Things have been kind of crazy with everything that has been going on. I had a wonderful birthday. Jon surprised me by taking me out to eat with some of my friends. It was a lot of fun and Jon did a good job of making my birthday special. On Saturday we celebrated Justus' 3rd birthday. I still can't believe he is 3 years old already! We had the family over for lunch and presents and then headed to Monkey Joe's. It's a place for little kids that has a bunch of jumpy houses. The boys had so much fun! They both impressed Jon and I with how much they climbed and were able to do.

Yesterday we had Justus' 3 year appointment. He is getting so big! He now weighs 41 lbs. which is in the 95th percentile. We were also told to take him off of whole milk. We have kept him on whole milk because we thought it would be beneficial since he is such a picky eater, but the doctor said it wasn't really. So once I run out of whole milk we are going to switch the boys to 2% for a while and then continue to drop them down until we get to skim milk. Anyways, Justus is now 39 3/4 inches tall, which was in the 75th percentile. The main thing I talked about with Justus' doctor yesterday was his speech. He doesn't really enunciate and can be hard to understand at times. The doctor said by age 3 a stranger should be able to understand 3/4 of what he is saying. I'm not sure if they could, so we are going to get his hearing checked and then take him to see to see a speech therapist. We'll see how it goes. I haven't set up the appointment yet, but plan on doing that sometime today.

Charley also had her 6 month check up last Thursday. She is in the 75th percentile on both height and weight. She is now 27 1/2 inches tall and weighs 16 lbs. 13 oz. She can now roll over both ways, and can sit on her own for a few seconds. She loves playing with toys and being in the exersaucer. She is getting so close to being able to push up onto all fours, but only does it when she is really frustrated about being on her tummy, so I don't think she is actually trying to do it.

Matthias is doing really great as well. He is the only one that hasn't had a doctor's appointment in the past 2 weeks. He seems to have hit a little growth spurt. He is getting so tall. He is still going through his terrible two's, although they are very mild. He tells us no all the time, but usually changes his mind pretty quickly. It's so funny how different the boys are. Matthias is still quite the cuddle bug. He loves for me to hold him. He doesn't really like hugs and kisses, but loves to sit on my lap....Justus doesn't really like that and rarely asks to sit on my lap. I think maybe he is going to be a momma's boy...or at least he is for the moment.

We are really looking forward to Christmas this year since the boys are starting to understand the whole presents thing. We think they are going to love all of their new toys, and race car beds! I will be sure to post pictures this weekend!

I guess it's been a few weeks since I have updated. I didn't realize that. I'm so behind. We are doing really well. We enjoyed Thanksgiving in Springfield. It was just Jon, me, the kids, Jon's dad, and sister. It was a little toned down compared to previous years. We had a good time. I even got a little Christmas shopping in. Other than that we haven't been too busy. I've been spending most of my free time making bows, but not that Holiday Mart is over I will be taking a break from bow making for a while. Jon and I made $100, so I think it was worth it. We also got to enjoy an evening out on Saturday night. We celebrated our anniversary and went to Charlie Gitto's downtown. It was super delicious...horrible service though.

The kids are all doing really well. We have gotten Justus to go pee on the potty 3 times now. He is finally warming up to the idea of going on the potty. After the holidays Jon is going to take a Friday off so that he can start potty training him over a weekend. I will be so excited when I only have to change two children's diapers! Justus is continuing to talk more and more and is becoming a little easier to understand as well. We have also been working with him on his colors and he is starting to recognize them. It seems his favorite color right now is green. He wants to say everything is green....even though he knows everything isn't green.

Matthias is doing well. The biggest change...he is now sleeping in a toddler bed. He is doing great with it. We generally have to separate the boys to get them to go to sleep, but for now it works. I think Matthias really likes that he is in a toddler bed and can get up and down as he pleases. He is still telling us "no" all the time, but he is much easier to handle than Justus was when he was going through his terrible two phase. Matthias is a good listener and even when he tells us no he usually does whatever it is that we ask of him.

