Cousins

Ray finally got to meet some of his Taylor cousins.  Due to their household being hit with multiple rounds of the flu, they steered clear until they were all healthy. It was heartwarming to see how excited they were to meet him. They were all antsy to get their hands (freshly washed, of course!) on him. They did a great job taking turns though.

Lilly can't wait for her cousins to come back and play. Whenever someone mentions Anna from Frozen, she thinks they're talking about her cousin, Anna, and proceeds to ask about her, Grace, Col and Mick.

All smiles

Beginning about a week ago, Ray started staying awake for longer periods during the day and is really starting to be more alert.  He also started smiling, for more then just loading his diaper :-)  He smiles when he sees mommy or daddy, follows you with his eyes when you move from side to side and has started kicking and cooing up a storm. Days are much more fun now that he's a bit more interactive like this.  Lill enjoys watching him kick and chatting with him, too!

Let's not forget the Big Sis!

When kids are born, you start off counting their age in days, then weeks, then months.  Then it turns to half years or even years. A lot changes between those half years though and (while it's easy to forget to!) it's important to document what's going on in our little one's life in between the big milestones.

Lilly is currently a little over 20 months old. She seems to just get taller as she's finally been in a size of clothes for longer than I can even remember and they fit her both width and length-wise! As I mentioned in Ray's post, she is quite the mommy's helper. While she likes helping mom take care of Ray, she especially loves playing with her dolls; feeding, bathing, burping, diapering, doing their hair, etc. Her vocabulary is really starting to grow. I read yesterday that at her age they can learn up to 10 new words a day and that honestly does not surprise me. Now instead of one-word phrases, she's connecting two and three words together to communicate. She wants to copy (actions and words) everything we do which is adorable, and scary, at the same time. Her food palate makes mommy and daddy proud. Her recent favorite dinner was salmon, quinoa and steamed broccoli.  She asked for seconds and we were happy to serve it up! She also wants to 'dip' everything. Whether it's in salsa, ranch or vegetable soup, if she can dip it, she will gobble it up. She loves singing 'Happy Birthday' to everyone and everything (inadament objects included), chasing Ty around, and helping with house chores. Recently, she surprised us with her ability to count to ten and loves learning her letters. Lastly, but definitely not least in this dance-lovin' mama's eyes, she loves to dance. And Ray seems to enjoy loud dance music in the evenings when he's otherwise fussy. What does that mean? Nightly dance parties in the Bruno household!

Lill and her BFF, cousin Taylor

One Month Down

Ray's first month is in the books.  You might think few months were in the books just by looking at him, though. And our big boy loves to be held, preferably in such a way that is paying a price on mom and dad's back and arms. While we didn't have a one month check-up, at 3 weeks he was 11 lbs, 11 oz and 22 inches long which puts him in the high 90's percentile-wise. He's already outgrowing his 3-month size clothing and would eat 'round the clock if I'd let him.

Before writing this post, I looked back at Lilly's one-month post to see how similar or different they were. I feel like I could copy and paste it nearly word for word in terms of the likes and dislikes; he eats a bit more, sleeps a little less and fusses more. Luckily Lilly's current 'likes' includes her brother. She's been mommy's little helper and loves hanging with him, helping change his diaper/give him baths, etc.

Let it Snow!

It only took until mid-February for us to get our first snow of the season. We had a dusting here or there but nothing that actually stuck until last weekend. I didn't know how Lill would take to all the layers but she was a trooper. Dad and Lill got all bundled up and headed out for some snowball making and sledding. Note: since we haven't had snow, I hadn't thought about picking up an actual sled. Corey got creative and used the lid of a storage bin from the basement. Luckily Lill was none the wiser. Though, we'll be sure to get the real deal for next year! After playing outside for a bit, Ray and I welcomed them into the warm house with some hot cocoa, or "Grandma, Tea" as she likes to call everything in a mug after Grandma Cyn's visit :-)

After nap, Lill wanted to go out in the snow again. So, we bundled back up and her and Dad headed out to shovel. Somehow we have a kiddie shovel on hand, but not a sled.  Go figure.

