Here is is June already--time is marching on here in Atlantic. It has been a stormy spring & summer so far. We forgot about all the tornado & thunderstorm warnings that spring & early summer bring in the Midwest. This is the latest--Lila will be 8 months on the 17th and CLaire will be 3 next month! Lila is almost crawling and trying to pull herself up on things. She has 2 teeth on top and 2 on the bottom and is a little eater!! People tell us she looks just like daddy! We're so blessed that she is such a happy, easy going baby. I just can't say that enough! Claire has her big dance recital this weekend. We're all looking forward to that-it will definitely be cute! She is constantly talking and LOVES to talk on the phone. Claire is such a loving big sister and it is so sweet to see her and Lila together. We took our vacation for this summer last weekend. Just a little trip to Chicago to visit my sister and her husband. We went to the Lincoln Park Zoo and swam at the hotel's pool (pictures to come soon). It was nice to get away, even for just a short while. That's the latest from here!
It's already May 19--wow! All is well in the Wiederstein home, besides hopefully one last winter or spring cold, which of course mom is sharing! Lila has quickly gone from 2 teeth to almost 6. At her 6 month checkup at the beginning of the month she had grown in length and was in the 90th percentile. Her weight was in the 50th and head in the 25th. We thought she would be a little higher on the weight side...she is a big eater like daddy. She has cute little rolls that we don't remember Claire ever having, too. Lila is trying hard to keep up with her big sister, she is going right from sitting up to on all fours rocking back and forth and trying to crawl. We're sure she'll be off and running in just a couple of weeks-ready or not!
Claire is preparing for her dance recital in just a couple of weeks. She continues to be a great big sister, although the 'terrible 3's' are rearing their ugly head! We thought two was easy...the past few weeks, however, we have seen more tantrums and strong will than we have. Hopefully it is shortlived for all of our sakes! Of coures, she's cute as can be and tries to work her sweetness on us...
Spring has brought a lot of walks and playing outside so far. The girls love being outdoors. I look forward to the day (hopefully soon) when we can play outside in our own backyard! Enjoy the sunshine!
Life continues to move at warp speed! Lila turned 6 months on the 17th and David turned 30 on the 18th, so last week was a big week. On top of that excitement, our little two year old is now potty trained--wahoo! We were starting to wonder if she would go to kindergarten in diapers...but, alas, as everyone has told us; she would do it in her own time. Of course it just happened to be after I bought 'one more' 30 pack of diapers!! Oh well, I am certainly not complaining!! All else is going well. This weekend we will be registering Claire for preschool--yikes. It's hard to believe that is possible. It seems as though time is going even faster with Lila. 6 months--it doesn't seem like that long ago that she joined out little family. At the 6 month milestone, Lila has two teeth on the bottom, is rolling over, and over, and over. She is almost sitting up...but can't quite do it on her own all the way. She is a chatterbox and quite the eater! She just tried peaches for the first time and she loves all the veggies as well as oatmeal. She's such a happy baby--we truly don't know what we have done to be so blessed!!
April showers, bring May flowers. We weren't expecting to see snow yesterday, but I suppose we're still adjusting to the Iowa winter/spring and weather in general! Well, life is still hectic as ever around here. We've had our share of illness' this winter and are ready to open the windows!! Shortly after my last update, Lila got her first tooth! At only 4 1/2 months-we were surprised to see it so soon. Since then, it has been non-stop drooling and biting on things, now we see #2 poking through! Lila loves to eat with the family, and has expanded her cuisine from just rice cereal to peas, green beans, carrotts and sweet potatoes. She has taken over the high chair and Claire is in a big girl chair. Our teeny kitchen is busting at the seams!! :) Lila is rolling over and ready to move. She's always interested in what Claire is doing, and is often distracted by the noises her big sister is making! Claire has adjusted to her big girl bed and the girls are such good roommates. Again, we are blessed with how flexible our kids can be and are thankful that they are so easy going. They bring us so much joy each and every day!!
Here we are almost to the middle of March! Lila will be five months on the 17th--already!! She had her first taste of rice cereal a couple weeks ago and can't get enough. We think she's ready to move on to other foods already, they way she takes an interest in what we are eating. But, we're going to hold her off a little bit, if we can. We're going to need a bigger kitchen table (and kitchen) soon so that Claire can move to a booster seat and Lila can take over the highchair! At her 4 month check up she was 14 1/2 pounds and 25 inches. She was a little above the 50th percentile for her height and a little below the 50th for her weight. Her head is closer to the 25th percentile, so hats actually fit her-unlike Claire! :) She rolled over for the first time at the doctor's office. She can roll from front to back, but hasn't quite figured out how to get all the way over going back to front.
