Tyson - April 2012 - 4 Months

I forgot how much fun this stage is - the 4 months stage.  You are still mostly content to chill on your back and stare up at the world, your favorite thing to do is grab your toes or chew on your hands, which are both available to you nearly 24/7 (unless you are swaddled), and just about any goofy thing any of us does can get you to laugh.  It's a fun time at the Veater house.  I'm not even going to mention some of the upcoming milestones that may not be so fun (one starts with "T" and ends with "eething") because I am just going to enjoy THIS. RIGHT. HERE.  (Right as I typed those words you started to wake up from your nap.  Good timing!  I put the binky in and turned on your mobile to see if I can't buy a few more minutes to get this written...)

You had your first Easter, and the weekend before we got to go to Grandma and Grandpa Hillier's house to spend a night or two.  It was your first sleepover, and you did really well!  You actually slept from around 8 or 9 until 4 a.m., which is pretty darn good bud!  We had a good time watching conference (although we didn't actually  hear much of it), hanging out, and eating good food with Aunt Lisa and Uncle Joe while we were there.  Dad left for a detail a few days before, so you and I and the big kids stayed an extra night because we were having too much fun to go home.


The next weekend we went to the Pollock Easter out at Kodachrome.  Of course you were too young to enjoy it to its fullest, but you did spend lots of time being cuddled by Aunt Linda, Aunt Bre, Aunt Linda Grandma Veater, and Aunt Linda.  The other women in the Barnhurst family weren't very happy with Aunt Linda when it was time to leave because she had definitely hogged you all to herself!  On a rare break from Aunt Linda Grandpa got to hold you and I snapped this picture when he thought I was done taking pictures. I sent it to your dad who wrote back and said how alike he thought the two of you looked.  I have to agree!

We've gotten into a pretty good eat/happy & awake/sleep routine and one of the times you are awake is when I am getting lunch ready for the older kids before Logan goes to school, so I usually put you in your swing, turn up some music, and dance while I make sandwhiches or mac & cheese.  You are especially fond of the dance Logan, Tess, and I do to "Party Rock" by LMFAO (look it up boy, I guarantee it is probably so ingrained in your brain that it will cause you to involuntarily dance as soon as you hear it).  I wanted to get a picture of how big you smile when we dance, and this is the best I could do since I was dancing adn moving my phone and you were in the swing...swinging.  Most of the others are blurry, but you can definitely tell how much you enjoy our smooth moves.

Aunt Lisa calls this your "Blue Steel" look.  You've gotten into this cute little habit of sucking on your lip.  It's adorable.  You also LOVE to chew on your hands, so much so that they are actually chapped from all the slobber that ends up on them.  In the past week or so you've also decided that grabbing onto your toes and subsequently rolling from side to side is pretty fun too.

The night dad got home I put you to bed around 7 p.m. as usual, but by 8:30ish you were up and NOT interested in going back to bed.  Dad said it was because you had missed him and wanted to hang out with him, so I got you out of bed and granted your wish.  He had you laughing pretty hard.  Even after being gone for 2 weeks you still give him smiles more freely than anyone else I've seen.

The classic "Baby in Sunglasses" picture.  Just to be clear - these are your dad's sunglasses that I started wearing when I lost my smaller ones.  I realize that they probably look SO out of style by the time you read this or maybe it will have been so long by then that big glasses are back in style.  At any rate, putting them on you and taking a picture had to be done.  Wait until you ahve kids, I guarantee you do it too.

The big kids are starting to like holding you a little bit more since you are less breakable and don't just lay there on their laps rendering them unable to move.  The problem for Tess is that you are more than half her size at this point.  You go to the doc next week so I will make sure I put your stats up, but I wouldn't be surprised if you are getting right up there at least in the weight department.  Sometimes at night when I pick you up to feed you the weight of you surprises me, and I'm certain that you have grown and gained weight since the last time I put you down.

Update 5/3/12 - So your stats have flip flopped a little from last time.  Your weight was 14 pounds 4 ounces, which is 50th percentile, but your height is up to 26 inches long, which is the 90th percentile!  Your dad thought you might be a little on the short side, but if you keep up the way you are now you might be a bean pole instead!

Come ON kid, save some adorable for the other babies!

You can't decide if you like your Bumbo chair yet or not.  Your legs already get stuck in it though chubby.  

You got to meet Smokey at Kanab's earth day shindig.  You had refused to take your naps all day and were a miserable, awful beast by this point - hence the zombie look on your face.   You were kind of cuddly though as we walked around, which was a plus since you still have yet to decide that it is okay to put your head on mom's shoulder and snuggle EVER.  Get used to hanging out with Smokey, he's one of dad's bestest friends.

