11 Months

Emily
You are moving, moving, moving this month.  You crawl everywhere and pull up on pretty much anything you can.  You have started cruising too.  The cruising normally happens when you are going after the remote, phone or trying to get bites of food.  You are getting more brave lately too.  You can get up to stand next to any surface like walls, tables, chairs, legs...  Sometimes you are letting go with both hands too.  You sometimes stand on your own for a little bit before you hold on again.  Now that you have a stair climbing buddy, the two of you are playing on the stairs more and more.  We have to block the steps so the two of you don't crawl up without us.  You aren't doing much walking with help, but you take a few steps if we hold you up.  I got out the little push car toys and you really liked to push them around.  The move slowly enough on the carpet that you can stand and put them but once they hit the hardwood they move too fast for you.  You also were pushing with you hands and "walking" on your knees to push them.  Everyone is making predictions of when you will be walking.  I'm guessing it won't be until after your first birthday.  You have started pointing this month too.  You are pointing at almost anything that catches your eye or that you want.  I have to say it is pretty cute.


You haven't been eating so great lately, but it is mostly because of a little cold and tummy trouble that you've had the last couple of weeks.  You still want whatever we are eating.  You definitely prefer the "real" food to the baby puree.  Last night I gave you and Sam some Mac and Cheese.  You both liked it but I think you would have eaten the whole plate.  You did a great job smooshing up those noodles too.  You also had your first taste of Salmon and Halibut while we were at Papa and Nana's house the other day.  You seemed to really like the fish.  (Which I am happy about.)  You are getting cow's milk mixed with your formula these days and I can't tell that you have any reaction to the difference.  We still can't get you to hold you own bottle, but you start to play with it when you are done eating.  I think since you are so busy getting fed is sometimes the only time you get to cuddle so you let us do all the work.


You're still talking a lot this month.  You and Sam seem to be talking to each other more lately too.  You still steal toys from each other buy sometimes you try to give him things too.  He doesn't always take them and then you try to put them into his hands.  Papa has built a tunnel out of cardboard boxes to keep the two of you corralled at their house and you like to crawl through it.  We now have one at our house, to keep you from the stairs, and you like to go in and sit inside.  You have started to throw more fits lately.  When you get mad you put you head on the floor.  It mostly just makes me laugh but I know that you are really mad about something.  You spent your first night in a hotel this month.  Nana and I went to Park Meadows to do some Christmas shopping and then stayed the night.  You really liked the mirrored closet doors.  It was so funny to watch you look at yourself in the mirror.  This month you started opening and closing doors too.  You spent quite a bit of time hanging out in the pantry looking around and opening and closing the door.  You were given a play kitchen and you love opening and closing the fridge door in the kitchen and come crawling whenever the real kitchen door is open.

Weight: ??
Onesie size: 9 or 12 month (the one in the picture is a 9 month)
Diaper size: 3
Sam
Sam you have made huge gains in the movement front this month.  You finally decided that it was worth it to crawl.  On November 23rd we had all of the furniture moved out of the downstairs so we could get the new carpet in and all that was left were a couple of remotes, a lamp, and a few other small items.  The open space and the desire for the remote did it for you and you haven't stopped since.  Pulling yourself up and stair climbing happened soon after the crawling.  It took you a week or so to be okay with sitting down after you got onto your feet.  You don't really like to fall.  As with Emily, it is hard to keep you away from the stairs.  You love to climb up them. 

Unlike your sister you are perfectly happy with your baby food puree.  You only occasionally beg for our food but often will continue to play on your own while we eat.  You do eat almost all of what we give to you.  You also had your first taste of Salmon and Halibut while we were at Papa and Nana's house the other day. You also seemed to really like the fish. (Which I am happy about.) You are getting cow's milk mixed with your formula these days and I can't tell that you have any reaction to the difference.  You continue to be able to feed yourself, but are happy to let us do it sometimes too.  You do a great job with the sippy cup.  You are getting into a bad habit of holding your hand out over the highchair when you eat so Maddy can lick it.  Your dad gets pretty disgusted when you do this, but you think it is great.

