Monthly Greetham Update

Evelyn is 2 years & 3 months!

-IF you watched the video I posted here, you saw that Evelyn loves to sing and is doing it all the time.
-She just loves being outside, and it is fun watching her explore and enjoy nature. She loves watching and trying to sneak up on birds, and was very excited when we found a (hatched) robin's egg in the yard. And she loves flowers, and dandelions, and just running around in general. She also gets very excited when we go to the park, especially if we're meeting a friend to play with :)
-Speaking of friends, she loves people and loves when people come to visit. Some days when she wakes up she asks "Who is coming over to see me today?"  haha.
-She. Asks. SO. Many. Questions! It drives me a bit crazy because most of the time she knows the answer to the question. So I will say "You tell me!" and her response says she in fact, does know.
-She also feels a need to know the agenda for the day, and she likes to plan out the order of what we will do. Even as we put her to bed at night she is asking what we are doing the next day. And if you don't give her an answer she will startr to suggest things to do :) Such as "After I wake up, we can eat breakfast, go to the park, and then have a snack, and then watch a movie".
-I love this age because she is so fun, says the funniest things, and it is truly amazing seeing her grow and learn so much every day. That being said, this is definitely the hardest stage of parenting thus far!
She is definitely a strong-willed big personality and is taking every opportunity to test the boundaries. And a lot of times, by "test" I mean "cross". We are continually reminded on the importance of consistency in discipline and expectations. And, it can be so draining. But the Lord has commanded us to train up our children in the way they should go and in the nurture and admonition of the Lord, so we can know He will provide the grace to do so!

Hunter is 9 months!

-Hunter just cut teeth #5 & 6 and I am suspecting another making it's way.
-He is still crawling his own little style of crawl. He army crawls and only pushes with one leg (always his left!). Don't be deceived, the kid can get around very quickly!
- He also is pulling up to stand on things.
- He is sleeping great still..takes 2 naps..but lately keeps waking up at 6:30. Come on, now! Though the past few days he falls back asleep until 7:15ish. I guess I am just spoiled by Ev who has slept until 8:00 a.m. her whole life.
-He has started to eat more table food, and that is kind of fun. He really likes pinto beans, green beans, bananas,cheese, and peaches. Oh, and Cheerios--which can be found on the kitchen floor, on the living room floor, in his high chair, tucked in his clothes, on occasion under my feet etc... it seems those things hide and multiply!
-Hunter says "Eh-VA!" for Evelyn. Super cute.
-He is also going through a phase (hopefully ;)) where he growls all the time. Ha! I remember Evelyn doing the same thing at this age...I think he just thinks it sounds cool!
-Oh, and he can clap and does it all the time! He is so cute!

 You gotta love a picture of a sleeping baby!

 But it seems this time I took it too far :) Oops!

Forest & I are 30 and 24!! 

-Ha! Just kidding, I won't be telling you our ages monthly, but I figured we could put a little blurb in here about what's going on with US, as well as the kids. 

-Forest is currently in Nebraska on a turkey hunting expedition with his dad & a friend. I am thankful he has a week to relax and get away (though driving 19 hours away, waking up at 3:30 every morning, and sitting around hunting doesn't sound relaxing/fun to me)!  But, boy the kids and I sure can't wait until he comes home! 

-Forest has been very busy with his seminary classes, and this last one he just finished was pretty time consuming. In addition to his regular responsibilities at the church, he just started a young man's small discipleship group with a handful of guys and I know he is very excited about that. Now it's just gearing up for all the busyness that summer brings! 

-As for me, it is a very strange thing. When I go to put it in words, it doesn't seem like I am up to much, but staying home with my two kiddos is a pretty all-consuming task!

- But other than that, lately I have been getting VBS stuff prepared, and have enjoyed spending time with some friends when I am able. 

