizing aaaaaaall the baby clothes. So far Joseph and I have spent two afternoons organizing everything. I think one more afternoon and I'll have everything sorted into its appropriate bin and stored in its proper place.

The crib came yesterday afternoon which made me crazy happy. The store said it was going to take 2-3 weeks to come in then another 1-2 weeks to be delivered. That time line made me a little nervous because I want to transition Joseph into his new room before #2 arrives. Now all I have to do is assemble Joseph's new crib and move his clothes into his new room. We should be able to start the transition this weekend once all the essential stuff is done (the crib is the final piece of "essentials"). I can't wait!

35 weeks

In other news Joseph's vocabulary is exploding. I won't even try to list all the words he knows now (or will I?). It's really nice that he's learning so many words so quickly. It makes communicating with him much easier. I do a lot less guessing to figure out what he wants because he can (generally) verbalize his wants.

One of his favorite things to ask for/do lately is "See? See?" whenever I'm in the kitchen and especially when I'm cooking. It was really cute at first, but it's pretty impossible to actually cook while holding him so he can See? See? everything. And I'm afraid to show him how to pull up a chair to the counter so he can watch because I'm pretty sure he'd do more than just watch and we'd end up in the ER. So, for now I've whipped out the trusty old high chair (which had been retired until recently) in order for him to have a better look at what I'm doing. It usually buys me a solid 5 minutes (and sometimes even up to 15 or 20 minutes!!!) to get things done without having to constantly pick him up or hear him say See? See? a million times in a row.

A couple other cute words he's picked up are melmo (Elmo), fway (tray), pway (pray), cahm down (calm down), and pweece (please).

He can also climb in and out of his booster seat without any help now which is a huge relief for my back/ginganto stomach. So, whenever he wants to eat he just climbs in and asks for his fway (or fwoot (fruit) or whatever food it is that he wants).

Sorry guys, but I'm starting to feel the nesting itch again, so I'm off to get stuff done. Have a lovely afternoon!

I'm not partial or anything...

...but the fact is my son is a genius.

Evidence #1: A couple days ago he and I were playing with his little fire truck. I dug the firemen out of the recesses of the toy box, but was unable to find the dog that goes with the set. I asked Joseph if he could find the dog. He ignored my question, so I figured he didn’t know where the dog was. He worked on putting the firemen into the truck (you have to fit the square bodies into the square holes) for a few minutes. Once he accomplished this task he walked into the other room. I assumed he was finished playing with the fire truck, but wanted to encourage him to play more. I heard him open the drawer of the desk then start squawking. I got up to see what was the matter and try to bring him back into the other room to continue playing. Within a couple seconds I saw him pull out the little wooden dog. He must have stashed it in there a day or two before without me knowing and remembered it was there when I asked for it. Genius, I tell you.

Evidence #2: Tonight at dinner I made breakfast for dinner (french toast, eggs, sausage). I decided to wait until about halfway through dinner to make the sausage because as soon as Joseph sees the sausage he won’t touch any other food on his tray. He becomes singularly focused on the sausage. Must. Eat. Sausage. Now. So, we sit down to dinner and he starts fussing. He’s been a little sick which has turned him into a picky eater (hopefully only temporarily) and tonight was no different. Everything we offered he didn’t want. We finally just let him get down from his seat, but that didn’t help either. He went over to the fridge and started whining. It took me few minutes before I realized he wanted me to get the sausage out of the freezer and make it. I eventually went to the freezer and as soon as the door opened he was quiet. He saw me get out the sausage and all was well…until he had to wait for me to cook the sausage. But, seriously…the boy knew sausage was a part of this meal and he wanted nothing to do with the eggs or french toast when he knew sausage was coming. What the heck!? He’s only 16 months old. Isn’t he too young for this kind of memory? Genius.

