Elliet {7 months}

Our sweet little Ellie is 7 months old now.  I swear this past month went by in the blink of an eye!

She got to spend her "7 month Birthday" at the doctor :(   She came down with her first (and hopefully last) ear infection.  Poor little girl was in so much pain.  We did enjoy the extra cuddles though!

Weight: She weighed 20# 3 oz at the doctor - diapered and clothed

Clothing Size: 6-12 months

Diaper Size: 3

Teeth: Two!!!  "All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth..."  Elliet got her 2 bottom/center teeth on Christmas!  What a great gift, huh?!  Pleasantly to our surprise, her sleep was not interrupted.

Mobility: Not crawling yet, but can scootch backwards and in circles.

Speech: Lots of talking these days - she says MAMA(!), dada, and baba amongst other gibberish.  I don't think she associates the words with meaning....except for mama?!  {wishful thinking!}

Eating: Elliet eats 4 oz of formula about every 3-4 hours.  She also eats baby food and/or rice cereal for supper.

Sleeping: Elliet still continues to take 2 long naps throughout the day!  She has been waking up in the early morning hours for a bottle on most nights.  She loves to snuggle with blankets when she sleeps - she pulls them up to her mouth/face and leaves them there.  It worries Adam and I sick.  We check on her throughout the night and remove the blanket off her face, but she always manages to pull it back up over her face.  She's not particular about the blanket either - it can be any blanket.  (We use light receiving blankets)

Favorite Toy: She has been enjoying the new toys that she received for Christmas - her favorites are the Fisher Price Bubble Gum Machine and her baby doll

Favorite Activity: Besides pulling hair, playing Patty Cake - or ANYTHING that we are doing.  She has to be in on the action AT ALL TIMES

Health/Development/Milestones at 6 months:

• first ear infection
• first 2 teeth
• first Christmas
• can sit up 
• received first 1/2 of flu shot
• drinks from a sippy cup
• gives kisses

It's The Little Things

I don't know what it is, but lately I've been hooked on "traditions" and thinking about how things were when I was a kid.  Maybe it's because I'm a parent of young kids and I want them to grow up with warm fuzzies when thinking about their childhood.

A few Christmas items that make my heart warm and happy are: 

1. Santa Ornament.

This ornament is made out of yarn by my Grandma Betty.  It is such a neat little ornament because when you squeeze the jaw line together, the mouth opens up.  It fits a Hershey's Kiss perfectly.  We always made sure to put candy in his mouth and fill it regularly.  Even as an adult I would always check it when I was home for Christmas.  This year my Grandma made me one for my tree (and my brothers).  So excited for my girls to enjoy this fun little ornament.

  

  2. Stockings
My Grandma Betty hand-stitched all of our Christmas stockings.  Aren't they gorgeous?  She said it takes her approximately 1 full month to make one - averaging 4 hours per day!  These stockings mean so much to me.  I would be DEVASTATED if something ever happened to one.  I hope one day that the girls will appreciate them too.

Life isn't made up of big things, it's made up of a million little things. :)

Christmas 2013

Better late than never....here are a few pictures from Christmas at our house this year.....

The girls on Christmas Eve with their yearly ornament.  This is a tradition that I started a few years ago.  Every Christmas Eve the girls will get to open one gift - and that being a Christmas ornament.  I pick out an ornament that personally represents that child's year.  I hope that one day the girls will look forward to seeing what ornament we picked out for them.  If not,at least they will have 18+ ornaments to start their own Christmas tree when they reach adulthood.

Instead of cookies, we decided Santa needed some donuts!  (Aren't they adorable, they look like Rudolph.  Thanks Pinterest!)  We also set out some carrots for the reindeer and some water for Santa.  (Harper is really into water right now  - so we didn't want to de-rail that train!)

Harper asked Santa for a ballerina barre` 

Elliet's first Christmas - Harper did a great job helping Ellie open her presents

Speaking of presents - I bought the girls' presents based off something I read on the Internet.  "Something they want, something they need, something to wear, something to read."  I WILL following this gift-buying guide every year.  It's so easy and it keeps things 'even.'  Four gifts is plenty.  They usually get a few things from Santa, a stocking full of goodies, and get completely SPOILED from their grandparents :)  So four gifts from Adam and I is more than enough.  Plus, Christmas isn't all about the presents anyways.....

Another fun Pinterest idea - Christmas Tree pancakes!  I'm hoping to make these every year.  It was super easy - just had to add some green food coloring to the pancake batter and used a sausage link for the tree trunk.

I love creating holiday traditions with my family.  Someday the girls will appreciate it.  Until then....

We hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas spent with your loved ones.  We sure did.  

