EIGHT months

 Look!  I'm 8 months old!!

I'm getting SO BIG!!

This is my favorite pose, when I'm not on the move.

I have a BIG smile, and I love to share it!

Sometimes I sit still, but never for long.

Then I'm off to explore!

It's true, our baby girl is now EIGHT months old, which means she:

• is constantly on the go, army crawling all over the place and beginning to attempt crawling on all fours at times too.
• just cut through your first tooth on your eight month birthday!
• loves to smile!
• continues to sleep like a champ - typically at night from 8pm to around 7am.
• is down to two naps, 1-2 hours each.
• is eating more and more - definitely showing preference to the "real" stuff over those silly purees :)
• has learned to wave & clap!!
• babbles lots, with a few ma-ma-ma's and da-da-da's here and there!

Happy EIGHT months to my little love!!

School Days

It was a momentous week in the Hohlen household as we sent Carter off to Kindergarten.

The day went as well as can be expected, I was able to take Carter to school without the other kids and enjoyed this time with him.  Not to mention it was probably easier on Turner for us just to leave as he was quite upset about the whole deal (which is a whole blog post of its own)!  Carter was only a wee-bit apprehensive as I left the classroom, but overall just plain excited to see what Kindergarten was all about.  I was distracted by helping with the back-to-school coffee ((ambitious I know, thanks to my dear friend, Amy)) which meant I was at the school another couple of hours before heading home.  It was on the drive home ((alone)), that the tears flowed as the past five years flashed before my eyes.  I was flooded with joy of memories, some guilt of the moments I wanted to send him off, and then excitement for the days ahead.  

We are so thankful for LCS and the option for three-day Kindergarten as all public schools in Lincoln are now five-day programs.  ((not sure what Turner would do if Carter was gone all week!))  We are also thankful to have LOTS familiar faces at the school both on the teaching staff and in the student body.  Not to mention the fact that the school provides a fabulous academic program centered on Christ & the Bible!  What a great arena to prepare our little guy for independence and ((gasp)) a life of his own someday!  I love that we get to send him out and then let him come back to home and help him digest the happenings of the day.

Off to school!!

Sibling photo 

Carter & his teacher, Mrs. Coler

The Kindergartner

After a half-day on Wednesday, today was his first full day and the reports continue to be very good!  He is all smiles when we pick him up, and here are a few comments we've heard:

• I was SO tired at rest time, but I didn't sleep because of the music they had playing.
• We had gym class today and guess who I saw?   Mr. Earl!
• We got to go outside two times!
• We haven't even used our pencils yet, isn't that weird?  And we haven't even done anything with the alphabet.
• If you need something opened at lunch (i.e. go-gurt or applesauce) you just hold it in the air and one of the moms will come open it for you!
• We sing a song about the rules! ((followed by a little version of the song))

I have a kid in school.  Crazy.  Fun.  Lots to learn (for us all).

SEVEN months

It was already 2 weeks ago (JULY 29) that our precious baby girl turned 7 months.

Gone are the days where she contently stayed and played in one spot, this sweet girl has embraced mobility - taking advantage of any wide open space to practice her scooting and making most any object on the floor an open target!  For the most part this is fun to see, though at times presents a challenge for Momma to get anything else accomplished during your waking moments.... you are not content to stay in one place - sometimes the jumper is alright sometimes, but the exersaucer is definitely not your friend any more.  And you are much happier when surrounded by your brothers' toys, yours must be too boring or something like that!

At seven months you:

• army crawl / scoot about anywhere we let you go!
• are sitting up very well.
• are continuing to add foods to your daily meals - even a few (small) bites of non-purees here and there!!  Pears & Applesauce are your very best!
• are down to two naps most days (9:30 and 1:30) and sleeping from 8 to 7 most nights!
• are working on a couple of teeth, but none have poked through quite yet!
• are very social, always have a smile for people who greet you :)
• are getting the cutest lil' tanned legs from going to the pool with Momma & the boys, you have a great skin my lil' lady!

Cheers to seven precious months with my baby girl!  God is good!

Flashback...

Almost exactly three years ago this happened while Daddy was watching baby Turner (I blogged about it here).


And wouldn't you know, last night I get the picture below texted to me while at Target with the boys...

Not once has this occurred with Momma on duty, even if I wanted one of the children to take a nap it wouldn't happen like this.


Gotta love Daddy on duty ;)

On the MOVE

Greichaly's new trick, the army crawl!

Just for fun, here's a video of Turner doing the same thing at about the same age!

She's growing up... whether I'm ready or not!

Happy Freedom!!

<< fAmiLy, fRIeNdS, gOoD eATs, sWiMMiNg, fIReWoRKs >>

...that pretty much sums up this year's 4th of July in Hastings....

Shutterfly

Gotta love a good deal from Shutterfly, I just ordered a dozen of the notecards pictured below on sale with free shipping AND just for sharing with all of you on my blog, they will give me $10 off my next order!!  


I should also mention the night last week that I stayed up 'til Midnight working on a photo book full of Greichaly's newborn pics ((I was rushing to take advantage of a free photo book deal that expired that day)) only to lose TWO HOURS of editting (due to a lost internet connection!), I emailed Shutterfly asking for 1 more day to complete, and they quickly rectified the situation by giving me a FREE photo book on my account (with a SEPTEMBER expiration date).   I did have to re-work the photo book, but at least I could do it without a pressured deadline!!!


I LOVE Shutterfly!!  

3x5 Folded Card

View the entire collection of cards.