Watch Me Grow - 5 Months

If it seems like this is the only time I ever blog, that's because it is! Once a month is apparently all that I can handle at the present time. We work and play too much for blogging, but I do like to brag on my babies any chance that I get!

Last Saturday, Trek-man had his 5 month "birthday!" To say that my boy is getting big would be an understatement. I weighed him on Saturday, and he tipped the scales at a whopping 18.2 pounds! For those of you who are keeping up, that's just 3 pounds shy of tripling his birth weight, which is what most babies do by their first birthday. Check out these uber-sweet pictures of our handsome little dude!

Trek Hamilton, at 5 months, you:

• Weigh 18.2 pounds, and are wearing 6-12 month clothing
• are beginning to show your sweet personility! You are very smiley :)
• love to talk and squeel! Just last week you really found your voice. We think it is so funny!
• sleep very well at night. Occassionally we have to get up and soothe you back to sleep, but we have completely cut out all night time feedings.
• love your sister the most! She loves to talk to you and play with you, and you just laugh and laugh! We are very excited for the 2 of you to be friends. :)
• have made the adjustment to formula well. Your tummy seems to be responding just fine!
• love to eat your cereal at night! Since you've learned to blow bubbles, you think it's pretty funny to spit your cereal and watch Mommy laugh.
• are more schedule orriented than any of the rest of your family. You like your bedtime routine, and you very rarely let me leave out a step!
• finally started bearing weight on your legs this month! Mommy was beginning to be very concerned about this, even though everyone told us that you would do things slower because of your size. You're still pretty lazy about it, but that's ok with us!
• really love to snuggle. You're going to be attached to your blankets just like your sister is!
• are working on sitting up unassisted, but I think we still have a couple of months to go. You still need to build up those back and neck muscles to support all of that weight!
• do NOT like to miss your naps! You are usually only asleep for 2 hours at a time before you are ready to sleep again. That's okay with Mommy, because you still sleep so well at night.

I cannot believe that our kids are growing so quickly! Lorelai is changing so much, too. She is quite the chatter box. Just the other day, Jeremy and I were having a conversation in the car. We were discussing something pretty important, although I don't remember exactly what it was at the moment. Any time one of us would stop talking for even a second, Lorelai would start to repeat what we were saying! At one point, we both just looked at her and laughed. It was like she was so interested in what we were talking about! She is so funny to us!

Lorelai loves the Rangers. I know, we've raised her well! She knows when they're on the tv. And when she hasn't seen them in a while, she starts to ask about them. During the long stretch after they won their division and all of the other teams were playing, she would often bring us the remote control and say, "Rangers!" We would just laugh and say, "Sorry Lo! They're not playing tonight!" It may be a long off-season for us at the Mitchell house...

We wouldn't be able to do the things we do without our families. Everytime I sit and reflect on the fact that all of our grandparents, and nearly all of our great grandparents are in town, I am overwhelmed with gratitude to my King. I am so very grateful that the Lord has allowed us to live in the same town with our families. I don't know how I would make it without them. They are so essential to my survival! :)

We are blessed. We are thankful. We desire to bring glory to the Father in all things.

Watch Me Grow - 4 Months

It's hard for me to believe that our Trek-man is already 4 months old! As insane as our life has been since school started, I knew I had to sit down and blog about my growing boy before it totally escapes me. It's funny the things that you think you'll remember but that totally escape you with time...but that's a post for a different time...

On September 15, Trek Hamilton was 4 months old. On the 17th, we headed to the Dr for his check-up. I know my boy is growing at an alarming rate, but it always shocks me to see the numbers! So, for your information, here are some fun facts about my Trek Hamilton. Trek, at 4 months old, you:

•  weigh a whopping 16 lbs, 12 oz! And you are 26.5 inches long. That's the 95th percentile, big guy!
• are very good at rolling over from your belly. Gramps says he has seen you roll from your back, but no one else has witnessed this just yet:)
• really enjoy tummy time! And you are getting to be very strong on your belly. Mommy and Daddy are so very proud of you!
• are beginning to recognize your name...I think. Just the other day, you started to respond when Mommy comes in the room and says your name!
• are still very fascinated with your sister. You always respond to her better than anyone else, smiling and kicking when she talks to you.
• love to cuddle and snuggle! Mommy absolutely LOVES this about you! It may make getting chores done a little tough, but your sweet snuggles are totally worth it.
• drool...a LOT! Everybody always asks us about teeth, but I think you're just full of slobber!
• love your sleep, and you tend to be a bit cranky-pants when you don't get all of the rest that you need.

