Thanksgiving Weekend

We had a lot to celebrate this weekend. The kids enjoyed their first Thanksgiving. We stopped by Grandma & Grandpa Rew's for about an hour and a half. Emaleigh and Derek had their lunch there. Yummy squash and cereal! After that, we drove up to Woodbury to Kory's cousin Phil's house to celebrate with the Weis side. The kids enjoyed playing with cousin Sadie and the 2 beagles, Gilbert and Heidi. Later that afternoon, we headed to my folk's house for some pie.

Friday, the kids and I enjoyed a relaxing day at home playing on the floor. I tried to get some homework done, but playing was much more fun. Derek is crawling all over the place now, and Emaleigh, while still prefering to roll, has started to do the "Army crawl". She hasn't quite figured out how to get her belly off the floor while moving yet, but she is getting better. Derek is pulling himself up on just about everything. He is not quite steady on his feet yet though and has taken a number of tumbles. So far, he hasn't hit his head yet, but I'm sure that day is coming.

It is so amazing to watch them grow. They are so much more aware of their surroundings, especially Jesse, the cats, and whoever happens to be sitting on the floor with them, even each other. There have been many times when one is on top of the other, pinning them to the floor. Neither one likes to be the one who is pinned. Momma has become their favorite jungle gym. They like to crawl up into my lap when I am sitting on the floor. Derek likes to give Momma "kisses" and will pull himself up as far as he can.

On Sunday, Emaleigh cut her first two teeth. She hadn't been sleeping well all weekend and I guess we now know why. She had been trying to chew on my finger when I noticed that there seemed to be something on her gums. I held her lip open while Kory held the flashlight and we saw the 2 pearly whites! Yeah Emaleigh! Derek is still chewing on everything, but no sign of a break through yet.

7 Months

It is amazing how much babies can change in only a month. At the start of the month, they were still just lying on the floor. Now they hardly stay in one spot for more than a few minutes. They are both sitting up unsupported and can catch themselves when they start to fall over. They are both also quite adept at transitioning from a sitting position to laying on their stomachs, although they haven't quite figure out how to get to a sitting position by themselves yet.

Derek is still our little mover. He loves to bounce and jump. When we put him in his saucer, he just bounces up and down. When he is on the floor, he is constantly moving. He scoots himself forward on his hands and knees or on his stomach. He can crawl forward about 3 paces at a time. He has even pulled himself to a standing position once! They have a piano that they sit up to that they play with. Derek was sitting in front of it with his hands on the keys watching the stars light up. The next thing I know, I see him standing on his tip-toes leaning on the top! I couldn't believe it! He's too young for that yet!

Emaleigh will get up onto all fours, but she hasn't quite got the forward motion yet. She rocks back and forth and I think I saw her scoot her knees forward the other day, but she still prefers to roll everywhere.

We have been adding new flavors to their diet recently. So far they have had bananas, squash, and peas. They are both really good eaters and have enjoyed all of them, however they weren't so sure on the very first bite. Derek made some interestingly funny faces! Emaleigh actually shuddered at the jarred bananas that I gave them this morning. Before I had given them actual bananas that I mushed. However, we ran out, so I gave them ones from the jar for the first time. She didn't like them! It was hilarious! Emaleigh does love peas though. I can't spoon them fast enough. Usually it is Derek who can't get food fast enough.

On November 8th, we had Emaleigh and Derek baptised. The pastor at the Byron United Methodist Church is my former youth pastor from when I was in high school, so Kory and I decided that we would ask her if she would do the honors. Sharon is wonderful and I am so pleased that she could baptise my children. Our good friends Dallas and Ellen Turner agreed to be their Godparents. Afterwards, we went over to my folks place for a brunch.

Poor Derek

I took Derek into see the doctor yesterday. The poor little fellow was just miserable. He has had a cold now for about a week and a half. His nose would run and he had a cough, but it wasn't that bad. Monday night, however, he was up most of the night screaming. He had a slight fever and was only comfortable when he was being held. If we tried to lay him down when he would fall asleep, he would start screaming again. We finally were able to get him to stay asleep for a while by putting him in his bouncy chair. It kept him a little more upright so it was easier for him to breath. The last time that he acted similar to this was when he had his last ear infection, so we figured that's what it was. I had noticed that the back of his right ear was bright red.
When we got up Tuesday morning, he still had a slight fever that went away as the morning progressed. I called the doctor's office and got him in that morning. The doctor came in and checked his ears and confirmed that he did have an ear infection. Unfortunately, he had infections in both ears, not just the right. He also said that Derek's breathing was a little faster than what he would like, so he wanted to do a couple of chest x-rays to check for pnuemonia. When the doctor came back in, he said that Derek had just a touch. He put him on a strong antibiotic, which we started yesterday. He has to take it twice a day for 10 days. So far he has been a trooper and takes it really well, although I'm not sure that he really likes the grape flavor!
Today, he seems to be a lot better. He was very lethargic and needy yesterday, but this morning he was his normal, cheery, smiley, babbly boy. Now if we can just get through the medication with no reactions, I will consider this battle a success!

Halloween

We took Derek and Emaleigh trick-0r-treating just to all of the grandparents' houses. They looked so cute in their costumes! They really didn't get any candy, but the great-grandma's both bought them new clothes!

My Little Flower and My Little Frog

Halloween Fun at Grandma Sue's

6 Month Check-Up

Emaleigh and Derek went in for their 6 month well-child check-up last Friday, Oct. 30th. Emaleigh is doing great. Derek, on the other hand, had an ear infection, which probably had something to do with why he wasn't sleeping well anymore. He never showed any signs of an ear infection, so we had no idea. The poor kid! The doctor said it looked like it was healing really nicely, so she didn't give him any medication. Weight wise, they are still about 2 pounds apart. Emaleigh weighed 18 lbs 14 oz, and Derek weighed 17 lbs 2 oz. Lenghth wise, they are the same at 26 3/4" long. My babies are growing up so fast!

Later that night, I was playing with them on the floor in our dining room. Derek decided that he wanted something in front of him that was just out of reach. He pulled his knees underneath himself and, using his forearms, scooted himself forward. That was a first! A little while later, I looked over and Emaleigh was on her hands and knees rocking back and forth. It's funny how they both pulled to their knees for the first time within a few minutes of each other. Sometimes they seem to be really in tune with one another and other times they aren't. It won't be long before they are both crawling all over the place. I am really going to get my excercise then!