Madelyn - 5 months

I got a new camera lens for Christmas and now taking photos of the kids makes me even more excited.  I'm still getting used to it and learning how to use it, but Madelyn makes the pictures look so pretty.  These monthly photo sessions are a bit challenging with big brother wanting to be in all the pictures and wanting to constantly spin Maddie around in the swivel/rocker chair, but we make it work & he makes her smile!  I'd have to say these have been some of the best 5 months of my life enjoying my two babies.

Sleep
Sleep has been a little bit tricky recently.  Just like last month, you are still getting used to rolling & then waking up and not being able to flip back over.  You prefer to sleep on your side or stomach so this happens often.  I try to soothe you back to sleep & put your pacifier in, but recently you have been eating 1-2 times per night.  I’m hoping this changes soon & your stretches get back to being longer.  There might be some beginner sleep training in the near future!  You normally take a good morning & afternoon nap & then a cat nap in the evening.

Eating
You eat about 6 times per day & are EBF. You have started eating oatmeal cereal once a day and it is usually hit or miss!  Sometimes you are great at eating & sometimes you have absolutely no interest at all. 

Size
You are currently about 16 pounds. You have just started wearing size 3 diapers yesterday.  You are wearing size 3/6 & 6 month clothes & I am only buying you 9 or 6-12 month clothes for the future.  Your hair has kept growing & is now almost 3.5-4 inches long.  It is officially in your eyes & pretty much has to be pinned back at all times whether it be with a clip, bow, or headband.

 

You Love
You love your brother!  You also love grabbing toys, playing with anything circular, & chewing on your pacifiers & toys.  Speaking of, you also love to chew on your toes!  You still love the jungle gym & sitting in your bumbo.  You are so attentive to what is going on around you & always want to be sitting up to see & hear what is going on.   You also love chewing on your toes

New things
Your neck control has gotten so much stronger & you are very stable now.  I can put you on my hip & carry your around which makes life so much easier. You ate your first solid food this month. You also rode in the BOB stroller without the carseat adapter right next to your brother.

 

You have just started blowing raspberries & think you are very funny when you do it.
You are still smiling like crazy and have started giggling when you are really happy.
You had your first fever & it reached 103.  You did not have any other symptoms but just wanted to cuddle a little bit more.  We gave you Tylenol for the first time which helped but your fever lasted off and on for about 24 hours.

You also had your first Christmas!  It was such a special year to experience Christmas with you & Jack here in Nashville.  I love the family traditions we are starting & that you are a part of them.  Although you had no idea what was going on, it was exciting to think about the future & getting to buy girly gifts for you & thinking about what your reactions will be on Christmas morning.

 

It's almost Christmas!

It's almost Christmas and I'm not sure there's anything that says Christmas more than a baby surrounded by Christmas lights & in a Santa hat.  haha. Maddie and I had a fun little photo shoot when dad was working one Saturday night.

 

 

We're in Nashville for Christmas this year and we are having fun enjoying all the holiday spirit & celebration!

 

Here are a few pics of what we've been up to this last week.

 

 Play time with dad before bed

 



PJ day at school

 

Ty & I had a fun date night at his Christmas party.

 

They love each other and it makes my heart melt.

 

Gingerbread house making

Loves his advent calendar & opening one each day.

Merry Christmas!  Hope everyone has a wonderful next few days!

Santa 2013

We had our official Santa Claus visit of the year.

 

We weren't quite sure how Jack would respond after his meltdown last year, but this year he is starting to understand Santa a little bit more.  He's no longer just a strange looking man that his parents hand him to & then run away to take a picture. 

 

We're working on laying a good foundation of Christmas for Jack where he understands the reason for the season is Jesus' birth & that is the celebration, but a visit from Santa on Christmas Eve is a fun perk of the celebration, too.  

 

We've asked him what he wanted Santa to bring him and his main response has been "choo, choo...P."  Interpretation: Percy the train (note: we have owned percy & he has been lost along the way & Jack misses him dearly).  I have also told Jack that "baby" wants a baby doll.

 

We had to wait in line for about 10 minutes and Jack wouldn't stand in the roped area but instead was keeping his distance.  I figured this was a sign of things to come, but right before our turn we showed him the two little boys sitting on Santa's lap & they were happy.

 

 
 

 Santa knew his name when we approached him & we made sure to talk to him for a minute before just putting him on his lap.  He told him he wanted a "choo choo" and that his sister wanted a "baby doll" and actually reached out for Santa to put him on his lap (surprise!). 

 

Jack was VERY serious while he sat in his lap but there were no tears.  After a few serious pictures we finally got him to smile & he actually looks happy....AMAZING!

 

Of course Madelyn had no idea what was going on & was not interested in it at all, but so glad she was there to accompany her brother.  I was concentrating on Jack so much that we got the picture back and it doesn't even really look like Madelyn! 

 

 Although it was stressful getting everyone dressed & out the door (Jack is SO picky about what he wears now!), we had such a fun morning visiting Santa, shopping, & eating lunch.

 

Here are Jack's Santa visits so far...can't believe this is his 3rd Christmas!

 

 

 

Oh, Christmas Tree & Cookies

 

We are loving the holiday spirit around this time of the year.  We're starting family traditions and enjoying seeing Jack understand the season a little bit more this year.

Tyler & I haven't gotten a real Christmas tree since we lived in Fort Worth (5 years ago!)...so this year we were ready for one! 

We headed off to scout a few of the tree lots & home improvement stores & found the perfect tree in the size we wanted. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We tend to buy large trees that won't fit in our house with low ceilings :)

We had to measure it and trim it down just a bit with Jack's help...

 

One Sunday night, we put on the Polar Express (Jack loved) while I decorated the tree. 

I enjoy looking at our ornaments & hanging each one.  Tyler has given me a silver James Avery ornament every year since we've started dating so to date I have twelve total. We try to pick up ornaments on vacations & of course it's fun to hang Jack's homemade ornaments & baby's first Christmas. 

Since we have a real tree Jack got the small, fake tree in his big window & both kids have tiny trees in their rooms (with shatterproof ornaments!).

 

We also had an ice day last Tuesday.  It was nothing like Dallas had & we weren't even really expecting it but we woke up on Tuesday & the roads had iced overnight so Jack didn't have MDO (Tyler thankfully made it into work safely at 6am). 

 

It melted by mid morning, but Jack stayed in his pj's most of the day and we baked & decorated Christmas cookies. We kept it real simple.

 

There will be lots more baking being done in the next 10 days & I can't wait!

Thanksgiving 2013

 

This year's Thanksgiving looked a little bit different than years past.  Tyler was in the middle of his CCU rotation where shifts are 30 hours on, 42 hours off.   He worked the day before Thanksgiving and got home about 11am the day of, ate breakfast, and hung out with the kids for a bit.  Then it was off to bed.

 

We had Thanksgiving dinner around 6 when he woke up and had a great meal.  We have so much to be thankful for this year, in particular our family & the addition of Madelyn in 2013.

 

I can say I cooked a full Thanksgiving meal by myself for the first time ever...granted it was for 3 people so that made it easy!  But I made the turkey, pies, stuffing, and all the sides from scratch so I was cooking for a couple of days.  It was a true test run and I learned some hits & some misses.  I also love putting our china and nice silverware to use every once in a while! 

 

All my pictures are of Maddie dressed in her Thanksgiving gear & Jack mesmerized by the Macy's Thanksgiving day parade (one of my favorites!).

 

 

Hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving & is enjoying the season!