Renee, our 3-month-old!

Renee turned 3-months-old on September 3rd.  Here are some things she has been up to lately:

-She is getting more interested in toys and starting to grab at them.

-She enjoys sitting, especially in her bumbo chair.

-She sucks on her fingers (index, both index and middle or both middle and ring finger), fist or arm. She does not seem to be interested in her thumb though.

-She enjoys being held facing out so she can watch her surroundings.

-She sleeps in her crib in her own room!  She had been previously sleeping in her bouncer and the transition to her crib was easier than we expected.

-She loves her mobile in her crib.

-She sleeps 12 hours!!!!!  She started doing this the week before she turned 3 months.  Some nights she does not sleep 12 hours but for the most part she does now!  Woo hoo!

-She loves to smile, especially at Addison and Caroline

-At her 2 month appointment she was 11 pounds, 6 ounces which was in between the 25th and 50th percentile.  I imagine she is around 12 pounds now that she is 3 months old.

-She takes a bottle, though we had a little time period where she would refuse it.

-She does not really spit up which falls in line with my mom's theory about her having hiccups a lot before she was born.

-She does not enjoy baths.

-She does not enjoy tummy time.

-Overall, her personality is pretty laid back and go with the flow.  She also does a good job entertaining herself.

We are loving our sweet little lady and she has certainly helped make adding a baby to our family as smooth of a transition as we could have hoped for!



Labor Day

Every Labor Day it seems like my parents have some task for us to do.  Very fitting to put us to labor on Labor Day  Last year we helped paint the trim on their house and this year the task was to take down a dead tree.  This is not the first time we have taken down trees in their yard!.  What we did not know was how much fun we would have once the tree was down.

 

This is Bjorn.  He is my cross-eyed cat that I got when I lived in California who has been living with my parents ever since I moved back.

Elsa, Gwen and Sonja waiting for the tree to come down.

The dead tree

Waiting for the chainsaw to start working so Matt and Sonja took a little baseball break.

Spider and his web

Ok, chainsaw is working, let's do this!

"Timber!"

Cam climbing the stump

A log throwing contest started with the stump and using the down tree as the measurement of how far you could throw it.

Matt's up

Of course I had to try when I came outside and saw what they were doing.  That thing was heavy!  I am proud to say that I had the farthest distance for the ladies though Linnea was just behind me.

Cam's turn

Intense face!  The facial expressions from Cam and Matt were by far the best part.

Scott's turn

Scott put so much into it that he had to roll after he let got of the log

My dad trying a new way of throwing it

My mom's turn

Linnea's attempt.  Look at that form!

And....my mom again.

Eric's turn

Caroline in front and Addison in back
The kids liked using the tree as a balance beam

Elsa and Lucia

Elsa doing a cartwheel

We made S'mores after dinner.  Here is Scott and Caroline.

Lucia going "nigh night" on a bunny stuffed animal in the swing

Caroline eating her first S'more....she did not take any more bites which I was ok with since they can be so messy!  Don't worry though, she had plenty of plain marshmallows.

Me and Addison making her first S'more

Addison did not eat any more of it past this bite either.  Who are these girls!

We had leftover sparklers from our wedding that I kept forgetting to use which was almost 5 years ago!  Finally, I remembered to use them!  Here is Addison with her first sparkler.  She was a bit timid at first but enjoyed them!

I love Caroline's expression in the background.  Caroline liked the sparklers too!

All the kids liked them but some of the parents were getting nervous.

We closed the fun day sitting around the fire.  What a great day spent with those I love!  I am so grateful for my family and the time we spend together!

The Zoo With Friends

Lisa, Lori and Bethany came to town for a long weekend.  One of our outings with them was to the zoo so it could involve the whole family.  This was the only time with them that I took pictures.  Oh well, I guess I was more focused on being with them than taking pictures which is a good thing.  It was great time spent with great friends and some much needed adult time for me :)  Love you ladies!!!

 

Where the hippo is supposed to be but they like watching the fish too.

Ainsley, Caroline and Addison watching the giraffe that was just outside that window.

The summer of the silly faces

Lori, Ainsley, Sadie, Annie and Bethany!

Watching the camels

July/August Randoms

This summer they learned how to use the pedals on their bikes. Now pretty much any time they are outside they spend some time the bikes.  They love it!

Cool girls

Addison concentrating hard.

Caroline

Addison carrying her chair over to the sink to wash her hands.  I was amazed the first time I saw them move these chairs.

Addison watching a movie.  I thought she looked so cute holding her bunny like that and she loves wearing that hat backwards.

Since they have mastered using bikes they have really enjoyed going across the street to ride in the "castle" as they refer to it.

Caroline

Addison

Not a shabby place to ride.  They have wedding receptions in this space.

Me and my baby :)

They were dancing to try and make Renee smile.  It worked!

Daddy daughter nap time