For Uncle Mike and Auntie Traci

Symeon's first tattoo and mine as well. To be honest as hard as they are to get off they might as well be permanent.

Marin is 5 months old

Our dear baby girl if 5 months old and she keeps getting sweeter and sweeter. I must confess Shawn and I have to take turns holding her since we both love it so much. She is a calming presence in our home and she is so content. I find it hard to believe I am writing this since her first 2 months in the world were pretty rough. Marin is still pretty sure what she wants and when she wants it but overall she rolls along with life offering lots of smiles. She has a great laugh and already she is very compassionate, when she does not want to laugh and you are working to try to get something out of her she kindly gives you her pity laugh which is like huh huh in a deep tone. When she does this we laugh so hard and she just smiles like oh you poor things thank God I am here for you.

When she comes to work with me, which is still quite often, she is accused of being quite the tease. She smiles at everyone and melts hearts left and right so of course people want to hold her and I tell them sure but I can make no guarantees and most of the time in about 5 seconds she screams only to return to me and smile her big smile at them like she's saying don't worry everyone does what I want you aren't the only one.

She is still a bit of a Mommy's girl but she is now quite fond of her Daddy and some nights she only wants him to put her to bed. She lights up when he walks into the room or talks to her. It is so fun to watch them together because he lights up just as much when she gives her heart melting smile. We both love to get her out of bed in the morning because she is all smiles and laughs.

She is still busy moving around and she sits up more and more on her own. Marin does not like to miss anything so nursing can be a real pain for her. She takes lots of breaks to look around and it seems she has to make up for her lack of nursing during the day at night when there is no action and she can just eat. Marin has also begun to look longingly at food. It is so bad you almost feel guilty eating in front of her so we might try some cereal later this month but we will see.

Marin has been such a blessing these past 5 months and we look forward to a life time of getting to know her and loving her.



One of her beautiful smile/laughs that makes our world such a joyous place.


Here she is playing with Symeon's computer. Since she gets all over nothing is safe and of course the next time I looked over she was eating the screen.


The Phillies are going to the World Series for a second year in a row and being dedicated Phillies fans we were dressed for the celebration. Marin has a tee shirt, hat, and socks so she was ready to celebrate. Of course everyone thought she was boy all day but we didn't care we support our teams regardless of any gender confusion it may cause.


Here is Marin finding Symeon's cars and getting under his garage. She is so busy and so curious it is really fun to watch her explore her world.


Here is our big girl sitting up. She does really well for a bit then she gets distracted and falls over and then she just rolls off to her next adventure.

At her 5 month check up she was 17 1/2 lbs and 27 inches long. She is still in the 95% for her weight and the 97% for her height. It was quite the visit since Marin screamed when the nurse tried to carry her and weigh her. Then she screamed when her doctor touched her and then when she got her shot there was barely a peep out of her. People always say how happy and pleasant she is and I always agree, she is a really easy baby, but in my head I always think just don't try to hold her or else you will see the lip curl and the screaming will begin which will include huge tears and a bright red face that gets all blotchy. It is not pretty so if people don't ask to hold her I hardly ever offer. Marin is like a piece of art at the museum she can take your breath away with her beauty and smile but really you should only look because touching can ruin the experience.

My little collector

Symeon has begun collecting things which is quite an adventure. You just never know what you may find and where. He also rarely leaves the house without something in his hand. Today it was a plastic cup with two cars in it. He seems to put significant thought into what he will bring with him and I usually just wait by the door until he has what he wants sometime it takes a few tries until it is just right or because I veto whatever the radom object maybe then off we go.


He lined these cars all up before he brushed his teeth. Cars are a popular item these days.


On the far left is a puzzle piece of a car which in his mind counts as a car. He had to leave the bathroom mid brush to find the puzzle piece I guess something made him think of it.



Here is the rock he carried in from outside. He is really into rocks these days.

Early morning photo shoot

Marin was up at 6 am the other morning which is very unusual for her and not really my best time of the day but since it was quiet and just the two of us we had an early morning photo shoot. She hasn't been up that early since I wonder why?


She loves this duck toy.



Tired are ya?


A little annoyed with Mama and all the pictures


Secretly sucking her thumb behind these two little hands


What can I say just to cute even at 6 am

How Cute

Symeon loves to get Marin up from her naps. As soon as he hears her make a peep off he goes to climb up next to her crib and talk to her. He usually beats me into her room so the other day when I walked in this is what I saw, they are just so cute together.


Guess who she is straining to see

Family

My parents came to visit and watch the kids for us while I worked and Shawn was away with his youth group. They were a blessing and tons of fun to have around. Then we all went to a family reunion in Virginia which was also a special time. Both Symeon and Marin received lots of luvin from Oma and PaPaw.

Also I need to give credit to my amazingly talented Mother who made all of Marin's birth announcements. I have received many compliments and questions like where did you find the time? Well I didn't and thanks to my Mom people received them before Marin's 1st birthday. Thanks Mom I sure do love you!



Having fun with PaPaw.


Snuggling with Oma at bedtime


If you are wondering where Marin and I get our blue eyes now you know.

