3 years and 15 months

Rose and Ethan,

The days are long, but the years are short.  That saying really resonates with me right now.  You are both so great, but patience is definitely something I am working on.  I do feel so blessed to have you both.

Ethan

You have spent a lot of time with your Ummichi since she retired.  We are so thankful she has been able to be with you when you are sick, when Papa is traveling, and recently since we started packing.  You can eat solid foods, but purees are still your favorite.  You have been walking since you were about 11 months old.  You love to climb EVERYTHING.  You're quite a monkey.  You are still a very happy guy.  It's quite easy to get you to sleep a night, and usually for naps.  You did not sleep through the night until you were about 1.  You still wake up at night sometimes, but you can usually make it to 5 or 6 am.  You have about six teeth.

Your health is much better now.  You had got some issues in your lungs around the first week of November.  We had tried to go down to 40 mcg of Qvar.  Going down in dosage did not seem to work well.  We went back up in dosage, and saw the Children's Pulmonary specialists again.  They agreed that we should do the higher dosage until we get through winter. We will try to do the lower dosage again at that point.

When you are not with Ummichi you have been going to Willow Tree.  It's a bit annoying to pay $32/day when you are not there.  But, we need to be able to take you there when Ummichi is needed in Lincoln.

Your favorite foods are meatballs, cheerios, and graham crackers.

Rose

You are definitely potty trained.  It has been that way for several months now.  You really never had any issues wetting the bed.  We did keep using pull ups to sleep for a bit after you were good during the day.  The ladies in the fox room really helped get you potty trained.  We have been trying to work through the fits that you have.  It seems like you need some time with me, and to have some choices so you feel like you have some control over things.  You have very strong opinions on what you want to wear, what cups to use, and just about everything! You are very sweet to Ethan most of the time though.  We had an issue at one point with you hitting and pushing him.  But, you have really gotten over that.  You do cry when he pulls your hair or does something, but you do not lash back at him.  You are a good big sister.  It's so fun to see you two play together.   You really want to be independent.  You get quite upset when you want to do something yourself, and we are in too much of a rush to let you do it. At the same time, you do still want to be a baby at times.  I know it is hard to share the attention.  You like to sit in Ethan's high chair sometimes, and to be carried.

You like to sing Christmas songs, and dance.  Your favorite thing to watch was Frozen around your birthday.  Lately it has been Peppa Pig.  You still like yogurt quite a bit.   You also like pears, peaches, bananas and cottage cheese.  It has gotten harder to get you to eat normal foods.  You will eat meat balls.

You have been at St. Luke's for about 1 year now.  You have gone through the Monkey room, the Fox room, and now the Owl Room with Mr. Andy.  Your friends seem to be Aliyah and Holly.

You can speak very well, but when you start to cry you lose the ability to articulate what is upsetting you.

First weekend potty training, ears, and eating

Almost 11 months and 2.5

Dear Ethan and Rose,

We have had a busy summer so far.  I took an MBA class in July, so you spent quite a bit of time with Ummichi in Lincoln.

Ethan

You started crawling in the normal style! You started out crawling by doing a worm style movement where you used your arms, legs and stomach.  You still cannot eat any solids.  When we try to throw up quite a bit.  You have had some great times for your breathing in the last few months.  A little bit of congestion and wheezing came back when you were in daycare for a few weeks.  So, we started Qvar.  The dose is a bit higher than I would like, but you will go down to a lower dose if they think it is helping.  We have an appointment later in August.  You got tubes put in on May 13th.  Your right ear keeps getting clogged.  We have been trying ear drops but can't seem to get it clear.

You are still quite a happy guy, even in the midst of teething.  You have one lower tooth that is mostly out.  Others on the bottom are trying to push through, and your two front teeth are trying to push through also. 

Rose

You are talking so much now! It’s great that you can tell us what is bothering you, and what makes you happy.  You were being funny last night saying “My name is NO!” and cracking yourself up.  You have been doing quite well with pull ups for awhile now and going potty.  Ms. Denae at St Luke’s really wants you to try underwear.  So, we will give it a try this weekend!  We just had all of your cousins in town last weekend.  I think it really motivated you that Tristan goes potty on his own.  You have enjoyed swimming in the pool this summer.  We have only gone to the park a few times, but I hope to go more in the next couple of weeks.

Love you both! 

Mama

Ethan 9 months - Rose 2.5 years

Dear Rose and Baby Ethan,

I’m sorry it’s been so long since I gave you an update! Life is definitely busy with the two of you.  I love you both so much.  You are so precious to me.  I am so blessed to have a lovely family with your hard working Papa.  Papa and I have been working on organizing and playing Monopoly lately.

