Big kids are conquering fears..

..and I couldn't be more proud!!

Nate started soccer a few weeks ago, and has done such a good job!!  He has practice once a week and a game every Saturday.  He listens to his coach, and hustles all the time.  I am so proud of the big boy that he is becoming.  I LOVE watching him run back and forth out there and go after the ball, even though he doesn't know what's going on all the time!  He is having so much fun, and that's what I love the most.  It would be so hard to drag him out there for practice and games every week, and I think we'd stop when/if we got to that point.  But for now he counts down the days until he can play soccer again with his new friends.  He says his favorite part about games is when the parent make a "bridge" for the players to run through, and of course the SNACK they get at the end (all this boy thinks about is FOOD!!).

Lilly started taking some tap classes, which turned into a tap class followed by a ballet class.  When I saw how she lit up and started gaining confidence little by little, I just couldn't see any reason to not keep her in dance as long as possible.  The teacher of her little class at the activity center started her own studio, and last week we started a ballet-tap combo class there with 4 and 5 year olds (other class was 2 to 5 year olds).  She was a little nervous about it being all new friends in her class, but she walked right in and did GREAT.  The class is an hour and she said she liked it, so we'll keep doing that until she tells me otherwise.  The difference in Lilly from December to now (for whatever reason) has been amazing.  She still has her days, but the crying has pretty much stopped, and when she does it only last a second.  She is speaking up and sounding more confident.  She is initiating conversations with new friends (which NEVER happened before).  I'm SO glad to see her be more comfortable with new adventures, especially since we are getting so close to the big KINDERGARTEN!!! 

And what's a post without PICTURES!?

This was the class she was taking with the younger girls at the activity center..

 Easy to see Lilly because she was the tallest (oldest) one!

 Practice!

 First game!

Half a year of this HAPPY baby!!

I can't believe our sweet baby has been with us for half a year already!!  He is smiling and laughing more than ever!  He found his toes and loves to grab hold every time he sees them, which is making diaper changing a little more difficult lately!  He is getting smart and notices when mommy walks away, and gets very upset!  If Brian is holding him, or if he is just playing by himself and I walk by, he tends to get upset if I don't stop and give him attention or pick him up.  I have to admit, I love that he's a Momma's boy, it makes me feel special :).  He's spoiled rotten and loves being held.  He's really getting good at eating baby food.  He pretty much likes everything so far, except peas.  He eats like Nate used to, he gets all excited and grabs your hand with the spoon to "help" you out.  Sometimes he hits the spoon out of my hand and he loves blowing bubbles with a full mouth, so we have some very messy meals sometimes!!  I'm still giving him baths in the baby bath on the sink, but we are about to have to change that because he splashes so much, we end up with no water inside the tub!  I wouldn't say he loves the bath, but he doesn't mind it too much.  His least favorite part is washing his hair, so I try to hurry it up!  The best news of all this month, is that right at about the 6 month mark, he actually started sleeping the whole night!  I'm talking 7pm to 5 or 6AM!  Ahhhhh, how awesome is a whole night of sleep.  PRETTY AWESOME. 

 

Happy 6 months from my crib!

 

Playing with my piggies!

 Snuggled in my towel after bath!

My last month with the swing..

And I finally started playing with the little hanging animals!!  (This picture took me forever to get because I'd hop up to get my camera and he'd stop to watch me.)

 Chilling in my baby bath

 

All dressed up for my Valentines pictures!

 SO over Mommy and her camera, already!!

 

SWEET, SWEET, SWEET!!!  His 6 mo. doctor appointment is next week, so I'll have weight/measurements then.  He's huge, that's clear. :)  

My sweet Valentines

So I had all these props I bought for my Valentines Mini-Sessions, and knew I wanted to do something with my own kids in my little in-home studio.  The perfect opportunity presented itself when we had a "snow day" the other day and I kept the kids home from school (sidebar-it never snowed or iced over, but it was sleeting and soooo cold that I was afraid the roads were going to get bad!).  Anyhoo, I set all the stuff up in the morning and had fun taking pictures of Nate and Lilly by themselves while Ben was taking a little snooze.  Then as soon as he woke up, we took some fun ones of the three of them!  Here are a few I just edited tonight, and I'm hoping to add more tomorrow!

I told Nate and Lilly to pick whatever word they wanted (something to do with Valentine's Day) to write on the chalk board.  I love the words they picked and their sweet little hand writing.  Could not have done it better myself. 

 

How sweet and handsome is my little (almost) 6 month old man?  I swear he gets cuter every day. 

 

 

 

How did I get so lucky to have these kids who are willing to play around with me and my camera on a cold winter day, and smile and pose and hold up heart chalk boards?  I don't know, but I sure do love them and I'm so glad they still think it's fun. :) 

 

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!!

The Entertainer

There isn't much Nate loves to do more than make Ben laugh.  I mean, he could spend every second of every day (and sometimes it feels like he does) trying to make silly voices, funny faces, annoying noises, all for a laugh from his baby brother.  And if he hears you make him giggle, he comes running over to get in on the action and be a part of it.  He LOVES the sound of his brother laughing.  And let me tell you, Ben just eats it up.  I was going to just take one picture of Ben laughing at Nate running around in front of him, but I just couldn't stop with one. 

 

And here's the result..

Love, Love, Love.