Joey - 7 months!

Joey is 7 months... wow!  He is such a happy baby, loves to be held by everyone, is very active and into everything he can reach, thinks most everything is funny (especially mama tickling him and being "dropped" from high to low), loves his bouncer and loves his siblings.  

This month we went to the doctor when he was about 6 months 3 weeks, because the doctor had to cancel one appointment and then I had to cancel the next.  So, his stats at that point were:  Height: 75%, Weight: 35%, Head: 80%.  He had gone down a little on his weight and height, but honestly, I need to vent a little about the way they measure his height:  They lay the baby down and mark at his feet and then at his head (as if they kid won't squirm and move between the time they mark his feet to the time they mark his head).  So this time, she marked the paper and then had to come back in because "he shrunk according to the measurement, and that can't be possible!"  So, who knows if he really slowed down in height or if they just measured him wrong last time.  Okay, rant over.  The doctor also asked me if he was eating okay, and I said that yes, he was still nursing 7 times a day and starting to eat solids.  The kid is just active and doesn't keep the weight on!

The strong will has begun... about 2 weeks ago he began to scream-cry when we took things away from him.  My goodness, can it really start this young?  I may have another strong-willed kid on my hands!  

He is quietly determined.  He will try for a long time to reach whatever it is that he wants.  He doesn't get frustrated at this, he just keeps trying.  

Already, right when he turned 6 months, started to look for things that have dropped.  I remember this happening later for my other two and then the doctor said that was more of a 8/9 month thing.  So, he's advanced in that area.  Not sure what exactly that says about him, but it's fun that he's already doing it.

He has this skin thing where every now and then he gets little bumps all over.  I give him one dose of an allergy medicine, and it goes away again for a couple weeks.  I'm beginning to switch to fragrance detergent, and we'll see if that works.  Otherwise, we'll just have to wait until he outgrows it.

I had to start swaddling him again at night because he would wake right up when being put down.  Also, he now sleeps in the pack n play upstairs in the office.  He also gets up 2ce a night on average.  I'm looking forward to when he sleeps through the night!

He loves playing with this light-up toy (it's a stick with a soft ball on top, and when you whack it on the floor it lights up).  He also loves to chew on keys, his stuffed monkey, and anything else he can get his hands on.

He eats once a day, at dinner time.  Carrots, sweet potatoes and bananas are his favorite.  He doesn't like the apple/cherry combo... it's too sour, I think.  He eats about 3 oz at at time.

Still won't take a paci, although he likes to play with it.  Still doesn't drink from the bottle, although there have been a couple of times when he will drink an once or two.  I'm still working on that.

He can now sit up well.  He likes to sit up and look around, but tends to eventually throw himself backwards, so I put the pillow behind him still.

Aunt Fran came to visit this past month and got to meet little Joey!

He sits up on his own really well now, but I still put a pillow behind him because he does tip over if he arches backwards or reaches too far for something.

I love seeing him sleep without his swaddler.  He is usually swaddled at night but not at naps.

Joey loves his bouncer!

He liked the grass, but wasn't very smiley about it.

I just love a baby in overalls!

Gia's last month of being 4...

I did this same blog last year as Gia was turning from 3 to 4, and I love looking back on it so much that I'm doing it again.  I want to capture one picture (or maybe two, if I can't decide) that shows a memory from everyday in Gia's birthday month.  So, here we go!

Sunday, May 1
We had a crazy wind storm!  It knocked off a couple of shingles from our house and we lost power for a day, but other than that we are all safe.  My parents were with us during that night and left the next morning, we had our own "Secret Church" because the power in our building was out, went out to Zaxby's to lunch because I couldn't cook and took pizza to a friend who had just had a baby because they DID have power and invited us to come enjoy the warmth of their house.  We were going to camp out that night (which is what I was going to photograph), but when we got home the power was restored so we slept in our own beds.  So instead I'm putting in a picture of our shingles.

Monday, May 2
Today we had our friends come to play!  Gia was very excited about having a tea party because she and her friend had talked about it last time they played, so we made that happen this afternoon!  I'm so thankful for the sweet friends that are in my daughter's life.

Tuesday, May 3
Bobby made a great campfire pit in our backyard and is working on completing the whole area for us to have a cool place to hang out in as a family (and invite others over).  Tonight Gia asked, "can we have a fire-thingy?" which meant, "can we have a campfire with marshmallows."  Of course since we were all home tonight, we said yes!  It's our favorite thing to do as a family lately!

Wednesday, May 4
A lot of things actually happened today (went to the park, just happened to be there when one of Gia's best buddies was there, and Uncle Josh got engaged), but a special moment that happened was watching Gia and Trey sharing a cup of soda and ice.  It was the left over Root beer from Daddy's lunch cup, and they loved each other and were kind to each other as they finished the soda and shared the ice.  Gia loves being the big sister, and it showed today as she rationed out the ice to Trey and sweetly gave ice to him whenever he asked.  It's a good reminder to me that even though they do have rough days together, they really love each other and, Lord willing, will be each other's best buddies as they grow up.

