Fall Break Catch-up

Since it's been 24 days since my last blog post, here is a short recap of what's been going on. 

Fall break:
We went home home (Southwest Missouri) for Fall Break.  Oh the leaves. The cool breeze. Our people. Every time I make this trip I do not want to return to Oklahoma. Not one tiny bit. Trevor and I grumble the whole way home, 'is it May yet?'.  It's just so good for us and the kiddos to be home.  Seeing Miles with his grandparents seals the deal for me.  Miles adores his Papa Ward.  *This could be because Papa Ward gives him EVERYTHING he wants*  That's what Papas are supposed to do. Miles is devastated for days after we return home. Grandparent detox is real, I promise.

 



We also spent some time with Miles and Hazel's cousins.  This is probably a very close second to why we are excited to be home.  I love the idea of my kids growing up with their cousins.  David is SO good with Miles.  He makes him laugh harder than anyone else.  Kaia loves to 'mother' Miles and Hazel.  I can't wait until they can call run around together. My brother and sister-in-law are raising some great kids.

 

 

Miles turned 18 months a few days ago. A year and a half! Wow! He has an increasing vocabulary.

His favorite words are: Papa, Baby, Uh oh, here ya go, and thank you. He can mimic and repeat most of the things I ask him to, but he only uses 10-15 words for his own benefit.  He also can put shapes in the right holes on his shape sorter and stack blocks on top of each other. He loves to paint and draw and if he does something that makes you laugh, he keeps doing it to get the same reaction. He also loves his sister, sometimes too much.

 

 

Hazel is nearly 4 months old.  She is one strong girl. She holds her head up like a pro, rolls both directions, can tri-pod sit for a few seconds and needs to be part of the action all the time. We recently switched her to a convertible car seat, instead of the newborn ones you carry.  She loves it. She likes that she can sit up straighter and higher. She no longer screams every time we are in the car. She also started riding in the stroller with Miles without the car seat insert. She basically thinks she can do anything Miles can do. She drools and chews on her hands a lot more than I remember Miles doing.

 



3 Months in the books

Hazel, 

Technically your 3 month birthday isn't until Tuesday, but let's all pause a moment and give me credit for 1. posting about your 3rd month milestone and 2. doing it early.

Okay. Girl, you are incredible.  Yes, we had a bit of a rocky start with you crying all the time, but you have since redeemed yourself.  You can roll, hold your neck up, sit up in your bumbo, sleep in your own crib, nap regularly, eat like a champ, sleep through the night, deal with your brother 'loving' you, and you're usually happy.  You decided that instead of shrieking for dinner you should just smack your lips until I feed you.  I appreciate this cue you give me.  You also are so over chilling in your rock and play. You need to be on the floor where the action is. You also hate being cradled, you want to sit straight up and see what's going on. You seriously have such a little attitude about what you want and when you want it. Heaven help us.

 

You do pretty well when we go places.  You ride in the baby carrier most of the time when we grocery shop, eat out, or go fun places like the zoo, fair, or pumpkin patch. This is why there aren't a lot of pictures of you at those places. Here is a picture of you at the pumpkin patch. This is the top of your head by the sign for Hazel the horse.



 

In the next month it would really be nice if you decided you like your carseat and bottles again. Thanks.

 

Mama



 



Hazel's 10th week/Miles first illness

Hazel::
It has been ten days since Hazel's two month appointment.  So she's been on the probiotic the doctor recommended for a little over a week. She is a new woman!  Now, I'm not sure if it is due to the fact that she is getting older, that the side effects of her shots have worn off, or that probiotic. I really don't care. No complaints here! Her fussiness has pretty much disappeared. No more 2-3 hours in the evening fighting a crying baby! Yippee! She even gave us some more smiles this week. I think she is excited too!

 

Miles:

 

Poor Miles woke up Wednesday with a fever, snot everywhere, a red face, and a sour attitude. Now if you've ever been around Miles you would know he usually isn't Mr. Grumpy. So I took his temperature, started the humidifier, and found my Nose Frida. I also put a call into our doctor because there's this nasty respiratory virus in the news.

