Emery and Ella at 5 Years Old!

Holy moly! Here we are at 5 years old! It's amazing to me that they are five and that we've made it this far with twins! I never thought we'd see the day where they were old enough for Kindergarten. Boy are they excited to be old enough to go to school too. Unfortunately, they think they should start immediately and are pretty disappointed they have to wait nine more months. These two are hard. Twins is exponentially harder than singletons. Seriously. Yes, obviously I love them...but I still struggle with having two the same age. I probably always will. At least while we have them at home...but possibly always. It is an interesting experience. Especially with Isabelle thrown into the mix. I fully believe it would be a different ballgame if those three weren't so close together. Three girls...an odd number...with their being a big bossy sister in the mix...sure is presenting a lot of problems lately. Here are some things about them as they reached their five year milestone:

Together:

1. They go to preschool at a friend's house three times a week for 2.5 hours. I spend as much time in the car taking and picking up as I do at home without them. However, they love it. LOVE it. I can't say it enough how much the enjoy their time there. On the second day of school Emery actually started crying when she saw my car pull up to pick them up. They adore their teacher and she's amazing. We love her and all that she does for our girls. 
2. We've been transitioning to showers from baths with all of the older girls for the past three months or so and the girls really wish they could still take baths. However, once they are in they do fine. It's the getting in and dealing with being wet that they hate. 
3. Which brings me to...they hate to be wet. Emery is worse than Ella, but they both hate it.
4. They both still prefer Isabelle. I think between Isabelle being at school and them going to preschool together it's gotten a little better though. Maybe. 
5. I think both girls would prefer to do art of some sort above all else.
6. They both hate to clean. Big surprise. 
7. They both still love to be read to. It drives them crazy when Isabelle is reading out loud (which she's pretty much stopped doing actually...) too quiet for them to hear. 
8. They both still love their veggies and fruits. Ella more than Emery but they love them and we usually have no problem getting them to eat them. 

Emery:

1. Everyone loves Emery. She is rarely left out by anyone. 
2. Ironically, she's the most okay with playing by herself.
3. Her favorite color is still pink. 
4. Her art skills have improved greatly.
5. She's an early to bed, early to rise gal.
6. Lately she's not been too interested in eating much. She'll often skip a meal a day, either breakfast or lunch. That being said, she loves to snack. 
7. She loves to pray.
8. She can't wait to read. She loves to ask how to spell things and has really taken off with knowing her letters and being able to write them.
9. She's definitely a girl and that includes lots of drama!            
10. Thankfully, she loves all the clothes that Isa and/or Ella won't wear that we buy. 
11. Her attitude can still flip from one extreme to another in a matter of minutes. 
12. Emery is extremely stubborn. Way more than Ella, for the most part.
13. Emery has turned into the brave one. When they were younger, it was definitely flipped. Nowadays Emery is the one who has no problem giving the prayer in Primary, going to Primary, trying out new things, etc. etc. This isn't always the case, but more than not she's the one who can handle these types of situations.
14. She loves to sing. Until a few months ago, she couldn't go to the bathroom without singing while doing her business. 
15. She constantly makes up words, but she also likes to say words correctly. She is a little bit of a grammar Nazi and corrects Ella a lot.
16. She hates to be hot or cold...or wet. Until a month or two ago if she got wet, the world ended and if any of her clothes got a drop of any liquid on them they were toast. They had to come off. Even if we didn't have a replacement. She has literally stayed in the bathroom at Grammie's house without pants on while her panties and shorts went through the washer and dryer because a dot of liquid soaked through them. 
17. She loves to take medicines. We have no problem at all getting her to take them.

