Miss Peachie is 8 Months Old!

Should I even be allowed to say, "It's hard to believe..." anymore??

Miss Avery is turning into quite the active little girl.  One day I said, "Where did this come from?  It's like she grew up over night!" 

She gets herself on to all four and scoots backwards.  She hasn't figured out going forward yet, but she has figured out how to get around!  She can go from her stomach to sitting, and from sitting to on her stomach.  And lots of rolling.  Between all of those movements, she gets from point A to B one way or another!  She wants to crawl so desperately bad, but she just isn't quite there yet.  Rudy is not going to know what hit him when Avery is more mobile.  She is so interested in whatever Rudy is doing and typically wants whatever he has.  He is going to have to learn some hard and quick lessons about being nice and sharing pretty soon! 

"Oh Rudy, what's that?"

 "Sissy See"

And then she gets the stiff arm -- "Sissy See" has turned into "No Sissy" and "Sissy No" pretty quickly

Which really hurts Avery's feelings...

She forgave him later :)

She is working on pulling herself up.  She gets her arms and upper body up, but can't seem to get her feet under her just right.  

She claps proudly, dances to music, plays peek a boo, and is just so happy. 

She wants to be right in the mix of everything going on.  She doesn't like to be left alone and often objects whenever Rudy or I leave the room.  She has developed quite an attachment to her Mama.  She babbles "Mama Mama Mmmama" very often.  She doesn't like for me to leave the room she's in and if I am visible, she usually wants me to be the one holding her or feeding her.  She plays and interacts well with everyone, but when she needs something, she wants her mom... no doubt.  Rudy is hit or miss on handling this.  He can be pretty attached to me some days, but he also is obsessed with his dad.  But when it is just the 3 of us, some moments are better than others.  It varies whether he minds if I tend to Avery or hold Avery instead of him.  But he is definitely better than before!  Progress!  

Avery now has three teeth!  The third one popped up out of nowhere sometime a couple weeks ago.  We haven't had to give her Tylenol, Orajel, special teething toys.. nothing.. it's so opposite from when Rudy was cutting teeth!

Her bald spot has filled in.  But as the back has grown, so has the front... which has led me to adorable pigtails :)  If I don't pull it back, she gets frustrated with her hair in her face. 

Avery is doing well with baby food.  She really isn't a fan of green vegetables still, but I am mixing them in with things she does like and she doesn't seem to mind (or notice?).  She is slowing down a bit on her formula intake, but not consistently - meaning she may only finish half a bottle a 9:30 one day, but finish it all the next... and vary throughout the day which ones she finishes and which ones she doesn't and each day is different.  She loves her finger foods.  Loves.  But she makes a me a nervous wreck.  She still chokes on things every once in awhile, and a few times it gets pretty scary.  I have to hit her back until she throws up whatever gets caught.  I'm sure in reality it's 2-3 seconds, but it feels like an eternity as I wait for whatever to come up.  Practice makes perfect, but I am praying she gets better with it asap because snacktime can be scary right now.  And I'd love to give her bites of what we have, or let her try different textures, etc because she seems so interested... but I just can't yet.  Around 10 months, Rudy ditched baby food entirely.  I have to keep reminding myself that that was on the early end of "normal" and Avery can eat baby food until 1 or so, so we are just taking it slow on the finger foods for now. 

The girl is quiet, which also makes her sneaky!  She plays so contently, that its easy to miss her playing with something she shouldn't.  Like the night I was making her bed and turned around to see she dumped the water out of the humidifier.  Or when she grabs the Desitin while I'm changing Rudy, the remotes when we are playing ball, a dirty pair of shoes when we are making dinner.. We are used to a baby that demands attention 24/7 and is loud unless he's doing something he shouldn't... so Avery throws us off a bit!  Lucky for me, Rudy is usually quick to say, "No Sissy!" to alert me :)   

As of 8 months, Avery still has her baby blues and according to what "they" say... those blue eyes are here to stay!! 

And as of last night, Avery started saying "Dada" and it absolutely melted our hearts.  It was so soft and sweet... so different than her babble sounds we have grown used to.  John is in trouble.  He's never going to be able to tell that sweet girl "no" when she says "Dada" like that!

