St Patty's Day

Andi had a class assignment to make a leprechaun trap, or you better believe that we would not be doing one on our own. It was fun to sit down with her and look at ideas and think about how she wanted to do hers. I enjoyed the one on one time we used to make it. It was fun to do together. She did a really cute job on it.

 

 

 

Other than that, the leprechaun left footprints up our fridge and he had colored our milk green, of course! He did a few mischievous things around the house, like hang our pictures upside down, and left a slew of green treats on the table (andes mints, green laffy taffy, shamrock stickers, st patty day pins, gummy frogs, gummy apple rings, etc). That was it. However, all day the kids went around looking for other things the leprechaun did, which he didn't. Were my shoes by the door or did the leprechaun move them? He moved my backpack onto my floor! Those toys were on the other side of the room! Was my toothbrush left on the counter? That pen wasn't there on the table when we went to bed! They were cracking me up. They all wore their green to church and we enjoyed corned beef for dinner. My kids loved it!

Lay off me I'm starving!

Well, I've managed to do it again. I have starved yet another one of my children. Beckett had been super fussy for pretty much the whole month of February. He cried unless he was being fed or sleeping, and sometimes if you were holding him. Don't even think about laying him on the ground! The mere motion of starting to lean back would set him off into hysterics. I had a hunch that my milk supply was low, but Beckett wouldn't take the bottle when I offered it. I figured if he was hungry enough he would take the bottle. We started rice cereal once a day at the end of February (as previously posted) and he loved it! I kept it at once a day for a week or so, until he had his doctor's appointment. B Boy only weighs 12lbs 9.6 oz (off the bottom of the chart for weight) and is 25.25" long (25% for height). The poor kid has been starving! So, since B-man still won't take a bottle, or sippy cup, I immediately upped his feedings to three times a day. And since he already had the hang of the whole eating thing, he just took off and loves solids! He eats at least two bowls of food at each feeding; usually one vegetable and one bowl of rice cereal mixed with formula. Within about three days of upping his feedings he is a totally different baby! Happy all the time. Finally talking and so easy to make giggle. Before he made no noise, unless it was to cry. No cooing, laughing, talking, nothing. I feel horrible as a mother for not being able to produce enough food for him, but feel so relieved and happy that my baby is back. He has a weight check in a few weeks so I'll be interested to see how much he has grown. Moral of the story: don't starve your baby.

Big Girl Bo-Bo.

We put Bentley in a big girl bed on March 9th. She always would lay in the other girls' beds at bedtime and not want to get in her crib, and since we need the crib for Beckett, we thought it would be a great time to transition. We rearranged the rooms that weekend and put Taytum in her own room with new bedding and decorations. Then we let Bentley have the pull out bed under Andi's. The first night we were anticipating a disaster. We heard Andi and Bentley talking and said we would give them ten minutes before we went in to quiet them and make sure they were in their own beds. Well, they were quiet right away and when I decided to go investigate, this is what I found....

 

Bentley had crawled up into Andi's bed and they fell asleep cuddling. It was so sweet! She has been awesome ever since too. She has only come out of her room a couple of times. That's not to say that she doesn't get out of bed. She likes to get in Andi's bed or go sit by the door. But all in all it has been a very smooth transition. 

Jon + Karla come to town!

 We were so lucky to have Jefferson's dad, Jon, and his wife Karla come visit us for a weekend. They were only here for a few short days, but we packed in a lot of fun and the kids loved spending time with them.
Grandpa Jon was great at wrestling, chasing, and teaching the kids new games, like 'Once a week'.

 Grandma Karla got her love on. Beckett and Bentley loved that she would tote them around and Taytum loved getting her legs, arms, or back scratched by her.

 

 We were able to take Jon and Karla to see Jefferson's office and listen to Jefferson and Jon swap stories and advice.

 

 And we enjoyed some yummy meals. The first night we went to my parents house for dinner and enjoyed some adult conversation. The next day we went out to Applebee's for lunch and had dinner at home.

 It was so fun to see them and have our kids reconnect with them. My kids are sure blessed with amazing grandparents all around.

