Handmade in the Wild: The Tea Party Peplum

The hardest thing to get E to do during the winter is to wear a sweater, so we have to have lots of long sleeve shirts that can go under sleeveless and short sleeve tops. Flashback to last summer, when long sleeves and sweaters aren't needed!

The kids love watching Daddy change the oil on the vehicles. E also learned how to ride a big girl big (with training wheels) last summer. It was amazing to watch her practice and practice while still needed us to push her to get started, and then all of a sudden she could start and turn with no help. Now we need to work on leg strength to ride on the gravel roads by our house...

Here, E is trying to show little brother how to blow up balloons (even though she can't really do it herself). He was her little shadow last summer, and some things definitely haven't changed yet ;) 

Tea Party Peplum Post

Another Month. Another Family Update.

A boring month... but sometimes I like boring months!

We spent two nights over Labor Day weekend at my parents' lake cabin. We all love it there... we even dipped JT's toes in the lake. Of course, he needed to wear his entire swimming get-up just to get his toes wet! We recently purchased a fishing pole for E, since she loves fishing. This pole seemed to entertain her longer than others since there is a removable fishy on the end that she could "catch."

I was able to get some swimming in this trip, too. (See, I told you E loves the lake. She had to share her tube with JT after I told her where we were going that weekend, ha!). My brother found a crawfish on the beach. E wasn't super impressed with it... she just wanted to keep fishing.

Grandma's favorite thing... breakfast on the porch! We also spent one night at Dan's parents' farm, but I forgot to take pictures! 

We took the kids to the Corn Palace Festival one night. E rode the carousel 3 times! 

Breakfast with both kids in my lap made for a challenging bowl of cereal...

E still loves dandelions. We're just glad she doesn't eat them this year!

We had our first date night! One of Dan's former coworkers watched both kids while we went out to eat... and to Menards! 

James {3 Month Update}

This little man is 3 months old! (Well, 3 and a half months now, but who's counting?)

He can be quite smiley when he wants to be! He continues to grow, although we won't have official weight and height measurements again until his 4 month appointment. He's still in size 2 diapers and 3-6month clothing.

As always, everyone is happier when Daddy gets home from work :) James can be pretty selective of who he allows to hold him, and while he is the most content with me, Dan is able to calm him down with a pacifier and white noise. 

Daddy celebrated his 30th birthday this past month! We didn't do anything too exciting, but it's near the 4th of July, so with all the traveling we did to see family that weekend, it just felt like one big birthday celebration :) 

James' first 4th of July was spent both at my parents' lake cabin and my inlaws' farm. He never was around the fireworks that much, so we'll have to wait until next year to see how he likes them (E's favorite is the smoke bombs). 

Happy (5th) of July! We didn't get into our patriotic gear until Sunday for church. 

Since James is getting more and more content, E can hold him more... and look, he's smiling at her sisterly kiss :)

Like I said, he is getting more and more content, which prompted us to stop his reflux meds after the 4th. There was no change afterward, so I knew that it was OK to stop. 

Tummy time is always more fun with new friends (even if they live on diaper boxes). For about a week, he was doing lots of rolling from tummy to back, but then he stopped... I'm guessing he figured out how to do it, so he practiced it for awhile, but since he prefers his tummy, he decided to stop doing it as often :)

He still hates his carseat, but he doesn't seem to scream 80% of the time any more... maybe closer to 75% ;) We had to capture him looking like Budda while (gasp!) sleeping in the car!!

Cloth diapers were introduced this month! We still use a lot of disposables, but the cloth seem to be working just fine at home. Oh, and he's able to hold on to toys we give him for little bits at a time. Hopefully, he'll start reaching for them himself soon.

We have pictures of E balancing on Daddy's hand at this age as well.

His cousin who is a year older than him doesn't appear ready for a sibling yet - look how he his hugging my sister-in-law's leg! So cute :) 

Cousin time at the cabin!

E does a decent job of sharing, as you can see on the top picture. I'm still on the look-out at rummage sales for a boy-ish chair or couch for James.

Documented proof that I had both kids sleeping on me at once in the rocking chair. E was crabby after not sleeping during her naptime, so I was singing and rocking both of them... and they both fell asleep! I don't see it happening again anytime soon, ha!

A few snapshots of E... fishing with Grandpa, swinging with Daddy and feeding her other grandpa's cows!

A little snippet of E at three months... Blog Post

One Month {JT Update}

Let's see if I can keep on top of these monthly update posts... I did pretty well with E's first year, so hopefully I can do the same for JT.

We chose tractors for his growth comparison pictures. The frame takes the place of the rope used for E, and the chalkboard tray is the same (although I did have to give it another coat of paint!).

One month old! He gained a pound in a week from his 5 day appointment to his 2 week appointment, but I have no guesses as to how much he weighs now. He definitely goes through plenty of diapers, so it is nice not having to worry about if he's gaining weight or not! He is out of his newborn sleepers and into the 0-3 month clothes; he's also out of newborn sized diapers and into size 1 already. 

His little eyes stay open longer now, although he still sleeps quite a bit. When he is awake, he's pretty fussy - nothing we aren't used to though, as E was a pretty fussy newborn as well. We just have to survive the first several months and I'm sure he'll be a happy baby then! He usually takes a decent nap in the afternoon, right around the time  E takes hers as well. Mommy likes the downtime this gives her! Nighttimes are still a bit of a struggle, but that too will pass eventually...

E still does very well with the new addition, although she does get tired of how often we have to change and feed him! We both look forward to when Daddy gets off work so she can burn off some energy! I also look forward to when the mornings are warmer, so we can spend even more time outside!

I also suspect as JT gets older and doesn't need me so much, things will get easier. E has shown more interest in touching, hugging and holding her brother this past week; as JT becomes more interactive, I'm sure her interest will also increase (or perhaps she'll be bored of him by then, ha!)

A little comparison picture. Dan is the pro at the colic hold! JT in the top picture and E in the bottom picture... calm as can be with some pressure on their tummies!

Last but not least, we've been busy in the garden and in the front flower beds, and we're hoping that our little plants are tough - the thermometer hit 32 degrees last night! If they don't survive, at least it's still early in the season so we can replant if needed. (JT lasted maybe 5 minutes in his rock-in-play outside. I'll just stick to wearing him in a carrier while outside for a few more weeks...)