Tyler. (18 months)

  Let's chat about Tyler at 18 months. This sweet boy is equal parts fun and exhausting. He is growing so much these days, which means we can engage and have lots more fun with him. But he also has bigger opinions and all the irrationality of a toddler, too! Add in his never-ending movement and you have half a dozen falls/tumbles/accidents everyday. We are basically always on our toes when Tyler is around!

  He has picked up even more words and animal sounds in the past month. He NEVER stops moving unless he's in his carseat or asleep. You probably read that and assume its a bit of an exaggeration, but you'd be wrong. I really, truly mean that he doesn't stop moving. Perhaps for a book from time to time or if he wakes up a little sad- but other than that he's on the move! It's pretty normal for him to wake up at 5:30am (for the day!) and literally hit the ground running. Oy.

  His current diet consists of only crackers (any kind), yogurt, and berries. And the occasional Chick-fil-a chicken nugget. He has slowly been refusing other foods over the last few months and his great-eater status. Ah, 1.5 year olds. 

  He's still little! While he definitely on the growth charts finally (!!!), he is 13% for height and 34% for  weight. He's wearing mostly 18 month clothing, size 4 diapers (that big belly!), and size 3/4 shoes.  The more weight he puts on, the more he is starting to look like Caleb. Having said that, it's still safe to say he's my little mini-me. Comparing pictures of myself as a toddler with Tyler is crazy! His hair, which started out a dark brown, just keeps getting lighter. It's almost blonde these days and he's in desperate need of a haircut (if you ask me) but Justin's pretty attached to his unruly baby mullet, so it's sticking around for a bit longer!

  Tyler loves his hand-me-down truck book, crackers, daddy, exploring, bath/swimming (zero concern for safety), dancing, hide and seek, his outie belly button (you'll often find him stopping and just playing with it😂), making sheep sounds, sleeping with his little lovie and Mr. Flops (stuffed bunny). He also REALLY loves Murphy- and I'm not sure the feeling is mutual anymore. He intensely loves/climbs/plays on Murphy any chance he can find.

  

Tyler. (15 months)

(I wrote this two months ago and never got around to posting it! It's crazy how much has already changed with Tyler since I first wrote it out. Posting it just to have this age documented😊)

 It's safe to say we're out of the baby stage and life with two toddlers is WILD. Tyler is a ton of fun these days. He's been busy since the moment he was born (I probably should have known that a rapid labor/delivery meant a CRAZY kiddo) and that trait doesn't show signs of fading as he gets older. We fondly call him a 'maniac' around our house and really do mean it in the nicest way. If you're ever around him for more than 5 minutes, you would completely understand.

  Tyler James Rush never sits still unless he is sleep or physically strapped in (aka highchair and carseat). I laugh at myself for thinking Caleb was a busy toddler. It's funny how siblings can be so different and those differences can be evident from birth! Tyler loves to play independently and with others. He follows us/Caleb around and tries to start a game of peekaboo 100x each day. He never sticks with one toy/activity for long and rarely sits in one spot or sits down at all (unless he falls down). Tyler started walking a week after his first birthday, was wobbly for a few weeks, and now is basically running. He was finally tall enough to climb the stairs on the exact day he turned 15 months and would prefer to do that all day, every day. 

  Tyler doesn't have many words (ball was his first!) but understands simple commands and says hi to nearly every stranger we see in public (whether they notice him or not). He's nearly always drowned out by Caleb's incessant talking, so its extra fun when we have one-on-one time with him. In the car (if Caleb isn't around) he will jabber non stop. He loves to say 'that!' and point at various things over and over. And he's a bit of a ham when it comes to dancing, bouncing up and down every time music comes on and giving us the biggest grin.