 

He didn't have much of an appetite all day, but he did down a couple cups of pumped breast milk. Good thing I have 400 extra ounces in my freezer.  We did see the doctor at 5 pm after I described to the nurse what his symptoms. (He weighed 24.5lbs) It was more of a proactive visit than a treatment visit.  His ears/sinuses/throat/chest all checked out just fine! He is feeling better this today and his fever has broke.  I've given up on trying to keep him away from Hazel. It was a huge battle yesterday, so today he wants to be near her all the time.  Just building her immune system early.

 

 

I also have been keeping myself busy during nap times crocheting. Laugh it up. Here are Miles and Hazel's winter hats.





Yesterday

 

I fed two babies.

 

 

 

 

I cleaned two babies.

 

 



 

I played with two babies.

 

 

Labor Day Weekend

This last weekend was Labor Day.  Trevor was lucky enough to have the whole weekend off work! So we did what was usually do when presented with time off: Drove to Missouri.  This weekend we drove in our new (to us) van! I have to say, sitting in a nice comfy bucket seat with plenty of room for our 2 carseats and luggage was a welcome change. I love our Ford Focus, but it is
squish-tastic when it come so to traveling. Here is a photo of me with my new ride. It is a 2003 Dodge Caravan for those who care about that sort of thing.

 

 

Here is the inside of the van. This picture was my first solo outing with the kids in the van.  It turned out well. We got groceries without any major fits. How I've missed going to the grocery store during the day. I hate that it's so packed in the evenings.

 

Back to Labor Day- We crammed a lot into the three days we were at home. We took Hazel and Miles to see my grandparents in KC.  M & H are the 22nd and 23rd great-grandchildren. I love my grandparents and don't get to see them often, so it was a nice day.

 

We also spent time with our parents, went to church, and swam at the Hefleys!

 

 

We left full of gratitude for the people in our lives! We can't wait to move back this summer!



 



 

 

 

Hazel: 2 month well visit

Hazel,

Today we had your two month well visit. Yesterday I took you and your brother with me to my follow-up visit from birthing you.  You and your brother were in a stroller while I got a 'female parts check-up'.  Comparing that visit with your doctor's visit today, I would take the female check up 10 times.  You did nothing but cry the whole time.  While this is normal for you, it stresses me out when we aren't at home.  Add to it your brother in the stroller and trying to keep him entertained... it was a long 45 minutes. I'm sure everyone in the doctor's office was just as happy as I was when we left.

The doctor checked you over, despite your screaming.  You are growing well! You are over 11 lbs and 23 inches long. Your head is 15 inches. You are healthy which we are thankful for.  We also got a nice parting gift of a DVD about crying.  I never knew such a DVD existed, but the doctor pulled it right out and gave it to me. At least I'm not crazy for thinking you cry a lot. It's now documented in your baby chart at the pediatrician. By the time it was time for your shots, you had cry so much you were tired and went to sleep.  When the nurse gave you the 3 shots for today, you looked at her like, 'how dare you wake me up'.

You are something else. I hope one day your fun personality over-shadows what an fussy newborn you are.

We love you anyway. Sorry there are no cute baby pictures of you laying on the exam table, you were shrieking and I didn't think of it.

7 weeks/16months

H::

 

You are seven weeks old. We weighed you yesterday and you weighed 11 lbs! I wonder how much more you will pack on before your 2 month appointment.  I've been really trying to study you lately, last night I noticed that you make the same movements with your mouth that your brother did. I wonder if that's something that all babies do, or just Howard babies. I'm trying to commit some of your mannerisms to memory because baring a miracle; you will be our last baby. :) You are still waking up once at night, between 2am-4am. I think you will drop that feeding soon. You also started smiling at the end of last week. It's happening more frequently, but I've yet to catch it on camera.

 

 

Miles and Hazel's cousins also came this weekend.  Miles loved playing with them, and Audrey may be his favorite person. He was not shy about hugging/kissing/reaching for her. They played with toys, went swimming and just generally enjoyed seeing each other. Miles is about the same weight as his 3 year old cousin. His head is bigger than both of theirs!

 



 This was Miles after they left:: out for the count. He's still recovering from the excitement!