Hazel is 8 months old

Here is our sweet Hazel at 8 months!

• What a month we have had! I am posting this a little later because of the crazy nursing strike we had. We are finally back on track!
• Hazel is up to 15 lbs. 6 oz and we are so happy!
• She is still in 6-9 month clothes and size 3 diapers. 
• She is still sleeping great, although sometimes cries when it's time to sleep. She is starting to realize that we are putting her down to bed and doesn't always want to be there.
• She is really loving her mobile and since we usually let her slowly wake up, she finds it and pushes the buttons to start her music again.
• She STILL has had some cradle cap and I've been working on it with creams and combing it out.
• She is also scratching the back of her neck some so lots of aquafor! It scabs over from so much scratching.
• She has started swinging in the backyard porch swing.
• She is starting to put herself on all fours to crawl, but not crawling yet. She just moves forward a little like she kind of knows what to do, but doesn't want to do it.
• She is getting more interested in her baby toys, but doesn't have any current favorites. However, we have just put a baby doll in her bed when she sleeps so she can start playing with one as she wakes up. Everly loved baby dolls, until Mickey became her best friend, so I hope Hazel loves them too.
• She is just starting to eat more baby foods from jars and some things like bananas.
• Everything is in her mouth - toes, tags, toys!
• Her hair is slowly growing in. It's so soft and fine, but not much there yet.
• She has the longest eyelashes! We think they are way longer than any of the others when they were babies.
• She still likes putting my fingers in her mouth although those teeth make it more dangerous these days.
• She is not a fan of bows and rips them off as soon as she realizes they are there.
• She has started a funny squeal when she is happy.
• She has also started saying da da da but not necessarily to Vic yet. She is just babbling.
• She lights up when she sees any of her siblings!
• She loves to be in my arms and while nursing, especially after the nursing strike, I am trying to be less distracted and just hold her and look at her while she nurses and enjoy every second! 
• She's the sweetest baby and we love her!

Hazel is 7 months old

Here are her stats at 7 months old:

• She weighs 14 lbs. 13 oz. (so this is less by 1 oz. than her 6 month appointment, which is interesting! I only know this weight because I took her in for an ear infection 4 days before she turned 7 months)
• She is in size 3 diapers
• She is in size 6-9 month clothes.
• She is still a great sleeper! She generally will be asleep by 7:30 or so at night, but even if it's 9:00, she will still sleep 12 hours before she is ready to be awake.
• I am still putting her in her sleep sack for bedtime, but not nap time. She usually will hang out when she wakes up and roll around and play. I think the sleep sack keeps her from moving as well, so I've stopped using it at nap time.
• She is still taking one good nap a day that might last 2-3 hours and then catnaps either when nursing or on a car ride. That nap is usually around noon, since she doesn't wake up until 8:30 or so. 
• She is eating more baby food. She has had carrots, peas, and peaches in baby food form and still loving bananas in her food masher. And, she acts like she knows exactly what to do with her sippy cup when she reaches for it!
• She has just started trying puffs. She can't really get them into her mouth by herself, but once it's in there, she gums it down.
• She is still nursing about 5 times a day. Although lately, I feel like we've been so busy, I haven't gotten to really enjoy my nursing times; but, I am going to start slowing down to make sure I enjoy them more. It's the sweetest time and while I usually have at least one other kid talking away to me, I try to find at least one nursing a day to just be with me and Hazel.
• She is the cutest thing when she grins while nursing. This is always one of my favorite things my babies have done - smile while latched!
• She is very mobile in my arms. She wants to be held all the time, but also moving around while being held. Does that make sense? She doesn't want me to leave her on the floor and walk away, but once in my arms, she is reaching for things and pulling my hair and turning around or trying to stand on my legs when I sit down. She is a busy bee!
• She is still sitting up great. 
• To move around, she will push herself up on her arms and push herself backwards to move back. She is not thinking too much about crawling yet.
• She has not attached herself to a particular toy yet.
• She loves to be naked. Really! As soon as I get her diaper off of her in the morning and before I get a new one one and put clothes on her, she just smiles and kicks and is the happiest baby!
• She still likes the bathtub, but only lasts a little while. She splashes and plays and then gets cranky and wants out.
• Her skin has been so dry lately and we are greasing her up constantly to avoid those red, dry patches. And she still has terrible cradle cap.
• I've noticed her little hands and feet being kind of cold and blue again lately. I know this is just normal for babies, but mostly in the morning after I get her up, I spend time rubbing them to warm them up and make them pink again.
• She LOVES to watch her big siblings and they are getting VERY comfortable with her. They love to pick her up and carry her and Atticus and Grace are actually very helpful. They will play with her, giver her puffs, bring her toys, carry her around and are just the best big siblings. Everly, although younger, wants to copy them. She even wants to carry her! Yikes! But, she loves her so much.
• Everly calls her Hazel Basil all the time and I love it!
• She loves to grab my face for those open mouthed kisses!
• She got another ear infection this month...when will they end??
• She is just growing and getting sweeter all the time!

Hazel is 5 months old!

Here is Hazel at 5 months old!

• She weighs 13 lbs. 14 oz. (20th percentile).
• She is in size 2 diapers.
• She is in 3-6 month clothes.
• She is up and down with sleeping through the night. She got an ear infection this past month, right after her cold was gone. And, we traveled for Christmas. So, between being sick and not being home, she hasn't really had consistent sleep arrangements.
• She is currently sleeping in her rock n play.
• She is still swaddled when she sleeps at night.
• She still doesn't take a paci, so I'm giving up!
• She is getting so good at standing up on me when I hold her. Her little legs are getting strong!
• She still doesn't love tummy time, but will hang out for longer periods of time.
• She smiles a lot like Everly did - more close mouthed than open. It's the sweetest smile though!
• She is still pretty quiet. Sometimes, I can get her to giggle a little bit, but mostly, she is just a quiet baby. Of course, in this house, it's hard to get a word in!
• She still doesn't love to be held by too many people. I have yet to be successful leaving her in the nursery at church or in her class at MOPS. At MOPS, she screamed for 15 minutes straight until they called me and it took her about 30 minutes to calm down while nursing. Poor little Hazel!
• She had a really good Christmas! She slept, she ate, she hung out. 
• She's starting to put things into her mouth and still especially loves my fingers!
• She still gives sweet, open mouthed kisses when I try to kiss her! 
• She will also reach her toes up to her mouth when she is on her back.
• We've started putting her in the bumbo on the counter. she will hang out for a little while. None of my kids have loved the bumbo, but she likes it so far. 
• She got her first two teeth this past month. They are the two on the bottom; and she drools a lot!
• She can sit up assisted. I will usually put her on her bottom and sit behind her in case she falls. But, she will sit and grab for and play with toys until she topples over. 
• She pushes up on her stomach really well, but would rather just roll over onto her back.
• She lights up when I sing to her the song "If You're Happy and You Know It".
• She is loved by every sibling and is just the sweetest baby!
  

Hazel is 4 months old!

At 4 months old, here is what Hazel is up to!

