ray of sunshine

 Through all of the stress lately, Wyatt has remained my ray of sunshine.  

His sweet cheeks and bright face never fail to make me smile.

He is learning more signs & words everyday. 

Here he is signing "ball". I could pretty much eat his chubby hands! 

He says "Daddy" all the time, but has yet to say "Mommy" unprovoked.

{frowny face}

He is starting to play more independently.

He loves to put smaller toys into bigger ones. 

Like putting cars in his helicopter,or putting his rolly animals into his stacking cups.

And when it's time to clean up, he sings the Clean Up song with me.

 He loves when we sing.  He likes me to sing Row Row Row Your Boat.  

And the twins to sing Itsy Bitsy Spider.  

When we finish he will sign "more" until I pick another song.

{I love this picture of him crouching.  

I know I will miss those thighs & tiny piggies someday!}

When he is naughty and I scold him, or when he is hurt, I will ask him then if he needs a hug, and he will say, 

"Yes" only it sounds like "Yeth" with his lisp, and then he will bury his head in my chest, 

melting into my snuggles. 

If the twins touch him or try to take his toy, he screams, "Ow! Ow! Ow!"

We are trying to teach him to say no instead. 

He cries when I go in the bathroom, up the stairs or out the front door. 

He hates when Josh goes to work everyday, although he doesn't cry like he did when we first arrived. 

And his joy upon Josh's return is unbelievable. "Daddy!!!!! Daddy!!!!!!" and he RUNS to the door.

Another word he uses a lot is "stuck". 

When I found him under the train table he looked up at me and said, "Stuck." 

Stuck indeed, baby.

 He loves to wear things on his head- hats, buckets, blankets.  

This weekend he was sporting Josh's Seahawks hat. I wish it wasn't blurry. 

He looked so cute in it!

For Halloween, he will be a dragon, thanks to a costume on loan from Krista.

It's perfect because it's SUPER fluffy and cozy.

 Weaning my little buddy is going alright. Slow, but steady.  I have eliminated the morning nap feeding and the bedtime feeding.  That leaves middle-of-the-night feeding and afternoon nap feeding.  This weekend I will eliminate middle-of-the-night feedings, and I will tell you, I am nervous.  Feeding him back to sleep at 2am is fast, and it's easy.  But I think that even if I lose sleep for a little while, rocking him to sleep instead, it will be worth it in the long run.  His pediatrician said that once he is fully weaned, I will likely see a drop in night wakings.  I am clinging to this like it's the holy grail. Please be true. Please be true. Please be true. 

I am feeling quite certain that weaning is the right choice.  But there are still moments when I wonder if I will regret quitting.  Moments when I can't believe he is as big as he is.  Moments when I mourn his baby-ness.  Hearing from other mama's who have quit or are quitting has helped. Every nursing mama has felt this way at times. So ready to quit, and then a second later so sad the time went so fast.  That is the nature of childhood.

With or without nursing, Wyatt will still be my little sweetheart. 

And I am so grateful to have him in my life.

---ray of sunshine---