Theodore: 1 year

Theodore is a year old now! 

remnants of the birthday cake adorn the birthday boy

He loves to:

flip light switches

play peekaboo

 put things in containers

eat cucumbers and tomatoes from the garden

swinging at the playground

eat blueberries straight off the bush 

get wagon rides from his big brothers

Some things he does now:

Goes up and down stairs with ease

Points at something interesting and says, "that"

Stands on his own for brief moments

Copies everything Lincoln does

He'es also adorable, but that's nothing new!

Growing!

I love Spring! I love the flowers, the promise of new life, little bitty plants in the garden--all of it! Here are some pictures from our spring this year.

Heading out to the garden!

Pointing out the watermelon seedlings :D

I promise he's not trying to look grown up! He's just proud of our green blueberries

Grandma Laura's roses are really something!

This gorgeous rose bush was cut down several times in the name of the hedge, but just kept coming back! This year is its most beautiful yet. We're going to find a way to keep it from getting chopped this year.

This bush has gotten so big! 

Cucumber

Zinnias--to attract pollinators! (don't worry, I'm going to thin them)

Carrots! (also going to be thinned)

Levi's trying to point out a developing pear.
We're finally going to get pears this year! (I planted the tree at least 4 years ago)

Can you smell this picture?!
Look closely for the photobomber.

Just precious.

He looks so worried!

Levi cleared out this area with just loppers and brute force!
Before, the area was impenetrable and you couldn't see the fence back there.

The thorns on these trees are vicious. It's called Callery pear and it's an invasive species.
These trees made up bulk of what Levi cleared out, along with a fair amount of privet.

This is similar to what the other area looked like before it was cleared out.

He likes to nibble on the clover

 I have to say, my garden is coming along nicely, but I love my crop of boys even better!

Dairy-free beef stroganoff

A couple months ago, I noticed that my newest baby had a  rash that wouldn't go away no matter how frequently I changed his diaper or put diaper rash cream on him. I had heard of that happening to babies with dairy intolerance, so I decided to try cutting dairy out of my diet. I did, and voila! no more rash. However, that meant that I couldn't go back to eating dairy. I've had to do some experimenting to get that creamy deliciousness back in a way that the whole family will enjoy. Here's one that was a success!

12-16 oz fettuccine or linguine noodles

1/2 head cabbage, chopped

*1 t Worcestershire sauce

*1 t vinegar

1/2 t sugar (optional)

salt, pepper, garlic powder to taste

*1 T mayonnaise

12 oz thin sliced beef steak (it should end up ~1" long, 1/2" wide, 1/8" or less thick. I cooked long, thin slices first and then cut them smaller. Beef can be chewy, so slice against the grain whenever possible to help with the texture)

*1-2 T oil

Cook pasta according to package directions; drain.

Meanwhile, cook beef steak in some of the oil. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and garlic. When finished, stir fry (aka cook on VERY high heat while stirring frequently) cabbage in drippings and remaining oil, seasoning with more salt, pepper, garlic, Worcestershire sauce, and vinegar. Stir fry the cabbage until the thicker pieces start to become translucent.

Combine cooked cabbage with pasta and mayonnaise; top with beef. Enjoy!

*I'm not certain of the quantities. Use enough oil that the cabbage doesn't burn. Use enough mayonnaise to coat the noodles, but no more.

"You'll miss this"

I've been thinking about that thing that people always tell young mothers: "When they get older, you'll miss when they were (babies, toddlers, etc)." or, "When they're teenagers, you'll miss this," meaning constant cries for mom, constant touching, questions out the wazoo, or any of the myriad of things little people do that drive us nuts.

I find that kind of unsolicited advice annoying. I think I do a fairly decent job of savoring the cute and fun things my kids do and say now, and I'm pretty sure that they'll like me just as much when they're older (as long as I keep the relationship strong). I love cuddling with my adorable, precious little baby, but when he's an energetic toddler running around on those adorably chubby little legs, a preschooler asking "why this" and "why that" and really thinking about my answers, a grade schooler learning about the world around him and becoming more independent, a teenager trying to figure out who he is in a complex and sometimes baffling world, or even a young adult leaving for college and trying out his wings, making mistakes as he learns how to live without mom and dad, I hope that I appreciate and love him just as much and more than I do now.

I think that we need to plan for the future and remember the past, but the best thing we can do for our kids in this regard is to focus on the present. They will remember that we like them as they are, not as they were or as they will be.

I also contend that this method is best for the parent. This way we are not constantly hoping for something we don't have, which is a surefire way to guarantee that we will be unhappy.

Joy

Recently, a friend said something that made me realize that she thinks that I am skilled at being joyful. I had never really thought about it like that before; I had just thought I was a naturally happy person. On further thought, though, I did realize that I do change my actions and thoughts to make my life happier and more joyful.