Ella:

1. She is so quick to throw herself down on the floor is she perceives something is not going her way or how she wants it. Drives me bonkers. Obviously. 
2. She is always always always willing to include everyone. If she is doing anything, she wants to share with her sisters. 
3. She cannot keep a secret. Ever.
4. Her favorite color is still blue. 
5. Her drawing has really taken off this year. She's very good.
6. She's a night owl who would rather sleep in. She rarely gets to do either and is woken up by her sisters every morning too. 
7. She loves food. We have really tried to teach her to stop eating when her belly tells her she's full, but she still eats a lot. 
8. Ella is really struggling with wetting the bed. Until about six months ago, she never had accidents. It had probably been six months to a year since she'd wet her bed. Now it's all the time. She often stinks. We are really struggling with this as we have no clue why she's relapsed or why it's going on so long. 
9. Ella is often excluded by her sisters and cousin. It's a very real problem. It breaks her heart too. As a parent, it's really hard on us as we don't know what to do most of the time other than make her sisters play with her. Her stinking is only adding to this problem. It's really hard to witness how mean Emery and Isa can be to her sometimes and then twenty minutes later when Ella's helping Dad with dinner, she goes and tells the girls to come help too. (See No. 2) She wants to be included and include everyone which makes it even harder to watch her be excluded. 
10. She's so loud. She yells to talk pretty much all the time. 
11. She loves to try and wear her wet hair in a towel on her head.
12. Ella likes to play Mom and be bossy. She will even take it as far as repeating everything I say as I say it to her sisters.
13. She still likes to destroy things...but I'd say it's calmed down some. 
14. She retains a lot. She remembers a lot, she picks up on music lyrics easily and she can recall details of stories we've told her fairly well. If she was paying attention when we told her. :)
15. Ella LOVES babies. She is the only one of the three girls that takes any interest in Evalynn or cousin Paisley (three months older than Evie).
16. She hates hates hates to take medicine. I can't even tell you if we've been able to get any in her in the last year or more. Thankfully, she hasn't NEEDED it too badly. 
17. She snores super loud. She definitely needs her adenoids out like Isa and she's the same age Isa was when she had her's out, but it's just not in the budget right now. 

Evalynn at 2 Months

With every month that goes by, I cringe that Evalynn is getting older. She still very much has that newborn feel to her. It's lasted longer, I think because of the NICU and how weak she was because of all of that. That being said, she is growing and she's definitely not as small anymore. She is very much loved and we are happy to have her in our family. Here are some things about her at two months.

1. She's starting to wake up more.
2. She's finally starting to practice holding her head up.
3. She goes cross eyed.
4. She's starting to put on some weight and getting some chub.
5. She's taken to liking the paci.
6. She's a stomach sleeper.
7. She has double clogged tear durts that are nasty goopy 100% of the time. 
8. She doesn't like being in the swing much. 
9. She's long. She fills out her newborn sleepers legthwise but not in weight.
10. She doesn't get held as much as my other babies and loves when she does get the chance. 
11. She is so good!! She's super mellow. 
12. She is starting to spit up some.

Ruger at 18 Months

Our crazy tornado of a boy turned 18 months on Sunday. One week before he went to Nursery for the first time. He loved it and went right in. The leaders said towards the end he became a little unsure but held it together. He has very much been ready for Nursery for months and I'm really happy for him to finally get to go. I am pretty nervous that he'll get physical with another kid but hopefully not. Here's some other things about him:

1. He still loves to climb everything. We had to rearrange our furniture so he couldn't climb up the couch, over the bar and get into the kitchen sink. 
2. He can knock on doors. This also means he's figured out how to punch. 
3. He will nod yes to answer a question. 
4. He is starting to follow directions.
5. "Ruger no" is probably the most spoken phrase when he's around. He's into anything and everything. 
6. He moved from the crib in our room to a mattress on the floor in his room over the last few weeks. He's done extremely well with the transition. We give kisses and waves nigh-night, send him in with a sippy and lay him on the bed and leave and shut the door. Most nights he doesn't even cry. We are very excited. 
7. He loves and adores his sisters. Isabelle and him have always had a good relationship but lately Ella and him have been playing a lot together. 
8. He really struggles to sit and eat. He'd rather be crawling on top of the table. When he's done eating, you always know cause he starts throwing his food. 
9. His favorite place to be is in the garage with Daddy.
10. He doesn't talk much at all. He says Ella. I think it's his word for girl. He says bye bye, dada, mama for i want something and pa pa for grandpa. 
11. He doesn't eat a lot of meat. It's strange at our house. 
12. He can never drink too much. Ever. 
13. He yells a lot. I think he's pretty frustrated he can't talk. So am I, honestly...
14. He has the best smile and loves to flash it to get smiles from everyone else. 
15. We transitioned from the infant carrier to a five point harness a couple of weeks ago. He didn't like it at first but he's good with it now. 
16. He loves balls, cars, trains, Legos (although he gets very frustrated with them), Minnie Mouse dolls and the animals and males in the princess action figure bucket.
17. He is seriously so loved by all five of us. He is so hard right now but man he is cute. I'm so glad we have a little boy in our house.

