November, 2012

I can't believe it's already December!  We made it through Thanksgiving and are starting to think about Christmas and Santa and cookies, oh my. 

November was a busy month but I really can't even remember it.  Between Lillian still figuring out her sleep schedule, Ethan always being on the move, and the house remodel I have been all over the place and can't seem to keep my thoughts straight? 

Lets see, Lillian is doing great she rolls all over the place, she can entertain herself with toys, she LOVES her big brother, and she has FINALLY figured out how to go to sleep on her own without being swaddled.  Lillian is totally high maintenance and so far has pretty much done things on her own time and in her own way.  Until recently, the girl would only sleep if you swaddled her so tight she looked like she was in a straight jacket, and then if she wiggled an arm out she thought it was party time and couldn't seem to fall back to sleep unless you went in and helped her.  As  you can imagine this got old, we actually let it go on much longer than we did with Ethan...I think it's because we are so tired.  Anyway, we made some adjusments with sleeping conditions and now I think the girl has got it down.  No more swaddling, she gets laid down awake; she takes two long naps and then is in bed around 7 (as I type this she is whining in her bed).  Most nights she still takes one bottle in the middle of the night, but we are okay with that for now.  She is still only taking bottles, no solids yet.  We have tried a number of times but she is not quite ready for it, we will have her 6 month checkup on December 12 and see what the doctor thinks, but she is growing just fine so we aren't too concerned.

Ethan is also amazing!  That boy loves his sister and she really can't get enough of him, all he has to do is look at her and she smiles ear to ear.  It is probably the sweetest thing I have ever seen.  He talks with her and tells her it's okay if she is crying or plays peek a boo to make her laugh....it's amazing how well he has done and we are so proud of him.  Almost everyday he says something new out of no where, and most of the time it makes us all laugh.  His new thing is to sign quietly and say "okay, if you say so" whenever I tell him to do something.  This month he has been to Sky High (a big warehouse with trampolines) with Carly and Auntie Michelle, had lots of playdates with Carly and her cousins, and had as many trips to the park as the weather allowed.  He still LOVES to be outside and active, I think its going to be a long winter and I will have to be very creative so he doesn't get stir crazy!

Photoshoot in our new Christmas PJ's

Happy Thanksgiving!

 Deep frying a turkey with Papa and Daddy

 Best Buddies

 

Family time - this is my cousin Rob with his daughter Morgan

The house is coming along, there is still a lot to do but I am loving how it's all coming together, check it out below... 

The brick wall was the separation from the original house and the addition in the back - its GONE

 It's hard to see what is what, but this is the upstairs, view from Ethan's bedroom

 Back entryway

 Front of the house with new porch/entryway roof

No more walls on the first floor, looking toward the back

 Looking toward the front

 rebuilding first floor walls

 Front of house, most recent

House Update

We are finally moving - check out our progress over the past week or so...

 

 

 

No more roof...and Yes, it did rain for 5 days after we took the roof off

Backyard

 

 

 

 Our Living Room...YIKES

 

Break Time

 

Doing his part..

 

It looks like a HOUSE!

 

 

 

Lillian's Baptism

September was a pretty busy month for us...

Our little peanut was Baptized at St. Juliana on Saturday, September 8, 2012. We asked my brother Ted and my sister in law Michelle to be her Godparents, it was a wonderful day with family and Lillian was great! The gown that Ethan wore was made from my wedding dress, it was incredibly long, heavy, elaborate, and WAY too big on Lillian - rather than get it altered we decided she would wear the dress that her Godmother and both of my nieces wore; it was very special.....

 

 

 

 

Big Siblings

 

The Pulse Family

 

Lillian with her wonderful Godparents

 

After the baptism Grandpa Ron stayed the night and we were able to visit

 

At the end of September we took our first trip as a family of four!  We went to Iowa for Adam's grandparents wedding anniversary.  The night before we stayed over at a hotel with an indoor waterpark, Ethan LOVED it and the trip was actually a success.  The four of us slept in one hotel room - and not a very large one!  Adam and I were worried it would be a long sleepless night, but they both did great.  The picture below is Ethan's first time having breakfast in bed while he watch Backyardigans on the IPad.

 



 

 

kids and their dog...

 

Lillian Finds Her Voice

Check out this cute little video of Lillian, she is starting to find her voice and she loves to scream and make cute sounds!



Catching Up....

So, the last post was in February...... a lot has happened in our lives, I think I will just give the shortened version!  Basically, we sold our house, moved in upstairs from my parents, had a baby, and bought a new house (all in about 2 months).  Its been very busy and a little bit stressful, but we continue to plug along. 

Lillian Louise Pulse was born on June 12, 2012; she is a little angel.  Lillian is getting so big already, she was born at 7 pounds 14 ounces and 18.5 inches and at her 2 month check up she was 12 pounds 8 ounces and 22.5 inches.  She is almost rolling over already and as of now, are working on getting her on a consistent sleep schedule.  Since we are still living at my parents, Lillian doesn't exactly have her own room; that has posed a bit of a challenge, especially with our little Ethan running around and yelling all the time...we are working on a plan.

Ethan is unbelievable!  He never stops talking, you can have entire conversations with him and its the coolest thing.  He is wonderful with Lillian and for a little boy who is almost 2.5 years old, he is a great listener and has a wonderful personality; he makes us smile everyday.  We have been working on potty training and he pretty much decided one day that he wanted to go on the potty all the time.  He wears pull ups and underwear and we have only had a few accidents, hopefully Lillian will be that easy!  The biggest thing for Ethan right now is his tonsils; he has been sick basically the entire summer and after a consultation with ENT doc in June, we decided to get the tonsils out.  The surgery is Friday and him and I have to sleep over at the hospital.  We have told him about a sleep over at the doctor and I just hope that he doesn't get scared....I am a bit nervous, but I know this is the best thing for him in the long run.  Will let you all know how it goes..... 

As I mentioned, we are still at my parents and getting ready to start construction on our new house, this is very exciting but we have a long road ahead of us.  I will post pictures as things progress.

I am really going to try and post every month from now on so check back often....for now, check out some pictures

Ethan and his little sister, he LOVES her

 

Cousins, impromptu, photo shoot

6 babies in 26 months...YIKES

 

Ethan's second birthday party - attempt #2

Ethan was sick on his second birthday and we had to cancel his party, we rescheduled in July and had a pretty goo turn out

 

Look at that face

 

New House....BEFORE