..6 months..

Navy hit the 6 month mark on December 10th! This sweet little girl has become a rolling fiend and can make her way across the room pretty darn fast. She's using her voice a lot to say "ma ma ma" and "ba ba ba." She started baby food this month and she's still figuring it all out. Because her cute little tongue is always sticking out, it gets in the way of the spoon:) If we do get the spoon in past her tongue, a lot of the food gets pushed right back out. She's kind of a mess. But she doesn't seem too picky about what she's eating. At her 6 month appointment, Navy weighed 12 lbs. 6 oz. and was 25 inches long. She's still below the charts for weight, but her growth is steady so she's just meant to be a petite little thing. One interesting/funny/concerning thing Navy has started this month is sleeping face down. 

When I first noticed it, I tried to turn her head but she moved it right back. And now that's her preferred way to sleep. Silly little girl. The doctor said there's not much we can do about it, besides keeping loose blankets and stuffed animals out of her bed, which we were already doing. It is kind of amusing though.

Here are some pictures of our little 6 month old.

Chillin with big bro.

Model shot.

Happy girl on the 24-hr drive home to Idaho. We are lucky to have such a sweet, mellow babe!

Finally meeting Emma! Cousins make the best friends.

Trying to capture a picture of the kiddos in their matchy Christmas accessories...

Yeah...

Family Pictures Fall 2014

When my parents came to visit in October, it was the perfect opportunity to have my dad take some family pictures of us. We went out to Thousand Hills State Park here in Kirksville (with a few pics taken downtown). I LOVE how they turned out. Thanks Dad! And thanks Mom for making the kiddos smile!

That night, after the kids were in bed, we sat on the couch and looked through Dad's camera to see if we'd gotten anything good. We found these beauties and laughed 'til we cried. Here are just a few of the many, many awesome faces Trooper pulled out for pictures that day. Love this expressive little kid!

Yes, that's a fly on his face.

..5 months..

This little girl is 5 months already! She is as happy and smiley and chill as ever, and it's getting a tad bit easier to make her laugh. We get tiny chuckles out of her, but it's hard to find something that will really make her giggle. It's usually Trooper who can find something to really get her going, which makes it all the more cute. She's still mesmerized by Trooper and watches everything he does. When she hears him in the room she lights up and she is so patient as he snuggles her (gets really close and tickles his face with her hair, and this happens A LOT). She also loves to cuddle with her dad. She would lay cuddled up on him all day if she could and never get bored. She likes to cuddle with me when I'm singing to her. Navy is grabbing things like crazy and pulling everything to her mouth. If her fingers or a toy aren't in her mouth, her little tongue is always sticking out. She is figuring out her voice and makes lots of cute little noises. She also lets out an occasional scream thing; she's not upset or anything, it's just a noise she knows how to make. It takes the people around us quite off guard. This month she has also been making a little spitting noise with her tongue and lips. It's pretty cute. And whenever she gets the chance, Navy grabs her toes and eats them. She has also started rolling from her back to her tummy almost as soon as you set her down. Most of the time she gets stuck there, which at first did not make her happy when she was sleeping. Now she's gotten used to sleeping on her tummy if she needs to.

Here are some more pics of the little cutie.

Sitting patiently while her brother tapes her legs together.

Enjoying herself in the mirror. 

She was dad's special cuddle buddy after his knee surgery They both loved it. 

She's not so sure about this situation. But Troop couldn't be happier.

Her "I'm tired now" pose. 

Navy also started saying "ma ma" this month! Love it!

A three year old!

My little Trooper is 3! He is constantly running around, making us laugh and impressing us with all that he's learning. Some of his favorite pasttimes include playing baseball, basketball, tag, hide-and-seek, snuggling Navy, reading books, "skateboarding" on his little bike, playdough, painting and drawing, working with his tools, giving check-ups with his doctor kit, helping in the kitchen (cooking, baking, dishes) and playing with his friends.

Troop's been potty trained for a year now and accidents are very rare these days. He's become a much better eater, not so picky, though he still dislikes chicken and takes about 10 minutes to swallow one bite of it. He still LOVES all his "guys", meaning his stuffed animals and blankets. His very favorites are Pluto, Andy the Lion, Scout the dog, Mickey Muk, and Spooky Muk (he calls blankets "muks" still...). He loves to bring all his guys out of his room and build campouts and forts with them.