  And, after over a year of life, our little guy is slowly climbing the growth charts! For the first time ever, his weight surpassed his height and its pretty obvious by his growing little (big!) buddha belly. We stopped nursing on his first birthday and he switched fully to whole milk. He's a fickle eater and changes his mind about what he likes EVERY single day. But his consistent favorites are blueberries, yogurt, and veggie straws. He's starting to grow out of 9 month clothes and starting to wear 12 month.  Because of his BIG belly, I think we may need to switch up to size 4 diapers. That's crazy, since he was still in size 2 in December! He always has tiny feet (like Caleb) and we just ditched his infant 3 month shoes and have one pair of size 2's that only fall off half the time. 

  Tyler's favorite toys are balls, anything he can ride on, touch and feel books, cups/bowls and spoons that he pretends to eat/drink and feed us from, and Murphy. He loves Murphy and we daily find him laying across Murphy's belly. He's learned he can pull clumps of fur off at a time now that Murph is shedding his winter coat, so that's fun. Tyler's favorite person is me and he developed a bit of stranger danger suddenly right after he turned one (before that he truly would happily go to anyone!). He thinks Justin and Caleb are the funniest people in the world, and seems to forget that Caleb pushes/takes toys/sits on him and makes him cry a dozen time each day. 

  At 15 months, Tyler still really loves his pacifier and we're thinking of breaking him of it really soon (it seemed silly to overlap it with Caleb's potty training because why make THAT much more work for ourselves?). He LOVES his lovies (small blankets he sleeps/snuggles with) and sleeps with both his paci and a lovey at night. After two ear infections, never ending teething, hand foot and mouth disease, a handful of bad colds, and the flu- we got into a bad habit of giving him his pacifier (it inevitably gets lost in his crib) if he wakes up at night. So it looks like this will be the month of ditching the pacifiers for good and helping him re-learn to sleep through the night if he wakes up!

  Overall, Tyler is a FUN kid. He laughs so easily and often. He goes HARD during the days and keeps us really busy and on our toes. If anyone wants help childproofing their home, just borrow Tyler. He has a knack for immediately identifying things you never thought a toddler would notice. It's a ton of fun watching him and Caleb begin to interact more and more. At the same time, it's crazy to feel a real sense of the baby days ending. Tyler is slowly dropping his morning nap (I think daylight savings will be the final kick he needs) and that means we just operate less and less like we have a baby. He eats what we eat, will get a big carseat soon, interacts, communicates, and needs less nurturing. Such a fun age!

  

Life lately

  At 16 months and nearly 3, it seems like we're back in a sweet spot with the boys. I remember that as one of the things Justin was worried about before we had Tyler- throwing a kink in the routine/life we had down-pat with Caleb. Having the boys 18 months apart surely created a bit of chaos (don't all babies/kids?) and I had forgotten how babies change so much that just as soon as you have a routine, they're ready to switch it up. 

  But we're in a groove again and it's just plain fun. And winter is OVER (more on that later). This weekend we had gorgeous weather (no rain!) so I scooted to boys and dogs out the back door to get in a few hours (!!!) of playing and plain ole Vitamin D. SO GOOD FOR OUR SOULS. Or just mine? 

  Tyler ate lots of dirt, fell a dozen times, and discovered his new love for our dog poop scooper (awesome). Caleb is in this fun phase of big imagination, so he spent 3 hours pretending to be a boat captain, race car driver, and treasure hunter. We also had lunch outside and it was a ton of fun...until it wasn't. Notice Tyler's reaction to me not letting him steal Caleb's plate. Gah. Love these kids and these warm Spring days and just the sweet, sweet, grace of winter being over!

Tyler. (eight months)

  This boy is an absolute joy. For his first few months, he was too busy for his own good and we just had a hard time figuring out what worked best for him. But now, 8 months in, we've absolutely found our groove. Tyler is happy and sweet and truly fits perfectly into our little family! He has a few nicknames that I keep forgetting to document: Tyler tush, Tushy Ty (we evidently like to talk about butts), our forever baby (because it truly seems like he's frozen in time size-wise), and the most used one- peanut.

