20 Months Old

Samuel,

You are 20 months old! You're getting so close to two and growing up so fast.

You are certainly hilarious these days. We are constantly laughing at the cute things you do. Your vocabulary is just exploding. I can't get over all the words you say and you're starting to put words together. You say things like, "Go Mommy," "More, please," "Cars shoes," "Train book," etc. You are just communicating so well these days. I love the way you say train- too-ain, and treat- too-eat. They're cuter as two syllable words. You also started calling me Mommy instead of Mama recently. You sound SO old when you say Mommy because it is so clear and usually you say it loudly (and over and over). It's sweet though how much you love your mommy :). You are communicating really well with words these days, but if we don't understand you, you are quick to come grab our hand and pull us toward whatever you're wanting. You yell, "up, up" as you're pulling us.

When you say no, a lot of times you squint your eyes and make a mean face as you say it. We joke a lot about your squinty eye face. And you say "yup" instead of "yes." I know I should correct you, but it's just so cute hearing your little "yup."

You are still a food lover. You run to your high chair when I tell you it's time to eat. You are a great eater, but I've caught a little pickiness coming out lately. If you have your mind set on not eating a certain food, you will not eat it. There is no way to convince you to try it. We still have lots of Halloween candy, so you ask for a "too-eat" after most meals, and you almost always choose a sucker out of the candy bucket. You're drinking milk better these days, probably because I add a little chocolate or strawberry syrup to it. If you see me getting the milk out, you run to the fridge and grab the syrup, yelling, "choc, choc!" And to eat bananas, I have to peel it for you, but leave the peel attached. Your brother taught you that, because he always asks to eat his banana like a monkey. Your favorite foods are yogurt, grapes, bananas, grilled cheese sandwiches, corn dogs, and macaroni and cheese.

 You play well by yourself. A lot of time, you climb upstairs by yourself and stay up there playing for a long time. You love to look at books and do puzzles. You also are always interested in Nathan's Thomas the Train track. You know the names of Thomas (Ta), Percy (issy), James, and even Gordon (Gor) He is blue like Thomas, but you know the difference. It took me awhile to learn who Gordon was. You and your brother's knowledge of trains astounds me.

We are already gearing up for the holidays around here. Your brother already asked to get the Christmas tree out. We read the Polar Express at least twice a week. You can say, "Polar Express" and "Hot chocolate." We can't wait to take you to ride it soon! You are also obsessed with Frosty the snowman right now. Anytime you see a picture of a snow man in a book,you go crazy and say "Frosty the Snowman" over and over. It's adorable!



Whenever you hear the doorbell ring, you break out into a huge grin and yell, "Grammy!" (Ga-ee).

You're starting to develop a taste in your clothes. When I take off your Cars jammies to get you dressed, you whine, saying "cars, cars" while trying to put them back on. You really love your Cars jammies, firetruck jammies, dinosaur jammies, and your monkey jammies. You're wearing 18-24month and 2T clothes and a size 5 diaper.

You're still not the best sleeper around. We're all just used to it now. I think you wish you could sleep in our bed every night. One evening Daddy and I were sitting in bed, and you climbed right up, pulled the covers over you, and said, "Night, night." Sorry Buddy, but you still have to sleep in your bed (at least for most of the night.). You do nap well everyday. I can count on you to consistently take a 1.5-2 hour nap in the afternoon.

You have to do whatever your brother is doing, which means you've gotten to do some bigger kid stuff earlier because he is doing it. You certainly love him even when he takes your toys away. You are still sweet with your sister. We're working on patting more gently when you're playing with her. You still bring her her bottle or pacifiers when you see them, and you shh yourself when I tell you to be quiet when she's napping.

We had a rough month with teething. You got three of your canine teeth this month (10/20-bottom right, 10/31-upper right, and 11/1-upper left). We're just waiting on one more to pop through and hopefully we'll be done with teething for a little while at least. I think that's some of the reason you've been sleeping poorly at night.

You love life, Samuel, and I love that about you. You fully experience and enjoy everything you do. You don't worry about the details, you simply have fun and make the most of things. It was fun celebrating Halloween and the pumpkin patch with you this month, because you just exude joy when you're doing new things. You soak everything in. We laughed because when you were trick or treating, your brother would search and carefully pick one piece from each bucket, and you would just reach in a grab a huge handful. It shows the differences in your personalities. I admire your love of life and your joyful temperament. You are a treasure in our family.

Hello World

 When I was pregnant with Nathan, I picked up a fun three pack of onesies at Target one day. I thought they would be sweet for my baby boy. I loved the baby blue color and the little sayings on them were cute: "just arrived," "hello world," 'charming." He ended up wearing them a lot as a baby. They just seemed to always be at the front of his clothing drawer, and I thought they were cute.

