Aaron's new word.

Aaron has not only been practicing walking, he's also been practicing talking. He says quite a few words, but has recently started looking at me and saying, "Mama". It's so sweet. He's said that word for a while, but now he's definitely associating ME with "Mama" which is VERY cute. Also, he's been practicing his "Thank You"'s, and at this age it just cannot get much more adorable with the sweet little "Tee-To" sound he makes when he hands me something. But...all of that is cute and wonderful and adorable...BUT, today he pointed to Lilah and said, "Dat?" (one of his favorite phrases--"what dat" or just plain "dat"), and I said "Lilah". He looked at me, stuck out his tongue and said, "LILAH"!!! It was a very "tonguey" Lilah, but it was definitely Lilah...and he said it over and over. I LOVE it!

So I said she's chunky...

...well, I wasn't sure HOW chunky until she was weighed today. I was thinking somewhere around 10lbs. Boy was I shocked (as was the nurse) when she weighed in at a whopping 12lbs5oz at 6 weeks old. For someone who has had milk supply issues, this is a WONDERFUL blessing to have such a "fat" baby! I still pray that my supply keeps up past the 3-4 month mark when I normally have issues...but for now, I'm very happy!

6 Weeks Old!

Lilah Bean turned 6 weeks old today. She is such a little blessing, so sweet, so snuggly...just all around wonderful. She's been smiling on occasion, but today she really outdid herself. I was holding her up in my bed room while Luke and Aaron played and I was talking to her and she started to smile...it was one smile after another after another, each one bigger than the last. Luke actually called her a "smile machine"! It was so sweet. She tried to give me a few coos too, but she's still just a bit too little...but I know they're coming soon! I'm very excited about that!

She's growing like a weed. She's SUPER chunky. I'd definitely say she's my chunkiest baby yet. She's a great eater. She's been sleeping pretty well...she seems to be doing even better with going to bed awake and falling asleep on her own. She occasionally wakes up and fusses, but often she'll put herself back to sleep. Night time is one of those things that I know takes time, but I'm really looking forward (see, here I go again living in the future--I think it's okay when it comes to sleep though!) to being able to put her down and having her sleep for a FEW hours in her crib. She's still coming to bed with me once she wakes for the first time...the main reason is because I'm not willing to lose more sleep than necessary sitting up with her when there is a distinct possibility that I will be awakened by Aaron sometime during the night too. I need my rest. Even though I really am NOT a fan of co-sleeping, right now it's what works best for me to ensure that I get the rest I need. One of these days soon I'll have to bite the bullet and hope that she starts sleeping REALLY good during the night.

Aaron has been having a rough time with his teeth. He now has 4 teeth--two bottom and two top. Poor guy though, he really has a difficult time teething. He gets very fussy, very uncomfortable and it seems to take him a while as well. Last night he had a fever and woke at 3am, drenched with sweat. I had to put him in his crib and let him cry (thankfully it was only a couple of seconds) because I really have no options with Lilah needing me. I was able (by God's wonderful grace and mercy) to snuggle him for a while though, so that was a blessing. This morning his fever continued and finally broke, but he was fussy and grumpy most of the day (really not a HUGE change for him--poor guy), he took a 2 hour nap (interrupted though) and woke up and almost fell asleep on the sofa, until his noisy big sisters and brother came in. Then it was grump, grump, grump...until he ate dinner. Poor guy must have been starving because as soon as he ate, he was SUPER jolly! He was so cute. We were commenting on how nice it would be if he were like that all of the time. He is so cute and so sweet and such a wonderful little guy...he is just a very fussy guy. I'm really hoping that it's just this age with all of the stuff his body is going through and that as soon as all of this crazy teething stuff is done, he'll be much happier...because when he's happy, he is absolutely DARLING! Okay, even when he IS grumpy, he's still darling...just a bit hard to bear!

He's now taking a good 8-10 consecutive steps. The other night he was practicing pivoting and turning the other direction. It's funny though, he doesn't walk very much. He gets the urge from time to time to practice...and he'll do it for a while...then he grabs his walker and takes off running with that...or he'll crawl. I guess walking is still more difficult than useful! :)

Well, that's it for now...I MUST go to bed. Tomorrow I head to the DMV to get a new license. Oh yeah, I never posted about my car getting stolen...I guess I'll have to do that one of these days!