 Pictures can be pretty deceiving, but if you've met Tyler in real life or seen him next to another baby his age (or younger!), then you know that the nickname Peanut fits him perfectly. He is growing at his own rate (no worries from the Dr. anymore!), but guys, I don't think I can fully express how tiny he really is. He's still in between 3/6 month clothes (that's a 3 month onesie in these photos!) and wearing size 2 diapers, but most brands are big too baggy for this skinny guy. Strangers who meet him are always surprised to hear his age and just this week someone commented on my newborn! But its also extra adorable because this tiny little baby body holds a big personality- he smiles so big, jabbers away, and is determined to roll around this entire house.

   This (July) was a fun month for us- we went our on first vacation to the Jersey shore! Tyler loved the beach and was really great about ditching any semblance of a schedule for the week, but we were all ready to be back to our own rooms by the end of the week. We also finished the last of our packing and moved into our new home! Saying goodbye to Tyler's nursery was a bit emotional and had me thinking of all those sweet newborn days/nights spent in there and wondering just how it can be that we're so much closer to his first birthday than those days!

We've slowed down our nighttime feedings and usually let Tyler go 6ish hours between nursing. He still clusters in the morning, but is slowly putting himself on a new 4 hour schedule during the day. And! He decided he officially wants to eat and loves purees again. So he eats 2-3 times each day, and we're pumping as much yogurt/avocado/good fats as possible to help him beef up a bit!

 Tyler is still a rolling machine and has officially become a sturdy sitter this past month. No crawling yet- but I'm guessing the move and our traveling this past month set him back a bit since we didn't give him many chances to practice. He loves to sit and dig through his little basket of toys (just like his big brother!). We also pulled out his activity table and he's working on standing and holding on to it. He loves his big brother and watches whatever he's doing if he's nearby. He also has started loving to read books this month and will sit still for a few in a row before he gets too antsy!

  This kid. I don't think I knew what to expect when we found out we would have two sons. And I'm glad- because he has been the best surprise. He is so sweet and snuggly, but also busy and noisy and has the best giggles and smiles for anyone. He doesn't seem to know a stranger and the moment I begin to worry about his small size, he crosses another thing off the developmental checklist and reminds me that all babies grow up in their own time!

New this month// fully eating solids, visited the Jersey Shore, moved to Columbine Ln., back to sleeping through the night, wearing 3-6 month clothes and size 2 diapers, sleeps with BabyJack lovey, sitting up unassited, starting to stand while holding on, rolling all around

Tyler's nursery.

  We're scheduled to move in two days and 95% of our house is packed up and ready. So you're probably assuming I took these photos weeks ago, right? You'd be wrong- I took them today. While we don't have any dishes to eat off of or more than three outfits for each of us to wear, Tyler's room is in perfect unpacked condition! Because I've been meaning to take photos of his first nurser before we pack it in boxes and set it up (probably identically?) in the new house, I keep procrastinating to pack his things. Justin thinks it's silly and overly sentimental. But you guys! My baby's nursery! Probably the last nursery we'll ever set up and even though his new room will look identical, this was where he slept his first night home from the hospital, where we've nursed through the night, where I folded onesies and prayed for him before he was born. I wanted to capture it!

  So anyways, I finally snapped some photos of his neutral nursery. Here was my inspiration for his room- I knew I wanted to keep it simple from the beginning. I started with my most favorite greige paint and layered grays on top with a few pops of blues, red, and yellows. We bought the same Ikea crib Caleb has, just in white (its crazy affordable!), painted a somewhat janky hand-me-down dresser, and moved the chair from Caleb's room. 

  I bought three big-ish things for the room that I love- this rug, this adorable wolf print, and this beautiful sign. Other than that, I pieced together inexpensive things or borrowed from Caleb's room. Those picture frames above his dresser? From Walmart! Super cheap and cute. Oh! And I found this really cute felt ball garland on Etsy for above his crib. I have plans (and all the materials) to make another pallet coat rack, but by the time I decided to start working on it we listed our house. So I'll make it (maybe?) once we settle in to the new house. 

