Anna's first snowman

A couple of weeks ago we had our first snow of the season and all Anna could talk about was making a snowman. We didn't get outside the day it snowed but Kevin had the next day off so they managed to get outside before it all started melting. 

Looking snazzy in her snowsuit!

I was inside with a sleeping Jane so I didn't get in on all the fun but I did get some pictures from the balcony. 

While making the snowman Kevin realized that he had never made a snowman before! He said that with his brothers they usually just made forts. As a result we had a snowman that was pretty big and heavy!

Before heading inside Anna wanted one more snowman so they made a smaller one. I came outside and mentioned that it looked off in size. Kevin's response was "It's Anna...big head". Haha

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Lately Anna has been talking a lot about spaceships and wanting to zoom around. I thought it would be fun to turn the box into a Christmas spaceship. Anna enjoyed the foil, paper, and bows but then all she wanted to do was color.

Once complete she got in for a little bit and then wanted nothing to do with it. I guess she like the plain diaper box better. 

Jane has been enjoying rolling all around lately. If you put her on her back she flips right over. The other day she rolled her way to the Christmas tree and spent some time reaching for a couple of ornaments. We will be needing to touch up our baby proofing pretty soon now that this girl is getting mobile!

Jane: 6 Months!

Jane turned 6 months old a week ago! I took the pictures on time this month (a day early even) but I wanted to wait for her appointment before posting this. 

Little Miss is doing great. Here are her stats for you.

Weight: 17 pounds 13 ounces (75%)

Height: 25.6 inches (32.6 %)*

Head Cir: 17.8 inches (98%)

*We do not think this is an accurate measurement. She's too long for many clothes that Anna was wearing later on and she measured the same at her 6 month appointment. We plan to try and measure her ourselves. I know that it doesn't really matter but the record keeper in me is really annoyed by all the inconsistencies and the way they round percentages!

Before I get to all the fun exciting things Jane has done this month I want to cover the unpleasant stuff. Sleep. It sucks. Jane's sleeping has slowly been getting worse over the last few months but this last one takes the cake. There are many contributing factors which I'll cover momentarily but it doesn't mean it hasn't been pleasant. For about 2 weeks Jane slept in the swing which helped a lot as long as I woke up to keep the swing going before the 4 hour timer caused the swing to stop moving. While the longer stretches of sleep in the swing were nice it isn't the magic answer. Getting her to sleep in the first place in it was very challenging and then getting her back in if she did wake to nurse was tough too. 

Another struggle has been naps. It has been increasingly difficult to soothe her to sleep and then if you do manage to get her to sleep it is the whole 'staying asleep once in the crib' deal that is difficult. She'll do great in the car seat, the swing, or while nursing but none of these are great for long term. We have a game plan for helping to improve things but we are going to wait until after the holidays when we are back in a more normal routine. Wish us luck!

Now for the fun stuff! Despite the fact she isn't sleeping great Jane is the happiest baby I've ever seen. She has so many different smiles and expressions and it is pretty easy to get her to squeal in delight and laugh. Warms my heart every single time. 

One of my favorite pictures this month

 The day after turning 5 months old Jane finally rolled from back to tummy and immediately started showing interest in sitting up. She's been sitting unassisted pretty well for a few weeks now (although she still falls sometimes and doesn't know how to fall yet). 

Jane has also cut her two bottom teeth this last month which is a major contributing factor in the sleep stuff. Once she got the second tooth she completely rejected the pacifier which has been rough. We used it heavily and soothing her without it has taken some major adjustments on our part. I know that we'll eventually be happy she self weaned from it but I can't really think about that when she's screaming at me. 

  

Jane has also started solids if you recall my post about that. She's doing better and better with it and will lean in for things she likes: carrots and bananas! This little lady is also getting more and more grabby. She wants stuff....anything you have or anything close to her. It is leading to some conflict with Anna since Jane now wants her things if they get within sight but that was bound to happen eventually. :)

The world is coming alive for this cutie and we love her so much. The way she looks at you and smiles is incredible. We're so lucky to have her in our lives and I can't believe it's been 6 months since she came into our lives.

Jane's First Food and The Girls

Since we're already well into December I'm needing to wrap up November so I can move forward. I know there will be lots of activities (in addition to those we've already had) and I don't want to get too far behind on posts like I did last year around this time.

Over Thanksgiving weekend we decided to go ahead and introduce Jane to her first solids. We were pretty excited. She'd been showing interest in our food and was always watching us eat and she really seemed ready.

We started with avocado and even let Anna give the first bite.

She did not seem to care for it too much as you can probably tell from her expression. I love the faces that she made. 

Since the avocado Jane has had sweet potato, butternut squash, peaches, and oatmeal. I started offering her the food a little earlier in the day which has made a big difference. She's also getting the hang of it and will lean in for things that she likes. She did not care for the peaches too much and she definitely let me know. (I was using frozen peaches and they were a bit on the tart side). I wish I had pictures of her face then.

What are you guys doing to me???

I wanted to throw in a few pictures of the girls from this fall. This is Anna outside helping Daddy dig out the area where we put our new shed. She loves being outside but it's been so cold and/or rainy that she hasn't had many opportunities lately. 

