Welcome Willow Moxie

I know it's been FOREVER since I wrote a blog post.  Guess I have a lot going on...
What been keeping me busy for the most part(besides the fact that it's summer) is the newest edition to our family- Willow!

Willow joined us on our 6th anniversary, May 14th, at 1:42 a.m.  She weighed 8 pounds 4 ounces and was 22 inches long.  Willow is a now about two and a half months is 12 pounds 10 ounces and 25 inches.
Willow is a great baby(just like Flora and Leo were).  She's very easy-going and only really cries if she's tired, hungry, or has to burp. :)  She is quite smiley and "talks" a lot if she has a something to say and someone to talk to. She even talks to her toys, which she has been starting to swat at and grasp.
She sleeps pretty well at night, getting up once around 2 or 3, for a bottle, and then again 3-4 hours after that.  She always goes right back to sleep, which is great!
Willow is eating 6 ounces every 4 hours or so.  She eats about 30 ounces a day. She spits up a little, but not as much as Flora did.  
Flora and Leo have adjusted well to adding a little sister.  Flora is very helpful. She will talk to her, shush her, put in her pacifier, rock her in her car seat, wipe her mouth, and get me things for her.  She asks to hold her and feed her occasionally, but it gets hard for her.
Leo sometimes does the things Flora does, but is just starting to catch on. :)
They are all growing SO FAST!!!  It makes me wish I could just hit the pause button and keep them this way for a while.  :)

Another Belly Comparison

So, we've got a little over a month and a half to go.  Here is another belly comparison all taken at the same point in the pregnancy.

"Baby #3"

Flora

Leo

I wore the sweater on purpose this time.  The other two were coincidence. :)

Belly Comparison

Here are three belly pictures of me at roughly 5 ½ months with baby #3, with Leo, and with Flora.

Whoa, Baby! ;)

I was hardly showing!

Leo Picture Timeline

Just born!

3 Months

6 Months 

9 Months

Almost 1 Year!(sorry, I couldn't flip it)

18 Months

2 Years!

Happy 2nd Birthday, Leo!

So I'm a little late on this post, but here goes.

Leo turned two on Friday, January 7th, 2011.  For his special day we went to Mom and Pop Place and he got to pick out two toys, stampers and little cars(his favorite!).  Later that day, Grandma Mae and Grandpa Lala came over for supper and cake.

The next day we had a small party for Leo with my family, Uncle Bill, and Val and Fischer.  We had pizza and I made him two car-shaped cakes.  He had lots of fun opening presents.  Thanks to everyone who came and gave Leo a gift. :)
Tuesday the 11th, Leo had his annual check-up.  He weighs 28.7 pounds(50%) and is 37 inches(96%).  Doc said he is healthy, but we already knew that!
Leo is starting to get much more independent.  He also likes/wants to do things that Flora does, often saying, "me too!"
His independence has also caused him to become quite contrary.  He says "no" to just about everything, even if he really does want it.  For a while his favorite saying was, "no way, dude!"  Luckily that was pretty short lived, especially since he learned pretty quick that Mama won't give him anything if he says "no" to everything.
Leo has really been talking a lot in the last few months.  His speech has really improved and he says new words every day.  He says three word sentences, too.  Sometimes we can't always tell what he's saying, but often Flora can act as an interpreter and tells us what he's saying. :)
We are slowly working on potty training Leo.  He will try out the potty once or twice a day, but I don't really think he is ready.  Sure it would be nice to not have to buy/change two sets of diapers everyday when Baby comes, but pushing him to potty train when he's not ready and doesn't quite get it puts unnecessary pressure on him and makes more work for me.  Maybe when baby comes he'll realize that diapers are for babies and want to go potty.  In summer will try a little harder because it will be easier to let him run around bottom-less and train him like a puppy. :)
Leo loves to play with his cars, color, and watch Dora.  He has fun playing with Flora, even if they don't aways get along, he still loves her very much. He is over all a happy boy!

Happy Solstice 2010!!!

On Tuesday we celebrated the Winter Solstice.  In the morning when the kids got up, we all opened our presents.  They were pretty excited!  

Here are pics of their favorites.  The rest of the photos will be in a Facebook photo album.

Leo's favorite was his Lightening McQueen "Shake and Go" car.  Leo also got puzzles, a recycling truck, tub toys, a new bedding set, and books. 

Here, Flora is dressing her Polly Pocket.  This was definitely one of her favorites, but it was a toss up between Polly, Princess nightgowns, and a pretty pink dress.  She also got puzzles and books, as well as a DVD, slippers, and dishes for the play kitchen.