• She weighs 12 lbs. 15 oz. (21st %) and is 24 inches long (28th%)
• She is in size 2 diapers.
• She is in 3-6 month clothes.
• She is sleeping through the night, if she is in her rock 'n play and swaddled up tight. But, I really need to get her out of the rock 'n play! And, she still surprises me with waking sometimes for a snack. We definitely do not have a schedule!
• She finished up her first cold, with antibiotics. Hopefully we can keep her well for awhile!
• She is still snuggly, but still following her routine of being nursed, walked, swaddled and then once asleep, I can rock her as long as I want. 
• She still loves her baths and it is one of the more special times for me, if we are alone, to just look at her sweet little skin and talk to her and watch her look at me and look at us in the mirror. Other times, thought still sweet, baths include her siblings wanting to help bathe her too. Everly is the funniest though: she gets a stool and just wants to talk to her!
• She still does not like a paci.
• She does not like a bottle; although it might be the taste of formula she doesn't like. But, I have not pumped in a couple of months so I should probably try that if I want her to take a bottle. Mostly, I don't mind that we are 100% nursing though. 
• I have not had any more pain nursing. And, I love to nurse. Everyone has their stage they love and while there are sweet spots in every stage, I just love the sweet nursing stage. It just warms my heart so much to look down and see my sweet, warm baby happily nursing away. Oh my heart!
• She loves to hang out in her rocker. And she has just started to kick the toys that hang above it!
• She LOVES her hands and there is nothing cuter than watching her find them and get them into her mouth to chew on them. She is also in that stage now, where she wants to have my fingers or knuckles in her mouth to chew on. I know it is gross and there is lots of drool, but I think it is the sweetest thing! But, fingers are her life!
• She does not love tummy time, but will hang out on her back for a little while.
• I can prop her up better, lately, for photos, but she still crashes to the side of the chair after a little while.
• She is starting to hang out in her bumbo, but doesn't hold herself up great. And when she's in it, she really just wants to find those fingers again.
• Everly likes to tell me "Hazel SO CUTE-EE!" over and over.
• In fact, the kids all love her and she loves them! She will smile when they are talking to her.
• She is pretty quite and doesn't make much noise. She just kicks and smiles when she is the happiest.
• Also, I can't get enough of her baby neck. I kiss it all the time and usually, that is what will give her tiny giggles, if she gives any at all. In return, she will gum my face - like open her mouth as wide as possible and go after my chin or cheek and it's the sweetest! I call it her giving me kisses! But, it's slimy and drool-y and I love it! 
• This past month, Hazel attended her first Thanksgiving in Sanger and accompanied Vic and I on our 11th anniversary trip.
• Hazel has also hit a "stranger danger" stage and does not love for others to hold her and love on her. She will for a little bit, but then wants her mama back.
• She is just leaving that tiny baby stage more and more everyday and it makes me so sad, but we are looking forward to all of the new things she will be doing soon!

How am I doing?

I am doing good! I am not getting much sleep, but that is not uncommon with a newborn. And, it's hard to find any kind of routine or schedule when we are working around everyone else's schedules. This was the same situation we were in with Everly, so I'm hoping Hazel will learn to be easy and flexible just like Everly has been. Also, with her first cold, it took us away from any kind of sleep training. So, mostly for me, it's the ups and downs of no sleep that makes things the hardest. But, I feel like I am doing good otherwise!

Hazel is 3 months old!

Our Hazel turned 3 months old a week ago. Here are her stats:

• At 3 months, she weighed 12 lbs. 9oz. I weighed her when I was at the doctor's office with Everly; this includes a onesie and diaper on, but it's close.

• She is in size 2 diapers. We ran out of size 1 and had some size 2, so we moved her up. She could probably still be in size 1 for a little longer though.

• She is finishing up 0-3 month clothes and moving on into 3-6 months.

• This past month was up and down for sleeping through the night. We got started off great with the 7-11 hours routine and only waking once to eat during the night a couple of times a week. Then, came a rough patch of not just waking up at night, but staying up for 2 hours. Yikes! I was getting about 4-5 hours a sleep a night, which is ok until it's 5 nights in a row. Then, she would sleep all night and then go back to this crazy routine. After a couple of weeks, she naturally came out of it and has been doing 10-11 hours a night again. However, now she has her first cold so she has been sleeping in the rock n play for the last 3 nights so she is elevated and can breathe easier. 

• She is still swaddled (except her legs) for sleeping at night.

• Also, at night, our current routine includes nursing a lot, and then once I can tell that she is ready, (strange how you just "know" when you are with them 24 hours a day), we turn out the lights and TV, turn the floor fan on high (for noise), and I nurse her until she falls off on her own and then I rock her. For the last couple of weeks, she lets me rock her to sleep most nights. She sleeps snuggled up in my arms, and I am loving it. It was hurting my heart to not get to rock her and hold her while she slept, so I'm so thankful for it. Even if I have to walk her a minute first to get her to close her eyes, after I swaddle her, I sit back down to just rock and enjoy those precious moments. Then, I lay her in her bassinet and go to bed. I love this little routine.

• If it's overcast and during Everly's nap (when I don't have to be available to attend to Everly), I have been waiting for her to fall asleep in my arms to nap too instead of putting her in her rock n play to put herself to sleep. Oh, how I love it. I cannot really express how much I love the feeling I get from holding my tiny baby in my arms.

• She is still nursing great and although sometimes her shallow latch causes pain, it usually feels better a few hours later. This only happens once a week or less. 

• She still loves her baths.

• She still does not take a paci.

• She is starting to be ok with tummy time and can push herself up on a boppy for minutes at a time. She likes hanging out in her rocker and I just bought a new chair for her to sit in. She will hang out and kick on the floor for awhile as well. However, she is starting to notice whether she is near me or not. If I leave her to do other things, she lets me know.

• Her precious hair is growing back on top and now she is losing it on the back where her head rubs while she sleeps. But, I still think it is darker right now than the other kids have been.

• She is in that precious stage of smiling when she focuses on us and she just grins and grins and is so happy.  She is trying to laugh too and it's another favorite feeling to be the one to make her so happy and to smile and laugh. I even found a tickle spot the other day, under her left arm.

• She still loves to be carried around on my shoulder and she is just happy to look around.

• She has started to find her hands and will chew on them while she rocks or hangs out.

• She is a drool queen! She has kind of drooled since birth, so I am always running my finger in her mouth to check for teeth. Everly got her first tooth at 4 1/2 months and while it would be early to get one now, I always check. Well, one day, on facetime with Mom, she commented on the drool and we talked about teeth and I felt one! I could see it beneath the skin, but it had two little points sticking out and they stayed that way for about 3 weeks until all of a sudden, they are gone, as if they went back under the skin (so maybe they didn't break the skin in the beginning). I kept watching this tooth and the one on the other side in the same spot because they are the canine teeth which should not be coming in yet. Usually the top two and bottom two come in first and then they continue on, but it was strange. So, I am just watching and waiting to see what happen. She drools as if she is teething and will soak her shirt or bib. 

• My other favorite thing is kissing her. Of course, everyone loves to kiss their babies, but she will open her mouth and I will just kiss her and she is so happy. She waits for me and I do it over and over. Oh my heart. I love this little girl.

• The cutest thing Everly does right now and for the last month or so, anytime she sees Hazel, is say "Hazel so Cuteee!" and when Hazel is crying, Everly will get close to her face and scream "Stop KY-NING Hazel!" as loud as she can. Oh Everly! and Poor Hazel!
 

