Friday, December 23, 2011

It's a Sick Christmas, sigh...

So it's a few days before Christmas, and Jackson is sick with a fever.  Then a few minutes ago I heard Savannah upstairs with the telltale "barking" cough of croup...oh joy.  Now both of them are sick for Christmas!  I hope they get better by the 26th so that we can spend the day with family, but if not, oh well, we'll make do.  I just hope they get better and we don't have to go to the ER or anything, since all of the doctors' offices are closed. 

We've been doing the "7" days of Christmas with the kids, giving a little gift each day, so that they're not so overwhelmed on Christmas day.  I wanted Jackson to really enjoy each little thing instead of being so inundated with things that he didn't know what to play with.  It's worked very well.  And I'll probably hide some toys away that he gets on Christmas so that I can bring them out during the year for some fun year round, ha!

Jackson is obsessed with Charlie Brown, specifically the Charlie Brown Christmas movie.  He is convinced that he is Linus, even carrying around his blue blanket.  It's really funny.  It's lasted for a few weeks now.  Every once in awhile he'll be Jackson or Goofy or Mickey Mouse, but usually if you call him Jackson he will say, "I'm not Jackson, I'm Linus!"  It's funny.  I'm grateful to his preschool and Sunday School classes for humoring him and calling him Linus. 

One more funny thing...the other day I said to Jackson, "Hurry up or you'll freeze your butt off," and Jackson replied, "Then how will I go poop?"  Ha!

*I forgot to mention, when Jackson wasn't feeling well, he said, "Pray with me, Mommy!"  So cute!!  Thank you Jesus!*

Tuesday, November 1, 2011

John the "Bad-ist"

I just HAD to post this one for my future memory bank.  Jackson is of the age where he says some of the most hilarious things.  A few weeks ago, after Sunday School, I asked him what he learned.  He said he learned about a BAD man.  I asked who the bad man was...he answered, "John the Bad-ist."  I chuckled under my breath and asked, "Why was he bad?"  He replied, "Because he went around shouting and yelling at people."  It was hilarious.

The following week, he climbed on my lap after church and announced, "I wanna be bap-tized, mama."  I asked him what that meant, and he said, "I go under the water, come up, and then I'm baptized!"  So cute.

Last week at church, JW led worship, and he was practicing hard all week.  One of the songs is called, "Sing, Sing, Sing," and Jackson had the lyrics memorized and was belting them out at church louder than most of the congregation!  It was hilarious. 

I love my boy!

Sunday, October 23, 2011

15 months old...and a new word!

So, Savannah will be 15 months in a few days...and yesterday she said her third word.
1. Dada
2. Mama
3. Jackson!!!!!  It sounds a little funny, very guttoral, but it's totally what she's saying.  It's adorable.!  She just loves her brother.  And I must say, he's not as rough with her anymore.  I don't usually get a lot of time to just see them interact and play--when I'm home it's so rushing from one thing to another, dinner, errands, bath, bed, etc.  So this weekend was kind of lazy and I loved it.  Although Savannah's vocabulary is quite limited, she understands so much, it's very clear, she's just being stubborn.  She points a lot and says, "ah" for everything.  I know what she means usually, though.  She will have her well child check in 2 days, so I will post her stats then.  But she's in 18 month clothes, size 5 shoes, size 4 diapers.  She's pretty much done with baby food, will eat ANYTHING, and loves loves loves to eat.  Her favorites are bananas.  She will eat two in one setting if I let her.  She is just getting into dolls, which is super fun for me!  But she still really loves cars and imitates Jackson playing with his cars on the couch, it's so cute.  She's so snuggly, is still nursing, and I was going to wean her before my sister's wedding, but I think I'll keep going, we love it so much.  I don't pump anymore, thank the Lord, but I will bring the thing to Mexico to get me through the 4 days away from her to keep up my supply.  She definitely has more soft and cuddly transitional objects than Jackson's cars--her fave is Sandra Boynton's cow stuffed animal.  She is the BEST napper and sleeper, it's awesome.  I love you baby girl!

**Update: Her doctor's appt was today and she screamed the ENTIRE time!  She had to get 3 shots too, boo hoo. Her weight was 23 lbs 14 oz and her height was 31.5 inches.  Around the 75th percentile for both, good for her! 

Saturday, August 20, 2011

Day Out With Thomas

I'm on call this weekend, but I managed to be speedy during rounds and make it to a family outing--Day Out with Thomas!  We took both kids, and despite a thunderstorm scare, the ride was great (although a bit boring for the adults), and it stopped raining afterwards.  Jackson got his picture taken with Bob the Builder's team, Sir Topham Hat, and Thomas himself!  He was very well-behaved, and even ended the trip by going in the big potty before we left!

