3 months & 16 months

Luke 3 months

-Continuing to talk.  Sometimes left alone in the car-seat with no one in sight, just talks to be heard
-officially self-soothes to sleep.  No matter how tight I swaddle (and I swaddle/tie TIGHT) he always gets an arm out but can soothe himself regardless.
-Sleep: Naps are usually about 40 minutes each but sleep consistently from 9pm-7am unless he's in a growth spurt
-Working out: Loves to do crunches.  If I lay him supported against a pillow, he'll do crunches to try and sit up and if you try to sit him up, he becomes stiff as a board and wants to stand.
-Size: wearing size 3 diapers and 6-9 month clothes.  He's long! He's close to outgrowing the 6 month clothes (too tight to snap!)
-He's found his hair
-Smile: I've been trying to figure out how to describe his smile because it's different than I've ever seen in anyone... When he recognizes someone and smiles, his ears go up (not kidding!), his eyebrows change somehow and his eyes... oh those eyes... they show recognition in a way that I can't describe but the way his whole face lights up when he smiles has me so deeply in love with him.  He's only 3 months, and I know I'm his mom and totally biased, but is it too early to call that he's a very personable boy?  Seems to thrive off of people SO much more than toys. Reminds me of his daddy! Hard to describe and we'll see as he grows, but every time he smiles, I just melt! (Definitely reminds me of his daddy!)

Katelyn 16 months

-Books: All about lift the flap books.  Wants to "read" the same one again and again
-Manners: Can't remember if she was all out "please please"-ing a month ago but whenever she wants something, she'll point and say "pweas peas" (This was trying to say Help Please but she just says please twice...)
-Growing!: Overnight she grew tall!  The shirts that would cover her bum and were long shirts now show her belly!  Ah!  I need to switch out her dresser again into 24 month & 1T?  or 2T? I don't get toddler sizes ;)
-Fork: She once in a while gets the chance to use a fork/spoon and loves to stab the food/dip in yogurt and bring it to her mouth.  It's not the most efficient and Im sure to do this on days we'll have time for bathtime ;)
-DADA: Anytime she sees/hears daddy from afar, she points and says "dada"- specifically on a Wednesday night.  When we come in before service he's usually practicing for worship with the teens and she hears him in the mic and points him out.  I love hearing that out of her mouth- just precious!  Daddy has even let her talk in the mic and boy does she love that!
-Nonononono is a new catchphrase... we're in for it!
-Body parts: Katelyn LOVES her belly button and gets frustrated if she's wearing a onesie that she can't pull up to see it.  She also has been pulling up our shirts to see our belly buttons.  I should probably teach her that's not socially acceptable...
Little Helper:  She LOVES to sit on a stool in the kitchen watching me work.

Sometimes, you just have to throw your head back when you laugh- or at least Luke does :)

We made this just to say hi to grammy and popop a while ago but I just think she's too cute (biased, I know)

2 & almost 15 months

Luke

Sleep:  Luke now goes to bed earlier (8:00ish) and sleeps until 6:00am before eating, then sleeps again until 8am.  It's a BEAUTIFUL thing ;)

Extrovert:  I'm calling it now... this boy loves human interaction!  There are times when he'll have toys hanging in front of him to play with and he'll fuss until someone comes over and smiles at him.  I know he'll love having a sister to play with as he grows older- now to just make sure her independent sister will enjoy playing with him ;)

Smiles, coos, and laughs!:  Suddenly this boy is a talker!  He will coo and smile and "flirt" when anyone gives him eye contact and smiles.  And.... he even laughed a few times for us!  I've only gotten him to do it once (see video below) but daddy's gotten it a few times now.

Growing fast!  Luke is now wearing 6 month clothes.  He doesn't quite fill them out but the 3 month clothes are far too tight length-wise.  

Hands: His hands find his mouth often but he just kinda sucks on his fist

Katelyn

Sleep:  Kate has been fighting naps pretty hardcore these days.  I think a lot of it has to do with her going from 2 naps to 1, teething, and just being 1 1/2 years old ;)

Words:  Starting to say (not just sign)  "all done (ah-dun)", "Please (pleh)", What's that (Wasat?), "Bathtime (ba-time)

Chase: When we come home, she immediately turns her back, peeks her head around, smiles, and runs away (wants to be chased)

Dolls: She is mimicking me taking care of Luke with her dollies, her stuffed animals, even a fisher price cow toy- (gives them pacifiers, feeds them a bottle, burps them, rocks them).  She even likes to "help" with Luke by forcing the pacifier in his mouth when he doesn't want it, or taking out to put it back in when he already has it in.  She'll also rock the swing he's in if it's not rocking itself.  She's a good little mommy :)

Surprise face: Anytime sound that she isn't anticipating happens, (especially sound from her dollhouse or when daddy walks in the door, or even if someone toots- including herself) her mouth goes wide open and she looks at us using a surprised face.  She is truly a joy!

Christmas: Katelyn had her 2nd Christmas and this time was so much more fun- although I'm pretty sure she doesn't understand the idea of boxes... She'd open things we know she'd be excited about but was indifferent until things came out of the boxes.  She received a playhouse from mommy and daddy (mostly daddy), a kitchen set from grandma tufte, a barn playhouse from grandma patton, and many other smaller gifts and she's quite excited about them all!  

