Reminiscing

I was just looking through some pictures of the kiddos and thought I'd share.  The first two are of Hayden and Tenley both at 8 months old.  I think they look more alike than I realized!  

 




These two are of both of them at Hayden's current age - 10 months.  You can see the beautiful little chunk my Tenley girl is (this was her thinning way out), and then how thin Hayden is!  I think people are crazy when they mention anything about him being chubby, and you can see why.

                           
                                    

Looking through all these old pictures of Tenley, some of them make me wish I could go back to that moment just to hold her at that age and during that activity again.  It reminds me to work at not taking any moment for granted with Hayden (or Tenley!), because they are both growing up so fast.  I needed the reminder to forget about putting them in the perfect cute outfit or the cutest shoes, sweater vest, hairdo, or bow.  Who cares how they compare to other people's kids?  And I'm not just talking about clothes here!  I'm sick of the comparison wars that moms all over the world silently struggle with.  Let's fully enjoy our babies now.  They are perfect gifts from the Lord.  Let's treasure every moment possible up in our hearts, because the moments are gone all too soon.

Halloween 2012

This Halloween, Hayden was a whoopie cushion.  It was a very appropriate costume for him!  He can be really gassy.  And Tenley loves to say "fart."  Awesome.  This costume was a hand-me-down homemade costume from Aunt Jessica Wade.  Thank you!!!  We get lots of great boy clothes from her.

Tenley was Foofa from Yo-Gabba-Gabba.  She's never seen the show.  I can't stand it.  We watch Veggietales because it is my favorite too.  Anyway, my mom, the deal hunter, found this costume for $1.  It is super cute, too!  She enjoyed dressing up, but most of all, loved getting candy.  The only thing she got to eat was a fun size package of M&Ms.  I don't think she even cared about eating it - she just loved the idea!  I'm sure I will not be so lucky next year.  Instead of going trick-or-treating, we just went to see both of my sisters.  Barb was at home, so we got to see a lot of kids dressed up around their neighborhood.  Sheri was at work, so we walked around Barnes and Noble all decked out.  

Hayden's favorite part was playing in the dirt.

Hayden 10 months

                              

10 months: 29", 19.5lbs

Hayden is sleeping about 11 hours at night, wakes to eat, and then goes right back down to sleep a couple more hours usually.  His favorite time to sleep is 7pm-7am and then stay awake.  I'm trying to move him to an 8-8 schedule (or ideally 8:30-8:30), but it seems like no matter what time he goes to sleep, he wakes up at 7am.  That's not terrible, but for now I'd rather keep him up a little later, feed him at 7, and have him take a short nap to finish out the night.  He naps twice a day, for about an hour and a half each nap.

This month, Hayden got 2 more teeth - his top front teeth.  We tried baby cereal again, which he still didn't like.  So we tried carrots a couple days before he turned 10 months, and he loved them!  He still does the tongue-thrust thing, but I can tell it's a reflex rather than a dislike.  He tried peas too, which he sort of likes.  He also tried puffs, which he usually just plays with in his mouth and spits back out.  For now we are only doing solid foods once a day, about 5 days a week, and at a different time than when he normally eats.  It's really not for nutrition at all at this point - just for developing skills and having fun.  One thing I hadn't thought about in regards to eating was Hayden's love of throwing everything.  He will throw anything he can get his hands on...including carrots, spoons, cups, and puffs.  Oh boy.  He is going to be one messy eater.  We'll slowly work on correcting this during meal times.

yummy carrots

                                   

awesome eyelashes

Hayden is not crawling yet.  Kind of like with standing, it just seems like he doesn't care to.  Eventually he decided to stand, and it may just be the same way with learning to crawl.  For now, during tummy time, he will push up and look around for awhile, but then just lay down.  I joke that it's just because his poor little head is so big.  He's a little less than 50th percentile in both height and weight, but his head is in the 90th.  I love my ole mr. big head.  For now, if a toy he wants is out of reach, he will fold himself in half, flat on the ground and reach to get it, then pull himself back up.  This kid has great flexibility and is working on those core muscles, but he is just content to sit and lay!

He loves to try to join in our conversations, but isn't saying any real words yet.  "Dadadada" and random babbling are his favorites right now.  He is starting to mimic our hand movements, like clapping and waving.  It is really cute.  