Ruger's 15 Month Stats

This week Ruger went to his 15 Month well child exam. Just for records sake, here are some stats about him right now.

Weight: 22.6 pounds          20%tile

Length: 32.25 inches          73%tile

Head: 18.75 inches             68%tile

Ruger's been steadily losing weight over his last three appointments, so the doctor is a little concerned about that. I just think it's because he is always active and moving. The kid never stops. We also can't seem to get rid of his ear infections that he's been fighting for over a month now. :(

Ruger at 14 Months

Our little man is getting older, however I don't really feel like he has any new milestones. So, this may seem pretty redundant from 13 months.

1. He's a climber. He climbs up any chair, onto the top of the table, the backs of our couches, my moms stairs... It's what he wants to do all the time. 
2. He added one new word this month: Grandpa.
3. He's stopped pooping 4-5 times a.day and now pees pretty much constantly. He leaks a ton if we go very long without changing his diaper. 
4. He's still super into hitting, pinching, hair pulling and biting. 
5. Everything someone comes or goes to the door or he gets in the car seat he says goodbye.
6. He directs music whenever he hears it. 
7. He loves to dance. He's added going in circles to his moves.
8. He's starting to learn to walk in shoes and doesn't like it.
9. He loves to push things around. He'll drop his head down and push anything. He gets sooo super frustrated with the transition strips and changes in flooring case he gets stopped by them. He throws himself down on the ground and has a 4 second fit before he tries again. Usually it's several attempts and rounds of this before he gets it. 
10. He's started to try on other people's shoes. He isn't very good at it.
11. We moved him to a booster at the table instead to the high chair. He likes it so much better. 
12. He eats off a plate at the table instead of off of a tray and does very well.
13. He is Mr. Independent and into evwrything!

Ruger at 2 Months

My newborn is disappearing...

1. He's started to smile when he's awake.
2. He's looked at his hands a few times.
3. He's spending more time awake.
4. He tries to suck on his fist and is getting better at it.
5. Absolutely will not take a pacifier.
6. Plays with his tongue.
7. When awake and not being held, he is most content when in the play room watching the girls play.
8. He likes to watch the fan.
9. He no longer fits in newborn clothes and is in 3 month stuff now.
10. His neck is getting stronger. 

Ruger at 13 Months

Here are some tidbits about Ruger right now:

1. Since birth Emery has played with Ruger's hair right on top of his head with the tips of her fingers. He's never cared but now he does and it definitely irritates him. 
2. He's mostly weaned. He's pretty upset about it. He only nurses in the middle of the night.
3. Adding to being able to say mama and dada, he now says bye bye. He also waves along with saying it. 
4. His favorite food may be crackers currently. He also really loves cheese and rice still. 
5. He's very curious and into everything.
6. He still wakes up 2-3 times a night.
7. He's walking. It's so cute. :)
8. His favoritest person is probably Grandpa. 
9. He knows how to pound on closed doors to get people to open them.
10. He loves piano Music to go to sleep with. 
11. He dances to any music...unless he's going to sleep.
12. He loves pushing trains and cars around and throwing balls.
13. As of 4/29, he weighs 21 pounds and 8 oz, which is the 45th percentile. He's 30.5 inches tall, which is the 57th percentile. His head circumference is 18.5 inches, which is 68th percentile.

Ruger at 12 Months

Here's some things about Ruger at 1 whole year!

