Adah 3 months!

Adah turned 3 months old yesterday! What a doll she is and so much fun! She is smiling a ton now and even has a little squeal to go with it. She is staying awake during the day more, especially in the evening. She has gone 11 hours at night just recently but mostly makes it about 10/10.5. She no longer wakes in the night (ahhhh). The first time she slept completely silent all night I don't think I hardly slept I was so worried about her! I think I even finally got out of bed and un swaddled her and re swaddled her just to reposition her and make sure she was ok. I did sleep better after that! She typically eats between 8:30 and 9pm (sometimes as early as 8) and then goes straight to bed. I wake her at about 7:15am after getting Keziah ready for her day. I think Adah would sleep longer in the morning but in order to fit in the 6 feedings (she seems to still want) during the day she needs to get up! After being awake only an hour, Adah is already ready for a nap. She will sleep about 1.5 hours and then wake to eat again around 9:30ish. The rest of the day is pretty much a blur and definitely unpredictable (except for feedings: 7:15, 9:30, 12:30, 3:30, 6:30, 8:30/9). I am hoping to get her on a little more of a sleeping schedule this next month. We will get there!

Adah laughed for the first time this month (2-15-10). I was playing a little game with her and got up around her neck and she just started giggling. I have since been able to get a giggle in the same place and even her feet will get her to laugh.

Adah likes to spit too. It's just a funny thing she does. It's so cute! I read in Kezzie's baby book that she used to do this when she was Adah's age!

Adah's eyes have started to change a little. They were a pretty bright grey color when she was born and have stayed that way until around last week when I noticed they were getting darker. Today I can almost say they are brown but it's hard to tell. They aren't very dark yet. Her hair is getting thicker on top and looks like it has highlights in it. The back is still pretty dark but is starting to bald from laying on it :(

Adah is exploring with her hands. She is constantly putting them in her mouth but hasn't really seen them with her eyes yet. She has yet to discover her thumb but frequently gags herself with her pointer finger!

Her attention to movement is great. She notices when daddy or mommy walks into the room and will follow us with her eyes. She hates tummy time but is getting pretty good at holding up her head. I probably should be working on this a little more then I do!

Adah is such a blessing in our lives. She brightens my day EVERY day! I look forward to all the days ahead and ways she will make us laugh!

I need to get to bed but will add more as I think of it!

Austin's Bed and Bath...

I am FINALLY getting around to posting pics of Austin's room. Yes, he is spoiled, he also had his own bathroom. What better way to get an 11 year old to take responsibility for cleaning up after himself!! The bathroom has a closet in it which is where he keeps his clothes. It has a really nice organizer so it seems to hold everything for now without needing an extra dresser. This was my biggest project I wanted to finish before Adah was born. I thought it turned out really well. We also had the flooring redone in the entire basement (new carpet and linoleum) so I was struggling to get everything painted before that was put in. His bathroom is camouflage theme and his bedroom...obviously Hawkeyes! You can see in the upper left corner picture the bathroom accessories I hand painted...there was no way I was paying what stores were asking for camouflage stuff so I just did it myself! Plus they are more personal that way! I love a decorated room. I think it is a great way to let your kids express themselves. He hasn't had a decorated room since he was really little when we lived with mom and dad. He stood by and watched me decorate what used to be Kezzie's room (it's now Adah's) before she was born while he still had white walls...boo hoo! And then got frustrated again when I decorated Keziah's new big girl room. He knew he was next though! I thought this was going to be a huge adjustment for him since it is the basement and since the closet in his room houses the furnace and water softener, but he has done really well and actually either of them rarely wake him in the night when they run. Even though I love these two rooms and love the way they look, I still try to stay away since they are less than often very clean! Typical boy!

Austin's school project!

Austin had a project for one of his classes that had to resemble Canada. I think he did a great job. We found a modeling clay recipe online and after sculpting it and letting it dry, he painted it all. We drove to a couple different stores searching for glitter but ended up with glittery glue that actually worked out better for the snow caps. There's a river down front and the snow is starting to melt around it. And I love the cute little trees he made out of toothpicks! He got a 96/100. I thought that was excellent! Way to go buddy!

27 months!

