9 months {Lincoln}

I was so relieved at his appointment to see that he had made it back on the growth charts. Even though he is still 5% for weight, he happened to gain about 2.5 lbs in one month. I guess the pediasure and extra solids are paying off.

He is now 16 lbs 13 oz at 5% and 50% for length and head.

By 9 months he is now sitting up on his own (with some assistance-just in case).

He loves to clap and wave hi.

He also loves to grab anything and everything. If I don't oblige then the situation quickly turns to this...

He thinks it is hilarious to give high-fives and giggles when you dance with him.

He has also been sleeping much better since we added the extra meals. So thankful to be getting somewhat normal sleep. After his vaccine though we had a set back for about a week, but I think we are getting back to a better pattern of just one feeding during the night.

Thanksgiving and such...

So I'm a little behind. But that seems to be the story of my life right now :)

My niece was born the end of November. They love having another baby around!

And so do I.

I've been trying to capture these silly  moments where the kids just love on each other. Getting Lincoln to laugh at them is always fun.

We made our first deep-fried turkey for Thanksgiving. It turned out great!

We had lots of fun with family in town that weekend.

We decided to make a trip to the zoo even though it was pouring cats and dogs the whole time. The kids were excited to see the reindeer again this year.

Thanksgiving weekend always entails decorating for Christmas.

And the kids managed to wear most of the items we were supposed to be putting out :)

So happy to be sharing this holiday season with our little man.

AJ and I have enjoyed several fun dates the past few weeks. One being his annual holiday party and the other was the Yuletide.

These kids always want to hold their baby brother. Evangeline told me the other day "I love having a baby around!" I definitely agree with her :)

happenings in november

Somehow we managed to have two children get goose eggs within 24 hours of each other. Six weeks later and Evangeline still has a remnant bump there :-/

The kids had such a fun time at Monkey Joe's on Ari's birthday. So thankful for the gift card we had!

AJ took the kids down to our friends property.

They hiked.

They climbed.

They sat in a boat (some reluctantly).

They rode 4 wheelers (not like that!)

They shot some guns.

And had a blast!

Our time with cousins are few and far between since they are in school now. But that hasn't changed their friendship one bit.

 

Evangeline told me one night that she didn't want babies but wanted to be a doctor. I went on to explain that she didn't have to choose and could do both. She said "Hm...I want to be a doctor-mommy. One that works in the hospital, not in a dr.'s office." 

Ari has also mentioned to us that he isn't going to get married. He is going to live with Lincoln forever. Unless Lincoln decides to get married, then he will get married too. :)

I love seeing a glimpse of the things that roll around in their minds :)

This particular day was very warm so we took a walk--with Hello Kitty backpacks and dog purses of course. Selah found a few "blowers" (dandelion seeds) on the way.

These two are just enamored with each other, Lincoln starts kicking his legs in excitement and will grab her face if she is within reach. They won't leave each other alone if they can reach each other.

Each year we have to venture in to other neighborhoods to enjoy the piles of leaves. Our trees drop leaves so slowly that they don't accumulate enough to jump in.

We hit the jackpot this year!

7 years {Ari}

I've been putting this off mostly because I just can't believe he is 7. What do I say about my little baby who no longer needs my assistance (for pretty much anything) and goes off to school most days? *tear*

I miss him terribly when he is gone, but this time away has stretched us both in ways that have helped us grow. If you ask him how he likes school he usually says "I like recess, lunch, and gym class. But don't really like schoolwork". :) He never complains about his schoolwork though. We have seen remarkable growth in his reading and is pretty independent in that area now. He asks us all the time what (insert lots of letters that spell a large word) means. He is eager to know them all.

For his birthday I was able to bring in a birthday treat. He wanted lemon cake pops. His teacher said really great things about him and also prayed over him - something that I really appreciate about his school.

He had lunch with nanny that day. And of course he wanted a cheeseburger - his favorite! He is our least picky eater, will pretty much eat anything you put in front of him, but one of his least favorite foods is Chick-fil-a. Wha?! One thing I still appreciate about him is that when he does eat things he doesn't like, he doesn't complain. He will most likely just offer it to someone else to eat. Or if we do happen to go to Chick-fil-a, he will just ask that I bring him a sandwich from home.

We were able to celebrate after school at Monkey Joe's since we had a gift card to use. Then off to Cracker Barrel for dinner - another favorite for him!

But he was pretty tired after all the activities that day.

He is getting tall (compared to me!) My guess is that he will be my height in just a few years. However, he is still only 25% for height and weight for his age. We didn't figure we would have tall children, but hopefully he will be taller than me! :)

And yes, even though it's the end of October he still must wear shorts and no sleeves. *sigh* It's definitely been one of the hardest adjustments for him at school now that it's getting cold out. I had a talk with his teacher about not being a "bad mom" for sending him in shorts still. She was very understanding.

He wanted lemon cake for his party at home. Do you see a trend here? He loves lemon! And food!

Here are a few things that come to mind when I think of Ari at this stage:

As of now his favorite colors are yellow and camouflage.

He is squeamish when it comes to minor things like splinters.

He is the first to run and get an ice pack for the girl's boo-boo's.

He asks us all the time "what if" questions that are really random and bizarre.

He has the most contagious belly laugh.

He is very literal - if you joke with him you usually have to explain it's a joke :)

He has a sense of style of what he thinks is "awesome" - which has included his camo boots, shorts, shirt, and safari hat (I should have got a picture)

He is very particular about his hair - first thing when he wakes up he runs to the bathroom, turns on the water, and wets down his hair.

He has a very tender heart and is sensitive to things he hears and sees.

He loves to swim and towards the end of summer was really in to diving down to retrieve toys.

He still loves to save the worms - when it rains he is out there throwing all the worms back to the grass :)

He loves to race AJ in the morning when he is leaving for work - he can run 10 mph!

He is an excellent shot - I can't believe how well he does!