Big Bed for my Little Girl

At 2 years and 1 day old, Tenley got her first big girl bed!  We moved the crib out and brought in a twin bed, covered in Dora and pink.  She loves it.  Night time has been a very easy transition for her.  We are on a successful 3-night run.  It has only been two nap times though, and one of those was a Sunday, when she naps at Grandma and Grandpa Roehr's house.  So she's only had one nap time in the big girl bed and it was ROUGH.  She did not sleep at all, but had to stay in there for 2 hours.  That is always our rule.  I tried many things to get her to stay in bed, but I bet I had to put her back 25 times.  By the end, I was able to get her to stay in bed for the last 30 minutes and praised her when I came to get her.  I think it might take a few days to get used to, but I know she can do it.  I expected naps to be more difficult.  It is not as dark in her room and she is not quite as tired, even though she definitely still needs the nap.  She is used to a 3 hour nap!  Anyway, it's just another fun part of growing up.  I just LOVE this girl!!!!!

Tenley is TWO!!

Tenley Grace is two years old!  So far, "twos" aren't terrible at all.  Our most difficult time was probably around 18 months when we had to spend more time figuring out discipline and obedience.  Of course she has her moments of testing boundaries or just getting crazy tired, but overall, she is very obedient and teachable.  She is such a joy.  She is a great helper and loves to learn and do whatever I am doing.   She has a great personality, full of laughter and kindness.  She is so friendly and outgoing and has so much love for life.  Even though I try to teach her, I have a lot to learn from her too.



God blessed me with a sleeper.  He knew I needed it; I am a sleeper too.  Tenley still sleeps at least 12 hours each night (8pm-8am).  If she's exceptionally worn out, she can easily sleep 14.  She also takes one nap each day that is about 3 hours long (2-5pm).

She is saying 2-word phrases now.  Some of her favorites are Papa's house, all done, socks shoes, and Bubba's seat.  She talks all day in her own little language, though.  She understands just about everything I say to her and she loves to learn new words.  Some of her favorites to ask about are body parts.  Of course,  she has a brother, and they bathe together.  Awesome.  I am still claiming that I can avoid those questions.  I'd rather not teach her words that I don't want her to repeat all day!

I am not hard core potty training and don't have a plan to for now.  She has a potty sticker chart.  She has come to me a couple times asking to go and has success.  She tells me every time after she poops, but never before.  She even sometimes tells me after she pees, but not often.  I ask her every day a few times if she wants to go, and usually even if she wants to sit, she doesn't go.  We're moving slowly in the right direction and surprisingly, I'm totally okay with that.

homemade "paint" in ziploc bag, taped to table

she loves water play!

learning time - eating apples, "A" apple coloring page, using red crayon

We had 2 birthday parties for Tenley.  One was a combined birthday party for all 6 of the September and October Roehr family birthdays.  The other was for the Helm side.  Both were a lot of fun!

Tenley loves her new car

Helm party was "You Are My Sunshine" + rainbow theme

Hayden 7, 8, 9 months

Whoops, I am behind on blog posts.  So here I'm going to quickly catch up on Hayden.  He's 9 months old now!  Wow!  Time flies.  He's such a joy.  Hayden is such a happy baby.  He is so content.  He is so patient with Tenley (her intentions are good, she's just a little rough sometimes!) and he just thinks she is hilarious.  

Sleeping:
For months 7-9, his night time sleeping habits haven't changed.  He normally sleeps 10 hours at night (8-6), wakes to nurse at 6, and then sleeps from 6-8am.  I know, I know, he should be sleeping the full 12 hours by now.  Sometimes he does, so I know he can.  Tenley did this for awhile too and just naturally transitioned herself to 12 hours.  I'm just waiting on him to do that too, but if it lasts another couple months, I will get more structured with it.  I don't mind much for now.

Eating:
He is still only nursing; no solid foods.  I tried cereal with him at 8 months and he hated it.  I'm fine with that.  I really just wanted to give him the option, but since he doesn't care for it, I'd rather wait anyway.  For the last 3 months and up to now, he is still eating every 3 hours during the day (8, 11, 2, 5, 8).  Occasionally I will add in a feeding at 7 if he is staying up a little later or needs a little help staying up until bedtime, but that doesn't happen often.