One thing that comes to mind is from when Levi was a baby. He was a very sad baby--I think he had reflux or something--and cried at the least provocation. He constantly was demanding my attention, and I had little time to do anything that wasn't with him. There was one point where when he napped, it was hardly ever more than 30 minutes at a time.

I was constantly frustrated with not being able to get things done. I was not experiencing very much joy; mostly I was experiencing a screaming child and not being able to do the things I wanted to do.

Finally, I took an honest look at my life. I knew I was frustrated, and I knew why. I finally said to myself, "Self, things are not going to change anytime soon. Self, what do you need to change about your expectations, and what do you need to change about your life to get the things done that you need to?"

My first change was my expectation about what I could get done during a 30-minute nap (not much). When I started expecting things that could realistically happen, I stopped being as frustrated about not being able to do the not-as-doable things that I expected to do before.

Another change was in my style of doing things. Previously, I did everything in big chunks. I set aside some time and "got 'er done!" After honestly looking at the time I had all at once, I knew that wasn't practical. I started teaching myself to do things piece by piece and to multitask. It has been a long process, let me tell you!

I saw immediate results. I didn't get as much done as I had before having a baby (surprise! haha), but I was able to get the things that needed to be done, done. The new way wasn't as efficient as the old way, but I was happier. Constant frustration was gone from my life (periodic frustration remained, of course), and nothing about my circumstances had changed.

Cecil: 10 months

Is Cecil really 10 months already??? It seems like it was just yesterday that he turned 9 months...

Welp, here are his latest and greatest!

• Only camel- and classic crawls. Does not army crawl any more. 
• Eats solid food 2-3 times a day (usually while I'm cooking or while the rest of the family is eating). He likes black beans, potatoes, and avocados, among others. He doesn't particularly like sweet potatoes.
• Stands for a second or two (this started today)!
• Puts everything in his mouth
• Still 24 lbs/24 month clothes
• Has SIX teeth! (and has since right before 9 months)
• Smiles easily
• Has climbed onto the fireplace and the steps
• Has fallen off of the fireplace and steps (he doesn't climb the steps anymore, yay!)
• Knows how to get around obstacles we put in his way
• Recognizes the phrases "are you hungry?" and "are you done?" He probably knows some others but I just haven't noticed them yet.
• Opens up cabinets and drawers to get to what's inside

Cecil is such an easygoing baby. He still always needs to burp after I feed him and will cry if I put him to bed without getting all the burps out. He doesn't complain about things that are bothering him unless they are REALLY bothering him. He likes riding in the stroller on walks and exploring the places we go. He likes to be around us more than he did before and will actively seek out company.

Cecil: 8 months

Today, Cecil started clapping! He just did it out of the blue--I didn't show him first. He did clap again after I clapped, though. Here are some other things that he's learned to do lately:

-army crawl. He started shortly after turning 7 months, and still does it now even though he knows how to do the more classic crawl
-classic crawl. This one started just before turning 8 months.
-camel crawl. He does this most when he's on a rough surface, like our deck or front walkway.
-eat some food. He doesn't do well with pureed food, but he does like the more solid things like cantaloupe, bananas, and those puffs they make just for babies.
-sits up from laying down or crawling with ease (he did this before he started crawling)
-wears size 24 mos clothes
-is not as chubby as he was
-has 2 teeth! (he's had them since around 7 months)
-he'll crawl to someone or something that he wants. This is perfect for melting a parent's heart and getting them to pick him up. He'll crawl over and just stare at the parent he wants to pick him up until we do so. He is irresistible!
-pulls up and will move along higher surfaces like the couch, fireplace, or steps.

Shortly after I took this picture, he had moved over to the baby enclosure we have close
by and was standing up even more than he is here.

Playing well together

Levi and Cecil get along pretty well. I think a big part of that is that Levi is a people person and really enjoys having other people around. I also think some things that I've done have helped.

Referring to Cecil as "your brother" to Levi has made a big difference. He likes the possessive, and in possession takes greater care.

Involving Cecil in play also makes a difference. Cecil can't really engage in Levi's play, but I'll tell Levi that Cecil is interested or make the toy I'm playing with react to things that Cecil does. Also, if I'm playing a game that could involve talking to another person, then I try to involve Cecil (e.g. the "Where's so-and-so game. "Cecil, do you know where Levi went??). I believe this teaches Levi that it's okay to play with Cecil and that he is a good playmate. 

Treating them both with love and respect in front of each other teaches them to also treat each other with love and respect. Acting like I value Levi's needs over Cecil's or vice versa makes them treat each other unequally as well. So much can be taught and learned by example.

They had so much fun playing this game.

Brother love

Levi does so many sweet things for Cecil.