You are testing out your vocal cords this month.  That means you've been doing a lot of screaming.  Mostly you scream when you are happy and when you want more food.  I've been trying to work on the screaming when you are eating and reminding you about the more sign.  Sometimes that helps and you clap your hands for more, but sometimes you just keep screaming.  You're really throwing stuff around this month.  Mostly balls but sometimes whatever you get your hands on.  Once you throw a toy you chase after it.  Papa has built a tunnel out of cardboard boxes to keep the two of you corralled at their house and you like to crawl through it. We now have one at our house, to keep you from the stairs, and you like to go in and sit inside.  You're very tolerant of your sister.  She likes to "pat" you and you don't seem to mind at all.  You really like your stuffed animals and will give them hugs or lay on them on the floor.  It is just about the cutest thing ever.  You are still my little snuggle bug.  Sometimes when I come home from work I'll pick you up and you'll put your head on my shoulder and talk to me.  I love it.

Weight:  about 26 lbs. according to the bathroom scale
Onesie size: 18 month
Diaper size: 4

On Almost 1 Year Old Babies

Oh man... 4 more weeks until your first birthday.  I'm not really ready for the two of you to turn one.  I'm having a harder time then I ever thought I would.  I never considered myself a baby person, more of a toddler person, until I had the two of you.  Although I enjoyed, what I remember, of the newborn stage I really have loved everything since then.  I told a co-worker who just had a baby that there is a sweet spot between the first smile and crawling.  Don't get me wrong, I love crawling too but it just makes life more hectic.  The snuggles are becoming less too and I do love my baby snuggles. 

It seems like it was just yesterday that you were born.  I find myself having mini-"flashbacks" lately.  How hard it was to walk into Kohls get something and walk out last year during Christmas.  How I was standing on a chair hanging ornaments that my kids had made to dry and getting yelled at by my principal.  Ending up at the hospital after a basketball game.  I had no idea how soon the two of you would be here.  I was trying to brace myself for making it until March.  Finding out that I was going to have to keep working after Winter Break and then ending up in the hospital two days later.  5 am blood draws, blood pressure readings, moving back and forth from Labor and Delivery to Women's Care.  Finally being able to hold you for the first time hours after you were born, and Emily not until the next day.  Pumping.  Then having to leave you in the hospital while we went home.  It still hurts.

I still cry when I watch those stupid baby shows.  I'm not sure why.  I haven't decided if it is because so many people have what I may never be able to have or because it brings back so many memories, good and bad.  There is no doubt that your lives didn't begin the way that we had hoped they would.  No parent wants their child to be hooked up to machines and wires and fed through a tube for their first month(s) of their life.  No parent wants to feel the pain of a limited amount of time to hold their brand new baby.  No parent wants to be confined to a chair when their holding their newborn, because that is as far as the wires will reach.  No parent wants to leave the hospital, wheeled out to the car, without a baby in an infant car seat.  We are lucky that we were able to bring you home.

Oh boy a year.  So much to remember.  Lets make sure this one starts more smoothly than last year.

Pinterest Photography

I found the above idea on Pinterest and I thought I would try it out.  Only our white Christmas lights weren't working and our wall is painted red, I couldn't find the tripod and I didn't have anything to use as a reflector.  They turned out alright though... (I might try to edit them a bit.)

Dear Santa,

Dear Santa,

This is our first Christmas and we really don't know what is going on.  We do LOVE the lights at our house and the trees.  (You know mama couldn't put up the big tree because we might pull it down, so we have three little trees... on a card table so they're out of reach.)  We get excited every night when they are turned on.  I, Emily, really liked the penguin ornament that turns different colors and the snowflakes that are on the window.  It would only be better if mama would let me get to them. 

So lets get down to business here.  We have heard around that you keep track of kids that are naughty and nice (we OF COURSE are nice) and then you bring them gifts.  But you need a list first?  So here is our wish list:

1. We need some more pans to bang around.  The pie pans mama has out are just so flimsy, but they do make a great noise.  Something light, noisy and safe to chew on would be great.
2. I, Sam, would love some shoes.  For some reason I can't play with any that we have around here.
3. I, Emily, would like a door that I can open and close all day.  If you could find one that I can't smoosh my fingers in that would be great.
4. We love our dog, Maddy, but sometimes she forgets how big she is when she tries to play with us.  Could you give her some guidance on appropriate ways to play with her little siblings?  That way we are both happy.
5. I, Emily, would love some more books.  I really, really like the ones that have different things to touch on the inside or that have holes in the covers.  Be sure they are board books or I might accidentally tear them up.
6. I, Sam, really want the big stuffed bear that dada let me play with at Babies R'Us.  The one that I said, "I love you" to before dada put it back.  I might not have really said "I love you" but it sounded like it and I really do LOVE my stuffed animals.
7. Lastly we'd like... a remote control, a phone, a camera and a video camera of our own.  Again, the ones we finally get our hands on get taken away.

