3 Months/21 Months

Today Bryce turns 3 months old! We don't go to the doctor this month, so I did some measurements at home, but not sure how accurate they are. He weighs 12 pounds, 7 ounces and is 23 1/2 inches tall. He is becoming so happy, and he smiles all the time now--he is always looking at us waiting for us to look back at him, then when we do he instantly gives us the biggest grin! He loves being around his brother and watching him run around and play. I have a feeling he will want to be mobile as soon as he can to catch up to him! Bryce is still sleeping great, going anywhere from 8-10 hours at night. We're now trying to get him to take naps during the day in his bed as well, instead of the little catnaps while in his swing or on us, but it may take awhile to be on a complete schedule. In the meantime, he is content to just be wherever we are and go with the flow! The only trouble we are having with him this month is that he has not been the best nurser lately, and many feedings are becoming battles, but we are dealing with it and hoping it's just a phase. He will take a bottle of pumped milk fine, though, which is weird. We are trying different things and will figure it all out hopefully! We love seeing his little personality start to come out, and he just gets cuter and more personable everyday! We are getting his 3 month pictures taken on Saturday, so I will try to post that soon.

Grant will be 21 months on Saturday, although sometimes we feel like he is much older! He is talking so much and saying many phrases/sentences. He is so curious and loves to learn. It is fun taking him out on errands now because he is so interested in the world around him. Of course he does have his moments where he tries to test us, and he gets upset or frustrated when he doesn't get what he wants. He loves to color now and asks to do it all the time. He also loves the ipad. For the last few months, he would play with my dad's whenever we were over their house, and there are lots of kid apps on it. We then received one of our own for Christmas. He knows how to turn it on and get into his apps/games, and it is so cute to see him learn in this way. It's crazy how different their childhood will be with all of this technology! Grant absolutely loves Bryce and always wants to be by him or lay down by him. He tries giving Bryce everything, like his toys, his sippy cup, and his food. He even wiped Bryces's mouth once with his beloved blanket after seeing him spit up! I hope he continues this love for his brother!

We are loving life as a family of four and can't imagine life any differently. Of course some days are hard and tiring, especially as a stay at home mom, but everyday is also a blessing, and I wouldn't have it any other way!

Trip to Lake Cumberland/Bryce's Baptism

The weekend after New Year's, we decided to get a way for a bit and head to Lake Cumberland with my parents. The holidays had been so busy, and we wanted to relax and enjoy the unusual but wonderful weather we were having for January (it was high 50's and sunny)! We love spending time at Woodson Bend Resort, where my parents own a condo, and it was Bryce's first little vacation! Grant loves it there, and really loves riding the golf cart around the resort. He even wanted to leave the playground to get back to the cart! It was so nice letting him roam around on his own a little more than when we were there last back in the summer. We also went to the putting green, sat around by the fire, and watched football. It was such a nice weekend, and we can't wait to go back!

On Sunday, we celebrated Bryce's baptism. He was baptized at St. Antoninus Church--same place where both Doug and Grant were also baptized! He was surrounded by both sides of the family and is very lucky to have his Uncle Matt and Aunt Kristen as godparents. He did a great job and actually seemed to enjoy having the water poured on his head! The priest said a quick prayer to St. Brice, and he said that he actually has a nephew named Bryce! We had a wonderful party at our house after the baptism, and we are so glad to have him as a member of the Church.

It has been a busy few weeks, so we are looking forward to a quiet January and February. Then we will be all geared up for a busy spring where we will welcome 2 new babies into the family in March and celebrate Susanne's wedding in April!

2 Months Old/Christmas

Bryce is now 2 months old! It has been an exciting month for him. He now weighs 11 pounds, 3 ounces, which means he has gained 4 pounds since birth. He is 22 5/8 inches tall, and his head circumference is 15 3/4 inches. All of these are still right around the 50th percentile! He had his first big round of shots at the doctor, and he seemed ok except for having a slight fever last night after coming home, but he is fine today. He can really hold his head up better now, and we even recently put him in the bumbo seat for the first time. He loves it! I think he really likes being able to see things from a different perspective, and he can keep a close eye on what his brother is doing! Bryce is also still sleeping like a champ! He usually goes anywhere between 6-8 hours, and may sometimes go back for another hour or two after eating. He does have his first little cold, so the last few nights he has been congested and coughing, but still tries to sleep through it all. He's a tough little guy! We still can't believe how blessed we are to have him be such a good sleeper, and we can only hope it stays this way. We were able to do different things this time that we didn't/couldn't do with Grant that I believe have helped him sleep better. He is also still eating well. He wants to eat more often during the day since he goes so long at night, but that is fine with me! He also smiles a lot now, especially while on his changing table when he catches our eye. I'm having trouble catching it on camera, though! Many times he looks like Grant, but he definitely has his own little look most of the time. He is just so sweet and content, and we couldn't ask for anything more!

