John and Mama Time!

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  I try to take full advantage of my time spent with John when Grace is at school. OK so yes I still sometimes run errands, shower, do house work, and so on, but for the most part I try to give him my FULL attention. We read books, play patty cake, sing, dance, and just play with all sorts of toys. I do let him play alone sometimes too. I read that and was told to do that with Grace when she was a baby and I believe it really was beneficial to her (and I). She is able to play alone sometimes w/o me by her. John is learning to do that too. I will leave the room for a few minutes at a time so he gets used to it. It develops independent infants/toddlers. It really makes a difference in their personalities. No one wants a clingy child on their hip at ALL times. Well at least I don't. Ha! Anyway- John is developing such a stern personality. If he wants it- then he wants it and I KNOW IT!!! He will try to get whatever it is no matter what. He wiggles out of my hands- or maybe even pouts to get what he wants. It's so funny how much they change so quickly. I remember when NOTHING phased him. Now when you take something away from him- OH BOY it's almost a full blown tantrum. Grace has been so good with him lately. When he wants her puzzles she will try to give him a different toy. ( I posted the video on Facebook) I can't post my phone pics and video on here. I have NO clue how to do that. But it's cute if you haven't seen it. She just acts so grown up in some situations that I just can't believe that's my little Grace. I am glad though- she could be more aggressive or angry. OK that's all for now. I better go to sleep or something!! Kids are sleeping..... Adeyiza is sleeping.... I better go!!
  
  
  
  

Zumba Girl

Grace loves to dance to Zumba. I think I've posted pictures of her before, but these were just too cute! She had on her Dora dress (she loves to play dress up) and danced away!! I don't do it as often as I would like to, but I try to squeeze it in when I can!!

Just Hanging Out!

This was before I put them down for a nap today. It was about 2:15 and almost nap time. John was about to eat and Grace was about to color while I fed John. Now, I have to tell all my bow haters- I'm DONE with the side bow in Grace's hair. I was just telling Adeyiza that it's so hard for me to stop doing that, and I just don't know why. Part of it is b/c she's always worn her hair that way- but I do look at her hair and it's just not working for me any more. I am on a mission for new styles and to spend more time doing it in the morning. I did buy some head bands like you see in this picture. This morning I had her hair in this one but it was nice tight curls and looked really cute!! SO I'll keep trying. Oh and I say "bow haters" b/c I know some of my friends/family think the bow style NEEDS to go!! Well I am now realizing it and AGREE!!!

Puffs....Yum Yum

John is getting better at picking up Puffs and eating them. For those of you that don't know what Puffs are, they are little pieces of cereal type snacks for infants. They basically melt in your mouth. It's "beginner" foods. He still gets cereal, and pureed fruits and veggies. But now it's time for him to starting eating chunkier foods. I started a couple weeks ago. He wasn't ready when I had tried before. Now he is much better.

2nd Tooth!

It's kind of hard to see, but his second tooth is coming in. Here is his first one too. I think sometimes he is feeling them with his lips or tongue. He just acts like he's chewing on something.... but I think he is discovering his teeth!!

2 TEETH

I forgot to mention below that his 2nd tooth is here!!!!

Chicken Bone

This was in Winnipeg during our Christmas vacation. Grandpa Momoh gave John a chicken bone..... and he LOVED it!!! He was teething at the time and I didn't even know it. The day after we got home I felt his first little tooth. So I knew it was happening while we were gone. Anyway- he kept chewing on the bone until we had to take it away from him.

Updates: Grace is 100% better and John is about 95% better. They sure did have a bad cold. It's MUCH harder taking care of 2 sick kids. I am soooo thankful for how healthy they usually are. I remember when Grace was an infant, her first cold wasn't until Boston. She never really got sick and no ear infections or anything. (AND YES- she did go out. I did not keep her locked up in the house...... as some think!) Ha ha. Anyway John got it a tad earlier but again- it's been pretty much smooth sailing in that department it is.