Kezzie is 27 months today! She is very expressive if you can't tell! So full of life and has waaaayy too much energy!! She is so much fun to be around and can make any grump smile without effort! Kezzie pretty much jumps from place to place and jumps even more when she is excited about something! She just recently developed somewhat of an opinion about what she wears but I can almost always still sway her decision if it's not going to work for that day. I usually give her three choices and she will be happy choosing from them. She's also gotten more willing to let me do things with her hair. She gets excited to look at herself in the mirror and will sit really good while I am trying to put it up. She gets a haircut this week and needs it if you didn't notice!! Hopefully she doesn't look too much older when it's over!
When asked daily what Kezzie wants for lunch or any meal for that matter, she will quickly respond with 'eat the wiggles' and then make a slurping sound with her tongue. I don't know where it comes from but every meal the answer is the same. Of course she says it with a smile and thinks it's silly. Another question we ask her frequently is where things are at. For example 'where is your pink blanket, Kezzie?' She will immediately respond without any thought, 'in the back yard'. 'Where are your shoes, Kezzie?' 'In the back yard'. I don't know why she says it but she thinks it's pretty funny! She has taken quite an interest in The Backyardigans lately so maybe that has something to do with it!
Kezzie now sleeps from about 8pm-6:30am. She will nap from about 1-4 (which is when I finally wake her up). I am loving this pattern because getting up at 6:30 allows me to completely get her day started before I need to feed Adah at 7. And who doesn't love a 3 hour nap break! She is really good about going to bed. She always whines a little bit but once she gets there she doesn't get up. She does try to pull the all classic stall tactics-'need keenex', 'need drink', 'need hug', 'need kiss'. She's pretty funny! I have stopped giving her a sippy cup full of water at night to see if she can start holding her pee through the night. She doesn't go as much in her diaper but she is far from holding it still. We will work on this more in the days to come. I think I will start waking her to go potty before I go to bed.

Lately Kezzie has been taking herself potty. She is doing such a great job with this. I have to make sure she gets her pants all the way down before she goes into the bathroom but she can get herself up on the toilet with the help of her stool. This is particularly helpful when I am nursing and there is a potty emergency! The biggest problem is her wanting to wash her hands afterward. If I am available to assist I usually don't mind, but when I am busy it's a problem. She puts her stool up to the sink and pumps soap into her hand (a lot of soap) but then can't reach the faucet to actually wash them. She will come out to see me, rubbing her hands together as if she is putting on lotion. When I finally become available again, I help her rinse them. I did get smart and put the dispenser in the cabinet but she got even smarter and found it! The mystery is how she got to it. I think she must have climbed on top of the counter. Yesterday she washed her hands after going potty and I helped her rinse them when I was able. They were extremely soapy so the sink was full of suds. I ran upstairs to get her some clothes since she had stripped down from her jammies to go pee, and when I came back down she was washing her naked body with all the suds. She was covered! I almost stuck her in the shower but managed to get it all off with a wet rag! Silly girl!

Her favorite show has recently changed to Dora (if you could see my face you would know I am thrilled about this). It's a cute show but not as educational as I'd like. There are back to back episodes at breakfast time. I guess there's no better way to start the day then with an hour of TV time!!

Kezzie is becoming qutie the little copy cat. She has recently been noticing every little thing I do. If I am resting my head in my hand she will try to figure out how to do it just the same way. And while playing together on the floor she will try to lay on her side and rest her head in her hand just like me. She can almost never get it on her own though. I usually have finagle her arms to do the same thing. It's the same with crossing my legs or arms. She is so hilarious. She has also started copying the way I care for Adah (nursing her babies, dressing them, etc.). I love how she wants to be just like mommy...oh how fast that will change!

One of Kezzie's favorite things to do independently is get water out of the fridge. She can't see when the glass is full so she just keeps filling it until it starts running down her arm. She uses the little cups that are from her little kitchen so they don't hold very much. This is a good thing as most of it ends up on the floor anyway. It's like Austin said the other day...'At least we don't have carpet in the kitchen!' I would have to agree with him on that one!

I will probably be adding some more things as I remember them...

My little VanGogh!!

Today I let Kezzie paint with new paints she received for Christmas. She was doing great with the brush until I left the room for just a second. What was I thinking to trust a two year old? I came back to her painting with her hands. She was just rubbing away at the piles of paint on her picture. She had the look of terror as she saw me come around the corner but to her surprise, I didn't care. They're washable! And she was definitely having fun doing it! I really think we need to do this more often!

Just for fun!!

I don't really have a reason to post these pics other than they are super cute! A couple of Adah cheesing it up and a couple of her so preciously asleep! I love the ones of me and the two girls (now if only I could get Austin to agree to jump in there). Kezzie had just woke from her nap and needed some love from mommy! The picture of me and Brian is one taken by our newest photographer in the fam...Keziah! She frequently finds my camera and takes a billion pictures with it. There's one of Rylan from just this last Sunday at mom and dad's (can you believe he is almost 7 months old?). The one of Kezzie with her stroller (completely loaded with stuffed animals and blankets) is her running around the table as fast as she can with it. She loves doing this (learned it from big bro Austin) because she gets the dogs all riled up and they chase her and bark. Mommy doesn't like it so much because of all the noise, but I gotta let loose every once in a while, right?!