Evidence #3:  I was doing laundry today in preparation for our Thanksgiving trip. This included washing his cloth diapers, which I usually line dry. I took a load of laundry up the stairs and when I came back down Joseph has gotten an empty laundry basket and was taking all the diapers off the line and putting them into the laundry basket. Never mind the fact that they were still wet. I was just surprised he knew what to do with them! Genius.

Evidence #4: Every night we read Joseph a few stories before he goes to bed. Will is usually the one to read to him, but Will was tired tonight so I read to him instead. At one point in “Sleep Tight, Baby Rhino” Baby Rhino’s mommy and daddy give him a kiss goodnight. When I read this page Joseph “blew a kiss.” I thought to myself, “Aww, that’s so sweet! Will taught him to blow kisses!” Then, when Will came upstairs to say goodnight he told Joseph to blow kisses to me (which he did) and I commented on how cute it was that he taught him that. Will looked at me quizzically and said “I thought you taught him that” at which point we both realized he must have picked it up somewhere else. My best guess is that he saw another child do it and simply mimicked it. Regardless, I believe it makes my kid a genius.

All of these scenarios occurred either today or within the past couple days, which I find amazing. Joseph continues to surprise me with what he knows and how quickly he learns. What will he think of next?

7 Quick Takes Friday (Vol. 46)

1) I read many articles after the election (as I'm sure we all did), and I think this article really got at the core of what needed to be said (or what I needed to hear). It made me reflect on my life in ways I never have before. Specifically when Matthew Warner quoted Blessed Teresa of Calcutta saying this:

“If you are discouraged it is a sign of pride because it shows you trust in your own power. Your self-sufficiency, your selfishness and your intellectual pride will inhibit His coming to live in your heart because God cannot fill what is already full. It is as simple as that."

I had to read that quote several times for it to really sink in. Not because I didn't understand what she was trying to say, but because of my own selfish pride. I didn't want it to be true. But the more I read it the more I realized the truth in that statement. Not only was this true for my disappointment in the election, but in many other parts of my life as well. I have to remember that I am not in control and I shouldn't try to be. It's so hard to let go of all worldly attachments. This is a very challenging lesson to learn, indeed.

2) Last week was an emotional roller coaster for me. For whatever reason I was really fighting feeling blue. I think it started with being cooped up in the house for two days due to hurricane/superstorm Sandy. Then the sun never really came back out until Sunday - and that's where my mood stayed for the most part. It was such an off week for me.
I'm so thankful that Halloween was Wednesday because we were able to visit with some friends in the day and have some friends over for dinner and trick-or-treating that night. The boys were adorable in their little outfits and I really enjoyed watching Joseph trick-or-treat for the first time. The whole day lifted my spirits in the midst of a very difficult week.

3) This week has been a little crazy because Joseph just keeps learning new things. It isn't bad that he's learning new things, but he's certainly giving me a run for my money.
On Tuesday he figured out how to get into the drawer in my night stand and how to get into some of Will's regular clothing drawers. I, therefore, have had to find new places for things/keep a much closer eye on him while he's in our room.
Wednesday he figured out how to open the chip drawer - which had previously been too heavy for him to open (it's a double drawer and sticks a little). He has since broken two chip clips, but hasn't actually gotten into a bag of chips... *yet.* Then, later in the day on Wednesday he figured out that he can stick his hand into all the top drawers in the kitchen and pull stuff out. He's been taking full advantage of that new skill these past few days.
Thursday he figured out how to get out of his crib (boo!) and went aaaaall the way down the stairs backwards - an improvement from trying to scooch down them forwards (yay!).
What will today bring? The realization that he can push one of the kitchen chairs to the counter and have access to EVERYTHING? I dread that day.
He did this last week:

4) All these new abilities have me pondering exactly how much I should baby proof. I can't just lock up every. single. little. thing. in the house. But it's exhausting keeping the house in some semblance of order when he's constantly getting into things.

5) We were also planning on keeping him in a crib when the new baby comes, but now that he can get out of his crib I'm wondering if we should just go ahead and transition him to a "big boy bed." We've lowered his crib to the very lowest setting for now, but I'm sure it's only a matter of time before he figures out how to scale the crib by another four inches. Does anyone have any thoughts or suggestions on this one? Should we keep him in the crib, or move him to a "big boy bed"?