Savannah did great!  She's going thru a growth spurt and can't seem to get enough food lately; we stopped at fast food on our way home because we were so hungry, and I felt so bad...I forgot to bring anything for Savannah, and she was watching Jackson eat his fries and screaming and crying because I think she wanted some too!  Even though she had a TON of milk, it wasn't enough. 

She can wave and say "Ha" for hi; she can play patty cake; and she plays peek a boo! 

Tonight before bed, the two of them were running arouind the room making each other laugh, it was so cute!  Jackson was throwing his blanket on her head and we would say, "Where's Savannah?" and she would pull it off and start cracking up!  It was great. 

That's all for now, I'll add pics later!

Thursday, August 18, 2011

Random Stuff

So I just wanted to note a few things.  First of all, Savannah now has 4 teeth!  Hurray!  They're not even yet, so it looks really funny.  She also has started saying a word for when she wants to nurse, "Na-na."  Cute!  And she has begun to carry around her little bowl of cheerios, spilling them all in her wake.  It's great.

Jackson is very much into the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse.  He will "become" Mickey or Donald or Goofy throughout the course of the day, and we can't call him "Jackson."  He dances to the song at the end of the show, and he now has a Mickey doll he can carry around.  It works really well when Mickey does certain things I want Jackson to do...  He even does "Mousekersize" and runs around like crazy doing flips.  He's a good tumbler! 

Last night, he decided he was Heidi the kitty-kat...so I proceeded to give him milk and "cat food" (dinner), and he actually ate some!  My plans slightly backfired when I threatened to put him in his cage if he didn't behave, and he actually WANTED to go into the cage, at which point I revealed there wasn't really a cage.  Oh well.  :)

So cute, love my kiddos!

Friday, August 5, 2011

And she's.....One Year Old!



















A few days late, but here goes...


Dearest Savannah,
You are ONE YEAR OLD! This year has gone by so fast, I can hardly believe it. Here are some of the things you are doing:
You just started to walk a few days before your birthday, and now there is no stopping you. You walk with your little pudgy left arm held up in the air for balance. It's so cute!
You can do, "So Big!" and "Patty Cake" and "Peek-a-Boo!"
You can say "Dada," "Mama," and "Hi."
You can wave hi and bye-bye.
You can climb stairs all by yourself and practically anything else you put your mind to.
You wear size 12-18mo clothes, size 4 diapers, size 4 shoes.
You weigh 22.5lbs and are 29.5 inches long!
You love playing with your peeping eggs and Little People.
You sleep all through the night in your crib, and when you wake up in the morning you play with your stuffed animals and various toys that play you lullabies, and sometimes you even put yourself back to sleep.
You stopped drinking out of a bottle a week before your birthday, so you drink out of a cup with a straw, and you can drink whole milk now! You are still nursing, but I'm going to stop pumping soon at work, :( because you eat so much food and drink whole milk during the day.
You love it when Daddy's snacking; you make a beeline for his snacks and water.
You still love playing with your brother.
You love baths and just figured out how to turn the water on by yourself, joy.

Daddy was in North Carolina on your actual birthday, but we had your party a week later. Gaga and Papa and Aunt Paula traveled so far to celebrate with you! You had so many friends and family show up to see our little one year old! The cupcakes were not my best creation...Red Velvet...but I can't do everything right, right? I went out and bought you a little cake from Meijer later on, but to my relief, you didn't seem to like it any better than you liked my cupcakes, which you did eat quite a bit of.

I love you so much and I am so proud of you, Princess!

Saturday, July 2, 2011

I'm Sorry, Mama



So Jackson has been getting really good about saying he's sorry, even spontaneously...and sometimes hours or days after the fact. His good memory is coming in handy! Last night, he apologized to me after bathtime, about 20 minutes after he had a major meltdown when I told him it was bathtime. This is a daily occurrence (actually, every other day because he hates it so much.) He said to me, "I'm sorry Mama!" "For what, Jackson?" "For yelling at you and for screaming and shouting." Then he proceeded to re-enact our "conversation." "You said, 'It's time for bath.' I said, "No no NO I don't wanna go to bathtime!'" That's right! Of course I forgave him (I already had) and gave him a hug. So sweet!






Our week of mommy and kids is ending, we're headed up to TC to meet up with Daddy today. Hurray! Potty training has been a huge success. Pooping in the potty is still a challenge; last night he waited until I put his nighttime diaper on until he went, yuck, but overall he is doing so great. I have enjoyed this week so much. I feel more like myself than I have in months! I really love being with my kids, and taking care of the house--it's never been cleaner! I didn't get to scrapbook much or have "me" time, but I read a little, which is always nice, got good sleep, and barely turned on the tv at all. And, thanks to friends' help, I was able to work out 4 days this week, amazing! I am NOT looking forward to going back to work on Wednesday. But I will treasure this time always.



