We have a 6 year old!!!

Our oldest sweet boy turned 6 years old at the beginning of March!

Crazy that we have a wild, crazy, loving, kindergartener who is now 6 years old!

This past year has been full of so much growth - academically, in his sense of humor, in his reasoning skills, understanding jokes and sarcasm, in his knowledge of the Bible and the Lord and being able to figure out and handle this world just a little bit better.  There have been hard times, want to pull your hair at out times, and growing pains but lots and lots and lots of good times, love and laughter!

We are so blessed to watch him grow and to figure out the little personality that God gave him.  He is our slight perfectionist, has a sensitivity for others, has a great sense of humor and still has a laugh and smile that lights up a room!

His giggle is the best thing when something really makes him laugh!

We've been so proud of all he has learned this year in school.  He reading very well, is doing simple math problems, and has a great memory for poems and Bible verses!

I would say that school has had some growing pains as well, getting us to going every day and starting the day fairly early in the morning...but he has adjusted well and seems to be thriving.  He's not the best in his class in subjects or sports...but he tries hard and perseveres even when he's frustrated or senses an injustice in the world.  It is hard at times to watch and struggle with him, but the journey is so rewarding to grow with him through the joys and the sorrows! 

For his birthday, we did a simple family party on his actual birthday with hamburgers (hangubers - I probably should start correcting this), blue cupcakes (in honor of stitch - his favorite disney character), presents and family!

The next night we had a friends party at Pizza Hut.  Not sure I planned that one entirely through as 8 6 year old boys were given whoopee cushions as party favors and Jared and I got to handle them all through dinner.  I'm surprised people weren't clapping as well left the restaurant!  It was a bit crazy, but Landon had a blast!

He also got to have his first sleepover that night with a wonderful friend!  This was a big deal and was so much fun for the two of them!  These two have been "friends" since they were born, as they are only 5 months apart.  They have literally grown up together! It was so special and I got so teary eyed tucking them in that night, thinking of how fast time as gone!

It was cute because they wanted to sleep together, so they slept in the guest room bed and we pulled Blake's mattress in so that he could sleep in there too!

The next morning we had an open house, since we are selling our home, so it was Chick-Fil-A for breakfast and then scrambling to get the house clean!

We then headed to the Ambrose state championship basketball game...they won!

And Landon requested that he get to buy a fish with his birthday money! Fish are expensive though! So mom and dad pitched in a little to make the birthday wish come true! Meet the newest member of our family, Hook!

Overall, it was a great birthday celebration!  

We love our little man and are so thankful for the past 6 years with him!

1 Year Old!

It's hard to believe that our little girl is one year old!

On her birthday I teared up as I thought back to a year ago and remembered how much joy and gratitude Jared and I felt to welcome our baby girl into the world.  It will forever be ingrained in my mind when Jared announced our sweet baby was a girl!  We both cried, laughed and were completely overwhelmed that the Lord would bless us with a healthy baby girl to add to our family of two wonderful boys!  Needless to say, she has completely stolen our hearts and has grown leaps and bounds over the last year!

For her birthday we kept it simple.

We had a very small family birthday party at our house that consisted of pizza, salad and cupcakes!  It was a pink party :)

We ate, opened presents and had cake...the perfect evening!

Oakley also had a blast tearing down the streamers from her door that we hung up!




She was cute with the cupcake...at first a little unsure but then once she had her first bite, she was all in!!!




The night before her birthday we met up for dinner with good friends...because their little girl and Oakley were both born January 15th!

Here is what our sweet Rose is up to these days!

* You are a great sleeper and have been for most of the last year!  Such a blessing to get a good nights sleep most of the time!  Bedtime is about 7:45-8:00 and then I don't usually get you up until about 8:30-9:00 the next morning.  You are typically falling asleep while I nurse you while rocking because you are only taking one nap a day.

* Naps - one nap typically from about 1:00-4:00.  This is a little tricky if you get woken up early...then you are very grumpy!  But it was getting too hard to try to fit in two naps between morning school pickup/dropoff or other activities.

* You still sleep in a sleep sack, with your monkey and you suck your fingers to soothe yourself!

* When you wake up you don't cry but will just play in your crib, thrown things out, take blankets off the side, etc., until I come and get you!

* You are a decent eater but are becoming more picky about what you like.  One day you will eat something (kiwi, blueberries, etc.) and the next day you thrown them off your high chair.  You like carbs the most but will also eat different proteins, fruits and veggies!

* You LOVE throwing food to Addie still and are such a stinker how you "clean" off your high chair

* I am trying to wean you but you aren't a fan of milk.  I recently started mixing Almond Milk with Whole Milk and you are liking that much more.  I'm only nursing you in the morning and evening...it is a little bittersweet knowing that you are my last baby to nurse.  I have LOVED the bond it creates and will miss the special times!

* You took your first steps around January 13th (about 2-5 at a time), you still aren't walking full time.  You will stand up and walk across a room or walk to someone or something but if you fall you will then just crawl the rest of the way!  You are close but still prefer crawling or scooting with one leg folded under you as you means of travel. You started officially walking most everywhere around February 10th...just shy of 13 months!

* You have suddenly developed quite an opinion on things and will point and grunt at everything you see!  You get really upset if we take something away that you want or if we don't give you something you are asking for.  You especially get an opinion when eating and will point or scream at things you want!

