9 Months and 2+ Years

My sweet boys are growing up fast and I don't to forget the little moments that are my absolute FAVORITE for each of them at this stage.

Theodore Paul hit the 9 month milestone on the 28th of December and we had his checkup today.  He is weighing in at a whopping 22lbs 12oz and is 28.25in tall.  Theo is the definition of "happy" wrapped up in a chunky little package. He is sweet and snuggly, although he's become extra squirmy these days.  He rolls everywhere and pulls up on his knees often, but belly flops before crawling anywhere.  He manages to get where he wants to go so we'll continue to encourage him but I'm not too worried at the moment...he's got a giant head just like his brother and it's hard work holding up that chub!

Theo eats tons of purees and is dabbling in the world of puffs.  I think we'll start trying some other food off of our plates soon now that he's consistently eating his fruits and veggies.  All but peas.  His entire body shudders when he takes a bite and he simply can't stand them.  I think they smell awful so I don't really blame him!

T-man loves to be tickled, read books, bang on toys, and chew on everything.  His 3rd tooth is popping through the top and it looks like he's got 3 more following close behind it. He's about 50/50 on breastmilk and formula and switches between the two really well.  He's sleeping roughly 8:30p-7:30a...we've been working on dropping the 10p feeding and just giving him a bigger bottle around 8 and then down for the night.  So far it seems to be the schedule he likes!

Theo loves to watch his brother, totally tolerates and instigates a little wrestling, and always manages to find his way to Capone and try to pull on his cheeks.  He's got the strongest grip I've ever experienced and can just about rip your face off if you're not paying attention. Duke is pretty patient with his little brother but doesn't hesitate to yell "OWWWIEEEE" if Theo is touching him when he doesn't want to be. We're also working on that whole "sharing" thing...

Duke is in a really fun stage and my favorite things are when he grabs my hand and asks me to dance, gives me puckered up lip kisses and big squeezes, shows me his muscles before bed, grabs a book and wants to cuddle under a blanket, and cooks me food in his kitchen.  He loves to help me do things around the house "Mine? Elp?" so I let him help vacuum and take all of the dirty silverware out of the dishwasher right after I put it in.  He is also a PRO at unfolding laundry.  It's a good thing he's cute.

He has a sweet imagination, loves to pretend to be Capone and gives puppy kisses, is obsessed with his brother and instantly asks for him when he wakes up. "EO" is his favorite little buddy, he always tries to comfort him when he's "rying" and checks on any of us if he thinks something is wrong.  "Tay, mom? Tay?"

 

He's been dabbling in potty training and we haven't had enough {or any} consecutive days to hang at home and let him really try it out. I'm hoping we can slow down a little this month and see if he's really ready!  He's also saying so much more! He still struggles with the first letter of words and mixes up his "k's" with "t's" but he gets so excited when he can really communicate what he wants and we understand...I can see the little wheels turning in his mind and his face lights up when he gets it right.  I just can't handle how fun and entertaining this stage is!

These boys make life so much sweeter and I am so thankful to be their mama.  

-T-

2017 Reflections

2018 is here! It totally doesn't feel like it's possible but here it is and I'm ready to embrace it.  You all know I love the start to a new month and the start to a new year is basically that feeling on steroids! I am easing my way into 2018 with a slow easy day at home today and lots of quality time with my favorite guys.

2017 was an amazing year.  The highlight was adding a sweet baby to our family.  Theo has fit perfectly into our little family and I feel like we never really skipped a beat. He's so easy going and totally content going with the flow.  I was looking back at his birth story and love that I had a feeling he would have his own calm pace about him...he's just the sweetest and I want to keep him a baby forever.

Duke impressed us with his amazing big brother skills all year.  He loves "EO" so much and watching them together is my favorite.  He turned 2 in October and has grown and changed so much.  He talks a lot more now and has the sweetest imagination, whether he's pretending he's Capone or cooking us food in his kitchen or chasing us around with his toy drill because something "breakt" and he needs to fix it.  He gives great hugs and kisses, has a hilarious sense of humor, loves cows, and loves holding hands.

Dennis and I celebrated 3 years of marriage, continuing to reflect on all of the crazy things we've crammed into 3 years.  Last night was our 5 year anniversary of our engagement.  I hope I never forget the moment Dennis proposed...I still remember exactly how I felt, a huge rush of anticipation and emotion as I watched the love of my life down on one knee in front of me with the most beautiful ring in a box. I knew our lives would never be the same and I was right.  It's been the best adventure so far and I have a feeling this year will be filled with even more excitement.

We took a lot of fun trips this year.  Okoboji to celebrate Dennis' birthday, Colorado for weddings, family visits, and meeting my new baby niece, Charleston with my girlfriends...I hope 2018 is filled with lots of travel as well!

We spent a lot of time at the pool this summer, a lot of time snuggling and acclimating to life as a family of 4, and a lot of time at USD football and basketball games. 

Our first Christmas in our home this year was amazing.  There is simply nothing better than seeing all the excitement of the holiday season through the eyes of babies! They just know it's special and have no qualms just soaking up the moments.  We slowed down a bit this year and really just savored the moments and I loved every second. 

