Eden: 9 Months

-17 1/2 pounds, around 35 percentile for weight.
-Thiiis close to crawling
-Starts copying others with actions and noises
-Doesn't like other people if mama's in sight
-Claps if we say "Yay!"
-Her wave is her opening and closing her hand by her side
-Loves all the table food except mushy, baby-friendly kind
-Doesn't pull up to things, so behind on her gross motor skills
-No teeth
-Wakes 1-2 times a night, sometimes more
-Can pick up small items with her pincer grasp
-Personality blossoming more and more

*****

Sweet funny girl. 9 months always marks the point where they have been out in the world for as long as I've carried them. She seems to be learning more and more every day. She is really so close to crawling. Like I don't know how much closer one can get without actually crawling. She does move around, but it's not very intentional. Moving but not necessarily mobile. 

Her brothers still love her. Joey will sometimes come up to me, look me in the eyes and have his hand on my face and say, "I love Eden." Thanks bud, I love you, too. Maybe one of these days the idea of being gentle will kick in, but she is being killed slowly by their smothering love (just kidding). 

When we went to the doctor I filled out the questionnaire and had no idea she was so far behind on gross motor. The second question in that category was "Does your baby pull up to things?" No? Then the rest of the questions built on that so I had to answer no for the majority of the section. This was the very reason Joey went to physical therapy at age one so hopefully she learns soon! She also doesn't know how to sit up from laying down. I'm working on that, too.

Sometimes we like tummy time, sometimes we hate it.

Eli was insistent she go in with him.

Donuts on Joey's birthday. 

Look at that sweet, innocent face!

Working on our standing skills.

Dear Joseph,

Happy 6th Birthday, dude! Oh, my, I love you. It's amazing how individual and amazingly special you are. I feel I learn something new every day, and I love it. It's hard to know where to start. You are an awesome big brother and getting better each day. You are pretty patient with your brother (most days) and I know that's a hard thing to be. You also adore your baby sister and always tell me how cute she is and how you want to pat her or pet her. You affectionately call her Edie, or "Ha-da Girl" as she likes to say that. You crack me up.

This year you started Kindergarten and it's been a little rough. You typically don't like to try new things or do things that are initially hard for you. I'm amazed at the standards they have for Kinders and despite finding it really hard, you are making great progress. Still, I do worry about you. It will be a long road ahead for you and school. I hope you continue to try your best. That's all I ask. And that you are kind to others. So far you've learned all your letters and sounds, how to blend them, sight words, writing (although we can really improve on legibility), and basic math. So proud of you!

I don't know your exact height and weight, but based on kids around your age, you are about there with them, or even slightly taller! And about 45 pounds. I definitely feel it when I pick you up. You are not so little anymore! You're favorite food (when I ask) is watermelon. You also like burgers, "macaroni pizza", yogurt, ice cream, soda, and basically anything a typical 6 year old likes. You've officially been potty trained for a year and it's definitely one of my favorite parts of your getting older! Your speech is almost there, you just omit some words when you speak. Sometimes your mind works faster than your mouth and you repeat the same word a couple times until you can think of the next one. 

You love so many things. Let's see...you still love your sharks, especially hammerheads. But you also started liking Pokemon, Transformers, Spiderman, and dinosaurs. And Paw Patrol. That love will never die! You tell me you want to be a Firefighter when you grow up. That's great!  Except you are a total scaredy cat! You don't like heights or rides, you duck out of any potential "scary" scene in a show or movie, you don't like the darkness, and you cover your ears at any loud noise. But if you can overcome all those things, and do what you want! You already overcome so much. For one, you swing on our swing on the oak tree often, something that you were really scared of doing before. And you say you really want a pet tarantula. Why? I'll never know! You do talk about that funny scene from Home Alone where Kevin puts the tarantula on Harry's face. Maybe you think it will protect you? You are a silly boy.

A love we definitely share is a love for flowers. You want to stop and smell every one and point all of them out to me when we are driving. You also love to make a wild flower bouquet when we go walking. You pick one of each kind of wild flower and it amazes me how beautiful they are and what a beautiful boy you are. I think of my favorite Mother's Day song "I Often Go Walking" when we do this together and oh, how I cherish these moments. I love being a mother to you, sweet boy. You teach me so much. Let's continue to learn together about life, love, and Jesus! I love you so, so much.

Love, Mama

Albuquerque Trip

I'll try my best to remember all the details from this trip! It had been a year since we've last been to Albuquerque so it was exciting to head back (even if it was friggin' cold). Sam had to work the week of Christmas so we decided to head on over Friday after work.

Storms were in the forecast for Albuquerque, so we thought stopping in Lubbock would serve us best. It was so good that we did. We got a hotel with an indoor pool and did a little swimming.

Joey being Joey.

Daddy and Eli.

This is really as far as these boys got.

