Finally . . . a new post!

Well, I know I am not so hot at this keeping up with my blogging thing, but I figure that you all are ready for an update.  So here goes!

Bella @ 8 months:
- Has grown leaps and bounds, she is very tall
- Is now crawling everywhere, not just military style, but full on crawl
- Can now go up the stairs (Yay.)
- Pulls up on anything on her own
- Can walk with something to hold onto, but generally chooses not to
- Has quite the personality and will be difficult to discipline, though she is a sweetheart
- She is my whiner, she will fuss at just about anything if she is not getting her way
- She will laugh at just about everything too
- She thinks it is hilarious to squeal with laughter if you are disciplining her
- She has no problem flashing her puppy dog eyes when she needs to
- Her smile makes you feel as though you are the specialist person in the whole universe
- She can be both adventuresome and cowardly
- She is my eater.  She will eat from the time she gets up to the time she goes back to sleep, yet she doesn't look like it at all
- She has beautiful blue eyes, and unlike Ilijah, I think she will keep hers
- She still has little hair just like her brother was
- She wears mostly dresses and at times she will lounge around in her brother's t-shirts
- Her favorite pastime in her crib is to stand up in the corner closest to the door and let us know that she does not feel like sleeping
- She has had some trouble sleeping lately, I believe do to some teething, but then she has days where she will sleep from 8:00pm-10:00am
- She doesn't care for TV and movies as much as Ilijah
- She would rather hang out with mom all day
- She is very slowly becoming more independent, but I think we really need to start forcing room time because she is starting to have separation anxiety when at church
- She loves to pick on her brother and steal his toys and climb all over him
- So far she has no allergies that we can tell, and has great skin too
- She has super long fingers, legs, and feet, so she will be a great volleyball player one day too ; )
- She likes to observe, she is my people watcher, but she learns alot from doing so
- She wants to do everything her brother does and she absolutely adores him
- She is very pretty in pink, which is so funny, because I used to hate the color pink, but now I am a mom and that kind of changes everything
- She wears a size 2 diaper still, but that needs to change because she is going through those quickly
- She is a size 3-6 months still, but can wear bigger if need be, or if the dress is just too gorgeous to pass up
- Her daddy likes her to wear shirts and pants, but her mom prefers her in her Sunday best at most times, if we are going out
- She is a snuggler
- When you pick her up, she immediately turns around so she can see everyone
- She sleeps with her blanket over her face just like her brother does
- She already knows how to play with cars and trains just from watching her brother, but she generally prefers girlie toys
- She can drink from a bottle or a sippy cup now, but she still really loves her bottles
- She eats at least two things of baby food and takes a bottle at every meal
- She can eat almost any big girl food and really enjoys it, she even ate ham the other day
- She is not a picky eater like her brother
- The only thing she is picky about when it comes to her food is that she doesn't like plain milk, it has to have some other type of flavor with it whether it be fruity or chocolaty or even veggies
- She often says Dadda, but only says Momma when she is upset or wants something
- She uses "G" sounds alot, and can almost say "car"
- She doesn't have very many "favorites" yet other then her family, eating, and sleeping
- She is very tender hearted, but stubborn at the same time (hmm, I think I know someone just like that)

Ilijah @ 23 months:
- He is so sweet
- He loves his family very much and likes it best when we can all just hang out together for the day
- He is very good with Bella and is an awesome big brother
- He loves his carbs, any type of bread or cereal or cake or cookie or breakfast bar
- He still does not like meat, so he eats at least one thing with peanut butter in it a day to help get some protein
- He will drink milk and water now, so we load up on that
- He climbs on everything!
- He is mischievous yet super obedient at the same time
- He has an adventurers heart
- He loves Scooby-Doo, Cars, Thomas the Train, Princess and the Frog, Toy Story I, II, & III, and any other Pixar animated movie
- Ilijah would watch TV all day if I would let him, and it doesn't help that his father is a movie guru
- He is very particular
- You can often find him lining things up, by himself, off in a corner
- He has to have things in just a certain order and in his certain way
- He loves to dance and will go fast or slow depending on the music
- He loves sports and all things manly
- He LOVES being naked
- He is about 50% potty trained and is just doing so well with it, we are just trying to make it simple and not push it too hard
- He is also very observative
- His brain is always ticking and you can actually see him thinking about all the things he encounters
- He loves to sleep with mom and dad (on mom and dad's terms) and even takes good naps with mom all the time
- He does a great job brushing his teeth
- He still has not had a hair cut, but his dad wants him to get one, even though his mom absolutely does not
- He is no longer a little boy
- He has grown a ton this year and does not seem like a typical two year old to me
- His language is awesome and he says and comprehends just about anything
- He is so very smart
- He has great manners and loves to please others
- His eyes are now a green, gold, and barely blue
- He has tons of teeth and I think already has his two year molars
- His hair is blond and curly, but not super curly
- He makes the best faces
- He is very dramatic and funny
- He loves to entertain and thinks that he truly is the life of the party (it doesn't help when people shout out his name every time he enters a room)
- He is confident
- He loves cars, trucks, trains, boats, tools, action heroes, buzz & woody, and the list goes on
- He is an awesome swimmer
- He would play in the water all day if we would let him
- He also has no allergies and has beautiful skin
- He now sits in a big boy chair and rarely eats in a highchair
- He loves people and has no problem going off on his own (this one is not so fun sometimes)
- His feet are super stinky and he gets that from his aunt Kendra : )
- He has two cousins that he likes to say their names, Shawn and Zeke
- He LOVES dogs and animals in general
- Almost every dogs name is Heidi
- He thinks that he is having another baby sister, but we think it is going to be a boy
- Did I mention that he is super obedient?
- He constantly asks where is dad is and then when I tell him he is at work, he then replies with, "oh, work."
- He knows that his dad works at the church and yells out his name every time we pull into the parking lot
- Screams with excitement whenever he sees water
- Loves the ocean, but does not like wave pools
- Thinks it is awesome to wear his mom's headbands
- Does a good job sharing with his sissy, even though she does take advantage of that from time to time
- Would rather be doing other things than eating
- Is very imaginative
- Likes to sword fight
- Memorizes things easily
- Loves to sit down and "read" a book by himself
- Interacts well with other children
- Takes one nap a day
- Has to immediately go and turn on the TV when entering a hotel room (random I know)
- Easily functions within routines, too bad his mom doesn't
- Cleans a whole room when asked, but doesn't get why when he is just going to dump all the toys out later
- Loves to put on lotion whenever he sees his mom do it
- Loves to tickle
- Loves encouragement and reinforcement
- Loves kisses and loves to have his mom kiss all of his toys
- Has the softest skin
- Gets hurt at least three times a day due to his daring feats
- Likes to lick people just to get a reaction out of them
- Likes to snuggle on his own terms
- Likes anything on his own terms for that matter
- Loves playgrounds
- Sleeps with all of his cars and trains
- Likes to pretend he has fallen or hurt himself so that we come to his rescue and love on him
- Doesn't take failure well and hates it when he is not successful at something
- Is very determined
- Is also very tender hearted and stubborn but these are good attributes