1. He's not really liking milk. He does love cheese though and juices and water. Weaning from nursing has commenced and he is very unhappy about it. 
2. He's taking steps, but only three at the most. He doesn't really show that he's interested in practicing or trying much. 
3. He has learned how to scream. Ugh. Such a horrible scream that has a touch of growl to it. It developed during Spring Break when he was suffering from a man cold/ear infection. 
4. He still only has his 8 teeth. He hasn't cut any teeth in months. 
5. He's getting harder to keep out of things. He wants to explore and get into everything like his sisters.
6. He no longer likes the high chair.
7. He only says Mama and Dada. 
8. He has really taken to food lately. Rice is his absolute favorite. He will literally eat half the pot of rice we make for the whole family. Second favorite would be cheese. 
9. As much as he loves to explore and roam all day, he still wants to be held quite a bit of the day. 
10. He brightens up as soon as Isabelle or Daddy get a home. He is quite the Daddy's boy. 

Ruger at 11 Months

Our little boy is only one month away from his 1st birthday. This also means Isa is one month from her 6th birthday. It is unbelievable how fast this year went! Last month I was terrified of Ruger turning one, but something has clicked in me and now I'm actually counting down. I am excited to be able to give him milk and hopefully wean him. Nursing has become quite the burden for me as it's Ruger's only comfort, how he soothes himself and mostly how he goes to sleep. It drives me bonkers at night. Anyways, he is becoming quite the independent big boy lately.

1. He can stand on his own for a couple seconds at a time. 
2. He loves juice. He is a mess with it though.
3. He can walk when pushing something in front of him. We don t have any walkers but we have baskets, chairs and many other things. We have hard floors throughout all the living spaces in our house so the only thing that deters him are transition strips and the rug. 
4. He still has the same eight teeth. I don't believe he's cut any this month. 
5. He loves to dance whenever he hears music. 
6. We've been somewhat successful letting him cry himself to sleep. Sometimes it works...sometimes it doesnt. However it has made him more capable of putting himself back to sleep when he's wakes in the middle of the night. Well at least the first time he wakes...at 9 o'clock. 
7. He's developed quite the love for toys.
8. He only takes one nap a day. It's usually an average of an hour long. Sometimes it's only 40 minutes, sometimes it's as long as an hour and 20 minutes. 
9. He loves loves loves when his sisters get down and crawl with him. The cream of the crop is when they chase each other. It's the best. All four of them laughing...yeah...the best.
10. He's a book worm deluxe! I though Emery and Ella were bad. Sheesh. This kid is destroying our nice hard back book collection by biting and eating them! He destroyed the spines.
11. He still likes to pull things off the shelves, but it has slowed down. 
12. He's a biter! Once again, this kid is putting Emery and Ella to shame. They mostly bit each other. Ruger mostly bites me, but he'll also go for Daddy and he wants to chew on every inanimate object in the house...couches, chairs, baskets, books, fabric, any furniture, etc etc etc. 
13. He likes to go to bed for the night right at 7.
14. He has his own grunting language. He only officially says Mama and Dada.
15. He loves to explore and travel all over the house.
16. He loves to play in the toy room with his sisters.

Ruger at 10 Months

Can I admit I'm starting to have panic attacks because in just another two blinks of the eyes, Ruger is going to be a year old! Sheesh, it's just not fair how fast he's growing. Here's some things about him at 10 months:

• He's a pro at drinking from a straw and is really good at drinking from a cup. We've yet to try a sippy cup.
• He says Mama and Dada.
• He is in to everything! He loves to pull the books off of bookshelves, get in the bathroom, pull everything out of cabinets and drawers and the dryer if he gets the chance. 
• He bites all the time. He mostly bites me and a little bit of Curt, but he's started moving in on the girls too.
• He loves to pull hair. He actually seeks it out and gets mad when you won't let him.
• He has eight teeth.
• He hates getting dressed and changing his diaper.
• He totally understands the concept and how to color. He doesn't literally color though cause thankfully he doesn't know how to take lids off of markers.
• He moves all the time. 
• He's cried himself to sleep two nights in a row. We've never been able to get him to before. We are really hoping this starts to help him sleep more cause the kid doesn't sleep much.
• He doesn't like baby food much at all anymore. He doesn't like a ton of solid food either. He is mostly just good with nursing.
• He's started to notice the TV.
• He still adores Isabelle.
• He still is a homebody. The only place he's comfortable other than our house is grandma's house.
• He loves to take baths.
• He doesn't like strollers, car seats, high chairs unless he is actively eating.

