So many changes!

 Its been so long since I posted, that I got on to post and its taken me an hour to figure out all the new changes to Blogger!  Must say - I rather like them!  Not quite as simplistic, but much better for being able to post things the way you want!


Anyway - I'm totally steeling pics from my Husband and posting them here :)  Abi did a fabulous job capturing her Daddy here! :)

 "3" has been tough on us lately...Fierce independence, constant chatter, emotions not yet able to be managed...  Gets a bit tricky at times, but I love our little lady.  She's full of energy, sweet as can be to her brother (a rather fab help to me with him), and an avid learner. She's had all her letter down for a long time, but now seems to know all the lower case letters as well, and many of their sounds. She's learning to right them now! Every evening that I work, I come home and find the next day that she's learned a couple new songs from Jackie and sings them to her little hearts content.  She forgets NOTHING!  Her memory amazes me!  Just last month she started a new Sunday School class at church and is very proud to have memorized her first Bible verse: "God is Love" 1 John 4:8  I struggle a little bit with the fact that I don't get as much 1:1 time with her now to help her learn things, but she just keeps learning anyway! :)

Dan the Man will be 11 months old tomorrow and has yet to pop out a tooth!  For a little guy that hasn't really wanted baby food for the last 3 months, its getting rough to figure out what to feed him! I kinda thought he would be walking by now - he was crawling at 7.5 months and cruising around the furniture by 9 months, but is still a little leery of letting go... We did discover that he's now a champ with a little walk behind toy though! His sleep patterns are slowly getting better...  He more or less sleeps through the night finally, but this week has been once again waking up at 5 am and not going back to sleep till 6...  Not my favorite time to wake up - especially if I've worked the night before and not gotten to bed till 1am!  We've been in the middle of "maybe" giving up the morning nap for a month too.  Seems to go OK for a couple days....  ...and then its a couple days of torture - but he just doesn't want it, so I have no idea what to do!  I've finally given up swaddling.  Though it was the only way to get him to sleep for so very long, this past week if you wrap him he works to get it undone and out in seconds - so I think its time to give that up! I must say though - for all his trouble with sleep, he really is one very delightful little man!  He's happy as can be, for the most part, even when sleep deprived!  And a very determined little fellow he is too! Mischief finds him at every turn!!!

We're headed to NH this weekend to celebrate Kris' grandfather's birthday with him - He'll be 86!  I'm excited to go up and see his family - its been about a year and a half and they haven't seen Danny yet.  Really want to get up there while His Gramp is still doing well too.  Then when we get back, I've been thinking that I need to get out to see Grandmommy and "have tea" with her!  She's 88 and going strong!  ...though her memory is failing and I want to get there a few more times while she remembers me and the kids!  


I've spent a LOT of time this summer (in 45 minute segments during naps) trying to get the deck painted and am sadly realizing it probably won't be totally finished before its too cold :(  Kris made awesome gates for both decks and I'm thrilled that they are now a bit safer and looking lovely!  Plus I'm in love with the fact that the upper deck is now a place to still "get outside" even if the ground is too wet to really play!  Its a fabulous thing in my mind!


OK - enough for now!  This has not been a very successful nap time and both kids are crying - time to go!!