William is FIVE!

FIVE!!  It doesn't seem possible.  Five years of sweetness from our little guy.  We are so very lucky.  Here is what our little dude has been up to!

Height: 3ft 5.75 inches (27%)  grown almost 2 inches in a year
Weight: 34 lbs 10 oz  (9%) up 2.5 pounds in a year
BP:91/68

Eating- I just read back at what William liked at age 4 and it's all exactly the same!  Since he's only in the 9% for weight we give him whole milk and things with "good fat" (avacado, peanut butter).  Going to Chick Fil A is still a special treat for him and getting chips and cheese at a Mexican restaurant.  He also loves restaurants like Shoguns where they cook in front of you.  He'd rather eat chicken than steak, and is still a fan of sandwiches, cherry tomatoes, and watermelon.  He loves to share a coconut sno-cone with me on a hot summer day!  Luckily, he still loves most fruit and all vegetables.  He doesn't like fruit snacks and refuses to try a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.  If William had it his way he'd eat pumpkin pie for dessert every night (dark chocolate brownies are a close second)!    

Sleeping-  Again, nothing has really changed in this department.  We usually get William to sleep between 8:30-9 and he's up around 6:30.  As he's gotten older the chances of getting him to lay down longer with you have decreased significantly.  He still randomly wakes up in the middle of the night and sneaks down to our room.  We got a clock for his room to help him know when it's time to come down stairs.  It's helped a little bit.  Nap time is still 12-2.  If he doesn't take a nap he is grumpy and cries about everything (and he still stays up until 8:30).  So happy we got 2 good nappers!  
Development- William has become so independent over the last year!  He is the most helpful little boy.  He puts his dirty clothes in the hamper in the morning and can get himself dressed with little assistance.  The "WHY" stage is in overdrive!  He is so, so curious about everything.  Back in January he started speech class once a week.  I think it's not only helping his speech issues but boosting his confidence.  He played soccer in the fall and tried out t-ball this spring (which he ended up really liking!).  We are thinking about giving Karate a try soon. 
Personality-  William has continued to be a kind, gentle little soul that loves his family.  The love he has for his baby sister is immeasurable!   He kisses and hugs on her all day (and loves to make her laugh during our time in the car).  William still loves going to school but he also really enjoys his time at home with just mama and baby.  He loves telling you stories....that tend to go on and on.  :)  His imagination and creativity still have me in awe (taking after his daddy).   He still really hates when he gets in trouble.  He has very sensitive feelings like his mama.  This was our #1 reason for holding William back from Kindergarten.  Our pediatrician agreed with this plan and said that an extra year of emotional growth is never a bad thing.   You truly can't stay upset with this little boy for long.  He has a heart of gold and wants to make everyone around him happy.                     
Clothing size- Shoes size 9 and 4T (some 5T but he has a skinny little waist)    
Things mommy loves- 
As always, I pretty much love everything about this little guy.  His facial expressions and stories will keep you laughing all day long.  I love that he likes to know what we have planned for the week (just like me).  His memory is crazy good too!  I love his sweet snuggles on the couch and that he still thinks mama is always right.  :)  The other day he looked over at me, out of no where, and said, "Mama, I love you so much."  Those are the moments I'll miss when he's a teenager.        
Mommy stuff- William's life got a little crazy around his 4th birthday due to sister's health issues and our work schedules.  Thanks to the Man upstairs, things have settled down.  I'm working less now and the doctors appointments have decreased significantly.  Everyone's stress level has decreased too!  We are so blessed to have supportive families.  I'm happy to say there are many days that we stay in our pajamas until 10:00 and we've even made friends with the staff at the YMCA (the kids LOVE going to play and I get to exercise again!).  
Things WJG loves-  William's favorite shows right now are probably PJ Mask and the new Puppy show.  Also, anything with super heroes!    
He still loves his popcorn and "movie" before bedtime.  
He loves playing with transformers, playdoh and doing puzzles.  
He also loves playing make believe!   
Things WJG doesn't like-  Going to bed still isn't a favorite activity.  Once you get him in the bed, laying down, reading a book things get easier.  It's just getting him into the bed!  This kid is a procrastinator. Anna Grace goes to bed around 7:15, so after this it's just him...which I'm sure he kinda likes!  He still doesn't like anything spicy to eat and he isn't a fan of things being super noisy (he'll tell you it's hurting his ears).          
Favorite Things To Say-  William still starts singing Twinkle Twinkle when Anna Grace cries. 
William's new favorite song to sing is the "Moana" song.  Makes me laugh every time. 
He tells us "next time" a lot.  "Next time I want to go to the movie." 
He also uses the words "a little bit" often.  "I liked school a little bit today."
"Gentle baby" is also used a lot in our home.  Anna Grace is a bit rough so we are all constantly reminding her to be gentle!
"Wake up again school?!?!"  William will tell you what he's doing every day that week....wake up again school, wake up again no school, wake up again school.....
On Christmas Eve William told us to tell Santa no "hohoho-ing" in his house because it would be too loud.  
"See that circle? (points to Target sign) I wanna go there and get popcorn!"
"I love kisses all day because I love you so much!"
"I'm gonna draw everything in the whole world!"
"I'm fast like a race car."
"I have good news baby, no school today!"
During a tee-ball game William yelled at me, "Mama, is it bath day today?"  :)
We recently drove by a bus barn and William said, "Look at all the buses.  There are 61!"
We were driving on a high overpass and William said, "WOW! You can see the whole world from here." 
Favorite Song: Dirt On My Boots
Favorite Color: Red and Blue (same as last year)
Favorite Shape: Circle and Triangle
Favorite Animal: Cheetah
When He Grows Up He Wants To:  Mow grass.  lol
When asked what his parents do for work:
Daddy- exercises a lot (this cracks me up)
Mama- Helps kids that are sick, gives medicine