Rose

Rose, you are talking up a storm these days.  You can still get frustrated and whine a bit when you can’t explain what you want.  But you can tell us the kind of foods you want, if something is hurting, and how you are feeling most of the time.  You have been so sweet to your little brother.  I know sharing is hard for you, but you do give him attention and have started calling him your Ethan.  We opened up our pool a few weeks ago.  You have enjoyed sitting on the ladder and kicking around. I hope you can get over any water issues you might have and enjoy swimming as the water gets warmer!

You are working on potty training.  We follow your lead.  When you ask to go potty, we take you.  You just moved into the “Fox” room at St. Luke’s a couple of weeks ago.  They try to go potty every hour.  The schedule has worked well getting you interested.  You also would love to start wearing your “Dora” underwear.

You had so much fun playing the piano when we were in Houston a few weeks ago.  Your Ummichi had bought Aunt Daisy a small keyboard in the 90s that still works.  You had fun playing with that this weekend.  We also  bought a play kitchen from my friend Sara recently.  You have so much fun making coffee, cooking spaghetti, and making other food for everyone.

Personality

You are a very sweet and sometimes serious little girl.  Your Papa helps keep things lightened up.  You love going to run errands with Papa.  You want to do everything yourself now.  I try to be patient with you.  You like to cuddle and get hugs.  You are so curious about what is happening around you.  You love to ask us what things are, and what we are doing.  Your Papa does a great job telling you what he is going.  He put together a little plant house you got from Menard's yesterday.

Food

You have gotten a bit more picky lately.  You do not eat your Ummichi’s buttery chicken.  You love yogurt, naan, pita, hummus, spaghetti, hot dogs, and chicken nuggets.

Ethan

I can’t believe you are almost 9 months old! You still do not sleep through the night.  You had been waking up around 10 and 2.  Now, I try to feed you before I go to bed.  Then you wake up again.  For example, the last few nights I fed you at 10 or 11, and you woke up again around 4 or 5.

You had tubes put in on May 13^th.  There has not been a dramatic difference.  But, I do hope this avoids some antibiotic use

You do have intermittent asthma.  We have tried several rounds of budesonide (an oral steroid).  Sometimes it helps.  But, for the  last week we have been doing it twice a day.  It has helped some.  But, you still have quite a bit of congestion and coughing.  I believe you also have seasonal allergies.  We give you Zyrtec at night now most often.  The Allergist Dr. Shakir says we can stop that if it doesn’t help.  I do think it helps cut down on the clear drainage

Development

You have definitely been slower to develop than Rose and Anna.  But, you definitely get there eventually.  You are sitting up very well now.  We try to keep a pillow or blanket around you because you still fall backwards sometimes though.  You can turn when on your tummy, and scoot backwards.  No forward progress yet though.  You still need to figure out how to pull your legs under you.  You are getting stronger though.  You started to do “plank” this weekend.  You can pick up small blocks with one or both hands.  You just started enjoying the jungle bouncer.  You do not bounce as much as Rose and Anna, but you enjoy turning around and bouncing a bit. You may like it more as you get taller.

Eating

You take your time, but you do like to eat.  We do puree 3 – 4 times a day. If you do not like something we can usually just mix it with something else and you will eat it.  We still do bottles several times a day too.  You have a very strong gag reflex, so I am not sure when we will transition to finger food.  I let you have fun playing with puree over the weekend.  I didn’t see you trying to feed yourself at all.  I know you will get there eventually though.

Personality

I cannot believe what a smiley and sweet boy you are.  You have a little tooth coming in on the bottom in the middle.  You have not been extra fussy at all.  The only times you get a bit fussy are when you are hungry or need a nap.  I am amazed at how smiley you have always been, even when you had ear infections all of the time.  Doctors would ask if you were extra fussy, and I had to say NO.  But you still had an ear infection ;(.  I pray those issues are resolved now that you have tubes though.

Dear Jesus, please heal our baby Ethan's remaining breathing issues.  We are so thankful that Rose has been so healthy, and has only been dealing with a bit of allergy drainage.  Please be with them both, and help them to be wonderful people that make it into heaven.  Please help me to be patient and a loving wife and mother.  Thank you for all of the blessings in my life.

Love!

Mama

Ethan 6 months and Rose 2 yrs - 4 months

Dear Rose and Ethan,

You are both such easy children in most ways, I so appreciate your happy dispositions.  Unfortunately Papa has had to work quite a bit lately to finish some projects.  So, I have been sort of single parenting lately.  I have been trying to be patient!

