Halloween 2013

This Halloween LeAnne dressed up as a Peacock, Christian was Superman and at the last minute John put on his new Army Jacket and helmet (too cute) then we headed down to Main street to trick or treat at the shops. It was a beautiful fall day and I couldn't have been happier walking the streets of our little town with my family.  We ran into my niece and trick or treated with LeAnne's boy cousins which was a lot of fun.  Christian was quite content to look around and then fell asleep.  Later than night John and LeAnne carved a pumpkin, trick or treated at some neighborhood houses and LeAnne enjoyed passing out candy.

LeAnne's birthday weekend we went to Klickers while Jakobi was here and got pumpkins. The kids had a lot of fun. Christian slept in the car. :-)

Earlier in the month I took the kids to the Dayton on tour festival in town.  LeAnne enjoyed doing crafts, throwing bean bags , finding pennies in the straw and trying to get an apple off a string.

Carving Pumpkin

School Carnival

Flying at School Carnival

Klicker's getting pumpkin on birthday weekend With Jackobi

Christian 6 month Pix

I am getting so behind on blogging its just not funny! Having two kids is really twice the work and when I get time to be on my computer its usually brief and I certainly  have much time to think about writing. I need to get better though and at least blog a few of Christian's milestones each month so I have them written down to scrap book later.


Christian's six month well check went awesome! He is a healthy boy, weighs 16 pounds 12 ounces, his front two teeth should be popping through anytime.  Poor boy had to get 4 shots today and has a diaper rash, yeast so he got medication and I will be stripping all my diapers to get the yeast off of them. Thinking I may need to get some fitted/hybrid diapers that breath easier and look into some new night time solutions because he is such a heavy wetter. The only thing about cloth diapering that drives me nuts is the learning curve and constantly trying to figure out what little man needs.  He is getting the hang of commando crawling, eating a lot more baby food,and he is starting to sit up with help.

Operation Christian sleeping in his crib is a SUCCESS!!

Christian has been taking 95% of his naps in his crib and sleeping all night in his crib for almost a week! Yahooooooooooooooo!!!!! Once this mama stayed diligent Christian made the transition with little problem. The first night I was sure he would be up on and off all night long so I prepared myself to be awake and watched two movies I have been wanting to see on Netflix (Safe Haven and OctoberBaby).  He woke up a few times during the first movie but then he slept while his silly mama watched yet another movie.  The movies were awesome, he slept amazing and I was one exhausted mama the next day getting 3 hours of solid sleep.  LOL!! He wakes up once in a while but goes right back to sleep once I give him his pacifier.  I am pretty sure the transition has been a bigger deal for me than him but isn't that true of so many of the transitions our kids make in life.  My heart skipped a beat when I went to check on him and he was sleeping on his stomach.  I turned him over to give him his pacifier.  I've since calmed myself down, he's a strong boy and if he wants to be a tummy sleeper he will be a tummy sleeper. Sleeping upstairs in our bed again after 5 months of sleeping in my recliner has been an adjustment.  Our King size bed is so cozy but my back has grown accustom to the recliner. Downstairs in the recliner  was placed strategically to  be able to protect both my kids. Upstairs I am closer to Christian but still not close. I am working on knowing they're always protected by God, our alarm system will warn me of any intruders and I am pretty confident if it came to it I would dig deep, open up a can of whoop ass and figure out how to protect both of my kids because that is what a mama bear does!  Tonight I will try to remember to use my quiet camera to get a picture of him sleeping in his crib. Thanks for joining me on our journey and celebrating one of many milestones in Christian's life! :-)

Time is FLYING - Christian is 5 months today

It's so hard to believe that Christian is already 5 months old today. Going from one child to two has been quite the adjustment. Definitely twice the work and a lot less down time. This summer was brutal because when Christian was sleeping I was spending time with LeAnne and getting cleaning done. Now that LeAnne has gone back to school the days are a little more mellow, I am able to get more done, and relax while he naps. I am blessed to have an awesome husband who is the best partner in parenting I could have ever asked for.  We compliment each other very well and take turns with the kids while looking out for each others needs.  I am blessed!

