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:

Long overdue update part II: Miss Anna Lorraine

Our Anna is doing her usual awesome self these days and keeps growing and changing like crazy!! She now weighs 17 lbs. 4 oz. and will turn 6 months ON Thanksgiving....wow! She will try her first food so expect a fun post about that adventure! Anna is now 4 lbs. behind her brother at this age...she's our dainty little girl! She may be moving on to her convertible car seat soon...due to height not weight! We'll see at her 6 month appointment as she becomes too long at 30 inches!

Anna continues to nurse well, drink from a bottle well when I am at work, chill well, and overall, sleep well. She is still doing her 30 minute cat naps throughout the day and wakes several times at night, but as we all know, I am used to that! She sleeps SO much better than Eli did so I'm happy :) She rolls front to back & back to front without issue and loves to play with her rings & blocks. Not sure if I mentioned this, but she now has TWO teeth with more on the way, I am sure. Yikes!

She loves to be held and I bought a new ring sling to add to my collection of baby carriers. So far it is my favorite because it is adjustable and versatile. Love the fabric, too! Research can't say enough good things about babywearing, so I try to often. Babywearing is especially helpful when out & about and is a godsend for weary back & arms :)

Now for some adorable pics of our sweet Anna!

Some bling for our princess:

Anna likes to bathe in the Bumbo...it is awesome! She splashes with her hands and loves the water...yay!:

Anna meets Mr. Elmo!:

Is this how daddy ALWAYS gives Anna her bottle?? :)

Now this is entertainment:

One evening, Eli & I found it funny to dress Anna up in a variety of hats. She could have cared less!:

Anna is working hard at learning how to sit up all by herself! She isn't there yet, but she's getting close!!:

Watching the dancing trees:

A lesson in leaves:

And a little video: