Wordless Wednesday: Naptime

Brynn's Birthday Party

What a weekend! We've had more than our fair share of friends, food, and fun.

(True to form, Jason absolutely loved all the get-togethers, while Russell definitely got tired of all the people and needed space toward the end.)

Anyway, today was Brynn's first birthday party!

Doesn't she look the part, in her pretty pink birthday shirt? (And just like a one-year-old, paying not a bit of attention to the camera?)



So many babies, so many toys...but funnily enough, they are always after the same ones:





(side note: Russell l-o-v-e-s this alligator xylophone!)

(Cole's hand and Russell's hand - you might think they're sharing nicely, but you can't see their faces ;))

I do so love seeing a man with a baby:



(especially my handsome man with our sweet baby)



The birthday girl had lots of playtime with little-baby friends and big-person friends:



And then the time came for her cake. Sweet little cupcake for a sweet little cupcake of a girl ;)



Happy birthday, Miss Brynn! We had a great time celebrating with you!

Parker's Birthday Party

Lately, I keep thinking about "this time last year."

Today my thought was, This time last year, all my friends were having their babies - who were due just days or a week before mine - and I felt like I would be pregnant forever.

Oh, how a year changes things...

This year, those same babies are turning one - like Parker here:



They are enjoying marvelous cake:



And new littler friends have joined them:





And our little guy is having fun right along with them!



Thanks for inviting Russell to your party, Parker - it was good practice for us in 2 weeks!

Transition

Russell is becoming less of a baby and more of a toddler every day. I'm not sure I can really explain what I mean, but he's just acting more toddler-like: more independent, and yet able to interact with us more - things like that.

With that comes more toddler food!

His lunch today is an example:



He didn't care for the turkey but enjoyed the avocado and crackers (regardless of his facial expression here!):





(By the way, this food is from Aldi - I love that store! If you are budget-shopping for groceries, go to Aldi!)

Still not doing well with the small-sized finger foods, but the doctor said that's okay so we're not too worried :)

Weaning

Well, we made it through 3 rounds of mastitis, 1 24-hour nursing strike, and a few bitings.

And with 16 days left until his birthday, Russell has decided to start weaning. The boy has always been on his own timetable!

It started about a week ago - sometimes he'll nurse and sometimes he just won't. He will, however, take breastmilk from a sippy cup. So as of today, I'm not going to fight him anymore; I'm just going to pump so hopefully he'll still have enough breastmilk for the next 2 weeks. Because seriously, why start formula when he'll just be on it for 2 weeks?

If I don't have enough milk, I may start him on some whole milk - still undecided on that as I know many doctors (Russell's pediatrician included) say you should wait until 1 year. (But really, is something magical going to happen in the next 16 days that will make whole milk suddenly beneficial?)

This is a big milestone for both of us, so I felt it was worthy of a blog-mention :) Hopefully all will go well!

Matchy-matchy

Guess who dressed Russell today?



My two Wolfpackers (sigh)...but they are pretty cute :)

Playgroup

I don't think I could overstate how much we love our playgroup. Every Wednesday at 11 am, many moms and babies (all within 5ish months of each other in age) get together to talk and play. The group has grown and changed, but we've done this since Russell was born, and it is a lifesaver on days when you need company, or when you want to know if your baby is "normal." :)

I was determined to take some pictures today. It's hard to maneuver the camera, change settings, and chase your child, but I did it and I think I got some cute pics!

Russell and Joshua (who is about 7 months old):



Baby Eliza is sweet and petite:



Russell looking very serious as Eliza overtakes his toy:



Cole and Eliza:



And here's a picture of our little green-eyed boy (yes, they've officially changed, as you can see:)