Sweet baby (11 month old!) Jane

Where did this last month go!? Jane has been keeping me busy as has Dawson. Jane had her 11 month birthday yesterday. She is changing and growing every day. I am still thankful that I have been able to be a stay at home mom to her and take care of her full time.

What's new with Sweet Baby Jane:

*Is trying to "mark it" during pat-a-cake
*Attempts dancing
*Can get around SO fast--no walking yet thankfully!
*Has cut 2 teeth-one on bottom and one on top but they aren't visible when she smiles yet.
*Sleeps through the night (except when those teeth are bugging her!)
*Takes usually one long (2 hour) and one short nap a day.
*Wants to be rocked to sleep and loves her blanket on her head when going to sleep.
*Still only drinks 4-6oz at a time every 2 hours.
*Loves cookies but no other food really. She eats graham cookies, sugar cookies, chocolate chip cookies (all things she finds on the floor from other kids) but refuses to eat vegetables-only carrots once in awhile.
*She plays very well independently on her own but doesn't like it if I'm not in the room with her....I'm getting a lot of reading done!
*She tries to talk a lot more
*Does not really like her car seat-hopefully she likes it more when it's forward facing.
*No length/weight check this month because she's a healthy, beautiful, petite baby.
*She is still very nosy and likes to see everything that is going on and wants to be in the middle of it.
*Enjoys playing with kids and gets most excited when Dawson is around and playing with her.
*Has a fond attachment to her pacifier now--will be trying to get rid of that soon!
*Her fine motor skills are really developing and she can pick up the smallest of things (which I find in her mouth daily and she gets mad when I take it out.)
*Enjoys books, and music time
*Loves wooden spoons, one of her favorite toys for the month.

So next month she will be having her first birthday party and I will probably get teary eyed. Where does time go? She was just my little ball of a baby who just rocked and rocked and rocked with me all day. Now she just makes me laugh with her squished up face smile, sloppy kisses and sweet giggles.

10 Month Old Jane

Jane is now 10 months old. She is keeping me very busy and her personality is getting bigger and bigger every day. I'm not sure if that's a good thing or not! She definitely knows what she wants and does all she can to make sure she gets it. She is one spoiled girl.

Here's what is new with Jane:

*Walks along furniture
*Can bend down and pick something up when standing while holding onto something
*Has attempted to climb the stairs a few times
*Puts EVERYTHING into her mouth
*Can clap
*LOVES music--she loves listening to her dads CD when she is upset and in the car.
*Continues to sleep from about 9:30-7:30 at night and wants to be rocked to sleep.
*Most days takes 2 hour naps--sometimes more sometimes less. Mommy loves this time!
*Loves to play with Cora, Asher, and Dawson-really any kid she loves.
*Still doesn't like to each much baby food....usually drinks 4 oz every 2-3 hours STILL.
*Loves to stand up and hang onto anything she can.
*Sits in highchairs when we go out to eat.
*Is now in a big rear facing car seat instead of her infant car seat.
*She is a very happy baby and most of the time mellow.
*Now wears size 3 diapers and mostly 9-12 month clothing.
*Her hair has some curls at the end and I LOVE it.

Dawson's having fun being 8!

Wow! Turning 8 is a HUGE deal around here. Now that Dawson is 8 he was able to join Cub Scouts as a Wolf. He was a little nervous about it but he sure loves it so far! His leaders seem fantastic. I have to say I think he looks absolutely handsome in his scout uniform too!
Dawson has also finally lost his two top front teeth. I was wondering if he was ever going to lose them. He lost his bottom teeth a year ago in July. I hope it doesn't take another 14 months to lose another tooth.
This last weekend Dawson was able to get baptized. In our church we believe the age of accountability of making right choices is 8. So all children once they are 8 are baptized. It was a very special day. We had a pretty busy Saturday leading up to his baptism. Dawson was so happy to have a big family dinner before hand. He got a couple of gifts as well. Brad and I got him his own set of scriptures, Brad's parents gave him a book and a tote for his scriptures, and my parents gave him a baptism blanket. Dawson asked for a baptism blanket from my mom over a year ago. He came up with this idea somehow. He was SO happy to finally get it. The blanket turned out super cute. My mom found the perfect material for it. His baptism meeting only lasted about 40minutes which I thought was perfect. The only real issue was we couldn't get access to a TV/DVD player in the building due to them being all locked up. I had made a slide show of pictures of Dawson from birth until his 8th birthday and had it set to different Children Hymns. We watched it later at home that night. Dawson was just beaming the whole time and took everything very seriously. I am very proud of him and the decisions he is making.