Monthly Kiddo Update

Evelyn is 2 years & 2 months!
Oh, Evelyn. She is such a character... this month I will just share a handful of her famous quotes that I have recorded over the month. This girl seriously says some FUNNY things.
-Her new line that she says all the time is "Ooooh, that sounds cool!" or "Ooooh, that sounds fun!"
-We were outside playing in the snow a few weeks ago and she came up to me, points to her feet and says, "My tootsies are ICE!"
-When we went to the doctor's office (for her first ear infection) she kept begging me to see the "alligator". I could tell she was getting frustrated that I didn't understand, but soon figured out she meant elevator. She then begged the doctor to "please listen to my heart beep!". (Oh, and on the way down the "alligator" she pushed the emergency call button...talk about embarrassing!)
-She will also add the word "actually" in every now and then. As in (out of nowhere), "Actually, I do want some Easter candy."
-She says funny things to Hunter... like "How are you doing, sweetie pie?!" or if he is crying, "What's wrong, bubby? Why are you crying? What's wrong, honey?!"
-This morning she gets down after breakfast and says "Sooo...what can I watch on TV?". It made me laugh.
-Also today, she fell down in the kitchen and bumped her shin...she started crying and said "I need medication to feel better!" haha..yes medication, not medicine.
She keeps me laughing, that's for sure!

Hunter is 8 months!
-Hunter also had his first ear infection this month--no fun!
-He now has 4 teeth, two top & two bottom.
-He waves bye-bye and says "da-da!"..though I don't think he knows what it means yet ;-)
-The most recent development is he is now crawling! It's more of an army-crawl, inch worm style, but he can get from point A to point B very quickly. Especially if point B is an electrical cord. He seriously spots ANYTHING with a string/cord and crawls over to it like his life depends on it. I guess I need to go back and make sure everything is baby proof!
-He loves to laugh... for our anniversary my dad sent us flowers & a balloon.... I just let him hold the balloon and I have never seen him laugh so hard. Just looking at the balloon made him crack up...too funny!

Monthly Kiddo Update!

Evelyn is 2 years and 1 month!

-Evelyn is officially potty-trained! Hallelujah! While I still frequently remind her to tell me if she needs to go potty she now does very well and an accident is very rare (she does great at home, and even out in public-she seems to sometimes struggle while we're at church, though). This is very exciting!
-She has been in the 2's &3's Sunday School class at church for 3 weeks now. She loves it! She loves her teacher, Mrs. Petruna or as she is referred to around here, "Mrs. Petunia", haha! She is constantly singing songs that she learns, and it is fun to see the papers sent home in her church bag and talking to her about what they did. I can't believe she is big enough to be in an actual Sunday School class, *sniff sniff!*.
-For some reason now she starts a lot of her sentences off with "I DO".. As is "I do want to watch a movie, mom"  or "I do want a snack", "I do want to wash my hands" (one of her favorite pastimes lol)
- She also says a lot "Let's do somethin'" or "Let's go somewhere". Apparently life here at home is booorrrring!
-Here are some of her current favorites:
((keep in mind, the things in quotes are what SHE calls them :))
Movie- "Mike Wazowski", or Monster's Inc.
Song- "Hallelujah" by Keith & Kristyn Getty (the actual title is 'Creation Sings the Father's Song' but whatever :-))
         also "Wise Man Song" from Sunday School...(the wise man built his house upon the rock...etc.)
Snack- "Nitz Bitz" which are just regular Ritz crackers lol I laugh every time she says it, though.
Activities-  She loves playing with Squinkies and loves to paint.
Book- she always wants to read "Stinky face" at bed time and has the whole thing memorized.

Why do I feel like I get these looks MANY times throughout the day??

 I think her jammie pants are too long ;-)

Hunter is 7 months!

-At his 6 months appt. he weighed just over 17 lbs and was 27".
-As he continues to grow I've been introducing new foods to him. So far it seems his favorite are green beans, and doesn't seem too fond of peaches, or really anything with any chunks/texture left in it. He still eats it all, just sometimes with a confused/displeased look on his face haha
-He sits like a pro and now is finally getting his big belly kind of off the ground and attempting to scoot a little bit. His preferred position is definitely standing, though!
-It seems that we have ironed out most of our sleep issues, and he is sleeping 8pm-8am, and I have moved him to just taking 2 set naps as opposed to the three he was taking last month. Things are definitely more trial & error with him than with Evelyn, as she was fairly easy to figure out (schedule wise).
-He loves to laugh and smile. Especially at his big sissy. See video below :-)
-He is definitely a momma's boy and can get kind of clingy and want only me, so I am trying to nip that in the bud (while still enjoying that special affection :-)) by making sure he has regular independent playtime, and he does just fine with it.

