High Five for Friday!

I know, I'm a day late, but I wanted to get back to my High Fives!

• Luke started Champion Basketball last Saturday and he is very excited to be playing on a team again this year. The kids get shorts, jerseys, and t-shirts through the league, and Luke felt pretty official having a full "uniform" to wear:)  He's also excited to play on a team with his friend Evan this year. 
• We have new floors ordered for our main floor with delivery and installation dates on the calendar!!!  Pergo Sugar House Maple floors will be delivered this week and installed next week!  We cannot wait, even though it will be a lot of work moving furniture and removing old flooring.  Here is a sneak peak at the floors we've chosen:

• We got to share some lovely times with friends this past week celebrating a birthday with one, enjoying dinner with another, and celebrating the joys of pregnancy of another couple.  I just love sharing life with the special people in our lives:)
• I tried my hand at making baby food for Nora for the first time, it turned out great, and Nora loved it! I've made bananas and apples so far and plan to start on some vegetables soon.  
• Brent and I have been working out details on the year ahead and the fun plans we're trying to bring to fruition.  We don't typically travel much, but this year we have lots of fun planned!  He and I will be taking a trip to celebrate our 10 year anniversary, we plan to attend family camp at Pine Haven, my sister, mom, and I are planning a long weekend in Chicago, and more!   

Six Months Old

At six months, you are...

• Giggling more often, usually at your brother.  You love watching him run around playing football, basketball, or whatever imaginary game he's playing at the moment.  You particularly love it when we carry you around and chase or play with Luke.  You want SO badly to get in on the action of life!  You were practically jumping from my arms while watching Luke at basketball practice today:)  
• Starting to making more sounds and practicing them a lot.  Daddy particularly loves your "da, da, das".  I haven't seen him get so excited in quite a while:)  You also like to make a growling noise.
• Eating baby food a couple times a day.  We started with rice cereal around Christmas, which didn't go over very well with your digestion.  At the recommendation of some MOPS moms, we tried some bananas and apples and your digestion seems to be straightening out in just a couple days!  You love eating and are already doing very well with swallowing and eating from a spoon.  You're still VERY interested in everything we eat, so we'll see how long the baby food phase lasts.
• Growing quickly.  You weighed about 16 lbs the week of Christmas when we saw the doctor for your ears.  (This visit included your first prescription for an ear infection.)  You still have petite feet and hands, which we find adorable:)
• Wearing size 6-9 month and 9 month clothes and just started wearing size 3 diapers.
• Getting over your "stranger anxiety" and are much more receptive to others.  You also spent your first MOPS morning in the nursery and did very well.  We'll have to try the nursery on Sundays at church next.
• Rolling both directions now and have been preferring to sleep on your stomach now that you can get into that position yourself.
• Sucking your bottom lip is a favorite pastime.
• SO very kissable!  I cannot seem to kiss your adorable cheeks enough!

Nora has done LOTS of growing in the past 5 months!

Close up to show how she was grabbing at,
drooling on, and trying to eat her
sticker this month:)

Busy getting her sticker

Every January

Every January for the past six years, reality has sunk in....my baby will soon be another year older.  Luke's February birthday looms on the horizon.   He's excited to plan a birthday party, decide who to invite, and to be a year older.  I, on the other hand, am sad to know that another year of my boy's young life has flown by right in front of my eyes. 

As if it hasn't been hard enough on me knowing that my baby is turning seven, Luke has gone to bed by himself the past two nights.  Usually he wants both Brent and I to come down to his room, tuck him in, and then he asks one of us to stay downstairs until he falls asleep.  But, the past two nights, he has told us that he wants to get ready for bed himself, then we can come down to say goodnight once he's in bed.  *Sigh*...he's growing up before our eyes.   It makes me think of the book, Let Me Hold You Longer, by Karen Kingsbury, that talks about the "last times" of parenting (i.e. the last time your child sits on your lap, etc) and how easily they go unnoticed. 