The days go too fast.  Every. Single. Day. I'm shocked at what a big boy he is.  God knew that his sweet little soul was just what we needed in our family.  He is perfect in every way to us.  I just wish I could keep him sweet and innocent forever.  ;)  But, since I can't, we will just continue to love on him and prepare him, as best we can, for this crazy thing that we call life.

Baby Girl 18 months old

Still in shock that we no longer have an infant!  I mean, when did she get so old?!?!  

Weight:  25 lbs 6 oz (82nd percentile) Up to 3lbs in 3 months

Height: 32.5 inches (79th percentile) Up 1.5 inch in 3 months
Head: 44 cm 

Eating:  Anna Grace still loves to eat!  She drinks about 24 ounces of milk a day and will never turn down food.  She doesn't like when you try and feed her with a spoon....she's too independent for that and is trying really hard to master using the spoon on her own.  A month or so ago she started to eat more fruit.  Although she still doesn't love bananas she will now eat strawberries and blueberries!  Watermelon is her #1 favorite.  Every Sunday Gordon makes steaks.  This is her absolute favorite!  Steak, sweat potatoes and asparagus = happy Anna Grace.  Her favorite vegetables are green beans, broccoli, carrots, lima beans and asparagus.  She doesn't like pancakes but of course will always say yes to a donut on special occasions.           

Development:  This girl is doing better and better every week!  She rarely walks because she is always running!  Over the last few weeks she has started being more vocal.  Still not a whole lot of words but at least more sounds.  She makes a noise for a dog that sounds more like a howl and then makes a funny quacking sound for a duck.  I swear she's been saying her name the last few days.  She can scribble with a crayon and has mastered the stairs (we are still working on getting down them safely).    

Clothes:  Size 5 diaper and 24 month clothes (some 18 month stuff fits but 24 is best).  She wears a size 4 or 5 in shoes (depending on the shoe).    

Sleeping:  Anna Grace has continued to do great sleeping all night and taking a two hour nap around 12-2.  Her bedtime routine is drinking her milk, brushing her teeth, reading a book while we rock her and then putting her to bed wide awake.  95% of the time she falls right asleep without a peep.  She usually goes to bed around 7:30pm (depending on baseball games and my work schedule) and wakes up between 6am-7am.  We of course still have rough nights.  She was awake from 1-4 am the other night.  Luckily, those are few and far between.         

Things She Loves:  The things she loves hasn't changed much.  Babydolls, her purse, anything William is playing with, the remote control and books are her favorites.  Her obsession with the stairs has luckily decreased.  This child LOVES reading.  While I do dishes she will sit in her chair holding her baby while she reads a book.  She is constantly coming to us holding a book that she wants you to read to her.  This sure makes my heart happy!!!  I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE to read and can't wait to share this with her as she gets older.  She is always waving hi and loves to give kisses and hugs.  She loves all of her shoes and is trying so hard to put them on by herself.  When she isn't wearing her glasses she loves playing with her pretty long eyelashes.  She loves to be tickled and to spin in circles.    

