Halloween 2015

This is way overdue but I wanted to get pictures up of our Halloween this year!

We had a blast as usual, but the events of Halloween and the day of are kind of a whirlwind!  It's a bit crazy trying to fit in all the fun of pumpkin patches, pumpkin carving, parties, and trick or treating!  It's a lot to do, along with our normal routine and daily life!

Here's a wrap up of our Halloween this year picture style!

Our annual pumpkin carving with these wonderful families!  This is year 4 going strong with these two families and year 10 with one of the couples (we started before either of us had kids)!

We look forward to our chili and pumpkin carving every year with these guys!

It is a highlight of our Halloween and I have LOVED adding babies every year and watching the kids get older and more involved!

Plus our goofy pics make me laugh and laugh and laugh every time I look at them!

Priceless!!!

The boys made ninja turtle pumpkins this year that were so cute and they were super excited to light them on the porch!

Pumpkin patch with Blake's preschool and some best friends...Blake says all the time he's going to marry this girl. She is the sweetest and they have the best time together!

We love our friends and are so grateful God placed them in our lives!

The boys were a bit tricky to get pics of this year!

Blake's preschool class!

Picking out the right pumpkins!

We dressed in our super hero shirts last year when we carve pumpkins and the boys insisted we do it again!

Blake's preschool had a cute costume parade at his party this year...he was so stinkin' cute as a dragon!

My little princess with her homemade crown!

I love dressing this kids in themed costumes...it's about as creative as I get.

Thankfully they were up for the theme again this year and there was no arguing over who what wear what!

I am so blessed by this knight, dragon and princess!

True loves who challenge me daily and show me unconditional affection!

Jared and I "dressed" up for our harvest party at church...it was a little weak on our part!

That seems to wrap up the whirlwind that was October and all the fun that was had!

10-Months Old

Oakley has officially reached the 10 month mark! With the holidays here I know that the next two months are going to fly by and we will have a 1 year old on our hands!

Oakley continues to grow and change so much every year!  She is mobile, mobile, mobile and it has opened up a whole new world to her.  Thankfully she still loves to be where I am and so she doesn't travel too far away from me!

Here is what you are up to these days:

* You are still sleeping well.  You sleep from about 8:00 pm until about 8 or 8:30 in the morning.  It seems like once a month or so you have a hard time going to sleep and end up staying up fairly late with us.  Once a sleep, you hardly ever wake up throughout the night.  There have been a handful of times you seem to get insomnia in the middle of the night and I end up sleeping in the guest room with you.  Although it makes me tired I love hearing you babble, blow raspberries, coo at me and cuddle me for the couple of hours you are awake!

* You like to still suck your two fingers to soothe

* You are napping twice a day fairly consistently and are awake for about 2-3 hours in between naps. You can sometimes miss your morning nap (like on Sundays or if we aren't home) and you seem to do okay for the day just having a long afternoon nap

* You aren't great at sleeping in public anymore.  You are too distracted and like to see what's going on around you!

* You are nursing the same amount (when waking up or going to sleep) and consistently eat 3 meals a day

* You are mostly self feeding the things we eat, but still like smoothies with yogurt

* You have found out how FUN it is to feed Addie and will toss food off your tray onto the floor to watch her eat :/

* You can drink out of a straw and a sippy cup

* You have learned how to spit things out (which actually comes in handy when you are sucking on small objects like Legos)!

* At about 9 1/2 months you started pulling to stand, but you have a very hard time figuring out how to sit back down!

* You are VERY busy and mobile and can get anywhere you want to go.  You prefer to be by me or where you can see me though so it is helpful to keep you out of things!

* You have crawled up 2-3 stairs, but overall aren't that interested in going up them.  The only time you have attempted is when you see me going upstairs and you want to follow.  Otherwise we haven't had to put up baby gates yet.

* You love to dance and move to music or songs we sing

* You play patty-cake, clap, wave bye and hi, do indian calls, give high fives, blow raspberries, stick out your tongue and give big, slobbery open mouth kisses

* You seem to be very verbal and have said /m,n,d,t,p,b,w,h,y/.  At times it sounds like you have words saying "nana", "mama", "dada", "all done", "up", "nigh nigh".  It's hard to tell if you know what the words mean, but they are things you say often.  You also love to mimic the sounds, words and noises we make!

