RK&RJ

Kendall Annalice - 2 months

2011-09-07T12:57:00.000-05:00

Kendall's had her appointment with the ped this month a day before her 2 months. She got official stats and was 21.5 inches in height (20%), 10lbs 10oz in weight (47%), and 14.76" in head circumference (20%). It is so funny to see our baby girl as our biggest baby. It will be interesting to see if this evens out as she gets older. Of course she is on a girl scale vs. a boy scale. But the numbers are still larger, so we shall see how close they all are later on.

This past month Kendall survived her first snotty cold with Robby. I, of course, got it a little later and Jace seems to have some runniness but nothing yet. The sleeping took a backseat a bit during the cold, but she is back to longer nights and starting to move to feeding times going 3-4 hours instead of 2-2.5 hours. But of course all of this is relative because there are growth spurts and such in this time too. Kendall doesn't care too much about a pacifier but I have used it at times when I am trying to get her to sleep. I find that I don't put her down on a playmat near as much as I did with Jace. Probably because the boys are always running around. I haven't even done much tummy time with her. The boys will be heading to Mother's Day Out soon and that will probably give us more time to play on the floor and engage in that tummy time play. It will be nice to have some one on one time with her, though I wish I could have the same with the boys. I will sure miss them.

We have also survived our AC challenge. This seems to happen every time we have a baby and typically when they are 6 weeks old. All the kids ended up sleeping on our bed or in our room for a couple of nights until we figured out what was going on. Luckily it was only a tube that needed to be cleaned and it only cost us the analysis.

Well, sweet Kendall is still smiling all the time, but hasn't quite settled in with Daddy yet. She has given him lots of smiles and coos, but is not as easy to pacify. Hopefully she won't give him such a hard time in the future.

Jace Alexander

2011-08-31T11:54:00.002-05:00

Jace Alexander

32" and 22 lbs

With all the excitement and challenges that came with having "baby sister", Jace's 2-yr post got lost in the shuffle, but I definitely didn't neglect taking his pictures. I can't believe how much he has grown and become his own independent individual the past year!

Jace is quite the talker. He is a parrot for EVERYTHING you say, so be careful WHAT you say in his presence...he is definitely LISTENING! There is so much to say about him that I don't even know where to start. He has this crazy sense of humor and is such a ham when it comes to entertaining. He is also our snuggler and loves to just sit with you and enjoy your company. He plays by himself very well and this tends to aggravate Rylen because he doesn't always want to play with him. Jace is beginning to really hold his own when it comes to Rylen's roughness. He has taken on his wrestling on many occasions and has given Rylen a run for his money (mostly in giggles).

I can't even COUNT the words that Jace knows and says. It is beyond just words and more into sentences. He likes to tell Rylen why he is in timeout while he is in timeout. He is very easy to communicate with and we have to remind ourselves that he is only 2 years old. It is very easy to put him on the same level with Rylen. A lot of times I feel like we have twins with the way that they interact with each other and with us. Jace loves to say "Kendall Annalice" when we talk about her by name. Otherwise, it is "Baby Sister" said with the cutest of lisps.

Jace loves to play with cars, trains, books, and also loves to put on shoes, daddy's hats, and sunglasses. He knows all the colors of the rainbow including black, white, brown and pink. He is getting better at identifying them every day. Signing is still a part of our lives, though Jace doesn't rely on it as much as Rylen does. He can also recite/sing his alphabet and numbers 1 through 10 including more on up to 20. There are also tons of songs that he sings. Jace loves to recite his Bible verses from church and this is a nightly ritual at dinner or at bedtime. He is very much into wanting his blanket AND baby blanket for naptime and night time, so I'm not sure how MDO is going to go only having a baby one. Jace has also taken up baseball with Rylen (including football and soccer). They both have a bat and will play with each other very well! They both take turns throwing and hitting the ball. It is fun to watch them play so well together.

I think the most amazing thing is the fact that Jace is potty trained at the age of 26 months. He took the jump one day and I ran with it. Within 3 days we were in only underwear and rarely have an accident. Don't "hate" ME for this! HA! It was ALL Jace, I just followed his lead. I wish I would have done this with Rylen because I think he had the desire at the same age, but I was so consumed with Jace that I didn't pursue it and now we are still working on it at age 4.

Well, that is our sweet Jace. I know I have missed tons of things that he does and says, so hopefully other posts will encompass what I have over looked.

Happy 2 years Jace! We love you!

Making it official

2011-08-26T00:03:00.004-05:00

It only took a month, but I finally got Kendall's Announcement finished. I unfortunately couldn't spend TONS of time on it, but I did personalize it with the image from her bedroom wall. We sent these out to immediate family, but we wanted to share her official arrival with you all too! I hope you enjoy!

**The large image is one that I took for newborn pictures. The three smaller images are those that Julizza, from JH Capturing Creations took at her birth.

Kendall Annalice - 1 month

2011-08-07T11:59:00.000-05:00

Already, our sweet girl is 1 month old! It is really hard to believe how fast this time has gone. Yet, that seems to be a trend when I post. Time always flies. We spent so much time waiting for her arrival and here we are having enjoyed her for a full month. Kendall has already reached the 10lb mark and doesn't seem to be stopping the fast weight gain. From day one she has never given us reason to believe she was not getting enough. In fact, with all the good milk she's been taking in, she has been sleeping great too! We have continued to have 5-7 hour spaces of sleep at night and this started in her first week. She had her first stretch of 7 hours only 2 weeks in! Very different from the boys for sure. This has also been nice for me getting some more consistent sleep at night. But with her sweet plumpness comes growing out of the tiny newborn clothes and in to the 0-3 outfits. She has definitely stretched out of those newborns and I am looking to put them away...ALREADY! Some of the outfits she hardly wore!

As you can see we have already received many smiles from this girl and they simply brighten every part of my day. She easily smiles for the boys and loves to just watch them. Having three in the house has been quite crazy, but I don't think Kendall has truly added to the craziness yet. The boys are crazy enough for all of us. They simply adore their baby sister and I'm hoping they become fast friends for life.

I am also loving this new phase of girliness in our lives. The bows & flowers, pinks and purples, and the hairclips have been such a fun new addition. I find myself wanting to dress her up, though we haven't had a lot of opportunities to do it yet. Church is typically that time and we have only been once so far.

In general, we are getting more settled into the trio of kids. The first month was a bit to be desired after my two weeks of recovery from a crazy fever after her birth. Nothing that a coffee enema couldn't cure! Three weeks of being down out of the four was not what I had imagined. But Robby took it all in stride and did an awesome job with the boys and with me. He is such a blessing to us all. So far no arthritis flares to note, but we should be getting back to our stricter eating habits soon.

Welcome Kendall Annalice!

2011-07-05T17:06:00.000-05:00

Kendall Annalice
July 3rd, 2011
9:12 am
6lbs 12 ounces
19.5 inches

Rylen Jaric - 4 years!

2011-07-02T11:05:00.000-05:00

Happy Birthday Rylen!
3 feet 1.25 inches
30 lbs

Kendall, you are DUE!

2011-06-23T11:27:00.001-05:00

and yet, still waiting....

Jace Alexander - 2 years!

2011-05-13T11:02:00.000-05:00

Happy Birthday Jace!

32" in height
22 lbs

Glucose and Iron

2011-04-15T08:15:00.002-05:00

The results!

I was concerned about my glucose mainly because I HATE doing the long test. Drinking the sugary drink is just annoying and then getting poked 4 times, PLUS having to find someone to watch the kids while I do it. Ugh.

Well, I tried to watch my diet as much as possible, sticking to what WE eat on a regular basis and definitely not overdoing any "treats" a couple of days before the test. I have BARELY failed the initial test before with the boys and I really wanted to pass it this time. I made sure to eat a filling, but low glucose breakfast that morning (almonds and strawberries). Plus, I had to drink that drink. I was so FULL after it all. Well, i called for the results and my glucose was 95! Whoohoo! Rylen's was 188, Jace's was 145 and this one was 95. The cut off is 139, so I passed it with FLYING COLORS! My Iron was low at 10 and I think they would like it at 11.5, but that could be due to my lack of food for a couple of weeks when I was sick. My iron with Jace was 10.5, so about the same. Nothing that anyone was concerned about. I will make sure I am back on my blood builder and we should be good to go!

30 weeks!

2011-04-14T10:50:00.002-05:00

It has been two months since I posted. That is so not like me, but this house has been crazy for the past couple of months. We were out of town some and had a sick house for about three weeks with ear infections, coughs, and pneumonia...including myself! It was CRAZY! We were ALL on antibiotics which is VERY rare for us. Robby avoided the big stuff, but was still told that he was having a reoccurring case of bronchitis. I think we are FINALLY all better and just in time for the MS150 this coming weekend...not to mention my birthday on Saturday as well. I have to actually think about how old I am these days. Not because I don't want to say, but I truthfully don't remember! So, I'll have to calculate....Let's see....34! Yep, 34. Well, aside from all of that, I have 10 weeks to go before our baby girl is here! That second trimester definitely went fast and here we are with only 2.5 months to go. I had my glucose and iron tests done and will be posting those results as soon as I call for them...which is GOOD NEWS! They didn't call me!

There is tons to be done in the next couple of months concerning our new addition as well as updates with the boys. So, I will do my best to keep this more updated. For those wondering, no names yet :)

Burger Night

2011-02-15T08:01:00.000-06:00

Just because we are vegan/vegetarian family doesn't mean we eat boring black beans and rice every night! We have burger nights too and they are oh so delicious! This recipe had black, pinto AND kidney beans in it as well as carrots, onions, bread crumbs and rice. A packed burger topped with tomatoes, avocado, lettuce, ketchup, spicy mustard and even a slice of mozzarella. The buns are toasted Ezekial Buns and our side dish was homemade baked red potato fries. I make huge batches of these and then freeze individual patties to bring out whenever we need them. Sometimes I just heat one up minus the bun and add salsa for a quick protein packed lunch. YUM!

Now, tell me that doesn't look delicious!

Happy Valentine's Day!

