2 Year Old and 1 Year Old Well Baby Visits

Yesterday I took Emma and Aiden to their 2 year and 1 year well baby visits.  Let me just start by saying they have been SO healthy compared to last year.  I know Im knocking on the wood beneath my keyboard right now.  But seriously, since no daycare they are really good!  Ill take it.  So this was a well checkup for both.  At 13 months apart they are so close in measurements!  Here are the stats:

Emma:

Weight-26 lbs 2 ounces (50th%)

Height-34"  (50th%)

Aiden: 

Weight 23 lbs 6 ounces (50th%)

Height-31 3/4 " (90th%)

So as you can see they are very close in size.  Emma is a peanut:)  People have started to ask if they are twins.  Im my mind they are harder than twins!!  HEre are some things I want to remember about each one at this age.

Emma:

Loves Books

Loves to eat ALL day

Loves her DAY ( AJ)

Starting to ask to sit on potty

Talking in sentences now although it is still hard to understand

Drinks from a big girl cup when mommy feels like cleaning up a mess

LOVES fruit snacks:(

Loves Yo Gabba and is starting to like DO-DO (Dora)

Loves her mommy and me school and gymnastics.  

Loves the bye bye song at gymnastics.  

Loves NElly.  Like has a serious obsession with the dog

Loves her new babysitter Megan. 

Beginning to not cry when momma leaves

Wears 24 month clothes

Aiden:

Crawling everywhere.  

Gets into EVERYTHING

Gets stuck under things and gets upset.

Stands but can't get back down at times

Laughs all the time!

Loves to eat

No more bottles

Doesn't want to be fed

Loves blueberries

Claps

waves Bye Bye

Says "all done" "mama" and "ball"

Taking one nap a day:(

Gets up at 9:30 am!!!!:)

Wears 24 month clothes

Loves everything that is not a toy!

These two are SO MUCH work but honestly I love everyday with them even though I am pulling my hair out by the minute.  I truly think this is what was meant for me.  to be home with them and take care of them:)  More about that in a later post.

Trains!!!!

A few weeks ago we went to brunch with Meme and Papa John at station 885.  It always amazes me how some trips out to eat will result in total disasters/meltdowns like give me a box now we have to go!!  And other trips will be so smooth.  Everyone eats really well and stays in their seats.  This was a super smooth trip and we were there for almost 2 hours!!  Its a buffet which is the best with kids I think.  Big boy is another great spot to eat.  The kids love the salad bar.  Anyways AJ ate more than the whole table combined and Emma as usual took one bite of everything and then said "no like".  The girl drives me bonkers.  She wants to eat all day.  She is a grazer:)  And Aubrey was just an angel as usual.  She LOVED the desert bar.  I have to say I love having an almost six year old.  So independent just when mama needs her to be the most!  At the end of the meal a train came by and the kids went nuts!!  We ended up taking them outside to watch.  AJ was AMAZED.  He kept laughing and moving up and down.  It was adorable.  Love my little big boy!!! He turns one this weekend so I will update next week.

2 Weeks

What a difference two weeks makes.  Two weeks ago our kitchen nightmare began.  I have to say I am not good with "rough".  The last two weeks our kitchen was a disaster.  To see your house in this shape is sad.  Water can be a terrible thing.  The mitigation part was hard.  We had huge fans and humidifiers running for a week.  They were super loud.  It definitely didn't feel like home anymore.  We couldn't hear each other or even the TV the fans were so loud.  The kitchen was tarped off with huge plastic and the house began to smell like mildew.  I felt like I was up north most days.  Fast forward two weeks later and the nasty soaked subfloor is out.  I went to home depot and bought some cheap indoor/outdoor carpet to cover the floor with.  I brought the microwave back in from the garage.  I begged Jeremy to hook the sink back up.  I brought the coffee pot and toaster back in.  They put our fridge back in instead of it sitting in the dining room.  Is it the normal we are used to?  No but its a heck of a lot better for now.  When I laid the carpet down the kids were ecstatic.  They all came in and started dancing.  Even the baby.  He was happy to have a place to crawl through again instead of being restricted.  We still don't have an oven thanks to the smart put back crew who broke our cooktop but its a start.  On Monday we met with the kitchen designer.  We drew up an awesome plan that will be well worth it three months from now.  We bought new appliances.  Things are moving forward just slowly.   Its amazing how much can change in 2 weeks.  For the first week I cried daily.  Its super hard to live in the environment we were in with three young children. Most days I wanted to leave the house and was so anxious about going back.  I am on a family leave from work to spend quality time with my kiddos.  This WAS NOT in my plan.  I wanted nothing more the last two weeks to be back at work so I could get away from all of it.    I took so many things for granted.  Like the ability to rinse out a bottle or sippy cup.  We still don't have the dishwasher hooked up but a sink is a good start.  This experience has taught me a new meaning for the word patience.  Im not good with that.  I want everything done now.  But this stuff takes time.  So either I can cry all day over spilled milk and spoiled sippy cups or I can sit back and learn the important lessons meant for me.  I chose the latter.  Good things come to those who wait.  So for now during this holiday season I will focus on the truly important things.  My awesome family and the warm house we still have to come home to each night.  I know many are not so fortunate.  Here are some pictures of the last two weeks.

Night of drain backup

 Light fixture that fell on Jeremy and then rain began to pour.

 Water under range

 The corroded bath drain that started it all.  See that hole?  God knows how long water has been leaking:(

 Lovely sticky nasty subfloor.  See all those wood chunks?  Great for a crawling baby right?

 Mama's carpet job.  

Looking more like it was….

And a picture of her tonight.  Like our ceiling??  LOL

Welcome!

Hello Everyone,
Welcome:)  The time has come for me to move from Facebook to a more personal venue where I can share more and express myself more.  Facebook is great but some people might not want to listen to my rants, advice, bragging, etc about parenting or my kids.  Coming to my blog is a personal choice.  If you don't like what you are reading don't come back and read...right?  Facebook is a little harder to do that and there are just a wider variety of readers.  Some who might not be that interested in me or my family.    My aunt Diana told me a few times that I should start a blog.  I have been thinking about this decision for a long time.  Our days are filled to the brim with wonderful memories and I wanted a way to document them other than a one sentence status update in a Facebook post.  Also I find Facebook to be a more judgmental platform. At times I feel like I walk on eggshells when posting there.  I am hopeful that this blog will serve as a memory keeper for my children to look back on one day.  On the flip side there are days that are filled with frustration.  Lets be honest motherhood is hard…darn hard.  I won't lie, most days are super tough.  I think the ages of our children make this journey extremely special and difficult at the same time.  Some days are really good but some days leave me feeling like a failure at best.  I need somewhere to vent, to document, to get it all out... without judgement.  I'm sure other mothers feel the same way they are just too afraid to say it.  We mothers have this expectation that we must have it all together all the time.  I struggle with patience, perfectionism, and maybe a little OCD too:)  Maybe I can be a support for other moms on this rocky yet beautiful journey of motherhood.  It's not all gonna be roses.  I'm not gonna fluff and say the journey is easy.  It's the hardest job anyone could ever have.  But its the best, most rewarding, job.  I am in love with my husband, my kids, and the family we are together.  Good days or bad days, I invite you along for the ride.  Thanks for taking the time to stop in. I'm so glad your here!