Sam's 8-month Survey

Monthly Survey

How old is baby? 8 months! Slow down, buddy!

Doctor’s appointments?: January 11, 2013 at 10 months (technically his 9 month appointment).

Stats:

Weight: 19lbs

Height: Didn't measure this month.

Clothes size: Out of 6 month clothes. Mostly in 9-12. Shoes size 3-4.

Diaper size: Still in 3’s and we’ve started putting him in overnights, too.

Hair color: Still reddish-blond, though more blond than red now.

Anything else?

Milestones:

Verbal skills: He has been making “ma ma” sounds and now has added “ba ba” to his consonant sounds. He also likes “buzzing” his lips so he sounds like a little motor.

Teething: He has 4 teeth now and is working on more (lower central incisors, top left central incisor and left lateral incisor).

Rolling: Yep, though only if he falls down.

Crawling: All over the place, and quickly!

Anything else? He is officially pulling up on stuff and is starting to cruise the furniture. He’s also quite the adventurer. It’s quite unlikely that if you put him down on the floor that he’ll stay in the same room. He likes to wander and explore.

Things he likes: He loves his LeapFrog table, especially since we put the legs back on it and he can pull himself up to play with it. He really likes books and music. It’s difficult to read a book to him, though, because he still wants to eat it. He loves playing with whatever Clara happens to be playing with, too. It doesn’t matter if she wants to share or not.

Things he dislikes: Being restrained and having his diaper changed.

Sleeping: He started sleeping like crap again. He’s taking 1-2 naps a day-usually one really long one and one shorter one (if he takes a 2^nd nap), but at night he’s up sometimes 3 times. I think he’s going through a growth spurt, though.

Eating: A TON. He loves Cheerios. He gets most of them in his mouth and less of them on the floor or in his high chair. He eats 1-2 jars of baby food 3 times a day. He’s also still nursing (yay me!) when I’m home and getting pumped milk when I’m not.

Nicknames: Nothing new from last month, at least I don’t think there is.

Things we’re looking forward to next month: CHRISTMAS! It’ll be Sam’s first Christmas and I’m excited for it. I think mostly because Clara was only a month or two old for her first Christmas so she didn’t really get to enjoy it until she was over a year old.

How I like motherhood: Wow! It’s exhausting and exciting, and fun, and challenging, and a lot of work, but OH so rewarding!

Likes: Even though it’s a lot of work, it’s getting more fun as they both get older. They’re actually playing together more and I can just picture what life will be like at this time next year! Oh boy! Better fasten our seat belts!

Dislikes: I still wish I had a clone, so I could get more done around the house, pick up more hours at work, and still be able to be home with my kiddos, but I need to do what I need to do to keep us afloat right now so I guess if that means no one has clean underwear for a couple days until I can get to laundry, then that’s what has to happen…that or we need to buy more. J

Pictures!!

 

Clara in November

Since Clara has turned 2, I'm only going to be publishing the surveys every few months. But I thought it would be neat to do a collage every month with her pictures. These are from November. Most of them are from her birthday party.

Clara's 2nd birthday party!

November 2, 2012

 

We celebrated Clara's 2nd birthday at home, just the 4 of us.

 

After breakfast we let her open her presents from us so that she wouldn't get overwhelmed with a ton of new things all at once after her party the next day.

 

From us she got:

A new Elmo outfit that I found on Zulily

A LeapFrog Scribble & Write

A My Own LeapTop

A stroller for her Abby doll (the doll she got from Great-Grandma Ruby)

A Skippy Jon Jones book

Cinderella on DVD

 

Once she was dressed, I took her with me to do a little last-minute party prep shopping. We went to Hobby Lobby, Shopko, and the grocery store. She was really good for all of our stops! I even picked up a little birthday cake that we could eat for dessert that night.

 

Here she is blowing out the candle (in her new Elmo outfit)

Saturday, November 3

 

We packed everyone up first thing and headed for Mimi's house. We decided to do all the prep work there, since that's where we were having the party...and it would just make transporting all of the food a lot easier. We would be able to eat lunch and the kids could go down for a nap before people started showing up for the party.

 

We stopped to fill up some cute Elmo balloons on our way there.

 

Once the kids were down for their naps, I started assembling the cupcakes.

 

Anita frosted while I cut the marshmallows and Oreos in half and put the chocolate chip eyes on.

