August 2014

We've had a great August!! See below for some of the things we've been up to!

We met the Busches at the Kiddie Carnival one more time before it closed for the summer. The boys had a blast again-just look at those faces!

They were waving and waving when they saw us.

Annie did well just taking it all in. She's a good sport to be generally happy wherever we drag her.

It's nice that they have a buddy to be beside on all the rides!

They got worried on this one the first time (Henry talks about how Bennett cried), but this time was no problem!

Hanging with our babes!

Our little family! We were given a bunch of tix by a family who was leaving early, so we spent some on concessions...Henry loved his sno-cone!

Sweet girl loving her changing pad

Chillin!

Annie's been enjoying her play mat this month, and is grabbing at toys already!

Henry found these finger puppets we have had, and was instantly hooked. He's been so cute playing with them. Pic above is the mallard and dolphin having a conversation.

Cheesing for me.

Annie also had her first bottle this month. While I hate pumping and don't plan to very often (even less than w Henry), it IS nice to know it's an option. I wanted to try at home once before we left her with family for our anniversary date. I love the look on her face above....ummm, mom? Something's not right. :)

Henry loved feeding her some. She did great for the first ounce, but when Steven quit to burp her she got MAD. She would not calm down. I actually tried calming her down myself, then resorted just to feeding her. After she got calm, she took the other 2 ounces in the bottle from me with no problem. She was super fast and sucked it right down.

On the 7th I took the kids to TN for the day to be with my folks. My mom loved playing with Annie. Henry and I had fun swimming together, too.

Totally relaxed during nap-arms behind the head and all.

We drove to Jim and Peggy's to meet up with Heather's crew. Aren't these girls cute??

Steven also joined us after work on Friday. We had pizza and the kids had time at the farm.

The girls!

Grandpa had strawberries and ice cream for the kiddos. Henry gobbled his right up.

Pretty serious business.

The kids love farm time!

The next day we went to the Williamson County fair. Like last year, we had a great time! Henry spotted the pony rides right away, and Daddy decided to treat his boy. The horse's name was Chunky, and Henry kept saying, "Giddyup, Chunky!"

Getting ready to go into the kids area.

Picking an apple for their basket.

Planting seeds, then picking up veggies to put in their basket.

Milking a cow, then putting a carton of milk into their basket.

The boys sat in front of these pigs with their bacon shirts on!

Afterward they trade in their goods for money then get to purchase a treat. Last year Henry bought an apple much to his cousin's chagrin. This year they were much happier with his ice cream choice!

Riding a few rides a the fair.

That night we left the kids with family and celebrated our anniversary with dinner and a movie in Nashville. We've been married 12 years!!!

The next morning we went to a friend's church in Mt. Juliet. Our college friend who married us is pastoring there now, so it was neat to see him and his wife. We got a pic of the grandkids with grandma before church!

On Wed 8/13 Henry started Mother's Day Out. He goes one day a week from 9:30-1:30 and is really liking it! Mrs. Bonnie is his teacher and he talks about her a lot. She has made several sweet comments about Henry like, "He's so happy! I wish he came more than just one day!" and "He's so mannerly!" and "He has a great memory. He already knows all his classmate's names!"

I picked Henry up the first day and he was waiting in line with his class like a little man! So cute.

Melanie gave Henry an Elmo doc kit which he loves. Annie is usually his patient. Below: He's also been into playing with his tractors lately. We used dried beans and corn to play with is "loaders".

We get Nat Geo for Kids every other  month, and he loves to look through it. He also got a new cup with a "pop" lid, so he is in his element here:)

More play mat time!

Sweet girl getting a bath. She is happy until we get her out, then screams while getting dressed.

Tummy time is so much fun when you have a brother you want to see!

Henry was thrilled that Daddy could hold BOTH of them!!

This is Annie's first time in the Baby Bjorn! She was perfectly content our entire walk. Henry always loved it, too. He has truly not shown jealousy with his sister, but when we got this out he was immediately wanting it and kept saying, "I'm a baby! I'm a baby!" We convinced him he was a big boy now and didn't need it, but I felt bad for him:( At least it holds good memories!

Another first-the Bumbo! She loves it as you can see.

It's a whole new world!

This is just Henry at breakfast one morning. I love now that I am not working being able to have some leisurely mornings. We get to eat bfast together, and I love watching him sit there and feed himself cereal like a little man. He's showing me his Elmo pjs here.