Snuggling with PaPaw.

Extra kisses from Oma

She's on the move

Marin started out on the blanket several times today and here are the places we found her after a little while, Similar to her brother she is an early mover.



She was laying on the blanket facing away from the kitchen and as you can see she wanted to be where the action was so to the kitchen she went. If the fridge didn't stop her who knows where she might have ended up.



She seems pretty motivated when there is something she wants for example she was facing the duck laying on the blanket but she really wanted that baby doll she has in her hand and she was not about to wait for someone to give it to her.

My budding artist strikes again

Well my creative little guy has found two new mediums to work with as he adds to his art portfolio.

He has already worked with ink and sofa and now he has moved on to a more hands on medium something similar to finger paint...

Vaseline






There were huge globs spread all over the chair and he was so proud when I found him it was hard to be mad. I wiped it off, flipped the cushion, and called it a day.


He next art medium has a more technical side. I think he really has an eye for taking pictures what do you think?

I call this series the world from Symeon's perspective









I only discovered these pictures when I went to blog tonight I know he had the camera today but I didn't realize he had it for this long. At this point I might be thinking if I were you don't they watch this kid? What's even funnier is that we live in a small apartment and I think most of his art work has occurred when we are both home. He may be small but he is fast!

I think every mother can relate, at least I hope I am not alone!

I had one of those days today that you are so glad to see end. I blew it with my kids on so many levels today I am pretty sure they will still be living with me when they are 35 and I will be making them lunches while they live in the basement searching the web and connecting with people in chat rooms. Ok so I might be exaggerating a bit but really it was an exhausting day of crying and not just from the kids, misguided attempts to redirect Symeon, some scolding, some guilt, multiple times of losing my patience, an ugly incident with a slide and Symeon's two front teeth which made him unable to eat or drink just about anything which led to lots of crying once again from both of us, and finally a hair pulling incident which was an accident but it still hurt really bad regardless. The day did end with lots of love, hugs, kisses, cookies and books so it was not a total loss. Now they are both sleeping and I am soon to join them. Thank God tomorrow is a new day we all really need a clean slate.

Here are a few cute pictures that I needed as a reminder of fun loving days that far out weigh the rough one we had today.


Symeon loves to tickle Marin's feet and then they both laugh.


Symeon loves to get in Marin's crib with her and she enjoys his antics and once again laughter is sure to follow.

A budding artist

Symeon loves to draw he has coloring books, a dry erase table, and even markers that you can use in the tub and with all these outlets he decided he needed a new medium ...



If you are wondering what you are looking at it is a picture drawn on our sofa with a pen



I call this one "Ode to the Couch"

Ok I love this sofa and it took me months to pick it out when we were living in Denver. With kids it has taken a hit some snot, some puke, something split here or there and through it all it has come clean amazingly well but I am not sure if we are coming back from this incident. The hard part is that I did not catch him in the act. I came home from work and Shawn was in the our room changing Marin and Symeon was with him. I walked in and asked Shawn what happened to the sofa and he had no idea what I was talking about. So I took Symeon to the sofa and asked him who drew on the couch and he just looked at me and then I said where did you get the pen and he smiled and took me to Shawn's desk and behind the computer laid a pen. You see Symeon has a problem with pens so we keep them out of his reach but I guess we missed one and he found it. I would just turn the coushion over but since Marin is right behind him I figure I might ride it out with the pen on it and flip it over when they are a bit bigger.

4 months old

Every time I post about how old Marin is I want to cry because I am not sure where the time is going. I enjoy every minute with her and the age she is right now is one of my favorites. This month she continues to roll all over and she will get a toy out of her reach through an assortment of wild moves. She grabbed a handful of her brothers hair recently and we had to pry her fingers loose while he protested. We had her "say" sorry to him and give him a kiss which is what he has to do when he says sorry to her but Shawn and I were laughing because it was so funny and to be honest he had it coming.

Marin has become quite the chatter box the other day I had her in the bjorn at the grocery store and she talked the entire time we shopped and everyone would stop and laugh and talk to her which she just loved. She is so social and loves to go new places and have everyone and anyone talk to her. She goes to sleep so easily and still prefers to be put in her bed then have you rock her to sleep at least for naps but at night I snuggle her to sleep and I love every minute of it. Shawn and I both love to hold her and we take every opportunity we have because we know all to well that before long she will be on the move and being held will not be her preference. Her greatest discovery this month were her feet which she loves and actually she gets a bit frustrated when she is in feet pj's and can't get her toes in her mouth. She has developed the greatest laugh that comes easily especially when Symeon is around. She adores him and often in the back seat of the car they will be looking at each other smiling and laughing. At her check up she was 15 lbs 14 ozs and 26 1/2 inches long so she is a healthy girl in the 95% for her weight and off the curve for her height.


Marin can cry at the drop of a hat if she does not like something and usually that means if you try to put her down when she prefers to be held. As you can see she was not to happy with this photo shoot. I love this sun dress and hat she has on but she was not in the picture taking mood.


Here we are at Spruce Lake in the Poconos mountains over labor day. You can't tell in this photo but she is wearing carpi pants and they are just down right funny on her short chubby legs.