This is later on after we got home from earth day sporting your North Zone fire shirt.  You look happy but you were SOOO not.

You still love your baths though!  I was scrubbing your hair and got a huge smile.  Then I dried you off and got a huge smile.  Then I put the lotion on and got a huge smile.  

And one last one just because.  Yes that's a pink blanket, but it is thinner than your blue silky one and you are so touchy-feely lately that you like the silky blankets up near your face to fall asleep.  The white blanket is the one I have to wrap around you as tight as you can so you can fall asleep.  Most of the time I have to do this 2-3 times before you fall asleep because you are THAT determined to get your hands to your face and pull your binky out.  When I come in to get you after you wake up from a nap you have usually gotten to about this point where your hands have gotten free and you are waving them around all over.  You've rolled over a time or two in both directions but aren't that consistent yet, which I am okay with.  You don't need to rush through these milestones at warp speed just to keep up with the other two I promise.

You are such a fun little guy.  You sleep pretty good for the most part.  You go down to sleep easy.  You eat good.  You laugh.  You like the way I dance.  You only poop once a week (really!).  Really my only complaint is the same as last month - and that is the lack of cuddling.  Help a mama out buddy!  Considering all the other good things you do I guess I will take the lack of cuddling.  We sure love you buddy and, as always, I'm excited to see what new tricks you've picked up when I write this letter next month.

Love you Ty (Moose didn't really stick...),
Mom

Logan - April 2012

It's the 19th.  The other day your dad asked if I had written your letter yet, and when I said I hadn't he said, "You know, someday you are going to wish you had written more."  That is very, very true, but right now I am happy with the fact that each month since you were 15 months old you have a letter from your mama (and very occasionally, dad).  Seeing as how you are coming up on 5 years (60 months) old, I'd say that is quite the accomplishment, and I'm okay with being a slacker and blaming our busy lives for your short (and often late) letters.

I snapped another quick picture of you heading into your school this month.  I feel like I never do this moment justice though when I take a picture.  Having the camera ready and telling you to wave isn't as awesome as when  you turn around on your own and blow me a kiss and yell, "Love ya mom!"  I guess it is something though.

You continue to LOVE your brother.  L-O-V-E.  I had no idea you would be this enamored with him.  I thought it would be Tessa wanting to love on a baby, but boy was I big time wrong.  In fact, you would do anything to be able to be with him, including changing a diaper!  I had to help you out with the logistics a bit (tabs in the back, etc.), but you did a great job.  I still have to get after you quite often during the day to give Ty some space because woah, you can be a lot to take in, but it really is sweet to see, and I hope you continue to enjoy having him around when you both are older.

Dad got to bring Smokey Bear to your preschool class this month, and you were pretty excited.  You figured out (or a classmate told you) that Smokey is really a person inside a suit.  I'm not sure if it was that knowledge or just the fact that you are getting older, but you were definitely more comfortable with him this year.  I think you like having your dad come to your class because your chest was pretty puffed up and you had a proud look on your face the whole time he was there.  It was pretty dang cute.

You've been dying to start a fire in our backyard with some of the dead weeds we had laying around from last summer, and finally dad broke down when he was outside dragging the yard with the fourwheeler.  It was just a tiny little thing with hardly any flame, but you didn't care.  Also, that shirt is your "Mater shirt," and ever since Grandma H. gave it to you it has been your favorite.  You are forever asking me if I have washed it yet, and I know the second it comes out of the dryer you will have it on.  You wear it even when it is too hot outside for long sleeves, so for Easter this year I tried to one-up grandma and got you an Angry Birds shirt (I try not to buy the "character" shirts, but seeing how much you loved your Mater shirt made me cave I guess). I don't think it is quite as big of a hit as the Mater shirt, but you were still pretty excited to see it in your basket.

Speaking of Easter, the Easter bunny spoiled you and Tess 3 times this year!  The weekend before actual Easter was conference Sunday, and dad left on a detail to New Mexico right before, so the rest of us went to G&G Hillier's house for the weekend.  We had ham and funeral potatoes for dinner and an Easter egg hunt afterwards.  It was a good time, and we even got to spend Sunday night there too since it was spring break and you didn't have school.

The next weekend we were supposed to go camping, but with dad gone you just went up to G&G Veater's house a day earlier than normal to hang out with them and dye Easter eggs.  The next day Ty and I came out, and we went out to Kodachrome with the Pollock side of the family.  You and Quade ended up watching us hide the Easter candy in our usual spot, so you knew it wasn't the Easter bunny, but that didn't keep you from having a blast looking for it.  You got your usual haul (we aren't sure how to get the Grandmas who don't have grandkids there to stop bringing 10 bags of candy a piece...), and you had a good time sliding down the yellow rocks on your butt just like your dad and uncles used to do.

