I love keeping a blog, I think it will serve as a nice record for my kids when they are older and it helps keep some of our family up to date. However, my bike is one of the other things that is keeping me from blogging much lately. Last fall a friend and I tossed around the idea of signing up for a Ialf Ironman race together. One of my biking buddies did the race last year and I was so excited for her. My friend Jen and I signed up together for the race during the first week of January. Within two more weeks we got twenty some people from our triathlon club to sign up and the race sold out! So, I'm excited to announce that I will be competing in the Door County Half Ironman this July!! The race is in one of my favorite spots in Wisconsin and it consists of a 1.2 mile swim in Lake Michigan, 56 mile bike ride, and a half marathon to finish. I will be competing in a few events before the "big race" to get ready. The list includes the South Shore Half Marathon, Elkhart Lake triathlon and possibly the High Cliff triathlon. It should be a great summer!
So far my training has been going very well. Although I must say I'm not a fan of my 4:50am wake up time for my swim days. I have to swim in the morning at least twice per week, I bike with the club 2-3 times per week with amazing rides set up by our club president, and I try to fit a couple decent runs in per week. I'm definitely lacking in the running area so far because I absolutely despise running on treadmill. I love to run outside, even in winter. Everything is so peaceful, I get to see what's going on around town, check out the lake and just breathe.
It sounds silly, but I am so happy when I'm on my bike. Throughout my life some of my best and most memorable moments have come on the seat of a bike. I love taking in the scenery or a sunrise/sunset from the seat of my bike. I fondly remember childhood vacations biking around the state, my first date with my husband Tim (mountain biking on the TNT trail in the bluffs of LaCrosse), and a couple years later being proposed to after a bike ride that led to a picnic overlooking our college town. The kids seem to really like biking too. I hook up a trailer and toddler seat to my mountain bike in the summer and we bike all over town.
The training has been a big commitment but I just love it. It's such a great release or start to my day. I love being in shape and it helps that I have a fabulous group of people to work out with who are willing to meet me at the pool at 5:15am. Our club has grown a ton since I joined two years ago. It's so nice to be with a group of people from all different backgrounds who are all eager to cheer each other on. I'm also very grateful for my hubby who has been so supportive of me and my training.
Thursday, February 7, 2013
Tuesday, January 29, 2013
Sibling harmony
This year has been so much fun. The older the boys get, the more their relationship with each other and their sister grows. When I put the boys down for their naps or bedtime it's so fun to stand outside their door and listen to them laugh and talk to each other. I remember when they were young and I wished our house had 4 bedrooms so I could keep them separate to prevent them from waking each other up, I'm so glad we kept them together! They can sleep through anything and now it's impossible to imagine them not sharing a room. It's also become easier in some ways (more difficult in others) to take all three of them out on extended outings. For example today we trekked down to Whitefish Bay to try out a new music class "Music Together". The instructor was nice to enough to let us try before we buy to see if the class would work for us since I have three kids and only one parent. We had a blast and were still able to go out for smoothies together after the class. I can't brag about Sofia enough. Not only is she a ton of fun, but she is such a big helper to me with her brothers. For example, Sully needs to be snuggled for a good twenty minutes after he wakes up from his afternoon nap. Last week Everett needed a diaper change during this time so I asked Sofia to cuddle Sully. She quickly ran to the floor and sat down and I put Sully on her lap and they just snuggled and giggled while I changed Ev. My kids make my heart melt every single day. Everett watches her like a hawk and has started hugging younger children wherever he goes. Sofia can sometimes be a bit bossy with the boys and in turn Everett has started telling Sully what to do. Sullivan has such unique personality that he just laughs and does some crazy dance or a somersault. He seriously keeps us laughing or chasing him around all day long. Their 18 month post is in the works but I'm waiting on their well child exam so I can find out how big they are. It may be a while because Tim is in the process of an insurance change at work. Twins are a ton of work but it it's so amazing to see their bond develop and Tim and I always say that we are so grateful that our kids will have each other throughout their lives. It's amazing to think that all three of them will be in the same school together for most of their education. On a side note, I've been awful about taking pictures lately. Probably because at this age it's really tough to capture the kids on camera. They are so busy and so much fun! I will certainly miss these days and this season of life.
