Month by Month: Layne turns 5 months!

Christmas day, Layne became 5 months old. As mush as I can't believe it, I love this phase. Not yet mobile but so interactive!

 I have lots of pictures this time so I am going to update through captions.....

Layne is beginning to sit up on his own, definitely still needs a spotter here and there. He also turns when on his belly. He rolls both ways but doesn't do it constantly.

 

He is beginning to chew on everything and slobbers a lot. He grabs your hand, hair, or whatever and pulls it straight to his mouth. So now we have started carrying around chew toys. No teeth yet, though!

 

 

He is still eating about every three hours and nursing mostly. But when he does get a bottle he likes to grab onto it and holds it pretty good.

 

 

He also started some baby cereal on Christmas Eve. He actually likes it despite the faces he made that first day! This was one of Nana's gifts.....she has wanted him to eat for awhile so I let her feed him his first cereal on Christmas eve morning.

 

 

He has started liking his blanket to be right around his face in order to go to sleep. He can be fussy even with his paci and then you hand him the blanket and he shuts his eyes and falls fast asleep. Unfortunately, I really have to watch him because sometimes he ends up like this! So at night I usually only put him in a sleep sak. Once he gets to sleep, I can move the blanket and he stays asleep ok. He is sleeping about the same, til 3:30 or so then eats and goes straight back to sleep. He has also started napping around the same time in the day, around 10 and then 2, and will take a couple smaller naps at other times.

 

 

He is still growing. He is somewhere around 18 lbs. when I check him on our scale at home. Now he wears size 3 diapers and anywhere from 6-12 mos. clothes. Speaking of clothes...another thing he does is pulls his sock off and chews on it. I'm always trying to keep up with one of them.

 

 

Tyler, Jr. has become his new nickname. I am seeing less of Garyn now and more pure Tyler! His cute little eyebrows are still flipped up. And he definitely has a cow lick on top right at his forehead.

 

 

He is still a very happy baby. Quite a ham most of the time. He loves to watch his sister and brother! Ansley can sometimes scare him, though, with her screaming, scares me too!

 

Here is a little video of him laughing, he is very ticklish!

 

 

 

 

We just love our little guy!

Building a Home: weeks 17-21, the finish!

Whew, the weeks keep adding on. At one point, we were supposed to be in by now. I haven't seen the light at the end of the tunnel, yet. We are trying to be as patient as possible and just don't know what all we can really do. Everyone I talk to says construction is always behind. So we are one in the same. Thankfully, I haven't been too upset about the set backs. It'll happen eventually! ( wrote this part a couple weeks ago from today) Anyway.....


Week: 17
I think the only thing that happened this week was the faucets in the bathrooms being put in. I'm sure there were others supposed to come but the plumbers were the only ones that did.

Week: 18
We were so excited to see the fireplace get put in. It is beautiful and something I wouldn't have splurged for but came as part of a standard with the house plan! The only thing is that I have to figure out how to keep the kids from busting their heads open on it. hmmmm...

Week 19:
This week had a lot of things happening. The light fixtures and counter tops were put in. Tyler got started on the doghouse. Some plumbing work was done. As well as the air seal test which went well. We were finally glad to see more than one thing get done in a week.

 

Tyler and his dad tried to build something big enough that we could keep the dogs in even at night. They have always either been in a basement or garage and we don't have that option here. We have a crawl space plenty big enough but we really didn't want them right under the house this time. So their crate will fit in this and we can close them in it at night.

Tyler and Ansley checking out the faucet and counter tops. Love the pendant light, too. They hadn't been hung yet in this picture but there are two more pendants over the island.

Week 20:
The stairs were started but the spindles were wrong so they couldn't be finished. Some more mudding in spots before a final paint. The power line trench was dug and then line was laid. And the plumbing inspection was done and passed this week.

View of drenches from Layne's window. One is for power line and one for a water line to a shed. And you can see the dog house, not completely finished yet. The water line is an extra his parents want to do because his dad wants to put a garden in near the shed.

Beginning of stairs

Plumbing passed!

trying to get a picture of kids in bay window

Ansley just wouldn't look! Garyn couldn't hold Layne for too long :)

Week 21:
With it being Christmas week, we weren't expecting a lot but had to get some final inspections done and the stair spindles had to be done. And one of the inspections showed that we needed graspable rails on the stairs off the porches. The last coat of paint was done, as well.  If we had gotten all this done in time, we could move in! And it did! However, this Saturday morning (yesterday) when we went to do a final walk thru and paperwork, an upstairs toilet had a loose bolt and leaked through to the living room! There was a large puddle in the middle on the floor on top of the hardwoods. (It is in front of fireplace like in picture above) It got fixed quickly but the ceiling needs repair and a new ceiling fan. The floors may need replacing too but we will be waiting a few weeks to see if they dry out ok. I was already in the tank (as Tyler says) thinking we weren't going to move that day then I heard that and thought we were going to have to wait 3-4 weeks! But no, we will just have to keep it uncovered and let them know in a few weeks if we are unsatisfied. So we will have another week of sheet rock repair and a little electrical work on a breaker that wasn't working. If all goes well, we can move next weekend! We are so ready and excited to be in the house. The kids got all excited yesterday thinking we were moving and then a little confused and upset. So now we have one more week to get more packed and ready. Although, for church this morning, I had to get shoes out of a box. :) We have a lot packed but still more to go. Its hard to pack everything with kids because there are just some things they can't do without.

