an update on the kiddos

Baby M hit the four month mark a earlier this month, so I guess it's time for an update!

Mastered Skills (most babies can do)
Holds head up steadily: Like a champ. Based on his size and head strength, people usually guess his age to be 6-7 months.
Can bear weight on legs: He certainly can! This is one strong kid.
Coos when you talk to him: More like yells. We could be in for a fun toddler-hood.
Does mini push-ups: He does. I know it'll be no time at all before he starts crawling. Yikes.

Emerging Skills (half of babies can do)
Can grasp a toy: He can. He has a bouncy chair thing that we put him in sometimes, and it has a bar that goes over him with a couple little dangling toys. He likes to grab onto the zebraffe (shape of a giraffe, stripes like a zebra) and just yell at the poor thing. I don't know what it did to make him mad.
Reaches out for objects: Like the zebraffe? And a few other toys.
Can roll over: Both ways! Watch out, world!

Advanced Skills (a few babies can do)
Imitates speech sounds (baba, dada): He doesn't quite have the consonants down, but he sure loves to make noise at you!
May cut first tooth: Not yet, thank goodness. He drools like crazy, though, so I kind of wonder if it's coming.

Our little chunker is now in nine month clothing, and the 12 month stuff that we have is not comically large on him. Mommy's not okay with this. I guess it makes sense, though, since he eats all the time!

The kids were so fortunate to get to celebrate two Christmases this year. We celebrated with Daddy's family the weekend before Christmas, and then we road tripped to see mine for Christmas Eve and Christmas day. Daddy had to go back home the day after Christmas, but I stayed with the kids for another week. All three of my brothers made it home, too, so it was nice to have the whole family together for the first time since I don't even remember when! I think Grandpa and Grandma enjoyed the extra time, too.

Big Sister P has officially hit the terrible twos, which I hear actually get worse at age three. (Which is next month. Yikes.) There's something to look forward to. I think one of her biggest issues is that she misses our big house on the prairie. We have become hesitant to go anywhere now because we don't want to deal with the inevitable freak out when we tell her that we have to go home. She asks about our old house and when we get to go to the old house and why our friend C is now living in our old house. Trust me, kid, there's a lot that I miss about it, too! I feel bad for our neighbors, though. That girl has lungs!

The tantrums, however, probably seem way more frequent than they actually are. Most of the time, she's a polite, intelligent, and caring kid. When Grammy explained what she was doing when she was shopping for her work's Adopt a Family, P got very concerned and asked if she could buy a toy for the kids who weren't getting any presents. How's that for heart-warming?

She's learned several new words recently, including consequences and generosity. "If I listen to mommy and daddy, there are no consequences!" She's not a fan of the time out.

When counting, she still usually skips over 14 and 15, but other than that, she can count to 20. Every now and then, she even gets those two numbers in there.

P's new favorite activity is washing dishes. I hope she continues to enjoy this, because I will pay her good money when she's old enough to actually get them clean. Dishes are, by far, my least favorite household chore.

Uncle A got her the movie "Frozen" for Christmas, so I am now experiencing what most parents went through exactly one year ago. I really don't mind it, though. It's a cute movie, and it's nice to rotate it with Tangled. Every single one of the songs gets stuck in your head, though. I think the phrase Husband used yesterday was "audio crack." That sounds about right. She loves wearing her hair in braids like Anna, and she switches back and forth between which sister she is, so I don't have to be Elsa every time.

Anna hair!

We went to a friend's house for dinner last month, and P helped make dessert!

Strong boy with a nice drool train...

P helped Grandpa with his crossword puzzle; what a girl!

Rocking the sweater vest like a...social studies teacher?

Sibling love! Most of the time...

one word 2015

Today's blessing:
Grace

Friends, I'm going to try something this year. #oneword365 has been on my heart since I first heard about it two years ago, and I think this is the year. Anna at girl with blog summed it up in her 2014 oneword post by saying "...instead of guilt over goals un-fulfilled, there was drive to grow in a specific area that actually permeated many."

Consistent

This is my word. Throughout 2015, I will work on being more consistent in all areas of my life, including this blog.

Consistent means one or two posts a month. Maybe more, but no fewer.

Consistent means putting away five things that aren't where they belong before I go to bed. At least most nights.

Consistent means averaging 10,000 steps per day.

Consistent does not mean perfect. Something done imperfectly is better than nothing getting done at all. A blog post without edited pictures and fancy links is better than no blog post.

Returning two items to their home or two pieces of junk mail to the recycling, while not as good as five, is better than none.

Running two miles, while not always as good as running five, is better than not running at all.

