Abigail 2 months & Toddlers

Abigail- 2 months

Strict bedtime: We've never been strict schedule people when it comes to our kids.  We certainly like having a similar bedtime for the nights we're home and definitely have a routine/schedule when it works out, but we don't adhere to it crazily because life doesn't work that way.  Well... Miss Abigail is SUPER easygoing all of the time except for after 8pm if she's not getting to bed immediately.  When she gets tired for bedtime, that's it and she'll cry hard ready to go to bed.  Normally that's no issue and we put her right in bed whenever she needs it (sometimes as early as 7:30).  However... that doesn't work with Wednesday nights at youth group.  I've tried many different things and really the only thing that doesn't make me want to pull my hair out coming home with three cranky exhausted kids all needing different things at exactly the same time is coming home early.  With two, it's been pretty easy as you just do an assembly line by doing all the diapers at the same time, then jammies, teeth brushing, pray all together, say goodnight... but since Abigail needs swaddled and nursed and Luke needs special diapers (big ones for night), and Kate needs wiped from potty and the list goes on of different needs they have, I've decided that the only option is to go home a little early every Wednesday night now.  Tyler actually is more than supportive- he's always told me to stay home if I need to or even if it's easier.  But I DO want to be there.  I want to hang out with the girls at youth.  I want to hear how their weeks were and be of help to Tyler so we try to go even earlier than before and eat supper there before church, then we do leave a little early and kids are happy (which also equals one happy mama!)
Tummy time: finally making some headway there.  Sometimes she can hold it up for quite a while.  Other times she can't get it off the blanket.
Sleep: She still sleeps from about 8pm-4ish.  Wakes to eat, then back down until 7:30am-ish.  I love it!  It's a beautiful schedule she leads! And she still "purrs" in her sleep.  I'd call it snoring, but it's not breath making the noise, it's her humming when she breathes out  Luke did it but maybe for the first month if that.  Abigail just keeps it going!
Huge smiles:  She sure is expressive!  She'll have a whole conversation with you with her eyebrows and eyes and head movements before she even starts babbling.  And then she'll babble your ear off.  Tyler calls her Babigail and Babs for short.  No all out giggles yet except for twice in her sleep.  (We were skyping Jason & Patience for one of those!) She does kind of do a "hm" type of "laugh" every once in a while but I'm still waiting for the good stuff :)  There is a video below of her happy babbles

Katelyn

Much happier girl!-  I think we're out of the whining for EVERYthing phase!  She does still whine at times, but not nearly as bad and doesn't default into a bad mood.  Part of the issue was me thinking she needed a longer nap than she did.  Part of it is just maturity.  And part of it is singing "This is the day that the Lord has made" when we're grumpy gills.
Big imagination- She has a great imagination- makes up little situations in her head as she plays all the time.  Very creative gal!
Kisses game- A new favorite game in the house is the kisses game.  It's a game that daddy made up that we all enjoy!  As the kids run circles around the couch, when they pass daddy, they have to stop and give him a kiss.  Mommy requests hugs when she does it.  (Lucas has been giving THE best snuggle hugs lately!)

Luke

-TiggeryLou- A new nickname Luke has acquired for all his hop-hop-hopping around.  If given the choice to walk or run, he chooses to hop!
Still wandering- we still have to put him in the stroller and/or hold his hand for everything these days as he loves to wander and/or run off when you call for him.  I've decided to ban the game chase in our house until he learns.  If anyone has tips to this, let me know!  I'm terrified the kid will run out in traffic some day.  He ALWAYS has to hold on to my hand in parking lots/streets and Katelyn holds on to his other hand.  There are times when he tries to pull away and run and I have a DEATH grip on his wrist.  Luckily that happens rarely but it still scares this mamas heart!  If I could pick him up I would!  I need extra hands! Katelyn will stop in her tracks if we yell her name.  She understands it's for safety reasons so that's why I always have her on the end.  And boy does she throw a fit if Lucas doesn't hold her hand!

Abigail's 1 month & Toddlers

Abigail- 1 month old

-SUCH an easy baby!  This girl sleeps well, eats well, and is hugely content most of the time.
-Sleep- she started out sleeping 6 hours at a time (beautifully easy nights for mama!) and now sleeps spurts of anywhere from 2.5-8 hours at a time.  I'm not complaining!  She tends to get the long stints if she cat naps in the evenings which is usually because supper time is so busy that i don't hold her long and the abrupt lack of warmth probably wakes her.  What's funny is those longer stints also happen only if she goes down somewhere between 7:30 and 9.  Much later than that and she will wake earlier.  She also can self-soothe? Several times I've put her down while drowsy but either not asleep or not deep sleep yet and she snorts, wakes up, looks around, and goes back to sleep.  The first time she did fuss for about 5 minutes but never cried!
-Noisy: This girl loves to coo and make noises! She purrs to stay asleep, snorts as she's waking, and is quite a noisy eater! (GULP GULP)   Between our chatterbox Katelyn and our LOUD singing Lucas and now miss Abigail, we are going to have a noisy household!  Even now when Tyler and I are trying to have a conversation at supper or any time other than after kids are in bed, it's just not possible to hear each other.  We often have to resort to wait to talking about our days or really anything until kids are conked out!  Add that up with a mama who goes to bed pretty early (usually an hour or hour and a half after kids are down), and Tyler and I don't get much time to connect and find out what's going on in each other's life.  Can anyone say date night?! (Cooing video at the very bottom of post)
-Doesn't nurse to sleep? Nursing is always my fixer for everything with newborns as it calms them, helps them sleep, feeds them, basically any need they have, nursing fixes.  However, this little lady has naturally fallen into a sleep, eat, "awake time" schedule without me even trying!  To sleep, she loves having her arms tucked in (swaddled) and she'll lose it within minutes.  Sometimes she needs something in her mouth for a minute which nursing can help, but often I stick my pinky knuckle in her mouth and she doesn't necessarily suck, she just likes something to be there as she drifts to sleep.
-snuggles: I guess I call it snuggling because she so easily falls asleep in your arms but those moments when she's just looking up at you before her eyes start to lose it... it's this magical moment where all is right in the world.
-Car Seat: She seems to not so much like her car seat.  She cries often in it.  It often is as she's tired and you'd think the drive would knock her out, but it doesn't and I wonder if she's looking for human warmth to fall asleep?  I certainly bundle her up so it's not that she's cold but maybe not as warm from someone else as much as she wants. 

