It's a PARTY!!!

Yesterday I did some more "decorating" in Alex's room. I got a bunch of ladybug wall decals and put them all over the place. I was trying to get it all done before she came in, but she wanted to come upstairs so I let her see it. She walked in, looked around, said "WOW" and "it's a party!!!" This is her phrase for her new room - IT'S A PARTY!!! I think that's pretty hysterical. We've been trying to start potty training her, but so far she's not very into the idea. We sit on the potty a few times each day, and she'll SAY that she needs to poop but hasn't done that yet. The strange thing, though, is that every morning she wakes up talking about needing to poop in the potty. It's the first thing she says. Last night she was sitting on the potty and she grabbed her clean diaper, saw a green puppy, and said goodnight to the green puppy, kissed him, gave the diaper to me, and then kep saying goodbye to the green puppy and blowing him kisses, all while sitting on her potty that she won't use.

Micah had his two month check-up last week and weighs 12 pounds, 1 ounce, so he gained 1 1/2 pounds, which is a much more normal amount of weight to gain. He also had three shots, poor kid, but was very brave. He's still on his medicine for thrush, but if he doesn't stop needing it before, he shouldn't need it by the time he starts eating solids. I also got my flu shot while I was at the doctor because since Micah's too young, he recommended that I get one. He definitely still needs the medicine, though, because when he doesn't have it, he gets crankier and spits up more, etc. Recently, the kids have been letting me sleep in later, which is great! WHen Micah has his early feeding, he usually doesn't go back to sleep immediately after that, but even if he fusses some, I've learned that he doesn't need to eat again and that I can leave him in bed and he ends up pretty happy. He loves to watch the animals on his mobile go around and the pictures go by. (It has a projection thing on it; it's pretty cool.) But he loves that, and on his bouncy seat he just started trying to reach out and tough the little toys that hang on the bar. It's so exciting! I can't wait until he can truly push up on his elbows when he's on his stomach, although then he'll start rolling over and crawling and I'll never have any peace at all!

Jason left for Bolivia unexpectedly last night due to a work situation there, so we're flying solo for a little while. I have a whole list of things that I want to do around the house by the end of October, but we'll have to see if I actually get those things done. I think the first priority is to finally paint the kids' bathroom. I did some cutting in the other day as motiviation to get the rest done. We won second place in our neighborhood's landscaping contest, which is supposed to come with a Home Depot gift card. (We heard the news through neighbors who were at the HOA meeting but haven't heard anything personally, so we're still a bit tentative.) And I still haven't heard back from them about what is wrong with the tree in our front yard that is in viloation.

I am now going to rescue my son from his misery. (He still hates tummy time, but he's got to do it. Hopefully, he'll be much happier when he can push up.)

It Doesn't Get Much Better

I woke up this morning a little before seven. Micah was upset because he had spit up badly all over his bed and was pretty uncomfortable. (And he had a really full dirty diaper.) However, as I was changing him I heard Alexis say her adorable "heWWWOOOOO!!!" She was still in bed so I opened the door, and a moment later she ran into Micah's room and spontaneously said, "I love you." And right now she is giving me a huge hug. And THEN, to top it off, Micah gave me a HUGE smile right after that. Being a mom is pretty cool sometimes.

Yesterday Micah finally mastered turning his head from lef tto right AND right to left while he's on his stomach, which was pretty cool to see. He's getting so big! I'm going to miss the trembling chin when I pick him up sometimes, the way that he pats me with his hand sometimes when I'm burping him, like he's trying to burp me in return, and his general "babyness" because it's not going to last for long!

Yes, He's Still a Meatball

Micah still seems huge to me, and he's getting more and more adorable, if I do say so myself. While he still has his fussy moments, he remains a pretty chill kid. And very strong. He still doesn't like tummy time, but he can push himself up a little bit and change the direction of his head from one side to the other (right to left, if I recall correctly). He is also eating at longer intervals, which is really nice. At night he has started to go at least 3-4 hours most of the time. (On Saturday night he slept from 10-3, which was incredible, but unusual. He didn't sleep much during the day, though, so I'm sure he was exhausted.) He's starting to get the hair loss ring and has a small bald spot on the back of his head already. Sadness, but it happens to almost all kids, right? The biggest thing, though, is that he has started to smile! I first noticed it a week ago, and they've been becoming more frequent, and he even gave one to Jason the other day when he walked through the door!

Alexis is more and more communicative and remembers everything. And repeats everything. They say kids at this age are simply a sponge, and that really is the truth. She has started to get out of bed sometime when we put her to sleep at night, so last night before prayer we told her that she needed to stay in bed and she wasn't allowed to get out. When I asked if she understood, she said, in her toddler speak, "Understand. Stay IN BED." It was pretty cute, and she did stay in bed. She's starting to say yes ma'am and sir on her own, and she has finally picked up your welcome. And she gets her pronouns entirely confused, but that's normal. (She always says, "MY TURN" when she wants me to do something.)

Other than that, we had a great time in Wilson over the weekend, but traveling with two kids is a bit exhausting. It's more Alexis that's the difficulty now, but that's because she no longer automatically just goes to sleep in the car. I think we're going to look into getting a used or refurbished portable dvd player that we use for just the car on trips. If we can find one for a reasonable price, we think it will be worth it. We've slowly been putting more final touches on the house, like I finally replaced the blinds in the kitchen above the sink, and we finished the front yard landscaping. The three of us just got back from the playground, where it was absolutely beautiful outside. Who would have thought Virginia would see this kind of weather in the first week of September? Bring it on, fall!