Tuesday, March 27, 2012

Adelyn at 3 months


Ok so I missed the 2 month picture....guess that is what happens with the second child, right?

Here are her 2 month stats:
Weight:11 lb 1.5 oz (52%)
Height:22" (30%)
HC: 15" (27%)

Adelyn is a sweet little girl. After a rough transition the first few months (well a lot of that was due to Micah's sleep issues) things are definitely going much smoother. Yes, it takes more time and more planning to do just about everything but thats ok. I wouldn't say that Adelyn has a set schedule but definitely a pattern she follows. She eats about every 2 1/2 hrs. She has even taken a bottle a few times which is great and allows me to have a little flexibility (or even Corey and I to go on dates w/o feeling quit so tied to the clock). She is sleeping pretty well too....atleast I think so. Lately I have been able to get her down around 9pm and she'll usually do about a 7 hr stretch (8hrs was her longest stretch), eat, then sleep till about 8 or 9 am. Now that is a good night, on a not so great night she'll be up twice, still not horrible though. She goes back down for a nap 1 hr after she wakes up for the morning and then will stay awake during the day for periods of 1 1/2 hrs then back down for a nap. Her first 2 naps are usually in her carseat as the mornings are usually when we get out. She really likes to nap in her swing. I'm starting to try and get her to nap in her bed when we are home though. She is sleeping at night in her crib (she has been since about 1 month as I just cannot sleep with her in our room). Most nights she will fall asleep on her own....though not usually w/o crying. Her evenings still tend to be her fussy time...though much better than when she was a newborn. Otherwise, she is a good baby. I know people will ask if she an easy or hard baby. I would say in the middle I guess. Micah loves his little sister. He always likes to get her when she wakes up in the morning and likes to lay in her crib with her. He likes to "watch" her while I go get diapers or something like that (I can only leave them unattended for about 3 seconds!). He also likes to play with her...well as much as a 3 month old can play. He is usually pretty good with her...though I probably tell him 20 times a day to be gentle and that he needs to take good care of his baby sister! :) I'm sure we'll be telling him that for years to come. She is a sweet girl and we are so thankful she is a part of our family.

Monday, March 26, 2012

Really?!?!?!?!?!?

Micah loves looking at the pics on my blog. We came across this picture today and I asked him what was in my stomach. He matter-of- factly replied "food" Haha!

Sunday, March 25, 2012

Thursday, March 22, 2012

Happy Birthday Papa!!

My dad and Jamie came over this morning on their way to my dad's therapy. Today is my dad's birthday (and yesterday was Jamie's) and we are so thankful he is here to celebrate with!!!! We made waffles (one of Micah's specialties) and sang happy birthday!!!

Happy Birthday Dad/Papa-We Love You!!!!

Monday, March 19, 2012

Micah's "Summer Do"


Ok so I didn't really intend to give him a short hair cut...just got a little carried away with the clippers. Still looks cute though!!!

Saturday, March 10, 2012

Silver Beach Carousel

Thursday night we headed down the the carousel. We were driving just at the perfect time to see the sunset...it was beautiful. Being down by the beach always make me look forward to some warmer weather....I'm sure we'll be spending LOTS of time down there this summer.
Micah loves this replica of the old Silver Beach....mainly b/c there are cars/trucks/airplanes, etc.
Group Picture during the carousel ride
Daddy and Adelyn...it was her first time on the carousel. She didn't cry so we'll take the to mean she liked it. :)


They were giving away free popcorn...we had our fill and Micah kept asking for "more more".

Even though there is not a lot to do around here in the winter we usually make our circuit of the carousel, curious kids museum, and the playlands at DQ and McDonalds. We had fun just being together...its so fun to see Micah's excitement. I'm sure he'll be asking to go back soon.


Thursday, March 8, 2012

Matthew 28:19 "Micah Style"

Micah at 2


Height:35 3/4" (83%) Weight:28# 2 oz(50%) Head Circumference: 19 1/2"

Our sweet little Micah is now officially two. I know everyone says the "terrible twos" and even though we of course have lots more disciplining to do and Micah has a mind of his own and his into everything he is really at a fun age (ok and an age that is tons of work too!). I think it is partly such a fun age b/c of his sweet and fun-loving and energetic personality. I was worried what we would do all winter stuck inside with a newborn but he has really just been fun to be with. That and we've gotten back into our routine of bible study and playdates and when we don't have anything planned between caring for a newborn and playing with Micah (not to mention attempting to get dinner made and keep the house somewhat up and running) we've been staying busy.

