Three Months

 

Time is flying by and all of a sudden I have a three month old!  Last month Julia found her hands and was quite fascinated looking at them.  Towards the end of the month she started to grasp objects.  She continues to eat and sleep well - only up once a night, if that! 

She sticks her tongue out when she smiles.

 

 

 

Don't tell Julia this, but she is getting a bald spot on the back of her head.

 

I love my little cuddlebug!

 

 

{this moment} Bah Humbug!

{this moment} A single photo – no words – capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

Visit Soulemama to share your "moment."

Elephant

 

 

Last night I talked Andy into washing the dishes while I watched the kids. 

We were playing downstairs and heard the dishwasher creak open. 

Philip stopped, looked at me, then said, "Elephant."

I think we need some WD-40!

Fall Fun

We've had a lot of fun this fall!  October started with a trip to the zoo.  Each year, Baltimore has a month where they open many of their cultural attractions and performances to the public for free.  We took advantage of free day at the zoo!  Andy had the day off from work and the weather was beautiful!  We even ran into a certain blogger there!  Philip keeps talking about the "elefuns" and "jraphs" he saw at the zoo.

 

Checking out the rhinos

Lunch fun

There are a ton of fall festivals in our area.  We took advantage of the warm weather and went to a local nursery one weekend for pumpkin pictures. 

Julia looked funny in each of these pictures, but Philip sure is cute!

Post funnel-cake face

Checking out the tractors

Julia fell asleep and Andy tried to talk me out of putting her down for this pic. We were able to do a whole photo shoot and she didn't wake up at all.  Love having Philip in the background.

On another weekend we went to a local park that is also a farm.  They had all sorts of fun activities and it was amazing to see how many young families there are in our area.  On the way home, Philip kept saying, "Party...fun!"  Made my heart sing!

Riding the bull!

 

Our community held a Touch-a-Truck event one weekend.  They bring in all sorts of different vehicles and the kids can get into any of them to check them out. We were expecting a few emergency and construction vehicles, but they had anything you could imagine  - mail truck, tour bus, tractor trailer, car carrier, Red Cross truck, stretch limo, you name it!  Even a helicopter.

Unfortunately, lots of kids were blowing the horns on the trucks and as you can imagine, the horns of tractor trailers and fire engines are quite loud.  Philip spent a lot of time like this:

Finally, the weekend before Halloween we went to a local farm to pick out a pumpkin.

We decided to leave this one at the farm

Here is the one we picked. Philip was preoccupied by a litter of kittens that were roaming around - that is what he is looking at in this shot!

Just look at the excitement on Philip's face

As Philip would say, "Oh, wow!"

I'm pretty proud of myself for making these!

Philip's Halloween lunch

For Halloween, Philip was a Knight in Shining Armour.  Julia had a little cat bib and pant set.  Once she spit up all over that, she wore Philip's My First Halloween shirt.

This was Philip's first time out trick-or treating.  We went to three of our neighbor's houses and then went to a party at a friend's house.  The parents all brought a bag of candy, and they mixed it up and sent everyone home with a big bag.  Philip is super-excited about all the "Lolli's" that he got!

His first lollipop! 

And since this post is very Philip-centric, here's a recent pic of the little lady!

{this moment} Happy Halloween!

{this moment}  A single photo – no words – capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

Visit Soulemama to share your "moment."

Philip's New Sayings

Philip's has some signature taglines these days.  Here are a few.

"I need"
I need cat
I need lunch
I need outside
I need cookie

"No way!"
When I go to change his clothes or diaper, he yells:
Oh no! No way! Oh no! No way! No way! No way! Aaaaaaahhhh!

"Eyes"
He will check on Julia when she is napping and if she is awake he tells me, Eyes, eyes!

Miss Eyes

 

"That's Silly"

Philip: Daddy

Me: Where's Daddy?

Philip: Silence

Me: Daddy's at work.

Philip: That's silly!

Whatever you say, boss.

"I'm Coming"
This week I heard his trains saying repeatedly, "I'm coming, I'm coming, I coming." I knew immediately he got that from me.  Every time he wants me to go somewhere or do something, he hears me say, "I'm coming, just let me grab my water." "I'm coming, just let me put away lunch." "I'm coming, just let me get your sister." etc., etc., etc.

Don't forget about me, guys!

"Yes"
Need I say more? It is so helpful that he now says yes consistently.

"I want Daddy."
If he doesn't get what he wants from me, he will throw a tantrum and yell, "I want Daddy."  Ugh!  This has started already?  A lot of times my response is, "Me too!"

I normally think they have pretty distinct looks.

But seeing this picture, what do you think?

Do they look alike?

2 Months

Eating well, sleeping well, growing well, playing, cooing, and smiling.  That is what Julia is up to!

 

The Latest from Here

Time for an update! 

Julia at one month

Julia is 8 weeks old today.  I can't believe it!  She has been a great little baby.  She eats well, is growing well, and sleeps well.  Right now she only gets up twice a night, sometimes once, so that is great!  She also started to smile and coo in the last few weeks and is starting to have fun playing a bit.  We were amazed at how much she would sleep in a day for the first month.  It seemed like she was never awake, except to eat.  That is changing slowly and I know her schedule will be ever-evolving . She is very pleasant all the time and the only things that she complains about are baths (except she loves to have her hair washed) and sitting at stoplights in the car.  This is so different than Philip, who was sensitive to everything and screamed his head off anytime we changed him, dressed him, bathed him, put him down in anything (car seat, stroller, bouncer, swing), or didn't feed him within 10 seconds of his first sign of hunger.  Now of course Philip is a very sweet, easy-going little boy, so who knows what Julia's personality will be like later.

