music, mowing, and my nephews

The kids at church had a chance to sing "Lord, I lift your name on high" and a fun version of the books of the Bible. We had the cd for several weeks prior to the performance so Ari listened to the songs on repeat every day, all day long.

I was excited to finally see the performance that he had been waiting soooooo long for. :)

Our grass is greener than ever and it seems to be needing a cut every other day! We've never ran into the problem of running out of daylight until this year. The grass is usually so dry this time of year that it doesn't need much cutting. But this year it's been a challenge to get it all cut before the sun goes down.

The kids decided to hide in the tent from the lawn mower, but I doubt it did much to block the noise. :)

Sometimes they would venture out and decide to help get the job done.

Selah is doing better on foods. She still has a rash on her arms, legs, and face from the cereal a few weeks ago, but it doesn't seem to bother her. Everyone is happy, happy, happy now.

This little man is such a lover. He gives hugs and kisses like it's his job.

He also likes to help with the baby. They are both trying to console Selah...and by console I mean Evangeline is trying to make her do raspberries with her finger on her mouth and Elias is patting her on the back. Babies taking care of babies, it's sweet.

AJ had his big race for the year. He did great, as usual, and the bank did very well overall.

Unfortunately though, we had to miss this little guy's first birthday because of the race! Happy Birthday sweet boy!

7 months

Before I can even catch my breath, another month has gone by. Selah Bear continues to be so happy and content. (I'm not really sure how she ended up with that nickname...but the other kids get a kick out of it. They like to make up songs that rhyme with Selah Bear such as "Selah Bear, Selah Bear, We're almost there...Selah Bear, Selah Bear, I like your hair").

She finally enjoys time in the exersaucer. Ari and Evangeline usually notice her and end up playing with her...which gives me a few minutes to get some things done. She also likes to lay on the ground and roll around, but I don't let her do that too often unless I am sitting right there with her. Too much liability for this momma. Ari would be mindful of her, but sometimes Evangeline is a little too rough.

She likes to scream really loud. I mean, REALLY loud. Which means we have quickly exited the church service at some point every week. One time our pastor even acknowledged the shrill and said "That's right, sister!" They are happy screams, but most of the time she gives no warning that she is working up this boisterous noise. A lady at church recently asked us if she ever cries because she always seems so happy. Of course we had to say yes :) But those cries are usually in the early a.m. hours which result in me feeding her because I can't get her to stop crying. Broken sleep. It's part of the job description.

She doesn't give huge smiles all the time anymore. She likes to smirk at you as if she is studying all the noises and faces you are making at her. Which I suppose I would give the same look if someone was doing that to me.

She is on a good schedule with a solid 3 naps a day. She will rub her eyes and lay her head on my shoulder. However, she will NOT let you lay her down in your arms horizontally. But if you hold her upright and bounce your arms she will snuggle until the cows come home. Or something like that.

Evangeline continues to be a little mommy...forever bringing her toys to play with, helping with bath time, watching her eat, etc. which Selah seems to enjoy. But when it comes to Evangeline holding her, I think there is only one of them enjoying it.

The cousins love on her too and didn't want to miss out on a photo op. Wait! Can't forget the little guy!

And...that didn't last long.

She has only had rice and oatmeal cereals so far, but I plan to introduce other foods very soon. Her face has been getting a rash where the cereal touches so I am going to try and get her off the cereals as soon as possible. She doesn't have a problem digesting it but there seems to be some kind of a reaction going on. I do my best not to get it on her face...but this girl is forever twisting around so she can snag a hold of something.

And just for fun here are some pics of all the kids..each in their own 7 month glory.

goodbye summer...hello fall

Here's a sweet moment where the Bigs were enjoying their time entertaining Selah. Ari always wants to carry her and Evangeline is constantly stopping to tell me "Awww, she's so cute".

We love having lunch with daddy downtown. We happened to go when there was a Colts party on the circle.

She's showing the evidence of our free ice cream!

This sweet girl came to visit for a few days while her baby sister was born!

We kept her busy with the splash park, slip n slide, and wheel barrow rides.

This time of year is always bitter sweet. We had to say goodbye to summer days filled with water play...but now we are welcoming the cooler weather with campfires.

