Leila at 15 Months

Er....more like 15 1/2 months at this point! Where has the time gone? I feel like the past 2 weeks have just disappeared before my eyes.

With Christian starting Preschool Tuesdays and Thursdays and his gymnastics on Fridays, we are all finally back into life and routine. We go to bed at a reasonable time and wake up at a reasonable time. It is crazy! Is this what real life is supposed to be like? 'Cause if so, I want my money back.

This is Leila at the park while her brother is at preschool. I think she is loving the one-on-one time with mama.

Leila at 15 months is absolutely THRIVING. It feels so good to say that! For 5 months, since she started crawling, she has been the most horrible, difficult, frustrating baby EVER. EEEEEVVVVVVVVVEEEERRRRR. I actually cried to my mom about a month ago because she was so hard that I was struggling to have a relationship with her.

Bam. There. I said it. She was like my biggest nightmare. When she started crawling, she stopped sleeping for more than 2 hours at a time. We are talking newborn status. She was starving, mostly, but she wouldn't eat any food. She would follow me around the house screaming and crying for hours every day. I would hold her, snuggle her, try to feed her, try to nurse her, try to put her to sleep. Nothing. She was inconsolable about 12-15 hours a day for 5 months.Don't get me wrong. There were some good days sprinkled here and there...I usually write blog posts and post pictures on those days ;)

And then a great thing happened. She discovered she liked rice! And peeled grapes. And that has led to more and more willingness to eat food. Hurray! We are down to 3 nursing sessions a day (still 3 more than I want, but hey, baby steps!) and she is regularly sleeping 10-12 hours a night. Usually she wakes up 2 or 3 times, but she is able to settle herself within a few minutes. Can I get an AMEN!?

Things aren't perfect. We still have a long way to go in terms of getting her to transition to full solids, but I am happy.

At 15 months she is walking like a champ...and getting fast! She loves to snuggle stuffed animals and her brother's blue blanket. Her favorite foods are rice, crackers, bananas, and Cheerios. She still loves water and won't touch milk or juice. She can say, Mama, Dada, Heago (Here you go), Peas (please) and we are working on UP! She loves to snuggle anyone and everyone, although she does tend to cling to me quite a bit lately. She and Christian are pretty much inseparable...much to Christian's chagrin. But he is fairly sweet to her most of the time. Until he has had a enough and kicks her in the head or something. Oh brothers....

All in all, things are going pretty well around here. I am striving to enjoy the time that I have home with the kids, but I can't enjoy every moment. Just trying to enjoy the moments I CAN!

Christian's First Day of Preschool and turning 3 1/2

This morning Christian woke up really excited. He knew today was his first day of Preschool and he couldn't wait to get dressed. Melanie planned to do pictures today and so Jared helped Christian get dressed into something other than a Lightning McQueen t-shirt. When he came out of his room, I almost laughed. He was wearing super cute grey shorts, my favorite button-up shirt of his in a periwinkle blue, and....a Lightning McQueen red shirt peeking out from underneath. lol Some things just don't change!

My mom came over to watch Leila so that I could take Christian to school and stay with him, if needed. We took a few pictures in front of the house, at Jared's request, and then hopped into the car. When we got to school, Christian went in with no problems at all, but all of the other Mom's left, and Melanie's helper is sick, so I felt bad leaving her there alone. I am glad I stayed! It was nice to see how things were run and also I think it was nice to have someone else to help. Things could have, very easily, gotten pretty crazy!

They had practice tracing their names, phone numbers and nicknames. They did song time, went over the letter and number of the day, the weather and day of the week. She had snack and recess and the First Day of School pictures. It was great! I am so glad that we decided to put Christian in this school. I think he will flourish. And I am so glad that Leila and I can have a little one on one time two days a week for two hours.

In other news, Christian is officially 3 1/2.  Sometimes I am shocked that he is 3 1/2...and other days I can't believe how slowly time is moving ;) He still eats great, sleeps wonderfully and is healthy and happy. He is getting more confident and active and I love watching him try new things. He is in a gymnastics class which has really been helping him strengthen his body. It has been so fun! Here are some pictures of him dressed as a pirate.

He is 95% potty trained during the day and often wakes with a dry diaper, so we are working through that still. His best friends are Elaine, Ellie and Brooklyn. His favorite foods are ice cream, macaroni and cheese, grapes, and yogurt. He still loves the movie Cars (and Cars 2) and has just fell in love with The Lego Movie. He can do a somersault and is working on his handstand. I am grateful for Christian. I am one proud mama seeing how he interacts with others and how quickly he is learning. Love him.

The Promised Walking Video

Here she is in all of her glory. This was taken a couple of weeks ago, but I kept forgetting to upload it. Isn't she cute!?