Family Photos

So, wow, I last posted in April?! I'll forewarn you that this post won't even try to make up for all the missed time. In fact it will probably be pretty short. Its nap time for the kids and those few hours of quiet and solitude {and laundry folding} are sacred time :)

What better way to catch you up than with photos?! We had a friend from church take some family pics in the fall and I just love them. I'm sad to admit that it took almost a whole year for Kellen's picture to make it up on our wall... but now there are lots and I love it. (Thanks Hannah!)

Kellen turned 1 on Dec. 30th and has fully moved out of the baby stage. He's walking all around and into everything and, like his sister, is sweet but stubborn. He babbles and is really trying to communicate. He love stacking things and taking things out and putting them back in. The laundry basket in the kids room is always full because he empties their drawers and tends to put them in the hamper. I'm convinced 1/2 of the clothes I wash aren't actually dirty. He is fairly good at keeping himself occupied, much better than Zoe was at that age, which has been a nice blessing. He adores his sister but is starting to realize he can annoy her; most of the time they play well together though.

Zoe turned 3 on Jan. 12th and is such a big kid its amazing. She is sweet and tender but has a definite stubborn/defiant streak. The depth of her understanding astounds us and the fact that we can have a full-fledged conversation with her is a lot of fun. She remembers things that happened this past year and loves talking about trips we've taken which usually ends with "I wish we could go there again... I really really do". She loves Curious George and Thomas trains and reading books and playing ball outside. She loves construction vehicles and doing puzzles and coloring and taking care of her doll, Stella. She loves cats and dogs, and she always says she will dream about cats at night. She loves going on dates with Daddy (or Mommy or Tia) and thinks they must include chocolate milk.

Well thats my "quick update". The laundry calls.

Little man at 4 months

- Lots of smiles and some giggles if you try really really hard

- likes looking at the cute guy in the mirror

- purposefully grabbing and hitting at toys

- He enjoys when I sing to him or when we all dance around. He's also started babbling so much- I think he is trying to sing along

- for the majority of the past 8or so nights, Kellen has slept all.night. Like 11-6 at least. His parents are loving it. 

- along those lines, we are kicking him out of our room and into his crib in his shared room with Zoe this week. Fingers crossed...

- spent his first few nights away from home this past weekend when we visited my family in PA. He enjoyed all the attention. 

- he chews or sucks on his fingers a lot though he has yet to find his thumb 

- Kellen got to meet both of his uncles this month, and gets to meet his Oma and Opa this coming week when they visit from Wisconsin. 

It's the little things

Zoe, at almost 27 months, is such a source of joy and laughter in our house. Here are some of my favorite things right now:

- Kisses her own boo boos

- Calls "yoo-hoo" for missing objects. Pretty sure she expects them to call back.

- Says "bye" as she flushes potty and watches *everything* go down. She has done really well with potty training. Still has accidents occasionally and keeping dry at naptime is not a given, but we've seen so much progress in the past few weeks. 

- Counts to 12 pretty consistently-- 1 to 3 are somehow the trickiest for her. She often says "1,3,2" and recently created "eleventeen" somewhere between 13 and 18.

- Likes to sing, which she usually does with her eyes closed, very dramatically and cracks us up. A crooner at heart.

- In a sequence of events, everything is "first"

- Such a good big sister-- she tries to make Kellen hold her finger, she loves when "he look me" and she is always telling him "you ok baby Kellen" when he's crying.

- says "I miss you" 

- most common phrase? "Help you me!" Which means she wants to help. She's pretty insistent with this one and standing and watching no longer passes as helping. Other common phrases are "no, zosie do it" and "I don't want to". Oh joy.

 

Kellen at 3 months

Playing on his mat is his favorite past time right now, batting at the animals and admiring himself in the mirror. He also loves grabbing onto his links on his carseat, and putting his fists in his mouth. He gives out smiles pretty willingly now and can be quite a flirt. Kellen is still up once a night to eat but has given us some 5-6 hour stretches here and there. He is generally in bed by 8pm and was doing awesome at putting himself to sleep both at night and naptimes but this past week he's been fighting it a lot more. That can make the days loooong. But those days where he gives in and naps for 2.5 hours or more are great-- they usually overlap somewhat with Zoe's nap so I can get a few things done!! 

However i also don't mind a day or two when he's awake for most of her nap-- poor guy hardly gets any mommy-to-himself time so I'm happy to oblige. 

It's amazing how big he has gotten. This week I've switched out all his 3month sleepers and onesies for 6mo ones. A few things still fit but probably not for long. I'm enjoying buying lots of nautical boy clothes especially for warmer weather :)

10 years ago...

