Anna turned 7 months!

Miss Anna turned 7 months on Christmas Day so it was slightly overshadowed ;) She is working on her sitting and does well, but still topples when reaching for toys so we still put pillows around her. I helped her get into crawling position the other day and she seemed very intrigued, so we'll see when she discovers it on her own....I'm in no rush, believe me!!

Anna also talks and babbles a lot, just like her brother did, but just a little less boisterous :) She is still my chill baby but will let you know when she wants something!!

We have stopped giving her solids as she had a couple days of constipation that made her miserable. I will try again in a week or two and see how things go. Her weight has slowed down some, but I do think she is getting taller! She weighs 18 lbs. 4 oz. and her brother weighed 22 lbs. 4 oz. at 7 months!! Her feet are close to hanging over the car seat edge so we'll have to keep an eye on her height to change her to her new seat.

In looking back at Eli's post at around this age, I wrote so MUCH about his sleep issues. It is so amazing to not be worrying about sleep with Anna. I knew from day 1 that I was okay with co-sleeping and that has given me great comfort. She had slept with me for the first few weeks of her life and then went in her packnplay until about a month ago when we started co sleeping again. If in another month she seems to prefer her own space, she'll go back in her packnplay or crib, but I am just fine with co-sleeping. The knowledge and peace of the second time around is awesome :)

Now for some pictures of our cutie pie!

She loves to show off her teeth. Her top 2 are SO close to popping through!!

It was snowing during her 7 month photo shoot in her room and she loved watching it fall!

Mr. Eli at 7 months

Anna's 0-6 month photo collage is complete! Love these collage frames we found for each of them.

Eli's:

Anna's:

I would guess by next month she will have 2 more teeth, will be sitting independently, lunging and starting to get into crawl position, and food will sit much better in her tummy. She may even be in her new car seat!

Santa and other stuff

Last weekend we went to visit Bass Pro Santa. He is my favorite, by far, as he is "real" and you get a free picture! They also take their time to get a good picture, which not all places do (like in "A Christmas Story" ;). I was unsure how Eli would do this year, because as you can see last year, he was not to sure of the jolly ol' elf. He was very excited as we waited in line and daddy prepped him on what would happen. When asked what he would ask Santa for, his response "A cool race track!" (in a WWF type voice :) Here Anna is waiting in line....she was tired, poor girl. She ALMOST passed out before we got to see Santa, but she made it!

As you can see, Eli had no issues! He jumped right on his lap and smiled....

....and told him what he wanted.

Later he told me he asked for a "really big monster truck" (again in WWF voice)...hmmm...oh yes, he did see a "really big monster truck" at Bass Pro as we were walking through the store...geesh.

Anna checking out the white beard:

And I have a feeling this will be on his Christmas list someday....um....I don't think so!!!

After Santa we went upstairs to the big windows over the lake and big tree. The last 2 years we took some nice pictures of Eli checking out the tree. This year, he bipassed the tree and went right for the checkers board:

Overlooking the lake:

After Santa, Anna got her 2nd wind:

Eli playing Santa in the tub later that night:

And some outtakes from our Christmas card picture. Funny now but I got mad at Eli cause Anna would look and then he would do something goofy or refuse to smile. Little stinker. Cute nonetheless:










And to close, before Eli was born, I found 2 pictures of Eric & I in similar poses at the same age. I decided to frame them and take pictures of our future children in the same pose. I have yet to scan the pictures of Eric & I for the blog, but here is the picture of Eli and then Anna in the same pose:

Hope everyone is enjoying the holiday season!!

Happy 6 months, Anna (& Thanksgiving)

Anna turned 6 months yesterday and enjoyed some sweet potatoes in celebration! Pictures are later in the post. I have to say that Anna's first 6 months seemed to just whiz on by in comparison to Eli's. Obviously it is due to feeling more secure in my parenting of an infant and learning how to parent and infant AND a toddler. It amazes me still, though, that she is half way to a year! This time, I'll start with her 6 month pictures in the chair. Tomorrow we get her professional 6 month pictures taken!

Anna is improving with her sitting up and continues to love to jump in her jumperoo, sit in her bumbo, and play on the floor. Oh, and be held, of course. She loves to be held and she just takes everything in. She is our quiet observer! Cloth diapering is going really well and I just smile when I think of all the money we are saving! Now to be TOTALLY disposable diaper free....gotta work on Eli for that one!

Anna's 6 month doctor appointment is next Friday but I would guess she weighs almost 18 lbs. now and should be 18 lbs. at her appointment. Eli weighed 21 lbs. at 6 months!