We promise that we'll be good babies.  We'll sleep through the night, eat all our food, snuggle with mama, take our afternoon nap and be gentle with each other.

Love,

Sam and Emily

PS.  I, Emily, really would like some teeth too.  All I want to eat is real people food but it is hard without any teeth.  Thanks!

10 months

Sammer
You have become a master roller lately.  You can get anywhere you want just by rolling around.  You still arent' crawling, but still getting up on your knees. (Although you really ARE crawling because I'm late in writing this.)  You started getting yourself back up to a sitting position which made you a very happy boy.  You also started pulling yourself up onto your knees.  You are working getting up onto your feet but it is going to be bit harder for you than your sister.  You have started to clap when we sing Pat-a-Cake or as I say Patty-Cake or when I say yea!  You sometimes are clapping when you want more.  Mostly for more food but sometimes when you are playing.  You have started waving again too.  You seemed to have forgotten how for the last few months.  You now wave and reach for people while we are out and about too.  You and Emily have gotten into a few wrestling matches lately.  You normally win but it isn't really fair because you aren't in the same weight class. 

We changed your eating schedule a little bit this month.  I was a little worried because you hadn't gained a lot of weight lately.  I would hate for you to lose your cute rolls.  You now go from 7-11 am before you eat again.  You eat oatmeal at 11 am and then get a bottle at 2 pm.  You also have a "dinner" at about 5 pm and then you get a bottle before bed.  That way you can have more baby food to eat.  You now get 8 oz. of formula every time you eat too.  You do a wonderful job of feeding yourself these days.  You have mastered picking up food and putting it into your mouth.  Now that doesn't mean that you always make it into your mouth.  You still get a fair amount of food in your lap or on the floor.  We have been giving you a lot of different finger foods lately.  Really you try pretty much anything that is appropriate that we are eating.  That includes:  bananas (again, this time you liked them), avocado, bread, spaghetti (you loved it and giving it to the dog), the broth of broccoli cheddar soup, yogurt and more I can't remember.  You eat pretty much everything we give you but you have started making a funny sour face with some new foods.

You have been doing a lot of talking too.  You babble a lot and have been testing your lungs.  I often wake to the sound of you downstairs with your dad saying "Ya-ya-ya".  You have started repeating and mimicking a lot more lately too.  You still love to be held and to sit in laps.  You often will climb into my lap on the floor.  You are reaching when you want to be picked up too.  I think it is just so cute.  You have become a little more shy and take a little bit to warm up to new people.  You are an observer and seem happy to watch people and all the action.  A trip to the store keeps you happy.  You still love your dog and have been caught feeding her your food.  You seem to like your stuffed animals too.  I have been giving you your bear lately and you will hug it and chew on his nose.  You love shoes and get to them if you can.  You don't always put them into your mouth but you like to play with them.  You also like to make noise.  You bang things around and you've started to throw toys too.  You and Emily like to hang out with me in the kitchen when I'm making dinner.  You happily play with plastic bowls, spoons and measuring cups.  We tried rolling a ball back and forth and you do a pretty good job with that too.  You really like it.  You always try to get a little kick into the ball when you are "rolling" it back too.

The big new thing this month is your teeth.  You finally have two front teeth.  Your first tooth arrived and we didn't even know it was on it's way.  One day I came home and your dad said to check it out.  The second tooth must have hurt a little bit more because you seemed a little bit grumpy and a little bit clingy. 

Emmy Lou
Even though Sam got up on his knees first you were the first crawler.  You started crawling on November 1st and we haven't been able to stop you yet.  You are into everything.  You love the vertical blinds and the dog bowl.  You also love to bang on the sliding glass door.  Maddy doesn't like that much though.  You crawl to follow me where ever I go.  If I run upstairs I can find you waiting for me at the bottom of the stairs.  (Not for long though because you can now climb the stairs and you can go all the way up as of Nov. 29th.)  You are working on pulling yourself up so you can stand.  (And you can now too as of Nov. 25.)  You have started to clap when we sing Pat-a-Cake or as I say Patty-Cake or when I say yea! You sometimes are clapping when you want more also. Mostly for more food but sometimes when you are playing.  You too are reaching to be picked up lately.  You sometimes crawl over and try to climb up my leg so I can hold you.  Changing your diaper has become and sweat inducing chore.  It is extremely difficult to keep you from rolling over and crawling away.  I guess I just need to get faster.