• She is just growing and getting more snuggly and sweet and while she is a normal baby that fusses and has bad days of gas and being tired and not knowing what she wants, she is sweet and loves us! I actually think she might be my calmest baby yet. But, at the same time, with the noise in our house, sometimes she just seems the calmest in comparison! ha!

How I am doing at 3 months postpartum:
I am doing better. But, I will be honest. Just two nights ago, Vic was out of town and Hazel was having a hard time getting to sleep because her congestion was waking her right as she would fall asleep. So, I finally had her asleep, rocking in the chair, and it was after midnight. And, out of the blue, my emotions just poured out of me. I just started crying because I was thinking about this being my last baby. Goodness, it hurts now to think about. I love my kids, as all parents do. And, with each kid before, while I knew nothing was guaranteed, I always hoped for another child to come. We love our family of 4 kids and truly feel we are complete, but to know that I will never carry another baby is hard. I just cried and cried thinking about meeting each of my babies in the hospital and knowing that we won't get to do that again. I cried thinking about how hard those first few weeks can be, even though I always look back at them fondly. I am always so proud, on the inside, of getting through those tough times. I cried thinking about the "lasts" I will have with Hazel. I will have these with the other kids too and I will be just as sad, but there will be that silver lining because I will get to go through things, good or bad, again with the sibling younger than them. I love this stage of snuggling and how Hazel fits right into my arms. I love the way she stays in that position when I pick her up and she just stretches and arches her little back until she comes out of that snuggled up ball. My heart just bursts when she looks deep into my eyes and focuses on me until she smiles as if she's the happiest baby, and I know that the only thing making her happy in that moment is seeing me. I just love being needed by my babies and love being a mama to them. Even though exhaustion makes things harder, I do not mind when she cries over and over, because when I get to her, she feels comforted by me. I love looking at her sweet, soft skin and her little legs and arms and tummy and fingers and toes. I love the way she smells and I could nuzzle my nose into her cheek and neck and hair over and over and never get tired of it. I love knowing her cues and even when I don't know what is wrong, I love knowing how to most likely fix it. I just love her and I have loved each of my babies the same. Ugh. I just want to bottle up every single second so I never forget it, because I won't get any more of these. And we forget things; we all forget these little moments and my head knows I won't remember every detail, but goodness I hope I remember. So, that is where I am at: feeling happy but so emotional sometimes. And most of the days, I don't get to dwell on thinking these things, because there is no time to reflect on them. I am busy thinking of the next thing I need to get done on my to-do list, because I have a family to take care of. But, when I do have time with only Hazel, I try to soak it in. She is my last baby and I am not handling it as well as I would like. Don't worry - I'm fine. But, it's just hard.

Hazel is 2 months old!

Our little Hazel Laine is two months old! Here are some facts about her:

• At her 2 month appointment, she weighed 10 lbs. 15 oz. (37th percentile), was 23 inches long (72nd percentile) and her head was in the 65th percentile.
• She is in size 1 diapers.
• She is in 0-3 month clothes
• She is sleeping through the night!! At least she is about 80% of the time. It probably started about at about 5 1/2 weeks. And she is doing better all the time. Sometimes, we still have nights where she wakes up to eat once, but then goes back to sleep. One night she was up for THREE hours awake and with a tummy ache. But, otherwise, she is going to bed anytime between 10pm - midnight and sleeping on average 8 hours a night. Sometimes she has even done up to 10 1/2 hours.
• She is still nursing well and I have no pain. I still have to help her latch, but she eats well. She eats a lot during the day, so we don't have a schedule yet. 
• She loves taking a bath, but HATES getting out and just cries and cries until she is diapered, lotioned, dressed and then finally nursing. But, while in the bathtub, she is so happy. 
• She sleeps swaddled (but her legs stay out now) in her bassinet at night. She tends to nap in the rock n play or finishes her afternoon nap in her carseat. 
• Except for possibly right before bed, or in the middle of the night when she falls back asleep, she does not sleep in my arms much. This part makes me so sad. I want her to nurse herself to sleep and then sleep on my chest or in my arms. But, honestly, I haven't been able to help her form that habit, because of our inconsistent days. She tends to fall asleep in her rock n play during the day instead. And while this gives me a chance to tend to Everly or shower or do other things, I really wish she slept in my arms more.
• She still doesn't like taking a paci.
• She has started playing more. She hangs out in her rocker and just concentrates on those animals that hand above her and smiles at them and is so interested in them moving when she kicks. She also hangs out on her play mat and kicks and plays while we play in the playroom with Everly. She, however, does NOT like tummy time.
• She likes taking walks in the stroller.
• She is staying awake more, because she plays, but our naps are very inconsistent. If I was actually at home all day long, I think I could get her into a routine. But, she will probably be like Everly was, and just go with the flow of our day.
• Her hair fell out completely on top at about 4 weeks, but has since started growing back. It still looks like a dark blonde.
• She started smiling around 6 weeks old too and they are the sweetest smiles! She will smile after a good poop (she feels so much better!) and when I unwrap her swaddle when she wakes up in the morning. She also smiles a lot at the kids or us when we play.
• She is holding her head up well and really loves to be carried around on your shoulder all the time. She is most content that way.
• Also at night, to get her to sleep, after I am sure she is full, Vic will carry her in his arms to let her fall asleep. Then we wrap her and lay her down. She is falling asleep faster and faster every night. He has this magic touch and comfortable arm hold and she falls asleep easily. But, even during the day, he can hold her this way walking around the house and she also dozes off. I am starting to get her to fall asleep this way too, if it is after Vic has gone to bed. And, she definitely prefers walking than rocking.
• She is still in the bassinet in our room too. I never want her to move to another room!
• She made her first road trip this month, with Atticus and myself, to meet the remaining Erwin family members and meet baby Norah!!
• She is just little and cute and soft and sweet and we love her so much. 

How I am Doing: 
I am doing ok at 2 months postpartum. As usual, all c-section pain was gone right at 6 weeks. I feel like some of my physical strength is gone, so hopefully that builds back up soon. That could be from lack of doing anything strenuous those last 2 months of pregnancy! And, sometimes I can get a little off balance, which I am watching. I'm not necessarily dizzy, but just catch myself off balance. I don't want to fall! And most of the time, my brain is on overload - I am forgetting things which I hate doing. And, some days I just can't clear my head; I have too many thoughts and can get overwhelmed. Then, my patience runs out and it's terribly unfair to the kids at that point. I think I am basically doing everything at about 30% productivity and can't get above that. Not one kid is getting enough attention each day and I hate that. I know, I know - they don't know the difference and they are fine, but I know the difference. I am a stay at home mom, and not a working mom, so I should be better at managing all of the things. I stayed up super late one night and got all kinds of things done and started the next day feeling so good. If I could just do that every other night, I think I would be better off. But, I think that is all just part of life until we get a better routine down. I'll get it together soon!

Here is our sweet girl at 2 months old:

Hazel is One Month Old!

I can't believe Hazel is already One Month Old!

