sibling playtime

posted by mommy and daddy

happy 9 month birthday eloise!

posted by eloise

eloise: 8-month update

posted by mommy

well, i missed posting an update for eloise at 7 months, and am a bit late on this one. but here goes!

1. nursing - eloise still nurses roughly 6 times a day and 1-2 times per night, always before and after sleeping. the distracted phase is still in effect, so we almost always exclusively nurse in her room before she joins in on the action with her brothers (and they are banned from entering her room if we are nursing...the three of them simply love each other too much!).
2. eating - she is basically eating three small meals/snacks every day whenever we are eating. she enjoys cheese, crackers, apple, root veggies, chicken, potatoes, oatmeal, etc. our newest adventures are eggs and apricots. like most kiddos, we are also finding her interest in certain foods is often dependent on delivery method. she far prefers to feed herself, and generally likes any soft pureed or smoothie-like food in a pouch instead of by spoon. she still hasn't quite gotten the hang of using a cup for water, even with the no-spill valve removed!
3. growth - we will be going to the doctor in a few weeks for her 9-month check-up and are curious how much she has grown. even though she is definitely growing into more clothes, it still doesn't feel like she's growing a bunch since we see her every day.
4. development - eloise generally sits up nicely on her own, although still falls over from time to time as she reaches for toys and such. she also has two more teeth (upper middle), and is working on two more that have just recently begun poking through. eloise is also quite the little problem-solver. although she hasn't yet begun any type of crawling, she is often found rolling across rooms, or pivoting her whole body in circles to get what she wants.
5. sleeping - she continues to wake once or twice a night to nurse (generally due to the discomfort of teething) but still goes back to sleep easily. her naps have evened out again for the most part, with a 1-2 hour nap in the morning around 10:30/11, and another longer 2-2.5 hour nap in the later afternoon around 3:30. she has fully attached to her lovie, of which she was gifted another one for christmas that is kept in the car. whenever she is tired and ready for a nap or for bed, we simply give her a lovie and she begins to cuddle with it and suck her thumb. so stinkin cute!
6. overall demeanor - eloise is still a super happy baby most of the time. she is definitely attached to mommy and sometimes does not like being with any one else!
7. favorite things - her newest faves are feeding herself and cuddling with her lovies!

thanks grammie

posted by owen, everett, and eloise

thanks for visiting us grammie! we enjoyed opening presents, going out to eat and playing. you were so helpful around the house and made the week fun for all of us. give gampa a hug and kiss for us and make sure he knows just how much he was missed. we can't wait until the next time we get together (you'll be retired! yeah!!).

highlights from 2015

posted by daddy

happy new year!

posted by mommy and daddy

since we were out of town for a couple weeks at the beginning of december, we ended up far behind in all things christmas! as such, we didn't send out cards or a letter this year. so we figured we would post a few fun family pics of us spreading joy along with some updates. we are thankful for all that happened in 2015 and look forward to the blessings God has for us all in 2016.

everett: became a big brother, is now an awana cubbie (with daddy as his leader), homeschools with owen, rode a scooter, got chase at build-a-bear, attended his first building workshop with daddy, quickly potty trained, and hit his first golf ball.

eloise: was welcomed into this world, loves baths, has four teeth, started sitting up, enjoys nursing and eating real food, went to her first balloon fiesta, and had her first girls-only outing with mommy and grammie.

owen: moved up to kindie sparks in awana, took swim lessons this summer, started kindergarten at home, began cloverleaf options program, has his first loose tooth, chose stormfly at build-a-bear, is learning to read, and learned how to ride on two wheels.