Tuesday, June 28, 2011

Heaven



Day 2 of potty training, success! One accident, when we got back from dropping off the babysitter and he had clothes on; none while he was naked. We went out 2 more times, once to get the oil changed and the car washed, and he was able to hold it until we got back; and once on a stroller walk to 7-Eleven to get a slurpee--he drank it on the way home and still managed to wait to pee until we were at home. He even did #2 in the potty, yay! I tried to jump start his system with chocolate milk and a Fiber One brownie; I think it worked!

After I tucked him into bed, I heard him reading to himself, "A Potty For Me," by Karen Katz. He's been obsessed with it the last 2 days, which is funny to me because we've had it for over a year and I've read it to him practically every night at bathtime and he hasn't really cared. But I guess now that he's going thru it, it makes more sense to him. He was reading the book out loud, word for word, from memory, and he even said the phrases just how I say them. It was SOOO cute! My favorite part is when the kid pees his pants, "But Mom says, 'That's okay!'"

As I went up to check on him in bed just now, after I put Savannah to bed, he said, "Mommy, I want to go to heaven." Random. I said, "Me too." He said, "You know that ladder on my firetruck downstairs?" "Yes." "I will use that to climb up to heaven." Precious!! "Then, I will jump out of heaven onto the floor." Fun! He is so cute. Of course I told him we only can go to heaven when we die, if we believe in Jesus, but that Jesus is in our hearts right now, so we can talk to Him there. What a cutie, melted my heart.

Monday, June 27, 2011

Diaper Fairy

Well, today was day 1 of Potty Training Boot Camp, with your host, me. I'm off this week and I decided it would be great time to bite the bullet and "get 'er done." The diaper fairy came last night and brought Jackson 2 new cars and took all of his Pull-ups. We went nude all day, fluid-loaded, and he actually managed to pee in the potty 25 times, evidenced by the number of stickers in his new sticker book. That means he also ate 50 M&Ms. Man. Bad momma. I need to move on to apple slices. :) No #2 yet today, but I'm going to try chocolate milk tomorrow and see if that can stimulate things. I also ordered a hedge trimmer that he's been dying to have, and it is scheduled to come tomorrow, hopefully in time to reward him when he finally does #2 in the potties. And best part about today...no accidents! I'm so proud of my big boy, he must have been ready, and God is blessing me today because it didn't have to go this well. I'm so tired of asking, "Do you have to go potty?" I need to make a recording of myself saying that and play it every 10 minutes. :) Way to go, Jackson!

11 Months Old!



Dear Savannah, you are 11 months old! Amazing. You are growing so fast! You still only have 1 tooth, which limits what you can eat. You've started making raspberries at me when I try to feed you baby food, which doesn't make me a very happy camper when you splatter me with golden-colored slop. You get into so much trouble! We had to buy a gate corral to keep you in one place. You don't walk yet, but you cruise like a champ and are getting more and more bold with balancing on your own standing. You have NO FEAR, which scares me. Just tonight, you managed to climb up into Jackson's bulldozer bed and were about to just leap off the other side. Heart attack, me. You love Jackson's cars and trucks. You will NOT let me put bows or hats on your head anymore, darn. You still wear size 4 diapers and 12-18 month clothes. You babble a lot, but you are starting to point to people when I name them and to things in a book. You like to look at your books a lot, especially when Daddy is reading to you. You still nurse like a champ, and you smile at EVERYONE. You are so sweet, I can't believe in 1 month you will be 1 year old! I love you, munchkin!

Wednesday, June 15, 2011

Daily Fun

Savannah is sooo close to standing! She'll let go for a sec and balance for maybe 10 seconds before chickening out and falling down. It's really cute. Or she'll let go to transfer from the couch to the table or to me. She's so funny, if she wants me to hold her (or nurse her) she'll LEAP onto me from way too far away so that she practically face plants into my, uh, milk. It's hilarious.

Jackson makes me laugh so hard every day! We're working up to potty training in a week or so. Wish me luck! The diaper fairy is coming to take all his diapers. It worked with the paci, we'll see how this one goes. He is one stubborn kid.

We started new prayer together at bedtime:
"Now I lay me down to sleep
I pray the Lord my soul to keep
Guard me thru the starry night
Awaken me at morning's light.
God bless..." and then we list all of our friends and family. He's getting the hang of it, it's cute.