Garyn in his room.

Ansley in hers ( I thought this displayed how little she is right now)

And there is that smile :)

This was Friday night when we were there cleaning. She liked being able to push Layne around and of course loves wearing her princess dress she got for Christmas!

Garyn had wide open spaces to play with his swords.

And Layne in his room, this was before the final coat of paint....I love his new color.

 

He is holding his head up well when on his belly and even turns in a circle. During these pictures, he flipped over to his back while I was taking a picture.

 

Layne in action, mid roll :)

Can't believe we are finally at the end! I will post pictures as soon as I can of the finished product with our furniture and all.

Gymnastics and Soccer

This fall Garyn did soccer again and Ansley started doing a little gymnastics class. It has been fun watching them learn and play!

Garyn's team was the purple chameleons.

 

 

He did somewhat better this year in actually getting the ball and knowing which side his team was supposed to score on! They are so fun to watch cause it is more like organized chaos than an actual game! He did score once this year! Most importantly, he loves soccer and was always excited to go. The Y is very relaxed with coaching and scores so there isn't any pressure on the kids. I think that helps. He didn't have pressure placed on him at baseball by any means, but he hated when he would strike out or not get on base. With soccer, he was only concerned with whether they won or lost. Most of the time he kept score and we had no clue! He is going to be a competitive kid, we believe.

 

 

 

Ansley has loved her gymnastics class. It is a mommy and me class so I stay with her and help. Otherwise she would be all over the place! Most of the time, she still is everywhere but the spot she is supposed to be! But when you can get her attention, she does a good job with it.

 

 

Her friend Brenna goes as well, but with an older group.

This past Friday they had their fun meet which was a mock gymnastics meet with a judge and all. She had to learn routines! Nana, Poppa, Daddy and

Garyn all got to come watch her since they don't get to see her in class.

These teachers had the fun job of keeping a bunch of 2-4 yr olds in line!

 

 

 

As wild and crazy as she does in class and here at the meet, somehow, she got 2 first place ribbons and the best all around award! As you can see, she was so excited!

Here are a couple videos of her events

 

 

And just because I can't leave him out, here is Layne doing some of his exercises.....

 

He was flapping his arms and kicking his legs the whole time Ansley did gymnastics. He enjoyed watching. Which I must add, Garyn was attempting to do rolls and tabletops in the floor while we were watching. Then he was very concerned about Ansley's scores and whether she would win. Cute brothers supporting their sister!

 

 

Layne lays on his play mat often and on this particular day his floor exercises wore him out!

Month by Month: Layne is 4 months

Didn't I just get done doing one of these?!

Nevertheless, Layne is now 4 months and growing fast! Garyn and Layne are turning out to be about the same size so far which is good since I am using mostly Garyn's clothes for him. He is now in 6 month or 6-9 month clothes and size 3 diapers. He gained another pound since 3 months and is now 17 lbs. He was 25 3/4 inches so his length is almost 2 inches longer since his two month check up. No wonder all his clothes were getting short!

We still say Tyler can't deny him! He makes faces that remind us of Tyler and Garyn. I think in the eyes he differs from Garyn and looks more like Tyler. His hair does seem to be lightening up a bit, though, much to Tyler's dismay. And those eyebrows are still flared up on the ends, gives him his character!

 

 

So far, I still think he is my best baby. And part of it is probably me being so much more relaxed with him. When he is sleepy, I just lay him down with his pacifier and blanket wrapped up to his chest and 3 out of 4 times I never have to go back to do anything. He hums or plays or just stares and then goes to sleep. A lot of times when you are holding him he will just start nodding off even when you don't have him cuddled up to you. When he is hungry, he starts fussing some and if you push him to far he will start crying but he is so easy to predict. Doesn't cry about his diaper or how you are holding him or anything, just tags along.

We finally got a roll out of him this past weekend, 2 days before he was 4 months. He went from stomach to back. He frequently turns to his side from his back but hasn't rolled all the way over yet. He is still into grabbing his toys and now pulls them to his mouth. He is constantly moving his arms and feet. He loves to watch TV and usually starts babbling at it. We guess he thinks they are talking to him! We can more easily get giggles from him, too. He likes to be tickled, held up in the air, and to do patty-cake.

Other than going to sleep easily, he is sleeping from about 9 'til 1-3am. It depends on when he eats before bed. The later I feed him the longer he sleeps. Then he will wake up around 5 or 6 and usually goes back to sleep for another hour or so. During the day he usually eats every 3 hours but can be pushed to 4 sometimes. In between feedings, he still sleeps for a bit. In the mid morning and afternoon he seems to sleep longer than the other times so I guess he is working on those nap times.