Rudy likes to watch videos on our phones, and I'll leave you with one of his favorites...

Our Homework Assignment

At Rudy's 18-Month checkup, the doc said he should be speaking 50 words or sounds by age 2.

So here goes...

Rudy's Word Count:

1. No

2. No way

3. Oh no  (aww)

4. Yes/Yea

5. Yay

6. Hey

7. Cya

8. Hi

9. Oh - usually, "Oh!"

10. Kiss sound (mmm aaa)

11. Ouch (oww/owey)

12. Boo-Boo - as in an owey/cut/scrape/etc

13. Dada/Dad

14. Mama/Mom

15. Sissy

16. Papa

17. Gran

18. Grandma  (sounds a lot like Gran to the untrained ear, but there is a slight difference)

19. Jack

20. Nolan (No-No)

21. Jenna (Nena)

22. Santa (Ho-Ho)

23. Dog  (Do-Do)

24. Dog sound - Ruff (or Arf-Arf)

25. Cow sound - Moo

26. Duck sound - Aack Aack

27. Fish (shhhh)

28. Elephant sound - Mmooo

29. Monster sound - Aarrrr

30. Lion sound - Aarrr

31. Monkey sound (and motion) 

32. Bug sound - Bzzz

33. Pig sound - snorts

34. Cat sound - ayyy ayyy ayyy 

35. Shoes (shhh)

36. Quiet motion - shh with his index finger to his nose

37. Green  (geeen)

38. Blue (Blll)

39. Orange (O-ange)

40. Red (ed)

41. Balloons  (Bbbb)

42. Ball

43. Bubbles  (Bbbb)

44. Hot (hhaa)

45. Cold (brrr)

46. Thirsty motion - he fake coughs

47. Ball

48. Baseball (ball-ball)

49. Night-night (ni-night)

50. Motion for stinky - Hold his nose, scrunches up his face and snorts

51. Elmo (mo-mo)

52. See - as in, "Did you see that?" "See what I have"  "See what I can do"... pay attention to me!!

53. Hair bow - Bow

54. Train - Choo Choo

55. Firetruck - Dada

56. Air Plane - Aaaane

Barely!! (and I may be pushing it on a couple).... But phew!!

It's insane to me how hard it was to come up with this list and how close to 50 we actually are, as much as he communicates.  And to think that some 2 year olds speak up to 300 words... who are these kids?!  And what are their parents doing differently?!

So studious

Illinois State Fair

After all the hustle and bustle we have had, John and I were looking forward to a day with just the four of us.  To the State Fair we went!  The weather was perfect -- sunny, high of about 75.  The kids were happy and we had a great little morning out together.

Rudy and Avery were able to see all kids of animals.  And not your typical "fair" animals.  We were walking into the kid area, expecting cows, sheep, goats... and then I turned around and saw a giraffe!  So crazy!  There was a zebra and tigers, too!  Rudy was interested and would walk right up to them, but as soon as they moved, he jumped away.  It was pretty funny to watch.

Then we went to ride rides.  That did not go over so well.  Rudy liked the giant slide ok.  He wasn't begging to go again or anything, but he didn't cry or freak out.  We saw an airplane pass overhead on the way up, and that was by far the highlight.  Then in Adventure Village he saw a car ride and really wanted to go on it.  Adults weren't allowed to go with and he seemed a-ok with it.  The first few turns around he smiled and waved at us, steered the steering wheel like a pro, and loved it!  Then out of nowhere he wasn't having it and was done.  They almost stopped the ride for him because he was crying so pathetically.  Needless to say, he wanted nothing to do with any more rides after that.  So after buying $10 worth of tickets, he only used 2.  Nothing like a $10 ride that ended in tears!

Food made him happy, though.  Rudy bit into his first fair corn dog.  I think we attempted to give him pieces of the breading last year, but he wasn't really into it.  Pretty much the same for this year, except he at least tried it out!  

