8 Month Annibirthery

One month. Really? I didn't blog for a month? Well, it happens.

Today is Russell's 8 month annibirthery.

8 months?

Where did the time go?

Oh wait. I know where it's been. It's been playing, sleeping, preserving, playing, cleaning, playing, cooking, school, lessons, school, playing, traveling, living life.

It's been fun.

Russell is a pretty incredible 8 month old. He is "the happiest baby" that everyone has ever seen. And I have to agree. He's not just a happy baby in public. He's a happy baby 99% of the time. If he sees a bottle and you aren't getting it to him quick enough he voices his displeasure. Or if he is very, very tired he can be grumpy. But besides that? Pretty pleasant.

He is now king of his domain and likes to explore. He is still a little tentative, for a few minutes, in a new situation, but he usually mans up and starts crawling around. He is attracted to open doors and electrical cords. Must be a boy thing.

His current favorite game is to play "catch" with a racquet ball ball by himself. He will push it away from himself and then crawl it down and push it again. He was also very enamored with glow sticks at the harvest party Saturday night. If he gets intent on something he can do it for a really long time. [Side note: When he first started rolling he would make his way to the edge of the area rug and then proceed to slap the hardwood with an open palm and enjoy the ensuing sound. He would do this for 20, 35, 40 minutes before moving on...]

He pulled himself up in his crib last weekend which precipitated Bob having to lower it to its lowest point. He hasn't pulled himself up on anything else, although he likes to climb on anything that is equivalent to one step. Ie: step stools, toys, my legs if I'm on the floor...

The girls still love him. Mae's relationship is kind of love/hate right now. She loves him but doesn't want him to touch any toys. Her immediate answer is to put everything up on the couches. Can't wait to see what she comes up with once he is pulling himself to standing at the couches and can reach said toys.

I was worried that I wasn't going to be able to get this shot because every time I laid him on the ground he started to roll. So I called for reinforcements. In the mean time I just put the camera up and started gabbing at him. He is a Camera. Hog.

I had already gotten a good shot but Mae wanted in on the action. I think he is going to catch her size-wise sooner than later.

He was ready to pose for me during pumpkin carving too. He had just finished enjoying a graham cracker snack.

Making sure to get those last crumbs.

Cheese! (Ball...)

Hi Mom!! Great shot of his four teeth. "Two on the bottom and two on the top" Mae always tells people.

Sneak peek at the pumpkins we carved. More pics to follow tomorrow.

Etta at 8 months.

Mae at 8 months.

7 Month Annibirthery

Well, Saturday was Russell's 7 month annibirthery. We were at UI Homecoming, and although I told pretty much every person we saw that he was seven months TODAY, it slipped my mind to take his picture. Oops.

St. Maries band. Pixar extravaganza.

All sorts of characters. So fun!

Updated family pic. At least one child is looking at the camera.

Chillin' in a bin.

Also enjoyed the bins.

Go Horns! I'm Spiderman! I'm 3! So many options.

Yay! Bin!

Is that a camera? I had better laugh!

Double chin and two teeth. Could he be any cuter?

And he even cooperated when I pulled his legs down.

Oh my gosh. What is happening here? Who are these crazy characters?

Sibs.

Etta at 7 months.

Mae at 7 months.

For as much as they all look alike, they really don't. The double chin is there for all of them. (Thanks, mommy.) But Russell is definitely his own kid. For starters he has WAY more hair than either girl did at seven months. (Lucky him. Isn't it always that way for boys?!) And he's just more . . . boy. And I think he has Bob's oblong head - not my round one. 

Russell is crawling. Full out crawling at seven months. The girls did not crawl until later. He's not fast yet. But it's more that he's not in a hurry. He sees something he likes or wants to explore and he moseys on over. And of course his favorite things are the fire place and the shoe pile. And maybe chewing on a carpet corner. Yum. But the girls love him and he loves the girls. Mae doesn't really like it when he "gets off the carpet" (the area rug), but she'll need to get over that.

He is still a very good sleeper - naps and at night. And while he is quite scheduled, he can still go with the flow. Very important when you have a sister in school. He is laid back and fun. What more could you want in a baby?

Little Man

Who definitely loves the camera.

Bluest of blue eyes.

Smile always at the ready.

Preparing to crawl.
(Which he now does like a champ.)

Oop. Heard the camera. Must pose.

