First Food

You had your first taste of food at 7 months.  We, of course, started with rice cereal.  You were really excited about it at first but quickly discovered that it was not all it was cracked up to be.  Ha!  Your brothers both begged to try it too so I let them and they agree…NOT THAT GREAT! Even though you are the third child, we did video and take pictures of your first little meal. 

Don’t you just love that last picture?  I’m pretty sure that is how I would feel if I had to eat rice cereal!

Friday Nights

We LOVE Friday nights around here because that means that the weekend has begun and daddy is HOME!!!!  I can remember how special Friday nights were in our house as a child.  We would order Johnnys, eat pizza in the den on a quilt (which if you knew my mom, you KNOW that was a HUGE deal!), and watch TGIF.  Well, we try to have those kind of Friday nights around here.  I like trying to do something different and fun and try to make some memories rather just “make it through the day” like it seems we tend to do sometimes.    I have to say that I did put down a quilt but lets be honest, I am NOT my mom in that department and a little pizza  would NOT have hurt our rug.  HA!!!  AND, instead of TGIF since we don’t have good shows like that anymore, we watch a movie.  USUALLY, like this night, the POLAR EXPRESS is a big request!  Since Matt and I are huge fans of anything Christmas, we gladly agree!!!  Look at Larkin…ummmm…she kind of likes TV.  Ha!!!LOOK at those faces…MOUTH WIDE OPEN!!!!I just love those sweet feet!!!!This picture of Trigger sooo reminds me of Uncle Seth…Seth used to sit just like this in our den when we were growing up!!!

and lets not forget the most important part of movie night, POPCORN…yep, we enjoyed some popcorn too! 

Now, we don’t do this every Friday night BUT, it sure is fun when we do!!!

Malory’s Party

We are so excited that our really good friends/family have moved into the neighborhood.  Brad and Michelle Waller have been friends of ours for a LONG time…like before kids…even before marriage..even before college!  So, we are sooo excited to have them for neighbors now.  They have two children: Mallory (5) and Thomas (2.5).  Trigger loves to play with Mallory.  We have always been at each others parties…starting with the first birthdays!  It’s so fun to watch our children grow up.  Anyway, Mallory had her party at Party Galaxy.  The boys had a BLAST!  Mallory, Trigger, and Campbell sliding together.Larkin was there too…but she didn’t jump! ;)

Love good friends that we can share our lives with and raise our children together…now if us girls can convince brad and matt that we need a golf cart or mule so we can easily get back and forth to each others houses, that would be PERFECT!

SIX (actually seven) months

Ok…I am slightly behind on this post because at the moment, you are 7 months old.  Better late than never.  I want to remember all the little details.  It’s hard though because I don’t write a lot down and this is my only document…and I’m behind on that. :(

I am going to try to remember the highlights!

