5 months old!

When Nate was a baby and was crying more that not, I often looked at his cute little sleeping body and wondered what I would ever do when he was awake more.  He did always sleep well, but when he was awake, he was screaming.  I knew that eventually newborns need less sleep and I couldn't imagine what I would do with all the time that he would be screaming.

Last week I set up the jumperoo that our neighbors handed down to us.  Nate has always been a fan of standing and he has a pretty strong little jump.  He can jump out of your lap if you don't hold him tight.  So I thought it might be time to get him in it.  Holy cow it's a cute sight.  He loves that thing! 

I tried to get a picture of the jumping legs, but it just didn't happen. 

Don't you just want to squeeze those legs?  Ha ha...I get to do it every day :)

You can tell he's about ready for a nap when he starts to attack his hands.

It can get ferocious :)

I love the concentration as he learns how to work his hands and fingers.

He played in it for a long time. I knew it was getting to be nap time, but he was still so happy that I let him play. When I finally put him in his bed, I was thinking of how ironic it is that I wondered what I would do with this boy when he was awake more. I am so glad he passed through that phase. Now when Nate naps, I start to miss him if it's been too long. I start to look in on him every few minutes wondering if it's time for him to wake up yet because I miss seeing his smiling face.

 



He's on the move!  He works his way across the room by getting on his knees, then collapsing and doing it again.  He can get pretty far pretty fast!



Anyway, Nate's been fun.

Here's Jacob at 5 months...

And Allie...

They all have their own look don't they?  I remember thinking each one was the cutest baby I had ever seen.  Oh what a fun age!

P is for Party

Party! Party!  Party!

Carson and Jake have been feeling left out.  Carson's older sister got a late night party with pizza and a movie.  The little girls in the neighborhood went to a princess acadamy last week and get to do a dance camp this week.  Allie had a week of birthday celebrations.  To put it short, they wanted a party.  So we had one.

They were so excited to be able to come inside and play until dark.  Jake had visions of unlimited wii time and treats galore.  In then end, they did get to play the wii for a while and had fun eating yummy treats.

We made chocolate covered bananas...



 With lots of sprinkles.

 And roasted starbursts on the stove.

I think they had a good time.  They are great friends and it was a fun treat for them to do something out of the ordinary.  Jake walked Carson home in the dark and came home with plans for another late night party soon!

O is for Older

Allie Sue is one year older! Five!

Cute girl chose rice krispies for her birthday cereal.  Jake was disappointed.  He was hoping for Fruit Loops :)

She got to open her gifts in the morning because Mike was heading out of town.  Lucky girl got her wish...a Polly Pocket camper.  Other favorites were a butterfly growing kit and a new Gerald and Piggy book.

New birthday clothes.

She was off soon to show her friends her fun gifts.

Only to come back hours later filthy...wish you could see how bad it was, but the picture doesn't do justice to the dirty face and stained shirt.


 She chose mac and cheese as her dinner and wanted to go out for ice cream for dessert.


This year was one of the first years that we have been home for her birthday.  We are usually at the Belnap family reunion.  Anyway, I told her she could have a party with her friends and she has been dreaming of it since Jake's birthday in December.  She had a few requests...a cake with fluffy white frosting and fresh raspberries.  Unfortunately we couldn't do that because all the raspberries get chowed the second they turn remotely pink :) 
So she got a beach cake instead...

I made that cornstarch paint and it entertained them for a long time.  We will make it again for sure. 

 She wanted a pool party with no boys.  We did get the pool part...

 And the slip n slide part...

We even put soap on the yellow slide and turned it into the yellow slide of death...

The no boy part was hard to accommodate.  The party was just too fun.  They wanted to stay!  I think if we had done princess things, they would have been gone.  But when there's a slip n slide pool party, who can say no?

Carson's cannon ball.

I think the party was a hit.  Allie has some fun friends and she had a great time.

Sometimes I think Allie would be happier with a different mom. Not really, but Allie loves things like sparkly pink shoes. I love things like cute brown Mary Janes. I love shoes that you can wear to church and school and play. I think Allie could look at the shoes on the shelves and long for a pair to wear with each different outfit she owns. So when she got birthday money from her grandma and aunt, I asked her what she wanted. Guess what...pink sparkly shoes. When she picked them off the shelf, I said no. She begged, so I let them stay in the cart and then I tried to lose them on every shelf at that blasted store through the rest of our trip. She kept looking at the cart and noticing them missing and panicking until we re-traced our steps and found them again. She finally wore me down when I realized that it was her own money and I should let her get what she wants with her own money. I guess I was just hoping for some shoes that were a little less PINK!!! Something a little more practical that could be worn with more outfits. I should have known that with the way my girl "matches", those shoes will go with anything...including swim suits :)

Here she is running off to show her friends her new shoes. 