2011-02-14T18:37:00.003-06:00

Pizza Night

2011-02-13T22:42:00.003-06:00

We LOVE pizza night at our house. It is even better when they are HOMEMADE! The boys LOVE to put the toppings on and they are so healthy too! The boys typically fix a cheese pizza and Robby and I get a veggie. Interestingly, the boys end up eating some of ours and vice versa.

Jace - 21 months

2011-02-12T16:30:00.004-06:00

Jace is on the fast road to his 2-yr birthday. It will be here before I know it! BUT, we still have a few months before that happens, so I am going to enjoy these months as they come. It is amazing how fast my boys are growing, though I still see Jace as my little baby. It will be interesting to see him next to the new baby when she comes.

I finally had a good month for his pictures. The past couple of months have been a struggle to get his pictures in. Either the weather wasn't good, we were out of town, or he had a cold. So, I was glad to finally have an opportunity to do these. He has so much energy, loves to climb and loves to talk talk talk. I have no idea how much more he knows than last month, but I DO know that he never stops repeating us. I would say that he is initiating his own conversations more versus just repeating us. He is also holding his own with Rylen verbally AND physically too. His only issue now is the paci bandit (Rylen) who sneaks into his bed and steals his pacifier and interrupts his naps. This is not going to end anytime soon, especially with a new baby coming into the house.

Jace finally hit the 20lb mark, but we won't be turning his carseat around until May when he turns two. I have a feeling he WILL be moving into Rylen's seat sooner than later. I just can't manage him in the infant seat anymore. I believe we are also FINALLY getting some eye-teeth. The top ones are poking their way through, but the bottom isn't more than just red. This is a long awaited event for me. We have had MONTHS of chewing and whining for those things. Jace also does very well going up and down the stairs. He can practically go down a small set without holding on. He also loves to "fly" around the family room and "jump". We haven't quite got a two footed jump yet, but he's getting there.

Jace still loves signing time and asks for "Lela and hokins" all the time. I try to vary the videos to expose his vocabulary. He loves counting and knows a lot of his numbers. He knows his colors by sign and is getting better at knowing them visually. His favorite song is the colors of the rainbow song and can be caught singing it throughout the day.

Time to even up the score

2011-02-08T13:57:00.005-06:00

We had our long-awaited ultrasound today for Baby Robbins #3. I was anxious to see how the little tyke was doing and we were not disappointed. This baby is a mover and a shaker. I couldn't believe how much movement there was and yet I couldn't feel much of it at all. Evidently my placenta is right on my belly and is preventing me from feeling a lot of the kicks and punches. So, it will be interested as to how "bruised" my insides are once this baby gets bigger. As for the ultrasound itself, everything looked great. A wonderful heart beat, fingers and toes accounted for, a four-chamber heart, 3 veins in the umbilical cord, and a good amount of fluid. I'm sure there were other things that she documented, but those were the basics that I saw. So, at 20 weeks, our sweet baby, is growing like a 20-week old should!

Now for the gender. You all voted in at 81% for GIRL and 18% for BOY.

Last time we went against the trend and had ourselves another boy. The trend seems to be girl again this time, so we decided to give in to the statistics.....as if we have ANY say! Ha! So, yes, to answer the gender question, our sweet baby will be a GIRL! The ultrasound tech was quick to know what the gender was and so I was sure it was going to be a boy. They always talk about how hard it is to identify a girl, but our little girl didn't leave us guessing. It was very obvious that she was....well, a SHE!

I am way excited and Robby is too...especially, once he figures out what to do with a girl. HA! I guess it is time to add more drama to our house. yikes! Like we need more! Hehe.

Well, we got some great images of our baby girl. Enjoy!

A couple of 3D images. She looks pretty comfy snuggling with her hand by her face!

Baby Bump #3

2011-02-07T23:26:00.003-06:00

Well, here it is! I took these quick since I knew our appointment was tomorrow for the ultrasound. Once again I tried to match my outfit, but I couldn't find the red top, so I used the next best thing....PINK! We'll see if its a sign. HA! I have all three pregos to show, so you all can compare and contrast and see if you want to change your vote. Well, here it goes!

All three of these pregnancies have looked different and FELT different, so I don't really think I can put much stock into these sort of games to tell what someone is having.

Jace prego belly

Rylen prego belly

Well, there you have it. Another pregnancy, 20 weeks in. Tomorrow, February 8th is our ultrasound and we'll know (hopefully) what Robbins #3 will be! Keep us and the baby in your prayers!

Love you all!

Silly Jace

2011-01-30T11:03:00.000-06:00

This image cracks me up. Jace is ducking under the playground equipment. Of course he couldn't hit the equipment if he jumped, but I guess he saw one of us ducking under it and felt he needed to do the same to avoid injury. Silly Jace.

Our Sports Fanatic

2011-01-29T10:58:00.000-06:00

To say that Rylen loves sports is an understatement. He lives and breathes sports. So, I wasn't surprised when our day at the park also included Football AND Baseball. I was quite impressed with Rylen's kicking skills and FORM.

Our day, of course, had to end with baseball. A team was practicing in one of the fields and Rylen was quick to hug the fence and watch in awe. He was quite the commentary as the practice went on and easily gave his approval or disapproval of catches and hits.

Day at the Park

2011-01-28T10:29:00.000-06:00

The boys LOVE the park. Basically, they love being outside. We had a nice afternoon after some colder days, so we decided to head to the park and play. Needless to say, there is never enough time to play. No matter how long you are there, tears will and whining will come when it is time to leave. I honestly don't blame them!

There were quite a few kids at the park this day and so we just stayed at the younger kids slides so Jace could play and Rylen could play mostly unattended.

Jace loved the slide as much as Rylen, but Jace is our climber and enjoyed climbing the ropes much better. I was so surprised to see him do it all by himself!

We even had a little time for nature and a reminder that ants "bite"

19 weeks - almost halfway!

2011-01-27T10:45:00.000-06:00

Well, I have not posted much about this pregnancy like I have in the past. In fact, I haven't posted at ALL like I have in the past. I am just one busy momma. I must say that this pregnancy has not been as "enjoyable" as my last one. I still have yet to kick the nausea. I am also running after two kids and that can just exhaust ya! It has taken me to 19 weeks to finally FEEL the slight movements of the baby. Those are definitely long awaited flutters.

The baby is about 6 inches in length and is compared to the size of a large heirloom tomato. It will be less than two weeks and we will find out whether to decorate in pink or blue! Don't forget to vote on the blog! It seems that pink is the overwhelming vote right now.

And it begins...

2011-01-26T09:52:00.003-06:00

I knew that having two boys close together would come with days of trials, but also days of fun. This morning, when I ventured into their room, was a day when I knew that no matter how much they push and shove or fight and wrestle, they will be buddies for life. Just look how sweet!

Side Note: Yes, Rylen's primary goal was to get to one of Jace's pacifiers, but he ran in my room to make sure Jace had one too. Jace, of course, kept saying "Out", while Rylen was content to lay in the bed with paci and blanket. It will be a few years before the paci temptation will be gone for my dear Rylen.

Weekend Project - Phase 2

2011-01-18T08:52:00.000-06:00

So, Sunday, we decided to hang the curtains! Finally, our downstairs feels more like a home. The paint and curtains did darken the room a tad, but it doesn't feel dark or depressing, it feels cozy. So nice. We will still be looking to change out our rug, but in the meantime we needed something on the floor. I think this is a HUGE improvement and my hubby once again did a lot of work to get them hung. I gave some direction on where to put them, but he did all the hard work. Such a wonderful husband. I think we will be looking to get some tie backs for the curtains since they want to close up. Then of course there is the dreadful LONG wall. Oh what to do with it. We have a couple of pictures that we are going to hang and then go from there. It is a great wall to use for my photography, but so hard to figure out how to DECORATE.

Weekend Project - Phase 1

2011-01-17T10:41:00.004-06:00

Rylen was just 6 months old when we tried out our paint color for the family room and kitchen. The kitchen managed to get painted later that year a wonderful portobello brown, but the family room has remained "new house white" (except for one wall) until this weekend. Rylen is now 3.5 and we finally painted the family room! It was a long awaited change, but it looks oh so nice! Rylen had fun helping by pulling down the tape. It was definitely a full day job...for Robby... as I didn't get to help aside from taking care of the kids. Robby definitely got a workout. I did put up tape around the windows and door, but that was my only real contribution.

Now that we have the walls painted, it is time to decorate! We already have the new curtains and I am anxious to get them hung...on to Phase 2!

The time is here...

2011-01-12T23:05:00.003-06:00

...the time is now. The time has come to start casting your votes for baby robbins #3. Will we be a family of all boys? or will we add a little drama with a tiny princess?

I honestly have no clue. Each of my pregnancies have been different. Rylen's was a bit of nausea in the beginning with indigestion until the end. Not the most pleasant of pregnancies. Jace's was bliss. Very little of anything. I felt pretty normal except for the expanding belly. Of course I only had one kiddo to chase too. This pregnancy has been tiring and I had quite a bit of nausea in the beginning and it still lingers now. So, for whatever that information is worth, have fun voting!

My next appointment will be on February 8th. So, polls will close by 10:00am. The poll will be located on the blog on the left side of the page.

The winner(s) will get lifelong bragging rights! Happy Voting!

A bit late

2010-12-29T15:10:00.003-06:00

Well, I am gearing up for my 15th week and officially out of the first trimester. I'm not quite feeling the best yet and still have bouts of nausea and tiredness. One of these days I will be back to my supermom self.

Anyway, I felt the need to still post our first photo of Baby Robbins #3. This picture was taken approximately at 9 weeks. The ultrasound they used this time around was not one that could get quite as close as when they took the first photos of my boys, but you can still see the little rounded body. The heart beat at the first appointment was around 180, I believe. My last appointment at 13 weeks, registered the heartbeat around 160. I will have our next check-up on 1/11/2011 and will post stats as well as the new boy or girl poll. We will most likely find out what Baby #3 is going to be in February around my 22nd week.