Here are some facts about her:

• At her 2 week checkup, she weighed 8 lbs. 4 oz. and was 20 3/4 inches long.
• She is still in newborn size diapers.
• She is still in newborn size clothes.
• She is sleeping fairly good at night, averaging 5 1/2 hours before waking up to eat. Then, she usually goes back to sleep for another 3 hours. She has her days and nights down, but starts her nights around 11pm or so before she is asleep for that long stretch.
• She doesn't spit-up (just a few little times).
• She is still nursing great, and I have NO pain. 
• She doesn't have any bad stomach aches, although when we wonder if she might, we give her gas drops and she mostly just seems to like the taste.
• She really likes baths.
• She is starting to hold her head up and be more alert.
• She outgrew the teeny-tiny newborn stage at about 3 weeks. Oh I love that stage where they sleep so soundly in a little ball on my chest. While she will still be little for awhile and still snuggle up, there is something about that itty-bitty, fresh out of the womb, baby stage that I will always cherish with my babies.
• She has a red birthmark on the back of her neck and little birthmark spots up into her scalp.
• She has no patience and gets SO mad that sometimes, if I can't get to her right away, she will scream and scream until it seems like she can't breathe and when I pick her up, she is sweating.
• She rotates between my arms, the bassinet, and the rock and play for sleeping.
• We do not have a good schedule yet. I'm figuring out her routine right now. She wants to wake, eat, hang out, doze, wake, eat, doze some more until she falls into a good nap again. It's the best life! With school, however, she has to go into her carseat for pickup and sometimes that messes with her good, long naps. However, soon I hope to have her down for a nap by 12pm so she can get that 3 hours in before school pickup.
• She does NOT like being in her carseat.
• She does not like taking a paci yet. I love paci's so I am still working on it.
• Otherwise, she is just a perfect addition to our family; she is loved by all of her siblings. Everly just tells her "shhh" and tries to rock her; Atticus wants to hold her all of the time and with my supervision, can hold her against his chest as well, and constantly says "she's just growing up so fast"; and Grace washes her hands 27 times a day just so she can touch Hazel. Grace also likes to plan future girls trips for us girls. She even thinks Hazel would like New York City.

Things I will miss about this stage:

• The constant sleeping and snuggles. When you are so tired, it can be so nice to know that as soon as a little one eats, they will go right back to sleep. It lasts longer than this month, but I will miss that constant "let's both just snuggle up and sleep" whenever we want to. 
• The newborn clothes that both Everly and Grace have also worn.
• The hospital stay and meeting a new member of our family. 

Things we have used during this stage with our babies:
So, I want to write a few of these things down because 30 years from now, I think it might be interesting to see what has changed with my grand babies, and what brands we used!

• We use a bassinet and borrow a rock and play for sleeping.
• Aiden and Anais swaddling blankets. I'm a pro at swaddling them and love these stretchy, soft blankets. I also love remembering each kid swaddled in them.
• Johnson and Johnson or Aveeno bath and lotion products.
• Desitin and Aquafor for diaper rash.
• Pampers diapers and Huggies wipes.
• Chicco carseat and stroller - we had to buy a new carseat because our other one expired at 6 years, but we are still using our same travel system stroller
• A rocker - I LOVE my rocker and will never get rid of it. It is still just as comfortable as 7 1/2 years ago, when Atticus was born. 

The Kids Right Now

I typically do birthday posts on the kids to record everything they are doing in that moment and stats and everything! But, their birthdays have come and gone and I have not done that. So, I will just do a quick update on each of my 3 kiddos right now.

Atticus:

• At his 7 year well check, he weighed 68 lbs (96th%) and was 4'2" tall (83%). 
• He is in size 2ish shoes, and size 8 shirts and shorts.
• He is a great sleeper and always has been. 
• Atticus's favorite foods are: breakfast bars or cereal for breakfast; the normal kids snacks; any kind of spaghetti/ravioli; mexican food; like Grace, he likes any sweets; he is not big on vegetables but will eat just about anything we tell him he has to eat; burgers with cheese, pickles and ketchup; he loves all drinks but we try to make him stick to water mostly; he loves a gatorade or lemonade or sprite; he likes strawberries, blueberries, applesauce, apples and grapes; he is really a good eater and will eat most of what we cook.
• Atticus's favorite things then were all sports cards, sports stats, and playing sports. 
• Atticus's favorite things right now are Star Wars Legos! He took a break for awhile from loving legos as much as he did in Kindergarten, but as soon as summer hit, he has gone right back to them. Mostly, he plays with Minifigs and makes Mocks all day long. Minifigs are the little figures that come with sets that come apart and he customizes them (with permanent marker), trades their body parts, makes every kind of Star Wars commander, pilot, clone, etc. that he can. He builds them all day long. He also makes what he calls Mocks which are setups of Star Wars scenes or just scenes he makes up. I have loved his imagination with these this summer and while it really is ALL he wants to do, it has been the perfect thing since I have wanted to be in the a/c so much and not out running around and entertaining the kids outside of the house. Now, the hard part to legos is picking them up. It shouldn't take long because you just scoop and dump, right? No. Atticus is my organizer and even though legos can all look the same to me, he wants to put them up specifically and it usually turns into a long ordeal. Part of me loses my patience waiting on him and the other part of me is glad he loves his hobby and cares about all of those little pieces! 
• And, we have also watched many Star Wars movies and he is begging to see Episode 3 as well as all of the news ones that have come out (that are other than Episode 1-6). Vic and I wanted to watch them all first just to make sure they were okay. But, when do Vic and I have time to watch a movie? ha! So, maybe before school starts, we can sit down with him to watch at least 1. He has waited patiently. He has also watched a lot of Clone Wars on Netflix and loves that series because it gives him "ideas for his mocks". 
• He has even taught Grace many Star Wars things and she likes to build with him pretty regularly too, which he loves. But, then, usually abruptly, she decides she is done and he is so mad that she won't play with him. On the other hand, she will beg to play with him, and he will be too busy and want to play by himself. Such is the story of life with siblings!
• Atticus is still my adventurer. He is up for anything and not hesitant - a trip, playing with friends, going to do something new.
• He is a great big brother. He argues with Grace more, of course, but he loves her and will encourage her and take care of her and almost always include her when they are playing with friends.
• He is also a great big brother to Everly, who thinks he is hilarious and loves to play with him. he will talk baby talk to her sometimes but he can convince her to do things or just gives in to what she wants to do!
• He went through a stage in the spring where he ONLY wanted to wear athletic clothes and black socks and caps. Thankfully, he didn't know brand names and still doesn't. And he still LOVES a sports shirt or cap and many times, he has to pick just the right cap to wear on that day. 
• He's also into only wearing pajamas shorts to bed. No shirt. I don't know why.
• He has been really helpful with chores this summer. We started an allowance and his jobs are usually making his bed, emptying the dishwasher, cleaning up Everly's toys and his own, cleaning up his room, and sorting and helping with laundry. He likes making money and while I'm making them wait to spend their money until the end of the summer, he generally has been patient and is usually every good at doing his chores right away.
• Atticus talks about me and says "Mom" but still calls me "Mommy" and I love it.
• I struggle the most with making sure I don't expect too much because he is the oldest, but also still expect what I should of him. I do the same with Grace - it's just hard to not want to expect the same behavior from each kid, regardless of age or personality or day they are having. But, overall, Atticus gives me lots of grace, without realizing he is even doing it. So does Grace, actually.
• Atticus just has the best smile and is so handsome and so much fun and with one-on-one time, he really thrives! He is imaginative, but in a more organized way. He likes to learn about real life things and historical things. He loves to watch history or nature shows, as well as America's Got Talent, Muppet Babies, and silly kid movies. And, as always, he zones into one passion (animals, dinosaurs, legos, sports) and sticks with it for awhile.  
• Some funny phrases Atticus has said recently are calling the foyer/front hallways of the house the "atrium". He has also been having days of being serious and telling us he "is just not ready for the baby to come yet".
• Atticus is just a great kid and I love him so much. I can't believe 2nd grade is here!

