Happy 1st Birthday Bryce!

Dear Bryce,
Are you really 1 year old already?  Before you were born, we already thought that life was moving too fast, and it seems to have gone even faster since you've joined our family!  That makes us sad in a way, because we don't want you to grow up too fast, but it must mean that we are having so much fun with you and that is just making time fly!  We are excited, though, to keep watching you grow and change. 

You scared us a little bit during the pregnancy by making us think you were going to come out even earlier than your brother, but luckily we got you to stay in there!  Mommy was all set to be induced the morning after your due date, and you must have known, because you started with contractions not long before we left for the hospital.  Labor was quick, and in about 5 pushes, you were out!  At 7:17 am on October 26, 2011, we got to meet you, our 2nd son, and we fell instantly in love.  We knew at that moment that our lives were about to change in the most amazing way.  You looked a lot like your brother right away, but as we got to know you more, we realized you had your own cute little look.  You did great in the hospital, everything was textbook, and we brought you home 2 days later to start our life as a family of four.  You were such a good infant, and you slept great--even going almost 8 hours at only 6 weeks.  Thank you for that!  You made the transition so easy for us!

You were immediately thrust right into the holidays---Halloween when you were only 5 days old, then Thanksgiving and Christmas---lots of craziness in your first 2 months!  But we were so glad to have you be a part of all of our traditions.  You adjusted so well to every occasion, all the people, the crazy schedules, etc., so we knew that you would be one easy-going little man.  January was busy with your first trip to Cumberland and your baptism.  With the spring came selling our house and moving into a new one, you eating more foods, and learning to play.  You loved watching your brother play and couldn't wait to join him!  The summer included some more traveling, and your first trip to Myrtle Beach.  You started crawling, and with that, you so quickly picked up on everything else, like pulling up, scaling the furniture, etc.  You are now so close to walking--taking a few steps on your own! 

We hear from people all the time about how good you are.  You hardly ever cry, you play nicely, you laugh a lot (especially at Grant--you just love him!), are so happy, and just go with the flow.  We hope you keep that up throughout your whole life!  We love your crazy blond hair, those striking blue eyes, and how cuddly you are.  Bryce Mitchell, you have made our lives so extraordinary, and we can't wait to see what life has in store for you.  We hope you always know how special you are to us and to the rest of the family.  You will always be our little boy, no matter how big you get.  Thank you for all the smiles and joy you have brought to us so far--we are so blessed to have you in our lives.  You are our Bryce Guy, and we love you more than you can imagine!  Enjoy your day, your party, your cake---all of this is to celebrate you! Happy 1st Birthday Bryce-a-roni!

We love you,
Mommy and Daddy

11 Months/End of Summer

Go Irish!

Trying to escape down the stairs

Arrrrrrgh!

Watching the rain

Was too sunny for them to look at the camera!

Bryce is 11 months old!  And boy is he changing/growing like crazy.  Since the last post, he has learned to pull up on everything, and with that comes standing against/walking along the furniture.  He seems like he will be walking in no time.  He gets all around the room by scaling the furniture and will even let go for a second to get to us or to something else.  He doesn't have the best balance yet, and can't really stand for more than a few seconds, but once he figures that out, I'm sure he will be walking all over!  He loves to play, especially with whatever Grant is playing with, which is causing some issues, but Grant is slowly learning to be patient with his brother and try to share even though it's hard.  Bryce's newest tricks also include putting his arms up when we say, "touchdown!" or pointing to things when we ask where they are such as pointing to the sky when we ask where the airplane is.  Bryce is also getting his 8th tooth in at the moment--and 6 of those all have come in the last 6 weeks.  Luckily it hasn't bothered him at all, but he does want to try to eat more finger foods or whatever we are eating!  I feel like he has grown up more this month than any other, and here we are getting close to his first birthday....unbelievable!

We've had a good last month of summer as well.  We went to Kings Island a few weeks ago with some family members for GE day, and since the boys still get in for free, we knew they would love it as well.  We were lucky enough to have my parents there to help, so Doug and I did get to ride some of the big rides, but we had a blast watching Grant in the kid area.  He loved the bumper cars, tiny roller coaster, the airplanes, and the swings to name a few.  Bryce got to ride on a few things like the carousel, but he was content just watching everything around him!

We've spent the last few weeks trying to be outside as much as possible.  We travel around the many parks near us, go to the zoo, play in our yard, and play with our new friends in the neighborhood. (There are actually 4 boys, including Grant, on our street that were all born in April, 2010....crazy!)  We are getting to know them and love hanging out.  We are loving the cooler weather and football as well.  Now it's off to pumpkin patches, apple picking, and celebrating Bryce's first birthday!

Cumberland/Reds Game/10 Months Old!

The days have just flown by since the last post.  Just when we think things are calming down, we get busy again!  We went to Cumberland at the beginning of this month with my entire immediate family.  It was the first time we were all there together this year and with all 4 kids!  The condo was crowded, but we had a blast.  We got a pontoon boat, and Grant and Bryce loved it!  They took turns driving the boat with Grandpa, and Grant had loved swimming in the lake.  We also had fun swimming in the pool, visiting an apple farm, riding the golf cart, and just playing together.  We love it there!

Last week, on my dad's birthday, we all went to the Reds game, and it was Bryce's first game!  We got his First game certificate, and Grant had fun running the bases on the mini field.  It was hot, but we got to see a winner!

Today, Bryce is 10 months old---the double digits now!  He is now fully crawling and getting into everything!      
He has learned quite a few new tricks since the last post as well.  He can now clap and wave just when we say the words, and he also sometimes blows kisses and signs for more while eating!  He has a crazy head of hair now, as some of it sticks straight up since it's not long enough to lay flat, and it is so blond!  It's funny how different he and Grant really look now.  He is also taking baths in the big tub sometimes now too.  He is such a sweetie, and we love him so much!!

Now we move on to football season, hopefully cooler weather, and enjoying more time at home.  Before we know it, things will get crazy again with holidays, etc. so we need to enjoy the down time when we have it!