16.5 Months Old // 3.5 Months Old

Owen has been reaching out and grabbing things much more. He's very animated and so interested in anything that falls within his reach. He throws his hands out to touch it and opens his mouth right away, ready to chew on it. He's also playing with his feet quite a bit and chews on his hands constantly. He's a drool machine! Drool pours out of his mouth all day long. I've been putting a bib on him to catch all of it, otherwise I'm changing drool-soaked outfits every couple of hours.

Poor Owen has had a diaper rash that won't quit. It started about a month ago as a yeast rash, and over-the-counter ointments weren't quite doing the trick. I took him to our wonderful pediatrician in Virginia Beach, and she prescribed something a little bit stronger. After 3 weeks of frequent diaper changes, prescription ointment, open diaper sessions multiple times each day, and warm baths with baking soda, the very stubborn rash finally started looking better. Then the rash came back with a vengeance! On our 3rd visit with the pediatrician that week, we realized his skin is super sensitive and it was reacting from being too dry. I cut back on the baths, started slathering Aquaphor on him at all diaper changes, and one week later his skin looked so much better! Note to self - Owen's skin is very sensitive. I'll keep that in mind for the future.

Now that Laney is 16.5 months old and still running around on her tip toes while she pushes her stroller, I realized it might be time to ditch the stroller. She's using it to get around quickly, rather than standing up and learning how to walk without it. Brad and I waited until she was in bed for the night and hid the stroller in our bedroom. The next morning, the first thing she did was grab her baby doll and crawl around the house, looking for her stroller. She started to whine and cry when she couldn't find it, so we distracted her with other toys and tried to encourage her to walk on her own. It actually worked! She definitely started walking more, but she still needs to break the habit of standing up on her tip toes.

Blocks! We only break them out on rainy days so they don't lose their appeal.

Almost too big to nap in his swing. What will we do?

Laney thinks that book looks like a lot of fun...

…so she climbed in.

Buds

Thumb sucker extraordinaire

FaceTime with Noni

Typical tip toes! That's why we had to ditch the stroller. It's pretty cute, though...

Big boy!

Every morning, Papa lures Laney in with the enticing offer to watch videos. It's his best way to get her to cuddle with him.

16 Months Old // 3 Months Old

I know I've said it before, but Laney absolutely loves country music. Lately, we've been turning on the "Today's Country" music channel on TV and leaving it on all day. If I turn on anything other than her favorite music, Laney throws a little bit of a fit. She'll sit in the TV room and cry until I turn it back to country. As soon as she hears the music, the tears stop and she starts dancing. She has some new favorite songs - anything by Luke Bryan, "Leave the Night On" by Sam Hunt, and "Day Drinking" by Little Big Town. When she hears them come on, she stops everything she's doing, gets a huge grin on her face and busts a move. She came up with a few new moves, including (but not limited to): a back-and-forth sway, throwing her hands up and down, and a hilarious move where she spins in a big circle.

Laney loves pushing around her toy stroller. She stands up on her tip toes and cruises around the house with it, singing or squealing. She also chases Cash with it, which he doesn't love but he's getting used to it. She usually puts her baby doll in it, but sometimes she fills it with whatever her favorite toy is at the moment. Sometimes it's her sippy cup or a new toy. I've seen her pushing around the stroller filled with a few blocks, some plastic letters from her Fisher Price house, one of Owen's burp cloths, and one of her papa's Ugg slippers sticking out of the top.

We just celebrated Halloween - Owen's first and Laney's second! Laney was a sweet little bumble bee (thanks to Hannah Stuhr for handing it down), and Owen was a ferocious lion (thanks to Laney, who went as a lion with a pink bow last year). Laney loved dressing up in her costume and played in it all afternoon. Owen wasn't sure what to think about his costume, but he didn't protest much.

Owen has started giggling! It's the most darling little half grunt/half laugh ever. I discovered it while I was playing patty cake with him. I was making him clap his hands to the beat, and after each line he would let out a little giggle with a huge smile on his face. Since then, he has been giggling to nursery rhymes and songs that his papa makes up and sings to him.

Owen has also discovered the excitement of putting things in his mouth. He's able to reach out, grasp nearby objects, and stick them right in. The amount of drool he produces while he's tasting his toys (or even just his hands) is quite impressive.