Things She Hates:  This girl knows what she wants and is very independent.  When she doesn't get her way she gets MAD!  I've never seen such a little thing throw such a fit.  She's hot or cold.  One minute she can be so mad at you, fist balled up hitting everything in her path, and the next she's being a sweet little cuddle bug.  She still tries to bite you if she is mad but she doesn't do it to cause pain (she never leave a mark)....I think she does it to get your attention.  Not being able to verbalize things has been frustrating for her.  "Gentle baby" is still used frequently in our home.  William is so patient and good with her.  Today he told her, "Crying is what babies do.  It's okay Anna Grace."                  

Health:  Things are going really well in this department.  Sweet thing has been doing great!!  She did have a random fever one morning but it never turned into anything.  Besides teething we have no complaints from her.  :) 

Anna Grace is still doing Physical Therapy once a week and loving Ms. Laura.  I'm proud to say she is doing great wearing her glasses.  She only time she takes them off is in the car!  We go back to Neuro-Ophthalmology in a few weeks to see how they've helped.      

Other:  Our little lady is getting more and more hair, but still not enough for a bow.  She has 12 teeth and I think 2 of her bottom teeth are about to make an appearance.  She still has a special place in her heart for her daddy and everything William does is funny to her.  She loves going to William's baseball games!  She spends half the time waving at everyone from her stroller and the other half runny around laughing because we are chasing after her.  She has recently fallen in love with dogs.  If a dog comes on TV she gets super excited and starts laughing/screaming and saying "owwww" (her barking noise).  I can't wait to see how she does with my parents dogs the next time we are in Midland.  We are finally able to get her to sit "still" on the couch for a few minutes at a time.  :) 

This little cutie pie keeps us on our toes, but she sure does make us happy.  She is a high energy child that I wouldn't trade for anything!  It's pretty awesome to watch her and her older brother, and their OH SO DIFFERENT personalities, grow and change together.

Anna Grace 17 months old

This little girly is just getting to be more and more fun (and more and more work...LOL).  She keeps us moving and laughing all day long!

Seriously, how cute is this little squishy thing of ours!  The pictures of her holding my phone crack me up.  She is looking at a picture of our family and getting excited about seeing daddy!  She kept saying, "Daaaadeeee!"

Weight:  25ish pounds

Eating:  Anna Grace drinks about 24 ounces of milk a day.  We switched her to lactose free at the beginning of the year (her random throwing up has stopped since we made the change!).  Otherwise, she drinks water (she's not a fan of juice which I'm happy with). Eating is still her favorite thing.  Her favorite fruit is watermelon.   She will finally eat strawberries too.  Meat is still her favorite along with maple syrup puffs!                

Development:  Mid-January Anna Grace went from taking steps to walking everywhere!  She has been pretty unsteady until the past week, but she get where she needs much faster now.  She has been trying to use a fork, but still gets confused about which side to poke the food with.  :)  

Clothes:  We moved baby girl up to a size 5 diaper and 24 month clothes fit best (she's so tall!).

Sleeping:  Anna Grace has done great in this department.  Asleep around 7:30, up between 6-7am and a 1-2 hour nap after lunch.  She has been a lot healthier over the last two months so this has helped our night time sleeping!          

Things She Loves:  Singing "If you're happy and you know it" and dancing!  She loves listening to music and swinging at the park!  She is still loving her baby dolls.  She pats their backs and feeds them bottles.  She loves sitting on the first step of the stairs and holding them.  She's also fallen in love with William's flash cards!   

Things She Hates:  Being tired!  Poor thing starts throwing her head back...pretty dramatic.      

Health:  Besides a yucky nose, baby girl has been pretty healthy over the last 2 months.

Anna Grace is still going to Physical Therapy once a week.  We saw her neuro-ophthalmologist in January and decided to try glasses for a couple of reasons, to straighten her eyes and to help with vision.  She has done great!  The only time she takes them off is when we are in the car.  If they come off she will try and put them back on herself.  :)  I have never been so impressed!!!  She is such an easy going little lovie!      

Other:  In the 2 months since my last update AG got 3 new teeth (one of which she chipped at school....which earned us 2 trips to the dentist).  She has continued to do great in her new room at school.  She comes running to us when we pick her up but she's always super excited when we get there in the morning.  She's started giving us the kisses too....with a big open mouth!  There is truly nothing better.  :)

Rodeo Time 2016

In honor of the upcoming 2017 Houston Rodeo here's a flashback to last year!

