Wordless Wednesday

Happy Half Birthday Andrew!!

Today Andrew is 6 months old! Where has the time gone? I keep hoping that maybe it will slow down a bit, but it seems to keep speeding by. Where did my tiny newborn go? (Well not that he was super tiny at 9 lbs...)

Newborn pics in the hospital!

Anyway to celebrate his six months of life, we went to the pediatrician! I know, so exciting right? Andrew currently weighs 17 lbs (50%) and is 26 inches long (45%). His head is in the 95th percentile which is about a 40% jump from last visit. (Sarah's head did the same thing at her 6 month appointment, so I'm not worried at all. Plus I kinda have a huge head too.)

Things he can do now:

• Sit with support and he can sit unassisted for a few seconds at a time
• Yell and scream at as 
• Blow raspberries
• Suck his toes
• Hold and play with toys like teething rings and small rattle-y things
• Chomp down on anything within reach of his mouth (cutting teeth is hard work!)
• Roll both directions
• Laugh and smile all the time
• He reaches out for Sarah which generally gets a positive reaction but sometimes she yells for him to let go of her
• He has become much more aware of things going on around him. Sights and sounds easily distract him which has made nursing a bit more tedious.
• Our dogs have caught his attention.
• "Stand up" when someone holds his arms

Physical attributes:

• Big blue eyes that are much lighter in color than Sarah's were
• One dimple in his right cheek
• Wearing size 3 diapers
• In 9 month clothes, but some 12 month things fit him so we'll be shifting sizes soon
• 2 1/2 teeth (one is just starting to poke through) all on the bottom. No top teeth yet.

I love having this little guy in our lives, such happy and wonderful addition to our family!

6 months old and blowing raspberries at the camera

Things I'm in Love With Right Now

• Lazy weekends where my husband takes charge of the kids so I can sleep the day away! I absolutely love  Ryan for allowing me to relax and nap while he dealt with both kiddos! Such a pleasant and happy way to spend a Saturday.
• Chunky baby legs!!

• Hearing Sarah's vocabulary expand to include new things all the time. A lot of times I'm shocked at how much she learns seemingly overnight.
• This ponytail! Granted it doesn't stay neat and tidy for very long, but after nearly 2 years it looks GREAT!

• A hot bath at the end of the day to melt away all the stresses of life.
• Watching Andrew's personality blossom into something more than a sleepy eyed baby!

All smiles

Snacking on toes

Turtle face, LOVE it!

Raspberries are the new thing around here!

• New apps on my phone. Tiny Tower and Bag It! Makes boredom a thing of the past. 
• Watching my girl be a GREAT big sister. The way she says "good mowning Anu" melts my heart. And how he reaches for her whenever she is close to him is SO sweet.
• Freezer meals. They are practical and don't take too much time to make. I'm hoping the new recipes we froze taste yummy!
• Mild winters! I got my one snow to let Sarah play! Andrew and I watched from inside as she went out to throw snowballs and run around with Daddy. Then it all melted the next day and we have been blessed with warmer temps in the 50's!
• These two kiddos. (And of course their handsome Daddy!)

Wordless Wednesday

Smiling like always

The first real snow of the winter

Throwing snowballs at Daddy

Monday Mind Dump

1. Snow is pretty, but the cold weather makes me want to curl up on the couch with a blanket, book, and my kiddos. (Obviously a dream of mine. Let's be real, Sarah would never just sit and cuddle while I read her a story without MAJOR protesting.)
2. My daughter is super creative. She's named a lot of her dolls and her seahorse. We have Baby Mit-Do (no idea where this name came from), Baby Codie (after Aunt Codie), Baby Yellow (baby Belle doll who is dressed in yellow), Blue Belle (another Belle doll in a blue dress), and the seahorse? It's named Cup. And yes she keeps them all straight.
3. I value my sleep. After last night's drama, I promise to go to bed earlier for at least the next few days. Andrew was up ALL night. He was wanting to eat, then choking due to a clogged up nose, then puking, then crying, then wanting to eat, then wanting to play. It was EXHAUSTING! He finally fell asleep around 6:30 am after Ryan suctioned out his nose and he could eat and breathe at the same time. Then he stayed asleep for about 3 hours and luckily Sarah slept in too. So I'm operating on about 4 hours of sleep today.
4. Being sick really sucks! Especially when it seems like the never ending sickness. One day it's just a runny nose on one of the kids, and the next everyone has hacking coughs, congestion, sore throats, and no voices. We are more than ready to be healthy again. 
5. Our new thermometer kind of rocks. It's this one. I got tired of trying to get temps underarms or losing the little oral thermometers. So my wonderful husband went out and bought a new one that's much more practical for wiggly little kiddos! I may or may not be obsessed with taking temperatures just because I can.
6. Back to the snow. I want to take Sarah out to play in it, but only for pictures. It's the first real snow of the winter and I am fairly certain she would want to come back in after a few minutes. And there's not much to play in, just enough to cover the ground. Maybe when Daddy gets home...
7. Tomorrow is Valentine's Day and as commercialized as it is, I love it! It's a day devoted to love. No need to buy into gimmicks, just spend some time with the one(s) you love. It also marks 5 years since Ryan proposed. And my loving husband took the day off work to help me out with the kids! Love that he thought ahead to what would be most helpful for me!

When's the Right Time?

Lately we've been having some sleep issues with Sarah. It used to be that we could do bath, brush teeth, say prayers, tell her we love her, and then put her in her crib. And we would all sleep peacefully until the morning. At least usually.