I started to get sentimental about them because they were associated with so many memories of him as a newborn, so the planner in me came out and I decided I wanted all my babies to wear those sweet onesies.

When Target put them on clearance, I snatched up a set of the pink ones in hopes that someday we'd have a little girl to wear them. I figured that I paid less than five dollars for them, so I wasn't out much, and if we ended up not having a girl, I could gift them to another family. I stuck them in a dresser drawer and forgot about them. Occasionally, I would see them and smile and say a prayer asking the Lord to bless us with a little girl.

When we had Samuel, it was fun for him to wear them too. We had a few more fun boy clothes when he came, so he didn't wear them as much as Nathan, but I still made sure he wore them often.

 After Samuel was born, when I would see the pink set, honestly I would get a little sad. I knew we only wanted one or at most two more kids, and our odds of having a baby girl to wear those pink onesies were shrinking. I worried and prepared myself that I would be okay not having a girl. Life with boys is so much fun, and my life would be full even without a daughter. I mostly forgot about them again. We moved and they got stuck in a box, and then moved back into the same dresser drawer.

When we found out we were having a baby girl in March, I was ecstatic and so thankful for the blessing of a daughter. I was overwhelmed with the thought of pink and purple and ruffles and bows, that I didn't remember those sweet onesies for several days.

I breathed a prayer of thanksgiving when I pulled them out, tore the tags off, and washed and folded them and put them away in Elisabeth's drawer. They've taken on special meaning to me.

They are a reminder of the answered prayer of a daughter, a reminder of the blessing of my three precious babies, and a reminder to treasure the moments when they are small (even the hard ones).

 I'm just so thankful for my beautiful children. They are each a unique and special gift. My heart bursts with love for each of them and for the precious family the Lord has given me.

Three Months Old

Elisabeth Kae,
You are three months old and as sweet as ever. We love having you in our family, and have had a great month with you. You are growing up and making life a little easier on all of us. There's a touch of sadness that the newborn stage is over, but there's a sigh of relief that comes with that too!

This month you are interacting so much more with us. You smile and coo and "talk" all the time. You're my third smiley baby, and I can never get enough of those huge open mouth grins. You smile almost anytime anyone looks at you or talks to you. You're the sweetest thing.

You tolerate your baths now. I wouldn't say you enjoy them, but you certainly don't hate them. And one of your third child problems is that you don't get them too often, twice a week (on a good week) usually.

I will say you are very ladylike in the bodily fluid department. I don't know how I got away with not having a spitter this time around. Your brothers were kings of spitting up, but you rarely do, and I'm so thankful. You've spit up maybe ten times in your entire life (Nathan would spit up that many times in one day sometimes). It's incredible how much easier that makes life. You wear the same outfit all day long and I've even forgotten to pack a burp cloth in your diaper bag before. You also aren't much of a pooper. You only poop about twice a week. That makes diaper changes much easier too.

You nurse 7-8 times per day. You eat about every 2.5 hours during the day with an occasional three hour stretch between feedings. At night, you are consistently having an 8-9 hour stretch between feedings which is awesome. You have your last feeding of the night around 9-9:30 and sleep until around 5:30 or so. You usually go right back to sleep after that feeding until 7:30 or 8:00. Even though we both usually go back to sleep after that early morning feeding, I count it as sleeping all night!

You get about 5-6oz of formula a day. You usually don't need anything after your morning feedings, but in the afternoon and evening, you get an extra ounce after you nurse, and I've started giving you two ounces at your last feeding of the night.

You're a good napper especially if I swaddle you for your naps. You nap after every feeding pretty much, with a longer nap after your morning feeding and in the afternoon when your brother naps. You even napped in your crib for your morning nap a few times this month. We're usually upstairs playing, so it's convenient for you to nap in your room.

You rolled over for the first time on October 29. You're kind of finicky with it. Sometimes you'll get so frustrated on your tummy and fuss and squirm and can't get over on your back, and then other times, the minute I lay you down, you plop right over. You're kicking and playing and reaching for toys when you're lying down playing now. It's fun to watch you.



You are a social little girl. You LOVE to watch your brothers and to be held facing out so you can observe everything and everyone around you. You take in everything around you and still love to be held and don't enjoy being left alone.

You are wearing 0-3 and 3 month clothes and a size 1 diaper. We don't go back to the doctor until your 4 month appointment, but based on our scale at home, you weigh about 11.5 lbs.

You still love the swing. You rarely cry if you're in it, and usually drift off to sleep shortly after I put you in it.

We put you in the church nursery for the first time shortly after you turned two months old. You do great in there, and everyone always comments on how cute and sweet you are. You're growing up quickly, Precious Girl.