Friday, January 25, 2013
Winter fun
With my new teaching position this year I find I have less time for things like blogging. During nap time I try to clean part of the house, prep dinner, and take some time for myself and at night I enjoy spending some time with my hubby. Anyways, we've been doing our best to enjoy this cold season of the year. We have taken the kids sledding a couple of times and despite Sully getting a nasty scrape on his cheek during our last trip, the kids really love sledding. Our town has an ice rink downtown but every time it's finished the weather warms up and the ice melts. It has finally been cold for a solid two weeks and we look forward to checking out the ice rink this weekend.
This is the time of year we always think about what memberships we want to renew and what gives us the most bang for our buck. Most of these places you only have to go to two times to make a membership worth the cost. Here is my list of our family's favorite memberships for the year...
-Betty Brinn Children's Museum: Awesome children's museum. Our outings there usually last two hours or so and we've been several times but there is still so much to explore. The kids love it. It's only difficult when I go myself or for a play date because I have a hard time keeping the kids in one area so I can supervise them.
-Feith Family YMCA: We've been members since we moved to Port and the Y seriously deserves it's own blog post. All five of us love it here. Sofia attends a preschool program that meets twice a week for 1.5 hours. She has been involved with swimming lessons, gymnastics, art classes, etc. We love coming here as a family to go swimming or just run around in the gym when the weather is gross outside. I also am a member of the TrY club and have met so many amazing people through our group workouts.
-Milwaukee County Zoo: This is probably our favorite membership, especially in the summer. We even go throughout the fall, winter and spring because there are plenty of indoor areas to explore.
The one place we didn't get a membership for last year was our community pool, Pirates Hollow. I regretted it because a membership is only $50 and we probably spent that with the amount of times we went with family and friends.
I try to stay creative and explore a lot of different places during the winter so my kids and I don't get bored. We go to the library at least once a week for story hour and even if we go twice per week the kids are still excited about the train table and Sofia loves to check out new books. If it's at least 35 degrees I'll take the kids on walks or hikes around our area. Otherwise, we spend time reading or doing arts and crafts projects balanced with a heavy dose of dance parties. I love to hear what other people do for fun during winter.
This is the time of year we always think about what memberships we want to renew and what gives us the most bang for our buck. Most of these places you only have to go to two times to make a membership worth the cost. Here is my list of our family's favorite memberships for the year...
-Betty Brinn Children's Museum: Awesome children's museum. Our outings there usually last two hours or so and we've been several times but there is still so much to explore. The kids love it. It's only difficult when I go myself or for a play date because I have a hard time keeping the kids in one area so I can supervise them.
-Feith Family YMCA: We've been members since we moved to Port and the Y seriously deserves it's own blog post. All five of us love it here. Sofia attends a preschool program that meets twice a week for 1.5 hours. She has been involved with swimming lessons, gymnastics, art classes, etc. We love coming here as a family to go swimming or just run around in the gym when the weather is gross outside. I also am a member of the TrY club and have met so many amazing people through our group workouts.
-Milwaukee County Zoo: This is probably our favorite membership, especially in the summer. We even go throughout the fall, winter and spring because there are plenty of indoor areas to explore.
The one place we didn't get a membership for last year was our community pool, Pirates Hollow. I regretted it because a membership is only $50 and we probably spent that with the amount of times we went with family and friends.
I try to stay creative and explore a lot of different places during the winter so my kids and I don't get bored. We go to the library at least once a week for story hour and even if we go twice per week the kids are still excited about the train table and Sofia loves to check out new books. If it's at least 35 degrees I'll take the kids on walks or hikes around our area. Otherwise, we spend time reading or doing arts and crafts projects balanced with a heavy dose of dance parties. I love to hear what other people do for fun during winter.
Tuesday, January 8, 2013
Potty Trained!
