Happy 10 Months Luke!

Happy 10 Months Luke!

These past couple of months have flown by! You have become so "grown up" for a baby . . . the days of sleepless nights and constant feedings seem like so long ago.
You had your first Caskey peach this month, and you loved it! You gnawed on the peach all the way down to the pit. You ended up eating 5 peaches in all at your first Farmer's Market. Have I ever mentioned that you love to eat? ;) You continue to be a big eater - eating just about everything. You have gotten a little more picky in that you don't love your cheerios quite as much now that you've had lots of other foods. I think that yogurt is your favorite food - you get SO excited when you see it!
You are extremely mobile now, crawling everywhere! And you can crawl fast when you want to get somewhere, particularly if you want to chase after Reeses. I need to do some serious re-babyproofing around the house so you can explore more (I've gotten a little lax with things since Ella and Troy have gotten older). You've also started pulling up in the past week or so. I finally had to lower your crib down.
You love to play with toys, and you continue to love to chew on tags, especially of your swaddling blankets. You also really like to look at books. You'll point and "talk" as you look through the pages. You also continue to be very vocal, "yelling" to get our attention or when you are excited about something.

You continue to like to play with Ella and Troy, and I think they like playing with you more and more as you are getting older. They (especially Ella!), are so excited when they see you do something "new." Ella will excitedly tell us what she saw you do and then tell us you've never done it before. :)
Luke @ 9 months
Troy @ 10 months
I didn’t start writing these monthly posts for Ella until she was 17 months old, but I do have this photo of Ella with her 10 month sign :)

Happy 8 Months Luke!

I’m a little late, but happy 8 months Luke! You turned 8 months old during Focal Point, but things were too crazy (in a good way!) to sit down to write this post.

Over the past few months you have definitely transitioned into a much happier baby. People are constantly commenting on how happy you always seem (granted, they aren’t around you all the time! : ) ). Everyone always loves to stop to talk to you – you usually love to talk and smile back at them.

Though you haven’t started full-on crawling, you “inchworm” around and are pretty good at getting wherever you want to go. We had to officially get rid of the bumbo this month: you became quite good at bending yourself out of the bumbo. You are still a little unsteady when it comes to sitting by yourself, though you can do it.

You LOVE to eat. Ella and Troy were good eaters from the beginning, but I think you trump both of them. You have eaten everything I’ve given you (and a lot of it!). You do a really good job picking up food and getting it in your mouth by yourself as well.  You’ve learned to sign “more” this month, and you have definitely associated it with food. One morning when I got you up in the morning you were quickly signing “more” over and over again. I think you were hungry and ready for breakfast!

You have a mouth full of teeth! When you turned eight months, you had four teeth on top, and three on bottom (another has poked through on the bottom since you turned eight months). You love to chew, especially on your swaddle blanket tags.

You are still doing a good job sleeping at night as well as during naptime. I was quite nervous about you and Troy sharing a room, but y’all have really done well together. Troy does an amazing job staying quiet so you can go to sleep. If I have to come get you to feed you or change you while Troy is trying to go to sleep he’ll very sweetly tell me that I need to bring you back.

I continue to love watching your interaction with Ella and Troy. Y’all are quite the trio!

Luke @ 7 months

Troy @ 8 months

(I didn’t start writing these monthly posts for Ella until she was 17 months old)

Happy 1 Month Luke!

I always find the one month mark sobering. For me, at least, it feels like it takes each month of pregnancy forever to pass, and then after you have your baby in the world, the first month flies by.

You are a precious little boy! You are strong like your siblings were at this age, holding your head up well and bearing weight on your legs. You are also extremely wiggly, just like you were in the womb. You kicked and moved around so much more than your siblings in the womb! It seems like everyone who holds you comments on how wiggly you are.

You are a content baby, really only fussing if you need something. You are quickly settled when we swaddle you up and turn on some white noise.