The other day when I put Cecil down for a nap, I covered him--just his legs so he wouldn't get too hot--with a light blanket. Levi noticed and pulled the blanket up a little higher.

Today, Levi was running around and making a silly raspberry noise. Cecil thought it was pretty much the greatest thing ever, so when he got sad later on, Levi made the noise for him again. Cecil cheered right up!

Levi really likes making Cecil laugh. He will take over the games I'm playing with Cecil so that Cecil will play them with him.

Sometimes when we're driving around, I'll hear Cecil laugh. When I look in the rear-view mirror, Levi's there just looking at him. Cecil is pretty fond of his big brother, too!

Cecil: 6 months!

He is half a year old already!
 

We tried baby cereal today, and he seemed to really enjoy it. He's still getting the hang of eating from a spoon, but by the end he was opening his mouth for the food when I brought the spoon up to his mouth. He ate every last bit that I made for him!

Other things that Cecil does:

-He can roll over to his side, stomach, and back onto his back.
-He can move from a sitting position to lie on his stomach, and does so purposefully
-He laughs when Levi makes faces at him
-He recognizes tunes/songs. When he's fussy with a burp, all I have to do is bounce him and start singing "Did You Never See a Laddie?" and he calms right down. (watch the video!)
-He doesn't fall when sitting
-He makes consonant sounds. He's "said" mama, dada, gaga, and some other ones.
-He likes blowing raspberries (especially if he needs to burp!)
-He wears 12-18 month clothes
-He is 23 lbs already!

Cecil: 4.5 months

Cecil has been learning so many things lately! The biggest one is sitting. He can sit for minutes at a time without support. The only thing is, is that after a while he'll fall over. I try to lay him on his back before he gets to that point, though.

Levi sitting @ almost 5 months

One thing that I feel has helped him learn to sit so soon is sitting in this activity center. And he has really liked it! He has gotten really good at grabbing the different toys on the center and can put some of them in his mouth. Of course he also likes looking at them. After about a month and a half of using it, I think he's ready for new toys.

He has a strong grip and strong arms. He's recently started making it very difficult to feed him because he'll grab my shirt and pull him to me when he's hungry. Except his arms get in the way...

Cecil has also learned how to roll on to his stomach. After about a minute (or even a few seconds) of this, he starts to cry.

He now wears size 9-12 month clothes and weighed in at 20 lbs last time I weighed him! Here's a comparison pic of Levi wearing the same onesie at about 16-17 months (almost 1.5 years)

Cecil also laughs a lot and enjoys spending time with Levi.

Cecil got to meet his Nanner! How fun.

He also got to meet Great-Grandma Izzy and Great-Granddad JC.

And he's just plain adorable. Look at those sweet eyes!

Cecil's loves at 3 months

Cecil recently passed his 3-month mark. This is what he loves right now:

-cuddles
-watching his big brother
-interesting sounds
-listening to singing
-talking/conversation
-milk
-sucking on his hand or pacifier
-laying down to sleep (vs. being upright against momma or in any other way)

A fun day with Levi

Today Levi and I spent the better part of the afternoon and all of the evening until bedtime doing stuff together. We had a lot of fun!

A little after noon we went to the grocery store. Levi rode in the cart and gave commentary on the things in the store. He also held (at various times) the celery, the mushrooms, canned beans, and sesame oil. The sesame oil was especially fun because he pretended to pour it into the cans. He overheard a lady saying that she needed to get eggs, and he said, "Momma! We need to get eggs!" Coincidentally, we did need eggs :). The store--which doesn't play music--was graced by his enthusiastic singing. He even got a sticker! We also saw some friends from church. Levi noticed them first, and it was really fun for him to see another kid that he knew at the store.

Cecil slept the whole time (whew!)

After we came home and were putting away the groceries, Levi noticed the blender in one of the cabinets. He got really excited about it and got it out--he never really seemed that excited about it before--and put it on the counter. He asked me to make something in it, so after I finished feeding Cecil (who had woken up and was hungry), I tried out a new hummus recipe that Becky posted on Facebook, and I like it better than the kind I had made before. Levi really liked it, too! He was very interested in the process of making it, as he always is when I cook or otherwise prepare food.

After that, Cecil needed my attention. I try to keep his bouncer close by so he can watch what we're doing and not be bored, so he was close by. He was hungry and tired, so after I fed him and got him to go to sleep, Levi "played on my legs" as he calls it. Basically I gave him leg-horsey rides. I laid on my back with my legs up and bent, he sat on my feet, and I bounced him up and down or back and forth. This game evolved into a tickling game. We had a lot of fun!

When I got tired, I suggested we play Uno, and Levi enthusiastically agreed. The particular flavor of Uno that we played went like this: the cards were dealt, then we took turns matching the color. When we both ran out of the color, we picked the next color at will and continued until neither of us had any cards left. Levi really liked the wild cards and would hold them up, look at them while saying, "I like....green!" and then play a green card. He didn't play the wild; he was saving it for the next color change. At the end of one game he had two wild cards next to him. It was very cute.