Sofia is officially potty trained! She has shown signs of being ready for a couple of months but I wanted to make sure we chose the right time to officially get out of diapers. I waited until the day after Christmas because our family events had finally calmed down and I was off of work for a week (I work in the mornings which is a pretty important time of day for potty training). For a couple of months before Sofia would go into the bathroom when she had a diaper with poop and she would take it off and try to put the poop in the toilet (since that's what we usually do). I always helped her wipe, and I still do even now that she's potty trained.
Anyways, the day after Christmas we talked about her underwear and going pee and poop in the potty. Sofia said she wanted to do that so we put undies on straight away in the morning. About 20 minutes after breakfast I told her we were going to go read some books on the potty. She loves to read so she quickly ran to the bathroom and I helped her pull her undies down the first time or two. After a couple of minutes of reading she peed in the potty. Every time she peed or pooped in the potty for the first week I went absolutely crazy (jumping up, clapping, high fives, the whole nine yards). We called several family members and made sure that Sofia knew how proud everyone was of her. For the first day of potty training I didn't put pants on her, it was a little cold so I put baby legs on, but I wanted to make sure she could get to the toilet as quickly and easily as possible. She had three accidents that day (only pee) but went in the potty several times. The next day she only had one accident and Tim brought home a giant balloon for her to celebrate. The next day she didn't have any accidents and her Grandma Rainey took her to pick out new undies.
A lot of people use little toilets but Sofia had no interest in a little toilet. She went straight the big toilet with a toddler seat on it. We just keep a step stool near the toilet. Sofia is usually pretty good about remembering all of the steps in the process, but sometimes needs a reminder about washing hands. I'll admit that my biggest fear about potty training was not being able to run errands without worrying about accidents. I keep a little travel potty seat in the car but generally if Sofia goes potty before we leave the house she can hold it for a long time (3 hours). She really does not want to go potty at stores etc. Frankly, I don't blame her. I do keep a spare pair of undies, socks and pants in the diaper bag just in case.
It's been about two weeks since we started and she is completely independent in the potty department, except for wiping with poops. She could probably do it but we want to make sure she stays clean. We do keep her in a pull up or cloth diaper at night and I always ask her what she prefers for her nap time. She goes back and forth between a pull up or just undies for nap time. Even when she only wears undies she wakes up dry. I just make sure to get her to the bathroom within 10 minutes of her waking up.
So I guess we got lucky with having a very easy potty training experience. But honestly I don't think it was luck at all. There is always pressure from people to have your child hit the next milestone or to potty train but I think you have to trust your instinct as a parent and you'll know when your child is ready. In August Tim and I tried to potty train her when she was obviously not ready. It was only one day but it was frustrating for everyone and we made the mistake of listening to others instead of trusting our instincts.
It's kind of nice only having two diapers to change, and I know Sofia enjoys being able to wear underwear like all of her friends. Most of all she likes feeling older and more independent. We are very proud of her but it's sort of bittersweet to see how quickly our sweet baby girl has turned into a little girl.
Anyways, the day after Christmas we talked about her underwear and going pee and poop in the potty. Sofia said she wanted to do that so we put undies on straight away in the morning. About 20 minutes after breakfast I told her we were going to go read some books on the potty. She loves to read so she quickly ran to the bathroom and I helped her pull her undies down the first time or two. After a couple of minutes of reading she peed in the potty. Every time she peed or pooped in the potty for the first week I went absolutely crazy (jumping up, clapping, high fives, the whole nine yards). We called several family members and made sure that Sofia knew how proud everyone was of her. For the first day of potty training I didn't put pants on her, it was a little cold so I put baby legs on, but I wanted to make sure she could get to the toilet as quickly and easily as possible. She had three accidents that day (only pee) but went in the potty several times. The next day she only had one accident and Tim brought home a giant balloon for her to celebrate. The next day she didn't have any accidents and her Grandma Rainey took her to pick out new undies.