Snuggle time first thing in the morning is the best!

A quick hangout session with papa before bed

They both still love going to the aquarium!

Tough morning for Laney. Right after Daylight Savings, she woke up around 5:00am. She was so tired and upset! I turned on Sesame Street for the first time and she sat in this exact position, mesmerized by Elmo, for about 5 minutes straight.

 She loved wearing her headband … for about 1.5 seconds, and then she ripped it off her head and gave it back to me.

 Bath time is still Laney's favorite time

Owen's 3 Month pictures with a cameo by Delaney

Laney is smitten with Owen! Recently, I've been noticing it more and more. First thing in the morning when she wakes up, I take her out of her crib, and she looks at me and says "O!" He's on her mind before she has even started her day. She has to say "hi" to him right away every time she wakes up from a nap. She loves to gently hold his hands, and she constantly gives him snuggles throughout the day. He loves her, too! He loves watching her and smiles every time she's near him. They have a very special bond.

As I was taking Owen's 3 month pictures, Laney decided to get in on the action. She had to know what Owen was doing, and the pictures were too cute not to share.

Ready for picture time!

In comes one hand

Sneaking in a quick snuggle

Checking out the 3 month sticker

Holding his hand

Rolling in to get closer to her baby brother

I adore my babies.

15.5 Months Old // 2.5 Months Old

First things first…the BIG news for Laney: she took her first steps! The day after we arrived in Virginia Beach, Laney was standing next to the couch and walked to the coffee table! She took about 5 little steps with flat feet and cheered for herself afterwards (along with Brad, Noni, Grandpa, and me). It was such an exciting moment - one I've been waiting for since the day she was born! Since then, she's been practicing quite a bit and is able to take up to 10 or 12 slow, cautious steps on her own. We're so proud of her.

She learned the sign language for "milk," and she's starting to repeat words that we say. Time for us to clean up our language! She can't pronounce words perfectly yet ("hello" sounds like "ewwo"), but Brad and I are able to understand everything she's saying.

Brad had a team dinner right after we arrived to welcome all of the guys, so we brought the kids for a family night out. Brad was the only player that brought kids, and the other dads on the team were holding Laney while telling stories about their own kids. Both Laney and Owen did really well, considering we arrived at 7 and dinner didn't start until 7:30pm (Laney's bedtime). She was very well-behaved, and Owen slept in his carseat for an entire hour after we arrived. Around 8:00, Owen woke up hungry and Laney suddenly became very tired and fussy. She didn't want to eat or be held, she just wanted to go to bed. We quickly packed everything up and were the first ones to leave.

Ready to meet the team!

The excitement was too much for big O.

Laney was a lovely little lady at dinner.

Right now, this is Laney's typical routine: She wakes up between 6:30-7:00am every morning and has milk right away. Around 8:15, she has Cheerios and a breakfast smoothie. She doesn't like iron-fortified oatmeal and I was worried she wasn't getting enough iron, so papa had the brilliant idea to sneak it into a smoothie. It consists of milk, iron-fortified oatmeal, peach/mango-flavored fish oil, and frozen strawberries. Sometimes I sneak in some pureed prunes if her tummy needs it. She loves her smoothie! She's ready for a nap by 8:30/9. Then she's up again around 10:30, plays for 3 hours and takes her 2nd nap of the day around 1:30. She'll sleep until 3 or 4 and then it's playtime until bedtime at 7:30. 

Between Laney and Owen, I'm changing a minimum of 12 diapers per day. Usually, I change 15 each day. Sometimes I feel like all I'm doing is rotating between feeding each child and then changing their diapers. There are days when Owen eats every hour, Laney sits in her high chair and spends 30-45 minutes eating each meal, and they both have multiple #2s…those are very busy days for me (and for them!). 

BIG news for Owen: he slept through the night! On Oct 14th, at 12 weeks 3 days old, he went to bed at 10:00pm and woke up at 6:11am! What a champ! It was such an exciting morning, knowing he's now capable of sleeping long stretches. Laney woke up once every night until she was 11 1/2 months old, so I know it might be awhile before Owen consistently puts in long hours at night. But I know I'm out of the toughest period of little-to-no sleep, and that's a pretty great feeling!

Ready to shut it down for the night

Owen is holding his head up very well, and he just moved into size 3 diaper territory. He's so long! He'll be too long for his 3-6 month clothes very soon. He's really showing his love for his big sister. Anytime he sees her, he smiles and kicks his little feet really hard. When she stands next to him and talks to him, he grins from ear to ear. If she hears him crying, she goes over to him and snuggles her head against his and it truly cheers him up! He stops crying and starts smiling! Unless he's hungry…then nothing calms him down except food. Seeing the two of them together is the highlight of my day, every day.

Morning playtime

 Both kids absolutely love the aquarium!

Hanging out together

Afternoon at the beach

Virginia Beach fall festival - Laney's first pony ride! She wasn't sure at first, but ended up having a blast. She even tried to ride Cash like a pony when we got home.

We had such a fun afternoon!

Owen liked being carried around better than hanging out in the stroller.

Hello, blue eyes! It's the lighting - I didn't do any editing to this picture!

My little buddy (in the shade)

The Fall Festival was so much fun!

Laney & Owen's First Flight

On Wednesday, October 1st, Brad hitched a trailer to his Jeep and hopped in the car with Grandpa Gary and Cash to drive to Virginia to begin a new season with the Norfolk Admirals. On Friday, October 3rd, I was booked on flights from Madison --> Detroit, 40 minute layover (yikes! that's not a lot of time), Detroit --> Norfolk with the kids. Their first flights! Saint Kristi volunteered to fly with me and help with Laney, since I would be holding Owen throughout each flight.

We just arrived at the airport!

We arrived at the airport and everything was going smoothly until we got to security. As soon as we lugged the double stroller, carseat, carry-on bags and both kids through security, they both started screaming. Owen was hungry and needed a diaper change, and it was already 30 mins past Laney's nap time. Uh oh. We changed Owen's diaper and decided I would sit at an empty gate to feed Owen, and Kristi would take Laney for a scenic stroll around the airport. As we pushed the screaming babies past the gate we were flying out of, filled with the passengers that would be on our flight, everyone just stared at us. Kristi and I kept strolling past our gate, giggling about what a spectacle we were and that everyone at our gate was probably thinking "Thank goodness they aren't on OUR flight"(Ha! Joke's on you people! See you at boarding time!).

I sat with Owen and nursed him while I was signing lease documents on my phone. It had been a crazy week filled with preparations for the sudden move to VA, and I was still taking care of last-minute work. Kristi was strolling a very overtired Laney around and I could hear her screaming from at least 10 gates away. At least Owen had settled down! 1 down, 1 to go. Kristi came back and notified me that our flight was going to be arriving late in Detroit. Originally, we only had a 40 minute layover, so that meant we had no time to waste between flights…with two babies, carry-ons, a stroller, and a carseat. Kristi immediately ordered a wheelchair to pick me up at the gate in Detroit, hoping they would hold the flight from Detroit --> Norfolk for the wheelchair-bound woman with 2 babies.

At boarding time, we strolled back to our gate and Laney was still crying. People at our gate looked at us, a bit shocked that these two babies were indeed on their flight. We dropped off the stroller and carseat on the jetway and everyone that had already boarded stared at us, also now realizing that these two babies were on their flight. Kristi and Laney had the aisle and window seat, and I sat in the window seat directly behind them with Owen on my lap. Laney had calmed down by this point, excited to explore her seat and look out the window. We brought a bunch of new toys for her, plenty of snacks, and a sippy cup filled with cold water for her to sip while we took off and landed. Owen nursed and slept the ENTIRE flight. Laney was an overtired goofball, squealing over her new toys, looking at the other passengers over the top of her seat, and smiling and waving at everyone. The first flight went SO well! Both kids did a fantastic job!

Excited for her first flight!

 Full tummy and sound asleep

Stuffing her mouth with snacks

She stores snacks in her cheeks like a chipmunk preparing for hibernation. Whatever keeps her happy!

