St. Louis

We took our first family family vacation as a family of 4 to visit Gracie, and it was a TOTAL success!! I was very nervous [understatement].  The trek through the airport was concern #1.

 2 suitcases, 2 strollers, 2 car seats, 2 pieces of luggage, 2 diaper bags, and 1 pack-n-play later, we got ourselves checked in!

Walter slept and ate pretty much the whole time we traveled,

and Henry made new friends, watched planes, and talked about planes nonstop.

 

Concern #2 was not getting any sleep since we'd be on the go and in a new place:

Sleep was not an issue for this crew!

At the suggestion of one of Gracie's friends, we checked out the City Museum.  It was awesome!!

There was a bus that hung off the roof (18 stories):


There was a Ferris wheel on the roof:

Ball pits galore:

An airplane:

A fire truck:

A train:

Big Boy (which terrified Henry!):

And a window with pinwheels in the elevator!!

Later that afternoon, we went to the Arch. The 4th festivities went on all weekend, so there was plenty to do!

We also got lucky enough to catch an air show. Henry LOVED it!

  Walter also got quite a bit of entertainment from the excitement.

We also took an afternoon trip to the zoo.  Henry has a serious fascination with animals, so we are still talking our zoo trip, two weeks later!

 The sea lion exhibit was fabulous. 

 We spent a lot of time looking at the monkeys, Henry's favorite animal of the moment. 

Henry also rode on the carousel while we waited for Aunt Gracie to get off call and meet us. 

 

I had Walter dressed all cute and appropriate for zoo day.... but alas, we had a little accident and had to change. Typical for this child. :)

 

Henry loved the train.  He did not love the train ride being over.

We were lucky enough to make it to the zoo two weeks after this elephant was born.  Isn't it ADORABLE?!?

 

Such a good Aunt. Henry is still asking if we're going to see Aunt Gracie when we load up in the car.

 

 We also braved one dinner out in public.  We decided on Fitz's (family friendly).  We managed to keep Henry entertained for the 30 minute wait.

 And got lucky enough to be seated next to the bottling machines.  That gave us at least 2 minutes of peace during dinner....

 "Cheese!"

I could not be prouder of this girl.  She may be tiny, but she's one brilliant, kind, beautiful woman.  She's also brave - she let this crazy crew come visit her 3 days into her fellowship.  I know this next year is going to fly by, and then she will be free to rule the world.  Well, the pediatric ophthalmology world, that is. :)

4 Months!

Where has the last month gone?!? I can't believe how fast time flies when you're chasing two little boys around between work, church, sleep, etc.  Walter has gotten so big and SO FUN this last month.  This child only cries when he's hungry (still!), and if he's not asleep, this is what he looks like:

Why the Lord chose me to mother this sweet child, I'll never know.  But I have stood over his crib and fervently said prayers of thanks for bringing him into my life.  He is such a joy.

He's also quite healthy! He got high marks from our pediatrician, and is growing like a little weed.  He's eating 6-8 oz. per feeding, which is wearing this Mama OUT. I would say I don't know where it all goes, but that would be a lie.  I've been pooped on at Chick-Fil-A, a friend's house, and on an airplane.  No, he doesn't need a bigger diaper.  Yes, we've tried every brand (except Luv's - they're always out of size 2s wherever I go). Doesn't matter.  Has my life really come to discussing poop on my blog? 

Walter's 4 month stats are:

Weight: 15 lbs, 8 oz. - 48% (improving!)

Height: 26.3 in. - 88% (improving!)

Head: 17 in. - 87% (the same percentile as his last appointment 

and no longer disproportionately large!)

 

Love these blue eyed boys! Henry is so gigantic that I can only hope Walter keeps growing - he's going to need to be big so he can defend himself when he and his brother inevitably get in a few brawls.  

Of course, Walter may just need to get bigger to defend himself from his easily-distracted older brother.  Here, he's distracted by the sticker.

 Here, he discovered Walter's foot was touching him, which he found to be unpleasant.

 Quick! Give him teacher so he forgets to care and doesn't shove Walter.

If Henry is within eyesight of Walter, Walter does not take his eyes off him.  Henry's free infant entertainment - it's fantastic! When Henry's not around, we just have to hand Walter a toy of some sort and he's happy to try his best to get the toy into his mouth.  

Can you tell we love Sophie (the giraffe) in this house? Best teether EVER.  Walter officially started teething and drooling about 2 weeks ago, which did not excite me.  Henry LIVED in a bib for 18 months (no exaggeration), so I'm hoping Walter isn't a non-stop drooler like his older brother.  Only time will tell.

He's also become quite the talker over the past month.  He seems to know if you've asked him a question, and will coo and gurgle for 30 minutes.  It's so sweet!  I don't remember Henry being so talkative so young, which makes me a little nervous... Henry never stops talking now, so I'm pretty sure my house will NEVER be quiet in the next year or so.