Oh yeah...

I guess I am safe to tell everyone now...I am going to be an Auntie again! Emily and Adam are expecting their third baby in August. That puts her at about 14 weeks. Family has known for a while now but since she has finally announced it on her blog I feel safe announcing it on mine! I can't wait! She has an ultrasound on March 8th to have the limbs measured and the heart checked. The doctor is doing this to just keep track of the baby's progress and help put Emily's mind at ease a bit. We all agree that we would take another Benne in a heartbeat though! There is a good chance that since she will be 17 weeks along at that apt. they may be able to find out the sex...I can't wait!

My gDiaper booty!

Here they are... and pretty soon she will be sporting a cute little pink one. I just love this product! I have had one blow out in the last two weeks and I wouldn't even really consider it a blow out. And just yesterday I had her in a disposable diaper (due to not having a gDiaper insert handy) and had a blow out. I am excited to get my cloth inserts in the mail soon! And I already ordered the next size up too!

My guy is #13!

For the first time today I got to watch Austin play some basketball. Sadly, today was also the last day of basketball. I haven't felt like I could take both little kids to his games by myself but being that it was his last tournaments, I decided I was going to brave it. He has really gotten into it this year a lot. He took last year off since he didn't like it very well two years ago. This year he was asked to play on a team with some friends that wasn't through the REC so he decided to try it out. They haven't won a lot of their games but they have fun anyway! I was extremely proud of Austin and had so much fun watching him play. Who would have thought I could actually enjoy a sport! I usually do though when it's him playing! The first game they played they won 30 to 27. It was a really exciting game. That put them through to play the next game which they lost. After the games were over I took the kids to the McDonald's playplace in Mason City (where the games were) to eat lunch. We had a great day together. I look forward to seeing more games next year. There will be some videos at the bottom of the screen soon!

Sharin' the Love!

Today is Valentine's Day...one of my favorite holidays. It's a great time to show the people that matter most to you how much you love them. I know a good theory is that love should be shown every day of the year but it is great to have a special day to show a little extra affection! I love getting my kids a little something every once in a while and this day is the perfect excuse! For Keziah I got a new stuffed animal to add to her collection of 'baborites' (favorites), some dress up shoes, a video and some candy. For Austin I got a PSP game (that is secretly educational) and some candy. Adah doesn't really care but I got her some robeez shoes that have cute pink birds on them. I hope you have all enjoyed your LOVE day.

Happy Birthday Mom!

Yesterday was my mom's birthday, so to celebrate we all met at the Wingate Hotel in Cedar Falls to swim. Since I was just there with some friends I knew this pool was really nice so I called there and it turned out they have a public swim rate. All the kids had a blast. It took Ethan a bit to get warmed up but once he was in he loved it. By the time Ethan was ready to get in, Bennett was ready to get out so it worked out pretty good! The pool was really busy even though we were there by 9am. Austin had fun playing catch or volleyball with Keith. Adah slept almost the whole time but needed to eat about 10:30. Keziah and Rylan enjoyed just floating around in the inflatables that Emily and Adam brought (and for the record...Keziah HATED these inflatables last year or any for that matter)! Bennett had fun throwing around a sponge ball and Ethan was enjoying jumping in to Emily or floating around on the inner tube. We stayed until about 11:30 and then went to Pizza Hut for lunch. It was a lot of fun. Happy Birthday Mom...hope you enjoyed your celebration!

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!

Today Kezzie and I decided to make and decorate some Valentine sugar cookie's. Keziah had a blast! It was hard for me to ignore the mess while mixing the dough but I got through it and actually had a lot of fun! Kezzie also enjoyed watching the cookies grow in the oven and then enjoyed trying to frost one for herself to eat. I think we will have to do this more often!

I can't get enough...

I am loving this new product I received in the mail. I have been wanting to research it for forever now and just never found the time or gumption. And then the other night on the news they were talking about it. I decided that was it, I was checking it out! It's gDiapers. They are so awesome! I was shocked by the statistics of the amount of diapers that go into landfills every day-21 billion. Not to mention the amount of time it takes for one diaper to biodegrade-up to 500 years. I decided I was going to invest and give them a try and I absolutely LOVE them! Anybody who is in the diaper changing business HAS to give this a try. They biodegrade in up to 54 days if you throw them away, but there are other options...you can also flush them if you'd rather or you can even garden compost them. I choose to throw them for now, that is until I invest in the clothe inserts. I first wanted to see how I liked them by starting out with the biodegradable inserts, but now that I know I love them I am going to buy some clothe inserts to use for when I am at home. AND they are adorable! Seriously...check it out. www.gDiapers.com. You really won't be disappointed! I will post pictures of my adorable babe showing off her cute chubs soon!

