Look at me

We’ve made progress from sitting mostly on our own but toppling over to the side pretty often

to sitting on our own much better but not wanting to sit up straight

to now sitting very well on our own with our back straight. What progress all within a week. So much can change so quickly. Speaking of changes this week…we now have 2 teeth! One popped through on Monday and the other officially cut through today, both on the bottom.

Side note: Look at that belly! You can certainly tell his size in the last photo :)

Who is this kid?

This certainly can't be the same kid that was born a year ago

I've watched Grayson grow up before my eyes, just as if he were my own...well for the most part except for the middle of the night stuff! It is so incredible to see the little boy he has become. And yes little boy because as you can tell he certainly does not look anything like a baby anymore. I feel so lucky to share in so much of his life. Especially when I get to receive those standing snuggles he is into right now. Happy Birthday Grayson!

I've missed this

 It has been a couple years since Sevea last slept in my arms. I've missed it. Especially since Cohen hasn't slept in my arms for a while either. Although I missed it, I won't wish it to happen anytime soon. She wasn't feeling well. But it was a strange 24 hour thing. She felt fine on Saturday and even early in the morning on Sunday. But after breakfast she just sat around the house. Sat quietly in the stroller on our run (this is odd for her). She skipped having all snacks and even lunch and opted for a nap. Only slept an hour and woke up crabby. I don't remember a time I've seen her that crabby. She finally settled down in my arms and fell asleep. Strange. Woke up later and after shaking away the grogginess she started to play and had some to eat. Just a strange day.

Since her strange sick day bound me to the couch, I did what any smart person would do...eventually fall asleep with her!

First finger food

Cohen entered into the big boy world of finger food last week. A popular item many parents give their kiddos now days is puffs since they dissolve quickly and kids love them. It was a great first finger food to try and see how Cohen would do. And he did great! Why doubt, this kid loves food :) I sort of figured he would since he has sucked on a few pieces of bread when we've been out to eat and seemed to get the whole gumming of the food concept. It probably will be a little while before he can pick up the pieces of food himself and actually make it to his mouth consistently but he likes to try.

Hmmm, what are these!

Banana puffs, these aren't bad

Oh wait, keep it in my mouth

Blame Grayson, he made me laugh

Play time with daddy

Sevea wanted to play outside. Mommy was about to leave and daddy was stuck with both kids. Wearing Cohen and getting him on the action was the perfect idea!

Summer in March

It is March right? Or did I forget to turn my calendar a few times. This weather has been so incredible. We took full advantage of it this weekend. We grilled out on Friday night, went to the park on Saturday afternoon followed by eating out on the patio while enjoying some cocktails with the Zimmer's. Then Sunday we got in our first run in a really long time, spent time outside before lunch, went to the park again in the afternoon followed by a walk over to the Zimmer household for supper. There was no lack of effort on our part to enjoy this weather. And it is a good thing since it has already come and gone. Well at least the 80 degree temps but for March I won't complain about our current weather either.

 I forgot to mention the best part about the weather. The ultimate summer treat/tradition...making smore's. They were great even though we did it up over the grill instead of a camp fire :)

Bring on summer!

Cohen Month 7 Update

Another month down. I think we've passed the point where months will seem long. I think it is all lightening speed from here on out. But doing these updates helps me try to slow down and cherish everything he is doing at this age.

Although we saw signs of teething a while ago we have yet to see a tooth pop through. He still drools and sticks his hands in his mouth a lot. He really enjoyed sucking on this wash cloth out of the freezer one day.

Open wide! He loves baby food!!! We've tried the following: bananas, apples, applesauce, green beans, peas, parsnips, carrots, squash, sweet potatoes, & turkey. We tried green beans for his first veggie and he wasn't too thrilled with it. But we use the mix a little applesauce in and then he'll eat just about anything.That is besides the turkey. He just wasn't a fan no matter what. We need to try some meat again but I need to process some for him and just have been focusing on new veggies or fruit. He seems to LOVE carrots or squash as well as bananas and apples/applesauce. We have been doing twice a day and definitely think he is ready for another meal. So that will be on our agenda this month.

He has certainly fallen in love with his thumb. Before this month he most often only sucked his thumb when he was going to sleep. This month however he realized the thumb is good stuff and will suck his thumb throughout the day. I still think it is the most adorable sight ever. I love a thumb sucking baby :)

He continues to be an easy baby to get a smile and laugh from. He is a very content baby. Give him something to do, people to look at, or some attention and he is a happy camper. Most often his crabbiness is due to needing a nap or needing a bottle. Meet those needs and you are set.

