Half a year

Maggie is six months old today! She is pretty much sitting up on her own and loves being able to grab from a pile of toys in front of her. She still gives great smiles to strangers, and she cracks up at the antics of her siblings. I carry her around in the front carrier whenever we run errands, and she likes to kick her legs as if she wants to GOOO!!! She just started sleeping through the night again--up to twelve hours at a time! Hooray! Oh yes, and she has two precious little teeth. Already. Remembering the picture I had posted on Facebook of Kate on her six-month birthday just over two years ago, I dressed Maggie in the same shirt that Kate wore this morning, and then took pictures of her in the same chair. We always think Maggie looks like Jack, but here you can definitely see the sisterly resemblance!

Jumping, jumping...

The last gummy pictures

Maggie laughing at Jack

Feeling around in Maggie's mouth the other day, I noticed a little tooth protruding! My other kids didn't get their first teeth until they were seven or eight months, so it was kind of a surprise. As soon as we got home that day, I grabbed the camera and took a few shots of Maggie and her gummy smile. I still feel nostalgic at all her "firsts." This, for example, is the last first tooth. Crazy!

Jack's 5th

I'm late posting these, yes, but at least I'm finally doing it! We had a great little 5th birthday party for Jack here at the house. Brian's mom was here for the weekend, and Bob, Yoli, and the kids also came down. Along with Grandma Pat, Rick, and Lynn, we had quite the shindig in our little house. I made macaroni and cheese (NOT the Kraft kind) and a Coca-Cola chocolate cake (NOT from a mix).

Just an update... no time for a creative title

We've had a busy fall--the busiest ever, I would say. I've not had much time to post! So here's a quick update in picures.

Maggie is five months now, doing well, finding her voice, laughing at her siblings, and enjoying anything physical (especially her jumper). She is already spending time on her hands and knees, and "swiveling" on her playmat. We predict she will be our earliest crawler.


Jack's soccer team had its final game of the season last Saturday, and I do believe they finally won a a game! The kids all received trophies and certificates with superlatives (Jack got "Most Enthusiastic." Of course!)


Team pictures:


Somehow, Jack is five years old now! People always tells me that time flies, especially when you have little kids, but I still can't believe it! We took some official portraits in the pecan grove near our house:


We brought cupcakes to school for him to share. His teachers and the other kids sang to him, and he got to wear the birthday hat.

Eatin' solids

Maggie turned four months yesterday! And so, like with each of my other two kiddos on their four-month-birthday, we fixed her a little bowl of rice cereal. And she loved it! Here she is giggling at her brother.

A pea up the nose

Of course my middle child had to find a way to make our quiet Saturday eventful. Trying to find a good vegie alternative to break her out of her baby carrots fixation, I've been giving her peas lately. At lunch, over her plate of macaroni, peas, and fruit, she told us that she put a pea in her nose. Brian grabbed the flashlight and, sure enough, there was a pea up there! We tried getting it out with tweezers. Brian even took a quick Walgreens trip for a pair of thinner tweezers, but those didn't work. We tried a bulb syringe. We tried plugging her other nostril and having her blow her nose. Nothing worked. So, to urgent care it was, and then, when that was unsuccessful, to the ER. After a long wait, Kate was wrapped up like a burrito and held down by Brian and a nurse, and the pea was taken out with some kind of simple instrument. No more peas for lunch!

Three months

Maggie was three months old yesterday. One-quarter of a year! It hardly seems possible. For some reason, she's gone back to waking up during the night, but I know that's all temporary, and that soon, she'll be sleeping through her nights (and mine!) once more. She's becoming interested in toys now, trying to grab them and hold on. One thing she does grab very easily: my hair. Oww! So most days call for a ponytail for me. She's been suffering a patch of eczema on her arm and we had her at the doctor a few days ago because of it, so I know her weight was a hearty 13 pounds, 7 ounces. Which means she's gained a pound-and-a-half in just a few weeks! Growing like crazy, she is. Still sweet as ever, even with the nasty eczema. People marvel at her all the time, at her calm demeanor, her easy smile and laugh, and her remarkable tummy time skills. Heck, I still marvel at her. And probably will for awhile yet!

First soccer game

Sweet four-year-old Jack has begun his soccer career as a Rocket! We're expecting more success than we had with t-ball, as it's a lot more active. Brian is acting as a sort of mentor to the team's referee, who just got his license. And, actually, Brian (or his dad) might be reffing a few games for the Rockets.

Two months

Maggie had her two-month check yesterday. She weighs twelve pounds even and is 23 3/4 inches tall, both which put her in the 75th percentile. She just started sleeping in her crib in her own room, and is rolling over front to back now. She still smiles and giggles easily, especially for strangers, and is becoming quite the "chatterbox," as Brian says. And she adores her brother and sister. No doubt about it, God has blessed us with this little one.

Sleeping baby pictures

Because there's not much more beautiful in life than a sleeping baby...

Remembering Granny

It's been almost a month now since Brian's Granny (his mom's mom) passed away. We celebrated her life this past Saturday at Caballo with family, much of whom I'd never met before. In spite of the heat, it was an amazing get-together.

We found the one thing our new Honda Odyssey can't do: drive in sand. We got stuck twice.

Jack and Kate had a blast in the water. We'll definitely be making many trips here in the future:

Skipping rocks:

Everyone had fun looking through a couple photo albums:

Maggie was cuddled by a number of aunts, uncles, and cousins all afternoon. Brian's Uncle Troy is especially fond of girls, seeing as how his grandkids are limited to seven boys:

Kathy read from Psalm 23 and spoke, saying about Granny that "she may not have remembered your names, but she loved you all very much."

Spreading Granny's ashes in Caballo:

Pat and her "greats"

One-month Maggie

Wow, it's hard to believe, but my sweet Maggie is one month old today. I am already nostalgic about her, and not sure why. Either it's because I know she's almost definitely my last kid, or the fact that she's so quiet and easy--unlike my other two--which causes me to vow daily that I will NOT neglect her. She hardly ever cries, and when she does, I can calm her easily. She has, from Day One, slept amazingly at night. When she does wake up, she doesn't cry; she just struggles herself quietly out of her swaddle. Sometimes she puts herself back to sleep. She started to smile at about two weeks of age, when my parents were here, and my mom coaxed a few grins out of her. We are all definitely in love with her. Her one fault? She spits up a lot more easily than my other two... so sometimes we go through several changes of clothes a day.

White Sands with our Texas guests

Recently we had a couple sets of visitors: first my parents, and then my sister and brother-in-law. I so regret forgetting to take any pictures while my parents were here. I can place the blame on my baby brain, but it's still a travesty. Especially since Maggie was just born, and I have no idea when we'll see them again. So during Val and RJ's visit, I made sure to have the camera handy. My favorite part of their trip here? Going to White Sands with them.

Every kid and kid-at-heart needs to tote along a big sled when visiting White Sands:

Looking for the best hill:

Oh, the anticipation:

Wheeee!

Me with my sweet baby girl:

Val and RJ... so good to have them visit!

Our first picture as a family of five:

Attempting the impossible?

One of my family's Christmas pictures when we were little has my brother, sister, and me sitting on the piano bench, grinning at the camera. My sister was just a baby at the time and needed to be propped up a bit. So my dad's hand is in the corner of the picture, too, holding her up. We've always laughed at that hand. The moral of the story? It's much harder to take a good picture of three kids than I ever imagined! We're gonna have to keep trying. Here are a few examples from our recent attempt.