Reid is 5 months

I was late with the 3 month post, completely skipped his 4 month post, now I'm a week late with the 5 month... and half of his pictures have his big sister in them too...can you tell he's the 2nd child? poor little guy!

here it goes...i'll do the LONG series of photos first, and then the long recap at the bottom...

 all smiles

 getting better at sitting up

 "i will get you, puppy!"

 "daddy, you're funny"

 S: "this is myyyy Goo"

i love how much reid loves his sister. he is fascinated by her every move!

 S: "no Reid, no ma'am, do not touch"

 2 against 1, trying to get smiles

 sierra's thinking 'haha, your hair stands straight up!"

 ...so she helps him keep it down

 i LOVE this one...too bad kyle and i were casting all sorts of shadows on them

 "here his beyee button! i found it!"

 we've begun the teething process

"ok, are we done yet? i'm pooped"

(this post was drafted 2-3 weeks ago. Reid will be 6 months next week so I'll update again then)

It's been a full month and a half since the last post. Reid is getting more vocal, probably trying to talk over his chatterbox sister. He squeals ALL the time, in a very loud, happy, high-pitch tone. He hasn't really started with any consonant sounds yet, but when you talk to him with "mamama, dadada", etc. he just giggles and thinks it's hilarious. He likes to blow raspberries and make sounds with his lips. He is drooling like crazy (pediatrician confirmed this week that his gums are swollen and teeth are coming!) and puts everything in his mouth.

He is getting better at sitting up, but still tumbles over after not too long. His favorite place to be is in the exersaucer, which is also a jumper. He LOVES to jump/bounce. When you stand him up on his feet, he immediately bends his legs and then extends them - jumping over and over. He laughs the most when he's on his back. It's common for him to laugh when getting his diaper changed (unless he's really hungry!!) - sometimes he starts giggling as soon as I start to take his diaper off and sometimes as soon as the wipee touches him. And I'm talking real laughing - often deep belly laughing. It's precious. And he is so easy to get to smile. All you have to do is look at him and he flashes he big sweet smile - it really does light up his whole face. He is so happy and easy to please!

We've been trying rice cereal but he hasn't been such a fan yet. We're about to add veggie/fruit to the mix and I'm sure that will help.

We have been through some strange stages with sleep. He sure had us spoiled at 6 weeks, sleeping through the night! There were a couple weeks this last month that he was getting up 2-3 times at night to eat! It. Was. Exhausting. We upped the dose of his reflux meds and I took a few days to nurse him every 2.5 hours and that seemed to do the trick. Then he just woke up in the early morning hours (4am-5am), ate and went back to sleep until I woke him up around 8am. He was consistently asleep by 7pm at the latest, so definitely getting a full night. Naps also have been crazy. There was a stage of only taking 1 nap a day. Thankfully it was a long nap (2.5 - 3 hrs) and at the same time as Sierra's nap. I can't believe a 5 month old baby and a 2 year old toddler have the same nap schedule. But I guess it just worked. He also takes a fair share of cat naps in the car/carseat as we're out and about. I'm much more relaxed about naps with this second kiddo...and that is a very good thing. (just ask Kyle!)

Reid still adores his sister. She now loves to make him laugh and tries all the time, which he thinks is so fun. He still hasn't figured out what her crying/fits are all about - they make him laugh too. But his favorite is watching her walk up and down the stairs - this gets big belly laughs...oh, and touching her hair - he thinks that's pretty funny too! Sierra likes to put his bibs on, put toys in his mouth, pat his head, help feed him, wake him up, talk to him in the car, and she is quick to tell me when he spits up, drools or is "sad because he hungy/want to go night night".

Reid is a sweet sweet baby!

Sierra Speak

* "goodbyeeee, see you later morning" (she combines 'see you later' with 'see you in the morning')

* when she's pretend talking on the phone, she says "whatchyou talking about?" (i think this is because when i see her on the phone, i ask her 'who are you talking to? what are you talking about?', so then she asks that exact question.)

* some of her phone conversations:
- "heyow, yeah, whatchyou talking about? how are youuuu? ok, ok...ok, ok, ok, ok, i know, weawy? weawy? (really) ok ok ok okok...goodbyeeee. i yove you so so so so much. goodbyeeee" (makes me laugh...i guess that's what we sound like!)

* the other day she put her left foot in time out for kicking her right foot. this is how it went:
"no ma'am, no. time out." (talking to the left foot).
"i yove you so so so so much. i give (forgive) you." (said while hugging her left foot)

* she's gotten really good at retelling stories that happened in the past. two of her favorites right now are a trip we took to the zoo and a petting zoo experience - both last month...
- (shaking her head) "i non't like the goats! i like the bunnies. and i like the piggies. i non't like the goats! i non't like the horsies." (this is very accurate - she was not a fan of the bigger animals!!)
- (about the zoo) "i cry. i non't like the monkeys. i sad. i cry. monkeys are nice. i non't like the monkeys. i like the enenants (elephants). i feed the birdies. blue birdie fly away. i feed the green birdie. i non't want to touch snake. i like the fish." (again, totally accurate!)

