Baby Food

It's getting to that time...time for making baby food that is. Tonight I made sweet potatoes as a side for our dinner. I bought a bag of seven. When I went to cook them, I decided that I would cook them all and blend up the rest for Madden. I think I'm going to attempt to make food this way, instead of doing huge batches, and see what I think. 

I used my new-to-me baby bullet and loved it! This is what three small sweet potatoes, with enough water to make t smooth and close to stage 1 like, yielded.

 I also found another benefit to trying the process of making the food this way...

Reintroducing Mary Kate and Mills to foods that they once loved and will not eat at this time. I am thinking we will begin feeding Madden food in 4-6 weeks.

Madden: Month 4

Time continues to fly by. Madden is now four months old and is such a joy! He loves for his brother and sister to play with him, is so close to rolling back to stomach, and can hold his feet and stick them in his mouth. He is finishing up the size two diapers we have and is moving up to size three...at least two months sooner than his siblings. He nurses every three to three and a half hours and sleeps ten hours at night. Madden is so happy and is just the best baby!!!

At his appointment yesterday, he weighed 16lbs 13oz and was 27" long. That means he has gained 2lbs 7.5oz and grown lengthwise 2" in two months. What a chunky monkey, but more to love on!!!

Remembering Pa

Today, September 18, 2013, I lost Pa. I have known this day was near for the last  couple of months, but particularly the last couple of weeks. My heart breaks at the thought of not being with him here on earth, but I do take solace in the fact that we will one day meet again in heaven. 

Pa was a quite, gental man with a servant's heart. I am thankful that my children had the privilege of knowing him, albeit for a short few years that they may not remember that well. 

Tomorrow, Madden and I will make the trio to Willmington, NC to lay him to rest. I'm sure that it will be a difficult and emotional weekend, but am hoping that it will be filled with great memories of him as well. 

He's a Monkey

Madden has a new trick. He now loves to lay on his back and hold both of his feet. It makes it way easier to clean him up after he's pooped, hahaha! It also is allowing him to get super close to rolling back to stomach. Such a little monkey!

Rolling Over!

Today, 9/5/13 and at nearly 17 weeks, Madden finally decided it was it was time to flip that big body over! Tonight, as we played in the bonus room with Mary Kate and Mills, we heard Madden's angel monitor go off. When I went to check on him, I noticed that he had spun himself around to lay on the short side of his crib. So I slid him back and, when I did, he got really excited. In fact, he got so excited that he put his left arm under his body and rolled, to the left, all the way onto his back. He was so proud of himself that he had a huge toothless smile on his face. I flipped him back onto his stomach and he did it again. It was so neat that I was able to see him do this for the first time! 

I took him into the bonus room to try and get him to show off for his siblings, but he just wanted to talk to him. We did let him show off his developing skills in the Johnny Jump Up though. It's crazy how fast time is flying with this precious boy!

Mills Goes to Preschool

I am so thankful for the opportunity for Mills to attend 3 year old preschool three days a week this year! He enjoys learning and being around others, so this is a great chance for him to get used to being in a school environment.

He was so excited to get to go to school.  He started the day after Mary Kate, so he was ready for mommy paparazzi to come out, hahaha!

Look how big he looks here!

Both kids together on Mills' first day of school.

 Daddy got to go to school on Mills' first day and walked both kids in...how sweet!

 Best picture I could get of him under his class sign.

 All unpacked.

We were asked to write one thing that our child likes to talk about in case they had a difficult time leaving us their parents. 

His teachers this year are Mrs. Michelle and Mrs. Shelly and he goes Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays. Mills really loves being able to learn and play with friends new and old. Like Mary Kate, he loves the playground and music with mommy! Hopefully he will continue to enjoy me teaching him...and hopefully he will learn to sit still!

Mills is one of the youngest, if not the youngest, students in his class, but he's taller than several of the kids who are nearly a year older than him! I think he gets his height from me, hahahaha! I'm afraid his age relative to his grade level, at this point, is highlighting some of the growing pains we are feeling with the transition into a school environment.  Mills is smart and gets very excited, at times, and has a difficult time following directions.  He is just young and has a lot of maturing to do. I am thankful for patient teachers who are loving him through this transition into school! The goal will be for him to get more happy faces than sad faces each week and I think by the end of the first quarter he will be right on track.

We are so proud of him and cannot wait to see how much he grows in many arenas this year!

Mary Kate Starts Pre-K

Even writing this almost four weeks into Mary Kate being in school makes me tear up.  It does not seem like it is time for my baby girl to be in school!  Spending last school year home with her was priceless and I am so thankful for the opportunity, which God provided when I never would have thought it possible!

We went to orientation on Friday, August 2nd and Mary Kate could not wait to see her meet her teachers and see her classroom.  We were excited as well and surprised in the anti-climatic reaction shown when we actually met the teachers and saw the classroom.  I think she was a bit overwhelmed because there were so many people down that hallway!

Monday morning, August 5th, was her first day of Pre-K at First Baptist Academy.  Here teachers are Mrs. Elizabeth and Mrs. Terri.  We went through our now daily ritual of getting ready and then the paparazzi in me came out!  I was armed with my camera for her to hold up her sign, which will be an annual thing, to tell about her grade, school, teacher(s), and what she wants to be when she grows up...The later one is hysterical this year!

 When Mary Kate put on that book-bag for the first time, she was so proud! This is when I really had to fight back the tears.  She looks so big and she really thinks she is grown!

 The picture below is courtesy of Mills. Not too shabby.

 Here she is outside of her classroom, underneath her class sign.

 Here is Mrs. Terri showing Mary Kate her cubby and helping her unpack.  She was so proud.

 The finished product...she did everything all by herself.

Mary Kate hugged and kissed me and was excited, but slightly apprehensive.  After we said our goodbyes, I stepped outside to watch her and make sure she was ok.  She was told to go find a center to play in and went straight to the kitchen and grabbed the vacuum...daddy would be so proud of her!  She was smiling and seemed oh so happy.  I was happy to see her so excited, but I was overcome with the emotion of it all.  I was able to make it back to the van before the tears began to flow.  I was proud of myself for not crying in front of her.  So, as a reward to myself, I stopped by Dunkin Donuts and got a french vanilla cappuccino...decaf of course.

Words cannot express how proud we are of Mary Kate.  She is beautiful, smart, caring, and compassionate and is absolutely loving and thriving in school. Two days into school, she was already writing her name, and doing so with confidence and ease.  She loves going to the library and her favorite, of course, is taking music with mommy...even though she has only had one class with me so far.  I cannot wait to see what all this first year of school has in store for her.  I know that she will continue to grow and thrive and am so thankful for a wonderful place for her to attend as we begin this new chapter in our lives!