Bowling with D and Hani

D and Hani came to stay with us last Friday, so we took them bowling Saturday morning before they had to leave. Does it look like we had fun!?



Isaiah's trying to escape!

Picture Day

The kids had picture day at school last week. I can't wait to see how they turned out. Their teachers said they both smiled, so hopefully we'll get some to take home. I've been meaning to get professional pictures done. I wanted to take a picture at home with the both of them, but we were already late, so I just got one of each. Ashley was not happy about her outfit and threw a little bit of a tantrum. As soon as we got downstairs though, I asked her if I could take a picture because she looked so cute. So she sat down on the stairs and gave me a big smile. Stinker was just trying to give me a little challenge that morning.

Children's Museum

We decided to take the kids to the Children's Museum on a rainy day a few weeks ago. We ended up getting a membership because the kids had so much fun. It's perfect for the both of them to explore and see all the exhibits they have. I think Ashley's favorite was the face painting. She made Papa look really silly.







Ashley and Papa playing with real clay.


Isaiah loved this thing. It was a mattress filled with water that the kids could "wobble" on. It's great for building strength, I wish we had one at home. It got a little crazy when the big kids started using it as a trampoline, but he had fun while it lasted.

Big Al's

I had a hair appointment a few weekends ago, so Brian decided to take the kids bowling at Big Al's, which just opened up down the street from us. It was a special treat and they had a ton of fun, I wish I was there.



"take the picture, Papa, this thing is getting heavy!"

More!

Isaiah has been signing "more" lately. Just last night we were sitting at the table and I see out of the corner of my eye him signing "more" because he was done with his snack. It's still amazes me how much he picks up on and so cute to see him communicating with us.

Where's your head?

Gift from Great Grandpa

This is a very special rocking chair and rocking horse given to Dan and I by my Grandpa Lewis. My dad helped put it together when we were younger and now they have it at their house for the kids to enjoy. I hope it will be something that they will pass down to their kids one day.

Little mommy

I was sweeping the other day and went to empty the dust pan. I turned around and there she was sweeping the floor after me. I guess I must have missed a few spots!

Stargazer

My sweet baby girl is growing up! Since Ashley will be 3 next month, she's started transitioning to the Stargazer room at daycare. A couple of her friends from the cozy caterpillar class are moving up with her too so she's pretty excited about that. She loves it and will transition for two weeks before she's in there full time. They have more of a structure to their day like a preschool. Monday they learn a Spanish word, but practice it throughout the week so she'll still learn that even though she's not there on Monday's. Tuesday they learn personal safety (I imagine things like not talking to strangers or touching hot things), Wednesday is show and tell and Thursday is a cooking project. Friday is a science project, which she won't be there for but maybe she can see what they did the next time she's there. I can't wait to hear what she learns each day when we're at the dinner table. It's so fun to have conversations with her about her day.

8 months!

To think of far we've come in 8 months! The other day I was thinking back to when Isaiah was just a few months. He had such a hard time with sleep, I would wake up with anxiety just thinking about how we were going to get through the day. He would get so tired, poor guy would just scream himself to sleep no matter where we were. When he was really little we let the swing put him to sleep at night. Both Brian and I would fall asleep on the couch waiting for him to get into a deep enough sleep to transfer him upstairs without waking him up. When he became more aware we had to put a blanket over the swing so he wouldn't see us. It's funny to think of the things we came up with. Now we just put him in his crib and he's usually out within a few minutes. He has his first cold right now, so his sleep is a little off, but for the most part he's such a better sleeper. He's down to two naps at 9am and 1pm for about an hour in the morning and two hours after lunch. Ashley also takes about a 2 hour nap at the same time, so it's good rest time for mommy! Isaiah just melts my heart. He smiles so big the minute he catches you looking at him. Those dimples and his squishy cheeks just make me want to eat him up. He makes us laugh every day with the faces he makes. He still likes to scrunch up his nose and breath in and out. He's been copying a lot lately, patting his head when we do or clapping. He even started signing "more" when we give him mum-mum's. He makes a clicking noise with his tongue when we do and he started waving goodbye when I drop him off at school. The biggest thing that he's doing now is almost crawling. He's getting up on his hands and knees and rocking and has lunged a few times forward to get things. He grunts and makes all sorts of noise when he's determined to get something. We've introduced little puffs which keep him busy and at the table while we're having dinner. It's cute to see his determination in picking them up, he's getting pretty good at it. New foods that we've added this month are zucchini, summer squash, cottage cheese, cheddar cheese (not too fond of), white potato, and oatmeal. He's a really good eater and finally putting some weight on him.

Caught you little man!



It's pretty easy to get this guy to smile!

eating a mum-mum. He loves these things and they're a perfect snack while we're eating dinner.


He's got the moves already!