Nests and Kiddos

Ava loves making "nests" for everything. She makes nests for Bobo, her animals and random items. The other morning while I was working out, I looked over at the kids and they had made a nest at the front door.

The next day, we decided to pull out her princess tent and tunnel and what did she do first, make a nest. Brother Noah really wanted in on the action, so he crawled his way in the tent.

And Ava very quickly pushed him out of her nest. (She said there wasn't enough room).

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Noah has started walking more and more on his own. He is so proud of himself that he walks around, with his hands raised up and a smirk on his face. Noah thought it would be fun to walk with his favorite person in the house.

He loooooooves Ava so much. He is always kissing her and laying on top of her and hugging her, but at the same time he is always pushing up against her, trying to bite her and just plain being a pesky little brother.

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Noah has taken to a weird love of underwear like his sister did. He too likes to make underwear necklaces.

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As I mentioned in a previous post, Ava no longer has her paci. She doesn't really ask for it anymore, but boy have we gotten back into our poor sleep habits. She has been waking up in the middle of the night again, but it is only once a night and it is usually quick.  She is waking much earlier in the morning and fighting bed time.  Her naps are also much shorter. I mentioned it to a friend and she said that sometimes we don't really know their sleep patterns when they have something helping them. I think it is so true. I think she used to wake up and suck on her paci for a while before she called for us. I am moving her naps to noon-ish to see if it helps because she was going down around 1:30 and getting up around 3pm and I don't think she was tired enough for bed. We will see if it works.

What Are We Up to!

So I know that I haven't blogged a lot this month. Not sure why. I guess I have bloggers block or I may just be spending too much of my free time on Pinterest. Either way, here is what we have been up to.

*Noah is starting to walk by himself more. It just really happened yesterday and today. He loooooves to do it. He smiles while he does it too. Hopefully soon he will be walking all the time. It is just easier that way.

* Noah and Ava have been playing nicely together lately. I catch them all quiet in the corner playing. Noah loves to hug Ava too.

* Ava has learned to play with her toys in high places. Her favorite spot is behind the couch on the landing because she knows that Noah can't get to it. See!!!

* Little does Ava know that I think Noah will be a climber and before she knows it, he will be climbing up there.

* Noah is down to one bottle a day and that is his night bottle. I think it will be a hard one to break because if I go anywhere near the kitchen sink after 6pm (which is where I always prepare his bottles), he comes and stands and whines until he gets it. I have been decreasing the amount he gets until we are down to 2 oz and then we will replace it with a snack.

* Noah has tried and doesn't like milk. Oh well, I guess he doesn't need it, but I will keep trying.

*Ava's eating habits are getting worse. She really doesn't like to eat dinner with us, but is begging for food at 6pm. I have really limited her snacks and feel bad sometimes because I know she is hungry, but if I give her anything within a 1-2 hour window of dinner, she doesn't eat.

*I am trying to be better about meals. I have always planned out our dinners, but that has been to the extent. I made a menu board today to help with it because I am sometimes making 3 different meals at a time. It is time consuming and difficult. So I now plan out every one's meals for breakfast, lunch and dinner to make it easier. This way I don't have to rummage through the cupboards trying to figure out what to make. Let's hope that I can spend one day a week menu planning and stick with it.  Not a great picture, but hopefully you get the idea.

* I am currently obsessed with organizing our house. I love Pinterest for ideas and Iheartorganizing.blogspot.com. Both have great and easy ideas for making things easy and organized. I want bins and storage everywhere!!!! I just put all my owners manuals in pocket protectors and put them in a binder organized by room. 

* Ava does and says the funniest things. The other night she was on an old cell phone and was talking. I was trying to tell her something and she said, "Hold on, stop talking" and then continued to talk on the phone. She kept saying that "it's been a rough day" and "I know, I know". I do say more often than not to Mike that "it's been a rough day", but not sure where she got the I know, I know's from. It was so funny.

* Noah is getting his one year molars. I saw one peaking through today. It explains the crap naps he has been taking. I also think he might be getting ready for one nap. He has been going to bed at 7pm and sleeping until 5:40 am, so it is hard to put him down at 9. I have been keeping him up until 9:30 and am going to continue to push it out over time. I know that I am going to have a stretch of time where they will not overlap in naps, but it is what it is.

Ava and No More Paci

So it's official! Ava no longer uses her paci! I think I had a harder time with it than her. Well, maybe not, but it broke my heart too.