I am so excited to watch you grow, sweet boy! We are making so many memories with our sweet kiddos. It is a blast just watching them interact with eachother. Lorelai loves "Tick-mayan" so much! Her sweet face just lights up whenever she sees him, and she loves to share tummy time with him. It is our prayer that they will always be such good friends. Our Father has blessed us beyond anything we deserve. May we always bring him glory in everything that we do.

Watch Me Grow!

On August 15, our Trek-man turned 3 months old! He has changed so much in the last 90-ish days. Just check out these pictures!

Trek Hamilton at his first Dr appt at 1 week old. Check out that sweet yellow baby!

Trek-man at 1 month!

Such a huge change between June and July!

Happy chunky monkey!

Our blue-eyed boy is getting more fun every single day. He is grinning and talking and beginning to have a little personality of his own! He's not quite at talkative or social as his sister...yet :) I don't have any new stats on him. I don't keep a scale at home because I find it depressing, so I don't know how much he weighs at the moment! But I do have some fun facts about Trek at 3 months old.

Trek, at 3 months old, you:

• are adjusting well to your new schedule of babysitters. Mommy is so grateful for all of the people around here that love you so much!
• really like your sister. You always respond to her voice and her presence. And she takes good care of you most of the time :)
• are sleeping throught the night! With the help of a little cereal in your bottle at night, you are sleeping anywhere from 5 to 9 hours at a time! WOOHOO!
• are no longer nursing, but you are still on Mommy's milk. Bottles just seems to be a better solution for everyone involved.
• really enjoy bathtime. Even when you're fussy, it always calms you down. At least temporarily!
• are a little spoiled, but it's your Mommy's fault. She just couldn't seem to put you down all summer! This is proving to be somewhat challenging now that Mommy is back at work :)
• squirm and wiggle so much! The only time you are still is when you are sleeping. But this doesn't surprise Mommy...she was convinced you never EVER slept while you were cooking.

I have so much more to share about my sweet boy, but it would probably only be interesting to me! :)

In other news, Lorelai is SO MUCH FUN! Her vocabulary is outta control. Seriously, the girl speaks better than some of my school kiddos! She is such a sweet girl, and she loves her baby brother. Lorelai is definitely a little helper...most of the time. As long as she doesn't think he's getting too much attention, Big Sister will do whatever she can to help out with Baby Brother. It's a very rare occassion that I get any pictures of her, much less of the 2 of them together. This girl is one of the most busy kids I've ever been around. She literally NEVER STOPS! It absolutely wears me out, but I love it!

Never in a million years would I have imagined my life being this much fun. My heart is full! I am more than grateful.

Silly Sayings

My Lorelai Roxane is talking like crazy these days! She has a very strong personality, and it is certainly evident in her speech. When she wants something, she's quite demanding! And she doesn't forget, so there's no distracting her and getting away with not fulfilling a wish.

Some of Lorelai's favorite things to say are:

"Peeese!" - Please
"Tat-to" - Thank you
"Welcome"
"Ha-shu?!" - Hold you!
"Mommyyyyy!"
"Daddyyyy!"
"Shh...nigh nigh"
"Wuf ooo!" - Love you
"Gog" - Dog
"Mum on" - Come on
"GO!"
"Tek" - Trek
"Phong" - Phone
"Moo-wa" - More
"Dah Dawar" - DDar
"Ya Ya" - Lorelai
"Tiss It" - Kiss it
"Sah-ee" - Sorry
"Anges!" - Rangers!

She is such a motor mouth! I really want to try and capture the way she says things, because I know that all too soon she'll start to learn how to say them the right way. And while that will make me oh so proud, I just want to hold on to her cute little language for as long as I can!