We changed your eating schedule along with Sam's.  We haven't been giving you any more formula though.  You seem to be happy with what you have and you don't always finish your formula either.  You LOVE your "real" food.  You now do a great job of feeding yourself, except you won't hold your bottle.  You love your Gerber Puffs and stuff more than one into your mouth at a time.  Sometimes you choke a little because you're trying to eat too many at a time and you aren't mushing them good enough with your gums.  We have been giving you a lot of different finger foods lately. Really you try pretty much anything that is appropriate that we are eating. That includes: bananas (again, this time you liked them), avocado, bread, spaghetti (you loved it and giving it to the dog), the broth of broccoli cheddar soup, yogurt and more I can't remember.  You have started to "beg" whenever I eat.  You crawl over and whine for me to give you a little of whatever I'm eating.  When I gave you bananas for the second time you yummed the whole time you ate them.  I think you prefer your finger food to your pureed food.  Although in the morning you sometimes shake with excitement while I open your food for breakfast.

You talk all the time these days.  You make a lot of noises and sometimes seem to repeat the intonation of how we are talking.  So sometimes you repeat something and it almost sounds like what we just said.  You have been playing with your tongue like crazy lately.  We keep thinking that a tooth is going to show up, but it still hasn't.  Your aunt thinks you are copying Maddy.  You love all your toys and play with most of them.  You really like the activity table.  You like to sit on your knees and play with it.  You are becoming more and more of a ham.  You like to have the attention and you laugh easily.  You are smiling more at people out in public too.  Sometimes you even try and talk to them.  The other day we went to Sam's Club and I took you out of the car and you were saying "ah" to the people who were walking by.  When your Papa and Nana come over you sometimes squeal loudly.  You and Sam like to hang out with me in the kitchen when I'm making dinner. You happily play with plastic bowls, spoons and measuring cups.  I think since you are moving around so much you like to take breaks and sometimes will tolerate being held.  You don't always want to be contained though and will squirm to get down too.

We lowered both of your cribs this month and we've found you two in your cribs talking to each other.  It is kind of funny but you're supposed to be sleeping.  Having a sibling is so much fun!  :-)

Taking pictures was difficult today.  All the two of you want to do is crawl off the chair.  I shouldn't have waited so long.  Even with the help of dad, the entertainer, we weren't able to get both of you smiling and looking at the camera.  Oh well, we might try again later.

Thanksgiving

I know it is a little late but in an effort to catch up here is our Thanksgiving.

We stayed at Papa and Nana's house since we just got carpet installed on the 23rd and our house wasn't ready for sleeping in, that and it smelled like new carpet.  New carpet smell is nothing like new car smell.  We borrowed a Pack-n-Play and the kids slept upstairs and we slept downstairs.  Sam woke up at his usual pre-dawn time and got to snuggle in bed for awhile.

Paul was running the Turkey Trot so he had to go to the race and I went home to find some clothes in the mess.  Once I got back home I packed up the kids and we headed to the airport to get Aunt Amanda.

Once we got back we spent the rest of the day hanging out and eating, oh and crawling and climbing and playing.  Sam decided he does know how to crawl on the 23rd and was perfecting his skills on Thanksgiving.  His favorite places to crawl to were where the shoes where and where ever Sadie was.

I failed to get a family picture and we almost forgot our traditional table picture.  We fed Sam and Emily a little bit of Thanksgiving food.  They had: mashed potatoes, gravy, green beans (the non-pureed variety), rolls, and cranberry sauce.  Emily LOVED everything.  She yummed with every bite.  She kept clapping her hands, which I think is her sign for more, and grabbing for more to eat.  Sam wasn't so sure.  He was a little more tired because he didn't take a nap with dad on the couch like Emily did. 

After eating the girls went on a short walk around the neighborhood.  Then we went back and had pie.  We took our traditional family table picture then because we almost forgot too.  We did forget to get a family picture on our first Thanksgiving...

After pie we went back home and I rested before the big night of shopping.  Mom and Amanda picked me up at 11 pm and we stayed out until almost 6 am!  Crazy...

Overwhelmed

Today I'm feeling completely overwhelmed. 

- My desk at work is a disaster!  I try to organize but by the end of the day it is back to being a mess. 
- I wanted to send out midterms on Monday, only I haven't graded half of what I want on the midterms. 
- My reading groups are exhausting and frustrating.  What do you do when the kids aren't reading?? Oh an keeping up with my 6 different groups is a little difficult too.
- I never did laundry over the long weekend, so we are doing the better put it in the washing machine the day before mode.
- Christmas... so far we have no decorations and no real plan in putting some up.  It just doesn't feel like Christmas without some Christmas lights around the house.
- Sam and Emily are 10 1/2 months old.  I haven't taken their 10 month picture OR done any kind of writing. 
- Speaking of documenting... I never wrote down when they started waving, when they first laughed, or clapped their hands.  I have no way to guess either. 
- The house is still in complete disarray after getting our new carpet.  Boxes everywhere, partially put away, no pictures on the wall.
-  The to do list just gets longer and longer.

