Jack - 8 and 9 months

Short combo post.  We'll keep this short, sweet and neat ok?

This kids just turned 9 months old last week but I never did an 8 month post.  So here are both monthly pics.  You may notice that the crib mattress is lower in the 9 month picture =).  You'll also notice we've gone from shorts to sweatpants =(.  

Happenings over the past couple of months:

- Baby boy is army crawling everywhere.  I'm about to attach Swiffer sheets to him and get some cleaning done at the same time.  He can get on his hands and knees but hasn't put it together with crawling quite yet.

- All of a sudden talking up a storm - mama, dada, baba, vava - lots of consonant noises and when sisters get loud he thinks it's funny to challenge them from time to time.

- Went on his camping trip in October - abbreviated due to lots of rain!

- Just had his first cold and ear infection combo.  

- Got one tooth last month and is working on at least 3 more (that I can tell)

- Currently 29.1 inches and 21.4 lbs - about the 80th % for both.

- Still eating like a champ.  Have since tried yogurt and cottage cheese but he isn't a fan of chunky textures yet so the cottage cheese was a definite NO!

- He was dedicated to the Lord at our church on October 26th!

- Other than him being sick the last couple of days this guy is one happy little dude and we love him to pieces.

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Olivia's 5th Birthday

Hi.  My name is Amanda and I am chronically late at posting almost every blog post I write.  I'm sure you're sick of hearing me apologize for this each and every time so I'll just say...UGH!...and move on.

Olivia turned 5 WAY back on the 6th of September and we had a pretty fun weekend celebrating her.  

Woke up to birthday presents and birthday pancakes!

She had some pretty specific gift requests this year...

The evening of her birthday we had Fellowship Group so we did a little celebrating with our friends there with a tie-dye Jello cake!  So thankful that when we can't have family here to help us celebrate, that we have such amazing friends who help us do so.

And the next day we went for one more BIG birthday surprise...

Sunday night we celebrated with our regular crew that we do Sunday night dinner with.  More lovely friends to help us celebrate Olivia - truly our family away from family!  Blessed.

Oh Olivia.  I get teary every time I sit down to write a letter to you - for your birthday or otherwise.  You are so full of life my dear.  Your heart is so compassionate to others and God has filled you with such a creative mind and ability to use it.  You are super goofy and I have many selfies on my phone to prove it.  You are a mess - in a beautiful way.  You're not a big fan of picking up and are usually in the middle of several things at once.  You try but as you told me this past year when I asked you to 'maybe be a little less messy', you said, "Mom, I'm just not that kind of girl."  And you were right.  We are still trying to teach you the responsibility that goes with those messes but we enjoy watching you create and use your imagination in your art and your play. You love to play with so many things but especially love Barbie and Playmobil.  You love to be outside (getting dirty of course) and you love to snuggle up on the couch to read books.  You are definitely our snuggle baby.  You are in our bed once each night (we are usually too tired to even notice.)  You don't wake us up or even need anything - just want to be close.  For now we don't mind and we know that day will someday come to an end (however, we've decided that part of our tax return next year will be going toward a bigger bed - haha!)  You are doing great work as you and I do home school together each week.  I will miss you a lot when you go to Kindergarten next year.  But I know you'll be ready and I'm looking forward to all the new adventures that will bring to your life.  We love you sweet girl - you are an amazing gift from God and we pray that you would know how deeply you are loved by the true King, the one who created you.  We pray that others would come to know Jesus through your life and love for Him too.  Happy 5th Birthday sweetheart!

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Jack - 7 Months

Let's all pretend for a few minutes that I am NOT three weeks behind, okay?  Okay.

Jack turned 7 months old on the 5th of September and the following day Olivia turned 5 (that post is next.)  Add that to Savannah's birthday two weeks before that and Peter's birthday that we just celebrated yesterday and whew...August and September are busy birthday months for this family (we also have 5 other extended family members with birthdays in those months too!)

I'll keep this one brief for the sake of actually getting the post finished before he turns 8 months old...

Jack at 7 months old..

- Started sitting up.  Still a little wobbly but he loves being upright on his own!
- Started eating baby food.  It was a SLOW start but now he loves it! (Still not a fan of his sippy cup though.)
- Rolling multiple times and scooting to get where he wants.  Still mostly in circles.
- Starting to notice when I leave the room.
- Moved up to size 4 diapers
- Forgot to measure him
- STILL not sleeping through the night (I thought starting baby food would be the magic solution.)  All the girls had started sleeping through the night by now so I am not quite sure what the deal is.  My guess is that he has to get his alone time with me sometime right?

This little guy has completely stolen my heart in a way only a little boy can do.  He is so sweet and we are all enjoying him so much!

This face was made frequently when first starting baby food...

Big boy, sitting on his own!

I'll give you one guess who fixed him up with these.  Her name starts with an 'O' and ends in 'livia'.

Love my boys!

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Savannah's 2nd Birthday!

Over the past few weeks we have had two birthdays in our family and a baby boy turn 7 months old.  I am a little behind in my blogging on these milestones but will do my best to catch up soon.  First off...Savannah turned 2 on August 24th.

Dear Savannah,

You are growing up way too quickly.  You are sweeter than sweet and SO funny.

- You are very polite.  Even when you are throwing a fit about NOT wanting to do something, you still just keeps saying "no thank you" through the tears.

- You Love Love Love your Daddy.  You love the rest of us too of course but when he is around, He is your world.

- You are talking a lot and have started singing songs - your favorites are Twinkle Twinkle, Jesus Loves Me and You are My Sunshine.

- You are STILL teething - you are working on your top two eye teeth and then I think you might get a break.  