Here are some of the things that we love about Micah at 2 years old.

I love his love for life and the simple everday things. Take today for example when we all went grocery shopping. We walked in to Meijer and he was just thrilled...jumping around and so excited. He said hi to everything that he saw...hi phone, hi horse, etc. It is so fun to see his excitement at the little things (not to mention the big things!)

I love his personality. He is just full of it these days. He loves bible study and loves playing with his friends. When I ask him what we do on fridays he says bible study. He is in with the big kids so that means that they have a story and do a craft. He usually comes home saying..."bible study, shhhh, quiet." My best guess is that they are constantly having to tell him shhhh and quiet when they are reading the story. Wish I could be a fly on the wall! :) A few weeks back when I picked him up from nursery at church they told me I might want to check his diaper as he wouldnt' let them change him. I wanted to make sure he was a good boy so I asked and they said "are you kidding me....Micah is leader of the pack!" Haha....that he is!

Micah also has an amazing memory. I really am amazed at what he picks up and the details that he remembers. Take for example we were down in the basement a while back and he saw the wrapping paper and remembered the specific paper we wrapped my dad's christmas gift in. Or a while ago Shelby had a pizza delivered to us. A few days later when I mentioned Shelby to Micah he remembered the pizza and even told me that they delivery guy had a white car. I hadn't pointed that out to him....but usually don't question what he remembers b/c he is right on. He is one smart cookie and definitely has a great memory!

It is so much fun now that Micah is talking so much. He is very verbal...to the point we are able to easily communicate and he is speaking full sentences (not all the time of course). He will also copy everything we say (and its so funny b/c he usually even picks up on the tone we say it in as well)....if I'm on the phone he is usually a little parrot in the background. Some of my favorite lines he says are --whats that guy (this is hilarious b/c he will say it referring to some inanimate object) , bless you mama (after sneezing), i'll be right back, come on lets play. He also loves to say his full name--Micah Corey Kugle, it is too cute!He knows most of his letters and what they stand for. He is starting to know some of his numbers and shapes. He has also learned his first bible verse--Matthew 28:19--Go and make disciples of all nations (the condensed version). He loves to sing twinkle twinkle little star, pop goes the weasel (b/c he saw it on Barney), and wheels on the bus. He still loves to play with his cars and trucks, his kitchen, and his toolbench. And of course he loves to wrestle with daddy!!!

Micah is such a sweet big brother. He loves his little sister...despite the times he has hit her, wacked her with a hot wheels or head butted her! He always calls her baby Adelyn (never just Adelyn). If he hears her crying he will say Uh Oh baby Adelyn and want to go pick her up. He loves for her to watch him play and even play with him(well as much as a 2 month old can"play"). I am excited to watch the two of them grow together...he is going to love it once she is old enough to play.

Some other funny stories. Micah pulled back our kitchen run and proceeded to tell me that there was dirt and that we needed a bulldozer. Ok...so there probably was some dirt but not enough to necessitate a bulldozer! Haha. Micah also found one of my magazines (Better Homes and Gardens) and on the back cover was a picture of Ellen Degeneres. I can't remember who he originally said but he either said that it was daddy or grandpa. Of course we thought it was funny and laughed so he kept doing it and now everytime he sees that pic he will say daddy or grandpa.

