Baby J is 17 Months Old!

Baby J turned 17 months on Sunday! Time is flying by with this peanut! He is growing and changing everyday! 

Here is what he is up to at 17 months:

He got a new tooth! It finally came in and he has three more trying to poke through, but have not come in yet! 

He has figured out that I am "Mama" and says it all day, every day! 

He is still sleeping great! 12+ hours a night. He doesn't always go right to sleep at night, but once he is a sleep he is usually good for the night. 

He loves the swimming pool! He loves jumping in and going under water. He doesn't like sitting in his baby float though. He wants to be free to swim around and get out of the pool to jump back in. 

He has mastered going up and down the stairs. We have the splash area at Disney to thank for that. He was up and down those stairs so many times that week! But now I don't worry about him falling face first down the stairs at home. 

He can also climb up on every chair/couch/coffee table/kitchen chair/table etc... we have at home. He is always climbing up on something. 

He loves his big brother! Wants to play with him and be with him all the time. 

He also loves his daddy so much! When Andrew gets home from work, he screams with excitement and is so happy to see him. 

But if Mama is around, I'm still the favorite! 

He now weighs 21.8 lbs. and is 30.25" tall.  He is still little, but very slowly gaining just a little weight. He is getting taller, so I think any weight he is gaining is going to make him taller. It's crazy, cause he eats all day long! 

Speaking of eating, he is eating great! He loves Greek yogurt, watermelon, grapes, PB&J, blueberries, rice, Mac and cheese, spaghetti, any kind of crackers and cookies or cereal. He likes crunchy things. He likes lots of different veggies and ate a whole bowl of frozen veggies last week.  I was getting some frozen veggies out to cook for dinner, and he wanted what I had, so I gave him some and he kept asking for more! He has started eating a little cheese, but still not a big fan of any meat. It's a good thing he gets a lot of protein from the Greek yogurt. 

He is drinking a lot more milk, now that we have added the carnation instant breakfast to it. He usually drinks anywhere from 2-3 cups a day! 

He is talking a lot more. He now says mama, dada, ball, doggy, cold, hot, no, thank you, more, cracker, and cookie. He also shakes his head yes to answer a question.  

He also does the sign for more, eat, all done, cracker, cookie, please, milk, and poop!

He is still doing great being a part of our family! We are so blessed that God decided to add little J to our family!! 

2 Months with Baby J!

It has been two months since baby J came home and things are going great! 

We went on our first family vacation this month and it was great! Definetly different than what we are used to, but still great! You forget what it's like to have a baby on vacation and it is not relaxing at all! Michael had just gotten to the age where he was happy to play in the pool with other kids, with us just watching from the side. Now we are back to holding a baby in the pool and making sure he doesn't run away or drown himself. 

We went to the ENT a couple weeks ago to get baby J's hearing tested. His pediatrician was worried about how little words we was saying and wanted to rule out his hearing first before we tried speech therapy. Well his hearing is perfect, but he does need allergy medicine every day.

So now we will go to the speech therapist for an evaluation. I really don't think he will need it, since he is talking a lot more now then he was at his doctor appointment. 

He is still sleeping great! 12+ hours at night and a two hour nap during the day. When we were on vacation, that schedule got a little messed up, but he was happy to be back home and sleeping in his own bed. 

He is still eating great! He is a watermelon eating machine! He loves the stuff!! He also loves grapes, Cheerios, Greek yogurt, grits, applesauce, oatmeal, peas, crackers, cookies, French fries, noodles (all), and just this week he ate some cheese and didn't spit it out! That was a first! He's still not a big fan of meat, but we try. 

He started calling me Mama this week!! He has said it a few times in the past, but this week, when he wants to get my attention or wants something from me, he says, "Mama, Mama, Mama,..." It is music to my ears! 

He is learning to play independently and also to play with Michael. He isn't needing me to to be with him every second of the day. He will walk around the house finding things to play with, and then will come check on me and make sure I'm still here. He has also started to play with cars, just like Michael. I'm sure that has something to do with that! 

He is getting more and more comfortable with Andrew being the only one here at times. When we are all home, he loves Andrew and runs happily screaming "dada!" But, Sometimes I have to work late, so Andrew will come get the boys and take them home, feed them, and put them to bed. J was not a fan of this arrangement, but is getting much better about it. 

It's been a great month! Less adjusting and more fun! We really are so blessed to have this little guy in our family! 

Kindergarten Graduate!

Michael is officially done with Kindergarten and on his way to first grade!! Where did this year go? It has flown by!

He has grown up so much since August! He was just a baby, now he is a grown up boy missing teeth!!

A couple weeks ago, Michael had his kindergarten graduation program at school. They had a "Down on the Farm" program and it was so cute! 

They sang lots of songs, and then each child was presented with a special award and their "diploma". 

Michael got the "respectful citizen" award! Makes me happy to know that he was so sweet and respectful at school! 