Also, he's starting to share more with Savannah, giving her something and saying, "Here, Savannah, you can have this toy." He makes her laugh so much, it just melts my heart. They actually crack each other up, and I have no idea what they are laughing at. It's great!

That's all for now, just wanted to write a few memories, this time is the beset!

Wednesday, June 1, 2011

First Tooth!

Savannah finally has her first tooth, at 10 months old! It's on her bottom right side. Yay!

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

10 Months Old!





Dear Savannah,


You are 10 months old...the time is flying by, but you are still my little princess. Your joy is amazing, it inspires me daily and reminds me of God's love. You touch all those who see you with your joy, it's beautiful. You still are scooting around on your bottom, but you are very proficient at this unique way of locomotion. You pull to stand and cruise along the furniture with ease. You are sleeping in your own bed, waking up about once per night, and "crying it out" for you usually means 10-15 minutes; not too shabby! You still ADORE your brother, and he loves you! He likes to sing, "Hey, little cuteness, hey little cute!" and say, "She is SO adorable!" It's precious! You still say Mama and Dada interchangeably, eat solids including puffs/cheerios, wear 12-18 month clothes and size 4 diapers. In 2 months, you will be one year old, I can't even believe it. I am starting to plan your birthday party, how fun! I love you so much, and I am so blessed to have you in my life. You truly are my sunshine.



"and said to Him, 'Do you not hear what these children are saying?' And Jesus said to them, 'Yes; have you never read, "Out of the mouth of infants and nursing babies you have prepared praise for yourself?"'"

Tuesday, May 3, 2011

9 Months Old!

Dear Savannah,

You are 9 months old! You have grown by leaps and bounds this month. You are pulling to stand, creeping along furniture, throwing balls, and scooting on your bottom (your version of crawling). You only say Da-da, and you are certainly Daddy's little girl. You are very patient with your brother, and Jackson is learning how to be much more gentle with you. You love to watch him play, and you really really want to play with whatever it is he is playing with. You just started eating puffs today; otherwise, your diet is still breast milk and baby food. You had your doctor's appointment today, and you weigh 21 pounds and are 29.25 inches long. Wow! You still wear size 4 diapers and size 12 months clothes. Tonight, we are trying you in your crib in your room; you are getting way too big to sleep with Mommy and Daddy! Your favorite toy is probably Jackson's plastic tools, but you pretty much will play with anything. You have such a twinkle in your eye, you are such a happy baby. We love you so much!

Love, Mommy

Friday, March 25, 2011

8 Months Old!

Dearest Savannah,
You are 8 months old! I can't believe it. You are so sweet and cute. I just want to eat you up! You are still in size 4 diapers. You wear size 9 and 12 month clothes. You don't wear shoes yet. You say dad-da a lot! No ma-ma yet. You sit, roll, and scoot on your bottom. No crawling yet, though you will creep backwards sometimes. You've started wanting to move so badly that you will literally jump off your bottom into my lap. It's usually when you want milk! :) You still eat baby food, but I'm going to start mixing up the combos since you've now tried everything and enjoyed it all. No finger foods yet; when I tried to give you puffs, you almost choked, oops! I love you so much and I can't wait to see what tricks you have this month!
Love, Mommy

Thursday, March 17, 2011

First Word

I almost forgot, 2 nights ago, when JW left the room, Savannah looked up after him and literally said "Da da." It was so freakin adorable! She is so flirty and cute with him, every time he looks at her and says, "Hi, Savannah," she tilts her head to one side and hides in my chest while looking at him with a huge smile on her face. So sweet! She's daddy's girl!

Happy 3rd Birthday, Jackson!

Dearest Jackson,
I can't believe it's been 3 whole years that I've been blessed to be your mommy! You are growing up, and you are now officially a "preschooler." You go to preschool twice a week, you can count to 26, you know all your ABC's and letter sounds, and you've memorized so many books that I could swear you could read! Here are some of your stats/faves:
Height: 38.5 inches
Weight: 36.5 lbs
Size: 4T (we skipped over 3T somehow)
Diapers: still, size 5
Favorite Movie: Cars
Favorite Foods: Chicken Nuggets (some things never change), bananas
Favorite Toys: your cars, your John Deere Gator, your Handy Manny tools
Favorite TV show: Handy Manny

No paci! You gave it up, we're so proud of you! The paci fairy came and took it. Now you sleep with a little lightning bug lovey I bought for Savannah, but you just love it, so be it. You've slept in an air mattress on the floor for most of the year, but recently it got a hole in it from your rough play :) and we've moved you back into the bulldie bed, you're doing great. You still nap, thankfully. You're great with sitters, you are friendly to most people, and you are becoming a very nice, polite, well-mannered little boy. You love Jesus and learning about Him and God, praise the Lord! You've met all your milestones this year except for dressing yourself; though I'm sure it's not so much a "can't" as a "won't." Last year, we were worried that you couldn't jump; now, we couldn't stop you from jumping if we tried, and you can even do jumping jacks, make baskets, kick and throw a ball, and run. I'm looking forward to a great spring and summer with you, exploring all the new things you'll be able to do outside.

