Thunderstorm

Last night about 3:30 am a thunderstorm rolled in and so did Jonathan into our room. He walks in with his pillow, blanket and bears and says "Mommy, I just can't sleep. I was thinking you could help me." How could I resist? Plus I know that I was afraid of thunderstorms when I was a kid, still kind of am, so how could I say no? Fortunately he was still tired and laid pretty still and actually slept.

Diana slept through the night!!! I guess after two nights of crying she might be finally getting the idea that it's not worth waking up in the middle of the night anymore. Here is to hoping this continues!

Yikes

Normally while I am cooking dinner, Diana is either playing in the living room and I can hear her playing or she is crawling around the kitchen. Tonight she was playing in the living room and she was being very quiet...I knew she was into something. Sure enough, she was no longer in the living room but in the entry way and she was on TOP of the trampoline. This is the first time she has crawled up on anything! Apparently she is still obsessed with paper because there was a piece of paper on the trampoline she HAD to have. I walked in there she was very happy sitting in the middle of the trampoline waving the piece of paper around. I called Jonathan in and said "Look what your sister did." And he said, "Yikes!" and made a face. We really are in trouble now. I see the stairs being blocked and baby gates going up in our very near future.

Big Girl Eating

Diana will no longer allow me to feed her jars of baby food. In fact the only thing I am allowed to feed her is her YoBaby yogurt. Otherwise, she wants to do it herself. Surprise, Surprise! Tonight I was cooking dinner while she was eating dinner in her high chair. Every time I turned around she had eaten everything I gave her. She had: peas, carrots, blueberries, cheese and new tonight: corn, chicken, and black beans. The black bean was the only thing she made a face on and spit out.

Scoot

For those of you who have not gotten the privilege of seeing Diana "scooting" around...here is a video.  I really can't explain how she does it.  She knows she can go faster on the hardwood floors scooting over crawling though, so it is her preferred method.

Sneak Peak 9 Month & 4 Year Photos

Here is a sneak peak at the photos that were taken of the kids on Friday, 9 months for Diana and 4 years for Jonathan.

Tough Love

Mommy has decided that Diana might need some tough love and will no longer be going into her room in the middle of the night. Enough is enough and at 9 months she should be able to sleep through the night...and I think it is more of a habit than anything that needs to be broken. After 55 minutes of crying at 3 am she finally fell back to sleep and slept until 7 am. She didn't act like she was starving when she woke up at 7, which makes me think that it really is just a habit.

Bubble Gum

Jonathan got to have bubble gum for the first time today. I have been telling him that he needs to be 5-years-old before he can have gum but apparently today he figured out a way to get it. Sometimes when Brad works out at Angelo's garage gym, Jonathan will go with to play with Rocco and Alivia. Well I guess the kids offered him gum a couple of times and he said no but then went and asked Brad if he could have some. According to Brad, after being asked a couple of times he said it was ok. Brad giving in shocked me, Jonathan must have caught him at a weak moment. Ariel said that Jonathan only chewed it for a few minutes and then spit it out in the garbage. I think me stressing to him how he can't swallow gum must be ingrained in his head now.

Oh Boy!

Jonathan is starting to get into girls and I have a feeling this is only the beginning. Tonight on the way home from church he was talking about teachers (as we passed the church's school) and he said he wished he had two girl teachers, which he does, so I was confused. So I asked him some questions and basically it came out that he wants "pretty" teachers. Brad continued to probe him and asked him who his favorite pretty girls were and he said "Mommy, Diana and Shonda". At least he got Mommy and Diana in there this time. :-) I think he has a crush on Shonda as he talks about how pretty she is on more than one occassion. I asked about his cousin Natalie and he said "Oh yea, she is the cutest!" We also had to wear our nice shirt and tie to church tonight, to look like Daddy he says but I am starting to wonder if it is to impress the girls.

Miss Emily

Miss Emily came to visit this weekend. As Emily says, "I think Jonathan thinks I am his friend" which I must agree with. He loves her! He was really good this time though and didn't go wake her up like a few weekends ago, when Emily woke up to him being about a foot from her face. We love visits from Miss Emily!

First Tie

Jonathan went shopping with me today to pick out his Easter outfit, which will also be worn for pictures tomorrow. We walked past the ties and he HAD to have one to look just like Dad he said. He also picked out a blue dress shirt just like Dad. I think the cutest part about the whole thing was that he had to try it all on in the store and then refused to take it off. The poor cashier had to scan the price tags and take of the sensors with him in the clothes. When we walked out of the store Jonathan said, "Can we go to Dad's office?" Which happens to be right by the store so I called Brad but unfortunately Brad had a meeting so we couldn't go. Jonathan said we could just go and wait outside daddy's office. I think some little boy wanted to show off his new outfit.