Emery and Ella's Four Year Old Well Child

Yesterday Emery and Ella went to their 4 year well child exam. Both girls are doing well and there is really nothing to report. Both of them, and Ruger, received their shots. I'm so glad the girls are done for the next seven years!! Phew, getting all three kids done at once, by myself, was not the easiest. :) Here are their stats:

Emery:
Weight: 36 pounds          58%tile
Length: 38.5 inches         22 %tile

Ella:
Weight: 43 pounds          91%tile
Length: 40.8 inches         71%tile

Thankful Tree

This was our second year of doing a thankful tree. Sadly, we don't have a picture of it...and some of the leaves have been lost or destroyed since I've waited so long to blog about them. So, this isn't a complete record of our tree this year.                
Isabelle:
for earning money
for trick or treating
for slushes to drink
for Ruger (twice)
for friends to play with at school
for my name plate (that she got at school)
for reverence
for saying please in our prayers
for turkey at Thanksgiving
for my toys Santa will bring
for Aunt Christy eating at our house
for Chicken Donalds (Mc Donalds)
for Abby
for riding on the bus

Ella:
for eggs
for my sister to play with
for our stuff in our house
for trick or treating
for chances to go to Isabelle's school
for the thankful tree
for snow
for Halloween decorations
for chicken and dinner
for our house
for Ruger (twice)
for going to Grandma's house
for my sisters
for Grammie's birthday cake
                               

Emery:
for Grandma
for my sister Isabelle
for Grammie
for Legos to play with
for our thankful tree project
for ghost projects (we did one during Halloween time)
for going camping
for Wendys
for Halloween decorations
for having fun
for trees
for candy
for Grandma's house
for projects
for Isabelle

I feel like last year the girls had a better time seeing beyond what was in our living room and coming up with things than they did this year. Overall though, we were really happy to finish this project again and look forward to completing it in 2015.                                

Ruger at 9 Months

I think December just flew by in the blink of an eye. I guess staying crazy busy does that to time. Our little man is growing up way too fast!

• Ruger loves to crawl around and explore the house and everything in it.
• He can open dresser drawers.
• He loves to pull clothes out of the drawers and books off of the shelves.
• He can use his pointer finger and thumb to pick up anything now. Most of the time it goes right in his mouth.
• He loves food. Especially non baby food. Rice meals are his current favorite.
• I absolutely cannot be on the computer while he's awake. He has to be able to sit in my lap and get at whatever he wants.
• He makes the cutest "yum" noises while eating.
• He rarely sings himself to sleep. I'm really going to miss that.
• He takes two 20-30 minute naps a day. Rarely are they any longer. If his first nap is any longer, then he won't take a second nap. If his second nap is long then he goes to be way later than his normal 8 o'clock bed time. His lack of sleep during the day is rough.
• At night, he still wakes up about four times. Sometimes he will only sleep for 90 minutes before he's up and wants to eat again. He really just wants to eat and use me as a pacifier all night. It is completely normal for him to get up twice before we even go to bed. 
• He still sleeps in our room. He seems to have a sixth sense and can tell when we or I come in to go to bed. I can be silent and he still wakes up within five minutes of me being back there. 
• He doesn't sleep through much at all. Our house is loud and he's way sensitive to any light when asleep. It is definitely a contributing factor to his lack of sleep during the day.
• He likes to pull up on anything and everything. 
• He's started to cruise along furniture. Not much but some. 
• He still very much loves his parents. He's pretty convinced he's the most important person in Curt's life. He wants Curt to come straight to him as soon as he walks in the door after work. If he doesn't, Ruger gets very jealous and starts crying.
•  At 9.5 months, his stats were 20 pounds 6 ounces (57 percentile) and 29.75 inches (89 percentile).