It’s hard to believe that another month has gone by; yet at the same time, last month’s post seems like ages ago!
A lot has happened since last month — Dave started school, I returned to full-time blogging, and our kids are growing like weeds over here!
JAMES @ 2 MONTHS:
James is 2 months old today — and wow, have we seen a lot of changes in him!
The big news from James is that he’s smiling and making other fun facial expressions.
He’s also making lots of noises (besides just crying), so it has been fun to hear his voice a little.
He no longer screams when we change his diaper, he is loving the bouncy seat, and he’s doing MUCH better in his carseat as well.
He takes a solid 3-hour afternoon nap almost every day (WAY longer than my other kids ever did), and he usually takes a short catnap in the morning and around dinner time.
At night, he is usually sleeping by 10:00pm, sometimes earlier, and wakes up once or twice before waking for the day around 8:00am. He did sleep a 7.5 hour stretch one night, but I think it was just a one-time deal as he’s usually still only going 4-hours in between feedings.
His doctor appointment isn’t until next week, but based on my personal calculations, he weighs about 12 pounds (up from 7lbs. 5oz. at birth).
We sent out James’ birth announcement shortly before his 1-month birthday, and he was baptized on August 23. (He wore the same outfit as Simon — which I made out of my wedding dress!)
As is the case with most newborns, they seem to change almost daily.
At first, he looked EXACTLY like Simon’s baby pictures, then he started looking just like my baby pictures, then there was a short time when I thought he closely resembled my sister’s and my dad’s baby pictures. Now, he’s looking like one of Dave’s Dad’s baby pictures — so apparently, James is a chameleon 🙂
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SIMON @ 18 MONTHS:
Simon celebrated his half birthday a couple weeks ago — and if it were up to Nora, we would have had a full blown party for him.
Instead, I just posted his picture on Facebook and then Nora and I talked about half birthdays for what seemed like 3 hours!
Simon’s big news is that he FINALLY said his first word… “good”.
One morning, when I went to get him out of his crib, I said “Good morning Simon. How did you sleep?” He took his pacifier out, smiled at me, and said “good” clear as day.
I thought maybe it was just a fluke, but for the last couple of weeks, he has regularly said “good” in the appropriate context, and it’s pretty cute!
He is entering the “do-it-myself” phase, and right now, he only wants to eat things he can scoop with a spoon or stab with a fork — and he doesn’t want any help. Sometimes I think that child would rather starve than let me stab a piece of food for him.
He makes a huge mess at every meal, gets more food on the floor than in his mouth, but he flashes a big cheesy grin every time he successfully stabs something and gets it to his mouth before it falls off the fork or spoon.
Simon is finally big enough that he can start to keep up with Nora — whether it’s jumping off furniture, climbing rocks, playing at the park, or riding bikes. He loves his big sister!
Last week, Nora slept over at my sister’s house and Simon just cried and cried when it was time to go to bed. Dave and I had no idea why he was crying, then Simon walked us over to Nora’s bed and pointed at her empty bed. It was SO cute. I reassured Simon that Nora would be back the next day, and he finally fell asleep after almost an hour of crying.
Simon is definitely a stinker… but he’s so dang cute that it’s almost impossible to get mad at him.
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NORA @ 3.75 YEARS:
Nora is counting down the days until her 4th birthday (which is still 2 full months away — please pray for me!)
She has new ideas for her birthday party almost daily, and anytime she sees something she likes, she asks if she can have it for a birthday present.
Nora has 4 big-news items.
- She got to go to our local county fair (something she looks forward to all year long)
- She’s been keeping her pull-ups dry at night for several nights now
- She got roller skates
- She starts preschool TOMORROW!
The preschool thing was TOTALLY last-minute (we decided the week before school started.)
There are many reasons why we completely changed our minds and decided to send her to preschool so early — but the main reason is that she’s been asking daily when she gets to go to school. The secondary reason is because I honestly just need a break!
She’ll be going to afternoon preschool for just over 2 hours, 2 days a week… and the schedule works out that Dave can pick her up when he’s done with school!
Yes, we’re all very excited over here!
She’ll still have to go to preschool again next year since she’s not old enough for kindergarten, but I think it will do everyone some good to have Nora out of the house for a couple hours each week 🙂
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FAMILY UPDATES:
I honestly don’t have much of anything new to share — besides the fact that our schedule is quite “full” now that Dave is back in school again. I forget how many meetings and extra activities come along with the beginning of the year!
During the weekdays when Dave is gone, my main goals are to get up and fully ready before the kids wake up, to get everyone dressed, fed, and ready for the day, to get dinner made, and to do one small household chore (1 load of laundry, vacuum, clean 1 bathroom, etc.)
I figure, if I can do one small chore a day, our house will stay relatively clean… right?
I’ve been searching for some relatively easy-going activities that would allow us to get out of the house a couple times a week without stressing about keeping everyone on their best behavior. So far, I found a storytime and craft program for Nora at the library, and a local toddler play group for Simon.
I’ve also been fairly brave and have ventured to the grocery store with all 3 kids a couple of times. Nora and Simon LOVE getting groceries with me, and it’s a good chance to get out of the house while also accomplishing something off my to-do list. Win-win!