* You have a handful of words that you say: "yeah" - in response to most questions I ask, addie, dada, all done, bye bye, hi, uh-oh, mama (sometimes) and up

* You love to play on the stairs!  It is your happy place!  You love to crawl up them and then play on the landing.  You are getting good about crawling down backward and so far you haven't fallen down the stairs.

* You know what a variety of word mean and will point to or grab at something when I name it...it's crazy to me how much you learn daily!

* You really like music and will bob up and down when it comes on!  You also like me to hold you and dance!

* You still love Addie, your brothers and me!  You get the biggest smile when you see someone you know like grandpa or grandma or daddy!

* You are very lenient with what your brothers can do to you.  You don't throw much of a fit if they wrestle you around or try to carry you around!  You put up with a lot but love them so much! And they love you too!

* You like to try to do what your brothers are doing and will follow them around

* You are also so HELPFUL in emptying drawers, cupboards or anything else you can empty for me!

* You aren't much of a rough houser.  You love cuddles and being held (you like me to hold you and carry you everywhere, while you happily point to things and try to get out of my arms to grab something you see)!  You don't like to be tossed in the air or thrown around like your brothers did!

* You are wearing size 12 month clothes (some 9 months still) and size 3 diapers

* Not sure how much you weigh...you haven't had your 1 year check up yet, but at home you were about 18 1/2 lbs!

* Hair is still brown and eyes are still blue!

11ish Months!

I got behind with the holidays, but wanted to at least write a couple of things about Oakley at 11 months!  Even though she turns 1 in a week, I wanted to have separate posts!

Here is what you are up to these days!

* Sleeping hasn't changed since the last post!  Consistently about 8:00/8:30-8:30.  You still wake up every month or so in the middle of the night and you and I get a "sleepover" in the guest room together!

* You have become attached to a little stuffed monkey!  You like to suck on the tail and it gives you a terrible rash around your mouth.  It's cute because you get so excited when I ask if you want your monkey and then you grab and hug it so tight.  You will also occasionally say "dee dee" for it!

* You still suck on your two fingers (and they are getting so chapped they look painful :(

* You are taking 2 naps a day, typically around 10:30 and 2:30/3:00...but you are okay if you miss a nap and it doesn't throw you off much.  

* You will just lay in your crib and play when you are falling asleep or when you wake up...you rarely cry when you wake up and I know you are still tired if you do.

* You are still nursing about 4 times a day and are starting to not like your bottle as much.

* I have tried to start whole milk, but so far you aren't really a fan.  You will take a couple of sips and then spit it out or just stop drinking it.

* You are a fairly good eater.  You aren't super adventurous and like to eat similar things everyday, but you feed yourself very independently.  Your favorites are definitely carbs!  You love pancakes, rice, chicken nuggets...but will eat fruit, carrots, smoothies, etc.

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

* Sometimes I don't know how much you really eat at meals because you LOVE to feed Addie and throw food to her...she doesn't mind either.  And if we tell you "no" you just smile, giggle and then purposefully do it again :/

* You are pulling up independently, cruising along furniture, standing by yourself for 5 seconds or so, walking with holding our hands and taking 2-3 step/falls towards us.  You look so little still when you are standing up!  And you seem to like to walk on your toes :)

* You are at the explorer state and all my drawers and cupboards get emptied multiple times a day.  You especially like the towel and tupperware drawer or the bathroom drawers!

* You are still a cuddle bug and will cuddle up on me a lot.  You give great hugs and are a stinker if I ask for kisses...you think it's funny not to give me one!

* You have a handful of words: dada, addie, nigh-nigh, dee dee, all done, uh-oh, up, bye.  You don't consistently say all of them, but you have said them at various times.  Lots of words sound like "dada"

* You are starting to get an opinion when something is taken away or you don't get something you like.  You will cry and shake your fists, but overall these are fairly short and you seem to move on quickly.

* You are very easy going and will let your brothers pick you up, carry you, hug you, wrestle you, etc.  You let them know if you don't like something but you are very sweet to let them play with you like they do!

* You aren't much of a rough houser...YAY!  You like to play, but aren't a huge fan of being tossed in the air or wrestled around.  You like to play with toys, knock over stacks, take things out of boxes, etc.

* You LOVE the stairs...going up and down is your favorite!  You are a master at going up and are really starting to figure our how to go down on your belly.

* Kicking in the bath is still a favorite too.  It's fun because your brothers take a shower and you get the bath all to yourself!

* You are responding to your name, "let's go", "up", "bye bye", "hi", and "all done"

* You just started to point at things or us when you see us

* You seem to really enjoy music and will bob and dance up and down when you hear it.  You also just like to have me hold you while your brothers are dancing around like crazy.

* You have two bottom teeth, 2 1/2 top teeth, and are getting a couple more

* Your hair on top is getting long enough for a short pony tail or a barrette!

* You are transitioning to 12 month clothes and are in size 3 diapers

* I'm guessing you weigh about 16-17 lbs???

* Your brothers transitioned to a bigger carseat facing forward at year, but you are so petite still we are going to hold off on that for awhile!  Plus, you don't seem to mind at all being backwards!

Can't believe we are counting down the days until you are 1!