Update!

Brian is coming home today. I don't know which is going to be harder...having him so far away that I can't see him for days on end or having him home, incapable of taking care of himself. I will take the later...it will be so great to see his face again and be able to hug him and comfort him whenever I want instead of doing it over the phone. Not to mention how much Keziah is missing him! His dad is gracious enough to go get him for me since Brian can leave whenever he has somebody there to pick him up (and we all know it takes way more time to get two little ones loaded up then it does for his dad to just hop in the car). He should be home safe and sound by this afternoon! Yipeee!

Friends...

Wednesday we had the privilege of meeting our good friend Jamie Steele and her two kids in Cedar Falls. Jamie and her husband Micah were in town (they live in Dubuque) for business and when Jamie called I jumped at the chance to get away for some girl time. We came to their hotel on Wednesday night and ate dinner (see the photo of the kids having a picnic on the hotel floor) and then swam until Kezzie needed to go to bed. I then headed over to my parents' for the night since Jamie and I wanted to get together the next morning also. Austin had school obviously so he wasn't able to come with me. Adah just slept while we were at the pool, as you can see in the photo. Keziah had a blast with Naomi and Isaiah. I thought it would take her a while to warm up on Wednesday night but she just wanted right in the water. Before I knew it she was jumping to me from the side and before we left she was begging me not to put my arms out to catch her (which I refused to do). She knows how to hold her breath, she just does it at the wrong time. When we went back in the morning we swam until the kids looked like they had enough. By the time Kezzie was ready to get out she had learned how to keep her body straight and let the life jacket do its job. I got to a point where I didn't feel like I always had to have a hand on her. She kept yelling 'I'm foating. Look I'm foating.' It was adorable to see her excitement. After swimming, we just hung out in the hotel room and the kids had a snack and vegged out on the bed watching cartoons. Jamie and I had great conversation. Even though it had been 2 years since I last saw her, it was like we had just seen each other the day before. She is such a blessing in my life...I just hope it isn't another two years before I get to see her again! Thanks for the mini retreat, Jamie!

Adah's room!

Here is Adah's room. She doesn't sleep here yet but I'm sure it won't be long. For now she sleeps on the main level of the house in a bassinet in our bedroom. This used to be Keziah's room so not much has changed. All the bedding and decorations are the same however I did rearrange it a bit so Kezzie would feel a little more detached from it. It took her a while but she does finally see it as 'Adah's room'.

Keziah's room!

This is Keziah's big girl room. I finally got around to posting about it. I finished it right before Adah was born. This used to be Austin's room until we re-did the basement and he moved down there (I will post pictures soon). Keziah loves her room and still asks if she gets to sleep in her big girl bed almost every night. She never gets out of bed making bedtime a breeze. Hopefully that never changes. The little birds are painted on. I traced it off her bedding and then drew it on the computer and printed a stencil in three different sizes. I ordered the wooden letters for her name on the Internet and then painted them white and hung them with some ribbon I had left over from our wedding (it happens to be the perfect green). I love her room and I hope it lasts her for several years before she outgrows it!

Please Pray...

Brian had his stomach surgery yesterday (feb. 5) and as expected he is in A TON of pain. Please pray that he will get rest and start to feel better soon, that he can be comfortable and that things will heal like they should. I just talked to him and he is feeling very lonely too. Pray that he will feel comfort even when nobody is there. He has a chest tube to help with his right lung so a tube is coming out of his right side causing a lot of discomfort also (this is a normal thing) besides the nine inch incision down the center of his stomach. The doctor said everything went well they just had to completely take apart what was previously done and redo it. This is a lot more painful a second time around and a lot more painful the younger you are. Thanks for thinking of him in this time of healing!

(Brian before surgery)

We arrived at the hospital at 9am. We went into this room at about 9:30am and he didn't get taken until 12:30. Once he left this room he had another 1.5 hour wait before they would even start surgery. We were notified at 1:55 that it was starting. At 4:30 we got an update that everything was going great but that it would still be a while longer. At 6:15 we were notified they were just starting to close him up. At 6:45 we met with the surgeon. It wasn't until 10pm that he came out of recovery and we were able to see him. What a long day! I was so thankful Brian's mom was with me and also thankful my mom was at our home with Keziah so I didn't have to worry about her.

(Brian after surgery with Adah-the next morning)