Henry is also enjoying the Bumbo! I let him play with it some. He is offering me some bday cake here.

Sweet girl on her changing pad again!

I love at this age she is starting to get her "look".

We got a visit from my former co-worker and Henry's good friend Braeden. They met Annie for the first time!

H and B picked up right where they left off. These guys are good buddies!

We also have had multiple playdates with the Busches!

We tried to get a pic of all 4 kids!

These two snuggled up on the sofa for a little "chill" time to watch a Thomas episode after running wild all morn. You wouldn't know it from those sweet faces, would you?

This one is out of order...We enjoyed ice cream after swimming at the watering hole at Desoto State Park!

 We went on a family  hike the wknd of 8/16.

Henry loves to play on the playground afterward and also climb the big rocks.

This is Annie's dazed and confused just pulled from the Ergo look. :)

 The above pics are all from Desoto State Park where we went with my fam the wknd of 8/23. We hiked to a watering hole and swam in the first 2 pics. The next one is my dad sweet talking Annie. We ate breakfast at the lodge for the group one. Henry loves Mary Ellen and was such a good sport with him in the last one.

We used the pool at the State Park, too. Here is mom dipping Annie's toes in.

Henry warmed up to the diving board really fast.

Here he is mid-jump...

And again!

He came up smiling every time. And there were LOTS of times!

Friend Laura from high school came to visit with her son Levi. They met Annie and the boys had a ball playing together!

I was buckling H into his car seat and looked over to see Annie had evidently "caught" her paci and had it perfectly gripped in her hands! She was just staring it down. Henry was so proud of her and thought she was a big girl!

Well, this is a long story, but all I can say is better late than never on the "It's a Girl!" sign in the yard! Maybe it just looks like we have a giant newborn??

My sweet babies!

Annie-3 months!

Our Annie is 3 months old! It kind of feels like she's always been a part of the family, and then again it feels like she just got here! She really has been great just to "roll with the punches" and seems to be an overall laid back little girl. She has her moments, but I think they are normal moments rather than excessive. We've been blessed to have two healthy, happy babies.
There are a few new things going on in Annie's life. She is sleeping through the night! That's a big one! She goes to sleep when we do at about 10 and wakes up at around 6am to eat but has waited til as late as 9am to eat on a few occasions! When she does wake up at 6, she always goes back to sleep after eating and if left along she will sleep til 9 or 10. She will occasionally wake at around 3 or 4, but that's rare now. I'm really happy to get this uninterrupted sleep back! When she does wake up in those wee hours, though, she generally is not satisfied with paci alone and is ravenous, so I just end up feeding her. She is also a pretty good day sleeper. I don't really have her on a true schedule yet, but she takes at least 3 naps a day, with a big one (3-4hrs) right in the middle of the day that overlaps with Henry's nap. She probably cat naps more than he did because we are on the go more, but she seems to handle this fairly well.
Annie is tracking us big time with her eyes now. I can set her on our bed to fold laundry, and she will follow me all over the room with her eyes. She is at a super smiley stage now, and her smiles are SO funny. She squints and scrunches up her nose when she smiles. I love that babies kind of smile with their whole bodies. She gets very animated and kicks her feet and moves her arms all around. Anyway, she is more responsive than ever, and we are loving getting to know her sweet little personality. She still loves to give her best smiles to her Daddy, and he eats it up (smart girl). She also stares and stares at her bubba, and she will give him big smiles, too. He gets all "up in her business", but so far she doesn't seem to mind. She doesn't know about personal space yet, I guess. Neither does her brother, so it works well. The smiles she gives me that are my favorite are the ones when she's eating. I try to avoid eye contact with her, because she ends up smiling and loosing her meal, but sometimes I just can't help it. It is the sweetest thing, and I love that it can only be shared between the two of us.:)
Annie has started using both the Bumbo and the play mat. I LOVE having a few "stations" to put her at, and she seems to really enjoy them, too. At first she just stared at the toys dangling above her on the mat, but now she's grabbing for them and even tries to put them in her mouth. She also has done great in the Bumbo, and she is so cute and funny sitting in it, because she is so  little! A whole new world has been opened up to her and she just looks and looks. Speaking of putting things in her mouth, Annie has been gnawing on her hands a lot lately. It isn't really a suck, because the paci is not a satisfactory replacement, so I'm wondering if she might be teething already? Henry got his first tooth the day he turned 5 months old, so I guess it's possible to start this early.
Annie has been pulling her head up while laying down some lately. When she's laying in the bouncy she will use her "abs" to lift her head and look around. Her will and her body are starting to work together! She has busy hands and is always pulling at her clothes to get them up to her mouth. I have ended up putting her in one piece outfits or onsies all summer because if I don't her tummy will just be constantly out-which would be cute in it's own right, too, of course! She puts her hands together all the time and we've been noticing her staring at her hands and feet lately, too. She still seems to be pretty long and, speaking of clothes, is growing out of her 0-3 month stuff. I will be pulling out all of her 3-6 month stuff next week. Crazy! I love dressing her and look forward to the next set coming out, but it's hard to say goodbye to the little stuff! I've tried to put some headband bows on her, but I just can't get used to the look yet. I'm not super frilly myself, so I don't know if I ever will! She still has her hair at this point...no old man look yet...but I think it might be coming!:)
Annie still has a very hard time in her car seat. She usually cries and cries...it's pretty miserable for everyone! I don't know how she knows the difference. I can pick her up from happily sitting in the bouncy in the house and put her directly in the car and she immediately starts crying-like a hysterical cry-like a don't put me in here cry! I don't get it, but I certainly hope she grows out of it soon. She does love the ERGO and that usually settles her quickly when we are going from car into a store, so I'm thankful at least for that!
We love you, sweet Annie! Daddy, Henry, and I all look forward to watching you grow and change next month. You are lots of fun, and you make us happy!!