Rose

You are talking so much these days.  You communicate your wishes quite well, not quite in full sentences.  A commen request is “Ima raisins” or “What you doing Mommy?”.  You have become quite picky on food.  You prefer raisins, yogurt, sweet things, bananas, cutie oranges (sometimes).  You do not really like most vegetables.  You can sing several shorter songs by yourself, and the words are mostly correct.  The ones you often sing are The ABCs, Jesus Loves Me, The Itsy Bitsy Spider, and Slippery Fish.

Development

You are not really interested in going on the potty much.  You did go #2 on the big potty for the first time the other day.  It was quite a success because I saw you start bearing down, and you were willing to head into the potty.  Usually you say you do not want to.  You can pull your pants down on your own.  I need to have you start getting dressed on your own.  It’s hard because we are usually in a bit of a rush in the morning.  You talk and sing quite a bit.  You like to look through books.  You can identify many animals, and their sounds.  You get colors right some of the time.  You can count to 10, and perhaps 20. 

Likes
Eating, dancing/dance parties, being carried/held, reading books, Super Simple Songs on Youtube, going to church aka seeing Jesus, going to the park, being outside, drawing, drawing with sidewalk chalk

Dislikes
Washing your hair, brushing your hair, brushing your teeth, taking naps.  You usually go to bed quite easily, but sometimes you whine a bit about that.

Ethan

You are such a sweet and smiley boy.  You really do not cry unless you are quite hungry or something is wrong.  We had a bit of a scare in February.  You had a double ear infection, RSV, and the beginnings of viral pneumonia.  I believe you likely have asthma and potentially allergies also.  In the last week or so you have gotten much better.  We were having to suction you every couple of hours.  There is much less discharge these days.  When you are sick for some reason you like the disposable Enfamil bottle nipples better.  So, we go back and forth between normal nipples and those.  The disposable ones suck in quite easily, so it takes longer to have a bottle with them.  You are on Level 1 Dr Brown nipples.

Likes
Baths, being held, being in the upright bouncer, chewing on your hands or anything you can put in your mouth

Dislikes
Tummy time, having your nose suctioned when you are sleepy

Development
You roll over on your own very well these days.  You like to make babbling sounds.  You try to pull yourself when on your tummy.  You seem to get hungry for solid-ish food, but you often don’t seem to eat much of it.  Occasionally you will lap up a decent amount of oatmeal.  Only a couple of times have you enjoyed eating pureed veggies.  Your favorite has seemed to be butternut squash or sweet potatoes.  You really are not into pureed food much yet though.  You do not really jump in the jumper yet, but you like to play with the different gadgets.

Sleeping
You wake up most nights between 12 and 2, and then around 5 or 6.  You are definitely not sleeping through the night yet.  But you are getting better.  When you were dealing with allergies/congestion you were waking up every hour or so, and not able to each much at once.  Thank goodness we are over that!

I love you both so much!

Love,

Mama

Ethan 4 months - Rose 26 months (2 years 2 months)

Hi my babies!

Ethan had his 4 month check up today.  He is 13 pounds and 24.5 inches.  His height is in the 20th % for normal babies. Dr. Reiser was pretty impressed that he was trying to pull himself around already when on his tummy.  Ethan is now laughing some, and always smiling.  He had some bad congestion about a week ago, and was chocking on drainage.  He went to Dr. Reiser, and then the allergist.  He is on amoxicilin to deal with sinus infection and drainage, and budesinide to deal with the congestion in his chest.  He is already quite a bit better.

Sleeping
Ethan gets up once every night at this point, usually around 3 am.  He has woken up twice a night in the last couple nights though.  I then take him to Joshy for the second feeding.

Eating
Ethan eats between 60 - 120 ML depending on how long it has been since he last ate.  We are still doing mostly breast milk at this point.  He gets one formula bottle during the weekdays at daycare.

Development
He can hold his head up well on his own for quite a bit.  We need to let him do tummy time more so he can work on that.  His congestion was so bad, I was keeping him in chairs often.  But, now that he is better we can work on that.

Rose is so much fun these days.  She can say several words together.  We are still working on communicating though. For example, she says "go away Mommy" when she really means "excuse me" :).   She did say "pretty hair" the other day when I put her hair in a pony tail, it was quite cute.  She usually gets pig tails.

She eats quite well on her own, but likes to make a mess.  She also plays well on her own.  Often she will be up for a bit in her crib, and playing with her "quiet book" that Grandma gave her.  She can still be a bit whiney, but we are working on that.  She is very sweet with Ethan.  She likes to give him hugs.  Recently she has started playing in her crib instead of taking naps.   We try to leave her in there for a bit so she can try to go to sleep. 

Rose's health has been quite good.  She did have a bit of a runny nose for a bit, and some congestion just before Christmas.  But, we did breathing treatments for a bit and she improved and has not had issues since.