She went 3 weeks without it at nap time. We had finally gotten to a point where she really didn't ask for it because she knew that I would say "no". Sometimes she would ask in a sad half crying voice if she could have it.

Friday night we decided that we were done with them. So when she went to bed, we bribed her with everything to go to bed without it and not cry. She whimpered for about a minute and that was it. She slept through the night and everything. Early this morning, when she woke up she did start crying and saying "daddy, I want my paci". We just got her up and put her in our bed. I know that we still have a couple more nights of battling it out, but we are officially done. (Even though I haven't thrown them away just yet!)

She is a big girl now!!!

Noah's Birthday Party

This weekend we had Noah's first birthday party. We had a lot of fun and celebrated with friends and family. I, of course, did not get any good pictures. I always start the evening off with good intentions and some pictures, but that is about it.

We had lots of good food. We ordered subs from Jimmy Johns

The birthday boy

His cake

Eating his cupcake

Grandpa Mike and Grandma Ellen made the trip out from LA.

Ava pretty much opened all of Noah's presents and thinks that they are all hers. In fact, she does this thing where she collects all her toys and puts them on the shelf above the couch, which she calls the "cuckoo-cuckoo's nest". She knows that Noah can't get to it. Right now it is filled with all of Noah's new toys.

Thanks to everyone who came out to celebrate with us. We are so lucky to have such good friends and family.

Noah Turns One!

One year ago, Noah Adam Leptuch joined our family. He is such an amazing little boy and watching him grow up over the last year has had it's ups and downs, but has been over all amazing.

Noah was born on a Sunday morning at 5:44am. He weighed 9 lbs, 2 oz and was 22" long. I still remember the LDR nurse telling me that we are going to prep me for my c-section. I had just gone in thinking they were going to send me home that morning, but nope, Noah was ready to come!

Let's enjoy a journey of the last year...

At one month old, Noah weighed 11 lbs and was 23" long. He was having a hard time sleeping on his own. (We later found out that it was because he had silent reflux and a sensitive stomach). He was breastfeeding about every 2-3 hours. We had lots of help this month. Nana came for 3 weeks, along with Grandma Nini and Grammy. He pretty much slept all day long and loved sleeping in his bouncy.

One Month Old

At two months old, his sleeping didn't get any better. He was waking up every 20-30 minutes during naps and for the most of the second half of the night. This is when we decided to take him to Dr. Kolpuru, a pediatric GI Doctor, and he was diagnosed with silent reflux and she suspected a milk protein allergy.

Noah found his hands and smiled for the first time this month. He started cooing, just like Ava did. He was already growing out of size 3 month clothing and getting ready to move to size 2 diapers already. 

Two Months Old

At three months old, Noah weighed 14 lbs, 9.2 oz and was 25" long. He was in 6 month clothes and size 2 diapers. This month, his Auntie Jackie and Uncle Nick got married and he met a lot of family. He started on Elecare to see if that would help with his tummy. He was still waking up about about 6 times a night and only sleeping in 30 minute spurts throughout the day. We bought a swing to see if that would help with his sleep and boy was that the answer. He would sleep forever in it and slept through the night for the first time when we put him in it.

Three Months Old

At four months old, Noah weighed 16 lbs 10 oz and was 26 3/4" long. He was in 6-9 month clothes and size 2 diapers, but ready for 3's.  He was doing better with his new formula. We added some rice cereal to help with the reflux. He started batting at his toys last month, but was really grabbing for them now. He could roll to his side and that is the way he preferred to sleep. He went to the zoo for the first time this month. He also moved out of our bedroom into his crib and I think he liked that a lot!

Four Months Old

At five months old, he weighed 18 lbs 2.5 oz. He started sleeping better at night. He dropped a night bottle. Naps are inconsistent, but he still took 3 naps. He tried some solid foods this month, but only for a short while because his tummy was upset from it. He found his toes and started putting everything in his mouth.  He started to sit up unassisted for short periods of time. He was in size 9 month clothes by the end of this month and size 3 diaper.

Five Months Old

At six months old, he weighed 19 lbs 4 oz and was 29" long. He was in size 9-12 month clothes and size 3 diapers.  He started sleeping through the night more nights that not. He was taking 2 good naps and a catnap. He was off all solids this month and was much happier.  He would wake up early and talk to himself. He was sitting up by himself now.