Then it was time to head home.  We were only there a few hours, but it was just enough time for us.  Saw some animals, rode a couple rides, and ate some food.  What more could you ask for from the state fair?!

  

My Date with Rudy

Probably around early July, Jenna asked me about going to Knight's Action Park with the boys for some Mom-Son time.  Moms get in free on Monday's, but it took us all the way until August 12 that we had a shared free Monday.

I'm so glad we made the time to do this.  I needed some time with Rudy, especially after this past week.  With all the excitement going on, mom is old news.  So it was really nice to get to spend some quality time with my favorite little boy for a whole morning.  Not to mention, I don't think we have done something fun together, just the two of us, since Avery has been born.

We got to the park about 9:30, thinking it opened at 9.  Unfortunately there was a little mix-up and the water park didn't open until 10.  The owner offered to buy us a round of golf, so we took him up on it.  Of course the boys don't play the right way, but we had the course to ourselves and they were able to run around and attempt to hit their balls.  Rudy didn't want to leave... of course he had no idea what was around the corner...

Rudy was fearless, per usual.  He loved going down all the slides (all the toddler-sized slides, that is!).  He wanted to go down the slides over and over.  I managed to snap a few pictures...

It was a great place for Rudy to play.  There were three different areas that were perfect for him.  We could have stayed all day!


 

Rudy's Birthday Week, Part II

...you didn't think the parties were all we did all week, did you?!

Let's back up...

Friday, August 2:  Dinner with the Allotey's to celebrate Jannette's annual 30th birthday.  Rudy always has so much fun with kids his age, especially Jorja.  Of course pizza is always a big hit, too.  Add to that, Gallina's also has a small arcade that Rudy and Jorja were all over.  Fun little night out!

Saturday, August 3:  Party prep day, lots of cleaning, decorating, and last minute wrapping (and conveniently John's day at work... funny how it works out that we seem to always have parties the day after John's shift)

Sunday, August 4:  Party time!  (see earlier post)

Monday, August 5:  Jack was still in town so we spent the morning at the mall with him and Grandma Cicci.  We were able to play Glow-Golf, play in the children's play area, shop for shoes, ride the train, and have lunch at 5 guys.  Then that evening Rudy and Avery hung out with them again while Gran and I took our State Fair entries out to the fairgrounds.  What a day!

Tuesday, August 6:  I had to work, but Dad took Rudy and Avery to Scheels to meet Grandma and Jack.  They had a ball playing -- riding bikes, checking out the fish, bowling, etc.  I hear Avery was mesmerized by the bowling game.

That evening we spent time getting things ready for Rudy's party.  He helped my bake his cake, and I let him lick the bowl for the first time.  At first he started with just poking his finger in.  He was pretty hesitant and slow.  But the more tastes he got, the quicker he went back for more.  Then he realized he could just spoon it out and the rest is history.  Cake batter face, hands, and everything else later and I had to tear the bowl away from him!  

Wednesday, August 7:  Party time!  (see earlier post)

Thursday, August 8:  Mark and Mike were still in town so we spent the morning with them at Scheels, followed by lunch at Quaker Steak and Lube.  Scheels is always a good go-to with a bunch of little boys!!

Then that evening we were able to walk in the opening night State Fair parade with the fire department.  Mike and Mark came with us and we all had a fun evening!

Friday, August 9:  I made us take a time out for the day.  We were getting pretty exhausted.  John was working so the kids and I stayed at home all day and it was just what we needed.  We relaxed, put toys away, did laundry, and even went for a nice walk.

But don't worry, we still got out that night!  Gran's friends from high school came in town to visit, so we went to a cook-out at Gran and Papa's.  But the highlight of the day were the results from our fair entries... 3...THREE...BLUE ribbons!!!

craft from paper not pictured, although it was the best entry by far



The excitement doesn't stop...

Saturday, August 10:  Mark and Mike brought breakfast over and we played all morning, followed by an afternoon birthday party for Layla.  Rudy had SO much fun!  They had their roller coaster set up, sprinkler, a bubble machine, and a giant bounce house!  Then over to Grandma and Grandpa Cicci's for dinner.