Please continue to keep our family in your prayers. There are a lot of changes going on and we want and need God's guidance in all our decisions.

Love you all!

MDO Christmas Party!

2010-12-23T08:01:00.001-06:00

Jace and I were able to attend Rylen's Christmas Party Day at MDO. It was a half day full of organized chaos including games, sugar and Santa. They started the day with play and gift giving and then headed down to the cafeteria for storytime. Rylen was a bit restless because we were there.

Next was a game of pin the star on the Christmas Tree. Rylen's name came up 3rd, but he wasn't ready to do it until the very end. Not too bad considering we don't have a star on our tree yet!

Next was Santa, and Rylen just wasn't too thrilled this time. In fact, I am just assuming that they got a picture of it because I wasn't able to keep him up there long enough for me to take a picture. Rylen received a book from Santa about a Snowman Contest. It is one of Rylen's favorite books now. We had one more room with a game and then headed to a pizza lunch. The boys LOVED the pizza and enjoyed half of a sugar cookie for dessert. I figured the next and last activity would have enough sugar for both of them. Yes, we decorated GingerBread Houses.

I think most of the decorations were eaten, but the boys did manage to enjoy putting some of them on the house.

Admiring their achievement and checking for any missing details....I dont' think we are breeding architects though.

Snow, Soup & Santa

2010-12-22T10:17:00.002-06:00

This is an event that our church puts on right before Christmas. This happened to be the same night as the Christmas program this year which worked out PERFECTLY! Rylen's program came first and then we were able to go out into the snow. Of course in Houston, Texas, there is rarely any snow at Christmas. In fact, we are topping out 80 degrees just today. Hopefully we will be a cool 50 degrees on Christmas Day. So, with that in mind, our church has snow brought in for the occassion. It is a blast! The kids LOVE it!

Rylen was excited that throwing was acceptable. He was surprised that throwing at someone was not a "no-no", though we did have to warn those that were engaging with him that he does have quite an arm. Rylen even ventured over to the "big kids" snow arena. We just watched as a nice older boy tried to get him back to his area, but Rylen insisted on running and throwing with the big kids. He held his own easy.

The first thing Jace did was take a taste of the snow. Luckily we were one of the first to touch the mound, so I'm sure he didn't ingest too many germs. Otherwise, he just enjoyed stepping in it. After a while, though, Jace was the first to look at me and say "All-done". We had to drag Rylen inside.

Once we froze our hands and tooshies off, we headed inside for some soup and bread and then stood in line for another chance to convince Santa that we've been good ALL year. I take this opportunity to get the boys together with the big guy. Once again, both boys were just fine sitting on his lap and getting a candycane to chomp.

Rylen's Christmas Program

2010-12-21T12:32:00.004-06:00

To be honest, Robby and I were a bit nervous about this event. Little kids are unpredictable when it comes to these things and some days Rylen really doesn't want to be in the spotlight. This event proved all our worries were for nothing. Rylen did GREAT! He did most of the movements and didn't get all crazy. I do apologize for my shaky camera. I was watching a 19-month old at the same time. I hope you all enjoy AND can view the video!

Rylen's Christmas Program!

Merry Christmas!

2010-12-21T09:16:00.003-06:00

Our family wishes you all the Merriest of Seasons this Christmas filled with the Love of Christ. May your new year bring true Joy with happiness to follow!

Well which is it??

2010-12-14T14:07:00.002-06:00

Had my 14th, er 13th week appointment today for the baby. All went well. We heard the heartbeat and talked about a few "issues". Nothing major to report except for the CHANGE in my due date. Evidently, my ultrasound wants to give me another week. So, now they have given me a due date of the 23rd. Hmmmm, not so sure about this. I wanted to be closer to out of the first trimester AND nausea. HA! So, the 17th or the 23rd. This little tyke has a choice. If it's a girl, that could be a bad thing!

Cleanin' Fool

2010-12-10T14:31:00.000-06:00

My son LOVES to help me with sweeping, laundry, washing dishes...name it. When did we learn NOT to love these things? Well, I have no problem letting him help. Just check out how detailed he is!

3rd times the Charm!

2010-12-08T13:49:00.003-06:00

Well, its time to make a formal announcement. 2 years ago this time we were celebrating the growth of our banana, who is now lovingly named Jace. This year it looks like we will be celebrating a shrimp. Our family is expanding again. We are due for Baby Robbins #3 on June 17th. It's time to count it down!

Naked Laundry

2010-11-30T14:27:00.000-06:00

Gotta be naked to do the laundry...

otherwise, how do the clothes get clean!

The boys LOVE to help with laundry.
I just hope this lasts when they get older!

Jace Alexander - 18 months

2010-11-24T13:12:00.001-06:00

Tiny but growing. That is the best way to describe our sweet Jace. He is now 18lbs 4oz and 30 inches. He's about 1lb less than Rylen was but still the same height. We contribute that to the formula that Rylen got for so long. Just put some more fat on his bones. Even as small as Jace is, that boy can definitely eat....like a HORSE! In fact, these boys are already trying to eat us out of house and home. We used to be able to make the 2 grocery store trips a month with maybe the occasional trip for milk and bread. But NOW, I seem to run out of things at weeks end. Fruit is a must as well as PB&J's and carrots. Jace is finally starting to eat some raw veggies which is soooo nice. He was such a picky veggie eater so it is good that he sees Rylen loving carrots and celery and is following suit.

Jace has started throwing balls and really trying to kick. This definitely puts all balls outside. Two boys with balls does not equal anything good in the house. Mimicking has always been something that Jace did and he continues even more now. From words to gestures, Jace is a parrot. Again, i don't even try to count the words and signs that he knows. We are well over 200 I'm sure. Speaking of gestures, Jace has also expanded his disapproval with wanting to smack at you. Not my favorite part of growing and learning. As we are teaching Rylen a new level of respect, we are also teaching Jace. Looks like the youngest gets ALL the benefits!

Well, since they changed the carseat law to age 2, we don't have to worry that Jace has not yet reached the 20lb mark. HA! We have a bit more time before we have to purchase another seat for Rylen so Jace can move on up. He already wants to sit in Rylen's seat when I drop him off at MDO, so I'm sure the transition will be welcomed in his eyes.

All in all the boys are great! They are really starting to play better together and not so much knocking and crying. I hear them giggling throughout the day and I simply love it! I can't imagine life without my giggling boys.

My boys

2010-11-09T16:25:00.000-06:00

From Biggest to smallest, they are my faves!

Happy October!

2010-10-28T14:33:00.000-05:00

Typically around this time we visit a church pumpkin patch to get some pictures in the big orange balls, take a couple home and call it a season. We haven't attempted the big pumpkin patches yet and will probably continue to wait a bit longer. This year, though, I had scheduled some Autumn Harvest mini sessions for my photography business and that sucked up our weekend time to take the kids to get their pumpkins.

I also had already bought quite a few for the shoots and REALLY didn't want to buy any more. I had already taken Jace's pictures with the pumpkins for his monthly photos, so I just had Robby bring the boys by the shoot location when they were over to hang out and allow me to get some pictures of Rylen. He was all over the place, but in the end, we did manage to contain him enough to get some shots with the pumpkins. Rylen has always been a great helper and this time was no different. He was definitely into helping me pack up the goods and even got Jace to pitch in.

I love my boys!

Jace Alexander - 17 months

2010-10-17T14:05:00.000-05:00

Fall is here and my little boy is 17 months! That means PUMPKINS! I took Jace to a new photo spot to see how it would work for my Autumn Harvest Minis and decided to use the opportunity to take his 17 month photos. He had a blast playing with the pumpkins, wagon and just exploring.

Jace is a never ending stream of communication. He is always coming up with new words, so at this point I have NO IDEA how many words he knows. It is just HUGE. His favorite past time is probably pouting for the things he wants. He has become quite good at the drama, though we are hard pressed to give in. Still, he tries to work his magic. It is very dramatic but not injuring. He gently lays his head down and looks up to see if it has made an impact. If not, we repeat until we find something else to engage ourself. Jace is so funny. He makes us laugh with his gestures and antics. He has also finally started to throw a ball and this makes Rylen happy. They are playing TONS better together and the sqwaks from Jace are becoming fewer and fewer. Rylen is also pushing less and less to get Jace to comply, though Jace has mastered the duck and slide to avoid many of the attempts.

Physically, Jace is coming out of the 12 month clothing...S L O W L Y and into the 18th month clothing. We are STILL waiting on those pesky eye-teeth. They will not make their appearance too soon as I know we have been struggling with them lately with no signs to confirm. The pacis have been used for chewing devices more than anything.

What else is there to say? Jace eats everything, especially if we are eating it. He is quickly in front of us saying "bite" no matter how big of a meal he has just finished. Another favorite word is "cookie". I made some homemade raw cookies as a fun alternative to fruit some nights and it has been a thorn in my side ever since. Jace LOVES them and at every turn he is looking at me and saying "cookie" "cookie" "cookie". At least they are pretty healthy.

Well, that is my boy! Signing Rylen's bible verses, parroting everything that comes out of Rylen's mouth, eating us out of house and home, loving it when Daddy walks in the door, and still a snuggler on rough nights. My sweet Jace.

Jace Alexander - 16 months

2010-09-17T00:31:00.004-05:00

Seriously? Is it almost October already? I just can't keep up! Jace is now 16 months and I am in a blur as to what is new and old in his world. He says so many words and signs that I truly can't remember if he knew it already or just learned it. Most of the time I have no idea when he learned a new one. Just today i asked him about some animals on a page and he signed AND said every single one of them. When did this boy pick those up? I would have to say that my pride and joy was watching him sign Rylen's bible verse. That brought a tear to my eye and joy to my heart. I can easily say that he knows over 60 words and probably just as many signs.