Trooper is incredibly smart. Brent and I are always impressed. At his three year appointment, he even impressed the doctor. She asked him if he could draw her a circle, so he drew a big O. She said, "You're right, that's a great circle!" And he said, "Actually, that's an oval." He was right! At the end of the appointment, she asked, "And do you have any questions for me?" He replied, "Yes, I do. My question is..." The doctor just looked at me with wide eyes, very impressed with his vocal skills. I was a proud mom:)

He loves his baby sis. He is the best at getting her to laugh and he's always doing crazy things to make her smile. When I come downstairs with Navy after her naps, he looks up all excited and says "Mine to hold! My girl to hold!" He loves to help feed her oatmeal and get her toys to play with. With how often he tells her she's cute, she's bound to grow up a very confident little girl. Trooper is just an incredible big brother. Better than we ever could have imagined.

 Here are some recent Troop-isms that had us laughing:

As he's nonchalantly going downstairs. "Mom, I'm going to marry you. I'm going to marry you at Christmas."

On his birthday, people would tell him Happy Birthday. He would politely reply, "And happy birthday to you!"

His new thing is to freeze and say in a robot voice "Broken robot, I need beatbox power." And then he slowly rejuvenates as we beatbox for him. Troop's beatbox skills are amazing for a three year old.

As he pretends to take a picture. "Say cheese! Oh, that's a good picture! You cheesed!"

We were having shrimp for dinner and Troop was less than enthused. Though it was his first time ever trying shrimp, he came up with this excuse, "Every time...I eat shrimp...I get sick!"

With all his climbing around, he occasionally gets himself stuck in tight places. I just hear, "Mom! A little help please!"

He threw up a ball and caught it. He said to himself, "I have skills."

Troop:"Heavenly Father, pray the food. Christ Jesus, Amen."
Me:"Trooper, remember to say some thank-yous. What are you thankful for?"
Troop:"Oh, how about the root beer. Heavenly Father, bless the rootbeer. Amen."
Me:"You need to say some thank-yous."
Troop:"Ooooooh, I always forget that. HF, bless the thank-yous, Christ Jesus, Amen."

He loves to hear stories. After we had told him a few, I asked "Troop can you tell me a story from today?" He said, "Sure! I went into a dinosaur cave and I saw three dinosaurs sleeping. So I used my trumpet to wake them up. But they were sleeping. It was hard to wake them up. Now you tell me a story."

Brent:"Trooper do you want me to go back to school?"
Trooper:"No, I'll be sad."
Brent:"But when I leave, you and mom are going to do fun stuff."
Trooper: "....Leave right now."

Me:"Trooper, don't shine the flashlight at people."
Troop:"I'm going to shine it at Andy (his stuffed lion.) But if Andy talked, I wouldn't shine it at him."
Me:"Yes, that's ok. Real people talk so don't shine it at real people."
Troop:"Sooo... Navy's not a real person?"

And here are some pictures of the last six months.

June 2014

All sorts of adventures to be had in Grandma and Grandpa's backyard.

The first of his campouts with his guys,

Zoo Boise

"Hey! There's no popcorn in here!"

July

This boy LOVES Grandpa's berry patch.

The first few nights in his "big boy bed" after the move to Missouri.

Fascinated by all of Navy's headbands.

Wanted to be swaddled just like baby sis.

Look at those perfect little lips.

August

"Mom, I think Navy's hungry. I'll feed her.

Discovering the joys of play-doh.

With his awesome block castle.

September

After a tree had fallen in our backyard during a big Missouri storm, a man came with a chainsaw to clean it up. Troop quickly grabbed his saw and watched the entire process through the window. This boy loves manly projects.

 October

After his nap, he was waiting for me in his room like this.

Playing some fall football in the front yard. And then I noticed a spider and he quickly smashed it with his bare hands to save me!

Went to storytime at the library and this is where I find him.

Did this puzzle almost completely by himself! He's growing up!

November 6, 2014. Trooper's 3rd birthday!

Trooper was SO excited to wake up and find these tiny bananas waiting for him. He loves anything miniature. These were the highlight of his birthday; the one present he told everyone about.

Helping mom finish the cupcakes.

Helping dad put together his present.

One day as I was putting away laundry, I turned around to see this...