Naps:
At 7 months he was napping 3-4 times a day for 1-2 hours.  At 8 months he took 3 naps, about 2 hours each.  And now at 9 months he is down to 2 naps: 1 in the morning for 1 hour, and 1 in the afternoon for 3 hours.  Occasionally he will break up the afternoon nap into 2 shorter naps, but not often.  I am all for Babywise, but I am definitely one of the less strict Moms.  I love flexibility.  I do Babywise for the sake and sanity of both us and our kiddos, and for us that includes lots of sleep and a general schedule, but also a good amount of flexibility when needed.

Development:
During the last 3 months, Hayden has mastered rolling from belly to back, rolling back to belly, sitting up without support, and putting weight on his legs to stand while being held.  The last one was not even a milestone I paid attention to for Tenley because she always did that.  I think most babies do.  But Hayden never cared to until almost 9 months old.  He kicks more than Tenley ever did, and obviously has had the strength but just didn't care to stand.  He still doesn't do it unless he has a good reason, like to play with a toy that is at a level he has to stand for.  He does not say any real words, but babbles with sounds like ma, da, and ba, and of course fun screams, random babbles, and laughing.  He also got his 1st two teeth at 8 months old - the two front bottom teeth.  That's still all he has.

1st tooth

Other:
Hayden has been going through some separation anxiety for probably a couple months.  He is in the nursery every Sunday morning, and that is usually with the same ladies, but he cries every week.  I can tell because his face gets ALL blotchy very quickly when he cries.  It makes me sad, but I know it is good for him and us.  He also goes to the play center at the Life Center a few times each month while I am teaching Truth Talk classes.  If we are there for a few days in a row, it seems he remembers the girl in charge and is fine by the end of the week.  But if we haven't been there in awhile, he cries again.
One fun thing is that Hayden loves to throw EVERYTHING.  He has a good arm for a baby!!  It's really cute to watch him.  It's like he tries to throw his toys as far across the room as he can.  And he does it over and over and over....

7 months: 27 3/4", 18lbs
8 months: 27 3/4", 19lbs
9 months: 28 1/2", 19.5lbs

My Recent Food Journey

For awhile now I have known that "whole" or "real" foods are better for us to eat than other stuff.  Organic has always been a topic of light controversy in my different circles, with some believing strongly for or against it, and others landing somewhere in the middle.  I have my own opinions, but hadn't put forth too much effort in researching it because, frankly, we don't have a lot of money to spend on switching to organic.  

To make a long story short, after recently digging a little deeper, I'm leaning towards the organic side when it comes to meat.  I'm not red hot about it, but it's shaken me enough to want to change about 90% of my meat consumption.  Since a salary increase didn't accompany this new mindset of mine, I decided to cut out meat almost completely from my diet.  This is a HUGE change for me.  As a family, we eat meat every day - at least once.  Plus, I know from past experience that I don't do well with depriving myself.  It always backfires.  I can't go around making myself hungry or else I'll just eat the next whole super size bag of double chocolate gooey candy I find, and then stuff myself with cheetos.  My challenge here was (and sometimes still is) difficult: cut out almost all meat for myself, continue feeding enough meat to my very carnivorous husband, stay full, and don't fill the meat-void with sugar.  

Well, it's been a few weeks now and I can say it has worked and it's so much easier than I thought!  With pinterest and a little creativity, I have come up with ways to modify meals without making 2 separate meals every single night, and I don't even miss the meat one bit - honest.  Plus, taking the meat out has forced me to put more healthy things in.  I am enjoying fresh veggies more now than I ever had.  I just had to learn to make them so that they taste good, rather than force them down as some yucky and bland side dish.  I do eat meat usually once or twice a week, but much less at those times than I had before.  (Hey, free chick-fil-a on Monday nights is close to impossible to give up!)

As an added bonus that I hadn't anticipated, this change helped jumpstart my baby-weight loss that I felt I had been stuck on for so long.  I attribute this to a combination of things: taking out a lot of fatty meat, adding in more veggies, keeping an eye on my hidden sugar intake (pastas, dressings, etc), and filling up with protein - which I can now say really does fill you up quicker and keep you full longer.

Here are a few pictures of some of my new favorite meals.  We have even had a few nights totally meatless that Stephen has enjoyed!

