Snow Day!

 We woke up Wednesday morning to THIS blessing!  I wasn't expecting it in March.  Actually I wasn't expecting it at all.  We didn't have hardly any snow last year, a couple of dustings, and this year, while we have had some snow, I didn't think that we'd get this much GOOD snow!!!  It was absolutely beautiful.  And as I type it is in the 40's outside and quickly disappearing.

 I hadn't planned on taking Sweet Pea's 15 month pictures outside, but that's what I did!  She loved it!  Her snowsuit is quite a bit too big, but she didn't mind.

 The cold didn't seem to bother her anyway-not that it really was that cold, it was in the 30's so nothing terrible.

 Little Monkey Man doesn't remember seeing snow on the trees like this.  We had two other decent snows this year (even got to go sledding!) but it didn't stay on the trees like frosting.

 Snug had the day off of school and we enjoyed every minute of him being home with us.  We found a snowball maker earlier this winter (it laid beside the road for 2 weeks in a house that no one lives in and we finally brought it home) and he and I had a great snowball fight.

 Rosebud loved the snow too.  To keep her from getting cold we put the "booties" on her snowsuit so she didn't have very much use of her hands.  Her snowsuit is made for a much younger person.

 If it wasn't March and if we weren't putting all of our winter things away, I'd be tempted to frame this one!

 The snow stayed on the trees thick like this all day.  It was simply beautiful.

 We put Sweet Pea into our frame backpack so she wouldn't be down on the ground and so she could see what we were doing.  Her snowsuit and boots made it impossible for her to walk around.  The boys made her snow balls and said she was part of an ice cream sundae!

 Here are two of the snowmen we made.  They also made snowmen for our neighbor to enjoy in her yard.  It was PERFECT snowman snow in the afternoon.  Poor LMM is very sad that they are melting away today.

 We also made a snow monkey in honor of Little Monkey Man :o)

 Although I know he's made a snowman with us before, he doesn't remember it.  He seriously was in LOVE with his snowman.  He did lots of the work himself, I helped with the lifting.

And here's a picture to make you cold after all of those winter pics!  Little Miss weighs 16 lbs 14 oz (a whopping 2 oz gain) and I didn't get her length...too squirmy.  No new milestones this month, but she continues to repeat many words and she has quite the personality!  She'll be very grateful for summer as she'd rather not wear any clothes thankyouverymuch!

14 Month Update

 Well our baby is 14 months old.  So hard to believe!  She is a ball of energy, but still a very cuddly mama's girl.  She's getting better about going to other people-doesn't totally lose it.  She walks about as much as she crawls these days.  Although she started walking at 11.5 months, it has been slow going.  The other three never took steps till the week they turned 15 months old.  Then they were WALKING.  She loves loves loves stairs.  She can go up, but not down.  And she knows she's not supposed to go up.  She alos LOVES cat food.  I have to be very diligent about putting up baby gates or else she is getting into trouble.  And she has a sin nature.  For sure.
We are also very grateful that she is 14 months old.  She loves to sit and watch as I do things in the kitchen.  I let her grab some baby tomatoes.  They were really little ones, maybe a little bigger than a standard marble.  We always cut her grapes in half, but these were already pretty small so I didn't-she chews everything as she has 12 teeth.  My mistake.  She choked on one and couldn't breathe.  I immediately flipped her over my arm and did infant back blows that I learned in CPR/First Aid training.  After a few back blows it flew out and she is fine.  Very scary.

 Sweet baby girl 16 pounds, 12 ounces.  (one ounce short of a pound since her birthday!) and 28 inches long (nearly 2 inches longer than her birthday!).  She has one inch to go and she can get out of her bucket/pumpkin baby seat!
She stopped nursing sometime this past month.  It was so sporadic by the time she hit 13 months I'm not exactly sure when she stopped officially.  Probably about 13.5 months.  I was so blessed to be able to go that long.  She also has started eating wheat...although her diapers are AWFUL, it isn't causing any rash, she doesn't seem unhappy (or any unhappier than she normally is, she still is very serious and upsets easily) and had a HUGE growth spurt when she started eating crackers/regular cereals/pasta so we're going to keep her on wheat and just monitor her.  Praise the Lord we're all eating on the same diet these days!!!

Here she's showing off a few of her 12 teeth.  Happy 14 months SweetPea! We love you so much and you are a blessing.

Happy Birthday Precious Girl

Well this is it!  Her 12 month post.  This baby girl hit the big ONE!  Her birthday is today, but we celebrated Saturday with friends and family.  I wanted to do the same cupcake theme that we did with Rosebud.  I wanted it to be a little different, but wasn't sure what direction to go.  My mom asked if she could make a bib and when I saw it I was inspired.  I added buttons to the decor and it changed it just enough to be uniquely hers.   

 We had white chicken chili and salad for supper.  We have a big IKEA table that seats sixteen, but we needed more space so we made a "kids" table.

 This banner and the pom poms will hang in her room (when I get around to taking them down).  I didn't decorate our dining room for Christmas as I don't want all of her birthday pictures to have a Christmas theme in the background.

Birthday blowers always seem like a fun idea. It's a PARTY!!!   Till the party.  And then I hate them.  Until the next party when they look so cute and would be so fun!   

 Cake!