Mama: I have to say that I am sleeping and feeling better than I did all pregnancy!  I am SOO SOOO happy to no longer be pregnant! I rarely need naps (although given the opportunity I'll certainly take it!), feel energized, and truly am enjoying this newborn stage!  I had the easiest/quickest recovery out of all the births (how is that so with a 10 1/4 pounder? I don't know!) I've always said I hate the first 3 months because I'm in a "fog" of being unable to have normal cognitive function in pure exhaustion and babies aren't interactive yet.  However, this time I'm loving every minute and SO VERY aware of how fast this is going to go!  AND this very well could be our last one.  Add it all together and I am one happy woman!
Going from 2 to 3 kids: People ask me what was harder, going from 1-2 or 2-3 kids.  For me, it was definitely the 1-2 transition.  I had some serious learning to do about expectations.  Also, because of our busy lives and Tyler being in ministry, that whole "outnumbered" thing people talk about with 3 kids happened to me with 2 as we're often at ministry events and Tyler helps with kiddos during those times when he can, but at the same time, he's working and has commitments to hold to so I learned how to be outnumbered with 2. (To clarify- I could ask Tyler to do more than he does- and he would drop everything to help us, but he has a heart for people, passion for ministry, and a work ethic of excellence and there isn't an inkling of doubt in my mind he has been called to the life of ministry.  I see it as my taking care of the kids IS my ministry by freeing up Tyler to do his ministry.  We are a team and for now, this is how it works for us and the kids still get daddy time when he is home. So I think because of our lifestyle in ministry, the transition from 1 to 2 was harder for me).  It definitely takes forever to get everyone ready and out the door, but toddlers take a looooooong time to do things so I kinda make that work in my benefit and ask them to start doing the things that will take a while while I'm nursing Abigail.  It's really only stressful when we're in a rush which I'm learning to start way early to avoid the rush so I have patience with the kids and I won't snap at them out of frustration.

Katelyn

-School: Has started "preschool" (daycare at the church is called preschool) two days a week.  We did that to help out grandma for when I got back to work, but I know Kate will also enjoy it and it'll be good for her as well.  I enjoyed some extra special time with Luke on Monday when she was gone.
-Tremendous Threes....: She's hit what I certainly hope is rock bottom in behavior lately BUT I have noticed that I think some of it is me not having patience and snapping too quickly.  I really listened to myself the other day since a friend of mine (Maria) and I are becoming accountability partners in patience with our kiddos lately (our kids are all within months of each other and she just had her third) and it made me realize that when I get frustrated with her, I no longer escalate, I just jump to level 10 of frustration.  Yesterday and today I've been asking God for more patience and it's amazing how Kate is responding!  It's not all perfect and in fact she threw a huge screaming fit over naps today but finally for once I was able to stay calm through the discipline and it made it not so stressful on my end and makes it easier for her to settle down eventually too.
-Nurturing: Although we've hit times like above, she also can be that sweetheart that she's always been and honestly, most of the time she is.  She loves taking care of her brother and helps out with sister.  When I ask for favors, she does them as she loves to help others.  She certainly has her daddy's servant heart!
-Goofy: This girl has a new phrase- Stinky stonka.  Not sure where it came from but she thinks it's hillarious?
-sensitive nose: We often hear her say "I smell something" and its hard for her to get off it.  Sometimes its Luke or Abigail's diaper but often it's someone's breath or even just me in general since nursing mamas tend to have a new scent to them...

Lucas

-Talking: In full sentences.  Something we hear often: "me turn, me turn"
-Counting: Sometimes he counts (2, 3, 5, 7) when he's counting off to sing (instead of a-one, a-two, a one two three four...).  But when he counts for hide and seek, the kid can count from 1 all the way to 13 without missing numbers (usually.  Sometimes he skips 4).
-Sleep: Still wakes up at the buttcrack of dawn (6:30ish) but he turns on the light in his room and plays until we all get up a quarter after 7.  But then he CRASHES come nap times (and anytime you are in the car from 9:00am-1:00pm, he'll be out in minutes)



Cooing video:

3 Birthdays! Including Abigail's Birth Story

Abigail's Birth Story

    For quite a while ahead of time, we knew this was one big baby.  As we got closer, dr was at first worried about it, then one week felt my belly and said she was more confident baby would be in the 9lb range instead of 10- thus no need for induction (yay!).  As we got closer and got another scan, the ultrasound showed anywhere from 9lb8oz to 11lbs something but the tech was pretty confident with the 10lb1oz guess.  The problem was that the shoulders were measuring bigger than the head, which means that the shoulders could get stuck, which could cause severe issues, worst case scenario would be needing to break the baby's clavical bone to get her out (as she's too far out to push back in for csection) and you won't know if it'll get stuck until we're there... That meant Tyler and I had some big decisions to make.  Wait it out and risk it?  Try to induce the earlier the better?  Go for an elective csection?  After some prayer, we decided to give this to God.  He knows this baby better than any of us so we prayed that if she wouldn't get stuck, for her to come on her own.  If she Would get stuck, for labor NOT to start at all on it's own and we would do an elective csection on that Monday.  A song that really came to mind was "Joy" by Rend Collective:

Choosing celebration - not allowing fear to come over this joyous event

We're dancing to the rhythym of your heart - allowing God's timing to reign

The whole song stood out to me, but especially the lyrics above.  Trust.  Complete trust.

Sure enough, that night, I awoke to much pressure and painless contractions throughout the night.  At 6am as I woke up, they were about 10 minutes apart and starting to hurt a little.  I wasn't convinced but called in as I'd rather not go into labor at work!  I called for coverage and once that was sorted out, contractions had changed to 4 minutes apart.  BUT here's what was getting me, every tine I had a contraction, I was convinced I was in labor- no doubt.  But then between contractions, I felt 100% normal- no pain, no pressure, nothing.  So then I'd doubt I was in labor.  Still not sure how fast this was going to kick into gear we called for childcare for the toddlers and got ready to go.  Headed into the hospital and it was SO weird!  I could talk between contractions, I felt like I was just waiting around for the next one and got bored!  Ended up taking a shower at the hospital, still more waiting.  I would go from REALLY intense contractions to almost nothing in between and more waiting.  By the time I was a 7, I felt the need to lay down between contractions.  Then it hit me, I was about to be in active labor.  Dr wanted to break my water to help things get moving, but fear set in.  I suddenly was terrified that baby girl would get stuck.  So scared that my perfectly healthy baby girl was about to go into distress and have issues.  Tyler prayed over me and I listened to "joy" again and God filled me with peace again.  Called the dr in, let's do this.  I don't know how long it was from breaking water to pushing but it wasn't too long.  From there it was only 10 minutes total until she was out completely but her shoulders did get a little stuck.  With a little change in position and maneuvering by the dr, we got her out safe and sound.  All 10 lbs 4 oz of her!  And amazingly, the recovery has been the fastest because she did no damage to my body during delivery whereas the others... weren't horrible but it wasn't as pleasant as Abigail.

