Tessa {11 Months}

She did it again.  She won't stop growing no matter how much I beg her!  Geez. She is eleven months old.  Crazy.  It's hard to believe she is almost one, and that she has been here a whole year.  It's scary because it just shows us how quickly time is going by.

It was a big month for her.  Like I mentioned last post, she started school.  She is only going one day a week, and so far is doing pretty well.  Of course she cries when I leave her, but that's to be expected.  I know that when she starts going two days ( in the summer) she will get more used to it, and it won't be a big deal.  Her teachers tell me she is pretty shy, and doesn't really like to be around the other kids, which is pretty strange since she is kinda used to chaos in our house!

She finally got another tooth this month as well.  She might have gotten her teeth first out of all our kiddos, but she is sure getting them the slowest as well.  I'm sure you are wondering if she also got her fangs first, just like her big brothers, and the answer is YES.  She is a little vampire baby. She only has one right now, but I don't think the next will be far behind.

This month also brought on sickness for her.  She got a tummy bug. I'm pretty sure those are the worst, but like her oldest brother, she seemed to only get sick in the evenings in her bed, so we often wouldn't find out about it until the morning.  Gross, I know.  She was very snugly and very sleeping during her few days of sickness, and it took her just a bit over a week to get back to eating normally.  I know she lost some weight, because her thigh rolls are basically gone, which I know is a mix of finally crawling and getting sick.

Speaking of eating, this child will eat anything.  ANYTHING.  I'm sure the boys were eating anything at this point as well, but she seriously hasn't turned down anything.  I also loved that I'm at that stage where I don't really have to worry too much about what I give her.  I mean I keep an eye so she doesn't choke, but I'm not worried about allergies.  She has had berries, and peanut butter for about a month now.  I also gave her some hard boiled egg off my salad the other night, she loved it.  So I'm hoping that she continues with this trend and isn't a picky eater!

She is pulling up on furniture now, but she really shows very little interest in walking.  She doesn't like to move her feet. We have been trying to get her to walk with the dinosaur walker toy, and she will just fall down to her knees and laugh. She is silly, but honestly, I think I'm OK with her not walking, although I am itching to buy her some super cute girl shoes for spring and summer!

She has recently started babbling a lot more.  I'm about 95% positive she says "hi" even Dylan thinks it.  Even if that isn't what she is meaning, it absolutely sounds like it!  Lots of "yaya" "mama" dada" and even "BaBa" once.  I think she is just about where Graham was at this point!  She is getting better at waving, but won't do it on command, just whenever she feels like it!

She is still highly entertained by her brothers, though they have been a bit too " in her face" for her liking recently.  Graham has really not liked her messing with his stuff, and often yells at her.  She will have to learn they don't like their towers knocked down or puzzles torn apart.  They only thought they wanted her to move!;)

I can't believe the next post will be about her birthday party and her turning one.  I think time needs to slow down, because I'm not ready for my baby girl to not be a baby anymore. But I'm more than ready to be done with bottles and formula.  FOREVER!

11 Month stats:

18ish pounds

9 month sleepers

still in 6 month onsies, but needs to move up, but I'm trying not to have to buy much more long sleeve stuff!

3 teeth

moved her to size 4 diapers because I ran out of 3's and 4's were on hand.

3- 8 Oz bottles a day 

Tessa {10 Months}

Another month gone by.  I can hardly believe than in less than two months our baby girl will be ONE!

This was a big month for her.  Lots of new tricks.  First and foremost, she is now an official crawler.  She just got up one morning and decided she wanted to crawl.  It was almost as if she had been practicing privately or something.  She looked like she had been doing it for a while.  All she needed was the motivation of a little yellow practice golf ball!  The boys thought it was awesome when she started moving.  Within a few days though, they realized that meant she was going to be all up in their business taking toys, destroying puzzles, and banging on the Ipad!  I hear a lot of " No Tessie, and Noooooo Tess don't!"

Her other new trick this month is clapping!  I think clapping is one of the most adorable and precious things to see babies do.  It just melts my heart, and I'm so glad that she does it.  She doesn't do it on her own, but if I say " Tessa can you say YEY!! or Tessa clap your hands" she gets a huge smile and will do it!

