Christmas pictures and Heidi at 5 months

Yesterday we took the boys and Heidi to have their picture taken with their cousins.  There are two new additions since the last time they all had a group picture taken: Madeline and Heidi.  Thankfully the experience went well and some great pictures were made.

Oldest to youngest

Heidi at 5 months

Heidi is rolling back and forth and scooting all over the place.

She started eating baby food and eats it for two meals now.  She drinks either 6 or 7 ounces per feeding depending on whether she also eats food.  If she is eating baby food, her bottle must be ready for her to drink immediately when she's finished or she gets very unhappy.  She's very impatient!  Just like her Momma.

She loves to talk and loves her toes.

She doesn't like to be hot or too cold.

She is a thumb sucker now; she has officially given up the paci (and I gave up trying to stop her from sucking her thumb).  However, she only sucks it when she's really tired.  She screams when she's really hungry.

She loves her De De (Daddy) and her brothers.

Sometimes her Daddy can still wake her from a sound sleep just with the sound of his voice.

We think she weighs between 15 and 16 pounds and she just moved up to a size 2 diaper.  She wears size 6 months clothes.

Presence not presents

For some reason, this year I find myself struggling quite a bit with the materialism that has come along with Christmas for my family.  I am not excluding myself from this.  Growing up, I always looked forward to making my Christmas list and hoping with so much anticipation to receive all of the things on my list.  I have found myself wanting to do the same thing with our children.  I have wanted since they were little to get everything that they asked for.  Now, as my boys are eight and ten years old, I am starting to seriously question the materialism I have placed on Christmas.  I don't think they are too old to change this.  I think a change can be made, but I am not exactly sure of the best way to go about doing it.  What spurred this whole in depth thought process is our boys' recent behaviors.  They are good boys at heart, but it seems like this time every year they start acting up.  And threatening to take away their Christmas gifts doesn't seem to make a difference.  So, I wonder, should we scale our Christmas way down?  What should we change about how we give gifts or how many gifts we give?  I did a little Google research and these are some interesting thoughts that I think are worth some serious consideration:

1. I won't encourage my children to ask for anything for gifts.  I won't encourage them to make a list.  Instead, I will watch them and ask myself - What are their interests?  What are they passionate about?

2. I'll work diligently to create positive memories with my children that aren't associated with consumer products.

3. I will reinforce the power of giving over receiving.

Another article I read stated that there is a link between materialism and self-esteem.  Children between the ages of 8 and 13 with lower self-esteem  place more value on material things.  To think that my child has low self-esteem is discouraging and makes me think maybe I should be doing something differently.  Like the article said, maybe I should reinforce the fact that they are worthy individuals both during their successes and failures. 

The final article mentioned the idea of giving time, not stuff.  This idea just occurred to me last night.  I would like to find some activity that we can do with our children every Christmas season that they will enjoy, look forward to and remember when they are grown.  Looking back on Christmases past, I don't remember all of the gifts I received, but I do remember the time I spent with my grandmother decorating Christmas ornaments, the times my parents or god parents and I went to look at Christmas lights and listening to Christmas music with my parents on Christmas night after all the presents had been opened.  I want my children to have these kind of memories.  And these memories have nothing to do with what material presents I was given.

Another piece of this that I don't know exactly how to address is grandparent's gift giving.  I really appreciate all of my children's grandparent's willingness to give their grandchildren what they want.  But, this year, I really want it to be scaled back and for my children to understand that it's ok and normal for them to be ok with only receiving a little bit.  They already have so much more than some children do, all year long. 

The last thing I would like to do this holiday season is to find a volunteer opportunity that will really put into perspective for my children how fortunate they are.

Having another child has made me want to make it different for her.  I don't want her to grow up expecting as much as her brothers do.  There is no one more to blame than their father and me; we have enabled their expectations, and now it is our job to change it.