She cracks me up.  She has found every excuse to wear the shoes.  Today she informed me as we pulled into the church parking lot that she couldn't find her brown shoes.  "I guess I'll just have to wear these" she said with a smile as she lifted her leg to show the beloved pink shoes.

I think it was a great birthday.  She got spoiled rotten, but that's okay because she isn't rotten at all.  She's my sweet little Allie Sue and I love her.  I cherish the five years that she has been my little girl.  I look forward to all the years of the future. 
I love you Allie!  I love your fun personality and everything you are to me.  Thanks for all you do for me just by being you.
Love you!

Mom

N is for Nathan

N is for Nate.  Oh what a good boy I have in Nate.  I love that kid.  He is growing to be a chunky legged boy and that's okay.  He wears it well.  It's so funny how he can go from a screaming beast the first few months of life to a happy little guy the next. He smiles through the tears most times and always has a super cute smile for me when I get him out of bed each day.

While we were in McCall, Nate was introduced to more foods than I would like.  It seemed like every time Mike was holding him, he was offering him a taste of watermellon, bread, cereal, anything Mike was eating at the time.  He's barely old enough to try rice cereal, but that kid loves food.  I can hold a puff in my hand and he will grab my hands and pull them toward his open mouth whimpering until the food hits the target. 

When we got back, I decided to feed him some rice cereal.  The first attempt was a failure because Nate was so hungry for it that he grabbed my hand and kept gagging on the spoon.  The next time, he was more calm about it, but he couldn't take his eyes off the kids who were eating next to him.  It's like he could tell that their meal was better than his own.

We are all smitten with this boy.  Allie loves to make goofy faces at Nate and we all love to make him smile.  He sure is a good kid and we are all so glad he is a part of our family.  So N is for Nate.  Nate is great!

M is for McCall

M is for McCall.  One of the best places on earth.  We just got back from spending a week there.  The days were short the nights were long.  We were in a tent with a gradual slope that meant that I ended up with about 3 inches to move and kids everywhere I could turn.  We were able to rent the old cabin again so my kids played on the beach that I played on as a kid. Nate was introduced to the breath taking chill of the water and he didn't seem to mind it. We had so much fun! The kids loved playing with their cousins and I loved watching them interact. Jake and Allie tried out knee boarding for the first time and loved it. Jake tried water skiing and had enough of that after one try. There was cliff jumping, party barge rides, tube rides, paddle boat rides, huge sand holes were dug...the list goes on. I have had a hard time limiting myself on the pictures I add...there are a ton, so here you go...

That's it...that is the pile of cute kids that call my mom "Grandma".  Thanks for the trip mom!  Thanks for sharing McCall with us all these years.  You loved it first and now we're all hooked!

Allie and Nicole were great friends this trip.  They played in the water, in the sand, and when they were all cleaned up, they played mommas to their babies.  Allie has found someone who loves babies as much as she does...maybe even more!  Cute girls.

Nate was such a good boy this trip!  He slept great at night, okay during the day and only cried when he needed something.  He rewarded people with smiles even if he was super tired.  What a good boy.

Jake had fun trying out new things.  He jumped off the cliffs and countless times off the boat top.  He loved taking paddle boat rides all by himself and had fun digging in the sand for hours. 

Nate's best naps were on the party barge.  Mike would take him out there and the rocking boat was an instant sleep machine.

M is also for Mike.  We are so lucky to have him.  He had to work from the tent part of the time we were down on the beach having fun.  He works hard to make our lives comfortable.  He is a wonderful father and the best husband ever.  He lets me do all the things I want to do and supports me in all I try.  He grimaces sometimes when I pull out the camera but he knows that pictures are important to me so he allows me to get the shots I want (within reason).

Between scout camp, McCall, and the busy season with work, he has only spent 3 of the last 16 days in his own comfy bed.  The night we got home from McCall, I heard him sigh with joy at sinking down into the worn spot on the couch that he calls home.  A few more nights away and he'll be back to enjoy it again.
Anyway, the letter M brings me some favorites for sure.  We love McCall and our Michael Oday!  Mike, thanks for all you do for us.