I cannot tell you the incredible joy I felt to have her in my arms in that moment! Obviously the normal "she's here" but even more so of thanking Jesus for His help and providence through the labor and really the entire pregnancy. And a little bit of "it's over!" too. This labor also made me realize how easy my other labors were. Honestly, I understand the epidural thing after that labor.  No, I didn't use it because by the time I would've gotten it, it was practically over but gosh, if you just got the epidural early and laid around watching TV or something... Let's just say I will never judge a woman for choosing that path. Not that I would have judged before, but now I'm almost jealous of it;)  My body was completely shot- abs especially- after she was born.  Tyler had to push me up/out of bed the first day every time I tried to get up.

Stats: 10 lbs. 4 oz.  21" long.  Head and Shoulders both 14"
 Will post more pictures on facebook when I get them all together.

Name: Abigail Marie     Abigail means "Father's Joy" and although I had been set on another name for quite a while, after a dream one night, I had no doubt in my mind that Abigail (a name we both liked, but I found another I liked more) was it.  I felt like she wasn't to have a name that made her have to feel like she had to live up to anything specific, but instead just know how much she's treasured and loved.  And boy is she ever!  Marie is a family name on the Vanderpan side that many have so we thought it would be nice to keep it going.  

Some things we've learned about Abigail:

-She needs to be burped. They always tell me nursing babies don't need burped, she does though. If you hold her upright about 15-20 min after she eats, the reflux doesn't wake her up.  She doesn't actually spit up but it gets caught in her throat
-she is a snugglebug. There have been several times where I think she needs to sleep so I wrap her up and hold her and she just snuggles in and looks up with those big blue eyes, content.
-she sometimes sleeps 4 hrs at a time in the rock n play!! Trying to decide how important it is to me to have her in her crib.... I've never had to deal with transition to the crib but man... 4 hrs is nice!  And I don't have to worry about her choking on reflux.
-The car doesn't put her to sleep unless she would normally fall asleep.  EVEN freeways!  She'll stay wide awake just looking at the world around her
-She sometimes purrs like Luke used to
-She often snorts!

Siblings:
Katelyn: loves her sister. "She's so cuuuute" and asks many questions.  When she was asking about "mommy's milk" she asked me what color it is.  I asked her what she thought.  "Brown".  So according to Katelyn, mommy's make chocolate milk!  Kate loves to admire her sister and keeps calling her her "newborn baby sister"



Lucas: protective older brother already "where baby go?" And will go check on her every so often.
The way Lucas says her name kills me it's so cute. Video attached
Both have gotten a bit out of hand in the days since we brought her home.  Partially because we're holed up inside, partially because it's hard to stay consistent on discipline.  Partially, I'm sure, just because it's an adjustment.  

Kate's birthday

We celebrated with a last minute combined party that Tyler and Grandma and Krystle did ALL the planning and decorating for in September.  (Mommy was still struggling with sickness in pregnancy at the time and wasn't sure what each day would bring and what she'd be up for).  We had a bouncy slide, a playground, cakes, and pizza.  Lots of fun! 

Then on Kate's actual birthday we woke up to decorations and balloons and waffle cereal (her favorite).  We had pancakes for supper (Minnie Mouse pancakes.  Note to self, don't use chocolate cake icing on pancakes... nasty!)  Katelyn opened presents including an Ariel shirt, princess high heels, and some dollar store frozen puzzles (which I think so far are her favorite!)

Kate: LOVES puzzles and is becoming increasingly fast at them!
          loves to "delegate" how people should play with her.... aka finding her inner older sibling
          Favorite color: pink
          Favorite food: pb&j
          Favorite toy: Ariel
          Favorite tv show: Dora the Explorer

 Luke's birthday 

Is TODAY!  We're celebrating with presents (a small train set!) and probably pizza and cupcakes tonight!  Grammy and Pop pop are coming today, too which will be a huge celebration as is!


Luke:  Loves anything his sister does
            Why walk/run when you can hop wherever you need to go?
            Still wakes up at 6am playing in his room until we let him out an hour later
            Plays chase anytime we ask him to "come here"
            Loves to be tickled! get some good harty laughs when he does that!

September 2015

Quick Family Updates

Luke
-Getting good at pulling blankets up over his body when he's cold at night (seems like a menial task but this little bit of independence is WONDERFUL for us at night!
-Colors?  I got a book from the library to help him actually sit down and try to learn colors... he gets excited about it but I can tell his brain just isn't ready for it.  Not sure he even sees the similarity between the three red things we just talked about and the next red thing that we ask what color it is yet.  He's much more interested in learning new words.   The other day he pointed to me and said "giwl?" and pointed to himself and said "boy".  Gotta roll with whatever they find interest in in the moment, right?
-Human pinball- This kid is a human pinball!  Finds interest in something for a minute or two and bounces to the next thing.  He doesn't stay very still ever!

Katelyn
-She's really finding her "Spunkiness".  This can come out negatively for sure, but at other times, she's simply hilarious.  She loves making us laugh.  Little Tyler, dare I say?
-Excited about baby sister.  Keeps asking when baby is going to sleep in her room with her.
-Rooms- Lucas and Katelyn shared a room for about a week or two.  The falling asleep part was not a huge deal.  Luke would sing and Kate would fall asleep while he was singing and he'd eventually snuggle in and lose it.  It's the 3am that wasn't working... Luke wasn't mature enough to realize that an open door isn't a metaphorical "open door" to go play with toys and sing and read.  He quickly was put back in his room and after a good friend mentioned the idea of Katelyn and baby sharing a room, I realized that was the best way to go.  At least for a while until Luke matures a bit more and sleeps better.  So now there's Luke's room, and there's the girls' room.  Knock on wood that this actually works! (and if it doesn't, maybe kate will have to sleep on the floor of our room for a bit or something...)