Spaghetti with veggie sauce for me, meat sauce for Stephen

Meatless taco filling

Black Bean burrito

Fresh veggie pizza

Quinoa black bean burgers

Plain Greek yogurt with added fruit - not a meal, but a great sweet, high protein snack

Quinoa kale mini-quiches

Brown County July 2012

The Helm family has had a tradition for a long time of going to Brown County State Park together and staying in the family cabins.  This year almost everyone was able to come, and we had a great time.  Heidi and her family were the only ones not there, and we missed them.  Hopefully we will all be together next year, and maybe on the beach!  

If I'm being really honest, leading up to this week I was excited, but part of me was also dreading it.  As the time came closer to leave, though, I felt like I needed a vacation from normalcy ASAP, so I was ready to go.  I was nervous about almost a whole week with 20 people in 2 cabins getting less than adequate sleep and going almost nonstop during the day, but it actually turned out great!  The first night was a little rough, with Tenley being awake and up from 2-7am, but once she got comfortable in her new surroundings, she slept her normal 12 hours for the remaining 3 nights.  Woohoo!  

I really enjoyed spending time with our great family the whole time.  I am so thankful to have in-laws who accept me without question and unconditionally love me as a sister/daughter of their own.  They are some of my greatest friends and allies - all of them.  Praise the Lord for this incredible support system He has blessed us with.  

This week we hiked, swam, rode horses/ponies, shopped/walked the shops in Nashville, read, talked, cooked, ate, and played games together.  We were wiped out by the end, but it was worth it.  Below are 2 videos of what I believe were Tenley's favorite highlights of the week: riding a pony and going on the big slide!  She had so much fun!

Hayden 6 months

My baby boy is getting big so fast!  Hayden had his 6 month check up today.  It was a little late because of vacation and other scheduling issues, so he is really 6 1/2 months old.  The measurements in the picture above were taken at home the day before he turned 6 months.  He has grown an inch since then, in only 2.5 weeks!  Today he measured 27.5" (77th percentile), 17lbs 12oz (44th), and head circumference of 44.5cm.  This boy is tall!  He is as healthy and happy as ever.  Hayden is not eating any solid foods yet - still nursing exclusively.  Since that is proving to be nourishing and growing him quite well, we will continue with only nursing for at least a couple months more.  Babies get all the nutrition they need from momma's milk through their first year.  I'm not sure if we will wait that long until giving him solid foods, but that is for sure an option. We'll just play it by ear considering what I feel like doing, what Hayden seems to desire, and how his growth progresses.

Hayden is rolling over from back to belly and belly to back, but isn't sitting up yet.  Tenley was sitting up by now, but the doctor said Hayden is still in the normal range of things and we shouldn't be worried about it unless he is still not sitting or having the reflexes that come before sitting (putting your arms out to catch yourself in front and on side) by 8 months or so.  Another thing I asked about was Hayden not wanting to use his legs to support his weight when we stand him up.  He kicks like crazy, and the doctor saw that full well.  He agreed that it may just be that Hayden doesn't really care to stand right now, and it is nothing to worry about because his legs seem to work perfectly fine and his muscles seem good and strong and everything else seems perfectly healthy.

I am not worried about him at all, and right now I am just thanking God every day for keeping my baby boy in this baby stage for as long as possible.  It is so hard to let go of each stage, even though I know I will enjoy the next stages just as much.  Being able to cuddle on Hayden without him running (or crawling, scooting, etc) away fends off baby fever and for that I am thankful.  :)  I think 6 months is one of my absolute favorite ages so far.  They adore Mom and Dad, smile and sleep a lot, learn new things every day, and don't rebel much yet.

Just to compare, at 6 1/2 months Tenley was 25 3/4" (almost 2" shorter) and about 19lbs (almost 1.5lbs more).  Haha!  I don't compare to say that they should be the same, but it is just fun to see how each baby is different in their own little ways.  They are both perfect in this mommy's eyes.

Summer Fun; Potty Training (take 2)

When summer weather comes, we love to spend time outside as a family having fun.  So far this "summer" (even though it's not technically summer yet), we have been to the zoo many times, taken lots of walks, had picnics in our yard, played with sidewalk chalk and toys and books in the backyard, gone swimming a few times, and played in the Boonville splash park. 

