~Funny Story~

Yesterday we went to the doctors to have a weight check done on Rachel. While we were in the waiting room, Levi decided to run around the entire room...we may have been the only ones there, but it is not acceptable nonetheless. So, after a warning he ended in time out. I told him to come over and sit down next to me for a time out. He complied and after about a minute a gentlemen walked in and sat down across from us. Levi looked at him and said, "You in time out too?" Needless to say, the guy and I both burst out laughing.

A mini Rachel post:

Rachel Milena

~9 Months~

I took Rachel in for a 9 month weight check. We decided to forgo her well check, but wanted to make sure her weight was still on the rise. I anticipated that it would be good, and it was. She weighed in at 15 lbs 3 oz. This puts her just below the 5th% I believe. She is also 27 1/4 inches long. I was really not worried, but it felt good to hit the 15lb range...why? I don't really know. This weight thing means less and less to me, but I want to record it for posterity. She is still the smallest baby for her age that I know, and I couldn't care less :)

In this ninth month we have cut out a feeding and have decided to dive head first into table foods. I have discovered that this girl loves to eat! She has been a good eater from the start, but now she is experiencing table foods...and it is a success! She likes peas, black beans, cheese, and carrots. We will continue to add foods to this list. Oh and the other day I had a piece of chicken and she went after it with vengeance. She took several little bites so that may be something that we try in the near future.

I know, it's scary how much they look alike,

the point of this picture is that you can see her teeth.

Look closely at the bottom gum.

Look how big she is getting!

She has done a few free stands (3 seconds is her record).

And so it begins...

Rachel has finally started getting teeth. I saw them yesterday under the last layer of skin. Sometime over night, she broke both of the bottom teeth through. Just a few days past 8 1/2 months she has gotten her first teeth. She was a bit fussy yesterday, but other than that, she had no issue with them. Her sleep was not interrupted, which is a blessing. Let's hope the other 18 she will get in her toddler years are that good to her!

A Memorable Memorial Day Weekend

This year we decided to take a mini vacation over Memorial Day weekend. We headed up to Naperville, IL (a suburb of Chicago). Matthew has cousins all throughout Chicago area so we had the chance to see almost all of them. We stayed with the Malesich clan. They have 4 kids (6, 8, 10 and 12). Levi has tons of fun with them. He even slept in the boys' room while we were there! This is one of those things that makes you realized they are growing up. He had a hard time falling asleep the first night, but after that he did pretty well. I hope to continue this trend in the future.

While we were there, Rachel got her first experience with a pool. That is when we discovered that we gave birth to a fish. She LOVED the water. If you took her out of it, she would squirm until you put her back in. She had the biggest smiles on her face! She didn't even fuss when she got splashed.


Levi also had a first experience. Matt helped to teach him how to swing on the big swings. He did really well. He even started to pump his legs to get the swing going more. This is a scary transition for me. I know you have to encourage them to advance in these things, but it is hard when they are first learning. Good Luck Levi :)

Wrestling with his cousins.

Getting some good air.

Hey! Where did everybody go?

She has made peace with the grass.

She will even crawl in it and try to eat it.

What is that shadow in the background?

Alyssa and Levi

Ryan and Levi.
They were quite the pair this weekend.

Buddies: Levi and Dylan

All aboard the fun train!

(And not to leave Joey out)
Joey and Rachel

Half way to Three!

We have reached the half-way mark in Levi's journey to three. He officially turned Two and a half on Sunday the 16th, so this post is all about him!

Since turning two, Levi is capable of expressing complex ideas, his pretend play has jumped to a whole other level, and he has nearly mastered the art of using the potty to relieve himself. He has also become quite the eater. He enjoys an array of foods from chicken and hamburgers to broccoli and salad. He will always love yogurt and desserts though :) He has even recently begun to out eat me at a meal!

~Funny Story~
The other day we were at my Mom and Dad's house and Levi was acting up. I told him that if he didn't obey he was going to be put in the corner (a common practice at our house). And without missing a beat he looked at me and said, "Mamaw's house doesn't have corners." to which I replied, "There are corners everywhere buddy." Thankfully, I didn't have to prove my statement to him that day.