The newness of having a little brother has definitely worn off with LeAnne. She is still awesome with him but the other day she said "Mom, he is fine, he is not crying, he doesn't need you, I NEED YOU!" Every other week (John's weekend's off) as long as she has had a great behavior/responsibility week once of us will take her to do something fun.  Last week her and I had a girls movie night. It was a lot of fun!  She is settling into her new school. It was fun to see a friend call to her as she walked into school and she ran over to him.  Her teachers are still working on making sure she is challenged academically and I work with her extra at home as well.  I felt terrible after taking LeAnne to the doctor.  She has been complaining that her backs hurts and I've doubted she has been telling the truth.  Figured she hears John say it all the time and it was a way to get attention.  The Dr. says she had a knot in some muscles in her back and we should apply heat and massage it.  It has since improved a lot.  We got her birthday presents in the mail yesterday and I so can't wait until her birthday. I can't believe my baby girl will be 6.  WOW!

Yesterday I started Operation teach Christian how to sleep in his crib. Up until now he has taken all naps and slept at night in his swing. He is starting to out grown his swing and this mama wants to sleep in her own bed. I've been sleeping in my recliner most nights.  He took two naps yesterday and one nap today in his crib.  He wakes up some but its not bad.  I just give him his pacifier and he goes back to sleep.

He is such a strong and active little boy.  He in loves playing on the floor.  He is rolling over from his back to his tummy in both directions and sometime he will roll from his tummy to his back.  He is starting to scoot all over the blanket.  He hold his head up very well.  He loves to play with toys.  We raised him up a little in the exersaucer and he has begun to bounce more and turn himself around to see different toys.  All in all he is a very content baby boy!  I love to hear him laugh out loud and cherish our little chats. This month we have been giving him cereal mixed with apple juice and various fruits and veggies. He has had squash, pears, peaches, and peas.  I would say he likes the cereal mixed with apple juice the best.  He sure is a lot bigger than his sister.  He is now starting to wear 6-9 month clothes.  We are still successfully cloth diapering and love it! I have some custom diapers on order that I can't wait to get.

I am beginning to get more comfortable being a stay at home mom/house wife.  It's something I have wanted to do for as long as I can remember and I am surprised at the adjustment it has been.  At first I was really uncomfortable, put a lot of pressure on myself to be working at all times, it took a bit to figure out my new role.  I am still working on a house cleaning routine, it's getting easier as Christian gets older, I am managing my time a little bit better and have realized I need to let myself have some down time because this job/role is 24/7, 365 days a year and if all I do is work, work, work I will go insane or collapse of exhaustion.  One thing I must do if incorporate a time to exercise into my daily routine.  I also find myself craving adult conversation and time with my husband and friends.  I have faith it will all come together in time.  It is a huge blessing to be home with Christian and here for LeAnne before and after school.  I love my family so much!  I pray God will help me be the best wife and mother I can be!!

Christian's 4 month Well check

Christian had his 4 month well check with Dr. Wren on August 22nd, 2013.  Our chunky monkey weighs 14 pounds 13 ounces, is 25 inches long and his head is 41.5 cm around.  Dr. Wren says he is one healthy baby boy. Christian was so happy during his whole appointment until he had to get 3 shots. He recovered quickly but was a bit sleepy the whole day so I spent some time cuddling with him.  Dr. Wren said we could start him on solids and suggested starting with yellow/orange veggies, then some fruits and then the green veggies. Yeah I get to start making him baby food!

On August 23rd I made him some Yams.  I baked then pureed the yams.   Then I scooped the puree into an ice cube tray and put it in the freezer.  Once they were frozen solid into individual ice cubes I put them into a zip lock freezer bag with and labeled. That night I gave him rice cereal for the first time.  I am not sure how much he actually ate but he was loving the spoon.  Then the next morning I gave him some yams for the first time.  I quickly found out that I had not made the puree thin enough and their were chunks. Next time I need to cook the yam longer and add more water to the puree.  He wasn't sure what to think of yams.  He kept trying them but wasn't sure he liked them.  The next day I made Spaghetti squash and that pureed up a lot nicer.  I will give them to him next week.

His 4 month photo shoot was interesting. LeAnne picked out his outfit. Started out with him not wanting to sit up straight in his boppy then he puked on his shoulder. I was able to clean that up but then he spit up ALL over the front of his shirt so off came the shirt and onto the floor we went to take photos.  It's all about improvising and capturing real life moments.

Cuddle Butts Toy story diaper

On August 20th after working really hard for a few weeks Christian rolled over from his back to his stomach for the first time! Once he did it that one time there was no turning back, I lay him on the ground and he almost immediately turns himself over onto his stomach. He is getting so strong!!

