Lucas: Seven Months

It has been another rough month of bad nights.  It seems Lucas has fallen into a pattern of waking nearly almost every hour. For example, he goes to bed between 8:30-9:00pm and wakes at 10, 11, 12, 2 and 4.  At 4am I typically bring him into bed with me and (not surprisingly) he goes right to sleep cuddling on my arm.  Needless to say, been an exhausting month!

On a good note, he is a very social and happy boy during the day.  He takes consistent naps and is predictable about being hungry and tired. He still loves to watch Katie and Andrew play and is starting to interact more and more with them. If he can reach either of them from where he is sitting/lying, he grabs their arm/leg and makes this happy roaring noise.  He is playing with them!

He spends time on the floor every day with toys around him.

Boppy pillow there just in case he decides to be all done & throws himself backwards....

like so...

 At the pool playground - big sister pushing Lucas

 At a different playground with Katie and Andrew and friends

 Loves tummy time now and skooches around 

Hanging with his sis and bro watching Saturday morning cartoons

Took a tub in the sink this month. Just so much easier 

than bending down & worrying about him falling backwards.

Lucas is getting more and more difficult to photograph. Everything is in his mouth!

 yum

The best shot!

What he is up to this month:

• Can anticipate games. Starts laughing before you tickle him or get to the wee wee wee toe
• Loves to play "How Big is Lucas? - So big!"
• Loves Noble Duke of York game. Giggles with go up and down
• Learned to skreech Very Loudly to get your attention
• Opens mouth every time to eat his fruit and oatmeal
• Has had a couple finger foods besides puffs - watermelon, cheese, bread
• Can pick up cereal puffs but cant get them in his mouth yet
• Loves when Andrew talks in his silly baby voice.  Lucas cracks up!
• Loves exersaucer. Does not like swing.
• Plays on tummy very well with toys - piano, music cube, Leapfrog learning table top
• Plays while sitting very well - tool bench, electronic musical farm, soft toys
• Waves arms very excitedly when sees you coming to pick him up. 
• Tries to reach for me, but not quite
• Mastered sitting between May 20-June 5
• LOVES to splash in the tub and pool
• Ear infection diagnosed Monday June 11th

Happy Half Birthday KATIE ~ 6 1/2 yrs old

Katie turned 6 1/2 June 9th.  Hard to believe she is so close to SEVEN years old.  

To celebrate we had brownies with vanilla ice cream and one small present.  Katie loved her laser bug catcher.  She spied it months ago at the store and one of her friends brought one to school so she was SUPER excited to get one of her own!  Katie loves collecting bugs.  She has for years and years!  

Our little scientist.

Katie 6 1/2 June 9, 2012

Watch Out First Grade, Here comes KATIE

Katie completed Kindergarten on Thursday, June 7th.  She had a great year! We met with her teacher a week before and she told us that Katie is excellent at math, has a lot of friends and has grown so much during the year. She is ready for first grade!  

At the start of the year Katie was much more timid.  It was a struggle for her to get out of the car at drop off.  By the end of the year, she kissed me/Ned, bounced out of the car and off she went!  

At the start of the year, Katie was reading, but at the end of the year she was ready chapter books!

Katie learned to add, subtract and tell time this year!

Katie loves science and learned a lot at her after school activity - Coyote Club. She learned about animal habitats, plants and roots that are safe to eat, identifying bugs and plants, building fires and so forth. She also learned about the life cycle of ladybugs and bug parts. 

At the start of the year, Katie was 37 lbs and 41 inches.  At the end of the year, she was 39.5 lbs ad 43 inches. She literally grew!

Kindergarten Graduation (called End of Year celebration) was very nice.  The children wore their "Sunday best" and went on stage to receive an individual award. Katie got the Award for her Hardworking and Self Disciplined Attitude.  She also received a Bible.  They children sang a song and recited a poem called "Growing" (below).

 Katie sitting next to Dillon and Aidan

 Katie on stage

 One of the three kindergarten classes

 Katie accepting her award from the Dean of Academics

 Katie getting her Bible from her teacher, Mrs James

 Flowers for the graduate!

 Grammy and Grumps at Graduation. They were so proud!

 Family minus Lucas who was napping in the stroller

      Katie June 7, 2012 - graduation                    Katie August 31, 2011-  first day of school              

(hit full screen to view better, Katie is on the right in green gingham dress)

"Growing"

When I started kindergarten

I couldn't have felt smaller

But I've been growing, growing - 

And not just growing taller!

I've learned to read and learned to write

I've learned my numbers too

And there are many other things

That I have learned to do

Kindergarten's over now

But I am not afraid

Because I know I'm ready

To enter the first grade!

Chunck

Seven Months pictures to come soon.... 

Been a little hectic. 

Lucas has his 3rd ear infection 5 months.  

While at the pediatrician, had Lucas weighed....

18 lbs 15 oz.

Katie was 18 lbs 5 oz at 15 months!

Andrew was 18 lbs 12 oz at 9 months!

Lucas is in the LEAD!

