EVAN is 6 Months!!

Wow, time flies! Evan is already 6 months and changing daily! Out little man is growing leaps and bounds and I have to say it never gets old looking at life through your children's eyes.

Evan had his 6 month appt yesterday and it was LONG just like the last two. After an hour & a half we were finally done. 90% of that time was pure waiting, which would be fine, but there was no one else in the waiting room. Needless to say we will be looking for a new doctor that was just way to stressful!

Okay now on to stats:

Weight: 14.38lbs (gained less than a lb-4.53%)
Height: 27.5" (85%)

As you can see his weight increased less than 1lb over the past 2 months, which has raised some red flags for the doctor. Everything is progressing fine. We are not sure why he didn't gain much weight. Evan has had trouble having bowel movements for most of his little. He only has one about once a week and a lot of times that is assisted by a suppository. Poor little man! We have tried solids with him two separate times, but he is not having it. He literally throws his head back and screams at the site of them. So, we are trying to be patient and just try it here and there. He is so different than Drew with food because Drew could get to solids soon enough. The doc actually told me I could solely nurse for 2 years and that would be sufficient... Ummmm NO WAY, that is totally not for me. My goal is always a year, but I don't think I could make it much past that.

So, anyway please pray for Evan that his little system start processing everything better!!

On the fun side here are some of Evan's updates:
*Almost sitting up completely by himself (sits for several seconds)
*Rolls all over the place
*Babbles
*Kind of waves
*Can stand up, if leaning on something (by himself)
*Chews his toes
*Giggles
*Solids.... A NO GO
*Very distracted nurser... if someone is talking he pulls off and lifts himself up to see what is going on... so STRONG. This is especially true if Drew is the one talking.
*He loves Drew
*Grabs at faces
*Holds you hand
*Takes his pacifier out & puts it back in
*Sleeps 8-10 hours at night & rarely wakes up
*Uses Bumbo
*First Cold (with an everlasting cough)
*Figured out how to jump in the jumperoo
*If he wakes up, you can just put his pacifier back in and he is instantly back to sleep
*Loves the song David made up & Drew often sings (to the tune "Where is Thumbkin"):

Evan Michael, Evan Michael,
You're a stinker, you're a stinker
Yes you are a stinker, yes you are a stinker
Evan Michael, Evan Michael

Okay that is all I can think of right now! I hope you enjoyed this update. Check out my photography blog for more pics of Evan... joyinthejourneyphotography.com

Evan is 5 Months!

I am behind yet again, I know that is no surprise to all of you! I think you can just count on me being behind for awhile. So, Evan has turned 5 months since I posted last. He has accomplished huge milestones:

*Almost sitting up

*Falling asleep on his own, with very little fussing
*Sleeping 8-9 hours at night

*Rolling all over

*Babbling

*Giggling

*Eating Cereal (I was going to wait until 6 months, but e began to get more fussy, so I decided why not and it seems to be helping).

I do dread when this boy gets teeth because he is already a biter if you know what I mean, I could really use prayer for this. Enjoy some fun pictures below:

DREW UPDATES...2 Years, 3 1/2 Months

David got a wild hair this morning and decided to see how much Drew has grown because we know he is taller as he is reaching more and more...

The result is...36"

We tried to do his weight, but our scale just isn't great for accuracy. Based on what it says he hasn't gained any weight since his 2 year appointment...so it is saying 30lbs.

Drew is such a funny kid and as I have said numerous times he keeps us on our toes with what he says and knows. Here are some recent Drew phrases/conversations:

Me: "Drew look there is a front loader"
Drew: "No Mommy it is a Backhoe"

"Hey my daddy...or my Mommy"

One morning (whispering): "Is everybody sleeping..psst psst... is everybody sleeping"

Me: "You are a nut case," Drew: "No, I am a fruit cake"

Drew: "Mommy, what does a garbage truck say?" Me: I make a lifting, dumping, and chomping sound to let him know it eats the garbage, Drew: "Ewwwwe Yucky

"Daddy fly safe"

"Emma lives in Texas"

"Daddy lay down.." he wants him to pretend he is sleeping.. Then he gets really close and says "BOO" really loud

"Whatcha doing?" He asks everyone this even perfect strangers

He likes to tell us what he has had to eat

He requests Chicken with Ranch Dip

He tattles on himself... you always know exactly what he did

He puts toys in timeout

He trades his toys... we taught him he has to trade one toy for another

He continually impresses us with knowing the names of many vehicles: Backhoe, Excavator, Front Loader, Fire Truck, Police Car, Pick-up Truck, Jeep, tractor, Cherry Picker, Fork Lift, Motorcycle, Van, Money Truck, Garbage Truck, Cement Mixer, Dump Truck, Semi, Car Transporter, Trailer, Monster Truck, Helicopter "ride", Airplane, bus (big & little)...etc I am sure there are more)

He is singing the alphabet pretty well & can count to 6. The most impressive thing is he knows the sound of the letters.

