Taylor's 4 Month Checkup

Taylor's 4 month check up with shots was yesterday with Dr Furlow.

Stats:

11/9/12

Weight: 15 lbs 4 oz

Height: 24.88 inches

Head Circ: 41.7 cm or 16.42 inches

75th % for all

Shots/immunizations you received:
Rotateq 2.0 mL PO
Prevnar 13 0.5 mL IM
Pentacel 0.5 mL IM

 

Taylor you are so sweet and snugly!  You are still a total momma's girl which I love!

 

Milestones at 4 months:

• You have found your feet and love to pull them up to your chest and pull on your toes, etc.
• Chew on your hands constantly and are starting to slobber all over everything
• You have been a little stinker when it comes to bottles and you would be bigger at 4 months than you are now if you had decided you liked bottles...but oh well.  You are showing your independence early!  You weighed a pound bigger than your brother at birth yet at his 4 month check up he outweighed you by 6 oz.  See Colton's 4 month check up here.  See Lauren's stats at 4 months here

We love you baby girl and you bring so much joy to our whole family!

Colton's 3rd Birthday Party - Chuck E Cheese

Sunday afternoon we celebrated Colton's 3rd birthday a little early.  He wanted a Chuck E Cheese party even though he has never been (except when I was pregnant with him.  Click here for that party).  The only thing he knew about it was from TV commercials he has seen.  It's a little crazy in there because there are other parties going on right next to you but the kids had a great time and Colton got to spend time with his friends and play games!

Thanks for celebrating with us!

Kieran and Ava

Addy and Riley

Colton playing games and winning tickets!

Katlyn and Austin

Taylor

Caroline

Jack and Hannah

Hayden

Brooklyn

Party time!

Little Miss Talkative

Taylor is 12 Weeks Old!

My baby girl is 12 weeks today!

She started daycare Monday and took 2 hour naps Monday and Tuesday when she got home so she is tired from the adjustment but she will get it.  Day 2 went better than day 1 as she ate more Tuesday and was nice and happy Tuesday night and all day Wednesday!

I don't want to jinks myself, but the last few days she has been so happy that maybe we have turned the corner with her tummy issues (seems colicky at times but nothing like her brother was)!  Either that or she is telling me that she likes daycare better than being at home!  LOL

New Milestone:

Taylor has recently found her hands so now I hear the sucking sound out of the blue and look over and she has her hand in her mouth.

It's so cute to go through all the milestones with a baby again!

Kindergarten!!!!!!!!!!!

Lauren is LOVING kindergarten!  She has been so hyper the last two nights after school because she is just so excited to tell us all about what they did that day.  She LOVES the pick up line system they have at school for when we pick her up.  We don't get out of the car, we just drive around and they call her name on the walkie talkie and she comes outside to us and gets in the car.  She asks to ride the school bus daily but we live so close that we can use that as an excuse for her to not ride the bus yet (she is just too little in my eyes).  She LOVES taking her lunch each day and is so proud to help me pack it each morning.  After the first day I asked her how it went and she said one of the best parts was that they don't take naps anymore!  She had a grin on her face when she said it almost like "mom did you know that" or "guess what I got away with today!" so it was pretty cute! 

I will admit I did ok the first morning and didn't even cry...however I had Kraig and Taylor with me and we had a busy day ahead so I never had time to stop and think about it.  We were also able to walk her all the way into her classroom so I knew she was nice and safe.  Tuesday, Taylor and I took her to school without daddy and she was already like "ok mom see ya later"...that's when it hit me that she is at the first age of "I don't need you as much as I did in the past" so I made it to the parking lot so she would not see me and I started tearing up.  My baby girl is growing up too fast!  Today I walked her to her hallway (instead of her classroom) and tomorrow I'll walk her to the door and by Friday I'll just drop her off in the car line and let her walk in all by herself (she asked to do that today).  So little by little I can get used to the idea that she is a big girl.  :-)  One step at a time people.  LOL

We are so proud of you Lauren for being so independent and just going in and being the big girl you are becoming.  You light up our lives with all your funny stories, smiles, laughs, etc and we love you more than you will ever know!  Here's to a wonderful year of Kindergarten!

Little brother getting in on the action showing me his car (even if it is without clothes on)

Singing in the car on the ride to school the first day

Day 2

Just us girls

Miss Schleisman with Lauren

Day 3

Super happy to be wearing a dress today with her new Twinkle Toe shoes!