Jane's 9 month check up

Jane went to the Dr. today for her 9 month check up. She's actually 9 1/2 months but it's when I was able to get her in. She is perfectly healthy and petite. She weighs 17lbs even and is 27 1/2 inches long. She is sitting like a pro. She now pulls herself up to a standing position and is trying to let go and scoot along whatever it is she is hanging onto. She crawls everywhere. She gets mad at me when I have to leave the room and chases me crying. She is full of smiles and kisses. I love her so much!

Isn't it Great to be 8?

Dawson turned 8 yesterday. It is such a great birthday because now he gets to prepare for his baptism. He had a weekend full of parting. On Saturday we got up early and had a friend birthday party at the skating rink. Dawson has decided he LOVES roller skating. He had a great time and so did all his friends who showed up. I'm sure the kids would have loved to have skated longer if allowed too.
Saturday afternoon we went to Mary's to swim and hang out with family. My parents were in town as well as Crissy and her kids. She also brought up Lori's daughter, Iris, to spend the day with us. After swimming we had a yummy BBQ. Then lots and lots of presents. Dawson was sharing this party with his cousins, Natalie (9) and Cora (3) since their birthday's are all within 3 days of each other. After presents there was LOTS of cake. We had 3 cakes plus a pan of brownies. Every child deserves their own cake. Dawson stayed up late playing with his toys that night. He was up early Sunday playing as well. My parents got him roller skates for his birthday and he wore them ALL day-except at church although he wanted too.
Monday was Dawson's real birthday so we told him he could decide what we do all day. He decided to just lounge around in pajamas and play with his toys all morning. He got a lego table and a super fast remote control car that he was enjoying For lunch he wanted to go to Olive Garden-we were more than happy to take him. He had a great lunch. He got to order dessert and our waiter sang to him and gave him 3 mints (and a nickel) instead of 1 mint. It made his day! After lunch he wanted to go spend some of his birthday money at Target. He bought a couple more toys and came home to play with those. He then decided he wanted to go swim at Mary's. We swam for a bit and he played with Natalie and invited Natalie over for a bit. We then went to dinner to our favorite Mexican restaurant, Guadalajara, with Brad's parents and Dawson got sung to for a second time. He was glowing! After dinner we came home and he played some more, watched part of a movie, and enjoyed his birthday evening.
He had a great weekend and birthday.

Jane at 9 months

Jane is 9 months old today. Time sure flies! She has changed so much this last month. We are still so in love with her and just love that she is here and a part of our family.
Here is what Jane is up to:
*Crawling (not so good on all 4's yet but in the next week I'm sure she will be.
*Scooting around everywhere-she has figured out that she can leave the family room now which makes my days a little busier.
*Loves to try to play with my computer cord or anything plugged in she can get.
*Babbling
*Gets so excited when she see's someone she recognizes
*Laughs like crazy at Dawson
*Still refuses to eat much of any food and usually still just 4oz of formula every couple of hours. I did give her an 8oz bottle in hopes that she will eat more but it hasn't worked so far.
*Sits up so well on her own.
*Loves playing with all toys-her recent favorites are anything that belongs to Dawson or isn't pink and purple.
*Will watch a cartoon on TV
*Loves to be in the water-bath, pool, lake, etc.
*Still sleeps all night long-9:30-7 usually.
*Wants to have a blanket over her face when she sleeps.
*Has started taking at least one nap for an hour or longer a day as well as her short cat naps.
*Wants to be rocked to sleep-usually be me.
*No Doctor's Appt. this month so not sure how big she is but she is definitely getting bigger. She is almost out of her 6-9 month clothing and size 2 diapers.

I'm sure there is more that has changed or that she is doing. She is changing every single day and she has a mellow yet stubborn personality.

Josie Ann Eldridge is here

My newest niece, Josie Ann, was born August 17th at 11:31pm. She was 7lbs 6oz and 19.5in long. I can't wait to go meet her! She looks absolutely perfect and gorgeous. Way to go Lori and Jayson (and big sister, Iris!)