Samuel John: 10 Months

Double digits!  I seriously feel like you JUST turned 9 months old.  How did this happen?

This past month has been one of milestones.  You have been crawling all over the place.  Not only that, you are now pulling yourself up and even climbing steps.  I have to admit that I am not ready for this stage.  I dread it.  After your sister, Evie, and her terrible luck with steps I am on high alert with you.

This past month has been a rough one for you as far as health.  You have had another double ear infection, as well as another single ear infection just a couple weeks later.  We finally have you on a new antibiotic and you are a new kid.  I am hoping we are on the mend!  One more ear infection and we are going to have a serious discussion about putting tubes in your ears.

As far as food, you really aren't too picky.  You eat most of what I put on your plate.  Hopefully, that won't change as you get older.

You still remain an early riser.  Oy!  You are usually awake between 5am and 6am.

You LOVE the bath.  This is my go-to activity for you when you are crabby and still have some time before you need to go to bed.  You actually love the bath even more when Evie is in there with you, because she makes you laugh the most out of anyone!

Your most favorite toy is a balloon.  Evie got some for her birthday and a sure fire way to keep you happy is to throw a balloon in your hands :-)

You celebrated your first Halloween as an owl.  You were pretty darn cute! You never actually did any trick or treating, but we enjoyed dressing you up anyway.

And, yup, your hair is still phenomenal.

Happy 3rd Birthday, Evelyn Joy!

Happy Birthday, Ev!!

My sweet girl, you have proven that you have just as much spunk and personality as you do fearless energy.  This past year has been such a pleasure to watch you learn and explore this world around you.  This year....

1. You became a big sister.  It depends on the day what KIND of big sister you want to be but you have been so much fun to watch.  There are days you grab Sam by the arm and drag him across the floor, and then there are the days you tickle him in his car seat to help him laugh when he is crying.
   
2. You are hand down THE BEST snuggler in this house. I love how you grab your paci (which we need to get rid of soon!!!), your blanky, and ask if you can "nuggle" me. It makes my heart ache a little now just thinking about it.
   
3. You still have phenomenal hair.  Girlfriend, your hair is gorgeous.  You had your first hair cut this year, which made you lose some of those curls, but your hair is something to be jealous of.
   
4. Your favorite pastime is antagonizing Belle.  You simply cannot help yourself.   
5. You are my kid that loves pretend play.  You will grab your Anna and Elsa Barbies and play with them for over an hour coming up with your own crazy scenarios.
6. Although it is gone now, you used to speak "Evie-nese."  You would chat and chat and chat, and most of the time we literally had no clue what you were saying.  I miss it.
7.  You are a really great helper.  You pick up your toys most the time that I ask, you love to help me dust, and you want to sit right in the kitchen while I am cooking (and you ALWAYS have to crack the eggs).  You surprise me with how well you follow directions!
8. This past year has been rather calm when it has come to your injuries.  Your last set of stitches was Christmas Eve, and since then things have calmed down a bit.  I am certain that it is NOT because you are less fearless, but you are just more coordinated.
9. You very rarely eat a meal that is put in front of you.  You would much rather graze on everyone else's plates. Drives me crazy!
10. You still absolutely love the water.  Thank goodness we got you into Miss Rita this summer to get you some lessons.  You kinda know what you're doing now!
11. Belle is your best friend.  I adore watching you two play. 
    
12. Potty training you was much easier than it was your sister.  You still have struggles, but overall you're getting it.  I look forward to a day that this house is "Pull-Up Free."
13. Your favorite movie this past year (other than Frozen) is Extremely Goofy Movie.  My favorite part of this is that you refer to it as "Goofy Sad," because there is a part in this movie where Goofy is sad and you cry along with him.  For some reason you love it.
14. You have given up on napping.  This usually means that about 2 times a week I can find you on the couch at 4:00 zonked out.
    