In the spirit of embracing my imperfection, I spent a bunch of time yesterday working on a graphic. I wanted something fun and bright and impressive. It has become clear to me that I have a lot to learn about picmonkey, so this is what you get for now!

Did you choose a word or make a resolution? Tell me about it so we can encourage each other!

small changes

Today's blessing:
Wool socks. Because, as my husband says, I have dead people feet.

You may notice some small changes taking place around here. Husband pointed out that I share a lot of personal information. I mean, a lot. Anyone reading this blog wouldn't have to dig too far to learn the full names of our children, what they like and dislike, and generally where we live. Also, there are tons of pictures. I realize that nearly everyone who reads this probably already has all of that information anyways, but it only takes one crazy person to stumble upon my little family and do bad things. That said, I'll be spending the next few days taking down many of the bigger identifiers, meaning names and specific locations. Pictures will remain.

Big sister P and Baby M are trying to raise a mommy who is not paranoid, just careful!

an update on our family of four

It's been quiet around here as we get used to being a family of four. The Baby is now six weeks old, so I thought it was time for an update!

P still loves being a big sister, which is such a relief. The novelty of having a little one around hasn't worn off yet, and she's still eager to help whenever she can.

I recently decided, out of respect for the teenager that she will be someday, not to share about bathroom habits online.

Some of P's favorite things to do recently include playing with the neighbor girls and going to the park. If we can get both at the same time, even better! She's a bit timid at the park - she likes the little kid swing where she sits inside it and can't fall out, but she doesn't like to swing too high. She also doesn't usually like to go down the slide. Every now and then she'll hold our hands and slide down. Baby steps!

Until now, P has been a self-inflicted vegetarian. She wants nothing to do with anything meat related. Then today, we were playing with the neighbor girls, when I told her it was time for lunch. She didn't want to leave, so I said that she could stay and eat chicken or go home and eat noodles. So we stayed and ate chicken. Peer pressure and the desire to continue playing with someone else's toys are very strong motivators!

As for Bsby M, here's how he's doing so far at six weeks:
Mastered Skills (most babies can do)
Lifts head: Yes indeed. We haven't been great about getting him tummy time, but he's still getting strong. When we hold him up on our shoulders he can hold his head up for a good 30 seconds before he needs a little break.

Responds to sound: If being soothed whenever he hears "Your Song" by Elton John counts as responding to sound, then yes. And he sometimes seems to react to our voices a little bit, too.

Stares at faces: Yes he does, and who could resist staring back into those beautiful steel blue eyes? He's a charmer already!

Can see black and white patterns: Um...probably, but how can you tell?

Emerging Skills (half of babies can do)
Follows objects: Maybe a little bit. He would rather stare and Mommy or Daddy.

Oohs and ahs: Not yet, but he sure is working on using his voice!

Advanced Skills (a few babies can do)
Smiles: Only when he's gassy, though I swear she smiled at P the other day for real. Big sister can have the first smile - I'm okay with that!

Laughs: Not yet, but with as dorky as his father is, it's only a matter of time.

Holds head at 45-degree angle: Not yet, but again, he needs more tummy time!

This boy is a chunker! He is currently wearing a 6 month sleeper (he's only 6 weeks!) and it's big, but not comically large! I guess the fact that he nurses almost constantly is paying off!

M likes to take baths. And by likes, I mean he may be crying and fussy, and when I get him in the tub, he stops crying. He just kind of looks around and kicks his feet and resists my attempts to clean his chins. (There are at least two of them. He's working on a third.) He doesn't even mind getting water dumped over his head. It's pretty remarkable to me.

I think we're past the stage where M wakes up every hour or two to eat, so that's helpful! The other night, I think he even let me sleep for a little over four hours! Amazing!

Other than constant tiredness, Husband and I are doing well. He's back at school and giving tours for the admissions office while eagerly awaiting the start of basketball season, while I'm at home playing with babies and trying to crochet every now and then. I started running about a week and a half ago, which has dramatically improved my mood!

P discovered a love of black olives. That's mommy's girl!

So little! This was M on his due date. We are so grateful for an "extra week!"

Snuggling with Daddy!

Three generations

My aunt included these as a gift for P when they sent a baby gift for M. She absolutely loves building with her Legos, and she gets so creative!

Shortly after this, we stopped swaddling him.

So here's a great story for you. We took a walk one day up to Daddy's school. We were walking around one of the main buildings, when P heard music - a brass ensemble practicing for chapel that day. She asked if we could go in the church and see the instruments, so we did. Then she didn't want to leave. So we stayed for chapel. She found this teddy bear in one of the "quiet" bags at the back of church, and spent the second half of the service baptizing it. She would stick her hand in the font, make a cross on its forehead, and say "Jesus loves you very much." I am not making any of this up.