You're a big brother, and you are so good with your little sis! She adores you and never stops smiling at you, even when you "lovingly" squeeze her little cheeks too hard.

I love you so much, and I can't wait to have another great year with my little guy!

Love always,
Mommy

Saturday, March 12, 2011

Sound the Alarms, Jackson's Turning 3!




Today was Jackson's 3rd birthday party! We had it at the Mid-Michigan Children's Museum, and it was a blast! The theme this year was fire trucks and firemen, and I think it went really well. Guests included me, JW and Savannah of course; Aunt Mary Beth; Grammi and Great Aunt Jane; Kelly and Michael Rigterink; Aunt Paula; and Denise, Talli, Josiah, Livia, and Liya Nelson. We had 5 Alarm Chili, Hot Dogs, and Hungry Girl Cupcakes which were amazing! The kids all had a blast, and I was so proud of my big boy. Savannah was also the star of the museum; the staff actually begged me to sign a release so that they could take her picture and post it on their facebook. What a proud mommy I was! He got some great presents and is currently asleep in his room, probably dreaming of toys and sweets. 2 more days and he actually will be 3, ahhhh!


Friday, January 28, 2011

My Favorite Friend

Jackson has been telling me, "I love you, Mommy, you're my favorite friend." It's so adorable! And he has been singing some worship songs that he hears JW playing around the house. It's amazing, he knows all the words! He can sing, "Forever Reign" and "Love Came Down" very well. His latest favorite thing to watch on TV is AutoBGood, a Christian version of Cars that tries to teach a moral lesson. It's pretty cute, and a lot less violent than Toy Story, so we're taking a break from Woody and Buzz for awhile. I didn't realize how a seemingly innocent movie like Toy Story actually is a little advanced for a 2 year old. Who knew? Jackson is behaving a lot better every day, and he is so funny and such a little charmer. He cracks me up. He is a lot less violent, but he still hates getting his hair washed in the tub and changing his poopy diapers. He has been reading potty books more and "Pacifiers are Not Forever," so maybe he's thinking about growing up a little, we'll see. I'm starting to plan his 3 year old birthday party, which will be great fun, I can't believe how grown up he is getting!

6 months old!

Dearest Savannah, you turned 6 months old this week! I cannot believe that you have been with us for half a year now! You are such a delightful little girl. You are constantly smiling and laughing, taking in everything around you with your big eyes. You can sit up all by yourself and play with toys. Right now, you love to read "So Big" with Baby Elmo; you love playing with your triangle toy and your "O Ball," and you still love to amuse yourself in your exersaucer. You're pretty much done with the swing, although you will occasionally take a nap in it. We're trying to get you to sleep more in your pack and play, and you are doing a really good job. Your primary means of transportation is rolling around; I'll put you down in one spot on your back, turn around, and when I look again you're halfway across the room! You still adore your brother and you get a kick out of watching him do practically anything. He loves you too. :) You wear size 4 diapers and size 9 month clothes. You have your check up in a few days, so we will soon have your updated height and weight. We haven't given you your first solids yet; we're planning on doing so tomorrow, when Daddy and I can both be around to share in that special moment with you. We love you so much, sweetie!

******************************************************************************************
Weight 19lbs 8 oz
Height 27 1/4 inches

Saturday, January 8, 2011

Milestones


Savannah is rolling over! Only to her right side, but it's almost immediate, when you put her down on her back, she rolls right over onto her belly. She's getting more and more comfy on her tummy, so hopefully (? am I crazy?) she will start to creep/crawl; Jackson pretty much skipped that stage and went straight to walking. Also, a few days after my 5 month update, she moved up to size 4 diapers (that's one size less than Jackson!) due to the amount of blowouts she was having daily. It's much better now. :)
Today, Jackson got his hair cut for the 3rd time, he looks so handsome!

Sunday, January 2, 2011

What did you say?

Jackson said the funniest thing the other day! Grammi had come to visit, without her twin sister Aunt Jane, whom Jackson also adores. When Grammi walked into the house, Jackson said, "Where's the other Grammi?" He had never said that before, always referring to her as Aunt Jane. I was cracking up. I love you Jackson!