 

Here they are all finished and on the stand

I also cut up strawberries and added grapes, blueberries, and mandarin oranges to make an Elmo fruit platter

 

 

Auntie Jessi was the first to get there. She and Clara opened presents right away. And it was a good thing, too, since she got a tiara! No birthday is complete without one!

 

 



 



She also got a Cinderella book (that came with a fun wand) and a box full of fun jewelery that she LOVES to play with!

 

Mimi and Papa got her a stroller for Abby, which is awesome because now she'll have one wherever she goes. Anita made her another photobook with pictures from the last year. It's awesome!

 

She got some Elmo pajamas, a Sesame Street DVD, a couple really cute outfits (one of them Elmo), some new books, some cute scarecrow bowls, and some money from the Great-Grandparents. She had such a great time.

 

 

We had a yummy dinner and for dessert we had Elmo cupcakes! She even blew out her candles.

 

 

Thank-you cards are going in the mail soon, and I'm kind of glad all the craziness is over, but I am SO glad that she had a good time. She loved all her gifts and she loved spending time with her Aunts & Uncles that she doesn't get to see that often.

 

It's amazing how much of a difference it made from her last birthday to this one!

 

Clara's 2-year survey!

Monthly Survey

How old? 2 Years!!! Oh My God!

Doctor’s appointments?: November 7

Stats:

Weight: 28lbs (70th percentile)

Height: 36.75 inches (off the charts!)

Clothes size: 2T-3T in pretty much everything.

Diaper size: Size 6 in diapers and 2T in Pull-ups (when she wears them)

Hair color: Strawberry blonde.

Anything else?

Milestones:

Teething: Last I checked there were still no molars. Her sleep has been disturbed again lately, but I didn’t look to see if it might be her teeth on top of the cold she just got over.

Talking: She’s speaking more and more clearly all the time…either that or I’ve just learned to translate better.  She can also say her name (not real clearly, but if you know what to listen for you’ll hear it).

Anything else? She sings ALL.THE.TIME. She has become pretty demanding. She won’t sit in her booster chair at the kitchen table anymore. We’re also working on potty training. Some days are definitely better than others, but it’s pretty exhausting and I’m not even the one doing most of the work.

Things she likes:

Toys: She’s really into dolls lately. She also likes her play kitchen at Mimi’s, swinging, playing outside (especially in the leaves).

Books: She still loves to read. I think one of her all-time favorites is Eric Carle’s Ghost Story. I’m not sure if it’s the actual story or the way Grandpa reads it. :)

Songs: She sings lots of songs. Some she learned at story time, others we (or others) taught her.

TV Shows/Movies: Caillou. Caillou. Caillou…seriously. It’s almost all that we ever watch. That and LeapFrog.

Other Activities: She’s still going to story time on Mondays. I’d like to get her back into swimming again, but we’ve been pretty busy and disorganized lately. She loves to feed the birds outside at Nama & Grandpa’s. She also likes feeding her new fish!

Things she dislikes: Sitting in her booster chair at the table, using the potty, being told she has to do anything (lol).

Sleeping: Sleeping has been hit or miss lately. It seems like she’s been waking up a lot again so I don’t know if there’s something going on developmentally or if she’s just a crappy sleeper. Naps are ok. Usually Adam and Mimi are the only 2 people who can get her to nap.

Eating: She hasn’t been eating very well again. Some days are better than others, but there are some days where it seems like she won’t eat anything. Or she won’t eat anything but garbage.

Favorite Foods: CHEESE!

Not so Favorites: Everything else. Lol Just kidding.

Nicknames: Nothing new from last month.

Things we’re looking forward to next month: Her birthday party is November 3. Other than that we’re just getting ready for Christmas and celebrating Thanksgiving. I think we’re doing the Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving day.

Pictures!!

 

Clara, you're 2!

Dear Clara,

Happy Birthday, big girl! You're 2 years old! I can't believe how fast the last year has gone! You're such an amazing little girl and I'm so glad you're ours!

You are getting easier to understand every day. It's so nice now that you can tell us things. I love it when I come home from work and hear you yelling "Mommy!!" when you see me in the driveway. And as much as I don't like you mooching food from me, I can't resist when you say "peeeeeeese!" with that cute little smile on your face.

You have an infectious laugh. Your brother was gifted with it as well. You guys both love laughing! And I think you might be the only person I know who asks to be tickled!