Whew!  So that has been our month.  We've got you all signed up for t-ball, which starts this weekend, and KINDERGARTEN!  I can't believe I am going to have a kindergartner.  I asked Ms. April if I should request a certain teacher for you next year whose personality or teaching style would work the best for you, and she gave you a great compliment when she said, "With a kid as well rounded as Logan you really don't need to worry."  I'm so proud of you bud.  You have learned so much this year in school.  The other day in Primary I was conducting and you were assigned to read the scripture, and you did!  You read pretty much the whole thing without help, and i had more than one person comment to me afterwards about what a good job you had done reading.  I love it.  I hope you never lose your love of learning and READING!.  It is so, SO important.  We have so many fun things to do this summer with t-ball, preschool graduation, swimming lessons, the pool, the park, the river, birthday parties, camping, reunions, and I can't wait, but I also can't wait to see how you do when you start kindergarten in August.

I love you bud and am so proud of you,
Mom

Tessa - April 2012

Your letter is 11 days late because my computer was being fixed and all the pictures went with it.  And yes, it has been gone that entire time...

I told this story in Logan's letter, but since you were the one who ended up covered in lipstick, I better share it in yours.  One night while your dad was gone and I thought I had successfully gotten everyone to bed you came into my room where I was working.  It was dark so I couldn't tell what you had all over your face, but you told me that Logan had drawn on you.  I thought it was marker until I got closer and saw that it was lipstick!  The two of you had been playing in the bathroom and found an old, OLD lipstick of mine and decided to color on it.  Now that it has been a few weeks and I was able to (mostly) successfully get the lipstick out of the carpet and off the walls, doors, etc., it is funny.  But oh, that night it was NOT funny.  Your head was stained pink for at least a week.  I can't believe you let Logan do that!

Ty gets more than his fair share of pictures taken lately, but that's just how it goes with baby.  That doesn't mean you don't jump in front of the camera almost every chance you get though.  This is just a picture of you being silly one day when I had the camera out.  Spoiler alert for next month:  Those bangs aren't long anymore!  I didn't want to cut them even though they were always in your face and made you look homeless, but grandma Hillier finally convinced me to, and you look really cute.  As always, I wish I would have done it sooner.

Daddy was gone for training for week this month, and we were all excited to see him when he finally got home.  I was smart enough to pull out my camera and caught your little reunion with him.  I think this will always be one of my favorites!

And we took one of daddy and kids one morning before he went to work.  I took two pictures, and the funny thing is you are making the exact same face in both of them!

Another picture just hanging out with mom, probably one day while Logan was at school and Ty was asleep.  I love when you ask "Mommy will you PLAY with me?"  I try so hard to always make time to play even for just a few minutes, but it seems like that time is when I am playing catch up with work or housework.  I don't want to waste this time with you though.

The other night I was feeling particularly sentimental as I was laying in bed next to you trying to get you to go to sleep.  This was our conversation...
Me: Tess, will you always talk to me?  Even when you are big?
You:  Yes...
Me:  About boys?
You:  Yes....
Me:  About your friends?
You:  Yes!................................And food?

I laughed pretty hard.  I love how much you love me right now.  It is a pretty big ego boost for this momma who is starting to feel old and moldy, so please keep your promise and talk to me about whatever you want!

Another thing I wrote down for this month happened while you were playing in the bath one night.  My hair has started to fall out again after the pregnancy, and you found a piece of it in the tub.  You got excited and said, "Mom look!  It's my pet snake!"  You played with that piece of hair the whole time and made sure I got it out for you when it was time to get in bed.  By the time I had gotten you out, dried off, dressed, and in bed though we had lost your pet snake along the way.   You were looking all over for it, and while you weren't looking I pulled another piece out and put it on your pillow because you wanted your pet to sleep right by you.  You really are such a silly little thing, and I absolutely love it.

The other day I was talking to a friend about how big (or not in her case) we get during pregnancy.  I remembered that your dad happened to take these pictures the day Ty was born, so I had him send them to me.  This was literally 4 hours before Ty was born, and we were all sitting on the floor rolling the basketball to each other (me cringing through contractions...), and you and Logan decided to see what you would look like with the big belly look.

Oh little miss I do love you so much.  You are definitely not the baby in the family anymore, but I'm going to hold on to the time I've got with you home with me with all I can.

Love you sis,
Momma