We are so happy here and I am so thankful we opted to move in 2016.  I have met amazing friends and truly feel like I have that 'village' I always hear about.  People I could call on a moment's notice who would be there for our little family.  Dennis and I are both involved in different groups- pool league and golf league for him, book club and countless wine nights for me, plus the local United Way Board. :) I've also been meeting some wonderful people through my Rodan + Fields business.  In 2018 I hope to be more present, unplug more often, be more active, blog more, and go on more dates with my husband. I hope you all had a wonderful time ringing in the New Year...we got a babysitter and went out with a bunch of friends. We stayed out too late and had an absolute blast...narrowly escaping freezing to death in the ridiculously frigid temperatures!

Happy New Year!!

-T-

Christmas 2017

I am slowly coming off of the Christmas festivities high with a 2.5 day work week and LOTS of coffee.  We had an absolutely amazing Christmas weekend- 5 days off work, 3 days of presents, lots of family and even a few naps.  I was am sick with a brutal cold and couldn't taste anything all weekend until I woke up from a nap on Christmas day and could FINALLY smell all of the delicious things cooking in my parents kitchen. I was determined to be able to taste the full turkey dinner they were making so I loaded up on cold medicine and cough drops and it was successful.  Halleluiah! 

 

I have to say that Christmas with 1 baby was amazing but Christmas with 2 babies is just the best.  Duke learned how to say "Merry bismas!" and told everyone he could which made my heart burst every time.  Theo didn't really have a clue what was going on but he tried to eat his fair share of wrapping paper and tree trimmings so I'd say it was a successful first Christmas!

I had Friday off last week and since I wasn't feeling the best, Dennis took the boys to daycare and I enjoyed a completely solo day at home being mildly productive in between binge watching #alltheshows and catching up on rest.  Saturday morning I got the boys up and running and we headed out to my parents house to see my sister, brother in law and sweet niece who had gotten to town late the night before.  We were prepping for our immediate family Christmas that night so everyone was bustling about with last minute errands and prep and the kids all asked when it was time to open presents 47 million times.

We had a low key dinner and then dove into a MOUNTAIN of presents. Seriously, the room was so full and we questioned once again why no one paid attention to the "go easy" message on gifts.  I'm not sure how many more people we can squeeze into the living room but it sure makes for some fun chaos.  Next time we're considering doing a post-brunch opening of the gifts and then sending the kids to the basement to play with their new toys while the adults slowly open their gifts and actually see what everyone got!

On Sunday morning, my crew slept in a little bit and had a low key morning at home before naps for the boys and getting ready for church.  We go to the 4 p.m. service on Christmas Eve so we had plenty of time to get ready and make it to church around 3:30.  All of the kids did surprisingly well and I managed to only wince a few times when Duke played on the kneelers {flashing back to when he knocked his tooth out last winter} After the beautiful service, we stopped at home to get the food we were bringing and cousin gift exchange items and went to my parents house.  I will say the easiest way to not gain a million pounds on Christmas is to not be able to taste the food- I kept my snacking down to a serious minimum.  We had just under 40 people so it was pretty nutty but everyone had a great time and loved watching the craziness of the next generation playing together all over the house. After the kiddos exchanged gifts, we hung around for a couple more rounds of cocktails and good conversation before heading home to get ready for Santa's arrival.

Dennis and I totally failed on playing Santa this year but the boys certainly didn't notice.  When they woke up on Christmas day, Duke begged for Mickey Mouse and we had to convince him that opening presents was way more fun than watching "Mouse".  I got a piping hot cup of coffee and we hunkered down in the living room to open all of our gifts. The boys were spoiled by family in Colorado who had sent gifts and we went a little overboard with them AND each other so it was a long slow morning of opening gifts and playing with new toys. I loved every minute of it.  While Theo took a nap, Dennis and I took all of the Christmas gift aftermath out to the garage and got ready to head out to my parents house for a day of relaxation and turkey dinner prep.

I really needed to increase my vitamin c intake so I opted for mimosas and cold medicine followed by a nap while all the kids were sleeping.  After a solid hour in a coma I woke up to Duke and Theo who were up from their naps and ready to play.  My parents were finishing up all of the dinner prep and I was so excited when I walked upstairs and could actually smell it cooking! I hadn't been able to smell or taste for about 3 days so I was thrilled.  We ate way too many servings of turkey, mashed potatoes, green beans, sweet potatoes, stuffing, and rolls followed by pie.  Duke and Theo played with some new toys after dinner and hung out with their cousin Emarie before we all headed home to crawl into bed.

I am still soaking up my favorite holiday season and looking forward to wrapping up the last few days of 2017 with my favorite people. It's been a really wonderful year for us, our first full calendar year in South Dakota, and we are feeling extremely grateful for our health, great jobs, and the best boys around.  My 2017 year in review is coming at you in a couple days...I love looking back at everything we've done this year!  Happy last Friday of the year, friends!  Make it a good one. :)

-T-