Aiden's Pumpkin

I have been trying to work with Aiden on some skills to get him ready for school. He will start Pre-K next August. Today we worked on cutting and glueing.
We made pumpkins today since Halloween is coming, and Aiden loves pumpkins. Here is Aiden's pumpkin....

He cut out the pumpkin, colored the eyes, and glued the eyes and stem on. I think it's cute! Not too bad for his first time using scissors and glue!

Gulf Shores - 2012

The kids and I went with my Mom to Gulf Shores, Alabama for Labor Day Weekend. My cousin was getting married on the beach there that weekend, which was why we went. It was a lot of fun, the wedding was BEAUTIFUL, and it was a relaxing mini-vacation.
This was Aiden and Sophia's first trip to the ocean. Aiden had been to the beach on a lake before, but never to the ocean. He loved the waves, seashells, and the sand. He had a blast! We didn't stay on the beach very long as it was too hot for Sophia to be out there long. The kids still loved it! The house we stayed at had a pool, so we spent a lot of time in the pool instead.
We ate good food, collected seashells, played in the sand and waves, hung out in the pool, spent time with family and welcomed a new person into our family as well. It was a wonderful weekend!
Here are some pictures....

Sophia is Five Months Old!

Dear Sophia,

You are five months old! You are almost half a year old! It seems like you have been a part of our family for so much longer than that, but at the same time, it seems like you should still be a tiny newborn baby.

 

You are rolling all over the place now! I put a blanket down in the living room for you to play on, and it only takes a few minutes before I am already having to pick you up and put you back on the blanket because you rolled off. Silly girl!

 

You love rice cereal! You are taking about 4oz of rice cereal in the morning with 4oz bottle of formula, and 4oz of rice cereal at night with a 4 oz bottle of formula. You also take two 8oz bottles of formula during the day. You still eat about every four hours.

 

You are in a size 2 diaper and you wear 6-9 month clothes, with a few 3-6 month items mixed in. You sure are growing! At your doctor appointment last month you weighed 13lbs. 6oz. You go back to the doctor at six months and I am already curious to see how much you weigh.

 

You are still as sweet as can be, and so happy all of the time! You just love to smile and laugh. You still adore your big brother and big sister. It is so funny to see you interact with them. Jenny is so sweet with you and she loves to talk and sing to you. You just smile and "talk" right back to her. Aiden loves to jump and dance and make you laugh. You get so excited when you see Aiden, and you laugh at him all the time. Sometimes I have to tell Aiden to be easy or to calm down because I think he is being too rough, but you don't seem to mind - you just laugh harder!

 

Now that you can roll over so well, you have started sleeping on your stomach for naps and at night. At first it scared me, but since you are able to roll over both ways now, I don't worry about it as much. Rolling you to your back doesn't help, you just roll back over. You don't like to sleep with a blanket at all. Anytime we try to put a blanket on you, you kick it off immediately. It is so funny! Daddy doesn't like for you to be cold, and since you won't sleep with a blanket, he puts you in the bed with us at least once or twice a week. I have a feeling that you will be sleeping in our bed a lot more once it gets really cold outside this Fall and Winter. We don't mind! You are such a snuggle bug!

 

You are still sleeping really well, usually from 9:00pm-6:00am, but sometimes you will sleep as late as 9:00am. You also take 3 naps a day: a short one in the morning, a long one in the afternoon, and a short one in the evening. You fall asleep on your own, which has worked out really well for us.

 

I love the way you look at me, I can see how much you love me. You are one of our biggest blessings and we thank God everyday for you. You are such a joy! You are a gift from God, and we are thrilled He chose us to be your parents! We love you from your head to your toes! To the moon and back. XOXO.



- Mama & Daddy

Jenny Is 7 Years Old!!

Dear Jenny,
Wow! 7 years old already! Where has the time gone? You just started the 2nd grade, and we could not be more proud of you!

Jenny, you are so smart! You can read very well for your age, and you are a wonderful writer too. You love to write stories! We have so many notebooks at home that you have filled up with stories and drawings. You also love to make "tests" for me. Math tests, spelling tests, grammar tests, etc. You also like for me to make them for you. I have always known you are very smart, but sometimes you really surprise me!

You have learned how to ride your bike without training wheels!! What an accomplishment! Your Daddy and I have been practicing with you for at least a year off and on, and you have finally mastered it. You used to get so frustrated and discouraged with riding your bike, but now you love it!

Some of my most favorite times with you are: meeting you at the bus stop in the afternoons. I just love to hear all about the daily happenings in your class. Sometimes you come home and tell me that someone was mean to you, which just breaks my heart. Offering you helpful advice has been a challenge at times. It is so easy to tell you to just treat that person the same way they treated you. But that isn't teaching you anything. It is also hard not to just go to the school and talk with your teacher. I don't mind doing that, but I want you to handle some things on your own. It is so hard sometimes to guide you, without leading or pushing you. Another favorite time of mine is our "girl moments". Whether it be a girl's night at home, a girl's trip to the mall or movies, or just dancing in your room with the stereo blaring, I just love our time together!
This is your third year in Girl Scouts, and also my third year leading your troop. You are a Brownie this year! Girl Scouts has been so much fun, and it is something that I hope to continue to do with you until you decide you don't want to do it anymore.

