Micah @ 3.5

Oh, my sweet bug. He is such a character. What's new since his birthday? Well....

Micah definitely has a love/hate relationship with Esther. He can be so sweet and helpful and then be trying to (stealthily) push her over. I'm not sure what to do about that. He gets time out when I catch him, but I know I don't get everything! But it's just so sweet when the first thing out of his mouth most mornings is "how was your good nap?"

On the other hand, he's all love for Isaiah. Except for the accidental injuries between the two, I'm not sure Micah thinks Isaiah can do any wrong. 

He's in counseling. We all are. It's been a rough year. Enough said.

The absolute biggest thing is starting preschool. He LOVES SCHOOL! Oh my goodness, he wants to go every day. And on school days he wants to eat lunch at about 9:30 because he knows he gets to go to school after lunch. I haven't had a single issue with drop off! I really thought he would love it for a day or two (new toys! new friends!) and then be done (wait...rules?!) but he is loving it! He walks in, hangs up his bag, gives me a hug and kiss, and then is off. I'm always hanging around watching for a few minutes (because it's that quick) but he's completely unconcerned.

One glitch with preschool...he's having accidents there. Sometimes a couple a day (and he's only there 3 hours). I don't know if it's because he gets into things, or because he doesn't want to open the door into the other room where the bathrooms are (he can't see through it and hasn't ever been in there except for the bathroom). But the teachers are totally understanding and so it's really a non-issue for everyone (except me...I just worry).

Due to all the changes Micah's had this year, I decided to put off getting him a "big" bed. It's just one more big thing he will have to adjust to! I know it doesn't seem like much but he's comfortable in his little bed. He actually hasn't asked for a big bed since sometime before we moved into the apartment. So, I'm holding off on that until it perks his interest again. Until then.......I'm glad he's so little!

Esther @ 10 Months!

I can't believe Esther is TEN MONTHS OLD! I seriously thought I had lost track somewhere and had to count to make sure I had it right! Good grief, she's getting so close to 1!

Esther has recently taken less of an interest in walking. She can get exactly where she wants to go crawling, and isn't interested in where Mommy wants to take her, even if it means she gets to walk. But, she's pulling up on everything and cruising so maybe she will do it without my help. Who knows. She's also started doing the Wile E Coyote thing where she stand by herself...but only until she realizes she's doing it and then she sits down.

There was one moment when I though "hey, she's do it...." she was standing by the coffee table and the bench where Echo was sleeping was juuuust out of reach. She sat there trying to grab it for a minute, thought about it, then tried to take the 1 step it would have taken....and fell. She was pretty disappointed about it too. Maybe that will give her the motivation to start trying again.

Back at the beginning of the month I brought the kids with me to a cub scout parent meeting. The boys were out playing while the parents talked in a classroom and Esther kept crawling out of the room (where she couldn't see me) to watch the boys / get in trouble. It was the first time I've really just sort of let her go out of my sight (besides at home) and was surprised she didn't get "lost" and start crying. The adventuring is about to begin.

Little stinker has also started crawling over and putting her face in the dog bowl when she's thirsty. Psh. Goofball.

Esther is "talking" quite a bit lately! By that I mean she can distinctly say things that sound close enough that I can tell she knows what she's talking about...but it's just not every time. So far she's saying Mama, Hi (Iiiiiii), Brother (bruh-buh) and dog (daw-daw).

We are having some interesting times adjusting to both the boys being away (Micah half day) at school. It's so much easier to get some work done when it's just her here and awake...but I still wish she'd take a longer nap so I could really be productive. The best naps she takes are in the car! Oh well, having to play with her for a minute between every phone call or two definitely keeps me from computer burnout.

Esther is waving at just about everyone lately. I don't think most people realize it because it's more like the Hitler salute, but we walk around the store and she does it all the time! It's so funny when someone realize she's waving at them and then she usually turns all shy and clingy. What a goose.

Clapping is another fun thing. Oh! And she's doing peek-a-boo on her own now. I love it! She just has the biggest smiles when she's playing. She's also started bopping along when I play music...that also gets a big cheesy grin out of her.