Charley is almost 6 months old! I can't believe it!! I really need to get the camera out and take some pictures of her...and the boys for that matter. I haven't been so good at taking pictures lately. Anyways....Charley is getting big. She still isn't rolling over from her back to her belly, but she is SO close. She loves sitting in the exersaucer! She likes making it rock around and spinning in the seat to get to all the toys. I finally started giving her cereal. She absolutely loves it. She is going to be so excited when we start fruits and veggies.

The next couple weeks are going to be a little busy for us....Jon is working most of this weekend and then there's my birthday, Charley's 6 month check-up, Justus' birthday, Justus' 2 year check up, I have a doctor's appointment, Christmas eve in Mt. Vernon, and then Christmas here with Jon's family. I can't believe Christmas is so close. We are done shopping for the kids. The boys are getting a tool/work bench. It's really neat! It has a ton of tools, and some of them are battery powered and spin and make noise. We think the boys are going to love it! That is a joint gift for both of them and then they are getting a few smaller things and stocking stuffers. Charley is getting a small basket with some pink girly rattles/toys and then some baby food. I am almost done with Jon's Christmas also. I have a few more things to look for.

Hopefully I will get the camera out soon. When I do I'll post some pictures.

Finally some pictures!

I feel like it's been a really busy week or so...but it really hasn't been. Almost all my free time right now is devoted to making bows. I mostly have been selling them to some of Jon's co-workers...and I'm trying to get some made for Holiday Mart...that thing at Jon's work. Hopefully I will make enough to cover costs and pay for some of Christmas. I'm also thinking of setting up a site on etsy. I'll post a link so you can see my handy work once I get that up and going. There are so many people on there that sell bows though...so I'm not really expecting to do much business through there, but I figured if I could give people at Holiday Mart a website it might help me to keep a little extra income coming in...even if it's only a few dollars.

Other than bows...things here are going pretty good. Jon has been pretty busy with Blues games lately. He's had 3 this week...yuck! I think he only has one game next week and then is off for the rest of November, so that's kind of nice. We aren't too sure what our plans for Thanksgiving are this year. Usually we go up to Springfield and Jon's uncle from Nevada and his aunt and uncle from Chicago all come in, but this year we don't think any of them are going to be able to make it. It's kind of weird since going to Springfield for the weekend has been our tradition since we got married. We'll hopefully figure something out though. Jon and I have gotten most of the kids Christmas shopping done. The boys are both getting The Jesus Storybook Bible. We are pretty excited about that. We are really looking forward to reading it to them before bedtime. They are also getting a tool workbench. We have picked out a couple online that we like, and we are planning on going to Toys R Us to actually buy it so that we can see it before it gets here. Other than that...they will just get a few little stocking stuffer type gifts. As for Charley, we haven't really decided what to get her for Christmas yet. She is getting a copy of The Jesus Storybook Bible at her baby dedication, which is November 22nd...feel free to join us if you like. I think I'm going to get her a little basket of baby food as one of her gifts...she won't know that it's not exciting.

The kids are all doing great! Charley is starting to squeal and make lots of coo's. She "talks" all the time. She has also discovered her feet and likes to grab at them and look at them. She is getting so close to rolling over from her back to her belly. I don't think it will be long before she finally gets it. Hopefully this week I will actually start her on some cereal. I've been meaning to start trying to feed it to her, but I honestly just forget that she's ready...she shouldn't be almost 5 months old already!!

Justus is doing really well. He is speaking in more and more sentences...although I'm pretty sure Jon, Matthias and I are the only ones that can understand him most of the time. He has such a good memory also. He remembers places and things that I'm shocked he remembers. He is going to be 3 in just a few short weeks! I can't believe that! He is getting so big! His 3T pants are almost too small...the bad thing is that most 4T pants are way too big. I've tried a few different brands and it seems the same no matter what. 3T pants still work...but I don't know for how much longer....if he grows any taller they will begin to look a little silly on him. Hopefully if we reach that point 4T's will be a little closer to fitting him.

Matthias is starting to talk more and more. His favorite words right now are "zes" (yes), "sure" and "okay". He's also starting to speak in some 2-3 word phrases. It's so cute to watch him right now because he is learning so much. He is starting to catch onto things. It's just awesome to see him learning new things.

I really do need to post some pictures. I will really try to do that within the next few days.