You're so smart. I'm amazed at the things you already know. You can sing your ABC's, you can count to 20 (which I heard you doing in the car SEVERAL times on the way home from your birthday party), you know shapes and colors, animals, animal sounds and so so so much more! And I love to hear you singing songs in your cute little voice.

You're such a sweet big sister. It's been really amazing to see how much you love your little brother and how much he just adores you. I know you  might get annoyed with him when he wants to play with your toys, but I hope you two stay close and are each others' best friend.

Daddy and I love you so much. We can't wait to see what fun and interesting things this next year has in store for our family!

Happy 2nd birthday, sweetheart! We love you!

Sam's 7-month survey

Monthly Survey

How old is baby? 7 months

Doctor’s appointments?:  January 11, 2013 at 9 months.

Stats:

Weight: 17.8lbs

Height:

Clothes size: Still 6-12 months, though moving more solidly into 9-12.

Diaper size: Still in 3’s.

Hair color: More red than blonde, especially in certain light.

Anything else?

Milestones:

Verbal skills: Starting to make more babbling sounds, but mostly he loves squealing and laughing. He also makes a really cute noise (not even sure how to describe it) that we call his “dragon” noise.

Teething: He has 2 teeth on the bottom in front and I think he’s working on more.

Rolling: He rolls all over the place, especially when you’re trying to get him dressed or change a diaper. It is NOT fun!

Crawling: Yes! Finally! And forward, too, as of October 30, 2012. He has been getting all over the place by rolling and sitting up and stretching out and scooting backward, but he had yet to actually crawl until just now.

Anything else? He can sit up from laying down. He likes to climb into things-if you sit on the floor he’ll climb into your lap, he’s trying to pull up on things. He likes to stand up and hold onto your fingers. He’s even starting to work on balancing while standing!

Things he likes: He likes to be tickled. He likes baths. He likes to sit in a pile of toys and play with (and chew on) everything. He loves to watch Clara and Scooter run around. He’s really starting to enjoy books. And his favorite things are those that play music.

Things he dislikes: He’s not a big fan of his car seat right now, though I don’t know if it’s the car seat or just being strapped in.

Sleeping: Sleeping is ok. He just had his first cold and he got used to me nursing him to sleep so I need to break him of that now that he’s better. He’s usually in bed by 8 and sleeps til around 5. Sometimes he wakes up earlier and if I don’t have to work I’ll just bring him to bed with me. He’ll usually take one nap in the morning (of varying length-anywhere from 30 minutes to a couple hours) and then one in the afternoon, if we’re lucky.

Eating: He’s eating 3 meals a day of Earth’s Best baby food. He also gets about 20-30oz of pumped milk (or he nurses when I’m home).  He’s starting to eat Cheerios now, too, so I’m sure it won’t be long before he’s really feeding himself.

Nicknames: Dragon boy, bubs, buddy, and still The Captain. J

Things we’re looking forward to next month: We have Thanksgiving, the Holiday Parade, and the Turkey Trot. Clara’s party is this weekend and I’m sure he’ll be into everything, and playing with Brayden.

How I like motherhood: I love it more and more each day, especially the good days when things are easy, but even on the hard days. The kids are just so cute and fun that it’s hard not to enjoy it.

Likes: I like watching them play together. Sam is really into his big sister and Clara is so cute when she says good night to him each night…”Good night, Captain!”

Dislikes: I haven’t been getting very good sleep between work and school and the broken sleep the kids have been getting lately. But I know it’s just a stage and we’ll get through it. I also wish I had a clone, but it is getting easier as they get older. Sam is content to play by himself more than Clara was so I am able to get a load of laundry in or get the dishwasher unloaded.

 Pictures!

 

Yikes...

I just realized that I've only been blogging about once a month, when I update the kids' surveys. I need to get better at this!

So, what have we been up to lately? Well, working a lot and school. The kids keep us busy enough, too. We're prepping for Clara's birthday. It's going to be a really small deal this year. Money is tight with the holidays right around the corner so us renting space for a big party just wasn't in the budget and our house is just too small to host anything.

We're getting our family pics/Sam's 6 month/Clara's 2-year pictures taken this coming weekend. I'm looking forward to that. I just hope the weather's nice...but we do have the studio available so at least we have a back-up plan. I can't wait to see them! Last time we took pictures Sam didn't really smile much. I'm also looking forward to making a collage of Clara's pictures: one at birth, age 1 and age 2 to see side-by-side just how much she's grown!

