Christian is 2 1/2

Our little-big boy is already 2 1/2! I really think time flies faster with the more children you have. Christian is just growing before our eyes. I was looking at pictures of him from last March, and he looks like such a little guy- I know a year from now I will think the same of these pictures I am posting. He is such a joy in our lives. Funny, sweet, determined, boisterous, and oh yes, ALL boy.

• Christian can count to 5 almost 10, and knows most of his shapes and colors.
• He loves playing with other children and most of his friends happen to be girls. The kiddos he talks about most often are Evalee, Mady, Hannah, Brooke, Jo Jo, Mac, Henry, and David.
• Christian has excellent fine motor skills and will sit for a long period of time doing anything that involves concentration (I am amazed that he can do this at such a young age.) For example, he loves to draw and "write" with pens- he is already holding pens/pencils correctly without my instruction. We use lots of "pay-pa" in this house (and do lots of recycling too.) He also enjoys building and always wants Daddy to build an "air-train."
• Christian enjoys playing outside: throwing and kicking balls (we are working on not throwing them in the house-ha ha) and of course, drawing with chalk.
• Like most children his age, Christian insists on doing everything himself ("wanna try,") from getting in and out of the car, to opening doors, to picking out his clothes (Can't you tell from these photos and the photos as of late? He went through 4 changes of shirts, and 3 pairs of shorts the other day. I am learning it's not really worth the battle.) Now if only he would insist on using the potty consistently too. :)
• Christian is also a good helper around the house ("wanna help") with emptying the dishwasher and bringing dishes from the table, transferring laundry in and out of the washer and dryer, and also likes to help "fwean" (clean) by using his own spray bottle containing water and spraying every surface of the house.
• Christian's new-ish favorite thing is to sing before bed, in addition to reading a couple of books, and praying for everyone in our families (Christian repeats everyone's names, *whew* a long list!) He usually requests to sing "Abba Father" (one of Steve's childhood favorites) or "Abba, Abba, Abba" according to Christian. There is nothing sweeter than hearing Steve and Christian pray and sing together while I nurse Lucas in the other room.
• Christian has discovered the joy of band-aids (and constantly thinking that they need to be replaced.)

It is such a blessing and an honor to be entrusted to raise this little growing boy, and we sure do love him!

Lucas' Newborn Photo Shoot and Birth Announcement

Here are some photographs that my friend Myranda (Myranda Lindsay Photography) took of Lucas at 3 weeks (I am a little late in posting now that he is 2 1/2 months old.) Lucas was beginning to get over the super sleepy stage so he is awake in most of them. We didn't do a newborn photo shoot of Christian and his first professional photographs were taken at 3 months. I still wish we had some taken, but I took SO many pictures of him that hopefully they will make up for it. :)So hard to choose a favorite! Myranda did such a great job, and found all these props around our house. (The baby blanket was a gift from Nana.) My friend Emily of Finding My Aloha Photography (she lives in Alaska) designed Lucas' birth announcement.

Lucas is 2 Months and 1 Week (Check-up)

Lucas is such a joy to our family! He is very easy going, sweet natured, and best of all he has already slept through the night six times, including the past three nights (I am REALLY hoping he will continue to make this a habit.) These past two weeks he has been smiling intentionally, and is beginning to coo and start little conversations. He seems especially interested in his silly big brother. At Lucas' 2 month dr. appointment today (although he is actually 10 weeks today or 2 months and 1 week old) he weighed 11 pounds putting him in the 17th percentile, and he was 22.5 inches long putting him in the 15th percentile for babies his age. Loving our sweet boy!

See Christian at 10 weeks.

My Buddy and Me

Christian Translator 2.0

Christian is talking so much these days, and repeating almost every word we say. Of course, sometimes only a parent can understand the words that become a little jumbled. Here was my first list, and here are a few more words that are a little more difficult to interpret unless in context.

"fi-bee"= spider
"peet-z"= pizza
"pay-pa"= paper
"rad-o"= Colorado (can you tell we talk about it often?)

(and some random pictures):

Wordless Wednesday *Christian: Silly and Sweet*

Lucas is 8 Weeks

Lucas is already 8 weeks today. He still sleeps quite a bit, becoming more awake (and cranky) in the afternoon and evening hours. For the past week and a half he wakes up just once (hey- I'll take it!) in the night, giving me more predictable and longer sleep. He is also beginning to give the sweetest little smiles- often at 3:30am when he is supposed to be going back to sleep. :) He is extremely good-natured, allowing me to change his diapers without a fuss, and is enjoying his warm baths. Did I mention that we love this sweet little guy? Compare to Christian at 7 weeks and here and here. Do you think they look alike? I especially see the likeness when Lucas is sleeping, otherwise I think his eye shape is different, and both Steve and I often see expressions that look like my brother. ;)