Little big man

Patrick pretty much thinks he is in charge these days. And, well, sometimes he is. You can see how he has his siblings wrapped around his finger.

He's got her right where he wants her.

I love the sprinkler pics - his first time in the sprinkler, and he loved it!

Shades of Patrick

So happy in his swing! He loves it and thankfully the weather has been ok recently.

Sitting in Will's bookshelf.

Big kid getting ready for bed.

Patrick's 1 year photo shoot

Just in time for Patrick's first birthday, we tried to get some photos of the 3 kids. Patrick was not the smiliest, but we got a few good ones.

Related?

Patrick at 10 months

William at 14 months

I thought putting them in the same outfit might help me see the resemblance a little more. No such luck. They just look very different. I think the eye color is a big part of it.

Late September evening

We enjoyed a relaxing late September weekend with great weather and not much on the schedule - just what we needed!

Ignore the mismatched outfits and overgrown grass. Aren't these 3 awesome? Really loving our little family right now.

Patrick LOVED the swing!

You can almost see all 4 teeth in this one.

Doesn't everyone wear PJ's and a tutu to play outside?

What a big kid!

And these are purely from fancy-pants Ellie Kate. Someday she'll love me for posting these :) This ensemble was all her own: Cinderella gown, multiple bracelets, pink sequin headband and plastic cell phone.

This princess means business!

"No, Mommy, I will not smile."

Busy!

Clearly we've had a lot going on. I haven't blogged and have taken very few photos. Really, there haven't been a lot of big events, just life. Will is enjoying kindergarten. We hear about new friends, different classes and what he does in after-school care. Most recently that involved learning chess from "a third-grader, no wait, maybe a sixth-grader. I don't know his name." But, Will now very much enjoys chess. Go figure. Ellie Kate is doing quite well at pre-school. I'm amazed at how her language skills seem to have boomed since Will went to kindergarten. All of  a sudden she's speaking in fuller sentences, more detail, more thought. Fascinating to watch. She has become enamored with cheerleaders after being at the KU football games. She still loves Tinkerbell and would prefer to wear a dress and accessories every day. Often when we get home from work/school, I go change out of my work clothes into comfies, Will changes out of his uniform into play clothes, and Ellie Kate changes out of her play clothes into a Cinderella gown. Patrick is 7 months old now and so loveable. He's doing a really good job with baby foods now. He has 4 teeth in and about a week or so ago decided he could sleep at night. He's still a very loud sleeper - making noises several times every night - but he's proven he can go back to sleep most of the time. J & I are busy at work, but enjoying it. We're adjusting to life with a school-aged child and the expectations that come along with that. Our color-coded calendar hanging in the kitchen is just a bit overwhelming, but I find it necessary to know who is picking up whom and where we're going at any given moment.

We are still going to the KU football games. So far, the kids have done an amazing job. Fingers crossed that that continues!

3 little Jayhawks ready for the game

Elle & Grampy

Poor Patrick!

He's taken a good nap at every game so far

Watching Big Jay

These two have fun together!

Patrick at 6 months

Sweet Patrick is a little over 6 months old now. He has 2 bottom teeth, sits very well, loves playing with [chewing on] toys, rolls all over the place to get to where ever he wants to be, and has discovered spitting. He's transitioning to formula. He did well with the first foods we gave him - rice cereal, oatmeal, sweet potatoes. Then, one day, it's like he flipped a switch. He is no longer interested in any food coming via spoon. I can't even get him to eat fruit. He will close his little lips, spit, and if by chance a bit gets in his mouth, he'll make himself gag. It's truly delightful. He's not starving so I figure we'll just offer from time to time and some day he'll want to eat. He's still waking up several times at night. I've adjusted. Sure, it would be nice to sleep all night, but I honestly don't know what that even feels like. Some night we'll get tired of it and just let him yell himself back to sleep. For now, we'll get up and soothe or feed him and put him back to bed.

At his 6 month check-up:
weighed 20 lbs 2 oz (88%)
measured 27.75 in. (88%)
big head

Happy 1/2 year, baby boy!

Who's that kid?

I've thought and said all along that Patrick looks very little like Will & Eleanor did. Now I have the photos to prove it. Here they all are at about the same age, sort of in the same pose...

I know there are similarities, but doesn't he just look so different?! Their chins are similar. I really think P's blue eyes and lighter complexion just really change his looks. It will be so fun to see how they compare as time goes on!

Who needs sleep?

I heard Patrick making noise shortly after I'd put him down the other night. So, I went to check on him and saw these big blue eyes staring at me. Now that he can roll, he has turned into a big-time tummy sleeper. For awhile this was great because I was getting 4 hours blocks between feedings. (that has since faded...) But, the fact that he can push his head up and see outside the crib is a whole other dilemma!

I really shouldn't complain because it could be soooo much worse. But...I'm gonna whine for just a minute. You see, I haven't had a full night of sleep since before Patrick was born. That's right, he has NEVER slept through the night. We've had a couple stretches of 5 hours or so, but that's it. He's regularly up every 3-4 hours. I know he doesn't need to eat, but he's in the habit now. We'll have to break that soon. I just have to get up the courage and stamina to change the habit. And really, he is darn cute. And he is usually happy when he wakes up. So I really shouldn't complain....

"Hey, Mom...are you getting me outta here or what?"

Patrick at 4 months

Our happy little guy is 4 months old! He's getting so big -- sturdy, I say :) At his 4 month check-up:
17 lbs 6 oz (88%)
26.2 in. (86%)
head circumference (92%)
I told you...sturdy. He's happy and healthy. He has not maintained his good sleeping from the 3 month check point, so hopefully we'll get back on that schedule soon. He's eating about every 3 hours at night right now. We can stretch it out during the day, so hopefully he'll start to do so at night too. He has really good head control, is starting to grab and chew on toys (see below) and has fully mastered rolling from his back to his tummy. His eyes are still blue...I keep waiting for them to change, but no sign yet.

I love his little tongue in this picture.

We tried rice cereal for the first time this past weekend. He did remarkably well. Definitely knew what to do with it and kept some in his mouth. I call that a victory.

Really, Mom? What is this stuff?

Hmm...ok...not half bad...

Let me have that spoon!

Ahhh....full belly!

What's that? I get this again sometime?

Hooray!