Leaning Tower of Pisa

Yes, that's right Jade is just about as stable on her feet as that famous tower. She likes to stand with help but then she just leans on things. She can't walk and won't move her feet in step-like motions yet, so she leans further and further until eventually she just falls down. She loves this toy from Grandma and Grandpa though and is mesmerized by the lights and sounds.

7 Months Old!

Our little lady is seven months old, can you believe it!! My parents always told me that time goes faster the older you get; I am now seeing the truth in that statement as each day seems to speed by! When I was little, time seemed to drag on forever and I could not wait to get on to the next big event in life, but now that I am older and have a family of my own, it seems I cannot wait for time to slow down so that I can enjoy each moment a little longer and savor it.

Here are some of the things Jade has mastered this month:
• sit up on her own, without support
• lift her chest and tummy off the ground and straighten her arms so she can see up higher
• scoot sideways and in a circle when she is on her tummy—she especially moves to get her favorite toys!
• rolls from back to tummy and back again (sometimes)
• says “Ba, ba”
• had her first ear infection (that was no fun!)
• is eating rice cereal & oatmeal, carrots, squash, bananas, applesauce, sweet potatoes, pears, and some hard biter biscuits which turn to mush when she drools endlessly on them!
• smiles big when mommy and daddy come home, recognizes us
• very ticklish on her thighs, tummy, and ribs

I hope you also enjoy these pictures I took of her in this adorable Nike skorts outfit. It is a 12 month, but alas she has already almost outgrown it!

Mommy and Me

Just a fun picture.... Do we look alike?

Carrots!!

Our latest adventure in the world of solid foods was carrots. I think the pictures say it all!!!

Yeah!!! I get to eat!!!

OH Man!!! That was so mean, Mom! You tricked me!

I think I will stick with my rice cereal!!!

Naptime

We are trying really hard to keep Jade on a schedule with eating, napping, and sleeping through the night. If there is one thing I have learned it's that babies have their own agenda! For the most part Jade does well, but sometimes we have some fun nights and short naps which is the perfect recipe for a crazy day! Here is a video I took of one such moment when she was supposed to be "napping!"

My Mommy...the Amateur Photographer

If I was not a teacher, then my profession of choice would be a photographer. I have always loved taking pictures of anything and everything. When I come back from a vacation, yes, I am the one with 1,000 photos to download! When Jade turned 6 months old, I thought rather than spend a ton of money to have someone else take pictures, I could try it myself. So...after borrowing my Mom's nice camera, here is what happened...

Cheese!

That feels weird...

Fence is DONE!!!

Last weekend Ben went into crazy-gotta-get-it-done mode with the fence. Here is a timeline of what happened:

Friday Feb. 12—went to Home Depot with Grandpa and bought fence posts and stain/sealant

Saturday Feb. 13—painted fence posts and dug a few holes in the backyard

Monday Feb. 15—Dug 15+ holes for the posts, Jenny painted other side of posts


Wednesday Feb. 17—put up 15+ fence posts, some in cement, the others in these cool new metal post stands, Jenny painted the 2x4’s



Friday Feb. 19—Ben picked up the fence slats from Lowe’s, unloaded them and set to work, he nailed up the 2x4’s then the slats on the entire back yard (It rained/snowed all day long!)





Saturday Feb. 20— Jenny painted more 2x4’s, Ben continued nailing up the slats and got most of the side of the house and a small front piece done

Saturday Feb 27—Ben finished painting and nailing up the last of the 2x4’s and fence slats, filled in the bottom gaps with dirt, and wallah! WE have a backyard instead of a museum I used to call it that because anyone could just drive by and look at us). Thanks also to Tommy for coming to help Ben!

That night we had a campfire in our little metal pit just to celebrate our new found privacy, it was amazing!!!

AWE!! THE BLISSFUL FEELING OF PRIVACY! FINALLY!!!

SIX MONTHS OLD ALREADY!

I cannot believe we have a 6 month old!! When she was born I thought that sounded really old and far away. Well, I blinked and here it is, Jade is half a year old and thriving. That's the exact word the doctor used when we went to her check-up.

Jade's Stats:
19 lbs. 4 oz.
27 1/2 inches long
**Plus she was such a trooper, she got 4 shots this time instead of just the normal two. The other two were for the flu and H1N1 vaccines. The needles had to be extra long this time in order to get through to the muscle on her extra chunky thighs!!

Here are some other milestones that Jade reached this month:

• Can sit up for a brief amount of time by herself(she just has too round of a bottom!)
• Roll from back to tummy and almost from tummy to back!
• hold her own bottle
• Hold her head up at a 90 degree angle to the floor when she is on her belly and push up onto her arms
• squeal in delight (she loves to do this when we pick her up, it’s so stinkin’ cute!)
• Pull herself up to a standing position using our fingers as leverage
• Smile when she recognizes Mommy and Daddy
• Make vowel sounds and some consonant sounds
• Sleep through the night!! Yeah, finally more sleep for Mommy!! She sleeps from about 7pm to 7am, with just a little snack to top her off at 11pm.