  Anyways, there you have it. Tyler's nursery- simple and sweet. Less colorful and busy than Caleb's room. Which is ironic, because he is a much more colorful and busy baby than Caleb was!

SaveSaveSaveSave

Tyler. {seven months}

This feels like a parenting win because I actually took these photos and wrote this update on Tyler's 7 month birthday! Super proud of myself- especially because I've been a month or more late pretty much his entire life so far. I'm not so excited about the fact that my computer somehow lost 2/3 of the photos I took this month and I don't want to waste hours trying to recover them. (time for a new laptop, Justin!)

  And this might be my favorite update, because for the first time since he was 2 months old- Tyler is gaining weight! We had a weight check last week (we just piggybacked on Caleb's 2 year appointment) and it was awesome. Tyler is still super tiny and in the 0% weightwise, but he gained nearly a pound in 2.5 weeks. Which is double what he had gained in the last two months combined! After talking with his pediatrician and a lactation consultant, we found a way to help him gain. We initially tried nursing every 2 hours during the day, but we all hated that (he wasn't able to get any naps in!). Then I talked to the lactation consultant and, after she did some research, she suggested that Tyler is still too small to be sleeping 10-12 hours at night and that by letting my body go so long between feedings, my already low-in-fat milk was being impacted by lower prolactin levels. Evidently the longer you go between feedings, the less prolactin you make, which isn't good for babies that still need richer milk. Who knew?? So, the change that made a difference was starting to wake Tyler up every 2-3 hours at night to add in extra feedings. And it was SUPER successful. Related: I'm super exhausted. 

  Tyler has also changed his mind about food this month. He still is indifferent about purees, but loves to hold and nom on bananas, avocados, pears, and anything mushy he can just gum. We're not sure if it has more to with his interest in food or, honestly, his teething. Because the kid is definitely teething. He drools a TON and will chew on anything. His favorite is anyone's hand/arm/shoulder that he can find.

  And because he quite literally can't stay still, we ditched his swaddle for good this month. He started rolling in bed and we were all really sad about getting rid of it. He spends a good 10-20 minutes at each nap/bedtime just rolling all over his bed and getting himself stuck in the weirdest ways. He has a little animal blanket that he uses for comfort now, and honestly that was a bit unintentional. His room (along with the rest of our house!) is pretty packed up- so when he wouldn't settle down one night because he missed his swaddle, I just grabbed the closest lovey I could find for him (he seems to have like 6 from random gifts/hand me downs!). It's pretty cute how he reaches for it every time I lay him down to get in his sleep sack!

  If I had to guess, I'd say Tyler will be crawling in the next month or two. He is SO busy and truly doesn't sit still unless he's sleeping or strapped into his carseat. Diaper changes and getting dressed are pretty hilarious because he kicks a mile a minute. He rolls all around the house and gets wherever he wants to go easily. And since so much of our stuff is already packed for the move, he has hardly any toys out. Not that he minds, since he is in love with all of Caleb's toys. His current favorites are Caleb's toy wrench and Monkey. Caleb is super into Tyler right now, so he shares Monkey a lot with him. Which is a big deal!

  Other than rolling all over, we can tell Tyler is just becoming all around more sturdy. He can sit for longer, though he'd rather be laying and rolling. He loves his exersaucer and can stand supported by the table or couch or activity table. He also loves going to the pool with us and playing with Caleb. He lets Caleb spin him in his exersaucer and laughs so big whenever Caleb shares his toys with him. The two of them are really fun right now!

  Even still, 7 months? That seems so crazy. Maybe its his tiny size (he's wearing a 3 month onesie in these photos), the fact that he eats as often as a newborn, or just that time is flying. Either way, I don't think I can wrap my head around the fact that he's now closer to 1 than being a newborn!

New this month// moved into size 2 diapers, fitting into some 6 month clothes but still wearing mostly 3mo, eating table foods, sitting up, rolling all over and starting to rock on knees, eating every 3 hours during the day and night, first night away from mom! (forgot to document that last month), first time swimming, loves Caleb's toys, sleeps with lovey blanket