Sam is growing up so quickly! He's already sitting by himself and oh so close to crawling. He's eating baby food now and I've been giving him Cheerios to play with. A few might have found their way into his mouth, but most end up in his high chair or on the floor. He's still nursing (or getting pumped milk), which has become a bit of a challenge now that he has teeth. I've been having to withhold from him when he bites to teach him that it's not nice to do that. His little personality is just shining through so much right now! He's a very funny little boy. He loves to laugh and if he isn't teething, he's just the happiest little boy. Some nights I can lay him in his crib and he goes right to sleep. That's a novelty since Clara was never like that. It makes me a little sad, though, not to rock my baby to sleep, but it'll be really nice when he's Clara's age and can just go to bed at night!

Clara is growing by leaps & bounds, too! She understands more and more every day. She tells us "I love you" and when I come home from work she yells "Mommy!" and comes over for a hug and kiss. She tells me "I miss you" and tells me what all she did while I was gone. She's a great helper with her little brother, whom she loves a lot. She seems so grown up. It's hard to think that she'll be 2 in less than a month! Time seems to go by too quickly now.

The kids have both really enjoyed spending time outside. I'm dreading the winter for just that reason. Clara is going to want to play outside, but there's not really much I can do with Sam since he's so small. I think we'll be checking out the new Children's Museum in Green Bay. That should give them a place to burn off some energy. I know we'll eventually figure everything out and next winter should be better since Sam will be walking and better able to participate in outdoor activities. I think what I'll miss most is being able to take them for walks, though I guess I still could if the weather is nice enough and I bundle them up. Maybe we'll get lucky and have another very mild winter! Haha...

Well, that's about it for now I guess. I'm going to try to get better at keeping up with my blog. I feel bad for neglecting it so much! I've got some great pictures to post for next month's surveys. And I might even sneak some of Clara's birthday pictures in there...though I might make that it's own post. :)

A letter to Sam, on his half-birthday.

My dearest little boy,
I can’t believe you’re 6-months old already! It seems like just yesterday we were bringing you home yet here you are, and so grown up already! 

 I just want to say thank you for letting me be your mommy. You’re my little ball of sunshine, and even though things in our life are a little crazy right now, I love every second I get to spend with you. I love watching your little face light up when I come home, or you see your Daddy or your awesome big sister. You love her so much already! I hope you guys stay close as you grow up. 

I can’t wait to see what kind of person you’ll be as you grow up. What kinds of things will you like to do? I think you’ll be a funny guy. You already love to laugh and love when other people laugh, too. You love to spend time outside and you love to watch all kinds of people. You’re quite the little observer!
Words can’t express how happy I am to have you here with us, and while the timing of your arrival into this family may not have been the best, we are so very happy that you picked this time to come and be a part of our family. I know we all look forward to seeing what kind of person you’re going to grow up to be.

We love you so much, little buddy! Happy half-birthday!

Clara's 23-month survey!

Monthly Survey

1. How old? 23 months!
2. Doctor’s appointments?: November 7, 2012
3. Stats:
1. Weight: 30.4lbs
2. Height: 35.5 inches
3. Clothes size: 2T and 3T depending on brands. Shoes are 8.
4. Diaper size: Still in 6’s.
5. Hair color: Blond and getting long and thick!
6. Anything else?
4. Milestones:
1. Teething: Still no 2-year molars! Guess they’re going to hang out until the bitter end.
2. Talking: Full sentences at this point…minus some connecting words, but you really get the idea. She has also been correcting mispronunciations (things she had been saying incorrectly she is now saying correctly).
1. New words: I can’t keep track anymore. She’s probably up over 200 words and she’s a parrot so anything she hears she’ll repeat.
3. Anything else? She can really remember and recall things. She helped Grandpa feed the birds at their house one day and now she asks to do it all the time! She can recognize lots of different animals. She also knows to ask for help if she can’t do something. Her imagination is starting to develop. She’s will pretend things are other things (like a clothespin is an airplane, etc).
5. Things she likes:
1. Toys: Her play kitchen at Mimi’s, her Weeble house, and her Zoo. She has also gotten her shopping cart out and has been playing with that lately.
2. Books: 8 Little Monkeys and Polar Bear Polar Bear What Do You Hear?
3. Songs: She sings all kinds of songs! Old McDonald, Baa Baa Black Sheep (she even corrected Daddy when he sang it differently), Twinkle Twinkle, the Alphabet Song, Itsy Bitsy Spider, Row Row Row Your Boat.
4. TV Shows/Movies: Still into Elmo and LeapFrog.
5. Other Activities: She likes coloring. Mimi has a play kitchen at their house that Clara has been really into lately. She has also been trying to sweep our floor! Oh, and yelling at Scooter. ☺
6. Things she dislikes: She’s been pretty happy as of late and there isn’t much she doesn’t like.
7. Sleeping: She’s been a pretty good sleeper lately. She has a bit of a cold right now and sometimes will wake up in the middle of the night because she’s stuffy, but other than that it’s been ok.
8. Eating:
1. Favorite Foods: Chicken nuggets, macaroni & cheese, fries and PIZZA. She loves pizza lately.
2. Not so Favorites: Can’t really think of anything right now.
9. Nicknames: Parrot. ☺
10. Things we’re looking forward to next month: Not much going on in October. It’s Auntie Jessica’s birthday, but I work the opposite weekends from her so I’m not sure that I’ll be attending the festivities. But the kids and Adam may go without me.