10 years ago, we were Sophmores in college.
10 years ago, Geoff had a beard.
10 years ago, my hair was long and sporting the remnants of a perm.
10 years ago, you could often find us at the bowling alley on a weekend night.
10 years ago, Geoff didn't drink coffee. On our first date to Barnes&Noble he got an apple juice...
10 years ago, the majority of our time spent together was in the lower level of the library.
10 years ago, this gal and this guy officially started dating.

10 years later, we've finished college and each earned a Master's degree. We both have quite a coffee habit. Geoff no longer has a beard and my hair keeps getting shorter. We've become husband and wife, and now mommy and daddy to two beautiful babies. We haven't been to the bowling alley in years and most of our time at the library is spent in the kids' section. Lots of things have changed in 10 years but not the fact that I'm crazy about this guy. I'm so glad to be on this crazy adventure with you, Geoff. Can't wait to see what the next 10 years bring {hopefully more sleep}!

Smiles and sleep

An update on what Kellen has been up to:

- continues to be a good sleeper overall- working on putting himself to sleep because he still prefers to be held and as much as I enjoy that, it just isn't possible most of the time. Plus he sleeps better in his bassinet (without a little girl poking his cheek or yelling in his face). He does much better with this at night than for naps during the day. He usually goes to bed between 7-8pm, eats around 11, again at 3 and up sometime between 7-8. 

- still working on a good eating schedule during the day-- he inevitably sleeps through one of his feedings or needs to eat early and then there is the working around sister's schedule...

- giving lots of smiles and starting to chatter/coo especially after diaper changes or when he just wakes up. Zoe probably elicits the most smiles from him, without even trying for them 

- he likes baths which is good because  he poops through his clothes like it's his job. That stage can be over anytime now, thank you very much. We're moving to size 2 diapers this week

Zoe continues to be a big "helper" when it comes to Kellen- getting diapers out, throwing things away, getting burp cloths and whatever she was doing in this picture ha. We're working on her understanding that he needs to be left alone during his naps, his limbs are not as flexible as she thinks, and that his crying is not the crisis she thinks it is. She is usually sweet with him and smothers him with her love. It's hard to believe he's 2months already and getting so big (almost too long for his 3mo sleepers)... But it's hard to remember our little family without him! We're so grateful for our laid back little guy!

Our little girl turned 2

Blueberry pancakes and two candles that she didn't know what to do with helped us kick off Zoe's birthday. She opened gifts and eventually seemed to understand that there was something special about this day.

She got lots of phone calls, cards and happy birthday songs from family, and extra hugs and kisses from us. We went out for dinner to a local Mexican place because quesadillas, rice and beans is one of the meals we can count on her eating :) plus mommy and daddy love Mexican so it's a win-win.

Zoe Paige, you make us pull out our hair and tear up with love within the same moment it seems. You crack us up with your spunk and attitude and melt our hearts with your "I love you"s and cuddles. You are a wonderful big sister to Kellen and your taking on of that role has made us love you all the more. You grow more and more each day it seems and while it's hard to watch you get bigger, it's exciting to watch you learn and discover and master new things. We love you more than you could possibly know. Happy second birthday sweet girl.

It's a boy!

On December 30th we welcomed Kellen George into our little family via planned repeat C-section. His name is a tribute to our fathers-- Kellen from combining my dad's name (Keith Allen) and George which is Geoff's middle name and his dad's first name.

He weighed in at 7lbs 11oz. Zoe came to see him 3x in the hospital and has welcomed him into the family with lots of hugs and kisses. "Baby" is her first concern upon waking in the morning, while mommy has to beg for a kiss and hug :) she loves helping with anything baby related and has lots of opinions about what he should be doing - play time on the mat, in the swing, open eyes...

Kellen is an easy going little guy. He doesn't cry much- he whines to let me know he's hungry and otherwise grunting is his main form of communication. Typical boy? Ha. He lost a pound before his first pediatrician appointment but at his 2 week checkup was up to 8.8lbs so you can see he is a good eater! He had some occasional irregular heartbeats before and after birth which we were told isn't uncommon in newborns and at his follow-up EKG everything was normal; we are very thankful. 

Geoff is able to take 6 weeks of paternity leave which has been so helpful and we love having him at home. We're enjoying our family of four and while it's been (and will continue to be) a big adjustment, we love our new normal!

It's taken 4 weeks to get this update online so more posts will be coming but clearly don't expect them to be punctual;)

23 months and almost a big sister

Hard to believe that in 3 weeks time Christmas will be over, baby will be here and Zoe will be turning 2. Oh and it will be 2014. Right.

So this post will be short and sweet. Zoe's vocabulary is blowing up and every day she is picking up new words and sounds. "See you soon" is probably her most common phrase. She keeps us laughing although she is definitely also testing her limits.

She can be quite whiny at times and full of joy and mischief at others. Curious George is her favorite right now and since mommy is 9 months pregnant she watches more than she should, I'm not too ashamed to admit. Its just for a time.

