Happy Summer!

Happy Summer! Excited that it's summer but wishing it felt more like it outside...

After about 10 months of having a potty chair sitting in our bathroom that Ellison only used about once a day (if that), we are finally OFFICIALLY potty training! Last week E started wearing underwear at Michelle's. She picked them out herself (Doc McStuffins). She only had a couple accidents! Over the weekend we kept it up, with a diaper underneath since we were at Grandma and Grandpa's. She only had a few wet diapers. We've been setting a timer for every 35-40 minutes because she still doesn't really tell us when she has to go. But so far this seems to be working pretty well!

We spent this past weekend up at the cabin. It was Kellen's first time! The weather wasn't the best, but Ellison was happy to spend some time outside! The weekends this summer are quickly filling up, but we are hoping to get up there again, hopefully for more than just one full day next time!

Kellen is doing great. He started rolling from back to tummy the day before he was 15 weeks old, and now usually sleeps on his belly. He is pretty serious about making attempts to both sit up and crawl, which makes me really nervous that he will be doing everything early. Guess we need to start thinking about baby-proofing, again!

We are so lucky to have another happy baby. Kellen is such a smiley little guy, usually only fussy when he's tired or hungry. He doesn't sleep through the night yet, but I think Ellison spoiled us as far as that's concerned. Kellen is a snuggler, so I don't really mind getting up with him!

Both kids seem to be adjusting well to being in "daycare". Gramma and Michelle take such good care of them. And of course, they both nap better when they aren't at home! I'm adjusting to working ok, too. I can't believe it's been almost a month since my first day back. I'm definitely not getting enough sleep, but I'm surviving so far!

We have less than 2 weeks until Kellen's 4 month pediatrician appointment. I can't believe how quickly this time has gone (or how many times I've said that in the past 28+ months). I'm guessing the doctor will tell us we can start giving Kellen solids, but I am planning to wait a little longer. We started E on rice cereal at about 4 1/2 months old, but I think we will stick with milk only for K until he is 6ish months. I would like to do everything in my power to avoid him quitting nursing like Ellison did! He did start sitting in the high chair with us while we eat, though!

Other than keeping busy with work and the kids, not much else is new with us! We both worked Father's Day weekend so we didn't really get to do much. I wonder if there will ever be a year where we have both Mother's Day AND Father's Day off. Probably not. Both of us working in health care definitely makes celebrating the holidays difficult!

4th of July is Kellen's 4 month "birthday", so I'm sure there will be a picture filled post a couple of days later. Until then, have a lovely summer!

The Sass and the Snuggler

K man is 3 months old! He is getting so big - he's in 3-6 month or 6 month clothes and size 2 diapers now. He eats a lot - he's even taken a 7 ounce bottle! E never really took more than 5 ounces, even when she was a year old! He still gets up once or twice a night to eat. We haven't had a night where he slept ALL the way through yet, but he has made it to 5 o'clock a couple of times! So we are hoping no middle of the night wake ups is coming soon...

Kellen is grabbing and swatting toys, chewing on his hands (and anything else he can get near his mouth), trying to roll over onto his tummy, and REALLY wanting to crawl. He does little baby crunches when he's in his swing or propped in his Boppy like he wants to sit up. He is a happy, smiley boy most of the time. He loves looking at himself in the mirror and staring at fans. We are having a lot of fun with him! One thing he does not seem to like is napping (except in his swing or car seat). Mommy may have spoiled him a little bit and now he doesn't want to be put in his crib to sleep alone. He just loves to snuggle! So we are working on that.

As for Miss E, she continues to amaze us with her vocabulary and imagination. She is absolutely hilarious. She says some of the funniest things! She's learning lots of new things too. She helps dress and undress herself. She can walk up and down the stairs holding the railing (maybe she could have done this awhile ago, but we didn't let her try). Such a big girl! She sings all the time and loves her buddies. She plays all kinds of things with them. Her favorite right now involves putting them all in a box and pretending they are on a train.

In the train with her buddies :)

She tries so hard to help with things around the house - including attempting to change Kellen's diaper! That had to be one of the funniest things she's ever done. I was in the kitchen cleaning up after pumping, and I heard her rustling around. I asked what she was doing and she said, "just changing brother's diaper!" So I went into the living room to see what was happening, and she was walking out with a diaper and a pile of wipes. Kellen was laying on his playmat naked, happily kicking away! She threw the diaper away in the Diaper Genie and even tried to get a new one on him!

Still getting a bit of sass from her, though. She spends some time in the time out chair most days for not listening and talking back. Luckily for us she behaves for Gramma and Michelle, and is almost always well-behaved when we are out in public. I think compared to a lot of 2 year olds, she's a VERY good girl!

First time with painted toes :)

I love seeing E and K together - the best of friends! Ellison loves her little brother so much, and he smiles and coos at her whenever she is around him. Adorable!!!

It's definitely a lot of hustle and bustle now that we are both working. Jay had off the first 5 shifts I was back at work, so there's only been one day so far where he had to send the kids off in the morning before going to work. And it was to Gramma, not day care...that starts this week! I work a 4 in a row stretch Thursday-Sunday and Jay works the weekend too, so it should be interesting. I'm sure we will get into a routine soon. At least I hope so!!!

As for being back at work, it wasn't nearly as bad as I had worked it up to be. It isn't fun leaving the kids, but I know they are well taken care of. As much as I would love to stay home, I know it's important for our family that I work. My job is something I care a lot about, even though it can be stressful and difficult at times. I was just happy that I didn't completely forget how to be a nurse :)

When Mommy's at work...this happens

Right now I'm in the middle of a week off, which is awesome. We checked out one of the beer gardens (The Landing at Hoyt Park) on Friday night and LOVED it. So glad we found something we could do that was both family friendly and involved being around other adults! Definitely hoping to make that a more regular part of our weekends off. We took dinner, had a drink, Ellison got to run around, and we caught up with some friends. It was great! Today we went to Breakfast on the Farm up near Jay's hometown, and Ellison was so excited to see the dairy farm. She really loves cows. I had never been to a dairy farm either, so it was interesting for me too!

Ells and her cousins Ethan and Logan

Looking forward to a really fun summer. Jay worked hard to change his weekends around so we mostly work the same ones now, rather than only have one or two a month off together. Gives us more family time, and the kids some Gramma and Papa time on the weekends when we are both at work. Next weekend will be the first one we both work since my leave ended, so I'm hoping all goes well!!!

Last but not least, here's some pics from a recent zoo trip...Ellison was so thrilled she got to ride a camel named Doofus with Papa, plus she made friends with a spider monkey and rode on the train. Kellen was actually awake for some of the time we were there, too!