Tom got a new travel coffee mug and a alarm clock/dock for his iPhone.

I got a travel coffee mug, a necklace, a bracelet that says,"a mother holds her children's hand for a short while, but their hearts forever", and prenatal yoga classes.

For the rest of the morning, the kids played with their new stuff.  Then it was lunch time, then nap time.  

Since they both decided not to nap that day, Tom(I was out running errands) decided to get them out of bed and geared up to go play in the snow fort he created for them(see pics in the Facebook album).  

When I got home, I made "Penne with Asparagus and Mushroom Cream Sauce" with a little salad on the side that Tom made.  It was pretty tasty! 

After supper we snuggled up on the couch and watched the new movie the kids got, "Despicable Me". Then it was early bedtime seeing as the kids didn't nap.  

Overall it was a pretty relaxed day.  

Hope you had a Happy Solstice!

(Too bad it was too cloudy to see the lunar eclipse.  I find it really interesting that the full moon, the eclipse, and the Solstice all fell on the same day.)

6 Days before Solstice...

In the morning we made these:

And a bunch of other yummy goodies!

The kids really enjoyed the eating it part, as you can tell!

After supper, Tom helped the kids frost the cookies they cut out the other day.  I guess they weren't too enthused.  Leo dumped sprinkles in the frosting.  Flora frosted and sprinkled only a couple of cookies and then got bored. Oh well!  At least they tried. :)

On the 8th Day Until Solstice...

We made gingerbread cookies!

Last night we rolled, cut, and baked the cookies.  I think frosting and decorating might have to wait until tomorrow, because tonight our activity is: "buying a gift for a needy family".

Flora's school has a giving tree with ornaments that have an item on them to give to Harbor House.  They offer this instead of each child buying the teachers a gift. I thought that was a good idea.  When I was a daycare teacher, I got a lot of mugs and a lot of "stuff" for the holidays.  Most of which I have not held on to.

So along with finishing up other holiday shopping, we will be buying towels for Harbor House. :)

This last picture was taken today while making Danish Christmas Cookies.  Leo likes to stir, but it's kind of hard for him(he HAS to do it!) and he has his own agenda.  He likes to scoop what he's mixing and put it in other bowls.  He also tends to be messy, saying. "oopie" every time he flipped some out of the bowl.  That's why I normally use the biggest bowl we have when the kids help stir, because Flora does it too. :)

Stay tuned for more "Twelve Days of Solstice fun"!

The Twelve Days of Solstice

Last week we started what I call the "Twelve Days of Solstice".  It's like an Advent calendar, but everyday we look in the stocking or mitten and there is an activity or craft to do.  We started at 12 and will count down to Solstice.

So, our first activity, on Thursday, was making gift tags.  I cut up our holiday cards from last year and we used all kinds of glitter and glue to decorate them.  Flora also used a stamp to imprint the "To:" and "From:" on the back.  It was good messy fun!

'Tis the Season... to Decorate and Create!!!

We've been busy in the last week "decking the halls"!  On Wednesday we put out some of our holiday decor and the M&M lights in the playroom(the kids loved them!).  Saturday it was too cold to go for a walk, so we got a little crafty and made some gingerbread paper dolls.  Flora and Papa really got into it.  Leo was into it for a little while, but after a while, he just kept getting into all the stuff and making a mess instead.

Working hard!

The finished results

Last night we set up the tree.  Isn't it a beauty?!?  AND it fits just right in our living room!  A real Charlie Brown tree.  Ed got it from Up North.  This was the type of tree I wanted last year, but we ended up buying one instead. The kids really wanted to "help", but since the tree is so skinny and the branches were so thin, it was a "parents only" kind of a project.  They still had fun checking out all the ornaments. 

We did celebrate St. Nick by giving them stocking stuffed with books, colors, socks, puzzles, and just a little bit of candy. They got their stuff on Sunday morning, so Tom could be there, too.  They really enjoyed it!

Today Finn was here and we made some cute reindeer.  Finn's was a birthday card for his mom, since it is her birthday today. :) 

Funny that Leo's hand isn't much smaller than Flora's!

I'm sure we'll be crafting, baking, and decorating more in the weeks to come, so stay tuned(and warm)!

Baby #3 Ultrasound Pics

Here are the first pictures of Baby #3.

Our ultrasound went well.  Everything was in woking order and was where it should be.   Baby was drinking amniotic fluid while we were viewing her.  It looked like she was sucking on the placenta.  It was pretty cute!  As you can see baby is a girl.  We don't have a name picked yet, but we have plenty of time. ;)

I know it's been a VERY long time since I wrote on here, but with everyone being on Facebook, it has fallen to the wayside.  

