Kid update

Ryan has hit that stage: The climbing on tables stage. I lose track of how many times I have to get him off the table every day. 

 

The little stinker.

He had his 15 month visit yesterday and has gained almost a pound in the last 3 months. He's up to 19 lbs. 4 oz. At least he's growing some. But he's still well under the curve for weight, slowly slipping downward in his height percentiles, too, down to 19th percentile this time. But as long as he keeps growing and doesn't lose weight, we're good. He's generally a very happy kid and is learning lots of words. He loves repeating whatever Rachel says and she is very proud to be teaching him new words. His FAVORITE thing to do is vacuum. "Gackoo!" When he's throwing a tantrum sometimes the only thing that can get him to calm down is to go get the vacuum out. He absolutely loves that thing. When you switch it on he runs around from one end of the room to the other, as if the vacuum is chasing him, then he'll sometimes come lay down right next to it and is happy as can be as you vacuum all around him. He also loves when people go bye bye. I think mostly because he loves the garage and going out the front door. But when I bring him back inside we often have to pull out the vacuum because he has a total meltdown. He loves to run away from me. Especially if he's naked or in a store. So pretty much, he's your typical 15-month-old. And we love the little guy.

Now for some happy news on the sleep front: Annie falls asleep on her own most nights, and even at naptime most of the time. Hallelujah! Up until about last week she would get out of bed over and over and over. Some days the only way to get her to stay in bed long enough to fall asleep was to sit next to her for 20 minutes or so. Her new trick for falling asleep? Covering her head with her favorite blanky:

Whatever works. :)

I caught the girls loving each other yesterday while watching a movie.

 

They've been getting along a lot more often lately, playing together very well for the most part. I love it. They still fight and bug each other like siblings do, but it's not constant, like it seems like it had been for weeks on end. I was getting a bit tired of the screaming and hitting and breaking up fights. Now most of the time I hear music blasting from the girls room while they're having a dance party, or listen to their squeals (with Ryan joining in) as they run the "track" downstairs, chasing each other in a circle through the living room, family room and kitchen.

For Father's Day Rachel's primary teacher had the kids fill in the blanks. Here are Rachel's responses:

My daddy's name is Jacob. He is 55 years old, 30 tall and weighs 37 pounds. His favorite food is spaghetti. My daddy is really good at playing games with me. He loves to sing. My favorite thing to do with my dad is playing games. I'm just like my dad because I get up at the same time in the morning. What I love most about my daddy is when he lays next to me when I go to sleep. It makes Dad happy when I give him presents. 

According to Rachel I married a guy almost as old as my parents, who weighs less than Rachel does. :) I think she interposed her favorites on him: spaghetti and singing. But he is really good at playing games with the girls and they love it when he does. Especially monster chasing. He's a good dad. We're lucky to have him around!