* Your sense of humor is really developing and you are starting to laugh at more people and more things.  You get really tickled if something startles you and you love playing games like peek-a-boo.  Your brothers are really beginning to make you laugh and smile and you seem to light up when you see them in the morning.

* You really only get upset when you are standing and can't sit down, if you are hurt, hungry or if I walk away from you or can't pick you up.  You are typically very content

* You are VERY, VERY attached to me and I think it is getting worse at times.  You want to be around me all the time and want me to pick you up a lot.  I honestly don't mind most of the time though since you are my last baby!

* You are very patient with your brothers as they play with you, although they get a little rough at times and you get hurt when they are wrestling you or trying to pick you up.

* You love Addie and like to pat and pet her

*One of your favorite things to chew on and rip apart is paper...you love to rip it with your teeth and chew it then spit it out!

* You are wearing size 6 month and size 9 month clothing and size 2 diapers (You really have the most petite frame and your buns are so tiny and cute in tight pants when you crawl and stand!)

* You weigh 16lbs 3 oz (according to our home scale)

* You still have brown hair and blue eyes

* Only two bottom teeth still but the top gums look white and swollen to me

That seems to be you in a nutshell right now!  At least what I can think of and remember!  You are so dear and precious to me! I pray we will always have a close knit relationship...what a blessing you are!

9 Months Old!

I did so good the past couple of months to get Oakley's monthly post up, but I am almost 2 weeks behind at 9 months!  She has CHANGED in the last month.  She is moving and shaking and getting a personality that is all her own!

Here is what you are up to these days!

* You continue to rock the sleeping thing! Nothing has changed much at night besides the fact that occasionally you want to get up and party with us for a couple of hours before bed.  This is a rare occasion and I kind of like it when you do because you are soooo cute!

* Naps are down to two a day.  Usually between 10/11:00-12:00/1:00 and then again around 2:00 to 4:00, give or take.  You are putting yourself down to sleep for your nap after nursing.

* You are still so quiet when you wake up.  You just roll around, suck your fingers and play with your little stuffed animals. 

* You are eating good and will take 3 solid meals a day.  You like to feed yourself and love eating what we are eating.  Your favorite thing to eat is smoothies mixed with yogurt.  

*You are also attempting to drink water out of your sippy cup and think you are hot stuff when you get some!

* It is fun to watch you eat and if you really like something you groan and moan the whole time and open up wide when we go to give you something!

* When you are done eating you will start to holler and turn away and let us know that you don't want anymore...then you get really excited when we sign all done!

* You have also learned how to spit things out and if we give you something new you will spit it out first, look at it and then put it back in your mouth!

* You still constantly nurse when you wake up or are going to sleep.

* You still only have your bottom two teeth.

* You are MOVING!  You can go from laying to sitting to crawling and back down again!  You really started crawling the first week of October.  At first it was just to get to me but now you are exploring and getting into all sorts of trouble!

* You put everything into your mouth and I pray on a daily basis you don't choke on something.  You have had legos, rocks, leaves, grass, and acorns in your mouth...crazy girl!

* You are starting to try to pull yourself up to your knees but can't do that consistently

* You have a great sense of humor but it is tricky to get you to laugh.  You smile a lot and will suck in air or stick your fingers in your mouth when you think something is funny.  You also won't laugh or smile at the same thing over and over again...you like to be surprised and want to see something new!

* You are reaching for us consistently, waving hi/bye (when someone else waves at you), clapping, and trying to do patty-cake

* You will give me kisses when I ask for them, which consists of opening your mouth wide and sometimes biting my lip...it is the BEST thing in the world!

* You are talking a lot more! You have a lot of different vowel sounds, can say /d,n,t,m/ and are combining consonants with vowels - mama, dada, nana.  You like to imitate what we are saying and doing.

* You are very into blowing raspberries and making all sorts of sounds with your tongue.

* You LOVE me and your dad and really love your Nana and Grandpa.  You light up when you see someone familiar and can't wait to get to them.  You are a tough sell on anyone new and will cry if they try to take you away from me.

* You are starting to play with your brothers and can seem to handle the rough housing.  You love to chase them in your walker while you are squealing, screaming and laughing!  

* They absolutely love you and still kiss, hug and try to hold you all the time!  They love to make you laugh and smile and you reward them all the time for their efforts!