William has gone to the rodeo with us every year since he was born!!  And like everything else, every year gets a little more fun.  Last year we spent two different days at the rodeo.  One Saturday morning we made our way into town for the carnival.  We got there right around the time they opened so we didn't have to deal with too many lines.  William really got into the rides this year!  I've never heard him squeal so loud as I did during the "fast rides".  It was super sunny out, so since we had Anna Grace we tried to make it a fast trip.  Not to worry, we fit in a pony ride, the petting zoo, and of course lots of popcorn.

This mama went to the rodeo twice last year.  Once for a girls night and the next with my people (plus sweet Hunter).  William loved seeing all the animals this year.  He's actually starting to understand what is going on!  He obviously cares the most about the popcorn and ice cream.  The night we took the kids we left before the concert started, but made memories that I'll cherish forever.  This was the day our pediatrician finally agreed that something wasn't right with Anna Grace.  We spent this night loving on our kiddos and just enjoying them and our yearly trip to the Houston Rodeo!

My night out with my girls was obviously super fun!  That pretty much goes without saying.  :)  A night out is always awesome.  We had dinner in Midtown before heading to the Rodeo where we discovered they served Cakebread Chardonnay for $5.  Score!  It was an awesome night celebrating my best friend, Alison's, last rodeo (well her last one until she moves back to Houston!  hehe).

Alison, Anna, and the Lindseys braving the rain!

Never have a bad time with Anna!

We've already lined up our rodeo tickets for this year and I. Can. Not. Wait.  

William Turns FOUR!

Since William is turning 5 in just a few months I figured I should mention his FOURTH birthday party!  I'm sad to say the day is a little blurry.  For one, it was 9 months ago, and it was during the height of our "worrying days" with Anna Grace.  We were just getting by day to day.  Trying to not worry.  Praying and staying hopeful and happy.  We definitely didn't let any of this get in the way of celebrating our #1 little dude.  All of his grandparents came into town (and of course Aunt Emily and Uncle Grant were around all weekend).  We started our weekend off eating at a Japanese Steakhouse.  This was night #1 of happy birthday singing.  :)  Little did William know we would sing him happy birthday at least 5 more times over the next few days!

Here are a few of my favorite pictures of my William from over the years.

{About to be 3, just found out we were having Anna Grace} {TWO!}

{One day new in the NICU} {Happy 4th birthday!} {Loving on his baby}

 Well folks, it's happened....the super hero craze.  We decided to take some of the pressure off for the party and had William's birthday party at Little Gym.  It was so nice to not have to get the house ready and then clean up afterwards!  Instead we had 2 hours of fun, with our favorite people, and then headed to El Tiempo for a yummy dinner with our family.....and then went home to have a champagne toast for Emily and Grant's anniversary!  Lucky for us, William's favorite teacher was the leader of the party.  The kids had the best time and got lots of energy out (and no parent is going to complain about that!).  Hearing their little squeals made our day!

The life size Spiderman lived in our house for months after this party.  :)  He was used for target practice, scaring Mama, and karate lessons.  We definitely got our moneys worth!

This little guy sure does keep us smiling.  He has the kindest, sweetest soul.  He loves his sister with all he has, doesn't want to disappoint anyone, is a tomato lover, sweet potato fry eating, cuddly little BOY (but he'll always be my baby!).  

Our Spooky Halloween 2016

Better late than never.  My #1 moto as a mama.  We had another fun Halloween with our two little cuties.  We started our Halloween morning at Zoo Boo!!  This was our first trip to the zoo that Anna Grace actually noticed the animals and got excited.  We even participated in all the Zoo Boo activities this year. :)  One of William's favorite things this trip were the SNAKES!  

After our fun filled morning at the Zoo we headed home to get rested up for our evening of trick or treating.  For the fourth year in a row we went over to Teddy's house for Halloween.  This was by far the best year yet!  William had so much fun running up to the houses.  Listening to him say trick or treat in his shy little voice was so cute.  At one point he told us that trick or treating was hard work.  :)  Anna Grace was the cutest cabbage patch doll I've ever seen.  I loved my cabbage patch dolls growing up, so having my very own, live, baby doll makes my heart so happy.  She had a great evening watching her big brother run around.

I can't even imagine how much fun they'll have together next year when AG can walk!