15. You are a biter, scratcher, puncher, and hitter when you are mad.  I cannot tell you the number of times the neighbor kids have told on you for hurting them when you aren't happy.  Eventually, I just started telling them to hit you back.
16. I love my mornings with you when Belle leaves for school and Sam takes a nap.  It's hard to get one on one time, and hanging out with you by yourself is so much fun.
    
17. You love to dance still, but you always want a partner to twirl you around.  Gladly!
18. You love to put people in time out.  "1..2..GO IN TIME OUT!"  Your dad and I think it's really cute, but it usually makes your sister cry.
19. You love to dress yourself.  50% of the time your pants are inside out, your underwear is sideways, and your shirt doesn't match.  I seriously love everything about it, and will miss it when you can dress yourself the "right" way.
20. You have earned yourself the nickname "Gremlin," and rightly so. You are so cute, but quickly turn and wreak havoc all over the house! 
    
21. I always tell people that whether you love someone or are angry at someone, you do so passionately.  You will hug me tight, but when you are mad you have no problem throwing things or hitting someone.  
22. I love that you wait outside with Belle every morning for the bus, and then wave her off when she gets on.
23. I think you would wrestle all day if we had the energy to keep up with you. Girl, you have more energy to burn than I can handle!
24. You love to sit next to me and watch me put on my make up.  You also REALLY love digging through my make up and putting it on yourself.  
    
25. You love to blame others for things we know 100% that you did.  For example, I caught you after you spilled nail polish on the carpet in our bedroom.  You INSISTED that Belle did it, even though you know I saw you..
26. You cannot wait to do the things that Belle is doing.  You constantly ask when you get to ride the bus, when you get to go to school, and when you get to get your ears pierced.  Unfortunately, it's going to be like this our whole life.  You will always watch Belle do thing first, which can be tough, but I promise you will be glad someday that you have some to talk to who has gone through experiences first.  
27. You are a junk food addict.  You would eat pizza, mac and cheese, french fries, and candy all day long.  In fact, you already love Diet Coke and try to steal mine at every chance you get.  
    
28. You love to play and do a really good job playing independently.  Whether it is dress up, Play-Doh, dolls, or Barbies you are a kid that knows how to enjoy life.  
29. If you could, you would be naked all the time.  You love nothing more than to run around the house with your bare buns hanging out.  
30. I absolutely LOVE my little conversations with you.  That is truly the biggest difference I have seen this past year.  You have become chatty and you love to share your thoughts.  I hope that this never changes.

Evie, you are beautiful, hilarious, and such a joy to parent (most days!).  I can't believe that you are 3 already!  Although I love your strong personality, I sure pray that your threes aren't as crazy as your twos!  You, my girl, keep us on our toes :-)

Happy Birthday!!!

Samuel John: 9 Months

Welp, it's official.  You have been out in this world as long as you were in my belly growing.  Crazy how fast time goes!

This past month was a big month for you.  You got two teeth in within days of each other, and JUST today you got in a tooth on top.  And, I am certain you have already figured out how to grind them together because I keep hearing it and it's making me cringe a little.

A few weeks ago you were baptized.  Bepa baptized you and we had our entire family and many friends there.  You were a champ through the whole thing.  You never cried and even flashed your dimples at the entire congregation.

You are still so close to crawling, but not quite there yet.  This doesn't mean that you can't move, because you get yourself everywhere by rolling and scooching backwards.  You can also go from rolling on the ground to sitting yourself up.  I am certain that crawling is going to happen any day now, and then it is time to get all those baby gates out!

You are by far my largest baby yet! At your last well child appointment you topped the scale at 23.3lbs and you were 29.5" long...putting you at the 95th percentile for weight and the 90th for height. I think maybe your large size is the delay on the crawling :-)  That is a while lot of weight to drag around!  I absolutely love my "Fat Baby."

You have pretty well moved on to eating finger foods.  You are a tough kid to feed, because you just want to hold the spoon, or you bite down and won't give it back.  Therefore, I pretty much cut everything we eat up into tiny pieces for you, and you are perfectly content feeding yourself.

