Tuesday, August 28, 2018

Lucy and Ellory- Eighteen Months.

Lucy and Ellory are 18 months! A year and a half! It feels like yesterday that I was pregnant with them and wondering when they would arrive and what they would be, but it's also hard to remember life without them. This really has been a joyous summer. It's been such a good season with playing outside and having fun together, and having all three have a nap/rest time together has been great.

Stats/Doctor visits: Ellory was crying a lot going to bed, so we checked her for an ear infection before leaving for our MN trip with family, but they said she didn't have one. She was still crying going to sleep when we got back, so we took her in again and checked and on 8/15 she had a left ear infection. They have their 18 month check up in a couple weeks.

Teeth: No new teeth.

Feeding: Lucy and Ellory love to eat! They both regularly eat more than Norah. Ellory isn't too bad, but is still more picky. They both do really well sitting in their high chairs. They make a huge mess every meal, but most isn't on purpose. Lucy loves to ask for her milk and loves to pass out everyone's drinks, and then when Ellory realizes Lucy is getting hers, she immediately realizes how parched she is herself and needs her milk immediately. We try to eat fairly healthy and always give that first, but they do love to have a chip or an oreo (their favorite) for dessert sometimes. Sometimes they will have a couple crackers or something for a small midmorning or late afternoon snack if they are acting really hungry, and sometimes they will have a bedtime snack, but mostly just three solid meals. Another change was we cut out the nighttime bottle, so they are solely sippy cup girls now. We also just switched from the soft spout tops to the hard spout (because the soft spout ones leak more because they bite on the tip and make the holes bigger). They are also enjoying summer sweet corn!

Diapers/Clothes: Wearing 18 month and 18-24 month clothes. They still fit pretty well, but I'm noticing a few things getting more snug. They switched to wearing 4 diapers all the time now.

Sleeping: Ellory struggled with sleep some this month due to her eat infection, which made Lucy awake more too, but they are mostly good sleepers. We were in Alexandria, MN for vacation and in Des Moines this month, and they always cry a bit more going to sleep in new places, but it could be so much worse. Once they fall asleep, they are usually great. They sleep from about 9-8:45 and 1-3:30 (sometimes until 3). Love a good afternoon nap! Lucy is still usually the first one to sleep and the last one up.

Words: They are both saying so many words! Ellory had been for awhile, but Lucy really took off and is saying so much more this month. Ellory still says more words total, but both are saying quite a few. They are really loving learning animal names and sounds- favorites are puppy/woof, cow/moo, horse/neigh, and duck/quack. They are understanding so much and can follow simple directions and if/then sequence of events.

Developments: They love to give hugs and kisses, especially Ellory, and it's the cutest thing ever. Ellory will spread her arms wide and say hug and then run at you. Ellory is concerned if someone gets hurt and likes to give them a hug/kiss. Ellory loves dogs! Lucy loves to say hi and bye and wave to basically every single person we see, and she will say it repeatedly and louder until they say it back. Ellory is more cautious with strangers and new situations. Lucy loves to find every crumb or piece of lint and bring it to you. She is pretty particular and will put things back in the exact place they belong. If she finds a toy in the wrong bucket, she will put it back in the right one. She loves to clean up, but only on her own time. Lucy is still very active physically and loves to climb and move. Ellory has recently started to follow along Lucy's path and is climbing up on some things, but not as much as Lucy. Ellory is so happy, but she can also be easily frustrated and throws more tantrums if something doesn't go her way. Lucy is more laid back emotionally. When Lucy stops moving, she also loves to cuddle. Ellory has also sat on the toilet a few more times this month and has pooped a couple more times. Both girls enjoy counting and animals.

Favorites: Ellory is often carrying around an animal or doll, and often sleeps with one too. Lucy loves to ride bike outside (on her tiny one, or have someone push her around on Norah's), and swing. Both girls love to go outside. They both love going for walks, sandbox, park, and taking a bath. They love to play in Norah's room and the basement whenever they get the chance. Books are a new love this month- they love to look at books and do so often. Other favorite things are oreos, when daddy comes home from work, emptying out the kitchen tupperware/bowls, and watching out the front window. We love you so much, Lucy and Ellory! What an amazing year and a half it has been.














