Just What I Needed....

The last few months around here have been a little rough. Tyson has been working out of town Monday through Friday for the past ten weeks. I'm SO excited that this week he will be done traveling and be home every night. But needless to say, it has been a huge adjustment for our family and our routines are a huge mess. Ryder has a very special relationship with his daddy and I think it's been really hard on him having him gone. If I can't get Ryder to bed or to eat his dinner or to stop crying his dad can in a second. This week has been the hardest. Ryder has been getting up multiple times a night just crying, nothing will soothe him and I think he just flat out wants his daddy.

A few nights ago, Ryder woke up in the middle of the night for the 3rd time screaming. I was so frustrated. It's really hard being home alone with a toddler 5 days a week let alone throwing being 8 months pregnant into the mix. I was exhausted and just wanted to sleep. Ryder was just sitting up in his bed crying and it only got worse when I tried to pick him up. So I stormed out of his room, walked back to my room and just laid in my bed and cried. I remember saying to myself "I am so screwed when this baby comes. How am I suppose to juggle a toddler who doesn't sleep AND a brand new baby who doesn't sleep?? There is just no way." I was terrified that I won't be able to handle two kids. As I waited for Ryder to fall asleep I logged into bloglovin' and read this post from  Little Miss Momma. It was just what I needed. 

It’s time.

Here you go.

They're yours.

To cherish. To nurture. To love. 
And love them you most certainly will,
just as I have loved you.

This is the most beautiful gift I can give you. 
But it will cause you unspeakable pain as well. 
And break your heart.
And keep you up at night with worry.
And bring you to your knees. 
Time and time again.

Even still, you’ll never love anything so fiercely.
Your heart will never be filled so completely. 
Nothing will ever feel this right. 
Now go. Go and love–as I have taught you. 

I wiped my tears, took a deep breath and went and rocked my baby to sleep. These babies are a gift. I need them and they need me. I will not be fearful and I will not take these two blessings for granted. These boys were given to me for a reason and I feel empowered to raise them as I have been taught. I am no longer afraid.

I am not afraid. I was born to do this. - Joan of Arc

Ryder's Birth Story {At Hand and The Heart}

Happy Monday everyone! Today I am guest posting over on my friend Andrea's blog - Hand And The Heart and sharing Ryder's Birth Story as a part of her Birth Diaries. Since baby #2 is due in just a few months I thought it would be fun to share Ryder's birth story before he makes his arrival. While you are over there make sure you check out some of Andrea's inspiring posts and cute family. Enjoy!

Life Lately

Here's what we've been up to lately......{In pictures}

As usual, we have been spending a lot of time outside enjoying this Spring weather. Which means I spend a lot of time waddling after a toddler tornado. It's getting really hard to keep up with him the bigger that I get. My favorite is when he wants me to color with sidewalk chalk and after it takes me 20 seconds to sit down he wants me to stand right back up and go play ball. I'm sure it's pretty funny to watch, unless you are me. 

If I make It of my due date I just might explode.

{31 Weeks}

We now have to take a walk to the river on a daily basis. Ryder has a favorite spot where he could spend all day throwing rocks in the water. I always bring the stroller with us because when it's time to go all hell breaks loose. It's definitely easier to haul his kicking and screaming self home buckled in the stroller. 

Ryder's new favorite things are picking out fresh flowers and drinking my Raspberry Italian Soda's. He picked out the blue, green and orange daisies and spent 20 minutes sitting on the table smelling them going "mmmmmm". All while sipping his Italian soda of course. Nothing screams Spring more than fresh flowers and a fruity drink.....a kid after my own heart.

This week have been rough in the sleep department. Ryder has either been going to bed really late or getting up really early. Like 3 am to 5 am early. I was a zombie and not in the greatest of moods this morning then he smiled at me like this and it was all better. 

Baby brother has also been keeping me up with kicks to my ribs late at night and early in the morning. I'm totally okay with it....4am has never felt better.

Happy Hump Day! 

Easter

What a busy, fun filled weekend! We are still in candy coma's over here and my house is a complete disaster. A sure sign of a successful holiday! 

Last Easter Ryder wasn't even walking yet and was too little to understand much, so this year I was really excited to watch him hunt eggs. Saturday we had two family Easter parties which meant double the goodies and fun for Ryder. It didn't take him long to get the hang of egg hunting. When he would find an egg he'd bend over, point at it then scream some sort of jibberish all excited. He'd put it in his basket then yell MORE!!! He was actually really good at finding them and even found some hidden in the weeds that I had a hard time seeing. However, he didn't want to stop after all the eggs were found. Tyson walked around throwing out eggs he had already found just so he could keep hunting. 

The Easter bunny made his way to our home Sunday morning and even left a little something for baby brother and of course the dog. Last year I went a little crazy with Ryder's basket. It looked more like Christmas morning than Easter. So this year we decided to keep it simple and focus more on the meaning of Easter. Ryder got a coloring book, some chalk, "The Night Before Easter" book, stickers, a pair of Jammie's and of course some trucks. 

He ran straight for the trucks and didn't really care about the other stuff but I loved seeing how excited he was when he came down the stairs 

We then headed to breakfast in our jammies and finished out the holiday with a walk by the river and relaxing outside as a family. 

This year was the best Easter yet and I got a little emotional thinking about this being our last one as a family of 3! Now it's on to Ryder's 2nd birthday and the arrival of baby boy. I hope you all had a great Easter with your families! 