15 months old AGG

Seriously, time slow down!  How is it 2017?  How do I have a nearly 5 year old and my baby is about to start walking?!?!  Anna Grace has continued to be a happy, happy little lady.  Seeing this little smiling face everyday is good for the soul.

Weight:  22 lbs 3 oz (62th percentile) Up to 2lbs in 3.5 months

Height: 31 inches (59th percentile) Up 1 inch in 3.5 months
Head: 43.3 cm 

Eating:  Anna Grace is down to 3 bottles a day at home (when she wakes up, before nap and bed time).  At school they are trying to only give her a sippy cup!  Eating is definitely one of Anna Grace's favorite times of the day.  She still really loves to feed herself and will never say no to food....she'll just keep eating and eating.  LOL.  Some of her favorite foods are beans, any meat, apple sauce, lima beans and quesadillas.  She isn't a huge fan of fruit but likes most squeezy packets (I still make pureed fruit for her morning cereal).  She loves it when I make soup and still loves baby oatmeal cereal mixed with apple sauce for breakfast.              

Development:  Anna Grace is super close to walking!  About a month ago she started taking steps.  She can stand up from the squatting position (which means she finally started pulling herself up to the standing position).  Her favorite thing to do is crawl up the stairs.  NoT fUn!!!  Unlike her brother, this child has absolutely NO fear.  We were able to answer yes to most of the developmental questions at her 15 month check up.  She says mama and dada (and knows who is who), yes and this.  She shakes her head no when she doesn't want something (half the time she does it because she thinks it's funny).  She just started giving us high fives....she thinks it's hilarious!  

Clothes:  Size 4 diaper and clothes18 months (that big belly is hard to cover!).  Size 4 shoe

Sleeping:  Anna Grace has continued to do great sleeping in her room.  Most nights she is super easy to put to bed.   Bottle, rock her for a few minutes, and lay her down in her crib!  Baby girl goes to be around 7:30pm and wakes up between 6am-7am.  Unfortunately, we've had some rough nights over the last 2 months due to sickness.  But, on a normal day she does awesome!   Nap time is usually from 12-2.        

Things She Loves:  She still loves baby dolls, remote controls and my iPhone.  She loves playing with William and she'd crawl up the stairs all day long if you'd let her.  Her newest thing to do is share.  :)  Bath time is still a favorite and she's got to have a paci at night.  Daddy is also a top favorite these days.  "Daddy's Girl" is no joke.  She has him wrapped. around. her. finger.   

Things She Hates:  For whatever reason, she's not a fan of getting her diaper changed lately.  She always wants to be moving and this slows her down!  She tends to get frustrated when you don't do what she wants (since she can't tell us yet).  Sadly she shows us she's mad by biting.  She doesn't bite hard but puts her little mouth/teeth on you to get your attention.  LOL.  I laugh now....won't be funny if she starts doing it for real.  If you come to our house you'll probably hear William say "gentle baby" several hundred times.  :)                  

Health:  Poor baby girl has had some bad luck lately.  The week before Thanksgiving she started acting like she didn't feel well.  We took her to the pediatrician and everything looked okay (ears, throat, etc).  While we were in Texarkana she threw up at least once a day and ended up with fever one day.  A couple of weeks later, while in Midland, she had 104 temperature for two days and finally a Strep Throat diagnosis.  Christmas night Anna Grace started throwing up and has been on/off since then.  :(  Gordon had a stomach bug NYE, so I think they've been passing it back and forth.  During the day she is her smiley self and rarely complains/cries.  Night time has been rough, but hopefully we are getting all these germ bugs out of the way now and she'll have a stellar immune system very soon! 

Anna Grace still goes to Physical Therapy once a week.  She is doing great and has really taken a liking to Ms. Laura.  We had a good check up with Neurology today....now we just gotta get baby girl's eye straighten out (literally....hehe).  She may end up having surgery on them in the next year or two and will possibly be wearing glasses soon.    

Other:  Our little Anna Grace is finally getting some hair!  It's coming in a lot darker than William's did.  I'd love it if she had dark black hair (I know, I know the chances of that are slim).  She is constantly cutting a new tooth.  Right now she has 9.5 teeth (and some of her left side molars are trying to make their way out).  Our sweet baby girl is no longer in the "baby room".  The week before Christmas she moved rooms and has done great.  She was a bit spoiled in the baby room so we are super happy with how well she transitioned.  

This little lady just adores her big brother (can you tell!).  She is such a bright light and breath of fresh air in our life.  She keeps us moving, smiling and laughing!!!