Tuesday, May 26, 2020

Ayla at 6 months


Say it ain't so, but this baby girl is already 6 months old.  And I'm not gonna lie, it is breaking my heart.  I just want this time of her life to last a bit longer but she is growing so fast and the calendar is moving so fast and she does not want to stay little.  

The most exciting thing this month is that Ayla is already crawling! It is exciting as she smashed the record in this house (Malachi started crawling right around 6 months) but also super sad because I want her to snuggle with me!  But she is off to the races and honestly way more content now that she can get where she wants to go. She is determined and strong and small and mighty!  We have spent a lot of time baby proofing and she's been really helpful at showing us where all the trouble spots are. For now she is pretty much stuck in one room but it won't be long before she realizes she can escape behind one of the chairs and then we will be back to the baby gate stage.  It has been quite awhile since we've had to baby proof but she's refreshing our memory quickly!

   

Sleep is still a work in progress. We've had a couple nights this month that she slept pretty much through the night.  But for the most part she goes down around 8 which is awesome to have a set bedtime figured out.  She is waking typically in about the midnight hour, sometimes a little bit later.  And then wakes up in the 4:00 or 5:00 hours.  So still up a couple times a night but we are seeing progress and even hints here and there that maybe we will cut down to just that 5:00 feeding here soon.  We're some tired parents but pushing through, all things considered. 

She is figuring out baby food and finger foods more and more. Her preference is still for finger foods more than purees which is fine with us but she's willing to eat purees too and has tried lots and lots of new foods this month.  I am still going pretty strong with nursing which is great because this is the longest my supply has held up.  I am struggling a little bit and have been taking some treats to help keep it up, so that's not all in all too much of a sacrifice for me. Another huge step is that she is finally willing to take a bottle which allows us to supplement with a bottle to fill her up before bed and also give a bottle here and there as she needs or we want.  We still have over 1000 ounces in the freezer so she definitely needs to get drinking it but I am thankful to have a strong stash for her and that my supply is holding up better than it has in the past! 


 


 


It really has been another wonderful month with this baby girl!  She is at a really fun stage and is much happier in life now that she can play more with us!  She adores all of her big siblings and they adore her and that makes me so happy! She is definitely being treated as a baby of the family and she can't hardly make a peep without her siblings ready to jump and help her with whatever she needs.  We are trying hard to convince them that it is okay to let her fuss a little bit ;)  She is weighing in right around 14.8 lbs so still pretty small but growing nicely. She seems pretty darn smart and wants to always  know what is going on around her.  She is just a perfect little delight that our family could not love anymore. 


















Precious little Ayla, how is it even possible that you are 6 months already.  Time has gone so fast and you know that is hard on this mama's heart. I love the baby stage so much and I know you are going to change so much in these next 6 months as you learn and explore more and more!  But I know to enjoy it all, just because you aren't a tiny little snuggler doesn't mean we don't have years of snuggling still ahead of us. And it is quite fun to get to watch you grow and teach you all sorts of new things.  I really do look forward to the next phase with you and the toddler years that feel like they'll be here before we even know it.  I look forward to those first words and first steps and all the other firsts as we show you the world around you.  You are so loved baby girl! 



Friday, May 22, 2020

Our 19/20 School Year

We have been on summer break from school for almost a month but I wanted to still come back and recap our school year because it was our best year yet! Which is kind of surprising considering I was pregnant and we had a newborn transition too.  But the kids were awesome and really put in a great effort and worked hard. I have been homeschooling for over 6 years now and it was nice to have such a good year.

Malachi wrapped up 4th grade.  I can't believe we are already moving on to his last year of elementary school.  Malachi rocked 4th grade and I really saw him excel and grow up this year, needing very little help from me.  He thinks he is weak in Math but really he is well rounded in everything. He really loved Bible and History class and his knowledge of both is pretty outstanding!  He is great at retaining information and he is already looking forward to starting 5th grade!




