Sherman - 3 Months

Sherman is now 3 months old. I thought time flew with Everett, but with Sherman time seems to be disappearing. How has it been 3 months?

The best word to describe Sherman is sweet. He is the happiest the little guy. He smiles all the time and all it takes is a smile from mom, dad, or brother and this little guy starts laughing. Everett is already this little guys best friend. Sherman will laugh and smile at EVERYTHING Everett does and Everett LOVES this. Sherman is very ticklish and loves attention. However, he doesn't mind kicking alone on the floor either.

Other fun Sherman facts:
-He is turning into quite the talker. I love to hear his little sounds and gargles.
-He spits up a lot and laundry seems to have tripled since he arrived.
-He still wakes up about once a night. Occasionally he sleeps through the night and occassionally he'll wake every 2 hours (yawn!).
-He loves to be swaddled, hates the binkie, loves his fist.

4 Month Stats:
weight: 17lbs 3oz (84%)
Height: 25 inches (46%)
Head: 43.8 cm (83%)

We're so grateful he's here and love having his presence in our family.

Gingerbread decorating

Christmas Traditions

This is the first year that we haven't traveled for Christmas. Although we missed family, we had a great time together with our little family. This was a really fun year for Everett. The magic of Christmas was truly alive for him in our home. He had a blast decorating cookies and ginger bread houses and loved watching all of the classic Christmas shows. His favorites are The Polar Express, The Santa Clause, and A Christmas Story. It's really fun to experience Christmas through a child's eye again. I love my boys and all the joy they bring to my life.

Here are my boys after the we put up the tree and decorations. Everett enjoyed hours of fun with the train.

Ginger bread houses are always a hit. Each day Everett would steal some candy from his house, by the time Christmas came around the house was nearly candy-free.

Good times making cookies for santa.

The finished product

Thanksgiving

We've spend several Thanksgivings at Ryan's brother's home in Nebraska and this year we were able to host in our new home. We missed Roger's smoked brisket, but somehow we still managed to fill up our tummies.

Thanksgiving is one of my favorite relaxing holidays, but this one was one of the best. Roger and Michelle's kids entertained Everett the whole time and I was able to enjoy some great adult conversations and fun movies. Thanks so much for driving 10 hours to be us Roger and Michelle.

Michelle brought a fun Christmas craft for the kids. Everett loved hanging out with the big kids. Big shout out to Amber and Rebecca for being the best babysitters.

After the feast, Ryan gave me our annual Swavorski star ornament. I love this tradition and I love that our Christmas Tree is starting to be full of stars. Can't wait for all the years to come!

Here's our Thanksgiving spread and cute Christopher!

Everett's Creativity

Everett is a very bright young man and very creative. The other day he didn't want to get in the shower and when I asked him why he said that he didn't want his eyes to get wet. I said ok - not worth the battle today! A few minutes later he comes in and says that he is ready to take a shower now.

Problem Solved!

2 Months

Sherman is growing bigger each day. At his two month checkup he measured 13lbs (81%) and 22.8 inches (46%). He's near doubled his birth weight in just two months -way to go buddy! Sherman is the sweetest baby. He loves to be cuddled, but when big brother calls and I must set him down, the swing is a close second for his favorite place. Sherman is a really happy baby. He's rarely fussy and can almost always be calmed by a bottle, diaper change, or snuggle. Ryan, Everett and I have enjoyed getting to know this little man better and love the angelic presence he brings to our home.

Just last night he slept through the night for the 1st time - halleluiah! I doubt this will be a consistent every night thing, but I'll take what I can get.

A quick trip to Utah

Ryan has been in China for the last 10 days and I decided to take the boys to Utah for part of it. Traveling was interesting, but it was worth it! Sherman was able to meet his Grandma Norma and Grandpa James (Who he is named after) for the first time.

Here's my sweet grandpa with the boys!

Grandma Norma and Sherman. Grandma is the baby whisperer. Sherman loved snuggling up with her.

Sweet Annaliese loved playing with Everett!

The trip was short, but I'm so glad I could come. Thanks for hosting me Mom and Dad and thank you for all your help. Especially for taking Sherman two nights in a row. I can't believe the difference that two FULL nights of sleep makes.

Everett and Pumpkin

This picture makes me laugh so hard. Thank you for letting your mom take this picture Ev. I love you.

Sherman and Everett photos

Butters boy #2: Sherman James Butters

Dear family and friends,

Taryn and I are pleased to announce the birth of our second boy: Sherman James Butters.  Our first son Everett will be assuming the role of big brother effective immediately.

