For work, Ryan needs to get some continuing education credits each year. There's lots of ways to attain those, but one is by going to conferences held around the country. Every other year, Ryan's employer pays for him to go and Ryan chose it to be this year. I hate being home alone and I really wanted us all to take some sort of vacation aside from visiting family. So, we bought my plane ticket and Rhys and I went with Daddy to Chicago, Illinois. I was really looking forward to it in hopes that my parents could come visit us for a day (they live 4 hours away), but that didn't happen.
I've been to Chicago lots in my childhood and I was looking forward to experiencing it as an adult. I was also looking forward to seeing parts that I've never seen. I've pretty much only gone to Wrigley Field, US Cellular Field (where the White Sox play, but pretty sure it was called something different back then) and the Chicago Temple. Luckily, we stayed in the heart of downtown. We stayed at a fancy hotel called the Palmer House Hilton. It's an historic and iconic building in downtown Chicago. Anyway, when we told people we were staying there we only heard good things.
I've been to Chicago lots in my childhood and I was looking forward to experiencing it as an adult. I was also looking forward to seeing parts that I've never seen. I've pretty much only gone to Wrigley Field, US Cellular Field (where the White Sox play, but pretty sure it was called something different back then) and the Chicago Temple. Luckily, we stayed in the heart of downtown. We stayed at a fancy hotel called the Palmer House Hilton. It's an historic and iconic building in downtown Chicago. Anyway, when we told people we were staying there we only heard good things.
The flight there was a little tricky- involving a 3 hour delay, which meant that we didn't get to our hotel until 3 AM Chicago time. With a one-year old who was beyond exhausted, it made it extra fun. We lucked out and were able to get a seat for him. So, he slept in his car seat, on his stomach with his knees where his bum should be. I know I should have strapped him in, but he slept beautifully the whole way there. I figured if the plane was going down, being strapped in a car seat wasn't going to provide much extra protection.
We made it fine and enjoyed ourselves in while we were there. It was hard on Rhys, with his new found freedom of walking. Our hotel room was tiny and the floors were uneven. Not to mention, we felt cooped up half the time. His schedule was off and it was hard to entertain a toddler in such a fancy place. He wasn't super happy most of the time, but he managed. He had two favorite things to do. One was swimming. So I took full advantage of that while we wasted time for Ryan to get back from classes.
One night before bedtime, we had Daddy come join us for some swimming fun. It's a lot more fun with two people to throw him around. One great thing about the trip was that we didn't have to pay for any of our dinners while we were there. We were able to get a nice selection of Chicago restaurants. Our first night we had to go have our Chicago pizza. Now, I grew up with two parents who are from Chicago. My dad is a die-hard Chicago pizza lover. Even going to the extremes of driving to Chicago (4 hours, like I said earlier) on Christmas Eve, pick up some uncooked pizzas from his favorite pizza place and drive back. Pizza was our tradition for Christmas Eve dinner growing up. So, needless to say, I know my Chicago pizza. When I moved to Utah for college, I was shocked when everyone referred to the deep dish pizza as the Chicago pizza. You see, I grew up eating extra thin pizza from Chicago, with sweet sauce, cut into squares. That's the only way I knew it. I was excited to find a pizza place a block away that had my thin pizza. It was delicious.
Unfortunately I didn't get too many pictures, except for Rhys, of course. Our last day there, we were flying out at 10 PM, so we had all day to explore the city. Ryan skipped going to his conference and spent the time with us. We walked to Navy Pier. It's a touristy pier that's right on Lake Michigan. It was about a 30 minute walk from where we were staying, but we just followed the lake to get there, so it was pretty. Unfortunately, it was really foggy that day, so we couldn't see too far out. Apparently the Chicago skyline is amazing from Navy Pier, but we could not see it.
On Navy Pier there is a Children's Museum. Finally, a place where Rhys could walk around and touch anything he wanted without getting told no. We did it as a precursor to his birthday and made it his birthday celebration. (His birthday was the next day). Lucky for us, because babies 1 and older cost money. Missed it by 24 hours.
Rhys had an absolute blast. We would take him to rooms that were age appropriate and let him chose where he wanted to go. He was having the time of his life. I wish we had something similar here. He loved exploring and seeing all the other kids. It was the highlight of the trip for me (and him).
The flight home wasn't too bad. Except Chicago O'Hare Airport is stupid. We asked if the plane was full and the lady at the gate told us it wasn't. So, we asked if we could move around so that we could get a third seat by us for Rhys. She said she had to ask her supervisor who told her that we would have to buy an extra seat to do that. It made me so mad for some reason. I've never been told that before. Most of the time people are really easy going and make it possible for kids to do that. I feel it makes everyone happy on the plane, so you don't have a screaming baby on board. But whatever. I'm still annoyed by it, clearly. Everything worked out great, Rhys slept in our arms the whole flight. And then slept through the transition of getting our luggage, going to car and driving home from Vegas. We were so glad:) All in all it was a fun trip. I'm glad we went and got to see a part of the country that we don't get to see too often. And it was Rhys' sixth state that he's been to in his short first year of life. Too fun!
