Little Boo is 4

Dearest Jackson,

Happy 4th birthday to you. You are full of life and energy. Can you imagine we used to call you Silent J? Our days are full of chatter now. You are quite the conversationalist and have a memory like I have never seen before. You keep us on our toes with questions about little things like the names and ages of the Rescue Bots to bigger questions about death and heaven. 

Your days start around 6am (thank goodness it's not 4:30 or 5am anymore!). You hit the ground running, literally. I know you are awake when I hear a large THUD of your heels hitting the floor, you run to turn on your lights and start playing. We've resurrected the green light from the land of broken objects and we're back to staying in your room until 6am. The first thing you want to do each morning, and then every waking moment after that, is to play with friends. You love William, Luke and Katie, Sylvie and Iris, Charlotte and Caroline and Molly and they are all in very close proximity to our house. Now we just need to stop you from sneaking out of the house long before 7am to go knock on doors (sorry, friends). You have turned into a leader but you don't have too much of a bossy streak. If friends aren't available you will entertain yourself with your Rescue Bots and Ninja Turtles, making up stories of great adventures! Speaking of great adventures, your favorite stories in the Bible are the "bad ones". Hmmm...we'll have to clarify that later, but we know that you mean the ones like David and the giant, Goliath, and the crucifixion. At mealtimes, you were not very excited about praying by yourself so instead we go around and we each say something we are thankful for and all thank God for the food. You are usually thankful for the trees, sky and flowers, but occasionally you pray for something like safe travels for your friends or good health for someone who is sick. You also initiate prayers for Rachel when she hurts herself or is not feeling well. Sweet boy. 

Things you love:

School with Ms. Becca and your classmates

Running, scootering, climbing trees/anything

Playing make-believe with your action figures and cars

Bath time - floating

Being the first one to get Rachel out of her crib in the morning

Rescue Bots, OctoNauts and DinoTrux (Netflix)

Grandparents and friends

Books

Phonics (finally!), basic addition/subtraction

Goodbye kisses/hugs

laughing

Things you could do without:

Veggies, all of them

Bath time - getting washed

Immediate obedience/listening to parents

your green light/staying in your room until 6am!

Fine motor: writing, drawing

Recognizing letters

Dancing

We are so thankful to God that you are our son and that you are Rachel's big brother. We can't imagine our lives without you. Life must have been so quiet before you arrived! We love your sparkling blue eyes and long curly eyelashes. We love your brown hair and how are you are getting so tall. We love how you are strong but sensitive, a leader but also an observant follower. We love that you are learning integrity and repentance, forgiveness and love. We love you Jackson

And now some pictures of your sweet sister from your birthday party! 

Rachel and Pop Pop 

Rachel is 1 year old!

Sweet 1 year old Rachel. You do get sweeter as the days go by and we continue to love you and your brother more and more.  You love life. You smile all the time and want to be involved in everything. Your idea of a toy is the remote, floss or a door that can be opened and closed.  You started walking on September 9th and look like an old pro now. You speed around the neighborhood following the kids or Max, the cat. You love climbing stairs, chairs, the dining room table...yes, you will be our concussion/broken arm child. 

Your hair is long, blonde and thick and you will keep a pony tail in for about 5 minutes. We're trying to keep the hair out of your eyes so you can see but you seem to dislike hairbows of any type. You love to wear dresses, tights, jackets, and you're getting used to real shoes after you wore holes in 3 pairs with soft soles. You have 8 teeth and appear to be working on your molars because you are fiercely chewing on your tongue on the right side of your gums. 

You still adore Jackson and love when he plays rough with you too. He really looks out for you, except for when he is stealing your snack or stuffed animals. You are a trooper when it comes to holding your own with Jackson and enduring scrapes and bruises outside from then uneven sidewalks in our neighborhood. Several seconds of crying and you're off and running again! 