Halloween

we had a really fun evening! poppa, lala, auntie meli, uncle matt and peyton came over for some pictures together and then we hit the neighborhood - along with some friends. we probably only knocked on 3 doors but walked a good ways, stopping to visit with all the other neighbors who were out and ended at a block party with jumpy castles. we should definitely get out with our neighbors more often! it was a beautiful cool night and sierra had a BLAST! i'm still debating whether or not to let her have any candy (i know, i'm a mean mom!) - she still has not had any to this day so she doesn't know what she's missing...i know she'll be addicted as soon as she tries a piece, so why not wait just a little longer  :)

a HUGE (blog) thank you to my mom, who put together/made all of sierra's costume!!! it was PRECIOUS!!!!!

ok, here are just some of the tons of pictures i took...

 look at that tail! it was amazing (and notice the pumpkins sierra painted on display)

 doing some kind of cat sound

 cats make lots of sounds

 our little green monster

 not sure why the ground was so captivating, but hard to get them all looking up

 admiring one another's costumes  :)

 the puppy wasn't too sure if the monster was a nice one...

 she loves her poppa and lala

 this was the first house we stopped at (we know them). this is what sierra said as she knocked, "knock knock! we here!"

 cute little kitty waiting patiently (though still had no idea what she was waiting for at this point)

 kitty suddenly got tired and sat in the middle of the street for a quick rest

 i love how she would hold her tail :)

 with friend, knox, who was dressed like a beach ball (his family was the 4 seasons - summer, fall, winter, spring...so cute and creative!). these two were up way past their bedtime but had so much fun!

Pumpkins

we never made it out last year to a pumpkin patch ...and of course this year we waited until the last minute so we ended up just going to the closest one. i wouldn't exactly call it a "patch", but at least there were some pumpkins to take pictures with.

here are a bunch - they tell the store of our visit, for memory's sake ...great pictures are hard to come by these days with 2 squirmy ones! ...and we were looking particularly thrown together at the last minute this morning, haha! enjoy:

 the first one she picked up was kind of moldy! eww! and i didn't notice until now that you can hardly see her pigtails...and her bangs fell down before we even got out of the car - oops :)

 reid's shoe disappeared sometime between leaving the house and sitting on the haystack (later to be found in the car, probably taken off by his big sister!). he was practicing his model stare here

 he woke up from his nap not just with his normal red cheeks and nose, but also with a red forehead! what a cutie.

 she wouldn't look at the camera! ...notice the drool - she's finally getting one of the 4 teeth she's still missing

 first attempt at a family shot - looking right into the sun...

 nice timing little man for a blowout!

 ok, i'll humor you..but this is the smile you're getting

 sweet girl

 petting the "so so so big" pumpkins

 talking to something or someone

 not too sure about this...

 right before he put his mouth to it!

 i told her to give the pumpkin a big hug...interesting hug, huh!?

 she picked one for reid first

 and then for herself (i think she looks like my cousin michaela in this picture!)

 haha, look at reid's outfit - the only spare pants i had after his blowout...and this time neither of the cute shoes on anymore!

 this is the best one we got folks, here you have it

"cheeeeese"



a heart for God

at this age kids just soak up everything around them - it is truly incredible. and i love that we can decide as parents, what we want to teach our children. we want them to know God - not just to know the Bible stories and who God is, but to really know Him and develop a heart for Him. this is hard. so hard. so many kids raised in the church learn knowledge of God and the Bible backwards and forwards but don't have the heart behind it. i pray that we find the balance and that the Holy Spirit would guide us in wisdom for how to teach our kids about the heart.

all that to say, right now sierra remembers everything she hears...and she repeats it. (side note: my eyes have been so opened to how influential teachers and school are to a child. i'm thankful that our MDO teaches Scripture, but it makes me nervous to one day send our kids off to school having no idea what they're being taught).

here are some sweet things sierra's said recently:

* me: sierra, do you know who Jesus is? who is Jesus?
S: (long pensive pause)...God loves me
me: (heart melting)...yes, sweetie, you're right. God does love you
S: and God loves Reid...and God loves Mommy...and God loves Daddy

* she has been singing a song she learned at school and i can't understand all the words, but this is what i can get:
"God our Father, God our Father....a blessing, a blessing...a-a-men, a-a-men"

* most of the time when we ask if she wants to say the prayer to thank God for our dinner, she says no and just holds our hands while daddy prays. but recently she's started praying out loud more. it's very sweet.

* this, however, is more common - while daddy is praying out loud, sierra starts praying at the same time - also out loud. it is precious!!! usually i can't help but giggle because it's so sweet. those prayers are usually "..and thank you for a-yi, shu-shu, baby hudson, thank God mommy, daddy, and reid...thank you for my milk...(etc.)".