* Your hair is brown and your eyes are still blue

* You are in 6 month and 9 month clothing and size 2 diapers

* You weigh 15 lbs 7 oz (10th percentile) and are right around 27 inches (39th percentile)

That seem to be it in a nutshell!  I love watching you grow and learn and develop into a little girl.  Your love for me is overwhelming at times and I can't get enough of your cuddles.  You are such a sweetie and an amazing baby!  

It is cute because now that you are mobile both your dad and I feel like we are getting a little better idea of what having 3 kids is like.  It is more work, but the reward of you and who you are far outweighs any extra effort you cause!

Mommy's Dress

My mom saved some of my baby clothes from way back when! 

I have put Oakley in a couple outfits, but most have been too big or the wrong season for her size. 

 Today, I noticed this sweet blue dress in the back of her closet and pulled it out... 

It fit perfectly and was the best morning for a photo op!

According to my mom, my Aunt Holly (my mom's oldest sister) wanted to buy me my first girly dress.

  

She spared no expense or frills!

This sweet blue dress has ruffles, poofs, flowers, hanging ribbon off the back and a little bell under the skirt that rings quietly when you move!

It was so fun and special to dress Oakley up in it and get pictures that we can cherish!

Now I just need to see if my mom has a picture of me in it!

Such a dolly and full of sweet love and cuteness!

8 Months Old

It's that time again! And I'm only a day late in getting up Oakley's 8 month post!

She has changed a lot over this last month!

Physically and verbally, she is much different then she was a month ago!

Here is what you are up to these days:

* Nights have stayed the same.  Go to bed around 8:00, wake up around 8:30/9:00 the next morning.  Still on occasion you will wake up about an hour or two after you go to sleep and then are up until 11:00 or so, I can't find a rhyme or reason as to why.

* You have begun to put yourself to sleep.  I will nurse you while rocking before naps or bedtime, but if you aren't asleep, I just lay you down.  You grab your baby doll, put your two fingers in your mouth and roll over to your side to fall asleep.  It's so cute and I'm so glad, but I get sad sometimes at how fast you are growing up.

* Still napping two times a day (once in the morning, once in the afternoon).

* You are consistently eating 3 meals a day of solid food and nurse about 4-6 times a day.  Typically when you wake up and go down for naps.

* Eating is great.  Your favorite is my smoothies mixed with plain yogurt

* You are NOT a fan of straight veggies, and I have to mix them with some kind of fruit too

* You are getting better at eating things that aren't pureed, although you still gag and choke some when you do.

* You are very interested in your food and like to play in it and try to feed yourself

* You are VERY distracted while nursing.  If someone or something is around and making noise, it gets your attention...so you can imagine nursing you with two brothers running around can be a bit frustrating :)

* You still just have your bottom two teeth and like to mouth and chew everything

* You can sit up entirely independent and get from sitting to laying, but not back up yet.

* You are up on all 4's, rocking and can scoot forward at times, but you aren't quite crawling.  You are rolling and pushing yourself backwards, so you get stuck in awkward positions from time to time!

* You love playing with your tongue! Sticking it out, blowing with it, spitting with it and making raspberries

* You have added new sounds this week and say /dadadada/ all the time! I'm not qualifying "dada" as your first word yet, since you just love babbling that combination!

* You are still so very attached to me!  And for some reason you are okay with some people holding you but others NOT at all! You will cry if they just look at you...which of course makes them feel bad!

* You are screeching and screaming more, blowing air in and out of your nose, babbling back and forth and overall just much more vocal!

* You don't belly laugh often, but it's so cute when you do

* You smile a lot for us and laugh at us...but are a hard sell to strangers

* Landon can get you laughing just as good as I can (we sometimes have competitions to see who can get you to laugh and smile the best)!

* You do not like to be left alone and are just so sweet!

* You really love your walker and it's so funny to watch you maneuver it and run all over the living room.  The unfortunate this is that once you notice me, you follow me everywhere and will continually ram into my ankles until I pick you up...little stinker!

* Fine motor skills are stronger and you have a great grasp.  You are much more coordinated at grabbing, reaching and putting things in your mouth!

* You are in size 6 month clothing and size 3 diapers

* Hair is brown and eyes are blue

* You weigh...

Overall, you LOVE us and we LOVE you!

It's a great match!!!