6) I got to have dinner with a friends from college last night. I haven't seen her since my wedding nearly three years ago, so it was really nice to see her and have a chance to catch up.

7) And last a preg pic. I have been really bad about keeping up with these. This one is from 26 weeks + 1 day. Next up - my date with the orange bottle of disgusting.

I hope everyone has a lovely Veteran's Day weekend! Now go visit Jen to check out more Quick Takes.

7 Quick Takes Friday (Vol. 43)

A friend of mine sent out a family update email today which has inspired me to write this post. I originally started this blog with the intention of keeping a journal of our family - I wanted something I could look back on to remember the little things that happened. Unfortunately, I've only been posting about major events lately and neglecting to record some of the more mundane and, to me, interesting parts of life. I'm going to try to do a better job of keeping up ... we'll see how it goes.

1) Joseph's naps have been very erratic lately. He went from taking two naps a day to not wanting to nap at all. I did push the two-nap thing a little through my 1st trimester, but he didn't seem to mind and would take two good naps for me. But literally the day I entered my 2nd trimester is when he started fighting his naps. And this past Saturday he went on a nap strike altogether. He tried to strike again on Sunday, but ended up falling asleep with me on the couch in the late afternoon. This week has continued to be a little rough on the nap front. And the fact that Joseph has been a little sick (just a runny nose, really) hasn't helped the matter. The only way I've been able to get him to nap is by holding him and singing him to sleep or having him nap in the car. Neither of which are very good options. He has even started rejecting his before-nap books. He'll let me read the first few pages then he shuts the book as if to say he isn't interested in napping.
He generally needs at least one nap or he gets super clingy/cranky. I'm just not sure what to do about it.

2) Joseph has recently started saying "mama." I think he quasi-associates it with me which is super exciting. He also tried to say "ok" yesterday a couple different times. It's very similar to "uh-oh" which is why I think he likes it. I also taught him to say "dirty" today. As in, "The dustpan is dirty. We don't reach in to grab the dirt mom just swept up" or "The trash can is dirty. We don't reach in to pull out used diapers."

3) Joseph has also been teething like crazy lately. Starting right around 13 months I noticed he was getting his baby molars in on the bottom. Those were soon followed by the top bi-cuspids (the teeth between the incisors and baby molars ... I think that's what they're called) which are still working their way in. But in the mean time his top baby molars and bottom bi-cuspids have started coming in as well. All but the bottom bi-cuspids have broken through the gums. So, within the course of one month he's gotten 6 (soon to be 8) teeth. Crazy!

4) My belly grew last night. It's so weird how that happens when you're pregnant. I mean - not that it's weird that it gets larger, but that you'll wake up and feel that it is larger than when you went to sleep the night before.

5) I've been on the hunt for a couch this week. With it being Labor Day weekend I figured I'd be able to get a good deal (and I can), but I can't seem to make a decision. I've found a few that I like, but for some reason I just can't take the plunge. I feel like it's a lot of money to spend and ever since Will and I came up with a yearly budget for me to spend on stuff for the house...well...I've been much more cautious with my spending. Pretty much all these couches would eat up the remainder of the budget for the year, and I'm not sure I'm ok with that. I'm leaning towards putting off the purchase until next year so I can just roll over some money from this year and combine it with next year's budget. That way I won't eat up my entire budget 4 months before the year is over. And this way I can buy a few other more necessary things before the baby arrives (ahem, a crib). There will be more sales, right?

6) Joseph has been obsessed with the book "Good Night, I Love You" lately. He'll have us read it anywhere from 4-10 times in a row. He's also still fairly obsessed with "Llama, Llama, Wakey Wake."

7a) Two of my mommy friends (you might know Lisa) moved to TX this week (one last weekend, one this weekend). I'm sad to see them go, but it gives me a liiiiiiittle more leverage for convincing Will that we should move to TX (like that's ever going to happen...). I can dream, right?

