Judah 20 Months

So I'm a little behind on the monthly Judah posts.. anyways- here's to catching up...

Weight: 31lbs

Wearing: mostly 3t's between size 5 and 6 diapers (hopefully not for long)

Development:

Judah's talking has just taken off. There is nothing he won't try to say- it's beyond adorable. Some favorite words right now are: boat (with a British accent, not too sure how that happened), ball, balloon, walk, eat, egg, dark, hot, tools, sticks, and boots. It's amazing. He's still only putting two words together but he's come a long way in just a few weeks. He's getting really good at playing basketball, loves to "help" Daddy in the garage with tools- in fact if Ben goes to the garage without Judah, Judah will stand at the door and YELL, DADDY.....TOOOLS TOOOLS- like Ben's in there playing with tools without him. 

Going for walks is probably his favorite thing right now. We go as soon as Ben gets home and if the weather is decent- in the morning before lunch. He'll wake up from his nap ask for Daddy then yell WALK. Having playground in the backyard is so great, we really put it to good use. We'll take Beretta to he dog park then a big loop to the playground, or go get the mail then back to the playground. I'm sooo looking forward to warm weather. Last year the kids and I were outside right after breakfast and didn't come in until lunch only in long enough to eat, then when Judah was napping, Aud and I would play outside till he woke up and all of us would be outside until dinner- it was the best. The kids slept better and longer when we could be outside for more than an hour.

Judahcub is a hambone. He loves to dance, sing songs, and get your attention. Most of the time he doesn't know just how funny he is but when he does, the boy runs with it. Fearless. Judah is 100% fearless. Doesn't matter what it is, how high it is, the boy will climb it and most likely jump off of it. I was skyping my Mom a few weeks ago and she could see what he was doing beside me. She was laughing then paused and said, "Jaim, you know the stitches are coming right- it's not a matter of if- its when" I said well, I'm hoping the scar that run from the top of his rib cage to the bottom counts against that because I think the poor boy had his fill at 3 days of life.

Sleeping:

I dread even writing this. I really do. At the end of January Judah was waking through the night multiple times, and having a hard time going back to bed. That seemed to calm down a little bit then Ben and I went away for a night (which my Mom stayed with the kids and they did awesome for her) and we attempted a Moms Time out at the church where Judah would be with kiddos his age for 1.5 hours (for the first time ever) and EVERYTHING changed. There was some issues prior to the start of the Mom's time out that really had me upset, then him not knowing what was going on with being in a class away from me for the first time with a bunch of crying kiddos seemed to just tip the scales. I kept checking on him and he was good after five-10 minutes, but we haven't gone back and his sleep has never been the same. When we got home he refused to take a nap. It was ugly. Here was my boy who would reach for his crib, tuck himself in, and wave goodbye screaming like a mad man who had to have thought I was leaving him again. It was so bad. And then the nights turned into the same screen. It got so crazy that we had to take him out of the crib and put in the double bed so we could lay down with him. Praise God it's improving but it's been a really long sleep journey. Lets just say my most favorite book right now and will be a book I will recommend to everyone, Sleepless in American by Mary Sheedy Kurcinka has helped greatly. It's been such a blessing to read a book that actually encourages what Ben and I have strived to do with our kiddos sleep- that so many people discourage.

We're finally back to his 3hr naps, there for awhile it was 1.5hrs and working towards a later wake up. He was waking at 05 or a little before hand... 0630 has never looked better folks.

Eating:

Praise God 'Cubba is still a good eater. Not so much when he's teething but he'll at least have one food he'll eat a ton of. 

This is Judah's Maybel. My baby sister got a Bernese Mountain Dog names Maybel that the kids adore.

Judah loves getting under the covers to play or to read books...

 and pretend to snore, like he's doing in this picture :)

I'm telling you, he will launch off of ANYTHING. This chair has been removed is case your wondering...

"Helping" take the crib down

Dinosaur Birthday Party!