I love when babies sleep with their butts in the air.


The other morning she was talking in her crib and then she was screaming blood murder I jumped up to see what was wrong and I found she had pushed her leg out of the crib all the way up to her thigh and then she bent her leg so she couldn't pull it back in. I don't think it hurt her as much as it made her mad because she could not move. She moves all over her crib, turns around, pulls at the sheets, and scratches them with her nails. Honestly she is the loudest sleeper, I use to think Symeon was loud but I had no idea she grunts, talks, sighs, and scoots all over which some nights can keep me up but I do enjoy waking up in the morning to her cooing, talking, laughing, and sucking her toes. Some good news is that she seems to have traded her thumb for her toes and since I haven't heard of any kids going to kindergarten sucking their toes I figure we are doing just fine.

Mosquito Bites

Symeon has not had any mosquito bites until this past weekend and now that he has had a few I think he is going to be like his Mama which means every bite becomes a welt rather than a simple bite and they take weeks to go away. Sorry Symeon it is one of the curses we red heads must endure. There were five on this one leg but I couldn't get them all in one picture.

Spike

We get lots of comments about Marin's hair because most of the time it sticks straight out all over her head. I must admit it is pretty cute and honestly we don't comb it like this it just happens. The other day I tried to comb it down and when it dried it was sticking out all over so I have given up and honestly it just fits her. So one of her many nicknames has become Spike especially right after her bath.

Things I don't want to forget

The other night around 4 am I was awake nursing Marin and although she went back to sleep easily I was up for several hours. During that time I was thinking about a few things I don't want to forget...
1. I don't want to forget how soft Marin's skin is and how wonderful it feels to hold her hand while she nurses and drifts off to sleep.
2. I don't want to forget how wonderful their hair smells right after their baths.
3. I don't want to forget how Symeon runs to the door when he hears his friends on the other side talking.
4. I don't want to forget how great it is to walk into their rooms in the morning and see them smiling at you.
5. I don't want to forget how wonderful it feels to hear Symeon call MaMa from another room because he wants me to join him.
6. I don't want to forget how sweet he looks when he puts his arms up to me when he wants to be held.
7. I don't want to forget how wonderful it is to snuggle with him on the couch.
8. I don't want to forget the sound of either of their laughs which always make me laugh as well.
9. I don't want to forget how wonderful it is to hold Symeon's hand when we walk across the parking lot.
10. I don't want to forget to hold them loosely because they are gifts from God and being entrusted with their care means I will have to let them go and be and do all that God has for them.

Conspiracy Theory

Ok so this might sound a bit paranoid but I am pretty sure that some days our children are plotting against us. For instance Marin who usually sleeps until 8 or 8:30 was up at 5:30 the other morning ready to start her day. Now granted she was so cute I could hear her talking in her crib cooing and giggling and when I went to look in she was holding her feet in the air and gave me a big smile. But that same morning Symeon who usually is up at 7 slept until after 8 which means I could have slept until after 8 myself but instead I was up at 5:30. You see what I mean I am pretty sure they must have chatted a bit the night before. Then there are the nights when they are both awake in the middle of night and I no sooner get one back in bed and snuggle in to my bed when the other begins to cry for me. Conspiracy for sure. Babies unite!!

Marin rolls over

Marin has been able to roll over for a bit now but I finally caught her on video.

Hide and Seek

Symeon loves playing hide and seek and it is pretty funny where he chooses to hide. Here is a video of us playing he could do this all day if we were willing. Shawn and I are amazed at how long he will sit and be quiet when he is hiding.

Being sick stinks

Symeon was really sick this past weekend. He picked up a summer virus and he ran a really high temperature for several days and he had soars in his throat. He laid on the couch or in my arms for a straight 24 hours in a diaper burning up. Saturday he woke up at 3 am and he never went back to bed. The one thing that made him happy was a Veggie Tales video and every time it ended he would take his limp arms and sign more and we would oblige. Honestly I think we watched this one video about 25 times. I have seen it so much that I wake up some nights with the tune in my head and I find myself humming it at work.



Here is the video it is actually really good and after about 10 times I found myself enjoying it. Veggie Tales saved the day.




Here he is on Sunday morning with his get well soon balloon that Daddy and Sissy got him when they went out for a few groceries. On Sunday he would run a fever off and on and most of the day he sat on the couch in a diaper with that balloon next to him watching Moe but at least he ate and drank that day so there was some improvement.

Sibling Love

Here are some cute pics of Symeon and Marin. He has been asking to hold her and it is just so sweet I can't help but take a ton of pictures of the two of them. He is so tender toward her and she just adores him.



Here they are reading books together



Marin was sitting in her chair and Symeon brought over his rocking chair and sat down next to her like they were having a conversation.


Here he is holding her. He does a really good job until she starts wiggling then she usually falls over.


Whenever we leave our apartment he points to her and then to her stroller and he is never to far from her side and usually he is pushing her with us.


I love this picture for so many reasons but one is that I love this dress she is wearing, thanks Lisa she gets so many compliments on this dress and I must admit it is really cute.