Halloween Fun and Sitting Up

We have been doing a ton of fun stuff to get in the Halloween spirit this year from parties to activities to crafts.  Sofia has been so excited to be a princess (Snow White or Cinderella?  Who knows yet. . . ). She asked Mike and I to be a pirate and a witch, so when we take her trick or treating we'll all be one dorky dressed up family but how could you say no to her request?!  She's having a blast with the Halloween season, learning about jack-o-lanterns and ghosts and that "they aren't scary, they are pretend", but that's just her trying to convince herself of that which is pretty funny.  

Here's Cinderella and her pumpkin :)

 Getting ready for the insane yet super fun Dewberry Farm

 patiently waiting to get in!

 Farmer Gabe

  a corn pit!  Some corn fell out of her underwear when we went potty later :) Much like sand, but bigger  

 Going down the giant slide with Daddy

 All the fun he could stand, but still holding tight to his Sophie

 Sitting up!  Finally with some stability! 

Six Month Check-Up

Seriously, how is my baby boy six months old?  I know "time flies" but does it fly faster with each child? TEAR!

Check-up went well. . . nothing really to report, but here are Gabe's stats:

Height: 28" (93rd percentile)
Weight: 19 lbs, 4 oz (80th percentile)
Head Circ 17.99" (93rd percentil)

Pretty big guy.  Healthy, well, and happy.  He's moving more and more each day, talking a ton (favorite is DADADADADADA).  He's eating his veggies like a champ and the doc gave us the all clear to move on to pretty much all other foods (aside from the obvious no-nos like peanut butter etc) in the next month or so and really get him mainly on solids!  

He had four shots today and totally broke my heart.  The first one just scared him a bit and each prick of the needle made him cry a little more and by the last one he had come completely undone.  It took him a while to settle down but once we got moving in the car he was good to go.  He's already back to his happy little self and both babies are down for naps so I think I will go do the same :)

I'm still working on a video of Gabe actually moving forward in an inching/crawling attempt, but this is all I've got for now.

Gabe videos

Just had a post a few videos of  Gabe's latest shenanigans.

Peas. I get a kick out of him banging his fist for more.

Gabe likes to scream

The biggest thing for Gabe that happened this weekend was that he actually started moving forward.  Not quite crawling, but inching.  Almost an army crawl, but I'm not sure what to call it.  I'm bummed because of course the video I got of it is not working.  I will work on getting another one and posting it soon.  

Weekend of Fun

This past weekend was busy and lots of fun.  Quite a few things going on from Sofia's first princess birthday party to a Packers vs. Texans game (GO PACK GO!), we were always up to something :)

Getting ready for the ball :)

 What the boys did during the princess party 

Sofia and the birthday girl eating cake.  Happy Birthday, Sam!

To end the weekend, playing in a puddle in her new rain gear

Visitor

Last week we had a visitor on Tuesday.  Mike's sister, Erin, came to town for work and was able to fit in some family time which was awesome.  What a fun surprise, and great afternoon.  Aside from the fact that Sofia did not nap at school so was a bit of a challenge. . . I think Aunt Erin still enjoyed her time :)  Gabe was super happy and giggly as usual and Sofia was SO excited to see her Aunt Erin that when she thought she left, she just about flipped out.  Luckily, when it did come time to really say goodbye, Sof had conked out in the car (sitting in Houston traffic will do that to you). She did get some phenomenal pictures that I just couldn't stop looking at.  We wished we could have had more time of course, but can't wait to see you again Aunt Erin! :)  xo

Solids

Gabe had his first veggies yesterday.  I gave him the same first veggie I gave Sofia when she was his age - avocado.  He seemed to like it a lot!  Funny how at this age they love everything that's not plain old milk and then once they taste that first piece of cheese or hot dog  you can forget anything else healthy.

Looking forward to introducing more veggies since he's loving his food already.  

And, I must mention that I SO jinxed us in my last post about Gabe sleeping great.  He's back to getting up - usually around 4 or 5.  As much as it's not exactly fun to be woken out of a dead sleep (especially after Sofia had already woken us up b/c of her wet diaper), I feel like with him I don't mind b/c it seems like his baby-hood is flying by and I just try to enjoy some extra snuggle time with him.  I'm really thankful that I am able to have a better attitude about my lack of sleep :)  most of the time, any way.  

Last night when he got up he was definitely saying "DA DA DA DA".  Hilarious . . . not that he has any clue what he's saying but it was pretty cute. 

Proud Proud Mommy

I had to write this down right away so I wouldn't forget my first real proud Mommy moment.  OK, maybe not the first, but a different kind of proud.  Sofia has made me proud in many ways up until now from learning to share (sometimes) to learning to use the potty, to listening to directions etc. etc.  And not to be excluded, Gabe has made me proud with his baby milestones in his five months of life of course!

