Meeee

Mark’s new found love

Brussel Sprouts!

Prep: slice off bottom and remove any wilty leaves, toss in olive oil, salt, pepper, and freshly minced garlic. roast at 450 until browned (approx 25-45 min)

Results: a dinner that Mark will rave about for weeks!

Easter weekend 2012

I’m determined to get something blogged in a timely fashion this year. So here we go… Easter.

Mark had Friday off from work and it was a beautiful day so we took the kids to Conner Prairie for a bit. Raelyn especially loved the petting barn! There were baby lambs and goats to pet, as well as a duck.

We hung out at home the rest of the day where Max and Sheba had some quality bonding time during Raelyn’s nap.

Saturday morning we headed off to the Indianapolis Propylaeum for an Easter Egg hunt. Unfortunately, the information I found online was from 2010 so we arrived an hour early! During that hour we were able to take a self-guided tour of the home, which was pretty cool.

Raelyn loved the Easter bunny and didn’t like that she didn’t get to hang out by him the entire time. At one point, she ran up and gave him a big hug!

Max pretty much hung out in his stroller watching Raelyn run around.

After the hunt, we headed over to Holcomb Gardens at  Butler for a picnic. Raelyn climbed a few trees, with Daddy’s help, and loved smelling the blooming lilacs!

That evening, Mark’s parents came over for burgers, cupcakes, and to play in our backyard.

  Sunday morning, we enjoyed a  French toast breakfast, revealed the radio flyer wagon and zoo membership that the Easter bunny left, and then headed off to a beautiful church service.

After church, we headed north to visit with my mom, sister, aunts, and cousins. The first stop was at the hospital so I could visit with my Grandma. I took her a printed copy of the family photo above. As soon as I showed it to her she said, “That’s for me to keep, right?” I loved when I walked into her room that she had the Cub’s game playing on the tv. That’s my Grandma Bones for you, always the Cub’s fan!

It was a fun-filled family weekend!

9 months

Max is 9 months old!

We spent this week at Grandma & Grandpa Repko’s house because our basement was airing out from the sewer line backup of 2012. In the chaos of the week, mommy forgot to take pictures with the 9 month sticker. :(

Max’s stats:

Weight: 19 lb 10 oz (32%)

Height: 29 inches (72%)

Head circumference: 17.75 inches (41%)

If you missed Max’s 8 month update, click here.

Daddy Kisses

We bought this board book, Daddy Kisses, for Max at Christmas. As it turns out, Raelyn loves it! When I read it to the kids, she MUST kiss the animal on each page. Tonight while I was getting Max ready for bed I heard her making a noise I had not heard before. I turned around and found her “kissing” the book pages all on her own. Usually when we read it together I make the kissing noise for her “mwah” and really exaggerate it. I guess I don’t need to do that anymore.

Somehow I managed to get her to do it a second time and recorded it on my phone.

Baby Bottom

Photo taken 01/31/12

I was experimenting with a photo idea I saw online and decided to line Max up with his “friends”. I am so glad I finally loaded the camera photos to the computer and found this gem!

I might be blogging less, but I sure am enjoying my kids! The proof is in the picture. ;)

8 months

Max is 8 months old!

If you missed Max’s 7 month update, click here.

2 just t.w.o.

I feel a little sad that we can now say, “Raelyn is 2.” That’s it. Not a number with “months” behind it. Just 2. She’s a big girl now. You know what I mean. She’s not a baby.

The morning of her birthday she came downstairs to streamers and balloons and a Happy 2nd Birthday message on her chalkboard.

It’s amazing to think of all the growth Raelyn has gone through over the past year. And almost impossible to fathom how our love for her continues to grow and grow. The moment I think my heart will burst, I realize that my love for her just expanded a little bit more.

Here are a few of my personal favorites since her last birthday.

• Night night waving – It’s adorable how she waves night night before I take her upstairs for bedtime. It started out as waving night night to daddy and Sheba and has expanded to waving night night to every inanimate object she sees. “night night books” “night night baby doll” “night night kitchen”  It could go on and on! She has taken this to a new cuteness level after naptimes and in the morning to waving bye bye to all of her animals in her crib before we leave her room.
• Bedtime tucking in – Several months ago she decided that the quilt on the back of her rocking chair needed to move to her crib so she could get tucked in. I’m not sure where she learned this but she won’t go to sleep until I cover her with the quilt and tuck her in.
• Kisses – When she kisses, she gives a big open mouth kiss. I love it. I will miss her “baby” kisses when she figures out how to pucker up. If I ask her to blow kisses, she puts her hand with fingers spread wide over her wide open mouth and then giggles. I melt every single time.
• Unending energy – Everywhere we go we are told how beautiful and cute Raelyn is (which is 100% true) but we’re also told how much energy she has and how much fun she is to be around. She really is such a joy to be around! Her Mom’s Day Out teachers comment each week on how happy she is and the other mom’s in our Kindermusik class are tickled by her enthusiasm. I even had one mom ask me to email her when Raelyn is grown up to let her know what she became.
• Unbelievable memory – Around 17 months (give or take a few), Raelyn started memorizing all sides of her blocks. It began with one block, the “bee” block and then it expanded to 6 blocks. We could call out a block name, “bee” or “elephant” or “acorn, etc and she would find the appropriate block no matter what side was facing up! She got bored of this game and after awhile refused to play anymore. After a month or so we decided to give it a try again and low and behold she still had all those blocks memorized! She also has a fantastic music memory. She has every Classical Baby dvd memorized and waves bye bye at the end of a song (even when she isn’t watching the screen). The same is true with her Kindermusik cd’s.