My shiny

How many times can I say it? This girl is special. My friend described her perfectly when she called her "shiny." She is just full of life and energy and love.  I forget that this little beauty is only 3 1/2 years old.

Whenever she sees Beckett she stops mid-whatever she is doing (speaking, crying, running, watching) and will just shake and squeal and get up in his face to love on him. She used to call Beckett "Shlala Baby" and has since moved onto "Beckadoosh." And for some reason, both names have stuck. Taytum literally cannot contain her excitement so she'll just bop Beckett wherever; hand, forehead, tummy. Not hard, but just a little bop so that he knows she's there.

She is really into Alice in Wonderland right now. We cannot wait to take her to Disneyland. She has become a lot more adventurous since the last time we went. I mean, the girl likes swings finally! Not going too high still, but she enjoys them. She loves being held upside down by Jefferson too.

 

Taytum "gets" her own room because she can't leave everybody alone and let them sleep. She doesn't even let herself sleep. She always has a pile of books in her bed when we go to check on her at night and she is always the last one asleep.

 She is such a funny, fun, sparkly, shiny, happy, effervescent, excited, entertaining, girl. We kind of like her a lot.

Feburary in photos

Aren't they beautiful?!

She is quite proud of herself...

Before church...

 

 Beckett mid roll to Daddy...

 Andi loves her tablet...

 He was playing on the floor in the kids room one day and got really quiet. I found out why. This never happens!

Me and the Mr. B...

                                        

Beckett 6 months

 Happy Half Birthday Beckett Boy! I know I say this every month, but I can't believe another month has passed and that my baby is half a year old already. It feels like he has been around forever, but at the same time, it feels like he can't be that old. He is getting close to sitting independently and it makes him happy. He still doesn't like laying on the floor or being put in his carseat. He does LOVE rice cereal and eats only once a day (started February 26th), but I usually have to make up two bowls. With my other kids I have never started out very consistently feeding them; maybe once every couple of days or so. But Beckett wants it every day and even though it's only been a week, I am going to start upping to feeding him twice a day and will probably start with other solids next week.  Some of my favorite times with Beckett is when I put him down for naps. We still swaddle him and then he'll lay contently in my arms for a minute all burritoed in my arms. There is nothing better than a burrito baby filling your arms. It's the perfect bundle. He is a champion sleeper at night and at naps, and for that we are so grateful. He goes in for his Dr's appointment next week and we'll see how big the babe is.

 

Bo-Bo's Birthday!

My petite princess is 2!! Bentley has turned into a two year old over night... sassy, full of "no!", and a few tantrums every now and then. Even with her two year old personality, we adore her nevertheless. We threw her a teeny tiny party on her birthday. It was a busy day, and she wasn't wanting a big fuss, so we had my parents and Alli and Nic over for presents and cake and ice cream. That was even pushing it for Bo. She just wanted to play with her toys and not be the center of attention. 

She loves shoes, and so she was in love with these cowboy boots my parents got her.

 

 

 

Bentley is such a crack up and definitely refuses to be lost in the midst of five kids. She loves to sing and dance. She is a really good little talker and has a few funny words of her own; one of my favorites being "cracky" for cracker. She also couldn't say elephants at first and she called them "Elouise" and so that's the name of the stuffed elephant she sleeps with. She loves bath time and never wants to get out. She still has an obsession with shoes. Bentley is amazingly smart, she's starting to count, is great at following instructions, and is a clever little thing. She is addicted to her binky and blanket. We might have to stage an intervention... for real. She is a chatter box and talks nonstop most days. She is still very bald, minus the mullet in the back. We just need the front half of her head to start growing hair. She has sprouted all but one of her teeth (most within the last one and a half months). She wants to sleep in a big girl bed so badly and will lay on one of the other girls' beds most nights before we pull her off and lay her in her crib. She loves playing with baby dolls and reading books. She things she is really funny and laughs at herself a lot. She likes getting into my jewelry and putting on lips. She is such a spirited little thing and we love her to death! Happy 2nd birthday Bo-Bo!