March fun!

We are thoroughly enjoying the weather in lovely Virginia this month. Highs in the upper 60's and 70's feel amazing. We got to take a nice trip to the park on Thursday and Jackson got to take his first ride in a swing. He loved it! Look at that face!
In other Jackson news, I reported last week he was crawling in a two crawls forward, one crawl back motion. That's no longer the case. As of yesterday, he's crawling rather quickly directly toward whatever item that was left in the floor that he shouldn't play with. Typical, right? I can't believe how fast he's growing up! We never hit this stage with Kate, so it's all new to me.

Kate is still doing great with using the potty. We have virtually no accidents. She even napped all of last week without a pull-up with no accidents. Yesterday after church, however, she peed a tiny amount in her bed, but came straight downstairs and pooped in the big potty--all by herself. Kraig and I were in the basement and heard her yell down the stairs, "I pooped!" I expected to find a big mess, but she did her business in the right place. Can't believe how big she's getting either. She's the best big sister and her brother absolutely adores her. Hope that continues!

Well, we're off to make a round in the thrift stores and do a little grocery shopping. Hoping to find some deals! Happy Monday, everyone:)

7 months...almost!

It's amazing how quickly babies develop. Seriously. Last month wasn't too monumental, but in the past month we've made progress. He won't be 7 months old until the 8th, but that's only two days...

Physical developments: I guess you could say he is crawling. It's more of a two crawls forward, one crawl back kind of motion, but it's still two crawls forward more than Kate ever did. Last week, I found his first tooth. I was hoping it would be delayed a little more, but it's here. Kate, the non-breastfeeding baby, didn't get her first until 10 months. Hopefully it won't be an issue. So far it hasn't been, but it's only one tiny tooth. We'll see. In the past week or so, he's also started pulling himself up. How old was Kate when she finally did that? Almost 17 months. There's no comparing these kids. They're totally different creatures.

Eating: Jack's a foodie. If you're eating, he's mad if he's not. I can no longer nurse him and eat at the same time. I hadn't been doing too much in the food department. It's not necessary and it's just a little time consuming (terrible reasoning!), but he's clearly begging for them. I've been reading more about baby-led weaning, so I'm doing more actual finger foods than purees. Still doing some purees when the situation makes it easier, but mostly finger foods. He's loving bananas. I purchased a mesh baby feeder (which is a pain to clean banana out of) that makes slippery bananas easier for Jack to actually grip and eat. He loves sweet potatoes. Last week I baked sweet potato fries and he enjoyed that thoroughly. He loves a good bread crust. He loves apples. Today we're going to have peas, I believe. He's also getting the hang of a sippy cup pretty well. He is still nursing well. So glad we've made it so far!

Sleep: We're still doing better in the sleep area, but not amazing. He still refuses to finally settle in for the night til between 10:30 and 11:30, then he usually nurses again between 1 and 2. We're usually up for the day between 8 and 9. It's still not 100%, but I think teething is part of the reason he has sort of regressed. I love that he's in his own bed, though. He's napping pretty consistently three times a day. Not super long naps, but basically at the same time each day.

Other: We don't have another doctor visit until the end of the month, so no weight updates. He's fully filling out his 9 month clothing. Won't be long until we're moving up another size, I'm sure. Another new thing he's developed is crying when I leave the room most of the time. Not a fun phase, but it's sweet. He's definitely my boy! We're so blessed to have another sweet, healthy baby.

A Kate update soon!

Eight hours of peace

Last week was a life-changer. It was monumental. I'm like a new woman.

Okay, so I may be a little dramatic, but it really was a good week. Really it started with a good weekend. We thought we were going to have to put over $600 into new brakes for Kraig's car, so my parents came out for the weekend so Dad could do the work and save us some money. Kraig was out of town with the teens for a retreat, so it was especially nice to have two extra sets of hands. Mom watched the kiddos and I got to help Dad with the brakes. I won't lie. I love working on cars. Dad taught me what to do, and I'm pretty sure I could do it again (with the purchase of an additional tool or two). It was awesome. On top of that, what we were told would be a $6oo job only cost about $75. We ended up only needing to change pads on the front brakes and only one rotor. Quite a significant difference! I didn't get to spend a ton of time with my mom, but it was still great to get to see them. They left on Sunday and took Kate with them to spend a few days in Ohio. My sister begged me to send her:) She had a blast playing with her cousins and the rest of the family. We drove halfway and picked her up on Friday afternoon. It was great to have her back.

While she was gone, however, we had a rather productive time. Since Kate was out of the house, it was the perfect time to transition Jackson to his own bed without the fear of waking up Kate. Sunday night didn't go so well, but Monday and Tuesday night Jack slept in his own bed all night. It was wonderful. Wednesday night wasn't quite as good, but he had taken a late nap when we were on the way home from church and I think that affected his sleep. She's home now, though, and he's still sleeping like a champ. It's amazing, since he'd been waking every 2-3 hours when he was still in our room. I figured that moving him to his bed would help, but it was a hard thing to do when he would probably disturb his sister. I was hesitant to send her away, but was thankful for the opportunity to reclaim my bedroom! After Kate started sleeping through the night at 6 weeks, I wasn't sure Jackson ever would. Six and a half months is still a lot better than some babies. I'm so thankful for the extra sleep. It'd been since my car accident in July since I've had a full night of sleep. No wonder I'm crazy! He's getting SO big:(

In other news, Kate got a hair cut. It's super short--one of the hazards of doing it yourself, but it's rather cute. Pictures coming soon--if I find my camera!

Update on the kiddos

Jack turned five months old on Sunday. It's hard to believe that he's that old, but he is growing like a weed and learning so many new things. So what's Jack up to these days? Here's a run-down:

-Weighed in at 16lbs 11oz today (90th percentile). 26 1/2inches long(90th). Head circumference of 45 cm(95th).
-He got an exersaucer for Christmas and he loves it. He loves being able to stand up and he's figured out how to get each of the attached toys in his mouth.
-He's still breastfeeding exclusively (though not for long!)
-He has great hand-eye coordination and loves playing with toys.
-He cries when I leave the room and stops when I return (cute, but not fun).
-When laying on his belly, he can scoot himself forward and backwards.
-He can sit up. Obviously, I still put pillows around him for safety reasons, but he loves sitting up. He has a tendency to dive at toys when they get a little to far away, but he doesn't seem to mind.
-Anytime he's on his back and isn't wearing socks, his toes are in his mouth. Gross.
-He's still much fussier than Kate was and isn't sleeping so well, but the doctor has given me a few suggestions to try. Hopefully they work! Momma needs some sleep!

Kate is ornery. She has the vocabulary of a teenager and the attitude of a teenager. Can you tell Daddy's a youth minister? She's potty trained, but traveling seemed to bring out the accidents. All in all, though, she's doing very well. She's a pro at puzzles, even ones that I think should be too difficult. She's going to bed earlier now that she used to, which hasn't seemed to affect her waking time or her napping. She's currently staring at me, eating a pop tart that seems to have appeared out of thin air. She's very strong-willed and a challenge at times, but she's also a sweetie and a great big sister. She continues to amaze us with her ability to learn lyrics so quickly. She knows so many songs that it's scary. She's got a great little voice and occasionally she'll start singing the harmony parts that she hears us sing. It's pretty amazing. Can't wait to see how her talents develop!

That's what's up! Kraig and I are doing well. I'm in organization mode, finally. So many things have gone undone since we moved and I'm ready to get them done. Can't wait til everything is finally where it really should go!