July Adventures

July was a month of exploration for this Slocum clan! The weather was perfect and we didn't have any rain. So we did our best to head out in the Jeep to sight see when we could. We went to Klamath Falls and Lake of the Woods one weekend. And then when Matt's Mom was here we headed out to Crater Lake. And yes, Crater Lake is even more beautiful than what you think! It was gorgeous. So while our other friends in SC were experiences temperatures into the 100s with humidity, we were rolling around in the snow for the day :).

Here is Mt. Shasta. Matt plans to climb this next week.

This was a cute little park area in Klamath. Klamath Falls is a cute town with lots of San Francisco hills :).

Matt's Mom bought Jewell her very first Happy Meal when she visited :). Jewell LOVED IT.

This is at Crater Lake. It's about 2 hours away from where we live. It was FULL of snow. We had more snow that usual this year so only the East side of the lake was open for viewing. Kinda funny seeing that it was in the middle of July!

Matt took a cool panoramic of the Lake. It truly is a beautiful lake. It's definitely worth the drive.

And there you have it! July was full of adventures for this little family of 4. I must say, we are looking forward to the day when we can actually go hiking with these 2. And we are especially looking forward to not having to worry about fitting in naps while exploring :).

22 Months...Better Late than NEVER!

About 15 days ago Jewell turned 22 months! I'm happy to say that I did not forget to blog about this. I just simply had NO TIME! I find that my life is crazier and crazier now with the 2 kids getting older. So while I've been away from blogging, I've been very busily playing and taking care of my two little ones. In fact, the only reason I have time to blog today, is because my dear little boy woke up early!

Our little girl is just 2 months away from turning 2. I can't believe it. She's a wonderful blessing to our family. She has taught me so many things I didn't realize I needed to work on in my life. Such as patience. Having a toddler (and a girl toddler for that matter) has really stretched me in the patience and grace department. But I love it, and she's really teaching me how to be a better, more loving, Mommy. I love my girl, even on the hard days of disciplining and crying. And I'm so proud of her.

Jewell is starting to run around the house. If I turn music on she prefers to run in circles actually. And of course you can't forget her giggles while running in circles! She has truly overcome her mobility struggles from the beginning :). Go Jewell!

Jewell is a fantastic big sister. She does her best to play ball with her little brother, read to him, tickle him, change him (yes, she really tries this), bathe him, etc. She adores him. I think it's so special. But I must say, my favorite thing she does with him is laugh. There are no longer tears in the backseat of the Jeep when we are going places, she prefers to start laughing randomly so he laughs with her. And if he does start to cry, she looks at him and says, "happy, happy, happy!" What a great encourager she is!

We have had a few issues with eating again, but she's really learning to try all the foods we give her. And her favorite snack of all time is crackers. Silly girl!

My girl is still doing great in the sleep department. She sleeps from 8 PM - 8 AM and takes 1, 3 hour nap. :)

The other day I came home from shopping and Matt was running around with Jewell in the sprinkler. I thought it appropriate to post these for her 22 month pictures this month. It was so cute, and Jewell LOVED playing in the water with Daddy :).

Sitting Up

My son is sitting up. I was not expecting my 5 month old to sit already :'(. This is 3 months before Jewell. At times I feel like I have a 1st child all over again! I have a strange feeling that my two kids are going to be a bit competitive as they grow up. We keep joking that Jefferson is going to race Jewell in a foot race by the time he is 1. We'll see! Congrats Jefferson on your accomplishment of sitting. You are just too adorable!

Jewell's First Ponytail

Jewell's hair is finally long enough to put up. It took a bit of work (due to a certain wiggle worm) to get the top of her hair up, but once I told her she was pretty she was happy. She never messed with the bow after I told her she was pretty. She's so sweet, and is growing up too fast! I am so glad her hair is finally out of her eyes. I'm not ready to cut it! This is the best picture I could get. She kept trying to go after the camera :). How fun are toddlers!

5 Months of Mr. Chubbs

Wow, time has flown by so quickly. My little 7 pound 2 oz baby boy is now a whopping 18 pound, 5 month old.

