4th of July Weekend

Even though Jon had to work a lot on the holiday weekend, we still managed to have some fun.

The Milbrodts were the last of our small group to bring us a meal after having Whitt.  We asked them to just come and play on our water slide and eat with us when they brought us dinner.  During dinner our neighbors came over and told us they were having a lemonade stand.  Of course we had to go.  I just love this picture.  It captures summer perfectly, I think.

Friday, on the actual 4th, we went to the lake with some friends whose parents have a lake house not far from our house.  We made these patriotic rice krispies to take.

My sweet friend, Ashley, is very pregnant and didn't much feel like being out in the sun, so she volunteered to stay in the lake house with Whitt while he napped.  So sweet of her!  We enjoyed getting to play with our big girls.

When Whitt woke up from his nap, I went up the lake house to feed him and the girls stayed out on the boat with Jon and some of our friends.  My other sweet friend, Mollie sent me this picture of Annabel passed out in her lap.  I think the lake wore her out!

Whitt napped again outside on the deck during dinner.  He was very cooperative that day.

After we ate dinner, we headed back home to get baby brother in bed.  We bathed the girls and put on their pjs while we waited for it to get dark.  Then we headed outside to do a few fireworks we'd bought.  Their favorites were the sparklers.

Whitt has started sticking his tongue out at us after he sees us do it.  It's hilarious!  He was being silly the next morning.

Then on Sunday, we went to church and my girls helped me pass out invitations to our church's first pre-school Mother/Daughter tea party.  We are so excited for it!

Having a newborn requires extra planning and extra packing to go anywhere or do anything, but we still managed to have a great 4th of July weekend!  It helped a lot that Whitt was so easy-going, which he isn't always in the mood for...hah!

Whitt - 2 Months!

Whittington Ellis Richey is two months old today!  Time has flown and dragged by all at the same time.  

His stats:

• Weight: 11lb 11oz - 50%
• Height: 23.75" - 75%
• Head Circumference: 16" - 60%

Dr. Froman talked to him and he smiled so big at her and cooed and almost busted out a laugh.  She said he was very advanced in that.  She also put him on his tummy & he picked his head and chest off the table which she said that plus the rolling he's doing is a 4 month skill and that's he so strong.  I said I knew that already because he was as strong as a 2 month old when he was still in the womb!

He really is starting to enjoy life more and spending less time fussing.  He nurses 7 times a day and takes one pumped bottle in the evenings.  He is MAD when that bottle is empty.  He LOVES his baths and takes one every night.  He loves to go on walks in the ergo carrier, and hates tummy time. He has started liking his swing. Most nights he only wakes up once, usually anywhere from 3-5am.  He takes a long morning nap and a long afternoon nap with a catnap here and there throughout the day.  He's in 3-6 month clothes and wears size 1 diapers.  He loves his sisters.  They can make him smile anytime they talk to him.  He hates riding in the car, so we barely ever go anywhere.  He is easy to go to sleep if he's in his rock & play, in the dark, sound machine on, swaddled, and pacifier.  He is not a "sleep anywhere" kind of baby, but I can't complain since he sleeps so well at home.  He doesn't much like to be rocked, so I put him down wide awake and he puts himself to sleep.  What a big boy!

Whitt, we just love having a little boy in our home.  You complete our family and make us all so happy and thankful for YOU!

Summatime!

It's officially summertime and we're soaking up every ounce of sunshine we can get!

Whitt has started smiling responsively and I absolutely love it!

He wore his TCU shirt to church one Sunday in support of our Frogs going to the College World Series.

That afternoon Jon brought the girls home after being in Texas for a week.  I think they were more excited to see Whitt than me, but I was just happy to have my heart all back in one place.

We got this giant inflatable water slide and it has been a fantastic investment.  We play on it pretty much from sun-up to sundown every day.

Little Brother loves sitting outside and watching his sisters play.

And falling asleep in my lap...

My little model child asking me over and over, "come push me, Mommy!"

We went up to the Bentonville splash pad one day.  It was a lot of fun for everyone.

These fake mustaches have been quite a lot of entertainment around here.

Love this little precious so much!

Our sweet Kalee came to stay with us one weekend and we had the best time!  We went shopping for the girls' flower girl dresses for Kalee's wedding in September.

And we celebrated the longest day of the year with snocones.

Jon's mom made my children the most adorable coordinating outfits.  They wore them to church one Sunday and we tried some outdoor pictures in front of the flower beds, but my blue-eyed babies couldn't even open their eyes, so the fireplace had to suffice..

They adore their brother and want to be by him every second he's awake.

Adeline colored this one day and asked me to take a picture and send it to Nana.  She's growing up so fast.

One day I went in Whitt's room to get him up, but he was already awake and looking around.  I bent down over his bed to take a picture of him and when he saw me he smiled so big.  Melted my heart!

We went swimming with some friends and Whitt passed out on a lounge chair.  This was quite shocking to me because normally he's very picky where he sleeps.  He wants to sleep in his bed, swaddled, in the dark with his sound machine on.  He's not the easy-going, flexible baby I thought the third might be.

The girls love for me to make them smoothies in the evenings after dinner.  I always give it to them in one cup with two straws.  I like to imagine that one day they'll be laughing & reminiscing about their child hood and wonder why I didn't just give them two cups and my hope is that one will say, "there were lessons to be learned..."

He's the happiest in the mornings.

 But he HATES tummy time...

Loving these precious vintage tulip dresses.

Usually, in the evenings we go for a walk and come home and eat popsicles.  It's one of my favorite times of the day.

My parents got Whitt his first gun.  I love it!

I bought this mirror to help with tummy time, but it doesn't make much difference.

We wear smocked dresses to Sam's because we have a ton of precious summer clothes, but we hardly ever get out of swimsuits.

It was patriotic day at church on Sunday.  It's one of my favorite services of the year.

We went to the fireworks show at our church Sunday night and my mom came in town to keep Whitt.  She sent me this precious picture of him taking a bath.

Reagan and Annabel enjoyed playing on their parents' iPhones and sitting in Cody's lap.

We took a selfie.  Hah!  Annabel has been very difficult lately.  She's really been struggling with getting less of my attention since Whitt has been born.  She's way more clingy and whiny than ever before, so she really enjoyed having Whitt stay home with Nana for a few hours the other night.

And this little man was happy to see his Momma the next morning.

Diet coke, sunshine, happy kids, perfect day!

Going for a ride in the laundry basket.

My neighbor has started teaching Adeline piano lessons.  I'm so excited and so is she.  She's always had a knack for music.  She notices things that I don't.  I think maybe she got that from the Richey side.

They love showing Whitt his toys.

And Adeline loves to watch cartoons on youtube.  I think she'd sit here all day if I let her.  Annabel, on the other hand, asks to go outside from the moment she wakes up every morning and every afternoon after her nap.

I've felt pretty isolated from society this summer since Whitt makes it so difficult to go anywhere with all his screaming (he HATES the car).  It can be a little depressing, but I know it's also a good thing because we've had a lot of time to spend together as a family.  And I know I say this all the time, but time is flying by.  Adeline starts pre-school in SEVEN weeks!  I can't believe it.  I'm trying to soak up every minute I can with her between now and then.