Trek is 2 months old!

My sweet boy is already 2 months old! I can't believe how fast time is flying by us. We are having the time of our lives!

Trek, at 2 months old, you:

• Weigh 12 lbs 8 oz. Big boy!
• Are 23.5 inches long.
• Sleep well at night, usually only waking up once to nurse.
• Get swaddled tightly a lot of evenings because your mom thinks you have just a touch of colic :(
• Take very short naps during the day, which seems to make you want to nurse more often
• Are beginning to smile more and "talk" to Mommy and Daddy after you eat!
• Still haven't lost any hair! In fact, it's getting longer and thicker!
• Have a little bit of an issue with reflux, but nothing too major.
• Are such a beautiful blessing to all of us!

We love our baby boy so much! He is such a blessing, and we praise God for our sweet surprise.

Summer is almost over, which means I will be heading back to work soon. I am so excited to begin another school year at Columbia Christian, but my heart is already breaking at the thought of leaving my precious babies! Thankfully, I have the greatest support system on the planet, and they won't spend a day in childcare again this year. Every day I marvel at the blessings that have been thrown upon us; blessings that we are so unworthy of receiving. One of the greatest blessings is our family. Not only do they love us, but the love our children beyond anything we could ask for. God is so good!

Sweet Babies

I thought I would share some recent pictures of my sweet babies. This is the first time I've been able to get their picture together. It may not be the perfect composition or set-up, but I think it's sweet! Enjoy!

Wow...I'm one lucky girl!

Checkups

Since Trek will go for his 2 month checkup this week, I should probably update on the stats from his 1 month checkup!

My babies are growing like crazy! I absolutely cannot believe how fast this summer is flying by us. I'm so fortunate to have been able to spend the last few months getting to know my kiddos better. God has been good to us, and has blessed me with a job that allows me to spend summers with my sweet blessings!

When my Trek-man was born, he weighed 6lbs., 15.6 oz and was 21 inches long. Compared to his sister, he looked like a long, skinny baby. In all actuality, they were only a couple of ounces apart in weight. When Lorelai was born, she weighed 7lbs., 1.5 oz. and was 19.5 inches long. But just looking at him, you would guess that he was significantly smaller. That, however, did not last long! I knew Trek was gaining weight well, because we had been to the doctor more than usual in his first 2 weeks. Trek had a severe case of jaundice that required frequent bloodwork, accompanied by a few days attached to a bili-light. He and Mommy spent several nights sleeping in the living room, waking to an alarm every 2 hours so that he could eat. It was exhausting, but it was necessary to get him over that hump! Thankfully, after 5 days of lots of eating, bloodwork, and time attached to a light, Trek was given the "all clear" from Dr. Alexander, and we were able to begin a less-intense feeding and sleeping schedule. Because of all of this, Trek had to be weighed several times to make sure that he was thriving. But all you had to do was look at him, and there was no question the boy was putting on weight!

Even with all of the extra feeding, I didn't expect him to have grown as much as he did! Trek weighed a whopping 10 lbs., 4 oz. at his 1 month checkup! He was 23 inches long. I was amazed! I told Jeremy that he and I apparently make chunky babies. But that's ok...they're mega-cute!

A week after Trek's 1 month checkup, Lorelai and I headed to see Dr. Alexander for her 18 month checkup. (Even though I know it to be true, sometimes it still amazes me that I have 2 babies under the age of 2. But moving on...) I know my Lo is a big girl. It's obvious when I see her with her peers, and even more obvious when I hold her for any length of time. My big girl weighed in at 29 lbs, and she is 33 inches tall! She has a mouth full of teeth and chatters away like she's already grown. I am so proud to be her Mommy! We will be going to get her 18 month shots soon...I am not looking forward to fighting that battle.

I can't believe my babies are growing so quickly! It's easy for me to wish that time would stop. But when I really think about it, I'm excited for what tomorrow and forever is going to bring for us! As they change, they become the people that God created them to be. It's my prayer that, as they grow and change, Jeremy and I are able to equip them to know the Lord and give Him glory is every aspect of their lives.