You are my earliest riser compared to your sisters at your age, which means that I have had to be much more relaxed with how I work your schedule.  You are usually up by 5:30 am, give me two naps during the day, and are back to sleep by 5:30/6pm.  I am pretty sure it is the plight of the 3rd kid, but you seem to be pretty flexible with your schedule and often have to get woken up or stay awake longer due to your sisters' schedule or other things we have happening.  Ha, or maybe it's the fact that the 3rd time around I am even more relaxed! ;-)  Probably a little bit of both!

9 months in!  Whew, that has gone fast. And, seriously, look how handsome you are!

Samuel John: 8 Months

Nothing major to report this month.  Developmentally, you are sitting up better, and you are DYING to crawl. You pivot around on your belly, but you haven't quite figured out how to move forward. I can tell it drives you nuts, because you get cranky real fast when you can't get to where you want to.

This month you were diagnosed with your first ear infection.  Actually, you had a double ear infection and the doctor said that one of them was close to bursting.  I was SO thankful I trusted my gut instinct. To all those moms out there--if you think something is wrong go with it.

This month you have become much better at feeding yourself. It actually gives me another "activity" to do with you to help you not get cranky. You love to sit in your booster, shove food in your mouth, and watch your sisters and I run around you.

You are such a fat baby, and I LOVE it. Your thighs are phenomenal!  You are currently in 12 months clothing (21.6lbs), but I have a feeling you will be in 18 months soon. You aren't as much of a squishy baby as you are a stout baby! I cannot get enough of it.

You just got yourself a second hair cut. It is still your trademark and people comment on it all the time. You will always be "Little Elvis."

Thanks for your killer smile, you little laughs, and your snuggles. 

Happy 5th Birthday, Isabelle Mae!

5 years. How in the world did we get here? Some days I feel like I have always been a mom, and then other days I feel like I was just in the hospital holding you in my arms scared to death and beyond in love. Happy 5th Birthday, sweet girl.

This past year I feel like you have truly grown by leaps and bounds, and everyday you amaze me at the person you are becoming.

1. This year you have become so much more independent.  You like to do so much on your own, and you are GOOD at it. You remind me every day how much less and less you need me to do things for you.
2. My girl, you are an athlete. You picked up the RipStick in Traverse City and haven't stopped. You started soccer a couple weeks ago and you are "that girl" on the team who is scoring all the goals and even elbowing her own teammates to get to the ball.  We will most likely have to discuss what it means to be part of a team, but for now it's fun to watch your competitive side.
3. I never knew how much I would rely on you when Sam was born.  You became an extension of myself in a smaller person form.  Sam was born and you literally became my extra set of hands. You hold his bottle, you bring me diapers, you pick out his clothes, and you entertain him. You have taken the role of "big sister" to an entirely new level. 
   
4. Now, with Evie, it is a different story. I am so sorry about how much abuse you have to tolerate at the hands of your sister.  Evie isn't nice to you.  She is an antagonist, and you are the world's easiest target.  Someday you will understand why I keep telling you to ignore her. 
   
5. Music is still something you absolutely love. Whether you are belting out every lyric to "Let It Go" at Silver Lake Resort & Campground  or making up your own song it's obvious that music has a place in your heart.
6. You love school. I am pretty sure that it's all the crafting, playing, and coloring. 
   
7. A few weeks ago you took your first of many rides on the school bus. You were confident and excited and hopped on without looking back. I, however, was a sobbing mess the entire walk back to the house. To me, riding the bus was such a HUGE reminder to me of how quickly you are growing.
   