Henry-Two and a **HALF!**

On the same day that Annie turned 3 months, Henry turned two and a half. Ugg. Slow down, time! I wanted to do a two and a half month update because there is SO, SO much change between a two yr old, when I last did an update on him, and a two and a half year old. A lot can change in 6 months! If you think about it, that's 1/5 th of his life! Let me just say that I dreaded this age, and I have been proven totally wrong. Two and a half is so much fun! Yes, we have our moments, but overall, Henry is so enjoyable and so entertaining. We both love interacting with him, and get a kick out of his funny, sweet personality. I have taken a few notes over the past few months so that I wouldn't forget. They may be random to some people, but I hope Steven and I can look back at these notes and reminisce about our sweet boy.

-I push his belly like his glowworm and he will start to sing a song. I push it again and he starts another song. So funny and it takes some thought! Try it!
-He's been replacing words in songs with new words for a while now.
-He's started to use his imagination more and is doing stuff like playing like his food is an animal or that there's something to jump over on the ground.
-He's obsessed with boo boos and anything doctor related. He has a dr kit and loves band-aids.
-Obsessed with birthday also...especially cake...and will play at home all the time that it's my birthday. He sings happy birthday to mama and brings me a piece of his toy cake.
-He's had several favorite books over the past six months including Brown Bear, Very Hungry Caterpillar, I'm a Bunny,
-One day after school he said, "I handsome in my new outfit!"
-One night we were driving home from Lowe Mill and Steven and I were laughing in the front seat about something (having our own conversation) and we heard Henry say from the back seat, "We're having fun!!"
-The boy hears everything...wants to know who I was talking to on the phone, etc.
-"Let's sing!"

-He can quote most of The Very Hungry Caterpillar and the ending is so cute when he says loudly and expressively, "beautiful butterfly!!"
-He thought the Hosta that came up in the back yard in spring was salad. He wanted to pick it for me, but we had to teach him not to pick "mama's salad".
-He started talking about our cars and this is his take: Mama's car is black and messy and Dada's car is white and is not messy
-Introduces himself as Henry Hough to strangers. Sometimes when they ask, but sometimes he just volunteers that info! :)
-I asked him how many animal crackers he wanted and he said, "1234, lots!"
-We are amazed at his communication skills and how he usually gets his tenses and personal pronouns right-for instance right after he turned two, Steven said, "I'm swinging you." and he responded, "You're swinging me, daddy!"

