Best year

I think this has been the best year ever!  I can't even imagine life without my little family. I used to pray to God that I would get to experience life before my time was up. I am so happy that I am doing just exactly what I always wanted!  We celebrated this evening with my mom and dad. We had junk food and champagne. The girls were really happy and were even dancing. We did a countdown at 6 pm. Tate seemed excited.

So Big

Ellie started clapping on 12/17. Today she started putting her arms up to say she was SO BIG. Tate and I went to town to get my tire fixed and to get some groceries. He loves being able to pick out his own snacks. I enjoyed having some alone time with him. My mom watched the girls. 

Wish

We went on a road trip to Grandma Joan and Grandpa Mike's house to celebrate Christmas. We left around 7 this morning. Poor Tate had a cough last night and when we gave him medicine at 2 he never went back to sleep. So, all three kids managed to sleep the whole trip. It was a Christmas miracle. When Tate opened his new tractor set he shouted out, "My new tractor set. I wished for this!"  He had fun playing with Henry. 

Visitors

My Uncle Bill and Aunt Becky came out to visit today. It was really nice to see them and they hadn't seen the girls yet. Tate had a lot of fun with all of his toys today. He is a big fan of the game Hungry, Hungry Hippos. The girls want to play with all of his stuff too. I supposed to meet some friends this evening but my plans got cancelled. We already told Tate that Brett was going to put him to bed and he went with it. The boys took a bath together. I got to snuggle with Ellie!

Christmas Eve

We opted to stay home this year for Christmas Eve since our kids (usually) go to bed super early. I have to say that it was nice to not go anywhere but church. We opened our family gifts right after lunch and went to church at 4. Tate has been super excited and had a hard time sitting still in church and then absolutely could not wind down for bed. He can't wait to see what Santa brought for him. Audrey is sick and is not sleeping well. She wants to be held but keeps tensing up and won't snuggle in and rest. I hope it is just a cold and nothing more. 

Christmas

We celebrated Christmas with my immediate family last weekend. It was fun. Tate and Owen enjoyed making gingerbread trains and opening gifts. The girls had to open gifts late because they were napping. Tate has suddenly turned into a super nasty kid who hits and says mean things. He absolutely refuses to do as he is told. Ellie is cutting another tooth. Audrey wants to climb anything. I caught her on the 2nd step of Tate's bathroom stool tonight while Ellie was in the tub. She also likes to try to put her hand in toilet water. 

Steal

Tate said he wanted to steal his friend Luke and take him home so we could have two boys at our house. 

Phone

I finally did a reset on my phone so hopefully blogging goes better. Tate hands pretty good day. He caught a good nap on the way home from school and was a good helper when I was cleaning this afternoon. He did try to sweep the mirror and the kitchen table with his broom.  I stopped at the liquor store to get some wine for Christmas. First, a lady told me about her twins that died at birth and then the owner lady told me that she could tell one was definitely a girl but she wasn't sure about the other one!

Smack

Ellie was smacking her lips today!

Weather

We had 2.5 inches of rain by this evening at it was still raining. The temperature was above freezing all day. Poor Ellie cried all day and nothing seemed to help. 

Tooth

I had the day off yesterday and went in a road trip. My friend's husband received his masters degree and he had a little reception. My awesome friends from college were there and it was so nice to see them. I also visited my old roommate and met her new baby. Grandma Joan came and took Tate to school and Brett watched the girls.  Ellie had a fever yesterday and woke up today with a tiny bit of tooth through her gums. She still had a fever all day today. 

Santa

We took the kids to see Santa this morning at the library.  Tate seemed excited at the idea of seeing Santa but told us before we got there he didn't want to sit on his lap. He was not willing to stand next to him for a picture either. The girls thought his beard was interesting and distracted them long enough for a picture. Tate asked if Tim the elf was a beanie. I tried to play it off that he was magical but he asked again so I said yes. Then he wondered why Tim is not in the tub with the rest of the beanies. 

