Box o' Fun

Today we emptied a diaper box and Lila wanted to go for a ride in it. After a few minutes of being pulled around by Daddy, we added Wyatt to the fun. Lila did a great job of holding him for the ride. She had a huge grin on her face, so I'm not sure why she looks so serious in this picture. That was pretty much Wyatt's expression - wide-eyed - through it all, though!

Our Little Chunky Monkey

I love this picture. I decided to snap a pic of him the other day when I had to change his clothes because you really can't see how "big" he is with clothes on. Not that he is huge or anything, but Lila was a summer baby so we have lots of photos of her skinny legs... I don't really have that many of this guy's nice chunky thighs. I also like this picture because it showcases the two things he does a lot right now: smile and hold his hands. If he's not holding his hands (Lila says he is praying), then he is sucking on his hands. So far he is still more interested in looking at things farther away, although he does focus on the toys I have attached to the changing table and will even reach out to touch them.

Inauguration Day

Tuesday we inaugurated a new President. Since this was such an historic day, I thought it would be fun to let that spill over into dinner. So we had star-shaped pancakes with RED strawberries, WHITE powdered sugar, and BLUEberries. Or that was the idea. In theory I want to do more of this... allowing everyday occurrences (not just big holidays) to give us a reason to celebrate. It makes planning meals more fun for me and the kids, even if they are a little young to really get into it. Lila did enjoy her star-shaped pancake, but one was all she got. After I made enough for us to each have a couple, I switched to plain circles. I used a cookie-cutter to make the star and it just took way too long. I had to wait for the pancake to set before I could remove the cutter. It was switch to circles or take 3 hours to eat dinner. A good idea though. If anyone has any other ideas for creative meals, send 'em my way!

Three Months & 8 Years

On January 13, we celebrated 8 years of marriage... and Wyatt turned 3 months old. Life has changed for us so much in the past eight years, particularly in the past three! It is nice to have occasions to pause and recognize how truly blessed we are. 

Here are Wyatt's (and Lila's) 3 month pictures. I don't have any idea how much Wyatt is weighing these days. He's starting to max out his 3-6 month clothes since he's so tall; I think by the time he is 4 months old, we may be in the next size. His hair is starting to get a reddish cast to it - Lila's did too before it turned blond. Wyatt's eyes are definitely blue but as I look at Lila's picture, they don't seem so vivid as hers - but it could just be the picture. He is very smiley when he's not tired. And boy does he let us know when he is tired! Bounce me, bounce me!

Recently he hasn't been sleeping as well at night. Last night he wanted to eat every 2 hours. I'm not sure if that's because he is still pretty congested with a cold and wakes himself up - or if he's having a growth spurt and wanting to eat more often. Hopefully tonight will be better.

Wyatt, 3 months old

Lila, 3 months old

Wyatt

Lila

Little Drummer Girl

I finally got a video of Lila playing the drums for Rockband (not in the video: Ben playing the guitar). I'm not sure what prompted her to take a little bow at the end, but it was funny. Enjoy!

Changes

Well, I knew the day would come, and I guess today was that day. Lila came out of her room when she woke up this morning. Gasp! I know for many, ok, most of you out there, this is an everyday occurrence with your children. But up until today, our wonderful 2 year old daughter would stay in her bed until we came and got her! When she woke up, she would just lay in bed and talk/sing to herself. We never forced her to stay in bed, so we were very blessed. But now I guess I will have to start enforcing the "stay in your room during nap time" rule since this is crucial for both her and me to make it through the day with our sanity! :)

Fortunately, Wyatt continues to be a good sleeper at night. Even with the cold he has right now, he is doing pretty well. The first two nights he woke himself up coughing and wanted to eat every few hours. But the past couple of nights he has slept longer (5-7 hours) even if he coughs occasionally. Last night and this morning, I have noticed him cooing a lot more. It was right before he went to sleep so maybe he is entering the "sleepy song" phase? I remember Lila used to get more vocal when she was tired, although she had a high pitch squeal... Wyatt is much quieter. Or maybe he is just finding his voice and wanting to be heard. In this house, that would be quite a feat! :-)

Christmas Vacation

Well, as expected, my blogging has slowed down quite a bit. Of course, we've been pretty busy the past couple weeks with the holidays. We spent the week of Christmas in Wichita, Kansas with Ben's family and the week of New Year's here in Dallas with my family. Whew! It was a busy but fun time. Both Lila and Wyatt did GREAT in the car on the way up and back from Kansas. Lila had a blast playing with her cousins. Here are some of my favorite pictures taken in the last two weeks.

No I didn't pose her! She really liked to sit in Grandpa Amey's recliner and use the "temote" to turn on the massage action.

What can I say? It wouldn't be vacation (for some) if there wasn't a little guitar action. Ben with his brother Brian.

Rachel and Lila, cousins only 3 months apart. They had a blast playing together.

Family picture taken on Christmas Eve.

The Amey men, dressed for church.

Lila opening her stocking. Once she pulled everything out, she put it back in. She must have "opened" her stocking 3-4 times after that.

5 year old Britton holding her little cousin Wyatt.

Kaelyn pushing Lila to go see Grandma Amey's pet birds.

Britton and Lila snuggle while watching a cartoon video.

Go Cyclones! Already, Wyatt feels like he should show off his muscle.

My very good friend from college sent Wyatt this ISU onesie (thanks Amanda!)

Grandpa and Grandma Amey with their six grandkids plus Grandpa and Grandma Wiese (Ben's aunt and uncle) with their two.

The "Amey girls" have fun playing on the stairs. 

Lila and her cousin Heath (20 months). You may be wondering, "what's with the big ball in the background?" We got that exercise ball from Ben's mom when we were in Wichita. It is AWESOME for putting a little baby to sleep. Wyatt loves to be bounced and can always tell when you try to sit down... but with the exercise ball you can sit while you bounce! It has truly, truly been a great thing for us!

Ben, my dad, my brother Duey and his son, Jim playing basketball in the backyard.

Lila helps Grandpa Brandt wash the dishes.

Picture of me and Wyatt taken on New Year's Day... for those who wonder why I'm never in the picture :) I stuck my arm out and took the picture and it actually turned out ok!

Grandpa Brandt and Heath feed the ducks at the park. Yes, the first few days of January were in the 70s here. Crazy Texas weather.

Grandpa and Lila.

Ben got Rockband for Christmas. Here's Lila taking her turn on the drums. We got a cute video clip of her "playing" the drums and singing but I don't think I'll get it posted. I'll say it's because I'd have to figure out how to do that (which I would), but really it's because you can hear me singing in the background too :) Now, someone just needs to come up with a Rockband game that has songs like Old MacDonald and Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star.  You know, something a little more my speed! :)