Seriously cute.

Friends

They are on their way to becoming best of friends!

As Russell is becoming more mobile Mae isn't super sure about sharing her stuff, but for the most part they really like each other.

A couple mornings a week we load up and go for a stroll. Russell loves to be outside and Mae loves to ride in the stroller.

They are both very camera happy.

I was taking pictures of Russell in the crawling position and Mae decided she needed in on that action also.

She was teaching him how to say, "Cheese!"

Twin hood-sters.

Three Years Old!

Mae is three years old.

I can hardly believe it.

I can't, for the life of me, remember her as a baby. Kind of. In that hazy, I'm-not-as-bad-of-a-parent-as-I-sound kind of way.

Bob and I were just talking today about how she doesn't gradually go through stages. One second she is at one stage and the next second she has moved on. Started crawling in July - walking the beginning on September. A three word vocabulary in August - full comprehensive sentences before Christmas.

Toddler yesterday. Big girl today.

Mae is a hoot. Funny. Naturally funny. She has a dry sense on humor and can make me laugh no matter what mood I'm in.

She is also very intuitive when it comes to feelings. No matter how hard I try to hide my feelings (usually anger or sadness) from her, she just knows. "Why're you sad, Mom?" "Are you angry?" She just knows.

She idolizes Etta and wants to annoy the heck out of her at the same time. Many times I have to separate them to different floors because Etta has lashed out at the annoyance and has made Mae cry. Mae's cries can turn instantly from wails of hurt to wails of, "But I want to play with Etta!!" Enough to make me pull my hair most days.

But they do play together...sometimes...and it is pretty adorable. One of Mae's favorite games is "Dad and Kid". Etta's the dad and Mae's the kid. Just a few weeks ago she always wanted to be the baby, but Etta kept saying it was nap time so then Mae changed to being the kid. She knows her stuff.

And boy does she love Russell. Or her "LeeLee" as she calls him. She wants to see him first thing every time he wakes up from a nap or she has been out and about with out him. She loves to play with him and make him giggle. She also likes to mount the walker behind him while he is cruising. Not my favorite game.

Mae is a true joy and a light in our lives.

She likes to be the center of attention. Until she is the center of attention.

She thought is was hilarious that we were singing to her. Just to HER!

She loves frosting. And candy. And pickles.

Getting close to being able to eat the cake - not share the cake. (Word World reference.)

Frosting face.

When I bake with the girls I make them pull their hair back. (Another reason why Etta is glad her hair is short now.) A pony tail just makes her look so much older for some reason. I wish that she would let me do it more.

Her stats at 3 years:

Weight: 29.5 lbs

Height: 36.75 inches

Etta at 3 years.

6th Month Annibirthery

Busy blog day today for me...

This guy,

is 6 months old today.

There are times when I literally, (yes mom, literally), can NOT believe it.

February seems like six months ago. February itself took about six months to pass.

But I see new babies and can already not really remember him being that tiny. That new.

And I tried to enjoy it. To relish it. To soak it in. Having a pinched nerve and not being able to walk for two weeks really helped with that. I lived in the recliner with him. Only getting up to eat and use the facilities.

But still.

They change so fast.

He is a joy to have around. Many many people comment on how he is the happiest baby that they've ever seen.

And I would have to agree.

I don't know if it's that "third child" thing. If he has inherited his dad's and Grandpa Eddy's laid-back-ness or what. But he is pretty agreeable 99% of the time.

This last month he learned to sit up. Pop up on his hands and knees and really wants to crawl. His first tooth has popped through (months earlier than either of his sisters). And he eats rice cereal and oatmeal. We will start trying other solids since we are headed into the beautiful harvest season.

His stats on 8/30/13

Height: 26.5 inches - 50%

Weight: 16 lbs. 1 oz. - 25%

Both girls LOVE him so much. I think that Mae might love him a bit more. She has named him "LeeLee" and pretty much only refers to him that way. It is starting to stick. Bob is afraid that he is never going to know his name is Russell.

We are settling into a new routine with school starting and there are many exciting adventures ahead.

[Etta at six months]

[Mae at six months]

Bob's Back to School

We have another person in our house who goes to school each fall.

I guess this is another tradition that we have:

2008

2009

2010 - First first day

2010 - Second first day

2011

2012

[Note how each entry about poor Bob gets shorter and shorter each year...]