Tuesday, January 31, 2012

"Grammy Blankets"

My mom made each of the kids play blankets and we affectionately call them "Grammy Blankets." After afternoon-naps the other day, Michael was laying on his, enjoying the sunshine and Lucy, who loves being the center of attention went and grabbed hers too. I was so glad the camera was close by. :)

Tummy Time - his neck muscles have gotten so much stronger since he was born! He wasn't a "floppy" baby, but it is crazy what a few weeks can do!

Such dark eyes - they are looking like they will be brown (Sorry Brad.... I know you were hoping he would have your eyes)

He makes me melt. 

Thing 1 and Thing 2 :)

She rarely holds still. I thought it was funny how they both happened to be wearing clothes that matched their blankets! :) You can see the size difference between them well here - Lucy looks like she is 5 years old (at least to us - her parents who want their little girl to stay little for as long as possible)


I bribed them, Michael has his paci - Lucy a cracker. :) 

The things moms will do to get their kids to hold still stay in the general vicinity and not cry. 

Michael Bradley, 3 weeks. :)

Friday, January 20, 2012

Two Weeks

As I was getting ready to upload the pictures for this post, I looked up Lucy at 2 weeks and couldn't believe 1) How I feel the same way about Michael now as I felt about Lu then - He is real, and I know he is here to stay... but it just feels so surreal. We waited for him for (what seemed like) eons and already he has been with us for (what seems like) forever! And 2) how similar but distinct they are from each other, when compared at the same age. They both have their daddy's hair line, but Lucy has 3-4 times as much hair as Michael. They both look distinct in that Lucy was so feminine and Michael is all boy. Haha and they both have jowls! :) What similarities or distinctives do you see?













Thursday, January 19, 2012

Belly Button

Hello Everyone,

Mommy said I needed to write you a letter telling you that my belly button came off when I was 11 days old. I guess my big sister Lucy did it and now I have to too.

I haven't noticed too much of a difference except my baths are nicer now since I can get in the water.

Love,

Michael B. Kidder

P.S. Here is a link to my sister's letter she wrote you, if you haven't seen it in awhile.

Messy Bun

Some days just call for a messy bun. :) Lucy pulls her's off quite well. 

 Lucy has been such a delight the past month - her vocabulary is increasing more and more every day and she is interacting with us more in conversation. Her "no wan it!" has turned into "no" (still not always what we want to hear, but much more pleasant!) we are still working on "thank you" but she says "Please" readily. She often asks if she can "Have it" while pointing at an object of interest and if she is hungry/thirsty she will bring me a plate/cup and ask, "Please snack/apple/cracker/milk/water." 

The other day Lucy was standing on the step of the dining room and Brad and I were on the couch. She had a plate in her hands and was saying "Snack! Snack! Snack!" Brad informed her that we were going to be eating dinner soon and she couldn't have a snack - Her tone immediately changed, "Please Snack?" both Brad and I cracked up - looked at each other and said, "Okay... she can have a snack." :)

 I was putting Lucy to bed the other evening and after we read a few books I said, "Ok Lu, it's time to pray and sing." She looked at me with her big brown eyes and asked, "One more?" (complete with her little pointer finger being held up!) again, I couldn't say no. We read one more book and then continued with our routine. :)

Are we softies or what?!? :)

Lu has been eating like a champ again, she had a week or two in which she didn't want to eat anything. No teeth popped up, so I have no idea what was going on - but I'm thankful she's over it. She has taken two 4 hour naps recently as I've gone back to work - she sleep so well at church, making work much easier! She goes down for the night at 7 p.m. and has continued to sleep in until at least 8 a.m. (I am a spoiled mamma).

 Lucy has been adjusting to life as a big sister well, and other than taking away Michael's paci every once in awhile is really good with him. If she sees her brother lying on his Grammy-Blanket she runs to get hers to put down beside him (pictures coming soon) and she has been a little helper bringing his dirty clothes to the laundry basket for me. She is very concerned when Michael cries and will scrunch up her face and tell me in a whiny voice, "Michael, sad."

The whiny voice has also come out in conversation if she doesn't get her way (fun fun.) so we have been working on speaking nicely and not whining.