Baby Girl
-Coming soon! ish... relatively at least!  I'm 37 weeks and dr doesn't want me to go over due date as she's a large one.  (But what else is new, right?)  She's already 8 lbs (which was how much katelyn weighed when she was born 4 days past her due date).  However, we have some incredibly fun things coming up (minister and spouses retreat, a banquet in Minneapolis for Speed the Light at which a good friend of ours is speaking, the church's 85th anniversary...).  I requested doctor doesn't even think about "helping things along" until at least 39 weeks, once all of the hoopla is done.  She said that's fine, but that she doesn't want me going over my due date.  I'm not a big fan of the idea of induction but I'm also not a big fan of a 10 lb baby getting stuck like she's all scared about, but Luke was 9lbs 6 oz and his labor was insanely fast with no "stuck" issues so what's another half a pound?  We'd appreciate your prayers for wisdom but we're not so concerned.  Heck, if anything, maybe a larger baby will help us at least get to the hospital with more than 15 minutes to spare this time ;) 
-Kicks- They say that babys' movements tend to slow down a bit with less room to move.  I feel like that's never been true... at least my babies just push all the harder to stretch out.  The other day, true story, she pushed a foot out SO hard that I could feel her whole flat of her foot with my hand, including what I assume to be a big toe! Weirdest thing ever!  It was quick, and I could be imagining things, but I've never experienced something like that before!
-Nesting- with all the fun things coming up, I spent the last two days getting everything ready.  Now that I have everything done, I feel like I can relax and enjoy the fun of the next few weeks and not have to worry or stress about things being ready for baby and I can just "worry" myself about upkeep of the house... if I feel like it ;)

Well, that's it!  Next post should be the birth story of baby girl!  

Maybe we'll have decided on a name by then....

August 2015

August 2015

Katelyn Updates
-One of her favorite games as of late is Hide and Seek.  She gets the idea but typically just hides her face when she hides (see picture of her hiding on left) and counts to maybe 5 if she's seeking (or she'll get to 10 but SO fast!!).  She loves to pretend she can't find you even if she knows where you're at.  "Is sheeeee.... under the chair? Noooo...."
-Loves to play mommy to Lucas by asking him questions.  "Lucas, do you want the red bowl or the orange bowl?..... Ok you can have the orange bowl"
-Has learned to pump her legs when she swings and even leans into it a bit.  You can see she'll start to get the rythym of it and it'll work, but then she'll get so excited at how well she's doing that she just goes through the motions and doesn't time it at all and stops her own progress :)  She's so proud of new skills!
-This girl suddenly grew up on me this month!  I don't know what it is, maybe it's her long hair or her speech development or what, but suddenly she is acting very "3" to me.  She's not 3 yet but man alive, she suddenly changed to me!
-Puzzles!  This girl has mastered the art of 12 piece puzzles that come with a border :)  She has two of them.  She caught on fast and after some coaching on one of them, she completed another one without an inkling of help.  I'm just so amazed at this girl and how fast she picks things up! She definitely has persistence as well.
-4t clothes and growing fast! I gotta get going on garage sales for winter clothes here soon!

Luke Updates
-Have I mentioned on here yet that he doesn't tend to go for sweets?  Lemonade, he always gives a face to and won't drink it.  Same with chocolate milk or juice.  The kid loves his milk and water!
-"I do I do I do!" anytime I ask who's ready for lunch? or any such question.  Sometimes I'll just say something in passing like "Well Kate, I need to go get supper ready" and Luke will come running from the other room to climb up into his chair yelling "I do I do!" Have I mentioned that boy can eat?
-Counting: He has started to count!  He does a great job saying "ooooone, teeooooo, thweeeee, Five!"  We're still working on 4.  It'll come :)
-Colors: He's interested in learning them but still doesn't quite know them.  He claims everything is blue or white although the other day he did correctly identify green!
-"no way" usually in a silly mode answer but sometimes in a more serious situation.
-If you call the child "Stinky pants" or make any reference to him pooping, he RUNS the other way!
-Luke has been working on his "inner british".  The way he says "da-ddy?" is very british sounding! Love it!
-Favorite word: "buddy".  It started with me just calling him buddy and he'd repeat it but now he just LOVES it when daddy or I call him buddy.
-Sentence: He put two words together uncoached this month!  (I discount "I do" and "snack please" and "I'll get it" because those are coached or mimicked by one of us).  He had a truck up to a plate with a waffle on it and he said "Conk conk (truck) eeeeat!"
-Very into cars/trucks/planes toys.  Also loves to take care of his Mickey Mouse that daddy brought home from a youth trip.
-3t clothes- he's within 3 inches/2 pounds of Katelyn.  Again, gotta get shopping!

Baby 3 Updates-34 weeks
-Baby girl still doesn't have a name.  We tend to get way off track anytime it's brought up.  We have a loooooong list.  One popped out to me but it doesn't have the same "pop" to Tyler.  We'll see what we come up with and when.
-Mover- she LOVES to stretch really hard!  She also is carrying VERY low.  At times she almost feels engaged and like it feels in labor (but no contractions, don't worry).  It also makes it hard to sleep for more than 40 minutes at a time at night as she makes me have to use the bathroom constantly when she's in that position.  And I have to drink enough water to stay hydrated or nausea comes back full blow at nights, but drinking water also causes reflux which can also cause me to throw up so it's a catch 22 but I'd rather drink the water and deal with it than to be dehydrated.
-Hiccups!  We finally have hiccups!  I've been waiting and waiting for those.  Not that without them anything is wrong, but I know that hiccups are a sign of good lung development so I welcome them :)
-6 more weeks!  (or 7.  I think I'm going late.)
-Pregnancy- Getting very stiff and uncomfortable but so thankful for the lack of hip issues like I had with Luke!  It'll come and go but it's nothing like it was with Luke- yet anyway :)

Family 
-First movie!  We all went to the cinedome to watch a 40 min. movie on airplanes.  Luke was glued in the entire time saying "Airplane!" everytime he saw one, pointing out animals, just loved to lay back and snuggle and watch.  Kate enjoyed the experience more than the movie (the movie was kinda lame- a documentary about how airplanes have changed the world around us) but she enjoyed it nonetheless
-Took a staycation together.  We did lots of swimming, playing in the room, giggling, and did I mention swimming?  Then our big plan was to drop off kiddos with grandma and take a night to ourselves.  To our credit, we did go to a movie that afternoon, but after that, our "date night" was full of sleep.  We woke up for breakfast the next day only to go back to sleep until 1:00 (when our checkout time was).  Some day we'll actually do fun things again when we have time alone together.

July 2015 & Baby 3's health story

Katelyn

-Disobedience is really hitting hard right now.  Our sweet little girl who usually follows directions is straight out saying "no" and/or running away from us when I ask her to do something.  I'm honestly wondering if she's seeing Luke get away with it a bit.  I'm feeling a bit at a loss as I'm a bit slower than normal these days and don't feel like I can respond as quickly. However hard she's pushing, I still feel like I'm able to make progress with her over time. She is such a rational little girl that talking it through after the hysterics are gone usually are helpful. And if I ask her ahead of time if she's going to throw s fit, it makes her think and decide and usually she says no. If she changed the subject, I know I'm in for it. So at least there's warning! Also stating I know she's disappointed or mad really helps.
-Yet with this phase of disobedience, she also is just the sweetest thing at times.  Yesterday, grabbed both sides of my face and leaned in close to say "do you know how much I love you?" and gave a big kiss.  We still have lots of fun and laughs and she still can be so sweet "I had fun today mama" so I'm very blessed that this is really the first big phase of flat out disobedience.