• Larkin’s 6 month stats: weight: 14 lbs 11 oz, length: 25.5 inches, head circumference: 42.3 cm
• Okay…some people would disagree with this statement but here it goes:  you are a pretty laid back baby.  I will explain before tomatoes or eggs are thrown at my house!!!  As far as you can miss a nap and be okay: you are laid back…in fact, you are pretty much perfect as long as I am holding you!!!!  Sometimes…actually A LOT…you like for me to be standing up which is okay because I am rarely sitting anyway!  NOW, as for going to other people, you have gotten pretty clingy. For the most part though, I’d say you are a good baby….maybe that’s because you have been good today!
• You LOVE, LOVE your brothers. And, more importantly, so far you are tolerant of their behavior!
• You are still in LOOOOOOVE with your thumb.  We all KNOW how much I am in LOVE with your thumb also!  I am convinced that that is the reason that you sleep so good at night.  You do not take a paci anymore and haven’t for a long time.  We still have them around because you love playing with them and chewing on them but you don’t use one for comfort.
• TEETH:  You got your first tooth (bottom right) at five months and your second (bottom left) at 5.5 months.  You have another one that we just discovered at about 6.5 months but it has NOT broken through yet….I bet you will never guess which one it is?!?!  Top right, FANG tooth.  YEP, JUST LIKE Trigger, Campbell, and ME!!!!  Crazy!!!  Maybe you will be a little more like Campbell and get your other top ones fast and you wont have the vampire smile like Trigger did.
• You started sitting up a little later than we expected…at 6.5 months.  I am fairly confident that this is because of your lack of “ground time” since you are carried around or are in bed for most of the day!
• Your brothers love you so much.  They are constantly trying to kiss you and hold your hand.  Trigger told me today that if Campbell tried to hurt you that he wouldn’t let him.  I’m pretty sure you are going to have some great protection in the future!!!
• Clothes:  I have JUST now put away your 3-6 month pjs and you are wearing 6 months or some hand-me-down 9 months pjs.  You pretty much wear all 6 month clothes.  You probably could wear some 9 month bubbles but I haven’t put those on you yet. 
• SLEEP:  You are THE best sleeper!  If we are home all day, you will take two good naps…maybe even three.  Then, for nighttime, I feed you, no rocking, and put you straight in bed around 730 (earlier if I can get everything done in time).  Sometimes you are asleep and sometimes you aren’t.  Either way, you just drift off to sleep.  You sleep until around 730 (sometimes 8-830) in the morning.  It is awesome.  Last week you had a runny nose and you woke up at 10pm crying…I was kind of panicked wondering what I should do…I realized that it had been about 4 months since you had woken up at night….and you have probably only woken early in the morning (4am) around 5 or 6 times in the last four months SOOOO, I would say that you are an AWESOME sleeper!!!!   Oh and you do NOT like being rocked.  When you get tired, you just want to be laid down and you suck your thumb and might cry a little and go to sleep!!!!
• FEEDING: I just started rice cereal when you turned seven months.  PITIFUL but we had to get the clear from the neurologist and also you had been having some major stomach issues with some dairy that I had eaten.  You only get fed once a day (at night)….and you only get about a tablespoon in your tummy because you spit out or spit up most of it!  We have also just tried peas.  You are OKAY with peas and rice cereal but aren’t just loving it yet!
• BREASTFEEDING:  I am still exclusively breastfeeding you…LOVE It!  Let me just say though, breastfeeding is NOT for the weak or for the selfish.  I literally can’t be gone for more than an hour and a half (2 at the MAX) so Larkin literally goes where I go!  She nurses about 5 times a day….she only nurses about 7-10 minutes each time…IF THAT!  I am still pumping at night before I go to bed.  I had slacked off quite a bit and wasn’t even storing the milk until Larkin’s head injury.  Then, I panicked and started freezing it because I was scared that she would need it if she was hospitalized or had to have surgery.  I can usually pump around 7-8 ounces  at night.
• NEURO- We took you back to the doctor in JULY.  The neurologist said that your skull fracture is starting to heal.  It is nowhere near healed and she said it is because the fracture was so big.  We did get to see the xray.  The fracture is from behind one ear up the side and all the way to your soft spot.  On the other side of your head, you have a fracture that looked to be in the shape of a horseshoe.  We will go back in September for another xray and appointment.  She is hoping that it is close to healed by the time we go back.  However, she said she wouldn’t be surprised if it was not healed completely.   Our only instructions were to look for pulsating in the cracks between the skull and to be careful with you.   When I put you on the ground to sit up, I have to make sure you have extra padding all around…and we have to be careful with who is allowed to hold you.
• MEDICINE- You are still on Zantac.  We took you off of prevacid around 6 months…I did this because prevacid with long term use is not good for calcium absorption.  You still spit up BUCKET LOADS a day but maybe that will get a little better now that we are adding food.
• Everyone says that you look just like Trigger (who apparently looks just like your daddy).  I see some of Campbell in you too.

We are sooo in love with you!!!!!  and I am so thankful that God surprised us with a sweet little girl!!!!

