Will at 3 Months

Our little boy is three months old!  Where has the time gone?  The first month of your life is a complete blur to me.  You have the absolute best smile that shows off your two dimples.  You are even laughing already!  You like to talk to us too, especially while having your diaper changed.  You are still our little pug that makes all sorts of snorts and snuffs in your sleep.  Man do you love to eat.  We have yet to have a four hour stretch of you sleeping at night, but I have faith it has to come soon!  You like to sleep for three hours, then two and then every hour and a half you like to snack until it is time to get up in the morning.  You are patient.  Today you watched me drill away as I put up more storage in my closet and seemed to enjoy watching me measure, drill, cuss, re-measure, drill and maybe cuss some more.  You sat in your bouncer and sucked on your hand and just smiled and cooed at me.  You also love to watch your big sister and even manage to nap through some of her shrills and shrieks she lets out at home and in the car.  You make us very happy Will and are just sweet as can be.  We love you to pieces and are so happy to have you as our son.

Cheering on the OSU Beavers this past weekend

Bath time, you always love to splash around

Belle at TWO

She's TWO and simply amazing.  Life before her was not complete for us or as full of unconditional love.  She challenges us, brightens each morning, makes us laugh, be more patient and better people with each day.  Cheers to you at two Belle, we love, love, love YOU.

At two you are becoming very independent.  You like to walk up and down stairs now all by yourself.  You like to lead the way as well when we are out and about and tend to refuse to hold my hand.  You brush your teeth and hair by yourself.  You like for me to let you pick out what you are going to wear each day and your brother's outfit as well.

You are a helper.  You like to stand on your stool at the sink and wash your brother's bottles, you pick things up off the floor for me, you love when I let you "fold" laundry fresh out of the dryer, you rock your brother in his swing and you enjoy pushing buttons on elevators for me.

You are an eater.  We are still working on introducing green things into your diet, but eating seems to be a highlight for you three times a day plus snacks.  Cookies are your new favorite, especially Grandma's hot out of the oven.

You are social.  This summer we have had lots of play dates and you enjoy playing with your friends.  At school you smile at all of your classmates and play and play and play.  You love it so much, I literally have to drag you out of there, which is tricky while holding your brother.

Your smile and laugh is contagious.  

You give the best hugs to me and remind me to stop and snuggle with you.  

You are becoming quite the talker.  I think you say a new word daily right now.  Some words are extremely clear and others take me a few moments to figure out.  I love that you are becoming better at communicating to us.

You can mimic a tornado through our home in a matter of minutes.  I was once a very tidy person that loved having a spotless house, but you have taught me to let go on some of that.  

You are a wonderful big sister.  You say hi and bye to your brother when you walk in and out of the room.  You haven't missed a beat since he was born.  Of course, you demand much of our attention, but once I explain to you that I need to do something for your brother, you seem to accept it and move on.  You love giving him kisses and that always makes my heart melt.

Belle, all in all you are becoming a wonderful little girl and we could not be more proud of you.  I look forward to seeing what this next year brings you and how you continue to grow and amaze us.  As always, thank you for being our daughter, we are beyond blessed to have YOU.

First Day of Preschool

Yesterday Belle had her first day of preschool and it was a success!  She will be going two days a week for full days and she must have had a great time because she did NOT want to leave yesterday.  We were very lucky to find a school that is just blocks from our house and came highly recommended.  I was so proud of our little girl, she gave me a kiss and waved good bye when I told her Will and I were going to go.  I will admit I teared up a bit as I walked to the car, but that quickly passed once I realized I had a bit of freedom.  I promptly drove to Target and just walked around while Will slept, it was pure bliss.  The teacher did mention that Belle does not like to clean up her messes, which I have been battling my entire maternity leave, and that they will work on that bad habit.  I am so on board for that!

Besties

We love our play dates with Emerson and Belle is developing a great friendship with her.  We are so thankful she and her family moved to Portland this summer.