Sunday, August 11:  We had visitors all morning!  Uncle Burch and Aunt Michelle came to see Avery and Rudy and bring Rudy's birthday present and Mike and Mark came one last time before they had to head home.

Monday, August 12:  To be continued...

Rudy's Birthday Week, Part I

...because everyone gets at least a week, right?!

(Sorry, Grandpa -- might want to load up your printer, this is going to be a few pages)

What a bunch of party animals we have been!  We started off the festivities with Rudy's "friend" birthday party on Sunday.  It was a blast!!  The party was fire truck themed, and I went all out.  We had fire truck plates, napkins, small balloons, big balloons, badges, fire engine cups for the kids, fire fighter helmets, a fire truck cake, fire truck favor boxes complete with fire truck stickers, coloring book, tattoos, and more...

 

and the biggest event of all... a real life fire truck! 

 Rudy and Avery had a great time with all of their friends!!

 

A little Avery action before the party started (Rudy wanted nothing to do with getting his picture taken.  There were far more fun things to do!)

The night before Rudy's birthday, John and I filled his hallway with balloons.  Lots on the floor and lots on the ceiling.  Rudy LOVES balloons so we were excited for him to come out of his room on his birthday with balloons everywhere.  

AND his other surprise... Uncle Tony and Patrick and Aunt Kate drove to Springfield late Tuesday night so they could be here when Rudy woke up.  It was so exciting!  (Aunt Dawn the Great came too but she stayed sleeping with Gran, who also took the day off work to hang with  Rudy on his birthday)

We spent the morning opening presents from us and our visitors and John made pancakes for breakfast.  Rudy got all kinds of fun new toys!  He is one lucky little boy!  And Avery was so excited, she had no idea it wasn't her birthday   

 

Playing in the new ball pit.  Even Rufus got in on the action!

Mid-morning we went to Washington Park to play and have a picnic lunch.  Papa was even able to meet us on his lunch break.  Rudy played on all the equipment and we brought bubbles to chase.  Avery was happy as can be hanging out on a blanket, playing with toys and watching Rudy run around.

That evening Grandma and Grandpa Cicci came over with Mike and Mark, along with Grandma and Grandpa Ballweg, Uncle Kurt the Great, his new gf Carla, and George for dinner, cake (round 2 of the fire truck cake and Aunt Dawn the Great made a yummy baseball cake, which was right up Rudy's alley!), ice cream and more presents!

 

They're all the Sames' to me

 

Pass Miss Peachie

And pass the photo prop! 



The best for last:

A quick little video of the cutest 2 year old I know.  He danced when we sang to him, naturally.  Blew out the candles like a champ (one at a time...the smoke from the first one threw him off a bit) and clapped right along with everyone when he finished.  And check out his reaction when the candle came back!  :)  What a fun, happy kid!!

 

What an awesome 2nd birthday for our Ru!! 

To Our First Baby

Dear Rudy,

Today you are two years old.  It's hard for me to wrap my head around the fact that another year has past.  I looked back at the letter I wrote to you last year on your birthday.  While so much has changed, so much has stayed the same.

Your personality is one-of-a-kind and I love everything about it.  You have such a fun and positive energy (95% of the time.  The other 5% you are a grump... but that's ok).  You are an entertainer.  We don't go many places that you don't make new friends and quickly become the center of attention.  You always want to include everyone.  If one person gets a high five, everyone does.  You absolutely love to have fun and the simplest things you can turn into a party.  You are independent. So independent.  There isn't much that you don't think you can do yourself.  You love sports and being active.  Depending on the season, your favorite sport changes.  If we had kept track, I'm sure you'd be close to the record on saying the word, "ball."  You have turned our living room into a gym...bouncing on and off of everything (as much as we have told you "no" and gasped at the thought of you getting hurt), complete with a basketball hoop, and tee ball set up.  You love to watch movies before naps and bedtime, especially the Sandlot, Buddies, Monsters, Inc, Barney, and Elmo.  When you hear music, you can't help but dance, or at least bob your head (and you typically insist that others join in with you).  You are also smart, funny, ticklish, full of energy from the moment you wake up until the moment you go to sleep, bossy, curious, brave, so sweet, and full of life.  While you aren't saying many words, you have your own way of communicating to us and it's pretty interesting at times.  You get your point across, one way or another.  You still dislike sleeping, but you are able to fall asleep on your own and as much as it makes my life easier, it also makes me sad to realize you are growing up.  

