9 months

This baby duckling is already 9 months!  She is so busy!  She finally learned to crawl just this week (on my birthday to be exact) and she loves to explore.  She's so cute because each move she makes is so careful and wobbly.  She is gaining confidence daily though and I know it won't be long before she will be in to everything.  She is very curious and loves to grab things and taste everything. 

She's been working on tooth number 7 and 8 (her two top front teeth).  They are really hurting her.  Poor thing.  She keeps her fist in her mouth and drools and wakes up in the night.  I give her Motrin and chewy toys and lots of love.  Her sisters are great at helping to keep her happy and distracted. 

We are really enjoying having this cute baby around.  Today Addie told me that she didn't want Althea to turn into a little kid.  She wants her to stay just like she is.  I remember thinking the same thing about all my babies but they have sure turned out to be super kids so I know the same will be true for Althea. 

She loves to jabber as usual.  She says "Adoo" a lot.  Other things we hear her say often "baba, dada and gaga"  We are still trying to get her to understand that dada is her dad but that will be awhile I'm sure.

She loves meal time.  She sits in her highchair next to the table.  Lately she's been able to have tiny little  bits of table food which she really likes.  I'll also put fruit inside a little meshy thing that she can suck on.  She loves the watermelon and plums.   She eats baby food pretty well.  There are a few foods that she hasn't liked (peaches and green beans).   She makes a mess and definitely needs a bath daily.  She loves her bath time.

She loves to get outside.  She loves going out to visit the chickens.  She also LOVES going for walks and hikes in the Baby Bjorn.  Loves it!

Life is good with this baby around.  Love her!

Eight Month Update

This baby is so darn cute and lovable! I feel so blessed every single day to have her.  She has three new teeth this month for a total of 4 on the bottom and 2 on top (her incisors).  Thank goodness.  She had been working on those for the last month and finally they broke through!  She is still waking up multiple times in the night but I know it won't last forever.  She takes 2 naps per day and has been doing pretty good the past few days.  We are in MA right now and she is adjusting to a new bedroom and house pretty well all things considered.  She likes to be held a lot which has made it hard to unpack and get settled but we are getting there. She's been waking up at 5:30am every day since we've been here but the last few days I've been able to nurse her and get her to go back to sleep until 7:30.  About half the time I've been able to go back to sleep as well.

She eats one meal per day of solids.  She loves to eat puffs in her high chair.  She still is an awesome nurser. She is so sweet when she is nursing. She'll usually pat my arm rhythmically or stroke my arm with her buttery soft fingers.  Sometimes she'll scratch or pinch.  Also sometimes she'll play with her hair or ear.

She is sitting pretty well unassisted.  About once a day she'll fall backwards.  She can pivot pretty well on her bottom.  She also is still working on her crawling.  She can get on all 4s and is working on trying to move.  She is super wiggly when you hold her so I know she just wants to move.

Her hair still stands straight up.  She has one little tuft on top in the back that is an inch or so longer than the rest of her hair. It's like a little Indian feather or something. Very cute.  I'd call her a blond but there is definitely some red going on. Strawberry blond I guess.  Her eyebrows and lashes have the same strawberry blond coloring.

She is a little chatter box and jabbers a lot.  She likes to say DA DA DA a lot.  We try to teach her that Kermit is Dada but she's not getting  it yet.   She likes to sing and hum as well which about melts me.
She loves to bang on the piano, take baths, splash in water, visit the chickens, take walks outside, be held and played with.  A couple of days ago at church a mom sat down next to us with her 12 month old.  Oh my! Althea just loved it! She was so excited to see another baby. It was hilarious! The 12 month old was a crawler so the mom ended up taking him out because he was just too busy to contain. Sorry Althea. Maybe next time.

Love that baby!

 Loves to be outside.  Loves her exersaucer too.

 Her first selfie.

 Helps with the laundry.

 Loves the bath.

Sisters dressed her up in the beret. Loves the puffs.