7b) I'm super excited for the long weekend. Yay for having my husband home for 3 days in a row!!!

Aaaand this basically turned into a 7 (errr...8) Quick Takes Friday, so I guess I shall publish it as such.

7 Quick Takes Friday (Vol. 38)

Hello! I'm back from a wee blogging break. The break wasn't intentional, it just kinda...happened. At first I was busy getting ready for a trip to Chicago for my adorable little niece's 1st birthday. Then we were there for 6 days. Then I was in recover/return to real-life mode. And by that point I had several ideas for posts and just didn't know where to start. So, today I decided to just dive right in. And what better way to dive back in than with 7 randomly scattered thoughts?

1) It seems that I change Joseph into a new outfit every time he's about to eat (don't ask me why). Then as soon as the meal is over the clean outfit is no longer so clean. You would think I'd learn not to bother changing him until after each of his meals, but I guess I'm a little slow on the uptake...or maybe it's just that I love doing extra laundry.

2) My niece (and Goddaughter!!) had her 1st birthday a couple weeks ago. Joseph and I headed to Chicago for her birthday weekend and had a wonderful time. We really enjoyed visiting with my sister and brother-in-law and their kids. We also got to see my younger sister, Alyse, and my parents as well as a couple of my aunts, uncles, and cousins. It was great visiting with everyone.
Happy 1st birthday, sweet Clare!!!

3) Speaking of my adorable niece. Check out this video of her....getting around. We have yet to figure out what to call it. It isn't a walk, and it isn't a crawl. And we can't seem to think of a good way to describe what she's doing. If you think of a good name for this please let me know.

4) It's May. You know what that means? It means I'm 1/3 of the way through my New Year's Resolution! That's right, people, I've stuck with my resolution for 4 whole months. How are you doing with your resolution? It's not too late to get back on the bandwagon.
I will say I greatly enjoyed my first day of sweets on Easter day. And (confession) I kinda sorta...adjusted my resolution to include all 8 days of Easter (although I didn't decide that until the last 2 days). So, I got 3 days of sweets instead of just one. And it was mainly so I could eat the delicious cookies I made on Easter day.
But, now I'm back to no sweets until Joseph' birthday. You better believe I'm counting down the days.

5) I've recently begun planning out our meals a week at a time. Before I did this I found myself at the grocery store at least 2-3 times a week (sometimes more). Although I often end up switching around what days we eat what it has gone pretty smoothly for almost a month now. It has been especially useful in planning when to try new recipes. I've been able to try two new recipes so far (thanks Pinterest!) and revive a couple old ones that I haven't used in a while.
I've also been able to cut down on our consumption of spaghetti and breakfast for dinner (not that we don't love those dinners!).
Before I began planning out our meals I would often realize at 6pm that my husband would be home soon and I needed to get crackin' on dinner. This usually meant I hadn't given one teeny tiny thought to what we would be having and thus wouldn't have thawed (or bought) any meat or other ingredients. This meant we were having spaghetti or breakfast for dinner...or if I really couldn't get it together we might order Chinese or grab some Chicken Out. This has only happened once since I began menu planning and that was in the couple days after we got home from Chicago and I hadn't had a chance to go to the grocery store. I am very pleased with how the menu planning in going, and am looking forward to (hopefully) staying this organized.
Perhaps I'll even join in on the Menu Plan Monday linkup one of these days...

6) I still can't get over Joseph's cuteness. He's walking even better now. He can take 10-12 steps at a time and tries to walk pretty much every chance he gets. He definitely wants to be able to walk at all times, so I'm pretty sure he's going to master this whole walking thing soon. Until then, he'll continue crawling and climbing to get where he wants to go...

Nomnom. The dishwasher is my favorite!

What? This drawer wasn't made for babies?

7) Today is my dad's birthday. Happy birthday, dad!!!

