15 months

15 months is a busy age.  Whoa!  I forgot how busy the toddler stage was.  Maybe I don't remember because I had 3 toddlers (almost) at the same time and I have blocked out that year of my life.  That was smart of me, I think, otherwise I may not have had another baby.  This kid climbs everything, destroys everything and makes a mess of everything.  But he is so sweet, that one little smile from him and I forgive anything.  :)

 

 

He is fun to play with.  He gets how toys work these days and loves to figure things out.  He especially loves his play Home Depot tools.  Maybe because he has been watching workers around our house for the past month (or maybe just because they are NOISY), but they seem to be a favorite these days.  He also still loves his cars and can play for a long time with them.

 

 

With his brother and sisters all taking piano lessons, a favorite activity for him is to climb up onto the piano bench and sit and play.  He does this everyday.  Hopefully, he will want to take lessons when he is older too!

 

 







He loves bath time.  Anytime there is anyone in the bathtub, he insists on joining them.  He has even climbed in fully clothed on occasion.  This little one has to be watched so closely!

 

 

 

His sleep is better, but still not perfect.  He naps for a good 3 hours during the day and goes to bed at 8:00ish at night.  He settles so much more quickly now and consistently sleeps until 4-4:30am.  I give him a quick feed and he falls back asleep until 6:30.  So much better than having him wake up every 1-2 hours.  Plus, he is in his crib all night now!

 

He transitioned well to my return to work.  Gloria (our nanny) is so fantastic with him and she adores him.  He goes right to her on the mornings that I have to leave and I don't have to worry about leaving a screaming baby.  It is so good.  He is so sweet and I can't imagine life without him now.  :)



House Ronovations.

We have started some house renovations this year.  They are long overdue and it feels good to get it done.  We have started with the front stairs.  The wood was all rotten, we didn't have a railing and they were very steep before.

Before.

Current state. Note the large tree is gone and we have lovely new windows on the main floor!

 

We will have to wait until warmer arrives returns to stain/paint and we are still waiting for our (back-ordered) front door to arrive, but the front is almost complete!

 

Next stop....the back deck.  I will keep you posted.  :)



Halloween 2013

This year was fun!  We don't currently have a front door, so there was a nice excuse to take the evening and spend it trick-or-treating with the kids.  I felt a bit guilty not handing candy out this year, but it was fun to all go out as a family.  Usually Johnny and I take turns with the kids, so this was a nice treat.

Shaylah wore a costume made by my grandma is the early 80's.  My mom kept everything from when I was a kid, and this is one of the things I am glad that I still have.  It was so awesome and Shaylah was just as excited as I was.

Shaylah the clown.

 

This is the first year in Ashlyn's life that she hasn't wanted to be a princess.  This is just another sign that my kids are getting too big!

Ashlyn the hippie flower child.

Caelan was not only a pirate, but a ninja pirate.  He has some pretty good ninja moves, so watch out if you ever see him in a back alley somewhere.  Definitely run the other way!  :)

 

Micah was my sweet little pumpkin.  He only trick-or-treated at 2 houses this year, but he thought it was pretty fun.  He is almost impossible to take a picture of these days because he doesn't sit still for a second.  I should have dressed him up as a monkey!!  Notice my little helpers in the background trying to hold him in place for me.

 

Caelan's, Shaylah's and Ashlyn's pumpkins.

 



The tooth Fairy makes another visit

Caelan lost 2 teeth this month, about 2 weeks apart.  His teeth have been "wiggly" for quite a while, but he was reluctant to "help" them fall out.  Thankfully, the first one fell out while brushing his teeth one night and the second one soon followed.  Here is his new look!

First tooth - Spetember 18, 2013.

Second tooth - October 4, 2013

Congratulations buddy!

Pumpkin Patch

We decided to try a new pumpkin patch this year and I am glad we did.  We always go to the Laity patch in Maple Ridge, but this year we went to Richmond instead.  It is pricier, but it is closer to home and so great!

We were serenaded by a lovely lady on our hay ride to the patch.

Trying to get all four kids in a picture is almost impossible.  This was my best shot!

Loving the shoulder ride.

"This pumpkin is heavy!"

Pretty in pink.  Love her joyfulness.

 

"I found the perfect pumpkin!"

My little pumpkin. 

First haircut

I finally gave his to his long locks and got his hair cut.  I miss his long hair already!

BEFORE

 

Starting the cut

 

Almost done!

Finished product.  Just as this Mama expected (and was trying to avoid)...He looks so grown-up!

14 months

Micah is 14 months old!  He is definitely in the toddler stage and has me running.  I can no longer sit down and watch him play.  We are on the move constantly, but I love it.

We have been doing some sleep training this month and it has been so successful.  A month ago, I had him in our bed and was still feeding him through the night every 1-2 hours.  It was exhausting.  He is now officially sleeping in his own bed and has slept 10 hours straight for 2 nights in a row.  Oh wow, I never thought we would get here.  I realized very quickly that his problem was attachment.  I now know that if I stay and pat his back until he falls asleep, he feels loved and is not afraid to be in his own bed.  It only took him about 4 nights to start sleeping a good chunk of time.  I slept on the floor beside him and comforted him each time he woke up, but he fell back asleep pretty quickly once he realized I wasn't taking him to my room or feeding him.  We are now all sleeping much better!

 

His language is quite a bit slower to develop than I thought it would be.  We are stuck at only a few words, but I am thankful to say that one of those words is finally "Mama"!  I love hearing that.

He continues to be such an easy-going baby.  He loves to play hide-and-seek, he loves playing at the playground with the big kids (especially digging in the dirt), he is obsessed with eating grapes and he has the best giggle.  We all love him so much!