Good night!

First Steps!!!

I have to keep this quick because I had a long day with 2 babies--alone, while my big kids and daddy went to Discovery Kingdom (free tickets thanks to the Read to Succeed program!).

This morning Aaron took a couple of steps between Savannah and I. We were so thrilled for him!! This afternoon he did it a few more times, taking probably 3-4 consecutive steps at the most, but we're on our way!!!! I tried to get it on video, but as soon as he saw the camera, he wanted NOTHING to do with walking because he just wanted to play with the camera! Maybe tomorrow if he does it more, I can ambush him with the camera and post his new skills!

I've been negligent.

I know, I know...it's been 10 days since I last posted. A lot has been going on...and I'm going to have to keep it short due to the fact that I'm ill. Darn mastitis has struck again. I don't know why I get it...but I've gotten it with all of my girls, but not my boys--strangely. With Aaron I had a clogged duct that never materialized as mastitis...although after I stopped nursing, I did end up with a breast infection that had me very worried!

Anyway, so I'm feeling very lousy. I've started antibiotics and hopefully will start feeling much better very soon.

All of us, including Lilah have gotten some crud. Stuffiness, coughs, just general misery...not enough to make you feel ill, just enough to be annoying. Mine is more of a head cold, Lilah has super goopy eyes (Aaron did too for a couple of days) and Jeremy and Savannah and Abby all have super annoying coughs! How fun. We've had the weirdest weather...cold then hot then cold...RAIN even in June...like RECORD rain. Like 2+ inches of rain! Weird. I attribute the colds to the weird weather.

Aaron is FINALLY getting some more teeth. One on the top right has popped through and the top left one is following suit.

Lilah is a fantastic little baby. She's fallen right into a wonderful routine for naps. Nights are still a bit touchy, but she's doing great so far.

Today the girls took good care of me while I wasn't feeling well. Savannah made Aaron malt-o-meal for breakfast and fed it to him and they kept him entertained while I napped. It's so nice to have older girls. Then they made a chocolate cake--all by themselves! It was delicious! :) They insisted I not get up and just rest. Easier said than done, but I do appreciate the small amount of rest I got.

Okay, Lilah has been in bed now for a little while, I'm hoping to get some good rest before she wakes up. I need it. Tomorrow she is 1 month old and Aaron is 13 months old! Wow, where does the time go?

Aaron and his bottle.

Aaron cracks me up with his bottle. He now says, "Ba-ba" quite often, although he says it with the intonation of a little Spanish boy calling his Papa...emphasis on the last syllable rather than the first. He is the only baby I've ever seen that can drink a bottle without tipping it in the slightest. The bottle can be straight up and down, in his hands with his hands by his tummy and he'll just suck and suck and suck until enough suction is created that he can get to the milk. Granted, this would NOT work if we didn't use the bottles we use--the ones with the plastic liners in them which allow for this to work. It might be sad if he ever picked up a regular bottle and tried that trick. One day he fell asleep in the car with his bottle in his mouth. When I got him out, the bottle liner was actually INVERTED because he had created so much suction. On that same note...this silly boy will not allow a pacifier anywhere near his mouth, but he'll suck on an empty bottle for a good, long while when he needs a little comfort. Silly baby.

Biggest Baby Ever?

You know they say that your older baby looks so huge when you have a new one, but this is ridiculous. I think he actually GREW when Lilah came to join the family...he can be called nothing BUT a baby...he's just a really, really BIG baby! Funny thing is, he's always been in the 50th percentile for height and weight...kinda frightens me to think of what kind of babies we could run into when out and about! :)

Beautiful Eyes

I took these photos today while Aaron, Daddy and I enjoyed this gorgeous evening. Aaron gives me so many awesome photo ops, but I don't often have the time or ability to take advantage...so today, since our big children are up at Grandma and Papa's house, I got the camera out and took some shots. It's very fun having a light-eyed child because, in my opinion, light eyes are more interesting in photos. Don't get me wrong, I love my dark-eyed children (and husband), but to me, there generally is more depth in light-eyes. Just my opinion. These photos are straight off the camera...his eyes don't need any touch-ups, they're naturally gorgeous! The only difficulty in getting good photos of Aaron is getting him to hold still long enough!