Dear Ryder... Four Months

Dear Ryder,

It was just a little more than a year ago today when I first found out that you existed. Now it's been four whole months since we welcomed you to Earth, and I can honestly say that I've never been happier. Or more exhausted. But let's focus on the fun stuff, shall we?

We had an incredibly busy month of August!

It started off by taking a family trip to Hawaii to celebrate Uncle AJ's college graduation. You were such a good boy, traveling on an airplane for the first time, and we had an amazing vacation that provided us with memories for a lifetime. Daddy is still talking about how he can't wait to take you back when you are a little bit bigger, so he can play with you in the ocean waves.

We also took you on your first camping trip to Mayfield Lake. Daddy and I have been camping together since we first met, and it was so fun to go on our first trip as a family. We're not really into hardcore camping in the mountains or anything... just state campgrounds near water so we can spend time at the beach and on the boat. This time Nana and Grandpa came along with their motor home, so we were nice and comfy. You loved being outside, going for walks, sitting on shore, and didn't seem to mind your very first boat ride (thanks Brett & Haley!) one bit! Daddy probably would have taken you out on the surf board had I let him, but Mommy's a little too paranoid for that just yet.

At the end of the month we drove over to Idaho to spend a week at the Alway Family Lakehouse. Spending time there is one of our very favorite things... it is such a relaxing, peaceful place. And I was so happy that you finally got to spend some quality time with your Alway relatives!

So now you are four months old and you can already check four different states off your bucket list! Well done, my little traveler. Besides refusing to nap on any of the trips, you have been an absolute angel, and we've really become comfortable traveling as a family and can't wait to do more of it!

I wanted to spend the last days of summer really soaking up our time together, because our new big adjustment is the fact that I have gone back to work full time. This was always our plan, but that didn't make it any easier when the time finally came. We were so lucky to get to spend the entire summer playing together, but now it's time to return to reality and the daily grind. Luckily, you will spend most days at home with Daddy, except for when he's on shift, and on those days you will go next door to our neighbor, Julia. She has three young children of her own to play with and they are such a great family -- I know you will be happy and safe there, even though we will miss you like crazy!

Here is a little photo dump of what else we've been up to this month...

You and I spent quite a bit of time in the backyard in the evenings, watering the grass for Daddy while he was at work and just relaxing and enjoying the warm summer evenings.

Sometimes we'd go out in the middle of the day and lay in the grass but we had to be careful to stay in the shade.

We went down to visit Cailin and Charlie, who just loves to hold you and cuddle you.

We did some fashion photo shoots of outfits you received before you were born. This froggy one came from Cousin Brooke...

And this adorable number came from Jamie at You Gotta Have Hart. Mommy has the best blog friends!

We spent a fair amount of time just lounging around the house.

And of course Nana came to visit as often as she could. She just loves to make you giggle and smile!

You love it when Daddy lifts you up in the air.

And Daddy Day Care seems to be going really well. He sent me this shot on my first day back at work, and at first I thought he had taken you for a walk with a beer in the stroller's cup holder.

Daddy's little football player.

A selfie together after my first full day back at work. I missed you so much, we just cuddled for the entire evening when I got home.

As for your developments this month, there have been a lot of them!

You have started to roll over (although infrequently) from both front to back and back to front. And you discovered your feet, which is absolutely adorable. You lay on your back like a stranded turtle just grabbing for them and laughing; it's one of the cuter things I've ever seen. 

You have also started to reach for and grab at toys. Your favorites include an infant Very Hungry Caterpillar book, Sophie the Giraffe, and colorful burp cloths that Aunt Nichole made. Of course everything goes directly into your mouth.

You're quite a needy child, requiring constant entertainment. You don't like to be left alone for long, although you'll tolerate your swing and Jumperoo for brief periods of time. You sit in your balance chair quite a bit, because we can move it around and essentially take you with us while we do errands around the house. We always put it on the dining room table when we sit down to eat so you can join us and you really seem to like sitting at the table with Mommy and Daddy. You seem to like that chair a lot more than your Bumbo seat, although you'll sit in that one for short periods of time, too. If you're not in one of those contraptions, you enjoy lying on the floor as long as someone is playing with you or you're underneath your activity gym. You've gotten used to Tummy Time and we swear you are really wanting to crawl, but can't quite figure it out yet... we think the time is coming soon when you'll be on the move!

We've caught you sucking your thumb a few times, and are starting to wonder if it's going to become a habit.

You drool constantly, which means several outfit changes each day no matter how many bibs we try to keep in place.

You went through a major sleep regression toward the end of the month, and instead of waking up just once during the night to eat you began waking every two hours demanding to be fed. This was a little bit of a shock to Mommy, because I was used to getting a much better night's sleep. It was also not convenient for you to start this right before I went back to work. However, we think it may have just been a growth spurt, because now you seem to (hopefully) be returning to your regular sleep patterns. That being said, you are still generally refusing to nap. You will sometimes sleep during the day for 20 or 30 minutes, and about once a week you'll take a three or four hour nap, but other than that you seem to absolutely hate sleeping. Even at bedtime, which tends to be around 7pm because you're so exhausted from the day, you fight sleep and we usually end up rocking and crying for quite a while until you finally succumb and close your eyes. Just sleep, my angel!!

Luckily, you're still willing to sleep in your crib at night in between feedings, so we've moved your bassinet out of our room permanently. It's the end of an era!

Every once in a while you'll nap in your Pack and Play downstairs, but it's a pretty rare occurrence.

You love to express yourself through smiles, laughs, gurgles, and coos -- we absolutely love to tickle you and make you squeal! You are so much more alert and fun to play with. Your eyes still haven't started to changed and remain beautiful, bright blue. We're starting to wonder if they may stay that way.

At your four month checkup you clocked in at 26 inches and a whopping 15 pounds, 11 ounces -- almost twice your birth weight! You're definitely getting heavy and Mommy is going to have killer arms as a natural side effect.

One of the most exciting things that happened this month was the start of football season! You attended every single Seattle Seahawks game with us while I was still pregnant, and we're so excited for you to experience your first real season this year. We are HUGE football fans in this family, and we can't wait to teach you all about the game... 

It's going to be an exciting fall!