ian turns 4

it's hard to believe that it's been (over) 4 years since i brought my sweet little boy into this world.  he is still sweet, but no longer so little.  gah.  4?!  well, maybe he is still little... at his 4 year check-up he weighed in at 34 lbs and is 39.5" which put him in the 25-50%.  he also had a hearing test- he failed on the right ear 4 times, so we are still waiting to see what the next step will be for that.  for his actual birthday he chose to go to super bounce at the mall and then he wanted to eat chinese for dinner while watching turbo.  not a bad day for a 4 year old!

it's really amazing to see how much he's grown over the last 4 years... i mean, i can tell how much bigger he's gotten just since isla was born.  it makes my heart ache a little bit!  he doesn't like to sit still- it's been hard to get him to focus on doing learning activities- i often wonder if i'm putting him at a disadvantage by not working on these things with him, but it's hard to get him to focus.  he does know the alphabet, and he can count to 10, and he gets a little mixed up counting to 20.  he knows his name, our names, his birthday, where he lives, colors, shapes.  i have been working with him on writing his name (it's short, so it shouldn't be that hard)!  he loves to read, but usually only wants to read in his room at bedtime.  he loves playing sports, and hopefully it will be warm enough to start playing outside soon b\c this kid is dying to have some fresh air!  he loves superheroes and ninja turtles, and cars and trains and lots of boy stuff.  he loves to sing songs, and i find it amazing that he memorizes them so quickly!  he has quite a sense of humor and a kind heart.  he is a wonderful big brother and he really loves his sister so much!  he is a people pleaser and he is very stubborn.  he hates to see you mad at him, but he really just wants to have his way.  i love this kid so much!

we decided to have a ninja turtles party for his 4th birthday.  i used my dear friend pinterest for ideas and i think we put together a pretty good party, there was pizza, and hamburger cupcakes and all sorts of ninja fun!

 party favors!

 turtle lanterns

 ooze 

 ninja turtle fruit/veggie trays (we had one for all the turtles)

 hamburger cupcakes

 the birthday boy's cupcake

 

cousins!

 

 captain america

pictures from his actual birthday

 turtle power!

 isla looks like she's wondering if ian is going to shank her

and to make me cry:

 a day old

1st birthday

2nd birthday

3rd birthday!

sigh!

isla - 6 months

isla turned 6 months old on december 17th.  how has it seriously been half a year since my life changed again!?  i can't believe i have a baby who is old enough to start trying food, sitting on her own and learning to crawl... not that she's doing any of these things, but still... what?!

isla celebrated her first thanksgiving.  this year we decided to have thanksgiving with my family in georgia since we have not been there on thanksgiving since right after dave & i got married.  i really dreaded how isla was going to do on the trip, so we decided that it would be best to leave in the evening after her last feeding and then just see how it went from there.  we had dinner at our house with dave's mom, fed isla, then we got the kids in their pjs and hit the road.  she actually slept pretty well until we hit some road construction in indiana where we of course couldn't pull off.  she cried all through that and then went right back to sleep.  she slept pretty much from then until her normal wake time and we stopped for breakfast and fed her and then were back on our way.  we had a great week(end) and isla just loved being spoiled by everyone!  she woke up in time to see georgia beat tech and managed to stay calm while everyone lost their mind when auburn beat bama.  oh, college football.

that's about all i can think of for this month, but the pictures are the important part anyway.

hanging out with her buddy sophie.  isla loves sophie way more than ian ever did.

sitting with pop on thanksgiving morning

chatting with gigi

 giving adam and heather a little baby practice (!!)

 

6 months old!

this is about how pictures go these days...

24 months

ian turned 2 on january 20th.  i can't believe it's been 2 years since that sweet baby boy came into our lives.  life has become so exciting in our house.  it's giggles one minute and seizing on the floor screaming the next minute...  ::sigh::

ian talks my ear off most of the day.  mostly one word at a time.  cars, ga-ba, color, hockey, snacks (which these days is beginning to sound more like "socks" or "sex"), pwease, hiiiii, ma-ma, stories...  those are the most popular ones.  he also loves singing songs all day long- from whatever is playing on the ygg pandora station, to a little bit of mumford and sons.  my favorites are dancing machine by the jackson 5 and rock star by the fresh beat band.  so stinkin' cute.

ian loves his cars still- he got lots of hot wheels for christmas.  in fact, he got so much for christmas, we decided to pack a few away for later- maybe potty training rewards.  he got a lot of stuff that we ended up packing away and saving for later- looks like potty training will be fun!  ian also got a hockey goal for his birthday- so he loves playing hockey and shooting the balls into the net.  he's basically into anything & everything.  the favorite show right now is yo gabba gabba...  we had been watching a nice variety, but now it's only gabba.  i have almost 25 episodes on the dvr and i feel like i saw all of them yesterday...  oi.

i guessed ian's weight perfectly from last month- he's exactly 25 lbs.  that means he's finally moved from being off the bottom of the chart to in the 25th% for weight.  he's now 34" tall, which is in the 50-75th%.  so he's gained 5 lbs and grown 2" in the last 6 months.  wow!  18 month clothes are finally getting a little snug (mostly too short).  i packed all the 12 month stuff up finally.  he could probably fit fine into some 24 month and 2T clothes, so i'll probably be pulling those out soon. 