Grace:

• At Grace's 5 year well check, she weighed 37 lbs (33rd%) and was 41.5" tall (24th%).
• She is my petite little girl! But, I have to try almost everything on her because she varies from size 4, 5, 5T, and even some 6 in her clothing. And she wears size 10 to 11 in shoes.
• She is a good sleeper...once asleep. We have JUST mastered her putting herself to sleep! We finally convinced her (with the closet light on and the door staying open to their room), that she is safe and shouldn't be scared and doesn't need us to fall asleep). And, she has off and on nights of staying in her room all night. If she doesn't, she quietly comes to our room for her pallet and when she wakes up in the morning, she quietly goes to play.  
• She is a picky eater. Her favorite foods are cereal with milk in the morning; water to drink (or chocolate milk if we ever buy it); snacks of goldfish, cheezits, apples, watermelon, popcorn, or cheesesticks; any sweet you can imagine; plain pasta, carrots with ranch, pizza, chicken nuggets, applesauce, sausage, mac and cheese, ravioli, and OCCASIONALLY some kind of casserole for dinner; she tells us how much she loves cauliflower for her vegetables; and finally, she will eat anything we give her once we sit and force it down her. Sometimes, that even ends 30 minutes later in her telling us she LOVED THAT FOOD!
• Her favorite things to do are imaginative play and crafts!
• This past spring, she could do nothing but talk about LOL dolls and shopkins and hatchimals and which ones were common or rare or special edition. She has checklists and I cannot tell you how many times we had to go through the checklists to talk about the toys (the goal of the toy makers is to get you to buy them all, because they are generally surprises and you don't know what you have until you buy them - yikes!) and how many times we would be in the car having these conversations.
• She loves to play in her dollhouses and is my kid that can take two random items and sit in the corner and come up with some situation and play with them. 
• Grace loves music and dancing! She memorizes words to songs (like soundtracks and the most recent is The Greatest Showman) and sings them over and over. She loves to play music from my phone and dance. She also loves gymnastics and is constantly doing "tricks" with her little flexible body or somersaults or trying out cartwheels. She has already informed me that after she does dance this year, she wants to do gymnastics so she can "get that cartwheel down." 
• This summer, she has gotten into crafts even more. Grace loves anything with scissors, colors, paint, glitter glue, stickers, markers, etc. She actually has become excellent at coloring and will do it all day long. She also wants us to color with her. she has recently been working on a Beanie Boo coloring book and is probably going to finish every page. She is so proud of her work! 
• She came up (from You Tube Kids maybe?) with a 3 Marker Challenge and she loves it. She closes her eyes, picks three markers, and only colors her page with those. She really likes it when we join her. 
• One of my favorite things is for her to come to my scrapbook room and bring all of her crafty things she is working on that day and setup across from me, while I do my computer to-do's during Everly's naptime. She will color and talk and color and talk. While sometimes I do tell her she has to color quietly, I really love that she wants to come in here and do this. Just recently, she will call this "our scrapbook room" or talk about sharing the scrapbook room one day.
• She has also started asking about a new house. Why does she want a new house? We are not getting a new house. But, she will ask me if it can have stairs. She will ask me if she can have a bathroom attached to her room or to the scrapbook room, "like mommy and daddy's". Why? I have no idea. But, she is slowly planning it out.
• Grace loves games and puzzles. While Atticus likes them ok, Grace loves them. She has gotten really good at these 100 and 200 piece puzzles I've found and will do them over and over, as well as her regular 24 or 48 piece puzzles. She also loves to play games. She could play them all day long, as long as she has someone to play with.
• One thing Grace does NOT do well is clean up her toys. She will have days of waking up and telling me she wants to help me cook or clean, but most of the time, when I ask her to clean up the toys, she 1) immediately has to go to the bathroom and 2) does a lot of complaining about cleaning them up. 
• On the other hand, she will do anything I ask to help with Everly - grab her a snack, pick something up for her, attempt to make sandwiches at lunch, etc. 
• Grace is a talker. She talks from sunup (which for her is 6:45 am) to sundown. She is a spider-webber, as my friend Meghan calls it - and can go from tangent to tangent (just like her mama, I'm afraid!). She has a tiny little high pitched voice that can get REALLY high pitched when she is excited, but it's sweet and I love it. But, if she falls asleep in the car or even if she wakes up in the morning after I do, she immediately has something to say. One day, she had slept in the car for 45 minutes or so, wakes up and in the first moment of being awake, she asks Vic to turn up the music and then goes right on as if she never even fell asleep.
• A few funny phrases she uses are "I'm shocked!" and she says "ducilite" for duplicate because she gets so tongue-tied. 
• Generally, Grace is always in a good mood. Of course, arguing with Atticus or going to bed too late changes that, but she wakes up happy and easy going. She generally accepts being told "no" or me changing up a routine or schedule, where Atticus is quicker to question it or complain a little too much about something that might not be a big deal. Grace can just be really easy going.
• She is also a great little sister! She adores Atticus and loves to be included with him. She can't wait to be at Pebble Creek with him. She loved when he would play ball with her or warm up with her this spring during t-ball. She likes to be included when the neighborhood kids play outside. She will choose Atticus to help her with something (like blowing out her birthday candles). I hope he always knows how important it is to protect her, because she really counts on him.
• She is also a great big sister and Everly loves her so much! She will play with Everly and help Everly and doesn't think she is too big for her. 
• Grace is a girly girl who doesn't love to get too dirty, but can play and have fun. She does get hurt a lot - or have lots of boo-boos and tears really quickly before she remembers that she is just fine. But, she loves to dress in bows and dresses just as much as her regular shorts and tshirts. And, she likes to play with makeup and nails and hair color and loves those reverse sequin shirts and anything rainbow or colorful. She also complains about her hair being done because it pulls when we take our ponytail holders or when I am putting it up; but then another day, she will be so proud to tell me that she doesn't mind if it hurts her. She is just up and down silly!
• Grace is growing out of a little of her shyness, but she is still sensitive when in big groups or when being put on the spot. She has really come a long way in being confident with friends and not always needing me. But, when she is uncomfortable, it still takes her awhile until she realizes she can do whatever it is she's worried about. I am excited for kindergarten because she will love it, but I worry about that first time we have to work her through being upset over something. I just want her little heart to always know she can do anything she wants and to not worry about what others think.
• Sometimes when I think of Grace, I just think of a little fairy that spreads happiness where ever she goes. She doesn't realize how funny she is! I love this beautiful little girl so much!

Everly

•  At her 2 year well check, she weighed 33 lbs (96th%) and was 34.75 inches tall (77th%).
• She is in some 2T, but mostly 3T clothes and size 7 shoes. 
• She is a great sleeper and loves her bed as long as she has her blanket, paci, mickey, and kitty with her. She sleeps great and still take a great nap, but if she isn't in the mood to sleep or wakes up in the middle of the night, she happily hangs out by herself to play and talk until she goes back to sleep. It's amazing!
• She has gotten to be a pickier eater, and like Grace, will sometimes love something and then not eat it again for awhile. Her favorite foods are breakfast bars or cereal for breakfast; the normal kid snacks of goldfish, cheesesticks, crackers, popcorn, fruit snacks, teddy grahams, etc; she loves PB&J and really loves chips at lunch; she will eat chicken nuggets, sausage, pasta, green beans, regular beans, chips and queso, tacos, quesadillas, some casseroles or ravioli if we are lucky, pizza, french fries, applesauce, bananas and that's about it. She is not a big fruit eater at all. She drinks water and milk and sometimes a drink of my unsweet tea! And she loves cookies! She likes sweets, as most kids do. 
• Her favorite things change quickly because she is a toddler, but mostly for awhile, she loves Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Muppet Babies, cooking in her play kitchen, her train and tracks, occasionally playing in the dollhouse, musical instruments (especially a harmonica!), and her books of the week and puzzles. 
• She will play baby dolls off and on. She likes to use Mickey or her kitties to change their diapers, carry them around, put them in the stroller or baby beds, cover them up, and kiss them. She will sometimes do this with her actual baby dolls too. 
• She LOVES pushing things or sitting herself in her baby buggy or stroller (even though she is too big for the baby doll stroller!).
• She loves to get games out and play them. They are usually the big kids games but she entertains herself or we make up how to play. 
• She sometimes likes to draw or color and gets on her tummy on the ground to get comfortable almost every single time. 
• Her favorite books change weekly, but this week they are her farm animal books like Big Red Barn, 10 little kisses, the farm book that pops, the Roly Poly Egg and any Paw Patrol/Mickey Mouse/or search and find book with characters she knows. She has also loved Llama Llama books in and pulls them out often. She is pretty good about changing it up.
• She loves music and will do the funniest thing where she walks over to the speaker box in our living room, pretend to turn a knob, tell me she "turned on the music" and starts dancing. She also loves music in the car and whatever we are currently into, she will request it and say "turn up". She has loved Sing, Moana, and Greatest Showman music these past few months.
• She also loves to sing nursery rhymes and lullabyes, especially if they have hand movements.
• She loves to go through all of her body parts for us to name them. She also loves shapes and colors right now. She gets most of her shapes right, but her colors, she never gets right. But, she will tell you all day long what color something is. She also can count and while she doesn't know what the numbers mean, she remembers the order lots of times and it's just cute. 
• Some of her phrases are "I like it!" and "I careful!" and "I okay!" and "I sleepy" and "I hungry" and "I need snack" and "I all clean!" and many others, but also she speaks in full sentences and can tell you what she wants all the time.
• Everly is funny because she is so confident. She thinks she is as big as the big kids and can do what they do. She loves all of the outside riding toys, the big swimming pool, all of their toys and activities, and is not shy at all or hesitant to try something. Yikes! We have to watch her. 
• She had been very tough to share with for awhile, but after learning what a spanking was, she has gotten better. We don't have to even spank her; just bring it up and she remembers. She was into hitting and taking things, and while she still will because she is 2, she is getting so much better with other little kids her age, which is nice because I hate to be on her constantly during a playdate when she is only 2 and still trying to understand. But, she is doing so much better with her friend Hannah, and I've been so proud of her!
• Everly, in some ways, because she is confident, can be a stinker when she gets mad. Her patience is slim, but again she is 2. And I've noticed so much difference lately. But, she is also SO sweet. She loves to play and imagine and talk and do cute, sweet things.
• Everly also loves me. And I'm not just tooting my own horn. She loves to play with me and wants to do so all day long. She asks me to come to the playroom or her room or read or play or do whatever and she is so happy to have me there. She also uses that imagination to play and that is the most fun thing to watch. She will get distracted and also play by herself at times and that is good, since she will have to do more of that when this baby gets here!
• She does get upset and get her feelings hurt though and will run to her room and shut the door. But, she usually comes out happy and distracted with playing in her room.
• She doesn't always love baths, until she is in it. She would just rather play instead of get into the bathtub.
• She loves a dance party, particularly on top of the big kids bed. Our rule is no jumping on the bed, but since she can't technically jump up to this point, she usually likes to be on the big kids bed during the music. I go back and forth with how good of an idea this is. Goodness!
• Everly is pretty calm until recently. She would observe mostly, but now she is just older and plays and has fun all the time. But, she also laughs hard and is loud and talks a lot! She also will whisper if she thinks she wants to ask for something she shouldn't have or whisper if she is playing a game where she should be quiet. 
• She also loves to accessorize! She loves necklaces and bracelets and hats and glasses. She will choose something, wear it solid for 2 days and then forget about it and then come back and do the same thing a week later. It's just cute because she doesn't think anything of it - it's like it's just an everyday addition to her outfit.
• Everly is just fun and I love her sweet little self so much! Oh and her hair is getting more blonde, but holding some reddish tones so maybe in the fall, it will darken a little bit again. She has curls at the end of the longest strands down the back and while she might need a little trim, I just can't stand to cut off those curls! 
• Oh we love this sweet girl!

Atticus at 6 years old

*Note, I started this post back in the summer of 2017. But, I never published it. Why, I don't know. But, I'll publish and backdate now! And only Atticus had an update...sorry Grace and Everly!

At 6 years old, Atticus:

• weighs 62 pounds and is 47 inches tall?
• still loves Star Wars, animals, dinosaurs, legos, t-ball, school, and learning
• he loves to play with friends and play with the neighbors outside every second he can
• is a great eater and is on an eating healthy kick with me recently; he even does my workout videos or at least starts them until they get too hard
• his favorite foods are ravioli, tacos, popcorn, Torchy's Tacos, anything sweet and gatorade
• is very helpful with Everly; he loves to play with her, make her laugh, get things for her, feed her and even pick her up off of her bench when she gets stuck on it
• loves to swim and is very comfortable with his life vest on; hopefully it comes off soon
• is a great reader and likes it!
• such a good big brother to Grace and she looks up to him so much; even if they still argue;
• LOVES being 6 and LOVES that he is going to First Grade next year
• is full of questions; he always wants to understand the "why" of things and remembers what he is taught
• is getting more independent, but still needs hugs and snuggles a lot
• wears his feelings on his sleeve; if he's happy or sad or in trouble or silly or excited, he is showing it.
• has recently wanted to wear a cap everywhere; has started picking out his clothes and running in to show me when he is dressed; and no longer takes baths, but mostly showers;
•  his love language is quality time, I think. He likes presents too! ha! But, when we have one on one time with him, that time is just so special and shows us how smart and grown up he is getting, but also how sweet and silly and still a little boy he really is!