She had P.E. on Monday and Tuesday so we made her wear shorts those days.  :-)

Walking down the hall by herself

Kid Updates

Lauren - 5 years

• Now that you are 5 you think you are too old for certain things.  For example you told me this morning "mom why do we still watch Mickey Mouse Clubhouse?  That's a baby show" and the other day you said "mom when are you and dad going to stop telling me what to do? I am 5 now!"
• Loves Bright Haven Preschool and can't wait for Kindergarten in August!
• Wears a size XS (4-5) or 5 in clothes and still prefers dresses over shorts or pants
• Weighs about 42 pounds
• 43 1/2 or 44 inches tall
• Waist size is 21.5 inches
• Hips are 23 inches
• Wears a size 11 or 11.5 shoe
• Can count up to 30 or 40 (I can't remember)
• Knows how to write all her letters and can spell anything if you just tell her what letters.
• Knows how to spell & write her name without assistance.
• Is learning to add and subtract things
• Loves to sing all type of songs (Taylor Swift, Adele, Eli Young Band, etc) and knows more words than I do!
• Loves to help Colton with anything (even when he doesn't ask for her help) but just this morning said only people 5 years old and older can go in her room!  Geez...is this really starting so young?
• Doesn't really like to nap anymore...but will still sleep when we make her have 'quiet time' in her room.
• Loves being the older sister and getting to do things that Colton doesn't get to do yet. Most of the time we have to do these secretly...so Lauren thinks that's the coolest thing ever and will whisper things to me about it (with a huge smile on her face) so Colton doesn't hear!
• Asks "what are we doing today" everyday! When I say "go to school" she follows it up with "what about after school" when I tell her we are going to come home and play she says "NO I want to go somewhere!" Apparently our house is boring now. :-)
• Loves to put on lip gloss and perfume!
• I think one of her favorite activities outside of the house is to go to the movie theater.
• Goes to bed around 8:30 and sleeps until 6 or 6:30.
• Is already having the "this person said they don't like me" at school issues! Really people...she is 4?!?!?! This scares me for what my future holds.
• Is excited about baby #3 and just says "I hope it's a girl because I already have a brother"

Colton - 2 years and 8 months

• 'Mr Independent' 
• Wears a size 2T
• Weighs about 30 pounds
• Is 36 inches tall
• Waist and Hips are both 19.75 inches
• Wears a size 6.5 wide or 7 shoe
• Wears a size 5 diaper or a 2T-3T pull up
• Still sleeps in a crib (only because you don't try to climb out and this is easy for us)
• All your baby teeth are now in and you LOVE to brush your teeth!
• Loves to be goofy and say "Whoa, Whoa" while moving around acting like he is about to fall
• Gets silly when he is tired (which is what I used to do) so he just laughs at random things when he is tired (then of course the crying follows if it's too late afterwards).
• Has started singing songs from the radio like Lauren does (Eli Young Band's Crazy Girl is your favorite song...or any 'guitar' song as you call it)
• Can count to 20 with a little slip up around 17 usually
• TALKS constantly now!
• Favorite thing you say that makes your daddy and I laugh is "Huh? What'd You Say?" and "What'd you JUST say?" with a smirk on your face when you say it.
• Goes pee pee on the potty a lot but I still have not fully potty trained you yet using the 3 day method we did with your sister.  You have gone poo poo on the potty once but said it scared you
• LOVES Team Umi Zoomy, Spongebob, Dora, Diego, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse on TV and will dance and sing to all the musical parts
• Still loves trains and cars
• Loves to push a car though the house and then make a sliding stop.
• Keeps randomly coming up to us and will say "hug and kiss" so of course we give you what you want!  Love that!!!
• Crys when he gets his feeling hurt or gets in trouble like "mom are you mad at me?"
• Likes to talk to my belly and say "Hi baby"
• Loves to drive around the block when we get into our neighborhood.  You would think this would get old to him...but no he wants to do it everyday!
• Loves to chew gum even though we keep telling him to "just chew it don't eat it" he eventually eats it and then wants another piece or wants a mint.

No More Paci! - 29 Months Old

This past Thursday I decided it was time for Colton to give up the paci. He was finally feeling better from the HFM, Kraig was out of town and I knew it would only take 2 nights max to get give it up and he only used it at bedtime...so it was time (we got rid of Lauren's at 27 months old). Colton did much better than Lauren did. Click here for Lauren's story. We have been down to 1 paci for a few weeks now and i just kept thinking 'when that paci disappears we will just go for it' however the darn thing would never disappear. So Thursday night he went to bed without a paci and it took 20 minutes to go to sleep because he was crying saying "I want my Papi Mommy" but he gave up. Woke up at 1:30 asking for it but went back to sleep. Friday night it only took 5 minutes to go to sleep and he slept all night. Sunday night he walked through the kitchen and asked for it (on his way to bed) and I just told him that he was a big boy and didn't use it anymore. He didn't even question it and was just like "ok mom" and walked to his room and went to sleep without asking for it. So with 3 months to go before baby #3 arrives, we are a paci free home!

