8 Month Old Jane

Jane is now 8 months old! Here is what is new with her:
* LOVES to swim. She doesn't even mind going under water for a quick dunk.
* Rolls around the living room.
* Gets on all fours and starts to rock-she will be crawling soon!
* Can sit up on her own for about 2 minutes before toppling over.
* Sleeps really well at night. Usually goes down by 10pm and wakes around 6am then back to sleep after a bottle until 8:30am.
* Recognizes familiar people and gets excited to see them.
* Babbling a lot-put d and a together and will say dada but not in context.
* Starting to eat more baby food...DISLIKES green vegetables.
* Loves to sleep with a blanket over her head.
* Gets jealous when she wants attention and has to share it. (My niece, Cora kept touching her foot when my mom was holding her and Jane would scream until Cora would stop touching her.)
* Has been taking longer naps-usually one for 1 1/2 hours a day and another shorter one.
* Sits at the dinner table in her high chair.
* No height/weight check this month. She is a healthy baby.

Jane at 7 Months

Jane is now 7 months old. She is as sweet as ever. She definitely has a personality. She is happy when all attention is on her.

New things this month:
*Rolling over to get to places (not often but more than she has been.)
*Sitting up on her own
*Plays with bigger toys
*Great with moving her hands around and grabbing what she wants or pushing things away
*Loves to play in her activity center
*Sleeps in her crib in her own room(and has put herself to sleep 3 nights in a row so far!)
*Can actually eat baby food
*Loves to stick her tongue out when smiling
*Has discovered her feet and loves to put them in her mouth
*Loves watching other kids
*No Drs. appt. this month for a weight/length check.

I love that summer is here now and the weather is warmer. Last week I took Jane to swim over at Mary's house. Jane LOVED getting in the floaty and hanging out in the water. Mary's family and my family decided to go out to Whiskeytown Lake with all the kids. We had my nephew, Cruz, here as well. The kids had a blast and we didn't get to stay long enough. I actually enjoyed hanging out at the lake more than I thought I would. It should be a busy summer full of swimming. Dawson is loving swimming and is taking more swim lessons this summer. He is not thrilled about it but we think it is good for him. Plus he needs to do something with some of that energy he has.

SUMMER TIME!

I LOVE summer time. I love not feeling so scheduled, I love sitting out by a pool and watching Dawson swim around and do crazy stunts. I am looking forward to taking Jane swimming this year as well...after all she has 4 really cute swimsuits she needs to use. I bought her one, Mary bought her one, her daddy bought her one, and then her noni bought her one. They are just so cute when they are so tiny.
Dawson is officially done with the 2nd grade. Where did the time go? I am so proud of him. He got a few awards again this year. He had 3rd trimester perfect attendance, a principal's math challenge, and an award for being a good citizen on the school bus. I'm not sure when they started giving out awards for riding the school bus but Dawson seemed happy about it. He had a lot of fun activities go on the last couple weeks of school that I got to help out with. He had a field trip to Turtle Bay Museum, a Spring Fling (each class or grade levels all do a dance performance, and a 2nd grade field day where all the classes just got to run around outside and play with toys and bounce houses. It was a blast!
We celebrated Brad's birthday on Saturday. My parents were in town to do some work on their house. So we had a BBQ with them, Mary's family, and Brad's family. It was a lot of fun. Plus we got to play Apples to Apples one of my favorite group games--I of course didn't even come close to winning but just spending time with the family is what makes it worth it. Brad and I feel so blessed that we have the opportunity to see family as often as we do and we consider our family our closest friends.

My 6 month old baby Jane

Happy half birthday to my sweet baby Jane! (Well this Friday the 21st anyhow....I just happen to be 2 days early.)
She is such a sweet baby and I love her dearly. I can't even imagine life without her being a part of our family. She has brought us such joy (and sleepless nights and strengthening our patience....but really so much joy.) She just makes me smile when I look at her and she looks back at me with her gorgeous huge eyes and grin.
Here is what's happening with Jane now:
-Rolls over from stomach to back and back to stomach (but won't roll to get anywhere in the room.)
-Pushes her upper torso up with her hands when on her stomach.
-Loves Dawson and just beams at him
-Takes three 20 minute naps daily (usually---once in awhile we get a longer one in.)
-Sleeps most nights from 9:30-6:30 with one wake up for a pacifier or bottle.
-Holds her own bottle.
-Loves to smile at everyone.
-Can move toys from one hand to the other with ease.
-Wants to put EVERYTHING in her mouth.
-Is attempting to sit up and will sit up for a few seconds on her own before toppling over.
-Loves to stand up when you hold her upper body.
-Loves to make sounds and babble.
-Enjoys music and when people sing.
-Gives big sloppy kisses.
-Loves peek-a-boo or any interactive game/song.
-Is still a momma's girl.
-Weighs 13lbs 12oz and is 26 in long.