Ice Cream or Peas

Jonathan still has a sore throat and is feeling a little under the weather so I decided to let him have a special treat today...make blizzards, a gift from Auntie Heidi and Uncle Jason for Christmas. Jonathan loved it, especially the "rock pop" candy. He thinks we should do this every day. Poor Diana got peas.

New Paci

I am trying to only allow Diana to have her pacifier in her bed or when she is tired and we are in the car. Today she decided to out smart mom and used her "jumble" as a paci. It's really quite funny as she will be sucking on it but playing with other toys.

Crawling Forward

Diana has figured out to crawl forward! It just clicked with her on Saturday and off she goes. Sometimes she gets her one leg in the way but she still manages to go forward.

Free Stuff

So in case you didn't know, I have been obsessed with couponing lately and get a huge kick out of my free toothpaste. Never again will I pay for toothpaste! I have so much toothpaste in my closet I am going to start giving it away to charity. Well, today I took it to another level. Staples was having a Presidents day sale and noticed all of this "free" stuff so I figured let's go check it out. We got colored ink pens, Kleenex, address labels and copy paper for FREE! I now have Jonathan hooked, although he thinks everything is free because of it, might not be the best thing for him to know that you really can get stuff for free.

Sick Jonathan

Jonathan started not feeling well today at church and this is pretty much what he has done all day...lay on the couch. Poor little guy! He has a fever and doesn't want to eat or do anything.

Marshall's 1st Birthday

Jonathan really enjoyed marshall's first birthday party. I got there late as Diana was still napping but I walked in at a perfect time. Jonathan was "on stage" with another little girl. He was being a wizard and she was a princess. They were doing "magic" and at the end under Jonathan's wizard hat was a plunger. His buddies Alex and Evan thought this was hilarious. Thanks to Shonda we got a picture of it as I forgot my camera. It was a very cute first birthday party and I am already worried about how I can even make Diana's as much fun!

Little Helper

Jonathan has a little helper in his workshop today. Diana thinks its pretty cool to get to play with big brother's toys. They play so well together, I am very lucky. It was cute, Jonathan was telling Diana about the project they were working on and what all they needed to do on it.

Diana Driving Grocery Cart

Diana got to experience the grocery store in a much more fun way today. Instead of hanging out in her car seat, I decided to let her ride like a big girl in the grocery cart. This is Jonathan's favorite cart but it was impossible to use with her in her carseat and to actually be able to buy groceries. Diana loved it! She instantly put her hands on the wheel and moved it around like she was driving, all this before I even had Jonathan in the seat next to her. How did she know to do that?!? We also had to look at the live lobsters for awhile. Grocery shopping has taken on a new meaning to me, it is no longer to see how quick I can get in and out, it is about entertaining the kids in order to get the shopping done.

Dino

Jonathan decided that Diana needed to have her dino put together this morning. She got it for Christmas from GB and Grandpa Weeks but I was waiting until she got a little older to put it together. Apparently Jonathan can read Diana's mind or it's that natural sibling feeling because she LOVES it. She needs a little support staying on it and can't move it herself yet but she likes to either be pushed on it or just sit on it and push the buttons. Of course Jonathan enjoys riding on it too.

9 Month Pictures

Diana is 9 months old! It is getting harder and harder to get good pictures of her these days. She does NOT like to sit still. She really is a happy baby!

Standing Up

Look how I found Diana this morning!

Lowered Bed

Guess what we got to do at 9 pm last night?!?! Lower Diana's bed. She woke up screaming and I really was just going to let her cry it out because there was no reason for her to be awake and after the long night we had yesterday I was over all of this. Well of course Diana learned how to pull herself up to standing in her crib and I might have been okay with it but since we still had her bed up high and she was "jumping" I was a little afraid she would fall out. SO, poor Daddy had to go in there and lower her bed. After we got the bed lowered we let her cry it out and she did finally fall asleep after 50 minutes of screaming. She woke up again at 12:30 and 6 am. I love my little girl but seriously!?! I definitely have my hands full with her.

Jet Packs

We made our first craft from pintrest today...jet packs. Dean came over for a playdate so Tara and I made the two older kiddos jet packs. They love flying around in them. Too cute!