Pictures!!

Horsey ride!

Who is this big girl?

Helping Sam?

 

Sam's 6 month survey!

Monthly Survey

1. How old is baby? 6 months!
2. Doctor’s appointments?: October 10, 2012
3. Stats:
1. Weight: 17.2 lbs
2. Height: Didn’t measure this month. We’ll wait til his appointment on the 10th (28 inches).
3. Clothes size: 6-12 months, depending on the brand.
4. Diaper size: 3’s in Huggies
5. Hair color: Still reddish-blonde
6. Anything else?
4. Milestones:
1. Verbal skills: Screaming, yelling, laughing…just generally making noise. He is also testing out volume this month. The louder the better.
2. Teething: He has 2 teeth **first tooth 9/14/12**! The bottom front teeth are both through the skin now, thank goodness!
3. Rolling: Yes, both ways and often. He can also spin himself 360 degrees while on his belly.
4. Crawling: No forward motion yet, but he gets his belly up off the floor and can stick his butt in the air but he hasn’t figured out how to put all the movements together.
5. Anything else? He sits up really great! He likes to sit on his blanket and play with the play table…or just bang on stuff.
5. Things he likes: Mostly, his mommy. ☺ He also loves his Daddy, his sister, and his puppy. They’re his favorite things. As for toys, he likes his play table, his Nuby teething ring, his keys, and his Baby Einstein little music box. He loves taking walks outside. He has been riding in the stroller without the car seat and seems to really be loving it.
6. Things he dislikes: Um, there isn’t much that he doesn’t like right now. He’s generally pretty happy as long as he isn’t overtired.
7. Sleeping: Sleeping has been better since moving him to his crib. We had to rearrange our bedroom to get it in there, but he’s been sleeping much better. He still goes to bed just after 7pm and usually sleeps until 4am. He’ll get up to get changed and eat and then usually goes to sleep (lately in bed with me) until about 7am. He usually takes a short nap in the morning and a longer one in the afternoon, though some days it depends on what we’re doing. Also, for the last 3 nights, he has put himself to sleep after his bath at night. I’m hoping he keeps up this trend since we’re STILL rocking Clara to sleep at night and she’s almost 2!
8. Eating: We recently started purees **first purees 9/12/12**. So far he’s had apples, peas, sweet potatoes, and a little carrots. He does really well with the spoon and looks just like a little bird when he’s asking for more food. ☺ It’s really cute. Other than that, he’s still breastfeeding about the same amount.
9. Nicknames: Bubba, the Captain (Clara calls him that, too).
10. Things we’re looking forward to next month:
11. How I like motherhood: Some days are hard, but for the most part, I love it. My relationship with Clara has evolved so many times and is once again becoming really fun!
1. Likes: I love watching the two of them together right now! She loves to help out with him: bringing him toys, his blanket, playing peekaboo with him, etc. And he just loves watching her! He gets the biggest smile on his face when he sees her first thing in the morning.
2. Dislikes: Not being home more and when I am home, I have homework or housework that keeps me from being able to play with them.

Pictures!!

Sitting like a big boy

Big smiles. :)

Playing with Sister.

Ready for football!