Elf

Our elf on the shelf, Tim, made his first appearance today. Tate managed to touch him during an airplane ride with Brett and when I told Tate that Tim's magic was gone he assured me that it was just a pretend elf. You can't get much past him. 

Girls

I am not sure I ever posted that Audrey is officially crawling. Ellie does her own version of crawling. Audrey can also pull to stand but is pretty wobbly so her head is covered in bruises. Ellie stood up on the little bathroom stool tonight for the first time. She is starting to finally make a few more noises and likes to wave her hand but not usually on purpose. The girls have hit a sleep regression and and not staying asleep at night and are not napping well. I also think they are working on some teeth. 

Dentist

Tate went to the dentist today. He did okay with the tools in his mouth but really fought the polisher thing. He threw a huge fit in a store when I pulled him away from some toys. My mom watched both girls and they were good. 

Last night Tate and I were visiting and he told me that he wants to have his birthday party at home with just is because he doesn't like to go to places that aren't ours. So I asked him about a few other places. Church makes him scared, school makes him sad because he doesn't like when I drop him off, walmart and home make him feel good, and he felt a little scared and a little happy when Owen visted. Poor guy!  I hope he gets more comfortable with new places soon.

Weekend

We celebrated Thanksgiving early this weekend with my mom and dad and brother and his family. It was great to see them. Owen is growing up quickly and it is fun to watch Tate play with him. Tate hasn't been sleeping well and he was pretty grumpy and possessive of toys all weekend. Ellie really seemed to enjoy all the delicious food my mom made. Audrey was fussy and ended up throwing up after she went to bed yesterday. 

Tate and I put up the Christmas tree this afternoon. He had a great time. He kept saying that the holidays were so special and then he asked for a Christmas hug. I love all of my ornaments so it is fun to share them with him. 

7 Months

Well the last month passed by very quickly. The girls are 7 months old. They are in size 3 diapers and still wearing 9 month clothes. They are both really getting around the house and are starting to get into everything. Ellie has her own version of crawling where she lurches forward like the worm dance. She likes to go all over and will come into the kitchen if I am in there working. Audrey officially crawled yesterday but she is mostly content to move a little and sit up and play with whatever is near her. She is really interested in pulling herself up. She is a social butterfly and loves to interact with people. She is either smiling or REALLY letting the world know she is unhappy. Ellie is pretty sweet but is still not babbling or cooing. She is also not going from crawling to sitting yet. Both girls LOVE to eat. They are both getting pretty good at eating solids. Ellie really likes broccoli but Audrey won't eat it and Audrey devours bananas and Ellie leaves them be. They both go crazy for puffs. Ellie isn't a fan of much baby food but will eat some fruit and oatmeal. Audrey pretty much eats it all. Audrey eats 6 oz. of formula every three hours and Ellie eats 7 oz. every 4 hours.  They are pretty much sleeping through the night. They go to bed around 7 and Audrey eats around 10    She sleeps until 6:30 but Ellie has been getting up at 6 or earlier. They are taking longer naps on the days we don't have school. They are starting to enjoy looking at each other and attacking each other if they are on the floor. They are at a fun age!

Conferences

I had Tate's conferences at school today and he is doing great. He isn't quite where he needs to be with working independently or with scissor skills. He was also just evaluated by the school district and didn't qualify for any extra services. He was low in scissor skills again and also doesn't always reply or respond when you ask him a question. I am so proud of him. Audrey did an official crawl today and Ellie pulled herself up on the toy bag in the tub. 

Mama suit

I asked Tate what what we should get Brett for Christmas. He told me we should get him a mama suit so daddy can look just like me. 

Colds

All of the kids have runny noses and coughs. We are trying to teach Audrey how to sleep unswaddled and it isn't going so well. She wakes up and has a party in her bed every couple of hours. I am tired!!

Dress

I put the girls in the same dress that my cousin and I both wore for our 6 month pictures. Audrey cried a lot today. Tate went with Brett after lunch and ended up at grandma's house. Sounds like they had a good time. When she brought him home he gave her his rock collection.

