Happy 16-months to Teddy!

Well all my persistence in moving upright in all instances has finally paid off being I am officially a pro at climbing up onto pretty much everything and anything.  Below you can see a recent stunt I tried, but was prevented from making it onto the table thanks to my lovely sisters who told on me...

I forgave them rather easily, though, and they continue to be my fav playmates even though it usually involves dolls and lots of pink-colored things...

The outdoors still rules in my book and I have to be where the action is...for example, not content watching Papa mow the lawn, not content using my play push mower outside near him, I needed to be carried by him while he mowed!  A favorite word of mine is "shoes" and I will happily bring you yours and mine if I think it may be a ticket to going outdoors.  I also like to find Grandpa Ken's hat and take it to him as another hint...take me outside please!



I also enjoy dancing and singing to music, and am very nice to go along with what my big sisters prefer (including Justin Bieber).  And, I am working on my jumping skills...yikes!  Overall, I continue to be a happy, happy little boy who everyone likes to have around!



Love, Theodore

 

Anticipation on the rise...

Maybe it is because we are ever so excited or maybe it is because Mama's belly seems to just keep growing, but we literally were asking everyday, and multiple times during the day, as to when our baby brother would be arriving.  So, we decided it would help to make something to help us count down the number of weeks we have to left to wait... 

And we are happy to say it hasn't made a difference at all...we are still every bit as anxious!  Papa and Mama haven't shared names this time around with us being we spilled the beans too easily with Theodore's name, so instead we have picked out our own name for our baby brother...Monkey.  Very cute we think!

We also must share Theodore's response to the growing excitement in our house...he truly has no clue what is going to arrive sooner versus later.  We assure him, though, that being there are two of us that one of us can be with him while the other one can be with our other brother...and we promise to share you both (these conversations are very sweet to hear Mama says).  If you ask Theodore where the baby is, he will point to and pat (more like a little boy hit) Mama's belly while saying "baby" but that is about the extent of things.  He also likes to pull on Mama's belly button which is sticking out these days. 

Crazy to think October is not that far away!!!!  Love, M & E

Happy 15-months to Teddy!

Since beginning to move upright last month, I now feel everything I do should be performed while in this position...such as attempting to go up and down stairs, curbs, etc. You name it and I will try it, so I require a close eye at all times!

 

I am absolutely loving summer and would likely live outdoors if one would let me.  Whether out on the deck in my baby pool, at the cabin, playing outside, or at a park, I prefer the fresh air over being inside...which often results in happy (not) transitions when it is time to go in the house!

But as you can see, I still manage to have fun even when I am stuck indoors...

My teeth are popping in all over the place now which is making eating new things even easier.  I continue to be a great eater (except am not a fan of eggs) and have especially been enjoying the fresh fruit of summer.  I also enjoy sweet treats much like my sisters and have eaten more sand and dirt in my short life thus far than my sisters have in their first 3 1/2 years of life...but I am a boy you know!

I passed my 15-mo check up with flying colors, coming in around the 80th percentiles for height and weight and also impressing my MD with my fine motor skills of scribbling and stacking blocks...but likely need to give my older sisters some credit for these skills being they have assisted me with extra exposure.  My favorite words to use are no and stop (often telling M & E them when needed), mama, dada, and more, with my frequently still pointing and squealing for my wants and needs.  I know my body parts of nose, eyes, mouth, hair/head, ears, fingers and toes, and am also enjoying learning animal sounds...though I still mostly love pretending to be a monster. 

You'll notice I haven't mentioned anything about my sleep habits/patterns and instead will just say that those close to me, such as my Mama, still think I am the best snuggler ever...and I'll leave it at that for now!

Hugs, Theodore

4th of July 2012

With the 4th of July falling mid-week this year, we were able to spend almost an entire week at the cabin and mother nature provided unbelievable weather.  The days were spent with a ton of activity and we thoroughly enjoyed the company of family.  We share only a few of the highlights!

 



Showing our festive side...

Attempt at a family pic...

Time for fireworks...

Pontoon rides...

 

Plenty of fun in the water...

 

 

 

 

 

A chance to celebrate some other important milestones...



Great Grandma Ollie's 98th Birthday!



 

Papa and Mama's 10th Anniversary!

(Thanks G&G for watching the kiddos overnight so we could have a quick get away to Duluth)

 

Lastly, our individual pics to commemorate the holiday this year...

Madelaine ~ 3 1/2





 

Eleanor ~ 3 1/2

 

Theodore ~ 15 mo

Love from us all!

 



Vacation Bible School 2012

ME attended their first week of VBS at our local church.  They were extremely lucky to have the company of their cousin Leela in their group and even more lucky to have Grandma Linda as their leader...so the transition of being dropped off/picked up by Mama really was not difficult at all.  Mama usually heard "you can leave now" as soon as we arrived...

 

Our first morning, wearing our VBS t-shirts...

Though we didn't interact much with other kids and usually chose not to share a lot about what we learned, the week brought obvious lessons surrounding the theme.  Then and still to this day, we can be heard belting out the songs and often request to listen to the music CD in the car (fairly close in popularity to Justin Bieber).  We also at times can be heard to randomly tell each other "it's okay, you can trust God" if having difficulty doing something, etc. which is really quite sweet.

Looks like we have a new annual event to kick-off our summers for awhile.  Thanks Grandma Linda for making the week so much fun!  Love, ME

(Note: get pics from Mom's camera)

Happy Father's Day!

Father's Day brought us up to the cabin for some "okay" weather, but as always we still had plenty of fun going on 4-wheeler rides and playing in the sandbox (sorry, no pics of these fun times this round...next time).  Though the picture is missing a certain someone who was having some attitude at the moment, we guarantee you we love, love our Papa!

In fact much of the refusing to pose in a picture was because we were so very sad Papa had to leave...displaying our tears of love...

Another sad goodbye with tears of love...

Thanks Papa for being so special to all of us...we love, love, love you!! XOXOXO

We were able to spend a couple of extra days at the cabin with Mama and thank heavens one of those days allowed for some fun in the sun, complete with swimming and jet ski rides by all (compliments of Grandpa and Grandma's driving help, thank you, thank you).  Here are a few favorite pics from the day...

We are excited for more summer fun at the cabin!

Love, M, E and T

Happy 14-months to Teddy!

The biggest and best news of this month...I am now moving upright!  I hadn't walked more than 4-5 steps and out of the blue one night while playing in the living room after dinner with everyone present, I decided to strut my stuff.  I walked from one side of the room to the other and obviously was applauded, so kept on doing it over and over.  

I felt sharing a few video clips was the best way to display this accomplishment.  The first clip is the following day after my "Big Show" the night before, while at Oxbow Park for a picnic with my sisters and Mama...

The second clip is another fun pastime I have in the kitchen, reminiscent of what my sisters did but they usually needed each other to do this and didn't complete this alone...must be a girl thing...

This last clip is my favorite...it is me playing "Monster", which I love to do to anyone who will entertain my scariness...

Watch out world, here I come!
Love, Theodore