 But today, was different.  Today Sofia made me proud of the person she is becoming and her character which is really starting to shine through these days.  She's got a very strong personality to say the least, and while she can be very strong willed and upset when things do not go her way, she is also such a sweet soul and a gregarious and loving little girl.  This is my analysis of her at age two :)

So, back to the point.  I've joined a bible study with my mom since I've been back and while I do certainly miss my church and bible study in Milwaukee, this one has been very fulfilling and I'm loving it as well.  As part of this bible study, the children participate in a children's ministry which I love because, as I've said before, sometimes I don't feel fully equipped to teach Sofia all it is that I'd like her to learn.  The Bible being one, since I'm just starting to really learn that myself :)

So, I've been really trying to spend time with her on her lesson from her little bible study class and I learned today that it has certainly paid off.  Not only is she reciting her little bible verse already "Do not be afraid, your prayer has been heard." but she's also learning her first bible story.  One of the teachers told me today that she blew them away when she retold in her words the story of Hannah and Samuel and how Hannah prayed for a baby (Samuel) and how he stayed at the temple with Eli to pray and learn.  It made me so proud and happy that she was there.  THEN, as if that didn't make my heart swell, I was walking out and another mother stopped me and said "Your daughter has been such a blessing to my daughter, Pearl." (I had just happened to have met Pearl right before that because she was trying to follow Sofia out of class :)) and I said, "Oh, wow, thank you." thinking that maybe they had just become friends.  But, the mother went on to tell me how Pearl is very shy and anxious to be left off in class and having her leave her there but Sofia was always there with open arms, a hug and an exciting greeting "HI PEARL! COME ON PEARL!" and that always helped Pearl go into the class with ease.  I thanked the mother for sharing that with me and I was so overjoyed to hear that. Pearl's mom was definitely the thankful one for Sofia and that REALLY made me so emotional and proud that my daughter played a role in making this bible study smooth not only for Pearl, but for her Mommy.  It allowed her to be able to really enjoy her morning without worrying how her baby girl was doing.  Amazing.  Proud proud moment.  Maybe, just maybe, I'm doing something right.  I almost feel like I can't even take credit for it, but what I can do is continue to pray to be the best mom I can be to them.

On a completely irrelevant note, Gabe wore an outfit today that used to belong to my brother.  So adorable. Baby Dior.  I can't take it.

And, on another tangent/note, I need to take more pics of myself with my children.  I read an article that made me realize it.  I can say, I don't shy away from pics out of vanity, but more because I'm always the one taking the pics.  So, I guess I need to hand the camera over to Mike or somebody else now and then so that there will actually be memories of myself in these photos!

Click here to read the article but be warned it will make you cry.

General Updates

Just needed a place to post some cute video :)

In general kiddo news, Sofia is now pooping in the potty and I think I can confidently say she is now potty trained.  She wears panties now, and the only time she doesn't is nap and night and she almost always still wakes up dry.  It's pretty amazing.  Going through it, I thought it was impossible.  haha, I know we'll still have accidents, etc. but it's pretty exciting now that she is regularly using the potty and aside from a few incidents, it was relatively painless.

Gabe has really been changing lately.  He's just getting so BIG.  And he's 'talking' non-stop.  It's like he really NEEDS to be heard :)  And, boy can we get him belly laughing.  I've got to say, the sound of your kids laughing must be one of the BEST sounds in the entire world. Nothing like it.  What's also awesome is that he's sleeping much better since tummy sleeping.  Thank goodness!    We're mostly getting "full" nights of sleep again so I'm very thankful for that.  I hope saying that out loud did not just jinx us.

The things we do to make our kids laugh! this video was a random game Mike made up while sitting at the table.  Both kids get a kick out of it, clearly.

GG's Birthday

There are so many great things about being back in Houston.  Of course one of the greatest things is being close to my family.  Part of that was being able to celebrate my grandma's 78th birthday with her last weekend.  I love that she is able to spend time with her great grandchildren and that they can bring a very special joy to her life.  She lives all alone in a big quiet house and I know that those kids have been a huge blessing to her life and I'm so happy to be able to give her that little piece of happiness.

So, to get ready for GG's birthday, Sofia helped Daddy bake her a cake during the day on Saturday and then that evening we took her to dinner.  Afterward, we went to her house to have the cake Sofia made for her.  It was so simple, yet, she said it was the best birthday she has had in a very long time.  When she told me that it made my heart very happy.  It goes to show that little things you can do for people can really go a long way and you might not even realize it until after.  It also makes you appreciate the simple joys in life.  Like baking a cake with your two year old :)

Sofia and Daddy frosting the cake

Didn't take too long before she realized she could sample it from the "scotchula"

 This is how Gabe helped :) 

Sofia helping GG blow out the candles.  Sof has been REALLY into birthdays lately. 

 Happy Birthday to our Dear GG. Love.