30 Weeks

How far along: 30 Weeks

Gender: Boy!!

Weight gain: 15 lbs

Maternity clothes: Oh yes. Mainly maxi dresses and yoga pants! I've been soooo uncomfortable

Stretch marks: No.

Belly button in or out: It's flat and not cute at all

Sleep: It's hard to get comfortable. My hips are starting to hurt so I have to switch from side to side often 

Best moment this week: Realizing that this little babe could be here in as little as 7 weeks!

Worst moment this week: Realizing I have so much to do before he gets here. My to do list is insanely long and I'm not feeling prepared at all. Also not having any energy whatsoever!

Miss anything: Cups and cups of coffee as usual and my energy. Oh and how about the ability to bend over! 

Movement:  Lots of it! I got an awesome kick to the lungs the other day that almost knocked me off my feet 

Cravings:  Toast with strawberry and apple jam. I could seriously eat toast and jam for every meal. cereal, s'mores ice cream,  italian soda's and Anything with lemon in it! 

Queasy or sick: Feeling good other than heartburn, rib and hip pain as well as no energy

Looking forward to: Tackling my to do list and starting the weekly countdown to little man's arrival!

Our Weekend

My hubby had a 3 day weekend so we took advantage and had a blast just spending time together as a family. Friday the weather was amazing! We grabbed some take out and stayed up late next to a fire outside. Ryder loved staying up late, cuddling in blankets and eating lots of treats. This made me so excited for long summer nights. I can picture me standing at my back door with our new little baby watching Ryder run around the back yard, while Tyson is grilling some food and a fire burns in our fire pit. Can't.wait. 

Saturday and Sunday the weather was cooler and rainy. We spent those days doing some housework, went to dinner and cuddled on the couch in our Jammie's. Days like that are my favorite. 

Monday we headed to the aquarium. It was Ryder's first time and he loved it. He loved seeing all the different types of fish and his favorite thing was watching the penguins. 

We finished out our Monday night by doing some fishing. It was so peaceful and relaxing. Ryder played in the dirt and helped daddy catch some fish. After yesterday I'm pretty sure fish are his new favorite thing. 

With Tyson being so busy with work lately it was so nice to have some extra time with him. Now it's back to our daily routines and I'm patiently waiting for our fun filled Easter weekend to get here. Hope you all had a great weekend! 

Instagram Update

I just wanted to do a quick post about my Instagram. I find myself hardly logging into my blog Instagram account. So I've decided to get rid of it and just use my personal account. If you are interested in following our day to day life you can find me at @whitrichins 

Happy Sunday funday! I hope you're all enjoying some sunshine and good coffee on this beautiful Sunday morning. 

Sunshine.

This week the weather has been amazing. It has felt more like Summer than Spring. It reached 80 degrees the last few days so that meant tank tops and shorts, running around barefoot, lots of sidewalk chalk and Ryder even ran around in swim trunks splashing in our man made puddles. 

We've been loving the sunshine, but I've been reminded that being pregnant while it's hot is hard! I swelled up like a balloon and couldn't keep up with Ryder one bit. I'm going to enjoy the heat this weekend while we BBQ and spend some time as a family outside before it cools back down next week. TGIF!!!

Baby #2 Must Haves {Part 2}

1. Moby Wrap I actually got one of these when Ryder was born and I never used it. It looked too complicated to me and I didn't even give it a try. I am determined to use it with this baby. With a toddler running around I'm sure this thing will be a life saver many times. 

2. Burt's Bees Diaper Ointment I used so many different ointments that never worked on Ryder and I finally found this stuff. It's kind of expensive and I can only seem to find it at Target but it works wonders. 

3. Baby Jogger City Select Double Stroller After so many recommendations from many friends we finally decided on this double stroller. We bought a second seat for when the baby gets bigger and the car seat adapter. We are using it right now with just Ryder and it's amazing. It can be used as a single stroller as well so if you're in the market for one check it out. It's light weight, easy to use and folds really easy. It is a bit more pricey than some of the other strollers we looked at but I already think it's worth the price. 

4. 4Moms Infant Tub I haven't purchased this yet but it is on my list. It is a little pricey for an infant tub so I'm kind of skeptical on buying it. We went through so many infant tubs when Ryder was born. I just couldn't find one that was comfortable for him and one of us just ended up holding him. Has anyone tried this tub??

5. Hands Free Pump Bustier I exclusively pumped for a while when I first had Ryder and this would have been so nice! Pumping with a toddler and a newborn will probably be hard so hopefully this will help. 

6. Slimming Nursing Cami I didn't buy any nursing tanks with Ryder and I really should have. Nursing in normal clothes is not as easy as it seems. Plus they say they are slimming! 

Easter Pics

Every year I like to get Easter pictures done of Ryder. They are just simple pictures that I know I will love to look back on as he gets older and see how he has grown. Last year he got them taken with a bunny and this year it was baby chicks. He was so focused and serious about petting the chicks that we couldn't get a smile out of him, but I LOVE how they turned out. 

Look how much he has grown from last year! He isn't my chunky little baby anymore. Can time just slow down a little bit please??  And by the way, I am fully aware that his hair is absolutely ridiculous in these pictures. Im not quite sure what I was thinking! But I did actually end up cutting it the very next day. Mom fail. 

Happy Monday!