Happy 11 Months Luke!

It is hard to believe that a year ago I was busy making final preparations for your arrival. These past eleven months have gone by quickly, and it doesn't seem like you should be approaching a year old already. This past month in particular has been a very busy one for our family, and unfortunately I didn't take as many photos as usual.

You are into everything! You crawl quickly everywhere, and you have become an expert at pulling up. You can pop up and down so quickly! You can "walk" along things as you hold on. You have also become quite a challenge when you ride in the grocery cart, because you have mastered wiggling around the seatbelt, standing up, and trying to climb in the back. The first photo below shows how I barricaded you in one day at Target to keep your from climbing out. And you are SO fast at wiggling out! You have also started climbing a little bit this month. You have climbed up the bean bags I've been using to barricade you in.

This month brought your first two instances of cuts/bumps/bruises. First, you cut your tongue when you were crawling with you cup. Later in the month, Troy was pushing you around in the stroller in the front yard when he accidentally pushed the stroller off the curb. The stroller lost its balance, and fell over and you hit the side of your head on the curb. You handled it like a champ though! Troy told Daddy, "Daddy, I forgot to turn." Troy's response was so sad and innocent all at the same time.

You went swimming for the first time this month, and I think you really enjoyed the water (minus getting a little cold). Overall, I think you really enjoyed hanging out at the lake.


You still like to eat, but you've slowed down a little bit. I'm certain your favorite food is yogurt. You get so excited when you see it, and if we bring it out with other foods at the same time, you want it and nothing else.

You learned to sign "finished" this month, and I also think you signed "milk." You continue to babble up a storm, and you know how to yell at us to get our attention. This month you started showing us how "offended" you are when we take something away from you or tell  you "no." You've also started looking up at us before you touch something you know you aren't supposed to touch. It is pretty funny!

You enjoy putting objects into other things like baskets or buckets. You entertain yourself for a long time putting things in and out. You like to play with balls, and one of your favorite activities is playing "soccer" with daddy, Ella, and Troy. You also continue to enjoy looking at books.

You stayed for an extended period without us for the first time at the end of this past month. You did great, and had lots of fun being spoiled by your aunt!


Luke @ 10 months
Troy @ 11 months
I didn’t start writing these monthly posts for Ella until she was 17 months old, but I do have this photo of Ella with her 10 month sign :)

Happy 10 Months Luke!

Happy 10 Months Luke!

These past couple of months have flown by! You have become so "grown up" for a baby . . . the days of sleepless nights and constant feedings seem like so long ago.
You had your first Caskey peach this month, and you loved it! You gnawed on the peach all the way down to the pit. You ended up eating 5 peaches in all at your first Farmer's Market. Have I ever mentioned that you love to eat? ;) You continue to be a big eater - eating just about everything. You have gotten a little more picky in that you don't love your cheerios quite as much now that you've had lots of other foods. I think that yogurt is your favorite food - you get SO excited when you see it!
You are extremely mobile now, crawling everywhere! And you can crawl fast when you want to get somewhere, particularly if you want to chase after Reeses. I need to do some serious re-babyproofing around the house so you can explore more (I've gotten a little lax with things since Ella and Troy have gotten older). You've also started pulling up in the past week or so. I finally had to lower your crib down.
You love to play with toys, and you continue to love to chew on tags, especially of your swaddling blankets. You also really like to look at books. You'll point and "talk" as you look through the pages. You also continue to be very vocal, "yelling" to get our attention or when you are excited about something.

You continue to like to play with Ella and Troy, and I think they like playing with you more and more as you are getting older. They (especially Ella!), are so excited when they see you do something "new." Ella will excitedly tell us what she saw you do and then tell us you've never done it before. :)
Luke @ 9 months
Troy @ 10 months
I didn’t start writing these monthly posts for Ella until she was 17 months old, but I do have this photo of Ella with her 10 month sign :)

Nose Scrunch

Despite some subtle differences, there is no doubt that my kids are related. They look so much alike, and even make similar facial expressions. Here is one of my favorites: the nose scrunch.