Jace is simply doing great in ALL areas. He is easy in the nursery on Sunday mornings, Wednesday nights AND for my bible study on Tuesday morning. That is so nice to have some time for me to focus on a study. So, it is lifted burden to know that he is just taking everything in stride. I do wish I could get better naps for him, but he usually catches up after a couple of days with a long 4 hour nap. So, basically he is at one nap about an hour earlier (12:30p) than when Rylen goes down (1:30p). He is a decent eater. Not much to eat veggies unless they are pureed, but this boy can still eat. I'm not really sure if he stops from morning until nap time. My boys love their green smoothies, so if I can make it healthy, they will indulge. Surprisingly, Jace is still on the small side with his weight. You'd think with all that he eats that he would chunk up a bit. But, i guess the lack of fried and fat-filled foods in his diet, he just burns all the good stuff off. I think we are finally getting close to 18lbs! HA! What more is there to say. We got all our molars last month, so now we are waiting on the eye-teeth. I think I see some possible pokage, but only time will tell.

First Day of School

2010-09-07T13:57:00.003-05:00

Today was a busy day on all accounts. It was the first day of MDO, the first day of my bible study which included Jace's first day in the Nursery so I could participate. This is also the first week of my "schedule". Today it was also RAINING! and not just any drizzle, but a downpour. So, that made today a FUN challenge. Rylen seemed to be ready and walked into his class with no fight and immediately began to color and have fun. I am really excited about his teacher and the plans she has for the class. I am hoping that all of her grand plans will be doable. I will be supplementing at home and I think together Rylen is going to have some great learning and FUN! I can't believe how much older my little boy looks! Interestingly, the little boy next to him was born on the exact same day! Crazy!

Jace Alexander - 15 months

2010-08-19T15:53:00.000-05:00

This little boy is growing up faster than I can keep up. He is also just blowing our minds with what he picks up on. His mouth is go go go. He is already putting two words together (like "dada home" with signs too) and shows me different signs every day. It is really hard to write down ALL the words he knows because he is a little parrot. You say a word and he repeats it. So, it is hard to tell if you should add that one to the list or not. He will also do a sign out of the blue that I never knew he had seen before. I could easily write down 30 words that Jace uses but as we are teaching Rylen new words and sounds, Jace is right in the middle repeating us as well. We definitely have two talkin' boys....as Robby calls them...."Peat" and "Re-peat".

But just look at this boy! Full of Fun! His giggle is so contagious and he loves to give us kisses. I won't have his official stats until next month because we couldn't get an earlier appointment, but right now this boy is still wearing 9 month shorts. Mainly because his waist is small. I'm sure when we hit "pants season" we will have a problem. He has the length in his legs just not the belly to hold them up! Everything else is 12 months. According to OUR weighing scale, he is probably around 17.5 lbs.

But don't let the small size fool you! Jace is also a BIG eater! We still do oatmeal in the morning, which he asks for by name. This gives us a time to make sure we are getting veggies in. We also accomplish this with the afternoon smoothie. He drinks out of a straw like a champ and has been since he was about 7 months old. We are still working on elminating the bottle which he still takes a minimum of two 7oz bottles a day. It is easier for him to suck out of the bottle or a straw then turn the cup up to drink, but we are working on it. He can do it, he is just lazy to do it. The rest of the day is PB&Js with brother, or beans and rice, pizza, soup...name it and Jace will probably eat it. Jace is finally a great sleeper and goes between one and two naps every day. It is definitely different when you have two kids to keep the second one on a more consistent schedule. So, he fluctuates depending on what is going on. At night he TYPICALLY sleeps through the night, though the past couple of nights he has woken up to need some consoling. We have 12 teeth and should soon be working on those eye teeth. So, that may be one reason.

Finally, Jace is our little climber. He can climb a ladder in 5 seconds flat. I found that out the hard way. Luckily, he is really good at it. Just a 5 second head turn to wash ants off of Rylen's feet and Jace was to the ladder and up it! So he will continue to be one that we keep a close eye on.

What more can I say? I LOVE MY BOYS! ...and that picture just makes me want to squeeze him and hear him giggle!

Welcome Kenric Dalton!

2010-08-16T23:39:00.000-05:00

I am a blood aunt yet again! My brother had his second child on July 13th, a boy this time, Kenric Dalton Clark. I wasn't there for the birth, but came the following day to see him and give him some Auntie lovin'! I was also able to take some newborn shots of him. It took me so long to do this post that he his already a month old! Boy does time fly! I think it is time for me to visit them again!

Happy 3rd Birthday Rylen!

2010-08-12T08:30:00.001-05:00

We decided on a low-key birthday for Rylen this year. Just family. Our gift to him is going to be a Baseball Game. We are still scouting the perfect day for it. But we did celebrate his birthday with cake and balloons. A baseball cake of course and I found some cute little cars to add some color.

Rylen was quite the pro blowing out the candles this year, so we moved on to licking the candle. Unfortunately, after the lick came the bite....and then the spitting out of wax candle. We will have to fine tune that next year.

We gave Rylen a couple of gifts just for the day: Candy Land for fun and to work more on colors and counting AND a baseball pitching machine. After really looking at the pitching machine, we might have to pull it out again around Christmas. We think the pitches might be a little too fast as of yet.

Rylen always surprises me....my smart little boy took the cars from his cake and put them in the order of the rainbow! He didn't say a word, just lined them up and moved on. CRAZINESS! Yes, I know that purple is before blue, but for those of you who know the signing time rainbow song, that is the order she sings them in.

Dear Rylen, I can't believe that you are already 3 and growing so big. I am amazed at how much taller you are in my arms when I hold you or rock you. You have such a wonderful sense of humor and an amazing amount of energy. You love to laugh and love on all of us. I pray that God will show us how to lead you and mold you. We love you so very much!

Happy Birthday Robby!

2010-08-11T08:30:00.000-05:00

We did a semi-celebration for Robby by taking him out for pizza (his fav) and Rao's (his fav). We went to a quaint little pizza restaurant that has great whole wheat pizzas. The boys love it as much as we do AND Rylen got to pretend play the race car game.

Then we headed to Rao's where we indulged AGAIN on some cake. We had this flavor for my birthday and decided it was a great choice to have again on Robby's birthday. The boys get gelato, a less sugary sweet treat. We love hanging out in their patio area because the boys can play without much fuss. Besides, they love the Blues Brothers and this time, Daddy showed them how to put pennies in the fountain. What FUN!

We finished Robby's celebration just a few days ago by going to Peli Peli over by 249 and Louetta. Very good and highly recommended!

Happy Birthday Robby!
The boys and I love you very much!

Thanks Steve!

2010-08-10T08:55:00.000-05:00

As many of you know, Rylen loves baseball. Not too long ago, Rylen's astro bat that he received for his first birthday died. It had been used until the insides came out. Not a pretty site. So, Rylen has been without a bat for quite a few months. Though this did allow for some focus on other sports, it just wasn't the same. So, thanks to Steve, Rylen can finally swing the bat again. This is the next model, a bit larger and longer. Just perfect for our growing boy!

We didn't even have it out of the plastic before he was ready to swing!

But just look at that form! He's ready for the majors!

Fireworks & Fun

2010-08-09T16:26:00.003-05:00

Ever since Rylen was born, the beginning of July is a crazy time. We are more focused on his birthday than the holiday. His first "Fourth" was two days after he was born and we were coming home from the hospital. His second "Fourth" we were in Indiana and only saw the fireworks from the car. Last year, Rylen's birthday party was on the fourth and Jace was just a little under 2 months old, so we weren't involved in the festivities then either. So, this was Rylen & Jace's first year to really be involved in the celebration.

We traveled up to Navasota to see Robby's mom. They were having a potluck at the church with Fireworks afterwards. The day was very humid and Rylen was dripping just minutes into their outside play. That meant LOTS of water and the boys easily complied. The girls at the church just loved playing with him and I am so glad that they kept him entertained.

As the sun went down it was time for fireworks. Robby and I hand held some sparklers with Rylen until he got the hang of it. Jace was pretty excited about them too.

Then we let him loose. He was definitely not happy when they were "all gone".

Then it was time for the big stuff and Robby had to take Rylen inside the church to watch them from the window. He loved the colors and explosions, just not the loudness of them. Jace could care less about the noise and we hung around outside until the finale. Once in the car the boys waved good-bye and before we left the parking lot they were both fast asleep. I love outings that wear them out with fun!

August Already??

2010-08-09T12:08:00.002-05:00

Well, I have neglected this blog for one whole month! Can you believe it? Life is absolutely GO GO GO in this house. So, don't think we have have fallen off...I have taken many pictures and we've had many memories, but none have made it for your eyes to see.....YET! It's time to CATCH UP!

Jace Alexander - 14 months

2010-07-26T00:16:00.000-05:00

"no, no, no" - The word of the month. Jace loves to say "no". The funny thing is that it has absolutely nothing to do with actually refusing anything. He just loves to say it and shake his head. But that isn't all he is saying. We have verbally added to our signs with: apple, mommy, dada, no hello, how are you?, where are you?, banana, more, and oatmeal. I feel like I am missing some, so I'm sure once I post this he will say one that I have forgotten. The words definitely come easier to Jace and he is very proactive to try new ones, which is why it is really hard to list the words or phrases he says. He has already put two words together: "Dada Home". Just about floored me when he said it!

Jace is also starting to wrestle a bit with Rylen. I have a feeling that this is going to go in a bad direction before it goes in a good one. Rylen just doesn't know his strength and has been too excited about wrestling with him since day one. So, only time will tell. Jace is right on Rylen's heels and mimics everything that he does. He even tries to fish out "nothing" from under the stove. Rylen typically loses balls under the stove and fishes them out with his bat. Well, Jace has decided to "fish out" stuff from under the stove. He constantly gets on his belly to look under and see what needs to be pulled out. Hopefully he won't get a hold of the dust bunnies under there!

Our negative this month is a finger snip. Long story, short. Rylen clipped Jace's finger with scissors. You can NEVER be sure that scissors or sharp objects are safe no matter how far out of reach and hidden they are. Luckily, it was not bad, but it sure did scare mommy to many sleepless hours at night thinking of the "what-coulda-happened".