Okay I think that is enough info for now..

DREW... The Big 2 YEAR OLD!!

I can't believe I am posting that Drew is TWO! There is no better way to turn two then on Thanksgiving, which is exactly how we feel about him so THANKFUL and blessed! We enjoyed spending his special day with my sister-in-law Erin & her family plus the bonus of Grandma & Grandpa Hagerhjelm! So, not only did we have yummy cake made by Auntie Erin, but we also enjoyed a VERY yummy Thanksgiving meal!

Okay, I know I did not do a 23 month Update as Drew is learning so fast it is just so hard to keep up, so I am just going to highlight the last 2 months..

STATS (he had his 2 yr appt on 11/30):
Weight: 30.4 lbs (75th percentile)

Height: 34.5" (50-75th percentile... this number show he shrunk from 18months but the nurses just measured him wrong then).

Now, let's see what I can remember from his crazy learning curve. When we were at his appointment yesterday the doctor was just beside herself with how advanced he is verbally. It nice to hear that from others sometimes because of course we all think our kids are smart.

OUR FAVORITE "Drew" PHRASES:
*"Daddy/Mommy...be careful" or he tells us he is being careful
*I wanna go this way
*I am sleepy
*Drew: "I wanna Eat or I'm hungry", Us: What would you like to eat, Drew: "Chicken (which he hardly ever eats)"
*I wanna __________ to." He is such a copycat and if someone says they want to do something he instantly wants to do it to.
*When he wakes up in his crib we can hear him over the monitor saying: "I wanna get out or I am hungry." Whatever gets him out fastest.
"I wanna go in the basement and play with cars"
"I tickle Mommy/Daddy/Baby"
"I wanna go home.. and sometimes he adds to see BaBa (which is Bella) or Mommy

WHAT HE KNOWS:
Body Parts: Nose, Mouth, Lips, Eyes, Cheeks, Hair, Knee, Arm, Elbow, Shoulder, Ears, Feet, Hands, Thumb, Pinky, Tummy, Teeth

Colors: Red, Blue, Yellow, Orange, Brown, Black, Pink, Purple, White, learning Silver & Gold

Vehicles: Dump Truck, Bus, Pick-Up Truck, Mac Truck or Trailer Truck, Train, Helicopter, Plane, Excavator, Jeep,

Animals (& sounds): Cow (Moo Moo), Donkey (Ee Aw), Bird (Tweet Tweet), Monkey, Duck, Dog/Puppy (Barks), Kitty/Cat (Meow...then hisses), Piggy, Frog, Horse, Bear, Zebra, Geese/Goose, Dinosaur (Rawr)

Misc:
*Knows most of the train names on Thomas videos & the characters on Cars
*he will tell you Chug-a-Chug-a Choo Cho and let you know it is a train sound
*he pats my belly and says nice baby & likes to show the baby stuff
*His memory is way to good.. if I offer him ice cream at some point in the day he will remember it the rest of the day.

Now, this is only a drop in the bucket of what comes out of this little man's mouth!!

The Moment is HERE!!

W-A-L-K-I-N-G...

It is so funny because Drew is one of those kids you have to ignore for him to accomplish something. David and I have been walking with Drew for awhile, which he likes, however as soon as you tried to do what all the books said to do, where they walk between Mom & Dad, he would get jello legs and crawl....while smiling. He knew exactly what he was doing. So, we just started ignoring him and not asking anymore. Wouldn't you know it at church yesterday I put him down to grab my coat & purse and the next thing I knew...we was moving while standing and not holding on to anything...walking, what?! Now, today he is walking up a storm. I don't know about you, but their is nothing cuter then a little kid walking... Enjoy this video Daddy captured!

Note: Hopefully you are so distracted by this funny boy that you won't notice the crazy messy desk.. All I can say is Creative Genius at work.. he he he!!

Drew's First Birthday Party...

Hello All, Okay these next few posts may be a little out of order, but I wanted to start with Drew's birthday party. We had a small, but nice family party for him this past Saturday, November 29th at Pizza Hut in my hometown of Muscatine, Iowa.

Drew was so good and entertained the family, with lots of cheesy smiles, waves, pointing at & saying "Car" as they passed by, and more.. We can't thank all of our family and friends enough for the warm birthday wishes and goodies for Drew! THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, we love you all!!

Cousin Brooklyn with Drew

Cute Cake...Drew LOVES cars!

Don't forget to lick the car...

Us with Great Aunt Jean, Great Grandma Pace, Cousins Brooklyn & Gabe