I love all the time I get to spend with you.  Not a day goes by that I regret my decision to stay home with you and your sister.  I love seeing you grow, develop, learn, and be you.  It's so amazing getting to raise you.  It's the most challenging and rewarding job I've even been given and I couldn't be happier.  Your dad and I are so blessed that God chose you and Avery to be our family.    

You are an incredible big brother.  I always knew you would be, but I didn't expect you to be so soon.  You make Avery laugh.  All the time.  She lights up when you are around.  You bring her toys to play with, you let me know if she needs something, and you always want to include her.  She's the first thing you ask for in the morning when you wake up.  I love seeing you two together.  Some days I fight back tears of complete happiness seeing the special bond you two are growing.  

You have a lot of friends and a lot of people who love you, but your dad is hands-down your best friend.  Everything he does fascinates you and you are quick to mimic him.  You look up to him and you listen to him more than anyone else, which is great because I couldn't imagine a better role model for you.  You have an amazing dad and I hope you always love him as much as you do now because he deserves it.  He loves you so much and would do anything for you.   

I don't know how it's possible, but I love you more every day.  Thanks to you, your sister, and your dad, my heart is so full.  You bring such pure joy into so many of our lives.  You brighten my day and my world and I can't imagine my life without you.  The last two year have been the greatest and I look forward to the years ahead.

Even though you are two, always remember:

I'll love you forever,

I'll like you for always,

As long as I'm living

my baby you'll be.

-Robert Munsch

You may not be the baby in our family any more.  And you certainly aren't a baby anymore, either.  But you'll always be my baby.  No matter what.   

I love you unconditionally and always will.  I'm so proud to be your mom.  Thank you for being you.

Happy birthday, Rudy.

Love, Mom

Rudy,

Another year gone by. There were so many great things that happened this past year it will be hard to tell you all of them. I will focus on the most important.

This past year of your life the most important thing happened to you. You met an angel for the first time. That angel came in the form of your beautiful baby sister Avery, or as you like to call her Sissy. You have become the greatest big brother ever. She absolutely adores you and wants to watch your every move! You love to do crazy things around her to make her laugh and boy does she think you are funny. You take great care of her and I hope you will always take care of her because remember she is an angel and you are so lucky to have her as your sister.

You also have become so passionate about sports! You absolutely love to watch sports and most of all, play them. In the past month you have become obsessed with baseball. You love hitting the ball off the tee and running the bases. You also enjoy wearing your football helmet and throwing the football. I hope you never lose your passion no matter what you do. It is one f the many things that makes you such a wonderful kid.

You started to talk and say many words. You have been working on your colors and counting. You learn new things everyday! Your mom has done a wonderful job teaching you many of these things. You are so lucky to have a mom that cares so much about you and who is the best mom in the whole wide world! You love her so much! You are always wanting her attention and to join you in whatever it is that you are doing. I want you to always remember the great things that she does and will continue to do for you. To have her as part of our lives we cant say thanks enough. You need to always tell her you love her and give her those big hugs and wonderful kisses (because she more than anyone deserves it)! She is the best and we need to keep treating her that way.

I could go on and on about how great this past year has been with you. You continue to love the same things like shoes, dancing, being crazy, running around, and most of all being happy. You also have learned to love many new things and I hope you never lose that ability. 

Again, I would like to thank you for being the best little boy in the whole world. I couldn't imagine my life without you. Your enthusiasm for life is contagious. You make me a better man and I thank you for that. You are a joy to be around. Your mother and I thank God every day for blessing us with you. I don't know what we did to deserve you but we got lucky! I can't tell you how much I love you because there is no word to describe it, I just hope through my actions that you understand how much I love you.

Happy birthday!

Love, Your Dad