Six Months Old

At seven months old, Noah weighed 20 lbs, 10 oz. He was wearing 9-12 month clothes and size 4 diapers. He got his first teeth and it was his bottom 2 teeth at the same time. (7/30/11). He started back on solids and did much better. He started rolling to his tummy in his crib. He started cooing and babbling a lot more now. He also learned how to drink water from a sippy cup and loved it.

Seven Months Old

At eight months old, Noah weighed 21 lbs, 5 oz and was wearing 12 month clothes and size 5 diapers. He was still taking 3 naps a day and sleeping through the night about 75% of the time.  He loved to mimic things that I would do, like shaking his head "no". He started sleeping on his tummy and rolling from front to back more.  He took his first plane ride to LA and saw the ocean for the first time. He got 5 teeth this month, making it a total of 7 teeth.

Eight Months Old

At nine months old, he weighed 21 lbs 10 oz. He dropped his third nap this month and was sleeping through the night, finally! He started eating 3 meals a day along with his 4 bottles.  He got his 8th tooth this month and was much happier to be done with that for a while. He started "singing" and dancing to music. He loved to turn the wheels on trucks/cars.  He started on his first real food, puffs.  He could now roll both ways, but wasn't something he did often.

Nine months old

At ten months old, he was down to 2 naps a day and sleeping through the night. He was wearing 12-18 month clothes. His big accomplishment this month was learning to crawl. He didn't crawl the normal way, he did a one legged scoot. He starting clapping his hands and sitting up from laying down. He loved to put things in boxes and take them out. He started eating more people food and was starting to refuse baby food.

Ten Months Old

At eleven month old, he really came into his own.He weighed 23 lbs 10 oz and was 31" long. He became VERY vocal about how he was feeling. He liked to copy mommy. If I would take a car and roll it on me, he would do the same.  He started cruising along the furniture and pulling himself up on the couch.  He loves animals. He started saying "mama", "dada" and "night-night". He was in 18 month clothes. He started walking with the help of his shopping cart and took his first steps on Dec 24th. He started by standing on his own.

Eleven Months Old

Now here he is at ONE!

 He is his first official picture of him walking.

 Here he is loving his sister.

 walking some more...

 He put this hat on this morning and was so proud of himself.

 What a ham. He loves to smile when I ask him to. He does the same thing that Ava did and he squeezes his eyes with a big cheesy grin. He had a rough month last month with his night sleeping. He woke up once a night for a majority of the nights. I think he is working on those one year molars. He still takes 2 naps a day. One at 9 am and one at 2 pm.

He learned to cry when he didn't get his way. 

We have started weaning him off of his prevacid and will hopefully be off of it in a week or so. 

He is down to 2 bottles a day and eating tons of people food. He loves Venezia's pizza, broccoli, any chocolate (especially Fiber One brownies and my fudge). He likes yogurt, turkey, cheese, most fruits, waffles and pasta. He is a bit pickier than Ava was. I found that if he isn't full from his bottles, he will eat more, which is why we dropped a bottle. 

He learned to walk recently. He is just starting to do it on his own, but usually someone has to be there for him to walk too, except Ava. He won't walk to her. 

Overall he is pretty happy except when he wants something. He always wakes up happy in the morning and talks to himself. Lately, he has been waking up crying from his naps. I am hoping that will change back to waking up happy.

He loves to dance and sing.

He now says "what's that". It is so cute.
He is becoming a daddy's boy. He only wants daddy to HOLD him when he is home. If he doesn't, Noah will cry and not just whine, he cries the "I am hurt" cry.

So how did we choose to spend the day. First, we had to try out our new FORWARD facing carseat. I am not sure what he thinks about it, but here he is...

 My new view..

 Then we went to Barnes and Noble for a free cupcake. (We just joined the kids club and that is one of the perks)

 Neither Ava or Noah really got into it. A couple of bites each and they were done. They wanted to play instead

 Later that evening, it was cake time. Happy Birthday to you!

 Let's eat some yummy cake.

It took him a minute to dig in. At first he touched it and played with it, but once he got a taste of it, he dug in.

Happy First Birthday Noah. We love you so much and are looking forward to this next year ahead of us.

Mornings

The mornings around here can be rough at times. The kids wake up really early. Today was no exception. Ava was up at 5am and Noah woke up sometime around 5:20 am.

Mike and I usually get up around 5:20 anyway to shower and get ready for the day, but we stayed up late last night. Well, late for me, 10pm last night and Mike was up until about midnight the night before. So we were tired to say the least.