You have a serious booty dance whenever you hear a good beat and usually sing along when you hear music. You do pretty well in church nursery and at the gym and, knock on wood, have so far missed a true separation anxiety phase. we know we're not out of the woods, but at this point your brother had already been through 1 long-lasting phase!

We finally found a food you don't like...canned spinach. I mean, can we blame you? I forgot to get the measurements at the last doctor appointment but you're up to about 21 pounds (no longer our 25 percentile baby but up to 75% now) and you are averaging 50% height and 75% head circumference. You are a little anemic (my bad!) but seem to be managing just fine so far. 

You talk all the time, which is such an interesting change from your brother. We never got to hear babbling and are just eating it up. I LOVE to hear you talk since it sounds like you know exactly what you are saying even though it's complete jibberish to us! You sleep from 6pm until about 6:45am and nap at 9 and 1pm. Thank you for being a good sleeper :) We are eternally grateful. You love other kids your age but don't have a ton of time to spend around them yet. You love to cuddle, with your favorite times being pre/post nap and before bedtime. You rag-doll yourself over our shoulder and nestle your head into our neck. You'll easily spend 10-20 minutes on daddy's lap after nap time. You also learned how to give kisses this month and it's the sweetest thing ever. 

You are very curious and already know how to get into trouble. We have had to scold you for a few things like biting me and touching outlets and you have cried more than you do when you scrape your knees. You do understand the word 'no' and recently have been pushing the boundaries with us. You love to give us a sweet smile and go right back to doing what you're not supposed to. Oh dear...I forgot it started so early! 

We had your birthday party on October 3rd with 13 family members. You enjoyed all the attention but also had some restful moments on the shoulders of grandparents. After a good dinner it was time for the cake smash. You were surprisingly cautious about touching the cake. After several minutes, you started to touch it and then ripped it apart with your hands, squishing it, putting some on your belly, offering some of it to Grandad but not eating any of it. Again, another complete surprise! I thought you would totally be my sugar girl but I might be wrong. 

With no coaxing on my part, you have some traits that are typical girl. You have a girly shriek when you don't get your way; you whine like I do; you love necklaces and you immediately started to carry these present bags around like you had just left the mall. On the other hand, you love to be incredibly dirty and play with trucks, trains and planes with Jackson. We love you, Rachel. We can't wait to see who you continue to become and are so glad to have you in our lives. 

Birthday Shenanigans!

JB's birthday is 8-8, mine is 8-20 which makes for a busy but fun month! This year we grilled pork chops for the grandparents and enjoyed a gorgeous day together! Rachel rocked some lovely leg warmers and the kids had many grandparent hugs and kisses!

Then it was the 5th annual BBBBBBBBB (Byrnes and Ben Birthday Beach Bash BBQ Brats Burgers and Beer). Something like that. We enjoyed a smaller group this year (as the kids are starting to outnumber the adults), a gorgeous beach day, thrilling rounds of spike ball and delicious smoked ribs.   Thank you to everyone for the cards and well-wishes for our birthdays. We are thankful for another year!

 Finally, it was such a treat to see my cousins, Chris and Stacie, Amanda and their kiddos at the zoo. They had a week in Sandbridge and we were finally able to see each other, which is very hard with the kids and the distance between us (PA and CT). Many of our kids met for the first time ever. Jackson loved leading them around the zoo and the Rachel and the older girls all had a mutual love for each other. Plus Kennedy and Zoe wanted to push the stroller for me. Win win! Hugs and kisses! 

Rachel is 7 months old

Rachel, you are 7 months old. Can you believe it? I am surrounded by lots of pregnant mommas and have been reliving some of my pregnancy symptoms (nausea, itchy belly, swollen ankles, excitement of the unknown, etc) and it seems like it was just yesterday and yet an eternity ago that we first met you.  You light up a room with your grin and still smile with your eyes. Your favorite person to smile for, by far, is your dad. When you hear him in the room your attention immediately goes to locating daddy! His voice or simply his face make you grin from ear to ear, as shown below when he was getting you out of the car. You two will sit and smile at each other for minutes on end. Sometimes you get bashful and turn away as if you can't stand to smile for just a minute more. And then you look at daddy and smile some more!   