I'm hoping for a snow day so I can catch up!

Wordless Wednesday

Things that make you go hmmm...

So I was using my after bed to do something productive (ha) so I went over to Pinterest and found that a friend had pinned this idea.  Basically this woman did an act of kindness for every year of her age for her birthday.  I love LOVE this idea.  What a great way to spread some joy and have fun too.  Maybe this could be something we could start as a tradition for S and E.  I know I could handle ONE next year and then work our way up.  Thirty... I mean thirty-one is a little harder.  It would also be a great way to get the kids to learn to help others and how much it can in turn help you.  Any ideas?

9 Months... with words

Little E
You seem to be less scared and overwhelmed about new situations, unless everyone is wearing and hat or a costume.  It just takes you a little while longer to warm up.  Although, you still aren't sure about the grandma's that want to touch you at the store.  You really don't like other people to mess with you. You cry when we are at the doctor and he has to check you out.  You have begun to mimic more and more lately, including laughter.  You still sing to yourself when you play or when you are getting tired.  You are repeating sounds too.  You say "ma-ma-ma", "da-da-da", "ba-ba-ba" and sometimes "di-di-di". You and McSamerson have started laughing at each other too.  I'm so happy you two entertain each other.  The other day when we put S's Halloween costume on you thought it was pretty funny.

Your motor skills are growing too.  You got up on your hands and knees on October 8th and starting rocking pretty soon after that.  You still haven't crawled forward but you can crawl backwards really well.  You have moved both arms and all but one leg forward.  That last legs seems to be the problem.  Since you move backwards so well you can get yourself back to sitting all by yourself too!  (Although that was on 10-21-11, so I guess you were technically 9 months already.)  You like to stand and hold on to furniture but you aren't stable enough to be left alone.  You went to the OT on October 10th and she said that you don't have to go back!  You are where you need to be, somewhere between your actual and adjusted age.  The only worry we still have is your tendency to stand on your tippy toes on your left foot.  Hopefully as you stand more and more you'll fix that.  You have started waving too.  Unlike Sam we are sure that you are indeed waving because you wave on command... that is if you aren't in the middle of something else.

You are loving your dog lately.  You keep trying to get just a little touch but she isn't so into it.  You smile and laugh at her though.  You have started noticing big kids when we go out and they capture your attention.  You like jumping whenever you can get someone to hold you up.  It is often a good way to calm you down when you need to be sitting quietly.  You still love paper, but you are more into tearing into pieces then you were before.  You also like to hold onto wipes and wet paper towels.  The other morning dad left you on the floor and went upstairs and came back down to find you surrounded in diaper wipes that you opened and took out of the package.  You are beginning to enjoy your bath time a little bit more too.  You've been taking "big kid" baths in the bathtub.  You have started splashing like your brother.  You still really don't like having water poured over your head though.  You like to play and you are perfectly happy to move around on the floor and play with your toys. 

You still eat well.  You also still have tummy trouble.  We try to give you Karo 3 times a day to keep your stomache happy but sometimes even that doesn't work.  I'd say we still have at least one stomache emptying spit up a week or week and a half.  Most of the time you aren't bothered by it and it is a signal that you are better.  We also try to sneak prunes in there if you seem to be not feeling well.  Because of your sensitive tummy we are extra careful about what we give you to eat.  You seem to have a harder time when you eat more carbohydrates like rice and oatmeal, so we stick to just veggies and not the veggie mixtures with rice.  Sometimes we don't read the ingredient list though...  You really didn't like the pureed chicken mixture we tried to feed you.  You tried to push it out of your mouth with your tongue.  I can't say that I blame you, the mixture was...interesting.  You can feed yourself but you prefer not to.  You aren't so excited about the Gerber puffs that Sam loves.  You just like to pick them up and drop them onto the ground.