Now for my apology. The past two months have been busy busy busy! This month was no better. I tried to get Jace's pictures NUMEROUS times and could never get focused enough for them, so we definitely have slim pickings. I am sad that I don't really have one that is that ONE great photo. It was bound to happen, next month will be better!

Playtime!

2010-07-01T08:21:00.000-05:00

We have had two big outings with the Sonsational Kids at our church. They have been lots of fun for both boys and we are excited about more to come! The first was the Summer Kick-off at Burroughs Park and the second was a Water Play Day at the church. SO MUCH FUN!

Robbins Academy

2010-06-30T19:00:00.001-05:00

We are in full swing again. This is week 5 for us and it is going well. Rylen loves the activities! We make the letter for that week out of tape and put it on the floor for him to roll his cars on, walk on, and just see throughout the day. As we do crafts, coloring, and other projects, they are put on the refridgerator to see as the week goes on and reinforce our focus for that week. Rylen knows the sounds for A through E now. This will be an ongoing process, so each week is very relaxed not getting all crazy if we miss a day.

Even Jace gets in on the fun and learns his letters right along with Rylen. Of course their favorite activity is pulling the tape up off the floor.

Sling Time

2010-06-30T12:10:00.002-05:00

Daddy knows just what to do to get the job done. Jace got his first sling time with Daddy while he fixed dinner. Of course Rylen had to get in on the action again. I'm surprised he still fit!

Rylen has also really started to become a mister mom with Jace. Helping with "discipline" when Jace doesn't sit in his highchair. Rylen will pull Jace's legs down, tell him to sit, and then say thankyou when he is seated. Very helpful. He also takes on Mommy's feeding duty. Whether he wants it or not!

Graduation

2010-06-29T11:36:00.004-05:00

Today was Rylen's graduation from the ECI program. What a whirlwind! He turns 3 on Friday and so he is no longer eligible for their services. With that in mind, we also had our Spring ISD evaluation last week and Rylen didn't qualify for their services either! So, we have DEFINITELY graduated out of the program! This IS an answer to our prayers because it means that Rylen has progressed beyond their help. The only negative is that he is still behind and therefore, we will have to do our own "therapy" to get him up to speed. One perk to the evaluation was that they indicated we should have him tested for being gifted. Seriously? What a 360! I have never pushed for Rylen to be the "smartest" kid in the class. My goal was never to show him up to other kids...and still isn't! I also never looked to be the flashcard mom even though I NOW have flashcards for our preschool activities. I just wanted my son to have fun learning and to enjoy being a kid. This philosophy of mine still hasn't changed. So, whatever "gifted" means in the long run, we will just have to experience it as we go. For now, Rylen is just my sweet boy that really loves to learn new things and I intend to make sure he has fun doing it. There is nothing they have indicated, outside of the norm, that has hinders his speech. He is just delayed. So, he is progressing like any other child would, just eight months later. He is definitely smarter than his speech allows his to sound. So, I am excited to continue preschool with him as he is LOVING to learn each new letter each week. Rylen already knows his alphabet, numbers 1-10, most shapes including his favorite: octagon, all primary and secondary colors including white and black, and as of today, the sounds for A through D. Lets not forget the fact that he is indeed bilingual with a second language in Sign. We will continue to feed his love of books as well as his love of baseball. I wouldn't change my high-energy boy for anything!

On our last day of ECI, we played the typical games and puzzles and then had a very informal ceremony with cap, gown and certificate! He looks so grown up!

Congratulations Rylen!

Jace Alexander - 13 months

2010-06-16T23:36:00.000-05:00

Well it has finally happened! Jace has moved forward in many areas this month. First off, we are happy to say that he is sleeping through the night consistently! Yeah! On a slightly sadder note for me, Jace has also stopped nursing. I was really hoping that he would continue until 15 months. The good part is that he decided to stop on his own. I am so glad that I was able to go over a year with him. I know that he got a full year of the good stuff - liquid gold!

Jace is also quite "verbal" at his age. He signs: yes, no, stop, dog, thank you, eat, milk, apple, and tries many others. I have a feeling that he will be talking up a storm in no time. My fear is that Rylen and Jace will know what each other are saying and I will be left out in the cold!

Jace has always been our climber and now is no different. He is easily going up and down the stairs, though I still carefully watch him. He is on the move and very independent to do it on his own terms. Sometimes we get so caught up with reading books or paying attention to Rylen, that we find Jace just as content as can be reading or playing with his toys. So funny how a boy that can be so clingy at times can be so independent.

Of course we are adding more teeth and have a grand total of 8 now. We will now be moving on to molars.

This month I also let Portrait Innovations take on his monthly photo. I didn't end up with as many photos as I would have liked. Jace was not in a mood to be amused... BUT this was just not a month that I could take on the task. Nevertheless, we DID still get one great smile out of him!

Answered Prayers

2010-06-08T17:09:00.002-05:00

We had Rylen's hearing evaluated again. We have been praying for his speech and hearing for the past few months and Monday morning we said one last prayer leaving the final outcome in God's hands.

The results: Rylen still has some negative ear pressure in his left ear but is not something that should be affecting his speech. Every other test he performed BEAUTIFULLY! She even tested the limits with the low tones going as low as 15 decibals and he responded every time. So, in the end, he PASSED! She gave us the go ahead to cancel his ABR test next friday! I absolutely LOVED making that phone call. What an answer to our prayers! I know that God would have been our comfort for whatever the outcome, but I must say that mentally I am so relieved that all is well! Now to focus on his speech. The smart cookie that he is will make huge leaps, I just know it. So, Robbins Academy....here we come!

Rylen's progress

2010-05-22T08:49:00.003-05:00

I wanted to update a bit about Rylen's speech progress. He is really doing a lot better these past couple of months. As we hit the beginning of June, it will have been 3 months since we evaluated him. At that time he was just starting to try and put two words together. He now tries to put complete thoughts together with 3 or even four of his signs/words. He is trying more and more to repeat what we say and is asking what things are on a regular basis. Some of me believes that he just wasn't ready to say much yet and another side of me still believes we need to work on it. Probably a bit of both.

We have been involved in ECI the past couple of months and I'm not really sure that is doing a whole lot. The lady seems to not really remember Rylen's strengths which may just be the short amount of time we have been with her. We only have the month of June left before he turns 3, so I am not really thinking we will see much improvement due to her services. Rylen's time in MDO was interesting. He has never had an issue socializing and being independent, so he did really well with all the kids. I think he finally resigned to being there by the last couple of weeks and did much better throughout the day. We are not sure we are going to take on MDO during the summer due to the cost. There are just some things that are more important. I'm sure the may have helped a little with his speech because it forced him to interact with other kids and teachers.

We have also had our observation with the school district and they are wanting us to come back for an evaluation on the 22nd of June. This will be after our two scheduled hearing appointments. Hopefully this will be the end to our testing for a while. I am anxious to know the results to his hearing so that we can finally move on in that area whatever it will be. Robby and I have been praying over Rylen at night for his ears and his speech. Please continue to keep Rylen and our family in your prayers as we continue down this path. Pray for God's guidance.

I am encouraged every day for his progress. I know he is making leaps. It is when I hear other children his age that my heart becomes heavy again. I long for him to talk my ear off and express to me what his 3-yr-old mind is thinking...in words I understand.

Jace Alexander - 12 months

2010-05-20T16:09:00.006-05:00

The day has come! Jace is now a year old! I am simply in awe at how fast the time went. He is still my baby and really does not feel (or look) like he is 12 months old. He is just getting bigger and more active every day. There is definitely no containing him now. He is walking everywhere he can and if he falls a few times, the crawling keeps him on his path. Jace is always a mile a minute in his own direction. He is still momma's little boy, but when he is playing, he is quite independent. He doesn't need mommy or anyone to play with. He is holding his own with Rylen a lot more too. A few bumps here and there doesn't seem to phase him anymore as long as we aren't getting ready for a nap. Jace still takes 2 naps a day and that seems to be a good schedule for him.

I am finding out how hard it is to work with a schedule for your second child. Rylen was easy. I didn't have anyone else to worry about. Jace seems to have to adjust. His naps are pretty consistent, but his eating is another story. He is still nursing at least twice a day and takes milk, oatmeal, fruit, turkey, veggies, etc the rest of the time. We still do a little bit of pureed food, but he will eat chunks of apples, turkey, green beans, black beans, pasta too. Everything is a new experience for him and if you are eating it, he wants to try it. Jace is also working on some molars and his 7th tooth in the front, so chewing is not an issue at all for him.

Verbally, Jace is really babbling a lot. He easily says "momma" and "dadda", but he is also trying to say other words like "apple", "diaper", "bubble", "thank you" and just about anything else that you say to him. He loves to mimick you. He is also very excited about signing. When we do the ABC's with Rylen, Jace twirls his hand in the air like he is signing too. He also loves to blow kisses or say thank you. They look the same so it is hard to tell.

What else can I say about my 1-year-old? crawls up and down the stairs, walks, climbs, drinks his milk from a sippy, eats table food, babbles, still needs mommy and daddy once during the night, has 7 teeth, drinks from a straw, and finally: makes our WHOLE FAMILY smile!

Giant?

2010-05-19T08:02:00.000-05:00

or just a small wagon.

No, I did not put my son in this wagon, he put HIMSELF in the wagon to eat his afternoon snack. I couldn't believe his patience to get his whole body in the wagon and then get to his apple to eat. Cracked me up!

Bloomin'

2010-05-18T08:55:00.000-05:00

Mommy's flowers are surviving! I do not have a green thumb. I probably could, but life gets in the way of watering and well, they usually die. SO, I am pleased to say that my flowers are still alive and thriving! Grant it, they are annuals that need a minimum of 6 hours of sunlight, so I am probably pretty safe with their survival. Yet, I am still very excited how much they've grown and the kids have a blast watering them with me.

Jace's Bathtime Fun Party!

2010-05-17T14:00:00.003-05:00

Jace's Party was just ducky. HA! Seriously, he had a wonderfully messy time. We were rained out and had to have the party inside. But that really just messed up Mommy's plans of the bubble machine and squirt pool. The kids had a great time regardless. There are so many pictures to share that I will just link you all to the album.