so i have a "terrible 2" year old.  it's a little crazy from time to time.  there are crazy tantrums and this weird "NOOOOO" thing that came out of nowhere.  he's pretty good most of the time, although it can be a little frustrating.  i've definitely learned that sometimes just walking away is the best thing to do- and it's normally when he gets up and, surprise, isn't crying anymore...

food is always an adventure- what he'll eat today he won't even look at tomorrow.  "sketchup" is a favorite, and yes, i have been known to dip a blueberry in sketchup to get my child to eat it.  i'll also put food on a chip- it serves the same purpose.  gotta do what i gotta do... word.

being 2 is huge.  it's such a big step.  most kids potty train, move out of a crib, out of a high chair, have to give up the binky and also possibly gain a sibling during the crucial 2nd year.  i can't imagine how hard it is to go through all of that at once.  i'm waiting out the crib thing until ian starts to attempt crib escapes- so for now, we're safe.  the sibling thing- it's at least another year away.  the high chair move- not needed right now.  so my focus is on potty training & giving up the binky.  i'm really not sure when i want to start the binky thing- he only uses it for naps and bedtime, so it's not a problem- but learning to sleep without is something he's going to have to do- i'm just not sure he even can comprehend what that means though.

we are working on potty training however.  i have been collecting random stickers, and i printed a special yo gabba gabba chart.  i just need to come up with a little treat for him- i think we decided on raisinettes.  i also told him if he fills up his charts he'll get a little prize too (a christmas gift, perhaps..)  lately, ian has been into sitting on the potty- he started this just last saturday night- now i'm not sure if it's a "let's delay bedtime" tactic (seriously, manipulation, already?!) or if he really wants to go- either way, sitting on the potty is sitting on the potty, regardless of when it happens.  i'm not going to go into a lot of detail about it because no one wants/needs to know all that, but i'll definitely share some of the funnier stories and when everything's been accomplished.

i'll share more this week about ian's parties and all the fun we had, but now, photos from the 24th month, including the last monthly picture.  :(

 opening gifts with mommy

 tears on christmas morning b\c he had to open other gifts (with uncle bear)

 reading with daddy

 saying bye to pop & gigi (my grandparents)

 working the shipyard.

 books and hockey in his new robe

 bowl game day.

 eating a frozen choco-banana treat

 and when the treat is done?

 balloons make me happy

 car without wheels

 grampy's bike helmet

 bedtime cheese

 cakes?

 big smiles

i'm 2!!!

23 months

i can't believe this is the 2nd to last update that i'll be doing for ian.  every day i can't believe that we're getting close to ian's 2nd birthday.  it seriously just seems like yesterday that he was put into my arms for the first time, yet sometimes it seems like it was so long ago that i hardly remember what he was like as a baby. 

ian is so chatty- he talks to me all day long.  mostly he's talking about "cars" or "stories."  it's so funny the things he says.  telling strangers that they're silly, or looking at you and saying "you're stinky."  he keeps us entertained.  he also loves to sing songs all day long- he can sing a little bit of everything- from frosty the snowman (which he sang during the christmas eve service communion prayer...oops) to can you feel the love tonight.

ian's favorite toys are his cars, and he loves reading his books.  those are the 2 big things that he's into right now.  he loves matchbox cars/hot wheels- he's got a nice little collection going.  his cousins are really into cars, and his uncle mike has been teaching him what each car is.

ian is finally fitting into most of his 18 month clothes- i can definitely tell he's getting taller & putting on some pounds.  i'm guessing he's probably close to 25 lbs- but we'll find out at his 2 year appointment later this month.

ian's favorite things to eat right now are blueberries, applesauce, peas, breads, hot dogs and waffles.  he has a healthy appetite most days, although there are occasions where he just refuses to eat, and i guess that's  normal for kids his age.

we're definitely in the terrible twos stage.  there is a lot of weeping and gnashing of teeth- most days we've both got to just take a chill pill.  i have gotten much better at just letting it pass by ignoring it, or just asking ian to use words with me to express what he's so mad about- which most of the time seems like nothing.  this has got to be a hard stage for kids- not a baby anymore, and just getting into big kid stuff- it seems a lot is going on from potty training to a new bed, and for a lot of kids his age- new siblings.  ian has a while before he'll have to deal with that though.

we're not potty training.  ian is uninterested and frankly just doesn't have time- he's too busy to actually stop and use the potty.  i'm not in a hurry, but it sure would be nice.  ian's also still in his crib- i figure why rush things if he's still content in there, and he is- he hasn't tried to escape yet, so i'm fine with him sticking in the crib a while longer.

i can't believe the next update will be ian's 2nd birthday- i can't wait to share about his birthday and all the fun we had at christmas.  here are some pictures from month 23!!

there are a lot of pictures coming, and a big eff you to blogger for making me upload them three times.  i hate you.  seriously.

 wearing daddy's head warmer

 shirtless "cheeeeese" face

 eating crayons for thanksgiving

attempting to get christmas card photos

 peanut butter jelly time!

 finding the perfect tree

new hiding spot

 waiting to see santa

even newer hiding spot

 more apprehension over santa

 23 months!!!!