ivan jude: 9 months

9 for 9.

1. He now pulls up to anything he can find.

2. And then he does the shuffle. Not all the way around, but he's getting braver.

3. Drink milk mostly from a sippy. That's right, this is a free Mama!

4. Finally dropped the third nap. OK, we kinda forced him to drop it, but he doesn't seem to mind.

5. He can crawl up the stairs. Going down is another story. He's got the scratches to prove it. It's ok. He's tough.

6. Has a special smile for Daddy.

7. Is busy. Needs to know what is going on and "what was that noise???" I call him Business.

8. Loves the water. A little too much, He thinks he can swim by himself and has no desire to stay in his little boat.

9. Sits and plays with toys. More than just the grab and drop motion.

 

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my three little men: week 38

We've had two sick-os and an explorer on our hands this week.

We finished up our time with Grammy and Gramps and the cousins. And then headed home.

Silas was up first. He started feeling bad the day we came home from parents house. His only symptoms were a runny nose and high fever. He's such a trooper when he's sick. He doesn't complain much, just looks awful and I'll constantly find him lying down. He would rally and go play and then be spent and lay down. I felt terrible for him. Luckily he slept pretty good and after about 3 days, his fever was gone and was ready to play again.

During this time, my Mom took Amos back to her house to go to a couple of days of Bible school with her. It was good to have more time to give to sick man Silas. But Monday night I got the call that Amos seemed not to be feeling well. Oh no. Tag.

He came home sick with a low fever. Wednesday and Thursday were pretty rough for him. He's a little more "expressive" in his sickness. You might think he was dying. Today the fever seems better. He's still got it and doesn't feel good, but I'm hoping we've reached a turning point. And let's all join in together to continue to pray that Ivan does not get! Hoping Mom's anti-bodies somehow keep him from this sickness.

On to our explorer. So last week, he figured out that he could stand, and this week he's become an expert. It happens so fast. He's even shuffling around things. Silas thought it was so cool. Then he realized Ivan could wreck all his trains. Not so cool. Those two have been able to bond a little, while Amos has been gone and then sick! It'll be interested to see how the relationship develops! There is still some learning how to be a good big brother happening too.

That all kept us pretty busy this week! When everyone was feeling better, we made a trip to the store. I've gone with all them before, but never used this buggy. They loved it. So it was worth the extra wide turns.

While Amos was gone, we treated Silas to Mexican and icecream. He was little bit sad that he wasn't going too! Chips and icecream helped.

This guy continues to be his happy self. He's had a few cranky moments, but I think it's because someone's about to get some top teeth.

 

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my three little men: week 37 + weekend trip to kansas city

Last Friday we loaded up the car and all the gear once again to head to Kansas City to spend the weekend with my family and celebrating my oldest sister's birthday. It was a short trip, but we made the most of it. We arrived at the hotel around 3 and immediately hit the pool.

We had a quick dinner at the hotel and left the kids with the men while the women went to IKEA. Because, really, what's a trip to KC with a visit to IKEA?

The next morning we overwhelmed the Continetal Breakfast with our crew, but we enjoyed a yummy breakfast before hitting the pool once again before check-out.

And, of course, we needed to try to get all the kiddos in one picture. That's always a hoot. I will spare you the details of what I was doing to try to get everyone to look and smile. I wasn't quite successful.

They love each other...

We then headed to Audrey and Jason's house for naps and birthday celebrating. We also got in a quick HIIT workout before cake. It was fun to cram down into their basement for family exercising. Yes, we're weird. I'll spare you pictures.

This rest of our week has been recovering after a week long of fun on vacation. We had a BLAST, but it is always nice to get back normal. Mostly normal sleeping. Normal dishes and cleaning are not the most fun, but normal beds are. And I think that just might have been what we needed to break little man out of his month-long funk! He seems to be back to his happy, content self. The one that doesn't cry unless he's in Mom's arms. The one that is happy to go exploring on his own.

He's figured out some new things this week too! The first night back to our own beds, we arrived late and I fed him before putting him back to bed. Apparently, after sleeping in the car, he wasn't quite ready to go back to sleep. Instead, he figured out how to sit up from lying down. IT was quite a shock to see him sitting there in the baby monitor. Since learning to sit, he's also figured out how to do the actual crawling motion. He stil chooses to army crawl, but he can hand-over-hand crawl too!

This is a new move too. He's pulling up to shorter things, so I'm sure the coffee table and his crib will be pretty soon. It's time to baby proof a new level. Here comes the Ivan Monster.

Jason spent the beginning of the week getting ready for his mountain climbing trip. Amos went with him on a training hike and had a lot of fun.

We made sure and used our Chick-fil-A calendar freebie before it expired! Those have been so fun!

After Dad left, we packed our bags for Kanasa, to spend some time at Grammy and Gramps house. Amos was making a list of all the things we could do.. He's very into coloring and writing things these days.

We had to go swimming in Grammy and Gramps pool. Ivan loved the baby pool. He could stand at the edege and bang the toys.

This guy is a huge eater. He is officially eating more than his brothers. He loved everything that Grammy made.

The other thing we always do at Grammy's house is go biking. Silas is still figuring out the strider, but did a great job walking it all around.

Ivan hung out with my in the stroller.

And Amos mastered his bike. He's a bike riding machine now.

We've had fun at Grammy and Gramps, but we'll be ready to see Daddy again soon! He should be summiting the two mountains today. Go Daddy!

 

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my three little men: week 36

What a week we have had. We vacationed with our family down in Branson and had a blast experiencing lots of new things.

A lot of time was spent swimming. My boys got braver and braver each day. We almost always had the pool to ourselves and in the shallow end, even Silas could touch.

Ivan didn't like to be in his little floater, but he loved "swimming." He kicked his feet and everything.

This was Amos' favorite thing.

And here was Silas'.

We also did a lot of this...yum! My meal was fantastic here. Possible best.meal.ever.

This was our first time staying in a hotel with children. And it worked out really well. I think I've always imagined that it would be terrible, so I've tried to avoid it. But, the boys loved it and we all slept relatively well.

Our first morning we ventured out on a little hike that involved a high tower. I think the adults were more scared than the kids.

The forecast predicted rain everyday, but luckily we didn't actually get much rain. Except, of course, the night we went to Silver Dollar City and then it downpoured. We rode one ride and were waiting in another when they told us they were closing the rides. We should have left then, but we were hoping it would clear off. Nope. We ended up running all the way to the car in a downpour. The bright side was that the kids loved it.

The next day was nice and clear so we hit up the go-cart course. The kids got to try their hand at their own rides. Amos was very intent on what he was doing.

Round 2: was the BIG go-carts. We were watching and waiting for them. And screaming...

After lunch and quick naps, we went back out for another new adventures....mini golfing. Nana beat everyone with her 4 hole-in-ones. Silas managed two hole-in-ones himself. Too bad his other puts were about 10 swings. He loved hearing the sound of the ball going in the hole.

The pirate garb after was a big hit too!

It's always hard to end a trip, but not quite as bad when you know you're going to meet back up at Bass Pro for some exploring and boat driving.

We also branched out with our lunch choice and went to a Japanese Steakhouse to eat. Teigan and Emma had been to one before, so they made sure a filled Amos in on all that was about to happen. Amos thought it was pretty cool. Silas was not a fan. He didn't touch his food until the man with the fire left our table. The big flame at the beginning definitely got him.

Ivan was a trooper through the whole trip. He's been trying to get over a cold all this past week and hasn't wanted to leave my side. His favorite part was probably swimming. He's a little fish. Hoping this next week is the end to the cold.

 

 

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