This month was also Tessa first Christmas.  She slept through most of it of course.  Adam's parents do gifts on Christmas Eve after church and dinner, so she was pretty tired.  She slept through most of the gift opening, but did great at dinner.  I didn't get any pictures of her in her dress, but whatever. #thirdchildproblems

Another thing that I guess I could save until next month, but oh well.  She started SCHOOL!  On the day she turned 10 months, she went to school.  I'm sending her once a week so that I have one day to get stuff easily accomplished.  Luckily, she is still the most easy going baby, so even when she is with me, I can get stuff done, but it's nicer to just run into a store or whatever without having to lug her out.  Speaking of, she is still in her infant bucket seat, and I really need to change her into the convertible.  I'm just lazy, and it's nice to just get it out of the car and into the cart! Again, I'm lazy.

She has also eaten all kinds of new things this month.  Beside her beloved puffs and crackers, she has had chili, avocado, pita and hummus, and even some gyro from our local Greek food place.  We have not found one thing this child will not eat.  I know the time is coming, but for now, it seems that our darling daughter is going to be the one to eat us out of house and home, not her two brothers.  She would eat all day if we let her.

She is still a great sleeper, and I learned this month that she is just like her brothers in the fact that I will out her in her crib for bed and she will play for a while before going to sleep, and she will be awake for who know how long before she makes a peep in the morning for us to go get her.  She is still sleeping with the paci, but I figure I'll let her have it until after Australia and then it's a goner.

Speaking of Australia, she will soon have her own passport.  Yup, during the winter break, I took all three kids to the passport office and got their passports made.  Did you know kids don't have to have new passports for 5 years?  I mean, Tessa will not look a whole lot like a 10 month old in 5 years!:) Seems silly to me, but I'm glad I don't have to do it again for a long while!

This month's photo shoot was much more difficult than usual, but I can say, she managed to only fall off the chair once!;) It was another great month as a family of 5 and I honestly can't believe how quickly time is going by. I feel like she was just born.  What they say is true, the days seem long but the years are short.  I'm finding this out, and it makes me a bit sad.

10 Month Stats:

18ish lbs.

9 month sleepers still

6 and 9 month onsies still

3 or 4 bottles a day

at least 2 solid meals a day

plenty of snack

Dylan is FIVE!!!

How can my tiny little baby boy now be a smallish 5 year old boy?  Man, time sure if flying!  Like Adam's dad said," You think this was fast?  Soon your five year old little boy, will have his own five year old little boy, and you won't know when that could have happened"

Dylan is such a boy these days! As I might have mentioned, Dylan has been going to a full time Pre K since August.  He loves it.  He has learned so much, made lots of friends, and just well, learned so much!

He continues to be the best biggest brother there is.  He loves his little brother and sister something fierce, and I hope the day never comes, when he stops trying to make them laugh.  It's his daily duty.  He is sweet and kind with them, though we do have lots of arguments between him and Graham these days, but I'd say more often than not, they play together and get along still.  I know the day is coming when that won't be the case, but until then, I think I'll savor it.  His life mission is to get Tessa to smile, or laugh, or say something, though it's usually only "MaMa" still! Poor girl, will have no personal space because of Dylan.

Dylan once again played soccer this year.  He certainly improved from his first season, but still has a long way to go.  We have convinced him that you don't always have to score a goal to be helpful on the field.  He has shown some interest in gymnastics, so when I get around to it, I think that will be the next thing on the list.  I don't really want him to play more than 1 thing right now, because I know when he gets older his schedule will be packed with stuff to do, so since he is only 5 we are keeping it simple.

He is of course into ALL things super hero.  although, he seems to have passed the "wearing a suit" torch down to his brother.  Every once in a while I will find him in a suit, but he seems to prefer just a sword, and mask these days.

Right before his birthday, Dylan showed us he was reallly into games, and puzzles.  Much to his Daddy's delight, he loves playing video games as well.  He is surprisingly good at puzzles and I know he will probably get a ton for Christmas.  Paper Rock Scissor is his newest thing.  Though he seems to only like to play with Adam.

He is everything you would think a five year old boy is.  He is full of energy,  Full of attitude. Full of hilarious phrases.  Sweet. Kind hearted. Emotional.  He is infuriating at times, then so gentle and sweet others.  It's hard not to love him, though sometimes he does drive me crazy.

I have a FIVE year old.  How did this happen?

Tessa {9 Months}

Can someone please explain to me, how exactly my baby girl is already nine months old? I'm not sure I understand how this has happened.  Wasn't she just born?  I vividly remember the drive to the hospital!