 This cake was not gluten free, and was the cake we served to the guests (a couple of the cupcakes were regular too)

This was her smash cake.  I made the buttons out of fondant.  I didn't take the fondant off, and she got one in her mouth and made a funny face till she could spit it out.  

She was pretty serious about the whole singing business.  

The cake pictures are out of order, but enjoy anyway.  There's the face.  She made it when she got through the icing to the cake too.  

 Sweet Pea is now 26 1/4" long (birth was 19.75') and 15.13 pounds (birth was 6.9).  She has EIGHT teeth, the 8th is a molar (or cuspid or whatever...its big and in the back) that came through today.

 Her new favorite food is CAKE!  She's still nursing but down to just a couple times a day.

 She loved presents.  Well, she loved the paper.  She is a paper-a-holic.  We may get her in a support group.  She's eaten the equivalent of War and Peace at least.  I swear she can spot a book or magazine or Sunday School paper a mile away and will eat as much of it as she can before we grab her up.

 It was her siblings that got the biggest kick out of her gifts.  They all FOUGHT (and are still fighting) over the use of this large talking-singing-ride-on dog.  She likes it too, but man you'd think it was real the way everyone goes on.  I'd worry about the cat getting jealous, but I think he's relieved to be out of the spotlight for the time being.

 She also got several cute outfits, including this Christmas tutu and sparkle shoes.  Rosebud was also in love with that, the boys...not so much.

Happy birthday Munchkin!  We love you very much.  From your serious stare to your belly laugh.  We pray that we will be an example to you of how much the Lord loves you and that we will continue to watch you grow and come to know Him.

Trick or Treat & 11 Months

 So, this is late for a reason.  Our "Beggar's Night" was scheduled for October 30th, but due to horrible weather, it was rescheduled for Saturday.  I took (thankfully) pictures on actual Halloween because the kids wore their costumes to a party at church.  I figured that I'd take some trick-or-treating action shots and then post.  This was not to be.

 I bought Snug's Buzz Lightyear outfit two years ago for him to grow into.  I got it for a couple of bucks on clearance.  I made his wings, and hopefully it will fit LMM in a couple of years.

 Here's the whole gang.  We had a theme this year.

 Here's the "out of this world" shot.  I love that they are both smiling!

 Jessie and Woody were very happy to pose for pictures too!

 I made this Woody costume (bought the hat at a resale store) for Snug two years ago.  LMM was thrilled to grow into it.  My favorite part is there is a pull string on the back of the vest and he'd pull on it and declare "there's a snake in my boots!"  He also told nearly everyone we met trick or treating to "watch out for monsters" with a mischievous glint in his eye.

 Sometimes I get shots of the kids that make them look so much older than they are.

 Look who is smiling again!  I bought her outfit on Amazon as I found it way cheaper than I could have created it.  While I really love to make their outfits, I have to consider which way is more cost effective.

 I made Rosebud's Jessie outfit too.  I bought one that was a once piece thing similar to the Buzz costume at Once Upon A Child, but it was several sizes too big.  I cut it into pieces and sewed/glued/pinned it back together.  Her hat isn't the right color, but a friend gave it to us and it was fine. The boots where LMMs when he was two.  (To answer the question from an earlier post the Halloween "tree" in the background was made by my aunt!  We put it out every year, but the lights didn't work this year, very sad.)

So the rescheduled trick-or-treat night was Saturday.  When we set off the sky was cloudy and it was misting.  When it started to downpour #1 ran back home for the van to pick us up.  It was about 40 degrees.  I am SO glad I didn't wait to take pictures, they would have been miserable looking!

 11 months old.  CAN YOU BELIEVE IT???  And she was all smiles for her photoshoot today.

 I cannot decide which ones I'm going to order.  I have been taking most of her monthly pictures instead of getting them done professionally to save money.  However, I have been really careful to print (I use Mpix) what I would normally buy and hang them on our wall/give to grandparents.

 I am THRILLED THRILLED THRILLED to announce that...

 ...she GREW this month!  She is now 26 3/4" (a quarter inch longer, and yes we are meticulous about measurement) and 15lbs even (up half a pound!).  I am so excited about that.

She's still nursing, but learning to take a sippy cup of water and took some milk in one from the nursery workers today (she won't do that for mommy or daddy).  She eats less baby food and more table food each day.  She cruises the furniture at top speed, stands alone for minutes at a time, and thinks about taking steps.  She'll tentatively put a foot out...think for a moment...then get down and crawl.  She opens all the cupboards, empties anything she can tip, and SMILES more and more.  If you think I sound like I'm grinning with this month's update...you're right!!!!!

10 Months Old

 Well this post is, of course, a few days late.  But better late than never I suppose.  Sweet Pea is now ten months old.  She weighs 14lbs 8 oz (down an oz from last month, but that could be the difference in when she had emptied her bladder) and is 26.5"...still.

 I don't know why she doesn't grow, but our family doctor isn't worried about it.  Her development is great.

 She has really good fine motor skills, as of today can stand up alone in the middle of the room, cruises the furniture, says "mama, dada, bye, and hi" and waves "happily" at people.  As happily as she gets, which is usually a brief toothy grin and then lots of pterodactyl screaming which, we can only assume is happy as she doesn't seem unhappy.  

The top picture is the only one of about 50 in which she would smile.  She's so serious.  Silly baby.  I love her to pieces.