Friday, June 13, 2014

May

Hadley:
*New words: poop, baby, ball, food
*She is taking 4 or 5 steps on her own. She's not too concerned about learning to walk and prefers crawling quickly.
*Her favorite foods are blueberries, yogurt, juice with Dad, fruit, cheese, pasta, deli meat and chicken

Parker:
*On Mother's Day, he gave me a huge hug and said "Happy....Velentimes Day", then he went back over to Justin and said, "I didn't know the word, Dad."
*Parker is saying more complex sentences and tries to hold conversations with people we come across, like the grocery store clerks.
*Parker started weekly parent/child gymnastics class for 2 and 3 year olds. It is great for him to learn how to be in a class and listen to instructions. The kids are learning to follow simple instructions such as "stand in line" or "sit on the floor and touch your toes". The kids jump on the trampoline, walk on the balance beam, swing on the rope swing, and do forward rolls.  Parker really loves it, especially getting his hand stamped at the end!

March/April 2014

This month was filled with a lot of firsts and maybe best of all, we have a new niece, Ainsley! We got to visit her at 2 weeks old. She is absolutely precious and we love her so much! Ryan and Heidi know how to make cute babies! Hadley and Parker love their new cousin. We look forward to watching her grow and play with our kids.

Hadley:
*Started swim lessons! She loves it! She has a big smile on her face and likes to splash and kick in the water.
*She got her top right and left teeth on April 3rd and 4th.
*She is saying: dada, mama, ffff for food, all done, boo, pah pah for Parker.
*Hadley signs: all done, more
*She walks with her walker and stands for a few seconds on her own
*Hadley is in the habit of unrolling toilet paper any chance she gets. She also likes to open cabinets touch other things she know she shouldn't, and then look at us to see what our reaction will be.
*She throws her blankets and pacifiers out of her crib when she is unhappy in bed.  She drops food and toys and then says "uh oh!"
*Hadley loves playing peekaboo and blowing kisses

Parker:
*Moved into his own bathroom. He has a stool so he can wash hands and brush teeth by himself.
*Parker is continuing potty training.  He gets Teddy Grahams for going to the potty.
*He likes to tell us the favorite part of his day or events.  "That was my favorite part!"
*Parker use to ask us to sing songs often. Now he is signing on his own for us or with us.
*He likes to be the one to get Hadley in the morning. He opens her door and says, "Good morning to you!" He loves hugging her, but usually wraps his arms around her neck rather than her tummy.
*He is a swimming maniac! Parker absolutely loves the water.  He jumps, paddles and kicks like crazy. He still needs assistance or floaties, but he's getting more confident and comfortable.


Wednesday, February 26, 2014

February 2014

Hadley at 8 Months:
*She is content as long as she can watch her big brother. He makes her laugh and smile more easily than anyone.
*She has been teething all month. She's been drooling like crazy. The bottom right tooth is finally poking out. She's been a bit fussy, but taking Tylenol has helped.
*Hadley thinks animal sounds are funny. She likes reading books with bright colors and animals.
*She laughs when tickled on her feet, chest and tummy.
*Hadley is eating pureed foods 2 or 3 times a day. She loves fruits, is okay with meat/carb mixtures but doesn't care for vegetables. She will spit them out and make faces unless I mix them with fruits. She loves Cheerios and tiny bits of bananas. As soon as she gets some more teeth, she's going to love table food!
*She started crawling at 8 1/2 months. She is motivated to reach her brother's toys. Parker is not thrilled with this.
*Hadley loves to stand up. She holds on to the edge of the couch or toys for balance and will stand until she gets tired and topples over.

Parker:
*Parker loves eating out. He asks to go to restaurants where he gets special treats like apple juice and macaroni.
*He likes being a big brother. He bosses Hadley around a bit ("no Hadley, that's not for babies"), but he is still mostly very sweet towards her. He likes to feed her bottles or get her toys.
*Parker has started some tantrums, especially around bed time when he's tired. He stalls and gets extra picky so he can lengthen the bedtime routine. We remind him of his manners and we have to be tough on him. He learned how to take off his childproof door knob, so he lets himself out when he wakes up. Because of this new freedom, he wakes up about 7:15 rather than 8:00.  One evening he let himself out and yelled from the top of the stairs, "Hey, Laura! I need water!" Yikes.
*Parker got his first haircut on the 15th.  He was so excited to sit in an airplane chair. He even got to watch Thomas the Train on TV during it. He did really well, however, he wasn't too excited about the buzzer/trimmer at the end. He was very proud when it was over and was pumped to receive his first lollipop as a reward. He looks handsome!