Your siblings already love you, and they are great with you. Ella will let you hold her finger and then she tells me that she taught you to hold her hand. Ella and Troy are both greatly concerned about you, and love to help out where they can. Troy is always bringing your pacifier to me to make sure you have it (though you aren’t attached to your pacifier yet). I look forward to watching your relationship grow with your siblings.

 

For more newborn pictures, check out my photography website.

Troy @ one month (I didn’t start writing these monthly posts for Ella until she was 17 months old)

Ella’s Fourth Birthday Interview

Last year I started a new birthday tradition for Ella (and I’ll start it with Troy when he turns 3) with this birthday interview. It is hard to believe that Ella is four, although, her uncooperative spirit during the questioning reminds me of how “old” she really is getting : ). She wanted to answer questions, just not the way we expected her to answer them. 

Here are Ella’s answers (in bold)!

1. What is your favorite color? Blue, I mean purple. Purple and blue.
2. What is your favorite toy? Ball
3. What is your favorite fruit? Peaches
4. What is your favorite TV show? Barney
5. What is your favorite thing to eat for lunch? Chicken nuggets and cheese
6. What is your favorite outfit? Dress
7. What is your favorite game? a game on my ipad (her innotab that she calls an ipad)
8. What is your favorite snack? Goldfish
9. What is your favorite animal? The both monkeys; the two sock monkeys  (she has several sock monkeys, but two current favorites)
10. What is your favorite song? Jesus Loves Me
11. What is your favorite book? Clifford Book
12. Who is your best friend? Karsyn
13. What is your favorite cereal? The one with the smarshmallows
14. What is your favorite thing to do outside? Swing and slide
15. What is your favorite drink? Apple juice
16. What is your favorite holiday? Easter
17. What do you like to take to bed with you at night? The Both monkeys
18. What is your favorite thing to eat for breakfast? Nutrigrain bar
19. What is your favorite thing for dinner? Chicken strips, mac and cheese, and couscous
20. What do you want to be when you grow up? A Christian
21. What is your favorite movie? The new panda (Kung Fu Panda 2)
22. Who is your favorite Disney princess? Ariel
23. Where is your favorite place to go? the zoo
24. What is your favorite Bible story? Jesus
25. What is your favorite Old Testament story? Moses
26. What is your favorite memory verse? “But be doers of the Word and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.” James 1:22 (I still laugh when I think about her when she first learned this verse. She would say “not eaters only” instead of “not hearers only.”) 
27. What is your favorite letter? E

Happy 2nd Birthday Troy!

Happy Birthday Troy!

It is amazing how grown-up you seem these days. I recently took you to out to take pictures for your two year old birthday, and I couldn’t believe the difference in how well you listened and followed my instructions during the photo shoot as compared to your 18 month photos. Six months make a big difference at this age!

You love to color, and often ask to color. You are starting to learn some of your letters, and you can identify “A” and “T” and sometimes “B.” You also know a lot of the sounds the letters make because you and Ella love to watch these videos from KidsTV123. You love to sing “A is for apple, a a apple!” You even frequently ask for “abcs” or “cat” (cat is for the letter “c” in the video).

You really like Mickey Mouse (aka “couse”) as well as Woody. You like to sleep with your Mickey Mouse and Woody and always ask for them before you go to sleep. You also really enjoy actually playing with your toys. You make your animals walk around and make animal noises. You drive your cars around. Although these things seem simple, these were things Ella never really did with her toys – she just didn’t (and still doesn’t for the most part) play with her toys like that.

You have a big personality. Although that big personality sometimes manifests itself as frustration, it also shows through your big smiles and laughs, as well as a sweet shyness at times. You love to make yourself laugh as well as others around you, In fact, you feed off of people laughing at you.

You love singing, and actually have a pretty good feel for the tunes of songs. You can almost sing the entire song of “Jesus Loves Me” (just missing a few words), as well as “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.” You also chime in on many other songs and also do the hand motions. Speaking of “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star,” one your favorite things to do is to run around the room with Ella right before bed singing “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star” and the “ABCs.”

