The Biggest Post Ever

Man!  Apparently it's been a couple weeks since I updated.  We've been so busy that each day goes by in a blur and before I know it, 15 days have passed.  I'm just going to post a lot of pictures here as a big recap.  The pictures go all the back to Easter so good luck.  You may want to go get a 5 Hour Energy drink before continuing.

 

Easter:  Sharon was with us and we had a great day.  These are the eggs that we colored and Jackson was pretty pumped about them.

 Charley was sick so she and I stayed home and had breathing treatments.  I was sad she missed her first Easter at church.

 We went to the zoo on the day that it was supposed to be "warm."  We were FREEZING!  The polar bear didn't seem to mind.

 This picture captures just how ornery Jackson has been lately.  He gets in here and then he can't get out on his own.    Oh my goodness he is giving me a run for my money!

 We had a Naperville Area Moms play date at Bounce Town a couple weeks ago.  Charley liked to bounce on the inflatables while JJ ran all over like a crazy man.

 I'm not sure what day this was but I found him like this after naptime.  He usually just plays in his room with books or puzzles but he's been falling asleep more lately.  This time it happened to be with an arm out of his shirt.

 It has been so fun to watch them interact more.  He loves making her laugh and giving her hugs.  He also likes to rip toys out of her hand and declare them as his. :(

 Bryan and I try to make time for date nights but sometimes they happen at home after bedtime.  Fondue is one of our favorite home dates.  We do a cheese course, a meat course, and dessert.  It's a quiet, peaceful, two hour dinner.

 Bryan is playing softball this spring and we crashed one of their practices.  Jackson's friend Jacob was with us because I was watching him while his dad practiced too.

 Last week I saw a post on Facebook about running 4.09 miles.  This was right after Boston.  I thought it sounded like a great idea so I did the same.  I had to take a couple breaks but I was good to get it done.  I watched 19 Kids and Counting and tried out my new running shoes.

 Last weekend we went to Kansas City for a quick trip.  Bryan had a conference so the kids and I went with my parents to a kids' museum called Wonderscope.  They had different pretend play in each room.  Jackson loved it.  He loved the garden room a lot but it turns out it wasn't his favorite room.

His favorite room was the baby room.  He wore the stethoscope and took such good care of the babies.  What a sweet boy.

 

Charley even practiced her baby care skills.

We also went to visit my Grandpa.  This boy really loved climbing on Grandpa's big lawn mower.

 That night we went to the Alexander's house for dinner and a fire.  It was so fun!  Melody and Staci gave the kids clown ice cream cones.  Jackson didn't quite know how to attack his but he enjoyed trying.

 Papa went inside early with Charley.  I tried putting her down in the pack n play but she wasn't having it.  Papa was the perfect sleep inducer.

 And Jackson completely worm himself out.  I changed his diaper and clothes without him waking up.

 Now we're back home and Jackson is loving the warm weather.  His current obsession is collecting rocks.  He's been pretty fascinated.

 Trips to the grocery store are quite the chore but it's getting easier.  With a bagel for the kids and bribes of fish sightings and mechanical pony rides, we make it through.

 We had our NAM play date at Addison's house this week.  He looks great in dress up clothes.  He wore those high heels the whole time we were there.

 We're still taking music classes and Jackson's favorite person continues to be Miss Caryn.  Especially when she plays the guitar.  He wanted a front row seat for this song.

 I really have to keep my eye on him at home because he is such a sneak now!  I was vacuuming the other day and when I finished I noticed the sliding doors to the back yard were open.  Luckily we have a fence because he let himself out there to dig in the dirt.  Pantless and with shoes on the wrong feet. 

 Friday night we had a fun Gender Reveal party for a friend.  Her appointment wasn't until 4pm and our gathering was at 7pm.  It required a quick turnaround since the ultrasound tech didn't call me with the baby news until 5pm.  I had already made a pink cake and blue cake so I just needed to know which one to ice.  It was so fun.  And BLUE was the answer.

 And finally another picture of Charley.  Eating.  Because that and sleeping are two of her best skills.  This was taco night and she was in heaven.

 

And that is our life the last few weeks.  If you made it to the end, you deserve a special treat!  Up next is Charley's 10 month post.

