Adellyn's Baptism

We are going to baptize Adellyn on Saturday February 7 at the 7:00pm church service. I would like to invite all friends and family to attend (Trinity Lutheran Church in Arapahoe). The baptism will be at the begining of the church service, so don't be late. We are also going to have a soup supper before church starting around 5:30 in the church fellowship hall for anyone who plans to attend. If you can't make it before church, you can stick around after church, there will be plenty of food. Please let me know if you plan to come for supper so I can have a general idea of how much I need to make.

Stories

Landen is using more words and is definitely back on track. He is starting to repeat words we ask him to say...when he feels like it anyway. He says grandma (an-ma) and grandpa (ah-pa). He has said "I love you" a few times...I really don't know how to describe how he says it, but he repeats it in the same tone when we ask, so we know that is what he says. The other day when Landen was in his highchair for lunch, I was holding Adellyn with her feet dangling near him, he reached for her foot and said "tickle tickle tickle." I just laughed because I hadn't seen him do that before. Another funny thing that Landen started doing is he spanks himself. He has done this a couple of times this past week when he gets into something that he knows he is supposed to stay out of, like the trash can. All I did was say his name in a tone that let him know that he was in trouble and he walked away with a sorrowful look on his face and he hit his butt a couple of times like he was giving himself a spanking. I couldn't resist laughing at that. A not so funny thing Landen has started is when he wakes up from his naps lately he sometimes cries and throws a huge fit. A couple of times he would throw himself down in he crib and when we would try to pick him up he would arch his back and kick and scream. We have no idea why he started doing this because he used to wake up happy and even be content to sit in his crib and talk to his stuffed animals until we went in to get him. I hope this is just a phase that will pass soon. As I am watching him right now, I am reminded of another way that he is growing. He is playing with one of his shape sorters and I am amazed at how much more patient he is with it now. Several months ago I mentioned how frustrated he would get when he couldn't get the shape in on the first try and now he is figuring out what shape goes where and even patiently turning it to make it fit. In the last couple days, he has played and played with those shape sorters.

Adellyn is also growing like a weed. I am amazed at how much she is filled out compared to our skinny little Landen. She is still not a fat baby, but she has more rolls than Landen ever did. Adellyn had her first round of shots on Monday. She weighs 11 lbs 13 oz and is 22.5 inches long. She is just a little bigger than Landen was at that age. It will be interesting to see if she continues to be bigger than him at certain ages or if she slows down. She is sleeping through the night and even slept almost 12 hours one night. Now if I could get her to go to bed before 1 or 2 a.m. I'd be really happy. (she sleeps in until around 10 when she goes to bed so late) I'd really be set if I could get both kids to nap at the same time during the day. It never fails that as soon as I get Landen down for a nap, Adellyn wakes up and stays up until just before Landen wakes up. I guess there are couple of good things about that; one is that I don't have to worry about Landen trying to drag me somewhere while I am trying to feed Adellyn and two is that she gets used to the noise of Landen playing while she sleeps. I don't want to have to be quiet just because a kid is sleeping, so I make them get used to the noise. Adellyn is also holding her head up really well now, but it does still bobble a little. She hasn't rolled over as much lately. I think her balance has improved enough that she doesn't fall to the side to get started. I still don't think she was rolling by accident before, because she had to kick her leg over after falling to her side. She is "talking" a lot more with coos and gurgles. She usually grins while she is talking. She also "sings" when she is just starting to get hungry. She makes this noise like she is starting to cry, but it turns into a coo and it sounds like she is singing. I hope I can catch it on video before she quits doing it.

Happy New Year!

click on the slide show to see larger pictures and captions

Well, I am finally getting around to updating again, sorry it is so long. We have had a crazy last few weeks. We have hardly been home, and when we were home I was trying to get the house back in order from being gone. Saturday Dec. 13th, I took the kids (that still seems strange to say) to see Santa in Beaver City. Landen didn't want to sit still for a picture, but he wasn't scared. I spent the rest of the day at my parents house and my mom and I worked making some jewelry while Landen took a nap. On Friday Dec. 19th, we went to Grand Island to get some last minute shopping done. Then Saturday we had Christmas with Elliot's parents. On Christmas Eve we went to my Aunt and Uncle's house for Becker Christmas. We spent Thursday in Norton for Nelson Christmas. Friday we drove to Pierce for Wragge Christmas which on Saturday. We drove home on Sunday and went straight to Norton again to see my Aunt and Uncle who were not able to make it on Christmas Day. (I really wanted them to get to see Adellyn since my aunt didn't get to see Landen until he was almost a year old.) Monday and Tuesday I stayed home and tried to get stuff put away from the crazy week we had. Then New Year's Eve we went to the party at Blickenstaff's house. Everyone who had kids brought them along and Landen had a blast playing with them and he was even awake to welcome the New Year! Shortly after midnight my mom helped my take the kids to the house and give them a bath before we went home. New Year's Day we went to my parents house to watch the Husker game. Friday we picked up all of the Christmas decorations inside and out and did some other cleaning around the house. Sunday we went to my parents house again to celebrate Christmas with them. Finally, the craziness of the holiday season has ended. whew!

