Crawford - The Last Five Months

Crawford,

I am happy to say that as I write this you are doing wonderfully!  You're listening and overall behavior has been much improved this year!  You have been on green at school all year and have been a really good kid at home too.  We started using a magnet chart that Nanu and Poppie got you for Christmas and that seems to be working well.  Currently, the areas of focus are: no whining, no bad language (this includes baby talk), bed time routine, keeping hands to yourself, doing homework, pick up toys and saying please and thank you.  If you got all but seven magnets each week you get a prize!  So far you have gotten to build a bird house and a locker.  This week you get to plant your garden with Poppie if you keep up the good work!

You are making huge progress at speech therapy and have mastered your K and G sounds.  You are back working on your T,D,N and W sounds.  It won't be long and we won't be going to "new school" anymore.

I just dropped off your application to Our Lady of Mercy yesterday!  It took mom and dad a while to decide which school was going to be best for you, but we finally made a decision and you get to go to the same school as daddy!  I can't wait to see what big boy school has in store for you!

You are still hilarious and we never know what you might tell or ask us!

You are pretty average in size - 3'5'' (60%) and 37 pounds (56%)

You had your first job on January 10th walking "Memmy" for Nanu and Poppie and got paid $2.00.  You love to talk about all of the jobs you are going to have when you get older and how much money you will have.  You constantly tell us, we won't need to worry, that you'll have enough to share!  You are currently saving your money to buy a truck and wood for your building job.

We sure do love you!!

Jane Clare - The Last Five Months

Why is it so hard to consistently write?  A lot has happened since Crawford's 4th Birthday...

Since September, Jane Clare had her First Christmas, her First Birthday and is walking/running all over!  Since I'm not going to write on each event here's a list of what's happened and when it all happened with her.

September 17 - Top Two Teeth Came In
September 18 - Started Pulling up on the coffee table

October 2 - Two more top teeth came in; tried little bites of banana
October 15 - Crawling with tummy off of the ground and walking around objects; can stand by herself for a second
9 Month Check-Up - 28.74 inches long (83%); 22 pounds 10 ounces (94%); 45.7 centimeters around head (89%)

December 1 - Taking one to two steps
December 15 - Taking seven, eight, nine steps

January 6 - Happy Birthday baby girl!!  This last year has been so much fun with you!  You are the sweetest baby!  You currently have eight teeth, say daddy, night night and no-no!  You still love your momma and would much rather be held by her, unless your Nanu is around.  You really like her too!! You love to dance when music comes on, generally moving your arms up and down - raise the roof!  You love to give hugs to your stuffed animals and sometimes your family!  Slobery, open mouth kisses are your specialty.  So far, you are very calm and patient and rarely fuss.  You play wonderfully by yourself and thankfully you still love your sleep.  You sleep about 12 hours at night (7:00 PM - 7:00 AM) and take two 1-2 hour naps a day.

We gradually switched you off of your formula and you did great!  And you made the transition from bottles to sippy cups very easily!  Thank goodness!  You love your food and eat three meals a day with milk and some water with a splash of apple juice throughout the day.  So far, the only thing you don't really like are mashed cauliflower and mashed potatoes!  You LOVED your birthday cake!

January 27 - One Year Check Up - 29.921 inches long (68%); 24 pounds 3 ounces (87%; 46.4 centimeters around head (81%).

Please stop growing so fast!!

Happy 4th Birthday

This past year has been an extremely fun (and challenging) year with you, Crawford!  At your core you are kind hearted, caring and loving and I so hope that you never loose those wonderful qualities that make you, YOU!

• You always want to do things as a family
• You are constantly telling Jane Clare how pretty she is
• When asked who your best friend is, it's usually Jane Clare
• You wished (in a fountain in Duke Garden) for Nanu not to be sad about Granny dying
• You also wished for Granny
• You made Granny a card with tape to bring to her grave
• You saved some of your hair, after a haircut, for Tin Tin because a few weeks before, she asked if she could have some of your hair because it was so thick and pretty.

You are funny!

• You told me you thought I was going crazy when I turned up the radio and started singing and clapping
• But you love to "crank up" the music in daddy's car and listen "big brother music"
• You wish Poppie had a pig at his house
• "Oh, Man!" is your saying of choice when something goes wrong right now
• And you love to call everyone a silly goose
• You call Jane Clare "Jane Chair"
• You always want mommy or daddy to tell you a story at bedtime - has to be one from our lives and one you haven't heard, "in a long, long time."

You love to help!

• With Anything
• Cook
• Sweep
• Put diapers in the garbage
• Take the garbage out
• Put clothes away

You want to be an excavator driver, a bobcat driver, a pressure washer, a digger and a builder right now.  You are promising that you are going to build me and daddy our next house.  So far you've asked what we want it built out of and what color we want it painted.

You enjoy your routine.  You started speech and occupational therapy this year and that is going well.  You are working on your K and G sounds as well as T, D, N and W.  You have made great progress since starting in February!!

Some funny stories I don't want to forget:

• We were talking about big boy school and how you would go when you were almost five and I told you I was going to cry because you are getting too big.  Your sweet response, "Mom, that's what happens.  Don't cry silly goose; everyone grows up!
• One of your favorite subjects to discuss right now is God and heaven - you said you didn't want to go to heaven when you died, you would rather stay in your house because it would be too busy up there...it will be wild with all of those people.
• You also wanted to know on a beautiful, sunny day how the people in heaven weren't falling down, since there weren't any clouds to hold them up!
• You love to have "sitting time" on daddy's lap before bed time every night!

You are one wild and crazy, all boy, sweet, wonderful, handsome four year old!  We never knew we could love someone so much!!!  Happy Happy Birthday!

Seven Months Already

Happy seven month birthday Jane Clare!  I have absolutely no idea how you are already this old.  You have been an absolute joy and such a sweet baby! 

You are really getting into a pretty good routine, although bringing your brother to school interferes a little.  You sleep twelve plus hours at night and started sleeping through the night at six weeks old (with a few "off" nights along the way).  You have started to make your way through fruits and veggies.  So far, you have had pears, bananas, sweet potatoes, squash, apples and peas.  You took a little warming up to the veggies, but you gobble everything up.  This week you'll start getting food for breakfast and dinner!!  We waited until you were six months old to start you on food and skipped the rice cereal.  You still love your formula and drink four - 8 ounces bottles a day.  At your six month check up you were in the 94th percentile for weight (19 pounds) and 75th for height...might be tall like your daddy.

Happy Fourth of July - After the initial shock of eating food, I really liked my first meal - pears!

Bananas

Not so sure about squash!

Or Peas!

It looks like your pretty, blue eyes are here to stay and I can't wait to see what your hair does; it has a lot of red in it and even a few little curls!  Hats with cute flowers, aren't really your thing.

You have already been on an airplane twice...once at Easter to visit Tin Tin and Unc Dave in North Carolina before they moved to New Orleans and then to Anguilla; where you dropped your dream feed!  You have also been to WaterColor a few times and made a trip to the aquarium, too!

Snoozing on the beach in WaterColor

Out for a ride on Anchor's Boe'

On a Jet Plane - NC here we come!

Your brother still loves you and the feeling is definitely mutual.  Although you are an extremely happy baby you don't giggle or laugh a lot, but Crawford can get you going.  So sweet!  However, he also likes to share his germs with you...working on getting better from your second cold.

Happy 4th!

I'm happy to say (most days) you are a complete mama's girl!

Life is about to get even more interesting since you are scooting around like crazy!!  You are almost sitting all by yourself, too.  What happened to just sitting and not moving for a little while?

We love you so much!!  Can you slow down growing just a little?