Charley's 9 Month Pictures

Waaaay back in March I took Charley to JC Penney for her 9 month pictures.  JJ was going to be there anyway so I decided to get him dressed and let him get in some pictures too.  Oh my.  After two attempts at posed pictures,  I have yet to get a picture of them BOTH smiling.  I guess it's pretty close to real life.  It's a rare event for them to both be happy at the same time.

I was a little sad that Charley couldn't stand for her pictures because I felt like they would be the same as her six month pictures.  They are but that's okay! 

 This picture is funny.  Can you believe this was the best we could get?  Jackson has a goofy grin and Charley is doing a shadow puppet show with her very serious face!

 I take any chance I can get to showcase her baby rolls.

When we showed up the Easter Bunny was there.  I knew instantly that it was going to make or break Jackson.  Luckily, he was obsessed with the bunny.  He kept taking everything from the diaper bag over to the bunny and the poor bunny had to do the awkward hands to the cheeks gesture to show his amazement over and over and over again.  It kept him happy so I let it continue.

This is the best of  the two of them smiling.  Unfortunately there's A GIANT RABBIT in the picture too.  Not exactly something I want to hang in the entryway.

 

I am so excited for her 12 month pictures!  I know she'll be standing by then!

Charley's Child Dedication

We had Charley's Child Dedication at church on Sunday.  Mimi was able to stay with us from Easter so she could be there just as she was for Jackson's.  It was such a fun service and we were excited that 4 of our friends were also dedicating babies that day.

 

This guy was so cute!  He came out singing Justin Beiber's  Baby, Baby, Baby and he was SO GOOD!   His dad is the rocker guitar player in the right of the photo.  It's was a nice touch to the slide show.  They had all the baby and family pictures playing on the screen.

Shawn is the Campus Pastor at our church and he is awesome.  He reminds me of Bryan a lot.

Each family goes up one at a time and then stands on stage until all the babies are dedicated.  I thought we would have Jackson up there with us but he just wanted to go downstairs to his room.  It was probably better that way.  Definitely less stressful.

Here are the three couples from our small group that were also dedicating there little ones.  Colton is on the left and Finley is on the right.

After church we went to lunch at Maggianos.  We invited Kyle and Meredith to sit with us during the dedication and then go to lunch after too.  They love our kids so much and are so helpful with them.  We called them at 3am when I went into labor with Charley and they came right away.  After lunch, the guys took the kids to the lobby while we gathered our things from the table. 

 We grabbed a few family photos after lunch but I am SO SAD we didn't get one with Kyle and Meredith. :(

 Charley was WIPED OUT after lunch.  She fell asleep almost immediately once she was buckled in to the car.

Her special day also called for some special toe nails.  This was her first pedicure and I am so excited for many more.  Thank you Mimi for the Piggy Paint!  It's a non-toxic polish that isn't harmful if she puts her toes in her mouth.  So much fun!

 

It was a beautiful day and were are so blessed with wonderful kids, family, and friends!

Caroline Jane~ Nine Months

This year is going way too fast!  Charley turned 9 months old on March 22nd but I'm just now writing this.  Sooo, a lot has changed about her in two weeks but I'm trying to accurately document this for her baby book so here is her actual nine month list.

 

 Caroline Jane, at nine months you:

• weigh 21 pounds and 13 ounces.  That's the 92nd percentile.
• are 29 inches tall.  That's the 90th percentile.
• have a big head!  It's in the 97th percentile!
• are such a happy girl.  Mommy gets frustrated on the rare days that you are fussy and I have to remind myself of how lucky I am all the other times.  If every baby were like you, I'd have 5 more!
• eat more and more table food.  You can eat almost anything we eat.  You still eat some purees because you make a huge mess with the table food.
• love your big brother.  You watch him all the time and laugh and laugh at all his craziness.
• have so many nicknames.  We call you Charley Bear, Charley Jane, Char, Char Char, Char Char Binks, Mr. Grumpfish, and Chardee. 
• sleep so well at night!  You go to bed at 6:30 and sleep until 6:30 in the morning.  It's rare that you wake up between those times.  Even if you do wake up early, you just lay in bed and talk to yourself.
• don't have a nap schedule.  Sometimes you sleep for only 30 minutes and sometimes you sleep for an hour and a half.  Momma's still waiting to get one of those mega long naps.  Your brother never did that so hopefully you will.
• are not making any consonant sounds.  You talk all the time but have never made a consonant sound.  Momma is a little worried about that. (**This has changed!)
• still don't make any effort to crawl.  You have only pushed up on your hands and knees one time.  You are such a big girl that it can't be easy to move around.  You're so laid back too that there is rarely some place you really want to go.  You just find something else to play with that is within reach.  If there is nothing, you play with your hands.(** This is starting to change too!)
• are such a wonderful addition to our family!

