5 weeks ago...

5 weeks ago from today our little Ryan joined our family. He has been such a blessing and we sure do love him!



In the past 5 weeks HE has:
- slept through the night once (10pm-5am), wahoo!
- learned to love warm baths
- grown 1.5 inches and gained 2 lbs and 7 oz (as of his Dr appt on Monday)
- gone through appx 360 diapers
- learned to take a pacifier when he is sleepy!
- taken one nap in his CRIB!
- developed quite the adorable mullet of strawberry-blonde hair
- managed to pull of Jeff's glasses once while swatting at him (he does have a bit of a personality to match the red hair)
- smiled purposefully a few times
- developed extraordinary strength through lots of "tummy time"
- managed to choke down his PolyViSol with iron (smells disgusting and tastes even worse - yes, I tried it to see what I'm putting him through)
- learned to sleep in an "X" shape like Jeff
- associated car rides with sleeping and sometimes fall asleep in the car seat before we even put it in the car
- won the adoration & spoiling of several ward members, friends, & neighbors
- taught his parents more about love
- spent hours and hours in his bouncy seat (he LOVES to be bounced!)
- gone on several outings around Corpus Christi
- has slept for 6 hours during the day & has still managed to sleep at night
- spent a lot of time with his tongue sticking out

In the past 5 weeks I have:
- kissed him about a thousand times
- learned to do several household chores with 1 hand
- made it through lots of nursing discomforts (thanks to a priesthood blessing, prayer, the passage of time, lots of hot showers, & the advice of consultants)
- loved taking him on regular stroller rides (almost every evening)
- laughed and cried at the same time
- rarely showered AND gotten ready without hours between the two
- changed lots and lots of soiled diapers and outfits
- gone through multiple of my own outfits in a day (see above)
- learned to get ready for bed super fast (I never thought the day would come)
- learned to blog much more quickly
- had an increased surge of energy since pregnancy
- loved holding him as he falls asleep
- read lots of stories and scriptures to him (whether or not he was really listening)
- cooked very seldom
- loved life
- taken a million pictures (just about)





Being with him every day it is a little harder to see the changes. I can definitely tell he has gained weight, and I think he is more and more beautiful every day! The picture on the left was taken his first week of life, the one on the right was taken today.





The picture on the left was his first outing. The picture on the right was taken before his one-month appointment.