Weight:  18 lbs.  (official drs office weight 17 lbs. 14.5 oz.)  40%
Length:  28 in.  75%
Head: 17 in.  25%
Onesie size: 9 months




CSU vs. Boise State Game on 10-15-11

Sam
You have become a bit of a momma's boy this month.  In the mornings you are a little bit grumpy and when I sit down you try to crawl into my lap.  You definately need to be held more than Emily does.  I love that you like to snuggle though.  I'll hold you anytime.  You have greatly expanded your noises this month.  You now say "ma-ma-ma" and "ba-ba-ba" and "da-da-da".  You also have a tendency to shout out single syllables at random.  I'm not sure what the deal is with that but normally it is because you are happy.  You seemed to be unfazed by new people.  You are usually the first one I'll hand off when we are with friends.  The doctor didn't bother you a bit.  You hardly even cried when you got your flu shot.  (Only for about 5 seconds and not until you got a band-aid.)  You don't smile as easily to strangers as you used to though.

You too have gotten up on your hands and knees... about 5 hours BEFORE Emily.  You have the rocking down too but you haven't tried to move your arms and legs like your big sister.  You are rolling farther and farther though.  We've watched you roll from the couch to the highchairs.  You like to check out the bottom of the chairs, our shoes, Maddy's toys, and really whatever else is on the floor.  You LOVE to stand lately.  I put you into the pack-n-play the other day and you stood holding on to the side for about 5 minutes.  You also have enjoyed standing at the front window, watching the world go by.  I sure hope you don't skip the crawling stage and go straight to walking. We have inherited a walker, yes we know they're "not safe", but we don't have any stairs that anyone could fall down on our main floor.  Anyway, you love to be in the kitchen in the walker with me while I make dinner.  You don't really walk in it though, more push with both feet and only in the forward direction. 

You prefer to be around people and don't like to be left on the floor by yourself for too long. You too, are laughing at your sister and your dog.  Sometimes in your highchair you lean over so you can almost touch her as she walks by.  You occassionally sneak in a pat.  You also like the stacking rings and really anything you can put in your mouth.  You still love bath time and even more so that you are in the big tub with toys and your sister.  You splash and splash and really don't seem to mind the water being poured over your head.

You are doing a great job of feeding yourself.  You can hold your own bottle and feed yourself these days without us.  As long as you don't try to roll over you do a really good job.  You also like to eat the Gerber Puffs.  You aren't great at picking them up but you manage to get them into your mouth.  Although sometimes they end up stuck to your hands.  We tried bananas and avacado but I don't think you were ready yet.  We'll have to try again soon.  You still love your water and your sippy cup.  It is a great way to entertain you when you are sitting in your highchair.  You still eat everything we've given you.  You didn't seem to love the pureed chicken that I made but we'll give that some time too.

Weight:  24 lbs.  (official drs weight 23 lbs. 9 oz.) 90%
Length:  29.75 in. 75%
Head: 18.25 in. 90%
Onesie size: 18 months



Look mom, I'm saving them for later.



Sam eating in privacy.  :-)



Steps to taking a Snow Day Picture

1. Respond to crying babies in cribs.
2. Change diapers.
3. Change Sam out of his pjs he has been all day.  (It was a snow day and someone needed to spend the day in jammies.)
4. Put on almost too small long sleeve shirt and fleece lined pants on Sam.
5. Put Sam on the floor in front of the mirror to entertain himself while changing Emily.
6. Change Emily's diaper.  (She was in "real" clothes already.)
7. Move both kids downstairs.
8. Find a sweater and put it on Sam. 
9. Find socks and shoes for Sam and put them on.
10. Put Emily into an outfit not made out of cotton so she can sit in the wet snow.
11. Find her shoes, socks were already on.
12. Decide if it is worth it to change Emily, she stinks.  Decide it won't be too long until we are back inside.
13. Put on Sam's jacket.
14. Find the hat and gloves I just bought for Sam.
15. Put on Sam's hat.
16. Put on Emily's jacket.
17. Put on Emily's hat.
18. Put Emily's shoes on...again.
19. Try to put on Sam's gloves, decide to roll down jacket sleeves instead.
20. Get Paul to help carry kids outside.
21. Grab the camera.
22. Get a coat for myself.
23. Go outside.
24. Slip in the snow and get the camera all wet.
25. Put Sam in the snow. 
26. Try to take a picture, but the camera lens is wet and blurry.

27.  Pick up crying Sam and try to make him happy.

28.  Give Paul camera to try to clean.

29.  Try to keep Sam standing up so he is happy.

30.  Pick up crying Emily.

31.  Try to keep Sam and Emily standing so they're happy.

32.  Pose for a picture.

33.  Reassure Paul that we won't be called for child abuse.

34.  Head inside...

Phew... I think we need a snow suit for the kids so it won't require 3+ layers to go out in the cold.

