Because it's cute

Christmas Portraits at Christmas Eve Church

One and Three Quarters= 21 months!

Josie is 21 months today...and I'll admit it I've started to plan her 2nd birthday party!
Thinking girly pirates!

Let me tell you about Josie at 21 months! She is smart. She is an excellent problem solver and is very observant. For example, I hung a new picture on the wall and within an hour she noticed and kept looking at it. She uses about 70 words correctly in conversation and can mimick another 30 or so but doesn't really understand them (like the names of colors). She can identify her head, hair, eyes, nose, mouth, teeth, ears, arms, hands, legs, foot, toes, belly and butt. We are working on her back, chin, knees, and elbows. She loves to color but is not into books.

She is doing PHENOMENALLY well adjusting to a new baby in the house. She loves her brother so much and has been extremely patient with him and us. She has not shown jealousy or anger towards him at all. I am truly suprised how well she has transitioned and I hope it continues that way.

She loves to climb, jump, run, and be outside. She is active no matter where we are. At church she's on the go in the narthex, in a store she'd rather be walking than in the cart, she constantly would like to go into the basement to play with her outside toys. Unfortunately, the only way to slow her down is put on Dora or some other show. She would take a bath everynight for fun.

She's not the best eater. She loves fruits and vegetables (not tomatoes though) and will eat them instead of meat and breads. She's getting better with cheeses and yogurts but would eat like a rabbit all day if she got her way. Well that and chocolate; she's a chocoholic.

She wants to get her way all the time and will argue with you in her own language. She has started to ask why when we tell her no and I think understands some of the explanations we give her. She is also starting to earn timeouts for some unwanted behaviors. But I must say she sits for them; not always quietly or calmly but she'll stay in timeout until she's called out of it.

2011 New Years Resolutions

So we all have made resolutions for 2011!

our first picture as a family of four

Curt-- To eat three meals a day. Sounds funny but he sometimes only eats dinner.
Josie--To potty train.
Collin--To crawl and walk and sleep through the night
Jaime--To lose the baby weight, to run (or jog) a 5k and to craft every month. The crafting is a repeat of last years but I didn't follow through on it and would like to do more.

3 weeks!

Collin's 3 weeks old!

This has been a hard week for Collin; he's been having some issues with the bathroom/gas. Only going once every 2-3 days but it makes him sooo uncomfortable several times a day. Sometimes it's just a sqwauk or two but others it's full on crying for 15 minutes or so.

Today we switched formulas, bottles, and started using gas drops so let's hope we see a difference in a few days.

In more happy news...he knows who his mama is! He is responding to my voice and will turn his head when he hears me and knows when I'm not holding him. He's turning into a mama's boy! (that's fine for now but I told him not as a grown-up :)

I have heard him coo twice and it is so sweet I can't wait to hear it more.

He also had a smile (albiet a gas bubble smile) but it was a huge open-mouth smile which is going to warm hearts one he's doing it on his own!

Can you see the discomfort on his face even when he sleeps ? It makes me so sad.

Matching Sunday Outfits

Shortly after we found out we were having a boy my mom found these matching outfits. Today they wore them to church; the cuteness is definetly worthy of a picture post!

Two Weeks...(a few days late)

He's two weeks old! Waahhh!!! Now I have to start counting in weeks and not days :(

He weighed in at 8 lbs 7.5 oz (55%) and stayed at 21.5 inches.

His color from the jaundice looked good. He had been on the billi-blanket for 3 days.

They snipped off his umbilical cord.

He is eating VERY well; more than the typical 2 wk old...more like a 5 or 6 week old.

As petite as Josie is I think Collin may be the opposite and be a beast!

Snuggly Babies--All Of Us Ready for Bed!

Christmas Day

Our attempt with the kids in front of the Christmas tree :)

I would say maybe next year but I think that may be even harder then!

Christmas Day was a slow start. I was up at 6 a.m. but everyone else slept until almost 8:00!

So I watched TV and enjoyed the quiet until Curt and Josie woke up. Collin slept through the gift opening of his presents but Josie helped him out!

Curt's parents came over shortly thereafter and we celebrated Christmas with them.

The day after Christmas is Curt's mother's birthday as well so we celebrated her birthday too.

After they left, Josie and I went down for our naps and we went to have dinner at my parents house.

It was a quiet Christmas but lovely just the same.

And here's a photo of our early Christmas present!

Kitchen Time!

Curt and I gave Josie a kitchen for Christmas.

She has LOVED it and has spent a lot of time in the kitchen in the past week.

As you can see she does not always use it for "cooking".

It's an indoor jungle gym too! She has stood on the counter.

She has pushed the stool under the curved arch and tried to hang from the arch as well.