If there is the slightest chill to the air, she must have her jacket!

The bees have been really bad in our backyard during the day, and the mosquitos have been bad in the evenings...so we've been spending more time inside. The kids don't seem to mind when they get to paint!

This little nugget just makes me smile. She is so squishy.

We've officially started cereal to make sure that she isn't waking at night because of hunger. 

Hello, blue eyes.

We had a fun play date at the zoo and saw new things. The "maflingos" (per Evangeline) got to come out and walk around.

One decided to come say hi when I was turned around!

We also got to see the tiger do some behavioral tricks. Look how big he is!

I love this kid. His birthday is approaching...and he talks about it every day and pretends someone is having a birthday party. Every. Day. If you've talked to him, you probably know when his birthday is and that you are invited to his party! The kid is ecstatic. He's been counting down the days since his last birthday. Kids these days...they want to grow up so fast.

it's official...she's no longer an addict

We finally broke this one of her paci. I really hate to admit that she has had it this long. But then again I was willing to do almost anything to get some sleep at night. My selfishness created an addict and we were enjoying peace on Earth. But the addiction was getting ridiculous and I just couldn't take it anymore. It was a LONG first night, but totally worth it. There was no turning back after that. Every night got better and better and now that we are weeks past she doesn't even mention it anymore. Does anyone else hear a choir of angels singing?! Now that she doesn't have her paci, doesn't sleepwalk or fall asleep in random places, and doesn't demand her yellow blanket be the only thing touching her at night...I think we have a quasi-normal sleeper. And again, I hear the angels!

She still enjoys having several purses crammed full of stuff, thrives off of painted nails, dresses and bows, and loves to wear my dressier shoes around the house. About 90% of the time she is wearing a princess skirt. She spends most of her time requesting that books be read to her and the rest of her time wanting to "tell me sumptin'" 

We've been having fun with the cousins lately.

This is what the kids do for most of the day...run circles around the house while someone on the couch hides and jumps up to scare them. It. Never. Gets. Old. Unless you're me and gasp at every little shriek they make because you just envision someone slipping or running into each other or falling off the couch. I'd really like to ward off the gray hairs as long as possible.

Thank you Greenwood for putting in a splash park with a playground. It is fabulous.

We enjoyed our time with Owen too. It's hard to believe the next time we see him he will be ONE!

I love trying to get a decent picture...I think I took 8 and this was the best.

Babies lovin' on babies...

going in for the kiss.

And because she melts my heart...I couldn't resist another picture of her.

6 months

I tell you what, this girl is as sweet as they come. Smooshy cheeks. Chubby thighs. Obnoxious flower. And the bluest eyes.

She is grabby. No more holding her and getting things done. If I hold her I spend my time getting my hair untangled from her fingers...not to mention everything she grabs instantly goes in her mouth. 

She no longer stays content on her back. She is a rolling machine and finds herself in the most unusual predicaments.

It doesn't take long though for her to realize that being on her belly really wasn't what she wanted. Selah is ready to go, go, go. She sees something and will lunge out of my arms for it. Poor girl will have to be frustrated for a while until she learns to crawl. Maybe she will be more motivated than my other two. Ari didn't crawl until 10 months and Evangeline was 12 months. Sheesh. I'm not a parent who complains about a mobile baby. They are much more happy when they can get in to things themselves.

This happy girl has had an interesting routine the last 2 months. She still sleeps for an 8 hour stretch at night (it used to be 10-11), but that leaves her waking up at 4:30 every morning wanting to eat. Thankfully she goes back to sleep for several more hours. She didn't used to do that before so I'm not sure if she does it out of habit now or what...but it's just easier to feed her than to let her cry it out :) Besides...how can I resist that face?

 Even though she is chubby, she is still our smallest child to date. At six months she is 45% for weight and 30% for length. I should have had her tongue measured. Not that kids need their tongues measured, but still. It would be off the charts, I'm sure of it.

Squishy. Scrumptious. Doll-baby.

I love when she does this pose. It reminds me of those show dolphins who put their heads and tales up when they are propped out of the water.

Happy 6 months!