Nicknames: Mal
How old are you? 10
What is your favorite color? yellow
What is your favorite animal? lion 
What is your favorite book? The Who Was books
What is your favorite TV show?  Anything Legos
What is your favorite movie? Avengers
What is your favorite song? Uptown Funk or Oldtown Road
What is your favorite food? Spaghetti 
What is your favorite drink? Orange Poweraid
What is your favorite breakfast food? Egg muffins 
What is your favorite snack? fruit snacks
What is your favorite outfit? long sleeve button up
What is your favorite game? Sorry
What is your favorite toy? Action Figures
Who is your best friend? Eli and Ayla
What is your favorite thing to do? Play Outside
What is your favorite thing to do outside?  Play baseball 
What is your favorite holiday? Thanksgiving and Christmas
What do you like to take to bed with you? Elmo
Where is your favorite place to go? To the store 
What is your favorite restaurant?  In N Out
Where do you want to go on vacation? Disneyworld 
What do you want to be when you grow up? A Fireman
What is your favorite part of school? History
What is your least Favorite part of school? Math

Eli also had a great year of 3rd grade.  School has never been his favorite thing but we had less battles this year and I really saw him put forth a good effort and saw improvements in all areas, especially his writing.  He had a new and updated curriculum which was a huge jump in workload but he handled it like a champion.  Honestly with the updated 3rd grade being very similar to the current 4th grade I anticipate a really smooth year for him next year where he can continue to master concepts which I think will be really wonderful for him! 




Nicknames: Eli
How old are you? 9
What is your favorite color? red 
What is your favorite animal? monkeys 
What is your favorite book? Winter Danger
What is your favorite TV show? Pokemon
What is your favorite movie? Frozen 2 
What is your favorite song? I don't have one
What is your favorite food? bananas
What is your favorite drink? water
What is your favorite breakfast food? everything (he loves breakfast)
What is your favorite snack? goldfish
What is your favorite outfit? pokemon, seahawks, OSU shirts
What is your favorite game? Minecraft
What is your favorite toy? Armymen
Who is your best friend? Malachi
What is your favorite thing to do? Play video games
What is your favorite thing to do outside? play football
What is your favorite holiday? Christmas 
What do you like to take to bed with you? Lion and my blanket
Where is your favorite place to go? Anywhere (I'm with him on that all things considered)
What is your favorite restaurant?  Wendy's
Where do you want to go on vacation? A beach
What do you want to be when you grow up? Construction Worker
What is your favorite part of school? Math, History, Science
What is your least favorite part of school? Writing

And last but not least, Sabrina wrapped up 2nd grade.  She loved 2nd grade and her video teacher was amazing!  It is really fun to see how much she loves school and how much effort she puts into it all. She is very smart and this year she went from really struggling to read at the beginning of the year to reading really challenging chapter books by the end.  And her cursive handwriting can rival any adult that I know. She is also an awesome creative writer. So as you can see, she is just all around a very good and easy student!  I am confident that she will continue to do an amazing job in 3rd grade next year!





Nicknames: Bina
How old are you? 8
What is your favorite color? Pink and Purple 
What is your favorite animal? dogs
What is your favorite book? About Average
What is your favorite TV show?  Pup Academy 
What is your favorite movie? The New Aladdin
What is your favorite song?  You are my sunshine
What is your favorite food? Cheese Pizza
What is your favorite drink?  Rootbeer 
What is your favorite breakfast food? Egg muffins 
What is your favorite snack? Goldfish
What is your favorite outfit? Dresses 
What is your favorite game? Sorry
What is your favorite toy? Stuffed Animals
Who is your best friend? All my siblings
What is your favorite thing to do? watch tv
What is your favorite thing to do outside?  ride my bike
What is your favorite holiday? Easter
What do you like to take to bed with you? My stuffed animals
Where is your favorite place to go? to the store with Daddy
What is your favorite restaurant?  Pietro's
Where do you want to go on vacation? To the beach 
What do you want to be when you grow up? A Teacher
What is your favorite part of school?  Math and Writing and Bible
What is your least favorite part of school? Nothing, I like all of it 