-  You have definitely entered the age of independence - really wanting to do as much as possible on your own.  

- You are enjoying pretend play with your babies and your sister's doctor kit.  

- You love playing with blocks and are very good at stacking up tall towers, only to happily knock them down again.

- You love coloring and usually end up with more marker on you and on the table than on the actual paper.  

- You are trying so hard to find the coordination to jump and do somersaults.

- You are in the early stages of potty training.  Not gonna lie.  I was in no way ready for this and was resisting but after some mistakes I made in potty training Abbie I have since learned to just let my kids move at their own pace.  Even though I haven't been ready, you have.  You tell us when you need to go (a lot of the time - not consistently yet) and you have gone on the potty a few different times.

- You know your routine and like to have one activity finished and cleaned up before moving onto the next.  One of your sisters does not posses this trait so I am thankful to see that you have it =).

- You make the most precious little faces and have the sweetest little voice - HEART MELTING ALL OF THE TIME.  Pretty sure you've figured out that you're cute.

- You love to pray and you pray for people by name.  Grandmas and Grandpas are always first followed by Uncle James and Aunt Katie.  =)

- You take a great afternoon nap.  Usually 3-4 hours.

- You are so friendly and love talking with and meeting other people.

You love to be outside and tell me all day long that you would like to go out.

You still have those killer eyes and eyelashes that you were born with.

You like coffee.  Black.

Giving Jack a check-up

You don't like thunder...at all.

You love Mickey Mouse Clubhouse so we celebrated your birthday with Mickey Mouse cupcakes!!!

We celebrated with friends on the day of your birthday!

Savannah, it is such a pleasure for Daddy and I to watch you as you grow up and learn new things.  We are overcome with the sweetness that oozes from your little body.  You made the journey from baby to toddler this year and you did it in such an enjoyable way. You make us laugh and fill us with so much joy.  We want you to know that we love you so much and that most importantly, God who created you, loves you more than you can imagine.  We pray that you will love Him and put your trust in Him at a young age and that He would give us wisdom and discernment as we raise you and your sisters and brother.  Little one, you are a gem and we are so thankful that God chose to place you in our family.  Happy Birthday sweet girl!

Love,
Mommy & Daddy

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Neighborhood Park

I can't help but think that it is maybe starting to feel a little like fall back in Iowa now that we are past Labor Day?  I love fall and I am trying to ignore the fact that we are still in the mid 90's here and are probably not too close to any fall weather arriving.  But I am SUPER thankful for our neighborhood park and beach where we can go play and cool off - no matter how long summer lasts.  Hope everyone enjoyed their long holiday weekend!  

Jack's first time in the swing.  It is WAY too big though and he fell forward and hit his mouth right on the edge of the swing - oops!  Next time I will have to remember a big blanket to pack around his little body so he doesn't flop all over the place.

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Look alike?

 I finally found the baby pictures of Peter I had been looking for (in my garage...of course.)  So you think they look alike???

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Jack - 5 AND 6 Months

Since we were in Iowa when Jack turned 5 months old I wasn't able to take his monthly picture in his crib, which also delayed me in posting it until now (and it is actually a 5 1/2 month picture...details.)  And yes, his 6 month picture is included in this post as well.  So the two pictures probably won't be all that different but for documentation sake, I included them both.  I can't believe our boy is 6 months old today.  I feel like a lot has happened in these past two months.  Here is a little of what was going on in Jack's world at 5 months:

At 5 months old:
- Loving his blankies and sucking the life out of them
- Rolls over from front to back
- Such a cuddle bug
- Gurgling and babbling sounds coming out of that cute mouth
- Grabbing his toes
- Moved up to size 3 diapers
- About 18 lbs (at 5 1/2 months)
- 6 to 9 month clothes
- Always smiling which means those dimples are always out - SO DARN CUTE!
- Started grabbing objects
- First BIG trip in the car to Iowa (see previous posts)

Tried out the Johny Jump-Up for the first time.  He bounces a little but mostly just chills out in there.

He is just happy ALL the time but sometimes I think this must be how he feels about all these girls loving on him.

Watching Daddy play ultimate frisbee.  (We forgot a blanket so we snagged Dad's work shirt and used that - we don't usually plan for many cool summer nights in Mississippi.)

And here is what he is up to now at 6 months old:

- Rolls from his back to his belly
- Laughing. A LOT.  You just look at this kid and he laughs.
- Likes putting his hands on my face when I get close to him - what a sweetheart!
- Found his voice.  And it's LOUD.
- Hair is growing quite a bit
- Big chubby hands (which makes the third item listed even more precious.)
- SPLISH SPLASH Jack is TAKING A BATH.  BY FAR my most active baby in the bathtub (and I have wet walls each time in my bathroom to prove it.)
- Toes. In. Mouth. (I can't remember for sure but I honestly don't remember any of the girls doing this.)
- Spitting up less - YAY!
- Still NOT sleeping through the night.  Neither was Savannah at this age.  I honestly don't mind but it would be nice if this took a turn for the better =).  I am hoping once I start him on some solid foods (this week) that it will help.  That is what finally got Savannah to do it at this same age so I am hoping he will follow her lead...hoping.

He doesn't have his 6 month appt. until the 20th (so that I can combine it with Savannah's 2 year check up) so I don't have his height and weight but for those who care I will update this same post later once I find out.  *UPDATE*  27.5 inches and 19.8 lbs

There is no hiding that he is LOVED (especially by this one.)

It's only taken me 6 months but I am trying to get back into a routine of exercising 3 times a week.  Jack was my walking buddy this past Sunday.  I don't think he even broke a sweat...what a slacker.  =)

So there was your 'two for the price of one' update!  Peace out until next month!

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