Fun

I am still having issues with getting my posts to load. 

Today Tate said the following:

Later we are going to have a test to see who has bigger poop. 

(Playing with Barbies and makes one dance while the others are watching in chairs). Ladies and Gentlemen (Barbie dances). Thank you. Thank you. 

He also said he didn't smile for his school  pictures. 

6 Months

The girls are 6 months old today!!  They are both in size 3 diapers and just started wearing some 9 month clothes. They both want to crawl but can't figure it out. Ellie does really well at getting up on her hands and knees and kind of hops forward. Audrey can get up in her hands and knees but has trouble getting her head up too. It usually turns into her butt in the air in a bear crawl with her head on the floor. She doesn't like to stay put and rolls all over the place. Ellie is pretty content for a while with just a toy. They both only like to be on the floor for so long before they want picked up and held. Ellie is getting pretty good at sitting but still falls over after a while but Audrey just isn't strong enough to sit up for long. They both really enjoy eating solids. They like baby oatmeal and haven't been super fond of vegetables. Ellie loves to feed herself and gets mad if she doesn't get real food while we eat. Ellie is eating 7 oz. of formula about every 4 hours. She still arches her back a lot so sometimes her eating is a mess. Audrey eats 6 oz. of formula every three hours. If she can't eat exactly every three hours, including at night, she thinks she is going to starve to death. She also wakes up with a lot of gas. Ellie has been sleeping most of the night but sometimes gets up for an early morning feed. They are not on a good schedule because of school so they are not consistent with naps. They are so much fun and have been rolling on top of each other and have been fighting over toys. 

Sit

Audrey went from crawling position to sitting position today!  She still can't sit up straight for long though. Ellie tried all morning to do it too but couldn't get her second leg to turn the right way. We all rode the combine but we couldn't get a picture of all of us together!

Crazy

I got a glimpse into the future today!  A crazy old lady at McDonald's asked to hold our babies. I know we probably made her day but it sure is scary handing over a child to a stranger. I figure this will be me is about 40 years. Some ladies were admiring Audrey while we were eating. They couldn't see Ellie down in her car seat so Brett popped her up. They were in shock to see a second baby.  What a fun experience. Ellie was laughing super hard at Brett and stuffed animals. 

Pumpkins

We helped pick Grandpa Roy's pumpkins this morning. Tate even wanted the girls to come. We got a wagon full and headed back to their house. Tate passed out the pumpkins and there was one for me, Brett, grandma, grandpa, Audrey, Ellie and the dog. Tate was so nice and said that he didn't need a pumpkin. He has a cough tonight. I think Audrey has issues with sweet potatoes. I tried to feed them to her again today and for the third time she can't sleep and cries in pain.

Snoopy Doo

Tate has a Snoopy look and find book and calls him Snoopy Doo!  Audrey had pears yesterday for the first time and had two diaper explosions today. 

Johnny Deere

Tate likes Johnny deere tractors. He rode in the combine today with Brett to cut milo. Brett said he thinks all green equipment is ours and the red equipment belongs to the neighbor. I packed a snack bag for him and I apparently got carried away because he ate all of it and ended up with a stomach ache. I just love his witty personality and really enjoy watching him learn about the world.

(We used a fun yellow bath tablet in the water!)

Cry

I am not sure what is all going on with the girls but they have been crying ALL THE TIME. Part of the problem is that they want to be crawling. They both seem really gassy and Ellie has been stiff and arching her back a lot. Tate put a pillow on Audrey's back and called her a turtle. 

Day

Tate had a rough day at school and didn't want to listen or participate. Audrey still feels bad. She was up nearly every 30 minutes all night. 

Pumpkin Patch

My mom and dad went with us to the pumpkin patch today. The weather was gorgeous and we had a great time. Tate especially enjoyed the haunted maze and the train ride. Audrey has a runny nose.  We all enjoyed McDonald's for supper.