Everly at 12 months

Although I'm sure I will keep updating on all of the new things Everly does in the next year, I will finish out my monthly updates with her 12 month blog post! Here are her stats:

• Weight is 19 lbs. 12 oz and in the 49th percentile.
• Height is 28 1/4 inches and in the 17th percentile.
• She is in size 4 diapers and 12-18 month clothes.
• She is still a great sleeper at night, but changes her mind on naps these days. I have never been able to give her a great napping schedule, and I think some days she only wants one nap, so we'll play it as we go!
• Loves her blankets and now, the one that is more loosely crocheted is pulled around by her finding a loop in the afghan and wrapping it on her finger! 
• She has cut 3 more teeth so she has a total of 10!
• Just this past week, she started pulling up consistently. She is not cruising yet, but she keeps trying to let go and stand on her own when she needs her hands for something else. 
• She is still getting used to other people. We have a sitter coming next week, so we will see how that goes!
• She is a great eater. I have zero complaints. I don't think there is anything she doesn't eat except...plain cheerios. I started her on multi-grain cheerios originally and they do have a sugary taste to them. Well, when I bought regular cheerios last month, she ate them at first, but now just refuses them. 
• She still loves to dance and especially to music the kids play on my phone. She likes her pop-up Minnie Mouse toy, holding the toy telephone up to her ear, and has recently taken an interest in books. She plays with one in the bathtub over and over and she likes to pull them off the shelf in her room and open and close them again and again. She still likes her Dancing Robot (as the kids call it). She also will play with the baby doll stuff and hold the babies and kiss them if we ask her to. So, many times, I still find her and Grace in Grace's room with the door closed playing with babies. I think most of it is Grace probably telling Everly what to do and just being glad Everly is with her, but it's still fun! Everly has also liked pulling up on the play kitchen and will play with just about anything she can get her hands on. She currently likes "if you're happy and you know it" as her favorite song!
• Still take a paci.
• Tickling Everly is my favorite. She just squeezes those eyes shut and waits for me to tickle that neck and it's the cutest thing. She is ticklish everywhere! And she LOVES to get on my bed and roll around and be tickled and play.
• She is starting to dislike her carseat again and mostly on days where we are in and out of it all day long. Sometimes I feel like she gets days where she doesn't get to play at all between naps, cartime, and meals, so I really make a point to get on the floor to play with her even more on days we can. I always think I can tell when she has felt not played with enough because she will want to be in my lap and is immediately unhappy when I stand up and extremely happy when I sit back down. 
• She is going to love being outside as soon as she can walk! She mostly swings and crawls on the concrete now. But, she is getting into the sandbox some and even though she will have to be covered head to toe with that fair skin and red hair, she will be so fun in the water this summer!
• I am still nursing her 3 times a day and while I am sure it will dwindle soon, I still like it. For example, when she felt bad last night, I loved being able to comfort her with nursing. I always miss that when it's over! But, I think she will start to suck that sippy cup full of cows milk down soon, so we will see if she needs that normal nursing or top off during those feedings during the day for much longer.
• She is just doing more and more everyday; she tries to repeat me sometimes and is trying to pull up and do more and more everyday. I can believe she is one, because these last 12 months have been so wonderful and it feels like it's time for her to be a one year old. But, I do miss these baby days for each of my kids! Here is the last installment of the monthly pictures. I think it was my favorite. Read below. 

 So, we sat her down with plans for me to distract her and Vic to sneak behind and put that sticker on the chair before she could see it. She looks at us like she knows what is coming.

 She turned around right away and Vic didn't get a chance to even put it on.

 So, we decided to put it on there and try to just distract her really fast. Of course, she sees it.

 And she turns around to give a devious grin as if to laugh at us and tell us we are crazy if we think she is going to leave that sticker alone.

 Here she goes for it!

 And she's got it.

 So, then we decide to have her stand to the side of the chair. But, we put that sticker way too close.

 Seriously, after 12 months, you would think we would have this process down. We'll try new tactics...on the next baby one day!

Everly is 11 months!

I think that at between 10 and 11 months, we are starting to notice the most changes to Everly's personality and it has been so fun! Here are some stats:

• By my scale, she is still between 19 and 20 lbs, but seems to all of a sudden have cute, chunky thighs and just seems so much bigger than my tiny baby is supposed to be!
• She is nearing the end of size 3 diapers and is in 12 month clothes.
• She is a great sleeper but has been confusing us on her datyime naps. She either takes two normal great naps or she doesn't nap all day long, but just hangs out happily in her bed instead of falling asleep.
• She still loves her blanket and constantly goes to her room, while she is crawling around the house, to pull it through the bed and then lay down on it. If I ever get it out of her bed and bring it to her in another room, she just lights up! 
• Still has only 7 teeth.
• She crawls everywhere and pulls up to her knees regularly. She has pulled herself up to stand a handful of times, but really does not have much interest in it and zero interest in standing or walking.
• She is finally starting to go to other people! She prefers us, but if we are out of sight, we are out of mind the last couple of weeks. 
• She is a great eater (and cheerios are her favorite!) but is not fond of finishing her meals and not having seconds; she finally eats bananas and applesauce and yogurt; now, I do not think there is a food she has refused...; she sucks down that water in her sippy cup; and she still nurses 3 times a day.
• She also loves gas medicine. For a few days, I thought her tummy was so tight after eating so I gave her so gas drops. When I get the bottle out, she just looks at me and smiles as big as she can and lights up with happiness. It is hilarious! She did the same with benadryl the other night. She got so excited! I think she just loves to eat right now, so anything is a treat!
• She has learned to wave bye bye and fold her hand to wave bye bye. She also LOVES to dance anytime music is on and especially to her "dancing robot" as the kids call it. Her favorite song right now is "itsy bitsy spider" and she will even put her little hands together and then put them up over her head. She will still say mamamamama and bababababa when I ask her to and will just talk and talk to me. She can clap now too. We have also taught her to kiss! She will kiss her babies and now, in the right moment and mood, if I ask her to kiss me or Vic or someone, she will lean over and then will open her mouth for the kiss. It is sooo cute! AND then the other day, I was fake crying for some reason while I was holding Everly (who knows why? I spend lots of my time playing so I'm sure Grace had some reason in our pretend play to make me cry! she is very bossy!) and she leans over and lays her head on my chest so sweetly as if to comfort me! So, of course, I did it over and over to watch her lean in and lay her head on my chest again and again!
• She is just getting cuter and cuter all the time with Atticus and Grace. She loves them and loves for them to play with her. Many times, I will find she and Grace in one of their rooms reading books or playing dolls and Atticus always wants to play with her and really really wants to pick her up for me (tried that a couple times...nope, he's not ready!).  She will hit their face and push them back if they get too close and just giggle about it! And if they dance or make silly noises, she just laughs and laughs! 
• She is just precious to us and we love our Everly! One more month until her birthday! I think I'll go cry now...while holding her so she will lay her head on my chest, of course!

Oh and this picture taking business just gets worse and worse each month. She knows that sticker is coming, even if we try to sneak it in! But, we tried! Then, we decided to give her a cheerio. She wouldn't smile, but she briefly forgot about that sticker! Cheerios are life!

 Happy 11 months my sweet baby!

Everly is 10 months!

Here are Everly's updates at 10 months old!