Bed time is going good. Grace still loves her bed. However.... funny story. Last night we were watching football on TV and all of a sudden I heard a big bang upstairs. I just KNEW it was going to be Grace falling out of her bed. What else could it be?!? So I went upstairs opened her door and she was just sitting on the floor looking half asleep. I said OH are you ok? And she said yes. I picked her up and set her down in her bed and off to sleep she went. I couldn't believe it. NO crying- no reaction- NOTHING!!! She looked so sweet and cute. John is doing a little better. Still really restless but I think a small improvement these past few days.

That's about it for now. I am starting a mom's group (bible study) on Friday, so I am excited to finally get out and meet some new people. Being so close to my old friends I haven't really felt the urge until recently. The host told me to bring John with me since she has a 7 month too. It's at her home- so I thought hey PLAY DATE!!! If he is too fussy I'll leave him home with our sitter. But I thought I should give it a try. I was going to look for play group for his age but now this will be perfect. So that's about it for now. I will try to get more recent pictures soon!!!

Today I Am 7 Months Old!

John is 7 months old today. He is in the middle of a bad cold right now. I hope the last of it is to come. I feel soooo bad for him. He's very congested and coughs a lot. It's even harder now to get him to eat. My parents were here with the kids this weekend- so they had the worst of it I'm sure. Sorry mom and dad- next time I am SURE he will be better. (haha) Anyway- other than his cold, he is doing great. He says dadadada , babababab and a bunch of other "none" words. (Babbles) He is almost all grown out of his 9 month clothing- and pretty close to be growing out of his 12 month clothing, so he must be getting bigger. He goes back to the doctor for a weight/skin check, so we'll see how much he weighs. He still has severe dry skin. I've used and still use the best of the best- but nothing seems to be working. Well I guess a couple seem to be helping, so I'll keep trying those. But I do love this age. He just wants to get in to every thing. It's just the cutest thing ever!! I love when they start to grab your face and do things like that. OK kids are in bed and I'm going to go lay down. It's been a LONG weekend.

So Happy Together

These are the precious moments between Grace and John. I can tell they love each other so much. Now when Grace wakes up she will ask where John is. And when John wakes up and looks at Grace he start smiling. I love how they play together.... of course they do have their moments when "sharing" is the lesson of the day, but for the most part it's a lot of fun. It's funny b/c I bet Grace can't even picture her little life with out John- and same goes for John. They really do make each other laugh and smile A LOT!! I hope this lasts for a little while at least. I am sure when John starts to "take" his toys back from her, she will not know what happened. Enjoy him now while you can Grace.

Grace LOVES her new bed. The frame came and she helped Adeyiza put it together. When it was time to go to bed, after our nightly routine- she climbed right in and told me good night. It was so cute. She actually climbed in before brushing her teeth, books, and prayers. I said OH no.. we need to brush our teeth. But at least now we can read together in her bed before lights out. Before we had to do it on the floor bc I am not getting in her crib. So out with the crib and in with the bed. She was ready anyway. I just waited a while until potty training was over and all that. Not too many new transitions at once.... right!!

Big Feet, Little Feet

Grace has always had little feet. I mean look at this- John is almost only 7 months and Grace is a little past 2 years and they are ALMOST the same size. We all always noticed how little Grace's feet were as she was growing. It's like her feet stopped and she kept on. That's ok though, girls can have small feet. John's are big b/c he is our basketball star. I always wanted a professional sport player in the family. Just think..... free tickets, traveling to games, cheerleader mama, and so on. It could be REALLY nice!!!! :)

"Don't Pull The Hair John!!!!"

John is ALWAYS after Grace's hair. One day I just couldn't resist and I had to let him so I could take pictures. I know it looks mean- but he didn't pull it too hard. I just had to show everyone what he LOVES to do now. As soon as he's sees her hair.... WATCH out Grace! He is after it. It's kind of cute though I have to admit. I mean - her hair is just soooo appealing to all kids, all ages I guess!! But she will say, "Don't pull the hair John!" Oh and the funny thing is,,,, this was all going on while Adeyzia was sleeping in the background. He can sleep any where at any time.