Micellany Monday

Another random Monday post:

-I'm struggling to write S and E 9 month update.  I'm not sure where to start.  I feel like they have changed a ton in the last month but I can't think of how.

- I can't believe that they are so old.  Emily is days from crawling.  I just hope she waits until I'm home.

-They had their 9 month pictures today.  I always want them to be perfect.  I think because I'm afraid we won't ever have another 9 month picture to take. 

-  This past weekend was busy, even if it was a 3 day weekend.  I spent 4 hours at work this afternoon getting my grades done and I still don't know what we're going to be doing tomorrow.  I should have spent 4 more there on Sunday.  The end of quarter is so stressful.

- My sister just told me she'll be here for Thanksgiving!  I'm so excited.  I'm in need of a sister visit.  There are times I miss her so much and just wish she could still live here.  She would go do those things with S and E that Paul doesn't want to do or can't do because he's busy. 

- Speaking of my sister... I'm going to do The Biggest Loser competition that she has put together.  Nothing like a little competition to get me to lose those last 15 pounds, only 5 of which were pregnancy weight.  Now I just need to figure out how I'm going to go about doing that.

- S is eating Gerber something Puffs but he isn't great at picking them up with his fingers.  You think he has eaten them all because there aren't any on his tray and then he waves his hands and you see this:

 The "leftovers" stuck to his hands.
-  I have been reading about Pinterest on other blogs so I figured I'd try it out.  Wow!  What a great way to waste time finding things you'd like to spend time making.  Great ideas though.

Commenting on other Blogs

Lately I've found that I comment on other blogs more frequently then I ever had in the past.  I was just reading Baby's First Years on Babble and surprised to find that my comment had been quoted in a new post.  Ha ha!  Curious about what I said??  here

"Apples" via my instagram.

 

1. Nothing says fall like crisp fall air with football on TV.

2. My favorite autumnal tradition is   we don't really have a fall tradition.  I hope to start one though.

3. My favorite fall treat is pumpkin spice lattes and chocolate chip pumpkin bread.

4. Fall makes me think of    home and growing up    because    I used to love sitting at home while my dad watches football and napping.

5. Autumn free form word association, go!    umm... cool, warm, pumpkins, apples, conferences..

6. My go-to outfit in the fall is     I don't really have a go-to outfit for anything but it is time to break out all of my zip up sweaters/sweatshirts, etc.

7. My favorite fall holiday is (Halloween or Thanksgiving) Thanksgiving. I love spending time with family and just relaxing and eating good food.

9 Months

Going Private

I'm thinking I'm going to make my blog private so I know who is reading it.  So if you've like to keep reading make sure I have your e-mail address.  So my two aunts out there who read but don't comment make sure I know your e-mail addresses.  You can leave your address in the comments.

Miscellany Monday

Since I'm playing single parent for the next couple of days I've been spending wasting some time reading blogs and found this on one... so here we go:

 
• On Friday I lost a necklace, one I lusted over for over a year until I finally got it from Paul.  I even went recycle bin diving in the garage to try and find it.  It's still missing.
 
• I've found that coming home to two little babies does wonders for letting work stuff go.  I forget most all about the troubles of the day when I see their smiley gummy faces.
 
• We are going to try Real Simple's month of meals from the September magazine, but we aren't starting until conferences are over, which is next Friday.

• Speaking of conferences we have them every night (except Friday) for the next two weeks.  Luckily it is only from 4-6 pm and you can leave when you're done for the day.  But I have the largest class in the school.
 
• Conferences for so long makes my most stressful part of the year 3x as long.  And our district decided to do them so early so they are "data" conferences but I'm not so sure all parents are going to be okay with the lack of current grades.  (And even though its mid-term, its 1st quarter mid-term, which means I don't have a whole lot of grades yet.)

• Yesterday we Skyped with Aunt Amanda and she entertained S and E for about 15 minutes.  Next time we need a break we're just going to Skype her.  :-)

• Since when has Skyped become a verb?  Should I still capitalize it? 

There you go... a bunch of random thoughts. 