a place to be

C and I sold our first home at the end of October.  We moved out almost two weeks ago.  The whole process of selling and trying to buy another house has been one for the text book on everything that could possibly go wrong in the processes.  We intended to have our house on the market before Heidi was born.  Unfortunately, that didn't happen.  Our home was listed toward the end of July and we had our first contract on it shortly after that.  So, we started looking quickly for a house to go to.  We found one we thought we loved, and put a contract on it.  Then our contract fell through and we were back at square one.  We got another contract a couple of weeks later, and we found another house that we thought we wanted to buy.  We put a contract on it and then after the inspection decided not to buy it.  Thankfully, the contract on our home held up and we closed on the sale at the end of October.  In the meantime, while we continue to search for another place to call home, we are living in an apartment.  C and I haven't lived in apartment for over eleven years.  It has truly taken some getting used to.  The boys seem to like it, so that's good.  Heidi is happy anywhere, and she probably won't even remember this time in her life.  I've had some really mixed emotions these past several weeks.  I am excited that we were able to sell our home.  I know that we need more space for our family now that it has outgrown the space we had.  I am nervous that we won't find the right place for us, but I also know that it will eventually come along.  I am sad because I miss our house and the home that we made it.  It was nothing on the day we sold it like it was on the day we bought it over eleven years ago.  It has so many memories.  All of my children spent their first night at home in that house.  My boys spent all of their Christmases so far at that house.  We had so many birthday parties and other parties there.  We put our touches on every room in the house.  All but one of the rooms had been painted a different color than it was when we built the house, and a few rooms had been several different colors over the years.  Only one room still had its original flooring.  We spent a lot of time and energy making that house our home.  Before we moved into the apartment we're staying in for now, we stayed with my parents for a week.  During that time I had a conversation with Isaac when he was talking about not feeling like he has a place to be.  I felt the same way, but didn't really know it until that moment.  Isaac probably feels better now that he has his own room again.  But, for me, I don't feel normal.  We have a place to lay our head at night and a place to put our things and I am thankful for that.  But, it is still not home.  I still don't feel like we have a place to be.

alex turns eight

My baby boy turned eight years old on November 10th.  To celebrate Alex's birthday this year, we took him and Isaac to see the new Thor movie.  We all really enjoyed it; it was a great movie.  After the movie we met my parents and Heidi and C's Aunt and Uncle at Red Robin for lunch.  After lunch Alex went with C's Aunt and Uncle to pick out his birthday present at Target and then we all met back at my parent's house for cake.  The festivities for Alex's birthday were limited last weekend because we were moving for the second time in two weeks.  We were planning to have a party this weekend to celebrate with more family and a few of the boys' friends, but Alex didn't make the best choices this week at school, so his party has been cancelled for this year.

Here are eight things about Alex at this age:

1. He's very smart and is very capable when he wants to be.

2. He loves his baby sister a lot and can make her smile big and laugh at him.

3. He is very strong-willed and can really be a challenge.

4. He learned to ride his bike without training wheels this year.

5. He learned to tie his shoes this year (finally) :) .

6. Right now he is reading at the level he is supposed to be able to read at by the end of the school year.

7. He loves his brother but likes to pick on and fight with him a lot too.

8.  He wears a size 8 shirt, size 7 pants and size 13 shoe.

october fun

This weekend, we started our Halloween celebrations.  On Saturday, I took the boys trunk or treating.  Heidi came along too, but she didn't get any candy this year.  Before we could go trunk or treating though, we had to work through Alex's costume drama.  The boys' and Heidi's grammy and grampy took the boys to get their Halloween costumes last week while my mother and I were at the Michael Buble concert.  Well, Alex picked out a really cool costume, I thought.  But on Saturday when we were getting ready to go trunk or treating, he decided that he didn't want to wear that costume.  He said that he had felt rushed and that was not really the costume he wanted.  So, after getting the receipt for the costume, we took it back and exchanged it for a ninja costume.  Finally he was happy.  Well, until later that night.  Then he decided that he had really wanted to be an army man.  By this time I was annoyed and told him he'll just have to wait and be an army man next year.  So, on Sunday, he didn't want to go trunk or treating.  I don't know if it's because he didn't like his costume again or because he wanted to spend time with his daddy.  C was moving more furniture out of our house so we'll be all moved out by this weekend, and Alex decided that he wanted to do that with him while I took Heidi and Isaac trunk or treating.  This time Heidi didn't dress up.  Her costume is big on her and I didn't think she would handle wearing it for a long length of time.  It's supposed to rain here Thursday, but I'm hoping it doesn't so I can take the boys and Heidi trick or treating.

Alex's first costume that we exchanged for the ninja costume

Heidi dressed like a butterfly

sleepy butterfly

now he's a happy ninja

This weekend we also started Heidi on baby food.  So far she has tried oatmeal and peas.  She seems to have liked the peas better so far.  Next up will be green beans and then we'll move on to yellow vegetables and fruits.

