March

Well, March has come and gone, and here we are already into April. I, personally, am thrilled at the prospect of warmer weather and greener grass, but a bit sad that "my kids are growing up so fast" (yes, I did just say that). Alas, it appears that my weekly updates on the kiddos are looking more like monthly updates. And, truthfully, I'm ok with that. To follow is quite an array of pictures from March, and here are some other updates:

- Jane is getting a ton of teeth. For a girl who only had 2 teeth at 11 mos, she has nearly 9, with at least 3 others on the verge of popping through. Molar teething has been horrendous for us.

- Luke hit some very fun milestones this month, including rolling over to his side (his definite preferred position), smiling all the time, holding his head up very strongly, rollings his hands into fists and constantly sucking on them, and lastly following Jane with his eyes wherever she goes.

- Evan and I had a monumental month, capped off by locking our children in our van with the keys inside. Yes, we did. We have no idea how it happened, as we pulled into the garage, turned off the car, and both got out to each get a kid. I guess one of us accidentally hit the lock button and there we were on a Sunday morning with our kids locked in our van with no spare key. Luckily, Evan remembered the police can help (I have no idea how) and we only had to wait about 15 minutes. Neither kiddo seemed too traumatized, and surprisingly, neither parent did either.

- Luke seems plagued by the same issues with reflux that Jane had. The spitting up is more sporadic, but at times he seems more uncomfortable with it, which is a heartbreaker. Our hope is the more time he spends upright, the more comfortable he will become.

- Jane understands everything she hears. Everything. Her vocabulary is unbelievable, and yet she doesn't really talk. Well, she doesn't say things any of us understand. We can say one thing once and she remembers it. I have a feeling we are on the verge of a very bold, determined chatterbox.

- Jane has many obsessive/compulsive tendencies. Most telling are reading the same books over and over, not being able to walk past a ruffled/scrunched up blanket without fixing it to make it lay flat, putting certain toys in the location she remembers them to always be in, and recently, the most evident - her obsession to be outside at ALL TIMES. We cannot distract her from being outside, she stands at the door and whines; she walks over to us, grabs our hands, takes us to the coat closet, gives us her coat and stands there until you put it on. She has actually opened the door to the garage, walked down 2 concrete steps and walked out to the garage and eventually outside. The cold weather doesn't bother her and actually she really likes it. We cannot wait for the warmer weather! Here are some pictures from the last couple of weeks!

A fun trip to Ft Wayne, Jane's first Carousel ride. Nervous at first, then she loved it!

Merry Maids in-training Fascinated by all cleaning products with the exception of the vacuum. She is terrified of it. If I even say "vacuum" she runs to the couch and will then start obeying me. Insists on wearing the Baby Bjorn. And not just wearing it, but utilizing it in the fashion which it was intended, for carrying things.

The kids look real thrilled to be in this picture

Ready for Opening Day

All smiles! A weird angle, but you can also see how long his eyelashes have gotten!

A half-smile. Again, for the ladies.

The first night he rolled over. Sorry for the pink blanket, Luke. At least your ferrari is in the pic

Ok, not only rolling over, but somehow moving as well. I put him laying on this blanket with his head on the pink stripes at the top, and 30 minutes later, this is how I found him.

This face is delivered almost hourly. She wasn't happy about sharing her reading chair with her brother.

An interesting picture of Luke, but look how BIG he has gotten. Only 11 weeks old!

Such a sweet little boy

We Love Cousins

In the last few weeks, Jane and Luke have had the opportunity to spend some quality time with their cousins! What fun memories are being made!

Jane and Keegan helping Nana with dinner prep. Looks like a pasta/oatmeal dinner!I love this picture of Maddie and Jane. They are both getting so big!

Luke checking out his older, more mature cousins.

Katie did her best to try and contain this squirmy little girl

"Dear Mom - can I please have a little brother too? Love, Jackson"

What in the World is Going On?

This is what I found when I went to get Jane from her nap:

I cannot understand this. This shirt is a regular-fitting, 18-month, snapper-style shirt that fits her perfectly. How in the world she managed to not only get one, but BOTH arms out of the sleeves and up through the neck hole is beyond me. But even more intriguing is why she keeps doing this?

And, I also recognize that the neck hole (albeit stretched out of course), does fit around her waist. I promise we do feed her. A lot, actually.

Can anyone offer insight before she ruins all her shirts?!

"Street Cred"

I love baby/kid's clothing. I never knew I would find such pleasure in picking out their outfits on a daily basis; from the playtime clothes, to church-going outfits, to professional picture time, to the absolute ridiculous (recall Jane's ice cream pj's!); I enjoy them all.

That being said, this next set of pictures on my sweet son takes "outfit picking" to a whole new level. We have been blessed with generous friends and family who have bestowed on us many hand-me-down outfits, as well as new digs for each child. This one particular outfit, shown below on Luke, was a gift from our friend Ann B. As I was opening the gift just weeks after Luke was born, I saw this diddy and could not believe my eyes. I. LOVED. IT. It was size 0-3 months and I couldn't wait for him to be able to wear it, mainly because I just thought it was so unique. I just didn't realize how unique.

Being the obsessive person that I am, I wanted to see what other styles/colors this outfit came in. I knew Ann had purchased this outfit at a children's boutique store in Warsaw, where they sell one of a kind children's clothing and apparel. I went on the internet to see if they had a retail store online as well. Much to my chagrin, they did not. So, I looked at the tag, and did what millions of Americans do everyday....I googled it. I clicked on the website and could not believe what I was reading. The brand is Scandanavian, named "Appaman" after Norwegian founder, Harald Husum and his pet monkey, Appaman. Huh?! So, naturally curious about this international brand, I kept reading...

