9 months old - Chase!

(he's been making this face a lot lately!)

Sweet Chaser,

You are now 9 months old! Here is what you are up to!

You haven't had your 9 month well check yet so I don't have an official weight, but you were 22.8lbs last time I weighed you at home. You are still in 12-18 month or 18 month clothes. You wear size 4 diapers and pee out of your nighttime diapers, though we are starting to put them up higher in the front and put the tape a little lower which we think is helping as you've been dry more nights than not.

You sleep from 6:00-6:30pm to 7:15-8am. I love it! You nap from about 9-11 and again from 1:30-3 or 3:30 (sometimes longer). You sleep on your tummy all of the time. You are still a rolling fool and are scooting in circles.

You LOVE to eat and we have started to incorporate snacks (puffs, cheerios, yogurt melts) into your day. You take 15-18oz. of formula a day.

This month, you tried a few new foods including pumpkin (and I can't remember what else!) I also gave you small bites of green beans and you did great eating them that way. It took forever, though, so I haven't done it much.

You are saying ma-ma. It's more like "ma ma ma ma ma ma ma...." and I am pretty sure it's in reference to me. Thanks for making that your first word!!

You are constantly opening and closing your fists...whether you're saying hi, demanding more food or a toy, tired, etc. It's a little strange, I think. :)

You're always going to be the happiest guy ever and boy are you as sweet as anything!

Trick or Treat!

By this point, I'm exhausted! But I wouldn't dare cancel the one event that Addison had been looking forward to for weeks...Trick or Treating with her cousins. She couldn't wait to join Aaron and Logan in their neighborhood. A few days later, they would be coming to our neighborhood. It worked out perfectly since our beggar's night was on different days.

The younger two (Chase and Logan) went out for about a half hour and I took the older two (Addison and Aaron) around for another half hour or so. They were anxious to be done as I told them they could pick ONE treat when they got home.

Addison loved going house to house this year. At first, she was good about saying "trick or treat" and "thank you", but as time went on, I had to remind her. I didn't expect much and was proud of her efforts!

A few shots of the cousins

Addison still isn't a big fan of law enforcement...unless they are handing out candy, of course!

MOM's Club Halloween Party

Our second Halloween Party of the day was with my MOM's club. This is always great fun and we couldn't wait!

Minnie

Mickey

Doing what they do best...snacking!

Chase and his buddy Vince. Due one day apart and both are the size of 1+ year olds.

My Mickey. Cutest mouse in town!

Getting ready for trick or treat in the woods.

Addie and her good friend, Raegan.

Preschool Halloween Party

We have had a busy Halloween Season this year. It's fun to see how much more Addison is enjoying things this year over last. Yesterday, we had not one, not two, but three opportunities to dust off the mouse ears and collect some treats.

We started the day off with her preschool Halloween party. The parents were invited, which was great except I had to cut Chase's nap short (really short) so he and I could be there. Fortunately he showed no signs of such a thing happening.

The kids sang halloween songs, had a special snack, made a craft and then headed outside for a parade with the rest of the school.

Addison's class.

One of her classmates.

The school parade.

Collecting goodies. Something would be wrong with the picture if my child wasn't the first in line!

This week in the Green Room

Hi All,

This week we celebrated Halloween in the green room. On Tuesday we read Courdoroy's Halloween and made ghosts out of cotton balls. We also put faces on pumpkins. On Thursday we read Froggy's Halloween and did our science experiment. We opened up a pumpkin and discussed that there are pulp and seeds inside. We then made our own pumpkin and put pulp (ribbon) and seeds inside as well.

We are so proud of your children. They are learning so much already. They are doing very well with saying the Pledge of Allegiance and learning the words to many of our songs. Ask them to sing the "days of the week" song for you. If you want to really be impressed--ask them to do the "preschool flip" for you. This is how they put their own jackets on and many of them have already got it down.

On Tuesday of this next week we will have our fire fighter visit. We will take pictures. The kids will all have a chance to get inside the truck but only if they would like so don't worry if you think you little one will be afraid. It is a great day and they learn a lot about fire safety.

Thursday is our Halloween party. The party will be from 10:30-11:10 for the morning class and 2:30-3:10 for the afternoon class. The parade will start just after the end of the party. Please remember to keep the costumes simple to put on since we have very little time for our party (we have something very neat to make) and only 5 minutes to get into costumes before the parade. It is a very fun day and we would love to have parents attend!!

Have a great weekend and again thank you for sharing your little ones with us.

Together we teach,

This week in the Green Room

I get an email every week from Addison's teachers letting us know what they did in school that week. I thought it would be fun to document some parts of each week. This one is from 10/10:

We had another great week in the green room! We read Where the Wild Things Are on Tuesday and did a project where your child designed their own wild things. On Thursday we had a guest reader come in and read A Snowy Day for the read for the record program. Your children enjoyed each of these books and projects very much. Ask you kids what happened to the colors in the milk when the detergent was added on Thursday. We are hoping they will tell you there was a reaction!

This next week we are going to be reading Jamberry and if you give a Moose a Muffin so ask you little ones what they thought of these stories and look for related projects to come home.

First Word?

Chase babbles a lot but recently has been saying "ma ma" quite often, mostly when he wants something (food, toys, attention) or is in his crib trying to fall to sleep. "ma ma ma ma ma ma ma ma...." I like to think (and actually kind of do) that he knows what ma ma means. YAY!!!!

Faith's Baptism

Sweet little Faith Ann was baptized this weekend. We went to Cleveland for this special celebration and especially enjoyed the family time that was involved. I just can never get enough time with my family and I hope my children feel the same way as they grow up. As of now, I know they do!

As we were walking into church, we were asked if Noah and Addison were twins. Another woman saw them loving on each other and said "Awwww, that's the cutest thing I've ever seen!" You have to admit they are pretty sweet!

Addison is our natural born leader. She is always taking her friends/cousins/peers by the hand and asking them to follow her or come with her. She doesn't do it in a bossy way, but is very persuasive. (Noah, Addie and Noah's cousin, Taylor)

Daddy and Chase

Faith being baptized.

Addison being baptized. Ha! She is ALL ABOUT holy water.

Faith with her parents and Godparents.

Our family.

Aunt Julie, Uncle Josh and their two angels.

Gammy and one princess.

Gammy and her other princess.

The princess with Gammy and Poppy.

And here comes the Prince...fresh from his afternoon nap!

I love this picture. It shows Chase's personality so much!

Chase and his Godmother, Aunt Lori.

Picture Day

Today was picture day at school. Addison likes to....let's say...."cheese it" when prompted to smile in front of the camera so I thought a little practice this morning might help. Of course I haven't seen the product from today, so how cheesy she got remains to be seen!

Not too bad.

Someone forgot it's just a school picture, not a modeling shoot.

A: "Mommy, let's move over in front of the plant."

M: "Okay sweetie, say cheese."

A: "CHEEEEEESE!"

M: "Okay, now turn your head more toward me."

M: "But remember to smile when you do that."

M: "Look at the camera, sweetie."

M: "Great, but don't look down."

M: "Ooops, now you're looking too far up."

M: "Addison, can you please smile AND look at the camera?"