Thursday, May 5

We went to the park today and had an impromptu photo shoot with the kids (well, I was going to just take pictures of Joey, but Gia and Trey wanted to be in the photos, so of course I said okay!).  This picture just shows how much Gia and Joey love each other.  This is a precious time in my mothering, watching Gia love her brothers so much.  She and Trey both get so excited about seeing Joey every morning and playing with him... the novelty of his existence hasn't gone away.  The second picture is Gia telling Trey that they needed to do a silly picture. :)

Friday, May 6

I'm sensing a "sibling love theme" this month :)  In this picture:  I was working out and heard Gia and Trey laughing hysterically together in Gia's room.  Gia had earned a new game on her phone (really, more of an iPod) and they were playing the game together.  I still don't know what was so funny in the game, but they were having the best time together.  

Saturday, May 7
We all went to Walmart and the kids really wanted to wear the capes that they got at a friend's birthday party.  They are just so cute :)  And they used the capes as blankets in the car!  Another thing that happened today, not pictured, was that we got into a car reck... we were rear-ended on Saturday night while going to pick up friends from the train station.  It was a little scary, but everyone is okay.

Sunday, May 8
Today was one of the best mother's days I've ever experienced.  Bobby was so sweet and made the day extra special.  

Monday, May 9

I was a cool mom today... I let the kids play in the rain and mud puddles when we got home from our friend's house.  They had a blast for about 20 minutes until I made them come in and get warm.  They were covered in mud, and their shoes still aren't dry...

Tuesday, May 10

Bobby came home today and we went on a family hike!  Gia walked the WHOLE 2 miles, up hill the entire first half up to a waterfall.  She was amazing.  Bobby and I encouraged her the whole way, and she went from saying, "do we have to hike?  I'm so tired." to saying, "Can we keep hiking?  I like hiking!"  It was really amazing to see her get motivated (probably by the constant praise Bobby gave her along the way) and get determined to get to the top.  Now she is confident in herself and wants to do more hiking!

Wednesday, May 11

Today my parents came back to our house, and just in time for the Awana Family Night!  Gia was beyond excited to have them here to see her get on stage and receive her award.  Plus, we went out for ice cream afterwards!  Anyway, we are so proud of Gia and all the work she's put into memorizing her verses this year, and how good she is for her teachers & friends.  Awana has been a wonderful thing in her life.

Friday, May 13

Gia and Papa made gingerbread cookies!!  

Saturday, May 14

Julia's birthday party was at the gymnastics place.  Gia had a blast (and her best buddy was there, too).  She was so adventurous and independent... I got a glimpse of what it will be like when she goes to kindergarten, and it was a bit of a sad moment when I realized how much she was growing up and gaining independence.  I will miss her needing me to be by her side all the time.  However, it gives me confidence that she is ready for school and is going to do great.  She also jumped off of a tall slope and into the foam pit (it is not her typical character to jump from high places).

Monday, May 16
My dad's tradition with my kids is "doughnut runs," which is ironic considering how healthy he tries to eat.  When they lived in NC, he would send them each a dollar for every holiday to get a "Thanksgiving doughnut run" or an "Easter doughnut run."  Since they are here all the time now, they can't get doughnuts every day, but it happens pretty frequently.  And, as you can imagine, Gia loves it.

Tuesday, May 17

Gia has been doing dance for nearly 2 years now, and she loves it.  She has the greatest teacher who is kind, gentle, fun, energetic and encourages.  They are practicing for their recital right now so I of course took a picture!

Wednesday, May 18

Gia had her kindergarten "round up" as they call it around here (basically, her meet-and-greet with the teacher and her classroom).  It's a neat little classroom with a lot of centers and things to do.  Gia and Trey both loved the kitchen area and the books.  Gia is so excited about school that she can hardly wait, and I think this school will help her to love learning and being in school.

Thursday, May 19

Bobby and I took the kids all day (from 6:30am to 2pm) to a church planting meeting, and the kids played in the kid area for 4 hours.  They did fantastic!  Then, that evening, Bobby and I had a church planter dinner to go to, and my parents watched the kids.  So, of course, my dad put Gia to work washing the car!  She was really excited to help, and she and Trey had a blast getting soaking wet.  I think I'll have them wash my car next!

Friday, May 20

Bobby took Gia on a date today.  Unfortunately, he didn't take a picture, but they went to the park, got a slurpy, went to the library and spend time talking & drawing, and then he helped her check out a couple books that are on their kindergarten reading list.  She cherishes her date time with her daddy, and I think these couple of hours each Friday are going to strongly shape who she will be as a confident adult.  She has the greatest daddy :)

Saturday, May 21

Gia has her Doc McStuffins party today!  Although we would have loved to have everyone with us, it's just impossible to fit everyone in our backyard (and to afford such a large party), but we also want her birthdays to always be a special time for her to remember.  This year she chose Doc McStuffins as the theme, and it was a lot of fun to plan for!  I even sewed the kids doctor coats myself (my first big project), with my mom helping me all the way by ironing and cutting the t-shirts.  Speaking of help, it was all hands on deck to make this thing come about smoothly!  I couldn't believe it, but it was a stress-free planning time!

 Wednesday, May 25
Today was a simple day.  We were going to have a playdate with friends, but Joey ended up having to go to the doctor this morning because he has pink eye, so we just played outside (thankfully it was a nice day) and drew with chalk.  Gia and I took turns drawing pictures for each other and surprising each other ("Okay Mama, you can't look, okay?"  Then, "Okay, close your eyes!  Walk over here... and, surprise!  Open you eyes!")  She is so sweet with the way she loves me and shows her love through little gifts like a drawing.  If you look to the left of her face in this picture, you'll see the mint-chocolate chip ice cream cone she drew me.  She even put black specs in it for the chocolate chips!