Kiddios....

Well, I feel like there is a lot to update you on about Ally and Luke! Why do I feel like I haven't talked about them in a while?  I think it is mostly because I haven't blogged a lot this week!  Work has just been picking up the pace lately, and time is short.  I've mentioned this before and it continues.  We actually are in the middle of a small reorganization of my department.  Nothing major and I am not directly affected, but it does mix things up a bit and things like that always cause a little anxiety, ya know?

At any rate.... this past week, Luke finally had his 9 month well-baby visit.  We learned that he is 23 pounds and 30 3/4 inches long. He has slowed down weight wise... and fallen from the 90th to the 75th percentile... but his height has shot up!  He's completely off the chart now... he is very long!  A tall boy for Scott and I?  Hmm.... that would be interesting!

We have implemented "operation tough love" around here.  We are forcing Luke to sleep through the night.  We are only two nights into it... but we are not getting up for him, no matter what.  My pediatrician told me it was completely fine for him to cry up to two hours!  Luckily, we haven't had to wait that long yet for him to go back to sleep... but we are doing it!!!!  I'm so proud of us.. and hopefully, after the 4-5 days that it was estimated to take, we will have a boy who sleeps SILENTLY through the night and two VERY happy parents!

Luke has many new talents lately!  He has started clapping and he has started dancing.  I just really noticed his dancing today. I was singing to him as I fed him his solids and he was shaking his head back and forth.  I finally put it all together and realized what he was doing.  He then did it when the music started on one of his toys.  He just kinda sways back and forth.  SO CUTE! He is cracking me up.

He and Ally played for hours today.  Ally has become such a wonderful playmate and big sister.  She is really gentle with him.... and if something happens, like he hurts himself during the play, she is genuinely concerned.  He generally follows her around like a little puppy.  Crawls around after her from room to room as fast as his legs and arms can carry him.

Ally, herself had a soccer game this morning.... Grandma Geri and Boompa (my Dad) came to watch her and it was so great of them to make the trip!!!!  Ally was thrilled to have them here to cheer her on.  She has many adoring fans... one lucky little lady!  Ally had a GREAT game... she played goalie for the third quarter and I'm happy to report she didn't allow a single goal.  Okay, maybe there wasn't a single shot on goal the entire quarter, but still.  It's quite possible there wasn't a shot on our goal the entire game!  The score was like 12-0. Ally's team KILLED the other team... it was actually sad to watch... you started to really feel BAD for the other team.  Two goals were scored while their goalie was trying to retrieve his shoe that had gone flying when he tried to kick it.  I must say.... 5 year old soccer is HILARIOUS!

This past week, we also had Ally's first parent-teacher conference! We met with her Kindergarten teacher, Mrs. Spicer and learned that Ally is doing very well.  Not to be one of those moms, but Ally is quite bright... and I am proud of her!  She reads very well... she scored extremely high on all her initial testing... we were just so pleased to hear it. We know Ally is a smart girl, but it's nice to see that she can apply it academically.  Listen to that... it's KINDERGARTEN!  LOL!!  I crack myself up....

We also learned that Ally is "very social."  Code for... the girl won't shut up!!!!  She talks a lot in class and this comes as absolutely NO SURPRISE to me as my parents spent many a conference hearing the same thing from my teachers when I was in school.  I was very prone to "visiting with my neighbors."  Ally is indeed a social girl.

Another thing we were told is that Ally is a "sixteen year old trapped in a five year old body."  WOW!  Don't we know it!!!  Mrs. Spicer is obviously a genius to have figured our little girl out already. I'm just happy to know she has her number.. and appears to have things under control!  We couldn't have asked for a better match for Ally teacher-wise!!! We are so pleased with how she is doing and what she is doing there.

Well... that's what's up with the kiddios... I promise to post pictures soon!  I have my camera back now, but can't find the memory card anywhere.  I will have to get a new one cuz my camera only holds 10 pictures or so without it!