This is a clip of a scene that is often played out in my house....Hunter laughing at his entertainment: Evelyn. You can hear in the video that Evelyn refers to him as "boy" or "Hunter boy"...but usually it's Hunty, Hunts, Huntsman, Huntsburger....hahahaha (I need to watch what I call him..)

(Sorry about the vertical video!)

Monthly Kiddo Update

Evelyn is now 2!
(And I blogged about her birthday here!)

-My baby girl is two years old and I can't believe it!

-I feel like I say this every month but her vocabulary and arsenal of little phrases is rapidly expanding.  It seems she only needs to hear/learn a word once then it is immediately applied correctly to her vocabulary. She says the funniest things!

-It's so funny the things she picks up on. We have introduced her to her second Disney movie, 101 Dalmatians. So the other day she picks up her play phone and keeps saying, " Roger, She's not a FEEF!"...It took me a few times to figure out what she was saying... but there is a part in the movie when Anita is on the phone with Cruella and she says to Roger, "She may be a little eccentric, Roger, but she's not a thief!" ha!

-She has been wearing big girl undies for almost 2 weeks and she is actually doing quite well! She went 4 days without an accident (yeah!!!) ,then we had a couple days where it seemed she took a step back, but we will continue to work on it, and I am very pleased with how things are going and the end it very closely in sight! Woo! 

-We are currently working on her second memory verse, Philippians 2:14 'Do all things without grumbling or complaining" which is so cute to hear her say "grumblin". I tried to explain to her that it meant we do everything and obey with no whining or crying..so sometimes she will say "Do ALLLLLLL things with no grumblin' or cryin." Close enough ;-)
-Now she does this thing where she will grab my face, put her little hands on my cheeks and give me a kiss and say "I love you Momma!" Then my heart is in a puddle on the floor.

- She still loves to sing, dance, do anything arts & crafts, especially stamps and painting!

Hunter is now 6 months!

-The fun in having kiddos 18 months apart (almost to the day--same due  date!) is that it is easy to remember when one has a birthday, the other is at a HALF birthday :-)

-This past month Hunter has gotten his two bottom teeth, which are so cute!Though they really bothered him coming in... ow!

-Hunter can now sit up by himself, yay! Though I am still not ready to just sit him there and walk away without some pillows around because when he sees something he wants to grab or look at he often will ka-boom! But I always love this stage because they can actually sit & play with toys now, and be more alert and interactive with what is going on.

-He has been eating fruits & veggies and so far has had no complaints on what the cook serves ;-) So far so good.

- He takes 3 naps, which lately kind of stink and he wakes after 45 minutes, but hopefully it is just a phase and will snap out of it soon. 

- He loves to stand, and wants to walk around while holding someone's hands. I can't believe how big he is getting! 

-Evelyn & Hunter are each other's biggest fans which I love! 

(You can really see his little teeth in this one!!)

Monthly Kiddo Update

Evelyn is now 23 months!

(I cannot believe in a month my baby girl will be 2 years old! That is just unreal.)
-Evelyn has a handful of new toys from Christmas that are keeping her busy... She asks often to "play castle!" (her Little People Disney Princess Castle), and is often found sitting and drawing on her Magnadoodle, which she loves. She also has had fun feeding, caring for, and taking Joelle (her Cabbage Patch Doll) on walks around the house. ( You have to hear her say Joelle..it is so cute!)
- A new phrase heard very often around here is "May I have a cookie please?" or "May I have some milk please" And if you don't respond in a timely fashion she will reply to herself with "Yes, you may!".
-Another thing that is funny is ONE time I had a glass of chocolate milk and I let her have a sip... so sometimes she asks if she can please have some "brown milk". ha :-)
-Not a whole lot new with her besides the fact that it seem her language skills and understanding of things improve every single day!
Here is my sweet girl all prettied up for church!

And this is her natural smile...which I just LOVE!

Hunter is now 5 months!