8 Months!

Sammer

You sure are becoming more and more a little boy and less a baby these days.  I'm not so sure that I like that.  You have become a great sitter and can sit and play for long periods of time.  I think you prefer to sit so you can watch what is going on all around you.  You roll too.  You can pretty much get to where you want to but not too fast yet, which is good.  We need to make sure Maddy's toys are not in rolling distance now.  You do a great job of getting up on your hands and you get your feet moving but you haven't quite figured out how to get them going together.  I've noticed lately that you are starting to lean more from side to side when you're sitting too.  Maybe crawling is in your near future?  You have been able to give high fives for awhile.. mostly because you like to pat your hand on things.  We think you might be waving.  I'm not sure if your movement is intentional though.  Yesterday when you were grumpy in the restaurant I took you for a walk outside and whenever we stopped and looked at your reflection in the window you would raise your hand as if to wave.

 

 

You've begun screaming this month too.  For about two weeks you would yell and yell and make a huge ruckus, just because you could.  You've changed to grunting/growling now.  I'm still trying to decide if it is because you're mad or if something is bothering you.  Just like in the pictures your tongue is poking out lately and often when you are smiling.  Your laugh is still more of a scream these days, followed by a chuckle.

You love your dog.  This morning when I left for work the two of you were playing tug-o-war together.  Or I guess I should call it tug-o-sit.  Maddy wasn't tugging, just letting you hold on to her toy.  You sometimes hold out your hand so she can lick it...even though we are trying to get her to leave you alone.  You love your bath too.  We still have you in the newborn tub, even though you're probably too big.  You start splashing once I put you in and only stop when all the water has been splashed out.  We joked that you'd be the swimmer since you were practicing holding your breath in the hospital, but maybe we were right.  You don't seem to have any real favorite toys, just anything you can chew on.  I take that back.  You love the rattle with the face on one side and the mirror on the other.  You still love to jump even though you aren't in your jumeroo too much anymore, for fear you are over the weight limit.  You do seem to like the exersaucer your Grandbip and Grandpap got you.  You also like to jump when someone is holding you and really love it if you jump and get to go into the air. 

This is the toy.. old picture though.  (8-01-11)

You eat great and seem like to like everything we've given you.  Lately we've been giving you tiny pieces of food that we're eating and you make funny faces about the texture.  You still LOVE to drink water and we try to get you your own straw to keep you busy if we eat out.  You've graduated into a high chair now when we go out and you seem to be pretty happy to be up near us.  You can pretty much hold your own bottle and feed yourself these days but you get a little tired of it after a while.  A sippy cup keeps you busy for awhile and you can get your own water that way.

Weight: about 23.5 lbs.
Onesie Size in picture: 18 months (new and not washed so still a little big)
Clothes size: 12-18 month

EmmyLou

You keep us laughing these days with all of your silly faces and noises.  You are building quite a repertoire of sounds lately.  Recently it has been a growling talk that sounds like a scary monster voice, that combined with your sinister sounding giggle is just too much.  You have a great chuckle that you break out when you really are laughing.  You say "mama" these days and I really think you said it when I got home from work two days ago... not in the middle of a babble either.

 

You finally have sitting down and we can leave you without worrying you're going to fall right away.  You like to sit near your brother and let him take all your toys out of your hands.  You too are rolling like crazy.  Just in the past week you've really been rolling fast.  You also have figured out how to move backward on your hands.  You kick like you're swimming with your feet and you slowly move backwards.  I'm worried you're going to be a fast mover.  You are interested in everything.  A couple of times you've rolled to the red chair to play with a tiny piece of thread.  We're going to have babyproof really carefully around here!

You love the jumperoo and necklaces.  I think that might be why you did so great at Uncle Kevin's wedding... everyone had on a necklace.  You still love books, especially the one that has different textures on animals that we inherited from your cousins.  You like your dog but not as much as your brother.  You don't use your pacifier unless it is time to go to bed or we had to wake you up.  You mostly just chew on the edges these days any way.  You really study your toys and the burp cloth when you are eating.  You're taking it all in.  You also like being tossed into the air.  Standing up on your own is great too!  Sometimes you can stand for a couple of seconds all by yourself!

 

You eat great too and have liked everything ever since the carrot incident.  You definitely aren't sure about the "real" food textures I've been giving you lately.  Little pieces of crusty bread cause you to make the greatest face!  It makes me laugh so hard.  You have been sitting in a high chair at restaurants too.  At home in your high chair you always scooch yourself down so you can put your feet up, not a great habit but it should get better once the tray is on.  You like your sippy cup too but not really to drink out of.  You put it in your mouth and you like to shake it around but I don't think you're getting much out of it.  You like water from a straw too but not as much as your brother.  The cold always gets you.

Weight: About 18 lbs.

Onesie size: 6 months

Clothing size: 6 - 12 months or 9 months