So remember when I said he likes sucking his thumb more? Yep he likes to take breaks from eating and suck his thumb too. Although this is cute it is very irritating as well because it makes more of a mess and helps prolong the amount of time it takes to feed him. He often sticks his hands in there to chew on as well....that is unless he is really really hungry and he will just open wide waiting for the next bite!

The wash cloth wasn't the only thing he likes sucking on. He has been a big fan of playing with his feet and sucking on his socks. Just when socks finally stayed on better he likes to take them off and suck on them. I guess it is a nice thing that the weather is getting better and socks won't be an issue!

These toes are a fun toy! Even with his big belly he's still flexible enough to put those feet in his mouth :)

Getting better on the sitting up. He isn't quite there yet but making progress. I am reminded how different every kid is since Sevea was sitting up on her own at 6 months. But he took a while to want to sit up (he'd push back and refuse the sitting position). Maybe he'll stay a baby a little longer....nothing wrong with that!

He is really into rolling around. No sign of crawling anytime soon but he makes his moves for now rolling.

Each month gets better and better. We love all the fun new adventures! Until next month...

Walk, Ride, Run

With the amazing weather we have been blessed with recently walks outside are a must. Troy took Sevea and Cohen for one last night in the stroller while I went to supper with a friend. And look who is out of the infant car seat! Do you know what this means???? Time to get back into those jogs with the stroller. Troy and I both got out of running during my pregnancy and since then. Me because of the pregnancy and then just lack of motivation, Troy because he was consumed with the basement and then well winter arrived and probably that motivation thing too. We are looking forward to running together again. We both really enjoyed our Saturday runs together. Let's see how far I make it, not to mention Troy having to run and push this stroller filled with two kiddos!

Edition of what kids say

Sevea to Eloise at daycare when helping give Cohen a bottle. FYI: Eloise will be having a baby brother in July!

Sevea: Eloise you can feed your brother and then my brother so that I can feed my sister. I'll have a sister so you can feed my brother for me. I will love to feed my sister. We will have a sister so I can feed her and hold her. So you can feed my brother. That is a choice right. Let's make that choice.

Eloise for some odd reason threw little crumbles of her ham slices on the floor at lunch time.

Me: Eloise we don't throw food on the floor. Would you want me to throw food on the floor at your house?
Eloise: No
Sevea: Eloise do I come to your house and throw food on the floor? No so don't throw food on my floor. Thanks.
Grace: This isn't your house.

Haha! I need to remember to write these down more often. It is fun to see how much her language changes and the things she says. Of course you have to think of these coming from a 3 year old!!

Really 3 1/2 already?

I update each month on Cohen since kids change so much in the first year. But then I thought about Sevea and how much she has changed and the amazing little girl she has become. She is constantly changing or learning but just not in such dramatic ways but still amazing none the less. To think back even 6 months ago and realize how much more she has learned or how her personality has changed is so fun. But it is all very scary in a way too, she is growing up and nothing I do will make her stay my little girl forever. Maybe in my heart but not in real life. What better way to try to hold onto my little girl with an update of who she is now.

Sevea is in love with her softy clothes and comfy pants. And honestly Troy and I think she looks so cute in clothes like this. They are hand me downs but just something about a sweatshirt and some gray soft capris makes her look grown up yet looks so comfortable with just being a kid.

And did you see that purse. It is absolutely her favorite toy. She often has it from the time she wakes up till bedtime. She'd sleep with it if we let her. She is in love with Dora and gets excited about anything Dora. But the real great thing about the purse is it encourages her hoarding problem! She will try to stuff just about anything and everything she can into the purse.

 She is such a silly girl. She loves to make you laugh and totally gets humor. She will often say things or do things just to make you laugh. She has a silly voice which is what we would probably call her man voice. Instead of her girly tone it ends up being a deeper one and she thinks anything she says in this voice should be considered funny. She also thinks when we tell her to stop whining that she should laugh. We're still working on her getting the real concept of whining. Not only does she has a silly voice but she has a silly walk as well. She spreads her legs apart in a straddle position and then walks. It is pretty cute and she loves to see your silly walk as well. Speaking of something funny, is there just one day that kids wake up and learn things stink? This seemed to be the case with Sevea. No getting away with releasing a little gas in our house unless you want Sevea to point it out to you!