Her crib is a no go at this point. I don't know what happened, but right around 9 months she was DONE with it. Put her in there asleep or awake, doesn't matter, she's instantly up and screaming. I've given up and just let her nap in my bed. I'm toying with the idea of shuffling furniture around and putting her crib in my room...maybe when the boys get their bunk bed.

She still eats like a champ. Still nurses, but definitely less often. We did have an increase at the beginning of the month due to a cold, but that settled back down.

She's loving mirrors and likes to give "the baby" kisses. She will give us kisses sometimes too, but she seems to need to be in the mood for that. One night she just kept kissing Micah over and over and over but I got one kiss and then she was done (poor Isaiah didn't get any).

I can't think of anything else at this point. We're getting so close to her birthday!

Conversations with Isaiah 06.011

Isaiah: Mom, what do you think I should be when I grow up?
Me: I don't know. What do you want to be?
Isaiah: Maybe...a scientist.
Me: Oh? There's lots of kinds of scientists. What kind do you want to be?
Isaiah: I think....an EVIL scientist!

Conversations with Isaiah 06.010

Micah: How was your first day of school, Buddy?

Isaiah: Good! She (his teacher) didn't yell at me once today!

Conversations with Micah 03.008

Me: Micah...do you realize you have two different socks on?

Micah: Yeah! This one, this one.

Esther @ 9 Months

Stats

20 lbs (78%)

27 1/2" (45%)

I totally feel like I just wrote Esther's 8 month update! Maybe because I wrote Isaiah's 6.5 update lately? Or because time is FLYING by? I don't know!

Oh, little bit. She is getting really good at pulling up lately. It seems like she's suddenly doing it on everything! There have even been some cruising attempts, and I'm seeing her push up to her hands and feet a lot more frequently. I though crawling would slow down her walking attempts, but that was only temporary! I wouldn't be surprised if she starts walking before 10 months.

Talking is growing too! She loves to just jabber away, but she's added "Dada" and "Bruhbuh" to her repertoire. A couple weeks ago when Isaiah came in my room one morning Esther looked at him for a minute and said "bruhbuh" (followed by her typical big smile for him). Ohmygosh that made Isaiah's day!

Micah and Esther have been having some issues lately. I'm not real sure what it is, but Micah's started acting out and it's usually directed at Esther (and usually when I'm trying to do something...make dinner/a bed/phone call/etc). I'm not real sure what to do about that, because it seems to be getting a little worse. Micah starts preschool next week so maybe that stimulation will even him out.

Sleep is still just a mess. I don't even know what to do! She sleeps awesome with me at night but good gracious if I try and get her to sleep anywhere else she's up in 30 minutes. Some days she will take a 30 minute nap in the morning and another in the afternoon and that's IT! It doesn't seem like she should be getting enough sleep, but she doesn't look tired and isn't overly cranky. This too shall pass, I suppose. I'm wondering if having both the boys gone for a couple hours once school starts will help her at least take a good afternoon nap.

Esther is now eating all meals with us. I still struggle some days to find something for her to eat, particularly at breakfast when everyone else is having cereal. But she sits at the table and usually at least makes an attempt to try what we have. Pickles are still a good backup.

More teeth are coming! I haven't decided yet if she's getting both up top or just one. Thankfully they are so far not as bad as the bottoms. We shall see if that lasts.

Her checkup isn't for a couple days, so I will come back with stats then. I wonder how close she is to Micah! (Poor bug, I'm going to wonder this every month.)

Comparing...

Esther	Micah	Isaiah
20 lbs (78%)	18 lbs, 6 oz (20%)	---------------
27 1/2" (45%)	27" (15%)	---------------

Apparently, I lost Isaiah's 9 month stats somewhere. Also apparently, there is a huge (percentage) difference in just 1/2" at this point. I guess that makes sense when kids are so little. So, this is about where Micah started staying tiny and Esther is not following his lead. (Actually, we got Micah weighed at Esther's checkup and there's only about 8 pounds difference at this point!)

Conversations with Micah 03.007

I'm bringing my purse in the caaaaaaar! My man purse is coming with me!