Month 11: Standing up!

This month Bryce has begun to show us even more of his own personality. He is all over the place crawling everywhere and has mastered going up the steps from the family room to the kitchen. Bryce loves to play peek a boo and loves going through the tunnel to get in the play tent. He has begun to babble more and makes a mama noise but I wouldn't say he has a first word just yet. As you look through the photos you will also see many of his facial expressions that just crack me up.

Bryce pulled himself up for the first time during an easter egg hunt dinner with friends. He decided he wanted a juice box and pulled himself right up to get it. From that day he has been pulling himself up on everything. He no longer likes to be in the walker but will stand up and play with it from the outside. He still hasn't figured out he needs to move his feet to take steps and will often whine because he is still trying to figure out how to sit back down from standing.

Bryce is very quick. On several occasions he has snatched Landon's snack or toy he was playing with. Landon is not a big fan of this but he does love to have Bryce sit next to him at dinner so he can pass him some food.

Bryce wants very little to do with baby food of any kind and has started to use a fork and sippy cup. He loves to throw his cup off of his tray and his food after he is done eating. The floors in our house should probably be mopped 10 times a day but who has time for that. One of the highlights this month was last week when we went to pray at dinner and Bryce folded his hands like he was praying too. He did this and started clapping for us all in the same day.

He also loves to be outside and is eager to ride the bikes and scooter like Landon.

Both boys love daycare and these are a few pictures from the week of the young child celebrations.
 

Bryce was dedicated at church on Mother's day and it was really nice. Landon loves to mimic the stories he learns at church and I can't wait for Bryce to do the same. We then did a dinner picnic at Yorktown beach. It was a lot of fun!

I would love to have a contest for best caption for Bryce's face.

Last but not least I wanted to fill everyone in on our new handyman we have hired...he is ready to fix anything at a moments notice as long as he can watch Chuggington or America's Funniest Home Videos. In the evening he transforms into superman to feed your baby too!

Here's to our last full month of bottles, a small car seat, and being able to say I have a baby under 1! Happy 11 Months Bryce!

Month 10: And we're off...

For about two weeks now Bryce has decided to crawl. One day he began to take a mini crawl step and the next thing you know he was off to get anything Landon had. His favorites to go for are Landon's microphone, crackers, and the tools. Landon is in for it soon when he has to share the stage with Bryce. I am afraid we have a band in the making...

Bryce's oasis right now is to play by the back door and look outside while playing with the tools.

Peek-A-Boo, throwing things from his high chair, and rides in the Lego car are also some of Bryce's favorite things to do this month. Bryce also cut his first tooth just about two weeks ago.

Spring Break was awesome! We stayed home all week and David took a few days off. Aunt Carly visited for a few days and Uncle DJ stopped by on his way up to Alexandria. The boys loved playing with each other and showing Carly and DJ all of their things. We had trips to Bluebird gap farm, the playground, and to get frozen yogurt (popsicle in a bowl according to Landon.) We also planted a very small garden this week. Landon planted the seeds and Bryce drove over in the fire truck to water them.

We completed our work in the house this month by adding recessed lighting to the family room, updating our picture frames and completing the decorations in the boys' playroom. I am in love with our house right now...

 

The kids as you can see are so enthused. At least it's free and they will be fun to look back on. Landon actually wanted to stand behind the flowers on the right. Happy Easter everyone!  

 

Month 9: I like to move it move it...

We are officially on the move! Bryce is not able to crawl but can get up on all fours and rock back and forth. He has also mastered the art of leaning over while sitting up to reach anything and fall into a split. There is nothing that is out of his reach as he will roll and scoot backwards to find a way to get what he wants. He is also now able to push backwards while riding a little blue car we have and he continues to perfect his moves in the walker.

Bryce has also begun to blow raspberries and make more noises. He continues to love eating and can stand on his own while leaning on something. I am excited that Bryce also loves being outside. He loves taking walks in the wagon or the stroller. He is able to pull himself up to standing in the stroller now. He is still watching Landon for what to do with all the playground equipment but I have taken him down the slide a few times and he enjoys it.

Bath time, by far, is one of my favorite things with the boys right now. They both love to play and splash each other!

