Belt Testing and Leah Crawls!!!

Well, Leah has been getting very close to crawling the last couple weeks and today she did!  She was on her tummy but was able to go a good 8 feet!  Boo hoo hoo...I'm in no hurry for my youngest to get mobile or grow up.  It will be a sad day when there is no longer a baby in the house.  She brings us all such joy.

Anyway, today Evan had testing for his yellow with green stripe belt.  He did great!  He has a great memory so learning some of the harder stuff like his form has come pretty easy for him.  Best of all, he really enjoys it.

Wednesday, I had meet the parent night at Colin and Evan's school.  I always enjoy this night, getting to see where the kids sit in class and getting to know their teachers a bit better.  I always leave a little note at their desk for them and this year they had smelly pencils on sale, so I was able to leave a note and pencil in their desk for them.  They both said they were excited to see it when they got to their class the next morning.  Dennis was in NY again this week and got home Wednesday in time for me to go to the parent night.

Thursday, Logan and I enjoyed story time at the book store.  Lately, he has been very helpful.  But, when I tell him thanks for being a good helper he is saying, "what do I get for that"?  I guess I need to cut back on the treats!  Logan is also starting to enjoy drawing.  His pictures are still scribble but it has been entertaining him for awhile.  He has started to work on his letters and is signing his papers "LO" so far.  He also has been pulling out puzzles that we have had in storage and is getting pretty good at those.  He has done up to 60 pieces by himself.

Oh, Monday I took Logan and Leah to the mall and then the playground that is a part of it.  Funny story... as I was loading the kids into the car, two older men (maybe in their 70s) were standing at the car next to me.  One of them told me to take my time and the other one says, "Are you flirting with a lady with kids?"  The other man, without hesitation said, "Nah, she's too old.".

Logan took this pic!

At Starbucks after the playground!

One more funny story...Logan asked me if we had Goldilocks.  I said no, but we can look for it next time we go to the library.  He responded, "No, it's really scary."  I told him no it is not.  And he says, "Yes, it is.  Goldilocks runs out of the house screaming.  It's really REALLY scary."

Well, we are looking forward to the Labor Day weekend.  We have no plans at all and there are no games.  So that will be so nice!

Family Picnic and Sports.

Thursday was parent night at Logan's school.  The kids got to come and they had a pasta dinner.  I took Logan, Leah and Colin and Dennis stayed at Evan's football practice with him.

The kids did well at their games this weekend.  They were back to back so I took Colin to his pictures and game and Dennis took Evan.  I am told Evan pulled a flag and saved a touch down and had a great run too!  Colin did very well at his game and scored a goal!

  After the games, Dennis met me at Colin's game so he could take Leah home and I took the 3 boys to a family picnic for Evan's Tae Kwan Do.  The picnic was great. The had delicious Korean BBQ and the kids did water balloon fights and tug of war.  I was amazed at how much food and people were there and hopefully next year we can all go (Dennis had to go home to do one of his fantasy football drafts).

Sunday was another soccer game for Colin.  Dennis took him this time because it was really hot and right in the middle of Leah's afternoon nap.  Colin scored again and played a great game.

This morning Dennis left for NYC again.  But, I think we are pretty used to it just being me and the kiddos.  As long as I am organized and plan ahead we are able to get to all the activities and get stuff done pretty well.

Love my days with just the little two...

The Moore's Visit

Movie night...

This morning Julie's family left.  We had a great time while they were here.  The men spent most of the weekend at the GenCon event downtown (which is a gaming convention).  So, Thursday Julie and I took the kids (I only had Logan and Leah with me) to the Children's Museum.  Friday we took them to Monkey Joes bounce place and Saturday they came with us to Colin and Evan's games (Soccer and Football).

Brandon and Leah (3 Months difference in age)

Then Sunday Dennis and Phil took Colin, Evan and Alex to Gen Con for family day.  They had a blast!

It was so nice to have them visit.

Leah is 9 Months Old!