Love these 3!

We have also noticed he has gotten more used to the car seat. We aren't having to pacify him as often now. He loves to watch his brother and sister while in the car and will play with toys some. Speaking of, he seems to recognize his family members more now. He follows voices and smiles as soon as you look at him. When at the doctor yesterday, he started crying when the doctor was talking and looking at him. That was the first time he did that, that I know about. You could see him searching his face and then start to cry until I consoled him.

Think he thinks Ansley is wild!

 

We are all wild right now really! Seems like a mad house here some days but Layne just fits right in and helps keep me sane! Hoping he is stays calm and smiles constant like now. :)

Building a Home: weeks 11-16

The exciting stuff is happening now!

Week 11:
So we ended with the sheet rock being hung. Naturally, the mudding and sanding happened this week. These guys work so fast! They were there just a couple days and had most all of it done. However, there were some areas that had not been sheet rocked yet. The wall next to our stairs had been framed wrong and needed to be fixed and then an area in a closet needed to be sheet rocked to cover a pipe. Also, three doorways/large openings hadn't been sheet rocked because they thought casing was being put there and it was not. So it was so frustrating and caused a delay in painting. We were having to wait on them to come hang the sheet rock because the mudders don't hang sheet rock. But when the sheet rock hangers were there the areas hadn't been re framed. Then at the very tail end of the week the trim guys came and did about a third of the work on baseboards and doors. Painting and more trim could have been done this week if all the sheet rock stuff had been done.

love the doors!

You can see the added sheet rock that hasn't been mudded yet on right

 

End of week 11

 

Week 12:
  Nothing really happened this week other than the above mentioned sheet rock getting hung. It was rough watching nothing get done. Tyler was really hoping to be able to do the hardwood floors the next week during fall break. So we were stressed a little about when the rest of the mudding and painting would get done.

I am not sure if this happened this week or not but one weekend Tyler and his dad dug a trench for a water line to go out to the shed back behind the house. Ansley had to help, too!

Week 13:
   At the beginning of the week, painting happened! Another exciting detail to see get done. Although, we are not happy with a couple colors. They were so bright and glowing that they were hard to look at even! Not sure what exactly happened when we chose those. I think on the swatch they look more toned down. So we are working on getting those changed and may be doing some painting ourselves! The main color downstairs looks nice, though. I love how clean the floors, trim and doors look with it. Thankfully, this meant Tyler was able to start floors! Along with painting, they came and put up gutters and the new posts across the front porch.

You can see the tan paint here with the beautiful floors!

The other paint colors will be in later pictures.

 

This is Brad that coaches with Tyler. You can also see the white wrapped posts.

   
So this week was busy on our part, as well! Tyler, his dad, his brother and a fellow football coach laid the hardwood floors in the house. Our entrance hallway, kitchen, eating area and family room are all hardwood. Then upstairs we did Garyn's room and the hallway. Garyn has asthma and allergies so we didn't really want to put carpet in there. I personally like carpet in bedrooms so I was completely fine with letting Garyn get that luxury.

So here is the end of week 13!

Week 14:

 
 
 
     Another slow week here, the door knobs were put on the doors inside and halfway on the outside doors. And the biggest thing was that the final grading was done outside. We no longer have a dirt or sand pile! Both kids noticed right away and were sad!

 

 

Couple of pictures showing the grading done, gutters and posts. Still waiting on the shutters for the upstairs windows, as well.

 

 

hallway bathroom door with knobs

 

 

 

Week 15:

    This week we got the carpet and linoleum installed. I was happy with the finished look. I had chose these two items back in May so I had already forgotten exactly what it looked like. We chose to do linoleum to start with for the sake of time and money. Tyler has always tiled the bathrooms at our other homes but with doing the hardwoods and football; we weren't sure he would have time. Also, we would be paying for all the flooring out of pocket if we chose to do hardwoods everywhere and tile, as well. I am so happy with our decision because it looks good and we can change it just as easy in a couple years when Tyler needs something to do!

This is the laundry room with linoleum

This is Ansley's room, paint will be more lavender, like I originally thought it would be!

And this is our room which will be a different blue

They also came and put our heating and air units in. We now have thermostats that tell us how cold it is in the house! I have seen it as low as 41! Needless to say I can't stay long with kids!

And lastly, the gas logs came for our fireplace. If only they worked!

 

And the end of week 15:

 

 

Week 16:

 

We had an exciting week with the cabinets coming and it was on my birthday!! Just loved seeing them in place. With that came the bathroom counters and toilets. We do not have our granite counters in the kitchen yet but will hopefully next week. We have begun packing and trying to prepare to move. I am so ready!

 

Kids bathroom

our bathroom

 

corner area of cabinets

Microwave!

 

Dishwasher

sink in hallway bath

 

And I didn't get an end of the week picture, but I got some pretty cool pictures of the kids in the front yard.

 

 



The scenery is just beautiful all around. I can't wait to be able to sit on my

front porch and watch my babies play.