So what is Levi into these days?
His favorite show is Little Einsteins. He could watch them all day if we let him.
His favorite toy is anything Thomas or train related. Although his stuffed "rocket" from Little Einsteins is a close second.
His favorite food is probably cheese. He is cyclical with most foods though so it depends on the day.
His favorite book is his Thomas books. A four book set that he almost has memorized. Jamberry has taken a back seat at this point.
His favorite activity is still basketball. Although riding his bike is a close second.


What does the summer hold for Levi?
Well, we are currently in Level 6 at Gymboree. I hope to start school skills when he turns 3. He ended his last day of Mom's day out today so we will have the summer free to go on vacations and other fun stuff. He will be going on Wednesdays in the fall with his BFF, Grant. Besides that he will be doing all the fun things that go with summer time! We will keep you posted.

~Funny Story 2~
Last Thursday (May 20) was not a good day for Levi. He had gotten in a lot of trouble by 9:30am . I have bible study then and as we were on our way, we were having a discussion about his behavior. During this conversation he said, "Well, today you were mean Mommy, and the bible says that's terrible." Now it wasn't that fluid, but that is what he said. Who is teaching these lessons? It wasn't funny at the time, but it is now :)


Here are some fun pictures of Levi from the past couple of months:

Gymboree: Level 6

The zoo with the Ferris family

Mom's Day out 09-10 school year

(first day)

(Last day) Look how he's grown!

Miss Annette and Miss Carla

RACHEL IS EIGHT MONTHS!

I felt like Rachel deserved her own post today so this is all about her!

She turned 8 months last Friday. She is now in my favorite part of her first year. She is fully mobile, she feeds herself (sometimes), and our routine is pretty solid. I know what to expect from her on a daily basis. She is a happy, healthy little girl. Her smile brightens my day instantly.

I must say too that without comparing Levi and Rachel too much, they are quite alike. They look so similar it is scary at times. They also have the same zest for life and adventure. Rachel is much like Levi was at this point. Always moving and getting into mischief. They get along really well because of that commonality. HOWEVER, a huge difference between the two of them is that Rachel still finds time to eat. Levi had horrible eating habits at this point and his weight was suffering because of it. Rachel on the other hand nurses about 5 times a day and manages to put away about 12oz of solid food...that is three meals a day. She is a good eater and her weight is still on the low end of the charts...but at least she is on the charts :) But is does go to show that I do not make big babies. They come out at a nice weight, but then they just grow steadily at the bottom of normal. And as the one who has to carry them around all day, I don't mind one bit!

Currently we are working with our first baby signs with Rachel. We are big on using "more", "all done" "eat" and "milk". Beyond that we will see how quickly she talks and if she needs more of the signs. She is pulling herself up on everything and her cruising is improving daily. I will not predict when she will walk as there are no real indicators for that. She will when she does :) The other big milestone of the first year has yet to be reached...her first tooth still eludes us. Not a one in sight. I am not upset about this however since I am still nursing all day.

Here are some pictures of Miss Rachel or as Levi would call her "Ray Ray".

(Rachel ~ 7 months)

Well my little Rachel is almost eight months old now...in the seventh month she has learned to crawl and pull herself up on stuff. Her crawling is still not fluid, but she is quick and she can get anywhere she wants. Then the other day I went to get her from her nap and there she was standing up in her crib! The time has flown by. She is adventurous just like Levi is/was. I know they will have lots of fun together when she can run around after him.

Rachel in her "busy box"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

(Levi~ 29 months)

Levi has had an interesting couple of months. He finished the (day time) potty training just a few weeks before my cousin came into town. She has a 15 month old and so Levi experienced some major regression while she was here. Then I got him back on track and he was struck with diarrhea! This has been the worst case of diarrhea I have ever seen! We actually put him back in diapers because it was so bad. The frustrating thing about it was that he was fine other than the diarrhea. After the first day he had no fever, good appetite, tons of energy...just diarrhea! He is feeling much better now and is using the potty again (big sigh of relief). Let's just say it has been one LONG week. Anyway, enough complaining. I feel blessed to have such healthy kids overall. We made it through the entire winter without any one getting the flu...and no, we don't get flu shots.