Matching diapers! Excuse the blurriness - it's hard enough to get a decent picture of one moving target, much less two!

How sweet is this? P loves little brother. We think she'll grow on him as soon as he's old enough to defend himself from her well-intentioned attacks.

Nothing like a little snuggle time in the morning!

Click here, scroll down to the last picture, and read the caption. I'll wait.
Did I call this, or what? I'm not even kidding.

our little girl: 31 months

As of last month, my baby girl is officially two and a half! In my defense, I did have this post started well before August 9th. Then life happened and we realized that the move we had known about for over a year was actually happening in a few weeks, so we had to pack. It's funny how things can still sneak up on you when you've been planning them for so long...

Anyhow - two months in one update! Here we go!

P has learned her last name! We talked about it a little bit one night while we were reading to her (one of those awesome personalized books where the animals spell out the kid's name), but she was pretty adamant that her name was "P" and nothing else. Then, all of a sudden, a few nights later, she was dancing around at church during VBS telling us her first and last name. We didn't think it stuck, but I guess, once again, we underestimated her! before long she also learned that Mommy and Daddy have the same last name, and Nugget will too.

P is starting to grasp the very beginnings of the concept of spelling. She knows what letters certain words start with, and if we ask her about other words that start with the same sound, she can usually get them. (For example, she knows the "baby" starts with "b." If we ask her what "ball" or "bubble" start with, she can sometimes get it right - with a little prompting!)

P has felt her little brother move before, but she never really acknowledged that it was him. In the last two months, however, if finally clicked. Towards the end, whenever we would be snuggling and she'd feel him, she'd sit up and get this little smirk on her face.

One of the greatest quotes she learned this month: "Stinky ear cheese is no good!" (We may have let her go a bit too long without a bath. She didn't actually have any ear cheese, but her feet were getting awfully ripe!)

We enjoyed a week long visit to my parent's home in July, and I think P had a pretty good time. I know my family had a good time with her! Grandpa loves to golf, so now when she goes to visit them, she has her own set of golf clubs. Within ten minutes, Uncle A had taught her to correctly identify each of her three clubs. That's right, my two and a half year old knows what a driver, iron, and putter are. I'm not sure I knew that before this lesson.

She was a real trooper all throughout the move - she got a little unnerved towards the end when everything was boxed up, but all she did was cry a few times and be extra snuggly. She actually seemed to grasp the concept of "We have to put all of our things in boxes so we can take them to the new apartment. Then we'll get them out again." So that helped. It's so nice to be able to explain things to her and be rational. I know we're pretty lucky to be able to do that with a two and a half year old. I've had more trouble reasoning with some adults than I do with her!

She got settled into our new place very well, and even enjoys having some neighbor girls to play with. I definitely think the socialization will be very good for her!

On September 4th, P became a big sister! She still likes her little brother, almost a whole week later, so we're pretty thrilled about that. It's definitely been an adjustment for everyone, but she is taking it remarkably well. She'll act up a little bit from time to time, but as long as we're intentional about spending time alone with her and talking to her calmly, she's pretty good. It's hard to stay patient when you're dealing with newborn sleep deprivation, but it's ten times harder to yell at your oldest (because we have an oldest and a youngest, now) and make her want to listen to you even less!

Here are a couple picture highlights from the last two months. Okay, a bunch of picture highlights. I just couldn't choose, and pictures upload way faster in the cities than they did at our old house!

Playing with friend S at church.

P saw Grandma using a hair dryer. Pretty creative!

Playing with friend E!

P loves to help me crochet. I will gladly sacrifice a hat to let her practice!

One last picture in front of our "old house."

P got Auntie J a baby for her birthday. She even offered to baby-sit. What a sweetie.

Thanks to my wonderful friend, Rebecca, for the next few photos. Find out more about her and book your own photo shoot by checking out her website here!

P loves having a park less than a block from our new apartment! We haven't been taking full advantage of it, but now that Nugget's out and I'm a little more mobile, I think we'll definitely have to utilize it more during the last few weeks of decent weather!

My dress from when I was a kid. Hello, late 1980s!

When I told P we had to walk up to Daddy's school, she insisted on wearing her backpack, in which she packed a teddy bear and a bottle. Just in case of an emergency.

Showing off her new shirt at the hospital!

Watching over baby brother.

She still likes him...