Anyway, since she is another month older, you get a new post!;)  She is just a joy, most of the time!  She is still just an easy going baby, and a happy one at that.  She is starting to get a little attitude, which worries me a bit!  She will cry when the boys take something away, or if they are playing with her, and leave, she realllly gets mad.  She also is obsessed with my phone.  Just holding it really, and chewing on it, but if I take it away, you got it, she throws a fit.  Other than those things, she is pretty easy going.  She still takes the majority of her naps in the car.  She has gotten really good at getting about ten, 15 minuet naps during the day!  Poor thing, she loves the days we are at home and she can take a nap in her crib, where they are usually 2-3 hours, unless of course she has to be woken up to go somewhere.  Third child problems.

We had a follow up with GI this month, everything was looking good.  Sadly, her numbers hadn't improved, or declined since the last time, so her Dr, didn't give her the "all clear" for liver disease, but she still is hopeful, that she will be just fine.  She is growing and thriving which they say is great, and a good sign.  Maybe I'm naive, but I'm not too concerned about it.

Tessa still isn't crawling, but she has truly become a master at sitting, rolling, and scooting backwards.  This month she also learned how to get herself out of the sitting position without face planting on the ground, and even a few times, got herself from her back, back into the sitting position.  I'm still ok with the fact she isn't crawling or pulling up, though I know it's coming soon.

After my post last month, where I say she wasn't saying anything, the next day she was in her high chair going " mamamama" so she made a liar out of me.  She still says mama, and occasionally we will get some bababa, dadada, and lots of yelling.  She is really good at yelling.  It's loud, and high pitched, and hurts my ears, but she thinks it's so funny.  Not much new on the eating front, other than she is a puff pro these days, we even advanced to yogurt melts,ritz crackers, the occasional piece of pizza crush, and even the crust of a grilled cheese sandwich.  She will still gag sometimes if something gets too far in the back of her mouth, but we are working on it!

This little girl still loves her tongue, it's always sticking out of her mouth.  She can blow raspberries, and slobbers everywhere.  It's adorable, and pretty much most of her pictures, it's hanging out of her mouth!  Such a silly girl!  I can't believe that 9 months with our sweet baby girl has gone by so quickly. She is a joy and her little smile and dimples can light up a room.  Oh and the cheeks aren't so bad either!

9 Month Stats

28 and 1/4 inches ( 80th %)

17 lbs 9 oz ( 25th %)

6 and 9 month onsies, 

9 month sleepers

eating 4-5 bottles a day

Sleeping through the night

Power Graham

disclaimer: I wrote this about 3 weeks ago, just never posted it. poor middle child

Did you forget we had other children?  I know you haven't gotten an update on anyone but Tessa, in oh, about eight months or so.  But Graham just turned THREE!  I can't believe it.

His big birthday theme this year was Power Rangers.  He has really been into them lately and started telling me months ago that he wanted a Power Ranger party. Do you know how hard it is to have a Power Ranger party for a three year old?  All of the pinterest ideas were to have Ninja games and courses, which three and five years olds would make very difficult.  It ended up just being my kiddo's and two other little guys, so they were perfectly content in just playing upstairs, so it all worked out.  

I kept decor and food pretty low key this year, again, the guest attendance was light, so it worked out perfectly.  Chick Fil A was the main course, of nuggets, a
nd chicken salad sandwich along with chips some fruit, and a Sam Club Cake.  It was actually nice because we hardly had any left overs, and I am pretty sure everyone had plenty to eat while they were here.

Graham made out like a bandit with lots of super hero themed gifts, which he has NOT stopped playing with.  He certainly plays with toys in a totally different way than his brother does. It's nice to see him sit with his figures and make them talk and just play.

We had a small gathering with his other besties on his actual birthday at Chuck E Cheese, where they were all in heaven because they got extra tickets if they dressed up in costumes.  That is right up his alley, wouldn't you say!?

We had his three year Dr. visit on Monday, where he weighed in at 27.5 pounds ( 20th percentile) and 37.5 Inches.  ( 60th percentile)  His Dr. also found what looked to him to be an inguinal hernia, so we have a meeting with a general surgeon on Wednesday afternoon for him to look at it to see if he needs surgery.  Fun times.  We are working hard on potty training, and it seems like he is finally getting it.  He stays dry at school, and has even been waking up at night dry.  Amazingly.  Dylan still doesn't even do that.  We've had a few accidents, but hey, I'm alright with that.  ( The Dr. said that he didn't need surgery yet, but if it actually presented as a hernia, we should consider it, but his opinion was to wait and see)

We moved him to his big bed probably about a month ago, and he is loving it.  He loves being able to get into just about any position that he wants, and not fall out.  His brother asks to sleep with him all the time, and the answer is always "No"  he likes his space, what can I say.

