Getting Big

Our kids are growing up! I have heard it all a million times...

"Enjoy every moment, because they grow up so quick".
"They grow up fast!"
"Before you know it, they will be teenagers."

Well, it's true!!!

Our kiddos are growing up so quick.

Miss Chloe

Miss Chloe is such a talker. Her favorite person to talk to is Brad. Whenever she hears his voice and can't see him, she gets upset. The smile that comes across her face the moment she sees him melts my heart every time.

Chloe Smiling 

She turned three months on the 9th and is finally growing out of her 0-3 month clothes. She doesn't rank real tall in the height category. :)

Chloe is finally adapting to night time. She goes down between 9:30 and 10:30. Then she has between 1 and 3 feedings per night. Our little lady doesn't like her own bed much, though. She prefers to be rocked to sleep by dad (mom will do too). If that's not an option she would like to be laid on mom and dad's down pillows and snuggled close. After she is asleep she is happy to be laid in her bed. This ritual is a nightly thing and Brad has now starting bringing her in our bed in the mornings. This is a bad thing that we are trying to break, but I have a feeling that Brad really likes his snuggle time.

Snuggling with Mom

Little lady holds her head up very well, and has decided she wants to sit up. Girl is going to have a six pack in a week. This means that it was time to remove the newborn piece of her bathtub. Last night she sat in her bathtub as an infant. It makes me sad that in a few short months I will never use that baby bathtub again.

Holding her head up

Mr. Corbin

Mr. Corbin is growing like a weed. On August 18th we measured our little man against the wall. He measured in at 30 inches tall. A week later we measured him again...31 inches. He had grown an INCH. We measured him again yesterday... 32 inches. Two inches in one month.

He is officially in all size 18 months clothes. Although, he would prefer to be naked. Shoes and socks don't stay on. In fact, I don't even bother putting them on him when we leave. I wait until we get where we are going.

He has 6 teeth right now and number 7 is shining pretty white on his gums.

My little man LOVES gogurt. He thinks this is a genious idea. He is very independent and is learning how to use a fork and spoon.

He now climbs on EVERYTHING. His newest jungle jim is the oven. He likes to put his toes on the drawer underneath, grab the handle on the oven door, and pull himself up. Toddler hood has officially begun.

We have been working on potty training, but not forcing it.

Corbin loves Chloe. He has been showing a lot of interest in her lately. He now likes to give her her pacifier, wipe her face, pat her on the head, gives the blankets to her, and wants to hold her. Little lady loves when Corbin is around.

Grandma and Grandpa came for a visit and were lucky enough to get all of their grand babies in one picture.

Updates Galore

Its been a long time since I posted an update. So much has happened!

May:

Corbin turned 1 on May 6th. We celebrated his special day at Papa's Pizza with lots of family and friends. 

Corbin still hasn't quite got the hang of opening gifts and what that means. 

Although, he sure does love all the toys he got for his birthday. Brad and I got him his first quad:

At first he wasn't so sure of the quad. Now he is a crazy rider. He rides it while standing on the seat, he rides it with both feet on one side, he rides it while standing up, and any other way he can figure out. Now we just need to teach him how to steer it.

A couple days after his birthday he had his 12 month check up. He is completely average on everything, but we took a few pictures while waiting for the doctor.

As seen from the pictures above Corbin was also in need of a haircut. So it goes that our big one year old also got his first haircut in May:

June:

June brought lots of change for our family. On the 8th, I completed my last day of work before being off until August 20th. I purposely took a few days off before Chloe's due date (the 13th) in order to give myself some time to get things ready. Chloe had other plans. 

The morning of the 9th I woke up at 6:00. I immediately headed for the shower, as I had class that day. Before I could get in the shower, I felt weird. I woke Brad up and told him that I would need him to drive me to school, just in case. By the time I got out of the shower, I was having contractions. By 6:30 I woke Brad up, again, and told him that we would not be going to school and that we would be going to the hospital instead. 

I called the doctors office at 7:00 and told them my contractions were 5 minutes apart and 15-20 seconds long. I was told to wait until they were a minute long. As Brad was stressing out trying to get everything ready to go, we decided it would be better to head to my moms house. He house was 15 minutes from the hospital as opposed to our 40 minutes drive to the hospital. 

By 10:00 my mom and I decided that we didn't want to wait anymore, so we headed in. As I was being admitted my water ruptured, I was in the worst pain of my friggin life, and I was dilated to 7 centimeters. Within 20 minutes I had my epidural and I was a happy lady. 3:00 came around and the doctor told me I was dilated to 10 and that it was time to push. Although, I was pretty numb and not sure I would be able to push, the doctors started getting ready. As the midwife put on her gown she told me that I could push if I wanted. I let her know that I was waiting for her to be ready. She told me that she could get her gloves on fast so not to worry. So push is what I did and just as quickly as I started the midwife told me she wasn't that quick and that I needed to stop pushing. 

Two pushes later and Chloe arrived at 3:27pm on June 9th. She was 7 pounds 2 ounces and 19.75 inches long. 

