Snow Days

Winter makes me really miss California. I'm not really loving the winter when I have 4 little ones to bundle up before we can enjoy it. And Jane turns purple when she gets cold, so we've been mostly indoors this winter. But we have been able to have the opportunity for a little bit of snow fun. 

Last week, for example, Bill and Karen took us to the ice castle in Midway.  It was a warmer day, so Jane did well.  It was fun to have a snow adventure. 

Lily, particularly was a fan. She kept hoping we would see Elsa, and even came prepared in her Anna dress.

All the kiddos (and even Steve!) enjoyed the slide.

We've also had the chance to go skiing, and even help William try out the skis he got for Christmas. Steve has been busy at work and it's tricky for me to go skiing with 4 littles, so we haven't been much, but we are trying to get use out of his gift.

We've had multiple attempts at making snowmen.  The kids are almost to the point where they can do it themselves.

And we've been on a couple of nature walks when the weather was nicer.

I even got out my old dog sled. It's in need of a few minor repairs, and Cricket is in need of training, but it was really fun for the boys, in particular.

And of course, we went sledding. Caleb had a couple of crashes and didn't want to go again, but we were able to get him back on the sled so winter sledding wouldn't be so traumatic.

And speaking of traumatic, I fell on a new layer of snow while on a run and came down hard.  I had bruises and scrapes all up my arm and it was pretty swollen for a few days.  After a quick x-ray, I was lucky that I hadn't broken my arm, but it took weeks to be able to put weight on my arm and do a proper plank again.

For now, though, the snow is almost melted, and the weather is lovely again. We will probably have another big snowstorm or two (boo!). We enjoyed the snow while it was here, but we'll enjoy it more when it's gone away.

Jane: 9 Months

Jane is 9 months! So much has changed the last few months, I'm glad I've been documenting it. 

Size: Jane has been really growing since she discovered that solid foods weren't actually so bad. She went from the 3rd percentile, down the the 1st (due to some potential allergy issues). And at her appointment today, Jane's weight was pretty good, (2nd percentile) though she's still a tiny girl at 15 lbs, 3 oz and 26.5 inches long.

Sleep has stayed good. We're all big fans.

Health wise, Jane has been better. She got a minor cold, nothing serious, though I had a nasty cough that still affects me a little while I run. But Jane has seemed barely bothered. Unfortunately, however, a result of this cold was a double ear infection and what we thought was a ruptured eardrum. Boo! We had just come home from a family dinner and saw blood all over and in her ear, all within a week of her ear infection. Luckily, it turned out that it was just from a small cut on her ear. On the bright side, her clogged tear ducts and labial adhesions have luckily cleared up, so that's good news as well.

Jane is still very content to be held all day, as long as it's by me. Other people are terrifying to her still, though it's getting a tad better when she spends more time with various people. But because she likes to be held a lot, it has put some slow down on her movement . She can roll over both ways, but Jane just usually prefers not to. We are actively working on getting more tummy time when we are at home, but Jane much prefers sitting to laying on her belly. We had to get a referral to a physical therapist to help with some of her gross motor delays.

                                            

Jane has been lovin all the foods now! I was worried when she started out so picky, but don't have hardly any food issues now. Unless you count the fact that she wants to eat everything, choking hazard or not. Jane prefers to feed herself, so we try to do as much finger foods as possible. We're still having to be careful with dairy due to a possible allergy, but hopefully we'll figure it out soon...though it would be easier if she would take a bottle.

Jane has a mostly quiet disposition, though has been babbling more, Mostly Dada and baba, with an occasional Mama when I put her down or give her to Steve. Total Momma's girl and I love it. 

Jane is a very sweet girl and is getting more fun by the minute. She LOVES to snuggle her mom and smile at her siblings. And we love having her around.

Jane: 8 months

It's been so busy that I've missed a few months, with birthdays, holidays, work schedules, and orchestra practice getting in the way.

Jane has made some huge improvements the last few months... Here are some of my favorites:

RE-BINKYING! That's a real word, right? Jane needed to re-learn how to fall asleep on her own after her illness back in November. This led to a few sleepless nights, plenty of crying, AND she can now put her binky back in her mouth! This has her sleeping 12-13 hours straight most nights! We are big fans, and I think everyone is better for it.

ROLLING OVER:  She isn't a huge fan, but will occasionally roll over both ways now. I've only caught her rolling to her tummy at night, though.

SITTING: it took a few sessions with Katie, but Jane is now a pro at sitting. It's her favorite way to hang out. We're still working on tummy time being acceptable to her. Jane's favorite thing to do while sitting is to read! Jane and sit and read with us for nearly an hour some days!!! Some times, the only thing to help her stop crying is to give her a book...and she'll cry when if we take it away.  Such a little bookworm.