While they were outside Jane and I had fun inside. I had to snap a few pictures of Jane with her tongue out. She had a couple weeks where she didn't stick it out as much but then started back up. I hadn't realized how much I'd missed it until she began again. 

Anna loves playing on the ground with Jane and always wants us to do tummy time with her. I like this picture because you can really see Jane's red hair. 

 Anna is so sweet with her baby sister even though she likes to take toys from her. When we tell her that she has to let Jane finish playing with something before she can have it Anna likes to inform us that "Jane don't like it". We hear this a lot these days....

It's so fun seeing these two together. Jane lights up when she sees Anna. Hearing them laugh together is amazing.

This picture is actually back from October but I love it so wanted to share. 

 Sister snuggles!

Princess Party

The weekend follow Thanksgiving Patti hosted the first Princess Party! This particular party was basically an excuse to get the Kent's and Watkin's together and for the girls to dress up in princess dresses. 

Theresa made soup and Patti had yummy sandwich fixings and cupcakes. I don't have a ton of great pictures from the party. I used Patti's camera and only pulled mine out a few times. 

Princess Anna running around.

 The girls were pretty excited and went a little crazy running around. There were balloons and other fun decorations and of course princess wands! 

Jane didn't have an official princess dress but I managed to find some cute "princess like" clothes for her to wear.  

It was not easy trying to get a picture of all the girls and there were at least 3 cameras going at the same time and none of us knew where to look. There are a few cute pics though. 

I love Adell's face and Julia's expressions.

Anna cracks me up in this picture.

It was fun watching Anna with Julia who is 14 months old. It reminded me of  how Adell used to try and interact with Anna when she was younger and it ended up that Adell would just follow Anna around. Julia didn't really care if Anna was there or not!

It was a fun evening and hopefully there will be another princess party next year!

Thanksgiving! Part 2

As promised...another Thanksgiving post full of pictures for your viewing pleasure. :)

Jane was in a pretty good mood that day despite the fact she'd been working on a new tooth. She's usually good for a smile or two.  

Hi Uncle James

 Lately Jane has enjoyed sitting on shoulders.

Just hangin' with Uncle Thomas

 I love this picture of Papa and Jane. I just adore Jane's little smile.

We had a great dinner and I was definitely stuffed after eating for the second time. Everything was delicious. After eating we changed the girls into their matching outfits that Gama bought for them and attempted a few pictures. It isn't easy to get three little girls to look at the camera at the same time! Getting three smiles is pretty much impossible. I still think they look pretty cute though!

The girls!

A close up of the shirt they are wearing :)

Lots of snuggles with Gama!

Pretty earrings!

 Anna was so cute climbing all over Uncle James on the couch and throwing pillows at him. I had to include a couple of them. 

Anna was especially goofy because she'd only had a short nap that day and lots of activities going on.

We wanted to play games after eating scrumptious dessert so we let the girls watch a show on the iPad. It's tough getting them to share the iPad.

Eventually Uncle James had to step in to help out. He held the iPad so that there wouldn't be any quarrels.

It was getting late so both girls changed into their jammies. We let them zone out with part of a movie. It was a long day for Anna and she pretty much crashed that night. What a wonderful Thanksgiving spent with family though!

Thanksgiving! Part 1

I have a ton of pictures from Thanksgiving so I decided to split it into two posts. We stayed the night over at Kevin's parents and as soon as we could get around in the morning we headed over to my parents house. It always takes forever to get out of the house. We eventually made it though!

Anna wanted to wear an apron and we found an old one of Hailie's that fit her. She loves copying her cousin!

Cousins!

 We pulled out the exersaucer for Jane to play in. She absolutely loves this thing. Lots of fun stuff to chew on.

I didn't get any pictures with Seth but I managed to get one with Hailie. I still can't believe she's in middle school!!!

After a bit we headed out to the farm for Thanksgiving lunch. It was yummy as usual and I tried not to eat too much since we had another dinner in just a few hours. Since Thanksgiving was Anna's birthday too we had to have a candle for Anna to blow out. I don't think she really knew what was going on and felt a little overwhelmed with everyone singing to her so I got to blow out the candle for her. 

Happy Birthday Anna!

 I managed to get a few pictures of Grandma snuggles. I think this picture is so sweet.

Great Grandmom also had to get her hands Jane. Anna is too busy moving around to give cuddles but Jane still likes to be held!

Anna enjoyed going outside with Daddy for a bit. They threw some rocks and would have stayed out longer but Anna was a little too cold. I didn't have a warm enough jacket or gloves for her although I think she would have stayed out anyways if we'd let her. 

Still can't believe she's 2 years old. 

The girls grabbed a short nap on the way back to the Kent house and we had to take a minute to get some pictures with Jane on her first Thanksgiving. 

I wish I would have gotten a family picture with Anna too but it isn't easy getting all of us rounded up at the same time. This is where we stood for our family picture with Anna last year too. 

I had to throw in an picture from last year. Jane briefly wore the same outfit that Anna wore last year on Thanksgiving. It fits differently but it still blows my mind that Jane is able to wear some clothes that Anna wore just last fall. I guess we may get more use out of these clothes than I originally thought! 

Anna 1 year old

Jane 5 1/2 months

Stay tuned for more Thanksgiving pictures!