I have resigned to the fact that I have to just get my coffee and sit down with the kids while Mike gets his coffee and makes his breakfast and lunch in the kitchen in the mornings. If I try to clean up and make my breakfast the kids will be ALL over him. Again, this morning was no different except for the fact that I let Mike sleep in until 6, so we had a late start.

I can only go until about 6:45 am before I NEED. BREAKFAST! So, I couldn't help out much with the kids this morning and they were therefore all over Mike. Ava was talking and talking and Noah was fussing and fussing UNTIL...

I sat down to eat my breakfast and we gave Ava some strawberries to munch on and Noah some strawberries and blueberries. And then, all was quiet for a while. (Usually Ava won't eat until at least 8am and because Noah still gets a 6am bottle, he doesn't get a full breakfast until 7:30am)...BUT today, food was needed for some peace and quiet.

The Past, The Present And The Future

This is a blog to update you on some things we did while Mike was off after Christmas (the past), what we have been doing now (the present) and what is coming up (the future)!

The past.
Mike took off of work for the week after Christmas. He had 10 days off. Woo! Hoo! We did a lot of things around the house and did some good relaxing in our back yard too!

We went to Zoo Lights on 12/27. We got there right at 6pm and the lines weren't too bad. For those that don't live here, it is basically where the Phoenix Zoo puts up lights throughout the zoo and you can walk around and see them. Ava LOVED, LOVED christmas lights so we decided to go out and see them. It was a lot of fun, but a bit chilly and crowded. I am glad we went when we did because when we left, an hour later, people were parking a quarter mile down from the zoo and walking up. It was a little stressful pushing a side by side jogging stroller through there, but Ava had a blast and that is what is most important. These were the best 2 pictures I could get with my camera.

We also drove around the neighborhood a couple of times to see Christmas lights. Ava loved that too. That is why we thought she would enjoy zoo lights. There is a neighborhood just to the north of us that has almost every house decorated to the nines!! It is really cool.

We baked cookies too. I brought a couple of batches to Mike's work. That is the only way I can bake. This way, I got to have 1 or 2 and the rest were gone.

By the end of Mike's 10 days home, I was ready for him to go back to work. (Sorry, dear, but I just like to run the household a certain way). I think he was ready to go back too. But I know for a fact, the kids loved every moment of it. Mike played and played and played with them. He is such a great daddy.

THE PRESENT.
Two major things are happening right now. Noah is taking a couple of steps here and there and we are FINALLY weaning Ava from the paci.

Right before Christmas, Noah started walking with the help of a stroller or shopping cart. He would pus his cart one way until he hit a wall or couch and then walk around it and push it the other way. Or just get frustrated and cry. LOL!

Pushing the cart...

Turning around it...

Walking it back the other way...

 But on 12/24, I got video of him taking a couple of steps from one side of the couch to the other. And ever since then, he has started taking more risks and more steps. He is SOOOO proud of himself too. He smiles and laughs and goes for it. He won't do it unless someone is standing there to walk too or he will go to the couch. He has to be coached to do it. He won't just do it on his own. So walking is in our near future.

We are in the process of getting rid of Ava's paci's. She only has them at nap time and bed time, but she is going to be 3 and they have to go. We started on Jan 1. We are only taking them away at nap time. She has to learn how to fall asleep without them. I am taking the slow approach. Once we can get nap time down, then comes the night one. As expected the first couple of days have been rough, but not as bad as I thought. We are bribing her with stickers (her current favorite) and whimzy toys and jellybeans. She gets them if she doesn't cry. Unfortunately, she has been crying and is only getting 5 jellybeans for at least napping without one. I have noticed that her naps are shorter and twice now she has woken up after about 45-50 mins and cries. I go in and lay her back down and she usually goes back down. I am not looking forward to the night one, but I guess she still isn't sleeping through the night consistently anyway, might as well do it now.

I will keep you all posted on both of these.

Just a couple of things on Ava. If you ever want to know how you sound, hang out with a three year old. She is starting to tell Bobo things and do things with Bobo that I have said or done! LOL! It is too funny.
And her new favorite saying is Fart-Butt. Yup! You read that correctly and she knows she gets a laugh from me because it is so funny to hear her say that I can't help but laugh. Ohhh the things we say!

THE FUTURE.
My boy turns ONE on Monday and Ava turns three 6 weeks later:( Insert tears and sniffles. I keep telling them both to stop growing up. (Ava is telling Bobo that too!)