Things have still been pretty hectic around here, but we are adjusting. Daddy is doing great with the girls when he has them at night and on the weekends this month. The girls are really bonding with him, too, which is special. We are definitely grateful to family who have also stepped in to help when we need it. We're hoping to be able to get outside more soon--spring fever has definitely set in!
March is almost here, and we are hoping warmer weather is coming soon---wow, things have gotten busy around our house!! Mom started two new jobs this month and at about the same time. On February 11, training started for working as an Enrichment & Support Specialist at CASS Incorporated. I will be working with mentally retarded adults in their own homes, helping them to be independent. So far, it has gone well. Because their houses have to be staffed whenever they are home, the hours are a little odd. I will have 1-2 overnights a week and therefore will accomplish 40 hours in 2.5 days. We are hoping this will be the perfect job for our family right now, as it will still allow me time at home with the girls and limited daycare each week. We are looking forward to the training period being over as it has been a little crazy for the girls!! They are doing well despite the chaos, we are definitely blessed to have such laid back little girls. They have been going with the flow and taking things as they come, which has made it easier on mom and dad. But, we are all looking forward to things becoming a little more routine. Enjoy some of the current pictures...sorry it's been awhile!!
Lila is 15 weeks today--wow! She's starting to become quite a talker, I suppose she'll have to be to get a word in with Claire around!! We love to hear her explore her voice and Claire is enjoying hearing her as well. We spent the weekend at grandma and grandpa's in Des Moines last week and took a trip to the Science Center with grandma and other mom's from our playgroup. It made for a fun weekend and day. Claire loves to explore her creative side and can't get enough painting (finger, watercolors, etc.) She also loves her books and going to the library. In a couple weeks when I start a new job, they will start at a babysitter for a few hours a week. The Lord has again blessed us in this regard--she lives just a block away, is state liscensed and has been doing daycare for 25 years. Lila will be the only baby under 1, which I am grateful for and there are only 2 other full-time children and 2 part-time. All we can do is continue to surrender them to the One who gave them to us. We are truly blessed that our girls are so healthy, happy and loving. We enjoy each new milestone they accomplish and give thanks for them!
Brrrr...it's cold!!! We are adjusting to the Iowa winter very slowly, and definitely missing Virginia. Ten degrees never used to seem so cold--I guess we're getting older! The girls are continuing to grow and change by the day. Lila is already 3 1/2 months old, amazing! Claire learns new words every day and can carry on a conversation with any adult or child-she's definitely not shy! She loves to help with everything, whether it's cooking, cleaning, changing diapers, she's right there. Lila is blessed to have such a loving big sister, always giving hugs and kisses. I didn't think time could go any faster, but it's amazing how it slips away with two little ones keeping us busy. We're definitely enjoying every day and each milestone with the girls.
HAPPY NEW YEAR! Wow--2008, it's hard to believe another year has come and gone. 2007 was a big year for the Wiederstein family...a new job for David, a big move to a new town, a new baby, selling our first home...what a whirlwind!! We are thinking this year might not be so eventful, and that's okay with us. We hope to enjoy each and every day that we have together as a family this year. As we reflect over the past year and think about all of Claire's acheivements and milestones, it reminds us how quickly the time with our children passes. I am truly blessed to be home with my babies everyday, watching them learn and grow. We hope that 2008 brings many blessings your way!
Christmas has now come and gone! We even had Christmas two different weekends, so it was stretched out a little more than usual. I came away from Christmas feeling so truly blessed--it was wonderful to be back with family and to enjoy our two perfect gifts, Claire & Lila. While Lila slept through most of the Christmas festivities, Claire still has that sweet innocence about her with all the excitement. It was precious to see her open one gift at a time and enjoy it before moving on to the next. In fact, many times, we had to push her to move on to the next gift, as it was getting so late. After opening the gift, she would admire it, ask a few questions and then hug the person who gave it to her and say 'thank you'. What fun it is to see the wonder of Christmas through a child's eyes. Even sweeter was that she kept reminding us that baby Jesus was born on Christmas Day. We can learn so much from a child!
Christmas is almost here...thankfully, I found a few moments to get my Christmas cards out before Christmas this year! Although, I feel like I am slacking a little bit, considering we includes Lila's birth announcement with the Christmas card...oh well, saving on postage, right?!? We wish you a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. May you have wonderful times with family & friends.