• Her weight is approximately ___
• She is in size 3 diapers and going into her 9-12 month or 12 month clothes.
• She is a great sleeper and still taking 2 naps per day.
• Recently, she has become attached to her blankets. She has one yellow and white afghan that Melbo made her and one multicolored afghan that the ladies of the church gave her when she was baptized. She sleep with both every night, but tends to lace her fingers through the multi colored one and wrap it around her. The other night, she was upset but not ready for bed and I grabbed her paci and her blanket and brought them into the living room where she calmed down. She would also just lay down on the blanket in the floor like she was ready for bed. Cutie!
• Still only has 7 teeth and no more poking through yet.
• At 9 1/2 months, she started crawling and is always on the move now. 
• She still can't pull up to her feet yet, but can pull up to her knees. However, mostly she doesn't seem too interested in pulling up at all.
• We have misplaced and hopefully NOT lost her plastic mallet, her favorite toy. We do not lose toys often, but I can't find this one anywhere! However, she is also starting to get bored with her toys. So, I have to pull out something else from the big kids toys to let her play and find other things for her to look through and mess with and then she will want to play with her own toys again. Vic is planning to get into the attic soon to get some more out.
• She generally has still only been happy when Vic or I hold her, but we are currently visiting another church and she actually stayed in the nursery the past two weeks! It has been so nice to have just two hours to worship and go to Sunday School and focus. On the first day she did that, she also let Katherine and her friend, Lindsay hold her when we celebrated Katherine and Vic's birthdays at Katherine's house. I was so shocked and almost didn't know what to do without a baby to hold! But, since then, nobody else has really had her to hold. 
• She still loves baths and they are becoming a routine at night now.
• She is still a good eater, but not even going near any fruits or yogurt.
• She has started guzzling water from her sippy cup. So much that she will take in too much and cough. But, I'm glad she likes water!
• She loves one-on-one time and seems to know when that time is. She is by far, our quietest and most relaxed child when she plays. But, she still prefers to not have me far from sight when she plays either. 
• She does NOT like it when someone takes things away from her. Atticus and Grace will quickly grab something out of her hand, whether to play with her, or because she shouldn't have it. Her reflexes are not as fast yet and she gets so upset with them. I have had to have many talks with them about gently taking things from her or not taking them from her at all. 
• She has started to enjoy her porch swing more and we played at the park where there were some baby swings and it was so fun to have Atticus push her. She loved it and laughed and laughed!
• She will copy me when I say "mamamamama" and it's the sweetest. But, she has gone back to being so quiet and not talking too much. How can she make any noise with Atticus and Grace around? :) 
• She loves her Daddy. She will light up when she sees him at night and will tuck her head into his neck and chest. So. Cute. 
• This past month has just gone very fast! I'm already starting to plan her first birthday party!

Also, for this photo session, can I just say it was so difficult? I actually did it the day before, (impressed?),  and she was in a happy mood after a nap and ready to play. So, Grace and I put her in her chair and put that sticker on the chair and then had no luck after that! She wants that sticker and knows it is going to be there. She won't sit for anything and even when I gave her an old sticker to hold on to, she went back for the 10 month one. We tried everything and after probably 50 phone pictures, we finally got one! See the pics below!

And then she crawled right on out of that room and went about her business getting into stuff. Notice the sticker on her bottom!

Everly is 9 months!

Here are Everly's 9 month stats. I wrote the stats at 9 months, but the picture is at 9 1/2 months. And I am posting it even later than that! Yikes!

• She weighs exactly 18 lbs. (in the 50th percentile) and is 27 inches long (in the 25th percentile).
• She is in size 3 diapers and 9 month clothes.
• She is a great sleeper, but in the last couple of weeks has been waking up once a night. Sometimes her teeth are bothering her, and sometimes I think she just can't find her paci. One night, she woke, found her paci, played in her bed for an hour and went back to sleep but never cried and I never got her up.
• Speaking of teeth, she has a total of 7, and these last three have been a doozy off and on giving her teething pain. She drools on those rough days and loves her frozen teethers.
• She is sooo close to crawling all the time. She will army crawl if she really wants something and goes pretty quickly. And she will get on all fours and take a couple of moves towards crawling but then goes right back to sitting position. I think she is still nervous to start. Yesterday, she crawled and army crawled and moseyed her way all over the playroom though for about an hour.
• She cannot pull up to standing, but she can pull up to balance on her knees. She can stand against something if I stand her up myself.
• Her favorite toy right now seems to be this plastic mallet that goes with a toy she got at Christmas and anything she shouldn't have in her mouth.
• She still only wants Vic and I to hold her and she really doesn't like it when I leave the room. Ever. At all. 
• She loves baths. She can play in there for a long time and even splashes the water when I say "splash!". 
• She is the best and worst eater. She is the worst because she won't eat any baby food! That is ok, but baby food is so convenient to bring in the diaper bag and to feed her when our dinner is not exactly baby proof. She is the best because she does indeed eat so much of what we make for dinner. So far, she has liked shredded or tiny bits of chicken, any vegetables (green beans are her favorite), beans, refried beans, some rice, any casserole and soup, bread, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, eggs, breakfast casserole, cheerios, graham crackers, puffs, and cookies. Of course, she would like cookies.
• She has gotten good at picking up food off of her tray but has zero patience when the tray is empty or she is waiting on you to feed her food from her spoon.
• She likes water and will try any food you are eating.
• The things she does not like: cold food, yogurt, and fruit. She finally ate avocado the other night, so maybe that will continue. 
• She loves peek-a-boo, being tickled, kicking on her back when I am changing her or laying her down in her bed, and head banging her head up and down when she is trying to be silly. 
• Also, while it is only me that gets to enjoy it, she is so funny when she nurses. She will grab my shirt and pull it up over her face and then drop it down while I say peek-a-boo! She will also giggle while nursing, and it is the cutest thing. Ever.
• She is still a snuggler!
• She will say "dadadadad" or "mamamama" or "bababababa" when she talks.
• She still likes to play what I call "the element of surprise" when she will wait until I spook her or surprise her with jumping or sneezing or anything. She waits and then it happens and she laughs and then gets quiet and waits for it all again. 
• Bottom line. We love her. How is she 9 months old??

 

 

Everly is 8 months!

It's hard to believe she is 8 months already! This time last year, we were halfway to meeting our baby, and I was dealing with pregnancy exhaustion and nausea! :) But, as always, it is more than worth it to have our children to raise and love! Here are her 8 month stats:

• Our scale is broken so I have no idea how much she weighs.
• Still sleeping through the night and taking naps.
• She can push herself up to sitting position, roll around the ground, army crawl and get on all fours to crawl, but has not crawled yet. She is so hesitant. She also still sometimes crashes and bumps her little head if she is off balance. I hate to not catch her before she topples over! 
• She likes to play and mostly with the musical table. I have kept it without the legs for now. She also likes to get curious and get into other things if they are close by...my laundry, the kids markers, the christmas tree and presents...
• She is still very observant.
• She ONLY likes to be held by me and Vic. She just immediately cries so if anyone wants to hold her just because, that is fine! But she may not last long. 
• She has 2 teeth on top and 2 on bottom. And the strangest thing she does is grind them! Ugh! It just makes me cringe and makes me worry about those teeth.
• She still likes her paci. She is so easy to please that I generally only give it to her in bed and the car.
• She is now in size 3 diapers and still in 6-9 month clothes.
• She is eating table food and she loves crackers. She has refused most fruit, but will eat sweet potatoes, and any vegetables in a dish or casserole. She likes chicken, ground beef, noodles, soup, bread although I have to make these Everly sized before she eats. 
• She still snuggles up and hides her head if she is in our arms and sees others around, at least until she is comfortable.
•  She is just sweet and funny and we love her!