My favorite thing about you (well, there are probably a few favorite things) is how you attack me before I put you down for a nap. It's like a passionate make-out scene from a movie (ok, but since your my daughter, it's not weird). You grab at my hair, face, neck, earrings...anything your hands can hold and you pull me in for some open-mouth slobbery kisses. It's absolutely a drool-covered, messy-hair scene and I wouldn't change any minute of it. It is so amazing to feel loved like that. In addition to kissing me, you love to kiss the cute baby in the mirror. This month, you discovered the image in the mirror and you think you have a friend! For a while it felt like I had twins as I watched you play with your reflection. You reach out to touch hands, you smile coy-ly and give lots of smooches!  

You are still long and slender with blonde hair and blue eyes. Your first tooth arrived on April 20 and it looks like you're due for another one on the bottom and a few more on the top in the next few weeks. You were a little fussy but like your brother, you seem to tolerate teething pretty well. You might be ready to give up your 3rd nap and shift down to 2, but since you don't have a predictable schedule, we're not that sure. Most of your 3pm naps are a big failure and I end up wearing you in the Ergo to get you to take a cat nap. Thankfully for spring, we can sit outside with the neighbors on a blanket and you stay pretty happy, despite being up for 4+ hours some afternoons. 

We 'cried-it-out' for your regular 2am wake-ups since you weren't hungry anymore, just wanted company. You still eat well at 4am, so that is our regular early morning mommy-daughter date. I sneak in there with the flashlight of my iPhone and once I am done feeding you, we love to look at the shadows of our heads on the ceiling for a few minutes. Then, back to sleep until 7ish. 

We think you will talk a little earlier than your brother did since you are already having 'conversations' with us, making some throaty G sounds and other vowels. You love anything musical, from daddy's music (free download of 12 songs by The Pilgrim Project) to clapping hands or tapping on the floor.  You sit like a champ and love to read books, play with toys or get kisses from Lincoln. J is playing a little more rough with you, which seems to be ok with you. He tickles you (neck and feet are your favorite), snuggles you (like he's giving you a choke hold!), reads stories with you and shares his cars (as long as you share all of your stuffed animals first). I love these little moments now but I am also so excited to see you two as you continue to grow together as brother and sister. He is so sweet to you and I know you are (already) going to love him so much in return. 

You're really into solid food and we've branched out more than I did with Jackson, trying broccoli, cauliflower (sorry to your little GI system!), zucchini, plain yogurt and squash. You've eaten puffs, cheerios, bread and cheese. You don't have a pincer grasp yet so you pick up everything with your fist and try to eat it, palm facing away from you. You are about 1 for 10 when it comes to getting something in your  mouth but it doesn't seem to frustrate you that much. My goal is that you'll be good at finger foods by our airplane ride in a few months. Next up on the menu is beans, prunes and summer fruit like apricots and peaches! 

Rachel, we love you sweet girl. Thank you for blessing our lives. We thank God for you every day and are so lucky to get to care for you on this Earth. 

Rachel is 5 months...and also 6 months

Poor second child. It's not that we don't love you just as much as we love Jackson. It's just that we have no time left now that we are taking care of both of you. So, your 5 and 6 month celebrations of life on this earth are combined into one! And, let's face it, not much happens at 5 months anyways ;) 

You are 15lbs and 3oz and are 26.5" inches long. Although you started out bigger than your brother at birth by almost a full pound, you are now trailing behind him in stats (he was 18lbs and 27"). You are more of a beanpole to his potato. Your blonde hair is getting longer and your eyes remain sparkling blue. You smile more and will even chuckle at things on a regular basis. You love when people kiss your belly and cheeks, and funny noises will always make you laugh. 

