Baby updates

Here we have Megan at 8 months

enjoying some apples in her new highchair. Be impressed - this is our fourth baby and FIRST highchair. I am that cheap, or maybe not... since I paid for a chair that will only be used by one kid.

And here she is in her saucer at 7 months. Still putting everything in her mouth. This time it's maracas from Holly. Mmmmm maracas.

Megan is fine... I think. Her eating leaves a LOT to be desired and consequently she's a skinny little thing. But happy! She still won't do a bottle or cup so I'm just praying (literally) that she'll be OK and continue to develop as she should and be a healthy little girl. I'm still pumping as much as I can after feedings to have milk to mix with her cereal and hopefully increase production so the few minutes she does nurse will hopefully be more beneficial.

And here is a not-so-flattering pic of Lauren. But I wanted to show you that now at 2 years old she has let me do something to her hair. This was on a Monday following a weekend where I had multiple people each day ask about my little boy/son. This prompted me to attempt to put what little hair she has in a girly style. This lasted for just minutes so our photo ops were not many. Such a cute little stinker! She's let me try it a couple of times since. Hopefully the style will grow on her and she'll leave it in soon!

In other Lauren news - she's been 2 now for 2 weeks. She knows all her colors and (check this out!) most of her alphabet (upper case and what sounds the letters make). Yeah, she's a genius. Which of course reflects directly on my parenting skills. ;) Or that's what I tell myself. She's so fun to be with and I'm glad I get to hang out with her all day - she keeps me going. Well, she also drives me nuts (such a strong-willed little lady), but I'll take the good with the challenging!

The Cat In the Hat Comes Back

Ah yes - here is why we always close the bathroom door...

Cream blush and bronzer!

And then I saw the ring!
A ring in the tub!
And, oh boy!
What a thing!
A big long pink LAUREN ring!
It looked like pink ink!
And I said, "Will this ever come off?
I don't think!"

Uninspired

How's that for a title? :) I couldn't think of anything witty to write - sorry! We are currently in the midst of a perpetual cold - currently it's the babies and myself. Really, mommies should be exempt from being sick. And so should babies. Only those who are old enough to blow their noses and tell you where it hurts and drink when told and take medicine should be eligible. And primary caregivers are out altogether. And it bothers me that altogether doesn't have two "L"s in it. And it also bothers me that "till" as in "till we meet again" isn't spelled 'til. Because it's an abbreviation of "until" so I think it should have an apostrophe. And I'm thankful for spell check. I won't tell you how many red squiggly lines are underlining my words as I type. And that's how clouded my brain is - I hate being sick.

Ok... some updates...

Rick - waiting to see if he is laid off (thanks for all your kind words on Facebook - love you!) this month. And also trying to work hard as if nothing is happening. Lots of deadlines looming... how will they do without him.

Mom - sick. See above. Still pumping after each feeding - though now from my very own pump - not a rented one. Wishing she could get a haircut, but thinking ponytails may be the order of the day until we know if we're keeping our job. Thirty bucks can buy a lot of milk and bananas!

A - Finally passed off her +5 addition test (20 probs in under a minute) and will now be moving on to +6. We will be practicing at home using this site to generate worksheets. Loves to play with the boys at recess. Super gal!

N - Had his preschool's dinosaur day at school and was in heaven. The things they learn when are interested in a subject are amazing! They made fossils and went on a "dig" and had special dinosaur treats. He is my earliest reader and picks up on things sooooo quickly! He is a quick study and I'm excited to see him grow in Kindergarten next year. (Which I registered him for a few weeks ago).

L - Firecracker. She is talking so much! I can't believe she will be two in a month. She has her opinion about everything and can get quite feisty if things aren't going as she would like. She doesn't let her siblings walk all over her - she is quick to hit when she is mad. She is also my most loving child (hugging and kissing you just because) and so quick to say sorry! She loves her siblings so much and loves to wave at them, hug them and kiss them. You can see how we are wired to learn through mimicking others when you watch her. She picks up on so much that I do and say through the day!

M - Hopefully still gaining! She went from 50% to 4% and to 9% at her last weigh-in. We have another next week. She rolls over both ways, can sit up for a few seconds unassisted and is such a happy baby! I just love how she can make me feel such bliss when she looks at me and smiles - which thankfully she does often.

House - on hold. We were ready to pay people to fix up the last bits - but now we are thinking we should hold on to our pennies until we know more about the job situation. We have some sheets of drywall to put up, a duct to move, some closets to build and then we are ready to have some guys come in and mud/texture. Then we have a patio to pour and a yard to design. Then we are pretty much done. Oh, we need to put flooring in on the main floor. And then we are pretty much done. Except for the bathroom. And then the kitchen cupboards and counter. You get the idea...

Hope you are doing well!

Dec 5th "Sleep"

Lauren crawled up to the top bunk all by her lonesome... Scary! She closed her eyes and said "sleep" when she was confronted...

Pizza Night!