My sister made this cute little outfit for Julia!

Philip is also doing well.  The transition to big brotherhood has gone much smoother than I imagined.  He for the most part just does his own thing, but he will occasionally try to entertain Julia and always gives her kisses goodnight.  That isn't to say that there are no hard times, but he is two years old, so that is the norm!  He has started to "sulk" a lot.  When we correct him about something or he doesn't get his way, he will stop whatever he is doing (if he isn't throwing a tantrum) and put his head down in a chair or lay on the floor. He recently started to add grunting to the routine.  A few moments later he will pop up as chipper as ever!

Watching pig races at the county fair!

Philip has a few new things going on.  He is getting more independent. "I help." is a common phrase around here.   He is also very good at saying "thank you" and "sorry."  He says sorry all the time, even if there is no reason to say it.  Like if he trips and falls down, he will get up, smile and say, sorry!  Or the other day we went on a walk and his stroller got hung up on a few bumps in the sidewalk.  Each time he would call out to us, sorry! 

"Making cookies" is a new favorite activity for Philip

We get a laugh out of another thing he does.  When he and Andy go to play in the basement, Andy is always itching to play his new electric guitar.  Philip does not like the electric, but he is okay with the acoustic or classical guitars.  If Philip gets preoccupied with something, Andy will get out the electric and start playing.  As soon as Andy starts playing, Philip will yell, "Choo choo!," trying to get Andy to stop and play with him.  If Andy doesn't stop, he goes over and pulls the plug out of the guitar, while saying "sorry" with a sweet little smile.

First lollipop

I'm doing well.  It took a full month to really recover from the c-section, but now I feel as good as new. I had to get readjusted to all the couch time that is required with a newborn.  I am kind of liking it now, but it was challenging at first.  Both kids usually nap at the same time in the afternoons, so I have a little time with my hands free and am usually working on projects or cleaning around the house while I can.  If Andy is home, I have been able to run errands kid-free, which is great! 

Me with two kids!!!

Andy is busy as always with work.  He still has some paternity leave and takes a couple days off a week.  This really helps break things up for us.  We usually try to get out of the house to do something together, whether it is a field trip, or just going on a walk or out to lunch.  We are so thankful for this extra time we get to spend together as a family and will be sad to see it end.

Andy and Julia sharing a laugh

Here are a few extra favorite pictures from September.

Grandma got lots of time with little Miss Snuggles during her visit

 

Everyday Grandpa would take Philip to the pond to feed the ducks after lunch

 I realized they were matching one day and talked Philip into sitting in a chair with his sister

He sat as far from her as possible!

 

Support Orphans through the Little Flower Projects

"I'd like to ask God why He lets poverty and injustice exist, why there are so many orphans and why He does nothing about it, but I am afraid He would ask me the same question."

One of my good friends has a huge heart for orphans, specifically children in China.  It looks like adoption isn't an option right now, so she has found another way to reach out.  Katie is coordinating a Virtual 5K for the Little Flower Projects.  The Little Flower Projects was started by a husband and wife, graduates of Franciscan University of Steubenville.  Little Flower Projects takes care of orphans in China who need extra care and medical attention. She hopes to raise enough money to cover the salary of one Nanny for 6 months, which is approximately $2,000.

In case you are wondering (I was), a Virtual 5K means that anyone, anywhere can participate! You can walk, run, or do something healthy in the name of the orphans anytime between October 13-October 21.  Of course, you can skip that part and just donate to the cause as well!  For more information, click here. 

For those who live near us, there will be a meetup at a local park on October 20.  There will be a fun run/walk with refreshments afterwards and there is a great playground and pond to enjoy as well.  It will be really informal and family friendly, so no worries about skill level.  Let me know if you are interested and I will get you the details.

Please consider helping out this great cause!

Claimed for Christ!

One of my favorite parts of the baptism ceremony is when the priest lays his hands on the child and says, "N., the Christian community welcomes you with great joy. In its name I claim you for Christ our Savior by the sign of his cross."

Julia was claimed for Christ on September 16 during a private Sunday mass in the same historic chapel where Philip was baptized.  Two of our priest friends celebrated and we were surrounded by family and friends. 

Philip was invited to draw the sign of the cross on Julia's head along with her parents and Godparents.

The celebrant invited our good friend's sons to participate by serving the mass and holding the chrism.

He also invited Philip to help pour the water over Julia's head.

As you can see, there were lots of nice touches that made the baptism so personal and special for us.  The readings for that Sunday were beautiful and perfect for the occasion.

The celebrants with my parents

Andy's parents stayed with us for a week and a half leading up to the baptism to help us out.

We asked Andy's oldest brother and sister-in-law to be the Godparents and were so happy to have them travel from Georgia to celebrate with us.

Now a family of four!

Afterwards we enjoyed the beautiful weather and had cake and drinks with our friends.  I love getting so many friends from different parts of our lives all together at the same time.

My mother purchased this gown for my sister's baby who is Philip's age.  Now Julia has worn it and it is going back to my sister who will have another baby girl in November!

Thank you Lord for blessing our family with this beautiful baby girl!