As you know, I do have another kiddo in school. LB is still working through Kindergarten. We originally started her on preschool this year after input from her preschool teachers last year.  She is a summer birthday which we also took into account. But early this year I really saw an interest in her for learning so we decided to start kindergarten with her, figuring we could slow down the pace if we needed to but she is just excelling in kindergarten work and is zooming through the program much faster than I anticipated. She is kind of teaching herself how to read and just doing amazing!  She is only about halfway done with her kindergarten program so I am not sure when she will be wrapped up but we are still going with her and I will update on here when she graduates kindergarten :)  

I just truly am excited about the year we had! I had low expectations knowing I was pregnant and going to have a baby but the year was amazing and I hope we can build on that into next year. I can't believe I have so many kids working their way through the end of elementary school but we are going to have a blast as we wrap it all up. Since we have been off since April and we really enjoy the year round schooling, we will likely start the next school year sometime in July. I know I have a couple kids excited to start a new year.  But for now bring on the relaxing summer vibes. 


Monday, May 18, 2020

Ayla at 5 Months

Whew, I figured I had better get this posted because this girl is almost 6 months now!  This was another fun and busy month with our girl. She seems so eager to get a move on life and is even scooting herself where she wants to be.  Sleep has still been a challenge and she is up at least a couple times each night. This is our first baby to take so long to sleep all night (she was sleeping all night around 3 months so not sure what changed).  She has tried more solid foods this month and is starting to get a little bit better hang of it all. We have a decent schedule with her where she's taking 2-3 naps each day depending on if they are long or short and going down really easy at night.  She's weighing in right around 13.5 lbs so quite a petite little girl, but we will see as she starts to eat more foods if we can get a little bit more weight on her, although our other bio kids followed this same curve.  


She still loves going out on walks when the weather cooperates and still has those blue eyes. I believe our other bio kids had started turning by now. Even though I don't expect them to stay blue, I guess there is a chance!



She definitely likes her thumb and tummy sleeping now



Getting the hang of the Jumperoo






She loves, loves, loves her siblings!  So fun to watch those relationships develop!


Ready for spring!








Ayla, you still daily bring so much joy to our lives.  You really are such a sweet little thing!  You are so loved by all of us in this home and your siblings adore you.  You are a special little strong gift and I am so thankful for you!  I hope here soon you will learn to sleep all night and then all of us will have more energy during the day!  We are having so much fun watching you develop into who you are. You are strong and determined and I imagine will carry those traits throughout your life which will make you one amazing girl!  We love you so much!  


Monday, May 4, 2020

Sabrina's 8th Birthday


Sabrina has also celebrated her 8th Birthday during this quarantine.  We were creative with her too, to make the day as special as we could.  Prior to her day she picked out some lego sets that she couldn't wait to get to open up and build on her birthday morning! 


We also pulled off a fun surprise with a local donut shop as they made her Aladdin themed donuts for her birthday breakfast!


A girl after my own heart for her birthday lunch


My parents had a few fun birthday presents for her. She's growing up so fast!



And for dinner we had all of her favorites, cheese pizza and several different types of root beer and cupakes!


And a family movie night to end the evening.  It wasn't everything we would have liked to do, but given the circumstances we still had a blast celebrating our girl!


Precious Sabrina, you are really growing up right before my eyes.  There's just a transformation that seems to happen somewhere around that 8th Birthday and I just marvel at you as you are growing into a sweet young lady.  You are so fun to hang out with and I look forward to all of the fun and unique girl experiences we will have together as you grow.  You are the leader of the girl pack in our house and I love that you enjoy dresses and nails and make up. It is a fun twist on the life we've known so far with big brothers. I love that you enjoy reading and coloring and singing and ballet.  It is fun to watch your journey through life. You have always been my little sunshine and you still are. You bring so much joy into our home!  We love you so very much! Happy 8th Birthday baby girl!