Happy Birthday sweet boy!

Party Pictures

Jace's Birthday Cake

2010-05-17T13:09:00.004-05:00

The chocolate sheet cake iced with grass

Wilton's Giant Cupcake for the "tub"

Iced the giant cupcake so the cookie sticks would stay put.

Added blue icing for the water and the cookies to finish the tub

Finished up the grass.

Added the details: duck, washcloth with name, bubbles, candle

VOILA!

MDO End of Year

2010-05-15T11:34:00.000-05:00

We started and we finished in just two months. We aren't sure what the summer will bring. The programs are a bit more expensive. So, we'll see. Rylen did really well at his program, until he saw Mommy and then he was good to get through it. All in all, he did really well. So sorry about the crazy photos with his teachers, there was a lot going on. Now matter how good your camera is, sometimes you just get crazy photos. I will work on posting his program when I can download the video.

Mother's Day Weekend

2010-05-14T14:14:00.001-05:00

Our family took a trip to Dallas for Mother's Day Weekend to visit my parents who were in town for a conference. My brother and his family came from Austin too. We got to hang out and celebrate Birthdays AND Mother's Day. It was such a wonderful weekend to hang out and spend time together.

Mother's Day Weekend 2010

Happy 1st Birthday Jace!

2010-05-13T03:30:00.002-05:00

Happy 1st Birthday Jace
15lbs 12oz
27.5 inches

Dirty Little Fingers

2010-05-06T16:40:00.003-05:00

Rylen gave this tile coaster to me for Mother's Day today. He made it at Mother's Day Out and was such a surprise. It had a wonderful little poem on the back that I wrote out below. With all of our struggles lately with communication and just the typical trials, it really made me stop and embrace each and every "annoyance" for the true blessings that they are. I do LOVE my boys, each and every day.

"My dirty little fingerprints
I've left on every wall,
And on the drawers and table tops,
I've really marked them all.
But here is one that won't rub off,
I'm giving it to you,
Because I'm thankful for a beautiful Mother just like you!"

MS150 finish

2010-05-06T10:44:00.000-05:00

The MS150 is finally over. The event took place on April 17th and 18th, but I am finally getting around to posting some images from it. Unfortunately, I missed getting a shot of Robby crossing the finish line. A security guy had me move for a minute and after the hours of waiting, that was the minute Robby crossed. Grrrr. BUT, we did have some volunteers get some shots and video! So, we will have something to post later.

I drove up Saturday morning to Austin to hang out with my brother and his family for the day. Sunday we went to University Church of Christ which is within walking distance of the finish line. We hung out and patiently waited for Robby. The cousins had fun hanging out together and got prime seating to see Dad/Uncle cross the finish. Jace missed the festivities, but he got a good nap!

Congratulations Robby and
Team Traveling Light on a great ride!!

Wednesday Playgroup

2010-05-05T10:27:00.000-05:00

I have been trying to make our churches playgroup on Wednesday afternoons. It is a great time to let the kids play AND to bond with other mommies. This past week we went to the woodlands to play in the fountains. The boys had a CRAZY good time!

Spring Yardwork

2010-05-04T10:21:00.003-05:00

The weekends have been BEAUTIFUL! Our family decided to tackle the yard. We mowed, cleaned up the landscaping and fixed up some pots for me to plant flowers in. The boys were all about helping. Rylen sported a pair of daddy's work gloves and Jace decided to sample the dirt. The boys were so tired after their morning outside that they crashed hard for naps. We love these weekends!

Office Staff

2010-04-28T15:48:00.001-05:00

Jace has taken over the phones and fax. I'm not sure how well he is adjusting to the new duties.

The dialing seems to be going ok.

But he seemed to have trouble hearing the customers.

Fixed that problem.

But clients seem to be wearing on him. I feel ya son!

Goodbye.
Is it Friday yet?

1st Cup of Milk

2010-04-27T20:32:00.000-05:00

No particular reason or specific milestone. I just decided to give Jace some milk this month. He turned 11 months old and was showing signs of not caring to nurse one way or the other this week. My supply started to drop so I thought I should try out something else in case he is deciding to transition. He didn't guzzle like he typically does, but he WAS all about that sippy cup. He quite enjoyed drinking out of it. I laugh because Rylen would have nothing to do with holding his own bottle much less drinking out of a sippy cup at this age. So different are my boys and so fun to learn about them each day!

Brothers

2010-04-27T08:10:00.000-05:00

I took this picture amongst many as they were playing outside, but I can't stop looking at it now. The two of them together. Playing. Side by side. Jace learning from Rylen. Rylen wanting to play with Jace. They both don't always get along, even at this age. But they are brothers. After a push or shove, there is always a kiss and hug. What joy this brings to my heart.

He has MS150 fever!

2010-04-26T20:05:00.000-05:00

Jace is already in training.
He is even trying to perfect his
aero position.

I think cycling is in the blood!

Playtime with Lalo!

2010-04-26T10:01:00.000-05:00

I needed to do a photoshoot one morning and Auntie Laurie came by to take care of my boys. They had so much fun together and when I got home we hung out for a few hours more! I really enjoyed spending more time with Laurie and my boys had a wonderful time getting to play a bit longer with her.

My boys just love their time with Lalo!
What more is there to say!

Playgroup

2010-04-25T20:54:00.000-05:00

I have tried to be more involved in the Sonsational Playgroup at our church. It is hard while working at home to set aside that time, but I know that it is good for the kids AND myself to be able to hang out with other moms and kids their age. Rylen has enjoyed the extra time as well!

This was our first outing with the playgroup and we were able to also get some photos in bluebonnets. The area was roped off and so we could only get a little bit of time in them. We decided to try another day for the photos, but the picnic and playtime with everyone was very much needed.

Looking through...

2010-04-25T15:22:00.004-05:00

...my new lens! I bought a new lens just recently. A 50mm 1.4 Prime lens and I am LOVIN' it! Practicing always brings about tons of pictures. Some usable and some not. I am so glad that I don't work with film! I have the freedom to play and then delete. I love learning new techniques so that I can capture great moments for my clients. But the best perk is when I am able to capture these moments for my own family.

Opening Day

2010-04-25T14:50:00.003-05:00

This is a big deal in our house. Rylen is all about baseball and so we had to celebrate with Pizza in front of the TV to watch the first game.

Jace even got to have his highchair pulled over for the event. He had already eaten, so no pizza for him, but his Os were the perfect snack.

Easter

2010-04-25T14:42:00.004-05:00

Just a little catching up....
Easter for our family was a day for slowing down and reflecting. We spend the day as a FAMILY. That doesn't happen enough in our house simply because we are always going somewhere or doing something. This especially doesn't happen from the time Thanksgiving hits until sometime after the MS150 is over in late April. We are just plain involved. But, back to Easter. This was a day set aside and we decided to enjoy the morning festivities and then head together as a family for a picnic AND bluebonnets. It was WONDERFUL!

There are so many pictures from the day that

I will just give a link to our facebook albums.

Easter Morning
Easter at Church
Picnic
Bluebonnets

Happy Birthday to ME!

2010-04-23T14:28:00.003-05:00

I celebrated my 33rd birthday last Friday on the 16th...which is why I am finally posting about it now. The MS150 is typically around my birthday and so there is a lot going on. Next year the event will actually be ON my birthday, so I'm not expecting ANY festivities. That's ok, a trip to Rao's makes everything perfect. Which is what we did this year! We took a couple of hours Friday evening to hang out at Rao's and celebrate with a monstrous slice of cake and a bit of gelato for Rylen. The boys sang "Happy Birthday" and I got a MUCH nicer replacement for my HOPE ring that cracked. The ring was from James Avery and actually has FAITH, HOPE and LOVE on it. It fits perfectly and I LOVE IT! Jace decided to give me the gift of walking that day too. He took about 15 steps across the kitchen just to show me he could do it. He has yet to make that sort of accomplishment again, but he is definitely more consistent in trying his 4 steps. If he falls he gets right back up and gives me more! All in all, I had a perfect birthday. A moment away with the three best looking guys a gal could have in her life AND a huge serving of chocolate!

Jace Alexander - 11 months

2010-04-15T09:31:00.000-05:00

Jace is just a month away from the big O N E. I can't believe it!

Jace is weighing in at 15.8 lbs and roughly 27 inches tall. He still looks so tiny. People are always amazed at how old he is. Jace is definitely on the move. Crawling is nothing and standing is a challenge of the past. Cruising seems to be his preferred mode of transportation if there is something to lean on. That usually means using his push toy to cover every inch of our family room and kitchen. He isn't easily walking yet, but he has taken up to 4 steps. This is usually through bribery of some sort. He took three steps because he was within arms reach of me and four steps because a yummy banana was dangling in front of him. Jace's personality makes us all laugh. He has quite a sense of adventure about him. He will take on any "mountain" whether it is Rylen's bed, a chair or the basket near our window. He will climb to reach the top and then maneuver his way back down. He has even conquered the stairs, both up AND down, though I would never let him do it by himself right now.

Jace is also quite the eater. At his mere 11 months of age, he will tackle turkey pieces, apple chunks, crackers of all shapes and sizes, and if you let him, a bite of your sandwich! Purees are simply baby food, and he is NO baby! I do coax him to eat oatmeal in the morning with pears (a family favorite) and for dinner we can typically get some carrots or sweet potatoes. If it is sweet he is all about it. Peas and Green beans have to be hid in the sweet stuff. But if that green bean or pea is NOT pureed, he is all about it.

Naps have gone down to two a day. If the day is going as planned, they usually occur at 10:30 and 3:00 give or take a half hour. I laugh when I think about a planned day with two kids. Rylen's days were very planned and he thrived on that. I wouldn't have changed that for anything. Jace on the other hand has to go with the flow a bit more. He is also more willing to do that. Sleeping at night is still another challenge. He is stretching a bit more inbetween waking up, but the whole night will most likely not be accomplished until after he is a year old and Mommy's milk is no longer available. Though tired, I am used to this now and feel this is only a short period in our life anyway. I can already tell that he is transitioning out of it.