"Appaman has a unique Scandanavian perspective on Ameripop iconic imagery. Husum finds inspiration everyday on the mean streets of Brooklyn and translates it into his ever-changing palette of vibrant garments." What? Are we still talking about children's clothing?

But, the best part was the very last sentence I read:

"Give your kid some street cred, wear Appaman."

Oh my. Seriously? Does my 2 month old son really need "street cred" on the mean streets of Rochester? I found myself torn between being appalled at such thinking and also wanting to buy 17 more outfits, because truthfully, I think it's adorable/hilarious/awesome all wrapped into one.

(Not really the best pictures, but you get the idea. It even has elbow and knee "padding" for the rough and tumble life of a 2 month old. But I don't care. He is soooooo cute in it!)

Car Seat

Luke was looking especially cute in his car seat this week, so I was snapping away. When I was going back and looking through the pictures, I was reminded of how much I loved the same picture of Jane when she was 6 weeks old. Check 'em out!

Luke at 8 weeks

Jane at 6 weeks

Well, what do you guys think? Do they look much alike?

Not to be outdone

With all the Luke postings as of late, I thought it was equally important to make sure that all the hilarious and wonderful (sometimes) things Jane has been up to be reported on as well. (Yes, I am a middle child). Jane is exactly 15 months old today, and it seems with each passing month, she grows and learns that much more. She continues to make us laugh, and impress us with her ability to comprehend. Here are some of the things that she's been up to:



- Showing us her affectionate side with lots of kisses for Luke, her stuffed animals, and anything(one) she can get her hands on. We are also loving that she "headlocks" her stuffed animals and carries them around. The only problem has been that she has tried to do this to Luke. He, unfortunately, is not as willing as her Teddy Bear is, to be strangled.



- Her sense of humor is second to none - the girl understands the word and concept of "silly" and plays into it big time. She will do anything for a laugh, and loves to tease an audience. She is happy 85% of the day, and uses her imagination (prompted normally by Aunt Leslie) to create crazy and silly things out of nothing - see pictures below for evidence.



- Let's talk about the other 15% of the day, when Jane has been unveiling to me a new side of her personality....a temper. With the arrival of Luke, Jane hasn't quite been able to maintain her level of attention from others, especially Mommy, and just this week, has been making it well known that she is unhappy. For instance, this morning I was feeding Luke, and unable to provide for her the requested toy that was out of reach. When she started to climb onto the table (more on this later), I sternly told her "NO". She quickly picked up Luke's burp cloth, looked me dead in the eyes and vehemently threw it on the ground. More "NO"'s throughout the morning have led to temper tantrums galore. I do have to add that she is getting 2 molars in currently and probably doesn't feel well, but she sure isn't enjoying not being in control. Clearly, she gets this from Evan....



-Now, onto climbing. Jane has always been interested in pushing the limits and boundaries, and she has taken this to new levels. Every single item in our house has now become game for being climbed on, and for those who know her, Jane is incredibly persistent. So far she has mastered our 2 couches, my mom's coffee table, Grandma's footstool, all cardboard boxes, her stroller that she can get into and out of (a stroller on wheels people!), a lego table at Grandma's, and pretty much anything else at knee height. She thinks nothing is out of the realm of possibility for climbing on, and her motivation is remarkable.



- We have one smart cookie on our hands. Jane is at the stage of mimicking everything she sees, and she is picking up on things like crazy! She has now mastered being able to open the CD player, but a CD in, close it and press play. Unbelievable. She also knows what buttons turn on my iPad and Blackberry, and would probably be able to take pictures with my digital camera if I let her. She understands words far more than I was anticipating at this age, and can understand full sentences of direction and instruction. I'm sure there are a gazillion other examples, but of course I'm forgetting all of them now.



Those are most of the things that are going on right now in our household relative to our daughter. She makes us laugh a lot and we are so thankful for her. Here are some funny pictures of life at home with Jane....

Being silly and loving this huge bow headband thingy, clearly out of season though. The story behind this picture is priceless. Jane is OBSESSED with putting her and Luke's socks on her hands. It was snacktime, and she refused to take them off to eat her goldfish; instead, she fumbled around trying to pick them up, and then proceeded to eat them (shovel-style), all the while, getting the cotton sock particles in her mouth. These white socks were tinted orange by the time she was finished.


She puts everything on her head, especially clothing. Here, she is sporting a Harley Davidson pink sockhat, size 0-6 months, and then a skirt she found in her dresser on top of that. And then strutted around the house as if this was normal. Being the awesome mom that I am, I not only let her, but then took pictures.

She loves when Evan puts his Bears hat on her. Finally, a picture where she is actually looking at the camera

Still loves putting things around her neck. An extra special treat last week when daddy shared his tie with her. Her newest thing (not pictured) is carrying around her stuffed animals in my Baby Bjorn carrier, which is 100 times too big for her, but she does it anyway.

Her passion for books hasn't faded. And yes, she did climb onto this chair herself.

Two Months Old!

I cannot believe how quickly babies change! Luke is 8 weeks old today and continues to be a happy, healthy baby - we are so thankful!

Luke loves to be held and snuggled (a rarity in this household) - we have really been working on his eye contact - he's a pro now! :)

This picture is so fun! I had just finished feeding him, put him in Evan's lap, and began to undress him for a bath. I removed his sleeper outfit and his undershirt was up on his chest and his huge belly was hanging over his diaper! The picture doesn't quite capture it, but it was hysterical! I suppose it's time to get some bigger onesies...

"Hey ladies, check me out..."
So serious, and so absolutely adorable
Mommy and Luke. He loves to take in all the action