Blake is 2 and a HALF!

Our Blake Everett turned 2& 1/2 at the end of October. Cannot believe it for one second. Seems like it was just yesterday he was our baby, and now he is our sweet middle child. Yet, on the other hand, he seems so big to me because he has had a little sister since he was 22 months old. When people ask me to describe Blake, I can't really sum up how much of a joy he is! He is a fun-loving, sweet, and hilarious ball of energy!! And such a ham! 

He is still a big boy, weighing in the mid 30's and measuring a little over 38 inches tall. He wants to be sure he is a scrappy little brother who ain't so little :-) He wears size 9 1/2-10 shoe and size 2-3T clothes (tall like big bro)! He wears size 6 diaper, with no signs of being potty-trained. We've tried unsuccessfully three or four times; may give it another swing after the holidays...he is just too busy playing (i.e., distracted), even with me asking every 5-10. He's a boy and to play!

Out of our three kids, Blake is our pickiest eater right now (I know, hard to believe by his size :-) His fave foods are yogurt raisins, berries, carrots, any kind of bread (tortilla, chip, bagel), cottage cheese, and cheese. He does not like grapes, still! And he likes to drink water like it's going out of style. He may be a vegetarian one day, because one of the only ways to get him to eat meat is if it is covered in cheese or sauce or if he can "dip" it. That boy. But he does finish his meal without much groaning, so I'll take it!

Apple smile :-) 

The Blakester loves his sleep! He sleeps around 10-11 hours at night and naps 2-3 hours during the day, usually around 1 or so. He has skipped his nap a handful of times, and it was rough...

He is a morning person (unlike big bro) and wakes up in the most chipper mood. However, he is a bit crabby after his afternoon nap, ha. It takes him a good 30 minutes to snap out of it! He has been waking up before Jameston, getting out of bed and coming downstairs to find us in the mornings (something that would've stressed me out a year ago, but I've learned to "let it go.") He tried\s to be covert and not make a peep to wake up his siblings. He is so quiet that he doesn't even talk, even if I ask him questions. It is quite funny!  

Blake has been the best side-stare! And he puts his cheek to his shoulder when he is either pouting or being bashful. Love it!










Things I want to remember about our Blake-a-roo at this age are:

• He is Brett's little bud. He wants to do EVERYTHING Brett is doing and be everywhere he is. It is really precious, and Brett is so great to usually oblige (even though it probably slows him down).

• He rocks two pretty serious cowlicks with his new haircut (see above pics)
• His smile and laugh are infectious! He can cheese it up for sure.
• Blake can give you the poutiest voice and can pretend play with the best of them! (his dead-pose is pretty dramatic and his pretend-snoring is spot on, ha!)
• He has a dimple on his right cheek that is partly there due to a scar. I hope it stays!

• At this age, Blake knows his abc's and can count to 10 (but transverses 3/4 and 6/7 sometimes). He can count to 20 with some prodding.
• He often, like all the time, says, "I do it my own self." So this has come in handy with teeth-brushing (which used to be a battle), getting dressed, etc. But, he sometimes uses a delay tactic and asks us to help feed him. Like I said, picky eater. But with all other things, he is very independent.

• Our sweet second born displays the speech process of fronting, so "keep" is "teep" and "toe" for "go" etc. It is something he should grow out of and is very common at 2. And it is pretty cute to listen to :-)
• Blake also says sweet and funny things like calling Elise, "My own baby," or "My Lisey," "just one more," (for time, food, activity, book, etc.). His latest fave is "No," typical I guess at this age. But lately he has started saying, "No, but yes." Ha! One sleep-deprived, tough-on-my mommy spirit day he told me, "Mommy, you my best girl." Love my sweet Blake-a-roo!
• His faves: color is orange, show is Daniel Tiger, movie is Lion King (same as JW at this age), book is Marvel Superhero book and his little bible, and anything with Kung Fu panda...

Blakester's current interests are:

• All things superheroes

 

(and weapons)

• Balls! Soccer and football seem to be his current favorite. He seems to be very coordinated and tough. He will play and run and get right back up if he falls down. He does complain about his knees hurting sometimes, but the doctor thinks it is just his muscles getting used to his size :-)
• Being outside, day or night, hot or cold

(his running and jumping are still very "little boy" in form, although he tries his best to keep up with big bro!)

• Anything artsy (following in JW's footsteps on this as well)

• Singing and dancing with Mommy (I've loved our Wednesdays together while big bro is in Spanish school. He is my little cuddler, wants to sit on my lap whenever possible, and wants to give me kisses).

• Blocks, legos, stuffed animals, blankets, and those wooden brain buster puzzles at the doctor's office
• Swimming (he did great this summer in lesson) and all water activities (baths included)!

and his tools! He loves to "fix" stuff...

He has been in a twin/bottom bunk bed since early March, right before we welcomed Elise. He has done GREAT (it was me that was a wreck and worried about nap times :-) and has had no hiccups in the shared room with Jameston. He and big brother talk back in forth some nights and rest time, but they usually fall asleep shortly.

