Thursday, January 29, 2015

My 4 year old!


Leo deserves a whole long post, but for now just one picture and one thing I love about him.  He turned four years old this week and he couldn't be more thrilled :)  One thing I absolutely love about him is his...independence I guess I'd call it?  Confidence?  Case in point: he loves letters and reading and writing and today I gave him a list I had written of who gave him what for his birthday so that he could write some thank you notes.  He wrote all of them completely on his own while I was putting June down for her nap...and even though I had written it all out so basically all he had to do was copy it, he had sounded every single word out and wrote it by himself.  Of course that makes it a little harder to decode, but I love it.  I love that he likes to do things himself and in his own way.  

Monday, January 19, 2015

JUNE!

June at 5 months...

15 lbs 5 oz
26 inches

Such a smiler!  This sweet girl is always so happy and smiles to anyone who will look her way.  She definitely has a gift for being happy.


 Holy roller!  Do not put this baby down and walk away...she is a rolling machine!  I can't remember exactly when she started rolling, but she has mastered it in the last couple of weeks and often barrell-rolls across the whole room.  The other day she had rolled across her entire bedroom floor and was stuck under her crib while I was putting her laundry away.  She most often rolls on to her side or belly to sleep these days too.


 Sleep...oh boy.  We were having a hard go with sleeping for awhile...I guess I just forgot about the transition from the newborn-easy-to-sleep phase to the we-have-to-teach-her-how phase.  She was a great sleeper at first for a couple of months but then it turned ugly and we ended up taking turns holding her most of the night...mostly because we were lazy and had a really comfy recliner this time.  Then we held off "sleep training" because we were going to be traveling for Christmas.  The new year brought some hard nights for all of us but I am happy to say that she is doing much better now and we are all getting more rest now...even if it isn't always in our bed :)  We aren't home free yet, but there has been lots of improvement here.


Above is June's first ever ponytail!  I can't remember when that happened...some time before Christmas.  Her hair is definitely growing and is pretty much too long now to just be combed up into a little mohawk curl.  I have to pull it into a ponytail or she kind of looks like Einstein.  Today we tried her very first curlers though...but that deserves a whole separate post someday!


Santa brought June some mum-mums (rice snack cracker type things) and one day out of curiosity I gave one to her...and she ate just about the whole thing!  Guess she was really for food!  So we hurried to Kroger and bought a plethora of baby food and started her on some cereal that night.  She doesn't love it yet, but she is getting better about eating it...and no matter what the pediatrician says I swear it helps her sleep!  Leo can't wait for her to try bananas and thinks it is so fun for her to eat with him.  I gave her sweet potatoes just recently too and she liked them a lot more than the cereal.


  Junie is getting better at being child #2.  We endured the cry-every-minute-in-the-car phase and now she happily rides back there with Leo and will even fall asleep in her car seat...something I thought I may never see again.  She is (slightly) getting used to being on Leo's schedule...and he is getting used to having a few things different now that June is here.  I don't think he minds much; there has only been a time or two he has put up a fuss about things because he just loves her so much.  They are so cute together; he loves to play patty-cake with her and when he starts laughing at something she starts to giggle too.  I love it!


What else?  She is getting really good at playing with toys and reaches for anything to put in her mouth.  So far she seems to really like stuffed animals.  She has a habit of pulling her hair while she nurses.  She has the tiniest feet.  I mean tiny!  I can hardly keep anything on them because they are so thin and narrow.  She is starting to love peek-a-boo.  She loves bathing with Leo and likes to kick and splash a bit now.  We still swaddle her but she breaks out like one minute after we lay  her down to roll to her side and grab her nuk.  She is definitely a momma's girl...but I'm alright with that for now because I miss her when I haven't held her for a few hours!  However she really loves Daddy too and always grins so big when she catches his eye...which she is always trying to do if he is in view!

No one loves June more than Leo does and I can tell she loves him too already.  I can't wait to see them grow up together.  It will be fun to see their personalities and relationship grow.  It is hard to believe she has been here 5 months already.  We are so lucky to have her in our family!

Saturday, January 10, 2015

Resurrecting the blog...

Part of my New Year's resolutions was to blog weekly...yes, weekly.  I know that seems like a far cry from the once-every-few-months rate I have been going, but I have been looking back on this blog a lot lately and am feeling sad I don't keep it up.  I look back and remember what Leo was doing when he was June's age...and feel sad that I really won't have much of a record of her.  I figure even if I don't make it every week it will at least be a lot more than I have been doing!  So here it goes...

As I was running this morning I was thinking about how I hope this lingering tiny cold thing I have will go away in time for my first post-June race next month.  It is just a 5k so I am not worried about it as I have already run that far, but I wanted to try to work on my speed.  This annoying little tickle in the back of my throat that makes me feel like I need to clear my throat all the time really bothers me when I run and I haven't been able to push it as much as I would like yet.  Blah blah blah...on to the point...which is then my mind started to wander about all of the things over the years that I have worried about while running....

Will I be able to make it?  Do I look dumb running?  Am I wasting my time?  Am I damaging my knees?  I hope I don't slip and fall on the ice... I wonder if this baby will fall out?  Can I make it the whole way?  What lap am I on?  What will I do when I have to run alone?  Will I be able to keep up with them?  I don't think I can push the stroller the whole way...  I hope a car doesn't run me over...  Is this doing any good?

The list continued for a mile or more and then I wondered if through all of those worries if there was ever a time I had wished I hadn't gone running.  Sure there were plenty of times it was hard to get out the door, but once I got going - and finished especially - was there ever a time I regretting going?  I could remember specific times I had spent worrying, but if I have ever felt sorry that I went I couldn't remember it.  I am always happy that I have gone.  I always feel better after I go.  So let this be where it is carved in stone and a reminder to myself...just go!  Nike was on to something because when I just do it then I feel better afterwards.  I feel healthier and stronger, even if my body isn't looking like what I wish running a few miles would do to it!