Abigail @ 3 Months

 

At her last check-up about 2 weeks ago, Abigail weighed 11 lbs. 10 oz. (about the 35th%) and was 23 3/4” tall (about the 75th%)—tall & skinny, just like her sister! She is still in her 0-3 month clothes all around & size 1 diapers (although we’ll soon be moving to 2’s).

For awhile she was sleeping about 12 hours a night—such a blessing! The past week or so she’s been up by 5am and although she seems active & ready for the day, I feed her and put her back down within a half hour and she’ll sleep another couple hours or so. She is starting to fall into a good sleeping pattern through the day—usually she wakes up about 8:30, then takes a short (1 hour or less) nap around 10 and then a longer nap in the afternoon around 1:30 until about 4:30 or 5, and then she’s usually down for the night by 7:30 or 8. She’s pretty fussy between about 6 and 7:30 and only wants to be held, which makes bedtime pretty tricky!

When she’s awake, she’s become much more interactive with her toys. She has discovered her hands, and can hold them together and grab onto her toys. She loves her bouncer and her playmat and happily stares at the flashing star for up to 20 minutes at a time! Of course, she always has 2 little play mates who make sure she’s always got plenty to look at and do!

  

Abigail “playing” with her toys

 

Her eating schedule is still pretty sporadic and she tends to drink from one side about 10 minutes and then she’s done, but then she wants to take the other side in about an hour or right before she goes to sleep. So it’s hard to say how many feedings she has each day—usually it’s right after she wakes up & then again right before she goes to sleep.

I heard her sweet little giggle for the first time Monday, the 28th. She has started cooing and “talking” much more, but mostly only to me and only when I have her looking me directly in the eye. So Monday I was making faces at her and that’s when she started to laugh—always warms my heart to hear that cute little sound! She hasn’t really done it since then, but hopefully she will start being less serious soon! You can see in her pictures that she is very observant—she’s always looking at people and studying them.

 

For fun, here’s Leah @ 3 months—am I raising identical twins separated by 4 years??  

Bath Time!

 

My big kids have been taking their bath together lately and it definitely provides for some funny memories. Soon they won’t be able to bathe together anymore, but for now, here’s what we get. Andrew is a little devious—his favorite thing to do besides splashing and dropping things into the water, is to pour water over Leah’s head and laugh mischievously. Leah likes to lay out on her back, halfway under the water, taking up the whole tub. She makes up stories involving the toys & washcloths.

 

 

And the little one LOVES her bathtime, too. I can just lay her down on the bath mat beside the tub and she instantly stops crying and starts kicking her little legs—even if I’m not actually going to give her a bath. She is perfectly quiet & content the whole time she’s in the tub.

 

Andrew @ 2 1/2

 

Oh how do I begin to describe this little boy. Energetic, affectionate, silly, easygoing, and adventurous—Andrew is ALL BOY. He loves cars & fire trucks & rocks & dinosaurs. Yet he loves to give out hugs & kisses and hates when his hands get dirty (unless he’s playing outside). He enjoys watching Princess movies, but only for the action in them! He loves to sing songs and dance and drum. He loves to be silly and get tickled. He loves to pretend to be a cowboy or a firefighter. He loves to “cut” and glue and paint (of course he’s not perfected any of these) and throws a fit when he has to put these things away. He loves to sit and listen to stories. His favorite shows are Dora or Diego, Mickey Mouse, and Sing-a-Long videos.

  

I believe at his age Leah could recognize the ABC’s and numbers. Andrew cannot, but then I haven’t been able to work with him as much. He does know his colors and shapes, and is beginning to spell his name. He can do simple puzzles, he can match colors and objects, and he can count to 15. I also think his vocabulary is much bigger than Leah’s was at his age. He knows a lot of words, and if he doesn’t know, he asks a lot of questions!

At this age, Andrew and Leah have a love/ hate relationship. Half of the time they play so well together. He loves to do anything she’s doing (and say everything she says), and depending on what type of mood she’s in, Leah will find a way to include him. Usually he plays the daddy, or the handsome prince, or the knight in shining armor or the cowboy. He’ll let her boss him around and do whatever she wants him to do if it means he gets to be included. The other half of the time they are screaming because the other is taking their toy (regardless of whether we have another one just like it) or sitting where they were sitting or doing something they were going to do.

As is probably typical of 2-year-olds, he has an intensity about everything he does: if he doesn’t want to do something, he DOESN’T WANT TO DO IT! If he is upset, he will let you know by kicking & screaming and whining. He can often be difficult to calm down but time out is often effective for him because he hates being out of favor with mommy or daddy—he wants to please, but many times he just doesn’t know how (or claims he doesn’t!). When his routine is out of order or something doesn’t go as it usually does, he will whine and cry until a better distraction comes along.