Kid Updates

So I have not done an update on the kids in a while so I thought I would do one now. Click here for the one last January!

Lauren - 4 years and 7 months

• Loves school and can't wait for Kindergarten in August!


• Wears a size 4 or 5T in clothes because 4T is too short


• Weighs about 37 pounds


• Wears a size 10.5 or 11 shoe


• Can count up to 30 or 40 (I can't remember)


• Knows how to write all her letters and can spell anything if you just tell her what letters.


• Knows how to spell/write her name.


• Loves to sing all type of songs and knows more words than I do!


• Loves to help Colton with anything (even when he doesn't ask for her help).


• Doesn't really like to nap anymore...but will still sleep when we make her have 'quiet time' in her room.


• Loves being the older sister and getting to do things that Colton doesn't get to do yet. Most of the time we have to do these secretly...so Lauren thinks that's the coolest thing ever and will whisper things to me about it (with a huge smile on her face) so Colton doesn't hear!


• Asks "what are we doing today" everyday! When I say "go to school" she follows it up with "what about after school" when I tell her we are going to come home and play she says "NO I want to go somewhere!" Apparently our house is boring now. :-)


• Loves to put on lip gloss!


• I think one of her favorite activities outside of the house is to go to the movie theater.


• Goes to bed around 8 or 8:30 and sleeps until 6:30 ish.


• Is already having the "this person said they don't like me" at school issues! Really people...she is 4?!?!?! This scares me for what my future holds.


• Still attends Dance one night a week although we have been on a 2 week break for Christmas.


• Can do big puzzles all by herself now and loves to show them off afterwards.


• Is excited about baby #3 and just says "I hope it's a girl because I already have a brother"

Colton - 2 years and 2 months

• 'Mr Personality' is what I like to call him now. I think December was his shining month! That kid just made a 180 switch and boom...he laughs, talks, sings, etc all the time now!


• Wears 24 month stuff because the 2T is too long


• Weighs about 28 pounds


• Wears a size 6.5 wide shoe


• Wears a size 5 diaper


• Has 11 teeth (see below)


• Loves to be goofy!


• Gets silly when he is tired (which is what I used to do) so he just laughs at random things when he is tired (then of course the crying follows if it's too late afterwards).


• Has learned to sing songs like ABC's and Jesus Loves Me.


• Can count to 10 with a 13 and 14 afterward


• TALKS constantly now!


• Goes pee pee on the potty every once in a while now at home and most of the time at school (I have been lazy about it with him so I have not started potty training yet...but will before baby #3 arrives).


• Is finally getting more teeth! His 11th tooth (bottom right beside his bottom middle) broke through this week and I think 12, 13 and 14 are about to come in as well.


• Is going through a Shrek phase now like Lauren did when she was 2. He can't get enough Shrek!


• Loves trains now along with cars. Thank goodness I was thinking we were going to be limited to car toys forever!


• Loves to push a car though the house and then make a sliding stop.


• If he doesn't want to wear something he will say "that too big".


• If he doesn't want to play with something he will say "that broken".


• Is a momma's boy right now which I love!


• Crys when he gets his feeling hurt or gets in trouble like "mom are you mad at me?"


• Knows there is a baby in my belly but is confused because he can't see it yet.
  

We love these kiddos more than they will ever know and feel so blessed to have them in our lives! Happy Tuesday folks!

23 Month Update - Colton

When Lauren was 22 months old she was playing with paper towels and I took her picture (click here to see that post). I noted that she was about the height of 3 paper towels stacked on top of each other. Well to compare Lauren with Colton I took some pics tonight. He is just under 3 paper towels tall...and this is at 23 months vs. 22 like Lauren. :-) I can't believe we go for his 2 YEAR check up in a month...crazy that my baby will be two! He is ALL boy all the time! He loves cars, running things into each other, saying "whoa" and he talks non-stop. He is picking up words/sentences everyday from his big sister and mommy and daddy. Is is our rambunctious little boy and we love him so!

Here are the photos of Lauren at 22 months. She is just above 3 paper towels.

And here she is today at 4 years old (sorry for the awkward smile...it was the only photo I got before Colton knocked down the tower)!

