A Trip to TN

It's been almost a month now, but over the Martin Luther King holiday we went to visit Dad and Erika in TN. We had a fabulous weekend away and got to see some snow on the last day there. What fun!

A bundle of JOY

Staying warm inside

Checking out the snow

A new milestone!

Rachel crawled today! This past week we thought we caught her moving her knee forward and crawling but weren't convinced. Today though, I was. She not crawling that much, but has gotten two forward knee movements down. Before we know it she will be everywhere.

Last week she had another milestone too. She went from laying down to sitting up. So now when I go get her after nap time or in the mornings, she greets me sitting up in her crib with a big smile on. I love it!

Here are some photos from a few weeks ago at the park. This was Rachel's first time on a swing. You can tell they both enjoyed it!

New things for the New Year

It's hard to believe that it is almost February and our little guy is going to be turning TWO! Wow!!!!! Here's an update on some new things they are doing:

• Rachel is sitting up and saying "Dadda"
  
• Josh is sleeping in a big boy bed
  
• Rachel is eating more solid foods
  
• Josh often doesn't want to have his diaper changed
  
• Rachel gets around by rolling everywhere and is about to crawl
  
• Josh often doesn't like to put clothes on OR take them off
  
• They both love to entertain each other and us
  
• They are both still wonderful and a blessing to spend every day with
  

For those of you that heard of our struggles over the holidays (I'm referring to Josh transitioning to the bed), we have success! He now goes down for naps and bedtime very well. To recap, here's the story:

The weekend before Christmas when we were out of town, Josh decided to climb out of the pack-n-play twice in one night. It was horrific. We heard a loud thump on the hardwood floors and then painful cries. He was not happy and neither were we, but after consoling, he calmed down. We tried putting him back in the crib (he was so sleepy), but he was also very worked up and still wanted out. Thus, he escaped again! After the same comfort routine, we realized we could not put him back in the pack-n-play so that night Jason layed down with him until he fell asleep. The following night, my Mom was on duty and stayed in the room with Josh while he fell asleep in the pack-n-play.

After that weekend, we knew he wasn't interested at all in sleeping in it anymore but we still tried our crib at home. The first night back he fell asleep in the car and transferred to the crib without a fuss. The next day Jason was in charge of putting Josh down as usual while I was rehearsing at church. Josh fussed in the crib (this fussing reoccured in the past few weeks on and off), but Jason let him cry it out for 20 muinutes.

That night, as we always do, we went in to check on the kids and Josh was in his bed. I asked Jason, "Are you sure you put him in the crib?" "Yes," he said. "Why?" "Well, he's asleep in his bed." We couldn't believe it, but after that night we deicided that it was clear- Josh wanted to sleep in his bed. So, after a week or so of working on keeping him in his bed to go to sleep and not banging on the door for us or trying to escape, we had success. First came happiness at nighttime and then during naptime. The whole ordeal reminded me of how consistency and discipline at an early age really pays off. This success story gives me hope on other areas of discipline that we are working on. I'm so thankful he's sleeping well again. Praise God!

Rachel eating solid foods.

Some presents her brother brought her.

Rachel laughing at Gentoo (our dog who's not in the picture).


Josh sporting an old USC sweatshirt that was mine!

Josh telling Gentoo, "Bye."

Josh helping Mommy make babyfood while eating his peas and corn.

" Cheese"

(one of his favorite words along with "more?")

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

I hope you had a wonderful time celebrating Jesus' birthday. Here are some highlights from our Christmas celebrations for you. I tried matching the pictures with some Christmas songs for fun.

O Christmas Tree

We Wish You a Merry Christmas

Over the River and through the Woods

...to Grandmother's house we go.

Have a Holly Jolly Christmas

I Saw Mommy (or Nanna) Kissing... Joshua

'Twas the night before Christmas

Sleep Well Little Children

Rockin' around the Christmas Tree


Joy to the World!


I'll be home for Christmas

It's the most wonderful time of the year





Jolly Old Saint... Joshua

Rachel at 6 months

On December 9th Rachel turned 6 months old. She's now half a year. I can hardly believe it. I just noticed that my last post was a while ago and I also noticed that I said Rachel was sleeping through the night. Well, two comments from that last post: 1) these kiddos sure have been keeping me busy. Right now they are both down for a nap, hurrah! and 2) she's not sleeping through the night anymore although I'm still hopeful that it will happen again.

We went to the doctor this week for Rachel's 6 month well visit and a sick visit for Josh. They both actually have colds right now, tis the season. Josh got a cold first and Rachel has just a little runny nose. I've tried to keep Josh off of her but he just loves to kiss on her and rub that runny nose all over her. Yuck! If only he loved to rub it into a kleenex, we would all be better.

So, here are her stats: She weighs 17lbs and 9.8 ozs. (76%). She is 28 inches long (97%). Her head circumference is 16.75 (48%). She is eating rice cereal, oatmeal, and applesauce. I wanted to start her on a vegetable first but she was uncomfortable from the rice cereal and I knew she needed something to help with that. The doctor recommended giving her some juice but I didn't have any so I gave her applesauce and it helped her take care of business. We will try a vegetable tomorrow and add on after that. While I don't want her to grow up to fast, I am eager to get out of this baby food stage. It seems to last forever. Oh well, that's just the way it goes. One pureed food at a time.

Here's a classic picture of Rachel sucking her thumb. I just love it!

Notice her teddy bear? IT says "My First Christmas."

Thankful for Family

Everyday I am thankful for the blessings God has given me. At the top of that list is my family. I'm thankful for how sweet my little toddler is when he gives out kisses I haven't asked asked for, how he smiles at me, how he cares for his sister and how he's learning to serve others. I'm thankful for the bundle of joy I have sitting in my lap right now watching my every move, Miss Rachel. She's full of smiles, easy to tickle, growing up fast, and sleeps through the night- yeah! I'm thankful for my husband and best friend, Jason; for the humor he brings to our relationship and family, for cooking and helping out, and so much more. Lastly, I'm thankful my friends and family who answer my questions, encourage, support and love me. Thank you!

Unfortunately we didn't take that many family photos. I'm sorry. Here are some though. Compare this one to last year of Josh.

Ace teaching Josh how to build

Our 1st Trip to the Zoo!