  You like your pacifier and are getting much better about keeping it in your mouth without help. Lately, you've also found your fingers and suck on them all the time. You usually have 2-3 fingers that you suck on, whichever combination you can find at the time. I think you'd be a full time finger sucker, if you weren't still swaddled when you sleep. You don't seem to mind switching from your fingers to a paci. Sometimes I'll try and get you to take your pacifier, and you're smiling so much, you can't keep it in :).

And your Daddy thinks I'm a little crazy, but I'm having so much fun with you. It's fun to dress you up in darling outfits with all the fun accessories that come with having a little girl. It's so fun. Someday you won't let me pick out your clothes and dress you up, so I'm taking advantage of it now. You're beautiful no matter what you're wearing, but they sure make adorable baby girl clothes!

It's a joy to watch you grow and see your little personality start to develop. You have blessed our family in so many ways, Elisabeth.

Three and a Half

My Sweet Nathan,

You are officially halfway through being three, and inching closer to four every single day. You come up to me all the time and tell me new things you can do all by yourself. I grab you, pick you up and tell you that you're supposed to be my baby forever! You laugh and snuggle and then run off and continue doing whatever big kid thing you were in the middle of doing. You are turning into the sweetest boy. I'm just so, so thankful to be your Mommy. 

At three and a half, your imagination runs wild. You tell us about your dreams at night, make up new songs and stories, and play pretend all the time. We have circuses, concerts, and puppet shows almost every day. It's fun for me to get a glimpse of what goes on in your head through your imaginative play.

At three and a half, you love structure.  It's evident through your play (and why it bothers you so much when Samuel messes up what you're playing with). You like to have everything set up a certain way when you play. You ask everyday what our plans are for that day and you like to have a routine for everything.

At three and a half, your favorite colors are orange and red.

At three and a half, you are thriving in school. You talk about it all the time and absolutely LOVE it. You sing songs you've learned, talk about your friends, and what you eat for snack. Sometimes I ask you if you wish you could go more than one day a week, you'll say yes, until I ask if you would rather stay home with Mommy. That always wins out.

At three and half, to go to sleep you have to have your doggie, your animal blanket, and a cup of water, and the lamp has to be on.

At three and a half, you are social. Every once in a great while, I will catch a little shyness come out, but it is rare. You've hopped right up on a stage and sang a solo with no fear at all. You have never met a person that you don't consider a friend. You always want to have people over to our house to play. You invite yourself into groups when we are at the park or the playground at the mall without missing a beat. You have no fear of rejection. My heart breaks a little already for the first time you will experience it. But what I love about you is that it's like you don't have any idea what exclusion is. You would never turn anyone away from anything. You would invite them in, help them, play with them, and be kind to them. Oh how I hope you never ever lose that trait.

At three and a half, you love your siblings. You are an incredible big brother. Of course there is arguing and struggles with sharing, but you love your brother and sister fiercely. You are gentle, kind, and loving toward your Baby Sister. You soothe her when she's upset, play with her when she's bored, and tell her everything she would ever need to know. She lights up when she sees you, and you in return. You and Samuel fight over toys, but yet you miss him constantly during nap time and always ask when you can play with him. You laugh and dance together. You love it when he learns something new and try and teach him to do things all the time. He's your best friend, and he adores you.

At three and a half, you want to be a train driver, a firefighter, and a garbage truck driver when you grow up.

At three and a half, you started sleeping upstairs in your room again. After five months of refusing to sleep upstairs (and sleeping in the guest bedroom downstairs), something in your brain clicked and you sleep in your big boy bed every night. All it took was letting you have a flashlight to keep the monster in your bad dream away, and it's like your sleeping arrangement was never an issue.

At three and a half, your memory still astounds me. You remember small details from a year ago. And the crazy thing to me is not that you can remember things a year out, but that you were only two and a half last year, and you can remember tiny details from that age. I've never had a three year old before, so maybe it's normal, but I seriously think your memory is better than mine.

At three and a half, you are a Mommy's boy. Other than horsey rides, you prefer me over your daddy. You want me to help you get dressed, give you a bath, tuck you in, even buckle your car seat. I'm not sure what it is, but I love the reminder that I'm the most important person in your life right now. I know I won't always be, so I'm treasuring the years that I am.

At three and a half, you are getting too close to starting Kindergarten. I know we still have a year and a half, but I'm already getting sad about it. I've been reminding myself to treasure these moments that I have at home with you. When we have a day where we stay home all day playing in our jammies, I want to soak it all in, because I'm realizing that before I know it this season with you will be over. Once you start Kindergarten our whole routine and schedule will be different, and you'll be in school for the rest of your time at home with us. I could cry just thinking about it. I LOVE the blessing of staying home with you and Samuel and Elisabeth and spending every day with you during these little years, and I want to make the most of the next year and a half.