Our little man is 2!! I can't believe he is 2 already. He had a great birthday! We had the family over on Sunday to celebrate. He got some puzzles, a little car garage, a music mat, some bathtub paint, and some other fun stuff. He was so excited about his cake and his party. He also had his 2 year check-up on Monday. He weighed 30.6 lbs and was 34 inches tall...although he wouldn't stand still so that is probably off a little. He is doing really great and the doctor said he looked good. She did give me a prescription for miralax though because he has some issues going number 2. I haven't started him on the miralax yet though. Matthias' new favorite word is "yes". It's so cute when he says it...it sounds more like "zes". It's kind of nice since he can actually answer a yes/no question.

Justus is doing pretty good. Nothing new to report with him. He loves that his brother got some new toys. He was actually very good at Matthias' party about not taking over things. He let Matthias open his presents all by himself and was very good about sharing with him.

Charley is officially rolling over all the time from her belly to her back. She is okay with it most of the time except for when she is trying to go to sleep. She likes sleeping on her tummy and cries when she rolls to her back. She typically will go right back to sleep if we flip her over. She has also begun playing with small toys...like rattles and likes laying on her play mat and touching the toys. I can't believe she is almost 5 months old....is that even possible!?!

Things are continuing to go well. We haven't been showing the house very much...in fact we have only shown the house 4 times since putting it back on the market. The 1st time home buyers credit did get extended, so hopefully that will work in our favor. I have been super busy making bows. I seem to have gotten into the bow making business on accident. Jon took a few of my bows in to show one of the woman there that had asked to see some of them and that has turned into me making a ton of bows for Jon's co-workers. It's kind of nice to make a little extra money off of something that I enjoy doing anyways. I am also going to have a little booth at a little craft fair/small business thing at Jon's work on December 5th. It's for people who have their own businesses like Mary Kay or people who make stuff and sell it...like me. It will probably be a little stressful since I have no idea how many bows to make in preparation and would like to avoid spending a ton of money on ribbon for bows that don't get sold. Oh well...we knew that might be a risk. But it's open to the public...so if you're in the West County area and want to buy some cute bows come on by Ed. Jones (that ends my shameless plug).

I'll post some pictures from Matthias' party a little later.

Animoto.com

Matthias is almost 2!! I can't believe it. We are having family over on Sunday (his actual birthday) for lunch, cake, and presents. Matthias doesn't really know the difference...Justus does. He keeps referring to it as "Justus' party"...yes he refers to himself in the third person. Matthias I'm sure will enjoy opening presents and getting some new toys to play with. Matthias also goes to the doctor on Monday for his 2 year check-up. I'm looking forward to seeing how big he has gotten since his last check up 6 months ago. Since he is turning 2, we have decided it's time to switch him into a toddler bed. We have been putting this off as long as possible, but Justus has been climbing into Matthias' crib while Matthias is sleeping and jumping on him. Poor little guy. Jon's dad is going to buy the boys racecar beds for Christmas, so we are going to make the switch then. I'm sure it will be pretty rough the first few nights. We actually let them play sometimes before bedtime in their room and they play really well together, so we are hoping that they play together instead of fighting. I guess we'll see.


We are heading to Mt. Vernon tomorrow night for a little trick or treating. We are hoping for no rain!! Justus is a tiger and Matthias is a lion. I was hoping to get Charley a bear outfit, but couldn't find one that I could justify buying. The only ones I found that would fit her were $30, and I just couldn't bring myself to pay that much for a costume. Last weekend Jon's work had "Trunk or Treat" in the parking garage. The boys didn't really understand the whole trick or treat thing at first, so we were kind of bummed about that, but they finally started to realize what was happening about half way through the garage. They actually really enjoyed it towards the end, so I am hoping Saturday night goes well and that they have fun.

Speaking of Charley...she is SO close to rolling over from her tummy to her back. He gets her legs up under her and can push her bottom over...but then she can't get her top half over. She has gotten to her side a couple of times, but wears out before making the final push and ends up back on her belly. It won't be long though. I am pretty careful about putting her up on the bed or couch, but I will have to start being extra careful. When she falls asleep on our bed I have a tendancy to just leave her in there...but I won't be able to do that anymore.

I will post some pictures of our adventures this weekend!! Until then...here is a little slide show of Matthias' first year....a walk down memory lane!!