I'm still here...

Yes, I'm still around. Life has just been really, really, really busy lately.

So what have we been up to?

Adam is still in nursing school. He's almost mid-way through block 4. There seems to be a lot of additional homework even though he doesn't spend as much time in classes as he did last block. I imagine the next block will be just as bad. It's also his birthday this weekend. Unfortunately, I have to work. :(

I am still working full-time (and then some). I've also started back to school part-time. Right now I'm taking 2 classes (6 credits) and having a hard time keeping up with everything...mostly because of work. I usually get my school work done while I'm at work because I don't have the time at home to work on it and watch the kids, cook, keep up with the house stuff, etc, but work has been so nuts lately that I haven't had the opportunity. I have a feeling I'm going to spend most of the weekend (while I'm at work) with my nose stuck in books.

The kids are great. They're as busy as ever. Sam has been trying to figure out how to crawl. He has all the elements down, he just hasn't figured out how to put them in just the right order to gain forward momentum. I'm also starting him on baby food tomorrow. He just doesn't seem to stay full for very long and has been waking up in the night again. He's also able to sit up by himself for a while now. He still tips over eventually, but he's getting so much better! Clara's apparently nap striking again, but I'm hoping it's just a phase. She's done this before and it lasted a couple weeks before she went back to normal. She's been talking up a storm! She knows tons of words and phrases, as well as colors, animals, numbers...the list is endless. If it's even possible, it seems like her personality is coming out more and more everyday.

We have just a couple weeks until October and I need to get birthday planning into full swing. So far we have a date (November 3) but not a time or location yet. I also need to get her 2-year pictures scheduled for sometime in October. I'm really looking forward to that!

Then pretty soon it's Thanksgiving and Christmas...geez, where did the year go?

Clara's 22 month survey

Monthly Survey

1. How old? 22 months!
2. Doctor’s appointments?: November 7, 2012
3. Stats:
1. Weight: 30.2lbs
2. Height: 35.5 inches
3. Clothes size: 2T-3T (depending on the clothes brand). Shoes are 7.5-8.
4. Diaper size: Size 6 Huggies
5. Hair color: Blond, and really long!
6. Anything else?
4. Milestones:
1. Teething: Still can’t tell if all the molars are in yet.
2. Talking: All the time. She is saying new things all the time. She is even doing multi-word sentences. She also says “Sam” now instead of Nam.
1. New words: Sister, sunshine, diaper, sleeping, change
3. Potty Training: We’re taking the slow approach to potty training. Right now we’re rewarding her for sitting on her potty when she chooses to (even with her pants on). Most of the time it’s when we’re in there using the bathroom ourselves. We also need to get her to tell us when she needs a diaper-which she has a few times.
4. Anything else? She’s quite the little parrot lately. She repeats a lot of things that she hears. She actually read her very first word (hi)!! **08/12/12** She loves jumping! It’s almost her preferred mode of transportation. ☺
5. Things she likes:
1. Toys:
2. Books: Her favorite book right now is “Eight Little Monkeys”.
3. Songs: She can sing most of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star by herself.
4. TV Shows/Movies: She has been really into the WonderPets lately…much to my annoyance. ☺
5. Other Activities: We’re on break from swimming right now until the fall session starts. She loves to chase Scooter. She likes being tickled and even asks for more. She enjoys coloring and looking at her “Baby” cards.
6. Things she dislikes:
7. Sleeping: Not great lately. She has been waking up often at night. I don’t know if she’s having nightmares or what, but with a long last couple of weeks with work & school, everyone in the house is beyond tired.
8. Eating: Eating has been getting better. She used to hardly eat anything, but now she’s starting to pack away the food again. It’s hard to find something she wants consistently though (besides cheese).
1. Favorite Foods: Cheese, ketchup, buns, and French fries.
2. Not so Favorites:
9. Nicknames: Nothing new from last month.
10. Things we’re looking forward to next month: Daddy, Aunt Jessi, and Aunt Steff’s birthdays. I would like to get to the orchard again to pick some apples. Clara has been pretty obsessed with horses lately so we were thinking about taking her to Bay Beach to ride the ponies. We’ll also be scheduling her 2-year pictures! I’m both excited and sad. ☺

Pictures!!

She's hard to catch!

Petting a cow at the fair

Wearing Daddy's shirt

He's catching up!



Sam's 5 month survey

Monthly Survey

1. How old is baby? 5 months old
2. Doctor’s appointments?: October 10, 2012
3. Stats:
1. Weight: 16.8lbs
2. Height: 25 inches (haven’t gotten an accurate measurement the last few months!)
3. Clothes size: 6-12 months
4. Diaper size: Size 3 Huggies
5. Hair color: Blonde-ish. Still looks red sometimes, though.
6. Anything else?
4. Milestones:
1. Verbal skills: He’s still really vocal. He likes to make “ooh” and “ahh” sounds. He has also learned how to scream…not fun.
2. Teething: Still no teeth yet, but he’s been a drooling crank-monster lately so I’m hoping there will be teeth soon!
3. Rolling: Both ways and more often lately.
4. Crawling: Not yet, but he gets his knees up underneath himself and has been pushing himself up really high on his hands. It won’t be long before he’s crawling!
5. Anything else? He has managed to find his feet and likes to play with them a lot. He has discovered noise! He loves to bang on things as hard as he can. He’s also getting better at sitting. He can’t sit up for long periods of time, but he can for a little while. I’m sure he’ll be doing it on his own before we know it.
5. Things he likes: He likes a lot of things, just not for long periods. He likes to lay on the floor in the morning to watch TV. He likes to spend time in his jumper
6. Things he dislikes: It seems like we may be dealing with some separation anxiety and possibly that he’s uncomfortable sleeping in the pack n play. He has been taking really good naps if he sleeps on a bed so it looks like we’ll be getting his crib set up soon.
7. Sleeping: He had been sleeping through the night but has been having a spurt of waking up once-sometimes before 10pm, sometimes around 1-2am. We have started a nightly bath time routine, which has seemed to help get him to sleep. And he’s still better at putting himself back to sleep than Clara ever was. He isn’t very fond of naps, though.
8. Eating: He averages about 25oz of expressed milk when I’m not home and nurses often during the day when I am home. He has also been taking 1-2 5oz bottles with 1Tbsp oatmeal in it, usually in the morning and maybe once before bed.
9. Nicknames: The captain, little buddy.
10. Things we’re looking forward to in the next month: Daddy, Aunt Jessi, & Aunt Steff’s birthdays! Maybe a visit to the orchard to pick apples and maybe Ethnic Fest if someone else takes them since I have to work. Mommy also starts school again. We’re talking about taking a trip to Bay Beach so Clara can go on a pony ride. And we’ll be starting spoon feedings soon, too!

11. How I like motherhood:
1. Likes: It’s getting better and better. Clara loves to play with Sam now that he is more interactive. She brings him toys and gives him kisses. He loves to watch her and smile at her.
2. Dislikes: I wish I had a clone! There never seems to be enough time in a day to get everything done and still have time to sleep.

Pictures!!

In the exersaucer at Mimi's

Checking out the toy assortment in his high chair

His latest trick!

Friends, or conspirators?

Snuggles with Mommy