While we were in the hospital Corbin spent the day with aunt Jenn, Uncle Wayne and his cousins

Corbin wasn't real sure what to think of Chloe at first. We still go through spurts of love and jealousy, but for the most part he is adjusting well.

June 19th was another excited day for us. Brad got the first of his two tattoos done on the 19th:

(Chloe's will be on the other side, once Bard forgets what the needle on his ribs felt like)

Oddly enough the same day Brad got his tattoo (of footprints) done, Corbin started walking. 

He is a walking pro now, but this was one of the first times walking so we were recording it for Grandma and Grandpa in Hawaii (don't judge my attire and hair do, I had a baby 12 days before this):

Edit - My husband just reminded me that I forgot to add in that I graduated in June, also. I was able to attend graduation but we did get the chance to have dinner with all of my cohort compadres:

July:

July has just begun but I have been capturing our memories despite my tired state of mind:

 

Learning updates:

Corbin - Along with walking, Corbin can also say a few new words. He of course says mom and dad. He can also make Monkey noises and say "Love you". He refuses to eat baby food anymore and now loves to eat applesauce, steak, and pretty much anything with red sauce (pizza, spaghetti, etc...). He gives kisses all the time. We are now working on converting from bottles to sippy cups. This isn't going so well, especially since he will not drink milk unless it's hot.

Chloe - At her 2 week checkup Chloe measured in average for everything (just as her brother always has). She is a great eater and already eats 4 ounces for each meal. She is not too fond of a pacifier, but I have been trying. She never sleeps for more than 4 hours, but I certainly enjoy a good 4 hour stretch of sleep at night. 

I think that's it for now. I promise I will update more often once I go back to work!

30 weeks

I cannot believe that I am already 30 weeks pregnant. It seems like just a few short weeks ago Brad and I were delaying the purchase of a pregnancy test, cause there was "no way we were pregnant again." :) Well, it's actually been 30 quick weeks and little miss Chloe (we have finally decided) is scheduled to be here in just 10 more quick weeks.  The next 10 weeks will be spent getting her room ready, taking my last 18 credits for school, Corbin turning 1, and graduating!!!


The last 30 weeks have been spent doing much of the same, but more excitingly we have been watching our little baby become a little boy with a huge personality. Corbin now gives kisses. At first he would do this only if Brad and I kissed each other first. Now he will do it pretty much each time we ask, and although those kisses are slobbery and open-mouthed we love everyone of them. 


Corbin also loves to eat the foods we that eat. His favorites include chili, pasta, spaghetti, spaghetti-o's, chicken nuggets, granola bars (these are the best), and animal crackers. He will pretty much eat whatever I eat with the exception of Pad Thai. However, his favorite is... peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Brad sent me photo evidence of this love today:

Corbin also loves to stick his tongue out all the time now, and although this is not a great picture of him, Brad also sent me evidence of this today:

Brad is sending me these wonderful pictures as I am in Maryland right now. My job at work is continuing to change as I progress in my education and experience. That means my responsibilities are also changing. The hardest part is that I was asked to travel this week for a work conference. It just so happens that this conference is in Maryland. Before I left I made sure to get in lots of time with my boys:

Sporting a mohawk with this long hair

He cracks himself up

After a fabulous weekend it was off to the airport on Sunday morning. the trip was pretty much horrible. After arriving in Houston I literally ran to my next flight (as I only had 15 minutes after getting off the other plane). Upon arriving at my gate I find out that my flight has been delayed... 3 hours. That would mean I would not be leaving Houston until 10:00 at night and not arriving in Maryland until 2:00am. After initially being frustrated I convinced myself to not be pessimistic. 10:00 arrived and boarding began. After about 20 people getting on the plane the captain came out to tell us that the flight would be delayed until the next morning. Apparently the runway we needed to land on in Maryland was going to be under construction after midnight, so he wouldn't be able to land. The people waiting were furious, they started screaming and yelling at the captain and the poor customer service agents. It then took until midnight for them to arrange a hotel. It amazed me that people were waiting in line this entire time:

I guess they thought sitting was not an option. Anyway, after getting my hotel voucher it was off to the shuttle where we had to waiting another hour. I finally hit the bed around 1:45 am. Wake up call at 4:45. So with 3 hours of sleep it was back to the airport I went. After having to wait another half an hour for a new boarding pass it was smooth sailing...or not. things were looking good when we were able to board the plane early, but then we were delayed on the tarmac because of a thunder storm overhead. Needless to say I finally arrived in Maryland and at my destination at 1:30 in the afternoon. Maryland is much better than Houston and feels a lot more like Oregon. Here are some pictures from my hotel:

Laser fountain show in the atrium of my hotel

View of the Woodrow Wilson Bridge from right outside my hotel

View from my room just after sunset

So tomorrow I will finish my conference and head to the airport. I can't wait to see my boys. I used to think leaving for school and work was hard... this is crazy hard and has been filled with many tears.