Ella: 

 

Troy: 

 

Luke:

Teaching Ella to Read

I should have written this post several months ago, but life got busy (doesn't it always?), and I never wrote it. So, here it is now . . .only a few months late.

When Ella was around 4 1/2 years old, I ventured into the task of teaching her to read. Though I'd never taught anyone to read, I really thought she was showing lots of signs of readiness, so I decided that we would begin the journey. I entered into the task with caution: if, for some reason, she wasn't ready I wasn't going to push it. She was still young when I began the process, and I didn't want to deter her from reading or learning in any way by pushing her if she wasn't ready.

I chose to use the book Teach Your Child To Read In 100 Easy Lessons as our curriculum (I've included a brief review at the end of this post). I made Ella a sticker chart to show her progress and help motivate her along the way. The first few lessons went well with Ella. Then, slowly, things started to get really frustrating. We were struggling through the lessons, and I was getting more and more frustrated. I really thought she could do the lessons (which only frustrated me more!), but just wasn't putting forth the right kind of effort to complete the lessons. So, around lesson 20 or so, we stopped. I decided to take a step back and reevaluate in a few months.

I'm SO glad we took a step back, and started again a few months later. Our lessons were like night and day compared to a few months earlier. She breezed through most lessons, and continued to be eager to learn more. That's not to say that there weren't times when we had tough lessons, but overall, our lesson time was much, much better. 

What was the difference in the few months time? Was Ella not really ready? When I reflect back to the first time that we tried to work on the lessons, I think the struggles with the lessons had a lot more to do with me than with Ella. It was my first time attempting anything like this, and I'm not sure that I had the right approach and attitude with Ella. I think she easily picked up on my frustration and that manifested in how she completed the lessons. When we started the second time, I started with a fresh attitude and more determined patience. I think my demeanor with her made a huge difference in the lessons.

And now, Ella can read! She finished the 100th lesson not long after she turned five years old. I was very pleased with how well she was reading when she completed all 100 lessons, and her reading has continued to progress even though the official lessons have stopped. I think the curriculum did a good job giving her the tools she needs to continue to grow in her reading ability.  

Here are my general thoughts about the curriculum Teach Your Child To Read In 100 Easy Lessons. I should note that I haven't looked at any other curriculums or programs for teaching reading, so I do not have anything to compare the program to. 

Pros:

• The book is inexpensive, and does not require any additional materials except some paper to do the sound writing portion.
• The book was very easy for me to use to teach her. Everything was laid out - even down to the words I should say during each lesson.
• The lessons were short. The book states that each lesson should only take about 15-20 minutes. There were many times Ella finished a lesson in about 10 minutes, but there were also some lessons that took her longer than 20 minutes. On average, most lessons did take about 15 minutes.
• The lessons are also short enough that you can do more than one lesson a day, depending on your child. With Ella there were times she was especially eager to keep on, and it was nice to be able to move on to the next lesson.
• It was also nice to know that if Ella was struggling with something, the lesson was short, and we didn't have to labor on for a long period of time.
• The book incorporated pictures, questions for checking for comprehension, as well as writing as part of learning to read.
• We frequently skipped the writing portion of the lessons. I think the writing portion is beneficial, but for Ella is wasn't always necessary.
• I wasn't sure how to classify this, but I really liked the way the book teaches the student to sound the words out.

Cons:

• The lessons, particularly the first 25 or so, can be tedious until your child "gets" the method.
• The names of the letters of the alphabet are not introduced until the very end of the book (letters are simply referred to using the sound they make). There is reasoning behind not using the letter names (and I understand that), but Ella already knew her letters prior to starting the curriculum, so we skipped parts of lessons at the end.

Overall, I really liked this curriculum, and plan to use it for Troy. I do think it will be interesting to see how Troy takes to the approach compared to Ella, because I think Ella's personality fit the curriculum well and Troy and Ella are quite different. : ) 

Happy Father's Day!

I do not have the words to express how truly blessed our family is because of my husband, and his love as husband and father. His life constantly shows his love towards our family in everything from his leadership to his firm hand to his gentleness and compassion. Thank you for all you do and are for our family!

