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.

Christmas Eve

Praise God no one was sick this Christmas!! Last year Audrey was extremely sick and was in the ER Christmas Day, it was terrible. This year was full of good health and a great time with family. It was a little crazy but that doesn't matter. 'Cubba had a BLAST this year and was a complete hamball. The wildwoman had so much fun she kept saying, this is my most favorite Christmas!!

Here are some pictures from my Grams house on Christmas Eve.

Opening a gift from Poppa Marty

Juuuust a little bit excited...

 'Cub loved sis's new princess shoes :)

He walked pretty good in them 

TRUCKS!

While at Grams, 'Cub took great delight in jumping off of the ottoman and stool onto his Aunts.

They loved it too

Getting ready to launch

Every gown needs slippers!

He loved trying on his new clothes!

Woodloch Mini Vacation

In the beginning of December, we and our next door neighbor family went to an all inclusive resort in the Poconos called The Woodloch Inn. We got an amazing deal and an additional 15% off with a military appreciation. It was just a little guy, 2 nighter, but was really the perfect amount of time. We played so hard and kept so busy, any longer might too much for the kiddos (and their parents)

The resort is named #2 resort for families in the US, per trip advisor. I'd agree with that for the most part. There were a few things that I was put off by and will let the lodge know. Ie, the level, indoor playground for kids was very poorly lit- even dark in some areas that gave a creepy kind of vibe (I know because I climbed all through it with Audrey and to help unsure kiddos to the nearest exit), there were no changing tables in the pool locker room- you had to either walk out and go into the bath room, or take all your stuff in to the pool area and the take it all back into the locker room (Ben said he just laid a pile of towels on the floor to get Cub squared away, but still) and the woman's locker room had ants everywhere. Other than that, it was a great time. They had the best splash pad that our kids loved, a ton of family activities, decent food, nice clean rooms, and it was 99% retiree's. We had everything to ourselves. I don't think I'd ever go in the summer but would go back in the winter season again anytime.

 This is funny because he wanted nothing to do with Santa, at all. Had to go to another part of the room :)

Lou on the other hand LOVED Santa :)

Ready to go on the sleigh ride to check out Christmas lights

My luvies

Our sweet friends (Aud calls their kiddos "my boys")

I thought the entrance was so pretty

* I didn't realize that the splash pad pics where on Ben's iphone, I'll have to make another post with those.

18 Months

A year and a half! Six more months and my wild man will be 2!

Proof he is my son... reading a book, and a stethoscope.

Same faces :)

hahaha I can't stop giggling when I see this picture

Weight: 30lbs over the 95%

Height: 86.7 cm (2ft 10.13 inches) over 95%

Wearing: 2t and some 3t, size 5 diapers

Development:

In the past 2wks, Judahs vocab has just soared! One day out of the blue, 'Cubba boy must have thought to himself, "Well, today seems like a good day to start using my words"! He's putting 2-3 words together to get a point across. Some new words include: Tuck (stuck), Up, Oh, Fa la la la la, Bitte (please or welcome in German), No, Danke (thank you in German), Sis, Poppa, Ake (Jake), May (maybel my sister's puppy), Shhhhh, Ush (hush from books we read), ose (nose), ummmm (yum) dun (down), ahh dun (all done), buh bye (bye bye), Hi, nigh nigh (night night), hop hop, dickle dickle (tickle tickle- he's been saying that one for a few months through)

Some new things he's been into lately: zippers, leaping from anything he can climb on, imitating sister whining (unreal), scrubbing himself in the tub, coloring more, wanting read to more, turning lights on and off, doing things just to make us laugh, hopping, making new friends anywhere we go by waving and yelling HI HI HI HI, peeing in the potty or in the tub when all the water's out, playing in the snow, eating snow, our Advent calendar, touching the older ladies the sit in front of us at church, he likes to instigate a tickle fight or a game of chase.

Judah is still such a lover. Don't get me wrong- he still throws cheap shots in often but mostly he's a lover. He get's very concerned when the wild woman is upset or when another baby cries. Like in church today we were in the family room and the little baby beside us was crying and he kept coming to me and saying "Mum Mum" and pointing to the baby then wanting a snuggle or a moocher. He for the most part, likes sharing his things with others, unless it's the wild woman...

Judah's back molars are now in. He has the molars and two bottom teeth in and on the top he has  the front four and the back two molars. I love when he gives us that gummy grin and all you see are his bottom teeth, love it!

Eating:
Judahcub is still an fantastic eater. He's more of a eat all day long, instead of every 2-3 hours. Some new things he's tried this month: pomegranates, crab meat, shrimp, maple syrup, chocolate chips, sugar cookies, mandarin oranges, clementines, cinnamon rolls, cranberries (wasn't a big fan of this one), roast beef (also wasn't a fan of). All expect the last two- he really enjoyed.

Sleeping:
Judah sleeps and naps amazingly.... only if he is home and in his own bed. If he is not home and in his own bed... it's a nightmare. We've done all that we could think of. Over Thanksgiving I was so tired and stressed from Judah being up constantly through the night that we went home early. I was crying and upset but didn't know what to do. We all were coming down with a bug and uhh- it was rough. We love being home and don't want to cut our trips short because Mr. Judahcub wants his bed. It's rough.