At three and a half, you say the funniest things. Here are a few I want to remember:

 Lately, when you cry, you say, "Mommy, I have water in my eyes. Make it stop."

You mispronounces energy and it sounds like injury. You'll say, "I think Elisabeth stayed awake in the car because she has a lot of injury," or "I don't need to take a nap. I have a lot of injury."

Nathan: Daddy, Sammy, and Elisabeth drink milk.
Me: You don't drink milk
Nathan: No, I just drink milkshakes

Nathan: Daddy, I want to take my shirt off all by myself
Matt: Okay
Nathan: Help me get it over my head.


Talking to Elisabeth:
Elisabeth, I'm your big brother. Sammy and me are your big brothers. You have two big brothers. We always take care of you. We love you so much. That's why we wake you up sometimes, because we love you and always want to play with you.

The other day you also said that you were Elisabeth and Sarah's big brother and you would always take care of them.

We saw a woman wearing a head covering when we were at Walgreens one day. You said, "Look Mommy, I see Mary. That's Mary, Mommy!"

When you get hurt, you come running to me, and say, "Mommy, I hurt my _____. I want it to feel better RIGHT NOW!"

At three and a half, you have overcome your fear of the vacuum, haircuts, and toys that make loud noises.

At three and a half, you don't take naps. You play by yourself or watch TV while your brother and sister nap.

At three and a half, you never want to be alone. You always want to be close to others. You'll play by yourself as long as I'm close by watching you.

At three and a half, when you pick out your clothes, you always choose "soft pants" and a Thomas the Train shirt, and you are so picky about shoes. You always say they are too tight.

At three and a half, you are learning about Jesus. You memorize verses every week at Cubbies, and your understanding is growing. I'm praying for the day when you recognize and understand your sin and your Savior and commit your life to Him.

At three and a half, you get so excited about everything. The anticipation of holidays or fun events about kills you. You talk about them nonstop and ask every day how many days until the next holiday/birthday/Friday night.

At three and a half, you like to watch TV, but can't come close to sitting still to watch a movie. You basically just like the TV on in the background while you're playing or eating.

 

At three and a half, you bring so much joy to everyone around you. Your Mommy and Daddy love you more than we ever thought we could. Thanks for being the best kid around! Now stop growing so fast!

Halloween 2014

We had a really fun Halloween! The boys had lots of fun opportunities to get candy this year. Along with the carnival at Forest Ridge, they also got to go to a Trunk or Treat at Grammy and Papa Joe's church, and Nathan got to wear his costume to Cubbies. He wanted to be a monster at Cubbies. I'm glad we got some good wear out of his Sully costume. We took Samuel and Elisabeth up to the church so they could join in the fun too.

My mom found Samuel this fun dinosaur costume. He loves wearing it, and he has the cutest dinosaur roar!

A funny story while we were waiting for the Trunk or Treat to start was Samuel seeing a little girl wearing an Elsa costume (one of about 20 we saw). He saw her and starting singing, "Go! Go!". Both my boys are obsessed with that movie. I wonder how crazy Elisabeth will be about it in three years! I think we have pretty good odds of an Elsa Halloween costume at some point in our future :).

My parents and Scott and Debbie participated in the Trunk or Treat. They went all out too!

The boys had so much fun going to each car and getting candy.

So many of the cars were decorated so cute. They even got to fish at a couple of them.

And the slide was a big hit!

Little Minnie Mouse slept through the whole thing.

Samuel didn't recognize my mom because of her costume. That's why he seems a little nervous in this picture. He thought some stranger was holding him :).

On Halloween, we hosted a little playgroup for some church friends. Nathan wanted to be a monster for the party. He wore it for about 10 minutes before he took it off. I guess it was getting in the way of him playing.

We had a fun time with our friends. It was crazy with so many Little Ones, but my boys had a blast, and I did too!

He pulled out his Ninja Turtle costume long enough to show Sarah :).

Emma's little brother dressed up as Olaf, and Nathan was so excited and telling everyone that the people from Frozen came to his Halloween party. I wish I would have gotten more pictures of all the kiddos, but we were too busy having fun!

Friday night after dinner, we got the boys ready and headed out for some Trick or Treating.

They had the best time. Once Samuel figured out that we didn't actually go into the houses when we Trick or Treated, he loved it. He even said, "Trick or Treat" in the cutest baby voice. They both had so much fun ringing door bells and eating candy and seeing everyone dressed up in costumes. I really think Samuel thought it was the best thing in the world!

We went to a few house on our street, and then headed over to our old neighborhood to see a few neighbors. We had hoped to visit the owners of our old house, but they turned their light off as we were walking through the neighborhood. The boys didn't care. We ended our Trick or Treating fun at my parents' house. My mom had to completely take her costume off for Samuel to recognize her.

We had such a fun Halloween! Nathan is already talking about next year!