They also asked each child what their favorite part of kindergarten was, and Michael said "Learning to spell!" Who knew?

We just loved his teachers this year! 

Here is Michael with the teachers assistant, Ms. Brown. 

And here he is with his teacher, Mrs. Joyner. 

Then this week they had their last awards day for the last 9 weeks. They also have out award for the year. This is a total brag, but Michael got on stage 4 times during the award ceremony! 

He got: 

- perfect attendance last nine weeks

- perfect attendance for the year!

- the American citizenship award

- kindergarten Certificate 

We are so proud of everything he has accomplished this year!! 

He had to wait till today, the last day, to get his perfect attendance certificates! 

Baby J is 16 Months Old

Baby J, you are 16 months old today!! Your little personality has come out over the past month, and it's so fun to watch you get more comfortable with us and open yourself up! 

Here is what you are doing at 16 months:

- You are still tiny, but you are getting bigger!! You are up to 21 pounds and 29.5 inches tall!

- We had to add some carnation good start to your milk, and you love it!! You went from not drinking even a whole cup a day to drinking at least two cups now! 

- you still eat great, and will eat just about anything. We are really pushing the yogurt, peanut butter, and meats. Anything to help you grow! 

- you are a pro at using a fork to feed yourself! Using a spoon is a little tricky, since you want to flip it upside down before it gets to your mouth! 

- you had your hearing checked this week and everything was perfect! The dr did put you on some allergy medicine to help clear up your congestion. 

- the reason you had your hearing checked, was because you aren't saying very many words yet and the dr wanted to be sure you can hear. You have started saying a few more words this month. You can now say, dada, mama, doggy, go go go (when you are running), hot hot (when you get near the stove or anything else you aren't supposed to touch), no no, night-night, and when we say "what does the cow say" you say "moo!"

- you do awesome climbing up the stairs! You are getting better at scooting on your butt going down; and don't want to walk right off the top step anymore! That is a relief for mommy! 

- You can do the sign for please, eat, more, milk and poop

- you know where your head is and can point to it. Sometimes you will point to your nose too, but not every time. 

- You love playing in the baby pool in the backyard, but were not a fan of the big pool. 

- you are still sleeping great! 12+ hours at night and a two hour nap every afternoon!

- you have some teeth that want to come in, and it has made you pretty grumpy. None have popped trough yet, but hopefully soon!

- you love Michael and get so excited when it is time to go pick him up from school! I know you are going to love having him home all summer long!

- You love to give kisses! Especially to Michael! 

We are so happy you have joined our family and can't wait to see what you will do next!

12 Years!

Today, Andrew and I have been married for 12 years! Crazy how fast that has gone by! 

A lot has changed in those 12 years! But there is still a whole lotta love! 

Love you Andrew! 

Two Teeth - Gone!

That's right! Michael lost two teeth this week! The top left one came out Wednesday afternoon while we were playing outside. Poor Michael could hardly eat anything and was talking so funny. I asked him to let me see how wiggly it was, and it was definetly ready to come out. So I gave it a little pull and it came right out! 

Then yesterday, he came home from school, he said he had another loose tooth! The bottom left was ready to come out too, so when daddy car home from work, he pulled it out! 

So I have kid loosing teeth and another kid teething and getting new teeth! 

1 Month with Baby J

One month ago, our lives changed forever, when we became a family of 4! 

I can't believe it has been a month already! I won't say that it has felt like he has been here forever, or that we can't remember what life was like beef baby J. It's been a month of adjustment and transition for the whole family.  We are all learning what it means to have a baby in the house again, and Michael especially is learning what it means to share his mama and daddy! 

Over the past month we have had the chance to get to know baby J and figure out his little personality. One thing we know is that he is a BUSY BOY! He runs everywhere! He is into everything! He climbs up on everything he can! He throws toys and kicks balls! He is just full of energy! 

But he is also a sweet baby! He loves to give hugs and kisses! He loves the dogs and wants to hug them all the time, sometimes a little too hard. 

He is always hungry! He eats all day long. He is a tiny little guy, and we are trying to get him to gain weight. He is still figuring out chewing some solid foods, but we are working on it. He loves spaghetti, beans, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, yogurt, applesauce, macaroni and cheese, oatmeal, watermelon, veggie straws, Cheerios, crackers, and goldfish. He would rather drink juice than water, and we have had to add some instant breakfast to his milk, to get him to drink more. 

He is a great sleeper! He takes at least one, 2 hour nap everyday, and sometimes a cat nap in the car in the afternoon. He goes to bed between 7-7:30 every night and sleeps till 7:30-8:30 every morning. 

He is a big talker, but doesn't say that many words yet. But he is always saying something! 

Life is definitely different with Baby J around, but we wouldn't trade it for anything! He is the answer to so many prayers and a huge blessing to our family.