Mother's Day at Rye Beach

I love the beach, most likely due to all my wonderful Ocean City memories as a kid, so it has become a tradition of going to the beach for Mother's Day.  It is, to me, the best place to spend the day with our family!  Katie and Andrew love to run free, play in the sand, jump the frigid waves and collect treasures. And, the dog gets to go too! (until memorial day weekend and then NO DOGS ALLOWED)

Lucas taking checking out the waves

Katie strike a pose

Andrew collecting treasures

It was warm enough to go for a dip in a little tide pool

Treasures!  Sails, rocks and shells

All tuckered out from a busy day at the beach. Time to go home...

Veggies...

Before

First bite of green beans...followed by tears

Try again after some comforting and a change of bibs...

Gag and yep...vomit!

(not for the queasy...yes we captured the puking on video...)

Six Months Old. Happy Half Birthday Lucas!

Lucas turned Six Months on May 10th.  

He weighs almost 18 lbs (17 lbs 13 oz) and is 26 1/2 inches long. He is our Big Boy!

This month proved to be more difficult taking his picture. He kept crumpling and eating the sign!

Here is what is happening in Lucas' World:

• He is a bad sleeper. In the last few weeks he wakes about 6 times per night and does not know how to put himself back to sleep! He used to wake 3 times per night.   Getting worse...
• He is still very smiley.  He lovesto play peek-a-boo  &  "this little piggy" game. 
• He found his toes this month and loves to lie on his back and play and "talk" to them.
• He nurses every three hours.  He cannot tolerate formula.  We have tried 5 kinds now and he vomits them up. Fun, fun! :(
• He rolled tummy to back at 5 months, 9 days and rolled back to tummy at exactly six months
• He went on his third road trip to Mystic Conneticut April 26 for two nights where he went in a swimming pool for the first time. He loved it.  He discovered how fun it is to splash and now splashes in the tub all the time!
• He does not like the heat.  The few 70-something days we have he was very fussy with bright red cheeks.
• He tried his first veggies. First green beans and then sweet potatoes both came back to bite us!  He threw them up....Sensitive tummy?
• He tried a few sippy cups of water and just chews on them
• We stopped swaddling him at 5 months, 5 days.  He broke out way too often. He does not like blankets on his feet when he sleeps. He kicks them off.
• In his spare time he likes to watch Katie and Andrew's baseball games, watch the kids play in the  yard from his exersaucer, and sneak in some TV time when Mom and Dad arent noticing...
 
 
 
•  
 
 

Five Months (very late)

No Babies Were Injured While Filming this Video

Milestone: "Real" Food

Every night, and I mean every night, for the last month Lucas fusses at dinner time. If he is asleep, he wakes as soon as the food hits the table and then the crying begins.  We have succumbed to holding his while we eat. Either Ned or I have him on our lap as week eat one handed.  The non-holding parent cuts the other parents meat!

In the last three or four weeks Lucas has become very curious about what is on our plates.  He has catapulted salad, eaten napkins, grabbed forks, put his fingers in potatoes...and so forth.  One night he helped himself to my applesauce. He swung his hand in it and sucked it off his fingers.

Pediatricians now recommend waiting until six months to introduce solids, but we he was ready... 

Easter Sunday, April 8th 2012, just two days shy of turning five months old...

Rice Cereal:   Take one.

And, it was a success.  Smiles, coos, talking and lots of lip smacking!

Lucas: Four Months Old

Lucas is growing and changing so much.  His weight is 15 lbs 15 oz. and his height is  24 1/2  inches That is a 1 lb 11 oz gain and you grew1 1/2 inches.  In just one month!

Things that happened in your fourth month:

• grabbing toys and holding on to them at the start of month and 
• by end of the month grabbing toys, clothes, necklaces and putting them in his mouth
• first belly laugh with mommy nuzzling her chin in his chest/neck
• slept 7 hours straight (once!)
• blowing bubbles with mouth
• rolled to his side wearing a sleepsack
• both hands in mouth all the time!
• Smiles and eyes widen when mom says "I'm gonna get you" (in silly voice)
• Grabs moms arms when changes him and thinks it is funny
• no more oh, ah, hi sounds now long stings of sounds with mouth open (no babbles yet)
• will talk to anyone who talks to him. loves to have long conversations with lots of expression
• loves being outside watching the trees, sky and most of all his brother and sister playing
• goes to bed all month between 8:00-9:00pm and generally sleeps for 4-5 hrs.  After this long stretch, he is up every hour or two and then gets up for good between 6:00-7:00am.
• Mom has started bringing Lucas into bed at the 4-5am wake up call.

smiley boy

ready for a NH winter walk

Master Manipulator?

Katie, oh Katie....Over the last few months she has been learning the power of words and her verbal tone.  She has learned that just by changing the tone in which she says something she can really get under her brother's skin.  She has learned that if she uses a sweet tone she can get what she wants from mom and dad. She has also learned that words can get you somewhere...

Here is an example...

Ned planned to go skiing with some friends Sunday morning.  There was talk - between Ned and I only (or so I thought) of me taking the kid to Chuck E Cheese with some friends.  Evidently, Katie has excellent hearing when it is something she is not supposed to hear.

We wake up Saturday morning. Katie is diligently writing at her desk.  She presents me with this construction paper bound "book":

 Gotta love it!