About Adler - 4 Months

Wait, it is December already??  These last few months have flown by!  I can't believe that Adler is already 1/3 of the way to a year old!

I had Adler's 4-month check-up yesterday and here are his latest stats:

Weight - 14 pounds, 3 ounces (35.71 %)

Length - 24 3/4 inches (44.49 %)

Head circumference - 16 3/4 inches (58.67 %)

So all in all, he is pretty average sized.  

Adler just started rolling from his tummy to his back.  He is still a very social little boy, and is happiest when he is around people.  He will just give the biggest smiles to anyone who will glance his way.  He is beginning to get a nap routine figured out, and is pretty regular at going to bed by 6:45 or 7:00 pm.  He still wakes at about 11:00 pm, and 3:00 am, but hopefully we can drop one of those soon! 

His eyes are still looking pretty blue...it will be interesting to see if they stay blue!  

Adler is such a sweet, sweet baby.  We are so in love with this kid! 

A couple weeks ago, my sweet neighbor took some awesome pictures of Adler.  This is such a cute age!

Gearing Up For Halloween....

Halloween always surprises me with how busy it is!  there are always so many parties, and things to go to that it makes for one busy week!  This year was no exception...

Miley was so excited to be able to go to her first Halloween party at her dance studio.  They only do this party for the kids on the competitive teams, so she hasn't gotten to go before.  I stayed to help, and I hardly saw her the whole night, because she was having so much fun running around with all of her little buddies!

On Monday night, we carved pumpkins.  I can't believe I didn't get a picture of the finished products, but we sure had fun with this little pumpkin (although I am not sure he was quite as thrilled!).

The kids always get into the spirit by wearing festive clothes throughout the month...

Today, Landon had his Halloween party at preschool.  They got to dress up and sing some songs for the parents.  Then, they got to have a party, and trick-or-treat around the church where they have school.  It was so much fun, and so cute!  I am so happy Landon is getting to do some of these things now, because it seems like we are always going to these types of events for Miley.  I love that he is getting his own fun, and I know he loves it too!

Whew.  Now we just have to get ready for actual Halloween tomorrow!  I feel like it has been Halloween all week!

Landon's Week With Custer!

One of the highlights of preschool for Landon so far, has been getting to bring the class "pet," Custer, home with him for a week!

Throughout the week, we had to take pictures of what we were doing with Custer.  Unfortunately, despite a break from school, we didn't have a whole lot going on.  We managed to get a few pictures though, of some of the things we do everyday anyway.

Landon LOVED having Custer!  He brought him everywhere with us and slept with him every night!  We were able to take Custer to the park and to the library.  Landon had fun eating breakfast with him and painting with him.

At the end of the week, Landon sure was sad to see Custer go, but I was somewhat glad to have the assignment over with!!  The joys of preschool...  :)

Back to School!

Well, this summer just flew by, and before we knew it, it was time to go back to school!

Miley started school right after Labor Day, on September 2nd.  She is starting 1st grade this year, and it is the first year that she is gone all day.  :(  I am a little sad to get to this point, where she is gone almost more than she is home, but on the other hand, with Adler around now, it is kind of nice to have just 2 kids at home during the day!

She was thrilled to be going back to school!

I didn't follow the bus and meet her at school, but I have a sweet friend who took her son to school, and popped into Miley's classroom just to get a picture of her for me.  I don't think she missed us too much...  :)  Then, before we knew it, she was home!

Landon started his first year of preschool on September 9th.  He is going to the cutest little preschool, just on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons for 2 and a half hours each time.  It is the perfect amount of time I think,and gives me a couple afternoons a week with just Adler!  It was fun to have Cameron home on paternity leave this week, so we were able to take Landon to his first day together.  Can't believe how old he is looking!

I can't believe it is already school, apple, pumpkin, holiday, fall time!  Where has 2014 gone??

Baby Update!

Throughout the beginning of this pregnancy, I felt like time was DRAGGING!  Maybe it had to do with the fact that we were stuck in a polar vortex all winter, or something, but now that it is July, I can't believe that we are just a month away from meeting this kid!

I already feel sorry for the little guy, as I have been barely able to keep up with everything going on with the other two kids this summer, so I have been terrible at documenting this pregnancy.  Things are just going along well, though.  I am now technically 8 months (by my terms...I think everyone considers themselves at different stages based on weeks or whatever...I just go by my due date, and take every month on the 16th as another month...get it?).

I have been feeling pretty great.  Honestly, my lower back pain doesn't seem as bad this time around as it did with Miley and Landon.  Maybe it is due to the fact that I am still really active, and getting to the gym about 3 times a week, or maybe I am just too busy to notice!  Either way, I will take it.

I thought that I would gain about the same amount of weight this pregnancy that I did with Landon, but considering the fact that I started about 15 pounds less than I did with Landon, I thought I would end up at least 10 pounds less than I was when I had him.  Well, it looks like my body just has a happy pregnancy weight, and I am on track to end up at the same end point, which means I gained more weight!  How unfair is that?  I am hoping since I have been running more this pregnancy, and kind of had figured out how to get my weight in check before I got pregnant, it will come off a little easier this time, but who knows.

We are getting ready to head out for Cameron's family reunion in Wisconsin.  My doctor didn't really want me traveling past 32 weeks, but she said if everything looked ok at my appointment right before, that she would give me the go ahead.  Well, of course, baby boy's heart was slower than she would have liked, so I had to do a non-stress test before I got the all clear.  That was a little freaky...I have never had that done with either of my other kids, so it was all new to me.  They hooked me up to a monitor to check my contractions and his heart rate, and I had a button I had to press everytime he moved.  Basically, they wanted to see his heart have accelerations every time he moved, and they wanted to see at least 3 in a 20-minute time frame.  He was still a little sluggish at first, so they had be drink some juice, and then stuck a vibrator thing on my stomach to kind of freak him out.  Poor kid!  Well that got him moving, and everything looked ok, so I got the all clear to go to the reunion.

I am definitely starting to feel ready to have him, even though I know life is going to be a bit uncomfortable again with a newborn!  I feel like I have a handle on life right now...we are in a good routine, it isn't too hard to get around with 2 kids, etc.  I know that having a baby can throw all that off for a long time!  But hopefully we settle in soon, and get adjusted to our new "normal!"

We are sure looking forward to meeting the little guy!!

And now for some belly pics....yikes.  Can't believe how big I am getting in just a span of a couple months!

6 months...

7 months...

8 months...

4th of July Fun!

This year for the 4th of July, we were able to spend the day with Katie and Jarett, Cameron's niece and her husband who recently moved to Minnesota.  We have been having so much fun hanging out with them.  We love that they live here now!

We decided to go to Minnehaha Falls this year.  I can't believe that in the 7 years we have lived here, we have never been to this beautiful park right in the middle of the city!  It was fun to hike around the waterfall, and eat lunch at the little seafood place they have there.  The weather was beautiful...we couldn't have asked for a more perfect day!

After we left the falls, we had to stop at Nelson's for ice cream.  Nelson's is seriously the best ice cream place ever!  The flavors are amazing, and you get HUGE portions for really cheap....the picture below is a double scoop!

We were all pretty worn out after the full day out, so we went home and grilled for dinner that night.  When it was almost dark we lit off some fireworks in our driveway!  It was a great 4th....relaxing, warm, and fun!  Couldn't ask for a better day!