Six Months

Lots to catch up on as I'm feeling WAY behind.  But first things first and that means blogging about our little girl hitting the six month mark.  Wow is pretty much all I feel like I can say.  I feel like I'm going to blink and I will be writing about her being a year.  The last six months have been the quickest, most rich six months of my life.  I still feel like I'm learning and adjusting every day to being a working mama of two young babes.  I've loved every moment... even the hard ones and wouldn't trade it for the world.  I've said it before and I'll say it again, we feel so blessed that we were able to bring another child into this world.  She has been the perfect addition to our family.

Audri girl.... you are a great baby.  So content just hanging out, playing with your toys, pulling off your socks or watching your brother.  You love him more than I can describe and it makes my heart feel like it's going to burst.  Two bottom teeth popped through this last month and the only symptoms you showed were pink cheeks and lots of drool.  You laugh often and at pretty much anything, especially your crazy brother.  The dog has become a focus for you lately and you'll watch her from across the room.  You love it when we let you pet her... and we have to watch it because you'll pull her ears. 

You are exploring the world of foods and so far you've tried mostly veggies.  It's questionable whether you're actually swallowing the food but each time you eat you are getting better and better.  When you sit on my lap, we have little game we play.  You look back at me just to make sure I'm still there and of course it makes me smile which in turn makes you smile. 

I love you to pieces Audri girl.  Even though you've only been here six short months, I cannot imagine life without you, my sweet girl.  You are everything I dreamed of when I longed for another child.

Six Month Stats:

Height - 27 inches (86%)
Weight - 16lbs 8oz (54%)
Head - 18.25 inches (100%+) basically creating it's own curve... so much so that the doctor remeasured it to make sure the nurse didn't screw up

     

Holiday Spirit

BJ and I both love to decorate for holidays and we are SO happy that Jackson is now at the age that he wants to help us (and he loves to decorate too).  Last weekend we added a little Halloween spirit to our house... 

First up was putting some Halloween decals on our windows

Then we hung some spider lights above our slider

And put out the scary spider (as Jackson calls it)... this one is his favorite decoration of all

  (sister liked the feeling of the scary spider)

We also put pumpkins on the porch and put out our little scarecrow people.  It now officially feels like fall!

Four

Can't believe our bubba man is four.  I have to admit, this birthday was a hard one for me.  I think it is mostly because I feel like we are going from having a toddler to having a little boy.  It seems like Jacksie acts more grown up by the day... saying new things, having new expressions, etc.  Underneath his crazy, rough shell, he has a heart of gold. I'm so proud of the caring, thoughtful young man he is becoming.  He makes me thankful for every day I get to spend with him.

I decided to interview him this year and document his answers.  As anticipated, it was hilarious.  Here are his answers to my questions...

what is your name? Jackson Mitchell
how old are you? four of these (holding up his fingers)
what is your favorite color? red
who is your best friend? Grant
what is your favorite food? spaghetti (this one really made me laugh because he hates it)
what is your favorite drink? milk
what is your favorite toy? dump trucks
what is your favorite show? woody (toy story)
what is your favorite book? firemans (even fireman go to the potty)
what is your favorite song? halloween (huh?)
what is your favorite thing to do? read a book
what is your favorite snack? peanut butter and jelly
what do you like to take to bed with you? lizard, giraffe-e and walty
what makes you happy? giraffe-e
what do you want to be when you grow up? Jackson Mitchell :)

four year stats:

height - 41.5 inches (76%)
weight - 36.5 lbs (54%)

And BJ and I always suspected that he has good vision... heck he can spot a spider a mile away.  Sure enough, he nailed the vision chart. 20/10 in each eye.  Makes sense now!

 

Birthday Par-tay

Remember this post and how I said a little boy was going to be very happy about the birthday party gift certificate?  Well, we finally were able to redeem it yesterday after months of anticipation and it was well worth the wait. :)  Yesterday was Jackson's birthday and we set out to make the day as special as possible.  Here's a recap!

He started off the day with a visit from two of his favorite people, Steve & Lindsay.  They stopped by to bring him a gift and special birthday hugs.

Then it was on to opening up gifts from us.  His big gift was a CARS 2 scooter.... hope the smoke clears so we can get outside and try it out!

Jacks played with his toys while we got ready for his birthday party at the fire station.  It was scheduled from 10am to noon so we had to get going by 9:30am.  All I can say is that they WAY exceeded my expectations.  Fireman Jay, who ran the party, was fantastic.  He had so much patience with the kids and was great at explaining everything.  I feel so blessed that we had the opportunity to have his party there. We have some really neat people in our community.

Fire station tour...

I think Grandpa Steve liked the tour more than the kids :)

On to cake and ice cream....

 

After cake and ice cream was a magic show...

And finally presents...

First Bites

I finally bit the bullet and made Audri some rice cereal tonight.  I know I probably should have done it sooner but to be honest, things have just been busy.  And in the back of my mind, I have the horrible memories of Jackson's issue with rice cereal and our first ER visit due to extreme constipation.  So, I just wasn't that anxious to get her going on foods.  But, I'm not going to wait any longer.  The little thing could stand to beef up a little so foods here we come!

Get ready for a lot of pictures.  My second child will not wonder where the pictures of her are when she's older (plus BJ did a good job of taking them). :)

Smile

Audri girl's first tooth popped through yesterday!! I was trying to get her to smile so I could get a picture of her tooth and... this is what I got.

Maybe next time.

Five Months

Our sweet Audri is five months.  Unfortunately, she rang in five months with her first ever cold and working on her first tooth (or so we think)!  It broke my heart to hear her snort like a pig and have no idea what this sickness thing is all about.  Poor girl... the good thing is we only had a couple rough nights and overall her cute little personality has shown though all her nasty cold symptoms.  As Deanne put it, she'll still give you that great big smile even when she's feeling bad. 

Some other things she is doing at five months...

Rolling from her front to back quite easily which means no more tummy time for her as she just rolls over the minute she lands on her tummy. 

Grabbing for everything in sight (and mostly trying to get everything into her mouth).  We don't see any teeth yet but they can't be far away.

Starting to grow more hair (yay!).  I can't tell what color it will end up being... sometimes it looks blond while other times it looks darker.

Laughing at brother.  Last weekend while we were at Alta, she thought it was hilarious when Jackson would swing and miss the baseball.

Growing out of her six month clothes.  She's so tall that her six month pants are getting too short.  Time to go shopping, again!

Giving kisses.  When we give her kisses, she comes right back at you with an open mouth.  I love it that she loves getting/giving kisses.

Next up... introducing food.  I can't wait to see if she likes baby food as much as her brother did.