Lucas

-Disobedience just like Kate but much more of the run away when I come to get him.  When I count down from 3...2....1... time out... he sees that as a cue to run instead of listen and obey... oh boy... we're in for it.  And when I try to discipline, he cries too loud to listen.  I can tell he hates that he disappoints us, but doesn't understand that it has to do with his actions.  There is something about Tyler- he is SO good at getting that boy's attention and quiet to talk with him.  He's really developing a special bond with daddy.
-He sure knows his color blue!  He'll point things out that are blue.  Then he'll point out things that are green, or pink or red, and call them all "boo!" I guess we have a ways to go :)
-"hey dude" aka "ay doo". Cutest phrase!
-"bum bum"- loves to give love pats on our "bum bums" when we lean over. He thinks it's hilarious.
-moved them into the same room for two nights. Luke is too sick to continue as he wakes every couple hours from this miserable cold. We'll try again in another week. This way he can have a closed door so the humidifier does its job and helps him breathe better.

Baby #3- 26 weeks

(Rapunzel- according to Grammy and Katelyn.  No, we're not actually naming her that!)
Pregnancy: Baby must be getting bigger as my upper back is really causing some pain- hard to breathe, hard to get the pain to change.  I think baby is pressing up against my spine. It's really excruciating pain when it hits.

Baby's Health: I will start by saying baby is 100% healthy.  We were under the impression that there were some heart issues for a few months now.   If you're interested in the details, I wrote it all out below- more for my own memory, but God certainly put us on a new journey through the past few months, here's the story if you want to know the details:

     My biggest downfall is curiosity.  I despise not knowing something that I want to know.  I research everything and anything hidden from me drives me nuts.  (WHY does mail have to be in an envelope?  Do they realize the time it takes to tear open an envelope?  I just want to know what's IN it!)   The one thing that drives me nuts more than anything is knowing there's something to know that I don't know. Knowing this may help in the following journey:

Routine 20 week anatomy scan: In May, when we had our 20 week ultrasound, I noticed the tech came back to the heart after looking at it once.  Of course she said nothing and I wasn't going to read in to it.  Figured baby just had moved and made it easier to see but the thought had crossed my mind quickly before I pushed it out that something could be wrong.  As we checked in to our regular dr appointment, I suddenly heard God speak the world "Adonai" in my head.  At first, since we had just found out it was a girl, I thought "What a beautiful name!  We could name her that!" until I remembered that it was a name of God!  Ha- we can't name her that!  How random that that came to mind!  We went to the dr appointment, but my dr was out so I saw a nurse practitioner I had never seen before.  She mentioned something about the heart but that she couldn't tell us anything and that we'd need to wait for the dr to come back the next day and look at the chart and give us a call.  At about 10 the next morning, I was getting anxious and called and a lady told me that it wasn't on the docket and if I haven't heard anything, it must be fine. *Sigh of relief*  I called Tyler to share the great news.  Not 20 minutes later did a nurse call to tell me that there were concerns about baby's heart.  (Whaaaat?  the other lady had no clue what she was talking about).  She said one of the ventricles looked smaller than it ought to be and it needed to be checked out further.  We were referred to a level 2 ultrasound for a week later.
      I am not good at the waiting game.  I hate knowing something could be wrong but not knowing what.  However, I looked up "Adonai"- realizing that that was indeed God's voice preparing me for what was to come.  It means "Lord of everything".  It's the word LORD in the Bible when it's said three times, saying He is over every little piece of of our lives, down to the nitty gritty.  God has always spoken to me strongly through music and the song "Adonai" and the following brought me immediately to my knees:

     "you are maker of each moment, Father of my hope and freedom"

     "From age to age you reign in Majesty.  And today you're making miracles IN me..."

He reminded me that He loves this child so much stronger and deeper than I ever will or can and that HIS hands are the stronger, better hands for her life to be in.  *sigh* okay God, this is in your hands.  I can wait 10 days for the answer.

Overreacting?  Probably.  But any concerns over our baby's most important organ would send any mama into a whirlwind of thoughts, fears, anxieties...

Level 2 Ultrasound: Finally, 10 loooooooong days later, it came time for our level 2 ultrasound.  I was thinking that was the longest 10 days of my life and I was so ready to just learn what's going on in our baby girl's heart.  We watched, and listened, the tech of course isn't allowed to say anything, the dr finally came in, looked at the pictures, the tech and him kinda mumbled something we couldn't hear or understand, and with his back to us says "Yep, schedule them for the fetal echocardiogram with Dr Sammi" (pediatric cardiologist) and left the room.  Ummmm... hello?!  Talk with us?  We asked the tech what was going on and all she said was that one of the ventricles was too small and that there was thickened tissue surrounding it is a concern and we need to have a specialist check it out further.    She showed us the picture and pointed out the clear as day smaller ventricle and the thickened tissue.  We didn't even know what else to ask.  I was devastated.  Not because it was bad news, (was it bad news? I didn't even know!) but that we still knew nothing! What does this mean? And come to find out, it would be FIVE weeks until we met with the pediatric cardiologist.  Are you stinking kidding me?  10 days was awful.  Over a month?!  I was a wreck.  Frustrated in not knowing how our baby girl is doing.  Thankfully, my dr looked over the results and personally called me since I didn't have an appointment with her until after the 5 weeks would be over.  She reassured me that baby is totally safe in utero, that she's relying on me and really this is to see if we're going to need a surgical team at the ready for birth when her heart is to go on her own.  The echocardiogram will explain if we need to deliver somewhere special, whether there will need to be a team of surgeons on hand, what types of surgeries may be needed, and what types of things we would need to look for once she's born.  That was a little relief knowing we aren't looking to lose her in utero, but still so frustrating.  Tyler is always so calm and nondramatic and tries to calm me down but I told him I just need some time with Jesus.  Then we can tell family tonight after I've heard from God.  He watched the kids and let me have some alone time with God whom immediately put the song "While I'm waiting" in my head.

