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!