I'm a tired mom

Yes, I am tired. I feel as though my lack of sleep over the last 2 years has caught up with me. I never really slept well during both pregnancies and my children have had some sleeping issues. I wish I handled lack of sleep better, but as anyone in my family can tell you, I tend to be a little cranky when I don't get enough. Quinn has been wide awake and ready for his day before 6:00am for about 2 months. My day has started as early as 4:45am. I can not for the life of me, get that sweet little boy to go back to bed. He usually goes back down for a nap 2 seconds before Riley gets up for the day. I daily tell myself that this is a phase and someday an 8 hour night of sleep will come. And maybe, just maybe, I will get to sleep until 8:00am.

In other news in the Richard house, Quinn ate cereal for the first time tonight without spitting it out! I think adding a little applesauce does the trick. I was planning on waiting longer to give him food, but the amount of formula he drinks each day is out of control. I am not joking about him having a constant growth spurt. I am predicting he will pass Riley in height in about a year. He has been rolling over a lot and acts as though he wants to crawl. I know it will probably still be a couple of months, but he is trying! He also snores like an old man. I love it! I have to turn the baby monitor down because of it. Quinn is Mark. Everything about him. He looks like him, acts like him, and has his blank stare.

Where do I start with Riley? That child is crazy! I think she moves from the time she wakes up until she goes to bed. She has recently stopped playing with her toys in order to jump off the couch and roll to the floor, take everything out of every drawer in our house, and get into things she is not supposed to touch. When she is getting into trouble, she says no and runs. That girl is fast. She has learned that it is harder for me to catch her when she runs around the chair. She is such a little mommy to Quinn. She has been telling him "no" when he touches a toy, takes it away from him, then proceeds to explain why he should not have the toy in her little babbling voice. I caught her the other day lifting up Quinn's leg, looking in his diaper, and saying "no poopy". I am impressed with her mothering skills. As of now, they love each other and Quinn smiles when Riley talks to him. I love them so much!

Thanks Aunt Mindy for the saucer. RILEY loves it!

Their typical personalities.

Our sweet little man

Stats, Pictures, and Videos

Quinn had his 4 month appointment today. It went much better this time thanks to the help of cousin Evan. He is healthy and growing. He weighs 16 pounds (50th percentile) and is 26 1/2 inches long (90th percentile).

He is still cute as ever! We enjoyed spending time in Michigan for my little bro's wedding. Riley had a good time, not so sure about Quinn. Below are a few pictures and a couple amusing videos. Enjoy!

Perfect Day

I was wondering today what a perfect day would look like for Riley and Quinn. It made me smile to think about. I will write about Quinn first since his day is so predictable. Quinn would love to eat all day long, a little at a time so his stomach was always full. He would take a short nap in the morning, a long nap in the afternoon, and another short evening nap in our bed. I don't know why, but he sleeps so much better there. He then would want to be held the rest of the time. The person holding him could not sit down, but must walk constantly. They would also need to play airplane about every 15 minutes. Oh yeah, and he would never be placed in a car seat or stroller as that would cause an emotional breakdown. That's it... he would be the happiest baby ever!

Riley's day would need to be a little more planned. She would wake up and eat immediately. No time for hugs, kisses, I love you's. She would then go to the zoo, eat snacks, and pet the goats. Lunch would be at Arby's, then a nap. After her nap, she would have a snack immediately. After a snack, Riley would run outside for hours and have dogs preferably stop and greet her every 5 minutes. We would eat dinner, and go to a park with lots of kids. She would then come home to take a bath and would be allowed to run in the tub as much as she wants. Please note everything needs to be done immediately... no waiting.

I love the differences in their personalities and am hoping they will be great friends! Here are some random thoughts about the week:
* Riley loves Quinn. She has been hugging and kissing him constantly. I even caught her holding his hands to teach him paddycake.
* People aren't joking when they say to never leave your 1-year-old alone EVER! When I have left Riley for less then a minute I have found her standing on the kitchen table, standing on the dryer trying to open a detergent bottle, playing in the bath tub with her pajamas on, grabbing a fish hook off a garage sale table, playing in an old poopy diaper, and trying to pick her brother up.
* Riley thinks every animal is a dog.
* Quinn wants to be held all the time. The second you put him down, he freaks out. One thing I have learned about having kids 12 months apart is that you don't care what the experts or other moms think about when and how much to hold your baby. In order for me to have sanity, I do what works. Fortunately for him, he gets to be held a lot.. at least for now. Also fortunately for Riley, she gets to do more things she is not suppose to because my hands are full.
* The Gerber microwavable meals are worth buying. They also help me stay sane.
* Quinn still sleeps until 6:00am, with the usual wake up at 5:00am for a pacifier. By the way, that kid can down 7oz. of formula, no problem.
* I have the cutest kids. I don't believe you if you tell me yours are cuter!

New Experiences

This week has been full of new experiences for Riley. She has learned to sing her cousin's favorite song, is shaking her booty, screams as loud as she can, visited the zoo, learned new words, and ate an ice cream cone by herself. I feel as though she is a different child. She seems so old and can do so much now. It is sad to me, but at least I get to enjoy those fun ages with her brother soon. That is one of the great things of having two so close together.

Here are more details of her adventures:

Screaming: This morning she was running with her cousins and was her normal hyper self. She then screamed at the top of her lungs until her voice shrieked. It was funny to her, so she did it for about an hour straight. I am surprised she still has a voice and that Quinn stayed asleep. Hopefully she will forget her talent soon, but I am thinking she won't for many years.
Songs and Booty Shaking: Riley spend Saturday night and Sunday with her cousins in Huntington. They love to teach her new fun things. Her cousin has a teeny bopper song she loves called "oh, Baby". Apparently Riley enjoys it also as that is all she has been singing since she arrived home. I was giving her a bath the other night. She stood up, held on to the side of the shower, sang the song, and started shaking her booty. It was hilarious!
Zoo: Since we have season passes, we have already gone to the zoo twice in the last week. She really enjoys it. Her favorite things are the people walking around, the ducks, and the goats... Mark's least favorite things:) As we were leaving, she grabbed my hand, led me back into the zoo, around the corner straight to the goats. It was nice to see her clearly communicate something! Just wish we didn't have to keep visiting those annoying creatures.
New Words: She can repeat almost any word, it just may not sound exactly like the actual word. Her favorites are Mom (of course), dada, Aubrey (Awe-b), baby, brother, more, and yeah.
Ice Cream: I gave her an ice cream cone the other day. She loved the cone more then the ice cream. She ate it from the bottom of the cone and ended at the ice cream. Strange.

As far as our little guy goes, he is as cute as ever. He finally will sit in the sling I bought as long as he is on my hip. My life is a little easier now. He is having no problem downing 6oz. each feeding. Odds of him crying in the car the entire trip is now 50/50. We are sooo excited our chances of a quiet car ride are much higher. He is rolling front to back and back to front. He can wear many of his 9month clothes already. He is starting to smile at Riley when she is around instead of flinch. They are going to be great friends!

We all love the weather and I am especially excited that my long winter of being shut in the house is over!

Here is Riley and her ice cream


Riley has a new fun game of putting stickers on her brother's face