You went to your first two year old Bible class this past month. You’ve been a bit unsure about it (upset when we drop you off), but you have been generally OK once you are actually engaged in class. I think it was mostly a few things coming together at once to make your first experience a little scary to you, and I think you are really going to love being in the older class.  With our help you’ve also started saying prayers. There’s also been a time when you said one by yourself in a slew of fast speech: “God, thank you Ella mama daddy Amen!”

Your speech continues to impress me. You speak in more and more sentences all the time. You also speak SO fast and with a lot of inflection. We often joke you are speaking in a foreign language!

(Side note: I saw the idea for the above photo on Pinterest)

Signs you do: more, finished, milk, hungry, thank you, please, thirsty, sleepy, bath

Words you say: No way I can even count or name them! You say so many things!

Animal noises you make: chicken, duck, cow, dog, horse, frog, pig, cat

Body parts you identify: nose, eyes, mouth, ears, hair, head, hands, belly, shoulders, teeth, tongue (you love to point out your teeth and belly)

Favorite foods:  Generally your favorites are yogurt, cheese, peaches, beans, chicken, and crackers. You also LOVE to dip.

Favorite activities: walking, running, and tip-toeing to explore everything, especially following Ella or chasing a dog; mimicking Ella; reading books; watching Mickey Mouse or Finding Nemo or Cars or How to Train Your Dragon; playing with balls (you love to throw any kind of ball); playing outside; playing with toys, especially talking on the phone or putting things over your head or playing with the kitchen stuff; trying get any electronics or drinks you can spot.

Troy @ 23 months

Ella @ 24 months

Happy 23 Months Troy!

Wow, one month. One month and you’ll be two! Where has the time gone? In some ways you still remind me of my little baby boy, but mostly you show me just how big you really are.

You love to dip your food these days. Most meals we sit down to eat you immediately ask for dip: “Dip! Dip!” You’ve gotten a lot better at using utensils this month, and have continued to show your favoritism for your left hand. You also love watermelon.

We’ve had a cricket infestation around our area this summer (thankfully not at our house though!), and love to hunt down crickets as well as point out all the crickets every where we go. Hopefully there won’t be crickets around much longer. : )

Lately you’ve been hating to take baths. I’m not sure what happened, but you went from loving to take baths to absolutely hating it this month. I’m hoping this is just a short phase!

You love to get sugars from our dog Reeses. Reeses tolerates you, at least some of the time. You get SO excited about her, as well as about other things, and you’ll grin, run off, and laugh to show your excitement.

You are getting so big in your chair in your Bible class. You’ll be moving up to the two year old class when the quarter changes.

We’re about to have to make a big transition to a toddler bed – you climbed out of your crib this month. I guess it doesn’t surprise me too much because you like to climb. We also found you’d made a tower out of your toys and blankets one day in your crib.

You love to give hugs, and often walk up and give me or your dad (and even others on occasion) leg hugs (which melt my heart!). You also love to give Ella and some other kids your age hugs which is precious!

Signs you do: more, finished, milk, hungry, thank you, please, thirsty, sleepy, bath

Words you say: No way I can even count or name them! You say so many things!

Animal noises you make: chicken, duck, cow, dog, horse, frog, pig, cat

Body parts you identify: nose, eyes, mouth, ears, hair, head, hands, belly, shoulders, teeth, tongue (you love to point out your teeth and belly)

Favorite foods:  Generally your favorites are yogurt, cheese, peaches, beans, chicken, and crackers. You also LOVE to dip.

Favorite activities: walking, running, and tip-toeing to explore everything, especially following Ella or chasing a dog; mimicking Ella; reading books; watching Mickey Mouse or Finding Nemo or Cars or How to Train Your Dragon; playing with balls (you love to throw any kind of ball); playing outside; playing with toys, especially talking on the phone or putting things over your head or playing with the kitchen stuff; trying get any electronics or drinks you can spot.

Troy @ 22 Months

Ella @ 23 Months

Happy 22 Months Troy!

In less than two months you will be two years old. Two years old!

