Colton 7 Months

Hey there big 7 month old!

Well let's start with the best news -you are sleeping through the night! It happened for the first time a couple weeks ago and it was glorious. You haven't done it every night since but you have been doing it quite a bit. And the crazy thing is you don't even cry in the morning. You just chew on your lovie and hang out until I come get you around 7am. 

Size: According to our scale at home you weigh 17.8lbs. I feel like you keep getting skinnier. I assumed you would be a very chunky baby since you entered the world at 9 lbs but it seems you aren't exceptionally chunky. But you are adorable. You wear 6-12 month clothes and I think we may need to move to size 3 diaper.

Eat: I can't really figure out your day time nursing schedule. Since you started sleeping through the night a couple weeks ago you have been eating more often during the day to make up for the lost feeding(s). I also wonder if you are possibly going through a growth spurt because sometimes you eat 1 1/2 hrs. after your last feeding. You are a very distracted nurser. You only eat for a few minutes then have to see what all the noise is coming from your sisters. I try to get you to nurse longer but it doesn't work. I guess that's why you eat all the time. You still don't like solids so we really haven't been offering them much lately because you just spit everything out. Your reflux has continued to improve. You hardly spit up anymore. 

Sleep: Like I said, you have been sleeping through the night lately! And on top of that, you now put yourself to sleep for naps and night. You don't even want to be rocked. Lainey was this way too. When you are tired you just want us to put you in your crib. You have developed a major attachment to your lovie. If we put you down for bed without it you cry but as soon as we hand it to you you grab hold and happily chew on the corners and then go to sleep on your own. I think the lovie has now replaced the paci. You haven't really been taking the paci at all lately. I remember Cambry lost interest in the paci around 6 months. You still usually take 3 naps a day. The first around 9:15ish, the next around 1:00ish. It is nice that Lainey's and your afternoon nap overlap at least some. Around 5:30 you usually take a 30 minute cat nap. Bedtime is about 7:30 and then you wake up at 6 something and play in your crib for a bit.

Likes/Dislikes: You are a major mama's boy and you definitely love to be held. You don't like to be left alone for long at all. Usually if someone other than Daddy is holding you and you see me you cry to go to me. Thankfully you still usually go to your church nursery class without crying. Of course you love grabbing everything in sight and putting it in your mouth. You like Cambry playing and talking to you but I think you are a little scared of Lainey's not-so-gentle-love, ha! You love to be carried in the Ergo and if you are in there a while you usually fall asleep.

Skills: Your new thing this month is pushing up with your arms. You can't get to the all-fours position yet, but you push up on your arms constantly. You can sit up, but only for a few seconds at a time before toppling.

Your 2 bottom teeth are in and it makes for the cutest little smile. You are our precious baby boy and we love you so much!

Last Day of School

Why does she look like she grew a foot taller??

Well her first year of preschool is complete. I couldn't have asked for a better first school experience. She had a wonderful teacher who was so sweet and good with the kids. The kids in Cambry's class were great and I think she really enjoyed playing and learning with them. She learned A LOT this year. She knows all her letters and sounds, and can write most letters. She can even read quite a few 3 or 4 letter words by sounding them out. The cutest thing is that she writes her and Lainey's name on almost all of her school papers. She always wants to include her sis. They have a music class at school where they have learned a ton of adorable songs and rhymes, and they learn a Bible verse each month that they recite at their weekly chapel. She has brought so many neat crafts home throughout the year. Their school went on a field trip to see the play Goodnight Moon in the fall, and last week they were supposed to go to Noah's Ark pool but it got cancelled due to rain. So instead they got a pajama day at school and brought their pillow and blanket to watch Finding Nemo while enjoying lemonade and popcorn. Her teacher sends out pictures periodically throughout the year so we can see what the kids do during the day and how they interact with each other. I really appreciate her doing this and I love that I can get glimpses of her day through these pictures. What a great year.

May Catch Up

Cambry started up with swim lessons a couple weeks ago. She took them last year and we stopped in September when school started. We are back again and hoping to get her more comfortable in the water. I'm so proud of how brave she has been.

We recently visited family in Waco. Colton has outgrown his infant days of sleeping the whole drive there and back so there was some crying and nursing stops, but overall traveling was not too bad. The cousins were excited to see eachother. Jameson brought a dance video game that we all had fun with. And the adults got to stay up late playing poker after the kids went to bed one night.

The girls (minus Michelle, we missed you!) did a little shopping at a couple cute junk stores. Waco has so many of these type stores and I love them. I can't seem to find hardly any stores like this in Houston. I found this decorative arched box that my MIL ended up buying for me. I bought glass bottles and floral stems for it and it is a fun new addition to my table. 

I took all 3 kids to the zoo for the first time and it was a lot of fun. We met Lindsay and her boys there. Apparently every school in Houston took their field trip there that day too. So we parked far far away but thank goodness for the Ergo and the double stroller. Colton was perfect the whole time. The girls had fun, except Cambry did not like the splash pad. I think the water was too cold for her. Lainey did not want to leave the water. We all had a great time though.

We tried out a new (to us) restaurant in the Heights that we loved. The food was yummy but the biggest selling point was the kid play area in the back! The girls ate a little bit and then played with the toys for the rest of the meal. It was basically like we were on a date. Well except for the fact that we were holding a baby. But he is a cute baby with adorable thighs so it was fine. We will definitely be back to Maryam's soon!

Mother's Day

When I am running errands I look in the rear view mirror and I see their sweet faces. When I sit down for breakfast there are 3 littles at the table and I'm glad I don't have to eat alone. When I sweep the floors there are tiny feet close by wanting to walk through my dirt pile. I am reminded all the time how thankful I am to spend my days with them. Being a mother is such a gift, privilege, and great responsibility.

Most of last year I was pregnant. My belly was huge (there is plenty of photographic proof on this blog). I was exhausted, uncomfortable, and never felt great. I didn't have a lot of energy to chase and play with my kids. I was just trying to make it each day with that big baby boy in my belly. But this year has been so nice. I am really enjoying each day with the kids That doesn't mean I don't get frustrated or flustered or exhausted. I do. My 2nd cup of coffee is currently brewing. But even in the chaos and the crying I still love it.

I am delighting in this stage we are in before elementary school days begin. Oh how thankful I am that we have a whole year before kindergarten. Cambry will go to school just 3 days a week again in the fall and I think that is just right for us. I love the fact that we still have days we don't have to change out of our pjs. We do get out of the house a lot, but it can be on our own terms.

The kids are at fun ages. Cambry constantly amazes me with how much she knows and understands and she talks all day long. Lainey is an adorable, wild, funny, and mischievous 2 year old. Colton has reached the beginning of my favorite age - hip carrying age! (That sweet and adorable stage between about 6-18 months.) It is fun to see them all interact together.

This year for Mother's day we had a nice and laid back weekend. Saturday morning we went to breakfast at one of our fave's, Kraftsman Cafe. It was delish as usual. Later after lunch I got to do a little solo shopping. Then we took the kids to the park in the late afternoon. After bed time Greg and I watched Mockingjay Part 2. I fell asleep in the last 5 minutes. It's probably the 100th movie I have fallen asleep during. Movies and cars get me every time.

Sunday after church we headed over to my parents' house. We ate lunch there and enjoyed hanging out with them. Pa and Cambry baked a cake together. I am thankful that I have such a wonderful Mother that I got to celebrate with. She is selfless and has sacrificed so much for me. She has always been there for me and still is. I'm grateful for a lovely Mother's day!