Here are some other random pictures that have been taken in October.

4 month doctor's visit

Heidi won't actually be four months old until November 1st, but her four month checkup and shots were yesterday.  She was a very happy baby until she got those stinking shots.  Man, did she get mad!  And cried real tears too. :(

Heidi weighs exactly 13 pounds and she measured 24 inches tall.  She is growing great and we got the go ahead from her pediatrician to start her on baby food.  Her first taste will be oatmeal single grain cereal.  I also bought some peas and green beans to try too.  I know better than to start her with fruits because then she won't want to try her veggies.  Her pediatrician also gave us his approval for her to have her ears pierced.  He and I had a good conversation regarding both sides of the subject: doing it now or waiting until she asks for them to be pierced.  Although I understand both perspectives, I'm still leaning towards doing it sooner rather than later.

Just for the sake of comparison - her brothers' stats at 4 months:

Isaac: 16 pounds 2 oz  25 1/2 inches
Alex:  14 pounds 6 oz  24 1/2 inches

sleeping at the doctor's office - waiting to see Dr. Brad

still feeling ok after her shots - until later.  Then she started feeling yucky.

Happy Baby

Alex loves his baby sister!!

Watching Baby Einstein on You Tube since all of the Baby Einstein dvds are packed up (will we ever move?!)

pretty hat



3 months

Now that Heidi is closer to four months than three months, I'll document her three month milestone. 

Heidi now likes to roll over all the time and gets mad when she can't roll back over from her tummy to her back.

Thanks to her Daddy, she has learned how to spit when she gets mad.

She sleeps through the night and usually sleeps about nine to ten hours a night.  She has also recently started liking to sleep on her tummy.

She drinks six ounces every four hours usually five times a day.

I am not sure how much she weighs, but my guess is 12 or 13 pounds.

Isaac - 3 months

Alex - 3 months

my lovelies

I am so thankful that my boys love their sister.  It makes for some really sweet photo opportunities!

miss personality

Heidi turned three months old on October 1st. She has grown so much and has developed such a big personality.  I learned with my first two children not to wish away the time, because it passes so much more quickly than we realize.  Heidi is doing great in daycare, and her teachers love her.  It is so comforting to leave her every day with teachers I know are taking care of her and love doing it.  Things have changed since Isaac and Alex were in daycare.  Heidi's teacher will send me text messages during the day with comments about how Heidi is doing, and sometimes she'll even send pictures.  I love it!  On the day Heidi turned three months old, her teacher sent me a text to tell me that Heidi rolled over for the first time that day.  Heidi has made some other transitions recently too.  She is now drinking six ounces five times a day.  She continues to be a great sleeper.  Her typical routine is bottles at 6:00 or 7:00 am, 10:00 am, 2:00 pm, 6:00 pm and 9:00 or 10:00 pm.  I started swaddling her in a swaddle blanket with her arms out, and she sleeps all night without so much as a whimper.  It's great!  Before that, she would startle herself some mornings and wake up around 3:00 and then have to have her paci to go back to sleep.  So, using the swaddle blanket has helped alot for a good full night's sleep.  Sometimes Heidi resorts to sucking her thumb when she is ready to go to sleep, so we have been battling that with giving her her paci as soon as we see her sucking her thumb (or fingers).  I am not sure how much Heidi weighs or how long she is right now, but we will find out when she goes back for her four month check up at the end of the month.  I look forward to finding out her pediatrician's thoughts on baby food and ear piercing.  I hope to get the go ahead to start Heidi on cereal and baby food.  Also, I want to know her Dr.'s thoughts on infant ear piercing and the best place and way to go about doing it, if he thinks it's ok.

"If you take my picture one more time..."



Always such a happy baby!



I was trying to take a sweet picture, and this was the face she gave me!



She was smiling at Isaac here

So happy just a swinging



Snoozing good in her swaddle blanket



Couldn't find the paci, so she made her fingers work



I guess her paci just didn't cut it this time



And here are just some random pictures I posted to Instagram

falling asleep mid drawing

I'm thinking Isaac's room must have been too cold

Alex's 2nd lost tooth in a short time.  He is officially a jack-o-lantern, just in time for Halloween!

My cutie cheering on the Chicago Bears!