We often have a pizza and movie night on Fridays. Our kids are notoriously slow eaters and if we waited until everyone was done with dinner to start the show we would be up all night! So we spread out some towels or a picnic blanket, break out the sippy cups and enjoy the movie while we eat. :)

Our attempt at our yearly photo shoot

Here is why we still don't have kids' pics for you...

At least the big kids don't give us trouble! Cute, huh?

Halloween

Here you have our Halloween from 2009. Rick opted out this year... Booo! Mommy was a kitty, Ashlyn was a princess (when this costume wears out I'm not sure what she'll do!), Nathan was a knight, Lauren a butterfly and Megan a ladybug. The pics are at our annual dinner and trunk or treat at church.


It was also b-ball for Nathan that day! This just cracks me up - here is the defense. They all stand in a line with their arms up. As the season progresses they move closer to the net - same formation. Adorable!

September 18th - ballet and Daddy Daughter campout!

This camping trip was Lauren's first in the camper. She did great! Ashlyn on the other hand, threw up - for no apparent reason - all over herself, her bedding and the mattress. Yum. She was completely fine the next rest of the night and all of the next day but what a mess!

Here are some highlight pics:

The most beautiful bouquet I've ever received!

Here sissy...

Thanks to Ryan Jones we have a fish!

Best. Walking Stick. Ever.

Rick and Lauren (this was when he was growing out his beard for Halloween to be Amish - and later to be Wolverine - it did not make until Halloween!)

First ballet class...

We're inventors!

Our contraption to stop Lauren's finger sucking - and the cracked raw mess that it created in between her finger from all that drool! Sock attached to suspender clips sewed to elastic. :) She still sucks like a bandit - but no yucky in between the fingers any more so we have done away with The Sock.

Other assorted pics

Love that baby!

Megan

Made some nursing bracelets! The charm tells you when you last fed the little one, and you switch wrists as you switch sides.

Now we have two dipe cases for the diaper bag so we know whose is whose!

Why we keep the door closed...

Bobbin' Love

No, not for a Bernina - just a funny Lauren giving her sib some love!

Kisses

Lauren kisses by clicking her tongue. She loves her baby sister!

Slip 'n' Slide Summer fun

Checkups

Time for shots and checkups!  We took Nathan in for his 4 y.o. appt. and Lauren in for her 1 year.

Here's the breakdown:

Lauren (cuz I know you are as anxious to see how she's doing as I was!)

Weight:  19lb 13.2 oz,   25%  Woo-hoo!  Nice comeback from 3%, huh?

Height: 76.5 cm (not sure we're in metric here? ~30in for those stateside),   100%  Ha!  Take that!

Head:  45 cm, 44%

Temp: 98.6F

BMI: 2.38

Pulse: 132

Oxygen: 93

:)  I know you want it all!

Nathan

Weight:  40lb,   74%

Height: 44.5in,   98%

Blood Pressure:  102/52

Temp: 98.6F

BMI: 14.20, 8%

Pulse: 108

Oxygen: 100

The doctor also mentioned that though Nathan looks slim, not to worry!  His weight is all muscle.  Well, I can't say that I've ever worried about these kids (barring L) being too slim, but it's nice to know he's nice and healthy.

March 6th - a week or so later!

Today we finally made Lauren her "cake" and opened presents!  

I thought cupcakes would be the way to go with our little gal so we just arranged them into the number "1" and made some mini cupcakes out of the rest of the batter.

The candles spell out "The Big 1"

Yay Lauren - we made it!

March 6th - part 2

For dinner we went to Red Robin and gave Lauren our family's favorite ice cream and balloon bonanza!

 

Here is Lauren showing off her signing prowess - "More!"
 

And here is our favorite take-away - Red Robin balloons!  And, yes, it popped that same night!

Tricky

Here we have, for your viewing pleasure....

Clapping! (or the sign for "more" - depending on if she is hungry or not)

Crawling? Well, not really.

But she is moving! I think this is what's called scooting, and she can do it at various speeds depending on how much she wants something.

I have no idea why it's tilted, so tilt your head to your left.

On to brighter things...

Lauren is actually now wearing outfits that I remember Ashlyn wearing (except Ashlyn walked in them and Lauren scoots in them.)


Nathan is showing you the wall where we will soon have coat/backpack hooks! Yay! We have some in the kids' room but it is much easier with school in session to have something right by the door. And, they seem to fill the pegs in their bedroom very quickly with many, many hang-able things. The things on the wall are Post-It flags to mark the studs so we know where we're headed!


The hook dealy isn't put together yet, I just painted and sealed it last night, but it's being assembled (hopefully) today! The hooks were just $2.50 in the Dollar Spot at Target - the board is just a 1"x4" from Home Depot cut to 24". Rick was going to run it through the router but I think plain looks lovely so that is what we're doing. Oh, and after finally finding out how boards can look so beautiful and rough around the edge - please add belt sander to my covet list.