After our first flight landed, we only had 20 minutes to get to the next flight. Kristi stood up out of her seat and realized that all of the water Laney drank went straight through her, out of her over-saturated diaper, and onto Kristi's jeans. Her leg and Laney's pants were soaked, but we didn't have enough time to worry about that. Kristi and Laney quickly got off the plane, ran to the gate attendant, and asked her to call the attendant for our next flight to have them hold the plane for us. I waited with Owen while the stroller and carseat were brought to the jetway and then hopped on the wheelchair Kristi ordered for me. We all sped off to the next gate and we made it! Just in time!

On our second flight, my original seat was 4 rows behind Kristi and Laney, so I sat in the empty seat across the aisle from them, hoping the passenger assigned to that seat would switch with me so I could be close to Laney. That passenger arrived and I tried explaining my situation to her. She just stared at me, so I repeated myself. She kept staring at me. I tried explaining one more time and then she made it very clear that she was deaf and didn't understand a word I was saying. What are the odds?? At that point, I just gave up and went to my seat. I could hear Laney starting to get very fussy again. She missed her first nap of the day, and this was about the time when she would be starting her second nap of the day. She was exhausted! Kristi quickly changed her soaked diaper and pants in her seat (whatever works!) and Owen nursed and fell asleep again. I could hear Laney screaming and I could see the people sitting around her, giving each other worried looks. She ended up throwing a few fits throughout the flight. It wasn't too bad, considering how overtired she was, but I think that's all due to Kristi's amazing job distracting her and comforting her! As soon as the pilot announced we would be landing in 25 minutes, Laney fell asleep. Go figure. We landed, Owen woke up from his lengthy snooze with a smile on his face, and I could hear Laney cry at the top of her lungs as soon as she was woken up. Poor thing. At least we were there… Virginia Beach, here we come! Home sweet home for the next 7 months.

15 Months Old // 2 Months Old

Laney had her 15 month checkup, and she's 32" tall (90%), 20 lb 3 oz (33%), and her head is a solid 47.6 cm (92%). She still needs assistance to walk because she's constantly walking on her tip toes and doesn't have very good balance. We've started making her wear shoes with hard soles to make it more difficult for her to stand on her tip toes, and I think it's helping a little bit. At this point, I think she could walk if she realized she could balance much better with flat feet. The tip-toeing has become a habit for her. Noni and I joke that she must be preparing to walk in stilettos.

She has started using sign language to communicate, which has been so helpful! She can sign "all done," "more," and "eat." When she's in her high chair and starts to whine, I'm able to ask her if she wants "more" or if she's "all done." I think both of us are thrilled that she can finally tell me what she's thinking! She's very quick at picking up the signs, too. I only had to show her the signs once or twice, and she started using them right away.

Laney has also started dancing! She loves the song "Barbara Ann" by the Beach Boys, and whenever we turn it on, she gets down on the floor on her knees and bounces up and down with her hands in the air.

Owen had his 2 month checkup, and he's 24.25" (93%), 12 lb 13 oz (61%), and his head is 40.6 cm (88%). He has gained 4.5 lbs and grew 3 inches in 7 weeks! He has outgrown his bassinet - he's way too long for it. I lay him down so his head has about 1" of clearance from the top of the bassinet, but his feet touch the bottom. Big boy! He just started sleeping unswaddled. I wrap him up as tightly as I can, and he somehow forces his arms out every time. He loves sleeping with his arms above his head, just like his big sister does. Sometimes he wakes himself up when his arms hit the side of the bassinet, but usually he sleeps quite well.

He loves baths! Laying him in warm water and covering his tummy with a warm wet washcloth, he sits and stares at me with a huge smile across his face.

Owen just discovered his hands and his voice. He loves putting his hands in his mouth, and sometimes I wake up in the middle of the night to the sound of him loudly and sloppily sucking on his fingers. When I'm snuggling with him and talking to him, he likes to talk back with a gentle "ooh" or "ahh."

2 Months Old!

Laney's first carousel ride at the zoo with Noni and Grandpa

Skype date with papa

Snuggling with Grandma Cathy

Hanging out with Grandpa Jeff. He has clearly grown out of his 0-3 month sleepers.

Such a good napper!

Laney discovered the tupperware cabinet

 Kisses for her little brother! He's not amused.

Loving the giraffes with Grandma Cathy and Great Aunt Liz