 

You love Ella, but y’all are not very good at sharing things. I definitely struggle with how to teach a 3 year old and an almost 2 year old share toys. We’ll get there though. : ) You and Ella have a lot of fun chasing each other, singing together, and hiding together. You love to mimic Ella, and it is really cute! Speaking of your singing, you have started singing quite loudly during services. I love it! You sing so loud that several people have commented that they hear you during the service.

You continue to talk up a storm, and you have the sweetest little voice (as long as you aren’t mad!). Even your animal noises are so sweet sounding. You’ve started saying “yuck” and “shoowee” when we change your stinky diapers. We feel like you are finally starting to turn the corner with being more able to handle situations. For instance, you’ve been a lot better in the car lately, as well as when we are out shopping or eating. You still get frustrated and mad sometimes, but you really seem to be able to handle being tired a little better than in the past. You’ve also started doing a lot better during church services. We don’t always have to take you out, and you even fell asleep on me once during the service (which is a major deal!).

This month you have a new favorite food: yogurt. You ask for it ALL the time, and get upset when we don’t have any. Most of the time, the yogurt generally ends up in your mouth when I let you feed yourself, but one day I left the room and came back to the scene below. It was pretty funny! You’ve gotten a lot better at using utensils this month, and you love to use a fork and spoon when you eat.

You have been able to climb for a little while now, but your confidence in climbing has really grown. For instance, when we are at Chick-Fil-A, you instantly climb straight to the top of the playscape, and are even pretty good at climbing down. You’ve also figured out how to climb up some steps by actually taking steps (rather than climbing on your knees).

Signs you do: more, finished, milk, hungry, thank you, please, thirsty, sleepy, bath

Words you say: No way I can even count or name them! You say so many things!

Animal noises you make: chicken, duck, cow, dog, horse (you’ve been loving horses lately), frog, pig

Body parts you identify: nose, eyes, mouth, ears, hair, head, hands, belly, teeth, tongue (you love to point out your teeth and belly)

Favorite foods: You are a pretty good eater, but you can still be pretty finicky at times (although I think it is getting better). Generally your favorites are yogurt, cheese, peaches, beans, chicken, and crackers.

Favorite activities: walking, running, and tip-toeing to explore everything, especially following Ella or chasing a dog; mimicking Ella; reading books; watching Mickey Mouse or Finding Nemo or Cars; taking baths; playing with balls (you love to throw any kind of ball); playing outside; playing with toys, especially talking on the phone or putting things over your head or playing with the kitchen stuff; trying get any electronics or drinks you can spot.

Troy @ 21 Months

Ella @ 22 Months

Happy 21 Months Troy!

Every month seems to sneak up on me, but I feel like it was just yesterday when you turned 20 months old. In fact, I didn’t even think about you being 21 months old until the very end of your “month day.”

Although you and Ella can definitely get onto each other (particularly when you are laying on her), you really do enjoy each others company. I love when y’all start doing something goofy together and you make each other laugh. You are really funny when you spin around in circles in the living room together or when you chase each other around the kitchen.

You like to read. Particularly when Ella isn’t around (perhaps because it is quieter), I’ll often come upon you sitting by yourself reading. You also love to come sit in the chair with me or your dad and ask us to read a book. You’ll say, “sit, sit!” to ask to sit with us to read as you climb into our laps. Speaking of climbing, you are proficient at climbing onto just about all of our furniture including our couches and the dining room table chairs.

You’ve always been much more of a hands-on kind of child than Ella. You love to actually play with your toys, like your cars, or your animals. I recently remembered to get some puzzles out (that I’d put away because Ella didn’t play with them much anymore) and you enjoyed playing with them too.

You are not an easygoing child, but you really do have a sweet personality.  You love to say, “no . . o o o” in this super sweet voice with a little smile when you really mean “yes.” When I go to get you up out of bed in the morning (or sometimes from nap) you almost always say either “breakfast” or “couse” (for Mickey Mouse). You love to bring your Mickey Mouse with you out of your bed.You constantly jabber and it often sounds like you are telling a whole story at once. You say so much at one time, and often we can only understand one or two words of it. You also speak in clear sentences at times, though, including things like “I want to sit” or “I like it” (although when it comes to telling us you like something you usually just say “like it, like it” over and over). You also finally said your name this month (we’ve been trying to get you to say it for a long time now).  

