So.
Here I am.
FINALLY.
My plan of setting a goal failed, apparently. It probably wasn't the smartest thing on my part to have the "end date" of the goal be the night before I left on a week long, whirlwind trip around the midwest with 7 month old twins....I definitely THOUGHT about blogging in those last days of August. My "goal" was in my mind. But I was scrambling trying to get things ready to go and have things ready for Chip and the kids here at home. So, the blog, once again, got pushed to the bottom of the list....and I never got all the way through the list (who ever does?)
But I'm here now.
So, let's get started. I think I'm just going to work my way through the requests. We'll see what happens?! Oh. And there will be one post about breastfeeding...if you're friends with me on Facebook then there is a chance you've already read it, but since I took so much time thinking it through and writing it out, I'd like to post it here too : )
So..I guess I will start with the first "request"....updates about the kiddos. It's been awhile. Always a good thing to do, right?
Makenzie Rose - almost 3 1/2 years old (her 1/2 birthday is in October)
What a wonderful little girl I have been blessed with. She is SO independent...too much so, sometimes. But she is such a wonderful helper. She cares about her whole family so much, especially her brothers. She is now FULLY potty-trained. She has been daytime potty-trained for a long time, but it was finally a few months ago that we successfully mastered night-time. She has NEVER had a nighttime accident...she's done SO well. Kenzie LOVES to go to the "craft store" (Michael's, JoAnn's, etc) and buy things to paint. This is activity that the kids get to do with daddy and they both really enjoy it. Lately, Kenzie has really gotten into pretending to be other people. This week, she has gone back and forth between being Sally from the Cat in the Hat and being "Aunt" Jennifer (a good family friend). If she is Sally, then naturally, Ryken is Nick and Chip is Cat in the Hat. I either get to be the fish or the mother. Very special. If she is "Aunt" Jennifer, it means she is taking care of her baby....baby Sophia. And Ryken, naturally, is "Uncle" Tim. Luckily for Kenzie, Ryken thinks the world of his big sister and is pretty much always willing to "be" whoever she tells him he has to be. Her new "Kenzie-ism" is saying "Be-um-cause". I think it is hilarious that she breaks up the word because with "um" in the middle and she does it ALL of the time. She is already making me more prayerful about our decision to at least start out homeschooling her. She talks about school all of the time and notices schools when we drive by them. She is so outgoing and already has it in her head that "school" is the place to be. I am praying that we will know what is perfect for our little girl. I'm hoping to start some preschool worksheets with her soon....have a little "school time". She loves to learn and I am hoping it will be fun for both of us.
Ryken Chip- just over 2 (his birthday was in July)
Ryken is my little peanut of a boy : ) At his 2 year check up he was 24 1/2 lbs and 32.5in, 11th percentile and 9th percentile respectively. He is a very verbal child, talking in complete sentences and repeating MUCH more than Kenzie did at this age. Kenzie talked well early on, but I think her example has made Ryken even more verbal from early on. He learns things easily and mastered playing on the computer before he turned 2. He knows his colors, animals, ABCs and numbers. He can sing several songs...mostly from their Bible songs CD. His favorite movie is Cars and he almost always has one of the Cars characters in his hand. The past few days he has been attached to the green car- Chick Hicks. He looks for it the second he wakes up (usually in his bed since he HAS to sleep with it too) and he takes it everywhere with him. He is such a sweet boy and LOVES his babies. He is always quick to make sure that the babies and I are greeted with hugs and kisses each morning when we wake up and come out to the living room. Hmmm...what else? He bit his tongue VERY badly 2 days ago...his top 4 middle teeth all went into the middle of his tongue leaving a very deep gash. He has been AMAZING about it though. The first night we gave him ibuprofen before bed. Last night we didn't give him anything and he was making whining/crying out noises from his sleep in the middle of the night, so we gave him some then. But otherwise, he has been such a little trooper. It HAS to hurt and he hasn't been eating quite as much. But he hasn't complained about it at all! Ryken is not interested AT ALL in potty training yet, although I am pretty sure he is completely aware of his bodily functions and is also a great communicator. He just doesn't WANT to do it. At all. So we'll wait. We waited for Kenzie to be interested and lead the way and it totally paid off. So we're going to do the same with Ryken.
The Twins
I never know if I should group them together or not, but it just seems to make sense. Yes, they are two individuals. And I will talk about their own individual quirks. But they also just go together. But it has been fun to see their differences emerge more and more the older they get. They are 7 1/2 months old now. They both started scootching around at about 6 months old and are now full-on crawling. They both started pulling up on things a couple weeks ago and are now standing around furniture and in their cribs several times each day. Casey made this a regular habit a few days before Emery did. They are both good eaters. They eat baby food at breakfast, lunch, and dinner. They still nurse 5-6 times a day (and night). They are both happy boys. BUT...if I told you about my baby who blows raspberries, I'd be talking about Emery. I have NEVER seen (or heard) Casey blow raspberries. Emery does it daily, especially when he has a mouthful of babyfood. However, if I told you about my baby who likes to pound on things and bang his toys on things, I would be talking about Casey. This activity is one of "his things". The boys got their bottom teeth within days of each other....it went Casey: bottom left, Emery: bottom left, Emery: bottom right, Casey: bottom right. But then, Casey got his top left tooth. Right on his 7 month birthday. But now, 2 weeks later, Emery STILL shows no sign of either top tooth popping through. So that's another difference right now...3 teeth vs 2 teeth. Emery is my spit-up baby. 90% of the spit-up we deal with comes from Emers. Casey is my biter-baby. If the babies are nursing and one bites, 90% of the time is is Cas-a-roo. There is so much that is the same about them...but little by little, they are revealing their individuality to us : ) Hmm...so I think that's about it on the little boys.
So, that's somewhat of an update....I'll be back again sometime...who knows when! Hoping sooner than later : )