The weekend following Aud's birthday we had a little party for her. Her first party that wasn't only family ;) We had our neighbors from beside us and from across the street. All four are boys. Aud calls them "my boys". It was pretty low key. Amanda helped me make tails for the kids as favors. Trying to get them all together with all the tails on was impossible. We played a balloon game that my Mom did for us when we were little. You put big tshirts on the kids, pair them with and adult and see who can fill the kiddo's shirt with the most balloons. Aud and I would have won if Ben wouldn't have sabotaged me, by holding my arm away and taking my balloons! It was so much fun. Only three out of the 6 wanted to play but they all had a blast. Ben blew up so many balloons, they all had the best time playing with the balloons and popping them.

All of the boys wore dinosaur shirts to her party and her gift from Lincoln and Greyson was a T-Rex shirt. She was soooo excited and wears is all the time now!

We had pizza, veggies and fruit (for the herbivores), wonton crackers, dirt cups with dinosaurs, and homemade coconut ice cream. Aud told me I needed to make meatballs for the carnivores but was willing to accept the pepperoni pizza as their food! :)

I wish I could accept the credit for these tails but I can't. Ben made 3 of them and our sweet neighbor made the other 3. She made two for her boys then made 2 more for her nephews but with a cutting error, we had to borrow an one from her for Audrey's tail. Thanks for the help Amanda, you're the best! They were huge hits. Our kiddos wear them all the time. 

The hulk!

They had a blast and all of the kids were in bed sleeping well before 1930!

This was right before we started singing to her...

 ...when we started! She was so excited!

Spencer and Hayden

Greyson

Lincoln

The Woman is Four!!!

Our first born turned 4 about two weeks ago! We the day devoted celebrating Audrey. She woke up to balloons covering her floor, streamers, and special balloons from Daddy. We kicked off with the breakfast of her choice which was Waffles, sausage, and strawberries. It was a beautiful day so we went out to the playground. It was the first time Aud was able to pull herself onto the swing! She looked at me with these huge eyes and said, "Momma, now that I'm four- I can get onto the swing ALL BY MYSELF!" It was too sweet. We played outside for awhile and with the neighbor boy then we came inside for the lunch of her choice- pepperoni pizza. She is so loved and got calls and messages all day- she was on cloud 9! We had dinner all planned with her favorite saurbraten meatballs, egg noodles, and mixed veggies with frozen banana ice cream- but we made a trip to Joann's to get the material for her dinosaur tails and she saw a Chick-fil-A. She was so sweet about it, she said Momma, Daddy- it's my birthday and I changed my mind- I'd like to play at  Chick-fil-A and eat "chickie bites" with fruit. It was her day, so we changed gears and had a nice time. It worked well for us because right beside the Chick-Fil-A, was a Chipotle :) While the kiddos played, we had an awesome meal of veggie burritos and a salad. All the excitement, celebrating, and turning 4 must have been too much because by 1730, she was a mess. This Momma is a firm believer in kiddos needing sleep- she was in bed sleeping by 1830 :)

Naturally, there had to be candles in her waffle :)

Birthday gifts from Daddy and Momma, Snow Whites Prince and "The Princess and the Pea" book

Candles in pizza :)

'Cubba needed candles in his pizza too :)

Our sweet girl- what a complete joy you bring to our lives and everyone that knows you! You have such spunk, energy, and life in you- it's so much fun just to be near you! This past year, like the few years before, have been tough on our family- but you have flourished in spite of it all. 

 You are learning so much so fast- you amaze us! Your recollection of the names of dinosaurs is incredible! Your dance shows, songs you think of are more precious to me than you will ever know! You love to be read to, have things explained to you in the greatest of detail, and miss nothing! You love playing with your dinosaurs, your dolls, puzzles, matching games, paints, crayons, the sandbox, taking walks, and playing on the play ground.

You love to learn about Jesus, hear his word, and talk about him all throughout your day. We are so proud and will foster this above everything else. 

We love you, our wild woman. Since the day you were born, our lives have gained so much. Never had I ever laughed more, or been made speechless. You are the only you and we are so thankful God chose us to be your Momma and Daddy. 

Hamsterdam

After watching the speed skating portion of the Olympics, I was explaining to the wild woman that the men from the Netherlands usually win the most metals. This is how the conversation went:

WW: Momma, can I go to the Netherlands?

Me: Hunny, you've already been to the Netherlands. Momma and Daddy took you when you were 13 months old. We went to see the tulips and spent some time in Amsterdam.