Lucy continues to love reading, and has recently been enjoying (we read at least three of the books below every day): 
She calls these books, "Hat" and "Duck Stuck"


"Stuck" and "Barn"


"Gossie" (We love this whole series and highly recommend them.) and, get ready for this.... "Punzel" (Rapunzel) "Star" (Star Light Star Bright) "Moon" (I See the Moon) "Riding hood" (Little Red Riding Hood) "Owl" (Man in the Moon - the "Man" is depicted as an Owl in the book) "Baby" (Hush Little Baby) "Shoes" (The Elves and the Shoemaker) "Duckie" (The Ugly Duckling) "Show Wite" (Snow White) "Wolf" (The Boy Who Cried Wolf) "Bears" (Goldilocks and the Three Bears) "Seep Baby Seep" (Sleep Baby Sleep)

We had no idea she could identify each of the 12 bedtime story books until one evening she kept bringing them to Brad, one by one asking him to read to her - she named each book and asked, "Read?" He was shocked! And I had to see hear it to believe it myself. She had just received the books as a Christmas gift and not even a week later she knew what they were. We had read through all of them a few times - but I never worked with her or focused on the title of the books. Such a smart girl! :)

Our little girl is 19 months old, we didn't realize how BIG she was until Michael came along - seriously, when you change a 1 month old's diaper and turn around and change an 19 month old's diaper... there is a big difference there. One still feels so fragile and the other so solid.

Well, that's the update on Lucy Jo - Next up.... at least 3 Michael posts! :)

Tuesday, January 17, 2012

Christmas Day

This Christmas was a bit untraditional for our family. Other than the obvious transitions of welcoming a newborn into the family unit, there was the fact that Christmas was on a Sunday and we had both a Christmas Eve service and a Christmas Morning service at church. (Which were both amazing! We did joined services with another great church in town and were able to worship as a large body of believers - very special.) 

We woke up at 7 a.m. to open stockings and gifts before church and enjoyed coffee and carmel monkey bread. :)
 Lucy was so excited to see the special "seat" for "Caroline" from Grandma and Grandpa

Side Note: She had on sweat pants under her nightgown because 1) She has taken off her diaper before when she didn't have a cover on and 2) Our house is kept cold year round and she sleeps better if she is warm. :) Don't they match nicely.... :}

 Lu also enjoyed Michael's new dump "truck" :)

 My 3 loves - this is my computer background - it makes me so happy. :) 

Those are all the pictures I have of Christmas morning - our camera battery died. :( Michael will forgive me... right? 

Off to Church we went and came home to enjoy a beautiful ham that Mom Kidder had prepared for us (she made the entire meal - I was/am so thankful!)

 Our Christmas Table - I found the table cloth for $20 (originally $50) at Crate and Barrel! 

Lucy trying out Michael's paci - she has been known to take it away from him right after he calms down and is content.... just a tad-bit frustrating - but we are working on it :)
We spent the afternoon relaxing (everything was done!), soaking in each others company, since Mom, Dad and Amy had to leave the next day, and watching Zookeeper (a predictable but humorous movie).




We hope you enjoyed a wonderful Christmas season, full of wonderment, peace and joy.

Love,

Brad, Sarah, Lucy and Michael

Family Christmas Pictures

FYI, Getting a good picture of two children (together) is extremely difficult. :)

We tried distracting with bows... 

...but Michael wasn't a big fan. 

 Lucy, however loves bows and was all too happy to wear it herself. :) 

This picture might be my favorite - It sums up the first two weeks of Michael's life perfectly. Lucy had a TON of energy (more than usual, it seemed) and Michael slept (not all the time, but a lot). :)

 The last attempt at a non-blurry, two-kid picture.... Not successful. 

I took about 30 pictures total, and I had to delete 2/3rds of them because of Miss Wiggle-Worm :)

Moving on to individual pictures...
 9 days old, sweet and still.

 18 months 10 days old, sweet and spirited (read: not-still)

 
 Our family of four!

And two seconds later....
 hahahah!

I was so focused on getting Lucy into bed, the family pictures were taken after the Christmas eve service and it was late, I didn't even think about taking an extended family picture! Augh! Thankfully Grandma and Grandpa had the clarity of mind to get a picture with Michael.
 

Our 2011 Gingerbread House

I love to give/receive gifts that lend to family traditions and memory-making, so it is no surprise that one of my favorite wedding gifts was a Pampered Chef Gingerbread House mold from my Aunt Joy and Uncle Jason.

This was the second year that my sister-in-law, Amy, and I have decorated a gingerbread house together but the first year that Lucy got to participate.



The royal icing was a bit "runnier" than it was supposed to be (due to my impatience) so we had to wait a few hours for it to harden (better safe than sorry when doing an activity with an 18 month old). 

Oh, and I learned my lesson last year after spending too much time scraping petrified sugar off of my cutting board - I decided to cover it with foil this year. It made clean up super easy and provided an "icy" foundation for our house.

 All set up and ready to begin!

 Lucy sat on a stool so well and really enjoyed decorating with eating the candy.



 The three of us had a great time, made a memory and continued a tradition. Lucy consumed more sugar than she ever has before and took a great nap after working so hard on the house. :) 

~Our 2011 Gingerbread House~

:)