Tenley and Hayden both love to be outside.  Tenley is always saying "go, "shoes," "bye-bye," and "stroller" to try to get me to take her outside.  Hayden is also learning to love the outdoors; his favorite things outside are taking walks and laying under a tree with us on a blanket.

swimming together

fun dunking daddy

Tenley and Navy - splash park with cousins

Hayden joining in the fun at the splash park

picnic under our tree

Wesselman's woods with cousin Annie

backyard fun at home

Tenley like to push Hayden in the stroller

Tenley and friend Satori at the zoo

Another thing we tried this week was potty training Tenley.  We tried around 17.5 months and she just wasn't ready physically, but she thought it was fun.  She is 20.5 months now, and we have learned after the last 2 days that she is now physically ready, but just doesn't want to do it.  Hopefully third time will be a charm (whenever that may be), and she will be BOTH mentally and physically ready!  I'm glad we tried, though, and it just helps me know what to watch out for later.  It's a learning process for all of us.  Here is how the day and a half went:
Day 1
9:15 wake
10:30 pee on floor
1:30 start to pee on stool, carry to potty still peeing, finish on potty
2 nap
5:30 wake, dry!, pee on potty
6:15 poop on floor, carry to potty, finish on potty
7:45 pee on floor
8:30 bed

Day 2
8:30 wake
10:30 pee on floor, slip, smack head hard on the floor
Diaper back on!!

My strategy was no diaper or underwear - she was naked from the waist down.  I treated it as something she needed to learn, not something she was doing wrong on purpose.  So I would say "uh-oh" and explain it to her, rather than say "no" and act disappointed or frustrated.  This was harder for Stephen, so I've also learned that it may be better to start on a day he is working next time.  :)  She got a treat (dried fruit) for getting anything in the potty.  I started out trying to take her every 15 minutes, but quickly learned that wasn't going to happen.  She didn't want to, and really didn't need to - she held it for 2-4 hours each time.  So I just took her once or twice every hour, and asked/reminded her MANY times in between.  My conclusion is that she knows how to hold it and knows what we wanted her to do, and I think she could really do it if she wanted to.  But for some reason right now, she has no desire.  It may have to do with the slight jealousy that has been popping up because Hayden is getting bigger and becoming more interactive.  Whatever it is, she isn't ready right now, and that is okay.  We will keep assessing along the way, and when the time is right and she is ready, it will all click!

Hayden 5 months; Tenley 20 months

 

Hayden is 5 months old!  I couldn't get this picture to rotate, but at 5 months, he is 16.5 lbs and 26".  That is funny to me, because Tenley didn't hit 26" until older than 9 months.  At 9 months old, Tenley was 25 3/4", but 19.5 lbs!  That's my little chunker.  :)  Here are pictures of Tenley at 5 months, and Hayden at 5 months.  Neither had started any solid foods at this point - only the same ole breastmilk for both of them.

BIG difference!  haha!!  They probably weigh about the same in these pics, but Hayden is just a lot longer.  It is a little weird for me to have a baby that is so long, but not very mobile.  But I am enjoying every day with my baby boy.  I keep telling him not to grow up so fast, but he's not listening.

His "skinny" legs are the biggest reason I haven't done cloth diapers with Hayden full time yet.  The other reason is I am just lazy and love the convenience of disposables.  But I do honestly try for a couple full days every month or so, and he just leaks probably 4 out of every 5 diapers.  And I like the convenience of disposables too much to spend a ton of time trying to fix this problem yet.  Maybe next month.  :)  Tenley still does great in them, though!

Recently, we got to take our first swim in Grandma and Grandpa Helm's new pool.  It's so pretty and SO much fun!  Tenley wears water wings or a swim vest in the pool, but is too cautious to let go of Mom completely yet.  I am totally okay with that.  She does love to "kick, kick, kick!" though, and when she is feeling brave, she will let me hold her to back float a little bit.

We are also enjoying the outdoors at home.  We go on at least one walk almost every day in our neighborhood.  We also had a picnic last week under the tree.  Tenley and Hayden both enjoy helping me water our plants, although it takes every ounce of self-control within that little girl not to pull flowers and leaves off the plants.  I don't have any recent pictures, but Tenley also enjoys sitting around the fire pit with us in her little pink chair when we fire it up with friends.

I'm not very good at getting pictures of the kids together yet, but here is one that is not completely terrible.  Sometimes I just forget, but mostly this is because Tenley still loves to "explore" Hayden, and if I look away for 1 second while they are close together, she is either trying to poke out his eye or rip out his tongue.  All in love, of course.  :)