Once we got across the New Mexico boarder, it became really hazardous. Our van was really fishtailing and angels were really watching over us. The GPS's told us two different routes and we didn't know which to take. For some reason, we chose the back roads. At first it wasn't so bad...until we passed the snow plow. Then it became white knuckling. We saw cars stuck in the snow and ice and, as bad as I wanted to help them, we would have been in the boat. Then we got onto I-40 after some intense moments and slowly made it into Albuquerque. We saw overturn semis and other mayhem. A big thank you to Sam for taking the wheel (he said he was sore probably from clenching everything that could clench that whole drive).

What it looked like for miles. Pure ice.

We made it to my parents house and after a lot of coordination, we had the adult dinner that night at Texas Roadhouse, a family tradition around this time of year. I got to meet Nicole's new hubby Patrick (a blessing since I missed their beautiful wedding).

Adult dinner at Texas Roadhouse

Next morning we went to our former ward in Albuquerque to bless our darling little girl. She wore the blessing dress that my mom wore, my sisters and I wore, and all my nieces (with the exception of the twins for logistical issues). It was fun to see everyone. What was also special was that the Haines chapel was going out of commission come the New Year so Eden was the very last baby blessed in this historical chapel. Bittersweet to say the least.

After church we swung by Sam's parents for a yummy meal and a belated Christmas. There's a reason my kids love Jeep Grandma so much. She sure loves and spoils those grandbabies.

The next day was what I've been waiting for this whole trip...Dions 😋🥰I didn't take this photo but some little boy got a hold of my phone and captured this. We went with Sam's parents, sister, and grandma. We then went bowling and our boys had fun. As long as I beat the boy's scores, I'm good, haha! 

Barely beat those kiddos! Granted, they did play with a ramp.

That evening was NYE so we went over to my parents for games and fun (and so we didn't have to travel in the ice with drunk drivers since we were staying over there at the time). No pictures of the event, but here's Eli in his element:

Wednesday we headed over to the Boyacks for much needed catch up and hangout time. They are going to have twins any day now, how crazy is that?! For Crystal being one of my best friends, I never have a photo of her and me. I need to change that next time.

Pudding Painting

More interested in eating it.

Crystal is always so creative with kids.

Couldn't help snatch a quick photo of this kid!

Caught this scene of Cameron and Eden. Aww!

Holding her sweet bunnies.

Here are our sweet bunnies.

Then we had some fun shenanigans at Sam's parents' house with Jessica's family. I don't remember too much of what we did, but I have a picture of Hudson with a shark for a mouth and Beau's rendition of Mona Lisa.

Thursday we had fun with Jacob and Shauna's family and played at the park. Jessica invited us over to her house for games but I had to say a quick hello to my family since I didn't see them in two days. It's so hard to balance between two awesome families in one trip.

One of my all time favorite candid photos.

Eli showing his puppy to Heidi's husband's puppy, Akita.

To make up for missing the game night, we headed over to Jessica's the next night. The boys played video games, the adults played board games, and we drank yummy Italian sodas.

Look how flexible this girl is! Jealous!

Probably Joey's favorite part of the trip. He loved playing video games!

I'm not the best at capturing moments but here's what I had! Until next time, Albuquerque!

Eden: 8 Months

-Getting very wiggly

-Baby food snob, only wants what we are eating

-Wakes 1-3 times a night

-Prefers mama above all (and her milk)

-Wants to be mobile from sitting

-Turns in circles while sitting

-Loves to play as long as not left alone

-Still no teeth

-Getting harder to put down for a nap

-Beautiful baby girl

*****

My little garden baby. Perhaps she didn't make big leaps in development this month, but her personality is sure blossoming. She loves to be silly and all the attention, hates being put down while you have things to do that require two arms. We enjoyed a visit from Grandma and Grandpa Kartchner and being passed around by her aunts and older cousins. I thought she would be extra clingy but surprised me with how content she was.

This girl refuses baby food or anything close to it. I think it's the texture. She loves sweets and being the third child we became really lax about what to feed her. Whoops. So far she seems to be doing well, so oh well. No teeth, and not actively teething, so we'll see when those teethers pop up.

She wants to be mobile so bad. She reaches from sitting to the point of flopping on her belly and she never stays still in our laps. Eden is ready! But maybe I'm not. Those boys leave legos and trash everywhere so I have to be extra vigilant. 

Lastly, she isn't sleeping great. Eden wakes up a few times a night and sometimes just popping her binky back in does the trick but it's hard when she wants to eat. I'm full and she wants it, but then she doesn't learn to put herself to sleep. One day she will, I guess.

Playing with her toys. (That bald spot already looks a lot better).

Being silly. 

With Grandma at SeaWorld.

Left: Grandpa time  Right: Her favorite cousin

In a field of Blue Bonnets

Why it's getting harder to take pictures of her!