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Friday, September 27, 2013

8 months and 23 months

Time is flying in my house.

Gavin is 8 months old and it's amazing to me how different he is than Emily was at 8 months.



Emily was starting to "talk" saying 'mama' and 'up' and Gavin hasn't started this yet. He does shriek and squawk quite a bit when he's happy or mad and his little noises are the best sound.

In the physical aspect, Gavin is ahead of Emily at 8 months.  He started crawling on September 16th (7 months) and Emily didn't scoot or crawl until 9 months.  He is all boy, getting into anything and everything he can reach.  He throws balls, tries to stand up by pulling on furniture and is always banging two toys together to hear the noises they make.



His favorite thing is Emily.  That boy loves his sister.  He tries to crawl after her everywhere she goes and if she's playing with something he wants to be right at her side playing too.  Emily is slowly learning patience with him and some days are better than others in this department. 



His sleep is all over the place.   Some days he naps like a champ and then a couple days later he's fighting naps like they are the worst thing that ever happened to him.  Some nights he wakes up 3 or 4 times and other nights he only wakes up once.  We can't figure this out to save our lives.  Just the other day, after Steve had gotten up with him 3 times in one night, we talked about doing CIO.  Then the next night he slept from 7-4:30am.  What's the deal buddy?

Gavin is the happiest baby.  Steve joked last night that our toddler cries more than our baby, and it's true.  He only gets upset when he's hungry, tired, or if you take a toy away from him.  There have been a couple of times I have taken him to the doctor for a cough and we leave finding out he had a double ear infection and he wasn't even fussy.



He is loving baby food and eats a pouch for breakfast, lunch and dinner.  He even tried Cheerios at daycare and gets really excited when it's time to eat (shocker I know). 

He is tipping the scales at 22 pounds and he's tall like his sister. I feel blessed every day that he has come so far and is growing and healthy after the start he had.



~~~~~~

Emily is 23 months and holy crap that means she's almost 2.



She is repeating everything we say and she still has her awesome sense of humor.  She has had some pretty up and down days in the past month, sometimes she is so happy and agreeable and the next minute she's screaming and crying for who knows what reason.  The life of a toddler I guess.

She is very active; climbing, learning to jump (hilarious), running and always wanting to be outside.  She doesn't stand still for pictures anymore so I have a camera full of blurry shots or the back of her head. 



She still eats really well except she doesn't like some foods that one would think a toddler would love like- mac & cheese (or any noodle), PB&J, or pizza.  Her favorites are fruit and veggies, chicken with ranch, and yogurt.

She STILL will not regularly drink her milk out of a sippy cup, but I'm working on it.  She might go to college and drink her beer out a Dr. Brown's bottle....


Emily loves going to "school" and having books read to her.  She will say part of the alphabet and count to ten but she is kind of shy about talking.  If she isn't sure about a word she whispers it and waits for a good reaction.  There are times that she "talks and talks" and we have no idea what she's saying- but is sure sounds like a good story!



Our days and nights are busy and sometimes blur into one another, but we wouldn't have it any other way!

Tuesday, September 17, 2013

We survived our trip to Iowa/Illinois!

{I might never drive again}

We had grand plans to drive through the night.... but the kids had other plans.  We left at 10:00pm, Gavin was passed out and was transferred into his car seat without a problem.  Emily, was wide awake when I picked her up out of her crib and would not fall back asleep in the car.  We finally stopped to get a hotel room at around 1:00am.  Except Emily didn't like this particular hotel (I don't blame her, it was creepy) so we got our money back and left.  We drove for a couple more hours and at that point, Emily was crying and had woken Gavin up so we tried another hotel.  This one was much better and we got E to sleep at about 4am.




The second half of the trip wasn't the best, but what can expect with two little ones in a car for that long?

The actual visit with my family was fantastic! 

Emily had a blast playing with her cousins....



throwing an airplane off the deck was the best time!


they got lots of loving from their Aunts and Uncles....

too many kisses!

Aunt Niki

Aunt Julie

Aunt Kelsey
 
Uncle Randl


and their Grandparents

Grandma Regina

Grandpa Mark


and even great grandpa!

Great Grandpa Joe


We went to an apple orchard and had a hay rack ride




My brother Randl and sister Julie had everyone over for a bonfire and cookout and we had such a good time. 





We celebrated all of the September birthdays

Happy birthday Hannah, Kelsey, Steve, Niki, and John!!


I even got to sneak away with my sisters for a pedicure!



The trip home was much like the trip there and we were all happy to be home last night.  G was so happy to be home that he started crawling!!

 
We are in trouble now!

Monday, September 9, 2013

On the road

We are heading to Illinois to see my family this week (like in 2 days!!!) and we're driving.  I'm hoping and praying/begging for a good travel experience.  This will be Gavin's first long trip, Emily has done the drive twice and it didn't go so well either time.  So this time, we are driving through the night and by 'we' I mean Steve is driving and I will hopefully be sleeping in the back with the babies. 

Only problem, I have a history of getting car sick if I try to sleep in the car or sit in the back seat of a car.  Note: I will be trying to sleep in the back of the car on this trip so I can be awake with the kids when we get to Illinois.  Please pray for no barfing, that the babies sleep the whole 10+ hour trip, and of course that Steve stays awake.

And just in case they don't sleep, Emily got an early birthday present from Grandma & Grandpa to make the trip a little easier (on all of us) hello iPad, meet Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. 

yes, that's a potty in the background


I also have snacks ready to go.  And that's about the extent of my arsenal- Mickey Mouse and snacks.  I need a few more tricks up my sleeve...

I can't wait to see my family and introduce Gavin to his great-grandpa Joe, before he is no longer a baby and running all over the place. 

he doesn't care that he's only 7 months old

We have so many fun things planned and I know we are all going to love it!  But can someone please figure out a way to just transport us there à la Harry Potter?

Friday, September 6, 2013

on going back to work

I've been working part-time at the family business for about a month now. I decided to get back to work after my post-partum depression and anxiety were starting to settle down.  It had occurred to me that all of my thoughts/energy were concentrated on the kids 100% of the time.  I was at home with one or both of the kids most of the time.  The kids were all I had to worry about - all.the.time.  And it was one of the reasons I was anxious.  I have high expectations, I'm type A, none of this is a secret.  So when I didn't have something to distract me from the anxiety that is motherhood, it had a negative effect on my sanity mental health. 

{Now let me say, this is just my situation.  I'm not implying that all stay at home mom's feel like this or have the same kind of problem I had.} 

So when I told Steve I might want to go back to work again, he suggested working at the family business.  (Have I mentioned that I am lucky enough to have a husband and in-laws that are supportive and willing to help in any way they can?) This work situation is perfect for so many reasons.  It's flexible,  it's low stress, and the bosses are pretty awesome.

At first, it was like- hold on, my brain is not used to thinking about something other than the kids.  I missed them so much that first week- even though I only worked two days. I still miss them when I'm at work, but each week has gotten easier and I am really enjoying my time away from home.  I'm learning something totally new and it's interesting work. 

I do get a little bummed that I'm not there to watch all the cool stuff they're doing. And squeezing things into the short time between the end of work and bedtime is difficult- it's like I blink an eye and it's time for them to go to bed.  But, all in all, it has been great for me.  And it's good for Emily & Gavin to socialize with other kids and learn to be away from me a little bit.  Emily loves school so much, she's making friends and she's learning a TON. And G-buddy is happy no matter where he is and he sleeps better at night when he goes to school so win, win.  We've got a good balance going here and I'm happy about that.


Passed out on the changing table at 6pm. School is hard work!



I love school!!