OK, that was fun. Now we're ready for sun, warmth and pool weather!! 

My Village

They say "it takes a village" when it comes to raising children. All I have to say after these past three or so weeks is that I sure as heck am thankful for my village. Corey, my parents, his parents, friends, and other family have all been crucial in our surviving these first few weeks (and many more, I'm sure) as a family of four.  My parents came in on January 27th, my Dad staying through the 31st (he unfortunately had to get home to take care of the other Lillian in our lives) and my mom for two weeks! As much as we were hoping that Ray would come on his own and avoid the induction, it was nice to have my parents here (without rushing), head to the hospital freshly showered and with bags packed, and most importantly to interrupt Lill's life as little as possible. With my parents here, she was able to stay in her own bed, and stick to her usual schedule, all while spending quality time with Grandma and Grandpa from Michigan. Each time they visit they have more and more fun together (which in turn means her asking for them more and more after they leave to go home :-( )

My mom's extra set of hands allowed Corey to head back to work right away and then him to stay home with me the following week. Turns out you can't pick up anything heavier than your newborn baby for two weeks after childbirth. Anyone who has had a 19 month old knows that it's not really possible to get through an entire day without having to pick them up and, hence, why my mom and Corey were crucial in those first two weeks. Since Corey has been back at work, his parents have been coming over on multiple occasions to entertain and play with Lill, or hold Ray, or do dishes, or anything else helpful around the house. Other family and neighbors have brought over dinner, sent generous gifts and just sent their general well wishes and are checking in on us. Ray is one lucky little dude to have such an awesome village around to help us raise him!

A belated Christmas morning with Grandma and Grandpa

Kisses from cousin Carter

Everybody Loves Raymond

Seriously, what's not to love about this adorable face?!

I'd like to introduce you to Raymond Schiller Bruno. We welcomed him into the world on Thursday, January 29th at 11:38am weighing in at 9 pounds, 5 ounces and 21.25 inches long. His name has special meaning to us in that his first name is that of Corey's maternal grandfather. While I never had the honor of meeting Ray, his legacy lives on in stories and through actions of his children. Schiller is not a family name but represents a very special place to Corey and I; our first home, where we met and share countless wonderful memories together with friends that we consider family in Chicago.

As much as I had hoped to avoid being induced this time around, I apparently have a very hospitable womb that babies are perfectly content hanging out in until they are evicted. While I tried a number of wives tales to try and get things moving, we still came face to face with 41 weeks and our scheduled induction. Luckily I had some progress this time around so we could skip the first step of the induction. We had to get to the hospital at 10pm to get admitted, start the process and allow us a few hours of sleep before the fun began. We decided to take advantage of the few hours between Lill's bedtime and our scheduled arrival at the hospital (as well as my parents...built in babysitters..at our house!) by having a dinner date night out. We enjoyed a delicious burger and steak, salad and homemade ice cream at our favorite spot in town but we still managed to finish with time to spare and filled with anticipation, so we decided to arrive at the hospital early. We're glad we did as we still didn't get to bed until close to midnight. My water was broken at 6am and then things progressed quickly and smoothly such that I was pushing by 11:30am.  A few rounds of pushing through contractions and I was holding our beautifully handsome baby boy.

Our moms were in the delivery room with us again this time. And then the Grandpas and proud big sister came to visit once we had some time to feed, rest and spend some one on one time with our sweet Ray. Another beautifully healthy little miracle.  How did we get so lucky?!

Our last night as a family of three

Because we did it with Lill too :-)

Pure joy

Like father like son

Grandma and Grandpa

Big Sis checking out Ray for the first time

Playing with her new toy from her baby brother

First day as a family of four

Oh, and Lill is an awesome big sis!