Christian went on his first vacation this month too. I was quite nervous about how it would go but he was a champ the whole time.  We were gone a whole week and once again packed way too much into one week. Next year Daddy plans vacation.  Our first stop was Salem, Oregon to Grammy and Grammpy's house.  He got to meet his sister Amanda for the first time.  Then we were off to Ocean Shores, WA. He slept like a trooper the whole trip in his travel swing .  Next week headed to Great Wolf Lodge (water park & more) and then onto my brother's house for a few days.  He adapted very well to being in different places,and having different people hold him. There were only a few times when he had enough of being in the car that he let us know.

This month he has become a lot more interactive by smiling, tracking us and objects, reaching for and holding toys, putting toys into his mouth and laughing.  We go through a TON of bibs and burp clothes daily! I do a load of his laundry every other day just so we have enough bibs and burp cloths.  He spits up a ton after eating. It's nasty!  Dr. Wren had us keep him in the generic Zantac until he is 6 months and said as he eats more solids he will spit up less.

Tonight we are going to LeAnne's school open house.  We are looking forward to meeting her teacher and exploring the school.  I am praying that her transition to her new school is successful. School starts August 27th. OMGosh that is tomorrow! Okay I just had a mama freak out moment!  I am praying that she will be challenged academically and have time to mature emotionally/socially.  It's time to start planning her 6th birthday party.  I believe she wants a Hello Kitty birthday party at Jumpin Jellybeans.

I have visions of having time at least once a week to blog and I would love to get my scrap room cleaned up so I could actually start getting my books caught up. I also want to start walking daily during the fall and work out on the Wii this winter.  Will any of that happen?  I hope to make a valiant attempt.

Summer picture of LeAnne takes me back a few summers ago...

When LeAnne was having these pictures taken with the watermelon it made me think of the time Uncle Stan gave her a huge piece of watermelon when she was younger. It was August 2009, I had just given her a bath at grandma Marcia's during a family gathering and Uncle Stan thought for sure LeAnne needed a huge piece of watermelon.  So much for the bath. Watching her enjoy her watermelon was worth the sticky mess afterwards.

LeAnne Lost Her First Tooth and other happenings of the summer for our girl

On the evening of July 26th LeAnne came to  me and said her mouth was hurting. I told her it could be a tooth getting ready to get loose and gave her an ice pack to suck on.  The next morning sure enough she had a loose tooth on the bottom in front.  She was so excited she had to call EVERYONE and tell EVERYONE she knew and complete strangers that she had her very first loose tooth.  Well the novelty wore off that afternoon because she was in pain.  Then she began to panic because it hurt and she didn't like having a loose tooth anymore.  I gave her some Children's Aspirin, had her keep eyes then heat on her face and relax in front of a movie.  That worked for a while then she started crying again and almost in a panic because she didn't think it would ever come out and she would always be in pain.  Oh my!  I called my mama and she brought over some medicine to numb the area.  That evening was quite comical because she was crying and Christian was crying at one point. John was getting ready for his night shift and I was pulling my hair out.  I had just finished giving her more Aspirin when she pulled out her tooth.  OMGosh she was so excited!  She didn't even freak out about the blood which surprised me.  Then she says "look at my new smile mom". Oh how cute it that!! Then we had to call everyone to tell them she had lost her first tooth.  We put her tooth in an envelope and put it next to her.  That night the tooth fairy came, left her a cute note and a $2 bill.  :-)  

See how loose it is

LeAnne's New smile

Our girl is doing amazing with her swimming lessons this summer!  It's night and day compared to last year. She isn't afraid anymore, is so much stronger of a swimmer and is having a blast.  She dunking all the way under to do bobs, doing front/back floats almost on her own, her kicks are improving a lot and she can swim with a noodle by herself!  She looks forward to swimming lessons everyday!!

LeAnne set a goal the beginning of the summer to read 100 books and she made her goal!  She was a reading machine when summer first started.  She was a ravenous reader. She read anywhere from 2-5 books a day and dove into her first chapter books.  Towards the end she lost a little momentum and didn't want to read.  I really wanted her to make her goal so I encouraged her daily to read at least two books and she met her goal! One of the ways I encouraged her to read was by having her read to her little brother. He loves listening to her read.  She is great to show him the pictures and tell him about the book. I told her she is helping brother to learn about things which is so important.  Daddy and I are so proud of her!  I hope she always loves to read!!  

Reading to Christian

Just finished reading her 100th book of the summer