And LOVES to play on the floor with him. I have a feeling that if I left them alone together for more than a minute, I would come back to find Mark buried under a pile of toys that she wanted to share.

top ten tuesday: blessing a new parent

Today's blessing:
Listening to my two and a half year old babble in bed while she's supposed to be napping. We've been though some hilarious mash-ups of Daniel Tiger, VeggieTales, and the story of what's going to happen when Mommy and Daddy go to the hospital when Nugget is born. Usually they're in song form.

It's no secret that people love babies. The newer, the better. They're so tiny and cute (some actually cute, some cute just because they're so tiny) and they don't stay that way for very long, so when someone has a baby, most people want to get in there as soon as possible and meet the new little one. It can't be helped, and there is absolutely nothing wrong with it. However, there are some things that need to be taken into account. I hope to address some of them here with a positive spin - giving suggestions, rather than telling you what you've been doing wrong. I hope this list is helpful, and if you have anything to add, I hope you'll leave it in the comments! So, without further ado, here is this Tuesday's Top Ten List:

Top Ten Ways to Bless New Parents

1. Feed them. When you're not sleeping for more than two or three hours at a time, the last thing you want to do is have to worry about dinner. When you come to visit a newly expanded family, bring something nutritious for them to eat. Prepared meals are wonderful, though maybe check ahead first. If they've had four other people bring them food that needs to be eaten within 48 hours, there's a lot of waste that could be happening! Prepared meals that you can all enjoy together are wonderful, especially if they come with a post-meal dishwashing service. Freezer meals are great, too. Be sure the meal is carefully labeled so the family doesn't have to guess at what it is and how to prepare it! Snacks are good, too. I've gotten rave reviews about my Grandma's Homemade Granola. I packaged it in those tiny little 1/2 cup containers so mom could have one next to her to snack on while nursing, and I was told that it was great. I was also just told about this site called MealBaby. I guess you can sign up for free, then you create a calendar and list of your favorite foods or restaurants in your area. People can sign up to bring you food on certain days, and the gifter doesn't have to worry about making something the family might not like. I don't know much about it, but it sounds intriguing. What do you think? Brilliant or presumptuous? Personally, I would rather be sure that I'm bringing something the family will enjoy at a time that is useful for them!

   

   A freezer full of meals and veggies...dream come true!

2. Clean for them. Offer to sweep the floor or wash a load of dishes before asking to hold the baby. And mean it. If they say no, ask again. Chances are, they would love some help, but feel silly accepting.
3. Let them shower. I remember some weeks after my first was born, I averaged two showers a week. Not great. Yes, you can put a newborn in a crib or swing while you shower, and even if they wake up, you know they'll be fine, but it's nice to know that they're in the company of another caring adult in case they start crying. And if you have a toddler, too...well, they can do plenty of damage if they go unsupervised for even 10 minutes!
4. Let them sleep. I have read about the elusive simulnap. (This is when multiple children nap at the same time. It may be a myth.) Be kind and offer to take both children off mom and dad's hands for an hour so they can get some sleep, too.
5. Feed them. Sometimes restaurant gift cards are the best things you can give a newly expanded family. Family friendly places are great - Perkins, Baker's Square, or Applebee's kind of places for "nicer" sit down meals, or Subway, Jimmy John's, Chipotle, Panera, Noodles, etc for your faster "oh crap it's 5:30 and I forgot that we need supper" kind of meals. This way, they can enjoy a meal (maybe even leftovers) and not have to clean up after it. Win win!
6. Don't overstay your welcome. Short visits are usually best at first, unless you're busy cleaning or occupying a child or two so mom and dad can nap. Here's a hint: if you know mom is nursing baby and she says something along the lines of, "Well, I think it's {insert baby's name}'s lunch time!" that probably means you should go. Unless she specifically prefaces it with "Feel free to stick around, but..." Then use your best judgement.
7. Don't surprise them. Do not show up at their house unannounced. Call or send a text ahead of time to find out when would be best, and be willing to be flexible. If you make plans to go visit at 9:00 the next morning (with an offer to bring muffins or cinnamon rolls, please!), then don't be offended if you get a text at 8:00 saying "{Insert baby's name here} just fell asleep for the first time since 1:00am. Can we reschedule?"
8. Don't feel obligated, but if you want to give a gift, be thoughtful about it. Baby gifts are fun. I know. The little tiny outfits with bows or trucks or dinosaurs are so cute! And the stuffed animals? Darling! However, in some cases, they may not be the best way to bless a family. It may lose some of the fun element of surprise, and definitely may not be as "cute," but if they family does not have a gift registry, you can't go wrong by asking what they would like. We have boxes of toys from our first that she didn't ever play with, and are still finding outfits that were given to us that still have tags on them. We are currently living in a pretty small apartment, we have plenty of people to lend us clothes, and, as I stated before, we have enough toys to occupy a day care full of babies. However, our changing table is in desperate need of a new pad and we're hoping to use newborn cloth diapers this time around. I know it's more fun to buy a giant stuffed teddy bear or a little flowered dress with ruffly bloomers, but honestly, some new parents would rather have one cloth diaper than either of those. Seriously. Money or gift cards are always appreciated, too. Though, again, don't feel obligated. (Well, maybe just a little obligated. A new baby is a pretty big deal!)
9. Go for a walk with them. Now, this may not be for everyone. Some moms may give you a death glare or laugh hysterically at you if you suggest going for a walk. I would appreciate it. However, I am one of those weird people who get extremely crabby if I go too long without physical activity. And sometimes it might be nice to have someone else to push the stroller!
10. Feed them. Are you noticing a trend here? Before you stop over for your pre-planned visit, call and ask if you can pick up anything from the grocery store. As a new parent, it's so easy to not realize that you have less than one sippy cup full of milk left in the whole house, and, in my house, that will not fly!

