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. :)