(Sometimes it is still hard to believe I've got a kid for each letter now!)

D-A-D photos from past years

This year, I had Ella and Troy answer questions for a Father’s Day questionnaire I found on Pinterest. Their answers (particularly Troy's) were, uh, interesting at times. : )

• What is Daddy’s name? 
• Ella: Daddy 
• Troy: Trent
• What does Daddy do for fun?
• Ella: Play soccer outside
• Troy: Sit down, I mean, play ball
• What does Daddy do at work?
• Ella: works
• Troy: work
• What are his favorite things to eat?
• Ella: green beans and sweet potatoes
• Troy: pickles, how about sandwiches with spicy stuff in it {I have absolutely NO idea where he got this answer from!}
• What does he like to drink?
• Ella: Dr. Pepper
• Troy: Dr. Pepper
• How old is Daddy?
• Ella: 31
• Troy: I can't remember; I can't even know
• Where did you and Daddy meet?
• Ella: when I was a baby
• Troy: I can't remember, is it at McCarty?
• How long have you know Daddy?
• Ella: a long time
• Troy: (reached to the sky)
• How tall is Daddy?
• Ella: (reached to the sky)
• Troy: (stood up, pointed to the sky)
• What is Daddy’s hair like?
• Ella: tiny (showed with her fingers)
• Troy: short
• How much does Daddy weigh?
• Ella: 80 lbs
• Troy: reached to sky
• What makes Daddy the best?
• Ella: plays fight (wrestle) and plays ball and plays defense
• Troy: cuz I love him
• What is your favorite thing to do with Daddy?
• Ella: play fight (wrestle)
• Troy: play defense

Happy 5 Months Luke!

Every day you become more expressive and more aware of the world around you. It is such a joy to watch you grow and learn.

You still aren’t sleeping very well at night, and I really hoped that after being back in the routine you’d start sleeping well again, but that hasn’t happened. Soon we’ll be moving you to your crib at night (out of our room), and hopefully that will help. We haven’t moved you in there yet because we didn’t want to disturb Troy’s sleeping, but it is time. We’ll probably let Troy sleep in Ella’s room for a few nights while you adjust to your crib. Your naps still aren’t very regular either. Generally you take lots of little naps during the day rather than longer ones. Every now and then you’ll take a longer nap, but you haven’t fully transitioned out of the “catnapping” yet.

You are extremely expressive, and your faces crack us up. Sometimes your expressions are serious and sometimes they are silly. I love the look you get on your face when you spot your hands or your feet. You’ve been chewing on your hands a lot lately, and sometimes you suck on your fingers. You’ve even sucked on your thumb a few times. You also love to grab your toes/feet and try to chew on them. Your flexibility is so cute!You haven’t rolled over yet (on a flat surface anyway), but I really think that is more my fault than anything. You just don’t get the floor time you need to practice your rolling over. You do wiggle around a lot and can roll halfway (below) very easily.

You really enjoy being outside, and are very content outside. You will sit in your bouncer for a long time while Ella and Troy trounce around outside.

You tried sweet potatoes this month, but really didn’t want anything to do with them. You made an awful face, and tried to keep me from putting more in your mouth. I’m not in a big hurry to push food on you because you don’t *need* it yet, and also because of your soy allergy.

You love to kick, and you have really gotten good control of your legs in the past month. I inadvertently put your bouncer together wrong, resulting in your toys being at your feet instead of your hands. Turned out that you loved them being down there because you could kick them!

I love making you laugh (and we can get you to laugh pretty easily these days). Your dad got this video of you talking/laughing at him one day.

Luke @ 4 Months

Troy @ 5 Months

(I didn’t start writing these monthly posts for Ella until she was 17 months old)

Ella’s Fifth Birthday Interview

Wow, Ella is five! Here is her birthday interview.