Dawson

Dawson loving Jane during our indoor camp out last weekend. We roasted s'mores in the backyard fire pit and then Dawson camped out in our room. He LOVED it and actually asked to go to bed which never happens.
Dawson is almost done with the 2nd grade. It seems like he was just a little baby or toddler running around. I also feel like I just took him into kindergarten--where does the time go?
He is finishing up his 3rd season of baseball and he has improved so much! He has always been able to run the bases because he has such speed. He has improved so much at catching and hitting the ball which makes for a much more exciting game. He will start up his 3rd season of soccer this fall. He gets to play on an all boy team which will be good for him. Although he did tell me he wants to play on the boy/girl team because he is always better than the girls. He cracks me up.
The other night Dawson and I were sitting in the hot tub and chatting about different things. As he is playing around and we are chatting about growing up and tells me that he knows there is a God. It was so sweet to hear his testimony and I didn't even have to prompt him! I then took a minute to bear my testimony to him. It was a special moment to me and probably one he doesn't even remember happening. I know that all the hard work of going to church, daily prayers, and scripture study are paying off!

Mother’s Day

I LOVE Mother's Day. We don't ever do anything extreme and fancy. I just like thinking that it is a day about me and celebrating being a mother. The only other day that can be somewhat about me is my birthday but as I get older that is not as exciting. Brad was very sweet to get up and feed Jane around 6:30 so that I could sleep in a little. Dawson crawled in bed for some snuggles around 7:30. I had told him that's really what I wanted for Mother's Day was for him to snuggle with me. He lasted almost a half hour which surprised me. About 8:30 Dawson, Jane, and Brad brought me breakfast in bed. Honey Nut Cheerios and a glass of OJ never tasted better! It is always a little strange eating breakfast in bed while everyone watches you. After eating I was giving my beautiful mother's day necklace from Brad and the kids. It is a silver heart with a butterfly and crushed diamonds. I had maybe left a HUGE hint that I wanted this by marking it in a catalog and leaving it open on the coffee table. They also gave me a sweet card. Dawson gave me his own present that he had worked on at school and it was so sweet. He had made a big card with a very sweet thank you and why he loved me on the inside….he included that he is thankful I do homework with him (I hate homework time so that meant a lot.) Inside was a lamenated bookmark with dried flowers and 3 handmade cards with envelopes. He had made sure to use all the colors that I love. It was very touching. He was extra full of hugs and kisses for me. Jane on the other hand decided it would be a great day to only take 2 twenty minute naps and to be a little cranky. She's still a sweet baby though.

I was also fortunate to be able to spend part of Mother's Day with my own mom. Brad made this possible by teaching my primary class at church for me. He is the greatest! It was so nice to spend some time with my mom and Mary. I still appreciate and look up to my mom more than she can possibly even know. She is one of my best friends and I am so glad that she is there for me always. I love knowing that I can call her and just tell her whatever is on my mind and she will patiently listen and give me words of advice or encouragement. Sometimes I hang up the phone with her and feel bad for talking so much but she continues to call and answer my calls so it must not be that bad!

After spending time with my mom Brad, the kids, and I went up to Brad's parents house to spend some time with his mom. She broke down and baked us cookies even though we told her not too since it was mother's day. She couldn't help it. She is a fantastic mother in law and I'm so blessed to have her in my life. In the almost 4 years that I have known her she has taught me so much. She also gives me a lot of encouragement to be a great mother.

We then went over to Mary's and had dinner. Her husband, Ben cooked a delicious dinner for us. I was very thankful because I was NOT going to cook dinner on Mother's Day which meant I would be eating most likely ravioli or cereal. Mary was also generous enough to share some of her ice cream cake with me. It was super yummy.

Race For the Cure

This last Saturday my family and I were a part of 5k Race/Walk for the Cure for breast cancer in Sacramento. My sister, Lori, had set up a team with a couple of friends and co workers. The team (Walkers for Knockers) had 50 (or more) people on the team which was awesome. It was a fabulous experience and one I hope to get the chance to do again. I think we all enjoyed it so much because my mother was there walking as a survivor with all of us daughters.
After the race we meet up with an old foster sister of mine who was also visiting some family in Sacramento. It's always great to see her, her family, and her sisters. I got to meet their daughter, Amara who was born just 5 days before Jane. What a sweet baby she is!
After meeting up with them we drove into Vacaville to Crissy's house. My cousin, Danielle, came over to visit with her 2 1/2 week old son. He was so precious and I was thrilled to finally meet him!
It was such a busy and exciting day for us!