Harper can READ

At just 4 years old, Harper is learning to read!  For the past few months Harper has been really interested in the beginning sounds/letters of words.  She has been practicing sounding words out by writing them on paper.  (Ex: garlic toast = grlk tost)  I decided that I would buy her some books for beginning readers just to see how she'd do.  She did AWESOME!  She read the first 10 books with hardly any help.  (Side note: teaching your child to read takes A LOT of patience as it may take 30+ seconds just to read one sentence.)   

After doing a little research, I decided to start with  BOB Books for Beginning Readers.  (I actually ordered them from Amazon though)  There are 10 books in each series.  Each book focuses on a different sound, vowel, or sight word.  Every series contains the same familiar characters.  The illustrations are simple, with black, white and red being the only colors.  I definitely recommend BOB books for anyone with kids that are learning how to read.  We will be purchasing more books as Harper's reading skills advance.  And we will be buying the 'pre-reader' series for Elliet. 

Check out the videos of Harper reading!

I hope Harper's love of books and reading continues as she grows up!

30

I have declared January as the month to catch up on blogs!  So here we go.....

I turned the big 3-0 last month! Thirty sounds "so old", until you get there.  I didn't mourn over this milestone, it is actually kind of exciting.  I'm married, own a home, have 2 beautiful children, have a full-time job.....now I can chillax and enjoy watching my girls grow up and attempt to be the best wife and mother I can be.  (I'm predicting that life in the 40's will be even better with less debt/bills to pay off)

My mother gave me the perfect birthday card.  It said: "Welcome to your 30's!  It's just like your 20's, only your hangovers last longer.  And you start buying sensible shoes." Ha - so true!

I didn't have a big birthday party or really do anything special.  (Does going through the McDonald's drive through count?!  Adam bought!)  Adam and I went out with my family and some friends the night before.  Pretty low key - which is what I like.

Here is to NO wrinkles/fine lines, NO grey hair,and  NO varicose veins for the next decade!!!!

2013: Harper's Thoughts

1.  What was your favorite thing from this past spring?

Playing ball with daddy and mommy.

2.  What was your favorite thing from this past  summer?

Playing soccer with daddy.

3.  What was your favorite thing from this past fall?

Jumping in leaves.

4.  What was your favorite thing from this past winter?

Playing in the snow.

5.  What was the hardest thing that happened this past year?

Opening a box.

6.  What were the best books you read in 2013?

My new books.  The ones that were in the box.  (BOB Books - blog on that later.)

7.  Who were the important people in your life?

Daddy, Mommy, and that's it.

8.  What was a favorite thing you learned this past year?

Reading books.

9.  How do you hope next year will be different?

I go to Kindergarten.

10.  What are some of your goals for the coming year?

• play soccer
• play football
• play basketball

Too cute!  (Thanks for the idea, Ashley!)

Year in Review: 2013

Another year has come and gone right before our eyes.  And I don't think time is going to slow down anytime soon.  Here is a recap of our family's year:

January:  I was working nights and unable to keep up with Adam's work schedule and finding a baby-sitter for Harper over nights, so I switched my status at work to PRN.  Adam celebrated his 34th Birthday.

February: We found out the gender of baby #2 at our Gender Reveal Party.

March: I accepted a full-time day position on the Med/Surg floor at the hospital

April: Adam advanced to deputy #5 at work.  We had a 3-D ultrasound.

May: My in-laws celebrated 35 years of marriage! (Anniversary was actually in April, but the party was in May.)  Harper finished her first year of preschool.  We took a trip to the Mall of American with Harper before the baby came.  (See May Catch Up)

June: Our 2nd Daughter, Elliet Elizabeth Nerlien was born!!!!!!!!!  Harper played Blast Ball.

July: Adam took a trip to Vegas with some friends from Clarion.

August: We went to the State Fair with a group of friends and attended the Toby Keith Concert.  Adam and Harper also spend many, many days at the swimming pool while mommy and Elliet rested at home.

September: Harper started 4-year old preschool.    Harper turned FOUR and had a princess birthday party.  Harper also started dance - ballet and tap.  Harper went to the dentist for the first time.

October: Harper and Elliet went trick-or-treating.

November: This was the worst month.EVER.  Adam's grandmother passed away (his last living grandparent).  We found out that my Grandpa has Stage 4 Lung Cancer.  Sad, sad month for everybody.

December: We cut down a Christmas Tree again.  Santa visited the girls.  Brooke turned 30!

Our family is very blessed.  We are looking forward to all the great things 2014 has to offer: Elliet's 1st Birthday, Harper's dance recital, my brother's wedding, our nieces graduation, and Harper starting Kindergarten.

I have lots of blogging to catch up - come back and visit soon.  Thanks for keeping up with us in 2013!

Lots of Love,

Adam, Brooke, Harper, & Elliet