SOLIDS: Jane has been the pickiest baby.  She wouldn't hardly eat ANYTHING for several weeks...not even bananas! But, she has since discovered that real food isn't so bad and is coming around to most foods.  She prefers to feed herself, which is fine by me and is good for her motor skills. I would say her current favorites are peas and carrots, bread, meat, and anything that I am trying to eat. Caleb and Lily are big fans of feeding Jane. 

SLEEPING: Jane hasn't cried out at night for months! I love sleeping all night!  Usually, she goes to bed around 6:30, wakes up around 7/7:30 and takes an hour nap around 10, and a 1-2 hour nap around 2. I'm a huge fan of the afternoon nap because it overlaps the twins' nap. This means I often get a full hour with only William awake.  And since he is almost always playing with Legos, this is my most productive time of the day.

PEOPLE: Jane is not really a people person. Parties and loud gatherings make her cry. In fact, for a few months, the only person she didn't cry with was me. If I try to hand her off to someone for a quick minute, it usually results in a very sad baby. If she had her way, Jane would be content for me to hold her all day. And many days, that's what we do. Our neighbor Max and his mom, Sophie are other favorites. She has since discovered Dad is not so bad, the grandparents are starting to grow on her.  And siblings! When the mood strikes, Janie cannot get enough of her brothers and sister.  They are super cute together and so happy.

TALKING: Jane now says Mama!!! I love it! Occasionally she throws in a dadada or bababa, but for the most part, she's not a huge talker.  But baby babbbles are my favorite, so hopefully that picks up a bit.

Overall, we have been very happy to have Jane in our family.  She is definitely an important part of our family and we love her dearly. She is definitely her own kind of baby. Jane is fairly quiet, and not super outgoing and it will be interesting to see if that continues to be her personality.  And she LOVES her Momma, and her Momma loves her. Jane is pretty much my favorite little buddy right now and is content to hang out and do almost anything, as long as I'm holding her.  It's nice to have reached the point where having a baby is more enjoyable than it is work...it took a lot longer when I had two babies. We've got a routine down and Jane is mostly content to go with the flow, as long as we eat and sleep in regular intervals. Once winter is over and we can get out more, we'll have a ton of fun with our Janie-pie.

Six Years Ago Today...

I was watching Elf (a tradition we continue to this day) and having a baby.

My baby is not a baby anymore! This big 6-year-old has a big imagination and loves ninjas, Legos, animals, bugs, the human body, science, space, and marine biology.

He can read many sight words and is getting better at sounding out and spelling words as well. William LOVES school.

He tries really hard to be good and is a sweetheart, though his emotions get the best of him sometimes. William still loves to snuggle, and is still loving his Baby Puppy.
William is a pretty good helper and listener, though his room is kind of a war zone and he can't keep socks or pants on to save his life.

His best friends are Max and Charlie. Those 3 could play Legos for HOURS. So we gave him a big Lego mixed set to round out his collection. And when he found out that Ninjago combined Legos and ninjas, it made his birthday complete.

Here's the yearly survey:
1. What is your favorite color? Sea Foam Blue
2. What is your favorite toy? Legos
3. What is your favorite fruit? Banana
4. What is your favorite tv show? Wildkratts, Octonauts, Cat in the Hat
5. What is your favorite thing to eat for lunch? Pizza 
6. What is your favorite outfit? Ninja clothes and exercise clothes
7. What is your favorite game? Don't Eat Pete 
8. What is your favorite snack? Cheesaroni (his recipe...melted cheese topped with pepperoni. We have yet to make it).
9. What is your favorite animal? Elf Owl
10. What is your favorite song? The Ninjago theme
11. What is your favorite book? Any book about ninjas
12. Who is your best friend? Max, Charlie, Daniel. And all my friends at school.
13. What is your favorite breakfast? Birthday Waffles
14. What is your favorite thing to do outside? Hunt for things at the cabin
15. What is your favorite drink? Root Beer
16. What is your favorite holiday? Saturday
17. What do you like to take to bed with you at night? Baby Puppy
18. What is your favorite thing at school? Art. 
19. What do you want for dinner on your birthday? Sushi. For real. We are actually doing this.
20. What do you want to be when you grow up? Nature Police (forest ranger???)

We had a great day celebrating his birth. We started off with a race (kids' 1k, and a 5k for me). I placed 2nd, and gave my medal to him. He's a natural. Look at that form!

William got to have a big party with all his cousins and many of his friends. We had a total of 25 kids, most of them under 6. 

We dressed up like ninjas.

Played ninja games. 

Hit a pinata with a ninja staff.

Ate Ninja food.

And let William get buried in presents and friends.

He was literally SWARMED at present time.

 

William's favorite gifts were a Ninjago car/motorcycle from George and Addie, and a Ninjago playset from Grandma Garff.

And LOTS of Legos.

It was crazy, but William LOVED it.

We are still so happy to have William in our family.  He is still our Silly Billy,
but won't let us call him that anymore. William is a full name kind of guy.  Happy Birthday Billy Buddy!!!