He and his brother, they are two peas in a pod.  They have a love/ hate relationship.  Hot and cold.  It just depends on what mood either one of them are in.  They are to the age they love making up games, Dylan loves " being the boss" and telling Graham what to do.  Lucky for Dylan 85% of the time, Graham goes with the flow!

 I can't wrap my head around him being three.  I remember so vividly his birth, and the process of getting there. This year he became a big brother, which he is superb at.  He is so hard headed, and stubborn, but so sweet at the same time.  He loves hard, plays hard, and has a hard head, seriously, we don't think he can feel pain in his head.  I'm not sure where we would be without our GrahamBam, GrammyRammy, Grambo, our middle child.  He always can bring a smile to our face. 

Tessa { 8 Months}

I'm running a bit behind.  Things have been crazy as you can imagine!  Tessa went and turned 8 months last week.  It makes me sad.  She will be one before we know it.  She will be walking, talking, playing, and have an attitude before we know it.  I'm excited to see what kind of a toddler she turns into.  I'm pretty sure she is going to be crazy like two other boys that live in this house.

This month was a pretty good one! Tessa is still sleeping through the night, and she figured out
rolling.  She can now roll from one side of the room to the next, she will get up on all fours, but she isn't anywhere close to actually crawling.  Thank Goodness.  She is still just a joy, and happy baby all around.

This month Tessa was also Baptized.  She did great, and even took a nap in Aunt Erin's arms during the service.  She only cried because we had to wake her up to take her to the front of the church.

She has also gotten to be a big girl.  She sat in her first shopping cart, she usually gets to sit in high chairs at restaurants now, and she sits in the stroller  like a big girl.  She also clocked lots of time in the baby backpack this month.  Halloween, the day after, and lots of days in between.  Lucky for me, she seems to like to snuggle, and we keep each other pretty warm in there.

She is really advancing with her eating of puffs, and she has even tried some other foods.  She has had mashed potatoes, chicken from lettuce wraps, some roll, and even a tiny crumb of cake at a birthday party.  I do enjoy just being able to sit her in the high chair and give her puffs to entertain her.  Most of them end up in her lap, but hey, she'll learn someday!

We go back to her GI next week to have her level's tested again, but I'm pretty confident that she is doing really well.  She is growing, and thriving.  She doesn't say much of anything, she is an observer like Graham, but she doesn't make much sound.  She is either silent, crying, or yelling.  I'm ok with that though to be honest.  If I learned anything with Dylan, it's that kiddo's all do things at their own pace, and eventually all catch up!:)

I'm looking forward to another month watching what Tessa learns and discovers. She is just such a fun age now, where she thinks I'm the most funny, awesome person she'll ever meet.  I need to cherish that, before she learns it's not true!

8 Month Stats

16.5-17 pounds ( my scientific measuring way)
6 month onesies
9month sleepers
sleeping 10-12 hours
4 bottles a day
1-2 meals and snacks

Tessa {7 Months}

Well well well, here we are another month gone.  Our little girl is growing up too fast.  This month was a great one.  She is developing into such a little person with likes and dislikes and a personality.

It's fun to watch the differences in her and her brothers at this point.  Speaking of brothers, boy does she love them.  Something fierce.  Lucky for her, they love her just as much.  She is sitting, and interacting with them, starting to steal things from them, and lets not forget, pulling their hair!  When she wakes up in the morning, they both rush to her room to greet her.

Speaking of sleeping, we hit the jackpot this month.  Well other than a few days when you were cutting your second tooth! You FINALLY figured out how to roll, and have been sleeping on your tummy.  Through the night.  For at least 11 hours.  It's bliss.  I am having to wake her most mornings to get into the car to take Dylan to school.  Luckily, she doesn't need to eat the second she gets up so I can just put her in the car and she can wait until we get home.

Her hair is really starting to come in.  I'm interested to see if it grows differently than the boys did, or if she will have a weird mullet type do until it gets really long! She is a smiley, easy going little girl these days.  She just goes with the flow which is SO nice.

She loves to eat.  She still gets pretty sparatic meals though.  Sometimes gets 3 meals a day, sometimes, none.  Just depends on what I've got going on.  This next month though I'm going to start putting her in a high chair when we are out, so she will probably get to eat more then.

Needless you say, we are looking forward to another fun filled month, with some visitors, and family pictures and lots of other things planned!  I know with the holiday's coming up, just like with my pregnancy, these months are going to FLY by.

7 Month Stats:

15 lbs 12 oz.

wearing 6 and 9 month sleepers

3 months onsies ( still) 6 Month if it's cold!

Sleeping 11 hours a night 

eating 2-4 oz of solids per sitting