Here's a little update:  Flora is doing well at preschool.  She seems reluctant to go, but that wears off as soon as I leave and she always says she has fun when I ask her after school.  Her favorite friend is Eliana.  She often reports on the way home who was sassy or wasn't listening.  

Leo is continuing to expand his vocabulary.  He has been using two word sentences, as well.  Oops, actually three.  He just said, "please help me." This morning he told me the names of the letters P, M,W, U, and O, which impressed me.  :)

He is also starting to understand more and "help" more.  Last night he put Flora's and his bowls and cups away on the counter in the kitchen without being asked to.  

Leo's independence is developing more as he is trying to take off his coat on his own and will not sit in his booster seat anymore.

Have a Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Still No Flora Update.

Sorry, but this is still not a Flora update.  Maybe later... I swear, I'll get to it!
Just writing to say that I put a lot more photos in the "Glimpses of Spring" album as well as pictures of Flora's actual birthday in her "3rd b-day party" album.  Enjoy!

"Glimpses of Spring"

We tried out Flora's new bubble machine, today, as well as spending some time enjoying the beautiful weather. Hope you got to enjoy it, too!!!
Here's another web album:

Glimpses of Spring

Flora's last day being 2

I told Flora when she wakes up, in the morning, she will be 3, and she'll be bigger and smarter. She told me that she would be able to paint and to cook all by herself. They grow up way to fast.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Princess Tea Party Photos

Thanks to all who came to Flora's Princess Tea Party.  It was a great success and great fun!!!
Click on the photo below to access the web album:

Flora's 3rd B-day Party

Tooth #7

Leo's 7th tooth popped through last night. It's on the bottom on the right side.
Leo also said "mo" on Thursday when he wanted more crackers. He has also been doing the sign for "more" more often.

Just a few pictures from my phone.


Leo's posting on the blog, too!



"The Prince and Princess"
Flora wanted Leo dressed like this, so I helped her put it on him. :)

Location:W 6th St,Appleton,United States

More Pictures

I put more pictures on the web albums today.  I had to go back to using mine because Leo's ran out of room.  But there are more pictures in his "Winter 2009-2010".  You can view the photos in the slideshows on the top right or by going to the bottom right-hand side of the page and looking in photo albums section(Princesses on Ice is there, too).
Here's a little update on Leo, since I will update you all on Flora around her birthday.
Leo went to the doctor last week to get his ears re-checked.  She said they were all clear and didn't want to go with tubes just yet because he cleared up his infection really quickly.  So I'm hoping with the nice weather coming that he(and all of us!) won't get sick again before he maybe will out-grow it.
Leo has been walking all over lately.  He will just walk and walk and walk!
He loves books and will still clear all the books off the shelf.  He has also been "reading" to himself in his jibberish talk.  It's pretty cute and he sounds a lot like Flora did at that age.
Leo says a few words.  He says baby, happy, mama, and baba.  He doesn't say a whole lot of "real" words,  but he does a lot of babbling.  He also can do the signs for "milk", "more", and his own variation of "all done".  We have been working on please since he's been doing a lot of whining when we get out something he really wants to eat or drink.
We're are trying to teach Leo how to clean-up.  He will take out all the cars(he loves them!) or play food or you name it!  So we have him help us pick-up and tell him, "put it away".  He'll put it in the bucket and say, "aye!"(for away) and then clap.
Leo is really starting to understand things and voice his opinion(he gets pretty upset if you take him away from something he wants to do).  As I was writing this he got the play laptop and set it next to me and worked on it while I working on mine.  Cute!

Flora Writes Her Name

Flora wrote her name on the chalkboard all by herself this morning! I coached her a little but she did all the writing.



She did write the "l" first, but that's ok!

Location:W 6th St,Appleton,United States

Another Tooth

Leo popped out another tooth today!
He has also been walking all over. We think he looks like an old man the way he shuffles his feet sometimes. :)
Leo likes to talk on the phone lately. He mostly puts the phone near his mouth(usually upside down) and says, "hi, hi, hi, hi". Except, of course, when there really is someone on the other end!



Flora still has her crazy hives. I took her to the dr., again, and he really didn't have a solution. He wanted to put her on prednisone, but I wasn't too keen on that. So she is on Xyzal and Benadryl to keep them at bay. So far today, she hasn't gotten any. Let's hope it stays that way!!!

Location:W 6th St,Appleton,United States