9 Months

Maddie is such a good baby-still! She had her wellness visit at the doctor and everything looks good except for her lead levels. Until this I had never even thought about lead in the kids. It read 3.4 which is cause for concern but nothing to worry about? At least that's what the nurse told me. She will need to be retested at her next wellness visit. Researching it, anything under 10 is fine and we all have some amount of lead in our system, but anything above 2 they keep a check on it. So I guess we will see what the level reads in a few months. I had Nate tested too, and he is very low, so no concern at all. She weighs 21 lbs 4 oz (80%) and is 30 inches long (90%). She has five teeth, 2 on bottom and 3 on top. There is another trying to break through the gums for about the last month but just can't seem to. And I noticed that she has a couple more on the bottom that are pushing up against the gums, so it won't be long before she's got a few more.

She goes to bed around 8-9pm and wakes up at 2am and 6am to eat. She gets up for the day around 7-8am, unless Nate wakes her up. The other day he climbed in her crib and woke her up. I guess he was sick of playing by himself. :)

She loves table food and will eat every chance she gets. She's still not a big fan of fruits though. She has stood a few times on her own for a few seconds each time. We're introducing more foods all the time, which she likes because then she's eating the same thing we are. There are times I can't eat in front of her because then she won't eat her jar food.

She is becoming much more vocal. She has said "gaga", "rara", and "dada". No "mama" yet though. And she was babbling those words for a couple days straight and has gone back to her favorite pass time of just blowing raspberries. She is getting loud too. She screams a lot. And loud. It's a happy scream but it is loud! :)

In the Thick

Nate has hit is 2-year old stage full blown. The testing and tantrums and just plain naughtiness is much more frequent. We are getting through it. Each week I start out positive and calm and full of patience and by the end of the week I'm done. But it something we are both working on and is difficult for both of us. This stage is exhausting and exasperating and no one can prepare you for it. Keeping him as entertained as possible helps. Playing with him, movies, and anytime we can get outside all minimize tantrums.

He's not bad, just two, and still has his wonderfully sweet moments. Last night during bathtime he stood up and gave me a big hug and lots of kisses out of nowhere. While I got soaked in the process I didn't care. He does not show affection like this often and I'll take it! It was cute to watch him at CMO the other day too. I got there a little early and the teacher was reading a book and they were singing songs. There were different motions during the song, like clapping or stomping your feet. The only that Nate participated in was when they were to get up and jump around. Go figure. And even though he beats up on Maddie and always steals the toy she is playing with, he gives her kisses and wants her to be around doing the same thing he is (eating at the table, jumping in her jumperoo while he jumps on the trampoline, etc.).

So, while we might be "in the thick" of it, light still shines through, giving us a few rays of light.

Easter

We had wonderful weather for Easter and wonderful friends to share the weekend. On Friday we went to the Herter's for a cookout. They grilled chicken and pineapple and also made cous cous. Our first time having cous cous and grilled pineapple. Enjoyed them both! After dinner the kids "found" Easter eggs in the yard. I say "found" because they weren't very hard to find...just littered all over the ground. Aubbie had a blast but the boys weren't too interested after picking up their first egg and finding the candy that was inside.

On Sunday, after church and naps, we went back to the Herter's for Easter dinner with them and the Baker's. Again, delicious dinner, of course and a great time visiting with friends. It was really nice to spend the holiday with all of them.