Rhys had a pretty good Christmas day! He didn't have a clue what was going on and ripped some paper a little bit. But he enjoyed all his presents (and still does). I think his favorite thing he got was the bag that Grandma Eileen's gift came in. He played with that bag all morning! I can't blame him, it was a really cute bag. 
Rhys with all the presents he got! (including the 
Just trying to read my new book (that I still love and don't like to put down)
Rhys had a blast watching his cousin 
He was fine until 
This is his "gym," I walked out to find him playing with it this way instead of his feet underneath it.
I forgot to post his 4 month stats from his check-up. A few weeks ago, he weighted 14 lbs 14 oz (average) and was 25 1/2 inches long (above average). We're hoping he has my Schofield tall genes. We were very pleased with this news. Except all his onesies are getting too short, but have plenty of room for his belly to grow. 
He is a blast. He laughs a ton now. He laughs at Ryan the most, but I'm getting him to laugh more and more these days. Just talking to him will set him off. Once you find a phrase and voice that he likes, the more you imitate it, the cuter the giggles. He can roll over, but he's not a really rolly guy. Which surprises me becasue I figured once he got going, I couldn't get him to stop. He's just hesitant as he does it. Ryan has only seen him do a hand full of times. Lately, when we get him in the middle of the night, he has been on his stomach. I think he gets stuck and it wakes him up.
Speaking of nights, his sleeping has gotten better. We have been doing the "cry it out" thing in the night. If he wakes up before 6 hours, we let him cry. We only had to do it for a few days before he caught on. The first night was a nightmare for me, but now it's all good. We start his bedtime routine around 7 PM and he's usually asleep by 8PM. This week he hasn't been waking up until after 4 at the earliest. If he gets up after 5, he's usually awake and wants to go, but I make him go back to sleep at least until 7. Our next goal is to get him to sleep straight from 8 PM to 7 AM, but we'll see. Any tips to make that happen? I read that technically "sleeping through the night" is from 12AM to 5PM. That's the true definition of it for babies. I also read that babies should be sleeping 12 hours at night. Rhys gets about 11 with a break in the middle. Whatever, it will come with time. Sometimes I look forward to hearing him cry because I know he's all right and I get some extra cuddle time. My favorite is when we lay him down, we put him on his back and he immediately turns onto his side.
He loves to scream and just loves the sound of his own voice. He loves playing with toys and putting anything and everything into his mouth. He's starting to take an interest in our food and it's getting harder to eat with him on my lap because he'll grab at whatever catches his eye. He has also taken an interest in the TV. So, sometimes I feel guilty and turn off the Kardashians, just so he doesn't see that stuff at such a young age:). He grabs his feet all the time now and I've only see him suck on his toes once. But that was super cute. He's also the jumpiest baby I've every seen. So many times when he's waking up from a nap or laying on the floor, I'll got up to him and he will jump a mile. Do all babies do that? He also HATES noise. It scares him so bad. I thought babies were supposed to enjoy the sounds of hair dryers and vacuums. Not my baby. They make him cry. It's so sad to see the things that scare him. I blew my nose the other day, not a loud blow mind you, it was really quiet and he jumped a mile and started to get cry face. I stopped it before it got worse. Are all babies like that? 
For my birthday last month, Ryan said I could take a trip to Iowa with Rhys. We both really wanted Rhys to meet his Grandpa Schofield and thought that it would be a fun trip for us. So, a few weeks ago, Rhys and I hopped a plane in Vegas and sped off to Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Rhys did absolutely great on both plane rides.
I was so nervous on our first flight because I had never flown with a baby before. I could just see him screaming and freaking out and being bored the whole time. He slept most of the way on the plane ride to Iowa. I was especially worried about his ears during take off and landing. Those were the only times he would not suck on anything. I tried a bottle, a binky (which was in vain because he just licks binkies) and nursing. Nothing would get him to suck. But he didn't act bothered by his ears, so I figured it would be ok. We had an amazing flight home. Rhys slept the whole plane ride (in my arms) and the whole time in the car on the ride home. Granted the flight was at 9 PM and we didn't get home until 2 AM, but still. I was very proud of him.:) 
Grandma spoiled Rhys as much as she could (and as much as would fit in my suitcase). She even taught him this new game, where you hang off her legs upside down. He absolutely loved it. If she put him back on her legs to lay down, he would kick off her stomach until he was arched off her knees. 
While there, I was able to look through my parents old pictures that I've only seen once before, ever. That was a blast. I also had to clean out all my old stuff that I left in my room when I moved out. My parents are planning on moving (to Vegas!!) sometime and are really starting to clean up their house and figure out what they want to bring with them. I was also able to visit with some of my high school friends. It was fun introducing them to Rhys and catching up on their lives. 
I love this pic because he's holding onto the side of the bucket...
I guess I should of known it was because he wanted to suck on the whole bucket, not just a little toy. That's too easy.