Major Accomplishments!

Our kids have been growing leaps and bounds lately and amazing me every day.  All of them have hit major milestones and accomplished life-changing skills in the last few weeks.  Proof:

1.  Sis ate solid food:

As long as she has another spoon in her hand, she does pretty well.  Cody says he forgets how frustrating it is to feed a tiny baby--she pushes each bite out of her mouth three or four times before getting about half of it down the hatch.  Tonight at dinner we turned to find her leaning over and atually sucking food off of her bib--maybe I should just spoon it directly onto the bib next time.  Hoepfully some solid food will bump her weight up a bit  in time for her next doctor appointment. 

 

 

2. Jamesie traded in diapers for dry underpants! 

 

We tried potty training Jamesie 5 or 6 months ago and it was pretty much a disaster.  After a while we put away the potty (and the pressure) and forgot about it until after the holiday travel and excitement.  This time around (2 weeks ago) we offered one M&M for dry underpants every 15-20 minutes, and 2 for success on the potty.  It worked like a charm!  Jamesie caught on quickly on the first day and has had dry pants ever since!  We started on Saturday morning and he went to church with underpants on Sunday.  I am seriously so proud of him.  He is dry all day-- car rides, speech lessons, getting Sean at pre-school.  Not peeing in your pants is an important life skill, Jamesie, enjoy it. 

 

3.  Sean read a book by himself!

 



 

Sean has entered the amazing world of reading by himself!  He read an entire 5-story Berenstain Bears book to me a week or two ago, and his teacher at school said he's moved on to level 2 Montessori book on his own!  It is so exciting to watch his love for reading and books develop into something he can control himself.  Last week we read Charlotte's Web together and he loved the rhythm and suspense of a chapter book.  We are starting Stuart Little this week, and then we  have been talking about diving into either the Narnia or Little House series.  I have also been leaving notes for Sean in his lunchbox and on his whiteboards around the house (something like: "Sean-I love you!  You are a great reader!") which he reads with ease.  The other day I wrote on his board, "Let's go to the store and buy food for s'mores," and he read it without pause on his first try.  So we did.  He's so awesome.  





Happy Zero and a Half, Sis!

Sis turned 6 months old last week, or as Sean said, she turned zero and a half.  At zero and a half, Annalisa is such a light in our lives! She is an amazingly good baby (I once described her to the doctor as "freakishly good," and upon poking and prodding her without so much as a whine, he agreed, "wow, she really is freakishly good.").  In the parlance of the Baby Whisperer, Sis is an "Angel Baby." (For reference, Sean was textbook and Jamesie was "sensitive.").  We often forget she's in the room.  And, while we're hittig a little roadblock with her nighttime sleeping right now after holiday travel and winter flu season, on the whole, she has been a great sleeper and eater, sleeping through the night for the first time at 4 weeks!

Now at 6 months, Annalisa is all smiles and laughs during the day.  Just in the last week or two she has started rolling ALL over, grabbing at everything, putting everything in her mouth and squirming her way all over an entire room.  I think she's definitely the most mobile of our babies. 

Our boys love her so much.  Jamesie has started calling her "tay-tee" for Sissy and yelling "Tay-tee, yeeeeaaaaa!" when she rolls over or grabs a toy.  He wants her to eat real food desperately and says "Tay-tee, eat! more!" whenever I bring her downstairs.  Sean is constantly kissing her face and her head and making her laugh.  They love offering her toys and watching her develop interest in them. 

Here are some shots of our beautiful girl from the last few weeks:

 

Oh, and by the way, for Sis's 6-month birthday, she got a nasty virus from her brothers which resulted in an ear infection and thus her first taste of antibiotics.  She has come through it like a trooper. 

 

And her six-month stats are sort of hilarious:

Height: 28 inches: 99th %

Weight: 14 lbs 5 oz: 19th %. 

(she gained 4 ounces in the last 3 months.  eek!)

 

Christmas Collage

Yes, I'm a month overdue for Christmas pictures.  Looking back at our blog though, I realize I rarely have done a Christmas post b/c we're so busy during the holidays!  Here are some quick shots, without much text, to memorialize that we do, in fact, celebrate Christmas....

Sean got a big boy bike-- with Lightning McQueen on it!  he was overcome.

James is trying really hard to look mad here.

Canoodling, reading, drinking coffee and gifting.  Denise has found her match :)

Jamesie and Ruby contemplating the mountains.

On a real train!  Or, the Detroit People Mover.

Hey, there's Canada!

 

Ridiculous.

Rub a dub dub...

 

SNOW!!!!!!

 

 

 

 

Why?

First of all, I can't believe its been over a month since we've been on our blog.  I have SO much updating to do with Christmas pics, but today I have to memorialize an awesome conversation going on between Sean and Jamesie over the last two days.

For about 2 years now Sean has been asking one question over and over, day in and day out.  Why.  Why why why?  An answer does nothing but lead to more of the question....over and over until we put an end to with an exasperated "I really don't know," or "because that's how God made it." 

So Jamesie has been absolutely killing it in speech therapy lately, and using so many new words regularly.  Its great to hear his little voice and great to hear him acting like a 2 year old....which means he has acquired one precious word over the last few days.... WHY!?!?  After 2 years of trying to answer Sean's whys over and over and over, Sean is getting a little taste of his own medicine. 

Yesterday the boys were out of the deck and I could hear this conversation from the kitchen:

Sean: [something bossy to jamesie]
Jamesie: Why?
Sean: because......[something..]
Jamesie: Why?
Sean: because.... [something more...]
Jamesie: Why?
Sean: I don't know why.
Jamesie: Why?
Sean: I don't know why I don't know why.  I just don't know.
Jamesie.  Why?
Sean: I DO NOT KNOW JAMESIE! 
Jamesie: [pause] .... .... Why?
Sean: Jamesie, STOP ASKING WHY! I DON'T KNOW WHY!

I was cracking up listening to Sean handling this. Then, this morning in the car:

Sean: Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle all the...
Jamesie: HEY!
Sean:  No, Jamesie, you don't say Hey there. 
Jamesie: Why?
Sean: Because that's not where it goes in the song. 
Jamesie: Why?
Sean: Because it goes later in the song.
Jamesie: Why?
Sean: I don't know why!
Jamesie: [pause] Why?
Sean: I don't know.  John Denver knows why.   {?}
Sean: Mom, did John Denver write Jingle Bells?