* when we pray before bedtime, she likes to thank God for (by listing out) all her family by name, her teachers (ms. barbara and jojo) and friends at school (yuke, patchick, liliana, michaela, wooby (ruby), maya, pawpeh (harper)...and every stuffed animal in her crib (my goo, white bear, puppy, macaw, groovy goo, monkey)...and of course her paci.

sibling love

I kept forgetting to do Reid's 4 month photo shoot, so I ended up having to do it while Sierra was awake. I was hoping she would stand behind me and make him laugh...haha, I think I still have a couple more years before that type of cooperation :) Instead she wanted him to sit in her lap...and this is a glimpse of what followed...

she kissed his hand right after i took the picture

so sweet  :)

2 years old

Our sweet baby girl turned 2 years old today. TWO. I seriously cant believe it! Sweet Sierra, This has been a really fun year, watching your personality develop. You fit the description of a spirited baby when you were just a few months old and it still holds true today - so full of energy, life, giggles and sass!!! You keep us on our toes! We have gone through some big events this year - your first overseas trip to Argentina, a very scary trip in an ambulance after a febrile seizure, becoming a big sister, learning how to live with a peanut allergy, welcoming 2 new cousins, starting your first school... And that doesn't include all of the daily things you do to have fun and make us laugh. You are a very silly girl and you love to tease. You are so inquisitive and ask questions all day: "hey Mommy, whatcha doin' Mommy?", "where my Daddy go?", "where my baby Reid go?", "owts (what's) that sound?", "Mommy, wanna color?", "Mommy, you wanna read book?", "owts that?" ...you get the picture! I love it. You are my little buddy and we talk and play all day. You are such a good helper and love to help me put clothes in the washing machine, throw them into the dryer and "fold" them in the basket or hang them up to dry. You are also great at throwing away trash, putting your dirty dishes in the sink, and sometimes even cleaning up toys! You are such a great big sister and have recently started to really interact more with Reid. You ask him questions a lot too! "See that, Baby Reid?", "Can you do that Baby Reid?", "you hungry Bab Reid?", etc. You want to make sure he is included so you want to hold his hand when we pray, give him high fives, tell him night night, sometimes put toys in his hands (and sometimes take them...but that's what big sisters are for, right?!), and you have to know where he is at all times. You still struggle with getting both feet off the ground to jump, but you sure know how to dance!!! You dance when you're excited, when you hear music and pretty much all the time. You are also getting really good at singing! Some of the songs you sing are: Jesus Loves Me, Itsy Bitsy Spider, ABCs, Twinkle Twinkle, You Are My Sunshine, Have Patience, the Clean Up song, Happy Birthday. You are a social girl. You can be quiet and shy right at first, but don't stay that way for long. You love older kids and seem to get energy from being around other people. You still have a very enthusiastic wave to say "hi" and "bye" and will say it often, even to the same person after you've been with them for a long time. You are still a great sleeper and LOVE your crib! You run to your room with excitement when it's time to go night night (naps and bedtime) and stay in there playing happily after you wake up until someone goes to get you. You still sleep with a paci and love it so much we're afraid to take it away. You also sleep with Goo (of course-he is still your best friend), pink puppy, groovy goo bear and recently Macaw and white bear. You like us to put a blankie over you and tuck you in. You pray to thank God for your family. Some of your favorite things are: Goo, coloring, playing outside, "watch T-Wee", playing on an iPhone, looking at pictures, kitties, doggies, peas, blueberries, raisins, bread, smoothies, taking a bath, reading books, going to the park, music and dressing and undressing yourself and your animals/babies. You're not quite so fond of: meat, frozen desserts, being woken up, big animals, or sharing your toys You are a Mommy's girl and I am relishing that while I can! But you do ask about your Daddy all day long. You love to play chase and tickles with Daddy and you've become his little garden helper. You can be very independent or very clingy but either way, you know what you want and tell us with assurance! You like to test the limits and see how we'll react. Your vocabulary is through the roof and your grammar is getting better every day, it really amazes me!! You still can't pronounce "r" or "l" so it makes for some super cute words. Some of my favorite words and phrases right now are: "Auntie Money" (Meli), geeraff(giraffe), mulk (milk), "peoples", yogurt (yogurt), "yeyow" (yellow), "I yove you", "upy" (when you want to be picked up), (I'll have to come back and add more here...) You know your colors, can count to 15 in English and 8 in Spanish, some shapes (triangle, circle, oval, heart), the ABC song and can recognize a few letters (B, M, O, R, S) Sierra, we love you more than words could express! We thank God for letting us be your parents and for getting to experience so much joy through you! We can't wait to see how you grow in this next year. You are a beautiful little girl, perfectly and wonderfully made by God! Happy 2nd Birthday Sierra Grace! You I wish I could capture everything about you at this age so I don't forget the details!