At 9 Months Leah is still a very easy, sweet baby.  She is pretty "go with the flow" and rarely cries unless she is ready to go to sleep, and even then she will just fuss.  She is great to take out and about, though she rarely falls asleep when we are out.  I try to be home for her naps or at least for one of them.

Speaking of sleep, she sleeps from about 8pm to 7am most mornings.  She takes 2 naps usually, though has recently started talking for a long time before she actually falls asleep, so they aren't always the longest naps.  Overall, she doesn't seem to need too much sleep during the day.

Leah nurses 4x/day, once when she wakes up, once after her morning nap (around 11), after her afternoon nap (around 4) and then before bed.  She is eating some table food and attempting to feed herself with her fingers too.  I usually give her some of what we are eating if it is soft enough and then will finish off with one stage 2 baby food.  She is starting to like almost all foods I offer her.  At first she wasn't too interested in fruits but I just kept giving them to her and now she seems to eat them OK.  She isn't a picky eater, but she isn't big eater either.  She will eat a little and then be done.  She is also taking the sippy cup good too.  I give her a bit of water each meal to get her used to holding the cup.  It is sometimes hard for her to hold it, but she is drinking well.

Leah is sitting up pretty good now and rolling all over the floor.  She also comes up on her hands and knees and rocks back and forth and also comes up on her hands and toes (like a downward dog yoga position).  She likes to chew on toys and talk.  She has said the sounds for "DADA" and she makes what sounds like "yes", but in both cases I don't think she really knows what she is saying.

At her doctors appointment yesterday we found out she is 14lbs 8.5 oz (not on chart) and 26 inches (5%), her head is 17 5/8in.  So, she is still pretty petite.  I am wondering if she is going to stay small.  Her doctor said we will have a better idea when she hits her 2nd birthday.

Her brothers absolutely love her.  They are always trying to carry her.  She is really just a joy for all of us.

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First Day of School!!!

Today is Colin and Evan's first day of school (1st grade for Evan and 3rd grade GT for Colin)!  They were both very excited to start a new year.

While they were gone, I surprised them by making some peanut butter, chocolate chip brownies.  When Colin and Evan got off the bus, Colin ran into the kitchen and saw what I made.  He said, "I knew you would make something, because you always make something on special days".  I am so glad he notices that I put in the effort to make special days a bit more special, but I am also thinking I better not forget to do something in the future!  I think I just put some added pressure on myself.

Colin 1st day of 3rd grade!

Evan 1st day of 1st grade!

Anyway, I enjoyed hearing about their first day of school.  Sounds like both of them like their teachers this year.  Colin has Mrs. Bancroft and Evan has Mrs. Schmitt.

Here is to hoping it is a great year for both of them.

In other news, my parents left this morning to continue on to Tennessee to visit friends of theirs and Julie's family is coming to town tonight.  The boys can't wait for their cousins to get here!

Chicago Getaway 2013

Thursday night my parents got into town and Friday morning Carol's family left to head back to Virginia.  My parents had offered to watch the kids so Dennis and I could get away again this year.  So, we left Friday morning for Chicago.

Friday, Dennis worked in Chicago while I enjoyed reading my book at a coffee shop, shopping along Michigan Ave., and then taking a nap in the hotel.  It was a perfect day.  And, so nice to shop and try stuff on without having kids in tow.  We then went to an amazing french restaurant for dinner.  It was so so good.  We ended the night with fireworks at the Navy Pier.

How I spent my morning...Ah, relaxation.

Saturday, we did a bit of shopping again.  We also went to our favorite restaurant in Chicago, The Purple Pig, for lunch.  For dinner we went to RPM which was opened by a celebrity couple I love.  It was a fantastic meal also!  Then we enjoyed a comedy club.  It was such a great day.

Sunday we had a nice breakfast and then headed back home.  The kids did well while we were gone.  Leah took all her bottles great (I pumped while I was in Chicago).  It was so nice of my parents to watch them and take Evan to Tae Kwan Do and his first Football game too!  We took my parents out to dinner Sunday to thank them.

I can't wait till next year!!