8. You still ask me questions about God. We have had to work through the ones where you tell me you want to die so you can go to Heaven, but watching you grow in your faith has helped me grow in mine.
9. You are still the drama queen of the family. I am amazed at your ability to go from 0 to 60 over basically nothing. You are also able to turn the tears off at the drop of a hat. 
10. This year I have loved watching you conquer your fears. You used to be so scared of the water, but after swim lessons with Miss Rita it was hard to get you OUT of the pool. 
11. Although I feel I am learning to give you more independence, I am also learning that your age is still very unpredictable.  One of the scariest moments I have ever had as a parent was a few weeks ago when you and the neighbor girl decided to ride your bikes to Target while I was inside bathing Sam and Evie. Within 10 minutes you and your little buddy had trekked your butts down to the Target parking lot, played around for a bit, before some VERY nice people decided to help escort you home. I will never forget the look on your face and the conflicted feelings I had. I was SO relieved, yet so angry. I am sure there will be many more of moments like that to come, but for now I am keeping a closer eye on you!
12. You are such a sappy kid. You get teary eyed anytime I mention about how big you are getting. It cracks me up that you are able to relate to this emotion (or at least mimic it.)
13. You are already particular with your clothes. We have had many morning arguments about what you are going to wear. I often pick my battles, but sometimes matching your clothing isn't SO bad.
14. I love that you are still convinced that you are going to marry you cousin, Owen.
15. You love going on dates with your dad and it makes me smile. He takes you to get donuts at Marge's, and I am quite impressed with how good you share that time when Dad invites Evie along too.
    
16. I love watching your creative side. You are in that stage of life where everything is make believe, and you love to "pretend." It's hilarious to watch the mob of neighbor girls outside running from one end of the road to the other playing out one scenario after another.
17. You are a yeller.  The minute you are mad about something you let the lungs go and it hurts my ears. You also have a hard time calming down once you are this mad. Needless to say, we don't get along too well when you do this.
18. I love the different ways you talk with Evie. There are moments where you are screaming and yelling at her because she IS your worst enemy. Then there are the moments you talk to her like she is a baby and your voice is sweet and syrupy.  I am pretty sure you do this because it makes you feel like you are the superior older sister.
    
19. This past year we moved your bedroom downstairs and you didn't skip a beat. I was worried that you would be scared and not like it, but in many ways I feel that it is just the personal space you need.  
20. Unfortunately, you have still proven to be so much like your mother with you ability to literally lose everything that comes into contact with you. Fairly certain that we will find lost shoes for years to come.
21. You never remember to grab your back pack. Never. You will leave it in every minivan that drops you off. I am actually rather shocked it makes it off the bus with you.
22. You just got your ears pierced and thoroughly impressed me with how tough you are. I am pretty sure I was more nervous than you. You decided you wanted them done and never looked back. You handled it like a champ and you LOVE showing your "rainbow daisies" off.
    
23. Your favorite iPad games are Minecraft and Scribblenauts. I am fairly certain that it is because of Scribblenauts that you know how to spell a ton of words already.
24. You STILL love the snow even after last year's winter. Thank goodness you were born in Michigan.
25. Your newest thing is to tell me that you can't walk, or bend down, etc when I ask you to complete a chore. Keep trying.
26. This past summer you learned to ride a 2 wheel bike. You then proceeded to wake up each morning and ride that bike up and down the neighborhood for hours and hours. I have never seen you more proud or eager to "show off" your skills.
27. Your favorite color is still purple. I am certain it always will be.
28. I absolutely love one on one time with you. You are getting to the age where we can have some really great conversations and you ask awesome questions. I look forward to how much more fun this will be as you continue to get older.
29. I love that we chose to send you to DK instead of Kindergarten and you never skipped a beat. I thought you might be upset knowing you'd be in Kindergarten next year without Owen and Maia, but you talk about it openly and seem to have no problem with this. It's such a great reminder of the things adults can get worked up over that kids handle with great resilience. 
    
30. You are my heart, sweet girl. These past 5 years you have strengthened me, challenged me, enriched me, and have made me see life from a new perspective. I am so grateful to you for the love you give to me, and I cannot believe that God chose ME to be your mom. You are spectacular and I can only imagine how much more in love with you I will be in another 5 years.
    

I love you!

Mom