Christmas was very busy, especially with 2 kids, but it was still a blast. We took until the last minute to get all our shopping done, food made, etc. We had probably 6 different stops to make at various get togethers/gift-givings/etc. which has made for very tired kids (and us too!) but we have loved spending so much time together and with our families. Grant really enjoyed opening his presents this year, and he especially loved the train table that Santa brought him. We spent all day yesterday home in our pjs putting together his toys, playing, etc. Bryce had a great first Christmas as well. We now look forward to ringing in the new year!

'Tis the Season

We are having a great time preparing for the holidays here at the Docter house. The festivities started a few weeks ago when we attended a Breakfast with Santa with my parents. Grant loved the donuts and juice, the magician/balloon animal lady, and running around with Clara, but became a whole different kid when Santa arrived. He kept a skeptical eye on him while in line, and as soon as we placed him on his lap, he screamed! If you know Grant at all, you know that he is one happy kid, so to see him so upset over sitting on this strange guy's lap was heartbreaking (but also a little cute)! I had to step in, and be in the picture. Bryce of course didnt't seem to mind being held by Santa, but I'm sure may scream next year like his brother did. The funny thing is that ever since that day, Grant points to the laptap and continually asks to see pictures of "Kan-Kuh Cause."

The next day we went to cut down our Christmas tree. It was fun letting Grant run around this year looking at all the trees. Luckily it wasn't too cold outside so Bryce could join us! We picked a great one! We went home and decorated it that evening. It's been a little bit of a pain trying to teach Grant not to touch it. He keeps looking at it and says, "Lights on, Mommy--Pretty!" We were going to put a gate up around it, but so far, he is doing okay with only the occasional little touch--he just can't avoid the temptation sometimes!

St. Nick visited a few days later, and the boys had fun taking things out of their stockings. Of course, Grant had to help Bryce.

While my shopping isn't even close to being completed--it's awfully hard to run errands these days--I always seem to get things done in the last minute. We are looking forward to celebrating with our families, going to the train display at the museum center, and ringing in 2012. What a busy few weeks we have ahead of us!

One Month Old

Bryce is already one month old! I feel like I was just writing Grant's one month update, and he is 19 months old as of today, so I know how time is going to go so quickly and to not take any moment for granted! And even though it's only been a month, it's hard to imagine our lives without Bryce. He had his check-up today, and we discoverd that he is growing like a weed! He now weighs 9 pounds, 13 ounces! He was 7 pounds, 6 ounces at his one week check, so that is a major jump! He has grown an inch and 3/4 since birth and is now 21 3/4 inches tall. His head circumference is 15 inches. All of those are in the 50th percentile, so he is just perfect! He is eating great and sleeping pretty well at night, going anywhere from 5-7 hours between feedings, and then another 2-3 hours after that. He is starting to be awake more during the day as well. We have started to notice that he is becoming more grunty and gassy while sleeping, though, which is how the acid reflux started for Grant, but hopefully it won't turn into that for Bryce. He spits just a little bit, like any normal baby, and we are praying it won't get worse! We are finally into a nice little routine at home, and things are going great with both boys. We can't wait to see how much Bryce will grow and change in month two!

We are So Thankful and Blessed

The title says it all!

18 Months/Halloween

Grant turned 18 months old on October 28. This was the day we came home from the hospital with Bryce, so his half birthday may have been overshadowed a bit, but he didn't seem to mind! We still need to find time to go get his 18 month pictures taken as well. We did take him to the doctor last night for his well check up, and everything is great! He had a huge growth spurt since his 15 month check up which we suspected. He now weighs 26 pounds, 12 ounces, which is the 62nd percentile. He was in the 50th last time. He also grew over 2 inches in 3 months making him 34 1/2 inches tall--the 92nd percentile! This is a big jump from being 75th last time. The doctor said he is definitely trending to take after his dad and be tall and skinny, but right now he seems like such a buster to us! He eats anything and everything, loves his milk, and sleeps great. The doctor was once again impressed by how much Grant knows. He knows way more words than he is supposed to at this age, and he can now identify all the numbers 1-10, over half of the letters, most colors, and some shapes. He tries to say and repeat anything he hears--which we figured out could be a bad thing after he repeated a word Daddy said during a recent Notre Dame game! He loves music, playing the piano, and dancing. He still loves books and will bring them to us all day long to read or look at. He has even starting bringing them to show Bryce! We hope he will teach Bryce all he knows as well. We are very proud of our Grant Man, and we can't wait to see what he will amaze us with next!

We also had a great Halloween! Even though we didn't get a chance to carve pumpkins this year since we were at the hospital, bringing Bryce home, etc., we still got a chance to get Grant out trick-or-treating. He was a very cute monster, and we even had a chili pepper costume for Bryce. When we bought it we hoped he would be here to wear it! We took the boys over to both grandparents' houses and let Grant stop at a few houses each time. Bryce didn't make the trip around the neighborhood since he was only 5 days old, but we can make up for that next year! It was a fun day, and we just love celebrating all these holidays with our kids. Now on to Thanksgiving and Christmas!