Easter

Easter weekend was busy:  Easter at grandma's...photo appointment....church...cabin...and with all the fun that was happening you would think I would have taken pictures!!!??? Guess again!  I have been so "out of it" lately I forget the simplest things...so I am going to have to reenact easter sometime, with the boys in their Sunday best and Riley searching for Easter eggs Sunday morning.


 I did manage to get  some pictures from that weekend

Meet The GREAT Grandparents....

These last 2 weeks brought visits to and from the great grandparents.  What a blessing for us to have our children meet our grandparents.  Grandma Collins just kissed Tate all over and he slept in her arms most of the day.  Grandma and Grandpa Brown returned from Texas to meet Tate just in time for Easter!  Tate melted in Grandpa Brown's arms, just like Riley did!

SLOW DOWN!

I forgot how FAST babies grow...our little Tate is growing out of his newborn stage...which means two things
1. life from now on will be full of coos, giggles and new discoveries!
2.  I won't have a newborn at my beckon call to take pictures of!!!!


I guess I will just have to rely on other people babes!

Tate is a super charger grower...almost 24 inches long and 11.5 pounds @ 5 weeks.  He now wears 3-6 month clothes-that one hit me like a ton of bricks, in 5 weeks he went from preemie to 3-6 months clothes!  He coos and squeaks at colorful creatures hanging above his head.  He loves to be rocked, bounced, sang to...he cries when he gets lonely and forget about those tears...your heart just melts!  Speaking of melting hearts...check out the picture below...my mom found this bed and lucky me I get to use in my studio! PERFECT!

Robo-Riley

Who knew a diaper box could be so fun?  Ryan and Riley watched Star Wars and Riley was obsessed with Robots for the day...so I made him a robot out of a large diaper box, I asked him what kind of Robot he was and he said "Purple!"
I didn't put too much effort into it...basically I just cut holes, but Riley loved it and we were entertained too!

I'm so hungry!

Tate is a great eater...and wants to eat all the time, but sometimes mommy needs to take a shower...or eat...so that's when limbs, hands and and even daddy gets sacrificed.  I found this bruise on Tate's arm...he must have been really hungry!

Tate Update: 1 Month

Can you believe it's been 1 month already?!  It seems like I have spent the last month sitting in a recliner feeding a baby...no wait...that is exactly what I have been doing.  And there is proof to show for it...if you look at the scale picture below you'll notice it says 10 pounds! Plus he is now 23 inches long...just to give you a comparison Riley was 8 pounds 4 oz and 23 inches at birth-then at 8 weeks he was 12 pounds 15oz and 24.5 inches long.
- Tate eats every 3-4 hours, I have no idea how much he eats, but he likes to eat 20 minutes each side.
- He is starting to make "baby" noises, like cooing...and is really starting to notice his hands and contrasting colors.
-He is a really good sleeper, but that darn hunger wakes him!  He sleeps in the bassinet in our bed room, for naps I put him in the crib.  He loves to fall asleep naked on the changing table
- He is scared of Ryan's coughs or if Ryan talks loudly...Riley could be singing loudly or the dog could bark and Tate is fine...but Daddy must be quite!
-He holds his head way up when on his belly or being burped
-He can roll himself to one side (Yikes!)
-Size 1 Diapers and 3 Month Clothing

Here are some 1 month pictures!

Brothers don't shake hands....

Riley wasn't liking this big brother thing so much...Ryan and I thought we were in for some real trouble the first couple of weeks...but lately Riley seems to be warming up to Tate.  Now he asks to hold him and always wants to know where he is.  In the car and truck we have the seats side by side and Riley holds Tate's hand...I hope this is the start a of great brotherly bond!

green acres is the place to be...

Phil and Deb own land that they hunt, fish, garden and have a cabin on.  It's such a great place to gather as a family and get away for the weekend.  A couple weeks ago Riley went and spent the night with grandpa and grandma at the cabin and had a ton of fun...Ryan, Tate and I came down the next day.  Riley was totally in his element with big rocks to throw, dirt to roll in, fish to catch, 4-wheelers to ride...he was none stop...as you can see from the pictures below...As soon as we got in the car to leave Riley was asleep and stayed that way until we woke him to go to bed :)

Tate Update: 3 Weeks

So, you know how i said Tate NEVER cries...my foot got put in my mouth this week! For the last couple days, he cries violently, like he is in pain...he cries so hard that little tears come from his eyes...it breaks my heart!  He grunts and groans a lot...like he is straining to poop and he is really hard to burp.  I know what you are thinking...COLIC, but I have been around newborns enough to know what colic is...and what Tate has is, what we in the Lafrenz household call, rectal flatulence... We are having some gas issues, that I HOPE think will work.  First off I am cutting out caffeine...I was drinking 4 cups of coffee, plus some soda or iced tea...yesterday I didn't drink any caffeine and we had no problem with crying...today I drank coffee and we HAD problems with crying.  On top of the abstinence of caffeine...I am going to watch my "gassy" food intake.  He still sleeps well and eats extremely well.  We are still battling the diaper rash...it's not so much a rash anymore as just a red bum from all the wiping, but you can tell he doesn't like to be wet long.  I have gotten him to eat every 4 hours...once in a while he wants to eat at 3 hours and every other day he needs a 2 hour snack...I am hoping for a 2am-6am-10am-2pm-6pm-10pm schedule...
He has grown so much in the last week...we boxed up the newborn clothes...he now fits in 0-3 months and he wears size 1 diapers.  Both the clothes and diapers are too big still but the newborns are too small...He is just a long skinny boy, as you can see below...

If I could keep you little...

A book was given to us recently by some friends, that brought tears to my eyes...I thought I would share.




If I could keep you little,  I'd hum you lullabies...

But then I'd miss you singing your concert's BIG surprise!

If I could keep you little, I'd kiss your cuts and scrapes...

But then I'd miss you learning from your own mistakes.

If I could keep you little, I'd decide on matching clothes...

But then I'd miss you choosing dots on top and stripes below.

If I could keep you little, I'd strap you in real tight.

But then I'd miss you swinging from your treetop height...

If I could keep you little, I'd push you anywhere!

But then I'd miss you feeling your speed from here to there!

If I could keep you little, I'd pick for you a friend or two

But then I'd miss you finding friends you like who like you, too!

If I could keep you little, we'd finger paint your art...

But then I'd miss you creating stories from your heart.

If I could keep you little, I'd keep you close to me.

But then I'd miss you growing into who you're meant to be!