A lot of people use little toilets but Sofia had no interest in a little toilet. She went straight the big toilet with a toddler seat on it. We just keep a step stool near the toilet. Sofia is usually pretty good about remembering all of the steps in the process, but sometimes needs a reminder about washing hands. I'll admit that my biggest fear about potty training was not being able to run errands without worrying about accidents. I keep a little travel potty seat in the car but generally if Sofia goes potty before we leave the house she can hold it for a long time (3 hours). She really does not want to go potty at stores etc. Frankly, I don't blame her. I do keep a spare pair of undies, socks and pants in the diaper bag just in case.
It's been about two weeks since we started and she is completely independent in the potty department, except for wiping with poops. She could probably do it but we want to make sure she stays clean. We do keep her in a pull up or cloth diaper at night and I always ask her what she prefers for her nap time. She goes back and forth between a pull up or just undies for nap time. Even when she only wears undies she wakes up dry. I just make sure to get her to the bathroom within 10 minutes of her waking up.
So I guess we got lucky with having a very easy potty training experience. But honestly I don't think it was luck at all. There is always pressure from people to have your child hit the next milestone or to potty train but I think you have to trust your instinct as a parent and you'll know when your child is ready. In August Tim and I tried to potty train her when she was obviously not ready. It was only one day but it was frustrating for everyone and we made the mistake of listening to others instead of trusting our instincts.
It's kind of nice only having two diapers to change, and I know Sofia enjoys being able to wear underwear like all of her friends. Most of all she likes feeling older and more independent. We are very proud of her but it's sort of bittersweet to see how quickly our sweet baby girl has turned into a little girl.
Wednesday, December 5, 2012
A Quick Check In
We have officially entered winter weather in Wisconsin. We have been lucky to have some absolutely incredible weather since Tim and I moved back up north. The kids are all doing great and I can honestly say we don't have many complaints these days. Tim took a new job which has allowed him to have a couple of Saturdays off and boy is that a nice thing. Tim is finally able to go watch Sofia's ballet class or just do simple things we always enjoyed on Saturdays like making a big breakfast or going to the farmer's market. My job is fantastic, I have a wonderful group of students and the schedule works great for us this year. I don't think I would be able to go work after having kids if I didn't have a career that I love so much. I love serving my community and allowing students an opportunity to learn another language. More importantly, I get to expose students to the thoughts and practices of different cultures. I love what I teach and where I teach. A couple of times in the first few months of my new job I kind of missed the challenges of teaching in an urban district. But I have quickly learned that teaching in a special district like mine has it's own challenges. And challenges that aren't nearly as stressful and heart breaking as what I faced in an urban district. My biggest challenge these days is finding new ways to incorporate all of the new resources I have. In my old school I had a fantastic principal and staff but we just didn't have a lot of resources. I am so well supported in my new school and my supervisors are all "family first" people.
Sofia is still going to her "preschool" for 1.5 hours twice per week. She LOVES it and spends a lot of time talking about her friends. Until this week, we were doing play dates at the park with some of her classmates but we have finally reached the "too cold" weather. Sofia took swim lessons again this fall. She will start a new level of lessons after Christmas. This level will start with parents in the water but the parents are slowly phased out of the class so the kids can learn to swim independently. Usually Tim or I go with Sofia to lessons and one of use plays with the boys in the shallow end of the pool. Besides her "class", Sofia's favorite activity is definitely dance class. Her class is half tap and half ballet. She literally counts down the days each week until dance. She has an amazing instructor, I am always impressed with what the instructor can get a bunch of 2 and 3 year olds to do. Sofia's vocabulary is huge, she loves learning new words. She is quite an amazing little reader too, she recognizes a lot of words in different books and will "read" to her brothers. She can recognize different family names on my phone and will frequently call her family during the day. Sofia is a big helper with cooking and baking and still loves to do art projects. Sofia loves music and singing. She sings throughout most of the day. I love her class because she always comes home with a new song or a song that I forgot about.
Her vocabulary is just amazing and hilarious. Here are a few of the funnier things she has said lately.
-After eating a normal dinner she came up to me and said, "Thank you Mommy, that was just delicious!"
-She will frequently ask me something and after I answer she'll say something like "Of course you can". She'll say "Of course I can" when I ask her to bring me wipes or some other small task.