1 & almost 14 Months Update

1 Month for Luke

Sleep: He used to sleep 6 hour stints but now our longest is usually 3.5-4 hours at most.  The hardest thing is that he tends to poop right as I lay him down to sleep which wakes him up and of course we do a diaper change and then it's a long time to get him back down.  

Weight:  We're going to use up the size 1 diapers just because we have them but he's ready for size 2.

Cooing: He doesn't talk very much.  Just a little noise once in a great while.  

Tummy time: We don't have him on tummy time that often as he has some tummy issues that causes a lot of spitting up often and tummy time makes that worse.  He also doesn't even try to pick his head up in tummy time but we do hold him on us up to our shoulders and he pushes off and is gaining neck strength that way.  

Enamored with Katelyn: Katelyn comes up to say "hi" and he will follow her with his eyes as she walks away and goes to play.

Finding his hands: His hands are finding his mouth more and more as he's discovering movement :)

Snorting: When he's crying hard enough, he snorts

Tummy issues: Luke cries a lot after each feeding until he burps belches and then often spits up at that point and feels much better.  Poor thing!  We're looking into possible causes to see if there's anything we can do to help or if it's just normal baby fussiness/spit-up. Seeing the dr. tomorrow to rule out any serious issues just in case.
Dedication: Luke was dedicated this month and grammy and pop pop from Michigan came to visit for a week!  Katelyn sure enjoys both her grandmas!  

14 Months for Katelyn

Chairs: She Loves to sit on things that seem to be made for her size.  This includes the bumbo chair (she LOVES that thing and can get in and out on her own), a white stool grammy bought for her, and any pillow that she can sit on.

Rambling: If you ask a question, she will answer.  Albeit in her own little toddler language but she is quite the talker!  (see video below)

Doll: While mommy takes care of Luke, Katelyn takes care of her baby doll.  She pats her back/burps her, rocks her, lays her on the baby gym mat, lays her in the boppy pillow, lays her in the swing or rock n play.... it's adorable how much she mimics and it's precious to watch her do it.  She now even pats US on the back when we're hugging her.

Throwing: We are learning how to throw balls now!  I really have to watch to be sure she's not throwing anything hard to hit Luke!

Dress-up: Kate loves to "put clothes on" which means draping them around her neck.  She puts a piece of clothing on then walks around the room.  Sometimes she hands clothes to us to put on her head for her as "headpieces" are her favorite.  So silly!

Books: She is still as enamored as ever with books.  She now likes to bring us books and sit in our laps for us to read them to her.

Calming Luke: In the car the other day, Luke was crying and Kate just kept talking and nodding toward his directions looking as if she's trying to calm him.



















Katelyn talking in her "paragraphs"

Luke "purring" when sleeping

0 & 13 Months!

Birth story of Lucas Steven 

(0 months)

The past weekend I had timeable (but painless) contractions. Dr told me I was in early labor but who knew when things would take off.

I woke up Tuesday morning feeling a little crampy but that was no different than the weekend so I brushed it off. I stayed in bed thinking about plans for teaching for the day. Got out of bed at 6:21 figuring I ought to shower when I stood up and realized... Did my water just break?! (Last time my water never broke until we were partway through pushing). Still not quite convinced I thought I should call in to prep for a sub just in case. Woke up Tyler, told him I was barely feeling contractions and to keep sleeping but that I think it could be baby day. During my shower contractions picked up and turned from uncomfortable to pain. Tyler got up and started getting Katelyn ready for the day. We traded off so he could get ready but those contractions went from bad to worse quickly so I called Ty's mom over to watch Katelyn so I could try to focus on relaxing through the pain. We were ready to go and things just seemed to be going fast. In the car Tyler was trying to get an "on the way to the hospital" picture and I told him he'd have to wait for this contraction to pass. It was taking forever and Ty was trying to get out of the driveway so he kept saying "just try to smile". I told him to just wait a minute. Contraction passed , he snapped a picture, and we were on our way! ( good thing bc that was my last break in contractions). Waves of contractions hit but there was never rest in between. They went from painful to unbearable back to painful and back again, but no rest. Tyler was freaking out over traffic and I kept telling him to relax, we're not having the baby in the car.

We got to the hospital and the lady at the desk asking questions realized how intense things were and rushed us into a triage room. I went to the bathroom and felt nauseas.  Immediately after throwing up I felt the urge to push. Nurses were scurrying to get me into a wheelchair to get me to a delivery room (insert typical birth movie scene here) Then trying to rush me up on the bed. Not quite an easy way to relax through contractions;) I somehow managed to get on the bed just in time to push and 30 minutes after pulling into the hospital, Baby Luke came into the world! (8:48am)  It was such an insane whirlwind of events!  Less than 2.5 hours from plans to teaching for the day to welcoming our 2nd child into the family!