Jefferson is a BIG boy :). He loves to eat. He has finally moved to a 4 hour eating schedule. Boy am I thrilled. He is now eating cereal 3 times a day as well. I switched him to the oatmeal as soon as I knew he could swallow. He loves banana, and is NOT a fan of avocado. I plan to try it again in about 3 weeks. I've decided to make all my own baby food this time (so much cheaper) so I'm up for the challenge. I'm afraid my milk supply has had a hard time keeping up with Jefferson (have you seen how chubby he is?) so I'm supplementing 2 oz at night. I'm just out of milk by the time bedtime comes. He is eating 1/4 oatmeal cereal, all of me, and then 2 oz of formula before he is satisfied at bedtime.

Mr. Chubbers is now taking 3 naps a day. He takes a 2 hour nap in the morning, a 2 hour in the afternoon, and another 45 minute or so nap before dinner. I have tried to break the 3rd nap, but all he does is cry, so he is NOT ready.

And for the BIGGEST announcement (yes, this is the time for the drum roll people) he is FINALLY sleeping 12 hours at night. Yes, my friends, that's huge!!! I'm so proud of him.

As for mobility. I don't think we will be having any of those issues this time around. He taught himself how to roll from his back to his tummy this week. Now we have a roly poly. Jefferson also figured out how to walk all over in his walker. He takes his walker very seriously.

The brother and sister love is already getting to be so much greater with my two kids. Jefferson lights up whenever he sees Jewell. He also pulls his head up way high in his car seat so he can watch her while she sits in the car. When Jewell sees him she very happily says, "BABY."

Happy 5 months little man! We love you.

Introducing New Things

I'm a bit behind. I have TONS of pictures. TONS! But I've been too busy to post. Well, that and the next book from my favorite author came out so I've been reading during my "free time." I put free time in quotes because that only happens after the kids are in bed and everything is picked up. :) Oh the joys of being Mommy!

The kids are doing well. I recently introduced Jewell to her new kid pool. It took a really long time (like 30 minutes) to get her to stop clinging to me, and I eventually had to get in the water in order for her to see that it was a fun activity. But, she did learn to love her little pool.

Jefferson is now eating cereal. I have tried Avocado with him and he just doesn't like it. But he needs more food. I'm not able to keep up with his needs with just my milk anymore. I was amazed with how much happier he now is. He LOVES grabbing the spoon too :).

I also taught Jefferson how to use the jumper. He is doing pretty well with it :). Ignore the messy pantry, I've already cleaned it since then.

And this picture is for my Mom. Jewell loved the dress her Nana bought for her a few weeks ago.

It's so much fun introducing the kids to new things. Each one adapts to things so differently. I'm enjoying learning the different personalities of my children.

I Blinked

I never knew it would go so fast! I mean people would tell me. But I didn't expect it to be like magic. And now I have this problem, I blinked, and my little baby girl turned into a....kid. When I check on her at night she basically takes up her entire crib. It's so strange to see her running around, pushing her baby doll stroller, and trying to do things that we do. When did she grow up?

Jewell has grown up so quickly! She walks, and now runs pretty much everywhere. She loves playing with legos and babies. But, her all time favorite activity is still reading. She knows almost all of her letters (she still struggles with the letter u). We are still working on counting. For now she knows 1, 2, 3, 8, 9, and 10. Her vocabulary is basically too extreme to record at this point. I'm overall just so proud of my growing girl.

As for eating...oh eating... This seems to always be an issue with our little girl. I am happy to report that she's finally starting to eat things she refused to touch all of her solid food life. She loves hamburger (if it's dipped in ketchup or in spaghetti sauce). She refuses to touch, or eat chicken (unless they are chicken nuggets). Chicken just isn't her thing. And she will only eat pork if it's pork loin cooked in a crock pot. She knows what she likes! I've done my best with cutting out the afternoon snack now, and that's caused her to eat more things lately. So far so good.

I'm a bit anxious to start potty training her, but she's just not ready. She still hasn't mastered taking her clothes off by herself, and she's absolutely TERRIFIED of the big girl potty. So, we will continue to wait :).

Jewell has developed a fear in anything that has a running motor. If it runs, she's afraid of it. I can't even take out the vacuum or she runs to me screaming and crying. Yes, I have a GIRLY GIRL! But I love it.

I can't believe my little girl is 21 months old now. She's really growing up way too fast. So for now, I'm going to do my best cherishing each moment we have with her as a little girl, and of course, try not to blink.

How anyone can get bows to stay in a toddlers hair is beyond me.