Of course any 3 1/2 year old has to have a little attitude. Thankfully she doesn't have much but this is definitely something she has developed in the past 6 months. But we like to remember that with attitude comes her expressing her independence. She has definitely decided that she can do much more on her own. My motto with the kids is that if you try you might be able to do it. She has certainly been more likely to follow this motto lately. She would often get frustrated almost before she even started but lately she is taking more time to figure it out and try. It is so great to congratulate her when she succeeds. The not so good part of her attitude mostly just consists of whining. This is our biggest issue but come to think of it she is getting better on that front as well. We've had a couple times of back talking but in general she does well at following the rules. In part I think some attitude issues come from having daycare in her home. The rules change a little between daycare and home life and so we have to remember that it can be confusing to her.

Besides Dora she loves to play with dolls. It is fun to watch her imagination at work. I am reminded of how much she is learning when I watch her play. She also LOVES to read stories. But the new fun thing is how she is creating her own stories. Often at bedtime after we read a book she will now tell us a story. It's usually a mix of a bunch of stories she has heard. Her memory amazes us daily. So many times she will bring up something we didn't even know she knew or something that she experienced so long ago. But she remembers the little details. It is times like this that remind us she is learning and we need to value those times just as much as the ABC's and 123's. Which we are working on :)

We feel so blessed to have this little girl in our lives. She brings so much joy and love into our hearts. And as much as sometimes we wish we could make time stand still, we can't. So instead we'll savor all the little things and be thankful for each and every day with her.

Daycare Time

Isn't this an amazing sight? Five children looking and listening to a story. That includes an 11 month old and a 16 month old. You can't see Cohen beside me but he was there, not looking but maybe listening :)

Grandma & Grandpa Appel gave the book to Sevea for Christmas. It has turned into her favorite book. I also LOVE it because the kids really get into it. The theme for the week was dental health and Dora helped us learn all about the dentist. Ask Sevea what a cavity is and she knows a hole because of Dora!!

I am very grateful to be able to spend my time at home with our kids. I am also really lucky to have a really good group of daycare kids. They make my job pretty easy. Of course not every day is a picnic but for the most part all I deal with is some whining. They listen well and I can't complain. Working with kids all day surely provides some entertainment and definitely keeps me moving. Although I loved the professional working environment I can't imagine going back. My heart is right here watching my kids grow.

Multitasking

Sometimes you just don't have enough hands.

Extra hands are nice even if they don't look very happy about helping!

(In reality she just wanted to go to Perkins for supper and that was not our plan)

Big helper

Sevea was such a big help at snack time. Grayson had already eaten a different snack other than yogurt since he had some for lunch. Well this kiddo LOVES yogurt. He saw the containers and got all excited. Sevea was done with hers and decided that Grayson needed a little. He had never loved her as much as he did right then!

Daddy Version

Hopefully you can hear Troy's version of this classic song (turn the volume wayyyyyy up). Gotta love grabbing the phone quick to get it on video. I'm just surprised he didn't quit singing. What a good sport :)

She does listen

There are many times that we think what we say to Sevea falls on deaf ears. We all know that it seems like kids have selective hearing. Sevea will almost always hear you say something about a treat. But does she hear us when we tell her things about right versus wrong, good versus bad, etc? Yes, yes she does whether we feel like we tell her the same things over and over. Case in point:

Last night Sevea found a box of marbles in our bedroom. She has played with these before and decided to bring them out to the living room/kitchen to see if she could play with them. (Okay I will say I know that is one way to tell she does listen, she came to ask first!) The Zimmer's were over for supper so we told her no because Grayson was too little and he could choke on them. So she tells us, well I can play with them after Grayson goes to bed, that is a choice.

Insert background story: One method of teaching we use is giving our children options. I will tell her two options available to her and this then gives her the power. But the best thing is these options are both acceptable to me. Example: Sevea you can either pick up your toys or you can have a time out. It is your choice. Which choice will it be? So she may not want to pick up her toys but she isn't likely going to choose a time out. If she decides to not pick up her toys then we tell her you then choose a time out and she sits in one. But most often she will make the good choice and we praise her for it. But either way she is learning life has choices and to make the best of them!

It is so nice to see all the work pay off! With a face like that it is hard to not just give in :)