So there you have it. Moms and Dads, what other suggestions do you have?

end of "summer" wrap up in bullet points

Today's blessing:
Coffee with hazelnut flavored syrup. Had I remembered how delicious the stuff is, I would have dug it out long ago!

Oh my goodness...where has time gone? Please tell me I'm not the only one that feels this way! I can't believe it has been over three weeks since my last post. I can't believe we are done with internship year. I can't believe my baby is two and a half and will be a big sister any day now (sooner rather than later would be fine with me!). I can't believe how much life has changed in the past month, and how much it will continue to change in the next month.

Here are some "highlights": (not necessarily meaning the best parts of the month, but some of the biggest or most important.)

• P officially hit the 2 1/2 year mark in August. She is remarkable in just about every way imaginable. Her only fault is that she still shows no interest in potty training, in spite of the fact that she is physically ready. She can go through the night or through naptime with a dry diaper, and she often tells us when she's going, but she does not want to sit on her potty chair. A little frustrating, but certainly not the worst thing she could do! (Or not do.)
• My mom came for a few days before we moved and basically packed up our house. It was beyond frustrating for me to not be able to do as much as I wanted, but I tried to be good and rest! Moving at 8+ months pregnant is not fun!
• I'm not much for baseball, but last month, we had the opportunity to go to a Twin's game with Husband's ministry team and sit in the Champion's Club. Friends, if you've ever wondered why the amazing expensive seats behind home plate never fill up until a couple innings in, let me tell you: The occupants of the seats are all busy stuffing their faces at the buffet. Seriously. I am not kidding when I tell you that I ate for three hours straight and was not hungry again until supper the next day. And I'm pregnant, so that's seriously messing up my every three hour eating schedule! Then, once we did make it out to the seats, they certainly didn't suck. The worst part about them was that the batter who was warming up blocked part of my view of the game. I think we lost, but I'm not sure. And honestly, I didn't really care.
• Then we moved. I could do several entries about how amazing everyone was - helping up load the truck at the "old house", helping up unload the truck at the new apartment, hauling all of our belongings up to the fourth floor (technically the third, but sort of the sixth...it's a weird set up!), and taking such good care of us (particularly Preggers) during our first weeks here. I hope you're not offended when I just say that you were all AMAZING and without you, we would probably still have half of our belongings in the back of a moving truck God knows where. And when I say fourth floor, I mean no elevator.
• Now we are more or less settled in. Of course there are still things that could be straightened and moved around and organized better, but I'm pretty sure that will be the constant state for the rest of our lives, so I'm not going to worry too much about it. We've been enjoying our time the last few weeks getting ready for Nugget (who is not due for another 10 days, but really could come any time now and it would be fine), exploring the neighborhood, and getting together with friends and family. It's hard to make plans too far in advance, because we're hoping that this week or next will be interrupted with a newborn, but we're trying!

One of our parishioners brought over the most amazing sweet corn from their garden, and P couldn't get enough of it!

"Excuse me, Mr. Mauer, but I can't see the game."

One last family picture in front of our "old house."

We moved back just in time to celebrate Auntie J's birthday. P got her a baby, because, well, who wouldn't want a baby for their birthday? She even offers to babysit when we go over there.

P wanted to help me crochet. Proud mama.

There's a great little playground less than a block from our apartment. P really seems to like it!

Swinging with Daddy!

And showing off her Gopher pride on the day Uncle A moved back to school a mere eight blocks from where we live. It sure will be nice to have two of my brothers so nearby!