Signs you do: more, finished, milk, hungry, thank you, please, thirsty, sleepy, bath

Words you say: No way I can even count or name them! You say so many things!

Animal noises you make: chicken, duck, cow, dog, horse (you’ve been loving horses lately), frog

Body parts you identify: nose, eyes, mouth, ears, hair, head, hands, belly, teeth, tongue (you love to point out your teeth and belly)

Favorite foods: You are a pretty good eater, but you can still be pretty finicky at times (although I think it is getter better). Generally your favorites are cheese, peaches, beans, chicken, and crackers.

Favorite activities: walking, running, and tip-toeing to explore everything, especially following Ella or chasing a dog; reading books; watching Mickey Mouse or Finding Nemo or Cars; taking baths; playing with balls (you love to throw any kind of ball); playing outside; playing with toys, especially talking on the phone or putting things over your head or playing with the kitchen stuff; trying get any electronics or drinks you can spot.

Troy @ 20 months

Ella @ 21 months

Life with a 3 year old named Ella

Once Ella turned 2, I decided it was time to stop writing monthly updates about milestones and such, since she had really outgrown many of the things I was documenting. However, I do want to take time to write about some of the things that make Ella, well, Ella. I know that these moments will pass too quickly and I’ll one day forget more of this time than I’ll remember, and I want to remember at least some of it.

Her conversations and speech are too funny. We sometimes joke that Ella is 3 going on 30. She says things in such a “proper” manner sometimes, it really cracks us up. For instance, many times when a simple “no” would be a perfectly fine answer, she’ll say “no, it doesn’t” or “no, I do not need it” or “no, I am not” or something along those lines.

Recently, when I was taking Ella to the bathroom, she popped her head out of the stall, and said something to the effect of “Mom, I don’t need your help. I’ve got everything under control.” It is so hard to keep a straight face when my 3 year old says to me in such a matter-of-fact way that she’s “got everything under control.”

A couple of days ago, she came in from the playroom to tell my husband that Troy was throwing his sippy cups in the trashcan. After talking with my husband about it, she walked back into the playroom and told Troy, “Dad and I talked about it . . .” followed by instructions not to throw the cups in the trashcan. My husband’s conversation with her did not in any way imply she should go back into the playroom with such authority, ha!

Ella really does a great job with her manners most of the time. She’s polite and does a good job saying things like “Yes, ma'am” and “No, sir” as well as “please” and “thank you.”

I already feel like she’s got my husband’s debating skills at times. She can be sly with how she asks (or doesn’t ask) about something in order to try to get what she wants. I’m amazed at her perceptiveness and observation skills. She is a silly child; in fact, one of her favorite words/phrases right now is “silly” this or “silly” that. She loves to be the center of attention, and can put on quite the show if she thinks she is the center of attention. She loves to run, and she can run for a long time. I really wish I could harness all her energy up for myself! : )

 

I’ve been astonished by her memory skills lately. Ella remembers details of things that happened many months ago – in fact, it seems like sometimes better than I do. It is really intriguing to watch her remember something because her memory has been jogged by even the most insignificant things. For instance, a couple of days ago when she was eating breakfast she commented about a particular kind of cereal that she had when she was at Gigi’s house. She still talks about a princess party she went to more than six months ago (she wasn’t even three at the time).  It is funny to hear her recall something because most of the time it starts with the phrase “the other day when I was . . .” whether it was really just the other day or many months ago.

Ella loves going to Bible class, as well as going to worship services with the church. She’s already been able to memorize several scriptures (and could probably do many more – I need to teach her more!). She does a great job saying a prayer when we ask her to say it.

