9 months

Holden turned 9 months yesterday! I can't believe that in 3 short months my baby boy will be one! I took him to the doctor for his well check up only to find that he still has an ear infection in his right ear. This puts him at almost 4 weeks of this ear infection. He has been on two different medicines and neither one of them have gotten rid of it. So we started medicine number three yesterday and if this doesn't work, then it's off the the ear doctor we go.
If it wasn't for Holden being so clingy and wanting A LOT of mommy time, you wouldn't even know he was sick. He doesn't fuss about it, he's not crying a ton, he just wants mommy. He fusses when I go out of the room and just calls out "mama, mama". I would be lying if I said I didn't give a little smile each time he holds out his hands for me.  Despite still having this ear infection, he continues to grow like a weed. He is now 22 pounds and almost 30 inches. He is in the 90th percentile for his weight and he is off the charts for his height. It's funny, cause yesterday and today especially everyone that saw him commented on how long he is! He loves the stairs and if he sees a chance for him to climb them he will crawl as fast as he can and try to beat you to them. Especially if he hears his name being called, then he knows he only has seconds!
This was him last night playing with the ball and sitting beside daddy.

Here is Hayley and I last weekend on St. Patrick's Day. Her and Holden are most definitely my little LUCKy charms.

Chase's bosses family has had some very traumatic news in their lives, most of it revolving around someone getting diagnosed with cancer. Recently, one of the sweetest women I have ever met was diagnosed with Triple Negative Breast Cancer. The people in her community have rallied around her and her family and always show up to give their love and support. Today there was a benefit run/walk in her name and Chase, the kids and I went to walk. I had to be there a little bit early to help the runners register, and therefore Hayley didn't have time to sit down and eat breakfast. So I put some apple slices in a bowl and she ate in the truck. About 5 minutes down the road I hear Hayley saying "mom look, it's a tiny crescent moon".

It's when she does things like this that I realize she really DOES listen! :) (sometimes anyway)
Hope everyone stayed dry during this wet day!

"Yes little one, I love you as the stars love you, constant and bright above you, giving you joy and peace and wonder. I love you as the stars love you, forever, and ever, and always"

Learning to Learn

I teach first grade. I teach kids how to read. So with saying that, it's a fear of mine, that Hayley will go to school and struggle. I work with kids every day who STRUGGLE and I don't want that for her. Now of course, if that is the case, mama will be working with her every night to try to make it easier for her as she gets older. Hayley will be 4 soon. She's at the age where she is learning how to learn. Not just academics, but her behavior choices, how she treats other people, she's still learning everything. It's a daily challenge to make sure she is learning how to be a good person, a good citizen. Not that she is not a wonderful child, she really is. She listens (most of the time), she's loving, she's an amazing big sister, she wants to learn new things, but at the same time, she is still only 3.
Again, 1st grade teacher here, Hayley has an ABC chart in her room. At night, we find letters and spell words, find pictures that begin with certain letters and Hayley loves it. She is so smart and I just love watching her learn new things. She likes to spell the names of the people in her family the most. My baby is growing up too fast.

Meanwhile, Holden is across the room trying to pull the WonderPets House off of Hayley's bookshelf. So after I took this video I went over and held out my hand. He apparently forgot that he couldn't walk, cause he just let go of the bookshelf, picked up his right foot and tried to take a gigantic step. Which caused him to fall flat on his face. But, he didn't cry, he just got up and looked around, ready to play.

This is Holden jumping while I was cooking dinner tonight.Isn't he the cutest?

The weather this week is supposed to be gorgeous and I can't wait to soak up the sun with my babies! Happy Monday everyone!

"Yes little one, I love you as the stars love you, constant and bright above you, giving you joy and peace and wonder. I love you as the stars love you, forever, and ever, and always"