Bryce and Ciara got to play together.

A highlight of the month was having Grandma Harter come for a visit. She spoiled both of the boys and we had a lot of fun. It was still pretty cold but we took the boys to the library to get a library card and Landon thought it was awesome we could get Thomas and Veggie Tales movies. We did have one nice day and were able to go to the playground. Landon learned to pee outside for the first time. He was not excited about it but we assured him the plants had to be watered somehow (haha...)

While Grandma was here David and I painted the kitchen and family room. Then we had 2 more snowdays and were also able to paint the kids' playroom. We are on a roll now doing little projects around the house thanks to the snow days and Pinterest.  

While the blog is mostly about Bryce Landon has been changing so much these last few weeks. He didn't cry for us to leave him with a babysitter last Friday and is starting to learn so many letters. He amazes us everyday by how much he can remember and is getting better and better at sharing his toys.

As you can see life in our house is pretty fun! We are really hoping to see more than 1 day of spring at a time very soon. Happy 9 months Bryce!

Month 8: I wanna be just like you...

This winter has brought us a lot of extra time together between getting 2 big snow storms and the boys being sick. Thankfully our house is back to being healthy again and temperatures will hit 60 this week. I loved the extra time with the boys and I think they enjoyed being with each other more too since they are not together at daycare.

Bryce began this month being very proud to have figured out how to stick out his tongue at you. It was very cute but I was never able to get a picture of it. For the last week or so he has started to move his hand in a waving motion but still doesn't raise his arm up to make it an official wave. He talks all the time while playing and has also learned to pull off his socks.

 

This month Bryce has learned to put himself to sleep in his crib. He still cries occasionally but is doing so much better. I wouldn't say this out loud but we have had 3 nights in a row of both boys sleeping through the night. (WOOHOO!)

 

The boys look so sweet when they are sleeping so I had to sneak in to get some pictures of them last week. He was beginning to wake up here.

Bryce wants anything Landon has and is quick to reach and grab for what he wants. He can't crawl but can shimmy himself while sitting in the bath tub to get what he wants. Just today he has even gone from sitting up to reaching up and getting onto his belly to get what he wants. Today he also stayed standing at his paly center without us holding him.

No teeth yet but Bryce wants to eat anything he sees us eating. We have begun to give him small bites of chicken and pasta. As you can see here he LOVES getting to eat new things just like the rest of us.

I can't get this turned around but love this photo.

We love hearing you laugh and watching you play and copy us. Happy 8 months Bryce!

Month 7: Curious Bryce

Although it feels like months fly by when I sit to reflect on the last month I am amazed at just how different Bryce is and at just how much we have done since the last blog update.

  

We went to New York for a week at Christmas and had a wonderful time. Bryce and Landon loved playing with their cousins and getting spoiled by aunts, uncles, grandmas and grandpas. Landon built his first snowman and Grandma Harter had all the accessories to make Frosty ready for his photo shoot with the Reeves family. Landon also loved getting to go sledding while Bryce stayed cozy inside and helping to cook in the kitchen with his new apron and chef's hat from Grandma Reeves. We also started a new tradition of making gingerbread houses together which was a lot of fun!

Love this photo! The kids think Aunt Carly and Uncle Chris are pretty neat!

Cousins just 4 days apart...Cole may be bigger but Bryce loves to tackle him and give him kisses!

Bryce has spent the last month just soaking in all of his surroundings. By the time we returned from NY he was sitting up on his own. He now loves giving kisses although some people would call it a full mouth of slobber. When not laughing at his brother you will find him stretching to reach anything he wants. He is very good at rolling around to try to get what he wants. He loves the stacking rings in the picture below and many toys that are easy to grab but the best things of all are the remote and the IPAD. I can tell he can't wait to crawl but he can't quite figure out how just yet. Bryce used to love his bottle and eating but now there is way too much around to get into so we often need to feed him separate from all the commotion going on. As a result he continues to love his 2am late night snack.

We took the boys for the first time to the Virginia Living museum this month. Landon even touched some of the sea creatures while we were there. Last weekend was warm so we tried to take both boys in the bike trailer for the first time. It was so much fun to be able to get out the 4 of us without a stroller!

 

2014 has had such a great start!