Last, our little boy is quite the talker. He says mama and dada and even tries to mimick us when we say words. It is crazy to hear him come so close to what we are saying. I already get to hear my boys laugh at each other in the car and while playing with their toys. Soon, i will hear them carrying on conversations with each other...and yes, even arguing.

BP MS150 2010

2010-04-10T08:37:00.000-05:00

Our family is also gearing up for the MS150. I have not been in my bike for this event in 3 years, but I still participate in some way shape or form. After Robby and I were married, I followed them with my prego belly. The next year we met them in Austin and the following year I stayed at home with my due date looming over us. This year, I will have two kiddos to tote. We will just travel up to Austin and wait for them to arrive. I think we have a great group of riders! Check out those jerseys! Ideas complement of our graphic friend Amy. I meshed a couple of her ideas and voila we have a killer jersey! Each year we have to work to top the previous. They get better and better!

Putting them to work

2010-04-09T08:34:00.000-05:00

It is Jace's turn to file. Now that Rylen is at MDO, I have no one to do my filing, so it is time for Jace to learn the alphabet and start earning his keep. I have such adorable employees!

Do you know the colors of the rainbow?

2010-04-08T09:04:00.000-05:00

Rylen does and he also LOVES this song from signing time. What better way to talk about colors than with chalk and Rylen LOVES drawing with his chalk. The messier the better, right? Of course! He's a BOY! Usually I like to pick a day that is hot and we can just strip down and hose off the color dust, but this day didn't work that way. So, we just threw them in the wash instead. I did cringe when I saw the tie-dyed mess on his pants, but after a second I realized it was really no big deal and then I sat down with him and got all chalky too!

Mother's Day Out

2010-04-07T14:13:00.004-05:00

We have decided to put Rylen into a Mother's Day Out program at a nearby church twice a week to try to enhance his speech. I do not believe that all kids need this and I am still not sure this is going to be the solution, but we are trying it until summer. He seems to enjoy going and always seems like a happy kid at drop off and upon pick up, but they have informed me that he is still struggling during the day with moments of tears. Naptime is easy, so hopefully with time he will adjust better to the sequence of the day.

Now, let me back up to explain a bit that has been going on this month.

March has been busy for our family. I have wondered about Rylen's speech since he turned two. It was not that he didn't talk at all, but not as much as other kids. I know that all kids develop at different paces and was convinced that his speech would just take off one day. I have still not given up that thought, but as the months move on, his speech delay has become more and more obvious. A month ago, I finally decided to pursue it. We talked to some friends of ours who recommended two options and we decided to pursue them both so that time would not slip by. We began an evaluation through Early Childhood Intervention (ECI) which takes children up to age 3 and then they are implemented into the school system for further help. We also scheduled a speech evaluation through Texas Children's Health Centers and an Audiology appt to verify hearing. We felt the hearing appointment would just be formality. His speech appointment was first and they verified him being behind. We knew this. His audiology appointment was a surprise. He failed the test with a loose diagnosis of minor hearing loss. This was the last thing I was expecting to hear. They have recommended that we have this test done again next week to verify their findings and to have an ABR test done which requires sedation. This test will most likely not occur until June due to scheduling. This test is necessary because of his age and inability to get an accurate reading on the test previously done. Our ECI test came back as we suspected as well. His Physical, Social-Emotional and Adaptive behavior came back at 36 months. Rylen is 32 months old, so he scored higher than his age on these categories. His Cognitive came back at 29 months (due to communication) and his Communication came back at 24 months. We were not really surprised at these results. They just verified my thoughts.

So, what do we do? We take it one day at a time. Rylen will begin speech with ECI this friday and we will have those appointments twice a month through June. They will give us things to work on until the next scheduled appointment. In the meantime, we have Rylen in MDO to engage him more frequently with other children and to encourage speech. We will also pursue a final diagnosis of his hearing as well as continue to sign with him to increase his vocabulary the best we know how. What is a mother to do? Cry for the challenge that we are facing, love and encourage him for the blessing that he is, and look to God to be our guide.

Climbing

2010-04-07T00:01:00.005-05:00

As I gather my thoughts to recap
the month, here is one to hold
you over.

Did I mention Jace loves to climb?
This was a better option that just cruising
to the other side.

A Little Bit of Time...

2010-04-06T20:45:00.002-05:00

Time has been precious these days. My joy of blogging has come to a halt for about a month. I can't believe it has been so long. A lot has been going on in our family and some things just had to take a backseat. In the meantime, we have taken some trips out of town, some trips to different doctors, and enjoyed some holiday festivities. I will attempt to catch you all up. Don't worry, it will come in bite sized pieces.

Jace Alexander's 10 Month Smiles

2010-03-25T14:02:00.006-05:00

These are a couple of the images I WAS able to get in New Braunfels, but I still need to get some more for his album. He had quite the grin on his face! The first is his Easter Outfit. I took pictures by a stone fireplace in the Condo. The second image is of him playing on our cabin front porch. He was thrilled with the fact that he could climb on and off the porch. He has quite the climbing skills. I do love his smile!

Jace Alexander - 10 months

2010-03-21T23:20:00.003-05:00

I'm chalking it up to chaos in the Robbins house. Jace is 10 months old and I am desperately trying to get his pictures taken. We are in the middle of MS150 season and I thought I was going to get the pictures I wanted in New Braunfels, but we ended up getting rained and freezed out. So, I am working on them now. So stay tuned. As for our little tyke, he is becoming quite the adventurer. He can definitely CLIMB...up stairs, onto Rylen's toddler bed, into rocking chairs, over pillows, over ME! He can also get himself OUT of those situations as well. He has quite a keen sense of depth and can actually back down out of chairs, stairs and just this weekend took quite a bit of time trying to back himself into a hole on a putt putt green. It was quite hilarious watching him try to get his foot or knee into that hole. Jace has not quite made that first step, BUT he has easily walked with his walking toy with one hand AND managed to do quite a few squats in a row without holding on to anything. I am really surprised that he hasn't made that step yet. As for food, he is almost done with baby food. I think we had a good run of two months with that stuff and now he has decided that fingerfoods are what he would prefer. He has already eaten turkey, bread, eggs, canteloupe, green beans, apples, corn muffins, banana quarters, and peas. Anything mushy is not quite as interesting to him including mashed potatoes. He would prefer to chew which is completely opposite from my oldest. In the sleeping department, he still loves to wake up and cuddle with mama and dada. So, we do. I have quit trying to figure out the secret formula to accomplish an all nighter. I'm sure we will get there eventually. And as for speech, he says mama and dada easily and some other sounds as well. I believe he is pretty much on track in all categories, full of smiles, and loves his brother no matter how much he gets "pushed" around. My favorite sound is them laughing at each other in the back seat. Sweet Bliss! Just two more months and our boy will be a year old! Hard to believe.

Jace is so content to play on his own. As I type, Rylen is getting into everything right here at my desk while I hear Jace playing with every toy in the loft. I pray that one day Jace can occupy my dear sweet Rylen.

This post is oh so late and there is hardly a picture to be found for it. This month has been extremely stressful and I will update you all as soon as I have a moment to gather my thoughts. For now, I celebrate my growing baby boy and all of his amazing accomplishments. Just today, Jace mimicked the sign for "thank you". I wonder how quickly he will learn signs since Rylen and I do them so much now. Stay tuned for pictures!

Swagbucks

2010-02-28T14:09:00.002-06:00

I am always looking to find things and earn things for FREE! Seriously, who wouldn't be?! I have come upon a new search engine that allows me to do just that! Swagbucks. I use it in place of google.com or any other search engine and I gain swagbucks for my searches. The more bucks I get, the better the prizes that can be redeemed. Its so easy! Check out the link on the left and start saving swagbucks like me! Its rather addicting to see the numbers grow!

Surfin...

2010-02-19T08:17:00.000-06:00

on a Sit n Spin...
Jace has found a new way to practice his standing skills

Splish Splash...

2010-02-18T08:13:00.000-06:00

Every baby needs his time in a bathrobe.

Not very practical, but oh so cute!

The last diaper

2010-02-17T15:07:00.000-06:00

I would like to begin by thanking everyone for my diaper shower for Jace. We were blessed, but didn't realize the full extent of it until today. I know you are thinking it is a bit late to be thanking everyone for the shower. Well, I DID thank everyone 10 months ago, but I have another reason to extend the thanks again. We have FINALLY used the LAST diaper! Yes, 9 months later we finally used the last of the diapers from our shower. AMAZING! We have only bought two boxes of diapers for Jace in that time period and it was for Newborn diapers. This month we made our first purchase of #3 diapers for Jace. Thank you all again so much!

Jace Alexander - 9 months

2010-02-16T21:43:00.007-06:00

Oh, what to say about my growing boy except that he is growing TOO FAST! We had his 9 month appointment on the 15th, and his stats are as follows: 26.75 inches (50%), 14lbs 12oz (5%), 44.5cm (25%). I wasn't so sure about his height, so I remeasured him at the house and it is probably pretty accurate. I measured him at 26.5, but the guy is so wiggly that it could go either way. As for his development, I am waiting for him to start walking any day now. Just this morning he took a couple of steps forward holding onto just one of my hands. He is also very confident in standing without holding onto anything and has his cruising down easy. He has also managed to sneak by us and crawl ALL THE WAY up the stairs. I just dread that gate at the bottom of the stairs. Jace still loves to be doing anything that Rylen is doing and that has started to annoy Rylen a bit. Though, Rylen is sure to get into Jace's business as well when he is interested in a toy. Jace is also very content to crawl off and find something of interest to him. He really amuses himself well unless he is tired and then he gets clingy.

Jace & Rylen take their evening baths together every night and Jace is very good about sitting down when asked. He looks at you and smiles that you have instructed him to do something and then sits down. He does the same thing when asked to "Don't Touch". He must find these requests quite amusing. But he does comply, which is nice. Jabbering is also on his daily "to do" list. He is consistently saying "dadadada" and also using his m's. When he is upset and trying to get to me, we do hear a "mamamama". Jace loves to clap and I was sure he signed Football the other day while watching the signing videos with Rylen. But clapping and Football CAN be very close.

