More Pictures!

As I dressed Ryan in his outfit for the day, I remembered when Sean wore the same outfit so I just had to take a picture of Ryan to compare next to Sean's. I can't remember for sure how old Sean is in this picture, but I think he was a few weeks older than Ryan. Ryan turned 6 weeks old on Thursday. The last few days he has been very fussy and he fights going to sleep now. I guess he doesn't want to miss a thing!

Here are some more recent pictures of the boys.

Derek's dad, step-mom, and great-grandma are visiting right now and Sean is having a blast - he just loves having visitors. We have a busy week ahead of us so I'm sure I will have lots to post soon. Sean starts Awana on Wednesday night, we have our first MOPS meeting group on Thursday, and pre-school orientation on Friday! Whew, I'm getting overwhelmed just thinking about it all!

Who's Who?

Since Ryan is the second child, he gets to wear all of Sean's baby clothes. When I put outfits on him, it reminds me of when Sean was a baby and wore the same clothes. Here is a picture of Sean and Ryan wearing the same outfit as a newborn. Sean was probably a few weeks old and Ryan is 4 weeks old in the picture. So, what do you think? Do the boys look alike?

I couldn't find the picture of Sean in this outfit that I was looking for because when he was just a baby, our camera was stolen with all of our pictures from Sean's first few weeks of life!

It's somewhat hard to tell at this young age how much the boys will look alike so I will post more pictures of the boys as Ryan gets older to compare with Sean when he was a baby.

Growing and Growing!

Ryan is 4 weeks old now and time has flown by! I'm a little late in posting Ryan's new stats, but when we went to the doctor for his 2 week check-up (he was already 2 1/2 weeks) he weighed 7 pounds 9 ounces and had grown about an inch. The doctor said he is gaining weight very well and had gained 1.4 pounds since his last appointment. The only thing that concerned us was what the doctor had to say about Ryan's ears. His earlobes curl up and the doctor thought that they would come down on their own, but he now thinks that they won't and is recommending plastic surgery. I figure that we will just wait and see how they are in a year and go from there. Next appointment is not until he is 2 months old in September.

It's amazing how much he is changing everyday. He's almost grown out of his newborn clothes and has graduated to the next size in diapers! One of his favorite things to do is stare at your face as you talk to him. His eyes get really big and he's starting to smile when you talk to him. He also enjoys playing in his crib and staring at his fish aquarium (see below pics!).

Giddy Up Cowboy!

Sean continues to be a great helper with his brother and has really started to mature in the last couple of weeks. He wants to do most things on his own now and I can't believe how fast he is growing. It seems like just yesterday that he was the newborn in the house! When Grams and Gramps were visiting recently, they gave Sean a cowboy outfit and he loves it as you can see in this picture.

As we approach fall, we have a busy schedule ahead of us. Sean starts preschool at Springs Community School in September and will attend on Wednesdays and Fridays from 8:55-11:55 in the morning. We met his teacher on Friday and he was excited to play with the toy kitchen in his classroom. I never thought I would be so excited to go shopping for school supplies.

Sean will also be starting in a program at our church on Wednesday nights called Awana Clubs. It's a great Christ centered program for kids beginning when they are 3 years old in the "Cubbies" class. I'm also a leader in the Cubbies group so I will be in the class with him. The kids begin to memorize Bible verses, learn Bible stories, work on crafts, play games, and learn the truths of the Bible. All of the activities are centered on the Bible verse and story for the week.

We are also going to continue to attend our MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers: http://www.mops.org/) group on Thursdays which meets twice a month. MOPS is a group of Christian mothers who meet to fellowship and provide support and encouragement to each other. It's been a help for me to talk to other mothers who have children the same age and are dealing with many of the same struggles. We began attending the group last January and have enjoyed meeting many new friends.

I'm sure all of this will be an adjustment on our part (especially as we try to get out of the house on time!), but we are excited to embark on these new adventures!

Big Brother

Sean is adjusting well to his new role of big brother. He is very gentle with Ryan and likes to help pick out diapers. They have Sesame Street characters on them and he enjoys deciding which one Ryan wants. His favorite phrase is "Oh, he's so cute" and then he kisses him on the head or tickles his belly. He finally asked to hold him this week and as soon as Ryan starting crying, he said he didn't want to hold him anymore. However, most of the time he doesn't really fuss with Ryan and just wants someone to play with him. Right now, his Aunt Megan, Grams, & Gramps are visiting and he is having a lot of fun and getting lots of attention. If one of them is holding Ryan, he tells them to give him back to mommy! He just loves having friends and family visit!

We are looking forward to the boys growing up together and becoming the best of friends.