Spring Break Part 2 - Southern Utah

Seven Months

LOVE this baby!  Seven months she has been in our lives and our whole family has been smiling ear to ear and in love with this bundle of joy.  I don't think I've ever known a happier baby than Althea.  She has a smile for all that she meets.  Her blue eyes and long lashes melt me.  That smile just puts me in the best mood.  That hair, that hair!  She gets a lot of attention for that all naturally happy hair!  Those chubby legs…who can resist?!  Her fat little fingers and toes!  We all love every single thing about her. 

The picture in the swing above was taken on her 7th month birthday.  It happened to be a hot one.  Below in the stroller was just 4 days later and it was near freezing.  That's been this spring for you.  Every morning and afternoon Althea and I walk big sisters to and from school in the stroller.  For the most part she enjoys the walks and being out.

We were at the park last week and sisters wanted to stop and take pictures of our "Dandelion Fuzz Head Baby" in the patch of dandelions.  A little out of focus. We'll have to try that one again.

I like to call her my little baby duck.

Althea is loving her exersaucer.  She loves her toys and being able to see the world while she plays. We still try to give her plenty of tummy time so that she can practice getting up on all fours and hopefully learn to crawl soon.  Although with 3 big sisters who want to hold her 24 / 7, who needs to crawl?

She is eating solids and really liking them.  She gets one meal of solids a day, usually at dinner time.  She's my Gerber Baby. She still is an excellent nurser.  She is so funny as she nurses.  She no longer has her fingers in my mouth but rather bangs her arm up and down on my arm rhythmically, or she will scratch my arm with her little fingers that are sometimes very sharp. She also often will inhale loudly and hold her breath for several seconds at a time and make a sound like she is hyperventilating or something….but she's not.  I think she just does it because it sounds cool.  Or she will hum while she drinks.  She's just nonstop fun even in these quiet little moments.

A few weeks ago on her 7th month bday she had just her bottom two teeth.  Last week she got another bottom tooth.  It's very cute. She won't ever let me put my fingers in her mouth to show anybody her little teeth.  In fact she always pushes my hands away as soon as I try getting close to her face.  Oh well. Trust me, they are there and they are adorable. She's working on that fourth bottom tooth now and has made for some rough nights lately.  It must be so painful for her.  She literally whimpers in her sleep as she is teething.  Poor baby girl.

She is rolling all over the place forwards and back.  She can pivot around on her belly too.  She loves finding her way to where she is half way under a bed or rocking chair with a skirt or blanket hanging low that she can play with.  It's so cute to see her get excited.

There we have it.  All the latest for this little darling! You're up to date!

Spring Break. Part One - Northern Utah

It didn't take us long to figure out what to do for our Spring Break this year.  Two of Kermit's nephews were engaged to be married one weekend apart with our week of Spring Break in between.  One wedding in Provo, UT the other in St. George, UT.  We booked our tickets immediately.   We were so excited for both of them and so excited that we could finally take our kids to see Northern Utah for the first time.

We flew into Salt Lake on Friday afternoon and had a few hours before we had to be down to Provo so we took the kids to see beautiful Temple Square.  We walked all around the grounds and told them all about the day we got married there almost 15 years ago. We went inside the old tabernacle and to the new conference center.  I hope that the girls will remember that day.  I wish we had more time to linger but we had to get to Provo for a dinner for cousin Elliot and his bride to be, Valerie.

 (Just enjoying the view of the most beautiful temple ever….)

 Elliot and Val were married in the Provo Temple.  Here are pictures from just after the wedding.

I think Elliot found himself a great gal!  I had a chance to visit with her a couple of times and I really like her.  Welcome to the family Valerie!

After the wedding and before the reception we had a few hours to spend.  We ended up going to BYU Museum of Art.  The special exhibit we saw was incredible!  It was called Sacred Gifts.  Amazing paintings of Christ from all over the world…some famous artists, some not. All just breathtaking.  I don't like to use the word "breathtaking" because I think it sounds silly but in this instance I cannot think of a more appropriate word.  I definitely felt the Spirit as I went through this exhibit and I think all of my family did too. You should go.  It is there until Memorial Day, so not much time.  Hop to it!

We also went to a favorite restaurant called Bombay House with the wedding party for lunch.  YUM!  A good time was had by all!