Jane Clare Roberts Stolzenthaler

Life…So it’s been a while and a lot has happened!!  The biggest thing is that we had a beautiful baby girl on Monday, January 6, 2014 at 11:04 AM weighing seven pounds, eight ounces and 20 inches long.  Jane Clare Roberts Stolzenthaler thankfully waited until after Christmas to make her arrival. I was so worried the baby was going to come on Christmas Eve or Day and “ruin” it for Crawford and ultimately ruin his or her birthday every year.  Thankfully that was not the case and once Crawford got to see what Santa brought him I was much more excited about the day and could finally relax a little.  The next week and a half we spent just enjoying the last few moments as a family of three!  Crawford was so excited to meet his baby, but I was worried that his excitement would wear off once attention shifted a little for a while.  I’m happy to say his excitement and love for his sister has grown into something I pray continues and lasts throughout their lifetime together.  This little girl absolutely could not have gotten a brother that loves her any more than he does!!  He has been so wonderful to her from day one… loves to help change diapers, throw them away, always right there with a pacifier if she fusses, wants her to sleep with him, tells her how pretty she is, how she is his best friend, and so many more.  And now to see how she loves him is pretty incredible!!  She will just smile and watch him like no one else is in the room. I am so thankful for both of them and can’t wait to see the beautiful friendship they form over the years.

 

Full Term...37 Weeks

This baby is officially cooked enough to make an appearance anytime now and I would be lying if I said I wasn't ready too.

How Far Along: 37 Weeks
Total Weight Gain: 20 pounds
Stretch Marks:  Not that I can see
Sleep: It hasn't been so great as of late.  I am up at least twice during the night and sometimes more, not to mention no position is really comfortable.  I can't wait to be able to lay on my back and tummy in the very near future!
Miss Anything:  Shaving my legs, putting boots on without assistance, working out
Food Cravings:  I really like sweets
Belly Button In or Out: It is certainly trying to become an outie and I now understand why people don't want one!

Although weight wise I am about the same as I was with Crawford this go round I think my stomach is more narrow but sticks out further.  We went for an ultrasound on Tuesday and Baby S #2 looks to be like he/she will be small like Crawford - measures in the 20th and 30th percentile in everything and currently weighs about 5 pounds 11 ounces.  All I can say is thank you Jesus that I don't have large babies!!  I have absolutely no idea how he or she would fit in there.  My stomach feels stretched to the max most of the time and the amount of pain he/she causes in all areas throughout the day is pretty amazing.  Kickboxer or gymnast maybe??

Let The Craziness Begin

It's been a bit hectic around here lately!

First there was Halloween in the rain!  It didn't seem to bother him at all, he was completely covered.  Unfortunately since I was told to take it easy a few days earlier I didn't make the trip down the street in the rain, but this "doctor" definitely had a blast!!

Crawford also made the switch to a big boy bed on Halloween and he has done GREAT!  He still stays in bed and calls for us when he is ready to wake up - anxious to see how long it lasts.  I absolutely love the way his beds came out and will post some pictures when the room is complete.

The following week Kyle left for a work trip in Houston, it's actually where he is right now.  I'll say it again, I was not meant to be a single mom.  I have absolutely no idea how they do it!  Crawford and I packed up both times and headed to my parents.  I have to say I think they are also extremely thankful that I am not a single mom :).  Unfortunately I haven't felt the best over the last six weeks, so I physically can't handle Crawford all by myself.  This stinker, baby just seems to get comfortable in the worst places!

Crawford is still so excited for "the baby."  We took him to a "Tyke Hyke" class at Woman's Hospital where he promptly said he was having a sister when asked.  He then changed his mind in the middle that he wanted a brother.  I sure hope he'll be excited brother or sister!  The class was great and really showed us what I think we are going to see from him - he's going to want to be right in the middle of everything - no big surprise!

Thanksgiving has come and gone!  We had a relatively quite day, thank goodness.  Christmas tree and decorations are all put up and now we sit and wait...can't wait to see what life has in store for us as a family of four!