Things Colton is doing at 23 months:

• You have 10 teeth (still)


• You will dance to any music that is on by yourself but most recently you want mommy or daddy to dance with you and you say "g-in" (again) over and over :-)


• You have recently learned to jump and it's so cute!


• You have been going pee pee on the potty at school but mommy and daddy have not started potty training at home yet


• You still use a paci at night


• You like to feed yourself but are messy


• You love to read books...and will bring a book to us and say "sit" because you want to sit in our laps while we read to you


• You love Cars and Trains


• Your favorite movie right now is Cars or Tow Maters Tales (go figure)


• You love to run and play chase


• You love being outside...we have screaming fits when it's time to come back inside


• You don't sing like your sister did but that's probably because your sister has always wanted to sing to you instead of letting you sing back to us. :-)


• You have not started counting yet (2nd child syndrome I'm sure)


• You can point out airplanes, cars, trucks, school buses, puppies, mouths, eyes, ears, hair, noses, head, shoulders, knees and toes (hehe), hands and fingers when you see them


• You know your Papaw, Nana, Papa, Granny, Poppa Louie, Nona Donna, Aunt Tammy, Uncle Kody, Katlyn, Austin, Aunt Kristen (Kissy), Uncle Brian, Ava, Aunt Lisa, Uncle Ryan, Kieran and Uncle Spencer and Chelsea


• Unlike your sister you don't really like mac-n-cheese or PB&J much...but you like chicken nuggets and cheese rollups


• You say you want apple sauce or an apple, but when I cut up the apple you won't eat it


• You love our neighbors Mark, Missy and Hayden and their dogs Harley and Murphy


• You love to go around the house and close any door that's open (probably an OCD passed down from your father...although he still has not mastered closing kitchen cabinets? go figure)


• Your new thing is to say you want "Chok-et Milk" (Chocolate Milk which is really Vanilla Pediasure)

Colton you are such an amazing little boy. I can't believe you will be 2 years old in 1 month...your smile just lights up my day and also makes it hard to tell you no. :-) I was unsure I would be able to love a 2nd child like I loved my first...but God is amazing and he makes our hearts grow with each child and I just love you SO much! Your laugh is so precious and you are just full of energy! We are so lucky to have you in our lives and I hope someday you can understand the amount of love we have for you when you have a family of your own (a LONG time from now hehe). You are starting to act like a "big boy" and no longer acting like my "baby" which makes me a little sad...but that's just life. I look forward to the future with you...just watching you grow and explore! I remember seeing you for the first time in the hospital and thinking how much you looked like your daddy! Now that your hair is lighter I'm starting to hear "he looks a lot like you" which of course makes me happy!

We love you so much Colt! Thanks be to God for giving us the opportunity to be your parents!

Colton Talking at 22 months

My baby boy is almost two and talks A LOT now! I finally caught it on camera! Enjoy!

Lauren's 1st Dental Check Up - 4 years and 2 months

So I'm reluctant to write this because I feel guilty, embarrassed and worried. I am however using my blog as a scrapbook for my kids so I want to be as honest as I can. That way when they are older and dealing with issues like this, they know I've been there and hopefully that will comfort them #1 and #2 I hope they learn from my mistakes. The guilt and embarrassment is for me...the worry is for Lauren.

As a follow up to my post on Tuesday...

First let me say there are several reasons we have not taken the kids into the dentist until this year.

1. 
   
   We didn’t start carrying dental insurance on them until this year (2011).


2. 
   
   At Lauren’s 2 year pediatrician check up, the Dr said we could take her to the dentist anytime now (but we didn't have dental insurance on her that year - 2009) and then we had Colton and well time just slipped away.


3. 
   
   We didn’t get dental insurance on them last year (2010) because we switched to Kraig's insurance and it was outrageous to add the kids and I honestly just hoped they would have my teeth genes and not have issues so we just now got appts for them both for their first check up.

The good news is little Colty will be going when he is 2 and not 4 like Lauren. I just honestly didn’t know you are supposed to floss little kids teeth this young!

So on to the details…
I took Lauren to the Dentist yesterday morning thinking everything would be good except for the 1 tooth. I was wrong. It turns out Lauren has 4 cavities! Yes 4! I feel like the worst mom in the world and cried on and off all morning yesterday (including at the dentist and at work). Lauren has 2 cavities on her lower jaw, right side…back 2 teeth (in between then actually not on top which is why it’s on both teeth…not just 1). The other 2 are on her lower jaw, left side back 2 teeth as well. The very back tooth on her left side (baby molar) is the one I knew was bad because you can see a black spot on the top of the tooth. Well that one is potentially going to have a root canal! The Dentist said he is going to try to just fill it but if it has gone down to the nerve then he will have to do a baby root canal and put a crown on it. The other 3 are not bad but are still there and need filled. So my 4 year old baby girl will go back at the end of September to have the left side fixed (1 filling and 1 root canal (or 2 fillings if she doesn’t have to have the root canal). Then because they can’t numb her lower jaw (both sides) at the same time she will be going back in November to have the 2 teeth on the right side filled in.