You are a wonderful daughter, stepdaughter, big sister, student, and friend. We love having you in our family and we can't imagine our lives without you!
I hope you have an awesome 7th birthday!!
Love Always, Daddy & Katie

Cubbies

Aiden has moved up in the Awana program. Last year he was in the two year old class called Puggles. This year he has moved up to the three and four year old class called Cubbies. He was nervous at first about being in a new class, but now he really likes it. In Cubbies they are learning the Pledge to the American Flag, the Pledge to the Awana Flag, and the Awana Song. They also get to go on the playground for a little while. He has a vest, bag, and handbook this year, too. His handbook has Bible verses in it for him to memorize. He earns patches for each group of verses memorized. So far he has earned two patches.

Sophia Got Her Ears Pierced!

Sophia got her ears pierced this past weekend! We took her to a place called The Piercing Pagoda. I have been wanting to get her ears pierced for a while, but I wanted to do it on a week when Jenny was home since she asked if she could be there.

Sophia did pretty good, too. The lady who pierced her ears was really friendly and helpful. Sophia only cried for about a minute or two and then after that she was back to her normal, smiling self.

Sophia is 3 Months Old!

Sophia, you turned 3 months old on July 4, 2012! Oh, what a joy you are! You have changed so much this month, and have started doing so many new things! You are such a gift! You are such a good baby. You're very laid-back, and you have adapted to our "on the go" lifestyle so well. I take you everywhere we go, and have never had to worry about how you would react.

You have gone with us to the pool several times. You still haven't really gotten in, but we have put your feet in the water and wet your hair to try and keep you cool while your big sister and big brother swam. You have also gone to the movie theatre with us a few times. We have taken you with us to see Madagascar 3 and Brave. Both times you started out watching the movie, but then ended up falling asleep. We also took you with us to Stone Mountain this past weekend, and you did really well there too. You seemed to spit up more than usual, but I think that had a lot to do with the heat combined with how often we were passing you around from person to person. You rode in your stroller a lot too, but for some things we had to leave the stroller and carry you. You took your first trip to the top of Stone Mountain in the Sky Lift!

You have the sweetest disposition. You rarely every cry, you are a great eater, and a great sleeper too. Honestly, I was expecting you to be a little feisty. Your big brother was a good baby too, so I was expecting you to be a little more difficult. When I was pregnant with you, everyone would tell me that if your first baby was a good baby, the second one would be more difficult. Boy, were they wrong! If anything, you are an even easier baby than Aiden was.

You are such a happy baby. You really seem to be enjoying your little life so far. You smile all the time, and coo almost every time someone talks to you. When you first started "talking", the noises were random and unintentional. Now, you know how to control the noises you make and you are making them more often. You are also getting much louder. Sometimes you're so loud that you scare yourself. Silly girl! You have also started getting excited in the mornings when you see me coming to get you out of your crib. You smile and kick your little legs until I pick you up. You seem to be the happiest in the mornings.

You have started laughing out loud. So far you have done it 3 or 4 times. The first time you did it I was so surprised! I wasn't expecting you to laugh, and when you did, I could have cried. It was the sweetest little sound!

You are starting to watch Aiden and Jenny more and more. Aiden is still very jealous of you at times, especially when we are a Grandma and Grandpa's house. We have to remind him to back up a little bit sometimes as he likes to get right in your face to talk to you. He seems to be getting better about it. You have really started cooing at him lately. Jenny loves to help me take care of you! She has fed you a few times and has helped me change a few of your diapers. You have started smiling at Jenny a lot lately too. You really seem to be recognizing her more now. Since Jenny isn't here all the time, it took you a little longer to recognize her. We have been trying to make an effort to let Jenny spend some time with you every week that she is here so that you will know who she is. It seems to be working, and Jenny loves it that you smile now when you see her!

You are eating 7oz of formula every 4 hours during the day. You get your last bottle between 7pm and 8pm every night. I add 1tsp of rice cereal to this bottle. You sleep all night, not waking up until usually 8am-9am the next morning. I am so thankful for such a good sleeper! Occasionally you will wake up in the middle of the night, but I just put your paci in your mouth and you go back to sleep. This rarely ever happens, but when it does I don't give you a bottle. Your peditrician says that this is just a phase that babies go through around this age, and if I feed you, you will start waking up every night.

At your 2 month appointment you weighed almost 11lbs. I am curious to see how much you weigh now. You go back for your next check up at 4 months old. I am eagar to watch you grow and continue to discover this amazing little person that God created and gave to me.

Happy 3 months, Sophia! Your Daddy and I love you more than words can explain.

Love always,
Mama