Back to School || 5th and 3rd Grade

We are just over a week into the new school year, and it's been so nice to be in a "routine" again. Not that our life feels very structured at the moment... we are all over the place!

After a summer that seemed to go faster than any other, the boys were not ready to go back to school. Well, Brandon had somewhat mixed feelings about it, but Jaden definitely was NOT ready. However, he perked up a bit during backpack night when he saw the list of kids in his class and decided his class was "super awesome" due to all the cool kids and friends in it. ;)

Jaden has Mr. Henrichs for a teacher and a class size of just 19 after several kids were moved to the new school in town this year. We've heard great things about Mr. Henrichs so we're looking forward to a good year.

Brandon has Ms. Sullivan, and we already love her! She's so energetic, communicates well with the parents, and thinks very highly of our boy. :)

Brandon has a neat responsibility this year - he was selected as "bus helper" for the younger kids and gets to leave his own classroom four minutes early every day to head to Mrs. Witt's second grade room and guide the students to their respective bus lines. This is extra special because Mrs. Witt was his teacher last year.

And speaking of buses, the bus stop is directly across the street from our driveway this year, which couldn't be more convenient.

I'm looking forward to seeing the growth in our kids this year and soaking up the stories - I can't believe Jaden only has two years of elementary school left!

As I took these pictures of the three of them on the first day of school, it dawned on me that at one point in the future, we will have a student at the high school, junior high and elementary school - all at the same time!

...and pictures from backpack night. They each got to pick their own lockers right outside their classrooms - and Brandon even got to pick his desk!

Cody couldn't be home in time for pictures so each of the boys grabbed my camera and took some shots for me. They didn't do too bad. ;)

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"a portrait of each of my children, once each week, in 2018"

Jaden: You started fifth grade with Mr. Henrichs last week and so far, so good. You came home really excited after he told your class that he doesn't like giving much homework. ;) It was a big weekend watching you compete in your first tackle football jamboree - scrimmaging Waterloo West and Union. You start at quarterback and will now be starting at free safety, too! Much more to come on football... whenever I get caught up on this blog space. (If that ever happens).

Brandon: Third grade is off to a great start for you with Ms. Sullivan. On Friday night, you were actually wishing for school on Saturday morning! Your teacher almost made me cry at input conferences yesterday when she said, "Brandon is such a tremendous leader and helper, and I can tell he is going to do amazing things in his life. He also is a cool kid... He's handsome and funny and athletic - so it's great that he makes good decisions because others look up to him." High praise, sweet boy! And on the third day of school - you had already gotten to have lunch with your teacher! Your friend Ali had a birthday and picked you to eat a special lunch with him and Ms. Sullivan in your classroom. :)

Kaitlyn: Oh punkin. You are slowly but surely developing a personality! You are smiling more and more every day - but you seem to be saving those smiles for Mama only. :) Sleep is still incredibly inconsistent at night, but you make up for it in your cuteness! And our favorite time with you lately has to be bath time. You are so content to sit in the sink and let the warm water wash over you while staring at our faces in the mirror and studying us closely. :)

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"a portrait of each of my children, once each week, in 2018"

Jaden: You visited your new classroom last night after finding out that you have Mr. Henrichs for a fifth grade teacher. You haven't been looking forward to school at all, but you were quite pleased to see how many friends you have in your class. It's a big week for you - the start of school, your first tackle football jamboree... and a fitting for a new and improved Outlaws basketball uniform for the upcoming season.

Brandon: We crossed off a summer bucket list item and visited the Grundy pool last week. When we went last summer you weren't tall enough for their water slides, but this summer you did it all. I love watching you brave all the things - you're quite the adventurer!

Kaitlyn: I'm getting more and more smiles from you, and you have now slept two nights in your own crib in your own room! We make sure to  strap on your Owlet monitor before putting you down for the night, swaddle you in a sleep sack... and put you in your room shortly after tucking the boys into their beds. You are still waking up every two-three hours to eat but at least we're sleeping a little bit better in between feedings. ;)

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"a portrait of each of my children, once each week, in 2018"

Jaden: Your first week of tackle football practice is in the books! You and your teammates practiced in helmets only this past week, and this week you start wearing your pads! The first week went well, and Daddy is pretty happy with the team you guys have. You are mainly working with the quarterbacks and running backs group, and it's pretty surreal to watch you line up under center with a bunch of little linemen around you! ;)

Brandon: We had a neighborhood block party this past weekend, and you were so good with all the little kids in the neighborhood. You're a natural with young people, and it was fun to watch you help them all with their bubbles and scooters. :)

Kaitlyn: Not only are we seeing real smiles a little more frequently, but you've started cooing, too, and it's just about the cutest thing I've ever heard! This past weekend you were wide awake at 5am, but I brought you into bed with me, and you were happy to just lie beside me and drift in and out of sleep for another two hours. You gripped onto my thumb, and stared at my face, and even though sleep is valuable, those two hours in bed with you were pretty sweet, too.