I could go on and on about all the wonderful things I love about Raelyn. As our first child, her birthday is not just a celebration of her birth but a celebration of parenthood. She made  me a mommy. I am so proud of Raelyn and am honored to be her mom. I thank the Lord every day that He brought her to us.

We love you, Raelyn Grace, and we look forward to discovering many new wonderful things about you as you grow up.

p.s. I think this post should wrap up the Raelyn had a birthday and turned two series. ;)

Snow and Making Snowballs

We got Raelyn bundled up in several layers so she could go play in the snow for a bit. She loved it!

Here’s a short video of her making snowballs in the front yard with Mark. After that they took to the backyard to swing.

When she came in, I stripped off the snowy layer and take a look at this cutie patootie!

7 months

Max is 7 months old!

Quick facts about Max at 7 months:

• He is an earlier riser. He often wakes at 5:30am ready for a bottle. As much as I like my sleep, I have to admit that the time he and I have during the quiet hour is sweet. I love rocking him back to sleep and cradling him against me. He is such a sweet baby!
• He has started taking baths in the duck tub instead of the blue baby tub.
• He is wearing 9 month clothing and size 3 diapers.

If you missed Max’s 6 month update, click here.

2 year well check

Raelyn had her two year well-check with Dr. Rob the day after her birthday.

Raelyn’s stats:

Weight: 23 1/2 lbs (11%)

Height: 32 inches (10%)

I love the reminder they have printed on the child development worksheet: “Please remember that every child grows and develops at his or her own rate and that no two children are exactly alike at a given age.” Sometimes I need that reminder!

Raelyn’s speech is delayed and the “normal” word count for a 2 year old is 50 with a few two word phrases. Raelyn has a word count of 15-20 and on any given day might say 5 or 6 from her list. Usually they include: “mama”, “dada”, “dog” or “buh” (for Sheba), “yeah” (yes), and “baa” (the sheep noise). Over Christmas time we heard her say “esuh” (Jesus), “no-ma” (snowman), and “are” (star).

Dr. Rob advised us to begin the process with First Steps of Indiana to have her speech evaluated and most likely begin speech therapy. The evaluation will happen at the beginning of February.

I MUST remind myself that my child does not have to be on the same speaking schedule as other children her age. She excels in other areas (her teachers tell me that her gross & fine motor skills surpass those of most kids her age). And let’s remember… She is sooo HAPPY!!!

A Butterfly Birthday Party

Saturday morning we celebrated Raelyn’s 2nd birthday with family. The night before, mommy worked tirelessly on creating a special butterfly cake.

The girl cousins (Raelyn, Avery, and Rachelle) had fun playing together, making their butterfly wings craft, and wearing their wings.

I read Raelyn’s (current) favorite book called Watch Me from Kindermusik. (It encourages toddlers to stomp their feet like an elephant, flutter like a butterfly, etc.) Raelyn is a pro at all the “moves”.

 

Raelyn opened birthday presents and loved each and every one that she received! (Thank you!!)

{Noteworthy: When she was opening presents, she opened a card that had a picture of a candle  in it. We didn't know that at first, but when she saw it she ran into the kitchen to the "junk" drawer and started whining. Mark followed her in there and after a minute finally figured out that she wanted him to get the lighter from the drawer and then she took him to the table to light the centerpiece candle. After he did that she happily returned to open the rest of her gifts. It’s amazing to us how she pieces things in a photo or drawing to real life objects!}

She taste tested the icing before we sang happy birthday.

Raelyn loved her cake so much she somehow scammed TWO pieces!!

She had a wonderful party and thanks you for coming and/or wishing her a happy 2nd birthday!

2011 in iPhone photos

I take at least one photo everyday on my phone. The quality of the images aren’t always the best. Depending on the light they can be grainy. Sometimes they turn out blurry. But, I am able to capture moments that would disappear if I tried to grab our “real” camera. This is the highlight reel of my 2011 in iPhone photos…