Sorry, mom. I realize that's not the best pic of you, but dad and the babies look so cute!

Have a great weekend, ya'll! Go visit Jen at Conversion Diary for more quick takes!

the boy can eat

Joseph sure likes to eat - there's no debating that. And he certainly isn't starving. I would say he hasn't missed a meal in his life, but that would be a lie. He bit me a few time earlier this week at his bedtime feeding and after 3 consecutive bites I let him go to bed hungry. Two nights of going to bed hungry made the biting stop.

But that's not why I write. I write because I have been totally blown away by the sheer quantity of food Joseph can put away. The past two nights have been impressive in particular. Here's what he ate (that I can remember).

Tuesday night:
2-3 tablespoons peas and carrots
1 3/4 hot dogs (almost 2 entire hot dogs!)
4-5(ish) blueberries

What 9 month old can eat almost 2 hot dogs in one sitting???

Wednesday night (it was clean out the fridge/let Joseph get messy night so bear with me):
1 medium banana
5 club crackers
10(ish) goldfish crackers
1-2 tablespoons peas and carrots
3 bites butternut squash
3-4 bites spaghetti w/meat sauce
3 tater tots
15(ish) blueberries
And all that was after having a nice, big nursing session.

His tummy is only so big. I can't quite figure out where it all goes. I mean, last night I thought the banana alone would fill him up. It was pretty big. But he just kept eating. And eating. And eating. And drinking water, of course. He's figured out how to use his sippy cup, so now he drinks some water with his meals.

If this is any indication of how much food he'll be eating 15 years from now I better start stock piling food now.

Joseph munching on his baseball egg at Easter.

Check Out My Guest Post

Hey all!
I recently wrote a guest post for Stacy over at Catholic and Crunchy for her "A Day in the Life" series. Check out what "A Day in the Life of Betsy (on a Sunday)" looks like :)
Happy Monday!

November, November

As you may have noticed I've been sort of MIA lately. That's because November is a busy month here in the Rayel household. So, I figured I'd take a moment to look back on all our adventures from the month.
We started November with a trip home to Tennessee to visit my sister, Jeannette, who was in town for the weekend. It just so happened to be her birthday weekend, so we celebrated that as well.
It was during this weekend at home that we discovered that Joseph sleeps like a champ in his carseat. So, you can guess where he's been sleeping for about a month now :)

That trip marked our first roadtrip with Joseph. He did really well in the car with minimal crying - he slept most of the time (a boy after my own heart).
The week after we came back from Tennessee Joseph turned 4 months old. I, of course, did a little photo shoot with him at home.

Then a few days after he turned 4 months Joseph had his 4 month checkup where we re-confirmed his hugeness (is that a word?). He weighed in at 17lbs 13oz (90th percentile) and was 26.5in long (95th percentile). We also got the go ahead for giving him rice cereal, so we went ahead and tried a little of that. He seemed to like it and by the 3rd or 4th day knew how to eat - he would open when he saw the spoon coming his way and chomp down as soon as it was in his mouth. When he was particularly eager he would grab my hand and shove it toward his mouth!

The next weekend Will and I celebrated our 2nd wedding anniversary by going to Annapolis. We walked around downtown for a bit then had dinner at The Rockfish - the restaurant where we had our first date and where we went the night Will proposed.

A couple days later we left for Tennessee yet again, but this time to celebrate Thanksgiving and go to my 10-year high school reunion. We met up with some of my high school friends for brunch on Wednesday then just had a relaxing afternoon hanging out not doing much of anything. Thursday was Thanksgiving and Will's birthday, but we saved the birthday festivities for Friday.

Friday night we went to dinner then to see "A Christmas Carol" at Barter Theatre with my parents while my sister watched Joseph. Then Saturday night we went to my 10 year high school reunion and Sunday we celebrated my sister Alyse's birthday, my mom's birthday and my birthday all at once.

Whew! That was one busy month. Oh - and did I mention that Joseph has started sitting? Yea - he's a champion sitter :)