"While I'm waiting... I will serve you while I'm waiting"

and he put the verses about the fruits of the spirit in my head

"The fruits of the spirit are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, ...etc" but then firmly felt him saying "I will teach you peace and patience.  but YOU have to step in obedience in love and joy during this waiting period first"

       Honestly?  I haven't fully enjoyed the pregnancy more than the one week I had before I got horribly sick.  Sickness started to calm around 21 weeks, but then felt like I couldn't enjoy it until I learned what's going on with baby girl.  I felt like God was saying that I need to actively enjoy this time with her even though I don't know the whole story.  And so I did.  Every kick, every wiggle (which thank you Jesus for letting me feel so easily!  I have an anterior placenta meaning I shouldn't be able to feel them as well!).  After that one day, I felt like I had it in the bag.  Felt comfortable and confident.  About a week before the echo, in church, I felt this huge sense of relief that "we've made it!  The echo is just around the corner!  Thank you Jesus!" When He spoke very clearly saying "What if you learn nothing new?  Are you really trusting in me just because you think the answer is around the corner?"  He sure is the refiner!  I think I'm doing just great and He knows my intentions better than I do!  So it was another day of giving it over to him, knowing that we may have no answers after the echo.

Echocardiogram: Finally?  The day came!  It was the day of our echo.  I honestly felt at peace.  Even knowing that I may have no answers.  The dr came in, I said a quick prayer for God to prepare me for any news or no news.  Found out later Tyler was praying the entire echo.  The dr did some double checking of what the technician had done, and said he sees no issues.  He said the ventricles are all the right size and there is no thickening whatsoever.  He even went to say that the past technicians must have made a mistake because he couldn't see what they had talked about.  A bit blindsided by THAT news, we both were quiet a minute.  Tyler then asked "are you sure?  So do we need to go in for follow-ups closer to birth just to make sure?"  The dr said "not at all.  The heart has formed all it will and everything looks great, so all that's left is for it to just grow bigger so that's it.  You're done.  Have a good day"  We walked out- I was a bit in a daze feeling like, is this for real?  Is this really over already? As we walked out the receptionist asked when we need our next appointment and we said "nope! no need!"  We hugged when we got outside of the office and we felt God's immediate love pour out on us.  What a huge blessing!! 

Results: Healthy baby, healthy pregnancy! It felt surreal.  I firmly believe that God did some healing to her heart because I could even clearly see the thickening they talked about at the level 2 but all 4 chambers looked to be the same size today!  Praise Jesus!  How did we get so blessed to have three very healthy children!?  We feel overwhelmingly blessed and now we can't wait to meet her all the more!  October is coming quickly (almost 3rd trimester already? Yes!). 

June 2015

June Updates 2015

Katelyn: 

This girl is absolutely hilarious some moments:
Everytime she goes poop: "Mommy? It's STANKY in here!"

Bedtime as daddy puts her to bed:
Kate: "Daddy, I'm scared"
Daddy: "Why are you scared?"
Kate: "Because i don't want to go to bed"
#Truth

Daddy: (Trying to get her to say please): "What the magic word?"
Kate: "meeska, mooska, Mickeeeeey Mouse!"
(Watch mickey mouse clubhouse intro to understand)

Library times (see video at the bottom): Kate loves to be in charge of library times at home where she'll mimic the story times at the library.  She'll read a book, then have Luke and I stand up and she'll sing a song that's interactive, often made up, then sit and read another book, then another song...

Luke:

Starting to really communicate more!  Instead of whining (praise the Lord!), he'll say "mama?" to get my attention followed by a word to show me what he wants which can include:
"toe, tun-nel, dir-ty, no?, poop-ee, head, fall, spill, kit-ty, conk-conk (truck), cah (car), too (toot)" and more that I can't think of. (Video of my favorite of his words below)

Pooped on the toilet: Okay, this was totally mommy initiated/forced but I keep trying to catch him so that maybe (maybe?) we can avoid that all to famous boys afraid to go poop?  I don't know.  It's a shot in the dark and just something that while we have the time and ability, may as well just try.  He was pretty excited and now tells us when he goes!  Sometimes he'll be playing and suddenly says "poop-ee" and I know he's gone!  Although sometimes he confuses toots with poop-ee but he's learning already!  I've decided I am not going to even attempt potty training until baby #3 is sleeping through the night and hopefully that's when he'll be ready (he'd be 2.5ish?).  We'll see but I am not pushing it like I did with Kate. 

Baby #3- 24 weeks gestation

Notice the coloring above?  That was on purpose!  Baby #3 is a girl.  We learned that a month ago and just never got around to officially announcing it.

Some of the info we've learned the past few weeks:
She's 95th percentile (what else is new- according to the dr, we just have big babies!).  She's not as proportional as Luke and Kate were though (everything on them was the same percentile).  This baby girl has a big belly and long legs, according to the technicians.
She's very active at night.  I feel her all day here or there, but once it hits 10:30/11:00, holy COW.  Dance party up in there!  I'm pretty sure she's mostly sideways as I feel her kicks on my right side most often.  I know that'll change as I get bigger.
Speaking of bigger... sheesh.  I don't remember being this big so early!  Part of it is the baby weight I never lost, part of it is a big baby, and part of it is just the way my maker made me I guess!
Morning sickness has turned into actually that, MORNING sickness!  It's awesome!  It only lasts in the morning, some days are better than others, and usually (not always), I can make it better by eating almost anything.  Even bagels, protein, fruit, whatever I can get my hands on.
I have never been so ready in my life to have the baby!  With Kate I was a little bit terrified of having her as I knew nothing about babies and how to raise a child!  With Luke, I was terrified of having irish twins and wanted Kate to at least turn 1 before he was born so I was okay with him staying in longer, but this one?  I just want her in my arms.  Maybe part of it is the rough pregnancy, but I am enjoying her kicks, but I think I'm just a little restless and ready to see her.  Snuggle her, let her feel my heartbeat on the outside, introduce her to Luke and Kate, and just be a family of 5.  Of course we are nowhere near having her and I want her to stay in there safe as long as is best for her health, but I've never been so anxious to hold her!