God blessed us with Blake as our middle child, for sure! He is such a great listener and follower of Jameston, and he is so interactive with and protective of Elise already. These are the sweetest relationships to watch, although he and J test each other and boundaries some.

Blake has THE best smile, in my opinion...I know I'm biased as his mommy :-) Even his squinty and  tongue out smiles are cute! Just wanna pinch those cheeks!

Blake Everett,

You, with your siblings, are the lights of our lives!! You can make us laugh and smile even on the toughest of days. We love watching you grow and learn and can't wait to see what the Lord has in store for you in the years ahead. We thank God for making us your Mommy and Daddy and for Him blessing us with you. We love you, our Blake-a-roo!

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Elise at 7 AND 8 months :-)

So, I am way, way, WAAAAY behind on these! For time's sake, I'm gonna combine two months and try to do a more condensed version (yeah right!). Poor third child :-)

This lovely lady weighed around 21 pounds for her 7 1/2 month check (we were there for a recheck on her head size, more later). She is wearing size 3 or 4 diapers, size 9-12 months clothes, and size 3 shoe.  

  She is all over the place, rocking, reaching, etc. (so these month-by-month shots are getting tricky :-) Love!

She regressed in the nightly sleep department. I was lucky in that she was sleeping through the night around 2 months old (whoa...like a 6-7 hours stretch, not 12 hours), but with two colds and teething pain, she wanted to wake up more. We got in the habit of her feeding around 5 and then going back to sleep. It really wasn't a big deal (since we both usually went right back to sleep), and I got some solo time with the youngest :-) She is no longer in the sleep sack, as she turns all over the place. She can self-sooth easily and has nothing to do with a pacifier!

She is napping still 2-3 times a day, and she can nap anywhere, quiet or loud, which comes in handy! By far, her fave place to nap is in the Ergo with me carrying her (and I don't mind it either :-)

We have been feeding E rice and oatmeal cereal since 5 1/2 months. I usually added pureed veggies or fruit in there. But she has started using her pincer grasp to get chunks of fruits (usually banana, avocado, pears, and veggies (usually green beans or sweet potatoes) and the always-popular puffs. We started her on berries this last month, with the introduction of raspberries and blueberries, which she loves! This girl LOVES her some carrots, which is hands-down, her fave so far! We also started her on water in a sippy, which has  not taken too well. I have not been consistent, and she just wants to gum it :-)

This girl is becoming more and more independent, and in feeding we see it as well! She reaches for the spoon, and likes to grab at the food on her tray. Also, she can feed herself her own bottle when she is not nursing!

Starting at 6&1/2 months or so, E became great at sitting on her bottom. And she started scooting a little on her tush at 7 months as well. 

She loves her jumperoo and starting going to town jumping, instead of peaking at the toys on it, at 7 months. She is strong on her feet as well, and often stands on her tip toes while holding our hands/fingers. E also rubs her feet together and kicks like a karate kid. Her teachers once thought her feet were itching, but it's just one of her "exercises" I guess

She LOVES bath-time, and now that she is sitting up on her own, she really likes to play in there! And she loves to pull with all of her might on the towel rack in there when we are brushing her teeth :-)

This gal loves books, any soft book, as she grabs to chew on it. She also likes the board/finger puppet books, and "In My Flower" seem to be her current fave.  She tries to turn the pages and chew on the corners of them...those top teeth have been trying to come in for forever it seems!

We celebrated Elise's first fall with lots of pumpkin patch pictures,

and trick or treating trips, with her dressed up as Wonder-baby :-)

 This picture will go with the paragraph on E's head size. So, she crossed percentiles at both her 4 and 6-month check ups, so the doctor was concerned about her head circumference (cases such as hydrocephalus). However, after comparing the growth chart to her brother Blake's, it was determined it is just genetic :-) This picture was from one of those warm October days...

Elise, like her brothers, loves the outdoors. Thank goodness, because we live by a creek, two large fields and four playgrounds. We did discover this month that she loves to swing...love!

She started separation anxiety already, which is earlier than the boys did. I will chalk it up to me having to wear her (in the Ergo mainly) most of the time when we are on the go or around the house when I am getting stuff done. I don't mind it one bit :-)

Other things I want to remember about E at this age: She is babbling (intonated) much more and includes mama, dada, baba and yaya. She can also do a chat, like her big brothers' Native American impressions, and is quite loud (she joke she makes her own soundtrack)! She loves when I clap and is trying oh-so hard to clap herself. She has darker hair than her brothers and it is slowing getting fuller. Maybe a clip bow is in our future :-) Not so fun things I need to document: she has inherited my dry and sensitive skin, can grab and scratch with the best of them, and had her first ear infection at 8 months. She has had three colds now :-( But she has the cutest nose-scrunch you have ever seen when she is congested! I cannot get over how much I love watching the two youngest interact. Since big bro is at Spanish School on Wednesdays, I get some one-on-one time with them in and see how sweet of a big brother Blake is (not that he isn't when Jameston is home, but he is usually following J around and playing with him more). It melts my heart and is just so so sweet!