January 2014

Hadley:
*Hadley is getting to be a good sleeper. She is much better at going down without fussing. She usually naps at 10:30 and again around 4.  She goes down at 8 and sleeps until about 8:30. Sometime she wakes up for a feeding around 10pm.
*She is sitting up really well. She loves to stand and can balance while holding on to toys for a short period.  She is interested in moving around but doesn't want to try crawling. She might get on her knees but then flattens out and rolls to get to her toys.
*Hadley is eating pureed solids. Her favorites are bananas, pears and peaches. She is not a fan of peas! She is also eating mum mums (quick dissolving rice crackers).  Parker tries to try bites of her food. Even he didn't like the peas :)

Parker:
*Parker doesn't like to sing (and rarely every will) but he does loves listening to others sing. He asks me to sing simple kid songs all the time.  Lately, he's been asking me to change songs and add his favorite things into the songs (mostly vacuums and trains).  We have caught him singing the ABCs and Twinkle Twinkle on his own.
*He knows most of his letters and can count to 20, though he usually only makes it to 12 correctly.
*Parker loves going to the YMCA for toddler gym time. He jumps on the trampoline and loves to "run really fast". He loves that he gets to sing songs and get a hand stamp at the end.
*Parker has always enjoyed drinking his milk out of bottles. It has been a comfort thing for him.  For quite awhile, we've only allowed him to drink out of a bottle after nap time and first thing in the morning. Then it was only in the morning. I delayed taking it away while Hadley was a newborn because I didn't want him to get jealous of her bottles.  I talked it up for a few days, then took Parker to the store to pick out some "big boy cups" for his milk. This did the trick. We are officially bottle-free!

Thursday, January 9, 2014

October: Parker turns Two!

Parker
*His hair is growing now! He has a full head of white-blonde hair. It is fine and straight with a bit of a curl in the back.
*Parker is talking up a storm. People often comment on his vocabulary. He picks up and uses new words each day.
*Parker knows about 6 letters and can count to 10 with about an 80% accuracy rate (my teacher side coming out).
*He was getting really excited about birthdays. It was Uncle Curt's, then Grandma's then his. Really fun for a 2 year old!
*About a week before his birthday, Parker announced that he had to go potty. I figured he was just looking to play, but to our surprise he actually went! Of course Justin and I made a really big deal out of it and gave him ice cream.  That did the trick. He's been wearing "big boy undies" (pull-ups) that he's super excited about. He asks to go several times a day. He doesn't always keep his pull-ups dry, but he's doing a pretty good job so far!
*Parker's 2 year check up stats: 28.9 pounds (59%), 2'11" tall (80%), 19.5" head (72%) Parker loves Dr. Clapper and talks about him often.

Hadley
* Hadley is 4 months old.  She is very social and is content watching Parker play or being right next to us. she prefers to be held upright so she can look around. I have a feeling she will be much happier once she can sit up on her own. We started putting her in her exersaucer. At the beginning of the month her feet didn't touch the ground and she couldn't really reach her toys. Now she can touch her feet and grab at many of the toys.
*Hadley explores new objects by putting them in her mouth. Everything goes straight in. She gets mad that her exersaucer toys aren't removable. She wants to eat them so badly! Parker didn't put things in his mouth as much. Once Hadley is mobile, we'll really have to watch what she gets her hands on!
*She is getting much better at napping. She goes down with out much trouble. The length varies between 30 and 2 hours depending on the time of day. At night she is waking up twice, around 12 and 4am. Usually she goes back to sleep without too much trouble.
*Hadley's 4 month check up stats: 12.3pounds (6%), 2' 0.5" tall (30%), 15.75" head (18%) She had one oral vaccination and 3 shots.  She screamed for about 10 seconds and then quickly quieted down with a pacifier and a cuddle. She was a little fussy that afternoon, but did very well overall. 

Fun this Month:
*Fall brings so much fun! We took the kids to the pumpkin patch and it was a wonderful day! Spooner Farms has many activities for little ones like farm animals, balloon animals, cars and bicycles to ride and a corn maze.

*We thought Parker would really get into carving pumpkins. It turned out he didn't care at all! He came to watch long enough for a picture, but it wasn't a hit this year. Hopefully it will be next year!

*I am a part of a workout group called Fit for Mom. They hold occasional outings for the kids. This month was a trip to the fire station. Parker was thrilled! He loved meeting the fire men and women and seeing them in full uniform. Most of all he loved the trucks. I was worried that he would be shy, but he was up for exploring! The firemen liked his enthusiasm and even let him sit in the driver's seat. Parker thought this was the coolest thing ever! He got to try to pick up the heavy jaws of life and even spray the fire hose! He did not want to leave! What a cool experience for an almost 2 year old!