We'll leave with some pictures of our sweet baby girl. (the "pillow" that she has her face smashed up on is my placenta.  Luke used to do this in utero too- pretty sure that's why he loves smashing his face into blankies, people, beds, really anything)

May 2015

Katelyn

Potty trained!! - officially!  I had just always been taking her every so often when I'd think she needs to go for... a year now?  Well grammy patton came to visit and watched them a day at work and didn't take her to the bathroom at all, and suddenly, she was telling grammy and us when she needed to go!  This is SO wonderful to not have to worry about her!  She's even in underwear for naps and night since she always wakes up dry.  (And trust me, I was NOT willing to go through the wet sheets in the middle of the night if there was any risk!) Yay Katelyn!
Books: One of Kate's favorite things is to have us read a book to her and she reads it back to us afterwards.  It's amazing what she remembers and picks up and what she just makes up as she goes.  (See video for the little engine that could)

Lucas

New words: "Haaaaaaoo" = help.  He knows what red is?  He pointed to Tyler's white shirt and said red.  Tyler says "this is white".  Luke then points to Tyler's arm and says "red" and we realized he was talking about the red light (he was on the stage in the youth room).   When Tyler said "Yes, that's red!" Luke got all excited (which often includes a snort or two).  Now that I think of it, he used to snort as a newborn when he cried!  We joked that he sounded like a little piglet!
"Teeeeeeeoooooo" = two.  Everytime I put their arms through their sleeves or their legs through their pants, I always count each arm/ leg.  One day, I said "oooone" as he put one leg in, and before I could say two, Luke says "teeeeeeoooo" as he puts his other leg in.  He's getting so big so quick!
Independent streak: I think he thinks he's Kate's age.  He gets very frustrated when I don't allow the same independence of walking in public without holding my hand (but I know he'll run off and get into everything).  He gets frustrated, screams and leans against me.  He's had many time-outs in public for this.  I always feel bad doing that but I know if we stay consistent he'll learn, and hopefully by the time #3 comes, he'll be a bit better about wandering?  Mama has plans of getting a stroller that'll hold all 3 regardless ;)
Communication frustration:  I really think most of his fits come from trying to communicate something that I don't understand. 

Family

      Tyler and I took Kate to the circuis for the first time!  She enjoyed it but the only event that held her attention the ENTIRE time it was going were the elephants!  She was LOCKED in!  We also took a family trip to a storm game.  Kids enjoyed it.  I did too.  I hope Ty did too although he was gone half the time getting food for all of us!  He's such a servant's heart in action to us every day.  We also spent a night at a hotel to swim many times.  Kids love that water!

       Updates on Pregnancy: things are a million times better these days!  I'm 19 weeks and finally hit my breakthrough!  I'm still a little nauseous most days but it's just in the background and I can function as normal.  It still hits harder about once a week or so where I may actually throw up but it's only for a day or so and it's still functionable sickness so I will take it!  So thankful for God's grace and allowing me to feel semi-normal again!  Energy comes and goes as any pregnant woman would know.  I have made the heart-breaking decision to not go to camps this year.  This is really difficult for me to swallow- knowing I'm not capable of doing all that camp requires this year.  At first when we were hoping to have another child next fall, I assumed all would be the same and of course I'd do camp again pregnant- I've done it four times before (2 camps each year).  But I'm still far too dependent on certain foods high in protein to stay well and I can't ask that of the camp staff.

      In other news, I've felt baby a handful of times here or there.  Many times, I don't necessarily feel kicks but I feel what I know it feels like when baby is doing somersaults.  It's not consistant yet.  And in two weeks, we find out if baby is a he or a she!  We're excited to see what God has for our family.  And boy am I ready to meet him/her already.  We've got a loooong ways to go so I'd better sit tight ;)

Gender predictions

Reasons I think it's a girl:
Similar symptoms as Kate (carpal tunnel, swelling of the cankles)
Had a high heartbeat to start (dr even joked that it was a girl heart rate at 10 weeks)
Ultrasound shows a forehead like Kate.
Katelyn has told us from day 1 it's a girl (they say toddlers have crazy inklings on these things)

Reasons I think it's a boy:
Similar symptoms to Luke: (now that the sickness has leveled out, my nausea is a lot like 1st trimester with Luke where it comes suddenly without warning and either a throw up or a good manly belch solves it- apologies- pregnancy makes me gross!)
Low heart rate since week 13.
Ultrasound chin looks like Luke's.

So in conclusion, I have no idea! I lean back and forth. Which is funny bc I was sure Kate was a boy and Luke was a girl. So if only I was sure on this one then if know it's the opposite gender;) two weeks and we'll find out!

Family news and 1.5 and 2.5 years

Family News

 One of the pictures taken to announce and the aftermath :)

     Baby #3 is on the way- expected in mid-October.  And you know we're not April Fooling since we actually announced a good week and a half ago ;)  We are so blessed and thankful!  When we shared with Katelyn that mommy had a baby in her tummy, she immediately said "i have a baby in my tummy too"  then immediately asked "Daddy, what's in your tummy?"  We laughed.  Luke probably laughed the loudest- although the kid had no clue what he was laughing about.  He loves to find excuses to laugh!  And Kate sure gives him plenty of opportunity.  She's excited for another baby brother/sister and Luke... well, Luke has no clue ;)  I'm sure it'll click for him before baby's due but we've got some time.

         This pregnancy has not been an easy one to say the least.  Despite trying countless different "remedies" for sickness, I've truly found nothing that helps.  As the weeks go on I realize that no matter what I do, I start to feel better during the week, then as the weekend hits (despite taking/not taking the same pills/vitamins, eating the exact same foods, getting the same amount of rest/sleep) that sickness tends to hit again.  It usually hits anytime from Thurs-Monday and lasts a couple of days hardcore, then backs off a bit and I may have a really good day or two in there.  From my research, I realize it's my HCG levels spiking (sick) and leveling out (not sick) and really nothing I do can touch it.  The only relief I've found is sometimes zofran, but because of all the media/lawsuits out surrounding it, despite my dr. being confident that it is completely safe, I'm still terrified every time I take it that I'm going to harm the baby so I try to take it as least often as possible, which usually ends up about once, maybe twice a day through the rough days.  But more than anything, I feel sorry for everyone around me.  I've become a burden to everyone.  The house is a disaster, I'm a barely involved mama when I'm home, laundry has gone to pot, food makes me frustrated to think about because I'm obsessed with getting enough protein (I'm still convinced that that is the only thing that at least helps the nausea/sickness) and it's stressful to even think about feeding myself, no less my hubby and kiddos.  My poor husband puts his kids and wife to bed at the same time, he does laundry, dishes, cleaning, and has sacrificed so much more than I ever could ask of him to try and make life work for all of us.  I am so so blessed to have him as my husband and he deserves serious praise and gifts and crowns in heaven for all he's done.  Dorthy and Krystle have taken kids when I couldn't function enough to take care of them myself when Ty is working.   And through it all, I'm really really struggling with self-pity.  I know that this is all for a wonderful cause and eventually will be worth it.  And in this season, I'm remembering that in Jesus' suffering (which is- oh, you know, a million times worse than I could ever imagine as it wasn't just physical suffering but spiritual suffering as His heavenly Father turned His back while Jesus took all our sins on his shoulders), he never complained.  He still willingly walked into the city on Palm Sunday.  He willingly went with the soldiers to be led to his trials.  He stayed up on that cross even though he had the power to kill all of his abusers.  All for me.  And here I am wallowing.  Jesus forgive me.  If you think of it, please pray for our family as we get through this time.  Pray for my husband to have strength and perseverance.  Pray for me to get outside of myself and remember the HUGE blessings that this child brings.  For me to remember that even carrying a child is something that many don't get the chance to feel or experience.  For my kiddos to understand and know their mommy loves them even if I don't give them much attention or time these days.  I am 12 weeks so hopefully, we're looking at a turn around at some point.  Baby is measuring right on and has a strong heartbeat so that is a HUGE blessing.  I also, in deep sickness one day, got to actually feel the baby!  Only once so far (it's way early) but it was very much a flip happening in there.  For that moment, it made the sickness just a little easier to bear.  OH and if any of you have any suggestions or ideas for me to try to combat the sickness, please, I'm all ears!  I've probably already tried it, BUT in case there's a chance I missed something, let me know :) 