Walter has also continued to be a rock star sleeper. 

I think he woke us up in the middle of the night once this past month, and we've only had a handful of early mornings.  I don't remember the last time he cried when we put him in his crib, and the only different thing about him and Henry is that he will let me rock him to sleep if I want to.  I'm not sure I've rocked Henry to sleep 5 times in his entire life, so I allow myself to rock sweet Walter at least once or twice a week.  Fingers crossed he keeps letting me do it every now and then. 

3 Months!

Walter Samuel turned 3 months old Tuesday!! Silly boy was tired, and refused to smile.  Paul and I were behind the camera doing everything we could to get him to grin.  In fact, he seemingly judged us during this 5 minute photo shoot.  Can't you just see him thinking, "What are these two idiots doing?"

Paul finally got him to grin when he tickled his chin, but since he was holding the camera, he didn't quite get it captured.  But we finally snagged one! Cutie.

He continues to be such a good baby - we don't know how we got so lucky.  Since he started sleeping in his own room, he goes to bed between 7:30-8:30, and usually wakes up for first breakfast around 5:30 a.m.  He typically goes back to sleep, and wakes up for the day around 7:30.  Since I'm back at work, I'm so thankful we seem to be done with the 3:00-3:30 a.m. feedings. 

He also continues to be such a content baby.  We can set him down on his play mat, and he's content to bat at objects, stare around the room, and chew on his hands. Henry was much more demanding with individualized attention, which we didn't realize until Walter came along....

Walter recently started paying close attention to Henry. Here, he spent about five minutes watching Henry read a book to himself. I can't wait to see these two interact more as they get older!

He's also started talking (or grunting and cooing, whatever we're calling it at this stage).  If he's going to be heard over his older brother, he better keep it up!

I know he's only going to be a needy baby for a little while longer, but I know all the fun stages waiting right around the corner.  I plan to enjoy each and every one of them as much as I did with Henry!! :) Can't wait to see what the next month holds!

The winds of change...

We've had a couple of serious changes occur over the past week in the Meredith household.  Not only did I go back to work, but we also moved Henry into his big boy bed yesterday afternoon. :(  It took him a while to go down for his nap yesterday, but he's gone down without an issue the past two nights. My heart just breaks looking at this room without a crib.

I will say that I am thankful we've had such good luck with him sleeping in the bed so far.  Earlier tonight, he looked at Paul and I and said, "I tiiirred."  Huh? What 20-month-old tells his parents he's tired at 7:00 p.m., climbs into his bed, and goes straight to sleep?  

Big change #2 is that Walter moved out of our room and into his own bed on Saturday night. I had Henry in his own room at 6 weeks, and Paul basically had to force me to move Walter at 12.5 weeks.

Two nights later and I STILL don't like it. Not one bit. I liked him being within 2 feet of me, and now he's on an entirely different floor. 

If anyone discovers a way to stop time, even for just a little bit, will you let me in on the secret? I need to hold onto these two while they'll still let me!

In much less depressing news (at least for me), we finally made it to the neighborhood pool on Sunday! Henry squealed for an entire hour. Child LOVED the pool!!

He decided he was hungry after a few minutes, so we were glad we brought a snack.  And no, he did not get a cramp and drown after immediately running back to the pool.

Walter and I stayed in the shade and relaxed.

And he ate. Of course. :)

Someone also left their toys by the edge of the pool.  I don't have girls, but would guess these are princess wands of some sort.  My child, being a boy through and through, picked them up and proceeded to use them as weapons.  He was clubbing everything in sight.  But at least there were hearts and glitter involved with the beatings. Ha!

Sure do love these kiddos.

Him.

For the final day of my "What I love about Baby Walter" posts, there are multiple things I could choose to write about. But the reality is that I simply love him. Unconditionally. Unquestionably. I will love him when disappoints me over the years. I will love him when he makes decisions I don't necessarily agree with. I will love him when he hurts my feelings every now and then. That's called being a Mama. And even though it can be hard and terribly exhausting, it's a greater blessing than I ever imagined.

Discovery.

For Day 6 of "What I love about Baby Walter," I love to watch him develop and discover new things.  With Henry, I had my head in the books and was trying to make sure he was developing at the right pace.  Sometimes that can distract from simply enjoying the tiny miracles of development.  Not this time!!  I still have my head in the books, but they're all Henry/discipline/toddler related, which allows me to kick back and simply enjoy this sweet baby!  Walter's latest discovery is his hands.

Every once and a while I will be in the middle of chores and hear him sucking on his hands.  I immediately know it's time for food.  This has been incredibly helpful in preventing a few of his famous expressions of hunger (see Day 3). :)  I can't wait to see what's around the corner with him!