Every time we finished a game, Levi said, "Let's play again!" We played at least 15 games.

I dealt for the first 10 or so games, then one time Levi grabbed the cards before I could and--also enthusiastically--dealt out the cards, more or less evenly. Every time we finished a game after that, Levi dealt the cards. Finally I was ready for a change of pace and I told him that the next game was the last one. Levi's really good about believing me when I say things like that, so after we finished that one, he didn't deal out cards for another game.

As soon as we finished Uno, Levi said, "Let's play my game!" which meant putting together the 100-piece floor puzzle that Nathan got him for Christmas. Cecil was ready for undivided attention again, though, so we had a short break while I fed him. Levi got out the puzzle and spread it out on the floor while he was waiting. Finally, I was ready. This was probably the third or fourth time Levi had worked on the puzzle (with help, of course),  and he participated much more this time than in the past! He did really well matching up pieces together, and put some together all by himself! Most of them, I'd tell him where to put them and then he'd put the piece where it went. I noticed that he no longer tries to match up pieces that obviously won't fit together (like two ins), but makes sure he aligns the new piece so that it might fit. He still doesn't really get that the picture is supposed to continue from piece to piece, but that'll come later. Levi ended up putting in most of the pieces. One piece was missing, but we found it near where he was spreading them on the floor and put it in at the end.

After all that, I still had energy to do more stuff with him, so I got out a can of pumpkin puree that I'd been meaning to use, and we made some pumpkin muffins. He licked the spoon and the bowl after we put the batter in the oven, at his own request. It went something like this:

Me: We're going to put the batter in this muffin tin.
Levi: And then, I can lick it!
Me (smiling to myself at his enthusiasm): Yes, you can!

Levi really enjoyed putting the ingredients in the bowl after I measured them out. He also liked "cutting" the batter--basically moving the mixing spoon up and down in the batter. We had the muffins with some leftover frosting, and they were SO GOOD. I like food. Yum! :)

That was pretty much my day from 12:00 pm 'til 7:30 pm. I'm really enjoying my growing, learning boy!

Levi: the best big brother!

Levi is a pretty stellar big brother. He really enjoys having Cecil around, talking to Cecil, and even helping Cecil calm down (which, incidentally, he's pretty good at!).

Holding Cecil, only a few weeks old

Today Levi helped Cecil fist-bump him. Yesterday, Cecil started getting fussy while I was making dinner, and Levi ran over to him and just looked at him. Cecil calmed down almost immediately at the sight of his big brother. Little things like this happen all the time. Also, every time I put Cecil on a blanket for tummy time, Levi gets all excited and lays down there right next to him.

Enjoying tummy time & keeping his little brother company

Levi said, "Hi Cecil. I am a lobster." Cuuuuuute!

Levi really likes talking about his little brother and hearing about being a big brother. When either Austin or I read a story about brothers, Levi loves having his and Cecil's names put in place of the characters in the book.

A picture of either one is great, but when they're together, the picture is even better!

The only time Levi really seemed frustrated at having Cecil around was after we came home from a grocery trip. Both Levi and Cecil were hungry and competing for my attention, which I couldn't give them immediately because I needed to put away the frozen and refrigerated groceries first. By the time I finished, Cecil was crying in full earnest, and I rushed over to him so that I could help him. Levi rushed over, too, and right as I was getting there, Levi flipped down the carseat canopy over Cecil so I couldn't see him (pretty extreme, I know).

My first impulse was to say, "No, Levi, can't you tell that Cecil needs me?" but then I realized Levi needed some validation and to feel like he had some control over the situation, so I said, "What? Where's Cecil??" in my best I-can't-find-him-and-I'm-worried voice. We were both right next to Cecil's covered carrier. Levi smiled. Then I said, "Wow, I can hear him crying, I think he really needs me, but I can't see him anywhere!" Levi flipped up the cover, then immediately flipped it down again. I was able to get in an "Oh, THERE he --" before the cover came down, and then followed that up with, "Man, I wonder where Cecil could be? I just saw him!" Levi laughed and flipped up the cover again, leaving it up this time.

And so far, that's been the only acting out Levi's had towards Cecil!

One thing that has changed about Levi's behavior towards me is that he wants to be cuddled more (score!) and he'll pretend to be a baby. He even makes baby noises like Cecil does - not the easy-to-make ones that grown-ups use, but real noises sounding pretty similar to the grunts and squeaks that a small baby makes.

My babies, haha.

Levi didn't like the flash

I'm really happy that Levi likes Cecil so much, and I think Cecil's a pretty lucky kid to have a brother like Levi.