Ok so lest I let you think that Micah is a perfect little boy...we are definitely in a stage where discipline is something that we have to do over and over and be consistent and tell him the same things over and over. We are trying to work with him at being obedient (listening to mommy and daddy when we tell him to do something the first time, not running away when we ask him to come,etc), kind (sharing, being gentle to his sister, etc), and respectful (not telling us no when we ask him to do something,etc). Oh we have a long way to go! :)

And lastly I won't go into too much detail but I do want to atleast write it down. I was talking to my mom last night during Adelyn's fussy time (usually 7-10 pm) and my mom said something like I don't even remember that with you guys....its funny how you can forget things that are so hard at the time. I don't think I could ever forget the sleep issues we've had with Micah the past 2 months but just in case... To make a very long and painful story short basically when Adelyn was born Micah started crawling out of his crib so we officially moved him to his big bed. We didn't want to but after 2 crib tents that didn't fit we were left with no other option. It has been an incredibly painful and frustrating process with lots of tears from mama and Micah! He basically will NOT fall asleep on his own and will refuse to stay in bed. We tried...oh how we tried. He has been bribed, baby-gated in...etc and nothing works. We spent a good week really trying hard and he would scream/cry his entire nap period (2 hrs) and then spend 3+ hrs crying/screaming at night and literally fall asleep standing up at his gate just refusing to go to bed. Night after night of this coupled with a newborn we decided that it was not worth it and it was not working. We did nights of Corey sleeping with him, Micah sleeping in our bed...but that wasn't working for us either. So our new (TEMPORARY for now) routine is that we will sit in a chair in his room to get him to sleep for naps and bed. We (well, I) am very strict and if he wants me in his room he must be quiet and lay down as I'm not going sit there while he messes around. He is back to taking 2 hours naps but at night he usually gets up around midnight and comes into our room. We have put his sleeping bag on the floor and he is aloud to sleep on our floor. Like I said not ideal, but we are all sleeping so that is what works for now. It has been a really stressful battle for us especially with the timing of having a new baby.

Oh yeah, and back to the sleep thing(see pics below). There was a streak of a few days or a week that Micah decided instead of screaming his entire nap he would just destroy his room. I was actually kinda ok with that (well, it was just a nice break from hours of screaming) until one afternoon when I heard a loud thud and scream and ran to his room only to find his dresser (like a big 100+ lb solid wood dresser) on the ground completely covering him. It was really scary as I know kids can die from this. We've moved the dresser out of his room until we can get it bolted in....we never thought he would be able to pull it over. Thank you Lord for protecting Micah!
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Well...I could go on with lots more stories and funny things Micah says and does but I barely had time to get this written up. I'm looking forward to seeing how Micah continues to grow and see how his sweet and fun personality continues to develop!!! We are so thankful for him!

Wednesday, March 7, 2012

Friday, March 2, 2012

Prayer Request Update

My dad had brain surgery one week ago to remove his tumor. Good news is surgery was successful in that the surgeon feels he was able to remove the tumor(s). Not so good news is that the there were actually 3 tumors and the main one was much deeper than originally thought. That was all to mean that recovery would be more difficult and boy is that an understatement. My dad was having difficulty speaking (he comprehended but was having problem finding the words to speak) and also difficulty moving his right hand. The doctors were not concerned and said this would continue to improve. He would improve one day and then the next day have a set back. My dad had some significant swelling of his face/head and this caused a huge set back in his speach...to the point where he was unable to even say his name. Again he seemed to get a little better and then the next day got worse again. Jamie (my step-mom) called on Wed and told me that my dad was not doing well. He had just been taken down for a CT scan. About an hour later she called back and said they found a blood clot on the brain and that he was being taken down for emergency surgery. After a few very chaotic/scary/stressful hours for all of us, Corey, myself, Adelyn (who has RSV so had to stay in the lobby), Shelby, and Kolby were on our way down to Chicago to be with my dad. We arrived just as my dad was being taken to his recovery room. It was very difficult to see my dad like that....he was still very swollen and didn't look like himself and was unable to speak more than a word or two. I could tell by the look (and tears) in his eyes he was happy we were there. We stayed the night and the next day started to see some small improvements. By the time we left he was saying a few words and was even up moving around. Last night they found an infection at the incision site and so they changed around some of his antibiotics. Today my dad called and I was thrilled at how well he sounded. He even answered by saying something to effect of hi honey how are you. You have no idea how good that was to hear and what an improvement that was just from a day or two ago. They plan to keep him until tomorrow and then discharge him for therapy. Origianally it was going to be inpatient but b/c he is doing so well it may be outpatient.

It has been a roller coaster of emotions. Thankfully through the ups and downs God is constant and has remained our rock. Thank you for your prayers...they were needed and will continue to be needed.