FINALLY!

So, our little baby, is finally WALKING!!!

Summyr has taken her sweet time mastering the art of walking. Over the past 7 months, we waited as patiently as we possibly could. But our aching backs could only take so much more.

Honestly, I decided to finally put my foot down. I realized that we (Stephan and I) were carrying her too much. From the moment she woke up, whether it be morning or after nap, we picked her up. Yes, this was necessary as a newborn, infant, and up into the late baby months, but once she turned one, we were still picking her up and carrying her to the living room. Then we would carry her to her highchair. Then we would pick her up from the chair and carry her to the toy room. Or as a young toddler, we would carry her to the walker, or entertainment center. Then she would get tired and we would carry her to her crib, then back out of the crib, then carry her out the door, into the car/stroller. Never did her feet touch the ground. The she learned to crawl. We let her crawl at home, but we still carried her everywhere else.

So back to the part about putting my foot down. I decided it was time to STOP carrying her. When she woke up in the morning, down she would go, and with help, we would have her "walk" to the living room. "Walk" to the toy room. "Walk" to the highchair. "Walk" from the car to the store/Bible classroom/etc. Guess what? Within 2 weeks of doing this, she was taking steps on her own. All this time we had been complaining that she wasn't walking yet.

But it was our fault.....

So the day before Thanksgiving, we went to Conn's (appliance store). Summyr decided that would be the place that she would make eternal memories. She started taking independent steps, a few at a time, and today....Dec. 2, 2008, she can take 20+ steps on her own. She can walk from one room to the other, turn corners, squat down and then stand up again and take steps, walk with a toy/cup in her hand, and sometimes hold hands and walk with Jude.

So now we cannot go back. Our baby is now a big girl. No longer will she need me to carry her. Now she says, "Walk", and has no fear. Soon, she will run and play without hesitation. I am so proud to see her walk, yet so sad to see her grow up so fast.

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Do You Know This Baby?

She Reminds Me of Someone...

Easy Monday....So Far.....

I just wanted to post about my "Easy Monday".

I am sitting here at the dining table (where I do all of my posting from) and I am still in my pjs. Yes, it is awesome....12:05 p.m., still in my nightgown and slippers.

Jude is outside playing with the dog. I can see him through the window in his little blue jacket. He has already eaten lunch of quesadillas and carrots with ranch. He has already enjoyed watching 101 Dalmations. He is now trying to come inside.

Summyr is napping. She has been asleep for about an hour and a half. She still needs to eat lunch, but until then, I am enjoying the fact that she is resting. When she rests, I rest. The only downside to her still being asleep, is that she needs her diaper changed....I dont want to wake her up just for that.

I know that it sounds like I am just enjoying myself....that maybe I have not done anything productive today, but that is just not so. Here is a list of what I have done so far:

• Cleaned Summyr's high chair
• Taken out meat for dinner
• Started preparation for tonights dinner (cutting onions, bell peppers, taking out other ingredients)
• Cleaned out laundry room
• Folded laundry
• Made Jude's lunch
• Fed the dog
• Dressed both kids
• Straightened up Summyr's room and organized her diapers on the shelf
• Wrote an email for MonaVie
• and Sorted through mail

Now Jude is sitting next to me, playing with Play-Doh. I still need to eat lunch myself, now that I think about it. We also need to run to the store to get a red bell pepper and some limes. Being a Stay-at-Home Mom has its perks....days like this.

Slow....Easy....Relaxing....Monday.

Now I Must Post About Jude....

There are so many things about Jude that I could write. He has been with us for almost 4 years...much longer than Summyr....so there is much more to write.

Jude is SOOOOOOOOO Smart. I cannot keep up with half of the things he tells me about. He is into outerspace and the planets and spaceshuttle. I cant wait to take him to the Johnson Space Center....he will love it!

He has a fantastic imagination. He can be whoever and wherever he wants in a matter of seconds. Lately he is BuzzlightYear or a Pokemon, or even Bumblebee. He his so detailed with his descriptions of the characters, and never misses anything. Oh, and he will make sure to correct you when you are wrong about the way you "fight" or "fly" if you are playing with him.

