Jumperoo!

I am amazed that she is already old enough to be in her Jumperoo. Everyone warns - but it is true that time really does go by faster with each baby.

dada's shoes

like a big boy

These days, Trip likes to do things, "like a big boy".

Here he is, sitting at the counter (and not in his high chair - that would be like a baby), eating cereal and playing trucks.

Letting Trip do things like a big boy means that I need lots of patience, "like a big girl".

4 Months on the 4th!

Anna Kate turned 4 months old on July 4th!

[I love that her eyes are the same color as her denim dress.]

Height: 25.5 in (90th percentile)

Weight: 15 lbs (75th percentile)

Likes: Anna Kate is really so easy going now. I can put her in her crib or baby play gym for quite some time while I cook or play with Trip and she is happy to entertain herself. She really only fusses when she is tired. More on that in the "dislikes" section.

She truly loves her brother and has gone from just tolerating his craziness to seeming quite fond of him. I'm sure she is constantly entertained!

AK has really started to like sucking her fingers. As hard as I try and force the paci so that she doesn't become a thumb sucker, she just always seems to have a fist in her mouth.

Dislikes: She is still very sensitive to sound, but only when she is tired. If she is well rested, sounds shock her, but when she is tired they send her into a complete meltdown. Even hearing people talk if she is tired will upset her quite a bit.

Memories: In her 3rd month of life, AK was making some really quiet and sweet coo's. I thought, she is going to be my shy and quiet girl. This month, she has really proved me wrong. I think she has learned how to playfully scream from her brother. She can be so loud! Now I am starting to think that she will end up being even more wild than Trip! Lord help me!

Overall, Anna Kate is such a joy to be around and I have really enjoyed getting to know her without all the pain and fussiness she experienced in the first couple of months. She is still my little buddy (partially because she refuses to take a bottle), and I am so excited to see how our relationship will grow as mother and daughter.

We praise the Lord every day for this little girl. She is such a blessing to us.

Happy Birthday!

Yesterday was J's 31st birthday, which makes him officially into his thirties! We had a lot of fun celebrating this weekend with his mom and a few others.

Birthdays are always a good chance to reflect on the past year and all of the blessings that we have received. J has had quite a few changes with his job, we moved into a new house, and Anna Kate joined our family! On his birthday last year I told him we were pregnant. It feels like she has always been part of our family, so it is hard to believe that she just turned 4 months old.

Happy birthday J! We love you so much!

Trip the Tester!

I attempted to have a little July 4th photo shoot with my kids dressed in their cute outfits, but Trip was simply not having it. He didn't want any pictures taken of himself, and when I was trying to take pictures of Anna Kate, he was constantly jumping on me or her!

Alas, these are the best I could do.

Let's just say that Trip has been quite the little challenge lately. He is really trying to assert himself with me, doesn't want to do a thing I say, and is not responding well to my attempts at discipline.

Is this what they call the "terrible two's"?

I am about half way through Shepherding a Child's Heart and so far it has provided some really great, Biblical advice. Hopefully it will lend some good practical advice for how to handle this stage of discipline.

We shall see.

Trip's Fort

This was before Trip's nap today. He watched a little bit of his Toy Story DVD, cuddled with his monkey and had some "pink milk" in his new fort from his Cupcake.

Doesn't get much better than that.