Funny Story~
So yesterday (May6) Rachel was cruising along the couch and Levi came up and wanted to hold her. He says "Mommy, I need to hold her!" again and again. So I said "fine, just get up on the couch and I will give her to you." He jumps up on the couch and sits next to me. I sit her on his lap and he immediately lays her down across his lap and starts to pull his shirt up. I said, "What are you doing?!" He says, "I need to feed her now!" He then proceeds to try to push her head up to his belly while adjusting a pillow under his elbow! I was laughing my head off and trying to explain that she is not hungry right now and if she were Mommy would take care of it.


Here are some fun pictures from the past month. Enjoy!

(Hosting Easter was a lot of fun!)

(It was one of the first nice days)

(Levi could not let Rachel out do him)

But then again, he is no girl!

One of our Chicago cousins

Three Cheers For Levi!!

Here is my little potty trainer! I am so proud of him. We have graduated to underwear and he is going through the day accident free! Of course we still have the occasional accident, but it is not an everyday occurrence. He even does it all himself at home. I don't have to be on him about going and I don't have to help him either! He just stops what he is doing and goes to the bathroom. The end of potty training is near! So what did I learn from all of this???

Don't start until YOU are really ready. Once your child starts showing signs it is really up to you to teach them this skill, so don't bother until you are ready...(unless you have a child that is just "screaming" to be potty trained).

One of the key elements to potty training is the parent being aware of where the bathrooms are and encouraging there little ones to "try" when they are out and about. I believe there is more in the training for adults than the kids sometimes.

Disposable training pants are a great tool if the idea of cleaning poop and pee out of clothes grosses or stresses you out...but in the future I will not rely on them as heavily. They have a great purpose but they can be abused and hinder the process. However, I will say that having them around while training a toddler and having a newborn was a godsend. Plus, we found that the store brand worked as well as the national brand, Kroger and Target carry a great store brand.

So with that being said, we have ditched the diapers and are working on night training. I am not stressed about this at all. He is a boy and I can only control so much of this process. He is waking up dry most mornings now, and he is still wearing a diaper to bed. When the pack runs out he will wear the remainder of his pull-ups that we have around...then we will assess whether he is capable of sleeping in underwear. All in all it has been a great learning experience for both of us. You know you are the parent of a toddler when you walk in the bathroom to find a little guy on the potty and he looks at you, huffs, and says, "Mom, I'm pooping." and this statement is one of the highlights of your day.

In Summary
We started the 'boot camp' in mid October and he slowly made it through his birthday and the holidays with small improvement. We then stepped it up in March and by the end he was going to the potty on his own...then we had a true test with family coming into town and then Easter get together. He almost made it through the first test, but he passed Easter with flying colors. He stayed dry all day! Even with all of his cousins around and an egg hunt. We have had several successful outings and hope to be in underwear when Mom's Day Out continues on the 16th.

Here they are on their six-month
birthdays....

6 Months

Well Miss Rachel had her six-month well check last week. She is doing great in all categories. She is long for her age/weight and still on the charts for weight. The appointment was almost a week early and that made me nervous. We need all the time we can get. Then we had to wait for almost an hour just to be seen (this ran her all the way up to feeding time)...then they weighed her on an empty stomach. We could have used those 6 or so ounces...but alas, she came in at 13lb. 4oz. This keeps her on the charts for weights, but she dropped to the 25th percentile. I struggled with this idea for about a week. Why? Well, I was hoping for more. Why? That I am not quite sure. If the number would have been bigger would I have felt she was more healthy? No. Would I have felt she was more advanced? No. She would still be the same sweet, healthy, girl that she is right now...just a few o-z's bigger. I have since let go and thanked God above that I have two healthy children. I also pray daily that he will take this burden of always hoping for more instead of being grateful for the amazing gifts that He has given. Oh and for posterity's sake she was 25 3/4 inches long.