T & C

These boys are funny…I am sure they will LOVE each other one day.  Right now, though, they are at each other’s throats (sometimes literally) constantly!!!!  Campbell seems to be a little lost without Trigger…Trigger likes Campbell there but not to touch anything that he has possession of…or that he is thinking about having possession…or that he has EVER had possession of…which pretty much covers everything in the house.  I’m sure they will be best of friends eventually…at least I keep telling myself that it is coming one day. 

I laughed so hard the other night when I looked through old pictures of Trigger and Campbell.  They are almost all identical.  Trigger grabbing around Campbell…Campbell screaming and trying to get away.  I must come up with another plan to get them together to take pictures of them.  This day, we had run outside to do something.  The grass was so lush and green thanks to the great sprinkler system.  Ha!  I decided to take a few pictures of the boys playing in the grass.however, the grass was a little too much for Campbell and he was a little uncomfortable laying in it…and it was obviously a little too bright for Trigger’s likings. We have had to get a little creative (not so much creative on my part) because it is sooo hot outside that we can’t spend much time out there!  We have done some painting…we have played with playdough…and even brought out some of my old school supplies.  I am ready for the FALL!!!!!Trigger had his first sleep over a few weeks ago.  His Grammy (Matt’s mom) had asked if he could spend the night one Friday night.  He was so excited…even though he didn’t want to admit it, I think he was a little nervous.  He kept telling me that “I am coming back, momma, don’t be sad”.  Ha!  At first, I thought,” YAY, we get time with Campbell and Larkin” because honestly, Trigger requires a lot of attention and time which takes it away from Campbell and Larkin.  The excitement quickly faded when I heard how quiet the house was…and how quiet Campbell was.  He was like a lost little puppy.  He played but was so quiet playing…and usually he is pretty loud.  Trigger did sleep through the night and Matt and Campbell went to pick him up the next morning so we could get him back in time for a party.  Look at this face below…love it!  It is MUCH better than the “I do NOT love you and I never will” face!  Yep, we have been getting lots of those looks and lots of ugly talking!  The sassy juice is about to find a home in my purse!!!!!

I sure love my two boys!!!!!  They are wild and full of ENERGY!!!!  but I wouldn’t change them!!!!!

Cousin visit

A few weeks ago, my cousin, Kim, was in town.   She had suggested that we get together to visit.  We invited Vanna over too so that Kim could get to see all of us at once.   So, all of the boys got to play while the mommas held babies, fed babies, and visited.  It really was sooo much fun!  Trigger LOVED having someone his own age to play with. 

Here are the boys…Campbell, Andrew and Josiah (kims), Reid (vannas), and TriggerThe mommas with babies: Vanna and Jake, Kim and Abigail, and Me and Larkin.  These three boys were all born within a year of each other.  (Campbell, Reid, and Andrew)It’s funny because Kim and I have been pregnant at the same time with all three of our children.  I think it is so fun!  AND, we both have two boys and then a girl.Oh and how can I forget these two sweet boys…Trigger LOVES Josiah!

Trigger- Four year old Questions

These are the questions that I asked Trigger.  I am going to try to ask them every year to see how his responses change over the years!  Should be interesting!!!

1. What is your favorite color? Orange

2. What is your favorite toy? Spiderman

3. What is your favorite fruit? Watermelon

4. What is your favorite tv show? Mike the Knight

5. What is your favorite thing to eat for lunch? apples, strawberries

6. What is your favorite outfit? my vest, snoofy (snoopy) shirt, and pants

7. What is your favorite game? Mickey

8. What is your favorite snack? Raisins

9. What is your favorite animal? Dog…”riley dog”

10. What is your favorite song? Jesus Loves Me

11. What is your favorite book? Bible

12. Who is your best friend? John Parker Moak

13. What is your favorite cereal? Black Cereal (cocoa pebbles)

14. What is your favorite thing to do outside? Play on my playset

15. What is your favorite drink? Chocolate milk

16. What is your favorite holiday? Halloween

17. What do you like to take to bed with you at night? Woody, Alligator, and my orange B

18. What is your favorite thing to eat for breakfast? Breakfast bar and cereal

19. What do you want for dinner on your birthday? Soup

20. What do you want to be when you grow up? Stopper man