Facts and figures:

Date of arrival: September 9, 2011 @ 8:18pm
Weight: 7.25 lbs. (3289 grams)
Height: 21 inches (53.34 cm)
Skills: Eating, crying, looking cute, and exceptional sense of urgency (when hungry)
Development areas: Sleeping

Origin of name: Taryn and I hoped to give this baby a name with rich heritage and undeniable "manliness".  Sherman James is named after his paternal grandfather and maternal great-grandfather, two men of exceptional character, integrity, and nearly 160 years (and counting) of selfless dedication to their families and community. To our surprise, it is also ridiculously cute to hear Everett say "baby Sherman".

Although it took quite a while to get him here, there were no significant complications; both mother and baby are healthy and doing well. 

We thank you for all your well wishes and support.

Warm regards,

The Butters

Summer fun

Summer passed quickly for our family, and baby boy butters #2 is nearly here. We look forward to documenting the highlights with pictures and text soon. In the meantime, here's a quick glance at what we've been doing lately.

Fun times: Animals and Kites

It's a Boy!

Arrival of baby boy Butters #2....September 2011.

Everett is Two!

Everett turned two about two months ago and although a little late, I want to capture some of his two year old memories.

Everett is as sweet as they come. He loves to give hugs and kisses and has recently started calling us "sweetie". It's definitely one of the cutest things he says, but "Sleep tight, don't let the bed bugs bite", and "please stop" are a close second. Everett is turning into a great talker and everyday he surprises me with more words. Today he sang I am a Child of God all by himself. Video to come...it's adorable.

Everett loves to watch Caillou, Elmo, and Barney and he continues to love playing at the park and going on walks. He is definitely an outdoor boy. If we are outside he is happy. It really doesn't matter what we are doing, he just loves the fresh air and space to move.

Everett continues to be a picky eater, but he is getting better at trying different food. His favorites include: french fries, chicken nuggets, macaroni & cheese, bean burritos, grill cheese and pbj's. He eats lots of other foods as well, but they are not met with the same smile and exclamation of "yummy" that his favorites receive.

I love this little boy so much and am so grateful he's in our life.

Here's Everett the day he turned Two. I can't believe how much his hair has grown in the last two months.

I had to snap this picture for two reason: Kids are so precious when they're asleep and notice the ball. Everett loves to climb out of his crib and gather some bedtime toys before falling asleep. Silly boy!

Everett is turning into quite the little biker!

Daddy took Everett to Home Depot during a children's activity and they made this cute little plotter together. Everett LOVES his Dad!

Everett loves to play with daddy's shaving cream in the bathtub. I think he could do this for hours.

This is a random photo, but I thought I'd include it. It's remnants of hail after a huge storm came through Dallas. Dallas has a lot of crazy thunderstorms, luckily we've avoided the tornadoes so far.

Yes, this bottle of ketchup did end up broken on the floor. Worth the picture in my opinion :).

We recently took a trip to Florida and Everett loved playing with his Aunt Annaliese and hanging out with the rest of the clan. Thanks for a fun trip Mom and Joey!

The Easter Bunny came just in time for Everett to wake up from his afternoon nap. He loved looking for the eggs. He didn't get too far though because he wanted to eat the candy as soon as he found one egg.

Happy Birthday Everett

My little boy turned two yesterday! I can't believe it. He's such a sweet and curious little boy. Happy Birthday Everett!

Ice Storm

A little less than a month ago we had a huge ice storm hit Texas. Everything was shut down for about 3-4 days. Look closely at the pictures. It was literally an ice rink outside. Texas has some CRAZY weather sometimes.

A week away

Ryan recently quit his job and accepted a new one here in the Dallas area. Last week he was unemployed for the week and we took advantage of his time and headed for the lake! We had a fabulous time at Horseshoe Bay.

Each morning and night there were at least 40 deer that would come and graze in the yards. At first it made me nervous, but the owner stopped by and told us that they are completely tame and that you can even feed them out of your hand. Everett LOVED this!!!

Aside from feeding the deer, we enjoyed leisurely walks, playing in the hot tub, paddling on the lake, and fishing! It was a great relaxing trip. Thank for taking us Ry!

Aren't my boys cute?

About to go on a paddle boat ride.

At first Everett wanted nothing to do with the worms, but it didn't take long for him to start throwing them into the lake.