She didn't say much, just went back to pretending to ice skate on a blanket in the middle of the living room floor. Fast forward a few hours to our dinner time conversation...

WW: Daddy, can you take me back to Hamsterdam in the Netherlands, like when I was a baby?


OOh Audrey, you are such a joy!!!

And the Mother of the year goes to.....

A few days ago, I noticed Audrey wasn't running like she usually does. When she slowed down enough for me to catch her this is what happened,

Me: Audrey, why are you running like that? (she was hopping, skipping,  and galloping all in one motion)

Audrey: Because my shoes are too tight and they hurt my feet.


In my defense- she's been wearing her snow boots or her black mary-janes, and not her sneakers. But still... I felt terrible.

Fast forward a few days and I was telling my Dad this story. He of course, thought the entire thing was hysterical. I'm not sure if it was because of my mortification or because it wasn't until my poor child was running so completely different due to her tight shoes and sore feet, that I noticed-then she had to tell me- that her shoes didn't fit. Either one, maybe both. A couple hours past after we hung up and he called me back. This is how the conversation went...

My Dad: "Jaim, I just got off the phone with LLbean. I bought you a gift card so you can go buy that poor girl some new shoes. It should get there through that email thing, watch for it"

Me: "Thanks so much Daddy, you didn't have to do that but I really appreciate it. And so will your poor granddaughter"

Dad: "Poor thing, "my shoes are too tight, my feet hurt" Tell her Poppa Marty got her some shoes, look for it and get them ordered, poor girl."

Happy Groundhog Day!!

In honor of my hometown- some groundhog pictures to enjoy :)

I know this one has nothing to do with groundhog day but I had to include it :) (it was taken the same day, hows that?)

The wild man in his groundhog hat!!

We went to see my brother-in-law play basketball and Oma had a hat for him too :) I adore this picture sooooo very much. They both love their Uncle Jake dearly- as you can tell!

Being SUPER silly :)

This was taken seconds before the 3rd picture was taken. We all were coaxing smiles and Jake thought it was a great photo op :)

Don't tell the inner circle but- we didn't do anything for Groundhog's Day. I know. I know. But, Sunday mornings are a little nuts at our house (as I'm sure that resonates with others) and with Cubba getting 4 teeth- our nights have been a little long... We caught Phil on some reruns then headed off to church. The kids were more caught off guard that the TV was on in the morning during a meal to get excited about a groundhog :)

Judah 19 Months

Morning time snuggles

Such a stinker.

He loves pockets.

Weight: 30.5lbs

Wearing: size 5 diapers, 2t's (and a few 3ts)

Development:

Oh my, I knew I should have started writing this the day after he turned 18mons. This month has flown, as do they all. Judah is a master at turning dead bolts as you can see in the picture above. He doesn't need the stool to lock the door, but enjoys looking out the window while turning the lock... He loves snuggling under blankets to read books (most of the time they are upside down, but he's trying) Judah is using more 2 word sentences lately and working on more words. 

He's starting to "help" with chores. He likes to unload the dishwasher, take the clothes out of the washer and put in the dryer, take the clothes out of the dryer into a basket, but his favorite chore to help with is cleaning the lint from the lint trap in the dryer. LOVES it. He checks the trap every time he walks by the dryer (which is a great deal), he even opens the door of the dryer mid cycle to check for lint :)

Judah has become even more fearless, if possible. There is nothing he won't climb on or jump off of. He has NO FEAR and is a complete ham. Stools, chairs, steps, couches... you name it. A favorite is leaping off of something onto someone :)

Wrestling is quickly becoming a favorite pastime for the wild man. Audrey is less than thrilled at times, but can usually give it right back to him. As you can imagine, the screaming and crying start not long after. I keep telling him, he's going to be spending time with the Huffman's to learn how to wrestle properly very soon.

Eating:

As always, Judah has no issue with food :) He is a little more sensitive  to textures than Audrey was but we're working on it. 

Sleeping:

Thanks to teeth coming in, Judah wakes early and goes back to sleep after some snuggling and rocking for a few hours. He's also waking up a few times through the night but either puts himself back to sleep or just needs a quick snuggle.