There has been one silver lining to Luke's independence in putting himself to bed...both nights that I have come into his room to say goodnight, Luke has forgotten to take off his glasses when he laid down in bed.  I guess he does still need his Mommy more than he realizes;)

Merry Christmas from the Pickers

Coincidence?

Tonight we took a few pictures of Nora playing in just her diaper....

then we realized, we've seen this picture before....

Yep, took nearly the same picture six years ago of our 5-6 month old. 

These kiddos were certainly cut from the same cloth:)

5 Months

At five months, Nora is...

• Loving her exersaucer, high chair, and bumbo...really anything that gets her up and able to see what's going on.  It is particularly sweet when she is in her exersaucer and she watches Luke play football or basketball ball with Daddy in the basement:)
• Sleeping like a champ at night!  Usually about 8:30pm - 7am.
• Starting to giggle, but shares them only sparingly.  I guess we're not as funny as we thought we were;)
• Nursing 4 times a day (wake up, 11:30ish, 4ish, bedtime)
• Napping 2 long naps (morning and afternoon) and one quick 20 minute nap in the evening to get through till bedtime
• Finding her voice and making more sounds
• Still moody with people other than Luke, Mom, Dad, and Papa, but it's not consistent, so we don't really know what it is that upsets her???  Sometimes she's ok with other "strangers" like aunts, uncles, grandparents, but other times she's very emotional when she seems them. 
• Learning to roll from her back to stomach.  She has done it a few times in her crib, which we know about because she cries a strange, muffled cry.  We go in an check her and she is on her stomach and not happy to be there:)  She's a side sleeper now, but we'll see if she ends up being a stomach sleeper once she gets better at rolling over. 
• So much fun right now with all of her smiles, sounds, gurgles, giggles, etc.  We are all looking forward to our first Christmas as a family of four!





Take 1: NOT happy about pictures



Take 2: MUCH happier:)

 

Christmas Favorites

There is so much to love about the Christmas season and I think everyone has their favorites or things that induce fond memories.  Here are a few of mine!

Music

All I Want for Christmas Is You, by Mariah Carey (Michael Buble's version is a close second) ~ It also makes me think of one of my favorite movies below, Love Actually, because a girl in the movie sings it.

White Christmas, by The Drifters (from Home Alone) ~ Love this version and it always makes me think of Home Alone.

Where Are You Christmas, by Faith Hill (from How the Grinch Stole Christmas) ~  Simply a great song.

Christmas Canon, by Trans-Siberian Orchestra ~ I've always loved Canon in D, so a Christmas version is jsut a bonus!

Christmas Is All In the Heart, by Steven Curtis Chapman ~  This song makes me think of Luke when it talks of the "little blonde headed boy".

Baby It's Cold Outside, by Zooey Deschanel (from Elf)  ~ I'm sure I heard this song before seeing Elf, but I honestly can't remember and I love how Zooey sings it.

Christmas Song, by Dave Matthews Band ~ Simply a great song.

I cannot even begin to choose my favorite Christmas hymns, so I stuck with my favorites on the radio.

Movies

Elf ~ This has become a newer favorite for me and our entire family

Miracle on 34th Street ~ Specifically the 1994 version from my childhood.  I even still have the VHS:)

Love Actually ~ This isn't really a Christmas movie, but it's set at Christmas time and I always want to watch it in December

The Holiday ~ Another newer favorite with great actors and a sweet story.

Timmy's Gift ~ This is an oldie but a goodie from my childhood, and yes, I still have my own copy on VHS.

Decorations

If I had to choose just one decoration to display for Christmas, it would absolutely be the WillowTree Nativity that my Grandma gave me over the span of several Christmases.  One of my favorite things about it is that Mary is holding the baby Jesus.  It feels so intimate and touching.  And, I just love WillowTree figures andtheir ability to show feeling without any facial expression.

I have most everything in this picture except for the angels

I also love having the tree lit in the living room. The warm glow is heartwarming and makes the room feel so cozy and welcoming. 

What are your Christmas favorites?  I'd love to know what makes this season special for you too:)

 

 

Merry Christmas!