Katelyn Updates (2 1/2 years old)

-"by myself"- uses this phrase ALL the time.  Even if she didn't do it by herself, she tells me she did.  Becoming independent.
-big heart- Kate is always asking me if I feel sick, and if I say yes, she says "Jesus help you".
-Opens doors
-Teaching her brother colors.  She's so patient! (see video at the bottom)
-Imagination: I think she really understands there's a baby in my tummy as she asks me often if baby is growing and she knows that mommy is sick because of the growing baby.  She has a renewed love of "baby things" (not necessarily baby dolls, but pretending to hold a baby in her arms and pretending it's crying, rocking it to sleep, feeding it "breakfast"- oh boy...).  I'm thinking about having her come with us to the next ultrasound to see the baby.  I think she'd do well and completely understand it but we'll see. 

Luke Updates (almost 1 1/2 years old)

-A few new words: "car" (Caaaah?), "nigh nigh da da" "blue" (booo) (see above)
-Luke is quite the wanderer.  He does not stay by my side when we are out.  At 12 months, Kate had to learn to stand on the yellow line in the parking lot next to me while I used both hands to get Luke's car seat out.  She always listened and obeyed and it didn't take long before I could trust her to stay.  Luke?  I wouldn't dare try that with Luke!  Even when I do hold his hand to keep him next to me, he tries to break free, to the point of leaning away from me making it really hard to hang on.
-Starting to understand more and more about following simple directions.
-LOVES to make noise.  Legos clashing together is one of his favorites!
-Can get down our one step in our family room without holding on to anything?  It happened for the first time today and very much surprised me! Although a few weeks ago he was practicing going up/down the step holding on to the wall so I guess I shouldn't be surprised.
-Really trying to make more sounds/words.  He mimics what we say and feel like his language will explode in the next couple of months.  (Made me remember Kate saying "simmsooo" (swimsuit).  This is a fun developmental time!  Makes me realize yet another reason I need to get over myself when I'm really sick. 

Video: It's quiet but she's saying:
K: "Can you say pink?"
L: "peeen"
K:  "good job  Can you say green?"
L; "boo"
K: "no, not blue, say green"
L: "booo"
K: No, that's not blue.  This is blue.  say blue"
L: *eye rub* (you know inside he's like "alright already, I said one color, lay off!")

January 1 & 2

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Luke:

Vocab: now says "Tee-tooo" for thank you, "ba-ba" for banana, "Hiiieeeee" for hi, "bu-bye"
guitar: This kills us with laughter!  Everytime Luke picks up the guitar, he sings.  I'll post a video down below because I can't even explain it.  It's like he HAS to sing when he holds the guitar and nothing else!  And that little smirk and sideways glance to see if anyone is watching.
downward dog: These two love doing yoga poses!  Luke started this but Katelyn surely follows!  They put their head on the ground, butt in the air, and legs straight to make an upside down "V".  they love to look at each other through their legs, and Katelyn picks her hands up and claps in between her V, only holding herself up by her head!  Sillies!
Spoons & Forks!: Someone is learning to use a spoon!  It's quite messy but it's wonderful!

not sleeping well: Luke has been sick, but even now that he's not sick, he still wakes up every few hours just to give a whine and then goes back to sleep.  His room is pretty dry too so we need to keep the humidifiers running.
Circles: Put anything (I mean ANYthing) in the middle of the floor and the kids will run circles around it giggling all the way.  It can be a mountain of pillows, a toy, or even just a sock.  It doesn't matter.  As long as there's room around it, we run circles.
She'll be coming round the mountain when she comes: When they ran circles around the couch, I used to sing the song and they'd clap and laugh.  Then I'd change "Coming" to "Running" or "Walking backwards" or "jumping" and they'd follow suit.  Lots of fun!
Wrestling: Still loves to roll over on his sister.  Sister is not always the biggest fan of it.  It's often a short-lived art for them both.  Luke also loves to just dive into pillows, blankets, beanbag, whatever is soft.  He loves to just throw his body around.  We're in for it when he gets older, aren't we!

Kate:

Potty: Oh please let this not jinx it.... but as of the past few days, suddenly she's decided to tell us when she needs to go?  I've stopped hounding her and we just have the potty seat closeby.  I'll often "remind" her without actually reminding her by just asking her where the potty seat is (like I'm looking for it) and she'll show me where it is.  She doesn't go then, but at least it's on her mind?  But I don't do that often and sometimes out of the middle of nowhere she tells us!
Vocab: Suddenly this girl's speech has taken off.  Full sentences that are easy (at least to us!) to understand!  She's picking up phrases from daddy like "There you go" and from mommy "isn't it?" "I watch Dora, if that's okay, please?"
Whining: Oh the whining!  Some days she wakes up and it's all she does.  I've found what works is simply pretending like I don't understand her when she whines.  So everytime she does it, I tell her "I cannot understand you when you whine"  She'll often try again with a little less whining but I keep saying it until she changes her tone and it's Hilarious!  She'll be in the middle of all out whining and then change her tone completely to "mama?  Can I have some milk please?" I'm VERY excited that we found something that's working as the whining really gets Tyler and I on edge and frustrated so hopefully with time she'll get rid of the whining completely ;)
"nilk" instead of milk still.. when we try to get her to say "mama... milk" she still says "Mama, nilk".  We've also tried "mmmmmmilk" and she goes "mmmmmm-nilk"  Which is hilarious!  She laughs, we laugh, it's all a good time :)

Family:

This month we headed to the Brooking's Children's Museum, had some nice days outside, and have spent a lot of time inside!  We've headed to library reading times more often (which they both adore!).  Luke walks RIGHT up to the book the lady is reading.  He's always got to have that front row seat when reading books!