Ella enjoys playing outside; watching movies (particularly Tangled, Monsters, Inc., Toys (and Toys 2 which she calls “new toys”), and a new favorite, Cars); playing on the ipad or phone; drawing/coloring; and playing pretend. Her “pretend” skills have been kicked up a notch in the past month of so. She’s been able to pretend with things for a while (for instance, pretend to cook with her dishes), but now she’s pretending when she doesn’t have anything tangible to hold onto at all. I asked her to bring me a diaper the other day, and she came into the room pretending to hold a diaper and gave it to me. I was so proud of her pretending, but I needed a diaper, and a pretend one just wasn’t going to work! : )

Ella is kind and thoughtful too. Although I know there are times she wishes Troy wasn’t around (particularly when he’s trying to bite her, ha), she’s always concerned about him. We’ve kind of moved her out of their shared room for naps and nighttime because they kept waking each other up. Many nights I think she still wants to sleep in the room with Troy . . . I think she misses him! She loves to go in and talk to Troy when he wakes up, and they play a game she started calling “socks” (I think where she pulls all of the socks out, puts them in his crib, and he throws them out). Although she has never particularly been the cuddle-type, she can give the sweetest hugs and kisses if she wants.

I feel like this post is so incomplete – there are so many things I could write about Ella. She is such a joy and blessing in our lives, and I’m so thankful for her!

Happy 20 Months Troy!

This milestone really hit me hard . . . you are the age Ella was when you were born. It is so crazy to me. Every little thing you do these days seems to show me how far removed you are from your newborn days.

You’ve suddenly developed a fondness for your pillow and blanket. I’ll ask you if you want me to cover you up, and you’ll lay down on your pillow, stick your thumb in your mouth, usually curl up, and wait for me to cover you up. It is pretty precious! You’ll say “cover up, cover up.” Anytime you stick your thumb in your mouth, we know you are ready to go to sleep. That’s the only time you suck your thumb.

You’ve had a lot of fun exploring water this mouth. You got to splash in rain puddles (although you had a knack for finding the mud puddles), and you went swimming for the first time this season. It was fun to see you in the swimming pool because you are so much older/bigger than last year when you were in the pool.

You’ve been able to say Ella’s name for a long time now, but you have started saying it a lot – calling her when you want her to do something with you or if you want something she has or if you want to give her something. You say “Eva, Eva, Eva!”

We had the opportunity to hang out with your cousin a couple of weeks ago. He’s about 9 months younger than you, and when it was time to swim, he didn’t want to get in the pool – he’d only sit in the grass several feet away. You, completely unprompted by any of the adults supervising, filled a bucket of water, walked over to him, and poured the bucket of water on him. We all about died laughing!

You continue to love going outside, and often request to go outside by saying, “outside! outside!” You rush to the door if you think anyone is going outside to play. You love running and exploring, and also have a great time chasing dogs if they are outside with us.

You have always been pretty good at communicating what you want, but you continue to amaze me in  your speech development. You use lots of sentences with one of your new favorites being, “I want to take it.” You love to grab whatever it is you want (including a grandparent’s Sonic cup).  You’ve gotten a bit better about not throwing things (like your cup) as soon as you finish with them.

Signs you do: more, finished, milk, hungry, thank you, please, thirsty, sleepy, bath

Words you say: No way I can even count or name them! You say so many things!

Animal noises you make: chicken, duck, cow, dog

Body parts you identify: nose, eyes, mouth, ears, hair, head, hands, belly, teeth, tongue

Favorite foods: You are still a finicky eater in that one day you like something and the next you don’t. Generally, your favorites are banana, beans, cheese, chicken, and crackers (although the type of cracker changes . . . }

Favorite activities: walking (and pretty much running!) and exploring everything, especially following Ella or chasing a dog; reading books; watching Blue’s Clues or Finding Nemo; taking baths; playing with balls (you love to throw any kind of ball); playing outside; playing with toys, especially talking on the phone or putting things over your head or playing with the kitchen stuff; trying get any electronics or drinks you can spot.

 

Troy @ 19 Months

Ella @ 20 Months