Fisety

I don't think Diana liked her shot from yesterday. I was up with her from 11 pm to 1 am last night and she was just screaming and being mean. She would fall asleep in my arms and every time I tried to lay her down she would start screaming again. She is napping more today, probably because she was up all night. Mommy needs a nap. Lucky for me Jonathan got me up at 6:30 this morning too. Brad is working late tonight and I just might be in bed before he gets home. I keep thinking one of these nights she will sleep through... But noticed last night on the monitor she is also trying to pull herself up in her crib so that is just yet another thing I am sure she will be practicing at night.

Diana 9 Month Checkup

Diana had her 9 month checkup today and weighed in at 18 pounds and was 26 inches long. She fell just a little below the 50th percentile in weight and is now between 25th and 50th percentile for height. The doctor said she isn't worried though because she could probably "stretch" her out and remeasure her to be longer. She had to get her 3rd hepititis B shot and of course cried. She was laughing in the car though and thought maybe it made her silly. She was trying to show off in the doctor office and crawled forward on the exam bench towards her chart. She is obsessed with paper these days! Whether it be the newspaper, a book or just a plain piece of paper she has to have it. She continues to be very independent and likes to be held even less now that she is on the move. She will squirm and push away from you until you put her down. She eats one jar of baby food for breakfast, lunch and dinner and then gets "finger food" at every meal as well. We also started yogurt at dinner, which at first she wasn't sure about but has gotten to like it better. Jonathan liked his yogurt more than Diana though that is for sure. She nurses 3 to 4 times a day and then once or twice at night still and usually gets one bottle a day. She is becoming less and less interested in nursing or bottles and we basically have to be in her room where it is quiet in order for her to eat well (which is hard to do with a 4 year old brother around). She seems to have degressed in her sleeping at night, is up a couple times a night at least lately. I really think it is because she just wants to practice, practice, practice her crawling and babbling. If it's not one thing it's another with her but we LOVE her to pieces. I can't believe she is 9 months old! She also had her vision checked at the doctor office and we have an order to go have her lead level tested. Overall the doctor was very pleased with her development.

Daddy the Jungle Gym

The kids LOVE to use Daddy as a human jungle gym. Jonathan has always loved wrestling with Daddy and climbing all over him but Diana is joining in on the fun now.

Pretty New Shoes

Happy Valentine's Day! Diana got pretty new handmade shoes today in the mail from Nana and they go perfectly with her Valentine's dress. Thank you! They are so warm and soft, I wish I had a pair.

Pulling herself up

Diana has been trying to pull herself up on things. She hasn't grasped the idea of needing to hold on though. If she does manage to pull herself up, usually to her knees or one leg right now, she topples over pretty quickly when she let's go. She likes to pull herself up on people and her jungle toy.

Get to Sitting

Diana has mastered going from her belly to sitting. I am shocked at how quickly she can do this and feel like it happened over night. She is enjoying being able to flop to her belly and get up when she wants.

Stuck in the Corner

Well Diana has not been sleeping well at all the past few nights. I have been wanting to let her cry it out but we all know I haven't allowed that to happen. Lately when she cries at night it sounds like a hurt cry and she seems to get hysterical very quickly so I decided that I needed to take her into the doctor to make sure she doesn't have an ear infection. she doesn't and the doctor thinks she just wants my attention at night. Lovely! I talked to some of my friends and they think it's because she is reaching a lot of developmental milestones lately and wants to practice and basically can't turn her brain off. I think the later might be more true because every time I go in to get her she is trying to crawl, up on all fours and is stuck in a corner just rocking back and forth. She is so determined! Wonder where she gets that from.

Pulling Herself Up

This is the first time I have seeing Diana pull herself up on something by herself. She actually got all the way up but I missed it on camera.

Blueberries

I gave Diana blueberries for the first time tonight. She seemed to enjoy them. More than anything I think she likes being independent and feeding herself.

Pizza Boy

I was just going to have leftovers for dinner tonight but at the last minute I decided to make a homemade pizza. I asked Jonathan if he thought that would be fun and he said "Yeah! I want to make it all by myself." So I let him, I was busy helping Diana with her dinner. We had a little bit of a mess and A LOT of cheese on the pizza but I must say the kid did quite well making the pizza. All of his practice at his pretend pizza parlor must be paying off. He even knew the order he said, "First we need the crust. Ok. Now we need the sauce..."