This month you started sitting up by yourself and are getting better each day. Although you originally resisted, you are now realizing that your arms can prevent you from falling and also allow you to scope out the room more, looking for Jackson or dad's voice.  Your toes were interesting for all of month 5 but you've moved onto bigger and better things....aka anything you can get your hands on. Which at times is not much, since you have no desire to crawl. Your world is still somewhat limited to whatever we put right in front of you. But that's ok as Jackson has not quite gotten the concept of "you must clean up your small toys because Rachel is going to eat all of them".  J did not like to eat things but R does and it's quite scary to think of the legos, cars and beads we have in our house.  

We started you on solid food when you were just shy of 5 months. I know...why would we willingly subject ourselves to the messiness of an infant eating sooner than we had to? But, you were shrinking and we wanted to get in some extra calories and see if it boosted you back up. Your monthly menu consisted of: oatmeal, peas, pears, apples, avocado, bananas, sweet potato, butternut squash and carrots. We'll soon be moving onto prunes, zucchini and maybe green beans (pureed green beans....yuck!). You were hesitant about the whole food thing but now just love it, usually singing as you dive towards the spoon. J has enjoyed feeding you, but that gets super messy and usually ends up with a spoon shoved down your throat (he means well). 

Things you love: food, your brother, dad's singing voice, church/gym nursery, Sofi the giraffe, new people, chewing on things, sleeping, sitting up, shaker toys, Taylor Swift, dancing, back rubs, splashing in the bath, older kids, birds, walks, Lincoln, faking like you can drink from a cup, grandparents, FaceTime, belly kisses, cuddling

photo credit: Jackson

Things you don't love: going to your room for naps, being left alone, waking up on your belly, pressing up during tummy time, shots, taking a bottle.

We adore you, Rachel. We are so glad that God gave you to us to care for! 

Rachel is 4 months old!

Hey everyone, Rachel here and I'm 4 months old. Life is starting to get exciting! I'm reaching for things, giggling all the time and am more alert. My favorite thing to do is chew on my hands and fingers. Really, any combination those is my jam. I have a tooth on the bottom right and think some more could be coming, so I gnaw on my first finger to make my gums feel better. I drool a lot, but NO WHERE near as much as my brother did. His drool chest would extend down to his belly button! I've started to spit-up less which makes mommy happy. I'm still on zantac, which is disgusting; I love to spit it out when mommy turns her back. I also hate the Vitamin D drops that my doctor makes me take while I'm breast feeding. Speaking of eating, I still hate taking a bottle. I just like to have mom around all the time so she can feed me. 

I think dad is the best. I hear his voice from across the house and turn my neck like an owl in order to see him. He and I like to make each other smile. A lot. We also like to watch soccer together. It's our favorite.  He finished up 5 night shifts and stayed up when he was super exhausted to take care of us while mom was really sick one day. 

Jackson has to be the coolest big brother around. He climbs in my crib to help me wake up in the morning. He shares his stuffed animals and cars with me. I like the ambulances that make noise and light up.  He does like to borrow all of my stuffed animals, but he generally returns them sometime in the same month.  J is very generous too. He recently shared his cold with mom and me. I was so sick with a runny/stuffy nose and a sad little cough. I still managed to sleep ok, but it brought mom to tears one night when I had my first (small) fever. I just looked really pale and wouldn't smile at all. But I'm one tough cookie and bounced back quickly. 

I think I weigh about 15-16 pounds but will go to see the good Dr. C next week. I'm longer and skinnier than Jackson was, so I'm mostly wearing 6 month clothes that are very baggy through my shoulders.  I love to be outside and listen to the birds but it's been too cold here for many walks.  Lincoln is a pretty good dog...he licks my face all the time and it tickles!

I still love to sleep. Bedtime is about 6:30 and unless I'm really hungry (which I have been lately), I sleep until 5:30am or so. During the day I still stay awake for 1 hour and 15 minutes and then head down for nap again. It doesn't leave a ton of play time but we manage to make the most of tummy time and reading books in the bumbo.  That's all until next month!