Christmas is coming!

Christmas Picture Taking Fun!

Mommy is having some fun with her new camera :)  The only problem was that Jem wouldn't smile because he was too busy having fun with paper, bows, ornaments and presents (we used aunt Erin's present as a prop and he became quite enamored with it!).  I am going to attempt a family picture in front of the tree tomorrow when we are dressed up for Christmas Eve...wish me luck!

Happy 6 Months Jem!

Today is Jem's half-birthday!

It's hard to believe it's been 6 whole months since our trip to the hospital.  A quick and easy birth, a easy baby.  I can't complain (well, I  might complain about nights, but he's so happy during the day it's hard to complain too much).  I remember at our 2 week checkup I told the dr he was a very chill baby, but I figured it wouldn't last...well it would seem he has a very laid back personality!  He goes everywhere with us - with 2 older siblings, there are lots of swim practices, dance classes, martial arts classes, school events to go to, and he always just goes and hangs out.  He loves church - especially the music (that's my boy!).  He's happy and social and always brings a smile to my face!

This month he's become adept at sitting - he can now sit as long as he wants.  He also FINALLY rolled over front to back this week - I was beginning to think he never would.  He still doesn't do it much - he is more likely to do it in his crib than anywhere else - but at least he can.  And he hasn't figured out yet that this new power can take him places!

He started eating cereal this month, and will start fruits and veggies after the Christmas excitement has died down.  He hasn't been in for his well-baby check yet but I suspect he weighs a good 21 pounds.  He is definitely a chunk!

He's starting to find his voice...usually at some inopportune moment (like prayer or some other quiet time).  Not really babbling yet , but I've heard a few consonants here and there.  And he started blowing raspberries too!

Happy Birthday Lucy

This post comes a couple days late but between birthday fun and recovering from the stomach bug I'm not exactly back up to par yet.  But I wanted to share some pictures of my 5 year old!

Her big present from mom and dad was getting her ears pierced.  She's been asking since July, and we told her she had to wait until her birthday.  I wasn't convinced she would actually follow through since she was super concerned with whether it would hurt, but follow through she did!  I was supposed to take her to the dr while Curtis was at work Friday, but since I was down, it turned into a Daddy-Daughter Date!

She's very excited about them, and we accidentally did it at a great time - I didn't know she should stay out of the pool after having them done, and we just finished swim classes, so it worked out perfect!

We had planned a party at home on her birthday, but my bug kinda thrw a kink in that - luckily we were able to go to Grandma and Grandpa Mears the next day and have everyone over!  5 candles!

Tinkerbell cake!

We will have her at the dr at the end of the month for her checkup, but we measured her at about 2.5 inches of growth over the last year.  This year she has also learned to read, started preschool, ran her first 2 5ks, and become a really funny, lovely person to know.  I feel so blessed to be her mama!

Happy Birthday Lucy!

Hello Holidays!

 

Okay, not as obvious in this viedo because he was starting to get tired, but Jem FAR prefers the Hallmark dancing penguins to the other dancing snowmen.  At one point he was crying for the others but would smile and laugh for the penguins.  LOL.  A boy after Aunt Erin's heart!  

Last night we tried cereal for the first time.  As you can see, he gave a thumbs up!

Toby has lost plenty of teeth to have holes for his sucker sticks, lol.

And a happy 5 months to Jem (a couple days late now!).  He is sitting like a champ these days - only falls over when he's going for something out of his reach.  I'm beginning to think he will never roll over belly to back.  He spends most of his time on his belly these days but canNOT figure out the roll for anything.  He can even scoot forward now, but no rolling.  He can sit, he can hold on to something and stand for short periods (as in, very short, this is very new!), but can't roll over.  Still not sleeping well at night, though to be fair, he only wakes to eat then goes right back to sleep...maybe because he's so darn big?  Doesn't matter, it sucks either way for me.  He naps easily though and is a generally very content and happy baby.  He loves people, especially his brother and sister.

He's also moving into 12 month clothes.  Some of his 9 month still fit, but i'm finding more that don't.  It's also impossible to find socks that fit around his cankles.  He has the fattest legs I've ever seen!  They are too darn cute :)

A happy belated Thanksgiving to everyone!  Curtis was home for 5.5 days and I really thought we'd have time to relax but honestly we were going solid until 10:30 last night when he finally crossed  the last pertinent thing off his to do list.  We have cooked,  cleaned, decorated, fixed...and we are both too tired to start a new week.  Though this morning has been the first I've relaxed in over a week I think!