We’re slowly getting back into our school-year routine and I’m happy to say the transition has gone much smoother than I expected. We’ll see how things go once Nora starts school tomorrow!
Wish us luck!
Kamille says
I went to preschool for two years (age 3&4) and I loved it! At my preschool it had a two year program so all the 3 year olds went Tuesdays and Thursdays and the 4 year olds went on the other weekdays. I feel like I got to learn so much more and develop my motor and social skills much farther than if I had just gone to 1 year. Plus I became good friends with several classmates that ended up being in the same elementary school as me, which was a good thing since I was so shy.
Deborah says
Andrea,
Great pictures of the growing family. Simon is adorable I can understand how it could
be hard to be mad at him long. Nora is sweet as usual, and James I have a hunch will
be the tall one. Just a hunch, a cutie not matter what size.
Apology in reference to my comment of the upcoming double sink in upstairs bath.
I am not keeping up very well.
All in all, you are doing a terrific job, and shopping with three is always challenging.
Mine were 4,1 and newborn, two shopping carts to corral the younger two.
It wasn’t so bad with the infant stage as he got older. There were always animal crackers
or Teddy Bears in our cart.
Enjoy them, my babies! But I get to follow yours!
Teresa says
Aww the pics are adorable! Sounds like you’ve got this Motherhood thing down . As always, I enjoy reading about your life and how you make things work out.
ShellyL says
Love the updates! Nora is growing up so quickly, it seems. What a big girl headed to school. I predict she’ll love it. Simon is the cutest! I adore his cheesing grins for the camera. he has the sweetest smile. I was shocked to read that James is two months old. Seems like only yesterday you were overdue and patiently (?) awaiting his arrival.
As for me, school has started back for me and my three kiddos so I am busy, busy. I always read your blog, though it may be a few days late. My nine year old daughter is playing softball and loves it. My seven year old son is about to start soccer and the poor two year old (daughter) either gets to spend extra time at grandparents or gets dragged along. Poor sweetie!
Thanks for the updates. I love keeping up with your sweet bunch!
Mrs. Crackin' the Whip says
I’m excited to see how Nora likes school! Baby Crackin’ is technically in Pre-K at his daycare but this was just a matter of a room change. He has started coming home and “doing his homework” and “packing his lunch”. It’s absolutely adorable.
Oh, this weekend, Baby Crackin’ spent a large amount of time playing in his bedroom upstairs. He turns 4 next week and this was a first. Times are changing….
JoDi says
How cute they all are! I love your family updates. Simon has the cutest little monkey grin in that last picture. I can see how he gets away with being a stinker! I think Miss Nora is going to love preschool. She’s so smart and busy, she’s going to really enjoy all the activities they do. And little James – what a face! He looks like a such a little man in some of those photos. That 3 hour nap is going to be blissful on days that Nora is at preschool!
Andrea says
Thanks JoDi! Yes, I’m excited to see how the afternoons go when Nora is in school. If all works out well, the boys should be napping most of that time — which means I will have 2 afternoons a week to myself 🙂
Debbie says
Awww….melted my heart when Simon cried because Nora was sleeping in another home. I enjoyed reading this update of the kids. Can’t wait to hear how Nora feels about school!
JoAnn C. says
I love the update posts. Wow it’s been a busy month for you, smiles, new words and, (wasn’t she just a baby herself last week?!), a new preschool girl! She has grown so fast. I can’t wait until next month’s post when Nora goes to college ; ) lol. Thanks, Andrea, for sharing your happy updates.
Andrea says
haha — I know! Nora has changed a lot in just the last few months. She has really ‘grown up’ and isn’t nearly as shy or nervous as she was before. Praise the Lord!
Ann says
We, too, sent our strong-willed child to school at 3 just to give everyone a break. (I said either she was going to school or I was finding a part-time job outside the home.) Now we have her son living with us and he is going to head start -4 mornings a week for 3 1/2 hours/day. It is good for him to have that structure and he will also have to go to preschool again next year.
Andrea says
Ann, I actually thought of you when we decided to send Nora to school at the last minute. I was wondering if you were also sending your grandchild to school. Glad to hear that you are 🙂
Leigh says
It is lovely to see how you all are doing.
My big (4 & 6) kids love toplan their birthdays. And they love to tell me all the things they want. What works for us is to add it to their wish list (we use the Pinwheel site/app) or to just take a picture of them holding the thing in the store.
Andrea says
I love the idea of taking a picture of them with it. That’s smart! I usually just make a list (big shocker!)
Evie says
Congratulations to Nora, the SCHOOLGIRL!
Katie Richards says
My nearly 3 year old will be going to Grandville Christian for 3s preschool next year! We live right behind the school playground so I’ll wave at drop off time 🙂
Andrea says
yay — we’ll hopefully be there next year too! Drop off at 12:45 today 🙂
Summer says
My Mom lives just behind there too! We love that playground! What a small world. I hope it went well and ALL enjoyed the break!
Paulette says
As always, posts about the children make my face smile and my heart squeeze. They are all so adorable!