Landen is acting like a typical toddler these days. He is happy and laughing one minute and throwing himself on the floor in a fit the next. We came the the conclusion that he had regressed after Adellyn was born, but he is starting to get back to where he was before she was born. The biggest thing we noticed was that he quit using a lot of the words that he had learned just before she was born. The only thing he has really been saying is "uhn uh" and shake his head no (I don't really know how to spell it the way he says it, but we know that he is saying no). "Uh oh," "oh no" and "oops" have also been favorites. He is really babbling more and occasionally we can pick out a recognizable word. Tonight after supper he was signing that he was done and at the same time he was saying "I duh," which meant "I done." The other morning when I was getting Landen's clothes out of the closet, Adellyn was starting to grunt and groan and Landen starting saying "Hi Addie" over and over again. It was pretty cute. He is still stingy with his kisses, but every now and then he surprises us. Lately he is obsessed with moving chairs and stools around the house to get to something he wants. When the Christmas decorations were out, it was my Willow Tree Nativity. Now he is constantly going for the phone. Most of the time he just pretends to talk on it or practices putting it on the charger. Occasionally he manages to turn it on. Landen has also turned into a picky eater and he even refuses to eat things he used to love. Elliot and I have gotten pretty frustrated with his screaming fits when he refuses everything we put in front of him. I keep telling myself that he will not starve himself and that he will eventually eat when he gets hungry enough, and he does. At his 18 month check up, our doctor reassured us of that. Speaking of that, he weighed 26 lbs and is 32 inches tall. Landen has also become much more interested in books, especially Spot books. I think he likes them for two reasons, he loves dogs and he likes to lift the flap on each page.

Adellyn also saw the doctor the same day as Landen. At that appointment just before Christmas, she weigh 10lbs 7.5oz and was 21.75inches. I'm sure she is around 11lbs by now. I have not compared how she is growing to Landen, but she is definitely more filled out than he was as a baby. She is cooing and smiling a lot now. She has beautiful blue eyes and we are sure they will stay blue. If you saw Landen as a baby, you may remember how he moved his legs constantly, Adellyn is not quite as active; thank goodness, I don't know if I could handle another kid with his energy. She is pretty good most of the time (although as I am trying to write this, she is fussing). She tends to get a little fussy at night after eating. I asked the doctor if she might has acid reflux. She didn't seem too concerned because I have been able to keep her head elevated to ease the discomfort. She is also pretty gassy, which could also be a cause for her discomfort after eating. My doctor said that it is a good thing that she is not bottle fed or her gassiness would be even worse. Two things that I have found that really helps her settle down is she likes to bounce or sit on my lap with her back against my chest and rock. Once she finally settles down and goes to sleep at night, she sleeps all night (most of the time). For about the first 6 weeks, she slept all day and wouldn't sleep at night. Then I switched her bath to night and it made all the difference. She also cluster feeds at night, which helps her sleep. Unfortunately, that is the time of day when I usually get the most done around the house because Landen is asleep. Needless to say, I have been struggling to keep up on house work and other things I do in the evening, such as update this blog. I have also been struggling to finish thank you cards for gifts that I received since Adellyn has arrived. (If you are waiting for one, be patient, I will get it to you eventually.) She is also pretty accepting of her brother. He still throws things at her and hits her occasionally. He mostly does this when he wants attention from me. For the most part, Adellyn is pretty patient and has started to soothe herself by sucking on her fist. She doesn't really take a pacifier, so I think she is also going to be a thumb sucker. (at least she was in utero) She does like to cuddle and often will stop crying when she is picked up. Adellyn is a very strong baby. She is always trying to hold her head up. She is also still rolling over. I keep wondering how many other milestones she is going to hit early. Only time will tell.