I've decided to document these two cutie little siblings through little snapshots since we are slowly outgrowing our "monthly posts" now that Manning is older than a year.
I wanted to document random things about the kids; things that I normally wouldn't be able to remember a year from now.
We are try to soak up this last little bit of our mountain summer & we are hoping to squeeze in another beach day or two before Fall hits, but I am loving the chilly mornings. I love living in Idaho because we get all 4 seasons. Granted, Winter is by far the longest season when you live in the mountains, but I'll still take it. I love Summer, but I couldn't handle living in the constant heat. Nope. I need breaks.
The kids are growing like freaking weeds. I feel like some days just drag on. Then they go to sleep and I miss them. Then they wake up older. And then I'm sad. Motherhood is a freaking roller coaster, right? Rollercoasters make me queazy...
Kess age: 4
Kess started preschool today. We are doing a little co-op with some friends from church, so it's pretty informal, but the social aspect is what she really needs. She's a little genius if ya ask me, but she is still slowly learning social skills like sharing taking turns, etc. I think she will really thrive this year. She knows all her letters & can write them pretty well. She mixes up B & D sometimes. We are working on her spacial awareness so she doesn't spell her name "EKSS" & she's doing really well. She's starting to understand that everything works from left to right. She loves to do copy work, so I can write out some words and she will copy them below. Again - working on spacial awareness and she can write her whole name. First & Last.
She loves Manning until she doesn't. He's getting busier and busier and usually loves to get into whatever she is playing with. We are working on Kess being more patient with him and working on teach Manning to not bulldoze whatever she is doing.
Kess struggles to say the "th" sound so "think" & "thing" come out "'hink" & "'hing." I love it. The other day I heard her say "think" and noticed she got the "th" in there and it made me a little sad. She also adds a "p" to the front of most words. Like, "pasgusting" & "pahsausted." I hope she does this for a while because it's hilarious.
Kess thinks her dad is the most amazing person ever. She loves all of her grandparents. She thinks she will marry her cousin Conrad someday - despite our best efforts to tell her that she really, really can't do that.
She loves quiet time. She goes into her room for a movie or music while Manning take this nap. She usually colors or plays with toys & is no longer allowed to cut paper during quiet time since she chopped her own hair. But, she really loves doing quiet time. She's wildly great and independent play & really needs a little time to herself every day.
Kess is starting to backtalk a little which is infuriating and kinda funny. She has a super similar personality to mine so we tend to butt heads, but I'm working on being more patient so I can help her through her problems instead of telling her that she's being ridiculous... because you can bet your butt that she will yell back, "No, you're being ridiculous!" She usually has the sweetest personality and we all love her to pieces.
Manning 16 months.
The busiest boy. Seriously mellow Kess did not prepare me for Manning. He climbs on everything. Including climbing my pantry shelves to get his own snacks. He loves to pull DVD's out of their cases. He is sleeping really well right now and it makes me so happy. We recently got rid of his bottle entirely and he has some milk in a sippy just before bath time. Once we stopped giving him milk in his room he was sleeping much better at night. Glory, Glory Hallelujah! He sleeps with a water bottle and will hand it back to you & say, "moooore" if it isn't all the way full. He loves his Paci. More than Kess did and I wasn't sure that was possible. I think I'll have to wean him from that after we move into our new house.
Manning is getting chattier and chattier every day. I love it. He says, "eh dom" (welcome) instead of "thank you." He says, "mom," "dad," "kess," "keekee" for kitty, "hot," "all done" & a slew of other words that only we understand. He mimics pretty well so he's learning new words almost every day. It's fun to have him talk with us. He is the happiest little guy until he's not, then he will let you (& everyone else) know how unhappy he is. He can not/will not sit in the grocery cart. I'm positive that he will fall out one day.
He loves to climb up on the couch and then run and dive into the pillows. I think he gets a new bruise, booboo or bump every single day.
He snuggles right up to be during nap time or bedtime. He loves to hum along to whatever song I'm humming to him. He actually knows "I'm a Child of God" pretty well. It's impressive.
He loves when dad comes home and usually greats him with a "Daaaaaad" in a super deep voice. He usually drinks about a 4th of my protein drink every morning. He loves to go down the slides at the park backwards and on his tummy. And for being a boy who is constantly on the go, he loves to just sit and read books. I often find him in his room, sitting on the floor next to a pile of books, quietly reading. We all love him tons, even when he's being a Wild Mann. Less affectionately calls Manning "Cheekers" because we used to call him "chubby checkers" for like 2 seconds when he was a tiny baby and it has stuck in her mind. We think it's super cute and we are sure she will continue to call him that for a long, long time.
This post turned out longer than I anticipated... I guess that's what happens when you talk about your kids, right? I am really loving this little phase of life that we are in. It's hard, sure, but I feel like we are getting into a good groove. Good nap schedules, good structure... all good things.
I hope you all are getting ready for Fall. We are ready for a little change of pace here in the mountains. Summer has been so good to us, but so, so busy.
*Kids clothing courtesy of Gymboree. Thank you for supporting the companies that support Beautiful Effort.*