1. What is your favorite color? Pink and purple
2. What is your favorite toy? My little new Elsa
3. What is your favorite fruit? Apples
4. What is your favorite TV show? Clifford
5. What is your favorite thing to eat for lunch? Macaroni and Cheese
6. What is your favorite outfit? What I’m wearing right now
7. What is your favorite game? Chuck E Cheese 
8. What is your favorite snack? Goldfish
9. What is your favorite animal? Zebra
10. What is your favorite song? Let It Go (from Frozen)
11. What is your favorite book? Clifford
12. Who is your best friend? Karsyn
13. What is your favorite cereal? Fruit Loops
14. What is your favorite thing to do outside? Play in the sandbox
15. What is your favorite drink? water (We recently started letting her get water from the fridge in hew own cup, and she loves it)
16. What is your favorite holiday? Christmas
17. What do you like to take to bed with you at night? Ana, Giraffe, and Monkey
18. What is your favorite thing to eat for breakfast? Pop Tarts
19. What is your favorite thing for dinner? Macaroni and Cheese
20. What do you want to be when you grow up? A Christian
21. What is your favorite movie? Frozen
22. Who is your favorite Disney princess? Elsa
23. Where is your favorite place to go? Chuck E Cheese
24. What is your favorite Bible story? Moses
25. What is your favorite Old Testament story? Moses
26. What is your favorite memory verse? Ephesians 6:1 
27. What is your favorite letter? E

I Heart Faces: Best Face Photo from 2013

Though I have many photos I could choose, I knew immediately which photo I wanted to use this year. I love Troy’s personality showing through in this photo!

Here’s my photos from 2012, 2011, 2010, and 2009.

Happy 4 Months Luke!

This past month has been filled with lots of firsts for you. First long drive back to visit families, first extended overnight stays away from home, first Christmas,  and first New Year’s. Considering the craziness of our life over the past month, you’ve handled it well.

When we are in the car, I have a hard time believing that you are one of our children. You actually like riding in the car (particularly once we get going fast) and often fall asleep on car rides. Ella and Troy (especially Troy) screamed and screamed in the car and rarely fell asleep. I’m very thankful you like the car, especially since we drove a ton during the past month.

You are a very, very active baby. You have been since you were in the womb. You LOVE kicking. You had a great time kicking and playing on the mat at Gigi and Pop-pa’s house. Reeses even caught your eye when you were down playing on the floor one day. You are also a strong baby. You are often doing what we term “baby situps,” lifting yourself up without using your hands. Your pediatrician has also commented about your strength.

You haven’t been sleeping as well this past month, but I think there are probably a lot of things affecting your sleep, including our travels and a need to have your acid reflux medicine dose increased because you’ve grown so much.  You weighed 14 lbs 4 oz at your 4 month appointment – 2 lbs more than Troy did at 4 months old.  At your 4 month appointment, we also determined that you are highly likely allergic to soy protein. You had some bad reactions to soy formula (which we gave you in the first place because Ella was allergic to milk and Troy didn’t handle milk well either). You seem to tolerate cow’s milk fine though. Most kids outgrow this type of allergy though by the time they are 3-4.

You are a very ticklish baby, and I love to tickle you! You started laughing at things this month as well. I got the first laugh out of you. I’m pretty sure your dad got the first laughs from Ella and Troy, so I’m pretty excited to get the first laugh from you. When you grin big, you have a little dimple on one side.

Ella (and Troy) helped open your Christmas presents for you. They loved getting to help you out and showing the presents to you. I love watching their interaction with you. They both interact with you in their own precious ways. They especially love coming to talk to you in the morning when you wake up. 

 

Luke @ 3 Months

Troy @ 4 Months

(I didn’t start writing these monthly posts for Ella until she was 17 months old)

Top 13 of 2013

I always love this time of year because it reminds me to reflect on the past. Here are my top 13 photos of the kids from 2013 (in no particular order because it is too hard to put them in order!).

Top `12 of 2012

Top 11 of 2011

Top 10 of 2010

Christmas 2013

First, our Christmas.

Then, Christmas at Rhu-Rhu’s.

Finally, Christmas at Gigi and Pop-pa’s.

Christmas 2012

Christmas 2011