Friday, August 24, 2018

Morning at the zoo.

The girls and I went to Des Moines for a couple days to do some fun "end of summer" activities before Norah starts preschool. We got to visit some friends, have lots of grandma/grandpa time, see Keaton, Rose, and my sweet niece Jorie, and hit up the zoo and several parks!

Sometimes it's still surreal to me that I have three girls. I know I'm biased, but they are the cutest. One day it will be nice to not have to lug the stroller(s) everywhere, but I also know I will miss it. Stroller life is pretty great. (Plus having room to store all the jackets, cups, bags, etc. in the stroller is pretty awesome too!)


Grandma, Aunt Rose, and cousin Jorie came with to the zoo too! What fun!


Checking out the petting zoo. Lucy and Ellory loved looking at the animals! Well, Ellory was a bit more actually interested in the animals, Lucy just liked running around. :)


Playing at the park. My girls love parks, no matter what else is around or what other options there are- parks beat all to them. 



Trying to feed the animals. I could tell Norah was nervous, because she kept saying she would feed them later, but right before we left the area she said she would do it. She absolutely didn't want them to touch her hand, so she would find the open spots and set pieces of food on the wood. But she tried it!


Giraffe watching! 





Riding the carousel with Norah! She was so excited to ride it. (Excuse the bar in the middle of my face- oops!) Doing special things with your kids is such a treat!


Having a cousin is so fun! So glad Rose and Jorie could join!


And that Grandma could come too! It was the most gorgeous weather and we had a great time!


Tuesday, August 21, 2018

Alexandria vacation with the Schuts- part 3 finale.

We definitely enjoyed vacation! Norah ate ice cream before bed in her underwear, and people commented that that is the definition of vacation life! Love this picture of her catching her hat in the wind!


We went to the farmer's market one morning, and no one was impressed except me. Everyone said it was lame, but it was much bigger than our small town!


We had to take a picture by Big Ole- America's largest viking statue. It happened to be next to the farmer's market, so we didn't intentionally go visit it, but we had read about it in the Alexandria magazine of things to do here in the house we are staying at and laughed that it made the list of top activities because the statue was literally it. There was nothing else around it or anything else accompanying it. We were there for about one minute total, but now we can say we visited one of the top places to visit in Alexandria!


Walking around some of the local shops.


Fun at the water park! Norah and Lucy had a great time. Norah went down the slides a lot and Lucy was in the water the entire time we were there! Ellory was content just watching. Love getting family pictures!


Rose and sweet Jorie!


Lucy cracks me up. You could tell that she did not like the parts that sprayed water in her face, but she was so brave and never cried! Look at her face on the slide! She's so determined. 





It's so fun and crazy to watch and discover how different Lucy and Ellory are. Ellory is more cautious and was content just watching. She put her feet in a couple times and rode on Grandpa's lap around the lazy river once, but mostly just sat with Grandma.


Lucy went down the big slide a couple times!




Norah LOVED the slide! She even went down a more steep one that sprayed water in your face at the end by herself twice- she's getting so brave!





Aunt Karlie even convinced Ellory to try it once with her, but she didn't like it. She cried and promptly went back to Grandma's lap, but glad she at least tried!



Lazy river. They also had some adult slides that were really good! Keaton even said the best ever!



We enjoyed several boat rides! (Poor Ellory is not a fan of her life jacket. It looks like it was jabbing her right in the eyes in this picture, but I assure her ride really wasn't that bad!)


The brave souls who jumped in.


Making s'mores. Lucy is a smart girl and positioned herself directly at the snack table. No fire needed for her. She loved it and cried when we made her come in for a bath.


Ellory enjoyed having people hand her snacks and eating them on people's laps.



What a wonderful week we had!


Norah took one bite and said the marshmallow was too gooey and ate all her parts separately.


So thankful for family and time together!