He has book smarts. He can count to 20, say all of the alphabet, knows all of his shapes, colors, etc. He can even WRITE all of the letters and some of the numbers!!! He can write his NAME!!! In upper and lower case, mind you. Can you believe this? I know we cant. He is currently working on picking up some sign-language, and has picked up an interest in science. All on his own! He knows his phonics...can associate the letter sounds with the correct letter, and can even give you a word to go with the letter. All at 3 years old....we might have a prodigy on our hands.

Jude is very independent. Well I would like to think so. He can dress himself, put on socks and shoes (velcro or slide-on), brush his teeth, put on his pullups, start a DVD for himself when he wants, shut the car doors when he gets out, helps pick up after Summyr, is my number one diaper-runner, can put on his backpack by himself and carry his lunchbox, can eat almost everything without having us cut it up for him (except for drumsticks), can help "fold" laundry, ride his bike, walk the dog, and even makes up his own language. He is an awesome kid!

Our "Big Kid"!

Jude Mykel 5/31/05

Some Things About My 1 Year Old....

These are just a few things about my daughter that I wanted to write:

• She does not like her pizza cut up....she is a big girl now and eats it like one.




• She will ask for a drink from your cup, but turn it away as soon as you put it to her mouth.




• She loves to run squished up banana through her hair....not easy to clean up.




• She is 16 months old going on 16 years old.




• She is becoming "motherly" and will kiss and pat her baby dolls.




• She is becoming "bossy" in her own way...she will tell you no!




• She is afraid to fall while walking, but not afraid to fall off the couch while climbing.




• She will make her opinion of something known to me, you, and everyone else in the room!




• She can be sweet and loving, and pinch you at the same time.




• She has a very unique personality.....enough said.




• She is my spitting image....I am very proud!




• Daddy says, "She is definatly one of the most Beautiful babies I have ever seen. I mean I have seen "cute" babies, but she TAKES THE CAKE!"

She is our "Princess".

Summyr Ann 7/7/07

Horrible at Blogging....

If you cant tell, I am horrible at blogging.

I spend too much time on Facebook.

And, I spend a lot of time taking care of my family and cleaning up this house!

Don't forget Skippy!

I don't know if anyone even reads this blog.

A lot has happened since I last wrote.

Jude got really sick with something and had to be put in the "hostible" for a couple of days. This was a really trying time for me because the same day he was admitted, Stephan had to go out of town on business. I was exhausted and was truly blessed by our church family, who came in and helped me out so much with meals and taking care of Summyr. Jude is back to normal by the way, and the doctors were never able to figure out what made him sick or what exactly he had.

In early October, we signed up to be distributors of MonaVie. This is a juice made from fruit. 100% fruit I might add. Drinking 4 ounces of of this juice a day gives you 13 servings of fruit. Who wouldn't want that? All that fruit in 4 ounces!!! The main fruit in this amazing drink is the acai berry....from the Amazon. MonaVie has really changed our life, and our health. As an added bonus, its about to change the contents of our wallet, too!

Halloween. All I can say is that I am glad it is over! I know that sounds bad, but this year was so stressful. I was dumb enough to think, that since we were broke, I would just make the kids costumes, and save a couple of bucks. Well after 3 weeks of working on Jude's Optimus Prime (Transformers) costume, I had had enough! I did finish it though and it turned out GREAT! It was the hit of the Fall Festival at church and I kid you not, people are still talking about it! Oh and I only spent $2.00 to make it.....for the red and blue spray paint. I made Summyr's costume as well. It only took me an afternoon and six dollars to make her princess ballerina tutu. She was so cute, and its a costume that she can wear over and over.

And here we are in November. I am enjoying the weather changing everyday. Sometimes, after the kids are asleep, I take Skippy for a walk in our little neighborhood. I love to walk in the dark and feel the cool wind swirl around me and hear the crunch of the leaves and acorns under foot. I am trying so hard to get in the holiday "spirit" this year. I think I might just be able to....I hope.