But now that's not the case.We put her in bed at her normal bedtime (9:00 - 9:30) and she stays up for hours kicking, playing, talking, and doing who knows what. There have been nights when she's stayed up until midnight or later. I have no idea why she's doing this. Nothing has changed in our routine. This morning she decided to have a mini party from 4 - 6 am. She kept saying "Mommy, Mommy, MOOOOMMMY." So I would go in and she'd look at me smiling and say "Hi, Mommy." Not cool at all little one, not cool!

So I began to wonder if maybe she was done with her crib. Maybe she's staying up out of protest? We are at almost 2 years old now and I know she can't stay in a crib forever. So when is the right time to move her? I obviously have some reservations because I don't want her up all night playing in her room. But then again she's already tried climbing out and I don't want her to get hurt. And I have Andrew to consider as well.

I mean Andrew is in a Nap Nanny, in a Pack N Play in our room. Because of his reflux it was recommended he sleep on an incline. But pretty soon he's going to be sitting up on his own and needing something a little more stable and permanent. And I don't really want two cribs especially with our move in April. So how did you know your kiddo was ready to move? And how was the transition?

The Week Got So Much Better

After my horrible Monday last week, I was ready to throw in the towel for the rest of the week. I mean, when you have a bad start to a week, there's very little promise of it getting much better. (At least that's how I always feel.) But I was pleasantly surprised by how the rest of our week turned out!

Tuesday: We had a play date at 10:00 at the house of the lovely lady who started our playgroup. She has two little girls and a playroom that is basically devoted to all things girly! Toy kitchen, toy laundry machines, baby dolls, princesses, etc. Sarah was in heaven! There was so much for her to see and do! She kept herself so busy playing that she stayed out of trouble, well mostly! Andrew decided that since he's a little young for most toys, he'd sleep nearly the whole time. So I was able to lay him in a crib and  focus on my busy toddler. Needless to say, after our crazy non-sleeping cranky Monday, Tuesday was much better. Sarah ate a huge lunch and then we headed home for a LONG nap!
Ryan and I went out with our life group for some much needed adult time as well. We had dinner and dessert and I got the chance to socialize and de-stress! My in-laws took the kids for the night (like they usually do) and we were able to get away for the evening. And I got a wonderful email from my mother in-law offering to take the kids off of my hands for a day and take me baby clothes shopping sometime in the future! (Love cute baby clothes... although Sarah has graduated to 2T now.)
Wednesday: We had a late start to our day. Both kids slept past 10:00 which was to be expected since they refused to sleep until almost midnight! But I prefer late nights to early mornings, even if I do get a bit stressed by it all. Anyway, we had a day full of playing at home. Building blocks, shaking rattles, and playing with each other. Then we had a great night of games and dinner with some friends. They recently moved back into the area and are our only friends from high school/college with a kid. So instantly we still have something in common. Plus the wife of the couple runs an in-home daycare, so once again Sarah was in heaven with toys and lots of room to play. And I was able to use an awesome swing for Andrew. We have another game night planned for this upcoming Wednesday! It's nice to have other parent friends who understand not wanting to find sitters and things like needing to be home for bedtime!
Thursday: The weather was beautiful outside! We've completely skipped winter this year, and I think I am okay with that. It would be nice to take Sarah out in the snow once, but I'm not a cold weather fan. So anyway I took the kids out for a stroll around the neighborhood after breakfast. I let Sarah walk and she had a blast pointing things out and just being outside. I was so glad that we did it. Andrew fell asleep while we were on our walk, and Sarah was super hungry and ready for some one on one time with Mommy when we got back! So I made her some lunch, and then we played until she was ready for her nap. After she went to sleep, I  just relaxed and soaked in the silence of the apartment. My stress level was way down and I was in a good mood because of how dramatically things had improved. Plus my toddler had decided to be an entertainer rather than a button pusher! She kept doing things like this all day!

Look who is feeding her baby!

Friday: This was Mama's day off! I got the kids dressed and fed and sent them to Grandma's for the day! I love my kids, I truly do. But sometimes I just need a break from them. I was able to catch lunch with a friend and go (window) shopping with her at the baby stores in town. She's expecting her first baby so we were out looking at all the new bedding sets and cribs and all that jazz. *I know, I get a day away from the kids and surround myself with baby things!* But it was fun to get out sans diaper bags and be able to look around for as long as I wanted. Granted I did have to pump every few hours, but it was well worth it.
Then my mother in-law (Seriously, I lucked out in the in-law department! I love this lady so much!) offered to keep the kids into the evening so that Ryan and I could have a date night! I often feel guilty when I let someone else watch the kids multiple times a week, but I think I need to get over that! My day off and date night with the husband were fantastic and much needed.
Saturday: Everyone slept in again. For the first time in months, maybe even a year, Ryan slept past 10:00. The kids were kind enough to allow us some decent sleep! We were up long enough to do breakfast and watch a few cartoons before doing lunch and naps! It was the epitome of lazy Saturdays and I totally soaked it up! I love it when we can all relax as a family and laugh together at Curious George or Tangled.
Sunday: We got up on time for church and I enjoyed this week's message a lot. After church we went to Ryan's parents' for some lunch and catching up. Sarah had a ball being back at Grandma's house and was really sad to leave, but the girl has got to take naps. After nap time we headed to my parents' house for the Super Bowl. I missed out on most of it because I had set up for MOPS, but at least Ryan had extra hands with the kids right?
Monday: As I am writing, it's technically Monday morning and I am winding down for bed. Looking back at the past week, I can see that being around other people is what made my no good week turn around and become something enjoyable! So thanks to all my family and friends who helped me and the kids have more good days than bad! And here's to another good week, no matter how it starts!