As for his routine, compared to Rylen's, it is loose. He typically nurses around 7ish, a solid feeding of oatmeal at 9:30ish, another nursing at 12ish and again at 3ish, a solid feeding with the family dinner at 6ish and a nursing session at 8:30 before he is off to bed. He is also still waking up at night at around 1:00a and 5:00a. Sometimes he nurses and sometimes he goes back to sleep. It will be a crazy night when I don't have to get up with him anymore. Jace is also getting 3 of his top teeth at the same time and #4 is close behind, so that COULD account for the night waking. All in all, Jace has 5 teeth and waiting on #6. Robby and I were calling him "Mater" from the movie Cars last night because he just had the one front top tooth that was really visible.

What else is there to say about our precious boy. He has quite the happy personality and takes Rylen's tough lovin' as best he can. One day he will be able to return the love I'm sure.

Jace's 9 month photos

2 more teeth!

2010-02-08T12:43:00.002-06:00

Since Jace was 6 months old we have had teeth coming in. As we are heading into his 9th month, he seems to be getting two more! So, to tally, we have the two bottom fully present. The first top tooth has broken through and two more top teeth are poking as well. I have a feeling that 4th top tooth will not be far behind. That will give us a total of six teeth well before he is a year old. This is also a bit faster than Rylen. I tell you, this boy is on a mission to catch up with big bro. That is probably a good thing as Rylen hasn't backed off wanting to wrestle with him. Very soon Jace will be holding his own in that department! Oh the joys of BOYS! I love 'em!

Park Fun

2010-01-27T07:47:00.000-06:00

There is always a good time to be had at the park. Rylen, as I'm sure all kids, could stay there FOREVER! It was fun to watch Rylen just run and go crazy. I had Jace in the stroller at first and then we let him play in the grass on the hill. Unfortunately, but the time we took him out of the stroller it was getting darker and the pictures we took of him were too dark. Just so all don't think I have neglected my youngest.

(notice the football stance with finger in place...cracks me up!)

Vegetable Lasagna

2010-01-26T22:44:00.003-06:00

Ah, culinary success! I have been wanting to make a lasagna but have had an AWFUL time finding a recipe that didn't include tofu. We don't like using soy products because of the estrogen and simply because some of them are truly not good for you. I found a wonderful recipe on Sunday that suggested using a basil pesto sauce instead of the mock cheese (which uses tofu) that is typically in the recipes. Evidently, the pesto sauce dries out during baking and has the same texture that ricotta cheese would have. So, I tried it tonight and YUM! We have a winner! We started with a layer of sliced roma tomatoes with a bit of marinara sauce drizzled on top. We followed with whole wheat lasagna noodles topped with marinara and a thin layer of basil pesto (sauteed pine nuts, basil, parsley, garlic, lemon juice, agave syrup, & water pureed). Then came the layers of veggies. The first layer was sliced carrots and chopped broccoli followed by noodles, marinara and pesto. The second layer was mushrooms (shitake) & sliced zucchini followed by more noodles, marinara and pesto. Then topped with a layer of sliced roma tomatoes and thinly sliced mozarella cheese. Yes, the cheese makes this dish vegetarian and NOT vegan, but mozarella doesn't seem to bother me, so we add it sparingly. The masterpiece is bake at 400 degrees for 30 minutes and the last 5 minutes we remove the lid and broil to make the cheese bubble and crispy. Voila! Vegetable Lasagna and OH SO TASTY!

Jace 8 month photos

2010-01-20T20:45:00.005-06:00

I was trying to match some photos I did with Rylen using hard shadows and natural light. (You can actually see one of the photos I did of Rylen on the wall in the last photo.) Well, Jace is a LOT more mobile and it was not easy to get the photos I DID get. Not to mention, the sun was not cooperating. As you can see there isn't a hard shadow to be seen. It would have been a great day for outside photos...which I did do with Rylen. So here are a few of my faves so far for this month. I may try again when we have another sunny day.

Rylen Jaric

2010-01-19T08:15:00.000-06:00

As I mentioned earlier, I was taking Rylen's half-birthday pictures (2.5 years old) and decided to just have fun with it. I put his hair in a semi-messy mowhawk just to be stylin' and didn't worry about the backdrop. I wanted to keep it really casual. I found that Rylen has definitely become used to Mommy taking pictures. He was a trooper and gave me quite a few to sort through! Here are just a few of my faves. I get so many personality shots that I will keep a picture of my kids just because of their expression. I know it leaves me with tons of photos, maybe overkill, but I can't help it. Those are my boys! So, there are definitely many more to see. Check 'em out!

My Boys

2010-01-18T19:42:00.004-06:00

I wanted to do some pictures of Rylen this month for his half-birthday. I decided to just have fun with it. Jace of course got in on the fun and that was quite interesting trying to keep Jace from crawling to me and making Rylen smile. I got quite the workout!

But all things must come to an end. This was my cue that we were finished.

Still Saving...

2010-01-16T08:30:00.001-06:00

Robby and I are hoping that our own financial habits will rub off on our children. We believe that managing our money is something that God wants us to do wisely. We have started this new year as a family DEBT FREE and we want our children to follow this example. So, one action we have already implemented is saving. Rylen loves to put money in his piggy bank...whether it is the pennies that we find while walking or the coins that his Grandparents give him, he loves to hear them klink!

Standing

2010-01-15T08:32:00.002-06:00

This post is a bit late, but still needed to be documented. Jace standing in his bed. He went from kneeling to standing so quickly that I feel we hardly had a moment to enjoy his kneeling before he was pulling to a stand. Nevertheless, here is our smiley boy standing in his bed. This is a repeated action after every nap. I love the picture of his bottom teeth showing. So chipmunk-ish....not to mention the last image where he is quite concerned why mommy is taking pictures and not rescuing him from the crib. Oh to capture the cuteness!

Ever Changing...

2010-01-14T04:04:00.000-06:00

So, you get ready to have your first child and you come up with a theme...for us it was vintage baseball. You scurry to paint the room and get the decor in place. Then the sweet child sleeps in a pack 'n play in your bedroom until they are 5 months. Suddenly you realize that you haven't finished decorating the room that your child is just NOW getting ready to sleep in. You decorate some more and add a changing table dresser. Ah yes, the room is coming together nicely. Your child turns a year old and starts really playing with books and toys. A bookcase is needed. You add one to the room. Uh oh, you are pregnant again. Another boy! They will room together. Easy plan, the bedroom theme is already decided. You go to buy more fabric for this child's blankets and pillows. Um, no longer available. That's ok, we'll go with ANOTHER vintage baseball material that is close and a different but compatible blue backing. The pillow and blanket are ready when Boy #2 arrives, but you know that he will not be in that room until he is about 5 months old. 4 months pass and you realize that you need another bed for your oldest. You buy a toddler bed and again rearrange the room to accommodate. I would have like to have a toddler bed that matched the color of the crib, but the crib color was a special color that is very hard to match. Child #2 begins sleeping in the bedroom with your oldest and you add more of the accessories to the wall to combine the two boys in the same room. And that is where we stand! I am still wanting to add a reading storage bench that will run under the window and I also need to make Jace's bedskirt that falls around the crib. Projects are still underway, but so far, not bad for a 3 year project!

Jace Alexander - 8 months

2010-01-13T09:38:00.003-06:00

Our little smiler is 8 months old today. Craziness. He is googling and jabbering and doing this crazy breath-sucking squeal. Too cute for words. We have to control our desire to squeeze and love on him when he is awake at 2am smiling at us. Yes, that would mean that our little tyke is STILL not sleeping the night away. It seems he has gotten worse. We typically do not get past 4 hour stretches. It is beyond me to know why. I am just blaming it on breastmilk. He takes full feedings throughout the day, typically every 3-hours. At night, he will go until about midnight and then want to eat again. After that he wakes again at 3-ish and finally again at 7-ish. So, who knows what to do. We have a pretty good schedule in the evening and so there isn't much to change there. I am starting to push solids. It is a little harder to do that when you are breastfeeding, so I am going to try and give him bottled breastmilk at solid feeding times. We'll see how that goes. We had a 2 week spell of constipation that was not fun to deal with. Poor Jace was not a happy camper throughout that time and we stopped solids all together to try and get everything back under control. So, we are in the clear again and bananas are on our "limited time basis" list. Today we are going to try and implement 2 solid feedings similar to what I did with Rylen when he was 6 months old. Jace has decided he DOES like solids, so we will see how it goes! We still only have two teeth, and i can't decide if the top ones are making their entrance. I'm sure Jace will let us know!

Physically, Jace is still excelling. He pulls to a stand with ease and also sits from a stand pretty easily too. He is a lot more cautious about it than Rylen ever was. Jace has also moved to the one-handed hold while standing, so his balance is getting very good. In a month, he could be taking his first steps! Watch out Rylen!

Rylen and Jace consistently take baths together at night and their bedtime routine coincides. Jace somehow ALWAYS ends up next to Rylen in the bath and we have to separate them. Rylen isn't so keen on Jace being right on top of him. Otherwise, bathtime is fun! Jace crawls around and explores the water. He has even tried to put his face in the water a couple of times to check out the plug. He figured out pretty quick it wasn't the best idea.

Jace is very content to play and find things to play with. He will sit in the loft area and play until someone comes and gets him or Rylen pushes him over....something we are working on. He mimics Rylen A LOT. Rylen loses balls under the stove at times and reaches to get them, so Jace decides to look under the stove anytime he is in the kitchen. Jace also loves books, but isn't quite as content to turn the pages with you. He wants to turn it over, taste it, and be gone to get another one.

He also still has a set of lungs on him and when he is distressed you here this "mmmm...ma...ma...mmmm" out of him as he searches the room. Still a mommy's boy. But don't think daddy gets left out. In the evenings it is not unusual to see both boys crawling all over dada! It is so fun to have the love of both kids all at once. Makes you melt!