My kids are growing up so quickly!

Well, Madison is officially potty trained. Since last Wednesday night, she has not looked back. Every time she has to go she announces it and runs off to the bathroom. The only issue we face is that she does not want to go (before bed, before we go some place, or if she hasn't went in a long time) if she doesn't have to go. This has caused a few meltdowns, and I am learning to not force her to try. Speaking of meltdowns, Madison has been acting out lately. From talking with friends with three year olds, I am finding that this is normal behavior around this age. She is "testing the boundaries" to see if I will give in to what she wants. On a happier note... On Monday, Madison started "big girl" gymnastics. The first thing she said to me after class was "Momma, I need to go home and practice." She really enjoys being challenged. In this class, all the little girls have leotards, so we went to go pick some out for her. I wanted to cry when she tried them on, because she looked like a such a big girl. She is definitely not my baby girl anymore!

Noah has gained another tooth since last week. We try to give him table food as much as possible, because he loves it! This morning I was amazed as I watched him try to crawl/scoot himself over to the push around buggy in the basement, because he wanted to go for a ride. I was amazed again as he pulled himself to standing using Madison's train table. He still can only take one to two crawls forward, but he is much more interested in trying to walk. If we set him standing next to something, he cruises around whatever it is. I can't believe he turned eight months old yesterday. It feels like he has been part of our family forever, yet the last eight months has flown by.

My favorite part of my children is how bonded they are. If Noah gets up before Madison, he seems "lost" until she gets up. When we go in her room, he squeals because he is so happy to see her, and she responds with lots of hugs and kisses for him. No matter how upset he gets, Madison can always bring a smile to his face. She can get him to give us some great belly laughs with whatever she crazy thing she is doing. She is already encouraging and teaching him. She tries to show him how to crawl and how to play with toys. Madison is very concerned when Noah is not happy, and Noah is very concerned when Madison is not happy. I know there will come a time in the near future when Madison doesn't like Noah getting into her stuff and Noah doesn't like Madison bossing him around, but I hope the wonderful bond that these two share continues as they grown older.

Another Milestone Reached!

I was shocked to find Noah's first tooth in his mouth tonight! Madison did not get her first tooth until she was 12 months old, so I didn't expect Noah to get teeth until later. In celebration, we let him have hash browns, ham, bagel, and mandarin oranges from our dinner tonight. He ate it faster than Mike and I could cut it up. Noah really LOVES people food!

Quick Milestone Update

Madison told us for the first time last night that she had to go potty!
Noah pulled himself up to standing when I dropped him off at daycare this morning!
Noah started crawling over the weekend, but he only goes backwards right now!

Where have we been!?

Well, it has been quite awhile since my last post. When it comes down to it, I have been too busy, but the funny thing is I am not sure doing what! So here are a few of the things that have been going on with the family...

Last weekend, Madison was sick. It was the first time she had a fever since Noah was born. It started Saturday morning, and I am happy to say that she was finally feeling better yesterday.

Last weekend, me and my sisters threw a baby shower for my sister-in-law. I have spent a lot of time over the past few weeks getting ready for that. Lisa and I spent all day Saturday prepping for the event by making cupcakes that looked like rattles and glueing clothes pins to potted plants. I couldn't have asked for the shower to go better, so it was worth all the time and effort.

For the past two weeks, Noah has been waking up multiple times at night with gas. We have to lay him on his tummy and try to help sooth it out of him as much as possible. When he first started foods, he would get really bad gas during the day with each new food but not at night. He has started table foods, so now he is eating new foods daily. We believe this is what is causing all the gas. He is so into table foods that I guess I would rather deal with the gas then not allow him to try new things. This has caused Mike and I a lot of sleep deprivation and is the number one reason I haven't been keeping up with my blog. As soon as Noah goes to bed at night, I usually go to bed as well.

Noah is also still trying to crawl. Over the past month and a half, we have went from him pushing himself up to getting up on his hands and knees to getting himself on to his hands and feet. Once he is up, he will push himself backwards, but we have seen little movement of his hands so far. Over the last two days, Mike and I have seen him move his hands one or two times before he is back on his stomach again. Now that he has figured out how to use his hands, it probably won't be long before he is crawling. I am excited for him to crawl, yet I am dreading it because I know he will be into everything.

We have also celebrated a lot of birthdays lately. My sister-in-law's (Amy) birthday was at the end of January and Rick and Betsy's birthdays are at the beginning of February.

Hopefully it won't be as long before I have a chance to post again!