The elf on the shelf has come to visit as  well...Toby and Lucy love looking for him every morning!

Holiday knitting is in earnest now as I see December looming.  Yikes!  We did get the house decorated yesterday.  The tree is up...I fear this may be our last year with a live tree.  I love going and getting them, but it has become a wild goose chase to get a good tree farm.  Last year we spent half a day just finding a farm, this year the trees were flat out disappointing.  We ended up with maybe a 7 foot tree and everyone complains it is too small but it was impossible to find a bigger one that looked decent.  So we are discussing finding a fake tree after Christmas this year...though I honestly love live ones. 

Birthday season has commenced as well...Curtis had is big 3-3 last week, mine comes up in 2 weeks and Lucy is right on my heels.  No wonder once Thanksgiving starts I feel like I can't breathe until January!  But it's tons of fun :)  What I really need to do is get a run in tonight - I really thought I'd have time to run while Curtis was home and I didn't end up going once!  And I can't see where I could have fit it in...we were far too busy!

Happy Halloween

Lucy was all into pulling out the seeds!

Toby's Jack o Lantern

Trick or treat!

Well, we're back in and warm again!  That was one COLD trick or treat night, but the kids had a blast!  Toby would have kept going but after an hour, mama was ready to warm up!  The costumes would have been much cuter on a warm evening, but we had to make them Ohio-ready.

Toby was an Angry Bird - the Bomb Bird in particular - and his worked out fantastic in cold weather.  Lucy, though, wasa  spider in a web.  Her's was based around a leotard.  Yeah, so she didn't wear the black leotard.  We did long johns and coats instead.  She did wear the web though you can't see it in the picture.

Jem didn't even make it in his.  Frankly he had a rough day with next to no nap and there was no way ANYONE was dressing that boy up!  He barely made it through handing out candy with daddy.  As soon as I got back he lost it and was so ready to sleep. 

Happy 4 months, Jem!

We had Jem's 4 month check up today - he weighed in at a hefty 18 lbs, 3 oz and 26 3/4 inches tall - heavier than Toby was, but shorter.  No wonder he's so chunky!  Baby boy has so many little rolls...I love them!  Everything looks good and we'll go back at 6 months.  He's cooing and smiling and laughing right on schedule.  Rolling back to belly (but not belly to back, but dr says that's fine), and has excellent neck control.  The slight flat spot we were watching at 2 months is gone, yay!  And his persistant cradle cap is no big deal, we can treat it if we want but it will go away on it's own (it's on his forehead and behind his ears).  He only cried for a minute after shots, and now is napping - his nap schedule was already off today, and shots mess with that anyway.

He's also started grabbing toys in the last week or so and nothing is off limits if it's within his reach.  I've been sitting him in the highchair with toys while we eat, and he loves to be at eye level with us! 

We're enjoying this lovely weather - revisiting late spring with these lovely 70's temps!  In fact, Jem and I sat on the bench outside the dr's office and waiting for them to open after lunch.  I have a feeling we won't be doing that in December when he has his next check!

Ghost N Goblin 2012

Last night Lucy and I ran the Ghost n Goblin 5k in Dayton.  She did awesome!  48:07, which is 5 minutes faster than we did the Dayton River Corridor Classic a week and a half ago.  She is so much fun to run with; her commentary is hilarious!  She loved watching the other runners and weaving in and out was a fun challenge for her as well.  I think one of her favorite parts was passing the Tooth Fairy and getting a toothbrush!  There were only 2 4 year olds in the race and somehow we ended up running against the other one (a boy) for most the race - he was determined not to let a girl beat him, which got Lucy fired up as well.  Those two raced against each other for most the last half!  In the end he beat her across the line, but when I checked chip times last night, Lucy had him beat by a minute :)  That's my girl!

She was all smiles afterwards and scarfed down her pizza (I would have joined her, but drat it the baby is still spitty after dairy), and was out like a light as soon as she hit the pillow.  She's already talking about next year!

All the 8 and under kids got a medal, and she's proudly wearing it today. 

Way to go Lucy!