-She really mothers her little brothers and will tickle them and say, "Oh hi honey, tickle tickle" Then she gives them a kiss on their forehead and walks away.
-Sofia brings a purse almost everywhere and insists on paying for things. When I tell her she doesn't need to pay she says, "I'm saving my money to feed the goats at the zoo".
-She really keeps track of her weekly schedule and will tell me when she has certain activities during the week but the one activity she talks about nonstop is dance class on Saturday. Sometimes my parents or Tim's parents come to visit on the weekend so she gets extra excited when her grandparents come to watch her dance.
-We were driving home from the store and I took a little detour so I could drive by the lake. Sofia got a little worried and started telling me, "Mommy, wrong way. You missed a turn!". It amazes me how she always knows where she is.
-Sofia always wants to know where her "babies" are. If she happens to wake up from a nap and they are still sleeping she says, "Let's go get my baby brothers". On occasion, she has sprinted ahead of me to charge in their room while they are still sleeping.
I hear the boys waking up from their nap so their update will come later this week!
Sofia is still going to her "preschool" for 1.5 hours twice per week. She LOVES it and spends a lot of time talking about her friends. Until this week, we were doing play dates at the park with some of her classmates but we have finally reached the "too cold" weather. Sofia took swim lessons again this fall. She will start a new level of lessons after Christmas. This level will start with parents in the water but the parents are slowly phased out of the class so the kids can learn to swim independently. Usually Tim or I go with Sofia to lessons and one of use plays with the boys in the shallow end of the pool. Besides her "class", Sofia's favorite activity is definitely dance class. Her class is half tap and half ballet. She literally counts down the days each week until dance. She has an amazing instructor, I am always impressed with what the instructor can get a bunch of 2 and 3 year olds to do. Sofia's vocabulary is huge, she loves learning new words. She is quite an amazing little reader too, she recognizes a lot of words in different books and will "read" to her brothers. She can recognize different family names on my phone and will frequently call her family during the day. Sofia is a big helper with cooking and baking and still loves to do art projects. Sofia loves music and singing. She sings throughout most of the day. I love her class because she always comes home with a new song or a song that I forgot about.
Her vocabulary is just amazing and hilarious. Here are a few of the funnier things she has said lately.
-After eating a normal dinner she came up to me and said, "Thank you Mommy, that was just delicious!"
-She will frequently ask me something and after I answer she'll say something like "Of course you can". She'll say "Of course I can" when I ask her to bring me wipes or some other small task.
-She really mothers her little brothers and will tickle them and say, "Oh hi honey, tickle tickle" Then she gives them a kiss on their forehead and walks away.
-Sofia brings a purse almost everywhere and insists on paying for things. When I tell her she doesn't need to pay she says, "I'm saving my money to feed the goats at the zoo".
-She really keeps track of her weekly schedule and will tell me when she has certain activities during the week but the one activity she talks about nonstop is dance class on Saturday. Sometimes my parents or Tim's parents come to visit on the weekend so she gets extra excited when her grandparents come to watch her dance.
-We were driving home from the store and I took a little detour so I could drive by the lake. Sofia got a little worried and started telling me, "Mommy, wrong way. You missed a turn!". It amazes me how she always knows where she is.
-Sofia always wants to know where her "babies" are. If she happens to wake up from a nap and they are still sleeping she says, "Let's go get my baby brothers". On occasion, she has sprinted ahead of me to charge in their room while they are still sleeping.
I hear the boys waking up from their nap so their update will come later this week!
Wednesday, October 31, 2012
Happy Halloween!
The boys went trick or treating for their first time this year. Last year they rode along but didn't really participate. Tim picked their costumes and I have to say they were quite perfect. The boys just started walking about a month ago and Sully is still a bit unsteady on his feet while Ev walks pretty well but will still put his arms in funny positions for balance every now and then. So just imagine those two as C3PO and R2D2 from Star Wars. We tried talking Sofia into being Princess Leia but she was unwavering in her decision to be a butterfly. The kids got to trick or treat on Saturday morning at the Farmer's Market which was awesome because they could move from table to table pretty quickly and the city closed two of the main streets downtown so the kids could roam around. They also participated in pumpkin bowling and a hayride pulled by two Clydesdale horses. Everything was free and just reminded me what an amazing little lakeside city Tim and I stumbled upon a little over a year ago. After long afternoon naps the kids put their costumes on again and went trick or treating in our neighborhood.