*Parker now understands the fun of birthdays. He went to his friend Brea's party and realized that it means cake and presents. Then we celebrated Uncle Curt's and Grandma's.  Parker was looking forward to his birthday. He would say "Parker's party: friends come over! Cupcakes!!" It's fun that he is finally at the age where he can somewhat understand concepts like this.  Parker is really into cars, trucks, trains and anything else that moves so we decided on a transportation theme.  At this age, kiddos get overwhelmed quickly so I decided on a small, laid back party at home.  It started at 10:30 am and consisted of toddler snacks, balloons and all of Parker's toys spread around the living room so the kids to have at it! It was a really fun time. Parker was talking about it for days after so I know he loved it.

*For Halloween Hadley was dressed as a strawberry and Parker was a fireman. So cute! We went to a party at the Parnell's.  It was fun to see the kids all dressed up and trick or treating together. Parker wasn't sure at first what to make of it all. He looked confused as he walked up to the first door. After he got candy, he was into it! He liked talking to the people at each house. A couple times he tried to walk in. He told on man, "Parker wearing big boy undies".  He enjoyed saying "Happy Halloween!" at each house. He loved his glow stick. After about 10 houses he start getting worn out: "Lot of walking.  Mommy, hold you".  He ate several pieces of candy that night, but the next day he forgot about it.  Out of sight, out of mind.  That may not work next year.

November & December

The holidays were full of joy! It is more fun than ever celebrating events now that we have children. There is nothing like experiencing things through the eyes of babies.
Parker is starting to really get into holidays. Since his birthday in October, he keeps asking me "whose birthday is it now?" He basically wants to know when he will next get a cupcake.  He got to celebrate Duke's 2nd birthday and Jericho's 3rd birthday. He was excited about Thanksgiving and getting to eat a "special dinner" at Gramma and Pop's house. Then as Christmas approached he really got excited! We started some new holiday traditions this year that we hope to carry through as our children grow up. Here are some highlights:
Visiting Santa: We visited Santa and Parker was really excited. We had talked about it beforehand so when Parker saw him, he walked right up to him and sat in his lap (much improved from the freak out last year!). Parker told Santa he wanted a screwdriver! Hadley didn't cry but she didn't smile either. I think she was trying to figure out what the heck was going on!
Elf on the Shelf: Santa's crazy helper came to our house with pajamas for the kids on December 1st. He was in a new spot of the house each morning when they woke up.
Christmas Lights: Parker liked looking at the window at our neighbor's houses. We went to zoo lights with Gramma & Pop and then again with The Vreeburgs and Grandma & Grandpa. So much fun! Parker even rode on a camel!
Gingerbread cookies and houses: Parker made gingerbread cookies with Grandma and Grandpa. He make Hadley a special cookie but then ate the head off before he gave it to her. We decorated a gingerbread house but took a bite of the roof before even getting started. Then he just sat at the table shoving candy in his mouth before actually decorating anything. This kid needs some self control! We also made gingerbread houses with the Bluhms. So fun!
Jesus' Birthday: When we tried to tell Parker the true meaning of Christmas, Parker got excited because to him Jesus' birthday means cupcakes. We got a cupcake and sang happy birthday to Jesus Christmas morning.
Presents: Santa brought Parker a screwdriver along with a whole set of tools. Parker was thrilled! Hadley received a big, pink Teddy along with several books.
Decorations/Advent Calendar: Parker loved the decorations. Hadley loved looking at the tree. Parker looked forward to the advent calendar each night with his dad.
Christmas Eve/Day: We spend two days at each set of grandparents houses so we had lots of fun family time. We got to relax and enjoy ourselves with a wonderful holiday!


About Hadley:
*She started sitting up! She is much happier because she can reach toys and see what is going on around her. She LOVES watching her brother play!
*Hadley started baby food. She eats Mum Mums (a rice cracker) and pureed pears, peaches, sweet potatoes, bananas and squash. She loves to eat!
*She's (finally) sleeping through the night, 8pm-8am. She usually only wakes up at 10pm for a quick feeding.
*She's not a great napper. She naps about an hour and a half at 10:30am but it's hard to get her to take more than a cat nap in the afternoon unless she's in the carseat or in the front pack.
*Hadley loves bath time. She likes to splash and play with her ducks.
*Hadley had her 6 month appointment. She's 13lbs 5oz (6%), 2' 1.5" tall (29%), 15.9" head circumference (10%).

About Parker:
*Parker has bee potty training. He's wearing pull-ups full time. He goes on the potty several times per day but still has wet diapers throughout. Hopefully he'll have it consistent in the next couple months.
*Parker really loves Thomas the Train. It's his favorite show, his favorite book and he plays with the trains every day.  He also likes playing with his tools and play food.
*Parker is very sweet towards his sister. He likes to help get her from naps, to bring her toys and to make her laugh.