The 'bad' tooth

The one thing the Dr told me that makes me feel a little better is that he thinks the one that might need a root canal is actually something that was there from birth or something happened to her right after she was born. Like a shock to her system or something that made that tooth start to decay. He said sometimes that just happens…either the calcium didn’t develop right at birth or something medically happened when she was real little that would have been a shock to her system and would have made that tooth not develop right. The only thing I can think of was when she was born she did have to stay in the hospital an extra day (2 vs. 1) because her white blood count was low and they had to give her meds and run test…so maybe that was it…or maybe it has always just been that way and has gotten worse over time.

I’m not sure…the other obvious factor is Daddy Kraig has not had the best luck with his teeth since he was little either…so it could just be genetics. I better start saving for the orthodontist now! :-)

The other good thing is these are her baby teeth and they will fall out. So hopefully if it’s not just genetics and it can be helped by brushing and flossing on a regular basis…if we develop those healthy habits now when her adult teeth come in (between the time she is 5-12) then we won’t have any issues with her adult teeth. Hopeful thinking!!!!

They said the best case scenario is that every child brush their teeth in the morning and brush & floss their teeth at night. So it looks like we will definitely do better with Colton and hope he has better results!

Lauren will be going back on 9/22 at 8 am for the first set of fillings (or 1 filing and 1 root canal). Then she will be going back on 11/21 at 8 am for the second set of fillings.

So we will have gone to the dentist one time a month from August to November.
August = Lauren check up
September = Lauren’s fix
October = Colton’s check up
November = Lauren’s fix

I feel guilty because if I had brushed her teeth 2 times a day everyday and not let her go to bed with a sippy cup of milk until she was 3 and we still had these issues then I would know 100% it's genetics. However I didn't do that. We only brushed her teeth every once in a while (never flossed) and she went to bed with a cup of milk every night for 3 years...so I feel that 'what if' I could have prevented it feeling. That's why I was crying yesterday...not for the fear that Lauren will not be ok (because she will...the dental office we are going to does this all the time...or so they say)...but for the guilt I feel for not trying hard enough and partly failing my daughter in the tooth department. I feel like I didn't do my part to protect her. I slacked in the dental department because I have never had issues with my teeth and it was never a priority of mine since I never had issues. We all have things that we care about more than others because it's important to us for one reason or another...but like I said I never had issues so I just hoped my kids wouldn't either.

Lesson learned...take the extra steps needed just in case it's not genetics so you don't feel guilty and brush my kids teeth 2 times and floss once each day!

I know there will be other issues in the future that we have to deal with...so this is just the first stepping stone God is giving me...but man it's a hard one. I don't like feeling like I could have done better...especially with my kids! I just love them so much that I hope I never have to see them hurt (which I know is not reality but I can wish)!

Lauren I apologize for not doing my part to prevent this...but hopefully we can end the cycle now and we never have this issue once your adult teeth come in! We love you wiggies!

Thanks for reading my babbling...I feel better now.

Go Colty...#2 that is!

YAY! We were lucky so it probably won't be this easy going forward...but Colton went Poo Poo on the potty! We were giving baths and almost had a 'code brown' in the bathtub. We got him out and sat him on the potty...nothing. So we put a diaper on him and 10 minutes later he ran to the potty (the little one we had just sat out that night...not the regular one) crying "potty...potty" so I lifted the lid, sat him down and he went! YAY!!! Go Colton!!! I hope potty training will be this easy going forward! I do think it helps that he is in the older class room at daycare because they take all the kids to the potty now...so that's where he is picking this up...I have yet to start training him. :-)

Pee Pee on the Potty! (22 months)

GO COLTON!!!
Last Tuesday I got this report from school.
Notice the 'potty' times at 9:50 and 11 am!
I also like how the teacher said "He was so excited and pleased with himself when I cheered him on! He just smiled and laughed!" I can totally see him doing that. He is becoming Mr. Independent! My baby is growing up!


And yesterday I got another 'good potty' report!
He went 4 times yesterday!!!

Looks like it's almost potty training time for Colton!!!! YAY!