    Sweet E,  We are so in love with you and thank God for you every day! You are the perfect puzzle piece to complete our little family (and your daddy and brothers just may be wrapped around your little finger already. You have definitely softened them up :-) We love you to the moon and back and moon and back again!

Jameston is 5!

Our first-born, Jamseton Wade, turned 5 years old at the end of September. It's so hard to believe our fun-loving, outgoing (most of the time), curious, silly, sweet (most of the time :-), strong-willed but sensitive, BUSY boy is five!! Where oh where has the time gone?! Seems like it was just yesterday we were bringing him home from the hospital and trying to figure out how to be his parents. What a fun five years it has been!

List of favorites in the above picture: color (blue), drink (sprite), meal (mac and cheese with hot dogs and broccoli. very detailed, that boy!), book (Marvel superheroes), song (VBS song, All Around the World), animal (lion), activities (coloring, reading books and telling stories), sport (soccer), movie (Despicable Me), TV show (TMNT). "I want to be an archer first and then a leader when I am bigger."

 We took in our long and lean boy to his pediatrician well-check. Below are his measurements:

Height 45.5 in. (93%)

Weight: 43 lbs 3 oz (70%)

He wears size 12.5-13 shoe

He passed his vision and hearing screenings and loved getting to draw for the nurses :-) We are taking him in to an ortho doc to check out his crazy long/curving second toes (talipes cavus) later this month! And we may be seeing an oral surgeon in the next year for his overbite :-) 

There is SO much I want to document about this fun and exciting (and trying) age! Things I don't want to forgot about our JW at age 5 are:

• He talks a lot! And asks tons of questions!! Never a dull or quiet moment with this fella :-)
• Most common statement he makes is, "I have a good idea." All the day long.
• JW loves to help me in the kitchen! If there is a simple recipe that isn't too messy, I always ask him if he wants to help, and he always wants to! And, when it comes to get ready for a special occasion (holiday, birthday party, etc.) he is on top of it! He will help with decorations, setting the table, etc. Love that he is so enthusiastic about it! 0
• He has been practicing math and counting to 100 since the summer. He can write his first name and we're working on middle and last names. He knows and can sound out all the uppercase/lower case letters. We are going to tackle reading at the start of the year! He thirst for books should make it FUN!

Quirky things about him that I have to document:

• He loves footed pajamas and is sad that he can only wear them about three months out of the year, when it is actually cool enough in TX to wear them :-) 
•  JW doesn't want to let on that he still really likes Mickey Mouse, since that is a "younger" show. So he asks if we can put it on for Blake or Elise.
•  He also still calls TV "td" and says "somefin" for something, even after correction.

He is now a SWIMMER! And he LOVES the water, any form! Baths, lakes, pools, etc.

He eats anything and everything. We swear he's always growing! But he LOVES love craisins, mac and cheese, cereal, and any kind of dessert (sweet tooth like his momma :-)

 

He could color/draw for hours, which often comes in handy when I need him to be preoccupied (long road trips, doctor appointments, etc.). I mean, the boy is obsessed!

 

And, like most boys, he really likes to build anything (puzzles, games, and LEGO's)! He has such a big imagination by the stories we tell together and can watch movies that hold his attention. He is into anything with superheroes, ninjas, ninja turtles, knights and dragons!

His absolute favorite thing to do is get into costumes and pretend...he can be a little dramatic, ha!

Like a lot of kids, he could be outside all the day long. So thankful for cooler temperatures so he can run off some of that energy :-) He likes to jump on the trampoline, swing, ride his scooter/new bike, play in the sandbox, kick the soccer ball...and just sit on the patio. So much fun (and tiring) keeping up with him!

Our oldest LOVES any kind of music (thinking about getting a (quiet) drum set for Christmas...maybe :-) but he especially loves the guitar and piano. 

He recently got a haircut but was sporting a serious curly Shag (see above pics)

We've had some behavior issues with this fella, mainly anger and self-control (vs. his little brother) and talking back and not listening (the first time) with me. It's been hard, but I feel and pray that we're getting there. I knew parenting was going to be difficult, but I mean....it's not for the faint-of-heart!

JW loves to lead (sometimes in a bossy way) and is a great big brother, most of the time, for that very reason. He has a similar personality that I did (before I became more laid-back because I'm now a mommy:-) in that he has a very type-A personality. He is a civil and social rule follower, for sure. He and Blake have their spats, but all in all, they are loyal brothers!

And he is suuuuper sweet with Sissy! At first, he wanted to just hold her the most/hug her the longest, but now he interacts with her not for competition's sake. He LOVES to make her smile and laugh, and he is quite the big helper for me with her (holding her, getting a diaper, helping entertain her if I have to tend to Blake :-)

  Love these three to pieces!

This boy, he has my heart. He made me a mommy. Hard to believe he's 5!

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