-I feel like this boy changes and grows every single day!
-We have discovered that he prefers to sleep on his side- which is fine, I am a side sleeper, too- but lately he has been waking at night because he rolls over onto his back and cannot get back onto his side on his own (at least the way he wants!) so we need to go in there and roll him back and he will conk right back out... So easy enough fix--still kind of a pain ;-) Hoping he learns to get comfy on his own soon, or just learns to sleep on his back!
-He has started to eat solids and is finally getting the hang of eating off of a spoon. I am excited to start making baby food for him as I loved doing that with Evelyn!
-At about 4.5 months he had a doctor's appointment and weighed 15 1/2 pounds and is is 6-9 month clothes and a size 3 diaper at night.
-He is becoming more and more fun as he is awake for longer periods during the day and is getting good at grabbing (and biting and drooling all over) toys and is seeming enjoy being more active! He has also discovered what a fun and convenient toy his feet are!
-He is still the sweetest little thing and loves to be held and cuddled! Love my little boy!

 Haha! Goofball...

Monthly Kiddo Update!!

Evelyn is now 22 months!

What's new?

-We are entering the phase of a MILLION questions! She is constantly asking "What is that?" "What's this?" "What's over there?" "Who's that?" "Where'd Daddy go?" "Where'd Hunter go?".  Fun times :-)

-It has been fun to see her get excited about Christmas things this year. She loves our Christmas tree and is very quick to point out "Christmas Yights!" (Yup, still working on our L's--ha!) and her favorite ornaments which are Rapunzel and a Cinderella that sings a song when you push a button. We also watched Frosty the Snowman as a family when we decorated for Christmas and now every snowman is Frosty and she randomly says "Karen's crying". I ask her why. She says "Frosty melted!" haha

-She must be going through a growth spurt because she is constantly hungry these days & can eat a TON. Lately at breakfast she will eat a piece of toast, a banana, and a bowl of her new favorite thing "Cheerio's n milk!" And she is still asking for a snack an hour later.
-She loves her little brother! She loves to hug him and kiss him and lately goes up to him and says "Hi cutie!!  What a cutie!!" lol

(She is looking up at the Cinderella ornament...mean mommy put that one way out of her reach haha!)

Hunter is now 4 months!

What's new?

- He is continuing to grow and grow and now is stretching out of 6 months clothes and size 2 diapers.

-He is now very efficient at grabbing things and putting them quickly in his mouth. It is fun to see him concentrate so hard on something he is trying to grab.

-He spends a lot of time in the excersaucer, he loves playing with the toys, and loves to stand!

-He now sleeps anywhere from 10-12 hours at night. He was consistently doing 12 then he started  waking early so I just put him to bed a little later which works an extra feeding into his day.  I will often wake him at 7:30 a.m. that way I can get him fed and ready before Sis wakes up!
-He is still very happy & content! But if he does get worked up,which thankfully is rare, he screams like a little girl! It is actually kind of comical (after the fact ;P) because you have not heard shrill until you have heard him scream! Yikes!

Monthly Kiddo Update :-)

It is kind of nice that Evelyn's birth date is the 5th and Hunter's the 7th, so I can do an accurate combined monthly update  :-) As you see I am on a bit of a video kick lately...haha. But I feel like right now things are going very smoothly! Hunter is now on a predictable and consistent schedule and Evelyn & Hunter's schedules run smoothly together. I remember even with Evelyn, it was at the 3 month mark that things started to get easier! So I am glad to be here now :-)

Evelyn is now 21 months! 

What's new?
-She can now (correctly) sing the ABC's.
-She is putting together 3-4 word sentences.
-Her new favorite activity is to color. She asks at least 5 times a day to "color, stamps, stickers pease!?".
-She loves puzzles and activities where she can sort colors/shapes into groups. On her own she will normally separate her things (blocks/crayons) into groups by color.
-We are getting closer and closer to being totally potty trained.

-I know I say this all the time, but she seriously is such a funny little girl. She cracks me up. Here is a video to prove my point :-)

Hunter is now 3 months! 

What's new?

-About a week ago he rolled over (front to back) for the first time!

-He is just starting to grab at toys.

-He went on an overnight retreat to Skyview and did great!

-He eats every 3-3.5 hours, takes 4 naps, and sleeps solidly at night from 9:00 pm-7:30/8 am.

-He is still very happy & content and loves to chat... See video ;-)