Life

Life is what happens when you're not paying attention.  This is my life lately...

St. Patrick's Day block party - hangin in her shades.

 

She bounced the whole party!  She was literally the last person standing.  We had to make her get out because everybody else had gone home already.  She is clearly more of a party animal than the rest of the family.

 

Our little Sham-Rocker

 At the science center for a day of fun.

Josh got us some popcorn as we left that day.  On our way home, Emma had her face all the way in the bag eating it.  I can't say that I blame her...popcorn is delicious!

Loving each other...Emma got in his crib to cuddle for a minute before bed.  {Please disregard the Christmas pajamas - she likes them, they still fit...go with it.}

Josh and Emma made a bird feeder and she is obsessed with watching the birds come and grab a snack.  She just sits at the kitchen window and watches them.

Our big boy holding his bottle on Saturday.  Emma was so proud of him.  It was sweet to watch her cheer him on.

Passing some time playing on the floor.

Just Because

While we were outside playing one day, Josh took some pictures of me and the kids just because everybody was in a good mood.  I think they turned out pretty good.

Not a Good First

James had another first yesterday but it wasn't a good one!  I got the call from daycare that he had a fever of 101.2.  His first fever - poor baby.  His teacher said that before his fever started he was sleeping more than usual, eating less than usual and was a little bit fussy.  All of those are very irregular for him, so they knew something was up.  I took him to the doctor straight from daycare to see what was wrong.

Thankfully his ears and chest were clear, he has no cough or runny nose and they did some blood work just to rule everything else out and it came back negative.  This is just virus that will run its course in two to three days.  

I'm at home with the little guy today.  He doesn't look that sick to me!

But around 1:30 he started feeling not so great again.  He wouldn't even take his bottle, which he has NEVER done.  He just made the little cry that he makes when he is sleepy.  So I stood up, swayed him for about five seconds and he was out.  I pray that he gets over this quickly!  Emma can't wait for him to get better either.  It is absolutely killing her that she can't hug and squeeze him like usual. 

Watch Me Grow!

To track James' growth, I used calendar pages to correspond to each month.  Watch him grow before your eyes...

 One Month

Two Months

Three Months

Four Months

Five Months

Six Months

Six Months

Six months!  Could six months really have passed by already since I had this little boy?  I can't believe it!

He had his six month checkup on Tuesday and he checked out perfectly.

 

Stats:

Weight: 16 lbs. 7 oz. (25th - 50th percentile)

Length: 26.5 in. (50th percentile)

Head: 17 in. (50th percentile)

He's gained a lot of weight since his 4 month checkup when he was in the mere 10th percentile.  Yay!  He is LOVING solid food and wondering why we kept it from him for so long.  He has tried rice cereal, oatmeal, sweet potatoes, bananas, carrots and pears.  He is like a fish...he will just eat until you stop feeding him.  And he is very efficient.  We don't even put a bib on him when he eats because he doesn't drop a bit of it.  He opens wide and gets it all in.  So cute!

He typically goes to bed around 8:30 at night and wakes up around 6:30 the next morning.  Sometimes he randomly wakes up at 5:00 am...I'm not a fan of this.  I nurse him in the morning and at night and he gets 3 bottles during the day.  I love my time with him during the morning and night feedings although if you had asked me 5 months ago, I would've given a completely different answer.  James and I have definitely gotten the hang of it and I'm so thankful that it has been going so well.   

James is still an extraordinarily happy baby.  He brings a smile to my face every time I see him or even think about him.  He cackles at his big sister and she thinks he is the best thing to ever happen to our family.

Happy six month, James!  You look so adorable in your Daddy's hat!

Preaching to the Choir

Emma was pushing James in the swing while also pushing and her baby tiger, Tutu, in her seat.  She said she was such a busy Mommy and how it was hard work being a mom.  Preaching to the choir little girl!

My Shadows

I feel like I always have a shadow...or two actually.

While I'm cooking dinner, this is my entourage. 

When I'm folding laundry and cleaning up, these are the faces starring at me.

 

I always have my shadows and I wouldn't have it any other way.  Most of the time Nala isn't far behind either.

A Ballerina With Moves

Emma has been taking ballet at school the past couple of months. Last Monday they had a Visitor's Day and I went to check out our little ballerina in action.

She comes home on Mondays after ballet and shows us all of her new moves.  Such a cutie!  

The Zoo

We went to the zoo for Weller's birthday party which always spells fun!

Emma is currently very into turtles so she was over the moon that she got to pet this one.

Merry-go-round is a huge hit with all of the kids.

Little drummer girl.

Baby giraffe - just the right size for her.

It was a fun afternoon of just mommy and Emma time.  I definitely miss being able to nurse James throughout the day, but I have to say it was nice to be with Emma and not have to rush back home to feed him or bring him with us.  This gave the girls some alone time and the boys some alone time.  It was great!

Art

Emma has been quite the little artist lately.  During February she drew and colored about fifty hearts that she wanted to display.

I let her hang one heart picture and before I knew it our walls looked like this...

...and this.

She also drew a special heart for James and climbed up and hung it in his crib.  She said she wanted it to be the last thing he saw before he went to sleep and the first thing when he woke up so he knew she loved him.  Doesn't that just melt your heart?!

Once Valentine's Day was over I talked her into letting us take them all down and putting them in a scrap book to keep.  She was very excited about that {thank goodness} and now I just need to get a LOT more inserts for the scrap book because she draws several pictures every day.  I love how creative that little girl is.

Big Day

On Saturday, March 2, James had a big day full of firsts!

First sweet potatoes!

They were a huge hit.  Josh couldn't shovel it in  fast enough for this little guy.  It must have hit the spot, because he fell fast asleep afterward.

Then that night, he sat up by himself AND found his feet while he was perched up there.

I know I'm biased, but come on - that is one cute kid!