He has always been my worst sleeper. He was doing fine for awhile, never even protesting naptime or bedtime, sleeping all night. Lately, though, he’s been waking up at night—crying—several times, and won’t even tell us what’s wrong. (Perhaps too much sugar during the day?) And now he hates that he has to take a nap, especially since Leah doesn’t. I keep reminding myself that soon he’ll be a teenager and all this will be behind us!

I think he’s also had a rough time lately due to the arrival of his little sister. He’s caught in between being the baby and wanting his independence. Most of the time he makes it clear he is NOT A BABY, but he can get so frustrated when can’t do something on his own. Right now, he adores Abigail—he always wants to “see Baby Abigail” or kiss her or bring her toys. He and Leah fight over who can get closer to her. I’m sure his relationship with her will change as she grows and it will be interesting to see!

Back to School & Museum Trip

 

Though it’s been slow-going since Abigail was born, we've still been pressing on with our homeschooling Leah. I try to spend at least 30 minutes several days a week working with her on specific things, but most of her learning right now comes through play and discovery. In our “formal” school time, we’re working through a set of workbooks called "Explode the Code” to learn (or review, at this point) the letter sounds and learn to write them (although I’m using other workbooks to help with that, as it’s not been easy for Leah). I hope to be finished with these in the next few weeks and then we’ll start actually learning to READ! Although I’m terrified about this part of her schooling (it just seems so important), I’m also excited about all the cool resources I’ve found to help her learn.

(Here’s an example of some of her handwriting:)

We sometimes start the day with Music Time, and a story. (Costumes are optional. )

 

We’re also using Saxon Math, which is really a kindergarten-level book, but either it’s really easy or Leah is just really good at math. It mostly uses different manipulatives to teach concepts: teddy bear counters, pattern blocks, and linking cubes. Andrew joins in with us most of the time—he really just wants to be a part of things, although more often than not he’s just a distraction for Leah. I try to come up with things he can do, too! (He loves to paint!)

 

We also do Bible stories and then I add in some other type of science or theme, maybe based on a holiday or something else. This week we started talking about the Five Senses, and our body parts. The one thing that comes really easy to me is FIELD TRIPS! One of our favorite places to go is the NC Museum of Science. I like it because they’re learning while having fun, and I don’t have to even plan any of it. One of our favorite parts is the Discovery Room—and they had a lot of great opportunities to talk about the Five Senses. They got to use a magnifying glass & a microscope, they got to touch different animal furs/ skins and even some bugs, they got to push buttons to hear different animal sounds, and so much more. It was a perfect little adventure for us.

     

   

   

2012 in Review

 

Each year at the end of the year I like to take time to reflect on everything that happened during the year, how much God blessed us and how much we learned. This is why I like to take so many pictures—I can see how much times change and how quickly everyone is growing! So, on the eve of 2013, here is last year’s highlights in pictures.

In January, we got to spend some time in Texas with Brett’s family. Leah also became fully potty-trained, including at night.

 

On March 12th, we found out we were expecting Baby Cody #3—very much planned for & so excited!

We celebrated Easter April 8th with our usual traditions of decorating eggs & cupcakes, and spring family pictures.

On April 15th, Andrew was dedicated at church by my dad.

In May Brett and I celebrated our 6 year wedding anniversary, and also attended the state Homeschool Convention, officially beginning our homeschooling journey!

In June we got a new & bigger car to accommodate our growing family.

We also found out we were expecting a beautiful baby GIRL.

And Leah & Andrew got to spend a day at the farm & ride a real horse.

We spent the 4th of July weekend in the Outer Banks, visiting my parents.

Leah took swimming lessons at our community pool.

And Andrew turned 2 with a bang!

In August Leah turned 4 and had an outdoor water fun party with all her friends.

And we got to spend a weekend in the mountains with 2 of my best friends, Sarah & Elizabeth, and Elizabeth’s kids.

In September, Leah started taking Dance lessons. She has loved being a ballerina!

Andrew moved into his new big boy bed in Leah’s room to make way for the new baby.

In October we enjoyed our usual fall festivities, like the Fair & pumpkin carving.

  

And then welcomed our third-born child, Abigail Ruth on October 30th.

Brett went back to working full time at the Credit Union, commuting an hour to Raleigh every day, and works part-time at the church.

My friend Elizabeth and her kids came to visit early November.

We celebrated Thanksgiving at our house with my whole family.

And ended the weekend with a trip to visit Santa.

We had 2 Christmases this year, one at my parents’ house and one at home. Of course both were extra special with a new baby around!

 

 

We look forward to what surprises 2013 may bring, and we look forward to seeing our children grow and learn. We look forward to new friends and new adventures!