Easter Fun

We spread our Easter activities out over a couple weekends and had a lot of fun!  We went to an egg hunt last weekend that was really laid back and Jackson had a blast.  They did a hunt every 30 minutes so the kids were all sure to get eggs.  There was a 12 egg limit and Jackson met his limit and then plopped down to see what was in his eggs.  He ate a lot of candy that day!

This was Charley's first time sitting in grass and it's also maybe my favorite picture of all time.  This has been Charley's attitude the whole week.  I found out today that she has an ear infection.  Hopefully she'll be smiling again soon.  Again though, best picture ever!

 Jackson is OBSESSED with Easter bunnies.  He can spot them a mile away and runs as fast as he can to get there.  He saw several bunnies before Easter and loved them all.

 Saturday we went to an egg hunt in Naperville.  I had heard it was going to be really crowded and it was!  Luckily they split the kids by age so Jackson was in the 1s and 2s baseball field.  There were eggs all over the outfield.

 Everyone stayed behind the flags until the fire truck siren went off and then the hunt began!  Parents hoisted their kids and ran to the big gifts scattered around.  We decided to just Jackson do it on his own. 

 Our friends Ryan, Andrea, and Jacob were there too.  Jacob just sat on the ground the whole time.  His parents put 4 eggs in his basket so he didn't leave empty handed. :)  It was good practice for the hunt at our house the next day.

 This is a pretty awkward pose but it's hard to pick up eggs with a 21 pound baby strapped to your chest.  Also, notice that everyone else is wearing a coat.  We are definitely nominated for Parents of the Year since we left Jackson's coat at home.  "It's okay that you're freezing, honey.  Just collect a lot of eggs and it will all be worth it."

 There was no limit at this hunt but he got 12 again.

 I don't think the hunt lasted more than a minute.  It was over so fast!

 Then we sat in an outfield full of dried goose poop and opened eggs.  Perfection. 

 Easter morning had a rough start.  Charley was coughing so much so I knew I couldn't put her in the nursery.  I was so sad for her to miss her first Easter but I decided I had to keep her home.  She slept a little and had a breathing treatment and then we met Jackson, Bryan, and Mimi at Pomegranate Café for brunch. 

The Easter Bunny was really terrible this year and didn't set out Easter baskets until late afternoon.  It was okay though because the biggest hit was the blue grass that was spread all across the house. 

 After a fight with a tripod and a remote shutter we were able to get this family photo.

 I made an Easter dinner for us and we were happy to have the Ashley's join us for dinner and another egg hunt.  Jackson set the table and after I re-set it, we snapped this photo.  He was pretty proud.

Jacob had an Easter dinner of watermelon and Jackson feasted on rolls and then we went out to hunt.  I decided to parent another day and enjoy my own dinner so I was fine with his dinner choices.  :)  Ryan and Bryan hid the eggs and the boys were off.  Jacob collected a lot more at the beginning because Jackson stopped to open each of his eggs looking for candy.

 This wasn't really how I envisioned Charley's Easter outfit but it is what it is!  She didn't wear her big dress because we didn't go to church.  I opted for her bunny shirt and she had it on for a couple hours and then pooped all up the back of it.  Cute outfit fail.  I was so over it by that point that I didn't even care if she matched.  Clearly.  Sorry baby girl.  Your first Easter wasn't very festive.

 We came inside and opened eggs and Jackson shoved his face full of jellybeans.

 The night ended with a massive fit from Jackson and some time being restrained by Daddy in his room while I said good-bye to our guests.  I went upstairs to find a VERY angry little boy who was exhausted.  He was so tired that after he demanded that I clip his fingernails before bed (so weird!) he fell asleep mid clipping.  He had such a fun day!  I hid all the candy and he seems to have forgotten about it. 

You win a medal if you made it to the end of this post!  Lots of photos to share!