-He's also noticing similarities between words...for instance we had a conversation where he brought up pepper, pepperoni, and macaroni and how they were alike!
-He knows that "Red says stop, green says go, yellow says slow down!" Last night he was saying this on the drive home and I overheard him also saying, "Chocolate milk is BROWN!"
-He has been responding to Elmo's questions on tv-ie-Elmo-"Do cookies sleep?"  Henry-"No!"
-He went through a phase of talking about medicine and saying, "It makes feel better me!" This was a while ago because he doesn't say it like that anymore. He also feeds himself his own medicine from the syringe.
-He talks about "Daddy's music" and "Mommy's music" and he likes several pop songs now and belts them out. It is so funny!! Some are: Baby all night, Roar, All of me, Burn, Speak Life, bag of socks (which is actually something like a round of shots, but he has no idea). Sometimes he sings them as he goes to sleep, and we can hear him from downstairs..."I got the eye of the tiger...your gonna hear me roar...oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh....:)
-He went through a furrowed brow phase, but is thankfully over it.
-He likes to talk about his blankie a lot and he will wrap up in it and say he's getting cozy. We were sitting together after his nap one day and he handed me our couch throw and said, "Get cozy in your blankie, mommy"
-He loves a kids' Spanish CD we have and will sing....Green is verde, verde is green, etc. a lot
-He is totally into his wallet and inside you will find things like a golf tee, mulch, golf pencil , cards, pics of cousins. He opens and closes it, rearranges what's inside, etc.
 
-He evidently has special tricycle talent and could peddle the tricycle at school way before any of the other kids. The rides the one he has around the house and makes a big circle through the living room and kitchen. He will pretend he is going to work and will say stuff like, "See you later, Mommy. I'm going to work. Have a good day!" Then he will circle back around and say, "I had a good day! I made a rocket! I missed you, Mommy!" Then he will take me to the door and show me the imaginary "rocket" he made. He will say, "It's so big! It's so tall!"
-Speaking of rockets, Every time we see the rocket at the space and rocket center on the interstate (which is often), he says, "YAY, Daddy!!" Without fail. It is so cute. We've told him that Daddy makes rockets, so he thinks it is THAT rocket. We figure we won't burst his bubble just yet:)
-He will often suggest something, then say, "No, That'd be silly!" He's learning to make jokes.
-"Mommy. Mommy! Talk to me."
-When he doesn't want to do something I've asked him, he will say, "No please mommy."
-He talks to Annie in her carseat and I over heard him tell her, "I like that happy face Annie!" He will give me reports like, "Annie's eyes are open" or "Annie dropped her paci", etc
-Wanting to dress himself. Can pull his undies and shorts up. Can put on flip flops and some sandals. Crawls into carseat himself, which is very helpful!
-After we've been at the house for a while, he will tell me, "I want to run errands."
-He's been very articulate and is answering with, "Yes".  He also will answer I did. I am. etc, rather than just yeah.
-He likes curious George, Elmo, sesame st, bob builder, Franklin, Thomas for shows.
-One afternoon I was running around getting ready for small group, and I was holding him. He asked me, "You having a hard day, mama?"
-He will say, "I'm a baseball man" or "I'm a working man" or "I'm a golfing man":)
-Letter recognition
-He knows all his colors (even gray and navy!) and is into matching colors. He will notice if his shirt matches someone elses or if something Steven and I are wearing is the same color.
-He likes to make up games and say, "This is my game!" "Look at my game!" when it's not really anything:)
-Conversation overheard: "Can I have a kiss daddy? Thanks daddy. You're sweet."
-Conversation overheard "Annie's a sweet girl. Mommy's a sweet girl."
- While we were in Orlando, he noticed LOTS of things at the pool, and innocently said, "Look at that man's belly! Look at that big belly! Can I go see that man's big belly?" Same conversation about people of different color.
-Asks, "You got a boo boo, mama? You need a band-aid?" He kisses boo boos too.
-After we had driven 12 hrs and Annie was screaming when we got to Orlando, he said to the Wayes from the car window, "I need to get out of here!! Get me out!!"
-While I love you so much mama!
-Me-"Will you pick up that paci for me please?" Henry-"Yes! It might be a little bit dirty."
-"Let me kiss your head."
-"Do you have earrings on mama? Do you have a necklace on mama? I like those mama. Those are pretty."
-Notices every motorcycle and working truck.
-Talking a lot about favorites
-Asks for chocolate-and sometimes at 7:30 in the morning-poor kid!
-Still calls us by our first names quite often and will call me Kel and Mama Kel. ha!
-We asked him what he would buy with his money and he said chocolate chip cookies and strawberry yogurt
-After I've said I like something, he will respond, "I know you like it mom. That makes you so happy. That makes me so happy too."
-He still loves gloves and notices gloves on Target workers and motor cycle drivers
-His current "game" is using plastic bags and pretending to pick up Maggie's poo poo-lovely!!

We love you, oh, so much little man!!