Then we got to see our very favorite Michele and Daniel! Hooray! Love these two.  We got to visit with them at their house in Provo.  Michele put together a cute little Easter Egg hunt for the girls.  We got to see their very cool house that they have remodeled.  They have great modern taste.  We also decided to take a drive up Provo Canyon to see a cute little park there so the kids could run around.  So much fun to see them. We wish they didn't have to live so far away.

 Finally was the reception that night!  (What a day!)  This is about all I got as far as pictures at the reception but all had a great time.  The food was all prepared by Elliot and Val and was fantastic!  The music was fun, the company great.  The kids played hide and seek and had themselves a blast among the crowds of Elliot and Valerie well wishers.   Below is cousin Emma with the girls.

At some point that day we also drove around BYU and let the kids play by a creek by the bell tower.  I think it was that morning before the wedding.  Yes, that was it.  Baby ducks and tulips everywhere.  What could be better.  I could not have dreamed up a more fun weekend and so glad we got to go!

Six Months!

by Alison with help from Annaliese, Adeline and Avrie

Here we are 6 months already!  Time is flying!  We graduated from her helmet (hooray)! She could use a few more weeks in it but she has outgrown it so that means we are done.  I love having her head free to snuggle and kiss.  Her hair is just fantastic! It sticks up in all directions.  We call her a dandelion or fuzz ball.  I love her blue eyes and long lashes.  Her gummy smile gets me every time.  She is one of the happiest babies I've ever seen.  

So she just had her six month check up.  She is in the 90th percentile for height.  50-75% for weight and 90% for her head circumference (not including her hair)! She checked out perfect!  We fed her just the other day her first taste of baby food.  Rice cereal.  She wasn't sure if she liked it too much.  She much prefers milk we think. (What a sourpuss says her big sisters!)

 

Look at that hair! It's all natural.  She has some really long hairs that we debate cutting to make it more uniform.  Probably not yet.

She has gotten really good at her tummy time though she still doesn't prefer it.  She can roll both ways from her tummy to back and back to tummy.  She just started to realize that she can roll to get to where she wants to go. She will almost always roll off tummy time as soon as I put her down on her tummy.

She has her two bottom teeth poking through.  Her sleeping still isn't the best but I think her teething has been painful for her.  I'm hoping we can get her sleeping through the night when we get back home. (Right now we are in St. George for part of our spring break.)

She is still a champion at nursing.  She is easily distracted though.  It cracks me up when she takes a couple of gulps then pulls away and arches her head and back to make goo goo eyes at me or her sisters.  She'll do that over and over. She'll get laughing so hard that we just have to stop feeding and find a dark quiet room to finish up her meal.  She just loves her family.

When Kermit takes her hand and has her touch his scratchy face she laughs so hard!  It's adorable!

Sitting…coming along.  She does it but I wouldn't leave her unassisted yet.

There we have it!

Annaliese is Ten!

It's official!  I'm a little late to post this but Annaliese is now double digits. We celebrated this year with just our family. Brownies, ice cream and plenty of Bryer Horses made this girls day.

Annaliese is such an amazing girl in every single way.  She is almost always in an up beat mood and goes with the flow so well.  She gets perfect report card quarter after quarter. She loves school and blew me away this year with her science fair project on the color specturm and Isaac Newton. She loves drawing pictures of animals and writing or telling stories to go with them.  She has an amazing imagination. She loves to read and goes through books faster than anybody I know.  She loves non fiction and fiction alike.  She has a broad set of interests.  She will pick up a book about anything and find it interesting and just read out of curiosity.  This year she has shown an interest in genetics.  She could spend hours making punnet squares for different horses and dogs to figure out what types of babies would be born to different parents.   She loves to look at catalogs and dream of decorating her own room someday. She joined her school chess club and has enjoyed learning to play.  She takes piano lessons weekly and has an excellent ear.  Best of all she is an awesome big sister.  She loves to teach Avrie and Adeline things that she has learned.  She is always willing to play with them.  She loves her baby sister and is such a great help to me in caring for her.

Happy Birthday Annaliese!   Olive Juice Forever!