Sleep training day # 7 is going great for Grace that is.... John is still having issues. But I keep trying. We ordered Grace a new bed and everything came except the frame. Her mattress, sheets, and comforter is all set up in her bed. I washed and made her bed on the floor. Before I put her in her crib- she said,"No sleep in the bed!" I asked her if she wanted to sleep in her new bed and she said yes. She climbed in, put her head on her pillow, and I covered her up. Man that was easy!!! Tomorrow the frame should be here. I just hope she likes that too. I thought she would at least put up some kind of fight. Guess not!! Some things are easy.... some things are not!!!!

Sunday Morning

This was yesterday morning on our way out the door to church. Sometimes I look at these two and I just can't believe they are mine. It's like someone just put me in the picture with two kids. ha ha but really I love looking at pictures of us together. I just can't believe how big they are getting.

We are all doing great. John is a happy boy for the most part. Still a bit fussy around eating and sleeping time- but hey that's ok!! Grace is something else. She just seems like a preschooler sometimes by the way she talks. They are both doing pretty good at sleeping. I am now able to do our night routine with Grace- and then lay her in bed and LEAVE!! Yes- she lets me leave while she's awake. NO TEAR!!! It's wonderful and I have more time now. Before I would have to lay on the floor for an hour sometimes longer. But now I can put her down and remind her I'm in my room and she's ok. The first 2 nights she cried- but then it stopped. LOVE IT!!! We tried this a while back with her, but she would get so worked up that she would get sick all over her bed/pj's and it was too sad. John is ok- he still wakes up a lot, but I am trying to let him cry too. We'll keep working. It does make things easier when bedtime is 30 min. in stead of 2 hours. :)

Cousins!!!

This was Grace watching her cousins play chess.

This was the morning we left. One more pancake breakfast (that grandpa cooked) together before we leave!!!

They shared apple slices together. Grace kept taking each slice, biting it, and putting it back on the plate. Lets just say they didn't think that was funny!!! Ha ha.

Auntie Oiza snuggling with John.

John's Dedication

This is the pastor. He came over to visit after service on Christmas Day.

Before we went to Winnipeg, Mummy (Adeyiza's mom) had asked their pastor if they could dedicate John for us. See we go to church here, but we are not members and are not even sure if we are staying, so we have been putting of getting John dedicated. Anyway, the pastor agreed to do this for us. It was so sweet and really fit in nicely with the service. John and Grace both did great. I am so glad he was able to squeeze us in on Christmas. After we were finished John was sooo tired. He fell asleep with the rose they gave him. Awe....

Can You Do This Auntie?

Grace would do something and her Auntie Ohunene would copy her. They were both laughing and having fun!!! IT was soooo cute to watch.

Christmas in Winnipeg

This was Christmas morning in Winnipeg. We all got ready and went to church. It was also the day John was dedicated. (I'll explain that in his dedication pictures.) I have lots to post and catch up on, so hang tight.

After church we all came home, changed our clothes, and opened presents. The kids had a blast. I have present pictures too. It wasn't as cold in Winnipeg this year as it was the last time we were there. I was happy about that since it gets sooo super cold. That kind of bitter cold where it's painful to even go to your car. So that was also goo for the kids too.

John's First Tooth

Today was the day I felt John's first tooth. I've been checking his gums daily, but it wasn't until today that I noticed one poking through his gums. I can't believe it!!! I didn't even know he was teething. I guess that's good. He's been a good boy for the most part- so I never knew!! It's day two of my sleep training with him.... and Grace!! I know... yes... Grace too. It's just out of control so I'm putting my foot down. I can't do the whole cry it out method- so I am trying the Fenner approach. You pat their backs, leave, let them cry a little, go back in, and start the process over and over again until eventually they start to fall asleep. Last night went OK- Grace did great tonight- John... not so great. But I know I have to do this. Grace is still not sleeping through the night and I can't make that same mistake with John. It's too hard. Especially now that it's the two of them. Sleep is much needed in this house for ALL of US!!! I'll keep you posted on how many nights it takes. I have to keep saying over and over to myself.. "I can do this... stay strong!!!"

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!!

Well we made it back. We had a WONDERFUL trip in Canada. I will post more pictures later, but for now I just wanted to let everyone know we are back and doing great. Grace and John did very well on the plan. Well John.... not so much on the way there, but on the way home he was great. The week was filled with the whole family, food, and fun!! I will write more later.