She successfully moved into her toddler bed right after Thanksgiving and hasn't looked back. Twice she has fallen out somehow, and once or twice she has gotten out of bed in the morning before we went to get her but she doesn't get out otherwise or put up a fight about bed. She points to the crib and says "baby" and seems content with the transition. Yay.

She loves drawing (coloring) and playing with her doll. I'm excited about the toys she is getting for Christmas- doll accessories and a play kitchen- that will help keep her occupied as we add a baby into the mix around here.
Speaking of which, unless baby comes early which does not look likely, I am scheduled for a c-section on December 30th. We'll have a quiet Christmas, just the three of us, and then my parents will come down that following weekend to celebrate with us and to keep Zoe while we're in the hospital. So yeah, just over a week to go! We can't wait!

Happenings

In October, during Geoff's furlough while the government was shutdown, we took a few family adventures! We spent time drinking coffee and walking around Old Town Alexandria, one of our favorites; we spent part of a day in Annapolis; and we spent a day "out west" in the mountains, picking pumpkins and enjoying a picturesque picnic. We loved the extra time with daddy home, and Zoe got quite used to all the attention - she had a bit of an adjustment when he went back to work.

 The second weekend of November, Geoff and I got away for a little babymoon while Zoe stayed with my parents. Mom and Dad had given us a gift certificate last Christmas for a B&B in Lancaster, where we stayed the first few days of our honeymoon, so we figured we had better use it before Baby2 arrives! They of course loved having lots of grandparent time, and we enjoyed 2 days of eating out, relaxing, and not following any sort of schedule. It was delightful.

Zoe was 22months old on the 12th of November, and her development continues to astound us. There is no way of keeping track of all the words she says now -- many of them sound the same so context is key, but its just amazing how much her vocabulary has expanded in a month! Some of her new words or phrases: "brrrzy" for cold, "bye mama, dadda" for goodnight, apple, draw, potty, phone, pray, and "yumyum" for hungry. We've introduced the potty but haven't started "training" yet. We also got her a toddler bed which she slept in once for nap (her request) and then refused to sleep in the next few days. After Thanksgiving and we're home again for awhile, we will (hopefully) make the official transition. We do have a bassinet for baby so we'd have a few months til we need the crib, but we're trying to make that transition before its necessary. Lots of changes coming and I don't want them all happening at once!

Zoe has spent the last few days in Lancaster with my family, and Geoff and I plan to join them tonight. I've been able to get some freezer meals prepared, cleaning and organizing done, and some relaxing, too. Plus we've had date night:) Its been a nice little break but we're anxious to be with her again soon.

Thanksgiving in my Heart

I'm sure its remarkable the number of blog posts, Instagrams, facebook statuses, tweets, texts, emails, etc. that will deal with "giving thanks" in the next few days... and the general absence of those types of messages during the rest of the year. I'm glad we have a day set aside to remember, to reflect, to focus on the things and the people and the gifts we have been given that we often overlook and take for granted the other 364 days of the year, but I know, for myself anyways, that being focused on giving thanks throughout the year makes a world of difference in my attitude and outlook on life. So I know its a bit early for resolutions, but I hope that between this Thanksgiving and next, my life will be marked by the giving of thanks for the big and the little, the momentous and the mundane, the ordinary and the extraordinary. I live a blessed life and I have every reason to be giving thanks on a daily basis, and my desire is that I would not get distracted by the misbehaving child, the mountain of dishes, the meals that need prepared... but that I would find something to praise God for each day. I don't have to look that hard.

So for today, I'd like to give thanks for just a few things::: the changing seasons, a warm cup of coffee, clean water to drink, the ability to work hard and the opportunity to relax, salvation, a healthy baby on the way, a loving husband, a precious little girl, family, friends near and far, technology, the quiet, a warm place to call home, grace, & chocolate:::

Happy Thanksgiving!

Outer Banks Vacay

Hard to believe it's been a month ago already we were in the Outer Banks on vacation. We went with my(Danielle) family- parents, siblings, grandparents and aunt- and spent a week in Nags Head. It was wonderful. We found out last year that vacation with a kid is a bit different (read: less relaxing) but since Zoe was older this time and more independent, we were even able to enjoy some down time. There were plenty of people willing to entertain her :) 

Thankfully we had great weather most of the week and were able to enjoy the beach even though it was October. We're already planning our return trip next year!

Zoe was scared of the water at first but by the end of the week she was running into the water without any pause. It was fun to see her comfort level increase each day, and she loved playing in the sand!

Out to lunch on Occracoke Island- with Grandma and Unlce T

Ferry ride with Great Mama

Some things, like the Hattaras lighthouse, were closed due to the government shutdown, so this is as close as we could get. Speaking of which, we had another two weeks of "vacation" with Geoff at home once we left the beach... But I will save that for another post :)