Wednesday, October 10, 2012
Everett & Sullivan 15 months old
We're still alive! I seriously have about 3 posts waiting to be published. I just wanted to give a quick update on the boys who are about to turn 15 months old! They had their check in appointment yesterday and are both still very healthy. They sure are peanuts though compared to their sister. Everett would be more accurately described as a string bean.
It's so fun to be able to do more and more with them. I take them to Sofia's 2 year old story time which is always an adventure when we get to craft time. The boys like to steal materials and run away. During the actual story time they are both great, Everett loves to dance and clap to the songs, he also loves to go from child to child to say "hi" and smile. He is a little social butterfly. He actual got a kiss from a little girl he said hi to the other day. Sully tends to stay closer to me. Thankfully, the Port story time is in the library's community room which is enclosed. Several of my friends from the triathlon club bring their children to this story time so we all help wrangle each other's children. Sometimes the Moms who only have one child just look at me with looks of shock. The boys are now very affectionate with each other. Sully is more of a hugger and Ev is a big kisser. It's incredibly sweet to watch them hug and kiss one another. They both still love to snuggle, especially when we read books.
The boys are both fearless at the playground. We have two main playgrounds that we frequently visit. We usually have one or two play dates with friends at the playground and the boys are always trying to keep up with the kids who are Sofia's age. The boys crawl up the steps to the slide and are able to go down all by themselves and then crawl back up the steps to do it again. They like to swing but not as much as Sofia did at their age. They are huge climbers. Especially in the house. If I turn around for 30 seconds someone has usually climbed a coffee table or the kitchen table and is standing straight up squealing with delight. They are absolutely fearless and they like to help each other in their dangerous adventures. I just love seeing their bond grow and grow. I used to have problems with them napping together and now I can't have them nap apart from each other. They grumble and complain until their brother is in the room.
The Measurements:
Everett James: Height- 32.5" (91st percentile) Weight- 24lbs 1oz (67th percentile). He's so long that I have to buy him 18 month size pants but he's so skinny they are always falling off. He eats a ton but is very, very active.
-Everett started walking this month. It was so exciting! I thought the novelty would wear off with second/third children but Tim and I were just giddy with excitement. He took his first big walk at night when both of us were home so it was especially sweet. I'd share the video but he's buck naked and something tells me he won't appreciate that in 10 years.
-Still a great eater, loves his fruits and veggies.
Sullivan Jeffrey: Height- 31.25" (55th percentile) Weight- 22lbs 5oz (45th percentile). Sullivan eats more than any of our kids but he doesn't seem to gain weight, he just poops a lot (5+ times per day!) In fact, Sullivan has lost a couple of ounces since his 12 month visit.
-Two days after Everett started walking, Sullivan stood up, looked at both Tim and I and took 2 big steps and promptly sat down. It was as if he was saying, "I can walk, I just choose not to".
-Definitely the best eater out of the three.
Memorable comments from Sofia lately.... It's amazing to think that a year ago she probably only used 50-75 words. Now she speaks in complete sentences and has an expansive vocabulary. She soaks things up like a sponge.
-Olivia and Lydia have new baby sisters. I want a baby sister. (Then she counted herself, Tim and I, and her brothers and said, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, we need one more). Tim and I looked at each other in shock and just sweetly said, "No, sweetie, you have two brothers, that's enough". She keeps bringing up the topic though.
-My friend Jen picks up Sofia for Kid's Club (1.5 hour program at our Y twice per week) and apparently the song "Call Me Maybe" came on the radio. Sofia waved her arms and proclaimed, "I love this song!" and danced the entire way to the Y while her BFF Isabel looked on.