We are so blessed and thankful for our miracle baby! Now two healthy children!  One that we thought we had surely lost at 3 months of pregnancy (Luke). (Look earlier in the blog for the entire story). We are now home figuring out how this whole two children thing works:)

A little about Luke:
-He is massive! (9 lbs 6 oz)
-Because he is massive he wants to eat. A lot. And ALL the time...
-What works to soothe him: tight swaddles, warmth, bouncing, and he's been finding his fingers here and there.
-His cry sounds like a pig squealing. -To make things funnier, he often snorts while crying.
-He can self soothe?! The other night I laid him down drowsy but quite awake. A few minutes later he fussed for two minutes and then fell asleep! On his own! Is this a fluke? I'll take it :)

Katelyn is close to 13 months!

(I think ill blog once a month in between Luke's and Katelyn's next month of development.)

-Katelyn now likes to give a sarcastic laugh (a deep hardy Ha Ha)-still as joyous as ever-starting to cry and really throw tantrums over things she wants.
-now kisses. Tonight when reading a book, she leaned forward to kiss the animals in every page. Sometimes kisses are open mouth toward an object with a lick. Sometimes it's a kiss noise a few inches away with a quick nuzzle.
-still treats her bed like a crib. Even though she often climbs in and out during the day, she always stays and cries until someone comes to take her out of bed. I specifically haven't encouraged her to see that connection as it's kind of convenient for now. She'll figure it out sooner or later.
-The day we brought Luke home, she decided to grow up overnight and walk!  She is starting to take off and can walk across the room without any help and boy can walk fast!
-If you turn on music, even if it's in the background of a commercial on tv, munchkin shakes her groove thang!  Those little hips get going and she bounces.  She's hilarious as it's like she cannot control it.  Even in a pool area with background music, she immediately dances. She notices music when most of us don't.

12 Months... 1 Year Old!

It's so hard to believe that our baby is already 1 year old!   I will say that birthdays have changed their meaning this year... Although my birthday is the day before Katelyn's, I was far more excited for hers as it carries such amazing memories welcoming her into our lives.  

Birthday Party!: We celebrated Katelyn's birthday a few weeks early since we had so much going on in September-October and then we'll have a newborn so we really wanted her to have her own day.  My mom flew in to help me prep for it and of course to celebrate and spend time with Katelyn.  Katelyn did a great job!  Woke up from a nap shortly before the party, she ate a great supper, loved all the attention, got excited with each gift opened, and loved the cupcake I made her.  It was actually a healthy version made without sugar but made with bananas and applesauce.  The icing was made with mainly powdered sugar (and a tiny bit of greek yogurt) and although I thought she'd go crazy over the icing, she was more excited about the cupcake (more like a muffin) and turned it upside down to eat the underside more than the icing!  Silly girl!  Note to self- make more muffins!

Vocabulary: We have added the words "down", "yep", and signs milk and all done.  She also points a lot- often to ask for more.

Sitting: We LOVE to arrange things, turn around, squat down and sit on it.  Whether it's a pillow or stuffed animal or just a bucket.  Anything that is her size!

Steps: Gaining more balance as she practices walking holding on to one of our hands.  She sometimes accidentally takes a few steps without realizing it.  We need to work with her more on it because it's really just about confidence now.  She has the balance and skills.

Teeth: We have 5 teeth now!  2 on bottom, 3 on top!

Toddler bed!: Grammy helped a bunch by painting Katelyn's new room and cleaned the room.  As soon as Grammy left town, we switched the room over for Katelyn with a toddler bed and transitioned her over.  We thought we'd go slow- just for naps to start.  The first day we did a nap in there, it was as if there was no transition at all.  Because we felt confident about it, we haven't gone back to the crib since!  We put a body pillow down on the floor in case she somehow got out and we rolled up towels and put it under the sheets across the opening just so she doesn't fall out (since she came pretty close in one of her naps!).  I know- most people freak out when they hear we've transitioned her before she can even walk, but she knows what edges are and that if she leans over them that she can fall and she knows how to turn around and climb down from the couch or other high things so we feel confident.  It's been a few weeks and so far so good!

*videos of Katelyn at the bottom*

Baby Boy

This should be the last post by me before baby boy is born!  We have about 2 weeks left until the "due week" but we'll see what he decides on timing (or even more so what God decides on timing).  I won't lie, I'm feeling very uncomfortable.  I don't remember pregnancy feeling like this to the point where bending down is nearly impossible with how incredibly low he is and everything I do causes contractions.  Anyway, I think baby boy will look a little different than Katelyn- at least their 20 weeks ultrasounds shows a little different face shape in my opinion.  Baby boy on the left, Katelyn on the right.  We're excited to see him in real life!  Dr. said "this is NOT a small baby..." scaring mama quite a bit, but then she mentioned that Katelyn wasn't small either (oh phew- I was thinking she meant 10-11 lbs?!)  Sounds like he's probably about 7lbs already with a few weeks to go.  Praying God knows the timing best and that labor is a little faster and even more efficient than last time but you just never know!  Baby boy loves to stretch out those legs and push hard!  Anyway, his appearance should be coming shortly in the next few weeks so keep us in your prayers that labor goes well, that he's perfectly healthy, and that Katelyn learns to transition and love her baby brother!