Head: 15 inches (between 25th and 50th percentile)
She's happy, healthy and almost sleeping through the night! I am reminding myself that these mid-night feedings won't last forever, so I need to enjoy the bonding time that it provides. We love watching her grow and fall in love more each day, with each precious smile and coo! Claire is such a great big sister and we're blessed that she has come to be so flexible while we deal with Lila's needs. We have so much to be thankful for this time of year.
Wow--Lila is now 8 weeks old. Funny how you keep track by weeks at this age! It's amazing how quickly they change. We're enjoying watching her change by the day and being reminded of what it was like to see the smiles and hear the coo's for the first time. She is so sweet-we can tell that she's quite laid back, and is a go with the flow kind of girl. Claire is still loving her sister, although sometimes she forgets that there's a little one around and the world doesn't revolve around just her anymore--Lila has gotten a couple of bumps as a result, but nothing major thankfully! We had fun with friends decorating the Mommy & Me tree for the Festival of Trees here in Atlantic (the only Christmas tree we'll be decorating this year). We also enjoyed another big snow. Claire went sledding for the first time with Amalie and loved it! I'm sure there will be many more this winter!! It's hard to believe Christmas is less than two weeks away.
It's hard to believe Lila is 6 weeks old today. She's started smiling and rolling to her side. We've heard a couple of 'coo's' too, which are darling. She's starting to get into a more predictable routine with naps and feedings and is sleeping more and more through the night. Claire was sleeping through the night at 7 weeks...we wonder if we will be that lucky again. We definitely can't imagine life without her. It is the sweetest thing to see her and Claire interact. We felt so blessed this year at Thanksgiving, not only for our two healthy, beautiful little girls, but being back home with family was something to be thankful for. Although, with two separate Thanksgiving meals, we ate way too much!! Now it's on to getting ready for Christmas. We enjoyed the lighting of the town of Atlantic a couple weeks ago, the downtown is beautiful! This weekend is breakfast with Santa, lighting parade and other activities going on in town, we hope to partake in some of the festivities, although it will be COLD!! Unfortunately, we won't be decorating or putting up a tree this year. Good thing the grandparents are close by so we can enjoy their holiday atmosphere.
We had the first snow on November 21. Claire was in wonder seeing the snow and wanted to go out and build a snowman. Unfortunately, there wasn't that much snow. Hopefully this winter we will have some good snows, worthy of building snowmen. Grandma Nicki got Claire a snowsuit, and she is ready to use it! As for mom and dad...we still aren't ready for this cold winter!!
Lila is growing...although, it looks like Lila is taking a little more after her mom.. At her 1 month check up she was a little over 9 lbs. (just below the 50th percentile) and 21 inches (just above the 50th percentile) and her head is in the 25th percentile! Her next appointment is in mid-December, I'll let you know where we're at then!
All is well at the Wiederstein house...can you believe it's November? What's new with us--well, Lila is now three weeks old. Since I'm home with her everyday, I don't notice how much she's growing, but the grandparents tell me she is growing by the day! I am enjoying each moment, even the tired ones in the middle of the night! :) Unfortunately, Lila has had some digestion problems, which we haven't figured out yet. She spits up a lot, more than Claire ever did and seems uncomfortable after feedings sometimes. We're going through trial & error to see what the problem could be. In the meantime, we're doing lots of laundry!! Thank God grandpa Gary & grandma Diane blessed us with a new washer & dryer last week. Claire is still doing very well with the baby, and is patient with me when we have to hang out at home so often. She manages to find things to do to keep her busy and her imagination going...we go to play group on Monday's and dance class on Thursday's amongst other things. Potty training is still an issue. Mom and dad are beside themselves since Claire can now tell us when she needs her diaper changed, but refuses to tell us before, or go in the potty!! I will never judge another parent, as I once said 'If your child can tell you they need their diaper changed, they shouldn't be wearing one'...the irony.
That's it from here. It's getting colder and we are bracing for our first winter back in Iowa---more to come later.
It's a girl!! Lila Grace arrived on Wednesday, October 17 at 12:37 p.m. She was 7 lbs., 9 oz. and 19 1/2 inches long. She's made it pretty easy on us this far and we've managed to get decent sleep every night. She reminds us a lot of Claire! Claire is a wonderful big sister and such a good helper for mommy. She has adjusted wonderfully to the new addition. We are all doing well and are feeling truly blessed every day.
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