-We called Tim while we were driving home one afternoon, our van has blue tooth so his call was on the speakerphone and the kids could hear him. After I hung up Sofia started giggling, I asked her why and she said, "I'm just so excited, I can't wait to see Daddy. I'm going to hug him and give him a big kiss, I'm so excited!".
-Out of the blue one day Sofia said, "Mama, take me downtown please. I want to go shopping and buy a strawberry ice cream cone".
It's so fun to be able to do more and more with them. I take them to Sofia's 2 year old story time which is always an adventure when we get to craft time. The boys like to steal materials and run away. During the actual story time they are both great, Everett loves to dance and clap to the songs, he also loves to go from child to child to say "hi" and smile. He is a little social butterfly. He actual got a kiss from a little girl he said hi to the other day. Sully tends to stay closer to me. Thankfully, the Port story time is in the library's community room which is enclosed. Several of my friends from the triathlon club bring their children to this story time so we all help wrangle each other's children. Sometimes the Moms who only have one child just look at me with looks of shock. The boys are now very affectionate with each other. Sully is more of a hugger and Ev is a big kisser. It's incredibly sweet to watch them hug and kiss one another. They both still love to snuggle, especially when we read books.
The boys are both fearless at the playground. We have two main playgrounds that we frequently visit. We usually have one or two play dates with friends at the playground and the boys are always trying to keep up with the kids who are Sofia's age. The boys crawl up the steps to the slide and are able to go down all by themselves and then crawl back up the steps to do it again. They like to swing but not as much as Sofia did at their age. They are huge climbers. Especially in the house. If I turn around for 30 seconds someone has usually climbed a coffee table or the kitchen table and is standing straight up squealing with delight. They are absolutely fearless and they like to help each other in their dangerous adventures. I just love seeing their bond grow and grow. I used to have problems with them napping together and now I can't have them nap apart from each other. They grumble and complain until their brother is in the room.
The Measurements:
Everett James: Height- 32.5" (91st percentile) Weight- 24lbs 1oz (67th percentile). He's so long that I have to buy him 18 month size pants but he's so skinny they are always falling off. He eats a ton but is very, very active.
-Everett started walking this month. It was so exciting! I thought the novelty would wear off with second/third children but Tim and I were just giddy with excitement. He took his first big walk at night when both of us were home so it was especially sweet. I'd share the video but he's buck naked and something tells me he won't appreciate that in 10 years.
-Still a great eater, loves his fruits and veggies.
Sullivan Jeffrey: Height- 31.25" (55th percentile) Weight- 22lbs 5oz (45th percentile). Sullivan eats more than any of our kids but he doesn't seem to gain weight, he just poops a lot (5+ times per day!) In fact, Sullivan has lost a couple of ounces since his 12 month visit.
-Two days after Everett started walking, Sullivan stood up, looked at both Tim and I and took 2 big steps and promptly sat down. It was as if he was saying, "I can walk, I just choose not to".
-Definitely the best eater out of the three.
Memorable comments from Sofia lately.... It's amazing to think that a year ago she probably only used 50-75 words. Now she speaks in complete sentences and has an expansive vocabulary. She soaks things up like a sponge.
-Olivia and Lydia have new baby sisters. I want a baby sister. (Then she counted herself, Tim and I, and her brothers and said, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, we need one more). Tim and I looked at each other in shock and just sweetly said, "No, sweetie, you have two brothers, that's enough". She keeps bringing up the topic though.
-My friend Jen picks up Sofia for Kid's Club (1.5 hour program at our Y twice per week) and apparently the song "Call Me Maybe" came on the radio. Sofia waved her arms and proclaimed, "I love this song!" and danced the entire way to the Y while her BFF Isabel looked on.
-We called Tim while we were driving home one afternoon, our van has blue tooth so his call was on the speakerphone and the kids could hear him. After I hung up Sofia started giggling, I asked her why and she said, "I'm just so excited, I can't wait to see Daddy. I'm going to hug him and give him a big kiss, I'm so excited!".
-Out of the blue one day Sofia said, "Mama, take me downtown please. I want to go shopping and buy a strawberry ice cream cone".
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)