Growth spurt

I literally just got out the 12 month clothes in the last two weeks. Before that, Novak was wearing 6-9 month stuff.
Already some of these new clothes are getting too small. Check out this shirt, which I just put on him for the first time. It's size 6-12 months. (He will be 9 months this week.) I think it may be a one-time wear, as it's tight on his tummy and keeps riding up.

peek-a-boo

Novak has a new game.

Sitting

Novak learned to sit up this week while at Grandma and Papa's house. He's still a bit wobbly but each day he gets a little better!

Sharing the wealth

Nate and Nile went to summer bible school with Gramma this week. One day their project was to make banks - and they learned about giving an offering.

This morning I walked into Nate's room to find him sorting change.  He had dumped out all the change in his "baby" bank and was sorting it into two piles. Then he placed the money from one into his new "church" bank and the other into his regular bank.

When I asked what he was doing, he told me he was saving some money to give to church.

I know his sense of money and scale is pretty rough (a penny, dime, nickel, and quarter are still equally valuable to him).  But as I watched him carefully divide his money, placing first a coin in one bank, then one in the other, I was touched to see him sharing equally between the two.

I'm proud of him and optimistic that, perhaps, some of the lessons I've been trying to teach him about sharing with others and giving back to the community are starting to sink in.

old stomping grounds

Last weekend we took a family mini-vacation to Des Moines.  We spent three days and two nights there, and I was able to share some of my childhood favorites with my boys and the Roodhouse family, who came along for the trip.

We started with a trip to see the Iowa Cubs play at Principal Park.  Yes, all the boys were wearing Kansas City Royals shirts. :)

One of my favorites!

Nile and Novak, at the game.

That night we swam in the hotel pool and the next day...Adventureland!

All the kids (those who can walk, that is!)

Nate found his new favorite ride:  The Scrambler.  This makes me beyond excited.  This was my absolute favorite ride as a kid.  We rode it twice and were planning to go back before the rain hit.

Nate's new favorite ride!

Nile on "Puff the Magic Dragon"

I had to include this picture because you can see James riding Puff with Lily... ;) 

Adventureland was a lot of fun - this year the boys were able to do a bit more (except for poor Novak...) and that meant I got to do a bit more too!  Apparently, though, we attract rain.  Three years in a row we have made trips to Adventureland, and the last two years it has rained.  True to form, the day was interrupted by a thunderstorm - we took cover in one of the restaurants on Main Street and ate lunch, then headed back out.  Unfortunately everything was wet, and cold (65 degrees), so we only lasted about an hour more before it was time to go.  We headed back to the hotel for a little bit more goofing off...and the Roodhouses headed home.

Typical Nile, Typical Nate, and look at Novak's eyes!

The next morning we headed to Blank Park Zoo.  We have a membership to the Niabi Zoo here, so we were able to get in for free.  The zoo is undergoing quite a bit of construction but we still spent a good two hours there looking at the animals.

They actually did this without coaxing.

Of course Nate had to get his picture taken with a frog.

The aquarium was one of Nile's favorites.

After the zoo we ate lunch and headed home.  Except for Novak's sleep issues, I'd say it was a really successful (and fun) trip!

Twinkies

I didn't realize I was dressing these two in the same outfit until I got out to the living room...

T-ball brothers

This year both Nate and Nile are on the Twins t-ball team.  I'm enjoying this as it's probably the only time they will ever be on the same team.

The many faces of Nile

sleep training...?

We have been struggling with Novak with sleep, on and off, since he was born.  Admittedly, we haven't been as consistent with his sleep schedule as we should have been, and we have not been nearly as consistent with bedtime routines as we were with both of the older boys.

Finally, it hit a head when we returned from our 2 night trip to Des Moines last weekend.  At the hotel the first night, Novak slept fitfully at best, waking every few hours.  I couldn't blame him, it was a strange room, a strange bed, and we had toted him around from car, to baseball game, to restaurant, and to the hotel, and he never had a real nap.  Sure, he slept in the car, but as you probably realize, sleeping in the car isn't the most restful sleep.

So, he ended up in my bed that first night.  It was much easier to lay with him next to me and nurse him whenever he woke up.

We pretty much put him through the same thing the next two days.  Monday at Adventureland = a few short naps in the stroller.  Tuesday morning at Blank Park Zoo = no morning nap.

By the time we got home Tuesday evening, I couldn't blame him for being off.

The next three nights were pretty awful.  Novak would scream in his room when we would put him to bed.  When trying to rock him he would fuss, thrash around, and generally just act out.  I knew he was tired.  Overly tired.  But I couldn't get him to fall asleep.  Each night we'd go in and out of his room until about 11 pm when he would finally crash.

On Thursday night I finally gave up.  Or stood my ground.  I'm not sure which.  I finally realized there was nothing I could do for him to help him fall asleep.  So I sat here at the computer for a half hour from 8:00-8:30 while he screamed from his crib.  It was a long half hour, let me tell you.

But, then he fell asleep.  On his own.  Of course, he woke again later, but it was much easier to get him back to sleep.

So this weekend we have been trying very hard to watch his signs and to put him to bed when we know he is tired.  Even before he is tired.  I really want to get him to a place where he can put himself to sleep, without having to be nursed or rocked until he is out.  What have we learned?  Wow, were we off on guessing his schedule!

Here is what he has done the past few days, approximately.

7:00 am - wake (happy!)
7:30 am - breakfast
8:15 am - get ready for morning nap, put him down in crib by 8:30.  He may cry some, but he'll stop after a few minutes and fall asleep by 9.
10:30 am - wake up (happy!)
11:30 am - lunch
12:30 pm - get ready for afternoon nap
2:00 pm - wake up (happy!)
5:00 pm - dinner
5:45 pm - get ready for bed
6:00 pm - go to bed.  Hardly any crying, he goes to sleep happy.

What you'll notice is that he is going to bed around 6 pm.  I think this is a temporarily early bedtime to reset his sleep schedule.  I hope it is a temporarily early bedtime to reset his schedule.  You see, when I work, I leave work at 5, pick up the boys around 5:15, and usually get home about 5:45.  Sometimes closer to 6.

I'm trying to figure out how I can feed him dinner, nurse him, and get him ready for bed - all while I'm driving him home...  Something is going to have to give here...

Thoughts on time - by Nile

"Mom, did you know 8 hours is more than 3 hours?"
"Yes, I did."
"And eight hours is farther than Adventureland, because that is three hours."
(after a second to figure that one out) "Yes."
"Eight hours is like across a whole state."
"Sometimes, sure."
"Eight hours is across the ocean."
Not quite, buddy.

Monkey...

I can eat banana bites!