Life is a Mystery

Today we were sitting at lunch and Jonathan says "mom, sometimes life is a mystery". This lead to a lengthy discussion and we had to go on a mystery hunt looking for clues. He cracks me up with the things he says and his imagination.

Finger foods

We started Diana on finger foods today...I think I am late in doing this as I noticed a picture of Jonathan at 9 months eating pizza. Oops! Diana is getting peas and peaches now and seems to like being able to feed herself.

Spelling

Jonathan has gotten really good about writing letters and has just started asking, how do you spell XXX? We have been writing his name on Valentine's day cards for his preschool class and he is getting better about writing his name smaller so it all fits on one line...poor kid with such a long name. After we worked on the cards for awhile, he asked for a piece of paper. I wasn't really watching him and all of a sudden he says, "Mommy look. This spells NO." Sure enough he had spelled no on his paper. Then he asked how to spell "David" which he was able to write all by himself. I guess they are reading the book "No, David" in preschool which prompted him to writing this today. Hopefully he will be a better speller and writer than me!

Beep Beep

Diana is backing up. Diana has mastered crawling backwards. She prefers to be either sitting or on her belly now, very rarely is she on her back these days. If she is sitting and sees something she wants she will flop to her belly and try and reach for it. When it is too far out of her reach, she will try crawling towards it but poor little girl gets further and further away from it as she goes backwards. It doesn't really seem to bother her though. The only time she will squawk is when she gets stuck in a corner or under the couch. Every once in awhile she will get tired from crawling and just lay her head down on the floor for a few seconds to take a break...it's really cute! I have seen her a few times go from being on her belly to sitting, but she is not consistent on this yet. It seems as though she can do it when her legs are positioned just correctly. She is definitely growing up!

How Was Your Day

Jonathan is so adult some times it cracks me up. At mealtimes, we will be sitting at the table and he will say "How was your day?" or "Tell me about your day." We usually take turns talking about our days and when I am talking he will even ask questions like, "Then what did you do?" or say "Uh huh." Even though he spends most of the day with me, he still likes to hear about it...of course though hearing about Daddy's day is way more fun.

Babbling

Diana is starting to babble. She says mama mama the most and is starting to say baba baba, I think for bro bro which is what Jonathan has decided she can call him. We are working on dada and didi for daddy and Diana too.

Mama & Bro Bro

Diana is starting to jabber and has gotten really good at saying Mama and brobro (sort of).

Did You Notice?

Ok Grandpa Gordy, this is for you...I did several updates to the blog over the past few days. There is always more I can add but I worked really hard just for you. :-) Jonathan was getting annoyed with me today because I kept working on the computer until I told him that I was getting "yelled" at by you to update the blog...he stopped complaining then. I even posted some swimming videos from Thanksgiving that I have been wanting to forever. Enjoy!

Hip Shakin

Jonathan LOVES to dance. We have been working on his hip movement and I must say it is pretty good. I just love his little bottom wiggling!

Peek

Diana loves to play peek-a-boo with her brother. Jonathan can really get her to laugh.

Cheap Internet

We are already that weird family because we don't have cable (which I actually am totally ok with because none of watch much TV at all and I think that is a good thing), but now I am finding other ways to save money...cheap internet. We switched internet service providers and it is slower but for what I do, it doesn't impact me at all. Brad and Jonathan are having a harder time with it. It takes awhile for Jonathan's games to load on the computer now and he gets frustrated. Tonight he turned around and said to me, "Mommy, I don't like the cheap internet" and started pouting. Well maybe now he won't want to play it as much...hmmm...I am seeing a trend.

Little Mischief

Today I was on the phone with Nana when Diana decided to be a little mischievous. She apparently was bored with her own toys and scooted herself over to my basket of magazines where she decided chewing on the wood basket handle and the magazines was way more fun. I literally walked into the kitchen for a second, wondered why she was so quiet all of a sudden only to go back to see her in the corner. I redirected her to her little jungle ball toy and within moments she decided that she wanted to pull herself up on it. She got to her knees and started to move one leg when she lost her balance and tipped. Jonathan was finally taking a very needed nap but I missed my little lookout for Diana! (I had to physically pin Jonathan in his bed for an hour before he took his nap, as he tells me "I am almost 4 and I don't nap anymore."

This picture doesn't do justice to how far she scooted, as she was even further back then where her barn is.

Pajama Time

Thank you Nana for making us such adorable PJ's! We love them and my mommy thinks we look super cute together.