Kaitlyn || One Month

It's hard to believe, but our sweet Kaitlyn is already one month old today.

And she has grown so much! Girlfriend likes to eat, that's for sure. ;) I love admiring her little rolls every time we strip her down to just her diaper. Her newborn sized pants don't even fit over those ankles anymore, and she's grown too long for her newborn sized sleepers. She used to look so tiny in her car seat, and now she fills it out quite nicely. She's up to size two diapers and definitely puts them to use - still pooping during or immediately after every feeding. ;)

It's been a good month, an exhausting month, a month filled with lots of emotions. Cody and I both agree that it feels like she was just born last week even though we're walking around like zombies half the time, and neither one of us is very good at knowing what day of the week it is right now. ;) The boys love their little sister and value any time they get to spend with her when she's awake right now. She's not awake much! But I know they'll feel an even stronger connection when she starts showing them some love back. Cody says he can already tell that she favors me as she looks at me longer and more intently than she does anyone else. Kaitlyn's not really smiling yet, though I've seen hints of a smirk here and there. I remember when the boys smiled for the first time, it made everything else seem easier. Seeing signs of her happiness is something I'm craving and am extremely anxious for!

Things to remember about our princess at this stage:

As I said, she still likes to sleep a lot. She's rarely awake for more than an hour at a time, and she definitely lets us know quickly when she's ready for sleep. She can be hard to get to sleep - even when she's ready for it - unless you put her in the car or take her for a walk. She has definitely found her voice, as Cody says, and her cries are much more mature - and loud now. ;)

She still eats every two-three hours like clockwork. We've had a sprinkling of instances where she's gone four hours at night but not very many. Nursing is absolutely something that I am committed to sticking to for as long as I can, but this next month we need to get serious about pumping and storing my milk because our schedule is about to get crazy and our evenings are going to be spent out of the house quite a bit. She's a noisy, squeaky eater most of the time... especially when she's extra hungry. She can't inhale my milk fast enough!

One of her favorite things to do right now is lay on her changing mat in her room and look out through her bedroom windows or stare at our faces as we talk to her. She seems most calm in that spot, and we sometimes wish we could let her sleep there! ;) She also enjoys lying under her baby gym and staring at the little baby birds spin above her head while playing a sweet nursery tune. When the weather allows, and the evenings aren't too hot, we love to take her for walks through the neighborhood or sit out on the back patio under the shade of the umbrella while her big brothers play around us. She loves the fresh air, and it instantly calms her or puts her to sleep.

She does not like being held in a sitting position for very long. If she's awake and wanting to be held, we typically have to be walking her around or bouncing her. ;) This shouldn't surprise me, as I was constantly telling people how active she was in my belly while I was pregnant with her. Baby girl likes to move! She does well in her car seat as long as she's not stuck in there while hungry, and she also enjoys her vibrating bouncy seat most of the time. She is not a fan of her swing yet... much to our disappointment. :)

She sleeps primarily in her bassinet during the day (or on my chest) - and always in her bassinet at night. She does not sleep in her bedroom yet, although Daddy is anxious for that to happen. ;) She still suffers from the "startle reflex" when lying flat on her back and can wake herself up easily if not in a deep sleep before being put down. Nights are completely inconsistent from one to the next... we never know what we're going to get. Though she wakes up regularly to eat, a good night is when she immediately goes back to sleep in between feedings. However, most nights she likes to stay awake after her 3am/4am feeding. I continue to say that the hardest part of having a newborn is how completely unpredictable their schedule is - especially for a family that is active like ours and thrives on a set schedule.

She enjoys bath time as long as we can time it to take place when she's not hungry. We bathe her in her "flower petal" bath in our bathroom sink, and she's typically very calm, gazing back and forth between our faces and the bathroom mirror.

She still has the prettiest blue eyes, although we don't think there's any chance they stay blue. We're enjoying them while she has them. :)

I've enjoyed hours and hours of cuddles with her, and we love her very much. We are all looking forward to seeing her personality emerge more over the next couple of months and can't wait for smiles and cooing. And sleep. Someday. ;)

Just a few photos from the past month... it's crazy to see how much she's grown since some of these were taken just a couple of weeks ago!

These pink pants already don't fit her anymore!

She had to wear her little mitties quite a bit the first few weeks, as her hands were always up by her face, and she would claw at herself quite a bit when she would get mad. We've slowly been able to stop using them this past week.