Anna will outgrow her carseat in length at 30 inches. At her 4 month she was 27 inches so the doc thought she might reach 30 inches sooner than we think! We went ahead and bought her convertible car seat for when she is ready!!:

Here is Eli before he moved to his convertible carseat:


Now on to Thanksgiving. At preschool Eli's class made a lot of adorable Thanksgiving crafts. This is one of our favorites:

Thanksgiving day was spent at Grandma & Grandpa Clarkson's house. Yummy food for everyone! Anna tried sweet potato the day prior, just to see how she would do. She seemed to do great at first, opening her mouth big & wide. But after a couple spoonfuls, she wasn't as excited. Day 2 on Thanksgiving had the same result:

Day prior to Thanksgiving (Eli was wanting to play with neighbor boys who were riding their bikes...he becomes very passionate about playing with them ;):



Thanksgiving Day:

Gobble, Gobble:

Mr. Eli's grub:

"Umm...not too excited about all this!":

"But I'll still smile a sweet smile for you!":

Hangin' with daddy:

Eli brought over part of his racetrack and also got to ride around on a new trike that Grandma & Grandpa Clarkson had bought. He also had his first try at a Wii...he did pretty good at waterboarding!

Thanksgiving 2010:

Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving!!

I Am Thankful For...

1. Healthy children
2. Overall health of family & friends
3. My breastfeeding relationship with my kiddos, past & present
4. A hubby who supports my choices in parenting: breastfeeding, co-sleeping, non-CIO, positive discipline, etc.
5. The ability to work part-time so I can be home more with the kids
6. My relationship with my sisters
7. My mom who has such a close relationship with her grandkids....they see her almost daily!
8. A hubby with a job that supports family in more ways than one
9. A generous and thoughtful dad
10. Our wonderful neighbors who love our kids
11. Our neighbor boys who play with Eli even though they are 5-7 years older than he is
12. Preschool
13. Consignment sales where I get most of the kiddos' clothes
14. Starbucks (I realize I could do without this one, but I am thankful for them ;)
15. A working furnace that knock-on-wood does not need to be replaced....yet
16. Working cars
17. Baby carriers (wraps, slings, etc.)
18. A college education AND family who understands the importance and have started college funds for Eli & Anna
19. Wonderful friends from breastfeeding support group who have helped me in more ways than one
20. La Leche League & Centerpoint lactation consultants
21. Chiropractic care
22. A son who is spirited, smart, loving, curious, persistent, and has a sweet smile
23. A daughter who is laid back, smiles & laughs a lot, is an awesome nurser, and active
24. A husband who is kind, caring, honest, an AMAZING daddy, flexible, loving, and handsome
25. My natural hair color so I don't have to color anymore...until the grays come in...yikes!!
26. My ipod
27. Blogs
28. The internet where I find MUCH to learn about
29. Fall weather
30. Chocolate
31. The holidays and seeing them through my children's eyes

What are YOU thankful for??

Long overdue update part I: Mr. Elijah Lee

Our big boy continues to keep us on our toes! He loves preschool, ANYTHING race cars, and EVERYTHING to do with other kids. While this is all awesome, leaving places where other kids are has become quite the issue that I dread. The "3's" are proving to be the hardest yet, with a super duper strong desire to be independent, but the reality of still only being "3". He also hasn't quite decided what things he WANTS to do on his own, and which things he will insist on getting help with. For example, he can undress & dress himself, but still wants help most of the time. He CAN go potty on the toilet, but still is more comfortable in his pull-up. Sigh.

With our afternoons we try to take 2-3 "field trips" a week (essentially just getting out of the house :). We go to the library to check out books & DVDs, go to the park (but with colder weather arriving, the mall will soon become our "park"), and we also try to do a craft and bake something weekly. This week we went to the Planetarium at Union Station to see "One World, One Sky" (free!) and hope to use our Groupon for Wonderscope in a month or so. We miss Toddler Town already with it only being open in the mornings, but we hope to attend a few times over the winter. I am enjoying my afternoons off and feel my time is more concentrated with the kiddos this way. We still are able to attend special event playdates so we still get to see our friends.

Now for some pictures!

Reading the paper like daddy:

I bought a couple of costumes on clearance after Halloween for dress up clothes....he loves them!:

Just some outside time one nice fall afternoon:

In Anna's post you'll see her exploring leaves...which included trying to eat them. Here is Eli trying to do the same thing...goofy boy:

Eli adores Anna and sometimes a little TOO much. Their relationship is too cute and fun to watch grow: